The Chanukkah miracle would be only one spelling of Hanukkah

It's the Fifth Night of Hanukkah



Unless you lay off all this fried food, you may have to begin considering your own pair of Kevin James' fat pants.


December 10, 1948 -
Another Preston Sturges Champagne cocktail laced with strychnine, Unfaithfully Yours, opened in the US on this date.



At one point the detective mentions "that Italian guy". He is referring to Arturo Toscanini, one of the world's most famous conductors, who at that time led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in weekly concerts on radio.


December 10, 1967 -
Julie Andrews!!!

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in their first starring comedy, Bedazzled, opened in the US on this date.



Although Raquel Welch is featured in most of the promotional material for this film, her character is only on screen for roughly no more than 7 minutes.


December 10, 1974 -
Pull the string! Pull The String!!!



Ed Wood Jr., either the world's greatest visionary director or the worst filmmaker of all time, suffered a fatal heart attack on this date. At the time of his death, the industry newspaper, Variety, failed to run his obituary.


December 10, 1974 –
The classic disaster movie, Towering Inferno, opened in NYC on this date.



Steve McQueen was married to actress Ali MacGraw at the time. Right before filming the dangerous and climactic scene in the Promenade Room, he told everyone, "If anything happens to me, Ali gets my pickup truck."


December 10, 1982 -
A paean to B movies, It Came from Hollywood, opened in the US on this date. (Do yourself a favor;  find some time today to watch the whole film if you haven't seen it.)



Sadly this was never released on DVD. Paramount had planned to release the film on DVD in 2002. Due to copyright issues with several of the clips featured in the film, the release was ultimately canceled.


December 10, 1984 –
On a very cold night in NYC, 31 years ago, Francis Ford Coppola's Cotton Club opened in NYC. I can remember waiting on line to see the film on the opening day.



Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist William Kennedy was brought in to do a quick draft on the script to polish it. He ended up doing over 20 drafts.


It been 31 years since Do They Know It's Christmas, the charity single by the all-star group Band Aid, was released.





As of the last check, The Band Aid/ Live Aid initiatives have raised over $200 million dollars. Not bad for basically a very crappy tune.


Today's Holiday special: Guess the theme?


Today in History:
December 10, 1520 -
The heretic Martin Luther burnt the papal bull (Exsurge Domine), on this date, issued by Leo X, demanding an end to his heresies. Luther had published 95 points against the practice of granting indulgences, and the Catholic Church only had 94 points in favor of them.

Although technically he was the winner, Luther was subsequently excommunicated.

Luther went away mad and started his own religion.


December 10, 1848 -
Napoleon III, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte), was elected president of France. By 1852, he dismantled the Republic and replaced it with the Second Empire of France, with himself as emperor.



This is what comes from being a Napoleon - give them an inch and they're declaring themselves emperor.


December 10, 1936 -
Edward VIII, signed the letter of abdication to the English throne (which took effect on the next day,) to marry the twice divorced, horsey faced (and possibly transvestite)  - the woman he loved on this date.



Many in the government are secretly relieved, fearing they may have bet against Mrs. Simpson when she ran at the Royal Ascot.


December 10, 1958 -
Krishna Venta (born Francis Herman Pencovic) died in Chatsworth, California in a suicide bombing when two disgruntled former followers (Peter Duma Kamenoff and Ralph Muller) who, although never offering any documentary evidence to support their claims, charged that Venta had both mishandled cult funds and been intimate with their wives.

Venta's remains are only ever identified through dental records.

This is what comes from the laying on of hands with cult members' wives.


December 10, 1967 -
Soul singer Otis Redding plus four members of the Bar-Kays were killed when his airplane crashes into Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin on this date.



So, poor Otis was laid out all over the dock of the bay.


December 10, 1993 -
Adolf Hitler was baptized by proxy into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in their London temple on this date. Mormons also continued to vicariously baptism victims of the Holocaust over the strenuous objections of various Jewish groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center (even Simon Wiesenthal has had a baptism performed for himself after his death.)

There's nothing worse than finding out you've become a Mormon by proxy (especially if you're already dead and in heaven.)


Before you go - here's an early preview of the Christmas ham -



The Muppets released a funny video with Miss Piggy touring the White House holiday decorations



And so it goes.

Hey, it's helping to keep the Post Office running

The first Christmas card was created in England on December 9, 1843

Like most of us, Henry Cole, an Englishman, was too busy to write personal greetings for all of his Christmas greetings in 1843. Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a ready-to-be-sent card.



The hand-colored card Horsley designed was lithographed on stiff, dark cardboard and featured adults and children raising wine glasses in a toast. Some thought the card blasphemous with the family, surrounded with religious symbols, holding glasses of wine

Printed in an edition of 1,000, Horsley's card was sold in London stores. At the time, the greeting cards could be mailed for a penny each. Less than a dozen of those cards exists today. Printed cards soon became the rage in England; the controversy is thought to have helped promote Cole's idea.

