The country passed a law in 2008, making it illegal to own just one guinea pig at a time because a cavy (guinea pig,) being a social animal moves around in herds and can get awfully lonely if left without a companion. But this doesn't explain why Swiss road tunnels are loaded with explosives so that they may be quickly closed in case of invasion. But that's another story.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Don't forget - No matter who you're going to vote for, even if it's a write-in candidate - go to the polls today.
Just Vote - you have no excuse today. Remember that voting is one of the only civic responsibilities you have as a citizen.
It's celebrated on the birthday of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, creator of the sandwich.
To celebrate, begin gambling heavily, don't get up from the table for several hours and call for your manservant to bring you a slab of beef and two pieces of bread (and a piss pot.) Remember bunkies, Enjoy every sandwich!
November 3, 1939 -
One of the crown jewels of the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood, Ninotchka opened in New York on this date.
The review of Ninotchka in Time Magazine was written by Whittaker Chambers. Chambers had been an undercover spy for Russia until 1938. Of course, his relationship to Russia and Communism was not known when he wrote his review. Chambers went on to become famous when, in 1948, he accused Alger Hiss of being a spy.
Gojira premiered in Japan on this date in 1954.
One of the most famous legends regarding the production of this film has Ishirô Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya on the observation deck of one of Tokyo's buildings. They were planning Godzilla's path of destruction when visitors on the deck overheard their conversation and became concerned. The pair was stopped by authorities and questioned. (If you must see Raymond Burr, check him out here )
November 3, 1955 -
Another highlight from the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals, Guys and Dolls, premiered in NYC on this date.
Frank Sinatra loathed the non-singing Marlon Brando for getting the starring role, while Sinatra got a lesser part. His nickname for the sometimes barely coherent Brando was "Mumbles."
November 3, 1971 -
Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, Play Misty For Me premiered in NYC on this date.
The first scene Clint Eastwood shot was his former director Don Siegel's cameo as Murph the bartender. As a joke, Eastwood made Siegel do eleven takes, then told the cameraman to put the film in the camera.
November 3, 1976 -
MGM released the horror classic, based on Stephen King’s best-selling first novel, Carrie, directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek on this date.
When Sissy Spacek was preparing for her character, she isolated herself from the rest of the ensemble, decorated her dressing room with heavy religious iconography and studied Gustave Doré's illustrated Bible. She studied "the body language of people being stoned for their sins," starting or ending every scene in one of those positions.
November 3, 1978 -
Diff'rent Strokes premiered on NBC-TV on this date.
Dana Plato was written out of the series when she became pregnant in 1984, and it was agreed that it would be out of character for the same to happen to Kimberly Drummond. However, she was allowed to return for guest appearances after the birth of her son.
November 3, 1993 -
Fran traveled for the first time over the bridge from Flushing to the Sheffield's door when, The Nanny, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
When the show was broadcast in the U.K., many viewers wrote in to chide Charles Shaughnessy over his "imitation" English accent, and suggested he practice with co-star Daniel Davis on how to do a proper English accent. The cast found this quite amusing, as Shaughnessy is a native Englishman, born in London while Davis is an American, born in Arkansas.
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
November 3, 1507 -
At the height of the Renaissance, a famous middle-aged Italian artist (who may or may not have weighed in the whole gravy vs. sauce debate - he was a gravy man) was commissioned by the husband of Lisa Gherardini to paint her on this date.
The work is known as the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda.) Little known fact: The painting cannot be bought or sold according to French heritage law.
November 3, 1957 -
Laika the dog became the first living creature in space on this date. She asphyxiated when oxygen in the Soviet Sputnik 2 ran out. However, some western researchers speculate that Laika roasted when the satellite's heat shields were detached.
I wonder if the Explorer's Club served Hot Dogs in her honor that year.
November 3, 1964 -
In 1801, the Washington D.C. district was established as a US Congressional jurisdiction; this meant residents of Washington D.C. were unable to vote.
The passing of the 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution, in 1961, reversed this policy, allowing D.C. residents to vote. Residents of Washington D.C. were permitted to vote in a US Presidential election for the first time on this date.
November 3, 1988 –
Talk-show host Geraldo Rivera’s nose was broken as Roy Innis brawled with skinheads on his daytime show, Geraldo, on this date.
He did not press charges, claiming that he did not wish to be “tied up with the roaches” and also said that “if there ever was a case of deserved violence, this was it.”
November 3, 1993 -
Russian inventor Leon Theremin, famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments, died on this date.
He first performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. Thermin's instrument has shown up in the work of such diverse artist as Raymond Scott, Bernard Herrmann, The Beach Boys and Pink Floyd.
And so it goes.
78
The next few days and weeks could be tough on all of us,
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