Stars and Obama's
Entry posted by caldrail
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America has successfully imported a great many things to British Isles. Cola, bubble gum, nylon tights, burgers, and sex. Of course I was too young for most of those as a child so there was only one american import I was allowed. You state-side people know it as G.I. Joe. We knew it as Action Man.
It was great. There was a huge selection of uniforms and accessories that transformed the plastic contortionist into everything from the basic Korean War recruit to a NASA astronaut. One of my friends had the Action Man space capsule - I was so jealous. No-one was jealous of my Action-Man. A cricket-player set isn't that impressive, nor, if I were honest, much inspiration for childhood imagination. The biggest problem with Action Man, apart from his suspect anatomy, was that he was essentially a loner. You only had one, so the poor guy never had any mates or even enemies to save the world from. Now, however, kids can give their Action Man leadership. They can now pester their parents for an all-action Obama doll. Better yet, it comes with his wife, so he has someone to play with. Oh... Hang on a minute....
I wonder if it has a ring-pull in it's back to play speeches? Kids these days have no idea how lucky they are.
Telescope of the Week
The orbital Kepler Telescope has begun searching space for earth-like planets. Apparently this mission will take three and a half weeks and millions of pounds have been spent trying to find planets we can't get to. Don't get me wrong. I think scientific progress is great. It's just that we seem tto spend so much time seeking a paradise. Looking for Eden, Shangri-La, El Dorado, Atlantis, The Kingdom of Prester John.
What happens if they find this new earth? Will religions begin slapping labels on it? Will scientists eagerly send sound recordings in the hope the aliens there send it straight to the top of the hit parade? Will estate agents start selling portions of their land? Hundreds of years ago, people would have boarded ships and made their way there to colonise the land and avoid governmental interference in their lives. These new planets are unfortunately somewhat far away, and as yet, we haven't the technology to emulate Star Trek. It also means that earth-bound merchants are frustrated, because they can't sell the Obama doll to unsuspecting aliens.
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