'I Will Survive' by Gloria Gaynor was the hottest song on the Billboard chart in March 1979. "From the beginning I recognized it was a timeless lyric that everyone could relate to," Gloria enthused in 2009, "so I don't get tired of singing it." Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris wrote the song, "Freddie and Dino said they'd been looking for someone to record 'Survive' for a long time. I'm reading the lyrics and saying, 'Are you kidding me? This is a hit song'...The song gave hope and courage and empowerment to people of all ages and nationalities to make it through whatever adversity they face in life."
For centuries, it had been said, Nostradamus who died in 1566 made predictions which kept believers spellbound. However one historian argued, "I've found Nostradamus to be between 40 and 60% accurate. A lot of his other quatrains to me are gibberish. I can't understand them." James Randi wrote 'The Mask of Nostradamus' in 1990. He offered, "There have been 35 major prophecies of the end of the world, dating back as far as 6 A.D." He maintained, "70% of Nostradamus has been rewritten. They change the punctuation, the spelling, rearrange lines, bowdlerize it. They interpret it any way it will seem to fit at the moment. And then when it doesn't happen, they forget it for a while. Then they re-interpret it."
Between 1957 and 1966, Walter Cronkite hosted 'The Twentieth Century' program and between 1967 and 1969 he presented 'The 21st Century' specials. Walter emphasized, "Science is taking far too large a role in our daily lives to be ignored. The problem is the material generally is too complex to deal with in a minute or 2. It demands exploratory reporting." On July 20, 1969 some 15% of the planet's total population were watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Walter recounted, "It was the first time in my life I had found myself unable to put what I was watching into words...It was all just so unreal. This was science-fiction coming true...We were on live TV for a long time. That's the other memory – the business of being on for so long. It was something like 36 hours." Walter believed, "It is the most significant event of the 20th century...This is the century of incredible scientific breakthroughs...I mean, think back to the 15th century. A lot of things of great importance happened then. But what is the one thing every schoolboy knows? Columbus discovering America...The fact that man escaped his environment, I think, undoubtedly will be one of the – if not the – major events remembered 500 years from now. I take 500 years from now because I compare it to Columbus on October 12, 1492." Lael Tucker Wertenbaker wrote the 1964 book, 'The Eye of The Lion' about Mata Hari, wrote the scripts for the 'The Twentieth Century' program.
Babylon, the fabled capital city of the kingdom of Babylonia. Founded by Nimrod nearly 4300 years ago, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon had been ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Located approximately 60 miles south of Baghdad Iraq, Babylon had been described as the birthplace of civilization. Baghdad, the land of 8th century ruler Haroun-Al-Raschid of the Arabian Nights, Aladdin and Sindbad the Sailor. It was predicted by 2020 to around 2030 Iraq could become the world's top oil producer. To maintain national security, it was explained, one must obey the laws of God, showing respect for human rights as well as the rights of nations and mutual trust. The fall of Jerusalem (or the Kingdom of Judah) in 587 B.C. was the most taught lesson (about privilege and responsibility) in Sunday school in the 20th century. It was also taught, "Some nations go to their demise through outside forces. Others fall from corrupt leadership within. Jerusalem fell by the hand of God." One researcher discovered, "Many scholars question whether Babylon in prophecy is actually a physical place or if it should just represent the religious or economic systems of the world. Today it would appear to many that spiritual Babylon is in Rome and economic Babylon is New York City." The researcher concluded, "Oil wealth in the next 10 to 20 years will bring a time of great riches for the rebuilding of Babylon (Iraq)."
