Read the ramblings of Dr. Caligari. Hopefully you will find that Time does wound all heels.
You no longer need to be sad that nowadays there is so little useless information.
June 18, 1969 - Sam Peckinpah's violent western elegy, The Wild Bunch, premiered on this date.
Before filming began, William Holden and Sam Peckinpah argued over the mustache Peckinpah felt the Pike Bishop character would wear, because Holden reportedly did not like his image on film with one. Director Peckinpah won the argument, and Holden wore a false mustache during filming.
June 18, 1952 -
If we are completely honest with ourselves, everyone has a dark side to their personalities.
Isabella Rossellini, one of Hollywood's' most intelligent and beautiful actresses was born on this date.
June 18, 1980 - ... We're on a mission from God.
The Blues Brothers Movie, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi premiered on this date. Ounce for ounce (other than Walt Disney's The Jungle Book,) the most amount of dope is smoked in film history during the production of this film.
Carrie Fisher became engaged to co-star Dan Aykroyd during this shoot shortly after he saved her from choking by applying the Heimlich maneuver.
Today in History:
European history would have been dramatically different if only for a higher fiber diet.
One of the most decisive battles in the history of Europe was fought in Belgium on June 18, 1815, as a resurgent Napoleon Bonaparte launched his last military offensive against the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Marshal Blücher. Nearly 50,000 men were killed in the battle. Napoleon lost in part due to a case of inflamed hemorrhoids
The battle was commemorated by Swedish sensation Abba in their 1970s hit, Waterloo.
Abba's interpretation of Waterloo's significance has been controversial from the start, as it tended to focus less on the military and political implications of the battle than on the feelings of euphoria typically incited by hormonal rushes of erotic excitement.
On June 18, 1817, Waterloo Bridge was opened over the River Thames in London,
probably in anticipation of the great Abba hit.
June 18, 1900 -
The Empress Douairisre, Dowager of China orders all foreigners killed on this date. Among those meeting this fate are the foreign diplomats, their families, as well as hundreds of Christian missionaries and their Chinese converts.
She was apparently having a very bad day (perhaps she needed a high fiber diet as well.)
June 18, 1940 -
The "This was their finest hour speech" was delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on this date.
It was given shortly after he took over as Prime Minister of Britain on May 10th, in the first year of World War II.
June 18, 1942 -
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, poet, painter, and animal rights activist, was born on this date.
McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history."
June 18, 1959 -
Based on his erratic behavior, the Governor of Louisiana, Earl K. Long, was committed to a state mental hospital.
Long responds by arranging for the hospital's director to be fired, and the new director proclaims him perfectly sane. (It is no secret that the man was completely nuts.)
June 18, 1967 -
Famed guitarist Jimi Hendrix burnt his guitar on stage at the Monterey Pop Festival on this date.
There had to be a better way to toast marshmallows.
And on a personal note:
A very big shout out to Johnny V. - Happy Birthday big guy.
June 17, 1950 -
The Disassociated Press sent a reporter to get Bug Bunny's life story in What's Up Doc?, which was released on this date.
Bugs and Elmer perform the "What's Up Doc?" title song. This is the first cartoon in which its lyrics are heard.
June 17, 1968- Ohio Express' Yummy Yummy Yummy(I've got love in my tummy) goes gold on this date.
Joey Levine, who was the lead singer of the Ohio Express, wrote this with Arthur Resnick, who also wrote Under The Boardwalk and Good Lovin'.
June 17, 1987 -
A late Kubrick masterpiece, Full Metal Jacket, was released on this date.
Stanley Kubrick had nothing but praise for R. Lee Ermey's skills as a performer. Kubrick originally was going to write dialogue for Ermey's character himself, but he became so impressed with what Ermey improvised, that he decided it wasn't necessary. He just let him ad-lib, something practically unheard of for a Stanley Kubrick film.
Today in History: June 17, 1775 -
American forces were defeated by the British at Breed's Hill, near Boston, in the Battle of Bunker Hill, after famously withholding their fire until they could see the whites of their enemies' eyes.
This battle should not be confused with that of Bunker Hill, fought on Breed's Hill, during which the Americans shot like hell at anything that moved.
June 17, 1797 - Agha Muhammad Khan, Shah of Persia (who was also a eunuch, but that's another story) ordered his servants to bring him a melon cut into slices. He finished half, ordered the other half to be put away and vowed to his servants, that if even one slice of the melon was missing in the morning, all three servants would be beheaded by him.
Later on that night one of the servants forgot and ate a slice. The servants then killed Agha Muhammad Khan with the dagger because they were afraid he would kill them in the morning.
There's a lesson here somewhere - a.) Treat your staff better? b.) Purchase more fruit for dessert? c.) Dare to eat the peach?
The Statue of Liberty, France's gift to the United States marking the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885 on board the French frigate Isere (only nine years after the gift was offered.)
To prepare for transit, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. (The right arm and the torch, which were completed earlier, had been exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and thereafter at Madison SquarePark in New York City.)
June 17, 1928 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a transatlantic flight (She was only the 16th woman to become a licensed pilot.)
While she was not the pilot, but a passenger who rode with Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon in their Fokker tri-motor airplane, the event won Earhart an immense amount of fame.
June 17, 1933- Four FBI agents and the fugitive they were transporting, Frank Nash, were killed in a shootout with gangsters who were trying to free Nash, at the Union Square Station in Kansas City on this date.
After being pardoned twice for murder and burglary, Frank Nash was arrested and convicted again for assault and was serving a 25-year sentence when he escaped in 1930. The FBI had just recaptured Nash after his three-year run when they were all gunned down.
Killing the person you are trying to free defeats the whole purpose
June 17, 1939 -
In Versailles, Eugene Weidmann becomes the last person to be publicly guillotined.
