Shiny! Thanks, Daniel. I've been meaning to dig up those reviews, and this makes it easy.

A Mal/Serenity vid.

"Do you know what the first rule of flying is?"

U toob

Or Right-click & Save

"Do you know what the first rule of flying is?"

We don't talk about flying?

Also? It's the second rule too, right?

Fighting.

We don't talk about fighting.

But flying talky is okay.

Also, the second rule of flying is no steering with your knee, and definitely no steering with invisible controls and hoping no one notices.

I thought it was to fall and miss the ground.

I thought it was to fall and miss the ground.

Indeed.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying. There is an art, it says, or rather a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it. The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it's going to hurt. That is, it's going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard. Clearly, it's the second point, the missing, which presents the difficulties.

Booster update, if anybody is wondered -- they put themselves into bankruptcy a few days ago, in Minnesota (rather than Oregon). However, there are rumblings online that the feds are plannin' things, but asking people not to post about it in detail online yet.

Wonderful vid, Juliebird. That's a keeper.

Even though I still really really hate the "first rule of flying" speech.

thanks a bunch, dcp!

Lots of hard work, time, and love went into that vid.

Why do you hate the speech?

I like the message, just hate the metaphor used. I posted about it at dcp "Firefly 4: Also, we can kill you with our brains" Oct 15, 2005 10:00:21 pm PDT

I used fly sailplanes, and I still miss it. It makes me take stuff about flying in books/movies/tv shows too seriously.

Pictures: [link]

I've drabbled about flying a few times.
dcp "The Great Write Way" May 18, 2004 8:20:34 pm PDT
and
dcp "The Great Write Way, Chapter Two: Twice upon a time..." May 23, 2005 1:34:57 pm PDT
and
dcp "The Great Write Way, Chapter Two: Twice upon a time..." Oct 24, 2005 7:08:25 pm PDT


If you were to ask me, I'd say the first rule of flying isn't "Love." It's "Don't die." There is a famous old quote:

Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.

— Captain A. G. Lamplugh, British Aviation Insurance Group, London. Circa early 1930's.

Space -- "the black'' -- can also be included in that list. Love may be what Mal finds keeps him going, it may be what makes Serenity a home, but it won't "[keep] her in the air when she oughta fall down, [tell] you when she's hurting 'fore she keens." I really wish Joss had used a different metaphor for that speech--one not involving flying and vehicle maintenance.

t /rant