Happy birthday, Chris Pratt!

Hunky, adorable Chris Pratt, born June 21, 1979 in Virginia, Minnesota, has appeared in many blockbuster action movies.  His first big acting job came in 2002 when he starred with Treat Williams in Everwood.  Then in 2014, he landed the role of Peter Quill in the Guardians of the Galaxy, which has spawned two sequels.  As Quill, he has appeared in other MCU movies with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder.  He appeared in the second Jurassic Park trilogy.

He won a Saturn Award in 2015 for his performance in Guardians of the Galaxy. He is currently voicing the character of Garfield in The Garfield Movie.

And he's has more performances in progress.  

Go, sexy!

Happy birthday, Winona Ryder!

I remember first seeing Winona Ryder (born October 29, 1971 in Winona, Minnesota) in Heathers and reading all the rave reviews about her acting, especially after her performance in Mermaids, which I did not see.  

I guess I became a bigger fan when I saw her in Alien: Resurrection and then in the Star Trek reboot as Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson.  But what cemented it for me was her performance in Stranger Things.  I think she did an amazing job and is underappreciated for her work.  

She has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been nominated for Golden Globes for her performance in Stranger Things.  For Alien: Resurrection she got a nomination for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination as Worst Supporting Actress from the Stinker Bad Movies Award.

Happy birthday, Dark Shadows actress Kathryn Leigh Scott!

Kathryn Leigh Scott, born January 26, 1943 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, is best known for her role as Maggie Evans on the cult classic Dark Shadows.  Since the series ended, she has appeared in Space:1999, Hawaii Five-O, The Incredible Hulk, and Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Who Watches the Watchers.

Dale Gardner, Space Shuttle astronaut, born November 9, 1948

Dale Gardner, born November 8, 1948 in Fairmont, Minnesota, was a veteran of two space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Challenger (STS-8) as mission specialist in August-September 1983.  The primary mission was the deployment of an Indian communications and weather observation satellite.

His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as mission specialist in November 1984.  He performed two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut Joseph Allen, for almost 12 hours.  

Gardner passed away in February 2014 after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke.  

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Duane Carey!

Duane Carey, born April 30, 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-109) as pilot in March 2002.  It was the fourth mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.  He spent almost 11 days in space.

Happy birthday, astronaut Karen Nyberg!

Karen Nyberg, born October 7, 1969 in Parker's Prairie, Minnesota, has been in space twice. 

Her first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-124) as mission specialist in May-June 2008.  She served as the lead for all the robotic arm operations.

Her second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-09M as flight engineer to the International Space Station, launched in May 2013.  She was part of the crew of Expedition 36.  They returned to Earth in September.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper!

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, born February 7, 1963 in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  She obtained the rank of Captain in the US Navy.

Her first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-115) as mission specialist in September 2006.  She conducted two EVAs during the mission for a total of 12 hours and 8 minutes.

She then commanded the 12th expedition to NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 12) in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in May 2007.

Her second and final flight was as mission specialist on Endeavour (STS-126) in November 2008.  She participated in three of four EVAs during the flight, which brought her total time in EVA to 33 hours and 42 minutes. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Cabana!

Robert Cabana, born January 23, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  He became a naval aviator in the US Marine Corps.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-41) in October 1990 as pilot.  The primary objective of the mission was to launch the Ulysses probe which was to study the polar regions of the sun. 

His second flight was again on Discovery (STS-53) and as pilot in December 1992.  It was a mission for the US Department of Defense.

Cabana's third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-65) in July 1994 as commander.  The crew conducted experiments from the space agencies from Japan, Canada, Germany and France as well as NASA and the ESA.

His fourth and final mission was on Endeavour (STS-88) in December 1998 as commander.  It was the first space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

After he retired from being an astronaut he became director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

Celebrating Pride Month - James Hormel, first openly gay ambassador for U.S.

James Hormel, born January 1, 1933 in Austin, Minnesota, is the first openly gay man to serve as a U.S. Ambassador.  He is a grandson and an heir to the founder of the Hormel Foods. 

In 1994, President Clinton considered him to be the ambassador to Fiji, but at the time gay sex in Fiji was punishable by prison sentences so his nomination was never forwarded.

In 1997, Clinton nominated him as ambassador to Luxembourg, which had removed laws prohibiting consensual same-sex acts in the 1800s.  Despite vigorous opposition, his nomination was approved and he was sworn in as ambassador in June 1999.

Happy birthday, Tippi Hedren!

Tippi Hedren, born January 19, 1930 in New Ulm, Minnesota, is probably best known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.  She had only one role prior to Hitchcock casting her in his  masterpiece.

She is still acting but also maintains a sanctuary for retired big cats in California, named Shambala.

Discovery (STS-51-A) launched 1984

L-R: Dale Gardner, David Walker, Anna Fisher, Fred Hauck, Joseph Allen

(That's not a real bald eagle.)

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A) took off from Kennedy Space Center November 8, 1984 and landed back there 8 days later.  It was her second flight.  During the mission, the crew of Discovery deployed two satellites and retrieved two other satellites that were malfunctioning.  Her crew consisted of Commander Fred Hauck, Pilot David Walker, Mission Specialist Joseph Allen, Mission Specialist Anna Fisher and Mission Specialist Dale Gardner.

Gardner and Allen performed the EVAs to capture the satellites.

Anna Fisher was the first mother in space.  She had a one year-old daughter at the time of the mission.

The mission began on Dale Gardner's 36th birthday.  He was born November 8, 1948 in Fairmount, Minnesota and passed away February 19th 2014.  David Walker has also passed away.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the 20th century's greatest writers

F. Scott Fitzgerald, born this day in 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota, is best known for his novel The Great Gatsby, which did not receive critical acclaim until after his death in December 1940.  Widely regarded as one the greatest American writers of the 20^th century, he wrote only five novels, but the fifth, The Love of the Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. 

When The Great Gatsby was published in April 1925, it received mixed reviews and sold only 20,000 copies in the first year.  He supplemented his income by writing short stories to magazines and sold stories and novels to Hollywood studios, ‘whoring’ as he called it.

He died of a heart attack in Hollywood after attending a movie premiere the night before.  Fitzgerald is buried in the family plot at St. Mary’s Church in Rockville, Maryland.