Happy Have A Bad Day Day

Since I'm still feeling ill, this is a perfect holiday for today. In fact, this seems to be a holiday tailor-made for George Carlin:



Honor George's memory - Have a Crappy Day Today


November 19, 1959 -
The first episode of Rocky & His Friends aired on this date.



Many of you know this famous line, Hey Rocky want to see me pull a rabbit out of my hat? But what you probably don't know is the line was originally, Hey Rocky, want to see me pull a hamster out of my ass?



TV censors were not amused.


November 19, 1975 -
One of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, opened in the US on this date.



The cast and crew had to become accustomed to working with extras and supporting crew members who were inmates at the Oregon State Mental Hospital; each member of the professional cast and crew inevitably worked closely with at least two or three mental patients.


November 19, 1980 -
It fails so completely that you might suspect Mr. Cimino sold his soul to obtain the success of The Deer Hunter and the Devil has just come around to collect. - Vincent Canby

Michael Cimino's 'tainted masterpiece', Heaven's Gate premiered on this date.



After the film received scathing reviews after its New York premiere in November 1980, Michael Cimino sent a signed memo to the head of United Artists that asked them to pull the film from theaters so he go back and re-cut the film to a version that everyone would be satisfied with. It had been a misconception for years that it was United Artists that had pulled the film despite its negative press and reviews.


Today in History -
November 19, 1581 -
Russian Czar Ivan The Terrible killed his son, Ivan The Merely Petulant on this date. The younger Ivan interrupted the elder Ivan, who was beating Ivan Jr's pregnant wife because of her inappropriate garb. Still in a fit of range, dad smote his son with a staff, killing him dead.

This is what passed for family life amongst the Royals in the Middle Ages in Russia.


November 19, 1620 -
A group of maniacal religious fanatics reached North America and stepped ashore on Plymouth Rock. Because America did not yet have a Puritan Government, they developed the Mayflower Compact while still at sea. (William Bradford had argued for a Sporty Coupe, but the more practical John Alden had carried the day.)



Eventually the descendants of these frugal and passionately religious people would invent apps that enable the downloading of pornography to your smart phones around the world at light speed.


November 19, 1703 -
The Man in the Iron Mask died in the Bastille on this date.



He was a prisoner of Louis XIV, forced to wear a black velvet mask, and his identity has never been revealed.


Seven score and eight years ago today (November 19, 1863) -
President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on this date.



The speech remains an important part of American history on account of its having been written on the back of an envelope despite stringent postal requirements that addresses be printed clearly on the front.


November 19, 1954 -
Driving to Los Angeles, Sammy Davis, Jr. was in a serious automobile accident in San Bernardino on this date.

He lost his left eye, but the resultant publicity greatly accelerated his career.


November 19, 1961 -
Michael Rockefeller, 23 year old son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (later Vice President), disappears while searching for Asmat wood carvings in the jungles near Atsj, Papua New Guinea.



He was probably eaten by the Asmat. Hence the motto, "Eat the Rich".


35 more shopping days until Christmas, 30 more shopping days until Hanukkah. (Black Friday is just 6 days away.)



And so it goes