It's actually called Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia

Before we speak about Brain Freeze, I have once again been warned by the FCC and other governmental agencies that I must make the following statement:  No matter how enticing - Underage drinking is wrong. Frozen drinks may be refreshing on a hot summer day but alcohol is not an acceptable addition to Slurpees for underage drinkers.



Heavenly hosannas, it is right that we give thanks and praise -  7-11 is celebrating their name day (so to speak) by giving away Slurpees to the "brain freeze" fearless public.


July 11, 1942 -
A classic 40's Merrie Melodies cartoon, Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid was released on this date.



The scene in which Bugs believes part of his body to be skeletal is a reference to Harold Lloyd's execution of the exact same joke in The Freshman.


July 11, 1965 -
One of the 60's best Beach movies, Beach Blanket Bingo opened today.



This was the final full appearance in a "Beach Party" movie for Frankie Avalon. He only appears in six minutes of the follow-up, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.


July 11, 1969 -
The Rolling Stones released Honky Tonk Women on this date.




Like many Rolling Stones songs, it has highly suggestive lyrics, but they are just subtle enough to keep it from getting banned by radio stations. British Rock Bands often wrote lyrics that were ambiguously offensive, falling just in line with BBC guidelines for airplay. A good example in this song is "She blew my nose and then she blew my mind," which implies both cocaine and sex, but didn't give the BBC any specific reason to ban it.


July 11, 1969 -
Co-incidentially, David Bowie, released his single Space Oddity,  supposedly in conjunction with the July 20th Apollo 11 moon landing, on this date.



Bowie wrote this after seeing the 1968 Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. "Space Oddity" is a play on the phrase "Space Odyssey," and the title does not appear in the lyrics. The song tells the story of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who cuts off communication with Earth and floats into space.


Today in History:
July 11, 1533 -
The Church of England came into being on this date. The story of its origins is shrouded in sex and therefore important.

Henry VIII assumed the English throne in 1509, an energetic young man of seventeen. He immediately decided to have a male heir. This became the enduring theme of his reign and he consequently came to be known as The Son King (or, to his detractors, The Heir Head.)



Henry such a devout Catholic that he earned the title "Defender of the Faith" without even stepping into the ring. His first wife, whom he'd married before taking the throne, was Catherine of Aragon, who earned the nickname "Catherine of Aragon." Catherine was an excellent queen until she didn't have a son, at which point things changed.



By the 1530s Henry had realized he was married to a bad queen. He was now about 40 years old and therefore decided to get a convertible coach and a new wife.

The convertible caused no problems, but the changing of wives required the official permission of the Pope, who, being Catholic himself, refused to grant a divorce.

Henry divorced her anyway, and on July 11, 1533, the Catholic Church seceded from the Church of England in retaliation.



The Pope having withdrawn, Henry made himself the head of the Church of England. Because he was still the Defender of the Faith, he wrote the Act of Supremacy. This Act proved that the Church of England was better than the Catholic Church, that King Henry VIII was better than any Pope, and that a Single White King was back in the market.

Sir Thomas More had been the Lord Chancellor of England, and knew Henry as well as any man alive. He therefore refused to swear to the Act of Supremacy, and on July 6, 1535, became Sir Thomas Somewhat Less.

At this point in his career, Henry began marrying and divorcing women on a regular basis. The divorce process was expedited now that Papal authority was no longer a consideration. In fact, Henry turned the entire process into a game: his wives would be blindfolded and asked to produce a male heir.



It came to be known as "Bluff King Hal," and several centuries later it served as the inspiration for the popular French game, "Hungry Hungry Guillotine."


July 11 1804 -



Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and sitting Vice President Aaron Burr duel in Weehawken, New Jersey after Hamilton allegedly slandered Burr during a political dinner in New York. Hamilton was shot in the liver and died the next day.



Meanwhile, Burr lives on to finish his term in office and is eventually tried for treason after attempting to raise an army and seize land for himself, either in Mexico or the Louisiana Territory.


July 11, 1859 -
Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities was published on this date.



The book, would become the best-selling, original English language novel of all time, with more than 200 million copies sold.


July 11, 1893 -
Japanese businessman Kokichi Mikimoto perfected his technique for creating hemispherical cultured pearls, producing the world's first cultured pearl on this day.



In the next 12 years, he would hone his technique, making spherical pearls that were indistinguishable from the perfect specimens rarely found in nature.


July 11, 1936 -
The Triborough Bridge in New York City was opened to traffic, on this date.



Built at the height of the Great Depression, the creation of the Triborough Bridge put thousands of struggling people to work. It also was New York City’s first bridge specifically designed for automobiles.


July 11, 1979 -
The derelict space station Skylab finally returned to Earth, ignominiously breaking into 500 separate fragments which are swallowed by the Indian Ocean. That was, except for the ones which crashed into Woorlba Sheep Station, near Balladonia in Western Australia.



Shortly thereafter, President Jimmy Carter telephoned the prime minister of that country to apologized for scattering NASA litter on his nation.

Oops.


July 11, 1997 -
Bodybuilder and wannabe actor Jonathan Norman was arrested for trespassing on Steven Spielberg's estate in Malibu, California on this date. Believing that the film director "wanted to be raped," Norman had brought along a kit containing handcuffs, duct tape, nipple clamps, chloroform, and a stun gun.

I never realized that Steven liked nipple clamps, he seemed more like a vibrating egg man to me.



And so it goes.

How white can my shirts can be?

July 10, 1916 -
Charlie Chaplin further develops his 'Tramp' character with the release of  The Vagabond, on this date.



look for this - Charlie loses his hat outside the bar, is seen inside wearing it, then picks it up where he lost it when he leaves. When he escapes from the gypsy, he is hatless at first, but the next shot shows the hat suddenly back in place.


July 10, 1942 -
RKO Radio Pictures released Orson Welles' butchered masterpiece, The Magnificent Ambersons, on this date.



The re-cutting of this film caused a deep rift in Orson Welles' friendships with Robert Wise and Joseph Cotten. Cotten later wrote several letters of apology to Welles, and the two later reconciled. Welles and Wise, however, remained on acrimonious terms for some 42 years until Wise was invited to come to the stage by Gil Cates when the Directors Guild honored Welles with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984.


July 10, 1965 -
The Rolling Stones topped the pop-music charts with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, on this date.



