Foghorn Leghorn, Bugs Bunny's overweight, blowhard chicken friend, made his television debut August 31, 1946 in the Looney Tunes cartoon short Walky Talky Hawky from Warner Brothers Animation. He was created by Warren Foster and Robert McKimson, who directed all 29 Foghorn Leghorn cartoons from 1946 to 1946.
He had a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Pavel Vinogradov, born August 31, 1953 in Magadan in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three space flights.
His first flight was aboard Soyuz TM-26 as flight engineer to the space station Mir in August 1997. He remained on board for almost 198 days before returning to Earth in February 1998.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-8 as commander to the International Space Station in March 2006. He participated in Expedition 13 and conducted 2 EVAs. He returned to Earth in September after almost 181 days.
His third flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-08M as commander to the ISS in March 2013. He participated in Expeditions 35 and 36. He stayed aboard for over 166 days before returning to Earth in September 2013.
Megan McArthur, born August 30, 1971 in Honolulu, Hawaii, went into space on Atlantis (STS-125) as mission specialist to service the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2009. It was the last mission to the Hubble.
She is scheduled to be a member of SpaceX Crew-2 which will launch sometime next year.
She is married to fellow astronaut Robert Behnken.
One of my guilty favorites, Jeepers Creepers 2 was released August 29, 2003. It's a typical monster movie with a hideous creature attacking and killing stranded teenagers. A friend of ours was the casting director so that's why we watched it in the first place.
It opened to mostly negative reviews,but some rated it higher than the original. It was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Horror film.
Thomas Marshburn, born August 29, 1960 in Statesville, North Carolina, is a veteran of two space flights and has spent over 161 days in space.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-127) as mission specialist to the International Space Station. He participated in three EVAs during the mission for a total of about 19 hours.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-07M as flight engineer to the ISS in December 2012 with birthday twin Chris Hadfield. He participated in Expeditions 34 and 35. He returned to Earth in May 2013.
The very first Gay Games were held in San Francisco from August 28 to September 5, 1982. San Francisco was chosen because of the large gay and lesbian population, and the games had support from local government. Tina Turner performed at the opening ceremonies and Stephanie Mills performed at the closing. The torch was lit by two former US Olympians from a flame that had been carried on a torch starting at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
The organizers of the games reached out to recruit athletes from minority groups, such as people of color, women and rural gays.
Civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He started his speech saying that although the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves, "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.".
One of the most quoted lines from his (or any) speech:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"
Sergei Krikalev, born August 27, 1958 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia), is a veteran of six space flights.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-7 as Flight Engineer to the space station Mir. He participated in Mir EO-4, spending 151 days in space.
His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-12 as flight engineer to Mir in May 1991. He participated in expedition Mir EO-9. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-13 in March 1992.
His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-60) as mission specialist in February 1994. He was the first cosmonaut aboard a Space Shuttle.
His fourth mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-88) as mission specialist in December 1998. The mission took the Unity node to the ISS.
His fifth mission was aboard Soyuz TM-31 to the International Space Station in October 2000. He participated in Expedition 1. He returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-102) in March 2001.
His sixth and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-6 as Commander in April 2005 to the International Space Station. where he participated in Expedition 11. He returned to Earth in October.
He has spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
Grease, the title song for the movie Grease, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, August 26, 1978 and stayed there for two weeks. Barry Gibb wrote the song and Frankie Valli performed it.
It was one of four original songs not part of the original musical, and it is the only one not performed by the cast. It reached double platinum status.
Kathryn "Kay" Hire, born August 29, 1959 in Mobile, Alabama, has been in space twice. After getting her Bachelor of Science at the US Naval Academy, she got her Master of Science degree in Space Technology just up the road here at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida! She was the first employee of the Kennedy Space Center to be chosen as an astronaut candidate.
Her first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-90) as mission specialist in April-May 1998. It was the final flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab module.