It's the fourth night of Hanukkah -



Remember to leave the windows open when you leave for work; the house is probably starting to pick up that unpleasant fried food odor


December 9, 1902 -
It's not subtle or restrained. It's not any of the things you like to think apply to your acting.



Margaret Hamilton, celebrated character actress best known for her portrayal of The Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, was born on this date.


December 9, 1947 -
An oft forgotten holiday classic, The Bishop's Wife, starring Cary Grant, premiered in NYC on this date.



William A. Seiter was the original director, but producer Samuel Goldwyn didn't like what he had shot and brought in Henry Koster to shoot a completely new film. The preview audience didn't like the new version, so Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett had to rewrite a couple of scenes without screen credit.


December 9, 1965 -
It's the big 50 for the bi-polar kid and his wacky friends first experiences of the depressive nature of the holiday season -



During his famed speech, Linus, who is well known to be dependent on his security blanket, actually lets go of it when he recites these words: "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy," which is from Luke 2:10.


(Today's Special - The holiday can really bring you down)


Today in History:
December 9, 1783 -
The site of London's executions (via the gallows) was moved from Tyburn to Newgate. The public spectacle of prisoners' executions drew large crowds.



Out with the old, in with the new.


December 9, 1957 -
Donny Osmond was born on this date!



Still a little bit Rock and Roll.


December 9, 1968 -
The John Birch Society, is a political education and action organization founded by Robert W. Welch on this date.



The society supports associated with traditionally conservative causes such as anti-communism, support for individual rights and the ownership of private property.

If you think I'm going to make fun of them, you've got another thing coming.


December 9, 1994 -
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was dismissed after suggesting discussion of masturbation in school classes on sexuality.










This gives rise to the euphemistic term "firing the surgeon general."


Useless Christmas Trivia:

The lighting of candles and decorating with candles has always been popular, but also one of biggest sources of danger during the Christmas holidays.



In 1895 a New England Telephone employee, Ralph Morris, while looking at the newly installed string of lights made for the telephone switchboard decided to take some home to decorate his tree with. And/or it may be attributed to Thomas Edison's partner, Edward Johnson for inventing the first string of lights around the same time Ralph, for safety reasons.

In 1923 President Calvin Coolidge started the annual tradition of the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the White House lawn.



And so it goes

Maybe you could slip in some steamed vegetables

It's the third night of Hanukkah -



Move on to the donuts.


I believe some of you are really going to need an old lady in church, saying the rosaries on a Tuesday afternoon to explain this one to you:

December 8, 1854 -
Pius IX promulgates the doctrine of Immaculate Conception - the Virgin Mary is free from original sin (and not the other thing some of you think.)

Later, she achieves permanent fame when despite of her marriage, she gets knocked up by God.


December 8, 1952 -
In some weird cosmic irony, the episode Lucy Is Enceinte first aired on CBS-TV ("enceinte" being French for "expecting" or "pregnant") on this date.



CBS would not allow I Love Lucy to use the word "pregnant", so "expecting" was used instead.


The Canadian postal service has been giving Jolly Old St. Nicholas a helping hand. For more than 34 years, Canada Post has been helping Santa with his huge holiday volume of mail. Thanks to Canada Post's Santa Letter-writing Program, children can write to the jolly old fellow in virtually any language, including Braille, and receive a response in the same language.



Santa's correct address happens to be:

Santa Claus
North Pole H0H 0H0
Canada

(Please note the zip code)

Or you can get an e-mail from Santa at - Santa's corner. You better hurry though, Christmas is just around the corner (and if you are a kid - what the heck are you doing reading this blog, it's not appropriate for  you.  Although you could go into your parents room while they are sleeping and fill an envelope with those green pieces of paper in their wallets and send it to me at ...)

Today's holiday special - chocolate gelt vs. fruitcake


Today in History:
Henry Laurens, the Fifth President of the Continental Congress, became the first person to be formally cremated in the U.S. in 1792 on this date.

Things would have gone on in a more dignified manner if Mr Laurens was deceased at the time (just kidding - he was quite dead, especially after the cremation.)


December 8, 1793 -
Mme. du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, did not go quietly to that good death. On the way to the guillotine she continually collapsed in the tumbrel and cried "You are going to hurt me! Why?!" She became quite hysterical during her execution: "She screamed, she begged mercy of the horrible crowd that stood around the scaffold, she aroused them to such a point that the executioner grew anxious and hastened to complete his task."

Her last words to the executioner: "Encore un moment, monsieur le bourreau, un petit moment," (One moment more, executioner, one little moment) were her most famous.



How insensitive of her to be such a pain.


December 8, 1961 -
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter, was spawned on this day (Think the movie, Splice).

