Tuesday, June 19, 2007

"It happens to me all the time"

I wonder if I was actually the first air ace of the Vietnam War. Maybe that is what happened on 6/19/1968. But one of them got me too and I was shot. I noted that thought earlier today and then after a while I realized that date was 39 years ago today.

I didn't set out to do that though. I was guarding something and I was jumped by 5 enemy fighters. I can't quite remember yet the precise details. I think it fits in with the pattern I have seen through the decades. I have always been a political target. I am a symbol of the U.S. and Britain and that is why enemy forces and the terrorists target me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

The term ace in a day is used to designate a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day. During World War II 68 U.S. pilots —43 U.S. Army Air Forces, 18 U.S. Navy, and 7 U.S. Marine Corps — were credited the feat, including Joe Foss, Chuck Yeager, and David McCampbell, who destroyed nine Japanese planes in a single mission.

Notable pilots of other nations to have claimed the title include Antoni Glowacki in the Battle of Britain and numerous Luftwaffe aces. Most notable was Ltn. Hans-Joachim Marseille, credited with downing 17 British fighters in just three sorties on September 1, 1942.



Dinah Shore was 59 years, 35 weeks, 1 day, old on 11/2/1975. I recognize the date 11/2/1975 as when I launched into space on my mission to the outer solar system to divert the comet. My thoughts suggest I was at this World's Fair and I soon left for the Falklands. I recognize the date 4/30/1982 as when I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, but this day is relevant to that as well. My thoughts are that we had some kind of ceremony for me with my family on that day 5/1/1982. I believe that my artifical and symbolic memories about my first day in boot camp in 1984 actually reflect the missile strike on the HMS Sheffield on 5/4/1982.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_World%27s_Fair

May 1st, 1982 the 1982 World's Fair opened with the Theme "Energy Turns the World". Across the nation, people had been bombarded with the Commercials. "You've Got To Be There" became the call for people to journey that summer to Tennessee. The opening ceremony was broadcast on local and regional TV. President Ronald Reagan arrived to open the fair. TV personality Dinah Shore was the mistress of ceremonies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah_Shore

Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American singer and actress. She was most popular during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s. She became one of the popular "girl singers" from that era. She enjoyed a string of popular hits and afterwards became a successful actress for a number of years, being compared to singers such as Doris Day. Since she debuted in the 1940s, many more successful female singers have appeared in popular music, including Connie Francis and Patti Page.



http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42470

Remarks at the Opening Ceremonies for the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (World's Fair) in Tennessee

May 1st, 1982

Ladies and gentlemen, your Governor, Senator Baker, your Congressmen, members of our Cabinet, and a good friend and loyal Tennessean, Dinah Shore:

It's a special pleasure for me to be here this afternoon in the shadow of the Sunsphere, a symbol of energy potential, near the banks of the Tennessee River, whose force we have tapped for centuries.






















http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/070619-N-5387K-017.jpg

070619-N-5387K-017 CORAL SEA (June 19, 2007) - An EA-6B Prowler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 launches from the flight deck aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). The EA-6B prowler provides protection for strike aircraft by jamming enemy radar and communications. Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group is participating in exercise Talisman Saber 2007 in the Coral Sea near the coast of Australia. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Juan Antoine King (RELEASED)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlins

Budget $11,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $153,083,102 (USA) (sub-total)

Gremlins is an American horror-comedy film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive monsters. This story was continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, released in 1990. Unlike the lighter sequel, the original Gremlins opts for more black comedy, which is balanced against a Christmas-time setting. Both films were the center of large merchandising campaigns.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_%281998_film%29

Godzilla is an American science fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich and starred Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Michael Lerner and Kevin Dunn. It is a much maligned remake of the popular Japanese film Gojira (Godzilla).

Box office

Although film received mixed reviews, Godzilla grossed $136,314,294 domestically and $379,014,294 worldwide, bringing back its $130 million budget.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Temple_of_Doom

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an Academy Award winning 1984 action/adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. First released on May 23, 1984, it is a prequel to the hugely successful adventure movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Although this film is the second in the Indiana Jones series, it is the twenty-third in the chronology of film and TV productions about the adventures of the heroic fictional archaeologist.

Reaction

Temple of Doom made $179,870,271 ($30 million less than Raiders) when it was released theatrically in the United States in 1984, making it the third biggest hit of 1984 (next to Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop).[3] The movie received mixed reviews from critics. Those who spoke positively of it include Roger Ebert, who believed the film was "... one of the greatest Bruised Forearm Movies ever made."[4]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_%281978_film%29

Superman (also known as Superman: The Movie, as it was called in pre-release advertising), is a popular and critically acclaimed superhero film. It was the first major motion picture to feature the popular DC Comics character of Superman, who had previously appeared throughout the 1940s and 1950s in a radio program, two movie serials, and a television series. The film was released by Warner Bros. in 1978. It was directed by Richard Donner and executive produced by Ilya Salkind, with music by John Williams. It starred top-billed Marlon Brando as Jor-El, and Christopher Reeve as Superman.

Reaction


While the critics were divided over their preference for the reverent origin sequence in the first part, or the more lively later sequence of Superman beginning his career, it has been considered one of the best superhero movies ever made. Its financial side was also very successful, grossing $134,218,018 in the U.S., while grossing $166,000,000 in foreign tolls. Altogether it grossed U.S.$300,218,018.

The movie's legacy includes numerous television series, notably Superboy (produced, like the movie, by Alexander Salkind), Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Superman: The Animated Series and the current prequel series, Smallville