Don't fly me to the Moon again, Mr. Rocketman

THIS week was something special, celestially speaking. First there was the spectacular Perseid shower in the bewitching midnight watch and some hours after.

- Wijith DeChickera

Then there was a scintillating conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the early morning midweek days that followed. And now there is the ongoing spectacle of political shooting stars of the past and present disporting themselves as if they'd never heard of the principle of entropy. That all things must run down.

In every respect, it is a show-stopper for a citizenry starving for bread and circuses under the more austere regime than most we are blessed with at present.

Of course, the Perseids may have dazzled people all over the planet, as promised in the hype on social media. But here in Sri Lanka the meteorological outlook was predictably gloomy. Prospect: meteor showers. Reality: thunder showers. It was ever thus.

Rain a spoiler something rotten. And this time, it's not cricket.

Timelines past and present Back up a bit. For those of you who came in late... a JVP Leader of the House responding to a 'question' (pronounce it how you like) raised by those pesky SLPP types (who don't know when to call it quits) tells parliament that a satellite launched into space on Sri Lanka's behalf by China's Xichang Space Centre at a cost of US$ 300 million in 2012 no longer exists. Then the Premier clarifies' (interpret it how you like) the issue by claiming that not only does the spacefarer owned by Board of Investment company Supreme SAT Ltd. exist, but it also brought in annual revenues to the tune of Rs. 20 billion a year on average between 2015 and the first half of 2023.