Rest up. It's Sunday

Hope you all had a great time last night and all got home safely from where ever you were celebrating, especially for those of you whom got hit with that intense thunderstorm.

But remember don't try to light any unexploded fireworks you might find along the road; you don't know where it's been and you don't know what you could pick up.


July 05, 1941 -
The Looney Tunes short, Meet John Doughboy, directed by Bob Clamplett and starring Porky Pig, was released on this date.



This short fell into the public domain in 1969 when Warner Bros.-Seven Arts failed to renew the copyright in time


July 05, 1941 -
The Merrie Melodies short, The Heckling Hare, directed by Tex Avery and starring Bugs Bunny, was released on this date.



This is the cartoon that led to Tex Avery leaving Warner Brothers. The final gag of this cartoon originally had Bugs and Willoughby (the dog) fall off an extremely steep cliff, with Bugs telling the audience, "Hold on to your hats, folks. Here we go again!" Producer Leon Schlesinger didn't like the ending and cut it. According to Avery, Schlesinger thought the ending lines were too similar to the punchline of a then-popular dirty joke and therefore too risqué to be in a cartoon, and that the audience would believe there was a connection between the fall and the punchline. Avery was enraged and walked out of the studio. He was promptly suspended, and when MGM heard about it, animation producer Fred Quimby quickly hired him.


July 05, 1952 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Cracked Quack, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, was released on this date.



This is the last Porky Pig short to be directed by Friz Freleng.


July 5, 1954 -
Elvis Presley recorded his first commercial song, That’s All Right (Mama) on this date. The song, which hadn't been rehearsed by Elvis, was recorded at Sun Records by Sam Phillips (who is commonly credited for discovering him.)



The following evening, Blue Moon of Kentucky was recorded as the B side. That’s All Right (Mama) was played on Memphis, Tennessee's own WHBQ radio program Red, Hot and Blue just two days after it was recorded and became Elvis' first hit.

You know what to do.


July 05, 1952 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Cracked Quack, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, was released on this date.



This is the last Porky Pig short to be directed by Friz Freleng.


July 5, 1956 -
MGM released boxer Rocky Grazaiano's film biography, Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman and Pier Angeli on this date.



Originally, the movie was to be filmed on-location in New York City in Technicolor with James Dean in the lead role. However, after James Dean's death, it was decided the film should be in black and white, and filmed on studio sets. Director Robert Wise felt the sets looked very fake, and only used them for night scenes, while filming the daytime scenes on-location.


July 5, 1965 -
Motown President Berry Gordy, Jr. appears on the popular TV show To Tell The Truth on this date.



The Supremes performed Baby Love and Back In My Arms Again during his segment.


July 5, 1980 -
The Randal Kleiser teen romance film, The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins, went into general release on this date.



Christopher Atkins did most of his nude scenes without the use of a body double. Reportedly, he had to stand nude every morning before shooting these scenes while a female makeup artist got his body ready.


July 5, 1986 -
Janet Jackson's album, Control, started a two-week run at No.1 on the Billboard charts, on this date.



The album featured the hit singles: What Have You Done for Me Lately, Nasty, Control, When I Think of You, and Let's Wait Awhile.


July 5, 1989 -
The pilot for Seinfeld, called The Seinfeld Chronicles (Good News, Bad News) aired on NBC on this date.



Julia Louis-Dreyfus did not appear in this pilot episode. In fact, she was unaware that the episode existed until it was released as part of the DVD box set in 2004.


July 5, 1989 -
The dark comedy, Weekend at Bernie's, starring, Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Terry Kiser, opened on this date



This was considered as a vehicle for Corey Haim and Corey Feldman early in production before it was decided to make the leads older.


July 5, 1994 -
Hootie & the Blowfish released their debut album, Cracked Rear View on this date. It goes on to sell an amazing 21 million copies.



Cracked Rear View was recorded in two months in Los Angeles with producer Don Gehman, whose clients also include John Mellencamp and R.E.M.


It's the 28th anniversary of the destruction of earth by invading alien armies known as the X-ists on July 5, 1998.



Although the world did not end in 1998 (unless this is an elaborate alternate universe), 27 years later, the pipe and the slack of Bob still comfort me.


Another album from the discount bin at The ACME Record Shoppe .


