Every block of stone has a statue inside it

In Chinese, shí, meaning “ten,” and shí, meaning “stone,” share the same pronunciation. Thus, the tenth day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally considered the Birthday of the Stones, in the hope of shí quán shí mi - “everything in perfect completeness.” In ancient China, stones were regarded as the foundation of the Earth. Therefore, the Birthday of the Stones is synonymous with celebrating the Earth’s birthday. Today is also known as “Shi Bu Dong,” meaning “Do Not Move Stones.”

On this day, it is forbidden to cut into a mountain for rock or to build a house with stone, as doing so is believed to bring misfortune to the crops. Families burn incense and candles for the stones and offer pancakes to the God of Stone.



ACME Construction would like to wish everyone a lucky and prosperous Lunar New Year. As tradition forbids moving any stone today - including stone rollers, stone mills, and stone mortars - remember: with ACME, when you need something stuck in the ground, it stays put.



The day follows the Birthday of the Jade Emperor, and there is often an abundance of leftover food from the celebration. On the tenth lunar day, families may finish the vegetables, animal sacrifices, cakes, and fruit prepared for the ceremony, extending the feasting in honor of the Jade Emperor.



Tomorrow will be the eleventh day, and the day after that, the twelfth. Are you really still celebrating?

But by all means, continue to drink with wild abandon.


February 26, 1944 -
The Merrie Melodies short, Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears, directed by Chuck Jones, and starring Bugs Bunny and Three Bears family (Pa, Ma, and Junyer Bear), debuted on this date.



Throughout most of the first half of the cartoon, there is a nude photo of a woman visible on the wall calendar in the background, most notably in the opening scene and when the titular Three Bears are gathered around the dining table to eat their carrot soup.


February 26, 1947 -
This Looney Tunes short Mexican Joyride, directed by Arthur Davis, and starring Daffy Duck was released on this date



During one scene when Daffy screams in front of the audience after a harrowing experience with the local cuisine that literally sets his mouth afire, there is a fireplace, complete with wood on fire, visible in his throat.


February 26, 1949 -
This Looney Tunes short Mississippi Hare, directed by Chuck Jones, and starring Bugs Bunny was released on this date.



Includes a rare scene where Bugs has 5 fingers: When he is rolling the coin across his hand at the first meeting of Colonel Shuffle.


February 26, 1966 -
While Nancy Sinatra was on the same record label (Reprise) as her famous father, her record label was going to drop her because her first few singles flopped. Things changed when they teamed her with producer Lee Hazlewood. These Boots Are Made for Walkin' topped the charts on this date.



It was her first hit. In 1996, Nancy Sinatra gave a pair of white go-go boots she wore to promote this song to the Hard Rock Cafe in Beverly Hills.


February 26, 1967 –
Gene Kelly starred in Jack and the Beanstalk on NBC (produced by Hanna-Barbara) on this date. It was the first TV special to combine live action and animation.



Dick Beals, who was 39 years old provided the singing voice for 8-year-old Bobby Riha's character, Jack.


February 26, 1979 -
The shortlived sitcom, Flatbush, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



The show was so disliked that CBS switchboards were flood with negative comments about the show that night. Only three of the episodes aired.


February 26, 1979 -
NBC hoped to capitalize on their previous series Columbo, by casting Kate Mulgrew, as his never seen wife, now a crime solving reporter in Mrs. Columbo, co-starring Henry Jones, premiered on this date.



The series was originally about the exploits of the crime reporter wife of Lt. Columbo, but when the series couldn't capitalize on the popular earlier series, producers changed Mrs. Columbo's name to "Callahan" and soon, all references to the fictional cop were removed.


February 26, 1988 -
John Water's great, albeit more mainstream feature (Water's first PG-rated film), Hairspray, opened on this date.



Ricki Lake began rapidly losing weight due to the intense dance lessons she had to take for the film. She reportedly had to "eat like crazy" in order to stay plump.


February 26, 1988 -
The science fiction film Alien from L.A., directed by Albert Pyun and starring Kathy Ireland was released in US theaters, on this date.