Mick Jagger wrote all the lyrics except the line "Can't get no satisfaction." The lyrics deal with what Jagger saw as the two sides of America, the real and phony. He sang about a man looking for authenticity but not being able to find it. Jagger experienced the vast commercialism of America in a big way on their tours, and later learned to exploit it, as The Rolling Stones made truckloads of money through sponsorships and merchandising in the US.


Today in History:
July 10, 1559 -
Heed the prophecies of Nostradamus!

Henry II of France had a splitting headache today. Henry was having a friendly joust with the captain of the Scottish Guards, Gabriel de Lorges de Montgomery,  when he was momentarily blinded by the visor on the captain's helmet.



The captain's lance was somehow broken and Henry II  was pierced through the eye socket and temple on June 30 (Ouch!). The King writhed in agony until he died from his wounds on this date.  Nostradamus wrote a poem about a lion and a cage and somehow that tripe predicted Henry II's death


July 10, 1856 -
Inventor and electromechanical genius Nikola Tesla, the man who invented the 20th century, was born to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia on this date.



Remember, if we could only harness the free floating electricity, we could do away with the electric companies.




July 10, 1938 -
Aviator Howard Hughes (you know his C.V.) made a record flight around the world on this date, completing the trip in just 91 hours, breaking the previous record by more than four days.



Taking off from New York City in a Lockheed Super Electra he continued to Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, Anchorage, Minneapolis, ending back at New York City.


July 10, 1954 -
I think there's an element where people get very comfortable in their ghetto. Which is fair enough.



Neil Tennant, musician, singer and songwriter and the other half of the electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys, was born on this date.


July 10, 1958 -
The first parking meter was installed in England on this date in 1958, along with the second through 625th. It took nearly two dozen years for the parking meter to travel across the Atlantic: the first American parking meter had been installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935.

It was invented by Oklahoma City's Carl C. Magee, the head of that city's chamber of commerce, as part of an effort to free more parking spaces for daytime shoppers. Downtown parking spaces had typically been taken by office workers who left their cars parked on the street all day, making it difficult for shoppers to find open spaces and thereby causing incalculable pain and suffering. (Double-parking was not invented until 1963.)



I, personally, considers the parking meter one of the great instruments of totalitarian control, and cannot understand how conspiracy theorists who lose sleep over Roswell, the Masons, and black helicopters can walk blithely past dozens of parking meters every day.



Current estimates ("wild guesses") suggest there are now more than five million of these coercive devil machines deployed across the United States. They absorb millions of dollars in small change every day, and generate still more ill-gotten revenue by means of fines levied against persons who refuse to kneel before them.



I urge my readers to recall the words of Alexander Hamilton, who observed in the Federalist Papers that "no people are free who must pay for municipal parking."

The first concrete-paved street was built 115 years ago today in Bellefountaine, Ohio.

Paved streets are good. I have no problem with paved streets, unless they're lined with parking meters.


July 10, 1985 -
Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was blown up by in Auckland Harbor, killing a photographer, Fernando Pereira, on this date.



After the New Zealand government determines that French secret agents were responsible, the French Defense Minister Pierre Lacoste, resigns and agents, Captain Dominique Prieur and Commander Alain Mafart, were jailed.



And so it goes.

Today's PSA

ACME brings you another in it's series of (court ordered) PSAs.

So please, do not touch yourself again.


July 9, 1956 -
America's favorite actor, Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born on this date.



Let's hope someday, Tom finds himself and successes in a career.


July 9, 1964 -
Being a rock star is like being a cult leader - you really have to be in your own religion.



Courtney Michelle Love, rock musician and actress, was born on this date.


Today in History:
On the Fourth of July in 1850, President Zachary Taylor snacked on cherries and milk while attending a ceremony at the Washington Monument. It was a hot day, and the heat made him sick.

He got sicker and sicker and died on July 9.

He remains the only U.S. president to have died from indigestion (with the possible exception of Warren G Harding, who may or may not have been poisoned by his wife - which could be considered death by extreme indigestion - but that's another story.)



His last words were, "I regret nothing, but I am sorry to leave my friends."

I firmly believe he actually regretted eating the cherries-and-milk that caused his fatal indigestion, but I'm not going to quibble with a man's dying words.


July 9, 1856 -
Nikola Tesla, electrical engineer, inventor, and visionary, was born in Croatia (well actually, not today.)



(I seem to have jumped the gun and Tesla's birthday is actually tomorrow but please feel free to celebrate the great man's natal anniversary a day early.)


July 9, 1918 -
Two passenger trains crossing the Dutchman's Curve in downtown Nashville, Tennessee,

collided at speeds of 50 to 60 miles per hour killing 101 people and  leaving 171 injured, on this date.



The great wreck of 1918 is still considered the worst rail disaster in US history.


July 9, 1945 -
... dirty money always brings sorrow and sadness and misery and disgrace. Said by a man who never took a bribe.



During a newspaper strike, New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia read the daily comic strips aloud on WNYC radio on this date.


July 9, 1958 -
A tsunami wave struck Lituya Bay in southeast Alaska on this date. The tsunami wave was 1,719 feet high - taller than the Empire State Building (1,470 feet tall). It was caused by an earthquake and descriptions by witnesses as moving at 600 miles per hour. It was later determined that this was the largest wave to ever strike land in history.



The wave destroyed 6-foot trees and stripped the shore down to bedrock. It killed two people when it sank their boat, while two other boats rode it out with all passengers surviving.


July 9, 1982 -
Michael Fagan, dressed in jeans and a dirty t-shirt, and bleeding from a fresh cut on his hand, walks into the private bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II while she was asleep and her personal guard out walking her dogs. Fagan had scaled the wall surrounding Buckingham Palace and gained entry without triggering any alarms. The two carried on a 12-minute conversation, while the intruder holds a jagged broken ashtray, before somebody finally apprehended him.



Who knew that Queen could carry on a 12 minute conversation with one of her subjects?


July 9, 1995 -
The Grateful Dead, who had been performing for 30 years, gave their last performance on this day, when they performed at Soldier Field in Chicago. During their 30 years, they performed more than 2,300 live concerts.



The lead guitarist and backbone of the band, Jerry Garcia, died one month after the final show.



And so it goes.

Gooba, Gaba, Gooba Gaba, One of us, One of us ...

