Monday, June 21, 2010

The living is easy, starting today

This year, Summer begins on June 21 at at 7:28 a.m in the northern hemisphere (which happens to be my favorite hemisphere, with the possible exception of the southern one). Summer is the period between the June solstice and the September equinox, and its broad appeal should therefore come as no surprise.







Twenty-five percent of all winning lottery tickets are issued in summer.


Two incredible mash-up by Leandro Braga, movie-lover extraordinaire





This guy has a career in film ahead of him.

June 21, 1988 -
Robert Zemeckis' incredible advance in animation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, opened in NYC on this date.



This movie marked the first time cartoon characters from both Walt Disney and Warner Brothers appeared together on screen.


Today in History
June 21, 1877 -
The Molly Maguires, ten Irish immigrants who were labor activists, are hanged at Carbon County Prison in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Author and Judge John P. Lavelle of Carbon County said of this, "The Molly Maguire trials were a surrender of state sovereignty...



... A private corporation initiated the investigation through a private detective agency. A private police force arrested the alleged defenders, and private attorneys for the coal companies prosecuted them. The state provided only the courtroom and the gallows."


June 21, 1893 -
The first ferris wheel debuted at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, on this date. The ferris wheel was designed by George W. Ferris, a bridge-builder from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.



The exposition commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing in America. The Chicago Fair's organizers wanted something that would rival the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel had built the tower for the Paris World's Fair of 1889, which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.


June 21, 1905 -
It would have been the 105th birthday of Jean-Paul Sartre today.



But what the hell does he care; he's dead and it doesn't mean anything anyway.


June 21, 1977 -
The much under appreciated - New York, New York, directed by Martin Scorsese, was released on this date.



Do yourself a great favor and rent the restored DVD version.


June 21, 1982 -
Using an innovative Jodie Foster defense, John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.



Nobody is impressed by this verdict.


June 21, 1989 -
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Texas v. Johns on that flag burning is indeed protected speech under the Constitution, prompting Congress to put forth an endless series of amendments to ban the activity.




And so it goes.

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