Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network Studios. The series, set in a world in which imaginary friends coexist with humans, centers on an eight-year-old boy, Mac, who is pressured by his mother to abandon his imaginary friend, Bloo. After Mac discovers an orphanage dedicated to housing abandoned imaginary friends, Bloo moves into the home and is kept from adoption so long as Mac visits him daily. The episodes revolve around Mac and Bloo as they interact with other imaginary friends and house staff and live out their day-to-day adventures, often getting caught up in various predicaments.
McCracken conceived the series after adopting two dogs from an animal shelter and applying the concept to imaginary friends. The show first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television film. On August 20, it began its normal run of twenty-to-thirty-minute episodes on Fridays, at 7 pm. The series finished its run on May 3, 2009, with a total of six seasons and seventy-nine episodes. McCracken left Cartoon Network shortly after the series ended.
McKinley Phipps (born July 30, 1977), better known as Mac, is an American rapper and songwriter from New Orleans' 3rd Ward, and would grow to be one of the most critically acclaimed on Master P's No Limit Records, both as a solo rapper and as a member of the super group 504 Boyz. He also collaborated with rapper B.G. on the album Chopper City released in 1996.
Mac was born Mckinley Phipps in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started his music career as a kid rapper in the year 1990. At 13 years old he made his solo debut album under the name of "Lil Mac", called The Lyrical Midget. The album was one of the earliest commercial hip-hop albums to come out of New Orleans, and featured some production from New Orleans producer Mannie Fresh. It was not very successful though Lil Mac would not be heard from for another 7 years.
The following is a list of recurring characters from the FX television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Charlie is a former co-owner at Paddy's and a childhood friend of Mac and Dennis. Frank is his roommate and possible biological father. Charlie is the janitor at the pub, and an illiterate, alcoholic and vapors huffer, who suffers from deep psychological problems, and has anger management issues, and often screams to get his point across. He lives in squalor. Charlie's intentions are often pure, but his plans are almost always foiled. He is played by Charlie Day.
Ronald "Mac" McDonald is Charlie Kelly's childhood friend and Dennis's high school friend and later roommate. He is a co-owner of Paddy's and its bouncer. He brags about his incredible hand-to-hand combat skills, strength, and general athletic ability though it is quite obvious he lacks any real skill or even a proper sense of balance. His full name is revealed to be Ronald McDonald in the seventh season episode "The High School Reunion", though his last name involving "Mac" had been established since the introduction of his father. Mac and Dennis share an odd relationship that is highlighted in the later seasons. It is obvious to everyone on the show's universe except Mac that he is gay, and that he is only in denial about it because of his unbending pre-Vatican II Catholicism. He is played by Rob McElhenney.
Athena was a 1990s Lockheed Martin expendable launch system which underwent several name changes in its lifetime.
Development began at the Lockheed Corporation in 1993, where the design was known as the Lockheed Launch Vehicle. The name was subsequently changed to the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle when Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta. Late in the program's life the name was finally changed to Athena, and all of the launches after the demonstration flight in August 1995 were conducted using that name. Athena was retired from service in 2001, however in 2010 it was announced that it would be put back into production, with launches set to resume in 2012. In September 2010 Athena was added to NASA's Launch Services II contract.
The Athena comes in two versions, Athena I and Athena II. The Athena I has two stages, the Thiokol Castor-120 first stage and a Pratt & Whitney ORBUS 21D upper stage, both powered by solid-fuel. The Athena II has three stages, the Castor-120 first and second stages, and an ORBUS 21D upper stage. When flights resume in 2012, the Athena Ic and Athena IIc configurations will use Castor 30 stages instead of the Orbus 21D stages on the original versions.
Athena is a goddess of wisdom, strategic-war and weaving in Greek mythology. It is also a feminine given name, after the goddess.
Athena can also refer to:
The Athena II is an American small expendable launch system which was used for three launches between 1998 and 1999, and which is scheduled to return to service in 2012. It is a member of the Athena family of rockets, along with the smaller Athena I. Launches from 2012 will use the Athena IIc configuration, which features a different third stage.
The Athena II is a four-stage rocket, consisting of solid first, second and third stages, and a monopropellant liquid-fuelled fourth stage. The first and second stages are Castor 120s, which are also used on some versions of the Taurus rocket. An Orbus 21D motor was used as the third stage on launches during the 1990s, however when it returns to service in 2012 the Castor 30, which is under development for the Taurus II, will be used instead. The fourth stage is an Orbital Adjustment Module, fuelled by hydrazine and propelled by four MR-107 engines, which is used for final insertion.
Prior to its retirement in 1999, Athena II launches were made from Launch Complex 46 at Spaceport Florida and Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. LC-46 will also be used for Athena IIc launches, with Launch Pad 0B of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and Pad 1 of the Kodiak Launch Complex also offered. If a launch from Vandenberg is ordered, Space Launch Complex 8 will be used instead of SLC-6, which was rebuilt as a Delta IV launch complex following the Athena's initial retirement.