Less drama — more pizza.

It's National Pizza with the Works (Except Anchovies) Day.

What's so wrong about anchovies?



(Well there is an old joke by George Carlin, but I'm not going to play it to you, you'll have to find it yourself, but I guess that would put me off anchovies.)


November 12, 1932 -
The Merrie Melodies short, A Great Big Bunch of You, directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, was released on this date.



Besides the mannequin imitating Maurice Chevalier and Ted Lewis, the dancing coat racks are meant to evoke Joe Frisco, who did a similar high-step strut with a tilted derby, cane, and a cigar in his mouth.


November 12, 1949 -
The Looney Tunes short, For Scent-imental Reasons, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Pepe LePew, was released on this date.



This short marks the theatrical debut of Penelope Pussycat, though she wouldn't be officially named that until 1954's The Cats Bah, and, even then, the cat named Penelope in that cartoon did not look like the popular design for her (which actually was taken from this cartoon and 1951's Scent-imental Romeo),


November 12, 1955 -
The Looney Tunes short, Roman Legion-Hare, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, was released on this date.



The lions in this cartoon previously appeared in 1955's Tweety's Circus, also a Freleng short.


November 12, 1960 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Dog Gone People, directed by Bob McKimson, and starring Elmer Fudd, was released on this date.



Hal Smith took over the voicing of Elmer in this cartoon due to Arthur Q. Bryan's death.


November 12, 1964 -
On his 19th birthday, Neil Young wrote Sugar Mountain, where he reflects on his fleeting youth ("You can't be 20 on Sugar Mountain"), the first formal release was a recording of the song made on November 10, 1968.



Joni Mitchell's The Circle Game was inspired by this song. As she explained to a live audience at The Paris Theatre in 1970, "Neil Young wrote this song that was called 'Oh to live on sugar mountain' which was a lament for his lost youth. And I thought, God, you know, if we get to 21 and there's nothing after that, that's a pretty bleak future, so I wrote a song for him, and for myself just to give me some hope. It's called 'The Circle Game.'"


November 12, 1976 -
Featuring a cast of 50 million, the very strange documentary All This And World War II, a collection of WWII newsreel footage, clips from other movies, and covers of Beatles songs, opens in US theaters on this date.



The film's director Susan Winslow was hired as she had been a researcher on the movie Brother Can You Spare a Dime which integrated film footage and 1930s newsreels with gramophone songs of that era. Her original role was as a researcher and to select footage but her contribution became so important she was named the film's director.


November 12, 1982 -
Robert Altman's low budget (and well received) adaptation of Ed Graczyk's play, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, starring, Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, and Kathy Bates premiered in NYC on this date.



Cher, Karen Black and Sandy Dennis reprised their roles from the stage production that played on Broadway at the Martn Beck Theatre in 1982. Robert Altman also directed this stage season.


November 12, 1992 -
The screamingly funny TV comedy Absolutely Fabulous, written by Jennifer Saunders, starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley premiered on the BBC on this date.



The inspiration for casting Joanna Lumley as Patsy came from a sketch on The Full Wax. There, Ruby Wax interviewed Lumley, where the actress (who had previously been seen as a prim and proper English rose) played herself as a drunk, cocaine-addicted, washed-up has-been.


November 12, 1993 -
Jane Campion's Oscar-winning film, The Piano starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel (and his penis), Sam Neill and Anna Paquin, was released in the US on this date.



Holly Hunter received three on-screen credits for the film, playing the character of Ada, playing the piano herself, and being a British sign language interpreter for Anna Paquin.


November 12, 2008 -
Danny Boyle's international hit, Slumdog Millionaire, starring Dev Patel and Freida Pinto went into limited release in the US on this date.



Longiness Fernandes was the choreographer of the dance sequence set to the song Jai Ho, which is played during the end credits. But his name was inadvertently left out in the credits of the film. Upset with this, Longiness skipped the preview parties. Danny Boyle was also upset over this mistake and promised Longiness that he would make it up to him, and did it in style. While accepting the Best Director Oscar, he admitted his mistake before the audience and thanked Longiness.


