good odds, but odd goods

October 18 is Alaska Day, observed in the U.S. state of Alaska. Previously, they tried celebrating Alaska Day in Hawaii. The seething resentment of stealing their nation hadn't abated in Hawaii, so sponsors thought better of the plan. (Note to readers who find themselves in Alaska today - remind yourself which Dan Sullivan you may meet.)



It is the anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory of Alaska from Russia to the United States which took place at a flag-raising ceremony at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867.


October 18, 1952 -
The Looney Tunes short, Tree for Two, directed by Friz Freleng, and starring Sylvester the Cat, was released on this date.



This cartoon marks the debut of Spike and Chester, two dogs would chase Sylvester not once, but twice. Their second and last appearance would be in the 1954 short, Dr. Jerkyl's Hide.


October 18, 1953 -
The live Peter Brooks' Omnibus production of King Lear starring Orson Welles, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Natasha Parry, Arnold Moss and Beatrice Straight premiered on CBS-TV on this date. This was the TV debut of Orson Welles



This adaptation of William Shakespeare's play cuts out the subplot involving Edmund, Edgar and their father, the Earl of Gloucester. Edmund's character is merged into that of Oswald (David J. Stewart). Tom o' Bedlam (Micheál MacLiammóir) appears, but we never learn, as in the original play, that "Tom" is only a guise for Edgar. Key scenes involving Gloucester (Frederick Worlock), including his blinding, are retained, but only as they directly relate to the main plot. No mention is made of his having sons.


October 18, 1957 -
Given almost complete control of the program, the eponymously named The Frank Sinatra Show, a variety/drama anthology series, debuted on ABC on this date.



Sinatra wanted to do a dramatic television series, while the ABC television network wanted him to host a variety show. The star and the network compromised - 13 variety episodes, 13 dramatic programs starring Sinatra and 10 dramatic episodes hosted by Sinatra. Due to the unpopularity of the dramatic episodes the format of the aired episodes changed to 22 variety episodes, four dramas starring Sinatra and six episodes hosted by Sinatra. The remaining four episodes on the contract were canceled.


October 18, 1961 -
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins' film version of Broadway musical, West Side Story, premiered in New York City on this date.



Russ Tamblyn (Riff) said that initially he was very unhappy with his dancing in the film, until Fred Astaire came over to him at the premiere and told him that he admired his dancing in it very much.


October 18, 1967 -
The 19th animated feature and the first film Disney Studios released after Walt Disney's death, Jungle Book, premiered on this date.



The original child actor who voiced Mowgli, David Alan Bailey, had to be let go as his voice broke during the film's three-year production.


October 18, 1968 -
The Star Trek episode Is There in Truth No Beauty? premiered on this date. In it, the Enterprise travels with an alien ambassador who must travel inside a special black case because his appearance causes insanity.



The Vulcan IDIC was inserted into the script and into the episode at the behest of Gene Roddenberry, who wanted to sell the prop as an item at his Lincoln Enterprises. Nimoy, Shatner, and others were outraged at this, and Roddenberry was called to the set to negotiate with the actors. Finally, he agreed to rewrite the dinner scene. The IDIC symbol was used, but in a much less prominent way.


October 18, 1969 –
The cheerfull little ditty, Is That All There Is?, by Peggy Lee, went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts, on this date.



This song alternates between spoken narration and the sung chorus. It's about a woman sunk in chronic boredom, perhaps depressed, to the point where she is not impressed with some of life's greatest spectacles. It's rather macabre.


October 18, 1974 -
The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, based loosely on Ed Gein's story opened in theatres on this date. At the time of release, the film was so strongly criticized for its content that it was eventually banned in various countries around the world, including Australia and the United Kingdom.



Surprisingly, this film is one of the least bloody horror films of all time. This is because Tobe Hooper intended to make the movie for a "PG" rating, by keeping violence moderate, language mild, and having most of the horror implied off-screen rather than shown in great detail onscreen. However, this plan had actually backfired, and made the film even more horrifying. Because despite cutting and repeated submissions, the Ratings Board insisted on an "X" rating, and it wasn't until the film received the "R" rating when Hooper gave up and released it. Hooper had a similar ratings problem with the sequel.


