Yesterday was a good day.
Made a tremendous dent in the laundry pile and got a respectable amount of sorting and putting away of stuff in the bedrooms.
When the kids came home, we'd planned to hit cheap night at the movies to see "The Astronaut Farmer". Since the next showing was still three hours away, Avindair and I went over to Pioneer Midwest in Osseo to finally get me my very own cross country ski set! I'd been renting for 1-1/2 seasons, and it was time to make the leap. We got in on their fantastic seasonal clearance sale - most items 40% off or more - and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable.
After the purchase, we had just enough time to grab a quick dinner, change into all of the new gear and hit the trails at Elm Creek Park Reserve. What a difference! Let it be known that I am not a talented cross country skier, but I am determined. With the rental skis I essentially trudged all 2.5 k. With the new, light, waxed skis, the trail was half the work with twice the fun. So worth it!
Since I didn't have to take the time for ski rental pick up and drop off, we got home with half an hour to spare before the movie. We had plenty of time to get changed, load the NerdPod into the NerdVan, and make it to the theater.
"The Astronaut Farmer", starring Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen, is one of those feel-good films you can take everyone to see. Charles Farmer, an aeronautical engineer, Air Force pilot, and space program candidate, is forced to give up his dreams of going into space to due to a tragic family event. He spends the next decade building his own rocket, and enlists the help of his wife and kids to make his dreams come true. A great, warm-hearted family film, "The Astronaut Farmer" is one of determination, inspiration, and love. The science is iffy, but it's the story that will draw you in. Want a movie that you can walk away from with a smile? "The Astronaut Farmer" is the one to see.
Not a bad day. Not a bad day, at all...
8 comments:
Oh, I MUST see "The Astronaut Farmer"!
I was talking excitedly with a former B-52 ECW operator at work last week, and we concur: "I don't care if it gets some details wrong, I wanna see a guy launch an Atlas-Mercury out of a fracking barn!"
Rick --
I liked The Astronaut Farmer, but the science is really, really bad. And, honestly, the effects shots were quite disappointing.
Thing is, the movie isn't about FX, or even going into space. It's about living your life to the fullest. With an enormous rocket in your barn.
The phrases "an enormous rocket in your barn" and "your barn door is open" just meshed in my brain.
I think I hear Beavis and Butthead laughing.
Is the science Armageddon bad? 'cause if it is, I'll stay away.
Rick --
Sadly, it's close. :(
i loved it. a fun , emotional rocket ride. it's not rocket science, but i totally believed it...
Anon --
Thanks! Who are you??? :-)
GG
Anon --
I loved the movie. I particularly liked how it made the idea of riding the rocket scary, which is exactly what it should have been.
My problems -- and this is the aviation / space nerd in me showing now -- were these:
SPOILERS AHEAD!
1. In order to communicate with a ship on orbit, you need relay stations all over the planet, or a satellite relay system. A guy with a HAM radio in a trailer just won't cut it.
2. The Atlas rocket -- which Farmer used as a template -- was essentially an inflated aluminum balloon. Yep, it was that thin. So when the rocket fell on its side it should have just blown up.
The reason I can't hand-wave that away is that the reason it was so thin was to keep weight down to reach orbit. Since he built the rocket with boneyard technology, I'm guessing his engines weren't powerful enough to compensate for extra weight.
3. You need to keep orbit-worthy spacecraft at least three miles away from people on launch. Not because of the fire -- though that's a risk -- but because of the SOUND. NASA regularly dumps thousands of gallons of water below the launch pads to do nothing more than deaden the noise hitting the crowd three miles away.
Farmers family would have been turned to jelly by the noise of that launch.
4. The propellants used to launch vehicles are generally Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Nitrogen. You don't fill those quickly. They take time. So the speed-fill bugged me, too.
I get why some of these choices were made. It's more visually interesting to have an Atlas in a barn next to a house, rather than a grain silo a few miles away. The story wouldn't have been served well if Farmer had launched too far from town. But I still think it would have been cool -- and would have really served the story -- had he enlisted a network of other "dreamers" to act as his Internet-coordinated mission control to keep his communications going and his flight safe. That would have been a little more believable, and a lot more interesting.
All things being said, I enjoyed the film. I just cringed at the actual flight.
Av
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