Monday, October 29. 2012
Elon Musk's Mission To Mars
How exactly is it that SpaceX can do everything so cheaply? Well, it would seem from this recent interview with Elon Musk that there are a couple of reasons in particular. The first being that there’s a tendency for big aerospace companies to outsource everything to subcontractors who then, bizarrely, outsource work to other subcontractors who subsequently - in what seems to be little more than an utter bureaucratic shambles by this point - outsource to other subcontractors and so on and so forth... ad nauseum. As one commenter aptly points out at the foot of this Wired article: "One reason for all that expensively administered subcontracting is that it pleases exactly those committees [who control NASA's funding]. The large projects they favor can subcontract in many different districts, whose congressmen then have a good reason to vote for NASA's budget. This means the committee members need not trade away any more of their political capital to get the projects that support contractors in their districts."
In short, SpaceX don't engage in this subcontracting farce but do it all themselves from the bottom up.
The other reason SpaceX can manufacture rockets so cheaply is to use an advanced welding technology called "stir welding" which can create as strong a structure as is currently manufactured using more conventional construction methods - but without the material wastage of machining thick aluminium plate. How can Elon tell us about this without generating competition from rival companies?
"The reason I can talk about it is that nobody else knows how to build a rocket this way," he laughs.
I have high hopes for Elon Musk and Space X despite some of his seemingly more outlandish pipe dreams like making a privately funded human trip to Mars possible. Is Elon Musk's head in the clouds? Hopefully, because that's the only sensible place to have it when talking about making humanity a multiplanetary species.
'When a man tells you about the time he planned to put a vegetable garden on Mars, you worry about his mental state. But if that same man has since launched multiple rockets that are actually capable of reaching Mars - sending them into orbit, Bond-style, from a tiny island in the Pacific - you need to find another diagnosis. That’s the thing about extreme entrepreneurialism: There’s a fine line between madness and genius, and you need a little bit of both to really change the world.
'All entrepreneurs have an aptitude for risk, but more important than that is their capacity for self-delusion. Indeed, psychological investigations have found that entrepreneurs aren’t more risk-tolerant than non-entrepreneurs. They just have an extraordinary ability to believe in their own visions, so much so that they think what they’re embarking on isn’t really that risky. They’re wrong, of course, but without the ability to be so wrong - to willfully ignore all those naysayers and all that evidence to the contrary - no one would possess the necessary audacity to start something radically new.' (Wired Science article).
Sunday, August 26. 2012
Space Pioneer Neil 'Balls Of Steel' Armstrong Dies
'Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died aged 82. The former US astronaut, who will go down on history as the most famous pioneer of space exploration, passed away as the result of heart complications following surgery.
'As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, he became the first person to set foot on the moon, on 20 July 1969, fulfilling the longheld dream of the United States to get there before the Soviet Union. His first words as he stepped on to the surface - "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" - instantly became one of the most recognisable phrases ever uttered.
'Armstrong underwent heart bypass surgery earlier this month, just two days after his birthday on 5 August, to relieve blocked arteries.
'His family released a statement on Saturday describing him as a "reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job".
'It read: "We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his nation proudly as a Navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut.' (Guardian article and CPA Australia video interview).
Monday, March 29. 2010
Scotsman Interview: Mark Beaumont
'Sometimes, you meet people who simply seem to "get" life better than the rest of us, who act as a reminder that being alive is more than simply continuing to breathe.
'They negotiate it like skilful acrobats on a high wire, exhilarated yet instinctively balanced, undaunted by the inevitable wobbles, and the remarkable thing is that their innate confidence is usually its own sure-footed reward.
'They are often achievers, yet somehow achievement is only a by-product of the way they live. It's their dreams that single them out. They scale the mountain of those dreams, reaching distant pinnacles, while the rest us stand muttering in the foothills that it's all right for them but we have responsibilities and proper jobs to get on with.
'Mark Beaumont is 27. Already he has set the record for cycling round the world (knocking 81 days off the previous time) and has just returned from a nine-month cycle across the Americas, from Alaska in the north to Argentina in the south. His route took him 13,000 miles through the Rockies and the Andes, stopping off to climb the two highest mountain peaks: Mount McKinley in the north and Aconcagua in the south. He also made a BBC documentary of his journey, the camera becoming his confidante during periods of intense isolation on remote roads and among Spanish-speaking communities.' (Scotsman interview).
Friday, January 8. 2010
Sitting Now Chats To Paraphilia Magazine
Ken Eakins of Right Where You Are Sitting Now has recently interviewed the editors of Paraphilia Magazine. Personally, I'd never heard of the magazine before, until I read this interview. What can I say? I've become an instant fan.