Today in History:
July 5, 1794 -
Sylvester Graham was born in Suffield, Connecticut, on this date. He was ordained in 1826 as a Presbyterian minister. He was an early advocate of dietary reform in United States most notable for his emphasis on vegetarianism, and the temperance movement, as well as sexual and dietary habits.

Graham believed that a firm, crusty bread made of coarsely ground whole-wheat flour was more nutritious and healthy. He correctly argued that chemical additives in bread that make it whiter in color and more commercially appealing also made it unwholesome.

Graham was also inspired by the temperance movement and preached that a vegetarian diet was a cure for alcoholism, and, more importantly, sexual urges. The main thrust of his teachings was to curb lust. While alcohol had useful medicinal qualities, it should never be abused by social drinking. For Graham, an unhealthy diet stimulated excessive sexual desire which irritated the body and caused disease. While Graham developed a significant following known as Grahamites, known for stuffing Graham crackers in their mouths when the urge came over them (as opposed to Sodomites known for stuffing ... oh never mind.) He was also ridiculed by the media and the public for his unwavering zealotry.



According to newspaper records, many women fainted at his lectures when he aired opinions both on sexual relations and the wearing of corsets. Whether their fainting was due to the subject matter or the tight corsets they wore is still debated.


July 5, 1801 -
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, born on this date, was the first senior officer of the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and full admiral of the Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his possibly apocryphal order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".



If you have the time go out and see him, he's in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. (I guess that's only convenient if you're near the Bronx.)

If you're not in the Bronx,

you can check out his Memorial statue in Madison Square Park in Manhattan.


July 5, 1852 -
Frederick Douglass was invited to address the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in his hometown, Rochester, New York. Whatever the expectations of his audience on that 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Douglass used the occasion not to celebrate the nation’s triumphs but to remind all of its continuing enslavement of millions of people.



It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his audience, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." And he asked them, "Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?"


July 5, 1865 -
Booth led boldly with his big bass drum - (Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)



The Salvation Army began with the efforts of two founders, William Booth and Catherine Booth, to bring salvation to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the destitute. On this date, William Booth established The Christian Mission in London, England, which would later be called as The Salvation Army in 1878. The name was changed to The Salvation Army (apparently by the request of an initial member; the Christian Mission's mission-statement originally called the organization a 'volunteer army', and the speaker felt that he wasn't strictly a 'volunteer') and a quasi-military outlook was adopted.



When William Booth became known as the General, Catherine was known as the “Mother of The Salvation Army.” William preached to the poor, and Catherine spoke to the wealthy, gaining financial support for their demanding work. She also ministered, which was a revolutionary act at the time. From the beginning it was already clearly stated in the Foundation Deed of the Christian Mission, that women had the same rights to preach as men. Together the Booths worked tirelessly to help others and brought a spiritual and practical message of rejuvenation. As William said, “The three ‘S's’ best expressed the way in which the Army administered to the 'down and outs': first, soup; second, soap; and finally, salvation".


The memorable "Spam" was rebranded on July 5, 1937, when the product, whose original name was far less memorable (Hormel Spiced Ham), began to lose market share.



The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name Spam was "Shoulder of Pork and hAM". According to writer Marguerite Patten in Spam – The Cookbook, the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, an actor and the brother of a Hormel vice president. At one time, the official explanation may have been that the name was a syllabic abbreviation of "SPiced hAM", but on their official website, Hormel denies this and states that "SPAM is just that. SPAM." The fact that the originator was given a $100 prize for coming up with the name, however, still appears on the site's SPAM FAQs.



Other varieties of Spam include Spam Less Sodium, Spam Garlic, Spam and Cheese, Spam with Bacon (Hormel bacon), Spam Spread, Spam Lite (containing pork and chicken), Spam Golden Honey Grail, Spam Hot and Spicy (with Tabasco sauce), Spam Hickory Smoked and Spam Oven Roasted Turkey - the latter is a halal food, meaning that it is allowed under Islamic law, and is especially popular in Muslim markets.


July 5, 1942 -
Psst, do you want to know a secret?



Ian Fleming graduated from a training school for spies in Canada on this date.

But you didn't hear it from me.


July 5, 1946 -
The bikini bathing suit, was created by Louis Réard, a French automotive engineer who was running his mother's lingerie business, made its debut during a fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris on this date.



A famous nude dancer, Micheline Bernardin, modeled the two-piece outfit at the show.

Réard, hoping to capitalize on the notoriety, named his new two-piece, atom-sized swimsuit after the Bikini Atoll Island Nuclear test site.