It's going to be a hot one out there today - Keep hydrated!


July 8, 1932 -
W.C. Fields' very funny political satire, Million Dollar Legs, opened on this date.



Writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz was inspired to write this film by the wild events of the 1928 Olympic games held in Amsterdam, particularly by an Albanian pole-vaulter who took to the field wearing a pair of goatskin shorts.


July 8, 1932 -
Tod Browning's groundbreaking shockfest Freaks, featuring genuine carnival sideshow performers, premieres at the Rialto theater in New York on this date.



F. Scott Fitzgerald was a member of the MGM writing department at the time the movie was in production. He never felt quite at home with all the movie stars and powerful moguls, and so he often dined in the commissary at the table of the sideshow attractions from the film during his lunch hour.


July 8, 1958 -
The center of the Hollywood Universe was born today in 1958.



Remember even you are only a few degrees away from Kevin Bacon.


July 8, 1964 -
Probably Jerry Lewis' best directorial effort, The Patsy, premiered on this date. (This was Peter Lorre's last film; he died four days after completing his role.)



This is the only Jerry Lewis solo film that mentions Dean Martin by name. Ed Sullivan includes Martin & Lewis in a list of famous acts that made their debuts on his show.


July 8, 1964 -
Universal Studios released Frankenstein Conquers the World (Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon,) directed by Ishiro Honda and starring Nick Adams, Tadao Takashima and Kumi Mizuno, to U.S. theaters on this date.



The film's story came from an unused 1962 screenplay titled King Kong vs. Frankenstein, written by King Kong special effects technician Willis H. O'Brien. In the story, Dr. Frankenstein's grandson created a 20 ft. monster from the remains of animals, and that monster ended up fighting Kong. The story never got past the screenplay, thought concept art depicting Kong and the Frankenstein monster exist. The screenplay was given to John Beck, who sold it to Toho, who made Kingu Kongu tai Gojira and Frankenstein Conquers the World. O'Brien was never paid for his contribution.


Today in History:
July 8, 1115 -
Peter the Hermit died on this date. Peter is notable for his invention of The Crusades and never bathing. He whipped up support for the first Crusade as an attempt to dislodge the Seljuk Turks from Jerusalem: over three hundred thousand Christians perished in less than a year, during which they destroyed hundreds of villages throughout Europe and Asia Minor and killed tens of thousands of European Jews and fellow Christians on their way to a holy land they never reached.



As a result of this astonishing success, the Crusades were serialized and ran for several centuries.


July 8, 1776 -In Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall), summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, by Colonel John Nixon on this date.



The bell had the inscription: proclaim liberty throughout all the land onto all the inhabitants thereof. An interesting aside - On July 8, 1835, the Liberty Bell cracked (again) while being tolled during the funeral procession for Chief Justice John Marshall. It was never rung again.


July 8, 1800 -
The first smallpox vaccine was administered on this date in the US. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (no relation to Price) of Massachusetts introduced Edward Jenner's method of vaccination of cowpox serum to his five-year-old son Daniel and a household servant.

Neither ever contracted smallpox and the vaccination was determined to have been an udder success.


July 8, 1856 -
The crank-operated machine gun was patented on this date by C.E. Barnes of Lowell, Massachusetts, and the revolving gun turret was invented exactly six years later by Theodore Timby.

Both inventions enabled mankind to kill itself off with unprecedented ease and efficiency, thereby launching the modern era.


July 8th was a Sunday in 1881, so when a hot young man entered Edward Berner's drugstore in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and ordered an ice-cream soda, his request was denied. Ice-cream sodas could not be served on the Sabbath owing to the ancient Mosaic injunction against them.

The hot young man pleaded his case so eloquently, however, that Berner felt sympathetic and came up with a compromise: he plopped a scoop of ice-cream into a dish and poured the chocolate-flavored syrup directly over it.



This religious dodge quickly became popular and came to be known as the Ice Cream Sundae. (The spelling was later changed to conceal the heretical origins of the dish.) Since that glorious day, hundreds of millions of Americans have consigned themselves to Hell.


July 8, 1969 -
The U.S. Patent Office issued a patent for the game Twister. (Yes smartpants, the game came out in 1966 but the patent wasn't issued until this date.)



Remember kids, if you are going to play nude Crisco Twister - always use protection.


July 8, 1976 -
Former President Richard M. Nixon was disbarred by the New York Bar Association. Nixon attempted to resign voluntarily, as he had from the California and U.S. Supreme Court bars, but New York refused to accept his resignation unless he acknowledged that he had obstructed justice during the Watergate coverup.




Bad, Nixon, Bad.


July 8, 1999 -
The last electric chair execution in Florida took place. when Allen Lee Davis ordered his last meal and walked his last mile on this date. His execution drew particular attention because his nose bled during the botched execution and he was burned on his leg, groin and head.

The US Supreme Court ruled death by electric chair was cruel and unusual punishment in 2008, ending the practice, which by then was only used in Nebraska.

(If you sick puppies want to - there are photos on the ethernet of Mr. Davis after his less than professional execution - I'm just not going to link to them.)



And so it goes.

I'm trying to hit the ground running

Today is -
Bonza Bottler Day, an excuse to celebrate. This happens every month when the day and the date are the same number. (May 5, June 6, July 7, etc.).

The holiday was invented by Elaine Fremont in 1985 (who died in a car accident in 1995.) Her friends and family have been keeping her holiday alive by posting announcements of the holiday every year (I didn't know Ms. Fremont but I like the idea,)


Father-Daughter take a walk together day,

Chocolate Day (If you're a chocoholic, then you have two more chocolate days to celebrate! World Chocolate Day is on September 4 and National Chocolate Day is on October 28.)

Remember kids, chocolate is actually the seed pod of the fruit of the cocoa tree - so it must be healthy for you, eat up.

And National Strawberry Sundae Day -

Remember it's Richard Starkey birthday today. And all he has to show for it is a photograph.




And I believe he still won't sign it for you.


July 7, 1984 -
The single Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood became Britain's all-time best-selling single (at the time) on this date.



This was a huge hit in England, where it stayed on the UK charts for 48 weeks, 5 at #1. It got some help from the BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read, who refused to play it. This helped stir interest in the song and made it a cult favorite. Six months after the song hit #1, it climbed back to #2.


Today in History:
July 7, 1456 -
A retrial verdict acquitted Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death on this date.