Her second and last flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2010. The primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic controls station with six windows, providing a 360° view around the ISS.
Beautiful and over-talented Jessica Lange won a Primetime Emmy for her portrayal as Fiona Goode on American Horror Story: Coven at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards August 25, 2014. The third season of AHS starred Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Angela Bassett and Evan Peters.
Vivian Campbell, born August 25, 1962 in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is best known for being a guitarist for Def Leppard since 1992. Okay, that was before I became a fan, but I'm enjoying him. He worked with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. He replaced Steve Clark, who passed away in January 1991.
He has recorded with Def Leppard since Retro Active in 1993.
Richard Richards, born August 24, 1946 in Key West, Florida, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-28) as pilot in August 1989. The mission was dedicated to the Department of Defense.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-41) as commander in October 1990. The primary mission was the deployment of the Ulysses probe.
His third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-50) as commander in June-July 1992. It was the first time the US Microgravity Laboratory was taken into orbit.
His fourth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-64) as commander in September 1994. The mission saw the first untethered EVA in ten years.
Bolaji Badejo, born August 23, 1953 in Lagos, Nigeria, starred in only one movie, Alien, when he played the terrifying xenomorph. At least he made that one role count! Although he had no experience as an actor, his 6'10" body made him ideal for the part.
He passed away in December 1992 from sickle cell anemia.
Soyuz MS-14, an unmanned spacecraft, was launched August 22, 2019 to the International Space Station. It was the first unpiloted mission of the Soyuz program to the ISS and the first Soyuz crew vessel without a crew in 33 years.
Its mission was to test a modification of the launch abort system. Its first attempt at docking with the ISS on August 24 was unsuccessful and cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin commanded it to back a safe distance away from the space station. They tried again, this time using a manual docking procedure and successfully docked with the ISS on August 27.
Patsy Cline, one of the queens of country music, recorded Crazy, a ballad composed by Willie Nelson, August 21, 1961. It has been covered by many other artists, but Patsy's performance has made the song hers. It reached #2 in 1962.
Beautiful actress Carrie-Ann Moss, born August 21, 1967 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has starred in blockbuster movies such as The Matrix. I've been a fan of hers since then and I've enjoyed her in The Red Planet and Pompeii.
She was nominated for a Saturn award for her role in The Matrix. According to imdb.com, she will appear in The Matrix 4, to be released in 2022.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky debuted his The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, Op. 49, better known as the 1812 Overture in Moscow, Russia August 20, 1880. He later conducted a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
He composed it to commemorate Russia's successful defense against an invasion by Napoleon in 1812. It is best known for the finale which includes cannon fire and chimes. It has become on of his most popular works along with the Nutcracker Suite.
Soyuz T-7, launched August 19, 1982, was the third mission to the Salyut 7 space station. Its crew consisted of Commander Leonid Popov, Aleksandr Serebrov and Svetlana Savitskaya. They swapped places with the Salyut 7 crew and remained aboard.
Soyuz T-7 returned to Earth in December 1982 with Anatoli Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev.
Charles Bolden, born August 19, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions and a former NASA administrator.
His first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as pilot in January 1986. He was the second African-American to pilot a space shuttle.
His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as pilot in April 1990. The mission launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as commander in March-April 1992. It was a nine-day mission of scientific experiments.
His fourth and final trip was aboard Discovery (STS-60) as commander in February 1994. During the mission, the crew managed a link-up with the cosmonauts on Mir.
President Obama appointed Bolden as NASA's administrator in 2009. He resigned from NASA in 2017.
Although it didn't live up to its hype, Snakes on a Plane, released August 18, 2006, is a fun movie. Its campiness makes up for its lack in other areas. The movie gained a lot of pre-release buzz on the Internet, and people were looking forward to seeing it in theaters. However, it did not live up to the expectations New Line Cinema had hoped for. It only grossed about $62M world-wide.
