Remembering: The Red Baron

April 21, 1918 the Red Baron is shot down by enemy fire.

Manfred von Richthofen, the son of a Prussian noble had been in the cavalry until 1915. It was then that he switched over to the Imperial Air Service and began terrorizing the skies.

In 1917, he switched from an Albatross biplane to a Fokker triplane. He had the plane painted completely red, in honor of his old cavalry regiment. The plane earned him the nickname, The Red Baron.

With 80 victories under his belt, he was by far the greatest pilot in WWI. But on April 21, he went too far behind enemy lines, and was shot down. British troops recovered his body, and at the age of 25, he was buried with full military honors.

Remembering: The Battle of San Jacinto

Sam Houston

The Texan army is reeling from multiple defeats at the hands of the Mexican army. The Alamo has fallen, and there seems to be nothing but retreat.

On, April 21, 1836, the Texas militia under Sam Houston launch a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna.

The attack is completely effective, the Mexican army is routed, and many including Santa Anna are captured. In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna agrees to recognize Texan independence.

Sam Houston would be elected President of the Lone Star Republic, and guide it towards becoming the twenty-eighth state.

Starbucks to Stop Using Crushed Bugs

Starbucks has announced that they will stop using the "crushed bug" dye that colors their strawberry frappuccinos, raspberry swirl cake, and red velvet whoopie pie.

The company had been receiving lots of grief over the last months, since it had been discovered that the Cochineal dye Starbucks had been using, is made from the juice of crushed beetles.

Cochineal dye is also used in many foods and cosmetic products. Many lipsticks and shampoos use it. Yogurt's often do as well.

Starbucks will begin using lycopene, a tomato-based extract. They expect to be completely switched over, in all stores, by the end of April.

Remembering: Columbine

April 20, 1999, two teenaged gunmen start shooting outside of Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado. The boys were students at the school, and went through the school shooting people randomly. Hardest hit was the library.

By the time the shooting stopped the gunmen had shot and killed themselves. Before doing so, they had killed twelve students, one teacher, and wounded twenty-four more.

The victims that they killed were: Cassie Rene Bernall (17), Steven Robert Curnow (14), Corey Tyler DePooter (17), Kelly Ann Fleming (16), Matthew Joseph Ketcher (16), Daniel Conner Mauser (15), Daniel Lee Rohrbough (15), Coach William 'Dave' Sanders (47), Rachel Joy Scott (17), Isaiah Eamon Shoels (18), John Robert Tomlin (16), Lauren Dawn Townsend (18), and Kyle Albert Velasquez (16).

Coach Sanders, was possibly the biggest hero of the event. He is credited with clearing out the cafeteria, of more than one hundred students, before the gunmen could get there. He was in an upstairs hallway making sure students were secured and safe in classrooms, when he was shot from behind.

The Columbine library was torn down, and rebuilt as an atrium. A memorial stands near the school, with dedications to each of the thirteen victims.

Remembering: The Shot Heard Around The World

April 19, 1775, after being warned by Paul Revere and William Dawes, seventy-seven minutemen grouped together at Lexington, Massachusetts to face the coming British.

Major John Pitcairn, commanding seven hundred British redcoats, ordered the militia out of his way. They began to comply, but then someone fired a shot, and both sides let loose a volley. When the smoke cleared eight of the militia lay dead and ten others were wounded, whilst only one redcoat was hurt.

Upon reaching Concord, the British were successful in destroying the militia's warehouse of military supplies, but soon found themselves under attack by hundreds of militia. Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith ordered a withdrawal back to Boston, and told his troops to avoid a direct confrontation with the colonials.

As the redcoats retraced the sixteen mile march they found themselves harassed by guerrilla style tactics and ambushes. At Lexington, they found the town reinforced and quickly passed through the town without engaging.

By the time the British returned to Boston, they had lost nearly three hundred troops killed, wounded, or missing. Colonial casualties were fewer than one hundred. The American Revolution had begun.