The pile of ashes that was Joan was unsurprisingly silent upon hearing the news.


July 7, 1865 -
Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt, convicted co-conspirators of the Lincoln assassination were hanged in the Old Arsenal Penitentiary on this date.

Unfortunately, the conspirators dropped about five or six feet, which proved insufficient to break their necks. They were allowed to hang for 25 minutes to ensue the job, if not done well, was at least completed. Mary Surratt became the first woman executed by the United States.


July 7, 1928 –
Wonder no more where the expression came from -

Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, on this date.



It is described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped".


July 7. 1946 -
Our favorite, germophobe, bisexual billionaire Howard Hughes was pulled out, barely alive, from the fiery wreckage of an XF-11 reconnaissance plane that Hughes was testing over Beverly Hills, by, William Durkin, a US Master Sergeant, who happened to be in the area, on this date.



Hughes' injuries were extensive;including a crushed collar bone, 24 broken ribs and numerous third-degree burns. Miraculously, he survives, although he is never quite the same. It's believed that Hughes' long-term addiction to codeine was a result of his convalescence from this near fatal accident.


On July 7, 1947, the US Army sends a team of men to a reported crash site near Roswell, New Mexico. This 'recovery' has become the subject of intense speculation, rumor and questioning. There are widely divergent views on what actually happened and passionate debate about what evidence can be believed. The United States military maintains that what was recovered was a top-secret research balloon that had crashed.



Many UFO proponents believe the wreckage was of a crashed alien craft and that the military covered up the craft's recovery. The incident has turned into a widely-recognized and referred to pop culture phenomenon, and for some, Roswell is synonymous with UFOs. It likely ranks as the most famous alleged UFO incident.

Remember, the Truth is out there.


July 7, 1952 -
During her first Atlantic crossing, the SS United States crossed the finish line in the great race for the fastest Atlantic crossing ever.



To this day, no other liner has ever come close to her speed record in that maiden crossing - in a record 82 hours, 40 minutes.


On July 5, 1954, Elvis Presley recorded That's All Right, at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, as a gift for his mother (Hear his words, let them be a comfort to you.)



On June 7, 1954 WHBQ Radio in Memphis became the first station to play this song when their disc jockey Dewey Phillips aired it on his Red, Hot and Blue show .


July 7, 2005 -
Four bomb explosions struck London's transport system during the morning rush on this date. Three Underground trains were hit within half an hour, and a double-decker bus joined the toll, thirty minutes later.



A group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility, saying they were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over fifty people were killed and more than 700 injured.


And so it goes.

Here's what they did before internet connections

(I have almost zero connectivity today to the internet so I've posted something and I come back to add to it next week when I've returned to our hovel.)


July 6, 1928 -
The first true sound picture, Lights of New York, (Jolson's 1927 The Jazz Singer was basically part-silent film part-sound film) previewed in New York on this date.



This film was originally approved for production as a 2-reeler. Albert Warner approved expanding it to a 57-minute feature despite an untested director. It's $75,000 cost returned $2 million to the studio.


July 6, 1964 -
The Beatles' film Hard Day's Night premieres in London, on this date.



Ringo Starr is invited to "Le Cercle" gambling club, the same club where James Bond makes his first appearance in Dr. No. Coincidentally, both "A Hard Day's Night" and "Dr. No" were originally released by United Artists.


July 6, 1979 -
The B-52s, a New Wave band based in Athens, Georgia, released Planet Claire on this date.



Just a thought: I wonder if her Plymouth Satellite has a mobile hot spot?


Today in History:
July 6, 1415 -
Jan Hus was burned at the stake for various heresies by the Council of Constance.

Among other things, Hus had incited the citizens of Prague to protest against Antipope John XXIII and his policy of granting indulgences.

Those Antipopes are so moody.


July 6, 1535 -
Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians, was beheaded in England for treason, on this date.  He got a little off the top for refusing to renounce the Catholic church in favor of King Henry VIII's Church of England.

More's sentence to death by hanging was commuted to beheading (what a lucky duck.) He was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1935.


July 6, 1919 -
The British airship R.34 landed in New York at Roosevelt Field on this date. (There's no word what was on sale at the Mall.)



It completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. It had left Firth of Forth, Scotland, 108 hours earlier and there was no beverage cart service throughout the entire flight!


July 6, 1921 -
Several members of the Chicago White Sox went on trial for throwing the 1919 World Series, on this date. The White Sox players despised their owner Charles Comiskey. He was notoriously stingy. He would offer bonuses for performance and then take them back at the last minute. Gamblers knew that the players were frustrated and angry and offered several of them money to throw the World Series. The night before the series began, a Sox pitcher found $10,000 under the pillow in his hotel bedroom. The next day his first pitch landed between the batter's shoulder blades. The Sox lost the series to the Cincinnati Reds 5 to 3.



Many journalists knew right away that the series had been fixed. One of the accused players, one of the most tragic figures, was Shoeless Joe Jackson, who admitted to taking money, but during the series he didn't make a single error. He also hit the only home run of the series. All of the White Sox players were acquitted for lack of evidence, but the commissioner of baseball banned them from the game for the rest of their lives.

None of the gamblers was ever punished.


July 6 1944 -
Fire breaks out at a matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Baily Circus, in Hartford, Connecticut, burning 168 people to death, and injuring an additional 250. The main tent had been waterproofed with wax thinned by gasoline. Said one of the Flying Wallendas, "I can never look down at a crowd again without smelling the flames and the burning flesh."



I believe with thoughts like this, even I would give up showbiz.



Among notable survivors, beside the Flying Wallendas, were Eunice Groark, first female lieutenant governor of Connecticut and Charles Nelson Reilly.


July 6, 1944  -
Lieutenant Jackie Robinson (yes that Jackie) while riding a civilian bus from Camp Hood, Texas, refused to give up his seat to a white man.

Lt. Robinson was court marshaled for refusing the order of a civilian bus driver to move to the back of the bus. He was acquitted of the charges.


July 6, 1945 -
The Joint Chiefs of Staff approve Operation OVERCAST, intended to "exploit ... chosen rare minds whose continuing intellectual productivity we wish to use," on this date. The directive authorizes the immigration of up to 350 German and Austrian specialists, primarily experts in rocketry.



