Limpets, Rubber Ducks and Cookies in Space

After my recent 'Dismaland' diversion, it's back to outer space - a new photo of Ceres reveals the mysterious mountain in greater detail.
The frustration increases, however, as we realise that this is the only close-up view we currently have, taken from some 900 miles above.
The strange mountain is also bizarre because it really is alone in an otherwise flat landscape, which is surely suggestive of an artificial origin.
I find this both fascinating and totally frustrating.
Frustrating because we won't get any more detailed images until December, when spacecraft Dawn enters a much lower orbit , taking closer shots from just 275 miles above.
Theories abound as to the nature of the 'mesa', with some saying it's material excavated from the nearby crater, and others declaring the 'spurs'  to be ice water.
The site has already been dubbed 'lonely mountain' by some Tolkien - lovers :
and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a dragon guarding treasure there...

A mountain or a space limpet ?                                   ©NASA/Caltech/JPL

Conjecture is all we have until further evidence arrives - I think it's amazing, especially given that our initial interest in Ceres was piqued by the highly reflective areas in what is now called the 'Occator' crater  - also still a mystery -
infact there has been a dearth of new information on that front, which has allowed exotic theories to abound.
There is conjecture that the mysterious 'reflections' are atop tall pillars which project above the crater edge ( giving us pillar / structures some two miles high)
An abandoned city / mining site has also been mooted - this is no longer such an outlandish idea , don't forget that we already have companies in place gearing up for offworld mining, after all.

New System tests             NASA jpg

Personally, I wonder if such ideas are being encouraged, purely to keep people interested in the otherwise quite 'dry' science of 'space-geography'.
Speaking of which, is there such a thing?
There should be, with the incoming data helping to create a database - after all, surely many of the oddities we are seeing arise because we try to make otherworld  geology match our own:
but our own knowledge is limited to this little blue planet.
Oh, and the moon.
Mars can be partly included as well, with Curiosity continuing its examination of ancient sedimentary rock and the like.
The recent flypast of Pluto / Charon gave us dramatic new geology with flowing water / methane ice, and changing, active landscapes.
The next focus for New horizons will be a Kuiper Belt object , 2014 MU69, about a billion miles beyond Pluto.

As we speak, tests are being run for Orion, NASAs next big thing, which will launch into lower Earth - orbit on December 4th as a test prelude to manned deep space missions, ultimately using a module which will facilitate deep space missions, but hasn't been created yet !
I'm a little dubious, given that the new Orion craft will be capable of  twenty- one days in space - surely not long enough to go anywhere meaningful - or is there some as yet unexplained quantum secret ?
As well as this, rather strangely, objects to be carried include a rubber duck, and a giant cookie - I kid you not !
So the next 'big' proposal from NASA involves astronauts circumnavigating the moon with the munchies and toys...

A giant cookie for space, obviously...          © NASA jpg

Surely the widespread legalisation of pot in the U.S.A. has affected hitherto serious decisions ?
Good to know then, that in this new space race, priorities are suitably warped...

Keep your Arms inside the Rides!

I wrote a whole blog-post about how stupidity was the new 'smart', but decided not to get bogged down in political shenanigans, so I withdrew it, and wrote this instead, as I'm sure that you would rather indulge in a little escapism from the realm of news media with its slant on war and mindless violence...

So - theme parks !
Mindless fun - or - how about one that comments on our disfunctional society ?
Yes ! You can indulge yourself whilst gaining a social conscience if you visit Dismaland! 
On a site in Weston-super-Mare, the infamous Banksy has decided to bring art out of the gallery and onto the street.
Of course, this street is a derelict two - acre site , which allows Banksy to reclaim his own childhood memories of the 'Tropicana', as it then was:
"You can stand ankle deep in stagnant water eating cold chips to the sound of children crying"
With that, he has certainly evoked my own memories of rain - lashed British seaside 'funfairs', which always struggled in their attempts to emulate the likes of Disneyland.
As a child in Scotland, the sky over Portobello always seemed grey and threatening.  There was always Ayr, but that was further west, and a wee bit too posh.

Portobello    pic ©by Lee Kindness

The unreliable British weather has always put paid to the lie of sunkissed paradise, with grumbling youngsters and adults shuffling through dreary amusement arcades, telling themselves that this time they would hook a big prize with the grab - arm machine, which, after all, looked ridiculously easy.
Even if such a thing happened and despite all the odds you won that two foot high Gonk on the shooting stall, how were you getting it home, and more to the point where would it go ?
There was always at least one sensible voice.
All petty concerns were vanquished, however, as you strode through the faceless throng, proud bearer of the trophy Gonk.

But I have strayed already, lost in my own nostalgia, where two - pence coins were a thing, and candy floss was immense.
Where rubber skulls with acrylic hair provided feeble amusement during enforced indoors play due to weather.
In fairness, I can't remember a truly jolly seaside theme park: there always seemed to be some inevitable disappointment.

Many years later, I rode the old rickety wooden rollercoaster of 'Dreamland ' in Margate before it closed down.
My only abiding memory was a sense of sadness - the park was huge, but - empty.
And, yes, it rained .
I loved my ironic yellow rain-mac, emblazoned with the legend, 'I escaped from Dreamland ' (now re-opened!)

Which brings me full circle - to Dismaland!, Britains first bemusement park.
I think it has been undermined by its own reality.
U.K. seaside funfairs tend to be lacklustre and drab anyway.

I was excited by the thought of 'Dismaland!' but now, I'm ambivalent.
I'm actually afraid that I'm missing the point.
I feel that the experience has been laid bare by the media, and frankly, the early hype made the mistake of focussing on 'Banksy'.
In fairness, he himself has emphasised the collaborative nature of the project, but...
Banksy! 
Cue website crashing, massive global interest, media frenzy.
Irony, much?
Even the poor ticketing in the early days was held up as an ironic example of the true british funfair experience.
Consumerism embraced in the form of anti-consumerism...
I can go with that, but the 'fairytale' princess is not exactly topical now, and the revelation by Julie Burchill that 'Punch and Judy' was sexist is not news.
Boatride of migrants ?
Death riding a dodgem car ?
Even the idea of exiting through the gift shop has no irony left.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still go.
Kicking and screaming.
Crying for an ice cream.
Which promptly drops as a seagull attacks.

Gravitas amidst the tomfoolery ?            pic ©Juxtapose

This was supposed to be a carefree look at theme parks.
Sorry about that.




                            Creative Commons as per usual, i.e., this is not a commercial venture