To read this post please scroll down.

 

Readers!

 

It is now July, time once again to celebrate the start of this webpage in 2010 with my annual July fund-raising campaign.

 

This year I celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black. During that time I have done more than 33,000 posts, mostly covering the global space industry and the related planetary and astronomical science that comes from it. Along the way I have also felt compelled as a free American citizen to regularly post my thoughts on the politics and culture of the time, partly because I think it is important for free Americans to do so, and partly because those politics and that culture have a direct impact on the future of our civilization and its on-going efforts to explore and eventually colonize the solar system.

 

You can’t understand one without understanding the other.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent independent analysis you don’t find elsewhere. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn’t influenced by donations by established companies or political movements. 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.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


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

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *