Hyperion

I came home and National Geographic was showing a bit on Ancient Astronauts, Van Danniken and all. They do a lot of these kinds of shows!! Last night it was crop circles. The question with that one should be what is compelling the crop circle makers. Is it just the fun of making a hoax? Do they know themselves?? Sheesh...what compels me to Blogg!!??

Anyway, a long time ago, on old GEnie, I posted a notion about a giant snowball in space. I thought of it as a habitat for a space station. The surface would be frozen, but inside it would be liquid, and the techniques of undersea habitats would come into play. I think it would work, the surface would be translucent enough for things to grow and live in the liquid water...oh, I had dolphins swimming about in this planetoid made of ice and water.

But on old GEnie I got poo pooed because it was said water in space would just evaporate away. I still, to this day, do not know what exactly happens to water, say. in orbit around the earth. I thought back then that distance from the sun would play a big part, and there would be some kind of horizon orbit from the sun where water would freeze solid and stay so. Clearly comets have water...

And here today on MSN news is the story of Saturn's moon Hyperion. I add it to my Snowball lore.

Hyperion's place in the Greek pantheon is worth a read...see Wiki. And let me go find Keats...


Hyperion Book 1st
Deep in the shady sadness of a Vale,
Far sunken from the healthy breath of Morn,
Far from the fiery noon, and Eve's one star,
Sat grey hair'd Saturn quiet as a stone,
Still as the silence round about his Lair.
Forest on forest hung above his head,
Like Cloud on Cloud. No stir of air was there,
Not so much life as on a summer's day
Robs not at all the dandelion's fleece:
But where the dead leaf fell, there did it rest.
A stream went voiceless by, still deadened more
By reason of his fallen divinity
Spreading a shade: the Naiad mid her reeds
Press'd her cold finger closer to her lips.

Hyperion
John Keats


Is that all there is, of this Epic?? Bit like the John Muir trail hikers that only get as far a Vernal Bridge!!

I'm contemplating doing the trail...it would take two weeks and all my vacation time. But the Hoffman hike was exhausting because of the heat...I'm still dehydrated. And I can visit with family and friends, go places with them...if I stay in the Valley. And explore the Tuolumne trails I haven't been on. The latter is an opportunity I have now, and may not later. so it's on deck.

Almost forgot to watch PBS 1812 Overture.

Oh, here's a bit...

quote

Keats's first book, Poems, was published in 1817. Sales were poor. He spent the spring with his brother Tom and friends at Shankin. It was about this time Keats started to use his letters as the vehicle of his thoughts of poetry.

unquote

Keats, of course, had TB.

The Dolphin widget came back...have a look.

DavidDavid
Tree in the Door
July 4, 2007