When I was a kid, in 1957, I heard about the successful launch of sputnik and I even watched the satellite arc through the night sky for several evenings through a pair of binoculars.

On December 14, 1962, at Mirasound Studios in NYC, John Hendry Blair (Johnny Cymbal) recorded his self-penned, "Mr. Bass Man", for the Kapp label ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZkar0wMypE

In 1964, The Holy Modal Rounders wrote a parody of Mr. Bass Man called "Mr Spaceman" which was funny as hell:

http://www.lyricsvip.com/The-Holy-Modal-Rounders/Mr.-Spaceman-Lyrics.html

In 1966, some Hollywood squareballs named the Byrds got hold of the idea of "Mr Spaceman" and made a truly terrible recording by the same name which became a big hit for them. So bad it was, I was tempted to not link to that dreck here, but I will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzkU_ckRXHY

In 1969, I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon on television in Berkeley at the Chinese scholar's house.

In early 1970, I read aloud from "Of a Fire on the Moon" for a radio broadcast on KPFA in San Francisco.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/enews/2009/july/moon.html


In 1979, Tom Wolfe wrote a book called "The Right Stuff" an account of the pilots who became the first astronauts.

In 1983, a successful movie was adapted from the book, "The Right Stuff". A fella I knew back at the time of the moon walk snagged a bit part in that movie.

In 1988, I met and worked with astronauts and scientists who have since become famous in science. Funny, isn't it? I'm just trying to put some order in my life today.  ¶ 12/27/2010 02:00:00 PM