R.I.P. Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) The Original Moonwalker

The first man you ever set foot on the moon, Neil Alden Armstrong, passed away on Saturday at the age of 82. Neil had a pretty amazing career before becoming an astronaut. He served as a U.S. Naval pilot in the Korean war, and then as a test pilot before joining the space program in 1962. He performed the first docking of two spacecraft during his first space flight aboard Gemini 8 in 1966 and then became the first human being to walk on the moon on his second and last mission on Apollo 11 in 1969.

When you think about the modern "daredevil" or stuntman and all the wild and dangerous things they do, nothing comes close to what the original astronauts of the early space program dared to do. Imagine strapping yourself into a small capsule, whose outside walls are as thin as a coin, and then lighting the fuse that will ignite the huge gas tank your capsule is sitting on and hoping for the best. Sure it was a bit more technical than that but consider that the average modern day calculator packs more computing punch than the first moon landing mission and you understand the scope of how amazing the accomplishment was.

There was a time when children looked up to brave men like Neal and vowed to follow in their footsteps and carry the torch of progress forward. Build on their accomplishments and push mankind to even greater technological feats. Some kids still do but sadly modern day heroes in our time take the form of sports stars, autotuned recording artists and reality TV wannabe stars.

Check out the original version of Space Oddity by David Bowie from 1969, the year of the first moon landing.

Comments

Buy Contact Lenses said…

What you're saying is completely true. I know that everybody must say the same thing, but I just think that you put it in a way that everyone can understand. I'm sure you'll reach so many people with what you've got to say.

April 14, 2017 at 7:00 AM

R.I.P. Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017)

It's a sad day for Bond fans with the news of the passing of Sir Roger Moore at age 89 after a short battle with cancer. The charismatic actor wore the 007 mantle for seven films playing the super suave British secret agent, James Bond from 1973 to 1985, replacing Sean Connery and went on to be the longest serving Bond to date. Roger had early success on television portraying Simon Templar in the "The Saint" and that role groomed him well for taking over the 007 franchise. He did have quite the television resume before taking on films including roles in "Ivanhoe", "The Alaskans" and "Maverick" and with Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders". His big break came in 1973's "Live and Left Die" that launched Moore's Bond. Roger brought a smoother more gentlemanly vibe to the role compared to Sean's rough and tumble Bond. The mix worked well and it brought a new standard to how Bond would be played in future films.

Earth, Wind and Ozzy !!

There is no doubt that the advent of technology has produced many amazing things that most of us never saw coming or would ever think was possible. Furthest from anyone's mind would be the mashing of two polar opposite musical styles of heavy metal and funk. Not possible you say? Check out the fine work by DJ Cummerbund as he seamlessly combines the heavy metal madness of Ozzy Osbourne with the super slick, funky rhythms of Earth, Wind and Fire to produce a mashup of Crazy Train and September. Ain't technology grand??

Retro Arcade Game of the Day - Raiden

One of the things that was cool about video games back in the early years of gaming was the ability to just enter a game and start playing. No muss, no fuss. No long intro story lines, no boring tasks to complete before it got interesting, just sit and start blasting. Great to relieve some stress in the middle of the day. Raiden was one of those games. The arcade version was released in 1990 and is a classic scrolling shoot em' up game. Easy to control with only two options, shoot or bomb. Nice and simple yet loads of fun. Enjoy ! Controls Arrow Keys – Movement Space key – Select Enter key – Start “Z” key – a “X” key – b “A” key – x “S” key – y “D” key – l “C” key – r To save your game: hover over the emulator screen and use the icons to save your progress. Down arrow icon (save), Up arrow icon (load).

Candies You Grew Up With That May Gross You Out Now (Part 1)

Being a kid in the 70s and 80s allowed you to experience certain candies that may no longer be produced but some of the stuff you grew up with is still around and there are even some specialty stores and websites that cater to making available the treats of your youth. However, just because you can still get them, doesn't mean you should. Your adult palette is vastly different than your youthful taste of what was gross and what was really cool. While eating some of the stuff on this list today may remind you of your youth, it may also provide startling and sobering realizations that you may not have been firing on all cylinders when making choices while spending your hard earned allowance at the candy counter as a kid. Bazooka - Not only was this gum cheap, 2 for a penny back in the day although I may be seriously dating myself, but it also came with a small comic featuring Bazooka Joe, who wore an eye patch and a bunch of his freaky friends including Mort who wore his turtleneck

Before They Were Famous Part 2

Here's the second installment of a glimpse into famous celebrities early start in show business thanks to the retro miracle of VCRs. When you're first starting out, any role you land to try and pay the bills is a good one. In our first installment we featured the McDLT commercial with Jason Alexander. Here he is again in another commercial with Bruce Willis for Levis's Jeans. Before suffering Growing Pains or sinking on the Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio was just a cute kid who liked to chew gum and listen to really big boom boxes. The late Farrah Fawcett was one of the most beautiful women on television. Before her big break on Charlie's Angels, Farrah took really good care of her most second famous attribute besides her hair, her teeth.

Retroguy's Wonderland

Search This Blog