Read the ramblings of Dr. Caligari. Hopefully you will find that Time does wound all heels.
You no longer need to be sad that nowadays there is so little useless information.
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - Ringing in the New Year is the perfect opportunity each year to celebrate National Champagne Day.
It is obviously observed on December 31st (although I've seen it listed as being celebrated on October 18th.) Drink Champagne for breakfast today! It's a new year tomorrow. While we still need to social distant, let's focus on bringing an end to this pandemic once and for all. Wear your mask until we all get our vaccination.
It's the Seventh day of Christmas. Today's gift count (84 gifts): you currently have Seven Swans a' swimming, 12 geese a' laying, 15 golden rings, 16 calling birds, 15 French hens, 12 turtledoves and 7 partridges in their respective pear trees.
The sevenSwans A-swimming usually signifies the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Wisdom , Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of God,) and /or the seven sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the sick, Marriage, and Holy orders.)
I can't begin to imagine the amount of bird waste you are removing at the point. But keep shoveling, you don't want the EPA on your tail (so to speak.) You may want to consider contacting your local garden store: fresh guano can garner a pretty price.
For those playing the home version - Tonight's the Sixth night of Kwanzaa.
Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah) signifies Creativity: To do always as much as one can, in the way one can, in order to leave their community more beautiful and beneficial than they inherited it.
December 31, 1923 -
On New Year's Eve, 1923, BBC engineer AG Dryland climbed onto a roof opposite the Houses of Parliament with a microphone to record the chimes of Big Ben. The sound he captured has been broadcast on BBC radio ever since.
From February 17th, 1924, the bell of Big Ben could regularly be heard on BBC radio, along with the Greenwich 'pips'.
December 31, 1966 - The Monkees'I'm A Believer, hit #1 in America on this date. The song stays at the top for seven weeks.
Neil Diamond wrote this song. He had his first big hit earlier in 1966 with Cherry, Cherry, which got the attention of Don Kirshner, who was looking for material for The Monkees. Kirshner was sold on I'm A Believer, and as part of the deal, allowed Diamond to record the song as well. Diamond's version was released on his 1967 album Just For You. The Monkees version benefited from exposure on their television series.
December 31, 1969 - Walt Disney through its Buena Vista Distribution Company released The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, starring Kurt Russell, and Cesar Romero on this date.
It’s the first motion picture to use the word “computer” in its title.
December 31, 1995 –
Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his Calvin and Hobbes comic strip on this date.
Calvin and Hobbes debuted in 1985 and featured the adventures of Calvin, a hyperactive, overly imaginative, bratty six-year-old, and his best friend, the stuffed tiger Hobbes (who is also an actual tiger.)
Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow.
Today in History:
December 31, 1907 -
For the first time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the New Year on this date.
The New Year’s Eve Ball first descended from a flagpole at One Times Square, constructed with iron and wood materials with 100 25-watt bulbs weighing 700 pounds and measuring 5 feet in diameter.
December 31, 1909 -
The Manhattan Bridge, the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, was opened to traffic on this date (although not officially completed until 1912.)
This must have made it quite an interesting crossing.
December 31, 1935 –
Charles Darrow of Pennsylvania was issued the patent (# 2,026,082) was issued for the game of Monopoly on this date; he assigned the patent to Parker Brothers.
Since that day, it has been translated into 37 languages and evolved into over 200 licensed and localized editions for 103 countries across the world.
December 31, 1936 -
Dr. Rolla Harger, a professor of biochemistry and toxicology, patented the Drunkometer, a balloon-like device into which people would breathe to determine whether they were inebriated in 1936. Just in time for New Year's Eve, the first practical use of the device in the field by Indianapolis police was conducted on this day.
The Drunkometer worked by having the person blow into a balloon. The balloon would be attached to a tube of purple liquid - a weak solution of potassium permanganate in sulphuric acid.. The darker the result, the more alcohol the person had in their system. In 1954, Robert Borkenstein, a colleague of Dr. Harger, invented a more portable tool called the Breathalyzer.
December 31, 1958 -
Rebels forces lead by Fidel Castro, marched triumphantly into Havana, Cuba on this date. Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country with 180 of his supporters and personal fortune of more than $300 million dollars amassed through graft and payoffs.
Meanwhile, Michael grasps Fredo tightly by the head and gives a kiss, telling him "I know it was you Fredo; you broke my heart." Michael appeals to his brother to join him in leaving the country, but Fredo runs away, frightened.
But that's another story ...
December 31, 1999 -
The large Ferris wheel, the London Eye (also called the Millennium Wheel), was built in celebration of the change of millinia, opened on this date.
It went on to become a famous London landmark, and attracts thousands of tourists a year.
ACME would like to wish everyone the Happiest and Healthiest New Year. Hope you all have wonderful plans for this evening, even if it's just sitting at home. The only advice I can give you is worth repeating - Drink til you drop and drop where you drink - Don't drink and drive. And wear your mask!
Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians played Auld Lang Syne as a New Year’s Eve song for the first time on this date in 1929.
Somehow it has become the last page of the calendar.