November 12, 2011 –
The Rihanna (featuring Calvin Harris) single, We Found Love became a No. #1 hit on the Billboard charts, on this date.



Part of the music video was shot in a field in the Northern Irish town of Bangor on September 26 and 27, 2011. The farmer who owned the land on which Rihanna was filming was shocked to have spotted her, half naked when he was walking to his tractor. He told BBC News: "I thought it was inappropriate. I requested them to stop and they did. I had my conversation with Rihanna and I hope she understands where I'm coming from. We shook hands." After being asked to leave the field, the singer continued to shoot the promo in Belfast.


November 12, 2016 -
Kate McKinnon sang Hallelujah in character as Hillary Clinton to open Saturday Night Live the Saturday after the 2016 presidential election.



Still oddly powerful and moving.


Another little known Monopoly card


Today in History:
King Cnut of England, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden died on this date in 1035. (Cnut is better known to most Americans as King Canute, which offers fewer typographical hazards.)



Cnut was the son of Svein Forkbeard, son of Harald Bluetooth, son of Gorm (now you know.) In 1013 Cnut's father conquered all of England from the Saxon King Aethelred but died anyway. This allowed Aethelred to take England back, which made it necessary for Cnut himself to reconquer England in 1016. He enjoyed this so much that he went on to conquer Scotland, Denmark, Norway, and part of Sweden, all of which came to be known collectively as Cnutland, perhaps explaining the region's subsequent popularity among European dyslexics.

This will be on the test.


November 12, 1859 -
The first flying-trapeze circus act was performed by Jules Leotard at the Circus Napoleon (later renamed Cirque d'Hiver) in Paris on this date.



His act caused a sensation in Paris, and soon other circus performers were trying out his technique. Leotard designed the garment that bears his name. Jules died at the age of 28 in Spain, leaving behind the famous Leotard and the art of flying trapeze.


November 12, 1912 -
The bodies of Captain Robert Scott and his men were found on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, frozen solid in one huge block of ice, on this date.



So he had literally become Scott of the Antarctic.


November 12, 1928 -
S. S. Vestris left New York November 10, 1928, with 129 passengers and 196 crew. The next day she ran into a severe storm and developed a starboard list, caused by a partially open coal port four feet above the water line



An SOS was sent out on November 12, some 200 miles off Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the ship was abandoned and after a few hours, the ship fell on her side and sank. Approximately 112 of the 325 onboard were lost (there was never a conclusive count - you know how it is during a disaster): all 13 children on board perished, as well as 28 of the 36 women.


November 12, 1933 -
Hugh Gray of the British Aluminum Company took five pictures of the Loch Ness Monster, the first known photos. Four the the five exposures were blank, and the remaining photo was later proven to be a hoax.

The brand of whiskey, Mr. Grey consumed has been lost in the ethers of time.


Early on the morning of November 12, 1942, Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, mob informer, then in protective custody, fell to his death from a hotel window. It is not known whether he was thrown or pushed out the window, or if he was trying to escape. The angle of trajectory suggests that he was, in fact, defenestration (my favorite word.)

Because of his mob status as a stool pigeon and the circumstances surrounding his death, Reles gained another moniker after his passing. In addition to "Kid Twist," Reles became known as "the canary who sang, but couldn't fly."


November 12, 1945 -
When you're young, you don't have any experience - you're charged up, but you're out of control. And if you're old and you're not charged up, then all you have is memories. But if you're charged and stimulated by what's going on around you, and you also have experience, you know what to appreciate and what to pass by.







Happy Birthday Neil Percival Young !!!


It was on this date in 1948 that former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and seven others were sentenced to hang.



(This was back in the quaint old days, when the world considered it legal not only to have enemies, but to kill them after they tried to kill you.)


