Dumitru Prunariu, a Romanian cosmonaut. He flew in space aboard Soyuz 40 spacecraft and Salyut 6 space laboratory

Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu (born 27 September 1952) is a Romanian cosmonaut. He flew in space aboard Soyuz 40 spacecraft and Salyut 6 space laboratory. He was in team with the Russian cosmonaut Leonid Popov. The backup crew was formed by the Romanian candidate cosmonaut called Dumitru Dediu and the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko.^[1]
Also Disney Romania chooses the cosmonaut to dubbed BURN-E in the Disney Pixar short.

Early life and career

Born on 27 September 1952 in Braşov, Romania, Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu graduated in 1971 from the Physics and Mathematics high school in Braşov and in 1976 from the Politehnica University of Bucharest, obtaining a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
Prunariu worked as a Diploma Engineer at Industria Aeronautică Română, an aircraft industry facility, prior to enrolling in the Romanian Air Force Officers Training School in 1977.

Intercosmos program

He was selected for spaceflight training in 1978 as a part of the Intercosmos Program. Having obtained the highest marks during three years of preparation, he was then selected for a joint space flight with the Russian cosmonaut Leonid Popov. In May 1981 they completed an eight-day space mission on board Soyuz 40 and the Salyut 6 space laboratory where they completed scientific experiments in the fields of astrophysics, space radiation, space technology, space medicine and biology.
Prunariu is the 103rd human being to fly into space.

Career after Intercosmos

 

Since 1978 Prunariu was an active officer of the Romanian Air Force. For different periods of time Prunariu was detached within other ministries to perform civil functions. In 2007 he completely retired from the Air Force with the military rank of major general, continuing his professional activity as a civil servant. At the end of 2015, by a decree of the President of Romania, Prunariu received the 3rd star, becoming a lieutenant-general (ret.).
In January 1990 Prunariu was assigned the position of Deputy Minister to the Ministry of Transportation and Chief of the Romanian Civil Aviation Department, exercising this position for 1.5 years. In 1991 Prunariu graduated from the International Aviation Management Training Institute (IAMTI/IIFGA) located in Montreal, Canada – being after 1989 the first Romanian accomplishing a two-month training for higher managers of civil aviation institutions.
Between 1992 and 1993 Prunariu was a Co-leader of the World Bank Project on reorganization of the higher education and research system in Romania.

Since 1995 Prunariu is the Vice-President of the International Institute for Risk, Security and Communication Management (EURISC), Bucharest. Between 1998 and 2004 Prunariu was the President of the Romanian Space Agency, and since 2000 an Associate Professor on Geopolitics within the Faculty of International Business and Economics, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania. For almost two years, starting with May 2004, he was the itinerary Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Russian Federation.
In 2002 Prunariu was elected as the Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN COPUOS for the period February 2004 – February 2006, and in 2009 he was elected the Chairman of the UN COPUOS for the period of June 2010 – June 2012, accomplishing successfully his duties. Between 2006 and 2008 Prunariu accomplished the duties of the Director of the Romanian Office for Science and Technology to the European Commission (ROST) in Brussels.
Currently, Prunariu is working for the Romanian Space Agency as an expert within the Romanian Association for Space Technology and Industry – ROMSPACE.
In 2012 Prunariu was appointed as one of the 15 experts of the Group of Governmental Experts on outer space transparency and confidence-building measures, established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 65/68. Since 1992 Prunariu is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, being one of the trustees of the Academy, and since 1994 a member of the Romanian National COSPAR Committee. Since 1992 he has represented the Government of Romania to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) sessions. In 2014 Prunariu was elected for a three years term as the vice-chairman of the International Relations Committee of ESA.
Prunariu was also a member of the task force elaborating a report on Space Security for Europe in the framework of the European Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), issued in 2016.

 

Sir Roderick David Stewart, a British rock singer and songwriter

Sir Roderick David Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945)^[1] is a British rock singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 120 million records worldwide.^[2] He has had nine number-one albums in the UK Albums Chart and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top ten, six of which gained the #1 position.^[3] Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.^[4]
With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and the early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group, and then with Faces, though his music career had begun in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In October 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars, and in August, Stewart signed a solo contract, releasing his first single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", in October. He maintained a solo career alongside a group career, releasing his debut solo album, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down in 1969. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B.^[5][6]
From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Stewart's music often took on a new wave or soft rock/middle-of-the-road quality, and in the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook. In 1994, Stewart staged the largest free rock concert in history when he performed in front of 3.5 million people in Rio de Janeiro.^[7]
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists".^[8] A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time,^[9] and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time.^[10] As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.

Bajaga i Instruktori, a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band

Bajaga i Instruktori (Serbian Cyrillic: Бајага и Инструктори; trans. Bajaga and the Instructors) are a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Founded in Belgrade in 1984 by composer, lyricist and guitarist Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga", the group possesses a rich discography and a plethora of hit songs that placed them at the top of the former Yugoslav rock scene, alongside other mega-selling bands such as Bijelo Dugme and Riblja Čorba.