As Ken writes: "Paraphilia Magazine is one of those cool publications that you wished you’d stumble upon more often. A kind of art/avant/underground aggregator, published in a true magazine format, the mag is really coming into its own. I caught up with editors D.M. Mitchell and Dire McCain to get a bit more insight into the project." (Right Where You Are Sitting Now interview & Paraphilia Magazine website).
Note: right click and select "Save Target As" to download back issues...
Wednesday, January 28. 2009
Jim Elvidge: 'The Singularity Will Not Occur'
Jim Elvidge - author of The Universe - Solved! - returns to Red Ice Creations Radio to discuss the evidence that we might be living in a Programmed Reality, Infomania and the theory that the Technological Singularity will not occur.
Topics include: The Fine Tuned Universe, Reality Does Not Exist, Locality & Non-Locality, Quantum Mechanics, The Singularity, Ray Kurzweil, Jaron Lanier, Artificial Intelligence, Brain Computer Interfaces, Moore's Law, Information Consumption and much, much more. (Red Ice Creations podcast).
Tuesday, January 20. 2009
Disinformation: The Podcast - Stephen Fender
'Raymond Wiley and Joe McFall are the former co-hosts of Out There Radio, a 50 episode podcast of interviews and discussions covering topics related to the occult, conspiracy theory and the paranormal. Raymond and Joe have been in podcasting since 2005, having started Out There Radio shortly after they met and realized their shared interest in fringe topics.
'This episode features a conversation with Stephen Fender, author of 50 Facts That Should Change The U.S.A.' (Disinformation podcast).
Wednesday, December 24. 2008
Disinformation: The Podcast - Jim Marrs
'Raymond Wiley and Joe McFall are the former co-hosts of Out There Radio, a 50 episode podcast of interviews and discussions covering topics related to the occult, conspiracy theory and the paranormal. Raymond and Joe have been in podcasting since 2005, having started Out There Radio shortly after they met and realized their shared interest in fringe topics.'
On this conspiracy-laden episode Raymond and Joe feature an interview with Jim Marrs, author of Above Top Secret, as well as numerous other fortean bestsellers. Jim talks about many of the subjects covered in his books, and gives his insights into the ups and downs of the conspiracy subculture. (Disinformation podcast).
Sunday, November 30. 2008
Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Douglas Rushkoff
This week Ken Eakins, Claire Lumière and myself speak to author, professor and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff about advertising, the state of the economy, conspiracy culture, the next renaissance and his views on the recent U.S. election.
Doug was by far the most interesting interview for me to date and I was particularly interested to hear his honest opinions on how the current financial meltdown might affect this tragic society of consumers.
Thanks go out to Ken for asking me on board as co-host to his show once again, and for including me in this fascinating interview. (Right Where You Are Sitting Now podcast).
Sunday, November 23. 2008
Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Lon Milo DuQuette
Tuesday, November 18. 2008
Alan Moore Audio Interview (2007)
Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen and V For Vendetta.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium as well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes.
Moore is also a practicing magician who worships a Roman snake deity named Glycon which he acknowledges to be a "complete hoax". He describes his understanding of magick as fundamentally synonymous with art (the use of words, images, and actions to affect people and the way they think).
In this three part interview from 2007, Alex Fitch finds out Moore's opinions of magick, movies, comic books, and just what giant bald men in nappies had to do with American paranoia in 1950s movies. (Resonance FM audio stream part 1, part 2 & part 3).
Monday, November 10. 2008
Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Jonathan Downes
Jonathan Downes is a cryptozoologist, author, film-maker, journalist and musician, with a background in radical politics and mental health care.
In 1992 Downes founded the Centre for Fortean Zoology, arguably the world's largest cryptozoological research organization. He is vocal in his opinion that cryptozoology should not be considered to be a branch of paranormal research. Although he has written a number of books on UFOS and other Fortean subjects (sometimes in collaboration with his friend and colleague Nick Redfern), he considers cryptozoology to be a branch of mainstream zoology, rather than anything more esoteric.
Thanks to Ken Eakins for asking me to be the co-host in this interview and hopefully I'll be back for many others. As you will hear I'm still a bit of a novice with this podcasting business, but I'm going to persevere since I alway enjoy getting out of my comfort zone. (Right Where You Are Sitting Now podcast).
Monday, November 3. 2008
Phil Hine Audio Interview (1998)
Phil Hine is a well-known writer and occultist. He became known internationally through his written works Pseudonomicon, Condensed Chaos, Prime Chaos, as well as several essays on the topics of Chaos Magick and the Cthulhu Mythos.
