Good Bye, Pluto

No, not Disney's "Pluto."


The IAU (The International Astronomical Union) met in Prague to finalize the decision of the status of newly discovered celestial bodies.
Three years ago, NASA and their respective scientists found a new small planet, dubbed
2003 UB313 and a few other masses and moons to boot.
The meeting of over 2,500 scientific minds concluded that Pluto's place in the solar system as a major planet is over, mainly because its orbit overlaps Neptune's orbit. New guidelines have been put in place.

In order for a celestial body to be considered a planet:

It must be in orbit around the Sun.
It must be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape.
It has cleared its orbit of other planets.
What happened here is that because these new masses were discovered 3 years back, Pluto's spot got blown up. Now the tiny icy planet behind Neptune is knocked out of the crew, henceforth changing the old school mnemonic device to remember the planets. Here at flyingthesky, I will take the liberty to offer up a new one:

My Very Evil Mother Just Served Us Napalm

Tony Bennett Turns 80 Tomorrow

After the death of Ol' Blue Eyes [aka Frank Sinatra] there was a void in the adult contemporary pop music landscape. Tony Bennett, who for years was just as popular as Sinatra - became a fair alternative to the departed crooner. In fact it was in 1994, as grunge alternative rock and G-Funk gangsta rap reached a dual apex, Tony Bennett was dubbed a true alternative to the scene, established so by MTV with his hit, "Steppin' Out With My Baby" that catapulted his album, earning him the Grammy for 'Album Of The Year.'

Tony Bennett was born Anthony Benedetto out of Astoria, Queens on August 3rd, 1926. It wasn't until 1949 after performing in jazz clubs and lounges that he began to see his name on marquees. He wrote his signature piece, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" after this formative period and still performs the song to this day.

Bennett has always maintained a fair, nice-guy friendly image unlike the male vocalists of his era who were known to be alcoholics, gamblers and womanizers. Happy born day to the O.G. microphone crooner from Astoria, and many more.