The Eagle Has Landed

While I'm sure I do many things that, entirely by accident, really annoy people [I must do these things by virtue of the fact that I really don't have friends]...but then, sometimes to be extra obnoxious - I do stuff that I know will really annoy people. When I was little and I found out about the Flat Earth Society, I decided that it would be fun to annoy people by becoming a member [I carried the card for years]. Of course I believed that the Earth is not flat, but saying otherwise was simply irresistible. I found that it really wound people up. I began investigating other claims that could both fire people up and "discovered" the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories [I was a Kennedy fan from age ten] and the moon landing hoax business. Jackpot. These were both things I could investigate and defend with some degree of plausibility. Heck, I was known to be a pretty smart kid and people did listen to what I had to say - I felt the need to take advantage of that a little bit. And so it goes - for the past two decades I've been spouting off about these two subjects. But do I believe?

It's possible that, like The X-Files, "I Want To Believe" but I'm still not sure that I do. I experience great difficulty with any sort of leap of faith - I am the consummate Doubting Thomas and I need proof eight ways from Sunday about everything [also I'm paranoid to believe super crazy things - it's a dangerous mix]. But conspiracy theories are attractive because we don't like to accept simple truths - we see an arguably great man like Kennedy fall and it seems impossible that an inconsequential little man like Oswald could have done it. But, that's the thing about life - stuff like that happens all the time - on much less grand scales, yes...but it happens. It provides a sense of comfort to think that there is something more grandiose going on and it makes you feel clever for being part of the whole puzzling out of such a great mystery. It's also a bit scary - but I think that people like to be freaked out and tricked...provided they can figure it out.

Setting aside the Kennedy conspiracies [which, thanks to all of my "research" I really have my doubts about what went on...and why] - today is the big 40th anniversary of the moon landing. As previously mentioned, I used to be quite into space-related stuff, so obviously I got a lot information directly from the source while @ Space Camp/Academy for my moon landing hoax theories. It made me seem much more official in my nutty ramblings. I think that the moon landing is a tremendous human accomplishment - one of our greatest. I think the more I've learned about it, the more impressed I am...however, that does make me think that it's wildly impossible that it happened. And yet, something of this magnitude would require too many people for a cover-up - that many people can't stay quiet for too long. And besides, even if it *is* all an elaborate hoax - I think it's best to leave it along. It's a fantastic achievement - even if it's just a myth - there is much value in the myth.

[if you ever get a chance - you should totally see Dark Side of the Moon - it's a spoof documentary on the moon landing hoax. it's amazing and has donald rumsfeld and everything. if possible, watch it with someone who doesn't know its a spoof documentary and let the LOLs flow freely.]