No disrespect meant here but,

We should wish George Washington, a very happy birthday,

but they've moved his birthday a couple of times and he's quite dead -  so why bother


It's Peppermint Patty Day - No, not this one (but in case it comes up in conversation - her real name is Patricia Reichart.)

This one



It's minty chocolatey goodness.


February 11, 1960 -
Jack Paar, temperament host of the Tonight Show, in a fit of pique, walks off his TV show when he is not allowed to tell a very lame joke about W.C.'s on this date.



Yes Jack, there is a better way to make a living than this, nowadays, you would be allowed to have your colonoscopy live while you're hosting a program.


February 11, 1963 -
Julia Child opened America's appetite for better cooking when The French Chef premiered on this date.



In her first black-and-white episode, she made Boeuf Bourguignon, spending a half hour in the kitchen, recording the show live.


February 11, 1970 -
The film version of the Terry Southern novel, The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo, and featuring the music of Badfinger, premiered in New York City on this date.



After watching rushes from the first day of filming, Peter Sellers leapt to his feet and said "Thank God we caught it in time!" He felt his performance was so bad that the movie should be cancelled. He was eventually persuaded to continue.


February 11, 1975 -
One of the most iconic films of the 70s, Shampoo, directed by Hal Ashby, written by Robert Towne and starring Warren Beatty was released on this date.



The lead character was based on actual hairdresser Jay Sebring and Jon Peters.


February 11, 1975 -
NBC-TV premiered the TV movie Sarah T: Portrait of A Teenage Alcoholic, directed by Richard Donner starring Linda Blair, Larry Hagman, William Daniels and Mark Hammill, on this date.



While Richard Donner was on a talk show discussing Superman, which he had recently directed, and was asked questions about his early directorial work. However, he couldn't remember the name of this film. He ended up calling it Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, which was directed by Randal Kleiser.


February 11, 1982 -
Hal Ashby's film of the US leg of a 1981 concert tour of The Rolling Stones, Let's Spend the Night Together, opens in New York, on this date.



The movie features footage from three The Rolling Stones' concerts staged in November and December 1981. These included one concert at the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (December 13th 1981) and two concerts at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey (November 5th & 6th 1981).


February 11, 1987 -
Morrissey's favorite Smiths' song went to No.1 in the UK indie charts with Shoplifters Of The World Unite, on this date.



The title alludes to the communist slogan "workers of the world, unite!" Morrissey has explained the meaning of the song as follows: "It's more or less spiritual shoplifting, cultural shoplifting, taking things and using them to your own advantage."


Another episode of ACME's Little Known Animal Facts


Today in History:
February 11, 55 (this is an approximate date, as the people involved were literally at a dinner party, drinking wine from lead lined cups.)-
The emperor Nero was hosting a dinner when his 13-year-old stepbrother and rival Britannicus keeled over and died as the water used to cool his wine had been poisoned (his taster forgot to taste it) on this date.

Nero dismissed the murder by claiming that the boy suffered from epilepsy. The other dinner guests faced a dilemma. Should they take no notice and carry on tucking into their meal or should they call a doctor and risk offending the paranoid emperor.

Moral: always think twice about dinner invitations from Roman emperors.


On February 11, 1573, Francis Drake saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time on this date, and this is noteworthy, since 100's of thousands of West Coast living indigenous Native Americans saw it before they went to bed the night before.

And he still had time to create those delicious little cakes.


February 11, 1650 -
Rene Descartes, mathematician, drunken fart and philosopher best known for his statement "I think therefore I am", stops thinking on this date.



Queen Christina of Sweden (remember - the girl king - see December 18 ) persuaded Descartes to come to Stockholm. On this date, after only a few months in that cold climate, he died of pneumonia.

Kids let this be a lesson to you - never accept an invitation from transvestite royalty.


Friedrich Ebert was elected the first president of the German Republic on February 11, 1919.

President Ebert brought about the Weimar constitution that eventually resulted in Adolf Hitler's rise to power.

I bet he didn't see that coming.


February 11, 1929 -
The Lateran Treaty was signed on this date - Mussolini granted recognition to the Vatican in return for their support of his fascist dictatorship.



Bunkies, here's another lesson for you - entering a treaty with balding dictators can never lead to anything good.


February 11, 1938 -
BBC Television produced the world's first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., which coined the term robot.

The show was a thirty-five-minute adaptation of a section of the play, performed live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios. The BBC had no professional facility for recording programs in those pre-war days, so save a few on-set publicity photographs and reviews in the press, all records of this production are lost.


February 11, 1962 -
Sheryl Suzanne Crow, singer-songwriter, musician and Michael Jackson backup singer survivor, was born on this date.





When sending birthday wishes, don't bring up any of her exes.


February 11, 1963 -
American writer Sylvia Plath, committed suicide by asphyxiation from a gas stove (sticking her head in the oven) in London after her husband, English poet Ted Hughes, left her for another woman.



