The Sheila Variations

Comments open now - sorry to those (Bren) who had commented - I accidentally pressed "Delete all" when the 4 spams came in.

What's the Apollo 13 documentary?

I'm a little bit obsessed with the space program (well, mainly with the golden age of Mercury through Apollo - my earliest childhood memory is Armstrong on the Moon), so I'm always looking for new stuff to read or see...

Chris - !!!! It;s called To the Edge and Back - and it's what Ron Howard saw one day and thought: I need to make a movie of that. Most of his film (all the mission control stuff, all that) is taken from this doc. It came out in ... 1993? 1994? Bah, I have no idea ... but I remember watching it with my parents and being RIVETED. Especially with the part about the guys who had to "make the filter" for the CO2 ... Oh my gosh!! They talk to all the real guys ... it's just amazing. And Gene Krantz - one of my personal idols - chokes up with tears when he remembers seeing that they made it thru the blackout period, and were plummeting into the Pacific. This big tough guy ... totally UNABLE TO SPEAK.

You might have already seen it .. but if you haven't - it's a must see! I bought it and it just arrived today - can't wait!! I'm still doing laundry, and having scotch - and reading Thomas Jefferson - I'll probably pop the doc. in around 9 or so.

Great documentary!!

No, haven't seen that one. I'll be on the lookout for it. In the meantime, I think I might find myself watching an episode of "From the Earth to the Moon" when I get back from the gym!

I have a better book for you on Apollo 13 - the one that Jim Lovell himself wrote - back before the movie came out it was called "Lost Moon." LOVED that book. Is where I developed a mini-crush on Gene Kranz. Its SCARY how close Ed Harris looks like him in the movie. But "Lost Moon" is a "blow-by-blow" account of Apollo 13's journey - right down to that bit you see in the movie where Jim Lovell is being interviewed about how he's gotten out of scrapes before and talks about how his map-light went out thus allowing him to see the churned up phosphorescence in the water (something you learn in the book: he wasnt supposed to have that maplight in the cockpit with him).

Anyway, it might have been retitled "Apollo 13" but I like the title "Lost Moon" better.

One of these days Im gonna get that baby autographed (if I ever hear of him coming to the Space Center again)

Kranz and Lovell do a sort of tag-team lecture together about Apollo 13, which I got to see at Purdue last year. VERY cool. I was hoping to get my books autographed, but no such luck.

To The Edge and Back is a good show. I'm currently waiting on a 3-disc set from Blockbuster called "Apollo 13: The Real Story". Unfortunately, it's listed as "very long wait".

Sharon - I have heard great great things about Lost Moon - thanks for the reminder. I would love to read it. Every interview I've seen with Jim and Marilyn Lovell just so impresses me - with who they are, their honesty, their ability to articulate what it was like ... I just love them for it.

On the recent anniversary DVD of Apollo 13 - they do a commentary track of the whole film. Haven't listened to it yet but I am really excited to hear about it.

Funny thing: member the scene where she loses her wedding ring down the drain on the morning of the launch? Ron Howard said he was criticized for how "over the top" that was - but that it was based entirely on Marilyn Lovell's account of that day. She's interviewed in the documentary (on the DVD) and she said that yes, it did happen - she never ever took her rings off, and had never before lost it - until that morning. She had tried to keep her superstitions to herself (the number 13, all that) ... and the wedding ring moment threatened to put her over the edge.

I will definitely check out Lovell's book.

And I have a HUGE crush on Gene Kranz myself. What a guy.

Clayton - wow!! I would so love to attend such a lecture - do they "tour"? Any way I can find out if they would be doing such a thing in my area? I would love to see that!!

Sheila... if you ever come to Chicago to visit, Lovell has a restaurant up by where Rick works (Lovell's, I believe) and there is a TON of memorabilia on display. It's geek-tastic... and I mean that in the best possible way. I would love to go back and spend more time gawking at it all!

It doesn't look like they tour, unfortunately. When I saw them, they were the guest speakers at my dad's college alumni event. I had the impression that it was something they had done together before, not just a one-off deal, but as for when they might be doing it again...? I found a site that lists astronauts' upcoming appearances, so maybe you can keep an eye out there. As of now, it doesn't show them appearing together any time in the next year, though.

http://www.collectspace.com/sightings/home.html

When Dad told me about the event, he said "I don't know which, yet, but the speaker will be either Neil Armstrong, or Gene Kranz and Jim Lovell. Do you want to go?" You know, like he thought I might NOT want to... :)