It's taken me many years not to think of this as the middle of the year and think of summer break as one long New Years Eve but I'll be glad to see this year go. Once again, this has been a tough year for most of us - hopefully the upcoming one will be a better one for us all.
One Year ago—jots what? (#296) Emily Dickenson -
One Year ago—jots what?
God—spell the word! I—can't—
Was't Grace? Not that—
Was't Glory? That—will do—
Spell slower—Glory—
Such Anniversary shall be—
Sometimes—not often—in Eternity—
When farther Parted, than the Common Woe—
Look—feed upon each other’s faces—so—
In doubtful meal, if it be possible
Their Banquet’s true—
I tasted—careless—then—
I did not know the Wine
Came once a World—Did you?
Oh, had you told me so—
This Thirst would blister—easier—now—
You said it hurt you—most—
Mine—was an Acorn’s Breast—
And could not know how fondness grew
In Shaggier Vest—
Perhaps—I couldn’t—
But, had you looked in—
A Giant—eye to eye with you, had been—
No Acorn—then—
So—Twelve months ago—
We breathed—
Then dropped the Air—
Which bore it best?
Was this—the patientest—
Because it was a Child, you know—
And could not value—Air?
If to be “Elder”—mean most pain—
I’m old enough, today, I’m certain—then—
As old as thee—how soon?
One—Birthday more—or Ten?
Let me—choose!
Ah, Sir, None!
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - Blood donors in Sweden get a text message whenever their blood saves someone's life.
Sweden is just one of the many countries that has seen a dip in blood donations in recent years. Both Blodcentralen and England’s National Health Service expressed concern over the lower numbers last summer; the Red Cross also laments that less than 10% of eligible blood donors give each year on its homepage. To show donors gratitude long after they leave the center, the Swedish blood service sends them a text whenever their blood is being used on a patient. The text program, with its powerful social media pull, is seen as a way to entice young people and build out the future donor base.
Today's gift count (56 gifts): you currently have Six geese a' laying, 10 golden rings, 12 calling birds, 12 French hens, ten turtledoves and six partridges in their respective pear trees (begin thinking abut gardening tools and an illegal immigrant.)
I'm sorry to have to say this but kill the gaggle of geese immediately (after five, it's considered a gaggle.)
They're filthy disgusting birds - contact your local upscale poultry purveyor. Geese lay approximately one egg every 1.5 days.
Tonight is the Fifth night of Kwanzaa.
Nia (NEE-yah) recognizes purpose, the focus on building and developing of the community in order to restore the people to their traditional greatness
December 30, 1942 - Frank Sinatra opened at New York's Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a 4-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular, he was booked for an additional 4 weeks). An estimated 400 policemen were called out to help curb the excitement.
It is said that some of the teen-age girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed 'The Sultan of Swoon,' 'The Voice that Thrills Millions' and just 'The Voice.' Whatever he was known as, it was at this Paramount Theatre engagement that modern pop hysteria was born .
December 30, 1949 - Stanley Donen/ Gene Kelly's wonderful take on the Comden and Green musical, On the Town, starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, opened nationwide on this date.
Frank Sinatra, who was very thin, had to wear prosthetic padding to fill out the seat of his uniform. In a TCM interview, Ann Miller said that Sinatra was extremely sensitive about his padding and did not appreciate the usual movie set horseplay involving his lower half.
December 30, 1970 - Paul McCartney sued the other three Beatles to dissolve the partnership and gain control of his interest. The suit touched off a bitter feud between McCartney and the others, especially his co-writer on many of the Beatles compositions, John Lennon.
The Beatles were legally disbanded, four years to the day after Paul McCartney sued his band mates to dissolve the partnership.
December 30, 1980 -
The longest-running series in prime-time television history, The Wonderful World of Disney, was canceled on NBC after more than 25 years on the air. The Government, wanting to honor this momentous occasion, had the Selective Service System send a warning to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The Selective Service said that Mickey was in violation of registration compliance.
Of course, Mickey, age 52 at the time, sent in his registration card proving that he's a World War II veteran.
Today in History: December 30, 1852 -
Future US President Rutherford B. Hayes married Lucy Webb on this date, at the house of Lucy's mother. The wedding was performed by Dr. L.D. McCabe of Delaware.
The couple did not drink alcoholic beverages and Lucy served lemonade and other non-alcoholic drinks at the White House instead, earning herself the nickname "Lemonade Lucy.".
But what the hell do you care.
December 30, 1853 - Kids, follow along, it gets bumpy.
After the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, border disputes continued between the United States and Mexico. Land that now comprises lower Arizona and New Mexico was part of a proposed southern route for a transcontinental railroad. U.S. President Franklin Pierce (considered one of the worst Presidents) was convinced by Jefferson Davis, then the country's Secretary of War, to send James Gadsden (who had personal interests in the rail route) to negotiate the Gadsden Purchase with Mexico. Under the resulting agreement, the U.S. paid Mexico $10 million (equivalent to about $261million in 2010 dollars, 2020 dollars are just not worth that much anymore) to secure the land.
