Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
This week at the movies..
Opening This Week: Biutiful Now Playing In Select Cities - For a movie about dying, there should be a glimmer of joy or hope on display—if only around the story's edges or in solitary moments—to establish the beauty of living. "Biutiful" is an acting tour de force on Javier Bardem's part, wrenching more for his performance than for a story that otherwise seems a little too cluttered, unformed, and familiar. The Mechanic An ability to suspend disbelief is typical of films like "The Mechanic," but things should at least be rooted in a version of reality. If the film doesn't exactly offer action aficionados anything they haven't seen before, it does at least separate itself a little with its astoundingly dark mean streak. The Rite For all of the hope that it misleadingly stirs up and all of the hogwash it ultimately becomes, "The Rite" is a sizable disappointment, a film that somewhere on its journey from written page to finished product has been stripped of its initially cerebral leanings for a dopey, excessively conventional lighting and effects horror show. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
25 years later....God Bless.
"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Ronald Reagan
January 28, 1986
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=147
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the member of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved an impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Three days later, President Reagan delivered the following remarks at a memorial service held in Houston following the Challenger disaster, Jan. 31, 1986.
We come together today to mourn the loss of seven brave Americans, to share the grief we all feel and, perhaps in that sharing, to find the strength to bear our sorrow and the courage to look for the seeds of hope.
Our nation's loss is first a profound personal loss to the family and the friends and loved ones of our shuttle astronauts. To those they have left behind - the mothers, the fathers, the husbands and wives, brothers, sisters, and yes, especially the children - all of America stands beside you in your time of sorrow.
What we say today is only an inadequate expression of what we carry in our hearts. Words pale in the shadow of grief; they seem insufficient even to measure the brave sacrifice of those you loved and we so admired. Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way they led their lives and in the way they lost those lives - with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe.
The best we can do is remember our seven astronauts - our ChallengerSeven - remember them as they lived, bringing life and love and joy to those who knew them and pride to a nation.
They came from all parts of this great country - from South Carolina to Washington State; Ohio to Mohawk, New York; Hawaii to North Carolina to Concord, New Hampshire. They were so different, yet in their mission, their quest, they held so much in common.
We remember Dick Scobee, the commander who spoke the last words we heard from the space shuttle Challenger. He served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, earning many medals for bravery, and later as a test pilot of advanced aircraft before joining the space program. Danger was a familiar companion to Commander Scobee.
We remember Michael Smith, who earned enough medals as a combat pilot to cover his chest, including the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals - and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, in gratitude from a nation that he fought to keep free.
We remember Judith Resnik, known as J.R. to her friends, always smiling, always eager to make a contribution, finding beauty in the music she played on her piano in her off-hours.
We remember Ellison Onizuka, who, as a child running barefoot through the coffee fields and macadamia groves of Hawaii, dreamed of someday traveling to the Moon. Being an Eagle Scout, he said, had helped him soar to the impressive achievement of his career.
We remember Ronald McNair, who said that he learned perseverance in the cotton fields of South Carolina. His dream was to live aboard the space station, performing experiments and playing his saxophone in the weightlessness of space; Ron, we will miss your saxophone and we will build your space station.
We remember Gregory Jarvis. On that ill-fated flight he was carrying with him a flag of his university in Buffalo, New York - a small token he said, to the people who unlocked his future.
We remember Christa McAuliffe, who captured the imagination of the entire nation, inspiring us with her pluck, her restless spirit of discovery; a teacher, not just to her students, but to an entire people, instilling us all with the excitement of this journey we ride into the future.
We will always remember them, these skilled professionals, scientists and adventurers, these artists and teachers and family men and women, and we will cherish each of their stories - stories of triumph and bravery, stories of true American heroes.
On the day of the disaster, our nation held a vigil by our television sets. In one cruel moment, our exhilaration turned to horror; we waited and watched and tried to make sense of what we had seen. That night, I listened to a call-in program on the radio: people of every age spoke of their sadness and the pride they felt in `our astronauts.' Across America, we are reaching out, holding hands, finding comfort in one another.
The sacrifice of your loved ones has stirred the soul of our nation and, through the pain, our hearts have been opened to a profound truth - the future is not free, the story of all human progress is one of a struggle against all odds. We learned again that this America, which Abraham Lincoln called the last best hope of man on Earth, was built on heroism and noble sacrifice. It was built by men and women like our seven star voyagers, who answered a call beyond duty, who gave more than was expected or required, and who gave it with little thought to worldly reward.
