Your enemy is the one who made him a refugee.
Today is World Refugee Day. Wars, droughts, and natural disasters drive people away from their homes and their lands. This is tragic, but the next step - where do they go next? - can compound the tragedy. This year is the 19th anniversary of World Refugee Day, sponsored by the United Nations Refugee Agency, which aims to raise global awareness of global responsibility for refugees.
It's difficult for a nation or other region that is struggling with unemployment or drought or other problems to take in large groups of people, no matter how great their need. It is a crime against humanity when a country criminalizes the struggle of those people and their search for a safer and better life.
June 20, 1941 -
Advertised as their farewell film (they went on to appear in two more,) The Big Store, starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont (in her final appearance in a Marx Bros. film) premiered on this date.
It has been rumored that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was watching a private screening of this film when he received news that Nazi second-in-command Rudolf Hess had flown to Britain on an unauthorized mission to end the conflict between Britain and Germany during World War II. Churchill decided that the news was so unimportant he ignored it, went back into his screening room and watched the rest of the movie.
June 20, 1942 -
It's Brian Wilson's birthday today, ushering in those lazy, hazy days of summer.
Brian Wilson just had to postpone the continuation of his tour this year due to emotional health issues. Let's all have a good thought for him today.
June 20, 1946 -
Rex Harrison's first American movie, Anna and the King Of Siam, with Irene Dunne, opened in theaters on this date.
Rex Harrison thoroughly enjoyed co-starring with Irene Dunne. He thought her "an excellent actress" and was pleased that she had the confidence to follow her own instincts. He recalled, "She too went her own way and tactfully used the director, as I later learned to do myself, to her own advantage; she listened to what he had to give, and discarded it or used it, as she wished."
June 20, 1974 -
Forget about it Jake. It's Chinatown
The unforgettable film-noir classic, Chinatown, was released on this date.
The screenplay is now regarded as being one of the most perfect screenplays ever written, and is now a main teaching point in screenwriting seminars and classes everywhere.
June 20, 1975 -
Steven Spielberg's thriller, Jaws, premiered on this date. Beach vacations were never the same again.
Though respected as an actor, Robert Shaw's trouble with alcohol was a frequent source of tension during filming. Roy Scheider described his co-star as "a perfect gentleman whenever he was sober. All he needed was one drink and then he turned into a competitive son-of-a-bitch." According to Carl Gottlieb's book "The Jaws Log," Shaw was having a drink between takes, at which one point he announced, "I wish I could quit drinking." Much to the surprise and horror of the crew, Richard Dreyfuss simply grabbed Shaw's glass and tossed it into the ocean. When it came time to shoot the infamous USS Indianapolis Scene, Shaw attempted to do the monologue while intoxicated as it called for the men to be drinking late at night. Nothing in the take could be used. A remorseful Shaw called Steven Spielberg late that night and asked if he could have another try. The next day of shooting, Shaw's electrifying performance was done in one take.
June 20, 1997 -
It was literally nipples to the wind when Joel Schumacher's contribution to the caped crusader saga, Batman and Robin, starring George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Uma Thurman, went into general release on this date.
Most of the scenes with Batgirl were cut, because Alicia Silverstone had gained a few pounds during production and the wardrobe team had to refit her costume. When the press discovered the news, they slammed Silverstone's weight gain and mocked the actress for being "too fat" to fit into her costume. Director Joel Schumacher publicly defended Silverstone during interviews and press meetings, joking "What is this girl's big sin - that she ate some pizza?" When the taunting continued, Schumacher lashed out at the reporters that taunted her. He said in a magazine interview, "It was horrible. I thought it was very cruel. She was a teenager who gained a few pounds - like all of us do at certain times. I would confront female journalists and I'd say, 'With so many young people suffering from anorexia and bulimia, why are you crucifying this girl?' "
June 20, 1997 -
The rom-com classic, My Best Friend's Wedding, starring Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett premiered on this date.
A very rare instance in which the word "fuck" is used in a sexual context in a PG-13 film. Usually a sexualized use of the word automatically gets a film an R-rating.
Just another day
Today in History:
June 20, 1756 -
In Calcutta, 146 British prisoners are placed in a 18 foot by 14 foot cell known as The Black Hole by a Bengali, Siraj-ud-daula, and held there until the following morning.
Of those imprisoned, only 23 survive. Even with the economic downturn, a 250 sq ft apartment would start a huge bidding war in Manhattan.
June 20, 1793 -
Eli Whitney applied for a patent on his Cotton Gin on this date. More affordable than gin distilled from grain alcohol and juniper berries, Cotton Gin quickly became the drink of choice among America's rural poor.
This led to widespread outbreaks of Cotton Mouth and eventually caused the Civil War.
June 20, 1782 -
Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States on this date.
Although several people on the committee were Masons, the Masonic institutions themselves deny that the Seal is Masonic; therefore, any resemblance is purely coincidental.
Of course.
June 20, 1791 -
King Louis XVI and his family attempted their escape from Paris to the royalist citadel of Montedy on this date.
They were captured at Varennes-en-Argonne when they were recognized. It didn't go too well for them after this.
June 20, 1837 -
The 18-year old Princess Victoria ascended the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV, on this date.
Her reign as the Queen lasted 63 years and 7 months, which is the second longest of any British monarch, after her great-great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
June 20, 1893 -
Lizzie Borden was found innocent of giving her stepmother and father 40 and 41 whacks, respectively.
Now that O.J.is out of prison, he promised to get cracking on this case as well as finding the actual killer of his ex-wife.
June 20, 1947 -
Bugsy Siegel (Warren Beatty) was shot to death at Virginia Hill's (Annette Bennings) mansion, on orders purportedly from Meyer Lansky.
The drive-by shooting never was solved and remains an open case.
June 20, 1967 -
The late great Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) had refused to serve in the U.S. military, stating that it went against his religious beliefs and his opposition to the Vietnam War. This led to his conviction of violating Selective Service laws on this date.
The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.
And so it goes.
Before you go - the summer solstice begins on Friday, June 21, at 11:54 a.m. EDT.
I'll just be starting to think about lunch at the time and we'll discuss this in further detail tomorrow.
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