It is not a Holy Days of Obligation

It's the Feast of the Annunciation (now a days known as The Solemnity of the Annunciation),



I'm not even going to try to explain this one to you.



While you're in church this afternoon, ask one of the old lady in the back saying her decades of rosary to explain it to you. (This is for extra credit,) today is also the feast of St. Dismas, the patron of undertakers and prisoners.

Dismas was the repentant thief crucified with Christ. (You can impress the old lady saying her rosaries with that fact.)


March 25, 1932 -
Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weismuller first stripped down to his leopard skin loin cloth - Tarzan the Ape Man premiered in NYC on this date.



Some of the monkeys used in this film got away, and they are still breeding in the wilderness of Silver Springs (in Ocala, Florida).


March 25, 1955 -
Richard Brooks's adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel, Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford, Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, Anne Francis, and Louis Calhern, premieres in the US on this date.



Clare Boothe Luce, then U.S. Ambassador to Italy, prevented the film from being shown at the Venice Film Festival; and a Senate committee had decided that the film would not have beneficial effects on contemporary youth. Both incidents only served to increase publicity and ticket sales for the controversial movie.


March 25, 1967 –
The Turtles song Happy Together hit No. #1 on the Billboard charts on this date.





Despite what the title implies, this is not a song about a couple in love. According to Gary Bonner, who wrote the song with Alan Gordon, the song is about unrequited love. Our desperate singer wants the girl to "imagine how the world could be so very fine," proposing what would happen "if I should call you up." The line in the fadeout, "How is the weather?" is when he realizes they will never be more than passing acquaintances, as he resorts to small talk to keep from bursting into tears.


March 25, 1968 -
The 58th and final episode of The Monkees, Mijacogeo (also known as The Frodis Caper,) aired on this date.



The initial version of The Monkees: Here Come the Monkees set a new record at the time - for the lowest ratings for a pilot. A re-edited version that featured Davy Jones' and Michael Nesmith's original screen tests at the beginning scored one of the highest test ratings ever.


March 24, 1972 -
America's first single, A Horse With No Name, rides to No. #1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date.



America was formed in England by sons of US servicemen who were stationed there. Lead singer Dewey Bunnell wrote this when he was 19. Although the song is commonly misinterpreted about being on drugs, it is not: Bunnell based the images in the lyrics on things he saw while visiting the US.


March 25, 1972 -
ABC-TV aired the final episode of Bewitched, The Truth, Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me, Sam on this date.



This episode is actually a remake of episode #50 Speak the Truth that aired during the second season.


March 25, 1982 –
The police drama Cagney & Lacey premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



When the series was originally set up as a feature film, one studio was willing to back it if the producer cast Ann-Margret and Raquel Welch as the title characters.


March 25, 1986 -
We all got to meet Cousin Balki for the first time when Perfect Strangers, Knock Knock, Who's There? premiered for the first time.



Bronson Pinchot originally turned down the role because he felt that it was too similar to his role in Beverly Hills Cop. The producers did indeed want him because of his performance in that film. After a visit to Greece, Pinchot changed his mind and wanted to play the character inspired by the generosity of the Greek people.


March 25, 1988 -
Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas was released in Spain on this date.



Pepa Marcos (the character played by Carmen Maura) lives on Calle Montalbán, which is two blocks away from Calle Antonio Maura, named after Carmen Maura's great-great-uncle (a five-time prime minister of Spain)


meet the Staff


Today in History:
Anne Brontë was baptized on March 25, 1820. She and her sisters Charlotte and Emily were avid writers. Women were not supposed to write books at the time because novels were still being written in the formal style, and it was feared that women would corrupt that classic form with their penchant for multiple climaxes. The Brontës therefore wrote under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.

Charlotte got to be Currer, which made the other girls jealous, because Currer was the handsome and swarthy sailor: Ellis was the stuttering librarian, and Acton was the simpleminded shepherd.


March 25, 1821 - (Για τους Έλληνες φίλους μου)
Greece revolted against the Ottoman Empire on this day (starting the Greek War of Independence,) which had been occupying and ruling it since the mid-1400s.



The war for independence lasted nine years, and was only settled after significant intervention.

The Greek people were so exuberant that they proclaimed the country a republic on this day in 1924, and officially deposed King George II (of Greece) and stripped of his Greek nationality, and sent him packing. (As if I needed to remind you, our favorite itinerant Greek sailor, Philip Mountbatten is/was related to all the modern Kings of Greece as well as most of the remaining royal houses of Europe.)


March 25, 1911 -
It's the 110th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, the largest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York, causing the death of 148 garment workers who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until September 11th, 2001.



The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.


March 25, 1915 -
During submarine maneuvers off Honolulu, Hawaii, USS F-4 (SS-23) sank on this day. Despite all efforts of naval authorities, all 25 of the crew members were lost.

This was the first major submarine disaster. An investigation board will later speculate that the lead lining around the vessel’s battery tank had corroded, leading to a leak that caused the crew to loose control during a submerged run.


March 25, 1942 -
The late great Aretha Louise Franklin (The Queen of Soul,) born in Memphis, Tennessee, on this date, was a singer, songwriter and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings, Franklin is adept at jazz, blues, R&B and gospel music.









Franklin has won eighteen Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century long career and holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance awards with eleven to her name.


March 25, 1947 -
Reginald Kenneth Dwight, singer-songwriter, composer and pianist was born on this date as well.









In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists"


March 25, 1965 -
Today was the end of a march by 25,000 civil rights supporters from Selma to Montgomery, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after four days and nights on the road under the protection of Army troops and federalized Alabama National Guardsmen. They were refused permission to give a petition to Governor Wallace which said: "We have come not only five days and 50 miles but we have come from three centuries of suffering and hardship. We have come to you, the Governor of Alabama, to declare that we must have our freedom NOW. We must have the right to vote; we must have equal protection of the law and an end to police brutality."



During the rally that followed the refusal by the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated "We are not about to turn around. We, are on the move now. Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us."


March 25, 1967 -
As part of Operation Green Mist, the U.S. Army detonated explosive warheads containing the deadly sarin nerve agent at Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve on the big island of Hawaii.

The open-air tests are kept secret for more than 30 years.

Oops.


March 25, 1975 -
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew during a reception at Ri'Assa Palace on this date.



The nephew was beheaded the following June: his head was displayed on a spike as a warning for all to see.

Kids don't let this happen to you - remember to immediately pass the Baba ghanoush when dining with your family.


March 25 1990 -
An intentionally set fire at the Happy Land Social Club in NYC killed 87 by smoke inhalation, on this date.



At the time, the fire set by a jealous ex-boyfriend, held the record for a mass murder in the U.S. (until, of course the World Trade Center disaster.)



And so it goes.