posted 02-26-2003 06:19 PM               

As to the Shuttle program, Bradbury describes it as going round and round and not getting anywhere. He wants to see us go to Mars and beyond. He doesn't like us being trapped within our own atmosphere and planet. I have a more exalted view of it. I see us doing the Shuttle to advance our knowledge and our skills in getting into and out of the atmosphere (the dangerous part). For me the next step is a space station (which we are building) where man will learn to live in space. I see a colony on the moon next, where we can learn about interaction and existence in space long-term and working on other surfaces. I see it as part of a stepping stone.

posted 02-26-2003 07:15 PM               

Only in the last decade, therabouts, has Ray decided to fly with the airlines, at least before his stroke. In fact, the first time he flew, his picture was in TIME Magazine, with a stewardess consoling him as he gripped the armrest of his seat, and tried to smile for the camera. Since working for Disneyland in Paris, he usually took the train ....from LA to New York, and then took the ....Concorde to Paris.

posted 02-26-2003 11:26 PM               

Ray never desired to drive a car once he saw someone killed by a car in a terribly messy accident. Ray was very young at the time, and that one event did it for him with cars. Ray depends greatly on LA taxis.

posted 02-27-2003 10:01 AM            

[IE, Recent days: - We had a 24 hr. ice storm come through last week. It has stayed well below freezing for the past several days. Now everything (and I mean "everything") is covered in crystal clear ice, an inch or two thick, with just the slightest powdering of snow added. This topping off the two feet of snow accumulated throughout the winter.

At 6:30 am the sun rises on my left and bathes the landscape in yellow, orange, and red - all sparkling off trees, bushes, hillsides, and road signs, too. By 4 pm as I return home, the sun (behind me) is going down somewhat. The ice covering now creates a prism effect on the countryside. It was absolutely brilliant yesterday. It's as if diamonds are blossoming everywhere and in the dead of winter! Pretty amazing!] Anyhow.....

On more than one occasion I have driven the East Coast from just below the Canadian border to the tip of Key West, FL. Twice around the magnificent Gaspie Penisula and through the pristine Maritime Isles. We've traversed our continent - through the Mid-west, over the Rockies, into the colorful Southwest and visited Mexico. A number of years ago we drove the winding roads of France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Each venture has left its impression, but "none" as treacherous as the two experiences on the "White-knuckle Express" known as the California Freeway! Five lanes wide, bumper to bumper, 75+ mph, cutting and slashing, then complete stops for blocks of time, to then begin the race again at break neck speeds.

To me, a novice at such transportation patterns, it appears to be an unofficial Nascar testing ground for would be racers. Or maybe, to qualify for admittance on the carnival bumper-car ride!

I was amazed at how many cars carried only one person, with the "pool" lane lonely yet wide open for business. LA, Paris, Rome, and Mexico City seem to have the same driving school certification requirements.

In any case, Mr. Bradbury - in not getting his license - again reveals his understanding of what it takes to live forever. The lose of his childhood friend left an impression that never waned as time passed. "The Crowd," I believe addressed some of the psychology beneath his views on this. Another (futuristic) interpretation of cars and their role in society is F. Leiber's "X-Marks the Pedwalk."

posted 03-30-2003 10:30 PM               

I am not a great teacher, but thinking is work. Learning is work. My fear is that we have substituted the speed of the internet for the depth of real research. Descartes warned us that a "rush to knowledge" would inevitably result in shallow thinking. Thinking and reflection take time. Often we have to read through tons of material in order to have the kind of pool of knowledge that allows us to make real judgements and assessments.

posted 03-31-2003 10:00 AM            

Before the weekend, I collected over 40 essays from 2 ninth grade classes: outlined, handwritten, proofed, re-written, and then double-spaced typed (500 words minimum). An illustration capturing the main conflict was also required.

They may not all be award winners, but they all were (hopefully!) challenging. I came in this morning and immediately was barraged with "Are our stories done yet?" So, maybe they did enjoy the work after all!

Topic of the essay: "The Illustration that was not revealed in I.M. collection" When they are corrected and returned, we read them orally in class. The students really rise to the occasion when asked to do so.

I agree. Years later when you hear from those you have influenced, it is worth all the effort and late hours. For those who contact you, there are always many more who feel the same but may not send a message.

posted 05-14-2003 07:05 PM               

"So beasts and fire that live beyond his lair /
Are drawn in science fictions everywhere. /
The walls are full of schemes that sum and teach, /
To help the apeman reach beyond his reach. /
While all his ape-companions laugh and shout: /
'What are those stupid blueprints all about?! /
Give up your science fictions, clean the cave!' /
But apeman knows his sketching chalk can save, /
And knowing, learning, moves him to rehearse /
True actions in the world . . ."

Pretty cool, huh?

posted 05-15-2003 07:24 AM               

Now that I think about it, I would imagine Ray doesn't even care whether it's true or not. He does fiction, after all. Also, he's a poet, so images are not meant to be taken literally, they are metaphors. The image is that mankind has always speculated about the future before taking action and that it will always be so, and that as a writer, he participates in that tradition. For him, science fiction is today's manifestation of the human urge to plot the future before engaging in it. The image, not the fact, is what is important to him. In this case, the image suits his purpose.

posted 05-22-2003 12:10 PM               

In "A Chapbook For Burnt-Out Priests, Rabbis, And Ministers". By Ray Bradbury. Cemetery Dance Publications, Baltimore, MD. 2001. P 21-22.