Monthly Archives: May 2016

RIP Robert A. Heinlein

Posted on May 8, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Robert Anson Heinlein ( July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988 ) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of “hard” science fiction. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility, and helped to raise the genre’s standards of literary quality. He was the first writer to break into mainstream general magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s with unvarnished science fiction. He was among the first authors of bestselling novel-length science fiction in the modern mass-market era. For many years, Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke were known as the “Big Three” of science fiction.

Wikipedia Link

Posted in Literary

Happy Birthday, Sir David Attenborough

Posted on May 8, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Sir David Attenborough (May 8th 1926 – )

Wikipedia Article

Sir David Frederick Attenborough is an English broadcaster and naturalist.

He is best known for writing and presenting the nine Life series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on the planet. He is also a former senior manager at the BBC, having served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programs in each of black and white, colour, HD, and 3D.

Attenborough is widely considered a national treasure in Britain, although he himself does not like the term. In 2002 he was named among the 100 Greatest Britons following a UK-wide vote. He is the younger brother of director, producer and actor Richard Attenborough.

Posted in Because I Can, Critters

Lusitania sinks

Posted on May 7, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Lusitania sinks

On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States, but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain.

Posted in On This Day, Planes Trains and Automobiles

The Hindenburg Disaster

Posted on May 6, 2016 by James| Comments Off

The Hindenburg Disaster

On May 6,1937, the airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers and crewmembers.

Posted in On This Day, Planes Trains and Automobiles

May the 4th Be With You

Posted on May 4, 2016 by James| Comments Off

May the 4th

Posted in Because I Can, Humor, The Big Screen

RIP Dom DeLuise

Posted on May 4, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Dominick “Dom” DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009)

Dominick “Dom” DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author.

Wikipedia Link

Posted in Humor, The Big Screen, The Little Screen (Television)

RIP Wally Shirra

Posted on May 3, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. (March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America’s first effort to put men in space. He was the only man to fly in all of America’s first three space programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo).

He logged a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space.

Wikipedia Link

Posted in Because I Can, Patriotic

Anniversary of Miracle on 34th Street

Posted on May 2, 2016 by James| Comments Off

Miracle on 34th Street (also titled The Big Heart in the UK) is a 1947 film which tells the story of a gentle old man, working as a Santa Claus at Macy’s department store in New York City, who contends that he is the real deal.

Miracle on 34th Street