I Report Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

The Adventures of Hick Johnson Space Cowboy

10 years in the making. Many different locations. Many different age changes. Cheesy special effects. But hey, it's finished.

CNN I REPORT

Here is another story I made for I Report on CNN. Take a look.

I REPORT

Of Earth and Space

When I read I read to escape. There is a place that I love to escape to and that is Middle Earth. I love the tales of the beginning, and the battles that took place to keep Middle Earth alive and ready for the first born. I love knowing the different roles the Elves and Men play in the History of Middle Earth. I laughed when I found out why the Dwarfs were created. Where does good come from and why does evil fight it? All of these questions are answered in The Silmarillion. I may have never read this book but Mandi picked it up at the Library for $1.00 because it looked like an interesting book. Little did she know that it was the first American edition. It's been sitting on our shelf for years now and it wasn't until recently that I had a fixation with Lord of the Rings. I was happy to find out that Utah Valley University has a Tolkien Literature class. I am to start this Wednesday.


My other fixation is with the realities in space travel and the what-ifs? Now I wont give much away but in 2010 the story continues where 2001 left off. We find out what happens to Dave Bowman and we return to the spaceship Discovery and the Monolith suspended between Jupiter and one of its moons. Something incredible happens in our own solar system and man is to machine as God is to man. I will say no more.
I realize there is much debate on weather or not space travel is worth the risk of human life and our hard earned money. After all the nearest star is 4.21 light years away and we do not have the technology to get there. But if we continue to say this and not try the technology will never come. You build on previous technology step by step to get to the impossible. Gliders, airplanes, rockets, spaceships, light speed...

Neville

Neville is doing great. He loves sunflower seeds, running in his ball and climbing through his tubes. He is our little ball of joy :)

California

Well it's been a month since we've been home from California and I think it's about time I post some pictures from our 9 day trip for those of you who do not have facebook. To say the least, it was awesome, awesome, AWESOME! If you want more pictures and better quality go to my photo bucket album here http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s107/jeffreyroot/

No Hope For NASA

I must vent about something I have always found very important to this country and that is our space program NASA. In 2004 President Bush had a vision of making a new crew vehicle and sending astronauts to the moon. The only problem is NASA was expected to do this with insufficient funding. Now President Obama expects NASA to fulfill this vision and in the process congress will cut $26 billion of NASA's budget between 2010 and 2020.

Here we have 2 presidents who will throw money out to save failed banks, car companies and wars that have no return on the tax payers investment. Nothing at all to show for it but a deep pit full of debt and inflation.

With all of that money we could have sent humans to Mars probably a couple dozen times or even to the farthest planets in our solar system. But instead NASA receives about 1% of the national budget and is expected to do the impossible. I could go on and on but you get the picture.

The King Of Pop Is Dead!

Like older generations remember when the King of Rock and Roll died, our generation will remember when the King of Pop died. I was on my way to my sisters wedding when I heard the news. It just seams so odd when it happens out of the blue. I remember playing the thriller album on record all the time when I was growing up. We used to watch the making of thriller all of the time. I actually pulled the VHS out of the food storage room last night to watch it. I remember Krystal and Bobby performing Beat it in our dining room when we were kids. In fact, we have it on tape. I remember Bobby wearing his Michael Jackson shirt everywhere he went. I used to pretend I was Michael Jackson and dance around the house and pretend to moonwalk. The man had some of the most incredible music this world has heard and he was and may always will be the greatest dancer who ever walked this planet.

It is sad to see someone ruined by a sue happy nation. It is easy to accuse someone who is so vulnerable because of his image, personality and money. I have to go on believing his is an innocent man until he is proven guilty. When a family of a molested boy takes money over the future of child safety it brings up a lot of questions on whether the allegations were true.

I also bet you didn't know Michael was a great tap dancer. Watch about half way through this video.



Here are some quotes from other artists about Michael Jackson.

“Oh, God! That boy moves in a very exceptional way. That’s the greatest dancer of the century”. - Fred Astaire

“I didn’t want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was. Thank you Michael!”- Fred Astaire (shortly before his death)

“The only male singer who I’ve seen besides myself and who’s better than me – that is Michael Jackson.” – Frank Sinatra


Here are some personal quotes from Michael Jackson.

"People think they know me, but they don't. Not really. Actually, I am one of the loneliest people on this earth. I cry sometimes, because it hurts. It does. To be honest, I guess you could say that it hurts to be me."

"I'll always be Peter Pan in my heart."

"I have spent my entire life helping millions of children across the world. I would never harm a child. It is unfortunate that some individuals have seen fit to come forward and make a complaint that is completely false. Years ago, I settled with certain individuals because I was concerned about my family and the media scrutiny that would have ensued if I fought the matter in court. These people wanted to exploit my concern for children by threatening to destroy what I believe in and what I do. I have been a vulnerable target for those who want money."

"There is a lot of sadness in my past life. My father beat me. It was difficult to take being beaten and then going on stage. He was strict; very hard and stern."

Today is the day I said goodbye to my 1965 Volkswagen Beetle. I've been through a lot with this car. A couple of breakdowns with duct tape repairs and a full body off restoration. In the end, it was a new vehicle that caught my attention and also the opportunity to pay off my credit cards. "Dude" you will be sadly missed.

San Rafael Swell and Eardley Canyon

Over the weekend I took a trip with my brothers to the San Rafael Swell to do a tech hike and rappel in Eardley Canyon. The hike was beautiful but kicked everyones butt because you must first hike 1100 feet up before you descend. Definitely a one timer but it was fun. We also found the perfect camping spot with trees in the desert for shade. We also took a trip to Goblin Valley while we waited for Russell. We kicked the football around to give us a hiking direction. It's nice to get away even if it is for just a weekend