Aselin

I just watched a clip of Obama talking with the astronauts on the space station. It is truly amazing that we have been successful in creating and sustaining long term living conditions in space. It’s the stuff science fiction was made of decades ago.

We can do amazing things, and the people who qualify themselves as astronauts today are certainly among the elite of our kind. So, please explain to me why every time I see one of these clips, and it’s about every year that I get to witness such a presidential exchange, the girl astronaut is sitting in the back looking like a freak relative of Don King?

I get it, there is little to no gravitational effect on hair in space, but the day you’re going to be broadcast on television nationwide, possibly worldwide wouldn’t you think you’d grab a rubber band?

It makes me wonder how smart these people really are. I know, the training is rigorous, but really, is there truly a point when you become so technically adept and book-smart that you loose all ability to see that your vagabond hair is distracting us lesser beings?

The whole time Obama is chatting with the space team I’m completely focused on the floating hair. Apparently I wasn’t the only one since part of the conversation went like this:

Obama: “Can I ask you a question -- were you tempted to cut your hair shorter while you were up there? Or is it fun in weightlessness?"

The astronaut replied that short hair was probably "ideally" "the way to go" but that a shorter cut wouldn't look good on her.

"I think it's a real fashion statement," Obama said.

Now come on. Shorter hair wouldn’t look good on her? Let’s just right here and right now call into question this woman’s ability to exercise good judgment. Should she really be named as an integral member of this elite team? Short hair would look worse than this??? Isn’t she in a blue jumpsuit, wearing a diaper with a vacuum hose attached to it? And she’s really concerned that shorter hair just won’t go?

The men sitting behind here were parting her hair like dried brush, so they could see the cameras. The whole thing was ridiculous.

Off hand I can think of five or six styling options that would have given her more credibility. Even looking like Pipi Longstocking would have been a better choice.

So in an open to letter to mankind, I am announcing, as my contribution to international brotherhood and scientific advancement I’m mailing a jumbo package of scrunchies to NASA today. One small step for man, one giant leap for womankind.