November 12, 1955 -
Today was one of the most event-filled dates in Hill Valley, CA history:

George McFly and Lorraine Baines kissed for the first time at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance on this date. One week earlier, George's 'friend' Marty, had been struck by a car driven by Lorraine's father, Sam Baines, and Lorraine looked after him during his recovery. Lorraine accepted Marty's invitation to go the dance. Marvin Berry and the Starlighters played popular music during the entire dance, such as Night Train and Earth Angel. But none of this is the point of the story



During the famous Hill Valley Thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning strikes the Clock Tower at precisely 10:04 p.m., and it hasn't rung since.


November 12, 1980 -
NASA's space probe Voyager 1 reached Saturn on this day and sent photos of the planet's rings back to Earth, nearly a billion miles (about 1.6 billion km) away.

This was the first photograph of Saturn's rings were transmitted to Earth. OK you can get the laugh out - the ring around Uranus were photographed in 1986.

Before you go - I hadn't realized how many different supermarket chains there were in the UK - for the third year in a row, Salisbury has turned to Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant or BFG -



Once again, please note, no humans were consumed during the making of this commercials. The BFG continues to forswear eating humans. (I must also comment again on the extraordinary dedication these delivery folks have.)



And so it goes

Knowing the true cost of war

At 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918 French Army clerk Henri Deledicq finished typing the peace treaty that would end World War I. He had put the carbon paper in backwards.



Ten minutes later, in a railroad car in France, military leaders signed copies of an armistice that were completely unreadable. World War I ended on this date. -



It's Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day for many in Europe -



(and it's Singles Day in China, 11/11- it's considered China's Anti-Valentine's Day, but we're not going to discuss that now.)


November 11, 397 -
St. Martin of Tours, another in the series of anorexic visionaries, patron saint of France, soldiers (he is known as the he man's saint), reformed alcoholics and winemakers, died on this date. When the armistice fell on the Saint Martin’s Day, November 11, 1918, the French people saw it was a sign of his intercession in the affairs of France.

Martin, after another one of his life long practice of fasting, has a dream about Jesus wearing the cloak he had recently given to a naked beggar. Pieces of Martin's actual 'cloak' were revered as holy relics and the derivation of the name of the priest who looked after these relics became 'chaplain'.

My father-in-law always reminded us that today is the day when the grapes you pressed and bottled turned into wine. That is not to say that he was discussing transubstantiation - which he and the old ladies in the back row of church saying their decades of the rosary clearly understood. But coincidentially - on November 11, 1215, The Fourth Lateran Council met on this date and adopt the doctrine of Transubstantiation, meaning that bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ.

This means all Catholics are essentially cannibals on a prescribed feeding schedule, but who am I to judge a theology of which I am a nominal member.

And now you know.


November 11, 1933 -
The Looney Tunes short, Buddy's Beer Garden, directed by Earl Duvall and starring Buddy, was released on this date.



This is the first cartoon to be directed by Earl Duvall, who was brought in along with Tom Palmer to replace Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising.


November 11, 1943 -
The under-appreciated wartime-drama Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart premiered on this date.



For much of the production, the cast and crew were based in Brawley, CA, a small town about 40 miles from the filming location. At the time, Brawley offered little in terms of evening diversions, so Humphrey Bogart hosted many of his colleagues in his suite at the Planter's Hotel. Other cast members described Bogart as outgoing, generous and an adept bartender, but the late-night drinking meant that Bogart arrived on set hung over and quarrelsome. The behavior led to clashes with director Zoltan Korda.


November 11, 1947 -
Elia Kazan's searing expose of anti-Semitism, Gentleman's Agreement, starring Gregory Peck premiered in New York on this date.



When other studio chiefs, who were mostly Jewish, heard about the making of this film, they asked the producer not to make it. They feared its theme of anti-Semitism would simply stir up a hornet's nest about a problem which they preferred to handle quietly. Not only did production continue, but a scene was subsequently included that mirrored that confrontation.