And the only reason to note it is because the MST3K guys spoofed it.


February 26, 2011 –
Lady Gaga single, Born This Way hit No. #1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date.



Gaga performed this song at the Grammy Awards in 2011. The Grammys don't let performers do new songs very often at the ceremonies, but Gaga was the hottest thing going at the time. Her album The Fame Monster took home the Best Pop Vocal Album award later in the show, and when she accepted the award, she thanked Whitney Houston, stating the when she wrote Born This Way, she imagined Whitney singing it, "because I wasn't secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar."


Another little known Monopoly card


Today in History:
February 26, 1076 - Godfrey III (the hunchback) was assassinated on this date. He was murdered while going to the latrine with a spear through his behind. This apparently happens more frequently than I thought.

Godfrey was the duke of Lower Lorraine. (His wife, Matilda of Canossa, countess of Tuscany , known as Os Vulvae by her friends - look it up - was probably having an affair with Pope Gregory VII.)


February 26, 1815 -
One of the Top 10 prison breaks of all time



Napoleon managed to sneak past his guards and somehow escape from Elba, slip past interception by a British ship, and start on his return to France.


February 26, 1829 -
Levi Strauss, inventor and manufacturer of blue jeans was born, on this date.



He originally planned to make canvas tents for miners in the California gold rush, but soon found that durable pants sold better.


February 26, 1870 -
The Beach Pneumatic Transit, the first pneumatic-powered subway line in New York City was opened to the public on this date.

Propulsion was provided by a giant fan, nicknamed The Western Tornado, operated by a steam engine, drawing air in through a valve, and blowing it forcefully into the tunnel.



The tunnel was only a block long, and the line had only one car. Rush hour must have been a bitch.


February 26, 1908 -
What, all this junk, the yak-yak-yak? It would've broke my heart! Dialogue gags are a dime a dozen, but a good sight gag is hard to come by.







Frederick Bean (Tex) Avery, animator, cartoonist, and another member of the legendary Termite Terrace was born on this date.


February 26, 1916 -
If you have it and you know you have it, then you have it. If you have it and don't know you have it, you don't have it. If you don't have it but you think you have it, then you have it.



John Herbert Gleason, (The Great One) comedian, actor and musician was born on this day.


February 26, 1918 -
The Grandstands at the Hong Kong Jockey Club collapsed and burnt, killing 604 spectators on this date. It was the worst disaster in sports history.



Even though mad dogs and Englishmen may go out in the midday sun - they apparently will not leave a burning stadium.


February 26, 1919 -
In early January 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a national monument, protecting its 800,000 acres from private development.



Congress did not officially outlaw private development in the Grand Canyon until this date in 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Grand Canyon National Park Act, establishing most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park.


February 26, 1932 -
Country star Johnny Cash was born on this date in 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas, one of seven children born to Ray Cash and Carrie Cloveree (née Rivers).



He was originally born J.R. Cash. The J.R. didn’t stand for anything because his parents couldn't think of a name. He took on the first name John when he joined the Air Force because the military wouldn't accept a name with just initials.


The good people at Volkswagen seem to overlook this anniversary every year.



On this date in 1936, Some junior officers in the Japanese Army mistook Japan for a foreign country and tried to conquered it.

This disrupted the Japanese automotive industry, giving Adolf Hitler the opportunity to preside over the official opening of the first Volkswagen factory on this date. (More about Hitler and cars in a moment.)


February 26, 1970 -
National Public Radio (NPR) was created by Congressional mandate, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on this date.

Its programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered rank among the most popular radio programs in America.


February 26, 1974 -
A U.S. Senate report reveals Ford Motor's involvement in Nazi Germany's war efforts, for which CEO Henry Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle at the behest Adolf Hitler himself.

After the war, the car company was paid nearly $1M reparation by the U.S. government to compensate for one of its plants that was bombed within the Reich.

And some people worry about buying a BMW.