Let us remember that this woman suggested that ... ISIS was not at our doorstep but illegal immigrants were not only at our doorstep, but millions of them are already through the door, murdering far more Americans than ISIS ever will.


December 8, 1963 -
Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, Nevada on this date. After Frank Sinatra paid the $240,000.00 random, Jr. was set free a few days later. It has always been speculated that Sinatra, Jr. cooperated with his abductors in their plot.



Frank Sr. was not happy. As punishment Frank Jr. was forced to become a fat, dumpy, bald headed guy who had to conduct the big band for Frank Sr. and all was well.


December 8, 1980 -
John Lennon was shot by a lunatic, Mark David Chapman, outside Lennon's apartment in New York City mere hours after receiving the Beatle's autograph.



Chapman was carrying around his dog eared copy of, Catcher in the Rye.



For those of you who remember the book, I leave it to you to draw any conclusions.


December 8, 1982 -
Norman D. Mayer barricaded himself inside the Washington Monument and threatens to blow it up unless all nuclear weapons are dismantled. He was shot by police after 10 hours.

That's what you get for sticking up the largest prick in DC.



And so it goes

Safety First, especially during the holidays.

When making latkes, keep ALL children away from the hot oil.

Pace yourself - tonight is only the second night of Hanukkah


December 7, 1945 -
Universal Pictures released the horror film House of Dracula, directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Martha O’Driscoll and Lionel Atwill, on this date.



House of Dracula actually features four different actors in the role of the Frankenstein Monster. In addition to Glenn Strange, Boris Karloff plays the Monster in footage lifted from Bride of Frankenstein and the climax uses scenes of both Lon Chaney Jr. and his stunt double, Eddie Parker, as the Monster from The Ghost of Frankenstein.


December 7, 1958 -
Tim Butler, bass player and co-founder of the Psychedelic Furs was born on this date.



We'll let him serenade Joan, the birthday girl. (It would be very rude to ask how old she is?)


December 7, 1960 -
MGM released the science fiction film Village of the Damned, directed by Wolf Rilla and starring George Sanders on this date.



Originally begun in 1957 as an American picture to star Ronald Colman, MGM shelved the project, when Colman passed away in 1958 and was replaced by George Sanders. Interesting fact George Sanders married Colman's widow Benita Hume in 1959. 


December 7, 1979 -
Paramount Pictures released the science fiction film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, directed by Robert Wise and starring a bunch of TV actors on this date.



The cast hated the uniforms, which required assistance in order to be removed. In fact, one of the cast's conditions for returning in a sequel was to have new uniforms.


Today's holiday special: Olaf's hero


Today in History:
December 7, 43 BC -
The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, famous Roman writer and orator, literally gets his head handed to him on this date, when soldier in Marc Antony's army chopped off his head and right hand then displayed them in the Roman Forum.

Now there's a holiday display you don't see that often.


December 7, 185 -
Emperor Lo-Yang of China took a stroll on in his imperial garden on this evening and saw a Supernova.



Who knew he was such a Frankie Goes To Hollywood fan?


December 7, 1907 -
Christmas seals first went on sale in the United States went to raise funds to treat tuberculosis, after Emily Bissell, a social worker and activist, read about the program in an article by Jacob Riis.

In 1903, Einar Holbøll, a Danish postal clerk developed the idea of adding an extra charitable stamp on mailed holiday greetings during Christmas. The money raised could be used to help children sick with tuberculosis.



It was on this day in 1941 that Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack came after the United States had frozen Japanese assets and declared an embargo on shipments of petroleum to Japan.



On the morning of December 7, soldiers at Pearl Harbor were learning how to use a new device called radar, and they detected a large number of planes heading toward them. They telephoned an officer to ask him what to do. The officer said they must be American B-17s on their way to the base, and he told the soldiers not to worry about it.



A sailor named James Jones, who would go on to write the novel From Here to Eternity, was in the mess hall that morning.

There were ultimately 2,390 Americans killed at Pearl Harbor and 1,178 wounded. Two days after the attack, the Navy passed out postcards to the survivors and told them to write to their families, but not to describe what had happened. Some families did not get their postcards until this past February.


December 7, 1949 -
It's Tom Waits' birthday today.

Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of Your Love) -




Downtown Train  -




I'll Shoot The Moon - Glitter and Doom -




Bad As Me -




And the Acme Co. always happy to sponsor that Christmas Classic, Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis -



Let's stay up all night, get drunk and sing really sad songs in a raspy voice in his honor.


December 7, 1968 -
The Rolling Stones released their album Beggar’s Banquet in the US (one day after it was released in the UK,) on this date.



They soon filmed a television extravaganza entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. After reviewing the program, the Stones felt that they were upstaged by the Who’s performance and the film was shelved until 1996, when it was finally released officially.

December 7, 1972 -
Apollo 17, the sixth and last Apollo moon mission, was launched from Cape Canaveral on this date.



