Category Archives: Because I Can

RIP “Crocodile Hunter” – It’s been 10 years

Stephen Robert Irwin(February 22, 1962 – September 4, 2006)
“The Crocodile Hunter.”

 

Blue Whirl

RIP J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) 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.

J.R.R. TolkienWikipedia Link

SR-71 ‘Blackbird’ Sets ‘Speed Over a Recognized Course’ record

SR-71

The SR-71 holds the “Speed Over a Recognized Course” record for flying from New York to London distance 3,508 miles (5,646 km), 1,435.587 miles per hour (2,310.353 km/h), and an elapsed time of 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, set on September 1, 1974 while flown by U.S. Air Force Pilot Maj. James V. Sullivan and Maj. Noel F. Widdifield, reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). This equates to an average velocity of about Mach 2.68, including deceleration for in-flight refueling. Peak speeds during this flight were probably closer to the declassified top speed of Mach 3.2+. For comparison, the best commercial Concorde flight time was 2 hours 52 minutes, and the Boeing 747 averages 6 hours 15 minutes.

Wikipedia Link

RIP Princess Diana

Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales (July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997)

Wikipedia Link

Happy Birthday, Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, (born August 31, 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It’s Too Late to Stop Now, are widely viewed as among the greatest ever made.

Wikipedia Link

RIP Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen (“Stevie”) Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, known as one of the most influential electric blues musicians in history. He is often referred to by his initials, SRV.

Accidental death
Vaughan’s comeback was cut short when, in the early morning of August 27, 1990, he died in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. After a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater, where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, the musicians expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. Stevie was informed that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton and his crew, enough for Stevie, Jimmie, and Jimmie’s wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie requested from his brother; Jimmie obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill within the Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and members of Clapton’s crew (his agent, assistant tour manager, and a bodyguard) died on impact. No one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago, and the wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bond

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25, 1930) is an Oscar-winning Scottish film and stage actor who is best known as the original cinematic James Bond. His character’s catch phrase “Bond, James Bond” has become considerably famous.

Sean ConneryWikipedia Link

RIP Elvis!

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977)


Wikipedia Link

Elvis Aaron Presley, was an American singer, musician and actor. He is a cultural icon, often known as “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, or simply “The King”.

72nd Annual Gerry Rodeo

Gerry Rodeo

2016 Gerry Rodeo

72nd Annual Rodeo August 3 – August 6, 2016

Wednesday thru Saturday Evening Performances   8:00 P.M.

Saturday Afternoon Performance   2:00 P.M.

Famous Beef Barbeque Dinners  Each Evening   5:00-7:30 P.M.

– Click to see the brochure (link removed)

Website

STS-135 lands

Space shuttle Atlantis lands for the STS-135 mission marking the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Time of landing was 5:57 a.m. (EDT) on July 21, 2011.

The “just at dawn” landing was one of the most memorable landings ever, as shown in this picture:

STS-135 Landing

 

Sort itself out

sort_itself_out

Beautiful Day

beautiful

STS-135 launch

Space shuttle Atlantis launches for the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station in the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff was at 11:29 a.m. (EDT) on July 8, 2011. Astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander; Doug Hurley, pilot; Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, both mission specialists, were on board.

STS-135 launch

 

Just saying…

There have, to date, been no “amendments” to the Bible.  Interesting, no?

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July

RIP Andy Griffith

Andrew Samuel "Andy" Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012)

Andrew Samuel “Andy” Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012)

Andy Griffith was an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan’s epic film, A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–68 situation comedy, The Andy Griffith Show, and in the 1986–95 legal drama, Matlock. Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005. Griffith died on July 3, 2012 at the age of 86.

Wikipedia Link

Canada 150

canada_150

It’s called Canada 150 in reference to the upcoming 150th anniversary of the formation of the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. The breed is a gift from the Netherlands to celebrate the occasion. Like the Canadian flag, there are red and white fields. The splash of red in the middle resembles the maple leaf on that flag. CTV News Ottawa reports:

More than 200,000 of the Canada 150 tulips will bloom across the National Capital Region this spring. Next year 300,000 will be showcased in the NCC’s flower beds, with thousands more expected to be planted in community gardens across Canada.

Tulip admirers can purchase their own Canada 150 tulip at Home Hardware starting in September.

Abbott and Costello on Unemployment…

COSTELLO:  I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America  .

ABBOTT: Good Subject.  Terrible Times.  It’s 5.6%.

COSTELLO:  That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.

COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.

ABBOTT:  5.6% Unemployed.

COSTELLO:  Right 5.6% out of work.

ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.

COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s  23% unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.

COSTELLO:  WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?

ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed.  23% are out of work.

COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT:  No, Obama said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed.  You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.

COSTELLO:  What point?

ABBOTT:  Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work.  It wouldn’t be fair.

COSTELLO: To whom?

ABBOTT: The unemployed.

COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.

COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment?

ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?

ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes  down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.

COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?


ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT: Correct.

COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT: Bingo.

COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a Democrat.

COSTELLO:  I don’t even know what the hell I just said!

ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like Hillary.

Happy Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, a little boy decides to make his dad breakfast in bed. He makes scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. He brings it into his dad, hands him the cup of coffee and says, ”Try it dad.”

The dad takes a sip and nearly passes out because it is so strong.

The little boy asks, ”How do you like it Dad?”

The dad doesn’t want to hurt the little boy’s feelings so he says, ”This is….something else, I’ve never tasted coffee quite like this before, Son.”

The little boy smiles from ear to ear. And says, ”Drink some more, Dad.”

As the dad is drinking, he notices two army men in the bottom of the cup, and says, ”Hey! Why did you put army men in here?”

The little boy again smiles and sings, ”The Best Part Of Waking Up, Is SOLDIERS In Your Cup.”

Happy Father’s Day!

Family Circus Father's Day