November 11, 1950 -
The Looney Tunes short, Bushy Hare, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Bugs Bunny, was released on this date. (This short is seldom aired on US television because it is deemed offensive to Australian Aboriginal people.)



This is the first short involving Bugs Bunny visiting Australia, but the only time he visits the Australian mainland.


November 11, 1952 -
The Looney Tunes short, The Super Snooper, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Daffy Duck, was released on this date.



The anonymous redheaded femme fatale of this film is considered to be a redesigned version of Melissa Duck, Daffy's blonde love interest from The Scarlet Pumpernickel.


November 11, 1958 -
The (relatively unknown yet hysterical) British-comedy The Horse's Mouth, starring Alec Guinness, opened in the US on this date.



Alec Guinness felt that an educated accent for Gulley Jimson would be suited to an artist, but was not right for an eccentric. "So I tried to find a voice in which no one would be able to detect an accent of any sort, a kind of gritty, rough manner of speaking. When I found it, I felt myself free to just relax on that and say the lines as they came."

Do yourself a favor and watch this one.


November 11, 1959 -
The beginning of American independent cinema can be traced to this date when Shadows, directed by John Cassavetes, premiered in NYC.



Shot with a 16mm handheld camera on the streets of New York. Most of the dialog was improvised, while all the crew were fellow class members of John Cassavetes or volunteers.


November 11, 1961 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Beep Prepared, directed by Chuck Jones, and starring Wile E. Coyote and the road Runnerwas released on this date.



This was the only Oscar-nominated Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon. The short lost to the Yugoslavian cartoon Surogat.


November 11, 1978 -
Donna Summer started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb's MacArthur Park, which was also a hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968, (made No.5 in the UK). (Sorry for the earworm.)



Donna Summer recorded her disco version in 1978 with her producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. Moroder had been searching for a song to rework with Summer, and when Richard Harris' version of MacArthur Park came on the radio, he knew it was the one, perfect for Summer's vocal range. Packed with synthesizers, horns and washes of background vocals, Summer's version ran 8:27 and was the first part of the MacArthur Park Suite, which took up the entire D-side of her 1978 2-disc Live And More album.


November 11, 1985 -
One of the first major films dealing with AIDS, An Early Frost, starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, premiered on NBC-TV on this date.



Aidan Quinn (Michael) remembers that NBC's Standards and Practices department were a constant (in Quinn's words, "hovering") presence on the set. They regulated matters such as Quinn appearing in bed with D.W. Moffett (Peter) - they would not allow the two to be seen together in the characters' bed, only for Quinn to be in bed while Moffett sat, fully clothed, on its edge. Quinn says in the commentary that the censors were not only adamant that the two men were never allowed to kiss, but also that any physical contact between them had to be "balanced" by Michael's contact with his parents.


November 11, 2001 -
The Warner Bros. produced megahit based on the J.K. Rowling novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and just about every other English actor, premiered in NYC on this date.



Alan Rickman was hand picked to play Snape by J.K. Rowling, and received special instructions from her about character. Rowling even provided him with vital details of Snape's backstory, not revealed until the final novel.


Another episode of ACME's Little Known Animal Facts.


Today in History:
November 11, 1634 -
Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes "An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery". Seven years later, the good Bishop Atherton is himself is found well hanged under the Act.

I guess the religious right has always been a little loose on this issue.


November 11, 1821 -
The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month.



Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Russian novelist who wrote Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, was born on this date.


November 11, 1862 -
Joe Green's (stage name - Giuseppe Verdi) Opera, La Forza Del Destino premiered in St Petersburg, Russia on this date.



La Forza Del Destino is an opera that many old school Italian singers felt was "cursed" and brought bad luck. The very superstitious Luciano Pavarotti avoided accepting a role in the opera for this reason.


November 11, 1920 -
One of the most famous tombs in Westminster Abbey is that of The Unknown Warrior. A tomb of an unknown British soldier who was killed on the battlefield during World War I. He was buried in Westminster Abbey on this date. (Another unknown soldier was buried on this date at the Arc de Triomphe in France.) The tomb is in the far western end of the nave and is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble. It is the only tomb in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk.



