Zissen Pesach

Passover starts tonight - please bone up on those four questions.







Remember you will not be graded on a curve!



While it's not as bad as not finding the missing easter egg, by all means, please find the Afikoman, (no one wants to accidentally eat a piece of exceptionally stale cracker.)


When you woke up this morning, one of your first thoughts probably was probably, Will there be a new tax on tacks?. Don't worry, you'll know soon enough. But anyway, it's April (again.)

April is National Poetry Month

It is a cruel month - usually mixing memory with tax payments (hopefully you've heard that you have to file your taxes by Wednesday, April 15, this year.) April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meaning 'to open', or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love or it may come from the word meaning 'month that used to be second but now is fourth



Please opine upon this as you think about Vice PresidentJ.D. Vance and his beard

Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. Small Jewish people usually fly northwards from Miami to spend the holidays with their mishpocha. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.



In some parts of the world, it's planting time. In other parts, it's the harvest season. And yet in other places, it's the sanity that follows March Madness. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.



Unlike most other non-foolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not entirely clear. There isn't a specific "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it evolved simultaneously in several cultures from celebrations involving the first day of spring.



The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition dates back to 1582 in France. Before that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, starting on March 25, with the celebrations culminating on April 1. However, with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, moving New Year's Day to January 1.



Communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. These "backward" folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to ridicule and often sent on "fool's errands" or became the butt of other practical jokes.



Over time, this harassment evolved into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The custom eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century and was later introduced to the American colonies by both the English and the French. Thus, April Fool's Day developed into an international fun fest, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families.



In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body and is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced back to this observance.

Mexico's counterpart to April Fool's Day is observed on December 28. Originally, this day was a solemn remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod, but it eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.

Pranks performed on April Fool's Day range from the simple (such as saying, "Your shoe's untied!") to the elaborate. Setting a roommate's alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually finishes by yelling to their victim, "April Fool!" In Scotland, it usually ends with sodomy.



Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool's Day, with some elaborate ones played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. Even the news media gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool's Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from spaghetti trees.



Happy April Fools, everybody!


Today is also the non-denominational the Feast of St. Stupid's day.

here is the history of St. Stupid, directly from the font of all knowledge - Wikipedia:

... According to legend, St. Stupid was the son of a codpiece. It is also told that he had not one mother, but thousands. Wherever a country lass was deceived by a traveling player, wherever a child of questionable parentage was born, St. Stupid was there. He was a clever child who played the fool from an early age. He did not speak until he was in puberty, although he was able from the time he was two. He delighted in confounding and confusing his fellow beings. He did rock imitations. He slept with the chickens and crowed with the roosters. He traveled over most of the known world and much of the unknown world, creating mischief wherever he went. At times he attracted others and together they put on dumb shows where they confounded and swindled their audiences....



The annual parade celebrating the venerable saint, held in San Francisco, will be held this afternoon.


Today is also Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action. What used to be known as as Kick Butts Day, is a day of activism that empowers young people to speak out against the tobacco industry.



It has been organized by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids since 1996.


April 1, 1930 -
Josef von Sternberg's Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel), starring unknown German actress, Marlene Dietrich, premiered in Berlin on this date.



Marlene Dietrich's screen test for this film survives. In it, she upbraids an unidentified piano player for his bad playing and sings two songs, the first of which is "You're the Cream In My Coffee."


April 1, 1949 -
The film noir drama Impact, directed by Arthur Lubin, and starring Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen Walker, Anna May Wong, Tony Barrett, and William Wright, went into general release in the U.S. on this date.



Helen Walker and Ella Raines, who were born less than a month apart, were 19 years younger than Brian Donlevy. Walker was only four years younger than Tony Barrett. In a case of life mirroring art, Donlevy, though older than Barrett, outlived him. Barrett died in 1974 at age 58 from cancer, while Donlevy died in 1972 at age 71 from throat cancer. Walker also died from cancer at a young age, 47, in 1968. Raines lived to age 68, passing away in 1988. Like Donlevy, she died from throat cancer.


April 1, 1950 -
The fourth and final cartoon to feature Beaky Buzzard, Strife with Father, directed by Robert McKimson, debuted on this date.



When Beaky's father says "If I were King...", Beaky responds "That's no King...that's Monty". This was also meant as a reference to then British Viscount Sir Bernard Law Montgomery (commonly called Monty).