Assia Wevill, the woman for whom Hughes left Plath committed suicide 6 years later.


February 11, 1969 -
Our lady of the perpetual bad relationship and Aveeno spokesperson, Jennifer Aniston, once again single, was born on this date.





Jennifer deserves to be well and happy (Greek girls always have a special place in my heart.)


February 11, 1979 -
Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile on this date.



But 43 million people in the US try to seek salvation by watching Elvis! on ABC-TV on this date.



Most do not find it because they forgot to place one hand on the TV screen and the other hand upon their damp nether regions.

When will the damned ever learn!


February 11, 1986 -
Frank Herbert, author of Dune, died from pancreatic cancer on this date.



If only he had access to the spice Melange.


February 11, 1990 -
Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, was freed from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa on this date.



In April 1994, he was elected president in the first all-race elections. If only he had access to the spice Melange years earlier.


February 11, 2006 -
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittington, a major Texas Republican insider, in the face while bird hunting on this date.



Almost immediately after being released from the hospital, a shaken Whittington, apologizes to the Vice President for getting in his line of fire. After this event, no one in Washington D.C. messed with Dick Cheney.



And so it goes

Things to ponder today

Since 90% of what Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer does involves modifying the behavior of the people who own the dogs, not the dogs themselves -

Shouldn't he be called The Human Whisperer.


February 10, 1940 -
Puss Gets the Boot, the cartoon short is released by MGM on this date. It's the first appearance of Tom and Jerry.



Yeah, yeah, I know that the cat is called Jasper in this cartoon. But dammit, it's Tom, none the less.


February 10, 1942 –
The first gold record was presented to Glenn Miller for Chattanooga Choo Choo for selling 1.2 million copies in just nine months. There was no official rule set at the time to qualify.



It was a framed, gold-lacquered stamper, which later became symbolic for a million-record sales. Miller quipped, “Thanks a million, two-hundred-thousand!”


February 10, 1945 -
The no. 1 song in America, on this date, was Rum and Coca Cola by Andrews Sisters. (The copyright holder of the song was Morey Amsterdam of The Dick Van Dyke Show fame, but that's another story.)



It's nice to think back in the more 'innocent' era of America, songs about when mother and daughter prostitute rings in the Caribbean were all the rage.


February 10, 1956 -
The series about a boy and his horse is set on the Goose Bar Ranch in Montana, My Friend Flicka premiered on CBS TV on this date.



The program was filmed in color but initially aired in black and white. Although short-lived, the series was broadcast on all three major networks at one time or another, as well as the Disney Channel.


February 10, 1957 -
Allied Artists' sci-fi film Not of This Earth, directed by Roger Corman and starring Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, and Morgan Jones, premiered in US theaters on this date.



Paul Birch walked off the film before shooting was completed after having a physical confrontation with Roger Corman. He was quoted as saying, " I am an actor, and I don't need this stuff... To hell with it all! Goodbye!" According to co-star Beverly Garland, Birch objected to the fast pace of the film, the old-fashioned, uncomfortable hard plastic contacts he had to wear, and the film's low-budget, which he considered beneath his status. As a result, Birch's remaining scenes were shot with Lyle Latell doubling for Birch.


February 10, 1964 -
Bob Dylan released his third studio album The Times They Are a-Changin, on this date. The album is seen as a protest album featuring songs about issues such as racism, poverty, and social change.



The title track was one of Dylan's most famous capturing the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s


February 10, 1971 -
Carole King releases her seminal album Tapestry on this date. The photograph on the album sleeve featuring Carole King seated on a window sill was taken at her California home.



Tapestry was a groundbreaking album, which helped popularize the singer/songwriter genre. It stayed on the American album charts for over six years, selling over 24 million copies worldwide.


February 10, 1976 –
Sesame Street episode #847 featured Margaret Hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, aired on this date.



It scared children so badly that the episode has never been re-aired. So Bunkies, ask your folks before you watch the video.


February 10, 1978 -
Paul Schrader's first directing effort, Blue Collar, starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto, premiered in the U.S. on this date.



"I hired three bulls and asked them come into a china shop, and I promised each of those bulls that they would be the lead actor." Paul Schrader revealed. Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto, and Harvey Keitel each figured out soon enough that they weren't the lead, and it led to chaos. Keitel saw himself as having to play straight man to Pryor's shenanigans, Pryor saw himself as "the colored friend" of Keitel's character, and Kotto felt secondary to both men. "It became a real ego struggle about who would win the day," and that was every day.


Today's moment of Zen.


Today in History:
February 10, 60 CE -
St. Paul was believed to have been shipwrecked near Malta while en route to Rome for trial for practicing Catholicism on this date. (It shouldn't have been a shock to the Romans that St. Paul was practicing Catholicism when his first name was St.)

The story is told in the Bible’s New Testament Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27. Since the shipwreck involves the lead-cup drinking, orgy-mongering Romans (who obviously were otherwise occupied when it came to accurately recording dates in history,) the Maltese commemorate the event every February 10.


