It's sometimes called Holy Thursday,
also known as Sheer Thursday (as in to purge yourself of sin), Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. Remember to wash your feet or the feet of someone else, if you are so inclined.
Among the other things going on remember: don't go to a dinner party with 12 other people -
This evening begins the Easter Triduum, (aka Holy Triduum, Paschal Triduum, or The Three Days,) the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Holy Thursday and ends with Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.
Today is a big confessional day - If you are so intent on reading about my misspent youth as an altar boy, read here.
Hot Tub Day is an annual “holiday” that serves as a reminder to relax and unwind after a hard day’s work.
Or you could just listen to James Brown.
March 28, 1935 -
Leni Riefenstahl's influential Nazi Propaganda film Triumph of the Will premiered in Germany on this date.
Leni Riefenstahl had been given carte blanche by Adolf Hitler in the making of the film: effectively, the party rally was the first produced-for-camera event.
March 28, 1941 -
Universal Pictures released the B movie, Man Made Monster starring Lionel Atwell and Lon Chaney, Jr. on this date.
Budgeted at a mere $86,000 on a 3-week shooting schedule. It was the cheapest feature film produced by Universal in 1941.
March 28, 1942 -
Another fine Looney Tunes cartoon, The Wabbit Who Came to Supper, was released on this date.
As Bugs steps out of the bathtub and readjusts his towel (at appx 3:00 in), the white tub in the gap between his legs creates the illusion that he is exposing himself.
Try not to go back and look.
March 28, 1963 -
Alfred Hitchcock's follow-up to Psycho, The Birds, starring Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedron premiered in New York on this date.
The classic scene in which Tippi Hedren watches birds attacking the townsfolk was filmed in the studio from a phone booth. When Melanie opens the phone-booth door, a bird trainer had trained gulls that were taught to fly at it.
March 28, 1967 -
NBC broke new ground in television programming by using a world-premiere, feature length movie as the preview of a potential new television series called Ironside, on this date.
I've often wondered what the line item budget was for nipple rouge on this film?
March 28, 1974 -
Writer and comedian, Pat McCormick, carrying a cocktail streaked nude across the set of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, forcing NBC censors to black out the lower half of the screen.
the streaker was arrested and later released, said Carson, for "lack of evidence."
March 28, 1975 -
The final episode of the short-lived series Kolchak - The Night Stalker, The Sentry, starring Darren McGaven, aired on ABC TV, on this date.
Kolchak is smuggled into the Merrymount Archive storage facility in a large wooden crate stamped 'FRAGILE' in capital letters. In A Christmas Story, also starring Darren McGavin, his 'major award'- the leg lamp- comes delivered to his house in a large wooden crate also stamped 'FRAGILE' in large capital letters.
March 28, 1981 –
Blondie's venture into rap, the song Rapture hit no. #1 on the Billboard charts, on this date.
Harry's rap is so goofy that it sounds like she could be mocking the genre, but this was very early in the evolution of hip-hop, and many of the rhymes that came out of the New York block parties were just as silly. Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie championed rap and got involved in the community, often attending these block parties - they even took Nile Rodgers to one, which is where he learned that his song Good Times was a DJ favorite.
March 28, 1999 -
We get to find out how Philip J Fry came to work for his great (×30) grandnephew and great (×31) grandson, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth when Futurama premiered on the Fox Network.
According to Matt Groening, viewers were able to decipher the alien language that is sometimes seen in the background the same night as the pilot episode aired. The only primer for the code in that episode was a sign that read "Drink Slurm". The sign appeared once with the word "Drink" written in the alien code and once in plain English. This resulted in the producers creating a second, more complex alien code to be seen in the background of later episodes.
Another ACME Safety Film
Today in History:
March 28, 4 BCE -
According to Des Pascha Comutus, a treatise written in 243 CE (because you know, I sit around and read old Latin treatises all the time,) Jesus Christ's birthday was March 28. It later became the familiar December 25 after the Catholic Church changed it in 336 AD.
So, Merry Christmas everybody.
March 28, 37 -
Caligula took a break from the close relationship he had with his sisters and the unnatural congress he engaged in with his horse, to accepts the titles of the Principate awarded by the Senate and entered Rome triumphantly as Emperor.
Unlike his predecessors, Caligula was the first of the men who would serve as full-fledged emperors, with unlimited power. And luckily for the Roman empire, he was cruel, probably insane and a sexual deviant.
The weekends must have been a blast at the Palace.
March 28, 193 -
The Roman ruler Pertinax was at his palace when a contingent of some three hundred soldiers rushed the gates. Pertinax was somewhat distracted. Ancient sources suggest that the soldiers had received only half their promised donativum (pay or bribe money not to kill him). Pertinax had only been emperor for 86 days and didn't have enough time to sell off the previous Emperor Commodus' property (including the concubines and youths Commodus kept for his sexual pleasures) in the giant fire sale he was having.
Neither the guards on duty nor the palace officials chose to resist them. Pertinax, although advised to flee, attempted to reason with them (never try to reason with unpaid Roman soldiers on a rampage), and was almost successful before being struck down by a member of the Praetorian Guard. There being no obvious successor and no Senatorial volunteers, the Guard auctions off the emperorship. The high bidder was Senator Didius Julianus, for 300 million sesterces. After hearing of this, Roman general Septimus Severus in Dalmatia marched on Rome, beheading the new emperor upon arrival.