The matter about the money was to be very contentious: even though the agreement specified $10 million, the US Congress agreed on only $7 million ($183 million in 2010 dollars). When the money finally arrived in Mexico City $1 million ($26.07 million in 2010 dollars) was missing, thus resulting in a total of only $6 million (oh, you do the math.) The treaty included a provision allowing the U.S. to build a transoceanic canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, though this option was never exercised. With a few exceptions, such as the resolution of the Chamizal dispute, acquisition of land in this purchase defined the present boundaries of the continental United States.
December 30, 1862 -
The Union ironclad ship the USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C., during a storm on this date.
While the design of Monitor was well-suited for river combat, her low freeboard and heavy turret made her highly unseaworthy in rough waters. Sixteen members of the crew were lost.
The Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago, Illinois, claimed 627 lives on December 30, 1903. It was the single-building fire in U.S. history with the most fatalities, claiming over 100 more fatalities than the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston.
The Iroquois Theater, at 24-28 West Randolph Street, was advertised as "absolutely fireproof." The theatre opened on November 23rd and burned 37 days later on December 30th. Over 1,900 people were in attendance at a matinée showing of the popular musical Mr. Bluebeard.
Of the 300 or so actors, dancers, stagehands, etc., only an aerialist (Nellie Reed), an actor in a bit part, an usher, and two female attendants died. The aerialist's role was as a fairy. She flew out over the audience on a trolley wire, showering them with pink carnations. She was trapped above the stage while waiting for her entrance. Comedian Eddie Foy was hailed as a hero for attempting to calm the crowd. Foy's role in this disaster is recreated by Bob Hope in the film The Seven Little Foys.
After the fire, it was revealed that fire inspectors had been bribed with free tickets to overlook code violations. Accusations began to appear that the asbestos curtain was not asbestos. The curtain had disappeared, which meant it was either viewed as incriminating evidence and removed or had burned, in which case it could not have been asbestos, which does not burn.
A result from the Iroquois fire was the development of the first panic exit device by the Von Duprin exit device company, now a part of Ingersoll Rand. Panic exit devices are now required by building codes for high-occupancy spaces.
December 30, 1916 -
Kids, you know I love discussing early 20th Century Russian history as much as the next person, but this item is so good, it has to span over the course of two days (but it will reside on December 30th - you'll see why shortly.
Grigori Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, whore monger (I got to use whore monger twice in the same post), very unbathed and alcoholic, was a very unpleasant man. And yet he held tremendous influence over the royal family (which probably hastened their downfall).
On December 16, 1916 O.S. ( Old Style, i.e. - Julian Calendar, so it's really December 29), having decided that Rasputin's influence over the Tsaritsa had made him a far-too-dangerous threat to the empire, a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusupov and the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (one of the few Romanov family members to escape the annihilation of the family during the Red Terror), apparently lured Rasputin to the Yusupovs' Moika Palace, where they served him cakes and red wine laced with a massive amount of cyanide. According to legend, Rasputin was unaffected, although Vasily Maklakov had supplied enough poison to kill five men. Conversely, Maria Rasputin's (one of Rasputin's four children) account asserts that, if her father did eat or drink poison, it was not in the cakes or wine, because, after the attack by Khioniya Guseva (she stabbed him in the gut - no surprise - he survived), he had hyperacidity, and avoided anything with sugar. In fact, she expressed doubt that he was poisoned at all.
Determined to finish the job, Yusupov became anxious about the possibility that Rasputin might live until the morning, which would leave the conspirators with no time to conceal his body. Yusupov ran upstairs to consult the others and then came back down to shoot Rasputin through the back with a revolver. Rasputin fell, and the company left the palace for a while. Yusupov, who had left without a coat, decided to return to grab one, and, while at the palace, he went to check up on the body. Suddenly, Rasputin opened his eyes, grabbed Yusupov by the throat and strangled him. As he made his bid for freedom, however, the other conspirators arrived and fired at him. After being hit three times in the back, Rasputin fell once more. As they neared his body, the party found that, remarkably, he was still alive, struggling to get up. They clubbed him into submission and, after wrapping his body in a sheet, threw him into an icy river, and he finally met his end there on the morning of December 17th O.S. (December 30th) - as had both his siblings before him.
Three days later, the body of Rasputin, poisoned, shot four times and badly beaten, was recovered from the Neva River and autopsied. The cause of death was hypothermia. His arms were found in an upright position, as if he had tried to claw his way out from under the ice. In the autopsy, it was found that he had indeed been poisoned, and that the poison alone should have been enough to kill him.
Yet another report, also supporting the idea that he was still alive after submerging through the ice into the Neva River, is that after his body was pulled from the river, water was found in the lungs, showing that he didn't die until he was submerged into the water. So, apparently, you can't keep a very bad man down.
This will be a test.
December 30, 1946 - From very early on in my childhood - four, five years old - I felt alien to the human race. I felt very comfortable with thinking I was from another planet, because I felt disconnected - I was very tall and skinny, and I didn't look like anybody else, I didn't even look like any member of my family.
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith, singer-songwriter, poet, artist, Godmother of Punk, Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was born on this date.
Really, start thinking about those resolutions.
And so it goes
Before you go - On our other site, we took a brief look at some of the people we lost in 2020. (It was in no way an extensive list.) Today let's take a more light-hearted look back at 2020 -
Take a moment to watch Jimmy Fallon's musical recap of 2020.
