Monday, November 21, 2011

Say hello

Today is the 37th annual World Hello Day. Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. This demonstrates the importance of personal communication for preserving peace. World Hello Day was begun in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the Fall of 1973. Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries.



I'm still working on making this day Say Hello to Kevin and give him 10 bucks day.


November 21, 1931 -
James Whale classic retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, premiered on this date.



During production there was some concern that seven-year-old Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by the creature, would be overly frightened by the sight of Boris Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Marilyn ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, took his hand and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with The Monster.


November 21, 1942 -
Babbit and Catstello, take-offs on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello try to catch Tweety bird (in his first appearance) in A Tale of Two Kitties, premiered on this date.



The pink bird in this short is an early version of the character Tweety. Early model sheets for this short indicated that Tweety's original name was "Orson," though he is never specifically referred to that in the film. Later, after censors complained that the pink bird looked naked because he had no feathers, Tweety's color was changed to yellow.


November 21, 1946 -
One of the greatest films about vets returning home after WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives, premiered in NYC on this date.



To avoid awkwardness when he first met his fellow cast members, Harold Russell made a point of reaching out with his hooks and taking their hands, thus putting them at ease with his disability.


November 21, 1976 -
Ok everybody, "...Gonna Fly Now, Flying High Now..."

Rocky, premiered in NYC on this date.



One of the posters for the film featured a shot of Rocky and Adrian holding hands. Although this was one of the most popular images associated with the film, the scene this image was taken from was cut from the film.


Today in History:
November 21, 1694 -
Jean Francois Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) was born on this date.



Voltaire is best known for having said things. Here are some of the witty things he said:

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."

"To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered."

"Anything too stupid to be said is sung."

"God created sex. Priests created marriage."

"It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge."

"He was unhappy only when he thought: and that is true of the majority of mankind."

"People who believe in absurdities will eventually commit atrocities."

And most significantly:

"A witty saying proves nothing."


November 21, 1921 -
U.S. President Warren G. Harding signed the Wills Campbell Act, which prohibited the medical prescription of beer and liquor on this date.

He was killed - probably by his wife - two years later and nobody seemed to mind (remember, this was the genius who lost the White House China in a poker game.)

Enough said.


November 21, 1964 -
The upper deck of The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on this date(at the time it was the world's longest suspension bridge).

And it still takes forever to get to Jersey through Staten Island.


November 21, 1973 -
A gap of 18 1/2 minutes is revealed in one of the Watergate tapes, a conversation between Richard M. Nixon and Bob Haldeman. The erasure is blamed on an accident by Nixon's private secretary Rose Mary Woods, but scientific analysis determines the erasures to be deliberate. Later, Chief of Staff Alexander Haig blames the erasure on "some sinister force".



Forensic experts worked on Haldeman's notebook to see if they could find the imprint of any notes he may have taken that day but later destroyed. (The experts had inconclusive results.)


November 21, 1980 -
The third deadliest hotel fire in history occurs at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, caused by faulty wiring; 84 people dead. Helicopters were used to rescue stranded guests from the top floors.



No more pu-pu platters with charcoal grills in the suites.


November 21, 1997 -
Lead singer of INXS Michael Hutchence was found hanged in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Sydney Australia on this date. Police have denied that his death was due to Autoerotic Asphyxiation.



The fact that his pants were around his ankles and copies of the magazines "Hot Chicks in Tubs of Pudding" were scattered around the room, did not enter into it.


33 more shopping days until Christmas, 28 more shopping days until Hanukkah. (Black Friday is just 4 days away.)



And so it goes

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