In Memoriam John Spencer

When you see this in someone's LJ, quote Leo McGarry:

"Seventeen across. Yes. Seventeen across is wrong. You're spelling his name wrong. What's my name? My name doesn't matter. I'm just an ordinary citizen who relies on the Times crossword for stimulation. And I'm telling you, that I've met with the man twice, and I've recommended a preemptive Exocet Missile attack against his airforce. So, I think I know how to..." - Pilot

Yuri's Night

Wow. It's 45 years ago today that Yuri Gagarin made the first manned spaceflight, and 25 years ago today that the first shuttle boosted into orbit. According to here there are celebrations in a number of places.

I'm too young (by about eight years) to recall Gagarin's flight, but I do remember Crippen and Young's flight - we'd had classes gathered to watch the original launch date on April 10, but the postponed launch was a Sunday and I was at home. It's one of my "flash memories", one of those times you can recall where and what you were doing. Things like the death of Kenedy (for those old enough), the SAS assault on the Iranian Embassy, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mandela's release, the death of the Queen Mother, etc. Sadly, hearing of Columbia's destruction on 1 February 2003 is also one of the things I recall clearly (I was walking from the Tate Modern to the Whitechapel gallery with my friend Béa).