Topic: The Moon. Harsh Mistress or Way, Way Out? Discuss

If you follow my author Facebook page, you may have noticed a Candorville cartoon I posted on 3/25.  And here it is again:


Pay particular attention to panel three where Lemont says, “Why don’t we have cities on the moon by now? We can do it.”Much to my chagrin, I’m resigned to the fact there will not be a moon base during my lifetime… and there should have been! (I suppose I still have an outside chance if: 1. The Chinese do it. 2. Some billionaire who thinks they can make some big bucks by building a moon hotel does it. or 3. Medical science has some breakthroughs that extend life expectancy well beyond 100 years.)So… who out there picked up the references from this blog title? (I’ll wait while you go back to read it.) Did I hear someone shout out “Robert Heinlein”? Very good. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, written by Heinlein in 1966 (his 4th and final Hugo Award winner, 1967) took place on a very extensive moon colony in roughly 2075. Heinlein’s earlier works hinted at a moonbase in the 1980s. We missed that one, and I’m pretty sure that even if there is some kind of ‘base’ on the moon by 2075, it won’t be nearly as extensive as the one Heinlein imagined.Second reference? Anyone? Any guesses? (sound of crickets chirping) No? Probably a little too obscure. The only thing in common is the moonbase and the year 1966. The second reference is to a Jerry Lewis movie I saw as a kid: Way, Way Out. I’m sure if I ever see it again that I’d dismiss it as cheesy. (you’re following these moon references and asides aren’t you?) As a preteen, I was pretty impressed. What’s not to love? Rockets, spacesuits, moonbases, Russians (cold war… look it up if you’re too young to know what that is), and {sigh} Connie Stevens ! I had a major kid-crush on Cricket Blake.

(Something else for you to look up. Hint. Hawaiian Eye on imdb.com). Of course there was that titillating bit about sex-on-the-moon! (Off camera, of course, but I seem to remember Ms. Stevens and co-star Anita Ekberg in some racy lingerie… you know, I’ll bet it wasn’t that racy… I was a kid!).So, there we are. The moon. Serious sci-fi and silly sit-com. And I loved it! Maybe that’s why I featured a bit about Apollo 11 in my first book, and mentioned it again in the second one. But more likely, it’s because I grew up in a decade when it seemed real, seemed possible.

Take a look/listen to this youtube clip:

If you didn’t get a chill at the 1:45 mark, then you can’t possibly understand what I’m ranting about.

♪♫♪Press your space face close to mine, love♪♫♪

♪♫♪Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah♪♫♪