Saturday, November 10, 2012

I want to see the rest of this house

When you see this in a living room -

You know they have awesome parties.


November 10, 1956 -
Billie Holiday returned to the stage at Carnegie Hall after a three-year absence on this date.



The concert was called, by some, a high point in jazz history .


November 10, 1967 -
The Moody Blues released their hit, Nights in White Satin, on this date. This was written by Justin Hayward, who joined the band the previous year. He got the idea for the song after someone gave him a set of white satin sheets - yes, sometimes, it's just that inane.



The Moody Blues recorded the album with The London Festival Orchestra, which never actually existed - it was the name given to the musicians put together to make this album. The orchestral parts were performed separately and edited between and around the Moody Blues parts, so the orchestra did not actually accompany the group.


November 10, 1969 -
Come and play. Even at 43, everything's A-OK.



Sesame Street premiered on PBS-TV on this date.



(Once again, I must say, Elmo would enliven any talk show.)


Today in History:
November 10, 4004 BC -
If you feel some free-floating uneasy shame about your genitals today, here's the reason why:


Adam and Eve were driven from Paradise on this date, according to our good old friend Rev. Ussher.


November 10, 1871 -
New York Newspaperman Henry M. Stanley finally found Scottish explorer Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji near Lake Tanganyika (helpfully identified by some sources as being "near Unyanyembe"), and remarked, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", on this date.



This was extremely witty and therefore historical.





November 10, 1925 -
Richard Burton was born on this date.



No, not the Victorian international man of mystery, self-circumcisor and male brothel frequenter but Welsh actor with the greatest voice of the 20th Century.



November 10, 1928 -
Playing against Army at Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne gave what is considered the greatest locker room speeches of all time by saying "Win one for the Gipper."



Some how Ronald Reagan got mixed up in all of this.


November 10, 1928 -
Michinomiya Hirohito was crowned the 124th Emperor of Japan, Emperor Showa on this date.


Some how Ronald Reagan got mixed up in this, as well.


November 10, 1938 -
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the most extraordinary men of the 20th Century. statesman and first President of Modern Turkey, died of cirrhosis of the liver on this date.



Will Durant had said, "men devoted to war, politics, and public life wear out fast, and all three had been the passion of Atatürk."


November 10, 1940 -
Walt Disney begins serving as a secret informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI, to report back information on Hollywood subversives. He was made a "Full Special Agent in Charge Contact" in 1954.

We should note that Disney was also atheist, Neo-Nazi, racist and possible child pornography collector, thus subversive in his own little way. Also remember that he reported in directly to a cross-dressing, homosexual who would never make left turns in his car.


November 10, 1975 -
The 729-foot-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board



and unfortunately is the subject of Gordon Lightfoot's annoying hit song, The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.



And so it goes.


With only 45 days until Christmas, getting on the 'Good' list might be a problem.

(more about Krampus next month)

You may have to consider bribery or religious conversion. I'm not sure where Hanukkah Harry stands on the whole naughty/ nice deal.  And with only 41 days until the end of the world, it may not be worth the effort.

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