Both of the films, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Gladiator, take the same historical event as a starting point.
March 28, 1515 -
... Don't let your sins turn into bad habits....
Teresa of Avila (Teresa de Jesus), Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic writer and one of my favorite saints (remember, she's the one who was repeated pierced with God's 'golden shaft' of light) was born on this date. She co-founded with John of the Cross, the Order of Discalced (barefoot) Carmelites.
March 28, 1921 -
Dirk Bogarde (Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde), actor and the epitome of coolness, was born on this date.
Going to the wrong room for a British Broadcasting Corporation audition, the young Bogarde accidentally got a part in a stage play that proved so successful he was hailed as a star overnight.
March 28, 1930 -
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks.
(I can't help myself - I just love this song) Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara on this date.
March 28, 1941 -
Virginia Woolf drowned herself by weighing her pockets with stones and walking into the River Ouse near her home because she had a dream that Nicole Kidman would portray her in a film with a truly horrifying fake nose, on this date.
Lesser writers would have done the same.
March 28, 1964 -
The first pirate radio station began to broadcast off the coast of England on this date. Radio Caroline debuted with a combination of rock music and lively disk jockey who's patter played to a huge audience in Great Britain.
British authorities, tried unsuccessfully, to shut down the radio station ship. Radio Caroline had become competition to the staid and usually dull British Broadcasting Corporation.
March 28, 1979 -
The Unit 2 nuclear power plant (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock and Wilcox) on the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg suffered a partial core meltdown on this date.
The Three Mile Island accident was the worst accident in American commercial nuclear power generating history, even though it led to no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of the nearby community.
And so it goes.
Dr. Caligari's Cabinet
Read the ramblings of Dr. Caligari. Hopefully you will find that Time does wound all heels. You no longer need to be sad that nowadays there is so little useless information.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.
Not withstanding Bogart's quote, as you know, I'm an inveterate Gin man, through and through but I would have a difficult time deciding whether or not to celebrate International Whisk(e)y Day today or World Whisky Day which is celebrated on May 18th this year.
International Whisk(e)y Day uses the parenthesis to indicate support of Scottish, Canadian, and Japanese whiskies (no e) as well as Irish and American whiskeys (with an e). World Whisky Day takes place on the third Saturday in May each year.
March 27, 1952 -
Singin' in the Rain, the apex of movie musicals, premiered in New York on this date.
Debbie Reynolds remarked many years later that making this movie and surviving childbirth were the two hardest things she'd ever had to do. The filming experience was particularly unpleasant due to her harsh treatment by perfectionist Gene Kelly. Decades later, Kelly expressed remorse about his behavior: "I wasn't nice to Debbie. It's a wonder she still speaks to me."
March 27, 1965 -
The day after Diana Ross' 21st birthday, the Supremes song Stop! In the Name of Love became their fourth consecutive No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts on this date.
The production on this song benefited from some upgrades Motown had recently done to their studios. The musicians were separated by baffles, with a microphone dedicated to each one. This allowed the Holland/Dozier/Holland team, which also produced the track, to put a lot of instruments into the mix without having them get muddy.
March 27, 1973 -
Marlon Brando declined the Academy Award for Best Actor for his career-reviving performance in The Godfather on this date. The Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather attended the ceremony in Brando's place, stating that the actor "very regretfully" could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans in film.
Brando was the second actor to ever turn down the Oscar, the first being George C. Scott, who declined his Best Actor Oscar for his role in Patton.
March 27, 1981 -
Michael Mann's first theatrical film, Thief, starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld, premiered on this date.
The vault that Frank breaks into in the opening scene was a real vault, purchased for $10,000, specifically so that James Caan could break into it, using the real tools and techniques supplied by real-life thieves who served as technical consultants on the film, principally John Santucci, who also portrayed Sergeant Urizzi on-screen.
March 27, 1987 -
U2 played a rooftop concert in Los Angeles to film their video for Where The Streets Have No Name, on this date.
U2 played the song four times, and also played People Get Ready, In God's Country, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride (In The Name Of Love). It won the Grammy for Best Performance Music Video in 1989. The concept was similar to the Beatles famous Apple Records rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, which they used in their movie Let It Be. When asked about the similarity between U2's rooftop video and The Beatles rooftop concert, Bono said, "We've ripped off The Beatles many times before."
March 27, 1992 -
Ron Shelton's sleeper hit, White Men Can't Jump starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and Rosie Perez premiered on this date.
Woody Harrelson was significantly better at basketball than Wesley Snipes. However, in the movie they are depicted as equals, though Harrelson's character famously cannot dunk.
Another job posting from The ACME Employment Agency
(We had to go to the memorial service for a very good friend last night - sorry but today will be an abbreviated posting.)
Today in History:
March 27, 30 -
A small time official in a backwater province of the Roman empire gains immortality for practicing good hygiene.
Pontius Pilate washed his hands and sealed the fate of Jesus.
March 27, 1790 -
Englishman Harvey Kennedy officially patented the shoestring on this date.
Kennedy was not the first to invent shoelaces; however, his version of the shoestring included the aglet, a metal or plastic sheath that protects the ends of the laces. The aglet prevents the shoestrings from unraveling, making the process of threading the laces through the eyelets much easier. Needless to say, shoelaces with aglets were a hit.