The "hysterical behavior" by spectators was so scandalous that French president Albert Lebrun immediately banned all future public executions.
A few people can ruin it for everybody.
June 17, 1963 -
The US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to strike down rules requiring the recitation of theLord's Prayeror reading of Biblical verses in public schools.
We've been godless heathens ever since.
June 17, 1967 - China tested its first hydrogen bomb, a U-235 implosion fission device named “596,” over the Lop Nur Testing Grounds.
It was China’s first full-scale implosion weapon test, and its sixth nuclear test within thirty-two months, a record for the shortest development period of any nation’s nuclear weapons program. (Remember that the next time you try to short tip the Chinese delivery guy.)
June 17, 1972 -
Five men broke into the Democratic Party National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington, DC on this date. They had hoped to bug the offices but were arrested before they could release any insects.
President Richard Nixon will later describe as a "third rate burglary." Their arrests ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation in 1974.
(Nixon's resignation prior to 1974 was attributed to simple melancholia.)
June 17, 1994 -
Convicted memorabilia thug O.J. Simpson failed to turn himself in to the LAPD at a prearranged time and was later spotted in a white Ford Bronco on a Los Angeles expressway on this date. After a low-speed pursuit through the freeways and streets of Brentwood, O.J. was finally arrested live on television in the driveway of his mansion.
According to one of the defense attorneys who served on O.J.'s "Dream Team," Simpson tried to kill himself in the car, but the gun misfired. The Juice allegedly told him: "I pulled the trigger and it didn't go off."
That would have saved everyone a boatload of trouble.
June 16, 1956 - Gene Vincent (Capitol Record's answer to Elvis Presley) and the Bluecaps'(so named after Ike's golf cap) Be-Bop-A-Lula, was released on this date.
This is one of those songs that has a great story behind it that is probably not true. Vincent and his record company circulated the story that he wrote the song during a 6-month stay in Portsmouth Naval Hospital, where he was recovering from a motorcycle accident. He played his guitar and came up with the tune inspired by the newspaper cartoon strip Little Lulu.
June 16, 1960 -
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opened in New York on this date.
In the opening scene, Marion Crane is wearing a white bra because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to show her as being "angelic". After she has taken the money, the following scene has her in a black bra because now she has done something wrong and evil. Similarly, before she steals the money, she has a white purse; after she's stolen the money, her purse is black.
June 16, 1984 - Cyndi Lauper's song Time After Time topped the charts (her first no.1 hit) on this date.
Wrestler Captain Lou Albano, who appeared in the "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" video, played a cook at a diner in this one. Lauper's mom and boyfriend were also in the video, portraying her mom and boyfriend.
Today in History: June 16 1750 BC -
King Hammurabi died in Babylon on this date and was succeeded by his son Samsu-iluna.
I know you're saying to yourself, "Who cares?". Well, now that you know.
June 16, 1556 - Keep this in mind: Always read your Baedeker before traveling.
Pedro Fernandes Sardinha, the first bishop of Bahia did not and he encountered some unpleasant results. The good bishop was shipwrecked between the rivers Sao Francisco and Cururipu and murdered by the indigenous natives there.
Had he read his guide book, he would have learned that;
a.) he should not wear chimichurri sauce as a cologne and b.) the Caytes of the Brazilian coast ate the crews of every wrecked Portuguese ship they found.
Besides the first Bishop of Bahia, the obviously very hungry Indians also ate two Canons, the Procurator of the Royal Portuguese Treasury, two pregnant women and several children.
Who knew Portuguese was finger lickin' good?
June 16, 1858 -
More than 1,000 Republican delegates met in the Springfield, Illinois, statehouse for the Republican State Convention. By late afternoon, they chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.
Later that evening, Lincoln delivered this address to his Republican colleagues in the Hall of Representatives. The title comes a sentence from the speech's introduction, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," which paraphrases a statement by Jesus in the New Testament.
If only Lincoln had read his Scriptures a little more closely he would have uncovered the passage that had confused many biblical scholars, "Hey Abe, Don't go to Ford's Theatre on Good Friday."
June 16, 1890 -
British comedian Arthur Stanley Jefferson (Stan Laurel), was born on this date. He acted in 190 films (many of them with his partner Oliver Hardy) and was awarded a Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1961.
He died in 1965 from a heart attack. At Laurel's funeral, Buster Keaton said, "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest."
June 16, 1904 - Happy Bloomsday!The straight-A English majors will greet one another joyously. Yes - yes - yes! they'll titter. It will all be terrific fun.
They'll feel smart and proud and better than the rest of us (and you again can feel morally superior for knowing it), and now you know why.
June 16, 1948 -
In the first skyjacking of a commercial plane, three armed men stormed the cockpit of the Miss Macao, a passenger seaplane operated by Cathay Pacific airline.
When the pilot refuses to turn over the controls, he was shot dead and the plane crashes into the ocean. The only survivor among the 27 people on board was the leader of the terrorists.
Oops.
June 16, 1958 - Imre Nagy, once prime minister of Hungary for all of ten days, was executed by the Soviet Union for attempting to withdraw his country from the Warsaw Pact on this date.
It is said that Nikita Khrushchev had Nagy executed, "as a lesson to all other leaders in socialist countries."
That'll learn em.
June 16, 1959 -
While entertaining friends at his home, George Reeves (Ben Affleck), who played the title character in the original Superman TV series, goes upstairs to his bedroom and commits suicide with a 9mm German Luger.
This has been hotly debated and it is now believe that the irate husband of a B movie actress Reeves was sleeping with, shot the actor in his home.
June 16, 1961 -
This may be a shock to some of you readers but some male ballet dancers engage in an active sodomy lifestyle. Rudolf Nureyev was a major buggerer, much to the consternation of both the Kirov management and the Russian political authorities. In the Kirov's first-ever appearance in Paris in 1961, Nureyev was an outstanding success, yet his defiance of company regulations about mingling with foreigners, provoked a command return to Moscow.
Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Kirov Ballet at Le Bourget Airport in France while he was on the verge of flying back to USSR on this date. Within five days, Nureyev embarked on a six-month season with the international Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas, dancing the Prince and the Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty.
June 16, 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova, piloting the Vostok 6, became the first woman to travel in space.
With her single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date.
June 16, 1976 - 15,000 schoolchildren take to the streets of Soweto to protest South Africa's adoption of bilingual instruction in the Afrikaans language.
The nonviolent march ends abruptly when police and soldiers open fire on the crowd, killing 600 and igniting days of rioting throughout the region.
June 16, 1999 -
The founder of the United Kingdom's Monster Raving Loony Party, one ScreamingLord Sutch (real name David Edward Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow), was found hanged at his late mother's residence. Sutch was the longest lasting party leader in the UK at the time of his death, ruled a suicide.
One of the Loony Party planks was, all vegetables sold in supermarkets, should be clearly marked “Strictly for oral use only”
I hope all of you fathers, stepfathers, fathers to be, mothers who are the fathers to their kids and fathers (but you don't know it) have a great Father's Day today.
Remember that when your kids tell you that you're the world's greatest dad, their frame of reference is limited
Coincidentally, today is National Lobster day (I'll be celebrating)- I'm not sure if the holiday is celebrating this crustacean for its' longevity or its' delicious taste.
Don't forget the drawn butter
June 15, 1960 - The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, opened in New York on this date. This is the film Billy Wilder completed after his smash hit Some Like It Hot.
This was the last B&W movie to win Best Picture at The Academy Awards until The Artist . Schindler's List which won in 1994 was not completely B&W as some scenes were in color, like the girl in the red and the candle at the beginning.
June 15, 1967 -
The WWII adventure film, The Dirty Dozen, premiered on this date.
Production on the film ran for so long that Jim Brown was in danger of missing training camp for the up-coming 1967-68 football season. As training camp and the NFL season approached, the NFL threatened to fine and suspend Brown if he did not leave filming and report to camp immediately. Not one to take threats, Brown simply held a press conference to announce his retirement from football. At the time of his retirement, Brown was considered to be one of the best in the game and even today is considered to be one of the NFL's all-time greats.
June 15, 1990 - Warren Beatty's take on the comic strip detective, Dick Tracy, opened on this date.
Given how bad the reviews of the film were, surprisingly, this was Warren Beatty's highest-grossing film.
June 15, 1994 - Disney's32nd animated feature, The Lion King, opened in limited release in the US on this date.
The team working on the movie was supposedly Disney's "team B", who were "kept busy" while "team A" worked on Pocahontas, on which the production had much higher hopes. To date The Lion King still holds the record for being the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history.
Today in History: June 15, 1215 -
King John was forced by all the English Barons to sign the Magna Carta, which asserted the supremacy of the law over the king, at Runnymede, England on this date.
The Magna Carta (the Great Charter) was adopted and sealed by the King at Runnymede, England, granting his barons more liberty.
June 15, 1330 -
Please take notes, this will be on the test:
King Edward III was a famous English king, celebrated for his invention of manners and discovery of the economy. He played tennis, and once famously rebuked the King of France for having sent him his balls in a box.
King Edward established the Order of the Garter because he was what English nobles referred to as a "leg man." (It was he who also famously remarked, Honi soit qui mal y pense, or Honey, show us some cheesecake.)
King Edward had many sons, one of whom was born on June 15, 1330. This son he named Prince Edward. Though white at birth, he eventually became England's first Black Prince.
Prince Edward eventually married Joan of Kent. In her youth, Joan had been known as the Fairly Made because she was so fat; in later years she was referred to as Chubster and Lardass, though seldom to her face.
At the age of sixteen, Prince Edward and his father the king led the English against the French at Crecy, in order to start the 100 years war. There were many more French than English, but the English had the advantage of the Long Boa. The French were powerless against this innovation. Ten years later, the English and French took the field again, this time at Poitiers. The French had learned from experience, and tried to counter the English Long Boa with their own Very Large Scarf. They failed. The English took France's King John prisoner and ransomed him for half a million pounds (250 tons). Prince Edward was kind to the French king, however, and prayed with him, which proved that the apple had not fallen far from the tree. (Edward was also a legman.)
By now he had become the Black Prince.
In recognition of his prowess, the Black Prince was made the ruler of Aquitaine in 1362. When some of the French rebelled at Limoges in 1370, he had all 3000 inhabitants killed. This resulted in peace. The Black Prince died before he could succeed to the throne, thereby losing the opportunity to become England's first Black King.
Edward and Joan had two children. One was Edward, who died in infancy and was therefore ineligible to be king. The other was Richard, also known as Richard II, who succeeded to the throne only to abdicate in favor of Henry IV, Part 1. Following Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 came Henry V, then Henry VI parts 1, 2 and 3, and then finally Richard III.
They kept William Shakespeare busy for many years.
June 15, 1409 - Petros Philargos was elected Pope Alexander V by the Council of Pisa. This poses a certain amount of difficulty and increased the amount of Papal Bull, as there already is a Pope in Rome, Gregory XII, and another in Avignon, Benedict XII. Ultimately, none of the three is willing to step down, leading the Church into a double schism.
This made papal dispensations a drug on the market.
On June 15, 1520, Pope Leo X (no relation to Malcolm or the Generation) excommunicated Martin Luther with a papal bull.
Pope Leo X is famous for his use of bulls, although not quite as famous (and we know it's not true) as Catherine the Great for her use of horses.
Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys, the personal physician to Louis XIV, performed the first blood transfusion in history on June 15,1667. He performed the transfusion on a fifteen year old boy, using blood from a sheep.