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - Cows poop corn krnels, too
According to The Takeout, the phenomenon isn’t specific to humans — cows experience it, too. This is somewhat surprising, since cows are ruminant animals whose digestive systems can break down tough materials better than ours can. When cows swallow their food, it softens in a special digestive chamber called a rumen and then gets sent back up for another round of mastication. (This also explains why it seems like cows are always munching on something.) But scientists have discovered that corn sometimes manages to emerge partially unscathed from this process of “chewing the cud.”
Today's gift tally (37 gifts): you currently have five golden rings, eight calling birds, nine French hens, ten turtledoves and five partridges in their respective pear trees (begin thinking preserves.) The five golden rings represent the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.
Speaking of poultry - we've all been misinterpreting the song all these years. The song's seemingly bizarre switch from four birds, to five pieces of jewelry, and back to six birds actually makes perfect sense: The "five golden rings" is more likely a reference to ring-necked pheasants. So the five golden rings in this stanza refer to five ring-necked pheasants, a dish that was sure to be served at some of the king or queen's Twelfth Night feasts during their Twelve Days of Christmas celebrations.
Let's hope your true love does not know this, you do not need to encourage avian flu.
Tonight is the Fourth night of Kwanzaa.
Ujamaa (oo-jah-MAH) is a commitment to the practice of shared social wealth and the work needed to achieve it.
December 29, 1933 -
One of their best remembered films, Laurel and Hardy's Sons of the Desert, premiered on this date.
Stan objects to going on to the roof in the rain because he doesn't want to catch "spumonia." As they are leaving the roof to climb down the drain spout, Hardy was supposed to repeat "spumonia" but instead said "ammonia," then quickly corrected himself. Director Seiter thought a mistake corrected by another mistake was funny, and left the line in as Hardy had said it.
December 29, 1939 - Charles Laughton's masterful turn as Quasimodo in William Dieterle's remake of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, co-starring Maureen O'Hara, premiered in the US on this date.
The scene in which Quasimodo rings the cathedral bells for Esmeralda was shot the day World War II began in Europe. The director and star were so overwhelmed, the scene took on a new meaning, with Charles Laughton ringing the bells frantically and William Dieterle forgetting to yell "cut." Finally, the actor just stopped ringing when he became too tired to continue.
December 29, 1939 -
The classic Western comedy, Destry Rides Again, premiered on this date.
According to her family, Marlene Dietrich had no interest in doing a western when presented this script. But her friend Erich Maria Remarque convinced her that it would be perfect for her. Remarque told her that it would make her "more American". "If I am more American", Marlene asked him, "can I do more against the Nazis?" Remarque answered, "Of course". Dietrich's motive for doing this movie was to warn Americans about the Nazis.
December 29, 1940 - Carol Reed's nearly forgotten wartime drama Night Train to Munich, starring Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, and Paul Henreid premiered in the US on this date.
The second of four cinematic appearances by Charters and Caldicott (played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne). They first appeared in The Lady Vanishes, also written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. They later appeared in Crook's Tour, and in Millions Like Us, which was also written by Gilliat and Lauder.
December 29, 1965 - Thunderball - the best James Bond title - premiered in US on this date.
The only Bond movie where we get a glimpse of all 00 Agents in one shot. They are summoned to M's briefing, and 007 is the last to join in. He sits down in the only available chair, the seventh from the left. Only one of the other 00's is revealed, however, as they are filmed from behind.
December 29, 1967 - Star Trek first aired The Trouble with Tribbles episode - arguably one of their most famous episodes - on this date.
During the famous "bar fight", careful observers will note that while tables are broken, all the chairs remain intact. The tables were studio property: the chairs were rented, and if damaged would have to be paid for.
December 29, 1967 - Sergio Leone's iconic Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, premiered in the US on this date.
Ennio Morricone's iconic theme music was designed in places to mimic the sound of a howling coyote. Originally, Morricone did not want to use the trumpet but Leone insisted. Along with the electric and acoustic guitars, and the "tarzan yell", the trumpet became the most distinctive part of the soundtrack.
Today in History: December 29, 1170 - Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was slashed to death by four of King Henry II's knights at the altar of the Virgin Mary. "Is there no one who will rid me from this turbulent priest", cried Henry in frustration earlier that month.
It was apparently not a serious demand for Becket's death, but that did not stop his brains from being splattered in Canterbury Cathedral.
Henry II was forced to walk to Becket's grave while being flogged by eighty monks as penance for his death.
So kids remember, don't ask for things that you don't really want (the whole tears in heaven/ answered prayers thing.)
December 29, 1848 - James Polk became the first president to install gas lighting in the White House on this date, though it had been used sporadically around the country since 1816.
Incidentally, Polk was also the first president to have his inauguration speech broadcast by telegraph, and the first president to have his photograph taken.
December 29, 1851 - It's fun to stay at the YMCA.
The formation of the first YMCA in the United States in Boston, happened on this date.
No, I'm not going to play that song.
December 29, 1852 - Emma Snodgrass, referred to by East Coast newspapers as "the girl who has recently been visiting parts of New England in pants" was "again" arrested in Boston on a charge of vagrancy. Since Emma was regularly employed as a clerk, and paid her bills, the vagrancy charge didn't hold.
