(July 1, 1998)
Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It features an ensemble cast including Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, William Fichtner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Keith David, and Steve Buscemi.Armageddon opened in theaters only two and a half months after the similar asteroid impact-based film Deep Impact, which starred Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman. Armageddon fared better at the box office, while astronomers described Deep Impact as being more scientifically accurate.[3][4] Armageddon was an international box-office success despite generally negative reviews from critics, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide.
A massive meteor shower destroys the orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombards a swath of land around the North Atlantic. NASAdiscovers through the Hubble Space Telescope that the meteors were debris propelled from the asteroid belt by a rogue asteroid roughly the size of Texas, christened "Dottie" by its discoverer. The asteroid will collide with Earth in 18 days, causing a second extinction event. NASA scientists, led by Dan Truman, plan to trigger a thermonuclear detonation at least 800 ft (244 m) inside the asteroid to split it in two, driving the pieces apart so both will fly past the Earth. NASA contacts Harry Stamper, considered the best deep-sea oil driller in the world, for assistance. Harry insists he will need his full team to help execute NASA's plan, and they agree to help but only after their list of unusual rewards are met.NASA plans to launch two specialized Space Shuttle orbiters, the X-71 spaceplanes Freedom and Independence, originally intended for a manned Mars landing, to increase the chances of success; the shuttles will refill with liquid oxygen from the 11-year-old Russian space station Mir (which is modified to have artificial gravity by rotating on itself) before making a slingshot maneuver around the Moon to approach the asteroid from behind. NASA puts Harry and his crew through a short and rigorous astronaut training program, while Harry's team re-outfit the mobile drillers, "Armadillos", for the job. During training, Truman and Harry are skeptical about the abilities of A.J. Frost, a hot-headed drill operator who has been dating Harry's daughter Grace against Harry's wishes.
The destruction of Shanghai by a meteorite forces the government to reveal the asteroid's existence, as well as their plan. The X-71s are launched and arrive at the space station, where its sole cosmonaut, eccentrical USSR nostalgic (he wears an old "CCCP" t-shirt) Lev Andropov, helps with refueling. A major fire breaks out during the fueling process, forcing the crews, including Lev, to evacuate in the shuttles before the station explodes. The shuttles perform the slingshot around the Moon, but approaching the asteroid, the Independence's engines are destroyed by trailing debris, and it crash-lands on the asteroid. Grace, aware A.J. was aboard the Independence, is traumatized by this news, believing he was killed. Unknown to the others, A.J., Lev, and "Bear" (another of Harry's crew) survive the impact and head towards the Freedom target site in their Armadillo.
Freedom safely lands on the asteroid, but overshoots the target zone, landing on a much harder metallic field than planned, and their drilling quickly falls behind schedule. The military initiates a backup plan they call "secondary protocol", planning to remotely detonate the weapon at the asteroid's surface, despite Truman and Harry's insistence that it would be ineffective. Truman delays the military, while Harry convinces the shuttle commander Colonel Willie Sharp to disarm the remote trigger. Harry's crew continues to work, but in their haste, they accidentally hit a gas pocket, blowing their Armadillo into space and losing another man. As the world learns of the mission's apparent failure, another meteorite decimates most of Paris.
Paris Gate impact at the same time the Paris WC was taking place...
FIFA=6691 '666'
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the second time that France staged the competition (the first was in 1938), and the ninth time that it was held in Europe.
Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997. For the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities, with the opening match and final staged at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis.
The tournament was won by France, who beat defending champions Brazil 3–0 in the final. France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth (after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina) to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals.
2018 marks the 20th anniversary of Deep Impact & Armageddon during the World Cup which definitely has a strong connection....
France is one of the favorites for the 2018 WC so group c including Peru "Incas" also ties in heavily along with the other games at Cosmos Arena including the Russia final against Uruguay.
Cosmos Arena:
"When Russia originally made their bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 there weren’t enough top-quality stadiums already in the country, so they had to commit to building new ones. One such new stadium is the Cosmos Arena, so named because the region it’s being built in, Samara, is known for its links to the space industry. On top of that, the original design of the ground makes it look a little like an asteroid."
2018 FIFA World Cup
| Date | Time | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17, 2018 | 16:00 SAMT (UTC+4) |  Costa Rica | – |  Serbia | Group E | |
| June 21, 2018 | 16:00 SAMT (UTC+4) |  Denmark | – |  Australia | Group C | |
| June 25, 2018 | 18:00 SAMT (UTC+4) |  Uruguay | – |  Russia | Group A | Match 33 Solar Phoenix Deep Impact |
| June 28, 2018 | 18:00 SAMT (UTC+4) |  Senegal | – |  Colombia | Group H | |
| July 2, 2018 | 18:00 SAMT (UTC+4) | Winner Group E | – | Runner-up Group F | Round of 16 | |
| July 7, 2018 | 18:00 SAMT (UTC+4) | Winner Match 55 | – | Winner Match 56 | Quarter-finals |