The experiment was considered a success (the boy died), although it was clearly a disappointment if you were rooting for the sheep.
June 15, 1752 - Benjamin Franklin and his son tested the relationship between electricity and lightning by flying a kite in a thunder storm on this date. There is no record on how much the Franklins drank earlier that day.
This now proved the famous theory that lightning is some powerful sh*t.
June 15, 1785 - Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier died during an attempted crossing of the English Channel when his balloon, a combination hydrogen and hot air balloon, exploded on this date.
Thus, he and his companion, Pierre Romain, became the first known victims of an air crash. The term "pilot" is sometimes erroneously thought to derive from his first name, Pilatre.
The General Slocum worked as a passenger ship, taking people on excursions around New York City. On June 15, 1904, the ship had been chartered for $350 by the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in the German district Little Germany, Manhattan. This was an annual rite for the group, which had made the trip for 17 consecutive years. Over 1,300 passengers, mostly women and children, boarded the General Slocum. It was to sail up the East River and then eastward across Long Island Sound to Locust Grove, a picnic site in Eatons Neck, Long Island. It caught fire and burned to the water line in New York's East River.
More than 1,000 people died in the accident, making it New York City's worst loss-of-life disaster until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
June 15, 1955 -
The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual OPAL exercise. In the Operation Alert drill, air raid sirens blare across America to assess our preparations for a nuclear attack.
The great jazz legend 'Little' Jimmy Scott died yesterday at the age of 88.
If you're not familiar with Mr. Scott's work, please do yourself a favor and watch him sing on You Tube; but remember to bring plenty of tissues.
Please remove your hat while reading this:
It was on this date in 1777 that the Stars and Stripes was adopted as the official flag of the United States of America.
The first Flag Day observance was not held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1877, as some sites might tell you, but read on my friend, this seems to the real story:
In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, a man named George Morris persuaded his city of Hartford, Conn., to undertake a patriotic celebration on behalf of the Union. But the concept didn't catch on, there or elsewhere.
Two decades later, in 1885, a 19-year-old Waubeka schoolteacher named Bernard Cigrand plunked a small flag into an inkwell on his desk and assigned his students to write essays on patriotism. Later he traveled the country to promote respect for the flag, becoming president of the American Flag Day Association.
In 1916, Cigrand, after years of toil, got President Woodrow Wilson, on May 30, 1916, to issue a proclamation calling for a nation wide observance of Flag Day.
In 1949, President Truman signed an Act Of Congress designating the 14th day of June every year as National Flag Day.
So now you know. (You may now put your hat back on.)
June 14, 1949 -
This truly dark comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring the ever present Alec Guinness, was released on this date.
Alec Guinness nearly drowned in the scene where The Admiral goes down with his sinking ship. Guinness was held down by wires while the set filled up with water. Once the scene was wrapped, the crew started to leave until one technician suddenly realised that they had forgotten to release the actor from the wires holding him underwater. He immediately dove into the waters with some wire-cutters and freed Guinness.
June 14, 1967 -
One of the iconic films from the 60s, the British drama To Sir, with Love, starring Sidney Poitier premiered in the US on this date.
The London bus that appears in several sequences at the start of the film, LLU 829, and in some later sequences, still survives today as a preserved vintage vehicle, and can be seen at the East Anglia Transport Museum, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, England.
June 14, 1976 - The Gong Show debuted on NBC on this date. People with dubious talents perform their acts before a celebrity panel of judges, who are free to eject the performer at any time by banging a large gong. The best non-gonged performer each night wins $516.32.
During the time the show is on the air, it's creator, Chuck Barris, suffered a complete mental breakdown, he said from the stress of being a secret CIA hit man.
No really, I'm not kidding you.
June 14, 1985 -
One of John Houston's last films, the black comedy Prizzi's Honor, opened on this date.
Julie Bovasso taught Jack Nicholson how to speak "Brooklynese". Researching the role, he hung out in lowlife dives in Brooklyn.
Today in History: June 14, 1648 -
Midwife Margaret Jones was hanged in Boston for witchcraft on this date.
It is the first such execution for the Massachusetts colony, but not the first in the colonies.
June 14, 1940 - Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund had a quick drink as they planned to leave Paris ahead of the Nazi invasion. Little does Rick know that Ilsa does not plan to join him (but that's another story ....)
Paris falls to the Nazis on this date. Marshal Philippe Petain became the head of the French government and sued for peace. Gertrude Stein translated Petain's speeches and hailed him as a hero of the French nation.
And sometimes, a rose is just a collaborator.
June 14, 1954 -
At the Lincoln Memorial, President Dwight Eisenhower signs a law inserting the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. Eisenhower declares: "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty." Precisely which Almighty is left to the listener's imagination.
This year, I'd like to think that Ike was thinking about the Egyptian god - Min.
June 14, 1961 - Sometimes you surprise yourself with what you can handle, and if you come out the other end with some wisdom, then it's not such a bad thing.
1980s pop music star George Alan O'Dowd was born in Kent, England on this date.
June 14, 1962 - Albert Henry DeSalvo, a small time petty criminal confessed that he murdered Anna Slesersby, a petite divorcee, by strangling her with the belt from her robe on this date. She was only the first victim of The Boston Strangler.
Or did he? (Yeah apparently, he did; as of last year there was positive DNA evidence to link DeSalvo to the crimes.)
June 14, 1966 -
The Vatican announced the abolition of its Index librorum prohibitum (Index of Prohibited Books), originally instituted in 1557 by Pope Paul IV. Notable novelists on the list were Laurence Sterne, Voltaire, Daniel Defoe, Honor de Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre.
If you are ever in doubt of what to read - check out the Index.
June 14, 1989 - Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer and driving with an expired license. Afterwards Zsa Zsa complains to the press that the handling she received from the BHPD "was like Nazi Germany."