She was released after the judge had given her some "wholesome advice about her eccentricities," to which she "responded with becoming grace and promised reformation." The next day, however, Emma was back on the street in her "male attire."
I tremble to think what would have happened if the judge had seen what was going on at the BostonYMCA.
December 29, 1876 - Today's lesson: taking your job too seriously, can get you seriously killed.
On a cold and wintry night, the Pacific Express #5, carrying some 159 passengers and crew, was traveling over a bridge near Ashtabula, Ohio. Only the first engine of the train made it to the other side at 7:28 p.m. as the bridge began to collapse. The rest of the train broke away and plummeted to the bottom of the ravine below. Approximately 92 men, women and children were killed, not from the fall itself, but from the ensuing fire while they were trapped inside the crushed cars.
The bridge was owned by the Lake Shore and Michigan railroad, and was the joint creation of Charles Collins, Engineer, and Amasa Stone, Chief Architect and Designer. After testifying before an investigative jury, Charles Collins quietly went home and shot himself in the head. Amasa Stone committed suicide approximately 7 years later. Stone was held partly responsible for the disaster by the same investigative jury before which Collins had testified, and was publicly scorned for many years. Please remember that YOU are not your job (unless you feel personally responsible from the horrible death of about 100 men, women and children.)
December 29, 1890 - The Wounded Knee Massacre took place at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on this date, as over 200Sioux were killed by US troops, led by Colonel James Forsyth, who was sent to disarm them.
Forsyth was later charged with killing the unarmed men women and children, but later exonerated.
Another proud moment in American history.
December 29, 1946 -
Baroness Sacher-Masoch (Marianne Evelyn Faithfull), English singer, songwriter, actress
and inventor of the Mars bar tampon, was born on this date.
December 29, 1959 - Paula Poundstone, comedian, was born on this date.
Don't forget to catch Paula's podcast Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.
December 29, 1972 - Life ended the weekly publication of their magazine with the issue titled Year in Pictures, on this date. From 1936 it had produced over 1,860 issues.
The magazine was resurrected as a monthly in 1978 and ended again in 2000. From 2004 to 2007 Life appeared as a weekly newspaper supplement. In 2009, the archives were made available electronically.
December 29, 1993 -
Former child star Todd Bridges (who played Willis on Different Strokes) arrested for transportation of methamphetamine.
What the hell were they smoking on that set? Oh, wait a minute ...
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - Apparently you can teach an 'old' dog a new trick
Researchers we stunned when they observed that some wolf puppies will unexpectedly play "fetch," showing that an urge to retrieve a ball might be an ancient wolf trait and not a result of dog domestication. The findings were made almost accidental when researchers tested 13 wolf puppies from three different litters in a behavioral test battery designed to assess various behaviors in young dog puppies. During this series of tests, three 8-week-old wolf puppies spontaneously showed interest in a ball and returned it to a perfect stranger upon encouragement. The discovery comes as a surprise because it had been hypothesized that the cognitive abilities necessary to understand cues given by a human, such as those required for a game of fetch, arose in dogs only after humans domesticated them at least 15,000 years ago.
It's the Fourth day of Christmas and you've just received four calling bird, sometimes know as colly birds or collie birds (which are actually blackbirds). Today's score: you currently have 22 gifts - four calling birds, six French hens, eight turtledoves and four partridges in their respective pear trees (when do these trees become a grove?)
The four calling birds are the four Evangelists. Seek out day old bread (You'll need it in a major way.)
Tonight's the third night of Kwanzaa.
The principle celebrated is Ujima (oo-JEE-muh) or collective work and responsibility. That means to build and maintain the community together and take on the community's problems and to solve them together.
December 28, 1945 -
One of the first Hollywood films to deal with psychoanalysis, Alfred Hitchcock's Spellboundpremiered in the US on this date.
Producer David O. Selznick wanted much of this movie to be based on his experiences in psychotherapy. He even brought his psychotherapist in on the set to be a technical advisor. Once, when she disputed with Alfred Hitchcock on the workings of therapy, Hitchcock responded, "My dear, it's only a movie."
December 28, 1958 - Toho Company Ltd. released Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, starring Toshiro Mifune and Misa Uehara to theaters in Japan on this date.
Akira Kurosawa made this commercial and accessible film as a way to repay Toho Studios for allowing him to make riskier, more artistic fare such as Rashomon. It was later one of the greatest inspirations for George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
December 28, 1960 -
The MGM film, Where The Boys Are, starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin, was released in the US on this date.
Dolores Hart left Hollywood a few years after this movie was released and became a Benedictine nun, and has been a Mother Superior for many years.
December 28, 1968 - Marvin Gaye's song I Heard It Through the Grapevine hit number #1 on this date.
The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. They refused to credit another writer, so Strong took it to Whitfield, who helped put it together. The song eventually became a Motown classic, but it had a rough start, as executives at the company thought it was too bluesy and lacked hit potential.
Today in History: December 28, 1832 -
US Vice President John Calhoun resigned on this date, having only served 16 days in office because of political differences with President Andrew Jackson. He was the first vice president to do so.
