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Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

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Chevrolet – A Holiday to Remember

An evening pause: Yes, I know it is a commercial, but it is right for the season. And it reminds us of the never-ending human desire — not often possible — to always believe all things can be made better. Such a belief enriches us. We should never lose it, no matter how bad things become.

Hat tip Mike Nelson.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

9 comments

  • John V

    Wow!

    That is a wonderful Christmas video from Chevrolet!

    Thank you, Bob, for posting it, and for all that you do here.

    Merry Christmas!

  • wayne

    Mike Nelson-
    excellent selection!

    I’ll drop this in here…

    Elvis Costello / Paul McCartney
    “Veronica” (1989)
    https://youtu.be/g-rF4COOd9c
    3:52

  • That is . . . fantastic.

    I could not easily find budget information for the commercial, but I would wager that on a dollar-for-dollar basis, Chevrolet made one of the best movies of the year. Also, one with some of the fewest product placements.

    Of the domestic brands, I’m a Ford guy, but . . .Like A Rock.

  • wayne

    Blair–

    “The manufacture of Chevrolets from foundry to finished vehicles….”

    “Master Hands” (1936)
    Jam Handy Organization / Chevrolet
    https://archive.org/details/masterhandscomplete4kh264
    (31:49)
    [4K scan from a 35mm print]

  • wayne

    “A “tribute to the American stylist…”

    “American Look” (1958)
    Jam Handy Organization / Chevrolet
    https://archive.org/details/American1958
    [Part 1 of 4: 8:11)

    The story behind the design of the 1959 Chevrolet Impala is shown, with dramatized moments in the design and modeling process by the design staff of the new General Motors Technical Center at Warren, Michigan.

  • wayne

    Whoops…..
    I neglected to mention, for the film “American Look,” they don’t mention Chevrolet’s until Part 3.

    All of which, and more, are available at Archive (dot) org, just search “Jam Handy + Chevrolet.”

  • Boobah

    Cynicism ahoy!

    Excellent video, but I couldn’t help but see some of The Message make an appearance. A quick reference to climate change, which took me out of the zone, and, on reflection, the ‘men are useless’ message, with modern grandpa powerless to do anything but stay in the kitchen and even past grandpa unwilling to make a move on his future wife.

    Are these fatal flaws? Nope. And without the wider context of Today they wouldn’t be worthy of comment. Alas, it is Today, and so they are. I don’t even pretend to know if it’s intentional signaling or if it’s just a riff on the _zeitgeist._

  • Boobah: I noticed how only the women were featured. However, on its own this is a pleasant short that’s great for the Christmas season.

  • wayne

    Check out the Chevrolet holiday advert from 2022, it has a definite bent.

    “Mrs. Hayes”
    Chevrolet 2022
    https://youtu.be/cr67C0K4hu8
    5:49

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