July 5, 1958 -
The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.

Bill Watterson, cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes cartoon series, was born on this date.


July 5, 1975 -
31-year-old Arthur Ashe beat 22-year-old Jimmy Conners in four sets at Wimbledon on this date, winning the fourth set 6-4. With his win, Arthur Ashe became the first African-American to win the tennis singles title.



Ashe won 51 tournaments in his career, and the US Open home court was named after him in 1997.


July 5, 2000 -
The largest-ever airlift of wild birds was launched by conservationists on this date. Over 18,000 penguins were moved to safety after an oil slick threatened their South African breeding ground during mating season. Oil is harmful because it interferes with feathers' natural waterproofing and leaves the penguins exposed to cold and unable to swim for food for themselves and their young.



A third of the entire species of black-footed penguins (found only in Africa and classified as “threatened”) lived on the islands. Thousands of volunteers and zoo experts helped with the airlift and the cleaning of the birds.


Happy Birthday Augie Iannuzzi, wherever you are!



And so it goes.

Liberty and independence forever

July 4, 1776 -
The Continental Congress approved adoption of the amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson and signed by John Hancock - President of the Continental Congress - and Charles Thomson, Congress secretary (among others,) without dissent.



However, the New York delegation abstained as directed by the New York Provisional Congress. The United States was very busy for the next couple of years and didn't get around to commemorating Independence Day until 1796.

Another thing your teachers never told you -
Mary Katherine Goddard, who was working as printer at the time, voluntarily inscribed her full name on the document, making her the only woman who 'signed' the Declaration of Independence. Congress fled Philadelphia and settled temporarily in Baltimore. When they needed somebody to print the Declaration, Goddard was the person to help.



Those who signed it knew they were taking a risk that amounted to treason against the British empire if their side lost. At the bottom of the document is written "Baltimore, in Maryland: Printed by Mary Katherine Goddard."


July 4, 1964 -
The Beach Boys' song I Get Around topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks on this date.



This was released as a double A-side single in May 1964 with Don't Worry Baby. It is considered one of the best ever single releases along with Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles and Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. 


July 4, 1966 -
The Lovin' Spoonful release their song Summer in the City on this date.



The song was a collaboration between John Sebastian, The Lovin Spoonful's bassist Steve Boone, and the frontman's brother (and non-group member) Mark Sebastian. Mark was 15 years old when he wrote a poem that John used as the basis for the song - John especially liked the part that went, "But at night there's a different world."


July 4, 1966 -
The Beatles played two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Manila, in the Philippines to over 80,000 fans, on this date. The Beatles did not appear at a palace reception hosted by President Marcos' family, who were not informed that the Beatles had previously declined their invitation.



The Philippine media misrepresent this as a deliberate snub and when Brian Epstein tries to make a televised statement, his comments are disrupted by static. The next day, as The Beatles make their way to the airport they were greeted by angry mobs, the Philippine government had retaliated by refusing police protection for The Beatles. These events were the final nail in the coffin for the Beatles continuing to tour.


July 4, 1970 -
Casey Kasem's American Top 40 debuts on station KDEO in El Cajon/San Diego, California on this date.



The concept of playing the 40 most popular songs from a national chart was a new one, and no one was sure of the success of the show at the time.


July 4, 1974 -
Steely Dan (Walter Becker and Donald Fagan) give up live performing after a show on this date in Santa Monica so they can focus on their studio work.



They don't tour again until 1993.


July 4, 1977 -
Norman Lear's short lived late night television talk show parody Fernwood 2-Night, starring Martin Mull, Fred Willard, and Frank De Vol, debuted on this date



Norman Lear originally planned for all of the dialogue on the show to be improvised as Martin Mull and Fred Willard are skilled improvisational comedians. But head writer Alan Thicke insisted that the show would be better scripted with Mull and Willard improvising occasionally. Lear threatened to fire Thicke after the first week of shows but because of the audience's positive response, Lear relented.


July 4, 1992 –
Sir Mix-A-Lot's great patriotic song, Baby Got Back, hit No. 1 on this date and remained there for a month.





The video was directed by Adam Bernstein, who also did Hey Ladies for Beastie Boys and Love Shack for The B-52's. According to Bernstein, casting the video was one of the strangest experiences of his professional life. Since it was the butts they were interested in, he and his crew took photos of the applicants' fundamentals, which they sent to Sir Mix-A-Lot for evaluation.


