"Destroy All Monsters" released 1968

The ninth picture in the Godzilla series, Destroy All Monsters, was unleashed on Japaneses audiences August 1, 1968.  U.S. audiences had to wait until May the next year to see it. 

In one big departure from other Godzilla movies, in Destroy All Monsters, mankind has actually managed to contain all Earth's monsters, including Rodan, Mothra and the G-Man himself on an island, Monsterland.  Why didn't they deploy the same measures earlier?  Or after?  But it quickly becomes a plot that Toho Company will use over and over again.

And then again.

Aliens arrive and unleash the monsters from Monsterland and set them attacking the world.  Godzilla attacks the UN building in New York City.  Rodan destroys Moscow and Mothra goes after Beijing. 

With Earth's forces dealing with the monsters, the aliens establish an underground fort near Mount Fuji.  A brave force destroys the aliens' outpost on the moon and free the monsters from the alien influence. 

But then the aliens unleash...wait for it...King Ghidorah.  And the plot is complete.

The movie features 11 monsters featured in previous Godzilla and other Japanese movies that aren't connected with the G-Man films, such as Baragon (Frankenstein Conquers the World), Gorosaurus (King Kong Escapes), Manda (Atragon) and Varan (Daikaiju Baran [Don't ask.  I don't know what it means, either.]).

Glenn Miller records "In The Mood" 1939

Glenn Miller and his orchestra entered the RCA studios in New York City on August 1, 1939, and recorded one of the best-known, most-beloved instrumentals of all time, In the Mood. 

In the Mood was an arrangement by Joe Garland (African-American composer and arranger) based on a pre-existing melody and Andy Razaf (African-American composer and lyricist) wrote the lyrics.  Edgar Hayes and his orchestra recorded In the Mood first in 1938, and featured bari saxophones instead of tenor saxes. 

Garland sold his arrangement to Artie Shaw in 1938, who did not record it but did perform it in a concert.  The audience was under-whelmed.

Miller bought the tune in 1939, who played with the arrangement for a while, before recording on August 1.

It became an instant hit and stayed at the top of the Record Buying Guide for 13 weeks and the Billboard charts for 30 weeks. 

Glenn Miller's recording of In the Mood was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko!

Yuri (Yury? Whatever.) Romanenko, born August 1, 1944 in the former Soviet Union, is a cosmonaut and a veteran of three missions to space. 

His first trip was aboard Soyuz 26 to Salyut 6 in December 1977.  During this mission, he performed an EVA, lasting one and a half hours.

His second trip was with Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez on Soyuz 38 in December 1980, to Salyut 6, but remained on board for only 7 days.

His third and final mission was on Soyuz TM-2 in February 1987 to the Mir space station.  He spent 326 days aboard Mir, which was a record back then.  He also conducted 3 EVA for a total of 8 hours, 48 minutes.   He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-3 in December 1987.

He retired from flights in 1988 to become the director of the Buran program, which was cancelled in 1993.

His son Roman, born August 9, 1971, is also a cosmonaut and commanded Soyuz TMA-15.

"Monster A-Go Go" released 1965

Universally accepted as one of the worst films ever made, Monster A-Go-Go was released July 1965.  It is a black and white science fiction film directed by Bill Rebane and an uncredited Herschell Gordon Lewis. 

Rebane began filming the movie but ran out of money and abandoned it in 1961.  Lewis needed a second film for a double-feature, so he bought the film and added some scenes to it.  He was unable to gather the original cast members, which resulted in half the characters disappearing halfway through the movie with no explanation.  One actor from the original who appeared in the Lewis version had changed his looks so dramatically, he had to play the brother of his original character.

The result is a disjointed, incoherent film that leaves the audience thinking "Huh?"  The ending is left wide open with little resolution, almost as if there was a sequel planned.  We are so lucky there never was one.

However, the movie lives on in Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes.

Def Leppard releases "X" 2002

Def Leppard released X, their eighth studio album (and tenth album overall) July 30, 2002.  The album was a departure from their previous sound and did not sell as well as the previous albums.  It did not receive any RIAA certifications.

X generated three singles, Now, Four Letter Word and Long, Long Way to Go.  Now made it to #23 and Long, Long Way to Go made it to #40, their last Top 40 hit.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Aleksandr Balandin!

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin, born July 30, 1953 is a Russian cosmonaut who made one trip into space.  It was aboard Soyuz TM-9  as a flight engineer to space station Mir.  It launched February 11, 1990 and returned to Earth August 9, after 179 days in space. 

Challenger (STS-51-F) launched 1985

Front row (seated) L–R: Gordon Fullerton, Roy Bridges, 

Back row (standing) L–R: Anthony England, Karl Henize, F. Story Musgrave, Loren Acton, John-David Bartoe

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-F), launched July 29, 1985, was the only shuttle mission that had to "Abort To Orbit" (ATO).  Shortly after liftoff, a number of sensor failings caused the main engine to shut down and the crew had to abort to orbit.  They achieved orbit at a lower altitude and managed to complete their mission successfully.

Its crew consisted of Commander Gordon Fullerton, Pilot Roy Bridges, Karl Henize, F. Story Musgrave, Anthony England, Loren Acton and John-David Bartoe.  Challenger's primary payload was the lab module Spacelab 2, which involved multiple experiments related to life sciences and physics.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi provided carbonated drinks for the mission in specially-designed cans, but the crew preferred Tang, since it could be mixed with chilled water available on the shuttle.  The carbonated beverages weren't refrigerated and foamed excessively in microgravity.

They returned to Earth August 6.