One year after unknown soldiers were simultaneously buried at Westminster Abbey, London, and the Arc de Triomphe in France, President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (a white marble sarcophagus in Arlington National Cemetery.)



The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” The World War I unknown was later joined by the unidentified remains of soldiers from America’s other major 20th century wars and the tomb was put under permanent guard by special military sentinels.


November 11, 1920 -
According to James Bond's authorized biography, the fictional Secret Service agent was born on this date. James Bond’s father was Andrew Bond, a Scottish businessman. His mother was Monique Delacroix, from Switzerland.



Both of his parents were killed in a mountain climbing accident during a holiday in the French Alps when he was only 11. He was educated at Eton, like his creator Ian Fleming.


November 11, 1922 -
Of course it is exhausting, having to reason all the time in a universe which wasn't meant to be reasonable..



WWII veteran, noted author, and (possible alien) Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on this date.


November 11, 1925 -
Well, the most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.



Jonathan Winters, the great improvisational comedian and actor, was born on this date.


November 11, 1978 -

A perennial favorite suicide location, the renovated Hollywood Sign was unveiled, due in large part to the public campaign to restore the landmark by pornographer Hugh Hefner and shock rocker Alice Cooper.

The original sign was built in 1923, and said "Hollywoodland".


Before you go - Another UK department store is heard from - Argos, which is virtually unknown in the US, has a cute Christmas advert but I do have a thought -



Is it a sign of some sort of psychosis that one takes suggestions from toys.

And so it goes

So, there may be help for Mr. Miller

There might be a cure for 'evil'. Well, a cure for psychopathy, anyway. Psychologists argue that aspects of psychopathy can be 'cured' by cognitive behavioural therapy, which is said to reduce violent offences by those with the condition.



Preliminary research suggests that computer-based cognitive training could help a psychopath experience empathy and regret, too.


November 10, 1934 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Those Beautiful Dames, directed by Friz Freleng, was released on this date.



Cartoon Network's version replaced the shot of the Jazz Bow Band dancing wind-up toy with the scene of the toy shop toys gathered around the girl and the girl looking amazed that the toys she had seen in the store window are here with her. Cartoon Network also cut the shot of the pickaninny dolls standing next to the chocolate cake ("And we/Have made a chocolate cake/For you").


November 10, 1942 -
The third 'Road' movie, the Road to Morocco, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Anthony Quinn, premiered in NYC on this date.



Bob Hope and Bing Crosby kidded heavy-set director David Butler relentlessly about his weight. For a scene in which enemy horses chased them through the streets, Butler advised them not to jump out of the street until he gave them the signal, allowing them plenty of time to get out of the way. However, as they ran the horses kept getting closer and closer with no signal to the pair from Butler. Finally, the stars panicked and jumped. When they complained about their bruises, Butler laughed at them and told them they'd ruined the shot by jumping too soon. Some crew members thought he was getting back at them, and Hope nicknamed him "The Murderer."


November 10, 1945 -
The Looney Tunes short, Hare Tonic, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, was released on this date.



Both Bugs and Elmer are in transitional stages of appearance development here, with Elmer wearing the outfit seen on his earlier version, Egghead. Bugs is shorter and had more salmon pink inner ears. Both would evolve further through the next decades.


November 10, 1953 -
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom was an educational Adventures in Music animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, and originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on this date.



This was a "sequel" of sorts to 1953's Adventures in Music: Melody. This was originally meant to be an ongoing series (note the "Adventures In Music" in the opening titles of this short), but no others were produced.


November 10, 1956 -
The Looney Tunes short, There They Go-Go-Go!, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, was released on this date.



Coyote used a Y-shaped wooden stick to dowse for water. This method proved successful in finding sources of water beneath the surface.


