The oligarch Space-niks didn't expect SHATNER's take

[UTUSN]

Last edited Mon Dec 26, 2022, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)

What used to be quaintly called "jet-setters" are now known to be Oligarchs with battleship-sized (or should it be "carrier-sized", as in Doctor Evil's "millions - no, billions"?) yachts. And the Oligarchs have left the Greek isles behind in favor of Space, Mars, and such. Plus, they collect human knickknacks to adorn their vessels - a SHATNER here, a STRAHAN there. No run-of-the-mill Nobody to be worthy of their expeditions - *luster* of celebrity is needed for Page Six.

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https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/william-shatner-space-boldly-go-excerpt-1235395113/

William Shatner: My Trip to Space Filled Me With ‘Overwhelming Sadness’

.... I continued my self-guided tour and turned my head to face the other direction, to stare into space. I love the mystery of the universe. I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses. Stars exploding years ago, their light traveling to us years later; black holes absorbing energy; satellites showing us entire galaxies in areas thought to be devoid of matter entirely… all of that has thrilled me for years… but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold . . . all I saw was death.

I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her. ....

It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.

I learned later that I was not alone in this feeling. It is called the “Overview Effect” and is not uncommon among astronauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Michael Collins, Sally Ride, and many others. Essentially, when someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit, a sense of the planet’s fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner. Author Frank White first coined the term in 1987: “There are no borders or boundaries on our planet except those that we create in our minds or through human behaviors. All the ideas and concepts that divide us when we are on the surface begin to fade from orbit and the moon. The result is a shift in worldview, and in identity.” ....

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