Ultimately, Gabor is convicted and sentenced to 72 hours in jail.
It isn't just Friday the 13th today, there's also a full moon out there. It hasn't happened since 2000 and it hasn't happened in June since 1919. It won't happen again until 2049. Enjoy!
But good news - today is the only Friday the 13th in 2014.
It's the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called the Evangelical Doctor.
He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost (I've often wondered if Mssr. Proust prayed to him); as well as against starvation, barrenness; patron of amputees, animals, boatmen, Brazil, diocese in Beaumont, Texas, domestic animals, the elderly, expectant mothers, faith in the Blessed Sacrament, Ferrazzano, fishermen, harvests, horses, lower animals, mail, mariners, oppressed persons, Padua, paupers, Portugal, sailors, scholars, sterility, swineherds, Tigua Indians, travel hostesses, travellers, and watermen.
Please take comfort in the fact the swineherds have a saint to pray to.
I wonder if the Pope is praying to Saint Anthony for a victory for Brazil?
June 13, 1952 -
The seventh collaboration of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Pat and Mike, was released on this date.
Katharine Hepburn was already an avid golfer when the film was made.
June 13, 1962 - Stanley Kubrick's take on Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel, Lolita, premiered on this date.
Stanley Kubrick originally wanted Joey Heatherton for the title role of Lolita, but Heatherton's father Ray Heatherton said no for fear his daughter would be typecast as a promiscuous sex kitten. (I'm guessing many of you have no idea who the hell Joey Heatherton was.)
June 13, 1967 - Sean Connery's fifth appearance as James Bond - You Only Live Twice, opened in the US on this date.
James Bond participates in a Japanese wedding ceremony in the film. Mercifully, he uses a false name, otherwise this would mean he would have been still married under Japanese law.
June 13, 1970 - The Beatles had their last number one song, The Long and Winding Road, on this date.
Paul McCartney offered this song to Tom Jones in 1968 on the condition it be his next single. He had "Without Love (There is Nothing)" set for release so he turned down the offer, something he would later regret.
Today in History: June 13, 323 BC (or June 11, who's to say, once again there was no dependable calendar. Most people involved in accurate record keeping were also involved in their active sodomy lifestyles) -
A youthful Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell or Richard Burton, take you pick) died in Babylon (NOT Long Island, smart ass) on this date.
The precise cause of his death has baffled modern science for thousands of years. Many historians believe he died of either malaria or hybris, also known as Syphilis or the Greek Fire.
June 13, 1381 -
In Medieval England, the famous Wat Tyler's Rebellion began, on this date.
Since most of you reading this don't live in England, most of you don't give a damn.
June 13, 1865 – William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures in 20th century literature, was born on this date.
June 13, 1886 -
The recently-deposed monarch of Bavaria wasn't having a great day today.
Mad King Ludwig II, who wasn't so much mad as gay, had been under house arrest ever since his uncle, Prince Luitpold von Bayern, staged a coup a few days earlier, let it be known that he wasn't happy about his current situation.
That afternoon, the bodies of the King and his physician, Dr. Gudden, were discovered floating face-down in Lake Starnberg.
It's alway a problem when you're the King of Bavaria and your family can't accept your active sodomy lifestyle.
June 13, 1917 - 18 German Gotha bomber planes flew over London in the first aerial bombardment in history (not counting Zeppelins). They were met by over 90 British fighters, but not one Gotha was brought down. This bombing raid caused 162 deaths.
On June 13, 1944, Germany commemorated the anniversary by launching the first of its V-1 flying bombs, also called the Doodlebug (Fieseler Fi-103), on southern England. Only one of the four missiles London saw that day caused any casualties, but a steady stream of V-1s causing severe damage and casualties fell on London in coming months.
On June 13, 1990, East Germany began officially tearing down the Berlin Wall. The date apparently has some significance in the Teutonic psyche.
Don't make any sudden moves when you come in contact with men in lederhosen (and their active sodomy lifestyles - I had to, jokes always work better in threes.)
June 13, 1920 -
The United States Postal Service rules that children may not be sent via Parcel Post. Before that, children had been clogging the mail chutes of America.
I wonder what the rules are about kids and Fed Ex?
June 13, 1934 -
Two months before becoming Fuhrer, Hitler meets Mussolini in Venice. Unfortunately, Mussolini refuses to have an interpreter and his German is not good, so neither man can understand the other.
After a midnight gondola ride (or two), Mussolini begins to refer to the German leader as "a silly little monkey."
June 13, 1971 -
Next to the White House wedding photo of President Nixon's daughter Tricia, the New York Times ran its first story on the Pentagon Papers, a top secret DoD analysis authored by the RAND Corporation detailing every mistake and deception made during the 30-year history of the Vietnam War.
Attorney General John Mitchell manages to block any further publication of the embarrassing documents, but the court order is countermanded two weeks later in a Supreme Court decision.
June 12th is Automotive Service Professionals Day. Give a hearty handshake to the men and women who keep your car running and on the road (and give you estimates that are less than meaningless.)
On second thought, wash your hands thoroughly after greeting them.
June 12, 1950 -
Elia Kazan's film-noir thriller, Panic In The Streets, opened on this date.
Though Elia Kazan liked to claim that much of Panic in the Streets was improvised, there was a script, adapted by Richard Murphy and Daniel Fuchs from a story by Edward Anhalt and Edna Anhalt.
June 12, 1963 -
The four-hour film spectacle, Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, premiered in New York City, on this date.
The budget for Elizabeth Taylor's costumes, $194,800, was the highest ever for a single screen actor. Her 65 costumes included a dress made from 24-carat gold cloth.
June 12, 1968 - Roman Polanksi horror classic Rosemary's Baby, premiered on this date.