March 27, 1866 -
The patent for a urinal (US Patent No. #53,488) was granted to Dr. Andrew Rankin, on this date.
Men everywhere stand up and cheer.
March 27, 1912 -
Washington DC is in the middle of it's annual celebration of National Cherry Blossom Festival (forget about people practicing some sort of social distancing,) commemorating the gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington on this date.
The gift of 3,020 trees to the United States government were planted along Washington's Potomac River.
In a ceremony on this date, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial.
The gift nearly set off an international incident when the first set of trees sent by the Japanese government, in 1910, were discovered to be infested with harmful insects and disease. All of the trees had to be destroyed. After much apologizing on both sides, the Japanese government sent the new gift of the current trees. The seawall surrounding the tidal basin needs to be repaired and at least 150 of the trees will have to be removed to complete the restoration. New trees will be replanted once the repairs are completed in 2027.
March 27, 1945 -
Don't cry for me Argentina.
Argentina declared war on Nazi Germany, a tad late in the game, on this date. Of course, this was just a silly charade for the benefit of the world community. Argentina would be a quiet ally of Germany for the duration of the war, even welcoming many Nazi and SS leaders to emigrate there in the aftermath.
March 27, 1958 -
Nikita Khrushchev assumed control of the Soviet Union when he took over as premier (Evil Bastard, new style) of the country, five years after the death of Joseph Stalin on this date. Unlike most of the early Soviet leaders, who were all members of the Russian middle class, Khrushchev actually came from the working class (a very polite way of saying, he was as poor as dirt). His father was a coal miner, and his grandfather had been a serf. Khrushchev worked his way up through the ranks of the party until he became a close ally of Joseph Stalin, and during the mass executions of 1930s, when Stalin purged the party of all his suspected political enemies, Khrushchev was one of only three provincial secretaries to survive.
So upon Stalin's death in 1953, when Khrushchev began to work behind the scenes to take control of the party, there was no reason to believe he wouldn't just continue Stalin's reign of terror. But instead, on February 25, 1956, Khrushchev gave a four-hour speech to the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, viciously attacking Stalin's legacy and abuses of power, detailing all the innocent people Stalin had imprisoned, tortured, and murdered during his reign. The night Khrushchev gave the speech, no one knew exactly what he was planning to say. Witnesses said later that some members of the audience fainted from the shock of hearing Stalin criticized. Several audience members committed suicide a few days later. Many went insane having to endure a four hour speech by a semi literate politburo member.
The speech was never officially announced to the public (for fear of the mass suicides - think Monty Python's WWII 'funny' joke), and Khrushchev never admitted to having made it, but word of the speech immediately began to leak out to intellectual circles and the foreign press. It was a bombshell, and it helped bolster Khrushchev's power at home and abroad. He became the premier two years later, on this day in 1958.
March 27, 1963 -
It's the birthday of the noted filmmaker, crack addict and foot fetisher Quentin Tarantino, born in Knoxville, Tennessee on this date. He was diagnosed as hyperactive as a kid, and didn't get along with his classmates or his teachers. His parents had to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to play with him. The only things that calmed him down were comic books, movies and continually swallowing wristwatches. From the time when he was a toddler, his mother let him watch whatever movies he wanted. He watched everything from kung fu movies to French art house films (perhaps a little too much kung fu movies, some might argue).
He started taking acting classes (obviously failing those courses), and in his spare time he rewrote screenplays of movies he'd already seen from memory. Instead of going to film school, he got a job at video rental store that had one of the largest video collections in Southern California. Several other aspiring filmmakers worked there, and they would watch movies all day at work, discussing camera angles and dialogue. He spent five years working at the video store, writing screenplays, but he wasn't getting anywhere in his career.
He finally got a break when he met an actor who knew another actor who knew Harvey Keitel, and Keitel agreed to look at one of Tarantino's scripts. Keitel was impressed enough to volunteer to help Tarantino produce the film, and to act in it himself. The result was Reservoir Dogs, which made Tarantino internationally famous. His next film, Pulp Fiction, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, and it went on to win an Academy Award for best screenplay.
Beside having won another Academy Award for screenwriting in 2013, and toe sucking, these days, Tarantino is working on what he refers to as his 'final film', The Movie Critic. We'll see when it's completed and whether or not it's his 'final film'.
So by all means, please slap his mother or father if you come across them today and blame them for the state of today's cinema.
March 27, 1964 -
On Good Friday at 5:36 pm, Valdez, Alaska, in Prince William Sound was rocked by an 9.2 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in North America. It lasted 4 minutes and was followed by tsunamis and fires and 131 people were killed.
Much of Crescent City, Ca., was demolished and 12 people were killed by a resulting tsunami.
March 27, 1998 -
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra (Sildenafil citrate), made by Pfizer, saying it helped about two-thirds of impotent men improve their sexual function. Viagra's effects were shown to last 8-12 hours (but remember if your erection last more than 4 hours, after calling your friends, please seek medical assistance.)
Pfizer had originally tested the compound UK 92,480 as a drug for angina and found that male volunteers were getting frequent erections - don't ask . They renamed it Viagra and sought sales approval.
And so it goes.
International Whisk(e)y Day uses the parenthesis to indicate support of Scottish, Canadian, and Japanese whiskies (no e) as well as Irish and American whiskeys (with an e). World Whisky Day takes place on the third Saturday in May each year.
