Celebrating Pride Month: Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, first out military service member

Leonard Matlovich, born July 6, 1943 in Savannah, Georgia, was the first service member to out himself to the military to fight their ban on gay people.  He enlisted at the age of 19, and served three tours of duty in Vietnam.  He was seriously wounded when he stepped on a landmine. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

He taught Air Force Race Relations to fight discrimination in the military after several racial incidents.  He came to realize that gays faced similar discrimination as African Americans.

On March 6, 1975, Matlovich hand-delivered a letter to his commanding officer at Langley AFB, officially professing to be gay.  He was discharged, despite his exemplary military record and tours of duty in Vietnam, he was ruled unfit for service.  He was given an Honorable discharge in October 1975.  

He sued for reinstatement and in September 1980, US District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell stated the Air Force had failed to provide an explanation why Matlovich did not meets its criteria for exception and ordered him to be reinstated.  Matlovich accepted a financial settlement instead, convinced that the military would find some other reason to discharge him.  

He continued to fight for gay rights until his death in 1988. His tombstone reads: 

"A Gay Vietnam Veteran. When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."

"Hulk" released 2003

Director Ang Lee released his superhero film Hulk in US theaters June 20, 2003, to mixed reviews.  Based on the Marvel Comics character the Incredible Hulk, the movie starred Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, and Nick Nolte.

Although reviews were mixed, it topped the box office in its first weekend beating Finding Nemo, earning $62.1M, making it the 16th highest-ever opening at the time. Roger Ebert gave it a positive review, and he doesn't seem to like anything.

Hulk was nominated for five Saturn Awards, but was up against X2, Return of the King, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  

Happy birthday, astronaut Brian Duffy!

Brian Duffy, born June 20, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, has been in space four times. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1975 and was selected by NASA to become an astronaut in June 1985.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as pilot in March-April 1992.  He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth. 

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as pilot in June-July 1993. He spent 10 days in space before returning to Earth. 

Duffy's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as commander January 11-20, 1996. He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as commander to the International Space Station October 11-24, 2000. He spent 13 days in space before returning to Earth.

Duffy was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame May 14, 2016.

Groundbreaking for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault 2006

On June 19, 2006, the prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland laid the "first stone" of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen Island, Norway.  The vault stores seeds from around the world, to provide security for the world's food supply in case of catastrophe, natural disasters, wars, etc.

Spitsbergen Island was chose since it has no tectonic activity and permafrost to help with preservation.  It is maintained at a constant -18° C.  It is constructed to keep seeds for thousands of years.  

The Tasmanian Devil first appearance 1954

The Tasmanian Devil, Taz, beloved Looney Tunes character, made his first appearance in the short Devil May Hare, June 19, 1954. He appeared in only four more shorts before Warner Brothers Cartoons was shut down in 1964.

However, Taz had his own television series Taz-Mania in 1991, which ran for four seasons.  He was to appear in Who framed Roger Rabbit? but for some reason, he wasn't in the movie.

Taz continues to appear in television and movies.

Celebrating Pride Month: Victim, first English-speaking movie to name homosexuality

Victim, released August 31, 1961 in the United Kingdom, is the first English-speaking film to explicitly name homosexuality and deal with it "sympathetically". It helped with changing attitudes towards LGBT persons in Great Britain.  

Dirk Bogarde stars as a successful barrister in London and is blackmailed for being gay. Upon its release, it was considered controversial to the British Board of Film Censors, and the American Motion Picture Production Code refused a seal of approval.  It received critical acclaim and is now considered a British classic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_(1961_film)#Critical_reception

"Jurassic Park" released 1993

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park was released in US theaters June 11, 1993 and set box-office records across the world. Based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, the movie follows a billionaire's attempt to regenerate dinosaurs on an isolated island.  

What could possibly go wrong?

Jurassic Park starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jeff Goldblum.  It became the highest grossing film at that time.  It reached $100M in a record nine days. It was the first film to gross over $500M overseas.

Jurassic Park won three Academy Awards: Bet Sound, Best Sound Effects, and Best Visual Effects.  Since it was a mix of science fiction and horror, it could not be nominated for Best Picture or any of the acting awards.  Spielberg won Best Directing but for Schindler's List, a drama film.  

Jurassic Park did not receive any Golden Globe awards because the science fiction adventure did not align "with the types of films that were often nominated" for Golden Globes.

It won four Saturn Awards: Steven Spielberg for Best Direction, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Special Effects, and Best Writing.  Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Wayne Knight, Joseph Mazzello, and Arian Richards were nominated for their work.  John Williams was nominated for Best Music, and Jurassic Park received a nomination for Best Costumes. 

John Williams was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his original score.