5 Things to Know Today

Good morning, Bethlehem. Today is Thursday, July 21, 2011, 15 days from Musikfest.

1. Happy 60th birthday, comedian and Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams. Happy 63rd birthday to both cartoonist and “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau, and Yusuf Islam, the brilliant singer-songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens, who wrote “Morning Has Broken,” “Moonshadow,” and “Peace Train.” Happy 43rd birthday to Brandi Chastain, who became one of the most famous women’s soccer players in the world in 1999, when her penalty kick gave the United States a World Cup championship victory over China and she celebrated by whipping off her jersey.
2. If you don’t like the weather we are having here, consider the scientists currently manning Vostok Station, a Russian Antarctic research outpost where they aren’t expecting their next sunrise until the end of August and the average daytime high temperature in July is minus-80 degrees. On this day 28 years ago, the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was documented at Vostok:  minus-128.6 degrees. We are expecting it to be a good 226 degrees warmer in Bethlehem today – that’s a high of 98 degrees, plus lots of humidity, which translates into a heat index well above 100. In all seriousness, it would be a good idea to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
3. If you feel you must brave the daytime heat, one good place to visit will be the , which takes place every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Campus Square, S. New and E. Morton streets in South Bethlehem. Fresh produce, baked goods and a variety of other items will all be available for purchase.
4. As the sun goes down and things cool off – just a bit, there will be a Movies by Moonlight presentation of Without Limits at the off of Main and Walnut streets. The film is a biography of legendary 1970s middle- and long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Pre-film fun starts at 7 p.m. The film starts after dark.
5. Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist and singer extraordinaire Robert Cray takes the stage tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at $49 and $42 are still available.