He still continued to be a major force in American politics and was a big influence on the policies of the Confederacy. (Mr. Calhoun has fallen very much out of favor. Statues, paintings and stained glass windows have been taken down or smashed. A lake in Minnesota: Lake Calhoun, the biggest lake in Minneapolis, will now go by its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska.)
December 28, 1869 -
Patent for chewing gum was granted to William Semple (U.S. patent number #98,304), on this date.
William Semple's version, complete with rubber, charcoal, and myrhh, was the first one to be patented. I bet this gum doesn't lose it flavor on the bed post overnight?
December 28, 1895 - Auguste and Louis Lumiere opened the first movie theater at the Grand Cafe in Paris, on this date . Other inventors, including Thomas Edison, were working on various moving picture devices at the time. But most of those other devices could only be viewed by one person at a time. The Lumieres were the first to project moving pictures on a screen, so that they could be viewed by a large audience.
The first film they showed to a paying audience was called Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory. It was a short, single shot with an immobile camera and it showed a concierge opening the factory gates from which dozens of workers walked and bicycled into the street. It ended with the concierge closing the gates again.
It wasn't a movie in the modern sense. It had no characters, no storyline. It was just an animated photograph. Much like most French New Wave films. The Lumiere brothers went on to make more than 2,000 films like this, each one less than a minute long depicting various scenes of human activity with titles like The Arrival of a Train, Boat Leaving the Harbor and Baby's First Steps. They didn't call these "movies" or "films," they called them "views."
It took other filmmakers to turn movies into a medium for storytelling. The Lumieres were primarily documentary filmmakers. But in their film Demolition of a Wall, they added a reverse loop to the film so that after the wall falls to the ground it miraculously picks itself back up. It was the first special effect ever uses in the history of motion pictures.
The Lumieres' movie house was a big success. Within a few months of its opening, more than 2,000 people lined up every night to buy tickets. But the Lumieres themselves thought that movies would be a passing fad. They told their cinematographers not to expect work for more than six months. Auguste went on to become a medical scientist and Louis went back to working on still photographs.
December 28, 1945 -
Please rise while reading this:
The US Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Reverend Francis Bellamy for use at the dedication of the World's Fair Grounds in Chicago on October 21, 1892.
December 28, 1973 -
In between bouts of self-loathing and heavy drinking, Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law on this date. (Sometimes people can surprise you.)
It was the first legislation in American history to focus on protecting animals and their habitats from economic encroachment.
December 28, 1981 -
The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Carr, was born at 7:46 am on this date, two and a half years after the world’s first test tube baby, Louise Brown (from Oldham, England) was born.
Elizabeth was delivered at Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces. She is now a journalist.
December 28, 1983 - Dennis Wilson, original drummer of the Beach Boys, drowned while diving from a boat near Marquesas Pier on this date. He was rather drunk at the time.
You would think that someone in the Beach Boys could swim.
December 28, 1991 -
Jack Ruby's pistol, used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald, sold at auction at Christie's for $220,000 on this date.
The perfect gift for the man who has everything.
December 28, 1991 - Eight people died in a crush to get into a basketball game at City College in New York. The game was promoted by a young rap promoter named Sean Combs.
Combs later testified that security at the Nat Holman facility was supposed to be provided by NYCC.
(Sean Combs, Sean Combs, I know that name from somewhere.)
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - Penguin poop produces laughing gas
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark were investigating the effect of glacier retreat and penguin activity on greenhouse gas emissions. They discovered when these penguins poop, fueled by a diet of fish, squid and krill, nitrogen is released from their feces into the ground. The bacteria in the soil then converts the nitrogen into nitrous oxide -- a greenhouse gas commonly known as laughing gas.
Once again, if you're keeping score, you currently have, three French hens, four turtledoves and three partridges with their trio of pear trees (10 gifts.)
The three French hens symbolize the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The hens, being french, will not associate with the common turtle doves - leave plenty of room between the cage.
Tonight's the second night of Kwanzaa.
To represent the second doctrine or principle the left most red candle is lit after the black one. This principle represents Kujichagulia (koo-jee-chah-goo-LEE-ah) or Self- Determination.
December 27, 1937 (some sources site the broadcast date as December 12, 1937) -
Middle aged, slightly overweight and possible transvestite performer, Mae West and Don Ameche appeared on the radio show The Chase and Sanborn Hour as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. She told Ameche in the show to "get me a big one...I feel like doin' a big apple!"
The FCC later deemed the broadcast vulgar and indecent and far below even the minimum standard which they should control in the selection and production of broadcast programs. West would not perform in radio for another twelve years until January 1950, in an episode of The Chesterfield Supper Club hosted by Perry Como.
December 27, 1940 - Universal Pictures released The Invisible Woman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore on this date.
Due to his long term alcoholism, John Barrymore had difficulty remembering his lines. In order to perform, his lines had to be written on cue cards and attached to walls, the floor, or any other object off camera so he could read them. When you watch his performance as he talks to another character, you will notice his eye line moves in various directions as he reads.
December 27, 1941 - 20th Century Fox released John Ford's film, How Green Was My Valley, starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara and Roddy McDowall on this date.