February 10, 1355 -
The Feast day of Saint Scholastica seemed to be going on as usual at the the University of Oxford on this date. Saint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedictine, is the patron saint of of nuns, education, and protectoress of people in storms, among other things. Two students (their names may have been Walter Spryngeheuse and Roger de Chesterfield, but I don't know, I wasn't there,) were enjoying the day off from school at the Swindlestock Tavern, a local bar. Much drinking ensued and somehow the bartender, John Croidon, insulted the students and the students beat up the bartender.



Residents responded violently, and a riot broke out between the students at Oxford and the residents of the surrounding town lasted for three days and left more than 90 people dead. The townsfolk were found to be responsible and were ordered to attend Mass for the souls of the dead students every year on the anniversary of the riot. They were also required to swear an oath acknowledging the University’s privileges, and pay a fine of 63 pence – one for each dead student. This continued until 1825 when the Mayor refused, but was only rescinded by Parliament in 1955.


February 10, 1535 -
12 Anabaptists ran nude through the cold and snowy streets of Amsterdam on this date. (Once again, I'm sure there's an explanation but why ask me?)

Soon the seven men and five women were apprehended. The women were executed on May 15, the men on February 25, 1535.

And you wonder why Anabaptism didn't catch on big in the US - I just wanted to put that little thought in you mind today.


February 10, 1840 -
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, (whose first language was German, was taught English and French, and became virtually trilingual, though her mastery of the conjugation of the past-participles irregular verbs in English remained incomplete which was luckily not on the English Monarchy exam), married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (proving she also failed biology,) on this date.



She arranged marriages for her nine children (mostly to their first cousins) and forty-two grandchildren (mostly to their own first cousins - they needed charts and grafts to make sure they didn't marry their own brothers and sisters) across the continent, tying Europe together; this earned her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe".



Oh those wacky inbred royals.


February 10, 1855 -
US citizenship laws were amended to include all children of US parents born abroad on this date.

Were I Sen. Ted Cruz, I might be worried about the president looking beyond changing the 14th Amendment.


February 10, 1863 -
Little people Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren were married in a ceremony at New York's Grace Episcopal Church. P. T. Barnum footed the bill for the wedding, and generated tremendous publicity (and revenue - reception tickets $75, adjusted for inflation, $1,250 in today's dollars) in the weeks prior to and following the nuptials.



Commodore Nutt and Lavinia's shorter and younger sister Minnie acted as attendants. The Thumbs afterwards honeymooned in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. In Washington they were invited by President Lincoln to be the guests of honor at a special White House reception.


February 10, 1920 -
Polish general and politician Józef Haller, performed a symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.

Happy anniversary (no comment.).


February 10, 1933 -
The Postal Telegraph-Cable Company of New York City delivers the first singing telegram on this date. but independent singing telegram companies, specializing in often costumed personal delivery of gift messages, have kept up the tradition.



Despite initial criticism by Western Union executives concerned with the propriety of the medium, the company's messengers delivered musical greetings in person until World War II. Singing by phone operators was resumed after the war, but faced declining popularity until Western Union dropped the service in 1974. Independent singing telegram companies, specializing in often costumed personal delivery of gift messages, have kept up the tradition.


February 10, 1967 -
The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on this date.



The 25th Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. It supersedes the ambiguous wording of Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Constitution, which doesn't explicitly state whether the Vice President becomes the President if the President died, resigned, was removed from office or was unable to discharge the Presidential powers.

I wonder if J. D. Vance dreams about this at night. I wonder if he's ever spoken to Mike Pence about this.


February 10, 1968 -
Peggy Fleming won the gold medal in women's figure skating for the US at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, on this date.



In 1994, Sports Illustrated named her one of the 40 individuals who most significantly altered or elevated sports in the previous 40 years.



And so it goes

We salute you, Sheb Woolly

The Wilhelm Scream is a stock sound effect that has been used in over 400 films and television shows (and counting). It originated in 1951 in the film Distant Drums.



The Wilhelm Scream sound effect is most commonly used when someone is falling from a great height, shot, or thrown from an explosion. It's inclusion in so many movies has become something of an inside joke for filmmakers and the audience who understand the reference.


If your team lost yesterday and are seeking some sort of solace - today is Bathtub Day,



Toothache Day (on the anniversary of the founding of the Hershey Chocolate Co, I might add,) and



Bagels and Lox Day today.



But I'm not quite sure why?


February 9, 1933 -
Based on the Mae West play Diamond Lil, the film She Done Him Wrong, opened in general release on this date. This was one of the last films to be made before the introduction of the Production Code.



During its first run engagement in New York, Mae West actually appeared on stage in scenes from the film (opposite George Metaxa) and sang several of the songs featured in the film. This formed part of a special prologue . These were popular at the time aimed at promoting major films, and the technique was used as a major plot device in the same year's big budget musical Footlight Parade  from Warner Brothers.


