But that has nothing to do with the fact that it's Edward Lear's birthday.
Please keep all those unfortunate bucket owners from Nantucket in your thoughts today.
May 12, 1944 -
The camp classic, Cobra Woman, directed by Robert Siodmak, starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Sabu, opened in the US on this date.
At the time this film was made, Montez was (along with Abbott and Costello and Deanna Durbin) one of Universal's most popular box office attractions. As a result, no expense was spared in its making, and it features many of the elements that came to personify "The Maria Montez formula": an exotic, fictional setting, vividly colorful (and occasionally outrageous) costumes, elaborate special effects (including matte paintings and process shots) and expensive sets.
May 11, 1951 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Early to Bet, directed by Bob McKimson, debuted on this date.
The cartoon is a sequel to the 1950 short It's Hummer Time, which featured the same bulldog giving the same cat elaborate punishments.
May 12, 1960 -
Elvis Presley guest-starred in The Frank Sinatra Timex Special (the show is commonly referred to as Welcome Home Elvis) on ABC-TV. This was Elvis' first appearance on TV in three years; he had only recently been discharged from the army.
Elvis was paid an at the time incredible sum of $125,000 for less than seven minutes of onscreen time. The special was important to Elvis' career as he tried to move towards a more 'adult' audience.
(I'm not sure if Frank would approve of you touching your 'affected' areas and touching the screen to receive St. Elvis' healing power. But Frank's dead and it's no longer his world; so feel free to heal yourself.)
May 12, 1963 -
Bob Dylan was an aspiring young musician at the time, when he was asked to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, to promote his 2nd album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Although Ed had heard Dylan's audition performance of the song (and had no problem with it,) CBS' Standard and Practice department did not want him to play his song the Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues, because of it's controversial nature. Bob Dylan decided not to appear on the show rather than pick another song or change the lyrics.
The story got widespread media attention in the days that followed helping to establish Dylan’s public reputation as an uncompromising artist. The publicity Bob Dylan received from this event probably did more for his career than the actual Ed Sullivan Show performance would have.
May 12, 1967 -
One of the most widely regarded debut albums in the history of rock music, Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released in the UK, on this date.
With its spherical fisheye image and strangely saturated colors, the U.S. cover of Are You Experienced remains one of the most iconic album covers of the psychedelic era. But it wouldn’t exist if Hendrix hadn’t absolutely loathed the cover of the earlier U.K. release, which featured a drab photo of the guitarist spreading a cape, Dracula-style, behind the heads of his bandmates.
May 12, 1972 -
Although initially receiving mixed reviews, the Rolling Stones released one of Rock's greatest double albums, Exile on Main St., on this date.
Mick Jagger once complained though, the album was not his favorite Rolling Stones albums. He described it as sounding "lousy" with "no concerted effort of intention", adding "at the time, Jimmy Miller was not functioning properly. I had to finish the whole record myself, because otherwise there were just these drunks and junkies."
May 12, 1987 -
There was a final roll call at the Hill Street Station when NBC TV aired the last episode of Hill Street Blues, It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over, on this date.
The series is regarded as a hallmark in American dramatic television. It was the first dramatic series to incorporate long shots, hand-held shots and continuous story lines. It was nominated for a record 21 Emmys for its first season in spite of low ratings.
May 12, 1989 -
The very silly sci-fi comedy Earth Girls Are Easy, directed by Julien Temple and starrings Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Julie Brown, Charles Rocket and Michael McKean, opened on this date.
Jeff Goldblum taught acting at the time, and inexperienced actors Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans would often go to him for advice. One of Goldblum's techniques was to distract himself before a take by reading aloud from a book right up until "action" was called, so Carrey and Wayans would make loud noises in-character between takes. Julie Brown said, "It wasn't easy to work with them, even though they're all really talented."
May 12, 1993 –
We al said our goodbye to Kevin, Paul and Winnie and shed many a tear when ABC TV aired the final episode of The Wonder Years, Independence Day, aired on this date.
At the beginning of production, it was unclear as to whether the show would renew for another season or not–so the script was open-ended. Ultimately, the series ending elements, such as Kevin‘s closing narration, were added in post-production once the show was officially canceled.