March 27, 1952 -
Singin' in the Rain, the apex of movie musicals, premiered in New York on this date.
Debbie Reynolds remarked many years later that making this movie and surviving childbirth were the two hardest things she'd ever had to do. The filming experience was particularly unpleasant due to her harsh treatment by perfectionist Gene Kelly. Decades later, Kelly expressed remorse about his behavior: "I wasn't nice to Debbie. It's a wonder she still speaks to me."
March 27, 1965 -
The day after Diana Ross' 21st birthday, the Supremes song Stop! In the Name of Love became their fourth consecutive No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts on this date.
The production on this song benefited from some upgrades Motown had recently done to their studios. The musicians were separated by baffles, with a microphone dedicated to each one. This allowed the Holland/Dozier/Holland team, which also produced the track, to put a lot of instruments into the mix without having them get muddy.
March 27, 1973 -
Marlon Brando declined the Academy Award for Best Actor for his career-reviving performance in The Godfather on this date. The Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather attended the ceremony in Brando's place, stating that the actor "very regretfully" could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans in film.
Brando was the second actor to ever turn down the Oscar, the first being George C. Scott, who declined his Best Actor Oscar for his role in Patton.
March 27, 1981 -
Michael Mann's first theatrical film, Thief, starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld, premiered on this date.
The vault that Frank breaks into in the opening scene was a real vault, purchased for $10,000, specifically so that James Caan could break into it, using the real tools and techniques supplied by real-life thieves who served as technical consultants on the film, principally John Santucci, who also portrayed Sergeant Urizzi on-screen.
March 27, 1987 -
U2 played a rooftop concert in Los Angeles to film their video for Where The Streets Have No Name, on this date.
U2 played the song four times, and also played People Get Ready, In God's Country, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride (In The Name Of Love). It won the Grammy for Best Performance Music Video in 1989. The concept was similar to the Beatles famous Apple Records rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, which they used in their movie Let It Be. When asked about the similarity between U2's rooftop video and The Beatles rooftop concert, Bono said, "We've ripped off The Beatles many times before."
March 27, 1992 -
Ron Shelton's sleeper hit, White Men Can't Jump starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and Rosie Perez premiered on this date.
Woody Harrelson was significantly better at basketball than Wesley Snipes. However, in the movie they are depicted as equals, though Harrelson's character famously cannot dunk.
Another job posting from The ACME Employment Agency
(We had to go to the memorial service for a very good friend last night - sorry but today will be an abbreviated posting.)
Today in History:
March 27, 30 -
A small time official in a backwater province of the Roman empire gains immortality for practicing good hygiene.
Pontius Pilate washed his hands and sealed the fate of Jesus.
March 27, 1790 -
Englishman Harvey Kennedy officially patented the shoestring on this date.
Kennedy was not the first to invent shoelaces; however, his version of the shoestring included the aglet, a metal or plastic sheath that protects the ends of the laces. The aglet prevents the shoestrings from unraveling, making the process of threading the laces through the eyelets much easier. Needless to say, shoelaces with aglets were a hit.
March 27, 1866 -
The patent for a urinal (US Patent No. #53,488) was granted to Dr. Andrew Rankin, on this date.
Men everywhere stand up and cheer.
March 27, 1912 -
Washington DC is in the middle of it's annual celebration of National Cherry Blossom Festival (forget about people practicing some sort of social distancing,) commemorating the gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington on this date.
The gift of 3,020 trees to the United States government were planted along Washington's Potomac River.
In a ceremony on this date, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial.
The gift nearly set off an international incident when the first set of trees sent by the Japanese government, in 1910, were discovered to be infested with harmful insects and disease. All of the trees had to be destroyed. After much apologizing on both sides, the Japanese government sent the new gift of the current trees. The seawall surrounding the tidal basin needs to be repaired and at least 150 of the trees will have to be removed to complete the restoration. New trees will be replanted once the repairs are completed in 2027.
March 27, 1945 -
Don't cry for me Argentina.
Argentina declared war on Nazi Germany, a tad late in the game, on this date. Of course, this was just a silly charade for the benefit of the world community. Argentina would be a quiet ally of Germany for the duration of the war, even welcoming many Nazi and SS leaders to emigrate there in the aftermath.
March 27, 1958 -
Nikita Khrushchev assumed control of the Soviet Union when he took over as premier (Evil Bastard, new style) of the country, five years after the death of Joseph Stalin on this date. Unlike most of the early Soviet leaders, who were all members of the Russian middle class, Khrushchev actually came from the working class (a very polite way of saying, he was as poor as dirt). His father was a coal miner, and his grandfather had been a serf. Khrushchev worked his way up through the ranks of the party until he became a close ally of Joseph Stalin, and during the mass executions of 1930s, when Stalin purged the party of all his suspected political enemies, Khrushchev was one of only three provincial secretaries to survive.
So upon Stalin's death in 1953, when Khrushchev began to work behind the scenes to take control of the party, there was no reason to believe he wouldn't just continue Stalin's reign of terror. But instead, on February 25, 1956, Khrushchev gave a four-hour speech to the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, viciously attacking Stalin's legacy and abuses of power, detailing all the innocent people Stalin had imprisoned, tortured, and murdered during his reign. The night Khrushchev gave the speech, no one knew exactly what he was planning to say. Witnesses said later that some members of the audience fainted from the shock of hearing Stalin criticized. Several audience members committed suicide a few days later. Many went insane having to endure a four hour speech by a semi literate politburo member.
