Friday, November 14, 2008

Space. The Final Frontier... For Women, Apparently

I am excited about the Endeavour shuttle launch tonight. I somehow knew about it in the back of my brain, even though I haven’t seen a newspaper or listened to StarDate in several days.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27718900

I was a huge fan of space as a kid. The Challenger tragedy is one of my earliest memories. It is the first time I remember crying for total strangers. In college I actually enjoyed my astronomy class, and ultimately had to make a tough decision between hanging around in Colorado Springs to help a group of physics majors put a huge telescope up on top of Pike’s Peak or go to France for the millennium. Either, I felt, would have been a defining moment in my skimpy life resume of Awesome Experiences thus far. I actually considered skipping the millennium in Paris. I didn’t. (And it was magnifique. But that something even competed with that event in my life is fairly noteworthy.)

I think it’s also fair to say that I was a major contributor to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum’s funding several summers running, what with my buying them out of freeze-dried ice cream on more than one occasion. It’s basically Styrofoam with a slight medicinal chocolate flavor. I loved that crap. And I liked seeing the inside of the space capsules and moon rock samples. I was, and am, a fan.

What I am NOT a fan of is fucking let’s-be-a-downer-for-all-women blondie on the Fox channel this morning who was supposed to report on the Endeavour launch this evening who was all blasé about it and then has the audacity to turn to her co-host and go, “Eh, I’m just not that interested. Space is really a guy thing.” And, of course, he nodded agreeably and made some borderline chauvinist comment.

?!

Fuck you, lady. Maybe you should uncinch that corset and stick it up your ass in a welcome-to-the-millenium-even-your-precious-Mrs.-kill-‘em-and-drill-‘em-Palin-might-beg-to-differ kind of way.

Whoo. I’ve been saving that up all day apparently. I like being here with family, but I seriously cannot take too many more days of the whack-o-ness that comes out of Fox “news.”

Plus, you know, I miss my husband. See you soon, love. There are so many Daily Show episodes I need to catch up on.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like no matter how much you love your grandmother, it's time for you to come home -- to your husband, yes, of course, but also to all of your fellow liberal friends. We miss you! ;) Safe travels back.

Pauline said...

Wasn't it Rhett Butler who said to Scarlett - "How we cling to the chains that bind us." ? (And she said something like, "How you do run on," but secretly she could see his point.)

It's still a white man's world but the times, they are a'changin. Hang in there.

Diane said...

I remember being in third grade and having the whole school go into the auditorium to watch - on a 13 inch tv with rabbit ears - the first man on the moon.

It was extremely cool.

Fuck the bubble headed bleached blonds.

Lily said...

Wow! I can't believe someone would say something like that on TV.
I'm pretty sure she'll get a few emails about it. I hope so.
Space is cool, you make me want to go to the Planerium, they have this nice show about Christmas customs influenced by the stars that'll start next weekend!

Anonymous said...

Fox news is one half step from telling its viewers women should be naked and barefoot in the kitchen.