Apollo 11 and Jethro Tull

One Astronaut of the Apollo 11 mission inspired a Jethro Tull Song: Michael Collins stayed behind on the Command Module Columbia while Aldrin and Armstrong walked on the moon, inspiring the song, 'For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me.' You just don't know where the influence of an event like a moon landing will end.

Belgium U.F.O. Sightings

In Belgium in 1989 there were mass sightings of a triangular shaped U.F.O. over a three month period. This was one of the largest and most well documented sightings in history. What really sets these sightings apart from others is that for the first and only time, the U.F.O.s were tracked by three ground based and an airborne radar. Three different ground based stations positioned hundreds of miles apart tracked the same U.F.O. at the same time. Meanwhile, a pursuing F-16 fighter jet was also tracking the object visually and on radar. The commanding officer of the base that launched the F-16s was convinced they had had an encounter with an extraterrestrial spacecraft and came out publicly to say so. Rather than end the man's career, as would have happened in the U.S., then colonel De Brauer was promoted to general by the Belgian Air Force. I wish all military personnel could be as forthcoming.

Billy Joel

You may remember the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" put out in the 80's by Billy Joel. The reason he did it, and the movie that went with it, was that he wanted to be a history teacher before he got into music. The song was a reconnection with his earlier dream. If you've never seen it, check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2SS0zqmzk

He Ain't Heavy

In the 30's at Boy's Town, Father Flanagan was talking to a small boy about carring around one of the other boys who had polio. Flanagan said, "He must be pretty heavy", the boy's response was, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" and that was the inspiration for the song of the same name.

Asteroid Strike 2036

The Earth has been hit by asteroids many times in its history. That may happen again soon. In 2029 an Earth crossing asteroid (one that crosses the Earth's orbital path) will make a close pass. Close in this case means it will fly in between Earth and our orbiting communications satellites, that's very close. It will ,however, miss us. Unfortunately, in 2036 it will come near us again and this time we may not be so lucky. Depending on how its orbit is effected by the Earth's gravitational pull when it goes by in 2029, it could hit us. The thing is about half a mile across and if it does hit us it could severly effect our environment. We'll see how it goes.

Michael Jackson's Passing

No blog having anything to do with music can go on today without mourning the passing of Michael Jackson. Whatever your feelings about his personal life you must admit he was a huge talent on stage, remember "Thriller"? Michael once said that he loved being on stage so much he would live there if he could. That's where Michael shone like the Sun. Farewell to an icon of music and entertainment. Bon Voyage to whatever awaits you beyond the veil. You will be remembered.

Global Climate Change

Another website you can visit is The Enviromental Defense Fund at www.edf.org . They specialize in endangered wildlife both animals and plants.

Fight Global Climate Change

There have been five mass extinctions when 50% or more of the species on Earth died out. We are now in the midst of the sixth. Over 5.000 species a year go extinct due to climate change. That is a rate higher than the Permian Extinction when 90% of the species on Earth disappeared. For the first time, a mass extinction is being caused by the activities of a single species, humans. If you care to join the fight against global climate change, here are a few organizations you can support: The Union Of Concerned Scientists at www.ucsusa.org, The Wilderness Society at www.wilderness.org , or Defenders of Wildlife at www.defenders.org .

The Sunset Strip Riots

During the late 1960s, the police cracked down on curfew laws in Hollywood. Kids were so upset by the unreasonably-strict new rules, they sat in protest. But the police wouldn't let up and began jailing the protestors. It turned into a week-long all-out riot, which shut down most of the clubs and put both shopkeepers and musicians out of work. For months afterward, everyone was extremely careful in Hollywood. Some rock bands wouldn't even play Sunset Strip. Those remarkable days are now referred to as the Sunset Strip Riots -- the inspiration for the Buffalo Springfield hit song "For What It's Worth." Listen to the song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9PiEgYYUU (the video is of the pop festival, not the riots).

Bentwaters UFO

In the 1980's personnel from Bentwaters Air Force Base saw a UFO land in the Rendalsham Forest. The U.S. Air Force explained it away by saying it was a reflection from the lighthouse nearby. Now I've heard from the lighthouse keeper and he explained that in the 1980's the lighthouse had a large reflector behind the light that would have made it imposssible for a reflection to have shone into the forest. Nice try Air Force, but you need a better explaination.

2012

The Mayan prophecy concerning the " end of time " is not about the end of the Earth.
The Mayan time system is based on the " katun " and the Mayan time system continues
beyond 2012. The Mayans would not have a calender that goes beyond 2012 if that were going to be the end of the Earth. In 2012 both cycles of the Mayan calender, the " long count " and the " short count " end, then new cycles will begin.