Another children's classic made unsafe for children

Colin Firth adds some extra spice to this classic Paddington Bear episode



I suppose we must forgive Mr. Firth as it was a French restaurant.


It's National Vodka Day. 



While not a vodka man myself - I'm not one to pass up the chilled neutral spirit.



Whatever language you order it in, it always taste better fresh out of the freezer. (yes, they may quote me on that, I'd be willing to endorse the stuff.)


October 4, 1957 -
Leave It To Beaver premiered on CBS-TV on this date. Once again, another show from the 50's where the lead actor (Hugh Beaumont not Jerry Mathers) was a raging alcoholic.



Hugh Beaumont held a Master of Theology degree from the University of Southern California and was an ordained minister.


October 4, 1964 -
Stand by for action ...

Another series films in glorious Supermarionation, Stingray, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, premiered on ITV in England on this date.



Gerry Anderson based his puppet of Troy Tempest on the facial features of American actor James Garner.  The puppet for Atlanta was modeled after voice actress Lois Maxwell.


Today in History:
October 4, 1822 -
Rutherford Hayes was born on this date, in Delaware, Ohio.



That's not especially interesting in itself. Presidents, after all, must be born somewhere - and President Hayes was not the only one to have chosen Ohio. But consider: Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, and Chester Arthur was born on October 5, 1830, in Fairfield, Vermont. That's three presidential birthdays in a four-day period, a glut of presidential timber not to be found anywhere else on the calendar. Hayes came into office by one electoral vote, accomplished nothing, and did not run for a second term.



Arthur came into office as James Garfield's vice-president and was promoted eight months later, upon Garfield's assassination. He accomplished nothing, and wasn't even nominated for a second term (although he does look a lot like Captain Kangaroo.)



Through no fault of his own, Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976 (and must therefore bear his share of responsibility for my own difficult misspent youth). He sought but was denied a second term.

Significance? Zero.


October 4, 1957 -
Sputnik One (meaning "companion" or "fellow traveler"), the first man-made satellite, was launched on this date, beginning the "space race."



The satellite, built by Valentin Glushko, weighed 184 pounds and was launched by a converted Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Sputnik orbited the earth every 96 minutes at a maximum height of 584 miles.



In 1958, it reentered the earth's atmosphere and burned up.

Significance? A Little More Than Zero.


October 4, 1969 -
A despondent Diane Linkletter jumped out the kitchen window of her tenth-story apartment in West Hollywood, California on this date.



Even before an autopsy can be performed, television personality Art Linkletter blames his daughter's death on a bad LSD trip. Even though the toxicology report disputes Art's assertion, the LSD story persists.


October 4, 1970 -
If I hold back, I'm no good. I'm no good. I'd rather be good sometimes, than holding back all the time.



Janis Joplin accidentally overdosed on an unusually-pure dose of heroin at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles on this date.


October 4, 1976 -
Earl Butz, President Gerald Ford's Secretary of Agriculture, was forced to resign after newspapers print a comment he made regarding race relations

(and I will paraphrase for those with weak constitutions) : "I'll tell you what the coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight female reproductive organ; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to go to the bathroom."


October 4, 1986 -
Network news anchorman Dan Rather was mugged in New York City on this date. The attacker, one William Tager, shouted the question "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" during the beating.



While the "frequency" referred to the wavelength of the transmissions that CBS was beaming into Tager's head, history is still unclear on exactly who "Kenneth" is or why R.E.M. would record a song about it. It is rumored that the attack occurred because of Rather's uncanny resemblance to underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger.


October 4, 1989 -
Secretariat, 1973 triple crown winner and one of the greatest athletes of all time, was euthanized in Paris, Kentucky. He was 19.



Not surprisingly, viande de cheval appeared on the menu of several Parisian Bistros that night.


October 4, 1989 -
Death can really absorb a person. Like most people, I would find it pleasant not to have to go, but you just accept that it's more or less inevitable.



Dr. Graham Chapman (though he never actually practiced medicine professionally) died from complications related to spinal and throat cancer on this date.



And so it goes.