April 1, 1960 -
The Merrie Melodies short Person to Bunny directed by Friz Freleng and starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd, debuted on this date.



This is the final cartoon to have Arthur Q. Bryan as the voice of Elmer Fudd, as well as his final role in acting (not counting archival footage) before his death in November of 1959.


April 1, 1976 -
Five years after the infamous trial, CBS premiered a made-for-television movie Helter Skelter, about the Charles Manson Family murders, on this date.



Steve Railsback received so much critical acclaim for his portrayal of Charles Manson that major movie studios later offered him several roles as villains and killers in theatrically-released movies. Fearing typecasting, Railsback turned most of the offers down. The only villainous character on which Railsback regrets passing was that of Joshua in Lethal Weapon , a role that ultimately went to Gary Busey.


April 1, 1978 -
Tonight was the last time you could play the original version of the game, 'Hi Bob' because the final episode of The Bob Newhart Show aired on this date.



Over the course of the series, the phrase, "Hi, Bob" was said 256 times. Howard Borden (Bill Daily) said it a total of 118 times. Dr. Jerry Robinson (Peter Bonerz) logged 43. Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace): 36 times and Emily Hartley (Suzanne Pleshette): 17 times. Minor characters or guest stars said it 43 times, and Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) even said it once himself.


April 1, 1989 -
The Bangles hit single Eternal Flame, riose to the top of the Billboard Charts on this date. Less than six months later, the band broke up. (Such is life.)



The Bangles announced their breakup on September 21, 1989, less than six months after Eternal Flame topped the US charts. The group was filled with creative tension and feeling generally overwhelmed. When Hoffs and bass player Michael Steele didn't attend Debbi Peterson's wedding in the summer of 1989, it was clear their relationship was beyond repair. The split came when Hoffs told her bandmates she was leaving to pursue a solo career, which she did.


April 1, 2007 -
Showing her very acute sense of irony, Alanis Morissette transforms the Black Eyed Peas' song My Humps into a mournful piano ballad for an April Fools' Day prank.



The accompanying music video debuts on YouTube on this date and became a viral sensation, garnering millions of views.


Another episode of ACME's Little Known Animal Facts


Today in History:
April 1, 78 -
Roman scientist Gaius Brutus Caellus produced the first alkaline battery on this date. No practical use could be discovered for his invention, as it would be nineteen full centuries before the advent of cordless vibrator, it became a mere academic curiosity.

It was gradually forgotten until Alessandro Volta used writings about Caellus's novelty to invent the first "wet cell" battery in 1800.


April 1, 1865 –
Ordered to hold Five Forks, Confederate General George Pickett instead fought the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," and lost almost 3,000 troops on this date.



Oops


April 1, 1895 -
Alberta Hunter, blues singer, songwriter and nurse, was born on this date.



After the death of her mother in 1954, Ms. Hunter retired from the music industry and 'reinvented' herself', becoming a nurse working until the late 70s (my grand-aunt worked with her at the time.)



Coming out of her second retirement, Ms. Hunter accepted a 'two-week' engagement in a downtown NYC nightclub, The Cookery, that lasted almost six years (until shortly before her death.)


April 1, 1960 -
The world's first experimental weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched on this date.



TIROS-I was operational for only 78 days, but proved extremely successful, providing the first accurate weather forecasts based on data gathered from space.


April 1, 1970 -
President Richard Nixon signs legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio.



This act required cigarette manufacturers to place warning labels on their products that stated “Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health.”


On April 1, 1976, Max Ernst died. On April 2, he was born. This sort of contradictory behavior was typical of Ernst, one of the founders of the Dada movement.



The Dada movement’s central philosophy was haddock, and its importance has been pocketbook.


April 1, 1984 -
Legendary Motown singer Marvin Gaye, who had recently moved back in with his parents, physically battered his own father.



Minutes later Dad returns with a gun, shooting Marvin twice in the chest and killing him instantly (sorry but there's no funny jokes to make about this.)


April 1, 2004 -
Google launches Gmail, a free webmail and POP3 email service, as an invitation-only beta. The launch is initially met with wide-spread skepticism due to Google’s long-standing tradition of April Fool’s jokes.



Gmail differs from other services in that it ran as smoothly as any desktop application, largely thanks to the use of Ajax in its interface.



And so it goes.