February 26, 1993 -
33 years ago on this date, a bomb explodes on level B2 of the World Trade Center, creating a five story crater and leaving six dead and over 1,042 injured.



Mohammed A. Salameh was later arrested in connection with the bombing as he tries to claim a refund on a rented van believed to have carried the explosion.

Genius, sheer genius.


February 26, 1994 -
Bill Hicks, writer and comedian, died of pancreatic cancer on this date.




In the years after his death, Hicks' work has achieved significant admiration and acclaim.


February 26, 2012 –
Trayvon Martin, a teen walking home from a trip to a convenience store, was fatally shot in an altercation with George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer patrolling the townhouse community of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Florida.

On August 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder charges. Trayvon Martin would have been 41 years old on February 5.



And so it goes.

Another birthday - more cake

Today is the Ninth Day of the Lunar New Year. It marks the birthday of the Jade Emperor, King of Heaven.

The Jade Emperor - also known as Yù Huáng or Yù Dì - is the ruler of all the Heavens (of which, in traditional belief, there are more than thirty), as well as Earth and the Underworld. He is regarded as the creator of the universe and, later, its supreme emperor. His many honorific titles include “Peace Absolving, Central August Spirit Exalted,” “Ancient Buddha,” “Most Pious and Honorable,” “His Highness the Jade Emperor,” and “Xuanling High Sovereign.”
(This will be on the test.)



According to Taoist legend, all the deities of Heaven and Earth celebrate this day, and grand ceremonies are held in Taoist temples in his honor. The Jade Emperor is also said to be the mythological architect of the Chinese Zodiac, which defines each lunar year. He organized a great race across a river for all the animals; the first twelve to finish were each granted a year in the zodiac cycle, in the order of their arrival.



The Jade Emperor is one busy ruler. I’d be exhausted if I had to celebrate a holiday for this long.


February 25, 1939 -
A Merrie Melodies cartoon, Gold Rush Daze, directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton opened on this date. The story follows a gold-hungry prospector who heads to the hills after hearing a gas station attendant's tall tales of the 1849 Gold Rush.



This short is seldom aired now. One of the issues is the caricature of the Asian camp cook who is stirring the gold bullion.


February 25, 1941 -
Another Preston Sturges' comic masterpiece, The Lady Eve, premiered in the US on this date.



Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda rarely retired to their dressing rooms between takes. Instead, they hung out with Preston Sturges, listening to his stories and reviewing - and often re-writing - their lines.


February 25, 1946 -
Part of Roberto Rossellini Neo-realist classic war trilogy, Roma, città aperta (Rome Open City) opened in the US on this date.



The film about the behavior of the Nazi military in Italy was not allowed to be shown in theaters in Germany until 1960, about 15 years later. The lengthy scene depicting the torture of a Communist activist was truncated.


February 25, 1950 -
The comedy-variety program Your Show of Shows, starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner, debuted on NBC-TV on this date.



Writers for the show included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart. A common misconception is that Woody Allen wrote for Your Show of Shows; he in fact wrote for its successor program, Caesar's Hour, which ran from 1954 to 1957.


February 25, 1956 -
Elvis Presley had his first national hit when I Forgot To Remember To Forget went to No.1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart, on this date and stayed there for two weeks. This is one of just 10 songs Elvis recorded for Sun Records, where he got his start. (The B side of the record is Mystery Train.)



The Beatles covered this song once for the BBC radio show, From Us To You, on May 1, 1964, with George Harrison on lead vocals.


February 25, 1964 -
Bob Dylan appears on the Steve Allen Show, on this date, and performed The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll.



This song gives the account of the killing of 51-year-old barmaid Hattie Carroll by the wealthy young William Devereux "Billy" Zantzinger and his subsequent sentence of six months in jail. The actual incident took place February 9, 1963 at a ball at the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. Dylan's song accurately implies, but never states, that Carroll was black and Zantzinger is white.


February 25, 1970 -
Ernie sings his signature song, Rubber Duckie, on Sesame Street for the first time, on this date. It goes over so well that the song is released as a single, which in September reaches #16 on the Hot 100.



