NEW YORK to LONDON in 1 hour: perhaps there is hope for our future?

A German company, German Aerospace Center, has announced plans for a new hypersonic airplane, the SpaceLiner, which would fly at 24 the speed of sound, capable of flying to New York from London in one hour or from London to Sydney in one and half hour. This vehicle that they are proposing would carry 50 passengers and would include both a rocket lift into space to 50 miles above earth and a glide back to earth ending in a typical airplane landing on a runway.

One of the saddest things about last century was the fact that mankind created a miraculous supersonic aircraft (the SST and the Tupelov) in 1973 by the next century no such technology was being used at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The Concorde fleet were retired with no replacement.

This beautiful aircraft started commercial airline service in 1976 and the entire fleet was retired following a crash of a Concorde at Paris' Orly airport and downturn in airline travel as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.

In my opinion, it is a tragedy that, whilst mankind created such an amazing aircraft like the Concorde, that we were not capable of continuing the evolution of this type of aircraft after 27 years of commercial service. Or after it's retirement in 2003 (a decade ago no SST flies).

There have been many proposals throughout the years for supersonic aircraft. But nothing had traction enough to be the successor to the beautiful and astonishing Concorde. For almost thirty years humankind flew from New York to Paris in approximately 3.5 hours. But since 2003 we've gone back to the horse and buggy in airline service, so to speak.

Read this current proposed supersonic aircraft in an article at the hateful Republican slanted newsline (owned by the hateful, unethical, immoral Rupert Murdoch companies) at The Daily Mail at the following article: London to Sydney in 90 minutes: Hypersonic SpaceLiner that travels at 24 times the speed of sound 'to be built by 2050.'

I guess cell phones and I-pads, computers, etc were a more important evolutionary moment for our pathetic species? Somehow they seem rather small and lame next to the accomplishment of space exploration or supersonic flight. Let's hope that we begin to aspire to a more noble and higher aspirations. Not until Republicans die out though.

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

Today is National Peanut Butter Day in the US. Peanut Butter is one of my favorite things in the world. There are numerous "healthy" peanut butter recipes.

Check out this article: National Peanut Butter Day

After reading the first article read The Huntington Post's article today about why peanut butter is healthy (yea)!

Happy Peanut Butter Day! Click below if you like peanut butter!

BEYONCÉ WASN'T Lip-Syncing: A professional musician goes deep on the inaugural NON-scandal

Since La Beyonce has not yet responded to reports that she lip-synced at Obama's second inauguration on Monday, I thought this very interesting analysis, by a fellow singer Mike Doughty, was fascinating. It will be interesting to see what the real story is. But either way, his observations were so cogent.

I read today that Aretha Franklin laughed when she heard Beyonce lip-synced. Whether she lip-synced or not it's irrelevant as the song we heard performed WAS sung by Beyonce and no one else. The only question I have is if she lip-synced, why did she have the beautiful, dramatic moment when she tore out the earpiece?

Since we as yet don't know for sure I thought this editorial column to be very interesting, indeed. This was published on Slate: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/01/beyonce_lip_syncing_at_the_inauguration_musician_mike_doughty_says_she_was.html

Kudos also to Kelly Clarkson who gave a magnificent performance at the inauguration. Did she or did she lip-sync?

POSCRIPT: Although Slate Magazine and Wall Street Journal are insisting Beyonce did NOT cheat, CNN is insisting that she did. I guess we'll have to wait for confirmation from Beyonce herself (see today's 1/24/2013 article in the Huffington Post.)

ONE TODAY by Richard Blanco...today's HEROIC poet at Obama's Inaugaration

This beautiful man, who also happens to be Cuban and gay, made one of the most beautiful presentations of his poem, in my experience, in my lifetime (except for perhaps Maya Angelou, who presented I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings at President Obama's first inauguration ceremony in 2009).

Watch a recording of Mr. Blanco's speech at ABC's website at the link below this paragraph (And study his beautiful poem). He delivered a remarkable performance, equal only to the amazing singers that also performed today.

'One Today': Richard Blanco Poem Read at Barack Obama Inauguration - ABC News

The poem that Mr. Blanco delivered was so utterly perfect. It was like listening to a symphony...or a beautiful performance of a choir. It was so simple. It was so accessible. It was so of "our time" and it was utterly miraculous that this beautiful human, Mr. Blanco, was chosen for this privilege and at the same time our 44th President addressed in his second inauguration speech his support for gay rights. None of this happened by accident. But thank God it finally happened...even the President's reference in his speech to "Stonewall" in the same category as "Selma" and other milestones in civil rights in this country.