The speech was never officially announced to the public (for fear of the mass suicides - think Monty Python's WWII 'funny' joke), and Khrushchev never admitted to having made it, but word of the speech immediately began to leak out to intellectual circles and the foreign press. It was a bombshell, and it helped bolster Khrushchev's power at home and abroad. He became the premier two years later, on this day in 1958.
March 27, 1963 -
It's the birthday of the noted filmmaker, crack addict and foot fetisher Quentin Tarantino, born in Knoxville, Tennessee on this date. He was diagnosed as hyperactive as a kid, and didn't get along with his classmates or his teachers. His parents had to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to play with him. The only things that calmed him down were comic books, movies and continually swallowing wristwatches. From the time when he was a toddler, his mother let him watch whatever movies he wanted. He watched everything from kung fu movies to French art house films (perhaps a little too much kung fu movies, some might argue).
He started taking acting classes (obviously failing those courses), and in his spare time he rewrote screenplays of movies he'd already seen from memory. Instead of going to film school, he got a job at video rental store that had one of the largest video collections in Southern California. Several other aspiring filmmakers worked there, and they would watch movies all day at work, discussing camera angles and dialogue. He spent five years working at the video store, writing screenplays, but he wasn't getting anywhere in his career.
He finally got a break when he met an actor who knew another actor who knew Harvey Keitel, and Keitel agreed to look at one of Tarantino's scripts. Keitel was impressed enough to volunteer to help Tarantino produce the film, and to act in it himself. The result was Reservoir Dogs, which made Tarantino internationally famous. His next film, Pulp Fiction, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, and it went on to win an Academy Award for best screenplay.
Beside having won another Academy Award for screenwriting in 2013, and toe sucking, these days, Tarantino is working on what he refers to as his 'final film', The Movie Critic. We'll see when it's completed and whether or not it's his 'final film'.
So by all means, please slap his mother or father if you come across them today and blame them for the state of today's cinema.
March 27, 1964 -
On Good Friday at 5:36 pm, Valdez, Alaska, in Prince William Sound was rocked by an 9.2 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in North America. It lasted 4 minutes and was followed by tsunamis and fires and 131 people were killed.
Much of Crescent City, Ca., was demolished and 12 people were killed by a resulting tsunami.
March 27, 1998 -
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra (Sildenafil citrate), made by Pfizer, saying it helped about two-thirds of impotent men improve their sexual function. Viagra's effects were shown to last 8-12 hours (but remember if your erection last more than 4 hours, after calling your friends, please seek medical assistance.)
Pfizer had originally tested the compound UK 92,480 as a drug for angina and found that male volunteers were getting frequent erections - don't ask . They renamed it Viagra and sought sales approval.
And so it goes.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Hey Bunkies, be like Popeye
Eat your greens - it National Spinach Day. Not only does spinach provide iron, it’s also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, and vitamin C — not to mention manganese and magnesium!
Probably tastes even better if it's fresh and not canned. I'm just saying ....
March 26, 1942 -
Up in the sky, look! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!
The Bulleteers, part of the Fleischer Superman animated series, was released on this date.
March 26, 1953 -
One of Martin Scorsese's favorite films, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (the original title, Ugetsu Monogatari,) starring Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo and Kinuyo Tanaka, premiered in Japan on this date.
Regarded by critics as a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, the film won the Silver Lion Award at the 1953 Venice Film Festival.
March 26, 1969 -
The TV movie which launched the Marcus Welby M.D, series, A Matter of Humanities, starring Robert Young, James Brolin, Anne Baxter, Susan Strasberg, Lew Ayres, and Tom Bosley, premiered on ABC TV on this date.
Tom Bosley's appearance was a last minute emergency replacement for an actor who had been involved in a car accident. Bosley was filming the Eyes segment of the Night Gallery pilot film at Universal, and when delays came up during the filming of that, the producer of the Welby pilot asked if he could borrow Bosley for two hours to do the scene. Bosley was able to do it without losing any time on the Night Gallery pilot.
March 26, 1971 -
Balding, middle-aged, and portly (hey I better watch out, that's starting to describe me) - the Cannon pilot with William Conrad premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
Frank Cannon was originally a policeman, but he quit the force after the tragic death of his wife and infant son in an automobile accident. The tragedy drove Cannon to become a top private investigator.
March 26, 1977 -
Hall & Oates have their first of six chart-toppers when their single Rich Girl hits No. #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, on this date.
Daryl Hall was shocked to find out that the infamous serial killer David "Son Of Sam" Berkowitz claimed he was inspired to murder by this song. It is unlikely that this song actually compelled Berkowitz to kill, as it was released after he started his killing spree, and Berkowitz cited many influences, including his neighbor's dog, when asked why he killed. Nonetheless, it was very disturbing for Hall & Oates to have their song associated with Berkowitz, and they made reference to this in their 1980 song Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices) from their Voices album in the lyrics: "Charlie liked The Beatles, Sam he liked Rich Girl."
March 26, 1977 -
Less Than Zero, the debut single from Elvis Costello, was released by the newly formed Stiff Records in London, England on this date.
When Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1977 (filling in for the Sex Pistols, who were denied entry into the US), it was decided that he would perform this song. Elvis, however, had other ideas. After playing some of Less Than Zero, he halted the performance and played the unreleased Radio Radio instead, earning him a ban from the show that lasted until 1989, when he returned as musical guest.
March 26, 1987 -
Nike begins airing a commercial using the Beatles song Revolution, marking the first time an original version of a Beatles song is used in an ad.
The commercials caused a huge backlash from Beatles fans who felt that Nike was disrespecting the legacy of John Lennon, who likely would have objected to its use, but the ad campaign, called "Revolution in Motion," was successful, helping Nike expand their market by featuring ordinary joggers, gym rats and cyclists. "We're trying to promote the concept of revolutionary changes in the fitness movement and show how Nike parallels those changes with product development," the company stated. "Because of this 'revolution,' we were able to draw a strong correlation with the music and the lyrics in the Beatles song."
March 26, 1989 -
The science fiction series, Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, premiered on NBC-TV on this date.
Scott Bakula was the first actor cast, and thus was asked to read with actors under consideration for the role of Al Calavicci. Bakula immediately felt a connection with Dean Stockwell during his audition, and lobbied the producers to cast him as Al Calavicci.
March 26, 1994 –
Soundgarden's fourth studio album Superunknown, debuted on the Album chart at #1 on this date.
The band is named after a sculpture in Seattle called Soundgarden, and longtime speculation was that one of the songs from the album got its name from another Seattle sculpture called Black Sun by the artist Isamu Noguchi. (The piece is located in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. It looks kind of like a huge, black doughnut and is aimed so you can see the Space Needle through the middle of it.) Superunknown was Soundgarden's breakthrough album, earning the band international recognition
March 26, 1995 -
The pilot short for Johnny Bravo aired on Cartoon Network on this date.
According to creator Van Partible, Johnny Bravo's name originated from The Brady Bunch episode Adios, Johnny Bravo, where Greg was nicknamed "the next Johnny Bravo". The name was also derived from Partible's middle name, Giovanni Bravo, which is also an Italian name for Johnny.
March 26, 2005 -
The BBC revived the Dr. Who series on this date, which hadn't aired since the end of the 26th season in 1989, with the episode Rose, starring Christopher Eccleston as the new incarnation of the doctor and Billie Piper as Rose his new traveling companion.
Executive Producer Russell T. Davies stated that he chose to have Christopher Eccleston depict a new incarnation of the Doctor so he could have a fresh start for both the new viewers and the story lines he wanted to implant in the series, and because Eccelston was a good friend of his who wanted to help Doctor Who gain momentum to become successful again.
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
March 26, 1199 -
All seemed right with the Medieval world. Richard the Lionheart was taking an evening stroll around the castle perimeter without his chain mail, investigating the progress of soldiers trying to destroy the fortress in which he was seeking refuge. Arrows were occasionally fired from the castle walls, but these were given little attention.
One defender in particular was of great amusement to the King - a man standing on the walls, cross bow in one hand, the other clutching a frying pan which he had been using all day as a shield to beat off missiles (this is what passed for amusement in 1199). He deliberately aimed an arrow at the King, which the King applauded. However, another arrow then struck him in the left shoulder near the neck. He tried to pull this out in the privacy of his tent, but failed; a surgeon, called a 'butcher' by Roger of Hoveden, (a 12th-century English chronicler,) removed it, 'carelessly mangling' the King's arm in the process. However, the wound swiftly became gangrenous.
Accordingly, Richard asked to have the cross bowman brought before him - the man proved a boy. This boy claimed that Richard had slain the boy's father and two brothers, and that he had slain Richard in vengeance. The boy expected to be slain; Richard, as a last act of mercy, forgave the boy his crime, saying, "Live on, and by my bounty behold the light of day," before ordering the boy to be freed and sent away with 100 shillings. Richard then set his affairs in order, bequeathing all his territory to his brother John and his jewels to his nephew Otto.
Richard died on Tuesday, April 6, 1199 in the arms of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; it was later said that "As the day was closing, he ended his earthly day." His death was later referred to as 'the Lion [that] by the Ant was slain'. His last act of chivalry proved pointless: as soon as Richard was dead, his most infamous mercenary captain Mercadier had the boy who fired the fatal arrow flayed alive and then hanged.
So much for pardons.
March 26, 1812 –
A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette, created by Elkanah Tisdale, coined the term “gerrymander” (named after Governor Elbridge Gerry) to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win re-election.
On February 11, 1812, Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, signed legislation that created an oddly shaped voting district with its southern tip in Chelsea, then heading east to Marblehead, and north along the Merrimack River towns to Salisbury. In March, artist Gilbert Stuart stopped by the office of the Boston Gazette and noticed the new map of the new Essex district hanging on the office wall. He was struck by its peculiar shape, and turned to editor Benjamin Russel, an ardent Federalist, he said “There, that will do for a Salamander.” “Better say a Gerrymander” replied the editor Benjamin Russel, punning on the name of Governor Gerry.
March 26, 1827 -
German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven died in Vienna on this date. He had been deaf for the later part of his life, but said on his death bed "I shall hear in heaven."
I wonder what the first thing that he heard in heaven?
March 26, 1830 -
Joseph Smith published The Book of Mormon on this date, after translating it from golden plates turned over by the angel Moroni.