Operation OVERCAST is later renamed Project PAPERCLIP. This is how we got the 'Good Germans' to work on our space program.


Louis Armstrong, a foundational influence on jazz, pot and Swiss Kriss (herbal laxative) enthusiast,

died on this date, in 1971.



I do not wish to imply that the supernal Mr Armstrong died in some freak pot/ laxative accident.



And so it goes.

Even leftover BBQ is good!

I hope you got to enjoy your Fourth of July festivities, even if they were inside.



(Thank you Elvis Costello)

   
July 5, 1956 -
MGM released boxer Rocky Grazaiano's film biography, Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman and Pier Angeli on this date.




Eileen Heckart who plays Rocky Graciano's mother was only 6 years older than Paul Newman. She was born in 1919 and he, in 1925.


It's the 16th anniversary of the Rev. J. R. "Bob" Dobbs pronouncement that the world would be destroyed by invading alien armies known as the X-ists on July 5, 1998.



Although the world did not end in 1998 (unless this is an elaborate alternate universe), the pipe and the slacks of Bob comfort me.


Today in History:
July 5, 1794 -
Sylvester Graham was born in Suffield, Connecticut, on this date. He was ordained in 1826 as a Presbyterian minister. He was an early advocate of dietary reform in United States most notable for his emphasis on vegetarianism, and the temperance movement, as well as sexual and dietary habits.

Graham believed that a firm, crusty bread made of coarsely ground whole-wheat flour was more nutritious and healthy. He correctly argued that chemical additives in bread that make it whiter in color and more commercially appealing also made it unwholesome.

Graham was also inspired by the temperance movement and preached that a vegetarian diet was a cure for alcoholism, and, more importantly, sexual urges. The main thrust of his teachings was to curb lust. While alcohol had useful medicinal qualities, it should never be abused by social drinking. For Graham, an unhealthy diet stimulated excessive sexual desire which irritated the body and caused disease. While Graham developed a significant following known as Grahamites, known for stuffing Graham crackers in their mouths when the urge came over them (as opposed to Sodomites known for stuffing ... oh never mind.) He was also ridiculed by the media and the public for his unwavering zealotry.



According to newspaper records, many women fainted at his lectures when he aired opinions both on sexual relations and the wearing of corsets. Whether their fainting was due to the subject matter or the tight corsets they wore is still debated.


July 5, 1801 -
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, born on this date, was the first senior officer of the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and full admiral of the Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his possibly apocryphal order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".

If you have the time go out and see him, he's in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. (I guess that's only convenient if you're near the Bronx.)

If you're not in the Bronx,

you can check out his Memorial statue in Madison Square Park in Manhattan.


July 5, 1865 -
Booth led boldly with his big bass drum - (Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)



The Salvation Army began with the efforts of two founders, William Booth and Catherine Booth, to bring salvation to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the destitute. On this date, William Booth established The Christian Mission in London, England, which would later be called as The Salvation Army in 1878. The name was changed to The Salvation Army (apparently by the request of an initial member; the Christian Mission's mission-statement originally called the organization a 'volunteer army', and the speaker felt that he wasn't strictly a 'volunteer') and a quasi-military outlook was adopted.



When William Booth became known as the General, Catherine was known as the “Mother of The Salvation Army.” William preached to the poor, and Catherine spoke to the wealthy, gaining financial support for their demanding work. She also ministered, which was a revolutionary act at the time. From the beginning it was already clearly stated in the Foundation Deed of the Christian Mission, that women had the same rights to preach as men. Together the Booths worked tirelessly to help others and brought a spiritual and practical message of rejuvenation. As William said, “The three ‘S's’ best expressed the way in which the Army administered to the 'down and outs': first, soup; second, soap; and finally, salvation".


The memorable "Spam" was rebranded on July 5, 1937,  when the product, whose original name was far less memorable (Hormel Spiced Ham), began to lose market share. The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name Spam was "Shoulder of Pork and hAM". According to writer Marguerite Patten in Spam – The Cookbook, the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, an actor and the brother of a Hormel vice president. At one time, the official explanation may have been that the name was a syllabic abbreviation of "SPiced hAM", but on their official website, Hormel denies this and states that "SPAM is just that. SPAM." The fact that the originator was given a $100 prize for coming up with the name, however, still appears on the site's SPAM FAQs.



Other varieties of Spam include Spam Less Sodium, Spam Garlic, Spam and Cheese, Spam with Bacon (Hormel bacon), Spam Spread, Spam Lite (containing pork and chicken), Spam Golden Honey Grail, Spam Hot and Spicy (with Tabasco sauce), Spam Hickory Smoked and Spam Oven Roasted Turkey - the latter is a halal food, meaning that it is allowed under Islamic law, and is especially popular in Muslim markets.


July 5, 1946 -
The bikini bathing suit, was created by Louis Réard, a French automotive engineer who was running his mother's lingerie business, made its debut during a fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris on this date.



A famous nude dancer, Micheline Bernardin, modeled the two-piece outfit at the show. Réard, hoping to capitalize on the notoriety, named his new two-piece, atom-sized swimsuit after the Bikini Atoll Island Nuclear test site.


July 5, 1958 -
We don't devote enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.

Bill Watterson, cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes cartoon series, was born on this date.



And so it goes 

And the rain came.

It's pouring right now (as I write this) but not as hard as it has been in the city.  (It's not raining at the moment - 7:00 AM - so perhaps we can save the day!)


July 4, 1964 -
The Beach Boys' song I Get Around topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks on this date.



This was released as a double A-side single in May 1964 with Don't Worry Baby.  It is considered one of the best ever single releases along with Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles and Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog by Elvis Presley.


Hope you're enjoying your holiday - Here's a few shorts before the main feature today:





Once again, ACME would like to share their salute to this Independence Day with the annual playing of Bruce Springsteen clip of "Fourth of July",



sponsored by ACME Split Buns -Slip your ACME Snappy Weinie - The Almost 100% all beef frank (but hey don't ask what the other stuff in it is) in our Buttered Split Buns and feel the difference:

(I have very a bad internet connection, so the rest of the week may be spotty posting.)
Today in History:
July 4, 1776 -
The Continental Congress approved adoption of the amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson and signed by John Hancock--President of the Continental Congress--and Charles Thomson, Congress secretary (among others,) without dissent.



However, the New York delegation abstained as directed by the New York Provisional Congress. The United States was very busy for the next couple of years and didn't get around to commemorating Independence Day until 1796.