October 18, 1974 -
The highly influential independent film, A Woman Under the Influence, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk debuted on this date.



John Cassavetes could not find a distributor for the film after completion, and was at one point literally carrying the reels under his arm, from one theater to another, in hopes of getting one to play his movie. Finally, Martin Scorsese, who had recently become critically acclaimed following his film Mean Streets happened to be a huge fan of Cassavetes' work and threatened to pull his film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore from a major New York film festival unless they accepted this film.


October 18, 1975 -
The second-ever episode of Saturday Night Live was notable for the reunion of Simon & Garfunkel on this date. This show marked the first public appearance of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel together since 1972.



There are 10 musical performances in this episode, the most ever for the show. The Not Ready For Prime Time Players appear only once in the very brief Bee sketch except for Chevy Chase who also appears in the opening and Weekend Update.


October 18, 1988 -
Poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, sex, menstruation, birth control, teenage pregnancy, masturbation, obesity, abortion, race, social class, domestic violence, and homosexuality - some of the topics dealt with on the series, Roseanne (which premiered on this date.)



Sara Gilbert's contribution to the show was considered so important to Roseanne that the show's producers juggled storylines and taping schedules to allow her to study at Yale University while remaining part of the cast, shooting remote segments of Darlene at a soundstage in New York City.


October 18, 1991 -
Gus van Sant very loose interpretation of the Shakespearean classic, Henry IV, My Own Private Idaho, starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves is released



Many members of the cast (including River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Flea, and Michael Parker) moved into director Gus Van Sant's large old house in Portland, Oregon during filming. They apparently caused such a disturbance (staying up late, getting drunk, partying, and playing music) and overtook the house to such an extent, that Van Sant eventually had to move out of his own house and stay with a friend, in order to get some sleep.


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


Today in History:
October 18, 1216 -
King John was not a happy sovereign. Not the favorite child; his brother Richard the Lionheart was. John was king of England on and off while his brother enjoyed fighting the Crusades in the Middle East and engaging in royal sodomy with the King of France. Finally John became king outright when some kid shot his brother in the neck with an arrow (but that's another story.)



Once John became king, he argued with everyone: the Pope, the King of France (with whom his brother may or may not have been having romantical liaisons) and most of the Barons of England. King John died on this day after eating too many peaches and drinking too much cider. He was trying to cheer himself up after being chased by revolting Barons half way across England and losing the crown jewels while fleeing from them. Recently, historians believe they discovered the missing jewels this past September on a farm in a Lincolnshire, England, maybe that would have cheered him up.


October 18, 1767 -
The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled on this date. Dubbed the Mason-Dixon line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.



Naughty confederates, naughty.


October 18, 1898 -
The United States took control of Puerto Rico on this date, one year after Spain had granted self-rule to the Caribbean nation. The Spanish–American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on December 10, 1898. Its clauses included Spain ceding Puerto Rico to the United States.



Since 1917, people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. So class, once again, that makes all Puerto Ricans - U.S. citizens, including Bad Bunny!


October 18, 1903 -
Hundreds of people in San Francisco were startled to see Dr. August Greth fly his 80-foot-long American Eagle airship over the city on this date.

At first his flight seemed successful but then the dirigible's engine stalled and the wind carried it over the bay where it plummeted into the water. He and his assistant, overcome by escaping gas, were safely recovered by soldiers from Fort Point.

Bad Hydrogen, bad.


October 18, 1931 -
Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors (and evil businessmen) in history, forgot to file a patent on avoiding death so he died in West Orange, N.J., at the age of 84, on this date.



Bad Grim Reaper, bad. (or good, depending on your viewpoint of Mr. Edison.)


October 18, 1943 -
During World War II, a pigeon named G.I. Joe saved the lives of the inhabitants of the village of Calvi Vecchia, Italy, and of the British troops occupying it, on this date. Air support had been requested against German positions at Calvi Vecchi on this date, but the message that the British 169th Infantry Brigade had captured the village, delivered by G.I. Joe, arrived just in time to avoid the bombing.