November 10, 1956 -
Billie Holiday returned to the stage at Carnegie Hall after a three-year absence on this date.



The concert was called, by some, a high point in jazz history.


November 10, 1962 -
The Looney Tunes short, Good Noose, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Daffy Duck, was released on this date.



Daffy is shown with a full set of teeth in one shot. Ducks do not have teeth.


November 10, 1967 -
The Star Trek episode Metamorphosis (Episode 38, Production 31) premiered on this date. In it, Kirk finds Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, who has been missing for 150 years and his mysterious alien companion.



A few scenes featuring Elinor Donahue had to be re-shot, because the original film negatives were damaged and couldn't be used. Portions of the planet set had to be rebuilt, since other episodes were shot there by that time, using different sets. Meanwhile, Donahue got pneumonia and lost ten pounds. To hide this, they put Hedford's scarf around her neck and upper body. However, her weight loss is still visible on her face.


November 10, 1967 -
The Moody Blues released their hit, Nights in White Satin, on this date. This was written by Justin Hayward, who joined the band the previous year. He got the idea for the song after someone gave him a set of white satin sheets - yes, sometimes, it's just that inane.



This song introduced a new sound for the band. When they formed, they were more of a Blues band, and had a hit in 1965 with a cover of Bessie Banks' Go Now. With the songs on Days of Future Passed, they distinguished themselves with original songs in a more psychedelic/orchestral sound.


November 10, 1969 -
Come and play. Even at 57, everything's still A-OK (even on HBO.)



Sesame Street premiered on PBS-TV on this date.


November 10, 1969 -
Just four months after the Apollo 11 moon landing, Columbia Pictures released the thriller Marooned, directed by John Sturges and starring Gregory Peck and Gene Hackman, in U.S. theaters on this date.



Frank Capra began work on the film. Inspired by his work on the Martin-Marietta Corp.-commissioned faux documentary, Rendezvous in Space for the 1964 World's Fair in New York, Capra (a chemical engineer by education) worked to make the picture for Columbia, but finally abandoned the project in preproduction in May 1966 when he couldn't bring the budget down to the $3-million required by Columbia worldwide production chief M.J. Frankovich. The eventual budget for the finished film (directed by John Sturges) was $8 million. Capra never made another film.


November 10, 1973 -
Elton John hit No.1 on the Billboard album chart for the third time with his seventh LP, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, on this date. The double disk set became his best selling studio album with worldwide sales of over 15 million copies, certified 8× platinum.



Elton and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin went to Jamaica to record the album, but the studio wasn't up to standard, so the project was abandoned there with only a rough version of Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) actually being recorded. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and the rest of the album were recorded in France at Strawberry Studios (The Chateau d'Hierouville).


November 10, 1974 -
Bob Fosse's devastating bio-pix about Lenny Bruce, Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine premiered in NYC on this date.



The character of Sherman Hart (played by Lucille Ball's last husband, Gary Morton) is based on Milton Berle. His real name wasn't used because Berle was still alive and there were fears he would sue for libel. The character uses all of Berle's mannerisms and trademark shtick, including sticking a cigar under his top lip.


November 10, 1975 -
Arista Records released Patti Smith's debut album, Horses, on this date.



The origin of the Horses album lies in the inception of a poem Patti Smith wrote called Oath when she was around 20. It began, "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine." She explained to Mojo magazine: "It was my statement of independence from being fettered by any particular religious institution, not any statement against Jesus Christ. That's the start of my evolution as a young person that got me to Horses."


November 10, 1990 -
John Hughes' classic holiday film, directed by Chris Columbus, Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, premiered in Chicago on this date.



The origin of the Horses album lies in the inception of a poem Patti Smith wrote called Oath when she was around 20. It began, "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine." She explained to Mojo magazine: "It was my statement of independence from being fettered by any particular religious institution, not any statement against Jesus Christ. That's the start of my evolution as a young person that got me to Horses."


Today's moment of Zen.