February 9, 1964 -
The Beatles made their US live debut on CBS-TV's The Ed Sullivan Show; they performed five songs including their current No.1 I Want To Hold Your Hand on this date.



Never before had so many viewers tuned-in to a live television program, which with 73 million viewers, was three-fourths of the total adult audience in the United States. The show had received over 50,000 requests for the 728 seats in the TV studio.

I wonder if late at night, they can still hear the ghost of those little girls screaming inside the Ed Sullivan Theatre.


February 9, 1971 -
All in the Family aired what TV scholars believe to be the first positive portrayal of a gay issue on American television on this date.



Guest stars Anthony Geary and Philip Carey both went on to play long running roles on popular ABC Soap Operas. Geary as Luke Spencer on General Hospital, and Carey as Asa Buchannan on One Life to Live.


February 9, 1976 -
Paul Simon's song, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, hits number 1 on this date.



Paul Simon has never gotten around to listing the other ways to leave but poking around the internet, I have discovered the other 45 ways:

6. Post her nude pics, Dick.
7. Delete him from your phone, Simone.
8. Block his digits, Bridget.
9. Keep him in the dark, Mark.
10. Keep blowing her off, Kristoph.
11. Just have the chat, Pat.
12. Make her break up with you, Stu.
13. Stop having sex with her, Jessic… er.
14. Give him an ultimatum, Tatum.
15. Change your address, Jess.
16. Tell the whole truth, Ruth.
17. Just get up and leave, Steve.
18. "Tell her you’ve “grown apart,” Bart.
19. Tell him “It’s not you, it’s me,” Bree.
20. Don’t give him a second chance, Lance.
21. In a public place, Chase.
22. Tell her “we’re turning into our parents,” Clarence.
23. Get back together with your ex, Lex.
24. Let yourself be the villain, Dylan.
25. Throw dishes and yell, Belle.
26. Start being mean, Gene.
27. Get really quiet, Wyatt.
28. Give up the fight, Dwight.
29. Get caught in the act, Jack.
30. Forget her birthday again, Glenn.
31. Just cut him loose, Bruce.
32. Pretend you didn’t know you were supposed to be “together,” Heather.
33. Tell her you’re married, Larry.
34. Say “It’s moving too fast,” Cass.
35. Tell him you “don’t like rules,” Jules.
36. Tell her you “don’t like labels,” Mabel.
37. Just disappear, Greer.
38. “Lose your phone,” Joan.
39. Text “We need to talk,” Brock.
40. Just be too busy, Lizzy.
41. Say you “need space,” Grace.
42. Say, “we’re just taking a break,” Jake.
43. Say, “I think I might be gay,” Ray.
44. Say, “I think I might be straight,” Nate.
45. Admit to your affair, Blair.
46. Get a restraining order, Porter.
47. Tell her “It’s me or the drinkin,” Lincoln.
48. Fly off the handle, Randall.
49. Blame everything on him, Tim.
50. Say “I don’t deserve you,” Drew

Next up - 50 ways to Delouse your Liver or 50 ways to lose your luggage


February 9, 1979 -
Based on the 1974 independent film of the same name, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, starring Dan Haggerty and Ben the Bear (Bozo), premiered on NBC TV on this date.



The series was shot in Northern Utah countryside locations. The production office was based in Park City, Utah. The production of this show put Park City on the map in the film industry, and was influential to Robert Redford, who established his Sundance Film Festival there after the series ended.


February 9, 1979 -
Before the birth of MTV, ABC-TV marked the 25th anniversary of the birth of Rock and Roll by premiering the documentary Heroes of Rock and Roll on this date.



In two hours, from the high-school gym dance scene from the film Rock Around The Clock to the closing That's all, bye-bye, of the late Frankie Lyman in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock, the documentary shows 62 artists and groups singing 100 different songs.


February 9, 1979 -
Walter Hill's film The Warriors premiered in the US on this date. The film sparked gang violence at many theaters and brought a halt to the film's marketing campaign.



Crew members were sent death threats because local gangs weren't cast. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment were damaged when one gang tore through the set during a lunch break.


February 9, 1990 -
Proving that you can throw good money after bad, CBS TV tried with an hour-long Comedy-Drama(?) version of The Brady Bunch, The Bradys, starring the usual suspect, which debuted on this date. The show lasted six episodes.



Once again Robert Reed fought with Sherwood Schwartz over script quality. When Schwartz refused to make the changes he desired, Reed bypassed him and Paramount and went straight to CBS to complain. Schwartz was furious, and no one at CBS listened because due to the executive turnover at the time, people there feared for their jobs. This would be Robert Reed's final involvement in a Brady Bunch project. Reed died two years after the series aired. Surviving cast members would continue to take part in various reunion specials and retrospectives and some made cameos in The Brady Bunch Movie.


