Tag Archives: bleg

A quick holiday fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black

Points of Information

In past years I have managed to avoid asking for donations for Behind the Black during the holiday season. My finances however now compel me to do a short one-week fund-raiser, from November 11 to November 17.

I do not use Twitter for ethical reasons, which I have been told cuts down on traffic to the website. So be it. Furthermore, Facebook has clearly acted in the past two years to limit traffic to Behind the Black, almost certainly for political reasons. So be this as well.

Finally, I do not post outside ads, as I have found them annoying to my readers and not that profitable to me.

Therefore, I need to ask for the direct support from my readers. If you like what I do here, please consider contributing, either by making a one-time donation or a monthly subscription, as indicated at the tip jar to the right or below. Or if you prefer sending an old fashioned check, you can do so by mailing it, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to:

Behind The Black,
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

Or you could consider purchasing one of my books, as indicated in the boxes scattered throughout the website. My histories of space exploration are award-winning and are aimed for the general public. All are page-turners, and all not only tell the story of the beginning of the human exploration of space, they also help explain why we are where we are today. And I also have a science fiction book available, Pioneer, which tells its own exciting story while trying to predict what life in space will be like two hundred years in the future.

Note that for this week only I am also having a sale on the purchase of the last 20 hardbacks of Leaving Earth. (Click on the link for more information about the book, which was endorsed by Arthur C. Clarke himself!) This award-winning out-of-print book is now only available as an ebook, but I still have a handful of hardbacks available, normally for sale for $70 plus $5 shipping. For this week only you can buy them, personally autographed by me, for $50 plus $5 shipping! Just send me a check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to the address above, with a note saying that the money is for the Leaving Earth hardback.

Please consider donating. Your help will make it possible for me to continue to be an independent reporter in the field of space, science, technology, and culture.

This announcement will remain at the top of the webpage for the rest of this week. Scroll down for new updates and stories.

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Ninth Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black

Essays And Commentaries

This week marks the ninth anniversary since I began Behind the Black in 2010. To celebrate I am now holding my annual month-long anniversary fund-raising drive.

For many reasons, mostly political but partly ethical, I do not use Google, Facebook, or Twitter. They practice corrupt business policies, while targeting conservative websites for censoring, conclusions apparently confirmed by my sense that Facebook has taken action to prevent my readers from recommending Behind the Black to their friends.

Thus, I must reluctantly beg for your direct support to keep this webpage alive. Without that support, which each year has been growing, I would not be able to continue this work. And without it, I will no longer be free to comment honestly about space, science, and culture, at a time where such commentary is crucial.

So, I ask you to please consider donating by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar above or in the column to the right. You will have my eternal gratitude, and you will help me continue my work.

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Annual fund-raiser plus lower price for Genesis

Points of Information


As this year’s birthday fund-raiser ends, I once again want to thank everyone who donated or subscribed to Behind the Black. I appreciate every penny, in ways that are hard to describe.

And though the official fund-raiser is over and this post will now slowly drop down the page like all other posts, don’t think that donations or subscriptions are no longer necessary. To repeat: If you are a regular reader and like what I do here, please consider making a contribution to help defray the costs for running this website. The tip jar on the right will allow you to make a one time contribution, or even subscribe, making monthly contributions as low as $2.

Please consider helping. Without your financial aid I am not sure I will be able to continue this website into the future.

Also, for those who missed the December sale of Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, I have good news. We have officially lowered the price of the ebook to $5.99, before discount. You can now get it at this lower price at all ebook venders. Some vendors, such as amazon.com, will discount this price even further.

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The 2014 Birthday Bleg

Essays And Commentaries

I really dislike doing this, but someone has to pay the bills, and this website is one way I do it. February 5 will be my sixty-first birthday. As I have done the past two years, I am posting a birthday bleg, requesting donations to help fund the existence of Behind the Black. If you like my webpage and want to support it in any way, please consider donating something. I would be grateful for anything you can give.. Some people have even subscribed, sending as little as $2 per month.

The tip jar can be found in the right column, below the search box.

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Third Anniversary

Essays And Commentaries

This past weekend Behind the Black celebrated its third anniversary. I did it by posting very little, as the news in space, to my mind, has been very quiet, while the news in politics and culture has been very depressing, something I am growing tired of reading. It seems to me that freedom is dying, both in the United States and worldwide, being chipped away bit by bit until no one alive knows what the word means anymore.