Up to a thousand men were saved. On November 4, 1946, G.I. Joe was presented the Dickin Medal for gallantry by Major-General Charles Keightley at the Tower on London, the citation credits him with the most outstanding flight made by a United States Army homing pigeon in World War II. G.I. Joe was the 29th and the first non-British recipient of the medal.

As always, bad nazis, bad.


October 18, 1945 -
The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for America's plutonium bomb, courtesy of secret agent Klaus Fuchs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, on this date.



Shame on you Mr Fuchs, shame.


October 18, 1959 -
The Soviet Union announced an unmanned space vehicle had taken the first pictures of the far side of the moon a few days earlier.



Remember kids, there is no dark side of the moon - it's all dark.


October 18, 1963 -
Félicette the cat was sent into space in a capsule on top of a French Véronique AG1 rocket. Félicette traveled 120 miles into space for 1 hour and 20 minutes and then returned to Earth by parachute and was recovered safely.



She was a black and white female found on the streets of Paris and was selected from 14 cats the French trained for the mission. Félicette was the only cat to have been sent into space and survived (she unfortunately was euthanized a few months later so scientists could study the impact of space travel on her brain, but that's another story...).


October 18, 1968 -
The police with the help of two sniffer dogs named Yogi and Boo-Boo, on this date, raided the apartment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and finds a very small amount of pot. The couple is fined £150.

Bad Beatle, bad Beatle.


October 18, 1974 -
On this date, the jury in the Watergate cover-up trial heard a tape recording in which U.S. President Richard Nixon told aide John Dean to try to stop the Watergate burglary investigation before it implicated White House personnel.

Bad Dick, bad.


October 18, 1984 -
President Ronald Reagan ordered an investigation of a CIA handbook for Nicaraguan rebels that suggested assassination as a political tactic.

Bad - oh forget it, he's dead.


Before you go - Lest we forget:



We're 16 days away from the Midterm elections in the US. Let's hope we still have a free country by then



And so it goes

No man is lonely eating spaghetti

Today is National Pasta Day. Pasta is one of America’s favorite foods. Collectively, the U.S. consumed 5.95 billion pounds of pasta last year. The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basement to power the machinery. To dry his spaghetti, he placed strands of the pasta on the roof to dry in the sunshine.



According to the National Pasta Association, Americans consume about 20 pounds of pasta per person each year. Italians eat more than 3 times that amount. During the 1980s, macaroni, which was traditionally considered a “blue-collar” down-home meal, was transformed into the more upscale “pasta.” As more and more people began to have fun with it and romanticize it throughout the ’60s and ’70s, its image began to change along with its name.


October 17, 1916 -
A Daughter of the Gods opens in New York City. It contained what is considered the first complete nude scene by a major star.



The character Anitia, played by Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman, is shown nude in a waterfall; however, her body is mostly covered by her hair. It is the first U.S. film production to cost $1 million to produce. Although a few stills remain, the film is considered lost.


October 17, 1939 -
Frank Capra's contribution to the Golden age of Hollywood, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, premiered in Washington D.C. on this date.



In his autobiography, Frank Capra states that after the film's general release, he and Harry Cohn received a cablegram from U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph P. Kennedy saying that he felt the film would damage "America's prestige in Europe" and should therefore be withdrawn from European distribution. In response, they mailed favorable reviews of the film to Kennedy, which persuaded him not pursue the matter any further, even though he still maintained his doubts.


October 17, 1942 -
The Merrie Melodies short, The Sheepish Wolf, directed by Friz Freleng was released on this date.



The voice of the black sheep who raises the alarm is patterned on that of comedian Jack Benny's sidekick, comedian, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.


October 17, 1944 -
The little known and under appreciated drama directed by Clifford Odets, None But the Lonely Heart, starring Cary Grant, Ethel Barrymore and Barry Fitzgerald, was released on this date.



Screenwriter Clifford Odets was stunned when he was first told of the upcoming picture. He recalled, "It was about a 19-year-old boy with pimples whose two desires are to have a girlfriend and to get a new suit of clothes. 'Are you sure it's right for Cary Grant?' I said. It seemed they were, so I had to change the concept of the book considerably."


October 17, 1953 -
The Looney Tunes short, Easy Peckin's, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Speedy Gonzalez and Sylvester the Cat, was released on this date.