Syria Continues Shelling

Syrian government forces continue to violate the cease fire. Wednesday they renewed the shelling of parts of Homs. The state news agency, SANA, reported that roadside bombs in Idlib and Aleppo killed ten soldiers and a civilian.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem insists that the government is doing everything in it's power to have a cease fire. He went as far as offering the Syrian air force's planes and helicopters to carry around UN observers.

With both sides violating the cease fire, there really is no hope left for the truce. Time is just ticking for the conflicts to go full fledged again.

The world sits and watches unable to do much more. If they admit that the cease fire has been ineffective, the leave themselves with little choices. The only real ones there are, would be to send their own troops in to try and enforce a peace, arm the rebels, or stay out of it completely and watch the country continue to implode.

Halo 4 Release Date Announced

Microsoft has announced that greatly awaited Halo 4, will be released November 6, or election day in the US.

This installment's story line begins four years after the end of Halo 3's. Master Chief and Cortana will return, fighting an even greater and more dangerous than ever known.

The story line will also go where none of the other games have gone before. It will delve into Master Chief's past, in ways only the books and comics have.

Halo 3 was the fastest selling game ever, back in 2007, and remained so til 2011 when Call of Duty: Black Ops beat it. 4 is expected to take that back for Microsoft. But it will have competition, as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Assassin's Creed 3, and Grand Theft Auto 5 all come out around the same time.

Dog TV

For $4.99 a month, you can get Dog TV, an eight hour set of cable TV just for your dog. The network promises that there are never reruns, keeping it always fresh for the dogs, so they won't get bored.

Everything on the network is designed for dogs to watch. They filmed low, to match a dog's point of view. The music has been written and designed specifically for canine hearing. Even the colors have been altered, enriching blues and yellows, which dogs can see.

According to scientists, the technological level of TVs now allows for dogs to see the screen. With older TVs they couldn't actually register what was going on.

The Escondido Humane Society, near San Diego, has been a testing ground for the network's relaxation videos. Development director Jean Loo-Russo said that, "We handle 5,000 animals a year. We get high-energy, big dogs that need to calm down. When we plugged it in, we saw almost immediate results.

So far the network is only available in the San Diego area, but plans are underway to go across the US by the end of the year. Options are being looked at to add smell to the screen. Developers say that the technology is available, but is just not cost effective yet. Due to comments from pet owners, that cats are entertained by Dog TV, they are also working on developing Cat TV.

Remembering: The British are Coming!

April 18, 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, orders British soldiers to march on Concord to cease weapon stores and on Lexington to arrest colonial leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

The colonials had been waiting for this move, and plans were prepared. Two riders, Paul Revere and William Dawes, were waiting for a signal to let them know which way the British were headed. One lamp would be lit in the steeple of Boston's Old North Church, the highest point in the city, if the British were marching out of the city by Boston Neck, and two would be lit if they were crossing the Charles River to Cambridge.

On the night of April 18, the two men saw the signal of two lights in the steeple, and set off through the countryside, on different paths, to warn everyone. Hundreds of Minutemen were warned, and armed themselves. They reached Lexington moments apart, and together warned Hancock and Adams. As they left the town they were joined by Samuel Prescott.

The three riders then took separate ways towards Concord. Only Prescott would make it there. Dawes would end up losing his horse avoiding British patrols. Whilst Revere would be captured and questioned, but later released.

Maduro Accuses Obama of Conspiracy

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro accused the United States government, and specifically President Obama, of orchestrating a conspiracy to remove President Hugo Chavez from office.

This conspiracy involves plans to instigate street violence and according to Maduro goes as far as plotting a coup against Chavez. "At this moment it's difficult to consider an improvement in the relations with the United States due to this conspiracy," he said on Venezuelan TV.

Maduro also stated that the United States is increasingly isolated from it's other American neighbors. He warns that there will not be another Summit of the Americas, if the US does not back down on issues regarding Cuba.

The Foreign Minister also took shots at Great Britain, making it clear that Venezuela will back Argentina in any continued conflict over the Falkland Islands. Argentina has been increasingly vocal and belligerent with it's demands that the islands be handed over to them.