We think back to the pioneers of an earlier century, and the sturdy souls who took their families and the belongings and set out into the frontier of the American West. Often, they met with terrible hardship. Along the Oregon Trail you can still see the grave markers of those who fell on the way. But grief only steeled them to the journey ahead.
Today, the frontier is space and the boundaries of human knowledge. Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain. Our nation is indeed fortunate that we can still draw on immense reservoirs of courage, character and fortitude - that we are still blessed with heroes like those of the space shuttle Challenger.
Dick Scobee knew that every launching of a space shuttle is a technological miracle. And he said, if something ever does go wrong, I hope that doesn't mean the end to the space shuttle program. Every family member I talked to asked specifically that we continue the program, that that is what their departed loved one would want above all else. We will not disappoint them.
Today, we promise Dick Scobee and his crew that their dream lives on; that the future they worked so hard to build will become reality. The dedicated men and women of NASA have lost seven members of their family. Still, they too, must forge ahead, with a space program that is effective, safe and efficient, but bold and committed.
Man will continue his conquest of space. To reach out for new goals and ever greater achievements - that is the way we shall commemorate our seven Challenger heroes.
Dick, Mike, Judy, El, Ron, Greg and Christa - your families and your country mourn your passing. We bid you goodbye. We will never forget you. For those who knew you well and loved you, the pain will be deep and enduring. A nation, too, will long feel the loss of her seven sons and daughters, her seven good friends. We can find consolation only in faith, for we know in our hearts that you who flew so high and so proud now make your home beyond the stars, safe in God's promise of eternal life.
May God bless you all and give you comfort in this difficult time.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The transformation begins
10 days ago, we began to transform a home for our associates. Here are the pictures of the place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonniebogle/sets/72157625685419011/show/
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Dustin Putman-Opening this week
Opening This Week:
Another Year
★★ (out of ★★★★)
The spare parts don't quite congeal into a satisfying whole. The viewer waits for a premise of some kind to take shape, but none does. The point of "Another Year" is in the title—this is just another average year for all, just like the one before and the one after—but that is not reason enough for the film to be so inert.
Read the Full Review >>
No Strings Attached
★★★ (out of ★★★★)
Randy without being tawdry, sophisticated without feeling stifling, the film scurries through genre conventions even as the screenplay refuses to compromise its intelligence and appreciable eye for detail. Caustic before gradually letting down its defenses, "No Strings Attached" is as exceedingly modern in its premise as it is traditional in its destination. True love, no matter how it might begin, is funny like that.
Read the Full Review >>
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Frank Johnson's memorial service
Many have asked for details on plans to honor Frank. There will be a memorial service next weekend.
Saturday, January 22nd at 2PM
Georgetown Presbyterian Church, 3111 P Street, NW, Washington DC.
Followed by a reception
Dustin's weekly movie reviews...
Opening This Week: The Dilemma There are some succinct ideas at the core of "The Dilemma," but the way in which the picture as a whole is handled is a miscalculation. Had director Ron Howard reevaluated his approach to the story, he might have had something solid on his hands. The Green Hornet A largely mediocre and forgettable piffle that merely bides its time as it goes through the motions. For a story that is all about a young man seeking a new identity he can be proud of, "The Green Hornet" is curiously lacking in any identity to call its own. Vanishing on 7th Street Now OnDemand, In Theaters Feb 18 - "Vanishing on 7th Street" is a skillful, compact chiller, unburdened by too many subplots or the tendency to overexplain what is going on. A lesser film would seek answers, but screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski and director Brad Anderson are smart enough to understand their film is more about questions. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
God Speed Frank Johnson
- To my NASA and USPS friends on FB. Our friend and colleague Frank Johnson, Head of Public Affairs at NASA and subsequent Assistant Postmaster General for Communications at the USPS passed away last night in his sleep. I know you will keep Barbara his wife and his kids in your thoughts and pray that Frank's soul will rest in eternal peace.
RIP Frank Johnson
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Speaking from personal experience...
5 Hip Bluetooth Headsets I have tried all these and or similar blue tooth headsets. All but one basically suck. The Motorola Oasis is worth considering As is the Plantronics Voyager pro plus. http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/products/mobile/bluetooth-headsets/voyager-pro-plus I have had the most luck with Plantronics. Holds the longest charge and clarity is phenomenal. You can also wear it for a full day without ending up with an earache!!
