1. EVENTS ACROSS U.S. ARE CELEBRATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MOON LANDING THIS MONTH: July marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, and across the U.S., museums, theaters, concert halls, and more are holding events to celebrate the historic milestone throughout the month. Events include a Guinness World Record attempt by the U.S. Space and Rocket Center—on July 16, exactly 50 years after Apollo 11 launched, the museum will attempt to set a record by launching 5,000 model rockets simultaneously. Associated Press: “The museum has also invited space fans around the world to launch their own rockets that day. So far, people from 29 countries have joined, including Argentina, Vietnam and China, Ammons said. NASA will mark the occasion on the eve of the landing anniversary with a live, 1 ½-hour broadcast on NASA TV from several sites, including Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the launch site for Apollo 11 crew of Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.” 2. OSCARS BOARD ACHIEVES GENDER PARITY WITH NEW MEMBERS: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 842 new members on Monday, half of which are women. The Academy also announced that 29 percent of the invitees are people of color. Variety: “Should those people accept, and they almost universally do, the Academy will have doubled the percentage of nonwhite people in their ranks in four years. In 2015, people of color accounted for only 8% of the Academy body. In 2019, it stands at 16%, the Academy reported. As it stands, the Academy counts 8,946 active members, with 8,733 eligible to vote on the Oscars. The total membership including retired members is 9,794. This year’s number falls short of 2018’s record of 928 invitations.” 3. ATOM TICKETS EXPANDS INTO LOCAL LIVE EVENTS: Atom Tickets, a five-year-old movie ticketing firm based in Santa Monica, has launched a new service that will let users purchase tickets to local live events such as wine tastings, concerts, and food festivals. The new initiative, which is a partnership between Atom and Eventbrite, launches in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston this week. Los Angeles Times: “Users who click on the ‘events’ tab on the Atom app can sort goings-on by categories including comedy, arts and music. … With the addition of live events, the company could also use what it learns about consumer tastes to recommend local happenings to users, said Chris Brucia, Atom’s head of product. For example, a person who frequents stand-up venues like the Laugh Factory may be interested in the latest Hollywood comedy, and vice versa.” | 