[Rodamala]

how odd... 2 threads one posted right after the other... referencing 2 different Yuris.

[dr_lew]

When all this happened, we acknowledged it, but we didn’t celebrate it. We celebrated Alan Shepard and John Glenn. I recall that I was in music class with Mr. Kramer in junior high when Shepard made his flight as the “first American in space.” The school put it over the intercom, live, as it took barely twenty minutes or so. Of course, this was just three weeks after Gagarin’s flight. Things were moving fast in those days.

[PastorBooks]

I wonder if the North Koreans might be planning a celebration of their own?

Something to do with rockets?

[Jack Hydrazine]

Yuri Gagarin song written for the world space party.
http://www.ziaspace.com/ZIA/mp3s/YuriGagarin.html

Yuri Gagarin

The chimes rang out from Kremlin’s Tower, ushering a new day
The 12th of April ‘61, man ventured into space

Yuri Gagarin, you’ll be our man tonight, at the World Space Party

From a schoolboy out in the pasture, to a pilot protecting the borders
Days of war and misery, had liberated Yuri
The closeness of the continents, essential unity of all humans
What wonderful soil this would be, in which peace and friendship could seed

Yuri Gagarin, you’ll be our man tonight, at the World Space Party
Yuri Gagarin, you’ll be our man tonight, at the World Space Party

Dear friends, compatriots, and people of all continents
In a few minutes a mighty ship will carry me into the distance
What can I say to you in these last moments?
[At this moment] my life seems so condensed into one wonderful moment
To be the first to enter the cosmos, [to] engage, single handed
[In] an unprecedented duel with nature. Could one ask for anything more?

Yuri Gagarin, you’ll be our man tonight, at the World Space Party
Yuri Gagarin, you’ll be our man tonight, at the World Space Party

MP3 here.
http://ziaspace.com/ZIA/mp3s/YuriGagarin.mp3

I bet Li’l Fatboy Kim will launch tomorrow on the 12th! Maybe he’ll launch himself into space!

[Jack Hydrazine]

Yuri’s Night website.
http://yurisnight.net/#/home

[Regulator]

But...NASA doesn't celebrate Al Shepard day.

Guess they're embarrassed by an American military guy being - aw shucks - the second man in space.

But never mind. Gagarin is the man, and Soyuz is the vehicle.

And Americans are stranded on Earth, and gotta pay Putin to get to space.

Poor dears.

[Nepeta]

If memory serves me correctly, the Russians have left Gagarin's office exactly as it was the last time he walked out of it, later crashing and dying.

In the long scheme of things, Gagarin's a worthy hero. He was the first member of a most elite brotherhood.