It was on the set of this film that Mia Farrow received divorce papers from then-husband Frank Sinatra.
June 12, 1972 -
The film Deep Throat was released in NYC on this date. You look for the clips
June 12, 1981 -
A bizarre coincidence but Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1 and Lucas/ Spielberg's Raiders Of The Lost Ark both premiered on this date.
Gregory Hines replaced Richard Pryor at the last minute. Just like in Mel Brooks' earlier Blazing Saddles, Pryor was originally cast but had to pull out of the picture. Pryor's part eventually was taken by Hines in his screen debut. Just before filming was to begin, Pryor had his infamous drug-related accident, catching fire and getting severely burnt.
Indiana Jones never loses his hat as an homage to the classic serials of the 1940s. In those serials, the heroes' hats stayed on heads through virtually any assault. This was done for continuity reasons, but also because it was considered poor taste for a gentleman to be without his hat in certain situations - even on the silver screen.
Aren't you glad that you know all of this.
Today in History -
In early 1381 England imposed a new tax, which was called the "Pole Tax" because everyone got the shaft.
June 12, 1839 -
Today is the traditional (yet totally unlikely) date for Civil War hero Abner Doubleday's introduction of the first rules for baseball in Cooperstown, New York, on this date.
It is more likely the sport evolved from cricket and rounders, and developed before Doubleday's birth (friends of Frederick, Prince of Wales, brother of King George III, noted that Frederick and his brothers played 'base-ball' in a letter in 1745. BTW - Frederick did not become King of England because he died after being hit in the head with a cricket ball in 1751, but that's another story...)
The Swiss Army Knife was patented on June 12, 1897. It was the fruit of centuries of Swiss research, development, and testing. Its release was heralded as the dawn of a golden age of Swiss technology.
Switzerland may not have won a war since, but they've never been caught without a corkscrew.
June 12, 1942 -
A young Dutch girl receives the crappy gift of a diary as a birthday present on this date.
She natters on for a little more than two years of small, inconsequental things young girls usually do in their diaries and then she abruptly stops writing. Today, her diary has been published in over 30 languages.
So parents, chose wisely when giving your children birthday gifts.
June 12, 1963 -
Civil rights leader and NAACP official, Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by the KKK.
An informant in the KKK, Delmar Dennis, later served as a key prosecution witness in convicting Byron De La Beckwith for the slaying. Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; he died in 2001 at age 80.
June 12, 1978 - David Berkowitz was sentenced to 365 consecutive years in prison without the possibility of parole on this date.
Berkowitz killed six New Yorkers between 1976 and 1977, known collectively as the Son of Sam murders.
Harvey, Sam Carr's dog, was not charged with any crime.
June 12, 1982 -
The largest anti-nuclear protest, with some one million anti-nuclear demonstrators rallied in Central Park, NYC on this date.
At the time, it was also the largest political demonstration, of any kind, in American history.
June 12, 1987 -
U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate.
Although there is some disagreement over how much influence, if any, Reagan's words had on the destruction of the wall, the speech is remembered as an important moment in Cold War history.
June 11, 1937 - The Marx Brothers film, A Day at the Races, opened on this date. Groucho Marx cited "Dr. Hackenbush" as his favorite character from his films. -
This is the only film of The Marx Brothers to receive an Oscar nomination in a competitive category, being nominated for Dave Gould's dance direction. Groucho Marx would go on to win an honorary Oscar in 1974.
June 11, 1977 - Electric Light Orchestra’s record Telephone Line reached #7 on the Billboard Charts in the US, giving the band its first gold single.
ELO's first manager was Don Arden. When he lost interest in the group, he gave them to his daughter Sharon who ran Jet Records. Sharon married Ozzy Osbourne a few years later.
June 11, 1978 - Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John opened, on this date. No one was touched inappropriately during a massage while this trailer was being made.
The dance contest scene was filmed during the summer, when the school was closed. The gym had no air conditioning and the doors had to be kept closed to control lighting, so the building became stifling hot. On more than one occasion, an extra had to be taken out due to heat-related illness.
June 11, 1982 - Steven Spielberg's film, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, opened on this date.
The filmmakers had requested that M&M's be used to lure E.T., instead of Reese's Pieces. The Mars company had denied their request and so Reese's Pieces were used instead. As a direct result, Reese's Pieces sales skyrocketed. Because of this, more and more companies began requesting that their products be used in movies. Thus, product placement was born.
June 11, 1986 - John Hughes' comic masterpiece, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was released, on this date.
During the parade several of the people seen dancing (including the construction worker and the window washer) originally had nothing to do with the film. They were simply dancing to the music being played and John Hughes found it so humorous that he told the camera operators to record it.
June 11, 1993 - Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller, Jurassic Park, opened on this date.
The T-rex occasionally malfunctioned, due to the rain. Producer Kathleen Kennedy recalls, "The T. rex went into the heebie-jeebies sometimes. Scared the crap out of us. We'd be, like, eating lunch, and all of a sudden a T-rex would come alive. At first we didn't know what was happening, and then we realized it was the rain. You'd hear people start screaming."
Today in History: June 11, 1903 - Another day, another defenstration ...
King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia were shot and their bodies mutilated and disemboweled during a military coup d'état on this date (organized by Russian operatives and the Black Hand secret society which would go on to assassinate Archduck Franz Ferdinand in 1914.)
According to eyewitness accounts, the unfortunate couple were then thrown from a second floor window of the palace onto piles of garden manure. I've often said, sometimes, it's sucks to be the king.
June 11 is an important day for American football fans and seems almost inevitably slated to someday become a national holiday. It's the birthdays of Vince Lombardi (1913) and Joe Montana (1956). Mr Lombardi played at Fordham University and was a Latin and chemistry teacher in New Jersey before becoming the head coach of the Green Bay Packers at the age of 46. They had won only one of twelve games the season before he was hired; they won seven his first year. Over the course of his brief career, the Packers won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls (Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II, in that order).