Rubber ducks were around since at least the 1940s, but they had a popular resurgence thanks to Rubber Duckie. Early versions came in different shapes, sizes and colors, but Ernie's small yellow duck became the standard. For parents, the toy could provide some relief at the dreaded bathtime (many families had to share bathwater, making it even less appealing to kids who were late in line). It was inexpensive, durable, and could float - really the perfect bath toy.


February 25, 1977 -
The cult classic comedy Slap Shot starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean, opened in the US on this date.



The swearing in the film, by 1977 standards, was considered so foul, advertisements contained an additional warning underneath the R-rating: "Certain language may be too strong for children."


February 25, 1980 -
The acclaimed British political satire, Yes Minister, written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, and starring Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, and Derek Fowlds, first aired on BBC Two on this date.



The first season of Yes Minister was ready to air in 1979, but the BBC opted to delay broadcast until well after the general election of that year to avoid any accusations of political commentary.


February 25, 1995 -
Madonna started a seven week run at No.1 with Take A Bow, on the US singles chart, which was co-written with Babyface.



This song is about a failed romance Madonna had with "a movie star," possibly Warren Beatty, whom she starred opposite in the movie Dick Tracy and had a 15-month relationship. Beatty, a notorious ladies' man, was also rumored to be the mysterious subject of Carly Simon's You're So Vain.


February 25, 2000 -
The crime comedy film, The Whole Nine Yards, starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Natasha Henstridge, opened in theaters on this day.



Bruce Willis agreeing to guest appear on Friends for free because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry during filming is an urban legend. In People Magazine: Star Spotlight 2000, "Willis agreed to a guest stint on 'Friends' simply because he and Perry thought it would be fun". News outlets mistakenly reported on the rumor, and fans have been perpetuating it ever since. Willis was paid for the role, including syndication runs, but donated the money to various charities.


Another episode from ACME's Little Know Animal Facts


Today in History:
February 25, 1570 -
Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull on this day excommunicating Queen Elizabeth I, whom he called "the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime."



As Elizabeth was already the head of her own religion, Church of England, this Papal Bull did not make her break stride. She did however, respond by hanging and burning Jesuit priests.


February 25, 1601 -
Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, was beheaded following a conviction of treason on this date. His plot to capture London and the Tower had failed.

He was the last person to be beheaded in the Tower of London. It was reported to have taken three strokes by the executioner to complete the beheading.



Ouch!

Let this be a lesson to all you playas - never try to steal you girlfriends' country.


February 25, 1836 -
Samuel Colt was granted his first patent for a multi-chamber gun on this date.

Please celebrate responsibly.


February 25, 1870 -
Hiram Rhodes Revels, a representative from Mississippi, became the first African-American congressman when he was sworn in to finish out Jefferson Davis' term.



The seat had been left vacant when Davis left to become the president of the Confederacy.


February 25, 1879 -
Charles Frederick Peace, infamous Victorian cat burglar and The Murderous Musician was executed by hanging on this date.

Peace's notoriety was such that he appeared as a character in short stories by both Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Twain.


February 25, 1888 -

John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State to President Eisenhower, was born on this date.



Haven't we all made a fool of ourselves over John Foster Dulles.


February 25, 1899 -
The first test drive fatality occurs in Grove Hill Harrow, England on this date. The accident occurs while the car, a Daimler Wagonette, was being demonstrated for Major James Richer, Department Head of the Army & Navy Stores. The car apparently lost a wheel and both Mr E.R. Sewell, the driver, and Richer were thrown from the car onto the road.

Sewell was killed on the spot; he was fired by Daimler Motors five days later. The unfortunate Major Richer, died four days later, without regaining consciousness. The accident became a dubious double-first – the first death of a driver in Britain, followed by the first death of a passenger in a car


February 25, 1908 -
President Theodore Roosevelt, after a vigorous round of calisthenics, flipped a switch on his desk and signaled the start of service through the Hudson and Manhattan railway tunnels, (also known as The McAdoo Tunnel,) carrying passengers between Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey. If allowed, Roosevelt would have driven the first train though the tunnel himself.

