NERDS AND DWEEBS

Western culture loves to label everybody and everything. Having been a fan of space stuff all my life I've been called all sorts of things from beatnik to wierdo. Fortunately you reach an age when it's not important anymore but being interested in words and how they overlap I often wonder if we agree what they actually mean.

 

 

The words are as follows: dweeb, airhead, nerd, swot, geek, boffin, buff and dork.

 

 

Would anyone like to have a go at defining them? Go on, you know you want to! [similar words from around the world welcomed!]

TOYS ON COVERS: SHOOT AT THE MOON

 

 

Here's another book cover with a space toy used in the cover art. He looks like a plastic spaceman from the 50's but I just can't place him. Anyone?

OUT OF THE DEAD SYSTEM......

......the Dyna Soar fled like a swift from Hell [please continue it readers!]......

HOW TV RUINED YOUR LIFE

Just watched How TV Ruined Your Life on BBC2. It was initially an interesting programme with some great clips of Space Patrol, UFO and quite a lot of Blake's 7. There was even footage of a early NASA Scramble Bug! I say initially because the narrator, Charlie Brooker, became very annoying, so much so that I had to turn the sound off! I was glad when it finished and the Science of Bubbles came on!

SILENT RUNNING ON TV

Silent Running, the classic eco-space movie is on UK TV this Saturday. Made in 1971 it preceeded Star Wars by 6 years. I think we can all see the roots of Artoo Detoo in Hewie and Dewie. Bruce Dern is on a mission straight out of Project SWORD!

Film4     4.50pm
Film4+1 5.50pm

I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper

Here's an odd one. Watching TV the other day, one Sarah Brightman was being interviewed.

 

 

I didn't recognise the name to be honest but they played an old song she made 'I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper' [1979] and I thought, yes, I used to love that song! ......'Fighting for the Federation'!


Here she is singing it with the delightful Hot Gossip dancers on Top of The Pops in 1979 courtesy of You Tube.

 

 

 

 

It turns out that Miss Brightman is a life-long space nut [like us!] and get this, is in training to be a cosmonaut at Star City in Moscow! Way to go Sarah! She lifts off in 2015.

 

 

What's your favourite space pop song readers?

MOON BUGGING

The Spacex Moon Buggy from 1970 is small beautiful toy based on a NASA original and typical of the high production values of the range. I don't own one but here is the card art. The classic roving wheels are iconic.

 

PAYA of Spain made a fabulously detailed and larger version in blue as part of their space range. The toy is called the Jeep Lunar and reminds me of how a SWORD version might have looked!

 

Over the years I have seen very few toys relating to the Moon Buggy. Here's an obscure Planet Watch by Esco with a rare appearance of our Buggy on the right.

 

 

Here's an Arco Space Set I recently saw on Ebay. The vehicle has the same roving wheels as our friend. It was made in 1978.

 

 

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has any similarly wheeled toys or versions of the Moon Buggy or indeed anything about the history of this NASA classic.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE TONIGHT!

The concluding part of 'Coldhearted' goes out this evening on Celtica Radios Squaring the Circle show at 8pm. Follow the links in the sidebar to tune in and see what happens as Rolandt takes the Needle Probe on its maiden flight..