Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Dec 7, 1947: The film Dangerous Years opens. Marilyn Monroe as "Evie", her first film. Producer Sol M. Wurtzel paid Marilyn Monroe $125.00 for a week's work. Originally slated to play a "secretary" she only worked one day and played a walk-on as a waitress at the Gopher Hole.




December 7, 1972: Apollo 17, the last moon mission, was launched. During the trip, a photograph was taken of the Earth using a 70mm Hasselblad camera by crew member, Ron Evans or Harrison (Jack) Schmitt, known as "The Blue Marble". The photo is one of the most widely distributed photographic images in existence.


Before the Blue Marble a picture of the fully illuminated Earth by the ATS-3 satellite was used in 1968 by Stewart Brand for his Whole Earth Catalog, after campaigning since 1966 to have NASA release a then-rumored satellite image of the entire Earth as seen from space. He got inspired during an LSD trip, seeing a "psychedelic illusion" of the Earth's curvature, convincing him that a picture of the entire planet would change how humans related to it. He sold and distributed buttons for 25 cents each that asked: "Why haven't we seen a photograph of the whole Earth yet?"

The original images including AS17-148-22727 at 70mm Hasselblad Image Catalog

Apollo 17 in Real-time – The moment the Blue Marble photo was taken in the context of the rest of the Apollo 17 mission.


Dec 7, 2024: the 45th anniversary of the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

"The last shot to be filmed in principal photography for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991 was the final scene on the Enterprise-A bridge with Kirk and his crew. It was an emotionally-charged moment, and a lot of visitors gathered around the set Director Nick Meyer called for a wide shot of the set, taking in the entire cast. The camera pushed gently in to Kirk, who reflected pensively on the end of an era. After that, William Shatner remained in his captain's chair as he recorded his voice track for Kirk’s final log -- And that was it. The director said "cut!" and it was a wrap for Star Trek VI. Well, almost. The cast and crew gathered in front of the set for a champagne toast. Denise and I remained on the bridge for a few moments to absorb the ambience. Then Denise noticed a strange smell."


"One of the video monitors had overheated and caught fire! It was one of the screens directly behind the captain's chair. It was just a small flame, and I tried to smother it a blanket. Meanwhile, Denise alerted one of the special effects technicians, who grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the small fire out very quickly. No big deal. After the commotion died down, we joined our coworkers in toasting the completion of the film. Fri Dec 6, 2024, the 33rd anniversary of the release of Star Trek VI."

— Michael Okuda, graphic designer on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country


Trump attends Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris. Of course Elon came along. Did he bring X too?

Trump wearing a spiffy gold/yellow tie which in the elite circles represents perfection. He wore the same tie on his field trips to Europe during his first term. Big daddy is back.


CNN photos/Live updates


Looks like this was done out at Burning Man...


It's now at Tesla HQ Texas.

The Great Filter concept is a proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox, which asks, "Where is everybody?" in this vast, lonely universe. The idea is that there's some barrier or series of barriers that civilizations must overcome to achieve interstellar communication or expansion. If these filters are too tough, it could explain why we haven't met any aliens yet.



In today’s fawning tribute to the NYPD’s surveillance system, the paper celebrates surveillance and even laments that New York does not have enough. That’s the thrust of the entire article.


Detectives Scour Thousands of Hours of Video for Clues in C.E.O. Killing
There is not a single word or moment or expert in the article critiquing the vast expansion of government power and surveillance or the way it has shaped modern private individual life and liberty. Not a single word, source, quote, or expert is provided who can share with people the truth that with all their new technology, police have become far less effective at solving serious crime. By failing to ask questions or provide this info, NYT is able to avoid deep questions about multi-billion dollar global surveillance industry and who benefits and who is harmed by unprecedented expansion of surveillance. All portrayed as cool, slick, effective crime fighting.


No, not a flashback to the 1950s, but from today's edition of the UK Daily Mail...


Full Size Image
BIAD's shed is the safest place in all of England. It's true. I read about it once in the Daily Sheltered Mind's Mail!



Meanwhile, let's dance...
Dec 7, 1977: at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood: The premiere of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.




Saturday Night fever...



For when the world has abandoned you...


The brand was named after the USSR space dog Laika, the first animal launched into orbit. The cigarettes were produced under supervision of the Ministry of Food Industry. The cigarettes were mainly sold in the Soviet Union, but also in the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of Bulgaria and Finland as Duty Free variants.


Merry Rogue Christmas...