July 4, 1826 -
Frienemies Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both lay dying in there respective homes on this date. Jefferson, the nation's third president, deeply in debt at age 83, died at one o'clock in the afternoon and correctly surmised that Adams had outlived him. John Adams, the second president died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass, just a few hours after Jefferson. Adams' last words were, Thomas Jefferson still survives.



It was exactly 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.


July 4, 1831 -
James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, died in New York City at age 73 on this date.



This made him the third ex-President to die on Independence Day. How patriotic.


July 4, 1850 -
President Zachary Taylor stood hatless in the sun for hours listening to long-winded speeches. He returned to the White House and attempted to cool off by eating cherries, cucumbers and drinking iced milk. Severe stomach cramps followed.



It is likely that Taylor's own physicians inadvertently killed him with a whole series of debilitating treatments. The cur lingered on until he unpatriotically died on July 9th.


July 4, 1862 -
Charles Dodgson, an Oxford mathematician and nude child photographer, told little Alice Liddell on a boat trip the fairy tale he had dreamed up for her called Alice's Adventures Underground on this date. We assume he had his pants on at the time.



Three year later, to the day, the first edition of Alice in Wonderland was published under Dodgson's pen name, Lewis Carroll.


July 4, 1884 -
The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States in ceremonies at Paris, France, on this date. The 225-ton, 152-foot statue was a gift from France in commemoration of 100 years of American independence. The French, always the comedians, presented the gift eight years late of the centennial celebration and left the shipping and handling costs to the United States.

Created by the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was installed on Bedloe Island (now Liberty Island) in New York harbor in 1885. It was dedicated on October 28, 1886.


July 4, 1898 -
The French passenger liner La Bourgogne, sank within an hour after a collision with the British ship Cromartyshire, in dense fog, 60 miles south of Sable Island near Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic, on this date. Only 165 of the 711 passengers survived.

While there are no deaths on the British ship, only one woman of the more than 300 women and children listed as passengers aboard the La Bourgogne, was among the survivors. The remainder were mostly the crew, along with a few men from steerage. After a brief and horrifying inquiry, the French maritime authorities heard stories of  the officers vainly trying to maintain order (only 3 of the 18 officers survived) and of the crew members using knives, boat hooks, oars and whatever else came to hand, against the passengers for places in the few lifeboats that survived the collision. Even more shocking, once the boats were in the water, the brave French crew beat off and stabbed swimming passengers who had tried to clamber aboard.

The authorities refused to hold a proper investigation and the entire incident was hushed up to avoid an international scandal.

Once again, the stellar principle of 'Woman and Children first' at work.


July 4,1916   -
Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs opened a stand at Brooklyn’s Coney Island and (according to highly specious legend) held an eating contest as a publicity stunt that became an annual event on this date.

Not to be too indelicate but some of the corpses of the first patrons have just about finished digesting that meal.



And so it goes.

So far it hasn't rained

We're on our annual vacation at the beach.

Unfortunately, Mr Teeny has become hooked on Krokodil and he's even more anti-social - don't bother to even approach our manse.  Mr Teeny also got an illegal Kalashnikov from his dealer (you don't want to know.)


Siriusly- The Dog Days of summer begin today. (That's an inside joke for astronomers )

The following is provided for the benefit of non-astronomers.

Sirius is the name of the brightest star in the night-time sky (the brightest star in the day-time sky is called "the sun"), and it's known as the dog star because it's located in the constellation Canis Major - or, in English, Major Dog. The hottest days of the year in the northern hemisphere happen to coincide with the period during which Sirius rises with our own sun, and ancient man therefore concluded that Sirius was contributing to the heat.

http://blog-photos.dogvacay.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/dog-days-of-summer.jpeg
Like most men, they were wrong, but like most modern idiots, we continue to cherish their timeless wisdom anyway. Plus, having "Dog Days" of summer is a great boon to advertising copywriters, whose creativity is surely the driving force behind western civilization.


Happy Birthday Geraldo Rivera (Gerry Rivers) (1943)



(Let's hope Geraldo keeps his shorts on this birthday)

and Tom Cruise (Mapother IV) turns 52 this year  (1962).



Let's all hope people still like their actors crazy.


July 3, 1951 -
An under-appreciated Hitchcock classic, Strangers on a Train, was released on this date.



This is the movie that determined the location of Carol Burnett's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  In 1951, she was working as an usher when this film was playing at the Warner Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. A couple arrived late, and Burnett, having already seen the film, advised them that it was a wonderful film that should be seen from the very beginning. The manager of the theatre very rudely fired her for this. Years later, when Carol Burnett was asked where she would like to have her star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she requested that it be placed in front of that theatre.


July 3, 1962 -
John Frankenheimer's biography of Robert Stroud, Birdman of Alcatraz, starring the amazing Burt Lancaster, premiered on this date.



At one point, the real Robert Stroud had over 400 birds in his cell.


July 3, 1985 -
Universal released Robert Zemeckis' sci fi comedy Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover on this date.



Apparently Ronald Reagan was amused by Doc Brown's disbelief that an actor like him could become president, so much so that he had the projectionist stop and replay the scene. He also seemed to enjoy it so much that he even made a direct reference of the film in his 1986 State of the Union address: "As they said in the film Back to the Future, 'Where we're going, we don't need roads.'"


July 3, 1996 -
One of the great summer popcorn movies, Independence Day, was released on this date.



According to producer/co-writer Dean Devlin, the US military had agreed to support the film by allowing the crew to film at military bases, consulting the actors who have military roles, etc. However, after learning of the Area 51 references in the script, they withdrew their support.


(We're gearing up for a massive BBQ tomorrow, so it's an abbreviated posting today.  Also having some connectivity issues, may not be about to post tomorrow, stay tuned.)
Today in History:
Joyeux anniversaire au Québec, vous ne cherchez pas un jour plus de 350.

On this date in 1608, the very manly French explorer Samuel de Champlain invented Quebec. Since then, the French Canadians have been even more obnoxious than the French themselves.


July 3, 1863 -
The long three day Battle of Gettysburg ended on this date, marking the bloodiest battle the country had yet seen.



The fighting in the small Pennsylvania town marked a pivotal point in the Civil War and although both sides losses were essentially equal, helped turn the outcome toward the Union forces.