It was Coach Lombardi's background in Latin that persuaded the NFL to use Roman numerals to number the Super Bowls.
"Winning isn't everything," Coach Lombardi famously declared, "but it's awfully darn important in competitive endeavors." (He was the first NFL coach to hire a publicist and his statements were often edited for distribution to the Green Bay press corps.)
Over the course of his career, Joe Montana completed 3409 of 5391 passes and threw 273 touchdowns. In the playoffs, he completed 460 of 734 passes and threw 45 touchdowns. As a starter, he won 117 and lost 47 regular season games (for those who need to know.)
Upon his retirement, the town of Ismay, Montana, changed its name to Joe. The town of Joe, Rhode Island, attempted to change the name of its state to Montana, but was prohibited from doing so by heavily-monied special interests.
Adrienne Barbeau and Gene Wilder were also born on this day, neither of whom ever won a Super Bowl.
June 11, 1881 -
A phantom vessel appears in the sky to the passengers and crew of the ship the HMSBacchante on this date, including Price Albert Victor and Prince George, both sons of the Prince of Wales.
This is what comes from too much rum, the lash and buggery.
June 11, 1910 - Jacques-Yves Cousteau, filmmaker, scientist and explorer was born on this date.
Among his many and varied accomplishments, he co-developed the Aqua-Lung diving apparatus. BP executives are still very lucky that the Captain is no longer with us or there would be some major ass kicking going on.
June 11, 1939 -
Queen Elizabeth II, then a princess, and her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth tasted their first hot dogs at a White House party hosted by President and Mrs. Roosevelt on this date.
Royal physicians report that they believe that her sister and father pased away from the consumption of the meal. The event is the basis of the film Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray.
June 11, 1955 -
An Austin-Healy and Mercedes-Benz collided at the Le Mans Grand Prixon this date. The Mercedes drove into a dirt retaining wall, disintegrated, and the hood, chassis, and various auto parts sliced through the spectator crowd.
83 were killed, and 100 others were missing various "parts". They bought their tickets, they knew their chances.
June 11, 1962 - Frank Morris and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin became the only prisoners to successfully escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
The following morning the officers awoke to find dummies lying in their beds and the prisoners missing. The FBI conducted one of the largest manhunts since the Lindbergh kidnapping to no avail. Bits of the raft and life preservers were later found in the bay. Also found was a waterproof bag containing personal effects of the Anglins. Although the authorities never found any bodies, they were certain the men had drowned. They pointed out that there were no robberies or car thefts that could have been attributed to them, as well as the fact that the men were habitual criminals and yet were never arrested again.
However it was shown on MythBusters, that the raft could have possibly landed at the Marin Headlands, raising possible doubt over Morris' and the Anglins' deaths. The film Escape from Alcatraz is based on the famous escape. Morris was played by Clint Eastwood.
June 11, 1963 -
Governor George Wallace stands in the schoolhouse door, blocking admission of two 'colored students' (Vivian Malone and James Hood) to the University of Alabama. This became known as the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.
Wallace stood aside only after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and the Alabama National Guard. However, there is evidence that the entire encounter was partially or wholly coordinated with the Kennedy administration to allow Wallace to save face with Alabama voters.
June 11, 2002 -
Everything that your teachers told you were lies. The U.S. Congress recognized, on this date, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci was actual inventor of the telephone.
Alexander Graham Bell held the patent, but Congress argued that if Meucci had the funds to pay the $10 U.S. Dollar fee to maintain the patent after 1874, Bell wouldn't have been able to secure it. (If this gets your panties in a bunch - stop wearing panties - once again everything that your teachers told you were lies..
It's National Black Cow Day - Everybody get a root beer float today and run around to celebrate
What day isn't a good day to play a Steely Dan song.
It's a happy day, with feasting and flag-waving in some isolated jungle villages in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, celebrating the birthday of my favorite itinerant Greek sailor Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philippos of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.)
The Duke of Edinburgh is worshipped as a god there. It must be nice for him to be worshipped somewhere. Hopefully His Grace still has the wherewithall to appreciate being worshipped as a god somewhere.
June 10, 1953 -
Arguably, one of the worse films ever (save those of auteur Ed Wood), Robot Monster was released upon an unsuspecting public, on this date.
The scenes on the view screen presented by Ro-Man, come from a variety of sources: among them, the shots of New York in apocalyptic ruins are matte paintings by Irving Block from Captive Women (released in 1952); the shots of the headquarters of the Great Guidance (a rocket ship in launching position) was originally created for Rocketship X-M (released in 1950), also painted by Block.
According to the Medved brothers' book "The Golden Turkey Awards", director Phil Tucker attempted suicide after the release of this film due to the overwhelmingly negative critical reaction it received. He put a gun next to his head and pulled the trigger. He missed.
June 10, 1983 - United Artists released the 13th (or the 12th or the 14th, depending on how you count 'em) James Bond film, Octopussy, starring Roger Moore in the US on this date.
The quip at the end of the opening sequence - "Fill her up" - was initially removed by John Glen. It was only when he went to his local cinema and caught the trailer for "Octopussy" (which included the line) and saw how well it went down with the audiences that he reinstated it.
June 10, 2007 -
The final episode of (what could arguably have been the greatest television series ever broadcast) The Sopranos aired on this date.
I'm not even going to comment upon what actual happened in the last few moments of the broadcast.
Coincidence or not, Italian Businessman John Gotti died on this date in 2002. Make of it what you wish
Today in History: June 10, 1692 - Bridget Bishop, owner of two taverns, was hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts after having been convicted of "certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries" on this date.