Roddy McDowall had only been in America for two weeks before being cast in the leading role of Huw. He had been evacuated from Great Britain with his mother and sister to keep out of harm's way of Nazi bombardments of the islands.
December 27, 1947 - Hey kids, what time is it?
A bleary eyed world, fresh from the horrors of a second World War awaken to the sight of a freaky marionette on NBC - Howdy Doody premiered on this date.
This was the first nationally televised American children's television show.
December 27, 1967 -
Future Nobel Laureate Robert Zimmerman returned to his acoustic roots with the release of his John Wesley Harding album on this date.
On the cover of John Wesley Harding, on either side of Dylan (who was wearing the same jacket he'd worn on the sleeve of Blonde On Blonde) is Luxman and Purna Das of the Bengali Bauls music collective, who were staying with Dylan's manager Albert Grossman at the time. Standing behind them is Charlie Joy, a Woodstock carpenter and stonemason. The foursome all sport a rather disheveled "common man" look and the whole arrangement was possibly a dig at the Beatles and their Sgt. Pepper cover with the Fab Four placed at the center of a group of famous personalities.
December 27, 1979 - Knots Landing, CBS' spinoff of Dallas, premiered on this date. The show went on for 14 seasons, making it one of the longest running prime time drama, in television history.
Two cast members remained with the series from the first episode in 1979, until the final episode in 1993: Michele Lee and Ted Shackelford.
December 27, 1980 -
Weeks after his death, John Lennon's (Just Like) Starting Over goes to #1 in America.
This was one of the last songs recorded for the album, Double Fantasy. Lennon was not sure he should record it, but his producer and session musicians convinced him it would be a hit. It became the first single from the album, released in the US on October 27, 1980, which was the same day Mark David Chapman bought the gun he would use to kill Lennon on December 8.
December 27, 2002 –
The very long planned adaption of the 1975 musical (with the same name,) Chicago, starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere premiered in the US on this date.
The play Chicago was Maurine Dallas Watkins' retelling of two very public murder trials that occurred in Chicago in 1924, those of Beulah Sheriff-Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins covered these trials for the Chicago Tribune and wrote the character of Mary Sunshine as a self portrait. For Belva Gaertner (better known as Velma Kelly), she had a much less glitzy fate. She was acquitted and went on to have a few run-ins with the law, but ended up living a semi-normal life before dying of natural causes in California in 1965 at the age of eighty. Although in the case of Beulah Sheriff-Annan (a.k.a. Roxie Hart), it was more of a grisly end. It's true she was acquitted of murdering her lover, thanks to the skills of her highly paid attorney, who was bankrolled by her stunningly loyal husband. She repaid that debt by publicly divorcing him after her release. She married two more times before her death from tuberculosis four years later.
Today in History: December 27, 1703 -
The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England.
So now you know.
December 27, 1831 -
For some unknown reason, naturalist Charles Darwin began his famous voyage on-board a beagle, on the date.
He immediately swam back to shore and boarded the HMS Beagle after the dog drowned.
December 27, 1845 -
Dr. Crawford W. Long first used as an anesthetic, ether, for childbirth on his wife ether while she gave birth to their second child, on this date.
The birth was a success, and it is considered the beginning of modern anesthetics.
December 27, 1900 - Carrie Amelia Moore Nation had been a member of the Women's Christian Temperance organization until she became fed up with their non-violent tactics, and decided to smash up pubs instead. With her cry, “Smash! Smash! For Jesus’ sake, smash!,” the radicalized Nation first picked up her famous hatchet and raided the swank bar at the Hotel Carey in Wichita, Kansas, destroying the interior on this date.
While Nation went on to greater fame after the attack, her plans for the bar backfired; the hotel bar gained nation-wide recognition after the militant prohibitionist waged her attack.
December 27, 1901 - I had no desire to be an film actress, to always play somebody else, to be always beautiful with somebody constantly straightening out your every eyelash. It was always a big bother to me.
Marie Magdalene Dietrich, German-born singer and actress best known for her roles in Shanghai Express and Witness for the Prosecution, was born on this date.
The 12 acre complex in midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center developed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., on land leased from Columbia University opened to the public on December 27, 1932.
Radio City Music Hall (named for one of the complex's first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America) opened with a spectacular stage show, featuring Ray Bolger and Martha Graham. The opening was meant to be a return to high class variety entertainment.
Unfortunately, the show bombed and on January 11, 1933, the Music Hall rushed to show the first film on the giant screen, installed in the theatre: Frank Capra's The Bitter Tea of General Yen starring Barbara Stanwyck.
Again, the film was not critically well received
December 27, 1961 - Tony Bennett, playing in the Venetian Room of the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, made his first solo public performance of I Left My Heart in San Francisco, on this date. The song was written by George Cory and Douglass Cross in 1954 (Cory wrote the music and Cross wrote the lyrics) and had languished in obscurity for years.
They pitched the song to Bennett's pianist and musical director, Ralph Sharon, who was looking for new material for Bennett to sing at the Fairmont Hotel. The crowd in the hotel loved the song and Bennett went on to record the song on January 23, 1962.
The rest, as they say, is history.
