Personal Satellites Are Go!

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I'm feeling a little artsy, but as I've taken on too many hobbies recently, I've decided to create vicariously through interesting people. Enter Hojun Song (Song Hojun?) a South Korean art futurist. I don't know whether to applaud him or to go Sarah Connor on his ass.

As you can see in the video, he's a cool, harmless geek. He's got long hair, he snowboards, and he's an artist/engineer with a mission: to help human beings create a relationship with the Universe via personal satellites. His name for them: Global Orbiting Device. Yep. He's just asking for it, isn't he?

His artwork is without any apparent irony, though. His Open Source Satellite Initiative, or OSSI, is his way of making space attainable for everyone. Everyone will have a satellite of his or her own to follow around the world, and it will possibly follow them. Here's the link to his free book courtesy of Google Books for all of you D.I.Y. types: "DIY Satellite". It's cheap, and attainable. You just need to find a a rocket to piggy back your satellite on.

What could possibly be wrong with that? These things are cute. They're made of aluminum, decorated with strong LEDs, and fit inside back-packs. The LEDs will be bright enough to shine out Morse-code messages over the world. Mr. Song touts them as "controllable shooting stars".

Say what?

What if your G.O.D. doesn't want to be shot to earth? What if each satellite acts as your own, personal spy? A satellite per person, spying on each person... A small voice in my head is screeching "Skynet" (oh, and it's probably happening.).

Here's a more practical concern: what if your little shooting star whacks a very expensive, government-owned satellite?

Granted, I don't know much about orbits or satellites, but I figure these are things to think about before you launch your personal satellite bombs.

Cucurrucucu Paloma

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I want to play this song.

C6/9
Dicen que por las noches
no más se le iba en puro llorar;
F7M
dicen que no comía
no más se le iba en puro tomar;
G7
juran que el mismo cielo
C6/9
se estremecía al oír su llanto;
cómo sufrió por ella
G7 C6/9
que hasta en su muerte la fue llamando.
C6/9 G7
Ay ay ay ay ay cantaba,
Dm7/9 Dm6/9 C6/9
ay ay ay ay ay gemía.
G7
Ay ay ay ay ay cantaba,
Dm7/9 Dm6/9 C6/9
de pasión mortal, moría.
C6/9
Que una paloma triste
muy de mañana le va a cantar
F7M
a la casita sola
con sus puertitas de par en par;
G7
juran que esa paloma
C6/9
no es otra cosa más que su alma,
que todavía la espera
G7 C6/9
a que regrese la desdichada.
C6/9 G7
Cucurrucucú paloma,
Dm7/9 Dm6/9 C6/9
cucurrucucú no llores;
G7
las piedras jamás, paloma,
Dm7/9 Dm6/9 C6/9
¿qué van a saber de amores?

I'll have to learn a few chords ...

C6/9: X3223X
F7M: 1X221X
G7: 3X343X
Dm7/9: X5355X
Dm6/9: X5345X

... but that's the fun part, right?