Tony Island Blog - Sane Thoughts for an Insane World

Welcome to my blog! This week's Moon Landing - 40th Anniversary selection is: Alan Bean: Painting Apollo . Since this book will be released on July 6, 2009, there's not too much information except for what Amazon.com has listed: "Alan Bean and his astroartistry recreate the drama and excitement of man's exploration of the moon as could only be chronicled by one who had been there." It sounds like an interesting book - and definitely a different perspective from other Moon books being released. Hopefully there will be some good reviews closer to its release. So, what do you think of this week's selection? Sound interesting? Let us know by leaving comments below! Thanks for reading my blog and Follow this Blog!

Welcome to my blog! This week's Moon Landing 40th Anniversary selection is Ron Howard's Apollo 13 . The movie recounts the edge-of-your-seat story of Apollo 13's aborted mission to the Moon when its oxygen tanks explode. The 3 man crew survives its return to Earth with limited water and heat. A complete synopsis of the movie, along with various facts including where the movie took "dramatic license" , can be found on its Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13_(film) The movie was released, on DVD, several times over the past several years, including a Widescreen Collector's edition and a 2-disc Anniversary edition. While it was released on the now abandoned HD-DVD format, it has yet to be released on Blu-Ray. Have you seen Apollo 13? Thoughts? Comments? Leave them below! Thanks for reading my blog and Follow this blog!

Welcome to my blog! I recently saw the General Motors TV commercial below. It explains what the New GM is going to be about. I thought it was well done. I am hoping that GM emerges from bankruptcy a strong competitive company. Some of the cars they have on tap look interesting - I hope they all see the light of day. And I hope that they get back to being a shareholder owned company. It was a sad day when GM got delisted from the stock exchanges. I won't get into my thoughts here on the whole American auto industry. I'll let the video speak for itself. What did you think? Good, bad or indifferent - leave your comments below. Thanks for reading my blog and Follow this blog!

Welcome to my blog! This week's recommended Moon Landing 40th Anniversary selection is Andrew Chaiken's A Man on the Moon . This 720 page paperback book covers the Apollo Moon missions and was the basis for last week's recommended selection HBO's From the Earth to the Moon miniseries. Chaiken spent a decade writing this book, interviewing all 24 moonwalkers plus numerous others involved in getting man to the moon. The book is nicely illustrated with many black & white and color photos from the era. There was an earlier release of this book - a beautiful 3 volume hardcover in a slipcase. Sadly, that version is no longer available (though you can check used book sources). Have you read this or a similar book? Leave some comments below and let us know! Thanks for reading my blog and Follow this blog!

Welcome to my blog! In less than a month, I will hit my mid-40s - the proverbial "mid life crisis". I'm already cranky and look back more than I look ahead. I do find society to be rather crass - I work among the public every day and see just how self-centered we as a society have become. It's all about "me" and what can you do for "me"? There's no chivalry in every day interactions. Kids are even worse - there's just no standard being set for them by their parents. I find I am losing touch with the latest in technology - even though at one time I was a programmer and had my eyes and ears open to what was happening in the industry. I had a previous blog entry about Facebook/My Space, but I can easily write about iPods and iPhones (though I am impressed by the iPhone commercials highlighting some of the apps available) being beyond me and my needs. I barely had time to embrace Web 1.0 before they started foisting Web 2.0 on me. All my favori...

Welcome to my blog! On July 20, 2009, we'll be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the first Moon landing. I thought it would be nice, every week, to highlight books, DVDs, etc. that capture those magical days of the Apollo moon missions. This week's entry is the highly recommended Tom Hanks' HBO production From the Earth to the Moon . This is a 12 hour miniseries covering the Apollo missions. I saw it when it was first released on DVD. I remember it being very well done (it was nominated for 17 Emmys, winning 3, including Best Mini-Series). I found it very emotional - for some reason, I'd get choked up watching it. I should watch it again soon... One thing to be aware of: HBO released this twice - once in 1998 as a four disc collector's edition and again in 2005 as a 5 disc Signature Edition. While the Signature edition's fifth disc does have some impressive featurettes (I have the original release so have not seen this disc), HBO remastered the episodes themse...

Welcome to my blog! Well, it's a long weekend here in the United States - the unofficial beginning of the summer season (which will end unofficially Labor Day weekend in September). Monday is Memorial Day - a national holiday we set aside to remember the dead, especially those who died in the armed forces serving our country, from major conflicts like World War II to anti-terrorist strikes in Afghanistan and peacekeeping in Iran. There is a White House Commission on Remembrance which is tasked as follows: "The White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance was established by Congress as an independent government agency. The Commission encourages Americans to honor the sacrifices of America’s fallen and the families they left behind. It promotes acts of remembrance throughout the year and asks Americans to pay our debt of gratitude in memory of our fallen by giving something back to the Nation.The Commission is also tasked to unite the country in the National Mom...