Acme, the WB vendor of choice, supplies the ever vigilant rooster here. Fellow cast-mate Foghorn Leghorn would also make use of the company products.


October 17, 1956 -
Producer Michael Todd's adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, starring David Niven, Shirley Maclaine, Cantinflas and just about every other actor in Hollywood, premiered in New York on this date.



This movie created the idea of "cameo roles" as a way to invite established stars to participate in a production.


October 17, 1957 -
MGM released the film that contained the sequence that some have called, "Elvis Presley's greatest moment on screen," when Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis premiered in Memphis, Tennessee, on this date.



Originally choreographer Alex Romero created a dance for the song Jailhouse Rock that was in a style apropos for a more classically trained dancer than Elvis Presley. When Romero realized that his plans for the number were never going to work, he asked Elvis how would he normally move to the song, leading Elvis to become the uncredited choreographer for what many consider his most famous dance number in all of his movies.



(Please note: this is the film that Elvis is scourged for your sins. Only you know how much clothing you should remove to receive the healing benefits from St. Elvis. As always, place one hand upon the screen and the other upon your bare (or nearly bare) afflicted region.)


October 17, 1958 -
What is considered a comeback special, An Evening with Fred Astaire premiered on NBC-TV on this date.



The special was the first color show pre-recorded on videotape at NBC's new state-of-the-art 'Color City' studios in Burbank, California.


October 17, 1966 -
Another iconic film from the 60s, Georgy Girl, starring James Mason, Lynn Redgrave and Alan Bates, premiered in the US on this date.



Vanessa Redgrave backed out of the role of Georgy just before shooting started. Her sister Lynn picked up the part instead.


October 17, 1968 -
One of the defining police crime dramas of the 60's, Bullitt starring Steven McQueen premiered on this date.



While filming the scene where the giant airliner taxis just above Steve McQueen, observers were shocked that no double was used. Asked if the producers couldn't have found a dummy, McQueen wryly replied, "They did."


October 17, 1975 -
The British science fiction television series Space: 1999, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson without the use of Supermarionation, starring Barbara Bain and Martin Landau, premiered in the US on this date.



Originally conceived as a new season of UFO, which would've been set twenty years further into the future with the title UFO 2. The plot would have had the aliens from that series trying to destroy SHADO's moonbase by knocking the moon out of orbit. According to UFO's Ed Bishop (Commander Ed Straker), several scripts for UFO's aborted second season ended up being reworked as early Space: 1999 episodes.


October 17, 1980 -
Dire Straits released their third studio album, Making Movies on this date.



Rolling Stone magazine ranked Making Movies number 52 in their survey of the 100 Best Albums of the Eighties. The album was the biggest selling album in Italy in 1981 with one million copies sold, with 3.8 million copies sold throughout Europe.


October 17, 1988 -
The Traveling Wilburys release their debut single, Handle With Care, (the B-side is Margarita,) on this date.



The group made a music video for this song that proved quite popular on VH1. Directed by David Leland, it has a sepia tone to give it a dusty, old-timey feel as we see the group performing the song around a microphone. It's the only Traveling Wilburys video they made while Roy Orbison was still alive. Just two months after the album was released, Orbison died of a heart attack.


October 17, 1998 –
The first big hit for Barenaked Ladies, One Week hit No.1 on this date



The band has said that this song is about a big fight in a relationship. The lyrics are essentially meaningless, but wildly entertaining, showing off their clever wordplay in a rapid-fire interplay between their lead singers, Ed Robertson and Steven Page. Robertson wrote the song.


October 17, 2005 –
Stephen Colbert brilliant takes on cable-news punditry, The Colbert Report premiered on Comedy Central on this date.



On the set, there is an artificial fireplace with the engraving "Videri Quam Esse", meaning, "to seem to be rather than to be". It is a play on the traditional Latin phrase "esse quam videri", or, "to be, rather than to seem to be", reflecting Colbert's mock right-wing personality.

Don't forget to tune in to The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hourtoday


Today in History:
The Sixth Crusade ended on this date in 1244 after the Saracens ("Infidels") defeated the Franks ("Infidels") at Gaza.

But you know after the Fourth Crusade, I just stopped counting, didn't you?.