July 3, 1965 -
Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, died at 25 on this date.  His stuffed body was placed on display at Rogers' museum in Victorville, Ca.



Trigger was not alone; Buttermilk (Dale Evans' horse) and Bullet (the Rogers' German Shepherd) are mounted alongside. (I have been corrected, the animals were mounted and not stuffed; which make the entire process that much more perverse.)   


On July 3, 1969, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowned in his own swimming pool on this date.



Although he was the first Rolling Stone to do so, Mr Jones is just one of millions of people to have drowned in their own swimming pools. As a public service I have therefore chosen to help American readers prepare for the long holiday weekend with some advice on how not to drown in one's pool:

1. The easiest way not to drown in your own pool is not to have one. Readers without pools may enhance their safety further by consulting the previous articles, "How Not to Kill Yourself: Don't place your Head in an Oven!" and "How Not to Fall Down an Elevator Shaft."

2. If you insist upon owning a pool, don't swim in it, walk by it, or nap in its vicinity.

3. Pools don't drown people: water does. A drained pool is a safe pool. In troubling times like these, it's also worth noting that empty pools may be put to good use as bunkers or bomb shelters.

4. Avoid the use of electronic equipment while swimming. Today's multi-tasking professionals may feel inclined to save time by checking their email or drafting a Powerpoint presentation while taking a few laps, but this can prove ruinous for one's telecommunications equipment and, in the case of desktop computers or mainframes, not much better for one's own health.

5. Wait at least 45 minutes before swimming after the ingestion of mind-altering substances.

6. Don't be a rock star. Scientific research has proven that rock stars are seven times more likely than the general population to drown in swimming pools, bathtubs, or pools of their own vomit.

7. Do not attempt to convert the water in your pool to Jell-O. Jell-O is just as deadly as chlorinated water when ingested by the lungs, but far more likely to attract insects and vermin. It is one thing to drown in your own pool: it is quite another to drown in your own pool and then be devoured by maggots.

8. Avoid poisonous snakes.


July 3, 1971 -
Jim Morrison was found dead of an apparent heart attack in his Paris apartment bathtub on this date.



That's what he wants us to think, anyway.


July 3, 1987 -
British millionaire Richard Branson and Swedish-born Per Lindstrand, the balloon's designer, became the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic on this date.

The two men were forced to jump into the sea as their craft went down off the coast of Scotland.  Let's hope his intergalactic flights go a tad better.



And so it goes.

Don't let anybody fool you!

Psst - Today is actually Independence Day - The US Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain on this day (in 1776);



the formal Declaration of Independence was approved two days later on July 4.


July 2, 1947 -
An object speculated to be a UFO crashes near Roswell, New Mexico on this date,



though the United States Air Force claims it is a weather balloon.


July 2, 1959 -
Ed Wood's greatest opus (not counting Glen or Glenda), Plan 9 from Outer Space, opened on this date.



One of the legends about the production of this film was that Edward D. Wood Jr. used everything from automobile hubcaps to pizza pans to pie tins and even paper plates as flying saucers. The truth is that he bought a number of the Lindberg 1/48 scale "Flying Saucer" plastic model kits for use as props. One was modified with a wooden block, to represent the squared walled flying saucer set (the UFO seen landing in the graveyard).


July 2, 1966 -
The title track of Frank Sinatra's comeback album, Strangers in the Night reached the number one spot (on this date) on the Billboard charts and marked his return to the top of the pop charts in the mid-'60s.



This is the final album Sinatra performed with long-time arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.


July 2, 1971 -
Gordon Parks' classic crime-drama Shaft, starring Richard Roundtree, premiered on this date.



Isaac Hayes originally auditioned to play the title role. Producers cast Richard Roundtree, but were so impressed with Hayes that they asked him to write the now legendary score to the film.


July 2, 1997 -
Columbia Pictures released the science fiction comedy film Men in Black, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio and Rip Torn, on this date.



Will Smith, after reading the script, did not want to accept the role, but his wife Jada Pinkett Smith convinced him to take the part. Tommy Lee Jones only accepted the role of K after Steven Spielberg promised the script would improve. He had been disappointed with the first draft, which he felt did not capture the tone of the comic.


Today in History -
One day in the second half of the ninth century, a poor young woman on her way to the market dropped her basket of eggs, breaking all of them.

The young woman knelt on the ground beside the fallen basket and began to weep.

The local bishop had been out for his morning stroll and happened to see the entire episode. He attempted to console the woman, but she was having none of it. Without the eggs, she had nothing to sell at market. Nothing to sell meant no money to sustain her family. Being unable to sustain her family meant, well, what it usually means: degradation, illness, and eventually death. Soothing words from a bishop weren't much help.

The bishop then prayed for her pain to be eased. When he was done praying, the woman looked into her basket and saw that all of the eggs had been made whole.

"Wot's all that about, then?" she asked.

"Tis a sign of God's grace and compassion," the bishop said. "I am but his -"

"God fixed me eggs, what?"

"All things are possible with God," the bishop began, but the poor young woman interrupted again.

"All-powerful God? All-knowing God? I work meself to death eight days to the week, and when he finally comes through with a miracle - it's fixin' me eggs? What about a floor for me hut? What about clothes for me young-uns? What about -"

It is probably not necessary to record the full text of the woman's stirring solecism.

That great religious leader was St. Swithun, who died on this date, in 862 . He was the Bishop of Winchester and royal counselor to kings Egbert and Aethelwulf.

(Yes - the skull cap of the good bishop)

History tells us very little about St Swithun, besides the fact that he died when he did, which is why I bring him up: someone ought to invent a life for the guy. Maybe he was raised by honey badgers. Maybe he was kidnapped by cross-dressing pirates. Maybe he met three witches in the forest and they hailed him as the Thane of Cawdor. Or maybe he fell in love with the beautiful red-headed daughter of a rival landowner and they had a tempestuous love affair before tragedy struck her down and Swithun turned to religion for consolation. Who knows? Nobody.



So make up a St Swithun you can live with.


133 years ago today, Charles J. Guiteau stood up in the lobby of the B&O Railroad Depot in Washington, DC, and yelled, "I am a stalwart and Arthur is President now!" (Maybe it would have sounded less crazy if he said it in Latin - Ego sum a stalwart quod Arthur est Praesieo iam! All future Presidential assassins should take up Latin. ) The event might have passed without notice had Guiteau not been shooting President James Garfield at the time.