It will land on the Moon December 11 and Flight Commander Eugene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, will be the last men to step on the Moon for decades to come..



And so it goes.

A candle is a small thing.

Tonight is the start of Hanukkah.



Once again, my first Hanukkah gift to you is to remind you to add Pfizer stock to your portfolio (Pfizer is the maker of LIPITOR®.)


It's also the Feast of Saint Nicholas (yes, that St. Nick.)



Amongst other things, he is the patron saint of children and was known for his generosity. He's also known as the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, merchants, the falsely accused, prostitutes (Huh), repentant thieves, pharmacists and broadcasters.



The biggest gift he ever gave was to a poor man and his three daughters. The man had no dowry to pay for his daughters and was worried that if they never married they would have no choice but to become prostitutes. Hearing this, Saint Nicholas visited the poor man at night and anonymously threw three purses filled with gold through his window. Because of this, he became the patron saint of pawnbrokers. Traditionally, three golden baubles are hung in the window of pawn shops to represent the three purses of money.

So now you know.


Today's Holiday Special - celebrating a plethora of holiday celebration


December 6, 1896 -
Ira Gershwin, lyricist (and major writer of the American Song Book) was born on this date.

But Not For Me -




Embraceable You -




I Can't Get Started -




I Got Rhythm  -



If you're of an age, it part of the music you hear in your head as you walk down the street.


December 6, 1940 -
MGM released the 10th Marx Brothers film, Go West, on this date.



The name of Groucho Marx's character, S. Quentin Quayle, caused a stir when the film was first released due to the subtle but clear joke: the use of the term San Quentin quail, which means jail bait.


December 6, 1964 -
One of the first neurotic holiday Christmas specials, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, premiered on this date



When Yukon Cornelius throws his pick axe into the ground and takes it out and licks it, he's checking neither for gold nor silver. The original concept for the special stated that Yukon was in fact searching for the elusive peppermint mine, which he found eventually.


Today in History:
December 6, 1877 -
Thomas Edison records his own recitation of “Mary had a Little Lamb” onto a cylinder wrapped with tin foil using his newly completed prototype hand-cranked phonograph at his Menlo Park Laboratory.



For all intents and purposes, it is the first recording of a human voice. (The clip is from a re-recording in 1927.  The original 1877 recording was not saved and no longer exists.)


December 6, 1917 -
On the morning of December 6, the munitions ship Mont Blanc explodes in Halifax harbor after being struck by another ship, the Norwegian ship Imo.



It is the largest explosion before the atomic age. The ship was carrying 200 tons of TNT, 61 tons of gun cotton, 35 tons of Benzyl, and 2,300 tons of picric acid; the explosion destroys 325 acres of the city, leaving 1,900 people dead and injuring over 9,000.

Luckily, Gordon Lightfoot didn't write a damn song about it.


December 6, 1955 -
N.Y. psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers won the top prize on the TV quiz show The $64,000 Question by correctly answering questions on boxing .



Dr. Joyce Brothers is the only person to win both The $64,000 Question and The $64,000 Challenge.


December 6, 1960 -
Domino's Pizza was founded by Thomas S. Monaghan on this date.



And the pizza still sucks.


December 6, 1969 -
A concert by the Rolling Stones at Altamont ends in the death of a fan at the hands of the Hells Angels, who were hired for security. He was a fat hippie anyway. (Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name...)



(Contrary to a popular urban legend, Sympathy for the Devil was not playing while Meredith Hunter was being stabbed, rather, the song was Under My Thumb.)

And Mr. Hunter was not a fat hippie but an African American with a gun.)


December 6, 1973 -
House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the first unelected Vice President, succeeding US Vice President Spiro T. Agnew (under President Richard M. Nixon.)



Agnew, the only VP to resign in disgrace, resigned on October 10, and pleaded no contest to one charge of income tax invasion in return for the dropping of all other charges, and was fined $10,000 and given three year's probation .


December 6, 1989 -
Andy, Opie, make Aunt Bee another Rum Toddy.

Frances Bavier - "Aunt Bee" on The Andy Griffith show died of heart failure on this date.

Suffering from advance stages of senility, Ms. Bavier became convinced that she was "Aunt Bee" towards the end of her life.



And so it goes.

Lies people tell you during the holidays

Supposedly, there is a  very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning, the child who first spots the ornament would receive an extra gift from Santa. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year. Don't let anyone tell you that the Christmas pickle is an old world custom from Germany.



This story is a complete lie - no one in Germany hides pickles in their trees - it was a marketing ploy by  F. W. Woolworth  to unload a large number of unsold pickle ornaments purchased in the 1880s. (I'm guessing you have no idea what Woolworth's was.)


December 5, 1926 -
The film is widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time, Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin premiered on this date.



It dramatizes the uprising on the Battleship Potemkin that occurred in 1905 when the crew of a Russian battleship rebelled against their oppressive officers of the Tsarist regime.