The tunnel, completed on March 8, 1904, was the first railroad tunnel under a major river in the U.S.


February 25, 1922 -
Henri Landru, the notorious French serial killer known as "Bluebeard", was guillotined for murdering ten women, and one boy on this date. His motive was purely financial; by placing classified ads Landru lured selected women into his clutches, married them, and disposed of their bodies without a trace.

While denying guilt to the end, a drawing given to his attorney had written on the reverse, "I did it. I burned their bodies in my kitchen oven".



Charles Chaplin based his movie, Monsieur Verdoux on this case.


February 25, 1932 -
The German state government of Brunswick, in which the Nazi Party participated, appointed Adolph Hitler of Austria to a minor administrative post this month and on this day gave him German citizenship.

Hitler was thus able to stand against Hindenburg in the forthcoming Presidential election.

Oops


February 25, 1964 -
Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, became the heavyweight champion of the world for the first time on this day when he beat Sonny Liston.



Ali went on to become the first person to win the heavyweight champion title three times.


February 25, 1969 -
In Vietnam, a 25 year old Navy Lt., Bob Kerrey, took part in a SEAL raid in the Mekong Delta where over a dozen women, children and old men were killed in the village of Thanh Phong, on this date. Kerrey received a Bronze Star for the raid and later strongly regretted his actions.



Soon after the raid, Lt. Kerrey lost a leg at Hon Tam Island and was later awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor. In 2001, the former Governor and Senator from Nebraska, publicly discussed his participation in the raid of Thanh Phong, at length for the first time. "We fired because we were fired upon," Kerrey said at a news conference, "We did not go out on a mission to kill innocent people. I feel guilty about what happened." Governor Kerrey described the event in his 2002 memoir.



Bui Thi Luom, 12 at the time of the incident, the only survivor from her hut of 16, disputed Kerrey claim. saying, "Only civilians, women and children" were killed.


February 25, 1983 -
Playwright Tennessee Williams was found dead on this date, in his New York hotel room after he choked on a bottle cap during the night.



Once again, another victim of not reading the pill bottle label correctly.



And so it goes.

Looking for a good recipe

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is believed to be the birthday of millet. As one of ancient China’s “Five Grains,” it has been a staple food for thousands of years and remains central to certain rituals during the 15-day Spring Festival. According to folk proverbs, if this day is bright and clear, the year will bring a plentiful harvest; however, if it is cloudy or rainy, the year will suffer poor crops. (It sounds more poetic in the original language.)

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is also the birthday of Yen-Lo King (also known as Yanluo Wang), the fifth king of the legendary Hell, who presides over the fifth palace. This fifth palace of Hell is said to lie beneath the northeastern side of a great scorching stone in the sea. (Location, location, location.) He is typically depicted with a scowling red face, bulging eyes, and traditional judge’s robes. Despite his fearsome appearance, he is regarded as a just and fair judge rather than an evil deity, embodying the principle that every action has consequences.

The palace has 64,000 square miles long. It contains 16 divisions of the small hells. (Be thankful you don't have to clean it. That's what all those idle hands are for.)

Yen-Lo King was originally in charge of the first palace of Hell. He presides over the underworld (Diyu), maintaining the “Records of Life and Death” and determining a soul’s next reincarnation based on its earthly deeds. He was later demoted to the fifth palace of Hell. (At least he didn’t have to test rectal thermometers.)



The day is also referred to as Completion Day - a time when people return from the holiday and go back to work. All the meat and cakes prepared for the Lunar New Year should be finished by this day. Everything returns to normal.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, some people release pet fish or birds into the wild in a ritual known as Fang Sheng (“Life Release”) to show respect for nature. Rooted in Buddhist and Taoist teachings, this practice is believed to generate good karma and spiritual merit. By saving a creature from captivity or potential slaughter, practitioners hope to gain blessings, health, and prosperity for their families in the coming year.


