Television is chewing gum for the eyes.

The United Nations General Assembly (back in 1996) proclaimed November 21st as World Television Day. The UN want to recognize that television represented a symbol for communication and globalization in the contemporary world.



I remind my children ad nauseum, everything they own is due to TV.


Today is the 49th annual World Hello Day (some sites say it's the 50th.) Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. My suggestion - let's call the day 'Say Hello to Kevin and hand him a fist full of money day.'



This demonstrates the importance of personal communication for preserving peace. World Hello Day was begun in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the Fall of 1973. Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries.


November 21, 1931 -
James Whale classic retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, premiered on this date.



During production, there was some concern that seven-year-old Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by The Monster, would be overly frightened by the sight of Boris Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Harris ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, took his hand, and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with The Monster.


November 21, 1942 -
Babbit and Catstello, take-offs on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello try to catch Tweety bird (in his first appearance) in A Tale of Two Kitties, premiered on this date.



Early model sheets for this short indicated that Tweety's original name was Orson, but no name is given in the film. After censors complained that the pink bird looked naked because he had no feathers, Tweety's color was changed to yellow.


November 21, 1946 -
One of the greatest films about vets returning home after WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives, premiered in NYC on this date.



For his performance as Homer Parrish, Harold Russell became the only actor to win two Academy Awards for the same role. The Academy Board of Governors thought he was a long shot to win, so they gave him an honorary award "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." Later that ceremony he won for Best Supporting Actor.


November 21, 1959 -
Jack Benny, with his violin, teams up with Vice President Richard M.Nixon at the piano at the annual President's Black Tie Ball of the National Press Club on this date.



Nixon and other Government officials were at the club in honoring Benny for his distinguished service to music in America. In accepting the award, Benny, who was not known for his outstanding musical ability, said giving him this award was like giving glamorous actress Zsa Zsa Gabor an award for good housekeeping.


November 21, 1976 -
Ok everybody, "...Gonna fly now, flying high now..."

Rocky, premiered in NYC on this date.



During his audition, Carl Weathers was sparring with Sylvester Stallone and accidentally punched him on the chin. Stallone told Weathers to calm down, as it was only an audition, and Weathers said that if he was allowed to audition with a 'real' actor, not a stand-in, he would be able to do a lot better. Director John G. Avildsen smiled and told Weathers that Stallone was the real actor (and the writer). Weathers looked at Stallone thoughtfully for a moment, and said, "Well, maybe he'll get better." Stallone immediately offered him the role.


November 21, 1980 -
In what was one of the most-watched TV cliffhangers in television history, 350 million viewers worldwide tuned into the television series Dallas to find out who had shot J.R. Ewing at the end of the show's previous season.



As it turned out, he was shot by his wife's sister, who also was his former mistress, Kristin Shepard.


November 21, 1980 -
After several years delay and hopelessly over budget, MCA Records released seventh studio album by Steely Dan, Gaucho, on this date.



MCA tried to recoup the cost of producing Gaucho by selling the album at $9.98 retail, rather than the average rate of $8.98 retail. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker couldn't help resent the price increase and feared that their fans would lay the blame on them, given that minimum wage was $3.10 at the time.


November 21, 1981 -
The Queen/David Bowie collaboration Under Pressure went to No. #1 on the charts in the UK, on this date.



Brian May recalled to Mojo magazine October 2008. "It was hard, because you had four very precocious boys and David, who was precocious enough for all of us. David took over the song lyrically. Looking back, it's a great song but it should have been mixed differently. Freddie and David had a fierce battle over that."



Bizarrely, on the same day, Olivia Newton-John song, Physical hits #1 on the charts in the US. Songwriters Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick came up with this song, which was originally titled Let's Get Physical. Instead of writing about the emotions of love, they decided to write this about the physical side, which many listeners found very refreshing in a pop song.


November 21, 1984 -
Warner Bros. released the super hero film Supergirl, starring Faye Dunaway, Helen Slater, Peter O’Toole, Mia Farrow, Peter Cook, Marc McClure, and Brenda Vaccaro, in the US on this date.



Film debut of Helen Slater. Many years later, Slater would later appear in three episodes of Smallville, playing Lara, the Kryptonian mother of Kal-El/Clark Kent, and then get a recurring role in Supergirl as Supergirl's adoptive mother, Eliza Danvers.


November 21, 1991 –
Aerosmith was the first rock band to make a guest appearance on The Simpsons when they perform Walk This Way at Moe’s Tavern.



In the original script, Moe tempted Aerosmith to play by offering them free beer, but the band members asked that the joke be changed -- one of the biggest factors in the band's late-80s comeback was that they'd given up drugs and alcohol. The writers changed the line to "free pickled eggs."


November 21, 1992 -
Adam Sandler sang The Thanksgiving Song on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, on this date.



Sandler, still two years away from introducing his huge holiday hit The Chanukah Song, celebrated Thanksgiving with a comical ode to the holiday.


Word of the Day


Today in History:
November 21, 1694 -
Jean Francois Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) was born on this date.



Voltaire is best known for having said things. Here are some of the witty things he said:

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”

“The ear is the avenue to the heart.”

“Illusion is the first of all pleasures.”

And most significantly:

"Common sense is not so common."


November 21, 1921 -
President Warren G. Harding signed the Willis Campbell Act, which prohibited the medical prescription of beer and liquor on this date.

He was killed - probably by his wife - two years later and nobody seemed to mind (remember, this was the genius who had his bootlegger come around the back of the White House to deliver his booze.)

Enough said.


November 21, 1941 -
Juanita Spinnelli became the first woman to be enter the gas chamber (and not come out alive) in California on this date - She was the first woman ever to be officially executed in that state.

A gangster and ex-wrestler, Spinnelli took young delinquent homeless men into her house, where she would train them to be professional criminals.


November 21, 1964 -
The upper deck of The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened to traffic on this date (at the time it was the world's longest suspension bridge).



And it still takes forever to get to Jersey through Staten Island.


November 21, 1973 -
A gap of 18 1/2 minutes was revealed in one of the Watergate tapes, a conversation between Richard M. Nixon and Bob Haldeman. The erasure is blamed on an accident by Nixon's private secretary Rose Mary Woods, but scientific analysis determines the erasures to be deliberate. Later, Chief of Staff Alexander Haig blames the erasure on "some sinister force".



Forensic experts worked on Haldeman's notebook to see if they could find the imprint of any notes he may have taken that day but later destroyed. (The experts had inconclusive results.)


November 21, 1980 -
The third deadliest hotel fire in history occurs at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, caused by faulty wiring; 84 people died. Helicopters were used to rescue stranded guests from the top floors.



No more pu-pu platters with charcoal grills in the suites please.


November 21, 1997 -
Lead singer of INXS Michael Hutchence was found hanged in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Sydney, Australia on this date. Police have denied that his death was due to Autoerotic Asphyxiation.



The fact that his pants were around his ankles and copies of the magazine Hot Chicks in Tubs of Pudding were scattered around the room, did not enter into it.


Before you go - Here's a Christmas advert I can get get behind. Waitrose & Partners, yet another British supermarket chain, celebrates the suppliers of the products that make Christmas special.



And didn't someone in that family count out the number of sausages that they cooked.

And so it goes