Samuel L. Jackson played the lead and his famous line "I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!" was voted #55 of the 100 Greatest Movie Lines by Premiere in 2007.
Sergei Treshchov, born August 18, 1958 in Russia, went into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-111) as an ISS Flight Engineer to the International Space Station. He participated in Expedition 5 and conducted one spacewalk for 5 hours and 21 minutes.
He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-113) after spending almost 185 days in space.
Pioneer 7, launched August 17, 1966, was part of NASA's program designed to make detailed, comprehensive measurements of solar wind, solar magnetic field and cosmic rays.
Robert Thirsk, born August 17, 1953 in British Columbia, Canada, has been in space twice. He holds the Canadian record for most time spent in space - 204 days, 18 hours.
His first trip was aboard Columbia (STS-78) as payload specialist in June 1996. The mission was in preparation for the International Space Station. He stayed in space for almost 17 days.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-15 to the International Space Station in May 2009. He participated in Expeditions 20 and 21. He returned to Earth in December 2009.
On August 15, 1977, a strong radio signal much more powerful than the normal background radio noise was detected by Ohio State University's Big Ear telescope. It lasted 72 seconds.
A few days later, Jerry Ehman discovered the anomaly while reviewing the data. He circled the the string of letters "6EQUJ5" and wrote "Wow!" next to it. The signal has never been detected again and its source has never been determined. Some people consider it to be the first ever transmission of extraterrestrial origin. It possibly came from the Sagittarius constellation.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, born August 14, 1969 in Arcadia, California, is a veteran of two missions into space. She studied atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine.
Her first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-118) as mission specialist in August 2007 to the International Space Station. She celebrated her 38th birthday during the flight.
Her second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-18 as flight engineer in April 2010. She participated in Expeditions 23 and 24. She returned to Earth in September 2010.
The undisputed master of horror Alfred Hitchcock was born August 13, 1899 in London, England. He directed some of the scariest movies in all cinema history, including my favorites Psycho, The Birds and Rebecca.
He was nominated for an Oscar four times for Best Director but never won. He did win an Academy Award for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968.
The International Cometary Explorer (ICE), also known as the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3), was launched August 12, 1978. It became the first spacecraft to visit a comet, when it encountered Comet Giacobini-Zinner in September 1985.
It made a flyby of Halley's Comet in March 1986, but the closest it got to the comet's nucleus was 28M kilometers. By comparison, Earth's minimum distance was 20.8M kilometers.
Contact with the probe was lost September 16, 2014.
The Abyss, James Cameron's underwater sci-fi flick, was released August 9, 1989. It starred Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. The story is about a group of diving experts who are called upon to help recover a sunken nuclear submarine. In the process, they discover underwater aliens. It was kind of an underwater Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It was a box office success and received good reviews. It won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
Xanadu, released August 8, 1980, starred Olivia Newton-John and featured songs by the Electric Light Orchestra. The movie bombed at the box office, but has since gained a cult following. It has also been rated as one of the best bad movies ever made.
Its soundtrack went double platinum and Olivia Newton-John was nominated for a Grammy for her song Magic.
Front row (L-R): Richard Richards, Brewster Shaw, David Leestma
Back row (L-R): Mark Brown, James Adamson
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-28), launched August 8, 1989, was the fourth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Its crew consisted of Commander Brewster Shaw, Pilot Richard Richards, James Adamson, David Leestma and Mark Brown.
The crew deployed two reconnaissance satellites during the mission. They returned to Earth August 13.
ZZ Top's eighth album Eliminator achieved Diamond status August 7, 1983, selling 10,000,000 copies. It was released in March 1983 and is considered their most popular release. Rolling Stone listed it on its 500 Great Albums of All Time and 39th in the 100 Greatest Album of of the 1980's. Eliminator went Diamond in Canada, and multiple platinum Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.
Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Jan Davis, Bjami Tryggvason
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery, launched August 7, 1997, carried a number of experiments into space. Its crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger (whose birthday is today), Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, and Bjami Tryggvason (CSA).