December 5, 1940 -
One of film's most beautiful Technicolor fairy tales, The Thief of Bagdad, opened in NYC on this date.



When filming began in the US, the stricter censorship codes of the Hays Office there were applied. One of the most obvious differences between the scenes shot in the UK and those filmed in the USA is that the tops of the actresses' costumes were buttoned up all the way to satisfy the Hays Office. That kind of clue makes it easier to identify the US-shot scenes than trying to spot differences in the sets.


December 5, 1952 -
The local New York City affiliate of CBS-TV, WCBS begin carrying The Abbott and Costello Show on this date.



During filming, one camera was always kept on Lou Costello because he was constantly improvising. The funniest bits of business were then edited into the episode whether they had anything to do with the storyline or not.


December 5, 1963 -
One of the best romantic/ thrillers of the 60s, Charades, starring Cary Grant (at his late career best) and Audrey Hepburn premiered on this date.



Cary Grant, who celebrated his 59th birthday during filming, decided it was time to stop playing the romantic lead after reviews focused on the 26-year age difference between him and Audrey Hepburn, who was 33 when the movie was made.


December 5, 1974 -
The last episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus was shown on BBC on this date.



Terry Gilliam had reportedly said that this was his favorite episode.


Today's Holiday Special - How much did that pear tree cost?


Today in History :
December 5, 1484 -
Pope Innocent VIII released a papal bull to combat the spread of witchcraft and heresy in Germany, on this date, leading to one of the severest witch hunts in European history. He ordered that all cats belonging to witches scheduled to be burned, also to be burned.



The bull was, alas, less interested in fighting these affronts to civilization than in finding romantically-inclined heifers and was subsequently relieved of his duties.



Witchcraft and heresy therefore flourished (over the next three centuries 200,000 accused witches died under most unpleasant circumstances) and eventually caused Protestants.


December 5, 1791 -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, child prodigy, influential composer and fart joke lover, died after a sudden (and some would say suspicious) illness on this date.



During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death.


December 5, 1906 -
What counts isn't the frame, it's what you put in it.



Otto Ludwig Preminger, Austrian-born film director, whose films included Laura, The Man with the Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder and Advise and Consent, was born on this date.


December 5, 1932 -
Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman, (Little Richard) singer, songwriter, pianist and one of the seminal influences in Rock and Roll first graced this earth on this date.

To experience the true healing powers, as with St. Elvis, remove all your under garments, touch the screen and dance with wild abandon.


December 5, 1933 -
Let the good times roll.



Fourteen years of prohibition end when Utah ratifies the 21st amendment. One has to wonder if the delay in the states' ratification had anything to due with the fruits of polygamy.


December 5, 1968 -
Margaret Cho, comic and actress was born on this date.







Whatever you do - don't offer to discuss sexual technique with her.


And so it goes.

Here is the most Zen moment you will possible ever see.

Simply watch and contemplate.



While I am not a scotch man - that was a fine drink.


December 4, 1937 -
Another great early Bob Clampett/ Chuck Jones (rarely seen) B & W Looney Tunes, Porky's Hero Agency, premiered on this date.



The line of people turned to stone include many of the Looney Tunes/ Merry Melodies animators including Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones.


December 4, 1981 -
Falcon Crest premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Jane Wyman and Lorenzo Lamas were the only actors that were part of the main cast through out the entire series. Lorenzo Lamas was the only actor who appeared in all 227 episodes.


Today's holiday special is a personal favorite - guest programmer


Today in History:
December 4, 1783 -
At Fraunces Tavern in New York City on this date, General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.

Many of his subordinates were quite emotional until they realized that George stuck them with the check.


Our old friend, Francisco Franco was born 123 years ago today.

Franco graduated from the Spanish military academy at Toledo and became the youngest major in the Spanish army at the age of 23. By the age of 34 he was a general, and by 41 he was Commander of the Spanish Army.

Eager for war but lacking an enemy, the ambitious young Spanish commander-in-chief declared war on Spain in 1936 and defeated her in just three years.

The war was so successful and exciting, it inspired World War II, and Franco's rise to power foreshadowed the ascension of other evil bastards in Europe.

After his victory Franco named himself Generalisimo (villainous bastard) to better distinguish himself from the Fuhrer (maniacal bastard) in Germany and Il Duce (vicious bastard) in Italy.

Franco ran the country until shortly after his death in 1975.

The General, heroically, remains dead.


The Panama Pacific International Exposition was the 1915 worlds fair held in San Francisco, California. Taking over three years to construct, the fair had great economic implications for the city that had been almost destroyed by the great earthquake and fire of 1906. The exposition was a tremendous success, and did much to boost the morale of the entire Bay Area and to help get San Francisco back up on its feet.