Please rise, or at least read, ACME's annual salute to our nation's birthday.

Don't forget to tune into The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour today.

Today in History:
July 4, 1804 -
The first 4th of July celebration west of the Mississippi River was held, when Lewis and Clark's expedition team stopped in Kansas to throw the party on this date.

They fired the expedition canon and the men on the team got an extra ration of whiskey to celebrate the day.


July 4, 1826 -
Frienemies Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both lay dying in there respective homes on this date. Jefferson, the nation's third president, deeply in debt at age 83, died at one o'clock in the afternoon and correctly surmised that Adams had outlived him. John Adams, the second president died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass, just a few hours after Jefferson. Adams' last words were, Thomas Jefferson still survives.



It was exactly 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.


July 4, 1831 -
James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, died in New York City at age 73 on this date.



This made him the third ex-President to die on Independence Day.

How patriotic.


July 4, 1850 -
President Zachary Taylor stood hatless in the sun for hours listening to long-winded speeches. He returned to the White House and attempted to cool off by eating cherries, cucumbers and drinking iced milk. Severe stomach cramps followed.



It is likely that Taylor's own physicians inadvertently killed him with a whole series of debilitating treatments. The cur lingered on until he unpatriotically died on July 9th.


July 4, 1862 -
Charles Dodgson, an Oxford mathematician and nude child photographer, told little Alice Liddell on a boat trip the fairy tale he had dreamed up for her called Alice's Adventures Underground on this date. We assume he had his pants on at the time.



Three year later, to the day, the first edition of Alice in Wonderland was published under Dodgson's pen name, Lewis Carroll.


July 4, 1884 -
The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States in ceremonies at Paris, France, on this date. The 225-ton, 152-foot statue was a gift from France in commemoration of 100 years of American independence. The French, always the comedians, presented the gift eight years late of the centennial celebration and left the shipping and handling costs to the United States.



Created by the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was installed on Bedloe Island (now Liberty Island) in New York harbor in 1885. It was dedicated on October 28, 1886.


July 4, 1898 -
The French passenger liner La Bourgogne, sank within an hour after a collision with the British ship Cromartyshire, in dense fog, 60 miles south of Sable Island near Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic, on this date. Only 165 of the 711 passengers survived.

While there are no deaths on the British ship, only one woman of the more than 300 women and children listed as passengers aboard the La Bourgogne, was among the survivors. The remainder were mostly the crew, along with a few men from steerage. After a brief and horrifying inquiry, the French maritime authorities heard stories of the officers vainly trying to maintain order (only 3 of the 18 officers survived) and of the crew members using knives, boat hooks, oars and whatever else came to hand, against the passengers for places in the few lifeboats that survived the collision. Even more shocking, once the boats were in the water, the brave French crew beat off and stabbed swimming passengers who had tried to clamber aboard.



The authorities refused to hold a proper investigation and the entire incident was hushed up to avoid an international scandal.

Once again, the stellar principle of 'Woman and Children first' at work.


July 4, 1916 -
Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs opened a stand at Brooklyn’s Coney Island and (according to highly specious legend) held an eating contest as a publicity stunt that became an annual event on this date.

Not to be too indelicate but some of the corpses of the first patrons have just about finished digesting that meal.


July 4, 1931 -
27 years after they began a relationship, Irish author James Joyce finally married Nora Barnacle on this date. Joyce had refused to marry Nora for several decades, as he had lost his Catholic faith.

They finally married for “testamentary reasons” at Kensington register office in London. Their grown child Lucia attended their wedding.


July 4, 2006 -
The shuttle Discovery lifted-off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on this date, bound for the International Space Station with seven astronauts aboard.



This was the second space shuttle to launch after the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003.



And so it goes.

Keep calm and clam on.

It's National Fried Clam Day today. Unlike most of these so called 'holidays', this one is actually based on an event. The story goes that Lawrence “Chubby” Woodman of Essex, Massachusetts was the first person to make deep fried clams, in 1916. As one if Woodman’s specialties was making potato chips, he already had the vats and oil, so frying the clams was not a far stretch. Especially in Massachusetts, which is on the eastern coast of the US, where clam digging is especially popular.



This event is noted to have taken place on July 3, one day prior to Independence Day, so Chubby and his wife, Bessie, decided to set up a stall to sell them to the people of their community. They were an instant hit and grew in popularity from that time. The rest, as they say is history.