Ken Rominger, born August 7, 1956 in Del Norte, Colorado, is a veteran of five space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as pilot in October 1995. It was the second mission of the US Microgravity Laboratory.
His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-80) as pilot in November-December 1996. It was the longest Shuttle mission at 17 days, 15 hours and 53 minutes.
His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-85) as pilot in August 1997. Rominger was originally not assigned to this flight, but replaced Jeffrey Ashby, who asked to be relieved in order to take care of his dying wife.
His fourth flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as commander to the International Space Station in May-June 1999.
His fifth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as commander to the ISS in April-May 2001. The mission installed the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
Juno, launched August 5, 2011, is currently orbiting Jupiter sending back tons of data on the largest planet in our solar system. It reached Jupiter in July 2016 and its mission has been extended into July 2021.
Juno is the first probe to use solar panels instead of radioisotopoe thermoelectric generators (RTG) used by previous missions.
It also carries a plaque dedicated to Galileo Galilei, provided by the Italian Space Agency.
Leonid Kizim, born August 5, 1941 in present-day Ukraine, was a veteran of three space flights.
His first flight was aboard Soyuz T-3 to the Salyut 6 space station in November 1980. He stayed in space for almost 13 days before returning to Earth.
His second flight was on Soyuz T-10 to the Salyut 7 space station in February 1984. He and his fellow cosmonauts had to enter Salyut 7 with flashlights until they could reactivate the station. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz T-11 in October 1984
His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-15 to Salyut 7 and Mir space stations in March 1986. It was the first time a spacecraft visited two space stations in the same mission. He returned to Earth in July 1986.
Maureen McGovern's performance of The Morning After from The Poseidon Adventure reached #1 on the Billboard charts August 4, 1973 and stayed there for two weeks. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in March 1973.
Shortly before the crew of Apollo 15 (Commander David Scott, Alfred Worden, James Irwin) left the moon after a successful mission, they launched a "subsatellite", the Apollo 15 Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-1), August 4, 1971. Its main objectives were to study the plasma, particle and magnetic field of the moon. PFS-1 transmitted data until January 1973. A series of failures resulted in the termination from the ground support. It's assumed that it crashed on the moon sometime after that.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon, consisting of Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico today about 2:48PM EDT! The last time NASA had a mission splashdown was in 1975 when Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton returned from the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Bob and Doug spent 62 days aboard the International Space Station participating in Expedition 63. Behnken conducted four EVAs with fellow astronaut Chris Cassidy during the mission.
Insanely sexy actor Jason Momoa, who played DC Comic's Aquaman on the big screen, was born August 1, 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Iowa.
He appeared in Game of Thrones as Khal Drogo, before landing the role of Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and Justice League in 2017. He starred as Aquaman in his own movie in 2018 with a sequel planned for release in 2022.
He will play Duncan Idaho in the upcoming release of Frank Herbert's Dune.
Another Marvel comic burst onto the big screen, Guardians of the Galaxy, released August 1, 2014. A gang of intergalactic criminals band together to protect a powerful orb, stolen by Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt), from a villain bent on using it to destroy the universe.
It also starred Zoe Saldana (Uhura from the Star Trek movies), Dave Bautista, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel provided voices for Rocket and Groot, respectively.
After its release, it became the third highest-grossing film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and garnered mainly positive reviews.
It was nominated for two Oscars and a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for its Awesome Mix Vol. 1, which reached #1 on the Billboard 200, the first soundtrack without original music to do so.
Lunar Orbiter 5, launched August 1, 1967, was the last of NASA's Lunar Orbiter program, designed to take images of the Moon's far side. It reached the Moon on August 5 and took pictures from August 6-18, including photos of Tranquility Base, the future site of the Apollo 11 landing.
NASA deorbited it and it struck the lunar surface on January 31, 1968.