Raise your Frozen Margaritas tonight (but don't double dip,)



today is National Tortilla Chip day. Contrary to popular belief, Tortilla Chips are not from Mexico.



They were invented in Los Angeles in the late 1940s by Rebecca Webb Carranza.


February 24, 1951 -
The Looney Tunes cartoon, Putty Tat Trouble, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Tweety and Sylvester, debuted on this date.



After Sylvester beans the other cat, there's an upside-down box in the background for Friz: America's favorite gelatin dessert, a reference to director Friz Freleng.


February 24, 1951 -
The Looney Tunes cartoon, Rabbit Every Monday, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, debuted on this date.



Yosemite Sam breaks the fourth wall before the audience member interruption, when he talks about smelling carrots cooking.


February 24, 1964 -
The World War II based anti-war movie, None But The Brave, directed and starring Frank Sinatra, Clint Walker, Tommy Sands, Tony Bill, Brad Dexter, Tatsuya Mihashi, and Takeshi Kato, opened onm this date.



During the shooting the picture, Brad Dexter saved Frank Sinatra from drowning when he dived into the ocean and rescued the floundering singer.


February 24, 1968 -
Fleetwood Mac (popularly known then as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac) released their eponymous debut album on this date. At the time, the band (Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer, and John McVie) was a blues-rock group.



The album also marks the only Fleetwood Mac LP to not include keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie (wife of John), who joined the group in 1970.


February 24, 1969 -
Twentieth Century-Fox adaptation of the novel and play, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, directed by Ronald Neame and starring Maggie Smith and Pamela Franklin, premiered in London on this date.



According to Pamela Franklin, even though they were eighteen, she and the other young girls were asked not to eat their lunch in the Pinewood cafeteria in their school uniform costumes for appearance's sake, as beer and wine was served there.


February 24, 1973 -
The song, Killing Me Softly with His Song by Roberta Flack topped the charts on this date.



Robert Flack heard Lori Lieberman original version of the song on an in-flight tape recorder while flying from Los Angeles to New York. She loved the title and lyrics and decided to record it herself.



The song was written by the songwriting team of Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, and recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1972. The story goes that the song was inspired by Don McLean, a singer/songwriter famous for his hit American Pie. After being mesmerized by one of his concerts at the Troubadour theater in Los Angeles - and in particular McLean's song Empty Chairs - Lieberman described what she saw of McLean's performance to Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, who were writing songs for her new album, and they wrote the song for her.



The Fugees did a hip-hop version featuring the vocals of Lauryn Hill. It was a hit for the Fugees in the US and went to #1 in the UK in 1996. The Fugees wanted to change the lyrics and make it a song about poverty and drug abuse in the inner city with the title Killing Him Softly, but Gimbel and Fox refused.


February 24, 1975 –
Led Zeppelin release their sixth album Physical Graffiti on this date. It’s a double album featuring eight new songs, and songs left over from their previous albums Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy.



Featuring an intricate die-cut cover of a New York City brownstone, the album goes on to sell over eight million copies in the U.S.


February 24, 1996 -
The HBO original movie The Late Shift, documenting the late-night television conflict between Jay Leno and David Letterman, directed by Betty Thomas, and starring Kathy Bates, John Michael Higgins, Daniel Roebuck, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., and Treat Williams debuted on this date.



A few days after the film's premiere, John Michael Higgins was booked on Late Show with David Letterman to talk about the movie and what it was like to portray Letterman. Letterman's A-guest that night was Julia Roberts. During the commercial break, Letterman reportedly asked the star if she wouldn't mind staying longer as a favor to him. Higgins sat in the green room watching the show, hearing Letterman occasionally plug his "coming up" interview (at commercials breaks). At the end of the show Letterman apologized to Higgins for "running out of time", pointedly saying he hoped the actor could "come back again soon." According to producer Rob Burnett, Letterman fully intended on going through with the interview but his insecurities got the better of him; Burnett confirmed Higgins would not be invited back.


