The Katy Perrys go to space!

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billvon

Valued Senior Member
Saw the Katy Perrys who flew on Blue Origin the other day. And my first thought was "that's cool." I thought about William Shatner taking that flight, who came back with a very new view of the Earth and the people who live there. And it would be great if people like Katy Perry had a similar epiphany because celebrities have a larger stage than most people. And if that means more people get excited about space exploration, or STEM, or even seeing the world as Shatner now sees it - that's a good thing.

But then the social media circle jerk started, and the conspiracists got a hold of it. And the Katy Perrys, never ones to shy from the spotlight, started announcing that she and her fellow astronauts were advancing all of womankind and doing science experiments during their space exploration mission. And apparently there's a conspiracy theory from the Flat Earthers that they didn't really go to space; that mannequins made the flight because no one can leave the Earth or something. And the celebrity haters are condemning them, and the Katy Perry fans are angrily defending her heroic flight.

So now a simple ride on a rocket has become a huge stink. I guess that's the way of the world.
 
billvon said:
Saw the Katy Perrys who flew on Blue Origin the other day. And my first thought was "that's cool." I thought about William Shatner taking that flight, who came back with a very new view of the Earth and the people who live there. And it would be great if people like Katy Perry had a similar epiphany because celebrities have a larger stage than most people. And if that means more people get excited about space exploration, or STEM, or even seeing the world as Shatner now sees it - that's a good thing.
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There's that clip with Shatner and Bezos immediately upon return, where Shatner is visibly shaken up, upset even, and Bezos just blows him off and busts open the champagne:
 
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(Q) said:
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To be fair, Katy Perry was terrified and bewildered by the noise, the G-forces and all the procedures. Those astronauts spent 8 months living their lifelong dream, a dream they had trained for decades to acheive. And they got paid to live it.
 
billvon said:
Saw the Katy Perrys who flew on Blue Origin the other day. And my first thought was "that's cool." I thought about William Shatner taking that flight, who came back with a very new view of the Earth and the people who live there. And it would be great if people like Katy Perry had a similar epiphany because celebrities have a larger stage than most people. And if that means more people get excited about space exploration, or STEM, or even seeing the world as Shatner now sees it - that's a good thing.

But then the social media circle jerk started, and the conspiracists got a hold of it. And the Katy Perrys, never ones to shy from the spotlight, started announcing that she and her fellow astronauts were advancing all of womankind and doing science experiments during their space exploration mission. And apparently there's a conspiracy theory from the Flat Earthers that they didn't really go to space; that mannequins made the flight because no one can leave the Earth or something. And the celebrity haters are condemning them, and the Katy Perry fans are angrily defending her heroic flight.

So now a simple ride on a rocket has become a huge stink. I guess that's the way of the world.
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Mmm.I read that she was wanting to put the "ass" in astronaut.
Yeah that's what young girls need to hear and that's what's important about space exploration.

Stupid, unqualified, privileged woman goes into space for a bit. Why?

However, it's 2025 not 1969, the world has changed.
 
Pinball1970 said:
Stupid, unqualified, privileged woman goes into space for a bit. Why?
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Why not? No better or worse than her going on a yacht trip somewhere. A bit more expensive perhaps. And if she inspires a few women to pursue careers in STEM or aero/astro - that's a good thing.
 
billvon said:
Why not? No better or worse than her going on a yacht trip somewhere.
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Yeah, there is that I suppose.

Other than Shatner, has anyone who has done this touristy space crap come back with anything noteworthy? It's not that what Shatner said was especially revelatory, it's just that he was plainly affected by it and displayed genuine humility.

It's hard not to be biased here, I could just be favorable to Shatner because he was in one of the greatest Satanic-cult-in-a-desert films of all time, The Devil's Rain, and he did an excellent version of "Rocket Man". He was also in Star Trek.

 
Pinball1970 said:
Mmm.I read that she was wanting to put the "ass" in astronaut.
Yeah that's what young girls need to hear and that's what's important about space exploration.

Stupid, unqualified, privileged woman goes into space for a bit. Why?

However, it's 2025 not 1969, the world has changed.
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I agree. This was a decadent stunt, of zero value.

This article, by an understandably very angry woman, summed up my feelings about it exactly: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/blue-origin-flight-american-feminism .
I'll just quote the first couple of paras:

There are some spectacles of US decadence and decline that almost seem too on the nose – the sort of orgies of vulgar provocation or fantastic lack of self-awareness that exceed the limits of parody, so that if they were in a novel, you’d think the writer was laying it on a little thick. Among these is the all-female flight by Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-owned rocket tourism company, which on Monday launched a phallically shaped pod full of women – including the pop star Katy Perry and Bezos’s partner, Lauren Sánchez – on a brief trip into space.