December 27, 1971 - Charles Schulz’ famous Peanuts comic strip made the cover of Newsweek magazine this day.
Charlie Brown hoped this would help him with his chances with the little red headed girl. Lucy, on the other hand, was unimpressed, having been on the cover of Time magazine six years earlier.
December 27, 1985 -
Dian Fossey, famous for her efforts to study and save mountain gorillas in Africa, was murdered in her hut in Rwanda with a machete she had confiscated from a poacher some months earlier.
No suspects were ever found; no charges were made.
Other things to occupy your mind with other than COVID-19 - It turns out that you can actually eat parts of your Christmas tree.
The needles from your tree are a great source of Vitamin C. If you want to tuck into your tree after Christmas then dry out the needles before grinding. You can then use the dried needles as a garnish on soups. But please make sure you remove all the ornaments and are not trying to consume your artificial tree, (we've already discussed where those branches originally came from.)
Today is the start of Mulchfest 2020. MulchFest is an annual event held by the Department of Parks & Recreation that provides New Yorkers with the opportunity to bring their holiday trees to be recycled at designated sites across the five boroughs.
For more information, visit the Parks Department's Mulchfest page.
Tonight's the first night of Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa means "first fruit" in Swahili.
Today is St. Stephen's Day.
The citizens of the British Commonwealth denote the day by putting on trunks and gloves to beat each other bloody silly.
Another reason to appreciate the American Revolution - a peaceful December 26th.
If you are starting your Christmas shopping for 2021, you're either way ahead of the curve or cheap.
If you're keeping score, you currently have two turtledoves and a pair of partridges in their respective pear trees (four gifts - remember we're counting the partridge and a pear tree as a unit.)
Begin taking extra copies of free daily newspapers - you'll need it in a major way. (The gift, the two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments.)
December 26, 1951 -
The film that introduced Akira Kurosawa to world audiences, Rashomon, starring Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyo, premiered in the US on this date.
Even during high noon the parts of the forest that the crew needed to shoot in were still too dark. Rather than use a regular foil reflector, which did not bounce enough light, Akira Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa opted to use a full-length mirror "borrowed" from Daiei's costume department. The crew bounced light from the mirror through leaves and trees to soften it and make it look more like natural sunlight. Miyagawa later called it the most successful lighting effect he had ever done.
December 26, 1957 -
The Ingmar Bergman classic Wild Strawberries, starring Victor Sjostrom, opened in Sweden on this date.
Cinematographer Gunnar Fischer says that several scenes had to be shot indoors due to Victor Sjöström's poor health. "We had to make some very bad back-projection in the car because we never knew if Victor would come back alive the next day." Nevertheless, as long as Victor was home by 5:15 P.M. each day, "and had his whiskey punctually, all went well."
December 26, 1967 - 53 years ago today, The Beatles gave their fans a Christmas present - Magical Mystery Tour was shown on the BBC on this date.
(I 'm not sure if I've correctly embed a version of the show but check out the link above)
After its premiere on BBC1 on December 26, 1967, Ringo Starr apparently rang up the BBC complaining that the movie got poor ratings because it was broadcast in black-and-white. A few days later, it was broadcast in color on BBC2. It still bombed.
December 26, 1973 -
Here was a great way to celebrate the holidays; The Exorcist, premiered in the US on this date.
On the first day of filming the exorcism sequence, Linda Blair's delivery of her foul-mouthed dialogue so disturbed the gentlemanly Max von Sydow that he actually forgot his lines.
Today in History: December 26, 1776 -
American forces under Gen. George Washington, having crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night, defeated Hessian mercenary troops fighting for the British at the Battle of Trenton, N.J. on this date.
There are reports that the usually stoic future president made a request of the big-boned General Harry Knox: “shift that fat ass Harry, but slowly, or you’ll swamp the damned boat.”
December 26, 1865 -
I'm not a fan of coffee but why isn't this a bigger deal - James Mason (sometimes known as Nason) of Franklin, Massachusetts registered the first U.S. patent (US Patent No. 51,741) for a coffee percolator on this date.
Coffee had really taken off in America after the tea supply was cut off during the War of 1812. By the 1860s, it had become a highly demanded commodity, and only increased in popularity with the invention of the percolator.
On this day in 1913, the author of the short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and the satirical dictionary, The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce disappeared into Mexico while traveling with the army of rebel Pancho Villa. In one of his final letters, the 71-year-old Bierce wrote to his niece, Lora,
Good-bye — if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico—ah, that is euthanasia!
December 26, 1919 - Red Sox owner and Broadway Producer, Harry Frazee believed he has solved one of his many headaches when he sold, an overweight, drunk, whoremongering baseball player to the New York Yankees on this date
Oops.
December 26, 2004 -
A massive tsunami caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, devastated Southeast Asia, killing more than 250,000 people in a single day and more than half a million lost their homes. This was most devastating tsunami in modern times
The earthquake has been titled the Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake and is the highest magnitude earthquake in the region in over 40 years. The event had the fourth largest death toll from an earthquake in recorded history. More than ten years after the quake and tsunami events, the entire region was still trying to recover and to rebuild. Some areas may never recover.
