More Useless Christmas Trivia:

Two weeks before Christmas is the one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. According to data analyzed from Facebook posts and statuses, couples are more likely to end their relationship two weeks before Christmas and two weeks after Valentine’s day, during the spring break. Christmas Day, however, is the least favorite day for breakups.



So now you know.


December 11, 1957 -
The movie Peyton Place, based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, on this date, where most of it had been filmed.



Susan Strasberg was initially set to play Allison. However, when she upped her salary, she was fired. For a short period, Debbie Reynolds was set to replace her. Eventually, twenty famous actresses were screentested before the unknown Diane Varsi got the role.


December 11, 1961 -
Please, Mr. Postman by the Marvelettes was released on this date



Part of this song was written by a postman who helped Georgia Dobbins (one of the Marvelettes) complete the lyrics. His name was Freddie Gorman and his mail route included Brewster public housing where members of The Supremes lived. Gorman also sang with Motown group The Originals.


December 11, 1968 – 
Filming begins on The Rolling Stones‘ Rock And Roll Circus movie. Conceived by Mick Jagger, the event was comprised of two concerts on a circus stage and included such acts as John Lennon and his fiancée Yoko Ono performing as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Richards, Jethro Tull and The Who, as well as clowns and acrobats.



It was originally meant to be aired on the BBC, but the Rolling Stones withheld it because they were unhappy with their performance. Many believe the real reason was because the Who completely upstaged the Stones. As a footnote, this is the only footage of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi performing as a member of Jethro Tull. The film was eventually released in 1996.


December 11, 1980 -
Hawaiian shirts and outrageous mustaches came back in style when Magnum PI, starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



The show is set in Hawaii partly because CBS did not want to close its Hawaii production offices when Hawaii Five-O ceased production in 1980. This show started production that year and contains occasional references to Steve McGarrett and 'Five-O', although McGarrett was never shown.


December 11, 1982 –
Toni Basil's surprise hit Mickey reached No. 1 of the Billboard charts on this date.



The cheerleaders in the video were members of a championship squad from Carson High School in Los Angeles. Basil met them at a competition where she was shooting video of cheerleading choreography.


December 11, 1987 -
Greed is Good.
20th Century Fox released Oliver Stone's drama, Wall Street, starring  Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, and Daryl Hannah on this date.



Oliver Stone had written a subplot involving Fox having an affair with Gekko's wife (which would have explained Gekko's anger towards Fox in their final confrontation), but had to abandon it due to Charlie Sheen and Sean Young's hatred of each other.


Another guest programmer


Today in History:
December 11, 1688  -      King James II attempting to flee London as the "Glorious Revolution" replaced him with King William (of Orange) and Queen Mary, threw the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.

He was, however, caught in Kent. Having no desire to make James a martyr, the Prince of Orange let him escape on December 23, 1688. James was received by Louis XIV, who offered him a palace and a generous pension.


December 11, 1882 -
Fiorello Enrico La Guardia, Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945, was born on this date.



With a boundless enthusiasm and energy to match that of Teddy Roosevelt, La Guardia could be the last Mayor of NYC who really loved his job.


December 11, 1919 -
The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama, erected a monument to the boll weevil. The only monument dedicated to an agricultural pest!!

The invasive insect devastated their fields but forced residents to end their dependence on cotton and to pursue mixed farming and manufacturing.


December 11, 1931 -
Rita Moreno (Rosa Dolores Alverio,) winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, was born on this date.



She is currently the only Puerto Rican EGOT winner.


December 11, 1936  -   
Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson. Edward VIII had been king of Great Britain and Ireland for less than a year when he abdicated the throne to marry "the woman I love."



After his abdication, Edward was awarded the title Duke of Windsor by his brother, King George VI. Edward and Mrs. Simpson married on June 3, 1937.


The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.



UNICEF provides many types of assistance and help to children and mothers. It receives money from different governments and private persons. It works in almost all countries of the world.


December 11, 1964 -
Sam Cooke, popular singer, was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. Franklin claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense.



The shooting was ultimately ruled to be a justifiable homicide, though there have been arguments that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward.


December 11, 1967 -
The Beatles' Apple Music signs its first group - Grapefruit, on this date.



With unwise business decisions like this, I'm sure the Beatles must have gone broke very shortly after this.


More Christmas Trivia:

America’s official national Christmas tree (so designated by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926) is located in King’s Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the General Grant Tree, is almost 90 meters (300 feet) high is the second largest tree in the world (by volume, the first is General Sherman, his neighbor in Sequoia National Park.)  The idea was inspired by a little girl who had imagined the giant as a Christmas tree and shared the thought with Sanger, California resident, Charles E. Lee. From then on, Lee began organizing yearly Christmas programs around the tree, in the enchanted grove of sequoias, until the event became an annual ceremony.


And on a personal note:
Happy Birthday Julie

(we hope to celebrate your birthday with you sometime soon.)


And so it goes.

Before you go - You knew it had to come someday - This year's perfect holiday mash-up - Mariah Carey and Marilyn Manson - Mariah Manson - All I Want For Christmas is the Beautiful People -



We'll stay vigilant for more holiday mash-ups

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