The band's history begins in 1983. At the time Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" was the guitarist for the hard rock band Riblja Čorba. During his work with Riblja Čorba, Bajagić wrote music and both music and lyrics for several Riblja Čorba hits, but also wrote a large number of humorous pop-oriented songs that did not fit into Riblja Čorba's sound. He decided to release these songs on a solo album, and he started working on the album with a group of Belgrade musicians: vocalist Dejan Cukić (a former Dizel, Tilt, and Bulevar member, and at the time a journalist working in the magazine Rock), bass guitarist Miroslav Cvetković "Cvele" (a former Tilt, Pop Mašina, and Papatra member), guitarist Nenad Stamatović (a former Tilt, Zebra, Suncokret, and Bulevar member), and drummer Vladimir Golubović (a former Tilt and Suncokret member, at the time temporarily replacing Vicko Milatović in Riblja Čorba).

During the work on the album, Bajagić wanted only to record a large number of songs he wrote on an album and to remain a member of Riblja Čorba. The songs for the album were recorded in a rented apartment and in Radio Television Belgrade Studio V and produced by Kornelije Kovač.^[1] The album, beside mentioned musicians, featured Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" on bass guitar, a former Generacija 5 member Dragan "Krle" Jovanović on guitar, Kire Mitrev on trombone, Ivan Švager on clarinet, and Suzana Petričević on vocals in the song "Papaline" ("Sprats").^[1] The album, entitled Pozitivna geografija (Positive Geography) was released at the end of January 1984 and was well received by the audience, bringing hits "Berlin", "Mali slonovi" ("Little Elephants"), "Poljubi me" ("Kiss Me"), "Limene trube" ("Brass Trumpets"), "Tekila gerila" ("Tequila Guerrilla"), "Marlena", and "Tamara". The album also featured the anti-drug song "Znam čoveka" ("I Know a Man"), dedicated to Dragan Đerić "Đera", Bajagić's former bandmate from the bands Ofi and Glogov Kolac. Initially, Bajagić had no intention of promoting Pozitivna geografija in concert, but eventually decided to listen to the advice of some and hold several concerts. Bajagić and musicians working on the album held their first concert in Zagreb club Kulušić on April 12, 1984.^[2] Beside the musicians that worked on the album, the concert also featured vocalist Žika Milenković (Bajagić's former bandmate from the band Ofi, and a former Mačori member and an actor in the amateur theatre Teatar levo), keyboardist Dragan Mitrić (a former Bulevar member) and Kornelije Kovač, Milenković soon becoming an official member of the band.^[3] During their staying in Zagreb Bajagić and Cukić appeared as guests on the recording of Parni Valjak album Uhvati ritam, singing backing vocals on the title track,^[4] which was the sign of gratitude to Parni Valjak for lending them a piece of drum kit for their first concert. The band held the official album promotion, organized by the Rock magazine, in Belgrade Dom Sindikata on April 21, and on this concert the band appeared under the name Bajaga i Instruktori, chosen after the idea of the journalist Peca Popović, for the first time. The concert featured Valentino and Bezobrazno Zeleno as the opening bands. The concert was well visited (mostly by teenagers) and the band's performance was well received.
The success of Bajagić's solo album caused conflicts inside Riblja Čorba, and on July 19, 1984, he was excluded from the band. During that summer Bajaga i Instruktori went on a tour, with Rade Radivojević on keyboards, playing mostly at youth work actions. At the end of the year, in the Rock magazine, Bajagić was proclaimed the Rock Musician of the Year, and Pozitivna geografija was voted the Album of the Year by musicians. At the beginning of 1985, the band recorded the album Sa druge strane jastuka (On the Other Side of the Pillow), produced by Kornelije Kovač and Saša Habić. The album featured a large number of guests: Branko Mačić on jazz guitar, Stjepko Gut on trumpet and flugelhorn, Sava Medan on double bass, Jovan Maljoković on saxophone, Mića Marković on saxophone, Nenad Stefanović "Japanac" on bass guitar, Dragan "Krle" Jovanović on guitar, and others.^[5] The album brought hits "220 u voltima" ("220 Volt"), "Vidi šta mi je uradio od pesme, mama" (a Serbian language cover of the Melanie Safka song "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma"), "Ti se ljubiš (Na tako dobar način)" ("You Kiss (In a great Manner)"), "Dvadeseti vek" ("Twentieth Century"), and ballads "Dobro jutro, džezeri" ("Good Morning, Jazzers"), "Sa druge strane jastuka" and "Zažmuri" ("Close Your Eyes"). For the first time Milenković was an author of a song, co-writing the song "Francuska ljubavna revolucija" ("French Love Revolution") with Bajagić. At this time the band's manager became a former U Škripcu manager Saša Dragić.

