London Has Fallen

 blather, Hmm..., news, politics, religion, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Jan 052020
 

So, the US jammed a small missile into the proximity of a mass murderer and war criminal. Surely nobody could have a problem with that, right? Surely not in the west, right? Guess again:

So now a lot of people are yapping about a war breaking out between the United states and Iran. The fact is, we have been at war with Iran since they committed the crime of invading the US embassy and taking the staff hostage. That was an act of international piracy, and international law has *long* accepted that any nation may take action against pirates wherever they may be found. Once Iran surrenders unconditionally, utterly rejects the ideology and beliefs that led them to taking the embassy, reworks their government into a modern secular system that truly provides for freedom of *all* religions and tries all those who supported the criminal and anti-human policies and actions of the “Islamic Republic of Iran,” *then* perhaps we can say that we are not at war with them. If Iran decides to escalate…

In the mean time, it seems like Britain should start mass deportations.

 Posted by at 8:30 pm

Sea Dragon Launch

 APR, art, awesomeness, Hmm..., projects, rockets, science fiction, youtube  1 Response »
Jan 052020
 

Apparently the Apple+ series “For All Mankind” ends with a post-credit scene of a Sea Dragon lifting off…

Giggity!

It’s an imperfect depiction (it’s far too submerged for starters), but it’s still spiffy as hell. If only it had an Orion as a payload, I *might* be tempted too plunk down the funds to spend on yet another unnecessary streaming channel.

If you are wondering just what the “Sea Dragon” was and whether it was a real concept… take a look at Aerospace Projects Review article on it HERE. That article was originally published as part of APR issue V4N6 and is available separately, or with a complete Volume 4 bundle.

 

 Posted by at 2:24 pm

Possibilities of New Business Growth: Space Construction Facilities

 history, projects, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jan 052020
 

In 1985, Rockwell considered that there might be a market for space construction facilities for large orbital structure such as solar power satellites, large radio/radar antenna, SDI “elements” (likely references the relatively gigantic neutral particle beams, space based lasers and other “space guns” that were contemplated at the time) and other large structures. This capability was first contemplated in the mid 70’s for the SPS program, but did not really last much past the late 80’s when such vast structures were no longer really expected anytime soon.

 

 Posted by at 10:26 am

Snow Cruiser

 awesomeness, Crazy, history, youtube  No Responses »
Jan 042020
 

The Snow Cruiser was a disastrously bad land vehicle designed for Antarctic exploration. It just didn’t work. I suspect a lot of that was due to a pretty insane design for the tires… they were smooth and treadless. How the frak they were intended to gain traction on snow and ice I’ve no idea… but unsurprisingly, they didn’t. Still, it always appealed to me, not unlike the Landmaster. In some slightly different alternate reality it would have been designed slightly differently and would have successfully transited Antarctica. In some rather more different alternate reality it would have led to a series of gradually improved versions, including a nuclear powered land-train version…

 

 

 Posted by at 11:33 pm

“Identification with Evil”

 AARRRGH, art, blather, Crazy, drawings, dumbassery, Forward!, Gah., Hmm..., humor, news, politics, youtube, ಠ_ಠ  No Responses »
Jan 042020
 

This is an interesting video:

This first meme of 2020 is here, and it’s “New Guy.” The short form: an SJW “cartoonist” has a strip with a self-insert of the author portraying the petty evil that SJWs so often display, and completely failed to understand that she was indeed showing herself, her self-insert character and their joint worldview as mean spirited. And as a result, the rest of the internet has glommed onto the character she was trying to make fun of and have turned him into a symbol of what’s good and just.

The video goes into this and the resulting online kerfuffle, including how the cartoonist has wholly and utterly failed to take this as an opportunity for self reflection. Additionally the video describes how SJWs so often identify with evil and villains, including, and rather startlingly, Pennywise the Demonic Homicidal Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror Clown. This is not a new thing, of course… SJWs have been wearing Che shirts and celebrating Antifa and the Soviet Union and Mao and Jihadis for *years.* That they would also identify with the likes of Vice Admiral Holdo and other fictional villains is hardly surprising, never mind Bernie and Bubbles and Swalwell and all the others who would bring gulags, pogroms, death camps, food riots, famine and civil war to the United States.

New Guy, created specifically to be a stupid, mockable strawman, is the wholesome and sincere meme we need in these dark times. See more at Know Your Meme.

 

 

 

 Posted by at 7:19 pm

B-1 Artwork: not the view you really want of a supersonic aircraft

 aircraft, art, history, Monthly Historical Documents Program, Patreon  No Responses »
Jan 042020
 

Certainly a dramatic shot, and also a very final shot for a bug, bird or unfortunate parachutist.

This Rockwell illustration dates from the early 70’s and represents the almost-final B-1 configuration, from back when being very supersonic was the goal rather than being stealthy at low altitude.

The full image has been made available as a thank-you to APR Patreon and Historical Documents Program patrons at the $4 and above level, placed in the 2020-01 APR Extras . If interested in this piece or if you are interested in helping to fund the preservation of this sort of thing, please consider becoming a patron, either through the APR Patreon or the Monthly Historical Document Program.

 Posted by at 3:36 am
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