JRR Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He was a professor of Anglo-Saxon language at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and of English language and literature, also at Oxford, from 1945 to 1959.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973)
Posted in Because I Can, Literary, The Big Screen
Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992)
Dr. Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born American Jewish author and biochemist, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series, which was part of one of his two major series, the Galactic Empire Series, later merged with his other famous story arc, the Robot series. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of non-fiction. Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 volumes and an estimated 90,000 letters or postcards, and he has works in every major category of the Dewey Decimal System except Philosophy. Asimov was by consensus a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered to be one of the “Big Three” science-fiction writers during his lifetime.
Most of Asimov’s popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going back as far as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often gives nationalities, birth dates and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms.
The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or Three Laws) are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story “Runaround”, although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. The Three Laws are:
Posted in Because I Can, Literary
Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992)
Roger Miller was an American singer, songwriter, and musician.
Wikipedia Link
Posted in Because I Can, Music
John Robert “Joe” Cocker, OBE (May 20, 1944 – December 22, 2014) was an English rock and blues singer and musician who came to popularity in the 1960s. He was known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles.
Cocker’s cover of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” reached number one in the UK in 1968. He performed the song live at Woodstock in 1969, and at the Party at the Palace concert for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002. His version also became the theme song for the TV series The Wonder Years. His 1974 cover of “You Are So Beautiful“, reached number five in the US. Cocker was the recipient of several awards, including a 1983 Grammy Award for his US number one “Up Where We Belong”, a duet with Jennifer Warnes.
Joe Cocker died of lung cancer on December 22, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbMyksobL-U
This North American F-86A Sabre built in 1948 is back on U.S. soil after a 22 year hiatus in Europe. The airplane is the only surviving “A” model rescued from a scrap yard in the ’70s and is the oldest flying jet in the world.
Posted in Because I Can, Patriotic, Planes Trains and Automobiles
This amazing display of holiday lights can be found at Denver’s Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space museum.
Posted in Planes Trains and Automobiles
Posted in Because I Can
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IsL5AMqLMY
Carson’s mom Karen told KRDO that they’d been getting special formula delivered via UPS since the kid’s birth because he can’t drink anything with “milk protein in it.” Apparently Carson “loved trucks in general” and was always fired up to see the UPS box rig.
The family had built a relationship with the route’s driver, “Mr. Ernie,” who surprised Carson with a kid-sized delivery truck of his own and a few packages to bring to the neighbors.
The event is tied in with UPS’s “Wish Delivered” campaign which basically makes cute moments like this happen for kids. UPS donates $1 up to $100,000 to The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The Salvation Army or Toys for Tots Literacy Program for every “wish suggestion” submitted on social media with the tag #WishesDelivered.
Posted in Because I Can, Humor
No other plane in history has captured the hearts and minds of the American public quite like the SR-71 Blackbird, providing the West with an unprecedented look behind the Iron Curtain during its 33 year operational career. But before it was cracking the skies over Russia at mach 3.3, the Cold War spy plane had to prove itself during a series of test flights. The first of those took place on December 22, 1964.
Designed by the venerable Lockheed “Skunk Works” group, the SR-71 grew out of the earlier A-12 program and was built to replace the older, slower U-2 spy plane. The Blackbirds, of which 32 were built in total, were tasked with high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance missions for the US Air Force, usually flying at around 85,000 feet (high enough to require pressurized suits) and traveling at more than twice the speed of sound. This was no easy feat, and over the course of their 33 year operation, a dozen SR-71s were lost.
After the USAF retired the Blackbirds in 1999, two were donated to NASA for use as high-speed test platforms, while the remainder have found their ways to various aviation museums around the country. It remains, however, the world’s fastest airplane.
Posted in Because I Can, On This Day, Planes Trains and Automobiles