February 9, 1997 -
The Fox cartoon series The Simpsons became the longest-running animated series in cartoon history when it aired it's 167th episode on this date.



"I can't believe we've been annoying people for this long," executive producer and show creator Matt Groening told the Associated Press. The show is still going 26 years later


Word of the Day.


Today in History -
On February 9, 772, Adrian I was elected pope. His election was won largely due to strong Frank support. (This Gaelic support system was the precursor to French support, which remains anything but Frank.)

Adrian worked closely with Charlemagne, also known as Carolus Magnus (Big Chuck), the inventor of France.

So now you know.


William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773. Mr. Harrison was the Ninth president of the United States.



He died after 32 days in office, although historians are quick to point out that it has never been adequately proven that he was alive prior to his inauguration.


February 9, 1825 -
John Quincy Adams became the Sixth U.S. President, despite losing the popular vote. Adams was elected by the House of Representatives on this date after the Electoral College could not arrive at a majority.



His appointment was largely due to the influence of Henry Clay (then Speaker of the House and also a candidate for the presidency in 1824), whom Adams later appointed as his Secretary of State.


The Great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky died on February 9, 1881.



He died of natural causes in Moscow, and over 40,000 mourners turned out for his funeral but what the hell do you care, you didn't read him anyway.


February 9, 1894 -
Chocoholics everywhere rejoice!



Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company (just in time for Valentine's Day) and began experimenting with a process mastered by the Swiss - mixing milk with chocolate on this date.


February 9, 1895 –
William G. Morgan met James Naismith, inventor of basketball, while Morgan was studying at Springfield College in 1892. Like Naismith, Morgan pursued a career in Physical Education at the YMCA. Morgan was greatly influenced by Naismith and his new game, basketball. On this date, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Morgan invented a less vigorous team sport more suitable for older members of the YMCA but one that still required athletic skill called Mintonette because of its similarity with badminton.



Later Professor Alfred S. Halstead watched it being played and renamed it Volleyball, because the point of the game is to volley the ball back and forth over the net.


February 9, 1909 -
The first federal law prohibiting the importation of opium was enacted, The Opium Exclusion Act of 1909 on this date.

It is aimed not particularly at the ravages the drug was having on American society but as a discriminatory act against the Chinese.

(note: white people weren't using opium in large quantities at the time.)


February 9, 1942 -
The former French cruise ship Normandie, launched in 1935, burned in New York Harbor during its conversion to an Allied trip transport ship on this date.



It was once regarded as most elegant ocean liner ever built. In 1947, the remaining wreckage was cut up for scrap.


February 9, 1950 -
Senator Joseph McCarthy announced he has a list more than 200 State Department employees who were Communist Party members on this date.



He did not mention that J. Edgar Hoover liked to wear a bustier and leather pumps.


February 9, 1969 -
Jess Wallick, flight engineer, Jack Waddell, pilot, and Brien Wygle, co-pilot, flew the first test flight of Boeing-747-100 jumbo jet over Everett’s Paine Field in Washington State, on this date.



The first plane was 225ft (68.5m) long with a tail as tall as a six-story building and required the construction of a 200-million-cubic foot (5.6m cu. m) plant at Everett, near Seattle. The last Boeing 747 to be built left the company's widebody factory in Washington on December 6, 2022.



And so it goes

Find a good spot on the couch

(Bunkies, if you don't have to go utside - DON'T. It's dangerously cold outside today)

Some of you may actually be watching the Super Bowl later today. According to the Hass Avocado Board, more than 763 million pounds of avocados were shipped into the U.S. last week. Of this amount, 98–99 percent were sourced from Mexico, and about 1 percent came from the Dominican Republic. Surprisingly, this year 0 percent originated from Peru and Chile. Both countries decided to concentrate on their South American distribution. Approximately 250 million individual avocados are sold in preparation just for the game. To shovel that guac into gaping maws, a whopping 28,100 tons of corn- and tortilla-based chips are used to scoop it up.



This year, the National Chicken Council predicts that folks will wolf down more than 1.48 billion wings during this year’s Super Bowl, which is up 1%, or 10 million wings, from last year. To put that in visual terms - 1.48 billion wings laid end to end would stretch roughly 27 times between the home stadiums of this year’s Super Bowl contenders: Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) and Lumen Field (Seattle Seahawks).



Americans will be washing down those snacks by drinking approximately 325.5 million gallons of beer this weekend.



Super Bowl LIX, played on February 9, 2025, and broadcast by FOX in the U.S., was watched by more than 127.7 million viewers in the United States, setting an all-time high for American television. Nielsen ratings were up even more during the halftime show, featuring Kendrick Lamar, with guest appearances by SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams, and Mustard. Approximately 22.6 million Americans planned to miss work the following day. Shockingly - shockingly, I say - of this total, about 3.2 million people specifically planned to call in “sick,” despite not actually being ill.