Moreover, on July 4 Diane and I will head north to the Grand Canyon (our third trip together to the bottom) for ten days vacation, so expect posting for that time period to be very light or nonexistent.

I do intend to post until then and once I get back. If you have liked what I have written and posted these past three years, then please consider the idea of contributing to the website. The tip jar is in the right column, near the bottom.

And if you really want to find out the moment I believe American society began to die, you might want to consider reading the new ebook edition of my first book, Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8. The book tells the story of one of our country’s grandest achievements, and how that triumph ironically ended up teaching an entire generation all the wrong lessons.

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Stuck in Atlanta

Essays And Commentaries

First of all, thank you to all who have donated money to Behind the Black. You cannot imagine how much this is appreciated.

Second, I am stuck in Atlanta due to bad weather, including a tornado, plus the typical lies of airport employees. Had the Delta airline agents told me the truth about the bad weather in Atlanta when I was still in Phoenix, I would have grabbed a different flight to get to New York and make my flight to Israel. Instead, they lied — a typical behavior I have found from too many airline customer service agents — and told me I would have no trouble meeting my New York connection. I didn’t. They lied. GRRR.

Anyway, as I am here I have decided to try to take advantage of the delay to begin the tedious process of adjusting to Israeli time, getting up at 3 am, which is 10 am in Israel. Hopefully this will make the transition in Israel much easier.

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Off to Israel

Essays And Commentaries

For the next week my posting might be lighter than usual. Today I am heading to Israel to visit family and do a bit of sightseeing. Whether I have sufficient access to the internet to keep up with events as well as continue to post will not be clear until I get there and get settled in.

In the meantime, I will also be celebrating my sixtieth birthday while in Israel. If you have been a regular reader of Behind the Black and would like to help me celebrate this milestone with a donation to the website, I would be most grateful. The tip jar is located at the bottom of the right column, just below the search box.

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Second Anniversary Bleg

Essays And Commentaries

Today, July 1, Behind the Black celebrates its second anniversary. Though I began posting a day or two before that, I consider July 1 to be the official premiere date. Since then I have published more than 6,200 posts, about 8.5 posts per day, focusing on issues relating to science, technology, politics, and space exploration. In between I’ve also added a sprinkle of popular culture and entertainment, for both my and your pleasure.

For those who have contributed to the website, either with intelligent comments or with financial donations, I thank you. I especially appreciate the quality of the comments, even from those who frequently disagree with me. We might disagree, but in general people have kept the discussion on a rational basis, with very few personal attacks. This is how it should be.

It is my hope to continue this blog for as long as I can, assuming I can afford to do it. Of course, the more donations I receive from my loyal readers, the more likely I will be able to keep it up. If you are a regular reader and would like to help keep this blog going, please consider giving a donation. The tip jar is located at the bottom of the column on the right.

And if you have already donated, thank you again. I can’t express how much it means to me as a writer, working alone in my office, to be recognized by others in this way. Not only does it help pay the bills, it helps juice the soul, making the daily grind easier to take.

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Birthday bleg

Essays And Commentaries

Behind the Black officially premiered July 1, 2010, and has been up and running now for twenty months. I make it a point to post often and regularly on issues of space, science, technology, politics, and history, subjects that interest me personally. Except for one short period a year ago when family matters kept me away from the computer for several days, I have managed to update the webpage frequently every day during that entire time.

Because of this, traffic to the site has steadily grown. For this I thank you, my readers, especially those who love to add their own two cents to the webpage in the comments. While I certainly do not agree with all those who comment, I very much appreciate the open and intelligent nature of the discussion.

During that time I have resisted begging for contributions. Though I added a tip jar link to the webpage about three months ago (located in the right column below the search box), I have made very little note of it because shilling for dollars seems crass, and I feel that if I am doing a good job people will naturally look for it in order to donate to the webpage to keep it going.

However, today is my birthday, so I feel I have the right to do some self-promotion. Moreover, for the past fifteen years I have made my living as a freelance science writer. The business, however, is changing, and I am finding that I am becoming increasingly reliant on the income I make from at my own website over that earned by selling articles to magazines.

Thus, if you are a regular reader of Behind the Black, please consider giving the website a donation, no matter how small. Not only would I appreciate it greatly, it will help make it possible for this website to continue and grow.

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