Architects and designers went all-out for the design of the fair's buildings. There never before had been a fair whose architectural focus had been so all-encompassing. 76 city blocks had been cleared or filled to set the stage for the exposition, and its final size was 635 acres, which allowed for the hundreds of buildings that were built. The spectacular palaces, courts, state and foreign buildings at the fair were made of a temporary plaster-like material, designed to only last for the duration of the fair.



The fair ran from February 20th until December 4th, 1915 - and was widely considered to be a great success.


December 4, 1954 -

The first Burger King, originally called Insta Burger King, was opened in Miami, Florida on this date.



Not to be gross but many of those first patrons still have their first burgers lodged deep within their digestive system.


December 4, 1955 -
Cassandra Wilson, jazz vocalist extraordinaire, songwriter, and producer, was born on this date.

Days of Wine and Roses




Corcovado




What a Little Moonlight Can Do




December 4, 1971 -
It was a lovely evening Switzerland's Montreux Casino on Lovely Lake Geneva when it caught fire and the group Deep Purple composed their big hit Smoke on the Water by the glow of the burning casino.



Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention had been recording at the casino's studio when a fan started the blaze with a flare gun, but the group was unharmed.



A bizarre coincidence: On this date in 1993, Frank Zappa lost his battle with prostate cancer



And so it goes

There are 2 days until the start of Hanukkah.
There are 21 days until Christmas.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

I was wondering when this would come out and here it is -

   

DJ Earworm has released his annual remix that combines all the top hits of the previous year into one megamix. Most of his year-end remixes used the top 25 songs, but this one contains the top 50.


This evening a huge Christmas tree will be lit by the Mayor of Oslo, the Mayor of Westminster and the Norwegian Ambassador in Trafalgar Square . Carols from the Salvation Army and St Martin-in-the-Fields choir will add to the atmosphere.The people of Oslo, Norway donate the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year in gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during WWII



This historic tradition has happened every year since 1947.


December 3, 1948 -
John Michael Osbourne, rock star, 'Prince Of Darkness', drug use casualty and animal vivisectionist is born on this date.



Continue to ride the Beast, Ozzy!


December 3, 1968 -
St. Elvis appeared to his devoted acolytes on this date. The leather clad Elvis - not the sweaty holy Elvis. This is the "Elvis has left the building" Elvis.



Touch the screen and feel his 'hunka, hunka burning love' healing powers pulse through your lions.


December 3, 1976 -



During a shoot for the cover of Pink Floyds the Animals album, one of the props, an inflatable pig broke free due to a strong gust of wind (gaining a lot of press coverage). The pig, named Algie, floated above Battersea Power Station, then disappeared from sight within five minutes, and was spotted by airline pilots at forty thousand feet in the air. Flights at Heathrow Airport were cancelled as the huge inflatable pig flew through the path of aircraft, eastwards from Britain and out over the English Channel, finally landing on a rural farm in Kent that night.



A few years ago to commemorate the special reissue of the entire Pink Floyd catalog, the band recreated the album’s cover. The original Algie could not be used because it was too leaky. (There is nothing worse than a leaky rubber pig.)


December 3, 1998 -
The romantic comedy film Shakespeare in Love, premiered in NYC on this date.



Judi Dench won an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role as Queen Elizabeth, although she is on-screen for only about six minutes in four scenes.


Today's holiday special honors St. Elvis


Today in History:
December 3, 1552 -
Francis Xavier was a saint with a few too many fans. In the early 16th century, the Spanish missionary was sent to Asia by the king of Portugal to convert as many souls to Christianity as possible. Turns out, he was pretty good at the job.

Francis Xavier became wildly popular, and after his death in 1552, so did his relics.

In fact, demand out-fueled supply. Throughout several years and multiple exhumations, his body was whittled away.

Today, half his left hand is in Cochin, India, while the other half is in Malacca, Malaysia. One of his arms resides in Rome, and various other cities lay claim to his internal organs. The leftovers? They went to Goa, India.


December 3, 1890 -
Isaac Jordan, the U.S. Congressional Representative from the great state of Ohio, died after taking a drunken stumble down an open elevator shaft in his law offices on this date.

Remember to check if the elevator is there when entering, especially if you are drunk.


December 3, 1967 -
The first successful heart transplant was performed by Dr. Christaan Barnard at Capetown, South Africa, on this date. The patient, Louis Washkansky, lived 18 days with the new heart.



While a practical artificial heart may someday become a reality, transplants of real human hearts would become widely accepted surgery...with some patients living on new hearts for many years.


December 3, 1979 -
Festival seating anyone - At Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on this date, eleven concertgoers were trampled several dozen others injured in the rush for seating at the opening of a sold-out concert by The Who.



Only a few doors were in operation that night, and there are reports that management did not open more doors due to the concern of people sneaking past the ticket turnstiles.


December 3, 1984 -
Methyl Isocyanate leaked from a Union Carbide pesticide plant located at a slum in Bhopal, India on this date. The gas killed 4,000 people and injured 200,000 others, many of whom were permanently blinded or disabled.



