yuri’s night

last night i went to a very unusual and interesting party called Yuri’s Night, celebrating Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space and to orbit the earth. the event was hosted at the nasa ames research facility, the first time that facility has opened itself to the public for an event like that. multiple sound systems were brought, including a sound system on the space cowboy’s unimog. this was akin to a rave, hosted in one of the large aircraft hangers at moffett field with government security gates protecting the ravers. as i drove up, the guard talked to the car in front of me, the driver dressed completely in silver and wearing ski goggles. the goggles probably self illuminated. this surely was entertaining for both participants and hosts.

somewhat a marriage of unusual cultures, the hanger also had science exhibits and technology oriented art pieces. my friend spot (aka scott) came from new york to show off electric sheep. and music from the glitch mob and cowboys had everyone jumping.

also for me the event was somewhat political and healing. i grew up thinking that nuclear bombs were going to rain down on me at any minute. the US and Russia were always just minutes away from obliteration. that had some effect on me growing up. when the wall came down, and the soviet union disassembled itself, a huge burden lifted for me. it was subtle, and progressive, but i remember the feeling. it felt so good. last night, dancing in a US government facility and celebrating the life of a Russian hero was an affirmation of that change in the world. I don’t think celebrating Yuri’s life could have happened here only twenty years ago. this is a noteworthy change. i told someone there why this was significant for me, and i found i was quoted (somewhat misquoted) on the nasa ames web site today.

and then icing on the cake, i found someone’s lost drivers license walking back to my car. and thanks to google and their name being fairly unique, i was able to find them and contact them and plan how to return it. that’s also something that wasn’t possible twenty years ago.

so if there’s a moral in all this for me, today i’m thinking that in spite of our fear as countries, as cultures, as individuals, we can still connect, celebrate, and take care of each other. it just takes a little effort, and it’s probably not as much effort as we fear.

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