October 17, 1777 -
At one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British General John Burgoyne surrendered to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y. on this date.



The surrender demonstrating American determination to gain independence. After the surrender, France sided with the Americans, and other countries began to get involved and align themselves against Britain.


October 17, 1814 -
Late on a Monday afternoon on this date, one of the 800lb iron restraining hoop fell off one of the two giant porter vats at the the Meux and Company Brewery on London’s Tottenham Court Road. A clerk made a note of the occurrence but thought no more of it until about an hour later when the wooden staves of the vat burst.



The vat, which was full to the brim with 3,550 barrels (more than a million pints) of finest 10-month-old Meux’s Porter, created a tsunami of beer, bursting the other behemoth vat. The resulting flood, weighing close to 600 tons, plus wood and metal from the vat knocked out the wall of the brewery and gushed into the street, drowning eight and injuring dozens more. A ninth final victim actually succumbed some days later of alcohol poisoning.

What a way to go!


October 17, 1961 -
Henri Matisse's Le Bateau went on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art. 47 days later, the curator learned from an art student the painting had been hung upside down.

An estimated 116,000 viewers, during the period, had not noticed the mistake.


October 17, 1966 -
The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of New York City, on this date. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire Department responding to a fire at 7 East 22nd Street entered a building at 6 East 23rd Street as part of an effort to fight the fire.



Twelve firefighters were killed after the floor collapsed, the largest loss of life in the department's history until the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks of 2001.


October 17, 1967 -
The play Hair, full of dancing naked people, unshaven armpits, and body odor, opens at the 299-seat Anspacher Theater on Broadway on this date. At the time, the musical's depiction of the use of illegal drugs, sexuality, profanity, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy.



The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of the "rock musical", utilizing a racially-integrated cast, and by inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-in" finale.


October 17, 1979 -
... so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.




Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Roman Catholic nun who cared for the sick and poor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, on this date.



She may have been canonized but what she really wanted to do was direct.


October 17, 1984 -
The New York Times ran an article entitled CIA Primer Tells Nicaraguan Rebels How to Kill. The story describes the secret manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare which the CIA furnished to the Contras in Nicaragua.

The booklet instructed how to kidnap and assassinate civil officials, such as judges and police.

Most people do not have access to the CIA's gift shop and Barnes and Noble no longer sells the primer but you can order it from Amazon.

(You didn't hear it from me.)


October 17, 1989 -
The Loma Prieta earthquake struck San Francisco on this date. The damaging earthquake was notable for being the first in history to be broadcast on live TV.



The World Series was being played there at the time and cameras covering the event live were able to capture the devastating scenes.



And so it goes

Kakistocracy

Look it up - we have been living under one for awhile. It a great day to look up words; today is Dictionary Day.



October 16, the birth of Noah Webster is commemorated as Dictionary Day. Celebrate the day by learning some new words, learning how dictionaries came to be, sprucing up your dictionary skills, or even creating your own dictionary!

OK, I'll calm down.


Today is Global Champagne Awareness Day (or International Champagne Day) - the third Friday in October. Most champagne-lovers will already know that, in order for the sparkling nectar to be classified as "champagne", the wine must come from the Champagne province in France. You may not know that to be termed "champagne" it must also be made by the traditional process of secondary fermentation in the bottle.





Bunkies, please be forewarned: The pressure in a bottle of champagne is 90 pounds per square inch, about three times that in your automobile tire.


October 16, 1937 -
The Merrie Melodies short, The Lyin' Mouse, directed by Friz Freleng was released on this date.



The lion traps all read Frank Cluck, a pun on the famous live animal collector of the time, Frank Buck. A fictionalized version of Buck was the subject of the TV series Bring 'Em Back Alive.


October 16, 1944 –
Universal Pictures released the 11th Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker cartoon, The Beach Nut, on this date.



The cartoon marked the debut of Wally Walrus, Woody Woodpecker's first steady nemesis.


October 16, 1954 -
Elvis Presley made his first appearance on the radio on the program Louisiana Hayride, on this date.



Whether it was Elvis' stage fright or the originality of his act before a new audience, his performance was flat much like his Grand Ole Opry debut a few weeks previous.


