The Geostationary Banana Over Texas, that’s what! Longtime readers will recall that we love the GBOT here at Cosmic Variance. What is not to love? Just the existence of the very concept holds out promise for a brighter future. Truly, it’s projects like this that define what it means to be human.
(After all, actual bananas may soon go extinct, leaving us with only their giant inflatable brethren to remember them by.)
Now, however, Backreaction points to terrible news: the GBOT is facing a funding crisis! Artist/visionary Cesar Saez has received about $100,000 from the Canadian government, and needs to raise another $1.5 million to make his dream a reality. So far, efforts have fallen short; only $12,018 has been collected. Hey, it’s a start!
Now, some will say that the GBOT isn’t really a realistic project; that it’s more an excuse to have a cool website, generate a bit of buzz, and play with some drafting software than an honest attempt to float a banana over the Lone Star State.
Some will say that the flight plan looks more like a scribble in Microsoft Paint than a NASA-approved model of the GBOT’s trajectory.
We say, true art doesn’t listen to people like that! True art thinks those people are wankers.
Some day the GBOT will fly — if only in our hearts.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Since Obama is not taking any federal funds for the election; can we use that money for this project? This year, banana over Texas; next year, fruit cake over California!
June 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Michel Fournier, of Le Grand Saut, the recently-fizzled attempt to set a high-altitide jump record, should take note. Perhaps there’s an opportunity here for a comeback!
June 30th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I have to admit, the idea of a giant geostationary banana hovering over Texas is quite ap-peeling…
July 1st, 2008 at 12:12 am
Let’s install some weather monitoring tools on it. Just to make it a bit more useful than a fruity thought.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:52 am
$105k for a banana – taxpayer money – extravagant. Someone should reprint that article in Zimbabwe.
July 1st, 2008 at 7:28 am
Is that last guy the little kid on the back of the truck “I pee on your big banana”.
July 1st, 2008 at 8:03 am
Ah, Texas. Known for the alamo, bluebonnets, longhorns, oil wells, and big bananas in the sky.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
If this isn’t a hoax, I think it’s sad. The money could instead go to so many other, more noble causes, scholarships for physics or astronomy students, or an award for innovative gas alternatives come to mind. I am personally not amused by this lack of pragmatic frugality especially in our current economic condition.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
[...] What’s Yellow, Hovers, and is in the Midst of a Funding Crisis? [...]
July 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
If it were a giant penis they’d have no trouble getting the money.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:04 am
If they can figure out how to park a geostationary satellite 30 degrees north of the equator, the effort will be well worth the cost.