Sunday, March 8, 2020

That's how the days go by

Did you forgot to set the clock ahead - we'll wait (while we madly dash around the house ourselves.)  Here's a short film explaining Daylight Saving Time -



Do you need some more time (did you get the clock on the microwave? None of you still have a VCR?) Here's another short film -



Alright, you can either continue reading or go back to bed for an hour.

you'll have one less hour for drinking today - start earlier.


Today marks the observance of International Women's Day, celebrating the achievements of inspiring women around the world. (This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights”.)





The earliest Women's Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York; it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. An annual "international women's day" was first organized by the German socialist and theorist Clara Zetkin along with 100 delegates from 17 countries in March 1911.


March 8, 1933 -
The quintessential backstage musical, 42nd Street, premiered in New York City on this date.



Ginger Rogers took the role of "Anytime Annie" at the urging of director Mervyn LeRoy, whom she was dating at the time. Illness prevented Mervyn LeRoy from directing, so he handed the reins over to Lloyd Bacon.


March 8, 1959 -
The apex of the golden age of Television was achieved on this date when The Incredible Jewel Robbery aired. Groucho, Chico and Harpo made their final TV appearance together.



It was all down hill from here.


March 8, 1964 -
The first of three film adaptions of Richard Matheson novel, I am Legend, The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, premiered on this date.



To more accurately show how grueling it was for his character to survive, Vincent Price insisted on lifting real people into the back of his car instead of dummies. This is why it seems he's taking extra care with the bodies. For the scene at the pit, however, he's handling dummies for obvious reasons.


March 8, 1967 -
Mad Monster Party
was released by Embassy Pictures for Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc on this date.



In her stand-up comedy routines, Phyllis Diller (voice of The Monster's Mate) referred to her husband as "Fang". She decided to use the name when referring to the character of Frankenstein's monster - whom her character's married to in the film because that's what she's used to. The producers decided to allow it since the name of 'Frankenstein' was copyrighted, and referring to the name (or his monster) would've required paying royalty fees.


March 8, 1974 -
All good things must come to an end - the last episode The Brady Bunch series, The Hair-Brained Scheme aired on ABC-TV on this date.


Robert Reed was written out of this episode. He felt that the plot involving hair tonic was implausible. When he began arguing with the producers over the script, studio security wanted to remove him from the set. However, Sherwood Schwartz would not allow it because he felt that it would be too distressing for the kids. Reed remained on the set to watch the filming of the episode, which would ultimately become the final episode of the series. Carol refers to Mike's absence in passing in the closing segment, in which the family returns home from Greg's graduation ceremony. She says to Greg, "We're so proud that you graduated with honors, Greg. Too bad your father was out of town and had to miss it."


March 8, 1991 -
The highest grossing independent film of 1991, New Jack City, directed by Mario Van Peebles was released on this date.



Story is largely based on a real-life Detroit gang known as The Chambers Brothers. Writer Barry Michael Cooper got the idea for the film after visiting Detroit and learning about the gang's exploits.


March 8, 1996 -
The film that put the Coen Bros. into the mainstream consciousness, Fargo, went into limited release on this date.



Filming took place in the winter of 1995, when the region was experiencing its second-warmest winter in 100 years. Filming of outdoor scenes had to be moved all over Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada, and much of the snow was artificial.


I've enjoyed this book in the past.


Today in History:
March 8, 1941
-
Sherwood Anderson and his fourth wife, Eleanor, were enjoying a well deserved vacation on a ocean liner bound from from New York to Valparaiso, Chile. During a cocktail party on the ship, Anderson was enjoying his olive from a well chilled martini: it would be his last.

Anderson soon became very ill and he and his wife had to disembarked at Colon in Panama and headed to a local hospital. He died in agony, two days later on this date. An autopsy revealed that he had accidentally swallowed a small piece of a toothpick (presumably in the martini olive), which had perforated his colon and caused a fatal case of peritonitis.

Not a great way to go.


March 8, 1950 -
Marshal Voroshilov announced the existence of the Soviet atomic bomb on this date.

This baffled the western powers, who were sure they had left the secret somewhere safe.



33 years later, on this date, the ever swift President Ronald Reagan gets around to calling the Soviets, "an evil empire."


March 8, 1968 -
The Soviet submarine, K-129, sank in the Pacific Ocean, killing all 97 crew members aboard. Later in the year a U.S. submarine secretly retrieves an encryption machine, codebooks, and nuclear warheads from the Soviet vessel.



A further bold attempt is made in 1974 to bring up the entire submarine using the CIA ship Glomar Explorer, built by Howard Hughes. That mission supposedly fails, and was made public by the Los Angeles Times to the great embarrassment of the Agency.


March 8, 1999
-
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio passed away in his Florida home on this date in 1999.



We actually know where he's gone. And since he's been dead for more than 20 years, we should take our lonely eyes off of him. It's a little creepy.



And so it goes.


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