July 03, 1937 -
The Looney Tunes short, Porky's Super Service, directed by Ub Iwerks and starring Porky Pig, was released on this date.



The opening shot, of the taxes added on to a gallon of gas, was a spoof on all the new taxes being levied by Congress. Social Security, for example, was a brand new concept in 1937 and many people were suspicious of its real purpose.


July 03, 1943 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Wackiki Wabbit, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Bugs Bunny, was released on this date.



The two castaways are caricatures of writers Tedd Pierce and Michael Maltese (who also provided the voices.)


July 3, 1944 -
Billy Wilder's film noir classic, Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck premiered in Baltimore, Maryland, on this date.



Author James M. Cain later admitted that if he had come up with some of the solutions to the plot that screenwriters Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler did, he would have employed them in his original novel.


Junly 03, 1948 -
The Looney Tunes short, The Up-Standing Sitter, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Daffy Duck, was released on this date.



The book Daffy is reading, The Egg and I, was the basis for a popular film made in 1947. It marked the first appearance of Ma and Pa Kettle who were spun off into their own series.


July 3, 1951 -
An under-appreciated Hitchcock classic, Strangers on a Train, was released on this date.



The stunt where the man crawled under the carousel was not done with trick photography. Alfred Hitchcock claimed that this was the most dangerous stunt ever performed under his direction, and would never allow it to be done again.


July 3, 1962 -
John Frankenheimer's biography of Robert Stroud, Birdman of Alcatraz, starring the amazing Burt Lancaster, premiered on this date.



Due to this popular movie, the real Robert Stroud became one of the most famous inmates of the federal prison at Alcatraz, second only to mob boss Al Capone.


July 3, 1973 -
At the Hammersmith Odeon in London, after 182 Ziggy Stardust concert performances, David Bowie appears as Ziggy Stardust for the last time, explaining: "Not only is this the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do." Many take this to mean Bowie was retiring from music altogether, though Bowie just means he is retiring Stardust.



Only his guitarist Mick Ronson knew about the announcement, which came as a complete shock not only to the audience but the rest of Bowie's band and crew. This show is later made into a movie directed by D.A. Pennebaker called Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.


July 3, 1982 –
The Human League's single Don’t You Want Me went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date.



With help from MTV, which launched on August 1, 1981, this opened a mini-British invasion of the USA. There were a lot of video shows in Europe, so when MTV went on the air, they were forced to play videos by many UK bands because that was most of their library.


July 3, 1985 -
Universal released Robert Zemeckis' sci-fi comedy Back To The Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover on this date.



The rights to the film and its sequels are owned by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In a 2015 interview, Zemeckis maintained that no reboot or remake of the franchise would be authorized during his or Gale's lifetime.


July 3, 1996 -
One of the great summer popcorn movies, Independence Day, was released on this date.



According to producer/co-writer Dean Devlin, the U.S. military had agreed to support the film by allowing the crew to film at military bases, consulting the actors who have military roles, etc. However, after learning of the Area 51 references in the script, they withdrew their support.


Another unimportant moment in history


Today in History:
Siriusly - The Dog Days of Summer begin today. (That's an inside joke for astronomers.)

The following is provided for the benefit of non-astronomers.

Sirius is the name of the brightest star in the night-time sky (the brightest star in the day-time sky is called "the sun"), and it's known as the dog star because it's located in the constellation Canis Major - or, in English, Major Dog. The hottest days of the year in the northern hemisphere happen to coincide with the period during which Sirius rises with our own Sun, and ancient man therefore concluded that Sirius was contributing to the heat.

Like most men, they were wrong, but like most modern idiots, we continue to cherish their timeless wisdom anyway. Plus, having "Dog Days" of summer is a great boon to advertising copywriters, whose creativity is surely the driving force behind western civilization.


Joyeux anniversaire au Québec, vous ne cherchez pas un jour plus de 400.

On this date in 1608, the very manly French explorer Samuel de Champlain invented Quebec. Since then, the French Canadians have been even more obnoxious than the French themselves.


July 3, 1844 -
Museums and collectors, wanting the rare penguin-like Great Auks' skin and eggs, hunted the bird to extinction on this date. The last pair of known birds was found in Iceland by three hunters, Jón Brandsson, Sigurður Ísleifsson and Ketill Ketilsson.