Today was remarkable in so very many ways for me. First, the only black US president took an oath of office for a second term, and despite the most uncivil, barbaric and openly racist attacks. But he also addressed, in this second inauguration speech, gay and lesbian rights. His predecessor, "Shrub" and his party, have for decades shown their hatred for gays. But not only did Obama address this in his speech but he chose a remarkable person to deliver a poem for this ceremony, that was utterly for it's time.

My goal with this blog is to talk about things of beauty. Today was a day of beauty.

I salute President Obama and I salute Mr. Blanco for his beautiful poem.

“One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies,” Blanco began Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/21/3193855/an-inauguration-with-a-cuban-touch.html#storylink=cpy

I also thought the three singers at the inauguration were amazing. James Taylor, a singer that I grew up with, delivered a lovely, understated delivery of 'America The Beautiful.'

Kelly Clarkson blew everyone away with her soulful 'My Country Tis of Thee' and then Beyonce knocked it out of the ball park with the National Anthem. I've tried to embed videos of these performances. They aren't available at this point, except to share on facebook or twitter, two forums that I detest. Will try to update this when I have videos to share. Meanwhile, don't miss these performances.

Hysterical observation: RELIGION IS LIKE A PENIS

Read the brilliant reasoning. Thank you to my friend, Carla, for sending me this wonderful perception.

AN ODE TO JODIE FOSTER I loved her wonderful speech at GOLDEN GLOBES

I fell in love with La Foster as a youngster when I saw her play "Becky Thatcher" in the movie, Tom Sawyer. I had previously fallen in love with the character "Becky Thatcher" in a production by the local Children's Theater of Tom Sawyer (who was played by local, young actress Teri Eoff in Lubbock, Texas).

Getting Engaged
Tom Sawyer — MOVIECLIPS.com

The way Ms. Foster has lived her entire life with integrity and anonymity is why I was thrilled that she was honored Sunday night with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globe Awards.

Her speech reminded me of why she has been fiercely, rabidly private throughout her 47 years in public life (she started out in show business at age three in as a model for an advertisement).

I thought La Foster was supremely true to herself in her speech and everything about her appearance on Sunday night to receive the accolades of her peers on Sunday night. The fact that she had that hateful, irate Mel Gibson sitting beside her (he snarled throughout the ceremony) at her table made me adore her all the more (although I despise him). She is true to her friends. And I also thought it interesting that for this distinguished ceremony she chose to be there with her at her table two of her friends who are also two of the most controversial men in Hollywood: Mel Gibson (is he ever happy anymore or just pissed off and angry?) and Robert Downey Jr.

And she had her two beautiful sons with her at the ceremony on view for the cameras, another way in which she "came out" because she has always sheltered them from the public eye.

She is true to herself, always has been. And that to me is one of the most integritous qualities in the world.

There have been few like her in the world who have been fiercely brave and also honest to her aspirations, standards, and lifestyle, at least of those people from my generation (I, like Ms. Foster, am 50).

Maybe she is the way she is because she started so very young in the public spotlight. And maybe, having a stalker who is obsessed with you whilst you're in college and then tries to assassinate President Reagan as a demonstration of his love, compounded by the fact that you're gay and the entire world is obsessing over your sexual preference during your teens, twenties, thirties, etc. (imagine how that would feel to be on such public display?)

I think that she did in fact, come out officially as gay in her Golden Globe speech and I thought she did it brilliantly. And she did it in her on smart ass, intelligent, and fuck you kind of way. ("I am Single!") Typical Tiger, no? (as in Chinese Birth Year of the Tiger: 1962)

Didn't we all know that Anderson Cooper was gay for all these years before he quietly announced it last year? Even he was equally blithe as Jodie in his statement (because they've both been "out" for so long, without saying it to a billion viewers on tv....which is what I think Jodie was trying to comment about Sunday night).

I admire her for the way she has bravely lived her life. And I admire her for her long, remarkable and distinguished career (as well as putting herself through Yale).

Liz Smith, the iconic news columnist, wrote a similar summary about La Foster's brilliant and emotional speech. Read it here:

If you missed Ms. Foster's speech here it is:

As an aside, I was THRILLED that Ben Affleck and his film Argo won the 2013 Golden Globe awards for Best Director and Best Film, respectively.

A beautiful story by a BEAUTIFUL young man

Published on Dec 17, 2012-- After exploding onto the performance scene by grabbing the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Champion prize, watch as 15-year-old Noah St. John electrifies the Snap Judgment Stage with a stunning performance - winning this year's "NPR Snap Judgment Performance of the Year."

It's only appropriate, because last year's winner was Noah's teacher and mentor, Jamie DeWolf.

A DOLPHIN cloud

Matthew Sears/Eastnews