Happy birthday, Cassian Andor actor Diego Luna!

Uber-sexy actor Diego Luna, born December 29, 1979 in Mexico City, Mexico, has set the universe alive with his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Star Wars: Rogue One and then on Disney's Andor.  He has won numerous awards from the Latin and Spanish communities, and has received a Golden Globe nomination for his work in Andor!

Bion 10 (Kosmos 2229) launched 1992

 

Bion 10, or Kosmos 2229, a Russian spacecraft as part of a multinational effort, was launched December 29, 1992.  It carried two monkeys, plants, cell cultures, insects, and amphibians. The Rhesus monkeys were trained to activate food and juice dispensers, to operate a foot pedal to study muscles responses, and to make hand and head movements in response to visual stimuli.

The countries involved were Canada, France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, China, Russia, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan, and the European Space Agency.

The spacecraft orbited Earth for almost 12 days, before landing successfully on January 10, 1993.

Happy birthday, Denzel Washington!

One of the sexiest and talented actors in Hollywood, Denzel Washington, was born December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York.  He has won numerous awards for his acting, including two Oscars, the first African-American actor to win twice.  He is the second African-American to win an Oscar for Best Leading Actor.  

I enjoyed his work in Philadelphia and Unstoppable but my favorite movie of his is The Book of Eli.  I just found out he did all of his own stunts in the fight scenes.  The one in the video clip below shows how bad-ass he is! 

Happy birthday, actress C.C.H. Pounder!

I love actress C.C.H. Pounder, born December 25, 1952 in Guyana.  I liked her in Millennium but really became a fan of hers when she appeared in Warehouse 13.  She starred in an episode of The X-Files, Duane Barry, for which she earned a Primetime Emmy nomination.  

She also received numerous awards and nominations for her work on The Shield. I enjoy watching her in NCIS: New Orleans, and most recently her cameo in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. 

Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Santa Claus" airs 1993

Mike and the bots were subjected to the campy, Spanish movie Santa Claus, December 24, 1993 on Mystery Science Theater 3000.  In this film, Santa Claus must deal with an imp from the devil who tries to brainwash Earth's children.  Viewers can really feel their pain!

Fortunately, Kevin Murphy appears briefly as the real Santa Claus!

One of the best lines: 

Narrator: [in film] Children from the USA...

Crow T. Robot: ...are too spoiled and lazy to help Santa!

Happy birthday, Samuel L Jackson!

Sexy and talented actor Samuel L. Jackson, born December 21, 1948 in Washington, DC is one of my favorite actors.  He has won numerous awards for his acting and has been nominated for an Oscar.  He's appeared in many of my favorite movies, too.  He has played Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mace Windu in the Star Wars movies, and he is the voice of Frozone in the Incredibles movies.

Other movies that I enjoy watching him in are Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic Park, and 1408.

Luna 13 launched 1966

Luna 13, a Soviet spacecraft, was launched to the moon December 21, 1966.  It became the third spacecraft to successfully land on the moon.  The first was Luna 9 in February 1966. The second was NASA's Surveyor 1 in May 1966.

It landed on December 24 in the Ocean of Storms (Oceanus Procellarum) between the Krafft and Seleucus craters.  Luna 13 took 5 panorama pictures, each taking 100 minutes to transmit.  

Contact was lost December 28 when the batteries were depleted.