This year, the coronavirus (and I will come to your home and smack you upside your head if you blame Corona beer for the illness) is resurging, so you may actually have an excuse.

Enjoy the game


Today is National Boy Scout Day. Boy Scout Day celebrates the birthday of Scouting in America.

On this date in 1910, Chicago publisher William Dickson Boyce filed incorporation papers in the District of Columbia to create the Boy Scouts of America.



Oh wait a minute, this may not be the right video for the anniversary.


February 8, 1936 -
Warner Brothers released the classic film The Petrified Forest starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart on this date.



The character of Duke Mantee was mainly inspired by bank robber John Dillinger. Humphrey Bogart happened to closely resemble the gangster, and he studied film footage of Dillinger to perfect his mannerisms.


February 8, 1968 -
Planet of The Apes premiered in NYC on this date, confirming Charlton Heston's position as one of the greatest "One Note Actors" of his generation.



All the ape actors and extras were required to wear their masks even during breaks and in between shots because it took so much time to make them up. Because of this, meals were liquified and drunk through straws.


February 8, 1973 –
The cult classic film The Harder They Come (the breakthough film for Reggae music in the US,) was released in New York by Roger Corman's New World Pictures, on this date.



The movie is in Jamaican Patois, a creole language which can be understood to some extent by English speakers. There are subtitles in English for much of the movie on the original theatrical print.


February 8, 1974 -
The spin-off from the sitcom Maude, that wasn't quite a spin-off, Good Times, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Norman Lear hired artist Ernie Barnes to paint the pictures which J.J. used in the show. Barnes' work displays elongated African-American subjects in everyday scenes. Eddie Murphy owns the original The Sugar Shack painting by Barnes.


February 8, 1975 –
Ohio Players' single Fire went to No. # 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date.



Lead Ohio Player Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, who also wrote the lyrics about getting hot for a smokin' woman, recalled how the song came to life in the studio. "We were in the studio making tracks and all of a sudden, it leaped out," he told Fred Bronson, author of The Billboard Book Of #1 R&B Hits. His bandmates came up with the title "Fire" and he ran with it. "They come with the names and I have to write to them. If the music is good, it doesn't take long to get inspired," he explained. The inclusion of the telltale fire-truck sirens was a no-brainer. He added: "To use all the effects one could use on a track like that, the fire engines and all that seemed very apropos to what was going on on the albums of that era. Other people were using babies crying and kids singing and street sounds. A lot of people were using sound effects of various natures, so we thought about that also."


February 8, 1976 -
Martin Scorsese's elegy to the swiftly disappearing squalor of 70's New York, Taxi Driver premiered on this date.



Director Martin Scorsese claims that the most important shot in the movie is when Bickle is on the phone trying to get another date with Betsy. The camera moves to the side slowly and pans down the long, empty hallway next to Bickle, as if to suggest that the phone conversation is too painful and pathetic to bear.


February 8, 1979 -
The Garry Marshall sitcom Angie, starring Donna Pescow, Robert Hays, and Doris Roberts, premiered on ABC TV, on this date.



While appearing in this series, Robert Hays co-starred in Airplane! in which he danced to The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, the song that opened Saturday Night Fever in which Donna Pescow made her feature debut.


February 8, 1986 -
John Woo's hugely influencial crime drama, A Better Tomorrow, starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat premiered in Hong Kong on this date.

Don't forget to turn on the captioning

The movie is actually a remake of a 1967 Cantonese film called The Story of a Discharged Prisoner. The film's producer, Hark Tsui had been toying with the idea since his days in the TV business, but because of an overwhelming workload, had to pass the directorial reigns to John Woo.


Another album from the discount bin of The ACME Record Shoppe.


Today in History:
February 8, 1587 -
After some 19 years in prison, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded on this date.



She had spent the last hours of her life in prayer and also writing letters and her will. She expressed a request that her servants should be released. She also requested that she should be buried in France. The scaffold that was erected in the great hall was three feet tall and draped in black. It was reached by five steps and the only things on it were a disrobing stool, the block, a cushion for her to kneel on, and a bloody butcher's axe that had been previously used on animals. At her execution she removed a black cloak to reveal a deep red dress - the liturgical color of martyrdom in the Catholic Church.



The execution was badly carried out. It is said to have taken three blows to hack off her head. The first blow struck the back of her head, the next struck her shoulder and severed her subclavian artery, spewing blood in all directions. She was alive and conscious after the first two blows. The next blow took off her head, save some gristle, which was cut using the axe as a saw.



Various improbable stories about the execution were later circulated. One which is thought to be true is that, when the executioner picked up the severed head to show it to those present, it was discovered that Mary was wearing a wig. The headsman was left holding the wig, while the late queen's head rolled on the floor. Another well-known execution story concerns a small dog owned by the queen, which is said to have been hiding among her skirts, unseen by the spectators. Following the beheading, the dog rushed out, terrified and covered in blood. It was taken away by her ladies-in-waiting and washed, but it did not survive the shock.



