Japan's first gay pride parade 1994

Japan held its first gay pride parade August 28, 1994.  I can't find much information on it, but I found a clip from this year's Japan pride parade in Tokyo April 2022.

Happy birthday, Jeff Cook, founding member of Alabama!

Jeff Cook, born August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, is one of the founding members of the country super-group Alabama.  He founded the band with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry in 1972. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.

He has released solo projects including a recording with William Shatner.  

In 2017, he disclosed he has Parkinson's disease.

Helen Mirren wins 3rd Primetime Emmy Awards 2006

Dame Helen Mirren won her third Primetime Emmy at the 58th ceremony held August 27, 2006. She took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her performance in Elizabeth I, a miniseries aired on HBO. It was her ninth nomination.

Gillian Anderson was also nominated for the same award for her performance in Bleak House.

Megan Mullaly won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Will & Grace.

Jeremy Irons won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Elizabeth I.

The wonderful Cloris Leachman won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance in Malcolm in the Middle.

Gregory Jarvis, Challenger astronaut, born 1944

Gregory Jarvis, born August 24, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan, died during the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-L) disaster on January 28, 1986. He was a payload specialist for Hughes Aircraft and it was his first mission into space.  He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004.

Happy birthday, Barbara Eden!

Barbara Eden, born August 23, 1931 in Tucson, Arizona, is best known for her role as Jeannie in the iconic I Dream of Jeannie television series, which ran from 1965-1970.  She garnered two Golden Globe nominations for her work. 

Her first appearance was in 1956 an uncredited role in Back from Eternity, which is a remake of Lucille Ball's Five Came Back (1939).  She appeared in the 1961 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, before landing the role of Jeannie in 1965.  Later, she appeared in TV movie Harper Valley P.T.A., and went on to star in two seasons of a series spun off from the movie.

She continues to act and make guest appearances.

Ranger 1 launched 1961

Ranger 1, the first of the Ranger program of unmanned spacecraft missions, was launched August 23, 1961.  Several attempts had been made to launch Ranger 1 throughout July and August, delays due to leak in attitude control gas system, malfunctioning valve in the liquid oxygen tank, power interruptions, etc.

NASA planned for it to reach a high Earth orbit, but due to a engine shutdown only seconds after ignition, it was only able to reach a low Earth orbit.  Ground controllers tried to work with Ranger 1's systems but found it difficult in its low orbit. Its computer system fired the attitude control jets to lock onto the sun so frequently that it ran out of the attitude control jets and could not be stabilized.  The solar panels could not charge so Ranger 1 reverted to battery power which lasted until August 27.  On August 30, it reentered and burned up over the Gulf of Mexico.

"A Faire Day for Murder" by Alan Scott is available from Purple Sword Publishing!

It's a re-release from earlier, but still, I'm excited to announce Purple Sword Publishing has released A Faire Day for Murder by Alan Scott.  

Blurb:

The brutal murder of an old man in his isolated farmhouse and very few clues leaves local law enforcement with no alternative but to ask the Psionic Corps for help.  Ian Houston with his paranormal abilities is called in but his presence isn’t welcomed by all.  The sheriff is convinced the owners of the nearby renaissance faire are behind the murder, especially since the victim was about to evict the faire from his land just as their season was getting underway. 

 

Ian is not convinced the case is so straightforward, especially since there are other people with just as motive for doing away with the old man; the neighbor whom he has had a long-going property dispute, the son who will inherit his lands although the farm isn’t very profitable; one of the many participants and patrons of the faire whom the old man harassed over the years.  To keep innocent people from being charged with murder, Ian must join the renaissance faire as a cast member to see if there is a murderer lurking among the ren folke.

 

Compounding his investigation is the beautiful actress Diana Morgan who instantly steals his heart.  But as a cast member, she is also under suspicion and Ian discovers she may have a dark past, too. 

 

A second murder confounds the investigation and the mystery becomes even more confused.  Meanwhile the sheriff is moving closer to charging the renaissance faire owners with murder.

 

Can Ian use his powers to find the real culprit and prove his new-found friends innocent?

FEDOR, first humanoid robot in space, launched 2019

FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) was a Russian humanoid robot, planned to be able to carry out rescue operations at the International Space Station.  It was launched aboard Soyuz MS-14 on August 22, 2019.  The spaceship docked successfully on August 27.  IT conducted a set of tests successfully on August 30, and on September 6, it returned to earth in the Soyuz re-entry capsule.  Russian scientists concluded that it could not fulfill its mission to replace humans on space walks.  The project has been cancelled.

Happy birthday, Atlantis astronaut Thomas J. Hennen!

Thomas John Hennen, born August 17, 1952 in Albany, Georgia, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-44), a Department of Defense mission in November 1991.  Hennen is the first Warrant Officer within the US Army and Department of Defense to have been selected as a member of a Space Shuttle crew.

He spent almost 7 days in space and completed 10 orbits.  He retired from the Army in December 1995 and lives in Houston, Texas.

Mark Dinning (Teen Angel) born 1933

Mark Dinning, born Max Edward Dinning August 17, 1933 in Manchester, Oklahoma, is famous for his recording of Teen Angel.  The song was written by his sister Jean and her husband Red Surrey and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

Unfortunately, he only had limited success afterwards.  He passed away from a heart attack in Jefferson City, Missouri in 1986. 

"The Concorde ... Airport '79" released 1979

The fourth and final (thank God!) installment of the Airport movie series, The Concorde...Airport '79, was released across the US August 17, 1979.  It opened to negative reviews by critics but it turned out to be an international hit, grossing $65M on a $14M budget.  George Kennedy reprised his role as Joseph Patroni.

It has been listed as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.  Roger Ebert included it in his book I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie.  I had to agree with him as the scene where Patroni fires a gun outside of the cockpit window at high-altitude and super-sonic speeds.

Happy birthday, Antonio Banderas!

Ultra-suave actor Antonio Banderas, born August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Spain, has one of the sexiest voices in Hollywood, as Steve Colbert proves in the video below.

His made his first appearance in False Eyelash, a Spanish film released in 1982, and has since made over 100 movies to date.  His voice-over as Puss 'N Boots from the Shrek movie franchise is one of his most popular roles.  He came to fame for his performance in Mambo Kings (1992) and then as Tom Hanks' lover in Philadelphia (1993).  He has starred in the Spy Kids franchise and made an appearance in The Expendables 3.

He has been nominated for an Oscar and has plenty of projects on the way, including Indiana Jones 5, which is in post-production.