Following his suggestion that Magick should be fun and based on whatever works, Hine shifts from semi-traditional Qabalistic ritual, to meditating on computer-programming-inspired flowcharts, to seemingly absurd Discordian rites. The thrust of his advice is for the magician to be creative with that which they find inspiring, and to modify it according to their needs.
Sit back and enjoy this hour long vintage interview with Hine from 1998. (Grevious Angel audio stream part 1, part 2 & part 3).
Monday, October 27. 2008
Disinformation: The Podcast - The Egypt Code
'Raymond Wiley and Joe McFall are the former co-hosts of Out There Radio, a 50 episode podcast of interviews and discussions covering topics related to the occult, conspiracy theory and the paranormal. Raymond and Joe have been in podcasting since 2005, having started Out There Radio shortly after they met and realized their shared interest in fringe topics.
'In the inaugural episode of Disinformation: The Podcast, Raymond and Joe speak with author Robert Bauval about his new book The Egypt Code.
'Robert Bauval is the author of The Orion Mystery and co-author, with Graham Hancock, of Talisman. His new book, The Egypt Code, explores the relationship between ancient Egyptian myth, ritual, architecture and astronomy.' (Disinformation podcast).
Wednesday, October 22. 2008
Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Austin Gandy
'In this week's show we chat with the fantastic Austin Gandy about the basics of Magick. Austin knows his subject and delivers the goods this week in another great interview. Fans of our friends Out There Radio will know Mr Gandy from his work on the "Invisible College" episode of the show, as well as being their guest for some of the best episodes. In this episode we look at the real basics of magick, as if the listener was a would-be adept, walking through their local occult bookstore, pondering where to get stuck in!' (Right Where You Are Sitting Now podcast).
Monday, October 13. 2008
Lester Bangs Interview
'Incredible 90 minute interview with legendary rock critic Lester Bangs from 1980. Lester speaks about factors within the music industry, New Wave, Punk, CBGB's & music journalism.
'Leslie Conway Bangs (December 13, 1948 - April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, author and musician. Most famous for his work at Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, Bangs was and still is regarded as an extremely influential voice in rock criticism.' (Interviews Archive audio stream part 1 & part 2).
Sunday, October 12. 2008
Ridley Scott Confirms He's Making Brave New World
Sunday, September 21. 2008
Bad Money
Friday, September 19. 2008
Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Raymond Wiley
Ken Eakins, of the excellent Right Where You Are Sitting Now website, interviews Raymond Wiley of Out There Radio fame about the culture of conspiracy belief and some of the lunacy, humour and seriousness that surrounds it.
If you don't know already - and you're getting withdrawl symptoms now that WUOG 's Out There Radio has come to an end - Raymond, along with his co-host, Joe McFall, are scheduled to return to the podcasting world very soon with a much anticipated new show under the banner of the renowned Disinformation Company. (Right Where You Are Sitting Now podcast).
Tuesday, July 15. 2008
Portrait Of A Mad Scientist
'I've never been so enamored with any character type as I have with the mad scientist. The shop, filled with inventions, doo-dads; explosions from nowhere send machinery flying while (s)he runs yelling equations to no-one. The wide-eyed ecstatic expression of pure insanity; the giant eyebrows. The filthy white lab coat. The giant gloves.
'With the exception of the gloves (and possibly the eyebrows), Alan Rorie is that taken from the best of these characters and put into rusty reality. A doctorate student at Stanford, he goes from the precision and white sterile walls of the laboratory to his grimy, rusty, enchantingly-cluttered shop at the west Oakland group art space NIMBY.' (Steampunk Workshop article).
Tuesday, July 8. 2008
Kevin Booth Interview
Sunday, April 27. 2008
Cheating The Ferryman
Saturday, March 29. 2008
Timothy Leary 1966 Radio Interview
'Psychedelic drugs are to the human mind today what the discovery of the microscope was to medicine and biological science three or four hundred years ago. Psychedelic drugs expand and speed up consciousness. They are going to bring about a tremendous change in our society, in our view of man and our way of life in the future.
'When you take LSD you do go on a trip. It’s a voyage. It’s the most ancient voyage that man has ever known, the one beyond your mind and your current tribal situation into the incredible possibilities which lie inside. So it’s a fair statement to say an LSD voyage is a trip.' (Matrix Masters audio stream).
Wednesday, March 26. 2008
Are We Living In A Simulation?
