Today I am winging my way to San Diego, the site of this year’s SpaceFest. It’s the second SpaceFest, actually; the first was in 2007 in Phoenix, and I had a great time there. When they asked me to come back, it wasn’t hard to decide.
The roster for this year is even better, if possible. Almost all the living Moonwalking astronauts will be there, and as a bonus we’ll have the entire Apollo 9 crew as well as Michael Collins. Plus there’s artwork, talks by scientists, authors, and astronauts, and lots of fun. I’ll be giving two talks; my Moon Hoax talk (I can’t decide if I hope Buzz is there or not; I think he’d get a kick out of the talk, but I’d be terrified to stand in front of him and give it. What if he punches me?) and a black holes talk based on my book. I’ll be signing books there too.
If you live near Sandy Eggo, do yourself a favor and drop by.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
The Eggo is my hometown, and I’m bummed I won’t be there when you swing by. Have fun, Phil.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Wow! I don’t think Buzz would punch you at all, although if Joe Rogan pops by there could be fireworks. I wish I knew about this sooner, or I’d be on a plane myself (is it open to the public?). Have a great time Phil!
February 19th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
See you tomorrow, Phil!
February 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Will Ed Mitchell be there?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I went to the first one in phoenix and i can tell you guys, it was a LOT of fun. i remember standing in the middle of the room being surrounded by moonwalkers. It was a surreal experience.
And Al Bean is hilarious
February 19th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I thought Buzz only punched idiots???
February 19th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I you call him “number 2″, he might punch you though.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
If only admission wasn’t $75 I’d be there in an instant; I work less than a mile from the venue!
February 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Awww, I’m flying out there Sunday to attend a work function Monday and Tuesday. I guess all the fun will be over by then.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Moonwalking astronauts? What an image….too bad Michael Jackson is such a creep.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Buzz only punches those who deserve it. Since Buzz is all-knowing, his judgment is infallible. All praise Buzz!
February 19th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Yes, praise him!
Actually that does look like fun. The web site, however, is horrid! Apparently Richard Hatch is an astronaut and the art exhibit is by invitation only. No idea whose art, just that it’s invitation only. I was wondering if Alan Bean was going to have a display. The background picture looked like it may have been one of his but it isn’t. Spacefest folks, get a geek to fix the web site for the next meeting!
February 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am
This sounds like a ball, but $50 single day is a little rich. Maybe we’ll see you back in SD for Comic-Con again this year.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Boy, if ever there was a crowd that *didn’t* need to hear your Moon Hoax talk…
February 25th, 2009 at 11:51 am
My wife and I went…and it was too cool. First we golfed in the Moonwalker tournament on Thursday (Gene Cernan was our partner). Golf was great, I got “closest to the pin” award where I beat out Jim McDivitt (a cool moonwalker trophy). Unfortunatly Charlie Duke’s group beat us by 2 strokes to win it. On Saturday we went to the VIP reception at the SD museum where they were honoring the Apollo 9 crew. All the astronauts where there and were very friendly (got pictures with all the moonwalkers including Buzz). It helped it was open bar, so all were feeling pretty good. Finally, I have to say, Gene was a fun guy to hang out with over the whole three days we were there (of course he spent more time with my wife than me).