Smith maintained that the text contained in the tablets were written in Reformed Egyptian which he read by means of two magic stones from the Old Testament, the Urim and Thummim.
March 26, 1845 -
Drs. Horace Harrell Day and William H. Shecut receive U.S. patent No. 3,965 for an adhesive medicated plaster,
It took a few more innovations but it would be reformulated into the modern day 'Band Aid'.
March 26, 1920 -
Let the days move over—sadness and memory and pain recurred outside, and here, once more, before he went on to meet them he wanted to drift and be young. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
I don't know why I bother bringing this up but F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel was published on this date, bringing his talents into the spotlight.
The novel This Side of Paradise immediately launching 23-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald to fame and fortune.
But what do you care, you don't read anything, anyway.
March 26, 1931 -
As if some cosmic force far greater than any of us can understand,
Leonard Nimoy was born four day after William Shatner.
March 26, 1953 -
Dr. Jonas Salk announced he had a vaccine for polio, on this date. Following Salk's discovery, a nationwide inoculation campaign began in 1955.
By 1957, the number of new polio cases dropped from 58 thousand to under six thousand.
March 26, 2233 - (There is some controversy surrounding this date)
James Tiberius Kirk will be born to Winona and George Samuel Kirk, Sr. in a small farming community in Riverside, Iowa. As the Captain will be quoted in the future, "I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."
Although born on Earth, he was apparently raised, at least for a time, on Tarsus IV, where he was one of only nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists because of utilitarian extermination by Kodos the Executioner so that the colony could survive a devastating famine.
And so it goes
Probably tastes even better if it's fresh and not canned. I'm just saying ....
March 26, 1942 -
Up in the sky, look! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!
The Bulleteers, part of the Fleischer Superman animated series, was released on this date.
March 26, 1953 -
One of Martin Scorsese's favorite films, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (the original title, Ugetsu Monogatari,) starring Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo and Kinuyo Tanaka, premiered in Japan on this date.
Regarded by critics as a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, the film won the Silver Lion Award at the 1953 Venice Film Festival.
March 26, 1969 -
The TV movie which launched the Marcus Welby M.D, series, A Matter of Humanities, starring Robert Young, James Brolin, Anne Baxter, Susan Strasberg, Lew Ayres, and Tom Bosley, premiered on ABC TV on this date.
Tom Bosley's appearance was a last minute emergency replacement for an actor who had been involved in a car accident. Bosley was filming the Eyes segment of the Night Gallery pilot film at Universal, and when delays came up during the filming of that, the producer of the Welby pilot asked if he could borrow Bosley for two hours to do the scene. Bosley was able to do it without losing any time on the Night Gallery pilot.
March 26, 1971 -
Balding, middle-aged, and portly (hey I better watch out, that's starting to describe me) - the Cannon pilot with William Conrad premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
Frank Cannon was originally a policeman, but he quit the force after the tragic death of his wife and infant son in an automobile accident. The tragedy drove Cannon to become a top private investigator.
March 26, 1977 -
Hall & Oates have their first of six chart-toppers when their single Rich Girl hits No. #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, on this date.
Daryl Hall was shocked to find out that the infamous serial killer David "Son Of Sam" Berkowitz claimed he was inspired to murder by this song. It is unlikely that this song actually compelled Berkowitz to kill, as it was released after he started his killing spree, and Berkowitz cited many influences, including his neighbor's dog, when asked why he killed. Nonetheless, it was very disturbing for Hall & Oates to have their song associated with Berkowitz, and they made reference to this in their 1980 song Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices) from their Voices album in the lyrics: "Charlie liked The Beatles, Sam he liked Rich Girl."
March 26, 1977 -
Less Than Zero, the debut single from Elvis Costello, was released by the newly formed Stiff Records in London, England on this date.
When Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1977 (filling in for the Sex Pistols, who were denied entry into the US), it was decided that he would perform this song. Elvis, however, had other ideas. After playing some of Less Than Zero, he halted the performance and played the unreleased Radio Radio instead, earning him a ban from the show that lasted until 1989, when he returned as musical guest.
March 26, 1987 -
Nike begins airing a commercial using the Beatles song Revolution, marking the first time an original version of a Beatles song is used in an ad.
The commercials caused a huge backlash from Beatles fans who felt that Nike was disrespecting the legacy of John Lennon, who likely would have objected to its use, but the ad campaign, called "Revolution in Motion," was successful, helping Nike expand their market by featuring ordinary joggers, gym rats and cyclists. "We're trying to promote the concept of revolutionary changes in the fitness movement and show how Nike parallels those changes with product development," the company stated. "Because of this 'revolution,' we were able to draw a strong correlation with the music and the lyrics in the Beatles song."
March 26, 1989 -
The science fiction series, Quantum Leap, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, premiered on NBC-TV on this date.
Scott Bakula was the first actor cast, and thus was asked to read with actors under consideration for the role of Al Calavicci. Bakula immediately felt a connection with Dean Stockwell during his audition, and lobbied the producers to cast him as Al Calavicci.
March 26, 1994 –
Soundgarden's fourth studio album Superunknown, debuted on the Album chart at #1 on this date.
The band is named after a sculpture in Seattle called Soundgarden, and longtime speculation was that one of the songs from the album got its name from another Seattle sculpture called Black Sun by the artist Isamu Noguchi. (The piece is located in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. It looks kind of like a huge, black doughnut and is aimed so you can see the Space Needle through the middle of it.) Superunknown was Soundgarden's breakthrough album, earning the band international recognition
March 26, 1995 -
The pilot short for Johnny Bravo aired on Cartoon Network on this date.