The flight, which was promoted for months in advance, was touted as a triumph of feminism, a win for science and an embrace of the kind of expansive, curious human spirit of striving and possibility that once animated both. Instead, the flight served as a kind of perverse funeral for the America that once enabled both scientific advancement and feminist progress – a spectacle that mocked these aspirations by appropriating them for such an indulgent and morally hollow purpose.
 
foghorn said:
Musky has gotta do something really flashy trashy with his rockets to beat this important milestone for women.
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The next generation of Hadron collider in France may be up to 100km if it goes ahead.
Perhaps they can resurrect the spice girls, stick them in a load of hard hats and film them making the first tunnel digs. Even better setting off the first explosions to blast away the rock. Putting the bitch in bomb for feminism.
 
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I think it would be a problem for Musk, would he be up for sending a first child into space, the problem being that child would be at risk if his own, and someone else's child, would mean Musk's child would lose the fame. These are the problems muti-billionaires face.
By child, I mean someone ten or under. Those older children on the last Blue Origin stunt were over ten.
 
foghorn said:
By child, I mean someone ten or under. Those on the last Blue Origin stunt were over ten.
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My mind is running wild here. First child in space, first baby in space, first birth in space. A c section in zero gravity.
First paraplegic interracial boxing match in space.

I would like to put that to Perry. All women means what? Girls will opt for STEM instead of the Arts, OR girls will want to get famous by making shitty music then going on a really expensive rollercoaster?
 
billvon said:
Saw the Katy Perrys who flew on Blue Origin the other day.
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I saw a video clip of it. I mean, sure, they went up in a penis-shaped rocket, and came down again, screaming at every opportunity.

I've got nothing against people spending their money to see the earth from a perspective few have gotten to see, and be weightless for a few minutes, if that's what they want to do. But if I ever got the chance, I certainly wouldn't want the experience ruined by some attention-seeking individual, screaming and singing and whatever. Make sure the other passengers are like-minded. I mean, spending $1m (or whatever it cost) and having it hijacked by someone for their own agenda is... well, I wouldn't be happy. If I was on the trip for free, though, sure, whatever.
 
It stands out that so much opprobium is directed at the women, and not Jeff Bezos.

It would be one thing if the reason was that we already agreed that Bezos is awful and wondered why anyone would pander to his egotism, but apparently we're okay with what he's doing, and just pissed off at a bunch of women for taking part.

Of course, I didn't hear of the flight, which was apparently promoted months in advance, until afterward, when the conspiracy theorists hit social media with multiple waves of fake-flight chatter. In fact, the only reason I know the flight happened is because people are so angry at a bunch of women.
 
Katy Perry will do more damage than anything for women wanting a career in space.

'And for me, like Gayle [King] said, this wasn't a ride, it wasn't a destination, it was a journey, and it was a supernatural one, and my journey has always been about love and belonging,'
“I’ve always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars. I feel like we are made of stardust and we all come from the stars, and it will be exciting to see them twinkle from that site. And also have such an appreciation for Mother Earth when we see it in that way. Many people, not many, but the people that have gone have had real profound things to say and have brought down ideas that have been world-changing.”
 
Tiassa said:
It stands out that so much opprobium is directed at the women, and not Jeff Bezos.
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A bunch of rich women go 62 miles up in an automated rocket.
Other women (astronauts) in NASA have done more than just go up for a ride, in that respect what have these Blue Origin celebs achieved?

Tiassa said:
but apparently we're okay with what he's doing, and just pissed off at a bunch of women for taking part.
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Speak for youself. I'm not 'pissed off' about it, I just find the whole stunt cheesy.
Tiassa, why do you say 'pissed off', are you 'pissed off' about it?
 
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foghorn said:
A bunch of rich women go 62 miles up in an automated rocket.
Other women (astronauts) in NASA have done more than just go up for a ride, in that respect what have these Blue Origin celebs achieved?


Speak for youself. I'm not 'pissed off' about it, i just find the whole stunt cheesy.
Why do you say that, are you 'pissed off' about it Tiassa?
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This is just Tiassa trying to make right-on fight out of it, in his usual wanky way. It's obvious that this is a stunt by Bezos and that is what we are criticising as decadent. Bill Gates has used his billions to improve health in the third world. Bezos has used his to build a cock-shaped rocket that can't even achieve Earth orbit to use for, as you say, cheesy stunts. It's just the latest status symbol for the hyper-rich, luxury yachts and private islands being so last decade.
 
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