Shit Happens
May 31, 2008 by Fran
Shit happens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Shit happens” is a common slang phrase, used as a simple existential observation that life is full of imperfections, or “C’est la vie”.The minced oath form is “stuff happens”. It is an acknowledgment that bad things happen to people for no particular reason.
Etymology researchers have yet to determine when the phrase was first used or when it first appeared in print (the movie Forrest Gump posits a fictional explanation for how it originated). However, in a 1991 case concerning a bumper sticker that read “Shit happens”, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a state law prohibiting lewd or profane stickers and decals on vehicles was unconstitutional.
Yes indeed, shit does happen– even in space.
Part of the mission (god only knows what the pricetag is) in today’s Space shuttle Discovery launch- a crew of seven blasted off Saturday, carrying a giant Japanese lab addition to the international space station, along with a toilet pump. The space station flusher is OUT OF ORDER.
And speaking of crap- Also hitching a ride to the space station is Buzz Lightyear, who has long been yearning to soar “to infinity and beyond.” The 12-inch action figure — made famous in the 1995 Disney film “Toy Story” — will be used as part of NASA’s “toys in space” educational program for elementary students and their teachers. Don’t get me wrong– I love the toy Story movie & Buzz lightyear– but the reason Disney is literally launching the Toys in Space program is to get children interested in Space & Science- because the universe is not interesting enough, we need some plastic toy merchandising to make it appealing & profitable for Disney.
Yes, my friends,
(This is an actual ad from a real local plumbing business).
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Actually, the manufacturing and cost of the pump was done/paid for by the Russians..but I am sure it wasn’t cheap even by their standards or using their form of capital.
By all means, they need to fix the space station toilet.
I can’t imagine toileting in a zero gravity environment… but you have to wonder what the space plumber charges???
The zillions NASA spends overall & the seemingly endless budgets they have to experiment piss me off, when people here on earth are going without health care & basics. I don’t know how they can piss away so much money on these programs in general.
The Disney space science marketing tie in is really offensive to me– what next billboards on the moon & mars?
If they really want to promote space science, why not build a state of the art observatory or an astronomy museum?
No– ship a toy to space to develop interest…
in buying their toys. This might be a boon for Chinese toy makers & Disney, but the educational claim is a stretch. It’s a marketing ploy that is outta this world.
frans last blog post..Sunday Funnies
The NASA budget doesnt’ even compare to the War in Iraq Fran..its spread out over years and sometimes decades..funding is never all at once.
A $17.6 billion dollar annual budget is no small chunk of change. I know what you are saying & there are a lot of science, space study & engineering marvels that come from NASA. Some of the projects seem frivolous. I wish they were using that science know how to develop cars & houses with full spectrum solar panel surfaces, and alternatives to fossil based fuel sources. I know the war sucks the most - money, & resources, & lives- so there’s no argument from me–but considering earthling needs (healthcare & education & a focus on saving the planet we live on, methinks should prevail. It is indeed a lessor evil, but it’s a lot of money, and we are living in hard times.
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We are living in hard times because of BushCo and his priorities. The NASA budget which you quote sounds like a boatload of money and it is..but in the total budget of the Federal Govt it ain’t squat. NASA still accounts for less than 1 percent of the federal budget.
Yes, we need healthcare and education etc, and plenty of wonderful things have come from the space program into our daily lives.
I do not think the NASA budget directly impacts the other programs you list near as much as the war and the contractors getting rich off the war.