A wounded President Garfield lingered for 11 weeks, during which time surgeons attempted to find the bullet which had lodged in his back. The state-of-the-art technology for removing foreign objects from the body was at that time the hand. Dozens of physicians, nurses, and curious hangers-on probed Garfield's wound with their fingers in search of the bullet that had struck him. The inevitable infection of his wound killed him.



Charles Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882.


July 2, 1900 -
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin airship LZ-1, takes the first zeppelin flight over Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.



Unfortunately Zeppelin travel never really took off; he did not offer beverage cart service at the time.

Well, that and the whole Hindenburg thing.


July 2, 1937 -
Attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane, Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific with her drunken navigator, Fred Noonan, on this date.



She still holds the record for a spouse going out for a carton of milk and not returning.


53 years ago today Ernest Hemingway blew his brains out at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. Hemingway was a writer. He was also a man. He knew things about being a man. He also knew things about trying to be a man.



He wrote about them, those things. He wrote love stories and stories about fishermen and soldiers. He liked to write. And in the end he blew his brains out. Maybe that means something. Maybe it doesn't. Either way, don't bother asking for whom the bell tolled.

It wasn't for you.


On this date in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination.



The way Congress treats the President is proof that America has remained a paragon of racial harmony to this very day.


July 2, 1982 -
Larry Walters, a truck driver, using 45 helium filled weather balloons to lift him and his lawn chair three miles high on this date. He later was barely able to control his descent using a BB gun shooting holes in balloons when he accidentally dropped his pellet gun overboard. Walters then slowly descended back down to the ground.



He landed in a residential neighborhood in Long Beach where got tangled in some power lines, causing a 20 minute power blackout. Walters was able to climb to the ground.



And so it goes.

O summer day beside the joyous sea!

According to the Gregorian calendar, July is the seventh month. On the Roman calendar, it was the fifth month and it was called 'Quintilis', meaning 'fifth'. Julius Caesar gave the month 31 days in 46 B.C. Being a dictator he could. Luckily for us he didn't authorize the constant changing of underpants or most of the glory that was Rome may never have been built, due the high laundry bills. The Roman Senate named it 'Julius', in honor of Caesar because - well, he was a dictator.



July is usually the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. July is one of the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. The climate is mild in most of the Southern Hemisphere, with the exception of the COLD Antarctica, and the cold, rainy part of South America.

During July, when there isn't much rain, the grass often loses it's greenness. Some flowers are abundant in July, because they strive on the heat. Also, insects are abundant as well - life is striving in July (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway)!

Independence Day is observed in the United States on July 4. On that day in 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. In France, a similar holiday, Bastille Day, occurs on July 14 (although they did not adopt the Declaration of Independence.) Several other countries celebrate national independence in July. Independence Day is celebrated in Venezuela on July 5; in Argentina, July 9; in Belgium, July 21; and in Peru, July 28.

In my home, July 12th is a national holiday.

July is chock-a-block of celebrations

The Ruby is the gem for July.




The water lily is the flower for the month of July.




Here are some of the causes recognized in July:

Blueberries Month



So now you know where blueberry juice comes from.

National Purposeful Parenting Month



Nothing screaming purposeful parenting like beating your children with wire hangers

July is National Tennis Month.



maybe you don't want to play tennis.

Hitchhiking Month



Remember, if you're on a dark and lonely road during a thunderstorm, pick up that hitchhiker.

July is National Hot Dog Month - National Hot Dog Day is July 23.



Remember don't look too closely into the bit end of your hot dog

Smart Irrigation Month

Wait a minute, maybe they didn't mean this type of irrigation.

National Hyperhidrosis Education Month



For those not in the know, it's excessive sweating.

Peach Month (There seems to be some confusion on whether National Peach Month is in July or August.



So Dammit, dare to eat the peach!!!)


Read An Almanac Month



Which is what I celebrate all the time.


July 1, 1956 -
Columbia Pictures released the classic sci-fi movie, Earth vs The Flying Saucers, featuring special effects by Ray Harryhausen, on this date.



The scene of a "destroyer" blowing up is actually stock footage of sinking of HMS Barham which occurred November 25, 1941. To not upset the British public, the Royal Navy decided to withhold an announcement until much later; however, in late November 1941 a Scottish medium Helen Duncan, during a séance disclosed the sinking. She was eventually tried under the British witchcraft act.


July 1, 1965 -
Paramount Pictures released the film The Sons of Katie Elder, starring John Wayne and Dean Martin on this date.



The hearse featured at the funeral of Katie Elder currently resides in front of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.


Today in History:
Canada celebrates Canada Day (Canadian for "Fourth of July") today.



Hey, when your neighbor has a party, you don't ask why, you pick up a case of Molson's and a couple of rib-eye steaks.


July 1, 1874 -
After many delays and set-backs, the Philadelphia Zoo, the first zoological gardens in the United States opens to the public on the grounds of Solitude, the last estate in the area owned by the Penn family, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was originally chartered by the Pennsylvania state legislature on March 21, 1859 as the Zoological Society of Philadelphia whose core purpose is to oversee “the purchase and collection of living wild and other animals” and “for the instruction and recreation of the people.”


July 1,1893 -
President Grover Cleveland underwent a secret oral surgery aboard the yacht Oneida for a cancerous growth in his upper palate on this date.



The cancer operation remained a secret until July 1, 1917, when the doctor who performed the operation revealed the story.


July 1, 1912 -
Drama critic Harriet Quimby took a passenger up in her new Blériot monoplane from Boston to fly over Dorchester Bay at the Harvard-Boston Aviation Meet. As she descended for landing, the plane went into a dive and, without seat belts, she and her passenger were thrown out into the shallow water of the bay, where they struck the muddy bottom and were crushed to death.



Quimby was the first American to receive a pilot's license (1911) and was the first woman to solo across the English Channel (1912).

Kids, put on the damn seat belt.

July 1, 1979 -
The Sony Corporation revolutionized the music industry on this date when the first Walkman was sold. The Walkman, the first portable personal audio cassette player, allowed people to take music with them anywhere.



The first sale - a blue-and-silver model (TPS-L2), was made in Japan. 

Bonus points - in the U.S., it was first marketed as the Soundabout.



And so it goes.