The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, in his capacity as then-Director of the Office of Civilian Defense created the CAP with Administrative Order 9, signed by LaGuardia on 1 December 1941 and published 8 December 1941, Just in time for WWII.
Among pilots, LaGuardia airport is referred to as “USS LaGuardia”, because the runways are short and surrounded by water, giving the feel of landing on an aircraft carrier. A landing can also provide an excellent view of Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex, and one of the world’s largest correctional institutions and mental institutions.
The prefix USS stands for United States Ship — e.g., the USS whatchaMaCallit. When a ship is decommissioned, the USS is to be dropped, although many use “Ex-USS”, e.g. the Ex-USS whatchaMaCallit. Prior to commissioning the ship may be called the PCU whatchaMaCallit, where PCU is Pre-Commissioning Unit. But it is commonly simply called the whatchaMaCallit.
Before 1907 there was no standard way to use a ship’s name. But then President Theodore Roosevelt issued Executive Order 549 on 8 January 1907 stating that all US Navy ships were to be referred to as “The name of such vessel, preceded by the words, United States Ship, or the letters U.S.S., and by no other words or letters”.
Whatchamacallit is the third album by Shellac drummer Todd Trainer’s Brick Layer Cake solo project.
Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in Fenton, Missouri. They played two seasons for Women’s Professional Soccer, in 2009 ans 2010. Led by players Lori Chalupny, Hope Solo, and Tina Ellertson, the Athletica played in one playoff game, losing to Sky Blue FC of Piscataway, New Jersey.
In 1970, the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue took the 1969 song “Venus” to number one in nine countries and in 1986, the British female pop group Bananarama returned the song to number one in seven countries.
One day on the planet Venus is longer than one year there. Due to the slow rotation on its axis, it takes 243 Earth-days for Venus to complete one rotation. The orbit of the planet around the sun takes 225 Earth-days – making the year shorter than the day.
Tennis player Venus Williams, now 37 years old, stands 6’ 1” tall, a height that surely helps her game. In February 2002, Venus Williams became the first African American woman to be ranked #1 in tennis’ Open Era — a time beginning in 1968 because commercial pressures and rumors of some previous amateurs had been taking money under the table, which began the abandonment of the distinction between pros and amateurs. In the open era, all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were then able to make their living from tennis.
Temperatures on the surface of the planet Venus average 462 °C (863 °F), and the atmospheric pressure is ninety times that of Earth. Tennis has never been played there.
On December 15, 1970 an unmanned Soviet spacecraft, Venera 7, landed on Venus. It was the first spacecraft to land on another planet. Russia has launched at least 16 space probes toward Venus as part of the Venera series beginning in 1961.
Amor Towles’s critically-praised novel A Gentleman in Moscow is about the long house arrest of a Russian aristocrat in a fancy hotel, as ordered by a Soviet revolutionary tribunal in 1922.
The Sea of Moscow is one of the few maria on the far side of the Moon. It was named after the first images of the far side were returned by Luna 3. However, today only the name Mare Moscoviense is recognized by the IAU and in current use. The names of maria generally call up psychic states of mind, with a few exceptions. When Mare Moscoviense was discovered, and the name was proposed by the Soviet Union, it was only accepted by the International Astronomical Union with the justification that Moscow is a state of mind.
“New York State of Mind” is a song written by Billy Joel which initially appeared on the album Turnstiles in 1976. Although it was never a hit song and was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite. Joel wrote the song after returning to the East Coast from Los Angeles, where he had spent the previous three years.
Billy Joel’s first #1 song, It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, peaked in Jul 1980. His other #1 songs are We Didn’t Start the Fire, Dec 1989, and Tell Her About It, Sep 1983. Other Billy Joel favorites include She’s Got a Way that peaked at #23 in Jan 1982, Don’t Ask Me Why at #19 in Sep 1980, She’s Always a Woman at #17 in Oct 1978, An Innocent Man at #10 in Feb 1984, and Just the Way You Are at #3 in Feb 1978. His signature song, Piano Man, peaked at #25 in Apr 1974.
During World War II, the Steinway piano factory in Queens, New York City, received orders from the Allied Armies to build wooden gliders to convey troops behind enemy lines. Steinway could make few normal pianos, but built 2,436 special models called the Victory Vertical or G.I. Piano. It was a small piano, painted olive drab, gray, or blue, that four men could lift, and was designed to be carried aboard ships or dropped by parachute from an airplane to bring music to the soldiers.
The Steinway company never made motorcycles. Unlike Japan’s Yamaha, which makes both grand pianos and motorcycles. I always wondered what would happen if cycler showed up in Deadwood on a Steinway chopper, or if anyone would play Carnegie Hall on a Harley Davidson grand piano.
Kaman Music Corporation was the result of helicopter manufacturer Kaman Corporation founder Charles Kaman’s interest in guitars. Besides his intermeshing-rotor choppers, Kaman developed the composite-material round-back Ovation guitar, used and popularized by the late Glen Campbell.
Author Jack London (1876-1918) was one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1899. London was born in San Francisco, and he died in Glen Ellen CA.
Jesus Christ Superstar premiered on Broadway in 1971, The next Andrew Lloyd Webber show not to premiere in London’s West End but on Broadway was School of Rock in 2015.
Schoolhouse Rock! is an American TV series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children’s programming on ABC. It originated in 1973 with “Three is a Magic Number”. It first aired on 03 Feb 1973.
Comment: if they waited just one more month, “Three is a Magic Number” would have debuted on 3/3/73. Magic!