Thank you for listening to my podcast The Cat Bear! It has received 10000 downloads. When I created it, I knew that it would stand out from all the rest. If it were not for listeners, The Cat Bear would not have made it this far. Thank you so much. My passion is music, and I know the rest of the world has a passion for music too. That is what the commentary podcast is all about. It has not been easy not being able to play records and songs like radio does. This achievement shows that something new can happen as I was inspired by radio. https://www.spreaker.com/show/4099974/achievements/6a2c001f2798ff2f3aef61c6d62a4a560879d3c7

I know how heartbroken you are not being able to walk on the stage and be handed your diploma. You worked so hard for just that moment, the moment to shine, to show everyone what you have accomplished during your years in school. Whether to give valedictorian or class president speeches, to raise your diploma high in triumph, to smile for every camera waiting to capture the glint of awesome wonder in your eyes – the moment was yours – or should have been. Then the unthinkable happened. A virus that scientists named COVID-19 started spreading its vicious bacterium throughout the world. It did not care your age or gender, your education or lack of. It is just waiting for that one careless motion to leap onto your skin, invade your lungs and then impatiently wait. Wait and watch to see what medication treatment will be administered in time to save your life while you fight for the very breath we often take for granted. Often, even when that treatment is finally found, it is still too late. How my heart aches for every one of you who so looked forward to your graduation day. Having family members of my own who will have to miss this day, I know very well how disappointed you are. However, please keep one thing in mind. Not being able to walk on the stage in glory and triumph, does not take away the fact that you achieved your goal. You passed your tests! You accomplished what you set out to do. Your family and friends are still proud of you and when this virus is over, while you will still not be given that golden opportunity to proudly walk on the stage, your family and friends will still celebrate with you and for you. No matter what your course of study, you are what you set out to be - and nothing, no virus, no quarantine, no walking on stage, nothing can take that away from you. Yes, you can be disappointed. It is your right! To work so hard for your degree and be denied the opportunity to share that glory and pride with others is not fair. Unfortunately, life is not fair and that is something you will find out if you have not already. Life is the best of what you make it to be. Grieve for a lost opportunity to shine for a day but do not make it a goal. You already achieved the goal you set out to reach. Be proud of who you are and what you have become. We are.

The usual narrative as follows: The Soviets did shock the good American by putting the first manmade object in orbit. Then the first dog. And then the first man, and the first woman too for good measure. They kept on one-upping Uncle Sam until he got tired of it, gathered his everything to do the impossible, and delivered a momentous uppercut in the form of a size 9 ½ B boot marking and the brave red white and blue on the moon's grey soil. Then, after the customary high-fiving and just celebrating in general, they all went home to beat the reds wherever they need to be beaten. The race has been won after all. Or so we thought. The race continued. Even after the massive upset of '69, the soviets could record another triumph, the first space station in orbit. Then just as in natural order of things (classic human showmanship to his fellows), the following decade saw a back and forth between the two superpowers of the Cold War and humanity did brought up to the sky and announce their intentions to rule it one day. We saw humanity making the first forays into Mars, signifying our interest in extraplanet excursion. We sent probes—markings of our own—into the fringes of known space, setting our foot into the cosmos. And—even when the cold war was still going on—we showed that, though divisions might run deep, we made multinational space endeavours a thing, marking that a humanity together is a humanity strong. Great achievements were made along the way as we continuously raise our own bar of expectations. And so the saying goes, that the journey matters as much, if not more, than the destination. The Space Race spurred within its participants a desire not only to one-up the other, but also to learn, the drive to innovate, the mindset that no obstacle could not be overcome. Along the way, scientists and engineers made great breakthroughs in physics, engineering, computing and statesman and bureaucrats learned a thing or two about helping to run one of the most massive undertakings—the magnitude of which could not be overstated—in human history. Most important of all, all of this happened not only in one country, or two, but across multiple nations from all over the world, and advancements made were not only for the benefit of the space programs being launced, but also much to the developments in other fields due to tangling nature of technology and science. We can thank the Space Race for satellite TVs and memory foam. In the end, to say that one side had won the Space Race is simply asinine since as far as we are aware, on top of space programs still existing until now—only between new faces—each side have their victories to call their own that did contribute in their own way to the human race as a whole. Then if we really do need to answer the classic, ‘Who won the Space Race?' Why, Us of course!