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An Asteroid Has Been Named After Freddie Mercury (vice.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Motherboard report: Freddie Mercury, frontman of Queen and transcendent being of pure performative joy and vitality, would have been 70 years old this Monday, September 5. To celebrate the occasion and honor Mercury's enormous impact on pop culture, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially changed the name of Asteroid 17473, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, to "Freddiemercury." It's a fitting tribute to the man who exuberantly sang that he was "a shooting star leaping through the sky" in the heart-thumping rock rager "Don't Stop Me Now." Queen's lead guitarist Brian May, who also happens to be an astrophysicist with a namesake asteroid of his own, announced the news to the band's fans via YouTube on Sunday. Mercury's asteroid is about three and a half kilometers across, and has an albedo of about 0.3, which means it reflects only about 30 percent of the Sun's light. "It's a dark object, like a cinder in space, as many of these asteroids are," May said. "It's just a dot of light, but it's a very special dot of light."
He already had an entire planet named after him, why does he need an asteroid named after him too?
This pop song?
Who ordered that?
Freddy Mercury's real name is Farrokh Bulsara. Brian May didn't have a stage name.
Do you think it matches his vibrato?
It's about time. Hopefully the asteroid contains a lot of mercury.
-- Cheers!
Freddy Mercury was terrific, but he ruined mustaches for straight men everywhere, and so soon after Burt Reynolds made them acceptable again.
All in all, I'd trade Burt Reynolds straight up to get Freddie Mercury back. People forget just how great he was. Watch this 1974 live Queen video to be reminded. And he only got better after that.
https://youtu.be/T8Rfb1Jtmic
He deserves to have an entire star system named after him.
And he was a Zoroastrian born in Zanzibar, because of course he was. I'm instructing my wife to include, "He was a Zoroastrian born in Zanzibar" in my obituary because it sounds so cool, even though it's not true at all.
You are welcome on my lawn.
shouldn't it be more appropriate to rename london (you know the city in terminal decadence) after freddy. londoners would be proud and honored.
why label his name over a silent unspoilt asteroid? and not everyone in earth will be as proud and honored as londoners about him.
Or this one?
605413? Yes, it's a prime.
The Martians never agreed to this.
"shouldn't it be more appropriate to rename london (you know the city in terminal decadence) after freddy."
Why stop at a city? And why the big bohoo about an asteroid being named after Freddy? He already has a planet named after him, forchristshake!
You have to appreciate the complexity of the song in terms of the technology they had to work with back then.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
That's a short song. You should listen to some classical music every once in a while to hear some loooooooong pieces. Try Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It's nice and long.
I'm telling you now, if you've been a tourist there, you can say you've done the Freddie.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Don't you mean "somdomite"?
Accordingly, Flash Gordon will now be played instead of Bohemian Rhapsody.
"Freddie, we named a planet after you. The one that is cheek to cheek with a star."
Freddie: "Allright!!"
"We also named an element after you. Also known as 'quicksilver'"
Freddie: "How fitting!"
"We also named a dark dead rock next to a bunch of other dead rocks after you."
Freddie: "Oh...you...shouldn't have."
How about the ongoing performance of As Slow As Possible at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany?
This is a particularly funny in Bible humping context:
"A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this."
So why was it that Men wore Dresses back then? They couldn't even wear trousers until the bloody trouser-button was invented. Then it's as if God sayeth, "Until thouest invents Men's clothing, thou shall wear no clothing at all." So for thousands of years, men pranced around with not much more than their foreskins on, and then God decided that those would have to go as well. God liked his Men Nude, oiled, and with Breasts like Pomegranates... no, that was Solomon, and he was singing his song about his Sister. No nude, oiled up Men for him.
Now as far as Women wearing Men's clothing, again, not much difference in clothing originally. Well, Men did have their hammered breastplates for going into Battle. Women resisted for a long time... and then came the Brassiere for their goings into Battle, to be surrendered when Battle lost. That one invention probably pissed God and me off equally. That and pantyhose. God because it was hose for women, a sort of trousers without buttons, and me because the sewn in panties got in the way. And then God, or more probably Solomon's Sister, invented Crotchless Panties.
Many a lonely night, yellow highlighter in hand, and no that isn't a euphemism, I would search through copies of the Gideon's Bible left thoughtfully behind by others, looking for warnings against Crotchless Panties. The closest to this is: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” God was so _Butch_ at times. Of course these days, such an article is manufactured and sold as a Girdle, nearly always crotchless. and with clips for holding up some sagging hose.
I see a little snag in your plan...
_IF_ someone wanted to rename London after any singer - that might be just about fine...
_IF_ that someone chose Freddy Mercury over David Bowie - hmmmm - that person might be in trouble...
Sorry, The Man Who Sold The World pretty much reigns supreme in London... As much as I like Freddy Mercury - Bowie would be the better tribute...
And as for naming an asteroid after Freddy Mercury - fine by me - even the reference to a "shooting star leaping through the sky" kind of makes sense.
I just hope that this asteroid will never head towards Earth - otherwise the song title "Don't stop me now!" might be reaaaaally bad... ;-)
It shouldn't be at the poles. It should be quite hot:
I'm burning through the sky yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
Please explain to the bonobo chimpanzees and hyenas (among many others) that their homosexual behavior is unnatural.
Eat the rich.
I wonder if it'll split into three parts, two smaller ones and a big one. Impacting with a **thump** **thump** **CRASH!**
... I want to break free... we will rock you...don't stop me now....now I'm here.... breakthrough... another one bites the dust...we are the champions...
"The hallmark of humanity is the ability to move beyond sensory inputs" - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Never mind the Bonobos and Hyeanas. I dare anyone to try and explain it to TurboNegro !
Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
I cannot now rid my mind from re-imaging Alan Partridge singing out-of-tune, "Killleeerr-QUEEEEEEEN" to himself, as he crosses a Norfolk commercial traveller's hotel lobby.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."