Chuck Palahniuk, an American novelist and freelance journalist. He is the author of the award-winning novel Fight Club

Charles Michael Palahniuk (born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist and freelance journalist, who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He is the author of the award-winning novel Fight Club, which also was made into a popular film of the same name.
Palahniuk began writing fiction in his mid-30s. By his account, he started writing while attending workshops for writers that were hosted by Tom Spanbauer, which he attended to meet new friends. Spanbauer largely inspired Palahniuk's minimalistic writing style.

After his first novel, Invisible Monsters, was rejected by all publishers he submitted it to, he began work on his most famous novel, Fight Club.^[10] Palahniuk wrote this story in his spare time while working for Freightliner. After initially publishing it as a short story (which became chapter 6 of the novel) in the 1995 compilation Pursuit of Happiness, Palahniuk expanded it into a full novel, which, contrary to his expectations, a publisher accepted.^[11] While the original hardcover edition of the book received positive reviews and some awards, it had a short shelf life.

Initially, Palahniuk struggled to find a literary agent and went without one until after the publication of Fight Club.^[12] After he began receiving attention from 20th Century Fox, Palahniuk was signed by actor and literary agent, Edward Hibbert.^[12][13][14] Hibbert eventually guided and brokered the deal that took Fight Club to the big screen.^[12] In 1999, three years after the novel's publication, the film adaptation by director David Fincher was released. The film was a box office disappointment (although it was No. 1 at the U.S. box office in its first weekend) and critical reaction was mixed, but a cult following soon emerged as the DVD of the film became popular upon release. Three editions of the novel have been published in paperback, in 1999, in 2004 (with a new introduction by the author about the success of the film adaptation), and in 2005 (with an afterword by Palahniuk).

Palahniuk was cajoled to continue Fight Club in comics form by fellow novelist Chelsea Cain and comic writers Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick.^[15] A teaser was released by Dark Horse Comics for Free Comic Book Day 2015, with Fight Club 2 No. 1 following in late May of that year. The series explores Joseph Campbell's concept of the 'second father' as being vital to the hero's journey, which is something that has always fascinated Palahniuk.

On the Orbital in Conversation podcast, Palahniuk stated that he is already working on Fight Club 3, which will also be in comic form. He also confirmed that he is working on a series of original short stories for comics which will appear as one-shots before eventually being collected into a single book.

As an adult, Palahniuk became a member of the rebellious Cacophony Society. He is a regular participant in their events, including the annual Santa Rampage (a public Christmas party involving pranks and drunkenness) in Portland, Oregon. His participation in the Society inspired some of the events in his writings, both fictional and non-fictional.^[44] Most notably, he used the Cacophony Society as the basis for Project Mayhem in Fight Club.
In May 1999, Palahniuk's father and Donna Fontaine, a woman Fred was dating, were murdered by Fontaine's ex-partner. Palahniuk was asked to help determine the sentence for the man who killed his father; he asked for the death penalty.^[45]
Palahniuk came out as gay after an interview with Karen Valby, a reporter for Entertainment Weekly. Believing that he would be "outed" by Valby after confidentially referring to his male partner, he openly declared his homosexuality on his website.^[46] According to an interview with The Advocate in May 2008, he and his unnamed male partner live in a former church compound outside Vancouver, Washington.^[47][48] He and his partner have been together since the 1990s, having met while Palahniuk was working at Freightliner. He told one interviewer, "We both had these very blue-collar lives, and now our lives are completely different." 

Helmuth Duckadam, retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his display in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club Steaua Bucureşti, where he saved all four penalties against Barcelona in the penalty shootout, for the first time in football history

Helmuth Robert Duckadam (born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and the current president of FC FCSB.
He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his display in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club Steaua Bucureşti, where he saved all four penalties against Barcelona in the penalty shootout, for the first time in football history. He represented three other teams in a 14-year senior career.
Duckadam regularly appears as a studio guest on Digi Sport's "Fotbal Club" programme.

Born in Semlac, Arad County of Banat Swabian descent, Duckadam started playing in his regional leagues, before moving to FC UTA Arad in 1978 to become professional. He earned two full caps for Romania in 1982 and, subsequently, was signed by country giants FC Steaua Bucureşti.
capital side to two consecutive Liga I titles, was also between the posts for the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona, which was played in Seville, on 7 May 1986. He saved four consecutive penalty shots in the shootout, from José Ramón Alexanko, Ángel Pedraza, Pichi Alonso and Marcos, being the first one to do so in an official European competition. Steaua won the shootout 2–0 and Europe's most important club trophy for the first time, and much of the credit for the surprise victory was given to him; he scored one goal for his main club, through a penalty kick against AFC Progresul Bucureşti in the domestic cup.^[1]


In 1986, Duckadam suffered a rare blood disorder only few weeks after the Seville performance,^[2] and would only resume his career three years later, finishing it with lowly Vagonul Arad in the second division. According to a personal interview given in 1999, he had become a major with the Romanian Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră) in his hometown; additionally, he opened a football school in the city, named after himself.^[3]
 
On 25 March 2008, Duckadam was decorated by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – ("The Sportive Merit" Order – class II), for his part in winning the 1986 European Cup. Two years later, on 11 August, he was named Steaua's president.