The event set a standard for industrial accidents that has yet to be equaled.

What else can one say.



And so it goes


Before you go - the group, Improv Everywhere set up a very cute scene with a mysterious red light switch -



I have to get my girls to help decorate the house for Christmas over the next few days.  These guys are more than welcome to come on by; I'll gladly take a small portion of the 3.5 miles of lights that they used.

Just watch it on TV

Tens of thousands of poor souls will gather in rainy and mild conditions for the 83rd annual Christmas tree lighting at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Remember to bring a polo mallet with you, if you unfortunately, find yourself in midtown

Do you really want to be stuck in the middle of potential Darwin Award winners and their children who should be forced to play in traffic? So once again, I'm giving native New Yorkers a gentle reminder - watch last year's lighting here.



This year, Sting, Mary J. Blige, and Andrea Bocelli  and a plethora of others, as well as, the refugees from overbooked ancient hotels in the holy land are involved this year.

Exert extreme caution!


December 2, 1972 -
Carly Simon released her hit, You're So Vain, with background harmonies supplied by Mick Jagger (who just happened to be in an adjoining studio at the time,) on this date.



In anticipation of the release of her memior, Boys in the Trees, Carly Simon finally revealed who was the song was about, sort of.  Simon admitted that the second verse of the song is definitely about Warren Beatty. According to an interview in People Magazine, Carly joked, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!"


December 2, 1988 -
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! premiered on this date.



While impersonating an umpire, the batter swings back and hits Frank in the face. This joke was suggested by Mel Brooks.


Today's Christmas theme (on our other channel) - Wishing all the warmth two woolen socks can bring.


Today in History:
December 2, 1763 -
The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island was dedicated on this date.



Touro is the only surviving synagogue from the colonial era in the US and has operated more or less continually since its dedication.


December 2, 1814 -
Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade, Marquis de Sade, died in a lunatic asylum at Charenton on this date.



The Marquis must have been a panic at parties - talk about getting carried away at orgies.


The Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed on this day in 1823.



The doctrine set forth the principle that meddling European bastards should keep their meddling goddam hands out of the Americas.

It should not be confused with the Marilyn Monroe Doctrine, which stated that fondling European bastards should keep their fondling goddamn hands out of ...


December 2, 1859 -
At Charlestown in Western Virginia, abolitionist John Brown was hanged for treason on this date.



His body is still moulding in the grave.


December 2, 1908 -
John Baxter Taylor Jr. was an American track and field athlete and member of the Irish American Athletic Club (yes, they were integrated) notable as the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal.



According to the Winged Fist Website: Less than five months after returning from the Olympic Games in London, Taylor died of typhoid fever on this date, at the age of 26. In his obituary, The New York Times called him "the world's greatest negro runner."


December 2, 1939 -
New York's La Guardia Airport began operations as an airliner from Chicago landed at 12:01 a.m. on this date.

The TSA is still hoping to screening most of the luggage for some of those passengers from those original flights.


December 2, 1942 -
On the squash court underneath a football stadium of the University of Chicago, at 3:45 p.m., control rods were removed from the "nuclear pile" of uranium and graphite, revealing that neutrons from fissioning uranium split other atoms, which in turn split others in a chain reaction. The Atomic Age was born when scientists, led by Enrico Fermi, demonstrated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.



The reaction was part of the Manhattan Project, the United States' top-secret plan to develop an atomic bomb. This little event led to nuclear power and nuclear weapons and had an incalculable effect on geopolitics, the economy, and art.


December 2, 1954 -
The US Senate voted 67-22 to condemned Joseph R. McCarthy (Sen-R-WI) for misconduct after his ruthless investigations of thousands of suspected communists, for 'conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.'



This followed the McCarthy investigation of the Army. Roy Cohn was McCarthy's aide and Joseph Welch was the attorney for the army.


December 2, 1956 -
George P. Metesky, better known as The Mad Bomber, struck again. Angry and resentful about events surrounding a workplace injury suffered years earlier, Metesky plants yet another bomber at Brooklyn's Paramount Theater, injuring seven, on this date.

Metesky planted at least 33 bombs, of which 22 exploded, injuring 15 people in New York City theaters, terminals, libraries and offices, including Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Public Library, the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the RCA Building, as well as in the New York City Subway between 1940 and 1956.



Metesky was finally arrested in January of 1957. After undergoing extensive psychiatric examinations, for the time, he was found to be legally insane and incompetent to stand trial.


December 2, 1986 -
Desi Arnaz died from lung cancer, on this date.



Although recognized as a great innovator of television, I guess he might have had second thoughts about that Philip Morris sponsorship of the I Love Lucy show.


And so it goes

There are 4 days until the start of Hanukkah.
There are 23 days until Christmas.

