Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of MAKE, says:
The romance of being an astronaut took two hard blows to the mid-section. First, astronaut Lisa Nowak who flew on the Discovery space shuttle in 2006 was arrested on Monday and charged with attempted murder. She had gone to the home of an Orlando woman who was her rival for the affections of another astronaut, William "Billy-O" Oefelein. She threatened the woman with a BB gun and pepper spray. Is this any way to act for a married mother of three, let alone an astronaut?Judging from Nowak's before and after photos, she, like the Mooninite hoaxers, could be expected to hold a press conference tomorrow to talk about hair.
Second was the sordid detail that Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando wearing a diaper so that she didn't have to stop for bathroom breaks. Some reports added one extra detail that astronauts wear diapers routinely during lift-off and re-entry. Surely, this was sufficient to dispel any remaining romantic notions of being an astronaut. On Apollo missions, I recall how the space capsule fell into the Pacific Ocean and Navy frogmen would swim up to the capsule and open the door. I never before had to think about the smell inside there. I can't help of thinking of the astronauts as triplets sharing a crib.
What will little girls now dream of becoming when they grow up?
(What would Silvan Tomkins have said about these before and after photos? — Mark)
Previously on Boing Boing:
• Jilted, diapered astronaut planned to kidnap rival
Reader comment:
Jon says:
I've become a daily reader of boingboing (even before the political blogs and weather). So first, thanks for the brilliant blog – boing-boing and makezine have been a source of great inspiration.
One comment on the astronaut story: I was, in an earlier life, a prosecutor. The circumstances of booking photos are controlled by the people who control the arrest (cops and prosecutors, prison officials in some places). And while the facts of this case as alleged are horrific – the photo on right gives rise to at least two sets of inferences:
– astronaut is/was strung out, tired, upset etc.
– astronaut, after being arrested, interrogated, deprived of sleep, clothes confiscated (and in this case, news reports indicate that the clothes and wig are, in fact, seized as evidence) – and then shoved in front of the camera.
Compare to, e.g., photos of well-connected people who arrange surrenders with their lawyers (Lewis Libby, Martha Stewart) – they don't look so unappetizing, upset, so guilty.
It's not unheard of for the authorities to manipulate the taking of these photos so that they're particularly unflattering.
I mean this only as a note about interpretation – not at all a criticism of your work.
With best regards, and many thanks for boingboing.