October 16 1954 -
The Looney Tunes short, From A to Z-Z-Z-Z, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Ralph Phillips, was released on this date.



The addition equation on the chalkboard, that Ralph Phillips' imaginary character attacked, has 18 numbers to add. From top to bottom, they are 575 + 4 + 547 + 62 + 137 + 91 + 8 + 267 + 64 + 78 + 912 + 853 + 7 + 16 + 17 + 781 + 622 + 4, and their sum is 5,045.


October 16, 1966 -
The film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Richard Lester and starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford, Michael Hordern, and Roy Kinnear premiered on this date.



Stephen Sondheim was reportedly so upset with the many liberties taken with the stage original for this movie adaptation that he was extremely reluctant thereafter to sell the film rights to any of his musicals; the failure of the 1977 film version of his A Little Night Music only strengthened his opposition, which lasted well into the twenty-first century. Tim Burton had great difficulty in persuading the composer to allow him to make a film of Sweeney Todd.


October 16, 1968 -
20th Century Fox released Richard Fleischer's crime drama, The Boston Strangler, starring Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Sally Kellerman and William Hickey in the US on this date.



20th Century Fox originally hired Terence Rattigan to write the screenplay based on the book by Gerold Frank, but he wrote it as a comedy, and was replaced by Edward Anhalt. In Rattigan's version, the killer was revealed, by a computer, to be Darryl F. Zanuck.


October 16, 1974 -
The Rolling Stones release their the 12th British (and 14th American) studio album, It's Only Rock N' Roll, on this date.



It's Only Rock 'n Roll was an important transitional album for the Rolling Stones. Following the departure of long-time producer Jimmy Miller, the album was self-produced by guitarist Keith Richards and singer Mick Jagger under the pseudonym "The Glimmer Twins".


October 16, 1979 -
The comedy sketch show Not the Nine O'Clock News, starring Rowan Atkinson, Chris Langham, Pamela Stephenson and Mel Smith debuts on BBC 2, on this date.



The original pilot episode had a different cast: Rowan Atkinson and Chris Langham were joined by Chris Emmett, Christopher Godwin, John Gorman, Willoughby Goddard and Jonathan Hyde. The pilot was due to air on April 2, 1979, but was cancelled due to BBC fears over its political content just before a general election, and has never been broadcast.


October 16, 1992 -
The pilot for Gilligan's Island was finally aired - 28 years after the series began. Although the pilot was filmed in 1963, because of cast changes, it wasn't aired this date.

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The pilot's cast differed from the series with Kit Smythe as Ginger, John Gabriel as the high school science teacher/professor, and Nancy McCarthy as Bunny (Ginger's co-worker from Kansas that became Mary Ann in the series).


Another unimportant moment in history


Today in History:
On this date in 1792 (or 1799), there was baptized in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, a boy named Francisco Morazàn. He was young, like most newborns, and full of idealism. After a disappointing childhood, in which he turned out not to have been born to wealth and privilege, he decided first to educate himself and then to enlist in the fight against Mexican annexation of Honduras.

After a disappointing loss, in which Honduras turned out to be a part of Mexico even though neither of them was any longer a part of Spain, Morazàn joined the government of the United Provinces of Central America. Two years later he was the president of the Honduras State legislature and the following year he became president of the entire United Provinces by means of the traditional Central American electoral process ("civil war").

As president, he tried to limit the powers of the Roman Catholic Church, which eventually led to a new round of elections ("civil wars") that produced a new president, this time from the State of Guatemala. The new president exiled Morazàn, who returned several years later calling for electoral reform ("revolution") and was therefore impeached ("shot in the head") by one of his own troops.

It's a holiday in Honduras today.

But it is not a holiday in Guatemala. Or Mexico.


October 16, 1793 -
Deposed French queen Joséphe Jeanne Marie Antoinette sat in an open cart, enduring hours of public ridicule as she is slowly driven around the streets of Paris, on this day.

Finally, she was taken to the guillotine. On the scaffold she accidentally stepped on the executioner's foot, and her last words were, "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose."



She wasn't having a good day.