Getting to zero

Today is the 27th observation of World AIDS Day. On December 1st each year, the day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. In the United States, during 2014, there were an estimated  49,273 new diagnoses of HIV infection and worldwide, there were about 2.8 million new cases of HIV.  (Remember to Light a candle)

CDC estimates that 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV and nearly one in five of those are not aware that they are infected.  Approximately 50,000 people become newly infected each year.  In addition to recognized risk behaviors, a range of social and economic factors places some Americans at increased risk for HIV infection. Prevention efforts have helped keep the rate of new infections stable in recent years, but continued growth in the number of people living with HIV ultimately may lead to more new infections if prevention, care, and treatment efforts are not targeted to those at greatest risk.


December is the twelfth and last month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. This is used in almost all the world today. It was the tenth month in the early Roman calendar. It became the twelfth month in a later Roman calendar. Until 46 B.C., December only had 29 days.



But the Roman statesman Julius Caesar added two days to December, which made it 31 days. You get to do that if you are dictator to the known World.



In Finnish, since about the 18th century, December has been called Joulukuu, meaning "month of Christmas." Before that it was called Talvikuu, meaning "month of winter." In Irish, December is known as Mí na Nollaig, also meaning "month of Christmas".  In the northern half of the world, Winter begins in December. Winter does not begin until December 21 or 22, and most of December is usually warmer than other winter months.

The latter part of December has long been a holiday season. Christians celebrate Christmas Day, as the birthday of Jesus Christ and not my nephew Frankie, as it is mistakenly believed in my sister's home.



In the Northern Hemisphere, most birds and elderly folks have gone to warmer climates. But many animals are active. Mink, ermine, beavers, and foxes grow beautiful coats of fur. Nature finishes preparing for the long winter ahead. Many people make feeding places for birds and squirrels.



December is International Calendar Awareness Month, Safe Toys and Gifts Month, and Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month . The first week in December is both Christmas Tree Week and Cookie Cutter Week.


December 1, 1903 -
The first Western film, directed by Edwin S. Porter, The Great Train Robbery, was released on this date.



Prior to Porter’s landmark movie, moving pictures were non-narrative, with one long shot recording an actual event. The Great Train Robbery developed multiple plot lines simultaneously by cutting and splicing film. Moviegoers screamed when the scene of an outlaw shooting directly into the camera was shown.


Today in History:
December 1, 1135 -
King Henry I of England was both the first English King who can actually read (which is no small bragging right) and was famed for holding the record for the largest number of acknowledged illegitimate children born to any English king, with the number being around 20 or 25. How he found time to read is anybody's guest? But that is not why we discuss him today: Henry died on this date after eating a plate of spoiled eels while visiting his grandchildren in Normandy.

His remains were sewn into the hide of a bull to preserve them on the journey back to England. Not the most dignified way for the remains of a king to travel but that's how things were in the Middle Ages.


December 1, 1887 -
The first adventure in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, A Study in Scarlet, introducing the reader to the brilliant detective and his faithful companion, Doctor Watson, first appeared in print on this date. Doyle received 25 pounds for its publication in Beeton's Christmas Annual.




Holmes' deductive genius was modeled on Doyle's medical school mentor Dr. Joseph Bell.


December 1, 1929 -
Little old people and Catholic priest rejoice!!!



Bingo was invented by Edwin S. Lowe, on this date.


December 1, 1934 -
Politburo member Sergei Kirov was killed by Leonid Nikolayev on orders of Josef Stalin on this date.



The assassination is used as an excuse to commence the Great Terror in the years 1935 to 1939, in which 800,000 were executed and over 8.5 million arrested.

Uncle Joe sure knows how to hold a grudge.


December 1, 1935 -
I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.



Allen Stewart Konigsberg, writer and film director was born on this date, and immediately regretted the entire incident, complaining that he didn't know his mother well enough to be involved in such an 'intimate experience' as birth.


December 1, 1940 -
I'd like to make you laugh for about ten minutes though I'm gonna be on for an hour.



Richard Pryor, comedian and actor, was born on this date.


December 1, 1945 -
I wouldn't say I invented tacky, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity.



Bette Midler, singer, actress, comedian was born on this date.


December 1, 1947 -
Aleister Crowley, British occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, yogi, skilled sodomite and the wickedest man in the world, died in Hastings England at age 74. Crowley also appears on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper.



It's nice to have a hobby.

(Keep looking, you can find him.)


On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to sit on the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in violation of the democratic and egalitarian laws that so many Americans had fought so hard to preserve.



This resulted in a period of national reflection upon the meaning of the phrase "all men are created equal," which no longer appeared so self-evident. After considerable debate, the U.S. judicial system eventually made the novel decision that "all men" might be interpreted to mean "all men," and America has been a paragon of peaceful coexistence ever since.



Today's holiday theme is - Life during Wartime



And so it goes

For those of you playing the home game, you may open the first window in your calendar (but the chocolate probably isn't very good.)