I just sent us to the moon

In the late 60s Pan Am had a promotion where you could buy a "reservation" on a future moon flight. My grandmother got one for me -- it was way cool. I still have the card somewhere.

Unfortunately, Pan Am went out of business.

Now to practice for our flight, I think everyone should jump up real high to simulate weightlessness and do some floaty maneuver, like a somersault.

Those with physical impairments can substitute a rippin bong hit followed by a hippie twirl. 

Please try not to barf.

Surfdead, you haven't lived until you surfed the Mare Undarum (Sea of Waves) in low gravity. Might want to reconsider.

we got tunes. vinyl even

^  I don't know about that, Surf. Things have changed:

"Mag Lev is the zero gravity turntable of your sci-fi dreams

Spin your vinyl on thin air with the world’s first levitating record player"

— THE LEVITATING TURNTABLE

MAG-LEV Audio’s ML1 Turntable visually enhances the experience of listening to vinyl records by levitating the platter. By joining our love for music with careful integration of technology and high-range audio components, we’ve created a turntable of the future for the medium of the past.

https://www.stuff.tv/news/mag-lev-zero-gravity-turntable-your-sci-fi-dre...

^ I've never seen one before either. Just learned about it. Along with this: "Weightless" --  supposedly the world's most relaxing song" (not Black Muddy River?) Give it a spin if you dare.

“Weightless” was written by the UK band Marconi Union in 2012 specifically to reduce anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate. The song is filled with dreamy, mellow synths, soothing melodies and instrumentation composed of piano, guitar and electronic samples of natural soundscapes. The song is so effective that it is considered dangerous to play while driving.

A new study by US researchers has revealed that playing the “world’s most relaxing song” before surgery could be just as beneficial for calming a patient’s nerves as medication.Patients in the trial were either given the drug midazolam or played the song “Weightless” by the British ambient band Marconi Union for three minutes, while having an anesthetic to numb a region of the body. The song performed well as a sedative in the study of 157 people, although patients said they would have preferred to choose their own music. (You don't say?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfcAVejslrU&t=20s

Judit – No disrespect intended, just that the form said “enter a first name,” and though I panicked, I figured “Phil” would have a better chance of passing scrutiny by the overpaid Lockheed Martin contractor assigned to weed out obscenities and weird stuff, than “Viva.” I mean, who names their kid, “Viva,” right? (Maybe that guy in Chile, but even he had a regular name.)

And there was no form entry field for middle name "la" - which is kinda....feminine anyway... for this sausage fest of a social media site (thank god for the few ladies who contribute, always appreciated). And "Zone" is the last name, of course.

Anyone can use the name and code 1965 to track the flight once it takes off.

And Phil is a fan of space flight --- Imagine: the first dbmb to circle the moon! Named after him!

Mike, to keep Judit cool can you make a modification to the artwork for the free buttons that are included with the swag bag all cosmicnauts will receive at the launchpad? (The artwork is plagiarized of course, but the original artist is a lot smaller than Stanley Mouse, so no worries.) 

aiq, I understand that after all the pandemic precautions we've all put up with, some of us are reluctant to cram in a tiny space ship with a bunch of strangers.

Don't worry, alternate means of transportation will be available to those who would prefer to travel solo and meet us at the destination. (You probably have the right idea, because otherwise this crowd will most likely smoke all your weed before we even get there.)

DId I mention that our favorite Florida fisherman insisted on supplying the TANG since he lives nearest the Kennedy Space Ctr? He says all we need are some trashcans and he'll whip up a special batch.

off we go

into the wild blue yonder...

In honor of Phil, the manned control module has been customized for this trip.

-- they even included some tunes and an extra large ashtray for us.

Phil's strapped in in the back seat cause he has a tendency to get motion sickness. For a guy who's been in outer space before, he sure is a bit of a prima donna.

Just in case you don't remember, Phil has played a Nasa facility before. Back in 2008. Here are some excerpts from a reviewer's take on it:

"A flashing sign at the gate announced we were entering a zone where ALL Federal laws would be enforced. It’s a fairly off-putting greeting but ultimately things proved a lot cheerier inside the expansive NASA/Ames Complex. The scale of the place is intimidating with cloud scraping hangars and concrete blocks rising out of a landscape that looks like an abandoned set from Gomer Pyle – dilapidated shacks and metal tanks lining avenues dotted by a ghostly, abandoned McDonald’s franchise and boarded up gas pumps. Once a primary West Coast military hub, Moffett Field no longer has the budget to gussy things up but that hardly mattered to the small army of glitter children that descended on the facility for Yuri’s Night Bay Area 2008, a peculiar, lively gathering of quasi-futuristic music and very forward thinking science....

The musical attractions included numerous top flight DJs, several fine emerging dance bands, Particle, Amon Tobin and the debut outing by Telstar, a new improvised instrumental project featuring Phil Lesh (bass, MIDI triggers), Steve Molitz (keyboards), John Molo (drums) and previously unannounced guest trumpeter Willie Waldman....

Lesh snapped me out of it with a thumb whack worthy of Jaco Pastorius or George Porter Jr., Phil finding his inner fusion god and letting him out into the light. While not especially deep, this completely improvised music full of monumental builds and solid rhythmic foundations was satisfying, if you didn’t dig too much past the surface. Possessed of a laidback cool, even when they poured on heat – notably Molo’s whirling Shiva arms of steel – it was like eavesdropping on a comfortable conversation between cunning linguists. So skilled was this quartet that even the few missteps and fumbled cues hardly took away from their playful exploration in a space built large enough to hold their skyward ramblings. Next to colossal buildings and antique parked aircraft, one felt slightly freed from the smallness of things in 2008. So, when a flying saucer landed behind them on the screen and Molitz unearthed his funky Herbie Hancock streak, it was easy to let go and rise above the strip mall culture outside the gates while they noodled pleasantly."

https://williewaldman.com/index.php/2021/01/13/phil-lesh-and-friends-liv...

I got a press pass that evening so I got to get up close and personal. Phi was in good spirits. Highlight fo rme was meeting Stewart Brand.

First jamband website to make it to the moon! Take that, ratdog.org and green board....

Nasa’s Orion capsule reaches moon on way to record-breaking lunar orbit

Nasa’s Orion capsule reached the moon on Monday, whipping around the back side and passing within 80 miles of the surface on its way to a record-breaking lunar orbit.

The close approach occurred as the crew capsule and its three test dummies were on the far side of the moon.

Because of the half-hour communication blackout, flight controllers in Houston did not know if the critical engine firing went well until the capsule emerged from behind the moon, more than 232,000 miles from Earth.

It’s the first time a capsule has visited the moon since Nasa’s Apollo program 50 years ago, and represented a huge milestone in the $4.1bn test flight that began last Wednesday after Orion launched into space atop the massive Artemis rocket.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/21/nasa-orion-capsule-moon-...