Thursday, September 18, 2014

Dead Presidents And Space

     


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"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."
--Groucho Marx

PBS is featuring a Ken Burns documentary titled The Roosevelts: An Intimate History that chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962.

I thought I would have to miss it because it is being presented so late each night, but then I discovered that each episode is being repeated the next day at 1:00 in the afternoon. So far, I have viewed each of the first three two-hour episodes at that earlier time. I intend to watch all of them,the complete seven-part, fourteen hour film, even though I have to admit that I find them slow-moving, repetitious, and somewhat boring.

And... I tend to agree with Henry Ford, when he said, "History is more or less bunk."


NASA

U.S. astronauts once again will travel to and from the International Space Station from the United States on American spacecraft under groundbreaking contracts NASA announced Tuesday. The agency unveiled its selection of Boeing and SpaceX to transport U.S. crews to and from the space station using their CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft, respectively, with a goal of ending the nation’s sole reliance on Russia in 2017.


More about Launch America

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Did You Know . . .?

If you laugh when you get tickled you are actually experiencing a form of panic.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1959 Serial killer Harvey Glatman, known in the media as The Lonely Hearts Killer, was executed in a California gas chamber for murdering three young women in Los Angeles.

Glatman was arrested and confessed to the three murders, seeming to delight in recounting his sadistic crimes. His trial lasted a mere three days before he was sent off to San Quentin to die. Resisting all appeals to save his life, Glatman even wrote to the appeals board to say, "I only want to die."

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WORD FOR TODAY

degust
verb
1. to taste, especially with care or relish; savour
2. taste (something) carefully, so as to appreciate it fully.

Degustation is a culinary term meaning a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods and focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Degustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dishes in one sitting.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born September 18, 1940)
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.



(born September 18, 1933)
Robert Blake is an American actor having starring roles in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta.



(born September 18, 1939)
Fred Willard is an American actor known for his roles in This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration, and the Anchorman films. He is an alumnus of The Second City and is known for his recurring role on the TV series Everybody Loves Raymond as Robert Barone's father-in-law, Hank MacDougall.



(born September 18, 1971)
Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society and Set It Off. She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

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"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
--Charles William Eliot

NASA TV



     

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