Happy National Vinyl Day

(and not Record Store Day which was moved to June 12th and July 17 this year.) National Vinyl Record Day is celebrated every year on August 12 (commemorating the day Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877) to remember the culture, art, the very sound of the vinyl record.



Don't forget, whatever you do today, don't forget to pull out your big 10 inch and listen to it.


August 12, 1927 -
One of only two silent films - the other being The Artist in 2011 - to win an Oscar for best picture, Wings, opened in NYC on this date.



As a former pilot, director William A. Wellman knew how vital it was to have clouds for the dogfights, but the skies over Texas were clear for the first four weeks of production so no aerial scenes had been shot. When executives at Paramount Pictures questioned him about the delay, he explained that without clouds the audience would get no sense of speed or even movement--clouds gave audiences a sense of perspective, speed and direction, and without them planes flying around in a clear sky would just look like a swarm of flies.


August 12, 1939 -
The Bugs Bunny everyone knows takes another step forward when Hare-um Scare-um premiered on this date.



Bugs cross dresses for the first time in this cartoon when he dresses up as a female dog to distract the hunter's dog.


August 12, 1939 -
Considered one of the highlights of the Golden Age of Hollywood, The Wizard of Oz premiered on this date in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.



A recent study found that The Wizard of Oz is the most watched movie in film history, largely due to the number of television screenings each year as well as the various video/DVD/Blu-ray/4K releases, which have enabled children of every and all generations to see it.


August 12, 1941 -
MGM premiered their version of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy, in NYC on this date.



The concept of the two female loves of Jekyll/Hyde's life, aristocratic Beatrix Emery and barmaid Ivy Petersen, actually originated in the original stage version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as adapted by T.R. Sullivan for the great 19th century stage actor Richard Mansfield. The Stevenson novella mentions no female love interest of any sort for either Jekyll or Hyde.


August 10, 1960- -
Green Eggs and Ham was first published on this date (the letters J, P, Q, V, and Z don’t appear anywhere in the book).



It was the result of a bet between Dr. Seuss and Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher, who challenged him to write a story using no more than 50 different words.


August 12, 1988 -
Universal Pictures released Martin Scorsese's controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ, starting Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, David Bowie, and Barbara Hershey on this date.



Director Martin Scorsese first read Nikos Kazantzakis's novel The Last Temptation of Christ, after being given a copy by Barbara Hershey, while he was directing her in Boxcar Bertha, his second feature film. When she read in a trade paper many years later that Scorsese was finally getting the opportunity to direct a film adaptation, she begged him to let her play the role of Mary Magdalene. To make sure she didn't feel that he was giving her the part as a favor for having recommended the book, he made her audition.


Another moment of edifying culture


Today in History:
August 12, 30 BC (Given how the Romans were keeping track of time at this point and were drinking a huge amount of wine from lead cups - this date is fluid at best.) -

O, break! O, break!



Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, former wife of Julius Caesar and mistress of Marc Anthony, committed suicide by means of the unusual practice of nursing a venomous snake.


August 12, 3 AD -
A planetary conjunction (possibly Venus-Jupiter) was visible from the Earth with the naked eye on this date.



Many astronomers will later speculate that this may have been the mentioned Star of Bethlehem in the New Testament of the Bible.


August 12, 1676 -
Wampanoag chieftain Metacom (or Philip) was killed in a swamp near Mount Hope, PA on this date. Thus ends King Philip's War, the first war between Indians and European settlers.

Unfortunately, the Indians (or Native American, for the PC of you in the crowd) have been on the losing side, for the most part, ever since.


August 12, 1813 -
Austria declared war against Napoleon on this date.

An outraged England rushed to Austria's defense by declaring war against France,

exactly 101 years later when England officially declared war on Austria-Hungary on August 12, 1914.


August 12, 1865 -
After studying Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease which suggests that infections are caused by bacteria, Dr. Joseph Lister became the first surgeon to use disinfectants during an operation.



Lister also introduced Phenol (carbolic acid) as a form of disinfectant into his surgery. His heightened standards of hygiene will reduce his surgical death rate from 45% to 15%.


August 12, 1869 -
In San Francisco on this date, Emperor Norton I issued a stern edict outlawing both the Republican and Democratic political parties.

Violators face a prison term of five-to-ten years. Oh, for that wise man today!



Not familiar with Norton I ? Read the amazing tale of Emperor Joshua Norton. (Also, please check out The Emperor Norton Trust website dedicated to renaming the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge after our beloved majesty, Emperor Norton.)


August 12, 1898 -
The Spanish-American War ended on this date. Spain released Cuba and gave Puerto Rico to the United States. Americans rushed to Puerto Rico in gleeful droves, only to discover that everyone spoke Spanish and there were no luaus or volcanoes.



Their disappointment was profound.



They took Hawaii as a consolation prize (Hawaii was formally annexed by the U.S. - officially stolen) later that same day.


August 12, 1948 -
Russian schoolteacher Oksana Kasenkina was injured when she jumps out the window of the Soviet Consulate in New York City on this date.



Soviet officials claim they had rescued her from "White Russian" kidnappers, but Kosenkina says she was trying to escape from the Soviets. The US later expelled the consul general and the Soviets closed their consulate.


August 12, 1953 -
In Siberia, the Soviet Union successfully tests its first thermonuclear device, based on Andrei Sakharov's fission-fusion "Layer Cake" design: alternating layers of uranium and hydrogen fuel sandwiched together and wrapped around a conventional Atomic Bomb. The fission explosion compresses the hydrogen, causing a fusion reaction.



Hopefully this is no longer a state secret or boy, am I in deep trouble.


August 12, 1981 –
IBM introduced its Personal Computer (PC) also known as the IBM Model 5150 on this date. Developed in less than a year, using existing off-the-shelf components, it proved a runaway success in the small business market, and launched the era of the personal computer.



IBM's first PC ran with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor and used Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system.



And so it goes.


And on a personal note:

I'd like to wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday.



And so it goes.