Wednesday, March 19. 2008
Occult Of Personality: Lon Milo DuQuette
'Lon Milo DuQuette is one of the pre-eminent occult writers and speakers of modern times. His work spans the subjects of Tarot, Ceremonial Magick, Qabalah, and Religion. He injects insight, understanding, humanity, and humour into his work that makes it both enlightening and joyous.'
The conversation covers his research into the mythological King Solomon and the secrets of Masonry, the Thoth Tarot, Solomonic Magick, Qabalah, and the crucial concept of making your life Magical but not making Magick your life. (Occult Of Personality podcast).
Monday, March 10. 2008
Untamed Dimensions: Edgar Mitchell
Famed NASA astronaut and cosmic explorer, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, joins Adam Gorightly to discuss Samadhi, quantum physics and life after space.
Mitchell was selected to be an astronaut in 1966 and was seconded from the Navy to NASA. He was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10 and flew as LM pilot on Apollo 14. Together with Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard he holds the record for the longest ever moonwalk (9 hours and 17 minutes) and travelled further on the surface than anyone else. Apollo 14 was his only spaceflight.
Ed Mitchell remained with NASA until he retired from the Navy in 1972. (Untamed Dimensions podcast).
Monday, March 3. 2008
Occult Of Personality: Greenfield On Gnosticism
Allen Greenfield returns to the show to talk with Greg about Gnostic history and philosophy. The conversation covers the definition of Gnosis and Gnostic, the history of ancient sects, the philosophy through the ages, modern permutations of the Gnostic doctrine, and Dr. Greenfield’s own personal lineage. Notable points include differing perspectives on the concept of the Demiurgus and the resultant differences in the views on body and spirit, the secret societies and esoteric orders that have carried the Wisdom, and Apostolic succession. (Occult Of Personality podcast).
Wednesday, January 16. 2008
Occult Of Personality: Our Gods Wear Spandex
In this episode of Occult Of Personality, Greg is joined by Christopher Knowles, author of a fascinating and beautifully illustrated new book entitled Our Gods Wear Spandex.
Subtitled 'The Secret History Of Comic Book Heroes', Christopher explains how the ideas contained and promoted in the comic book medium can be directly traced to esoteric and occult concepts.
Yet another informative and compelling episode. (Occult Of Personality podcast).
Friday, December 28. 2007
Raymond Wiley On The Invisible Web
Tuesday, December 11. 2007
Jimmy Page Talks Magick
Here's an excerpt from an interview in the new Guitar World magazine (courtesy of lashtal.com):
(Guitar World) Could we talk a little about the meaning behind your sequence [in The Song Remains The Same]?
(Page) To me, the significance is very clear, isn’t it?
(GW) Well, I find it interesting that you were choosing to represent yourself as a hermit at a time when you were really quite a public figure.
(Page) Well, I was hermetic. I was involved in the hermetic arts, but I wasn’t a recluse. Or maybe I was... The image of the hermit that was used for the [inside cover] art-work on Led Zeppelin IV and in the movie actually has it’s origins in a painting of Christ called The Light of the World by the pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt. The imagery was later transferred to the Waite tarot deck [the most popular tarot deck in use in the English-speaking world]. My segment was supposed to be the aspirant going to the beacon of truth, which is represented by the hermit and his journey toward it. What I was trying to say through the transformation was that enlightenment can be achieved at any point in time; it just depends on when you want to access it. In other words you can always see the truth, but do you recognize it when you see it or do you have to reflect back on it later?
(GW) There was always a certain amount of speculation about your occult studies. It may have been subtle, but you weren’t really hiding it.
(Page) I was living it. That’s all there is to it. It was my life - that fusion of magick and music.
(GW) Your use of symbols was very advanced. The sigil [symbols of occult powers] on Led Zeppelin IV and the embroidery on your stage clothes from that time period are good examples on how you left your mark on popular culture. It’s something that major corporations are aggressively pursuing these days: using symbols as a from of branding.
(Page) You mean talismanic magick? Yes, I knew what I was doing. There’s no point in saying about it, because the more you discuss it, the more eccentric you appear to be. But the facts is - as far as I was concerned - it was working, so I used it. But it’s really no different then people who wear ribbons around their wrists: it’s a talismanic approach to something. Well let me amend that: it’s not exactly the same thing, but it is in the same realm. I’ll leave this subject by saying the four musical elements of Led Zeppelin making a fifth is magick into itself. That’s the alchemical process.
Friday, October 26. 2007
Untamed Dimensions: Alexandra 'Chica' Bruce
Chica returns once again to Adam Gorightly's show to discuss quantum physics, metaphysics, Tibetan vampirism, UFOs and The Montauk Mythos, along with many other strange and interesting things. (Untamed Dimensions podcast).