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Geostationary Banana Over Texas
Canadians pay money for Argentinians to launch giant bananas at the US from Mexico. I was tempted to file it under "Signs and Portents".The French gave us the Statute of Liberty, Mexico sort of gave us Texas and now Canada wants to give us a giant helium-filled yellow banana. More specifically, Montreal artist Cesar Saez hopes to send a 1,000-foot long banana dirigible into the southern sky next year to make giant loops over the Lone Star State. If all goes well, the giant bamboo and paper banana will be launched from a site in Mexico in summer 2008 and drift eastward over Texas before it disintegrates. Even at a stratospheric altitude of 20 miles, the yellow fruit will be visible to earthbound Texans, said Saez, who has raised about a fifth of the estimated $1 million he needs for the project. Some very practical people, including the Canada Council for the Arts, which contributed $15,000, are taking him at his word. "There's no question this is a serious artistic project," said Donna Balkan, a spokeswoman for the national arts organization. Serious military project, is what she means. Consider the possibilities of a giant banana as a weapons platform. And, as usual, our leaders are asleep at the switch: After several hours of consultation and review, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry released a cryptic statement. "If it works, people will probably go ape over it. We have to be careful, though, because putting bananas in orbit could create a slippery situation," Robert Black said. More at the link, and snark and half-assed research at my blog. Giant banana project site here. Posted by: Angie Schultz 2007-01-08 |
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