October 16, 1846 -
The first successful demonstration of the inhalation of ether vapour as a means of overcoming pain of surgery by Henry Jacob Bigelow (following the use of ether by the dentist William Thomas Green Morton two weeks earlier) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, on this date. Edward Abbot, the 20-year-old patient, had a congenital vascular formation removed from his neck. Afterwards Mr. Abbott told those assembled, “I did not experience pain at any time, though I knew that the operation was proceeding.”

Ether Day, the anniversary of that events is still celebrated today by the doctors and staff of Massachusetts General annually on October 16th. I can not verify if the drug is actually huffed by the staff or merely admired.


October 16, 1854 -
Today is the birthday of Oscar Wilde - known for his barbed wit, one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and among the greatest celebrities of his day.

Between bouts of sparkling repartee and posing for his Sodomite Trading Card photo, he somehow found time to write the following passage in The Picture of Dorian Gray: "Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different.” Unfortunately for Oscar, had he fled England in the spring of 1895, his history would indeed have been different.



I believe that cavemen did indeed know how to laugh, and that people who accuse humanity of being too serious obviously aren't paying attention. Voluminous scientific research has incontrovertibly proven that we are the only species to giggle at one other's farts.



I reminds you that our lives are haphazard accidents in an indifferent world and that the very absurdity of life is what gives it the most meaning. Burp. Laugh.

Ignore the serious bastards - and remember: the only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.


October 16, 1908 -
The first airplane flight in England was made at Farnborough, accomplished by Samuel Cody, a self-proclaimed American cowboy who built his own flying machines.

The machine had been damaged at the end of the October 16th flight.

After repairs and extensive modifications Cody flew it again early the following year.


October 16, 1916 -
Margaret Higgins Sanger opened the first birth control clinic at 46 Amboy St. in Brooklyn on this date. After opening her clinic in Brooklyn, she spent 30 days in jail for creating a public nuisance.

Sanger coined the term "birth control" and made the cause a worldwide movement.


October 16, 1934 -
Mao Tse-tung decided to abandon his base in Kiangsi due to attacks from Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists. With his pregnant wife and about 30,000 Red Army troops, he set out on the "Long March," - the longest march in the history of warfare.



The march lasted one year and four days, covering more than 6,000 miles (about 9,656 kilometers). In late 1935, with 8,000 survivors, he reached northwest China, and established Chinese Communist headquarters.

(Hey, I want the Chinese censors to note that I occasionally have good stories about the PRC.)


October 16, 1946 -
10 high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging for World War II war crimes in Nuremberg, Germany, on this date.



Many of the hangings were badly botched as of the prisoners were slowly strangle to death. One would have thought we'd have perfected that whole 'hanging thing' - America had been hanging prisoners with pride for almost two centuries at that point.



Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force, was to have been among them but he committed suicide in his cell the night before.


October 16, 1964 -
China detonated its first atomic bomb (to commemorate the anniversary of the "Long March") and became the world's fifth nuclear power on this date.



If you know what's good for you, please tip the delivery guys a hell of a lot more.


October 16, 1968 -
American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "black power" salutes during a victory ceremony after they'd won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race on this date. (And you think people are pissed at the 'kneeling during the anthem' thing.)



Little remembered is the third athlete on the podium with Smith and Carlos, Australian athlete Peter Norman, who joined the American athletes in solidarity and paid a huge price.



Take a moment to hear more about the story of this forgotten man in a major story of the Olympic Games history.


October 16, 1972 -
A light plane carrying House Democratic leader Thomas Hale Boggs of Louisiana (the most outspoken and critical member of the Warren Commission and late famed reporter Cokie Roberts' dad) and three other men was reported missing in Alaska. The plane was never found.



Perhaps if they had that famous bridge to nowhere, they would have found them.


October 16, 1978 -
The Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II on this date, making him the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.



The previous non-Italian pope was the Dutch Pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522 to 1523.


October 16, 1984 -
... Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.



Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize on this date, for his struggle against apartheid.


Hey, BTW - Halloween is in 15 days. Get your costume together. Remember, you can always go as a sociopath - they look just like you and me



The General Election is in 18 days.



Diwali is in 23 days-



Thanksgiving is in 43 days



The start of Hanukkah starts in 49 days



and Christmas are 70 days away.



Check to see where you are located on the naughty/ nice list and make the appropriate adjustments.



And so it goes