All of this must have been a pretty sight.


February 8, 1861 -
The southern states which had seceded from the United States agreed to reunite in The Confederate States of America.



This caused the Civil War, a period of unprecedented bloodshed in American history, which surely could have been avoided through a rigorous U.N. regimen of plantation inspections.


Co-incidentally, or not
February 8, 1915 -
D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation (The Clansman) premiered in Los Angeles on this date.



It is widely believed that after viewing this film in the White House, President Woodrow Wilson remarked that it was "like writing history with lightning." However, the reality is that Wilson disapproved of the "unfortunate production". It is believed by some of Wilson's aides that the apparent endorsement and approbation was a ruse generated by Thomas F. Dixon Jr., the author of the original novel.


February 8, 1924 -
Breathe deeply.

The first person to die in Nevada's new gas chamber was Chinese born Gee Jong on this date for the murder of Tom Quong Kee, a member of a rival gang. His lawyers had fought a long battle in the courts to show that the gas chamber was a "cruel and unusual punishment" and as such was illegal under the Eight Amendment to the Constitution.



The execution commenced at 9:30 a.m. when Gee Jong was led from a holding cell and secured to the chair within the chamber. He appeared to struggle a little after the gas was manually pumped in and then lapse into unconsciousness but as no external stethoscope had been used he was left in the chamber for 30 minutes to ensure death.


February 8, 1942 -
Robert Klein, comedian and actor, was born on this date.





Really, please stop writing him, Mr. Klein has run out of records starting with the letter D.


February 8, 1960 -
Beer heir Adolph Coors III (who was ironically allergic to beer), was killed after a failed kidnapping attempt in Colorado on this date. By October, Joseph Corbett Jr. was arrested in Canada after an national manhunt.

Corbett was convinced and sent to prison. He was pardoned in 1978. Mr Corbett committed suicide in 2010, still maintaining his innocence in the crime.



I guess Mr. Corbett didn't get his deposit back.


February 8, 1968 -
Gary Coleman, actor, security guard, perp and ultimately, a corpse was born on this date.



What else is there to say.


February 8, 2023 -
I started playing piano with a little band in high school. I was terrible. I thought I had absolutely no talent. I couldn't keep time. I only got into McGill, which was a lousy music school, because they were taking American music students.



One of the most important composers of pop music in the past century, Burt Bacharach, passed away on this date.



And so it goes

National Periodic Table Day

On February 7, 1863, English chemist John Newlands published one of the first tables of elements. Newlands divided the known 56 elements into 11 groups based on the “Law of Octaves.” His table suggested that anyone element will have similar properties to elements eight places before and behind it on the table.



While this theory was eventually disproven, it laid the groundwork for Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table, which is still in use today.

So now you have something to celebrate while you're waiting for tomorrow's game


February 7, 1914 -
Charlie Chaplin first appeared as The Tramp, in his first film Kid Auto Races at Venice which was released by Keystone Studios, on this date. The Tramp, as portrayed by Chaplin, was a bumbling but usually good-hearted character who was most famously presented as a vagrant who endeavors to behave with the manners and dignity of a gentleman despite his actual social status.



With only a small number of exceptions, Chaplin would play only The Tramp (or slight variations on the character) on film until The Great Dictator.


February 7, 1940 -
Walt Disney's second feature-length movie, Pinocchio, premiered at the Center Theatre in Manhattan on this date.



Figaro was Walt Disney's favorite character. Disney pushed for the kitten to appear in the film as much as possible. After the film, Disney swapped Minnie Mouse's little cocker spaniel with Figaro


February 7, 1970 -
The Dutch group the Shocking Blue' single Venus goes to the No. 1 spot of the Billboard Charts, on this date. Sixteen years later, a cover version by Bananarama goes to the top of the charts as well.



The group's guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen wrote this song. The group is from The Netherlands, which led to an interesting translation problem when Shocking Blue lead singer Mariska Veres sang the English lyrics. Van Leeuwen wrote the first line down incorrectly: what was supposed to be "A goddess on the mountain top" he wrote as "A goddness on the mountain top," and that's exactly how Veres sang it. Most listeners didn't notice, and the many cover versions corrected the error, but the result was a #1 hit with a misspoken first line thanks to a typo.


February 7, 1974 -
The Love Unlimited Orchestra's Love's Theme and their album Under the Influence of Love Unlimited were certified gold, on this date.



This is one of the few instrumentals and purely orchestral tracks to reach #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was one of the most played instrumentals of the 1970s. The track earned Barry White, writer of the track and producer, a BMI award for selling over three million copies.


February 7, 1974 -
Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles opened on this date. (One could not make this film again.)



Hedy Lamarr sued Mel Brooks over the use of the name Hedley Lamarr and settled out of court. Brooks said he was flattered by this attention. The reference to suing Hedy Lamarr was from Harvey Korman's first day on the set and, ironically, made a comedic reference to what was at that point a non-existent lawsuit.