Bishop was just the first casualty of what will come to be known as the Salem Witch Trials. (Interestingly enough, a year after her death, her husband married one of the chief witnesses against her.)
June 10, 1935 - God, grant me the serenity...
It's the anniversary of the establishment of A(lcoholics) A(nonymous), in Akron, Ohio. It was founded by a stockbroker named Bill Wilson and a surgeon, Bob Smith, who found that the best way to keep from drinking was to spend time with other people who were trying to keep from drinking. Between the two of them, they developed the main traditions of AA: anonymity, confession and mutual support.
Alcoholics Anonymous grew rapidly in the '40s and '50s, but Bill Wilson refused to appear on the cover of Time, wouldn't accept an honorary degree from Yale, because believed in anonymity, and he stuck with it to the end.
June 10, 1973 -
The 17-year-old grandson of J. Paul Getty was abducted in Rome on this date. When the kidnappers demand a $17 million ransom, the billionaire refuses. "I have 14 other grandchildren, and if I pay one penny now, then I will have 14 kidnapped grandchildren." After the grandson's severed ear arrives in the mail, Getty finally coughs up the money.
Even if he had to pay $17 million dollars for each of his grandchildren, it still would have left him well over $750 million dollars of his estimated $1 billion dollar fortune.
This is the kind of love you can only find in wealthy families.
June 10, 2004 - Ray Charles Robinson known by his stage name Ray Charles, American pianist and musician who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues, died on this date.
(Let's break the bourbon out - this could one of the saddest songs ever recorded.)
Before I let you go: June 9, 2014 - I had a very happy childhood, happy teenage years and I was famous by the time I was 22. A charmed life.
Rik Mayall, British comic, probably best know for the series, The Young Ones and Black Adder, passed away yesterday
Today is International Archives Day. To celebrate correctly, don't worry, the NSA already has all the information you might need.
Take Dino's approach, he didn't give a sh*t about anything. Hooray for Big Brother!.
June 9, 1891 - Most gentlemen don't like love, they just like to kick it around.
One of the most sophisticated American, Cole Porter, composer and lyricist, was born in Peru, Indiana, on this date.
June 9, 1934 - 80 years ago today, an American legend made his first appearance on the silver screen. The Silly Symphony short “The Wise Little Hen” premiered; it star, resplendent in his trademark sailor jacket and cap. Since then, he has appeared in over 450 films in more than 200 languages, held lead roles in dozens of television serials and hundreds of specials, and has been featured in books and magazines in every language.
He is, of course, the world's favorite lazy, hot-headed, bare-assed mallard: Donald Fauntleroy Duck. He has done all of this without wearing pants.
June 9, 1947 -
Another of Orson Welles' (The patron saint of Independent film makers) mangled studio films The Lady from Shanghai was released on this date.
Orson Welles' original rough cut of this picture ran 155 minutes (the released version ran 92 minutes). Numerous cuts made by Columbia Pictures executives included a shortening of the famous "funhouse" finale.
Today in History: June 9, 68 -
Rather than suffer a Senate-imposed death by flogging, Nero implored his secretary Epaphroditus to slit his throat. The freedman complies, giving the condemned emperor a quick death on this date, just as centurions arrive at the villa to haul him away.
You certainly can't get help like that anymore even on Mad Men.
Administrative Professionals Day, former known as Secretaries Day, always falls on the last week of April. I believe it should occur on June 9th
June 9, 1870 - Charles Dickens dropped dead at his chair at the dinner table in his home in London on this date. He died from a stroke, or apoplexy as it was called then. This must have put a dent in the dinner conversation at the time.
He was 58 years old. In the months before he died, he must have already suffered a stroke? He spoke in his letters of weakness and deadness on the left side and of not being able to pick up things with his left hand.
Being the ever prolific writer, Mr. Dickens still manages to write three more short stories, a humorous monograph and a recipe for rum punch while on the way to his burial.
June 9, 1902 - Joe Horn and Frank Hardart open the Horn & Hardart Automat Restaurant, the first restaurant with vending machine service, at 818 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
If you are of a certain age, you used to call them Horny and Hardon.
June 9, 1930 - Jake Lingle, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, was shot dead gangland-style at the Illinois Central train station underpass, during rush hour. Dozens of people witness the murder, and the Leo Vincent Brothers are caught four months later after an intensive manhunt.
Lingle was allegedly killed over a $100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone.
Kids, how many times do we have to go over this - don't borrow money unless you can pay the vig?
June 9, 1946 - Bhumibol Adulyadej (known as Rama IX) came to the throne in Thailand, upon the death of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, on this date in 1946. (Just don't ask what shot his brother - it's a crime. As a matter of fact, don't say anything negative about the King - it's a crime.)
As the current King of Thailand, he is the longest reigning monarch in history.
June 9, 1954 - Have you left no sense of decency?
During Senate-Army hearings, Sen Joseph McCarthy charged that one of Joseph Welch's attorneys had ties to a Communist organization. As an amazed television audience looked on, Welch responded with the immortal lines that ultimately ended McCarthy's career.
June 9, 1980 -
In the midst of a cocaine binge, comedian Richard Pryor attempts suicide by dousing himself with rum and setting it ablaze. The self-immolation attempt goes haywire when the flaming man leapt from his apartment window and ran down the street, screaming in agony.
Pryor barely survives the incident, and only after six weeks of intensive care and three skin graft surgeries.
June 9, 1992 -
Entertainer Ben Vereen was critically injured when he was struck by a van while walking along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. The driver, producer/composer David Foster, was not charged.
Some hours earlier, Vereen had run into a tree while driving his own car. He blames that mishap for the later accident. He said, "I had hit my head on the steering wheel but felt fine. Later that evening as I was walking in Malibu, I had [a] stroke as a result of that accident." Vereen says he then stumbled into the roadway and was hit by the van.
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