February 24, 2002 -
CBS-TV aired the bio-pix Ride to Freedom: The Rosa Parks Story starring Angela Bassett, on this date.



Angela Bassett won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for her performance.


February 24, 2023 -
A dark comedy thriller, inspired by the true story of a bear that ingested a large amount of cocaine, Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Ray Liotta opened on this date.



Ray Liotta's final completed film role before his death on May 26, 2022. Liotta died a week after he came to re-record his lines in post-production. Elizabeth Banks said that Liotta praised the look of the bear once he got a look at it.


Today's moment of Zen


Today in History:
On February 24, 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a proclamation that made everyone change their calendars from the Julian calendar to his own new and improved Gregorian calendar. (Obviously he was in cahoots with the calendar printing people, or he would have done it in November or December.)



It was this shameless act of self-promotion that led to subsequent Vatican proclamations being called Papal Bull.


February 24, 1807 -
It was not a good day for a hanging - In a crush to witness the hanging of John Holloway, Owen Heggerty and Elizabeth Godfrey in England on this date, 17 people died and 15 were injured.

People, please, remember that you can see the executions perfectly well, if you stand back.


February 24, 1838 -
Thomas Benton Smith, brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, was born in Mechanicsville, Tennessee, on this date. He was wounded at Stone’s River/Murfreesboro and again at Chickamauga. He was captured at the Battle of Nashville (December 16, 1864) where he was beaten over the head with a sword by Col. William Linn McMillen of the 95th Ohio Infantry. His brain was exposed and it was believed he would die.

He recovered partially, ran for a seat in the U. S. Congress in 1870, but lost and spent the last 47 years of his life in the State Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee, where he died on May 21, 1923.

Now you know


February 24, 1868 -
President Andrew Johnson was impeached for High Crimes and Misdemeanors on this date, which is fancy talk for his attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton from his job.



The Senate later acquitted Johnson. This remains an honor not bestowed again until the blowjob years of the Clinton Administration and (for the moment) the two non-witness trials of Cheeto.


On February 24, 1920, the spokesman of a radical political group in Germany announced that it would change its name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party. The group had previously been called the East Munich Crips. Rejected names had included The Genocidal Maniacs Party, The World Conquest Party and The Party of Smiley People Who'll Make Life a Happy Little Picnic for Everyone (but in German.)



This name change made all the difference in the world, and eventually led to Evil Nazi Bastards, who later teamed up with the Evil Fascist Bastards of Italy and became a Significant Problem. They did not kill quite as many people as the Evil Communist Bastards of the Soviet Union, however, and were therefore unable to scare posterity into producing apologists.



(The party spokesman who had announced the change was of course, Adolf Hitler, who did not change his own name and is therefore known to history as... you guessed it... Adolf Hitler.)


February 24, 1927 -
The Ouija board was developed by spiritualist businessman William Fuld in the late 1890s, and was named for the French and German words for yes - oui and ja.



William Fuld built a factory according to what the board told him.

On this date in 1927, Fuld climbed to the roof of his three-story factory to supervise the installation of a flagpole. When the rail against which he was leaning gave way, Fuld fell to the ground below and died.


February 24, 1942 -
Just over three months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Unidentified Flying Objects were sighted over Los Angeles this evening. The Plane / Blimp / Weather Balloon / UFO was fired on with a massive anti-aircraft artillery barrage but is not hit. Air raid sirens were sounded throughout Los Angeles County at 2:25 a.m. and a total blackout was ordered. The events became known as the Battle of Los Angeles by the contemporary press.



While the military eventually attributed the incident to "war nerves" and the sighting of an errant weather balloon, many skeptics have speculated for years that our guns were actually firing at extraterrestrial spaceships—a theory that provided inspiration for the 2011 film Battle: Los Angeles (Steven Spielberg's film 1941 was also loosely based on the event).


February 24, 1990 -
Businessman Malcolm Forbes died of a heart attack, at his home in Far Hills, New Jersey on this date.

As the years pass, there are even fewer and fewer aging Chelsea leather boys still around who remember and mourn his passing.



And so it goes.