The birds, which were incubating eggs, were strangled by Brandsson and Sigurour while Ketilsson smashed the eggs. There was one more reported sighting of a lone Auk in Newfoundland in 1852, which some scientists accept as the last sighting.

(Wow, would I hate to be the relatives of these three guys.)


July 3, 1863 -
The long three day Battle of Gettysburg ended on this date, marking the bloodiest battle the country had yet seen.



The fighting in the small Pennsylvania town marked a pivotal point in the Civil War and although both sides losses were essentially equal, helped turn the outcome toward the Union forces.


July 3, 1940 -
(Things your teacher never told you)
Following the German invasion and occupation of France, French warships fled to the port of Mers-el-Kebir in Algeria. Britain gave the french Vichy government the options of the following for it's French Navy:

1. Join British naval forces in the fight against Germany.
2. Hand the ships over to British crews.
3. Disarm the French Navy Ships.
4. Scuttle the ships.



The French refused, so Britain fearing the French Ships would be used by the Germans to help with an invasion of England circled the port with British Warships and opened fire on the French fleet, killing 1,250 French sailors, damaging the battleship Dunkerque and destroying the Bretagne and the Provence.


July 3, 1962 -
Happy Birthday Tom Cruise (Mapother IV), who turns 64 today.



Tommy' sbeen busy over the years


July 3, 1965 -
Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, died at 25 on this date. His mounted body (bunkies, the preferred term is 'mounted'; stuffed is more like the plush toy on your bed.) was placed on display at Rogers' Museum in Victorville, Ca. (It then moved to a Roy Rogers' museum in Branson, Missouri.)



Trigger was not alone; Buttermilk (Dale Evans' horse) and Bullet (the Rogers' German Shepherd) were displayed alongside. (The Branson musuem closed in 2010 and Trigger, Buttermilk and Bullet were then residing in the lobby of the RFD-TV building -- just across the street from the former Branson museum. The former TV stars were shuffled around to various exhibitions by the TV station until a few years ago. RFD-TV acquired Don Imus' Ranch in New Mexico, making it a luxury resort and giving Trigger, Buttermilk and Bullet their new home.)


On July 3, 1969, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowned in his own swimming pool on this date.



Although he was the first Rolling Stone to do so, Mr Jones is just one of millions of people to have drowned in their own swimming pools. As a public service, I have therefore chosen to help American readers prepare for the long holiday weekend with some advice on how not to drown in one’s pool:

1. The easiest way not to drown in your own pool is not to have one. Readers without pools may enhance their safety further by consulting the previous articles: “How Not to Kill Yourself: Don’t Throw Your Toaster into Your Bathtub!” and “How to Cross the Street Without Being Run Over.”

2. If you insist on owning a pool, don’t swim, walk, or nap in its vicinity.

3. Pools don’t drown people: water does. A drained pool is a safe pool. In troubling times like these, it’s also worth noting that empty pools may be put to good use as bunkers or bomb shelters.

4. Avoid the use of electronic equipment while swimming. Today’s multitasking professionals may feel inclined to save time by checking their email or drafting a PowerPoint presentation while taking a few laps, but this can prove ruinous for telecommunications equipment—and, in the case of desktop computers or mainframes, not much better for one’s own health.

5. Wait at least 45 minutes before swimming after ingesting mind-altering substances.

6. Don’t be a rock star. Scientific research has proven that rock stars are seven times more likely than the general population to drown in swimming pools, bathtubs, or pools of their own vomit.

7. Do not attempt to convert the water in your pool to Jell-O. Jell-O is just as deadly as chlorinated water when inhaled, but far more likely to attract insects and vermin. It is one thing to drown in your own pool; it is quite another to drown in your own pool and then be devoured by maggots.

8. Avoid poisonous snakes.


July 3, 1971 -
Kids, apparently even bathtubs are not safe for rock stars.

Jim Morrison was found dead of an apparent heart attack in his Paris apartment bathtub on this date.



That's what he wants us to think, anyway.


July 3, 1986 -
President Ronald Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.



The restoration efforts, led under the direction of Lee Iacocca, cost $87 million dollars.


July 3, 1987 -
British millionaire Richard Branson and Swedish-born Per Lindstrand, the balloon's designer, became the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic on this date.



The two men were forced to jump into the sea as their craft went down off the coast of Scotland. Let's hope his intergalactic flights go a tad better.



And so it goes.