Today in History:
November 10, 4004 BC -
Are you having that , "Gee, I'm feeling rather shamed about my engorged genitals today", here's the reason why:

Adam and Eve, all our forebearers, were driven from Paradise on this date, according to our good old friend Rev. Ussher.



For some reason, the first Gideon Bibles were put in hotel rooms at the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana on this date in 1908.


November 10, 1871 -
New York Newspaperman Henry M. Stanley finally found Scottish explorer Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji near Lake Tanganyika (helpfully identified by some sources as being "near Unyanyembe"), and remarked, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", on this date.



This was extremely witty and therefore historical.


November 10, 1903 -
U.S. patent no. 743,801 was issued to Mary Anderson, a resident of Birmingham, Alabama. She tried to sell her invention to a manufacturing firm in



Others belittled her creation as well, insisting it would distract drivers and result in accidents. In the end, her patent expired before she was able to profit from her invention.


November 10, 1911 -
The following entry was made by George Levick, a surgeon and the medical officer on Scott's famous 1910-1913 expedition to the South Pole: This afternoon I saw a most extraordinary site - A Penguin was actually engaged in sodomy upon the body of a dead white throated bird of its own species.

How I know this and why I though it important to note it in this blog speaks volumes to my education and general mental state.


(Bunkies, there is a theme for the rest of today's posting. Your task is to figure it out - submit your guess:)

November 10, 1925 -
Richard Burton was born on this date.



No, not the Victorian international man of mystery, self-circumcisor and male brothel frequenter but Welsh actor with the greatest voice of the 20th Century.


November 10, 1928 -
Playing against Army at Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne gave what is considered the greatest locker room speeches of all time by saying "Win one for the Gipper."



There is a clear through line to the theme in all of this.


November 10, 1928 -
Michinomiya Hirohito was crowned the 124th Emperor of Japan, Emperor Showa on this date.

Somehow the theme shows up here, as well.



November 10, 1938 -
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the most extraordinary men of the 20th Century, statesman and first President of Modern Turkey, died of cirrhosis of the liver on this date.



Will Durant had said, "men devoted to war, politics, and public life wear out fast, and all three had been the passion of Atatürk."


November 10, 1940 -
Walt Disney begins serving as a secret informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI, to report back information on Hollywood subversives. He was made a "Full Special Agent in Charge Contact" in 1954.

We should note that Disney was also atheist, Neo-Nazi, racist and possible child pornography collector, thus subversive in his own little way. Also remember that he reported in directly to a cross-dressing, homosexual who would never make left turns in his car.

The theme shows up clearly here as well.


November 10, 1954 -
The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the US Marine Corps (USMC) War Memorial, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington National Cemetery on this date.



The Marine Corps War Memorial is dedicated to all Marines who have served and given their lives in the defense of the United States since a resolution of the Second Continental Congress, on this date in 1775, ordered their formation.


November 10, 1958 -
Jeweler Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond, the "most famous diamond in the world", to the Smithsonian Institution on this date. The jewel is believed to have originated in India, where the original (larger) stone was purchased in 1666 by French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier as the Tavernier Blue.



The diamond was sent to the Smithsonian through U.S. Mail in a box wrapped in brown paper as simple registered mail with $2.44 postage.


November 10, 1975 -
The 729-foot-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board



and unfortunately is the subject of Gordon Lightfoot's annoying hit song, The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.



On July 4, 1995, the ship's bell was recovered from the wreck, and a replica, engraved with the names of the crew members who perished in this tragedy, will be left in its place. The original bell is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Michigan.


Before you go - I don't understand the relationship between the UK and their supermarkets. Apparently the most highly anticipated events are the dropping of their holiday commercials. I'll share two of them with you from Tesco, a very large supermarket chain -



A lovely little advert but what about all the other deliveries she should have made. Were those folks SOL? The next one is from the Tesco Irish delivision -



This one was very sweet and every so slightly creepy.

Maybe you may want to polish the silverware.



And so it goes