According to creator Van Partible, Johnny Bravo's name originated from The Brady Bunch episode Adios, Johnny Bravo, where Greg was nicknamed "the next Johnny Bravo". The name was also derived from Partible's middle name, Giovanni Bravo, which is also an Italian name for Johnny.
March 26, 2005 -
The BBC revived the Dr. Who series on this date, which hadn't aired since the end of the 26th season in 1989, with the episode Rose, starring Christopher Eccleston as the new incarnation of the doctor and Billie Piper as Rose his new traveling companion.
Executive Producer Russell T. Davies stated that he chose to have Christopher Eccleston depict a new incarnation of the Doctor so he could have a fresh start for both the new viewers and the story lines he wanted to implant in the series, and because Eccelston was a good friend of his who wanted to help Doctor Who gain momentum to become successful again.
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
March 26, 1199 -
All seemed right with the Medieval world. Richard the Lionheart was taking an evening stroll around the castle perimeter without his chain mail, investigating the progress of soldiers trying to destroy the fortress in which he was seeking refuge. Arrows were occasionally fired from the castle walls, but these were given little attention.
One defender in particular was of great amusement to the King - a man standing on the walls, cross bow in one hand, the other clutching a frying pan which he had been using all day as a shield to beat off missiles (this is what passed for amusement in 1199). He deliberately aimed an arrow at the King, which the King applauded. However, another arrow then struck him in the left shoulder near the neck. He tried to pull this out in the privacy of his tent, but failed; a surgeon, called a 'butcher' by Roger of Hoveden, (a 12th-century English chronicler,) removed it, 'carelessly mangling' the King's arm in the process. However, the wound swiftly became gangrenous.
Accordingly, Richard asked to have the cross bowman brought before him - the man proved a boy. This boy claimed that Richard had slain the boy's father and two brothers, and that he had slain Richard in vengeance. The boy expected to be slain; Richard, as a last act of mercy, forgave the boy his crime, saying, "Live on, and by my bounty behold the light of day," before ordering the boy to be freed and sent away with 100 shillings. Richard then set his affairs in order, bequeathing all his territory to his brother John and his jewels to his nephew Otto.
Richard died on Tuesday, April 6, 1199 in the arms of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; it was later said that "As the day was closing, he ended his earthly day." His death was later referred to as 'the Lion [that] by the Ant was slain'. His last act of chivalry proved pointless: as soon as Richard was dead, his most infamous mercenary captain Mercadier had the boy who fired the fatal arrow flayed alive and then hanged.
So much for pardons.
March 26, 1812 –
A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette, created by Elkanah Tisdale, coined the term “gerrymander” (named after Governor Elbridge Gerry) to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win re-election.
On February 11, 1812, Gerry, governor of Massachusetts, signed legislation that created an oddly shaped voting district with its southern tip in Chelsea, then heading east to Marblehead, and north along the Merrimack River towns to Salisbury. In March, artist Gilbert Stuart stopped by the office of the Boston Gazette and noticed the new map of the new Essex district hanging on the office wall. He was struck by its peculiar shape, and turned to editor Benjamin Russel, an ardent Federalist, he said “There, that will do for a Salamander.” “Better say a Gerrymander” replied the editor Benjamin Russel, punning on the name of Governor Gerry.
March 26, 1827 -
German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven died in Vienna on this date. He had been deaf for the later part of his life, but said on his death bed "I shall hear in heaven."
I wonder what the first thing that he heard in heaven?
March 26, 1830 -
Joseph Smith published The Book of Mormon on this date, after translating it from golden plates turned over by the angel Moroni.
Smith maintained that the text contained in the tablets were written in Reformed Egyptian which he read by means of two magic stones from the Old Testament, the Urim and Thummim.
March 26, 1845 -
Drs. Horace Harrell Day and William H. Shecut receive U.S. patent No. 3,965 for an adhesive medicated plaster,
It took a few more innovations but it would be reformulated into the modern day 'Band Aid'.
March 26, 1920 -
Let the days move over—sadness and memory and pain recurred outside, and here, once more, before he went on to meet them he wanted to drift and be young. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
I don't know why I bother bringing this up but F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel was published on this date, bringing his talents into the spotlight.
The novel This Side of Paradise immediately launching 23-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald to fame and fortune.
But what do you care, you don't read anything, anyway.
March 26, 1931 -
As if some cosmic force far greater than any of us can understand,
Leonard Nimoy was born four day after William Shatner.
March 26, 1953 -
Dr. Jonas Salk announced he had a vaccine for polio, on this date. Following Salk's discovery, a nationwide inoculation campaign began in 1955.
By 1957, the number of new polio cases dropped from 58 thousand to under six thousand.
March 26, 2233 - (There is some controversy surrounding this date)
James Tiberius Kirk will be born to Winona and George Samuel Kirk, Sr. in a small farming community in Riverside, Iowa. As the Captain will be quoted in the future, "I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."
Although born on Earth, he was apparently raised, at least for a time, on Tarsus IV, where he was one of only nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists because of utilitarian extermination by Kodos the Executioner so that the colony could survive a devastating famine.
And so it goes
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