May 12, 1995 -
The action thriller Crimson Tide, directed by Tony Scott, and starring Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, and James Gandolfini, opened in the US on this date.
Since the U.S. Navy would not cooperate with the filming, for several scenes the French Navy allowed the use of one of their Triomphant Class ballistic missile submarines along with the aircraft carrier Foch.
May 12, 2013 -
After the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield records the David Bowie song Space Oddity on board the International Space Station, his sublime rendition is posted to YouTube, quickly garnering millions of views.
Commander Hadfield said that he had made the video for a number of reasons, but “maybe most importantly, it was a chance to let people see where we truly are in space exploration”. David Bowie himself posted on Facebook to say that the cover of his 1969 song was “possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created”.
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
May 12, 1797 -
Following Napoleon's conquest of Venice, Ludovico Manin reluctantly steps down as its last Doge on this date.
So now you know, try working that into a conversation.
May 12, 1926 -
In May of 1926, Roald Amundsen, the leader of the first party to reach the South Pole and Lincoln Ellsworth, a wealthy explorer, wanted to be the first to reach the North Pole (why - because.) Due to the inhospitable terrain, they were preparing to take the Norge, a rigid airship, over the pole. The Norge was built in Rome and was piloted by Umberto Nobile. While they were preparing, Richard E. Byrd arrived in Norway to attempt to fly to the Pole in the Josephine Ford, a Fokker F.VII. On May 9, Byrd flew out from King’s Bay (Kongsfjorden) with Floyd Bennett and returned 15 and one half hours later, saying that he had reached the Pole.
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His claim was quickly accepted, but it was later calculated that it would have taken the Fokker almost 22 hours to get to the Pole and back from King’s Bay, discounting Byrd’s claim. On May 11, Amundsen took off in the Norge, reaching the North Pole on this date. They did not land there, but dropped flags of Norway, the United States, and Italy on the Pole.
May 12, 1929 -
Burt Bacharach, composer, was born in Kansas City, Mo., on this date.
Mr. Bacharach was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.
May 12, 1932 -
Delivery truck driver William Allen pulled his truck to the side of a road about 4.5 miles from the Lindbergh home. He went to a grove of trees to relieve himself, and there he discovered the badly decomposed body of the Lindbergh Baby.
There were signs that the body had been chewed on by various animals as well as indications that someone had made an attempt to hastily bury the body.
These kinds of stories make you want to be a piss bottle man.
May 12, 1937 -
Albert Frederick Arthur George Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, The Duke of York (and incidentially the Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney) through sheer happemstance, was crowned Britain's King George VI at Westminster Abbey on this date.
Television was in its infancy on the day of George VI's coronation. The BBC Television Service filmed its first outdoor broadcast, using a mobile van, showing the new king and his wife Elizabeth (Elizabeth II parents) as they made their way to Westminster Abbey and it was also, the first coronation to be broadcast on television.
May 12, 1937 -
George Denis Patrick Carlin stand-up comedian, social critic, prolific pot smoker, actor and author was born on this date.
In 2004, Carlin placed second on the Comedy Central list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time, ahead of Lenny Bruce and behind Richard Pryor (not a bad seating arrangement.)
May 12, 1967 -
At Queen Elizabeth Hall in England, Pink Floyd staged the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert on this date. Included in their set was their first UK hit, Arnold Layne.
Please kids, don't be like Syd, titrate your meds correctly.
May 12, 1971 -
Tor Johnson died of congestive heart failure at the age of 67 in San Fernando, California, on this date.
The man who once wrestled under the name "The Super Swedish Angel" leaves behind a legacy of B-movie acting roles, most famously as the bald zombie in Ed Wood's masterpiece Plan 9 from Outer Space.
May 12, 1982 -
A mentally unbalanced priest named Juan Fernandez Krohn attempted to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet on this date, but was overpowered by the pope's Swiss Guards before he could do any damage.
When asked later, Krohn said that the pope was an "agent of Moscow" and had to be killed.
I nearly forgot - Happy 70th Birthday, Homer Simpson!
And so it goes.
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