February 7, 1979 -
The very expensive superbomb of 1979, Supertrain premiered on NBC-TV on this date. TV Guide ranked Supertrain number 28 on its "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time" list.



This was the most expensive American TV series ever produced at the time. The failure of this show, along with the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics (which NBC was supposed to cover), nearly bankrupted NBC.


February 7, 1986 -
Woody Allen's 15th and most financially successful film, Hannah and Her Sisters, starring Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max von Sydow, and Dianne Wiest, premiered in the US, on this date.



Many of Hannah's scenes were filmed in Mia Farrow's apartment. While scenes were being shot in her apartment, Mia Farrow and several of her children lived there and went about their daily routines. The family was careful not to interrupt production, or to do anything that would affect the shooting schedule, but the situation was hectic for family and crew alike. Michael Caine likened the situation to watching an intimate home movie. He recalled that one moment, Farrow would be feeding her children dinner, and the assistant director would tell her that she was needed on-set. She would put down the kitchen utensils, walk into the next room, and begin to act.


February 7, 1987 -
Aretha Franklin and George Michael's single, I Knew You Were Waiting (for me) hits No. #1 on the Billbloard Charts on this date.



When John Landis was asked how he got Aretha Franklin to appear in his 1980 film The Blues Brothers, he replied: "I asked her." The point being that the Queen of Soul had fallen out of favor and was looking for work (many other music legends - Ray Charles, Tina Turner and Roy Orbison among them - were also at career nadirs). It took this duet with George Michael to return her to the top of the chart, where she had not been for 20 years (with Respect).


February 7, 1999 -
Blondie went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Maria, giving the group their sixth UK No.1 single, 20 years after their first No.1, Heart of Glass.



This was Blondie's comeback song - at the age of 54, lead singer Debbie Harry became the oldest female to make No.1 in the UK.

Don't forget to tune in to The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour today


Today in History:
February 7, 1812 -
Charles Dickens, English novelist, was born in Portsmouth, England on this date.



He was the quintessential Victorian author.


February 7, 1845 -
An 'intemperate' vandal, William Lloyd, entered the British Museum and smashed the irreplaceable Portland Vase into over 200 pieces on this date. The elaborate glass amphora was created when Augustus was Caesar and was about ten inches high (the vase, not the emperor.)



It took a lot of glue and months to repair.


On February 7, 1898, the trial of Emile Zola began in Paris. He lost, but then eventually he won. He accused someone of something. Somehow, the actor Paul Muni was involved. Or vice-versa. Long story.



It all began in a small pueblo on Old Mexico... no, that was Benito Juarez. Never mind


February 7, 1908 -
Buster Crabbe, Olympic athlete, actor and swimming pool sales man, was born on this date.







Crabbe is the only actor who played Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers - the top three comic strip heroes of the 1930s.


February 7, 1962 -
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard (aka Suzy Izzard), stand-up comedian, dramatic actor and executive transvestite, was born on this date.







Long time readers of this silliness may have realized that I am very partial to Ms. Izzard, Executive Transvestite.


February 7, 1964 -
It was 62 years ago today, The Beatles arrived at JFK International Airport to begin their first tour of the United States. They helped bring about a social revolution whose effects can be felt to this day. They had nothing to declare but their genius.

The Beatles came from Britain, sometimes known as England, a little island in the North Atlantic from which many people have come to the United States over the years, some of them without guitars.



The British (or English), like so many other Europeans, have a long and storied history. Although it took the French to perfect the guillotine, the English (or British) made up for in zeal what they lacked in technological savvy, and next week is the anniversary of three British (or English) queens having their heads hewn from their shoulders.



On February 8, 1587, after nineteen years in prison, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.



On February 12, 1554, Lady Jane Grey, Queen for nine days in 1553, was beheaded.



On February 13, 1542, Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's Vth wife, was beheaded.



If you can get to an English (or British) pub next week, order a beer with extra head and see if they get the joke. (Be prudent, however, as people will sometimes react in unexpected ways when asked for any kind of head at all.)


February 7, 1965 -
... Oprah is rich, Bill Gates is wealthy. If Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah’s money, he’d jump out a f*****’ window and slit his throat on the way down saying, ‘I can’t even put gas in my plane!’....







Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III, comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, director and not an executive transvestite was born on this date.


February 7, 1968 -
It became necessary to destroy the town to save it. -

This was a quote attributed by Peter Arnett (written on this date.) to an anonymous American major speaking about the town of Ben Tre, the main town in Ben Tre province, Vietnam, after the Americans had heavily bombarded it.


February 7, 1990 -
The Soviet Union's Communist Party agreed to let opposition political parties compete for control of the country, thereby giving up its monopoly on power.

They were forced to sell of most of their properties on Baltic Avenue to the Russian mob.


Before you go - Here's a few more Super Bowl commercial preview -







These are some funny people



And so it goes