Wednesday, March 31, 2010

March 31st

TODAY IS BUNSEN BURNER DAY 
AND
NATIONAL CLAM ON THE HALF SHELL DAY!
I am not that well versed on COTHS, but aren't they uncooked? Maybe they shouldn't have put these days together....


HISTORY CLASS
  • Part one of Dickens' The Postumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was published. They were supposed to caricature captions but became so popular, they were combined to form a book in 1837. He was 24!! Go Boz!!!
  •  1888, the Eiffel Tower opened...984 feet of beams and rivets. No elevator on that first day, so Eiffel and some friends climbed the stairs to the top! huff-huff.
  • Knute Rocke is killed in a plane crash on this day in 1931 at the age of 43. Did you know he also had a car named after him (it was a Studebaker).
  • 1943, Oklahoma premiered on Broadway. It was the first Rogers and Hammerstein collboration. Choreography was by legendary (even then) Agnes DeMille. The cast were all unknowns. Great Job Richard and Oscar!!!
  • In 1995, Baseball players were sent back to work after the longest strike in baseball history. It even made the powers that be cancel the 1994 World Series. (I do have a baseball from that ill fated game available for sale on my website...)


BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS


  • 1596   Rene Descartes            Philosopher (I think, therefore, I am)
  • 1732   Joseph Haydn                Composer (father of the symphony)
  • 1915   Henry Morgan                Comedian (I've Got a Secret)
  • 1925   Leo Buscaglia                 Inspirationalist (The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, Love)
  • 1927   Cesar Chavez                 Labor Leader (co-founder, United Farm Workers)
  • 1927   William Daniels             Actor (St. Elsewhere)
  • 1928   Gordie Howe                 Hockey Player
  • 1929   Liz Claiborne                  Fashion Designer
  • 1932   John Jakes                    Author (North & South trilogy, Kent Family Chronicles octology)
  • 1934   Shirley Jones                Actress/Singer (Oklahoma, The Partridge Family)
  • 1935   Herb Albert                  Musician (The Tijuana Brass)
  • 1935   Richard Chamberlain     Actor (The Thorn Birds)
  • 1943   Christopher Walken      Actor (Deer Hunter)
  • 1945   Gabe Kaplan                   Actor (Welcome Back, Kotter)
  • 1948   Al Gore, Jr                    Politician/Activist
  • 1948   Rhea Perlman                 Actress (Cheers)
  • 1971    Ewan McGrefor             Actor (Star Wars)


Saturday, March 27, 2010

March 27th

TODAY IS NATIONAL JOE DAY!
Call up your favorite friend named Joe or Jo and take them out for lunch or dinner. 
Don't know a Joe/Jo? How about having a great cup of coffee?


HISTORY CLASS
  • Thomas Jefferson was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775
  • In 1865, President Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman met at City Point, VA to brainstorm wrapping up the war.
  • Fingerprint evidence is used for the first time in 1905 to solve a double murder case.
  • In 1912, two cherry trees were planted along the Potomac River by Mrs. Taft and Viscountess Chinda in celebration of the over 3,000 tree gift by the Japanese government. 
  • In 1939, the first March Madness was held. 


BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
  • Nathaniel Currier (1813) Half of famous Currier & Ives lithographers. Died at age 75, November 20, 1888.
  • Edward Steichen (1879) Photographer, painter. Brother-in-Law of Carl Sandburg.  Of the few pics I have seen by him, I adore The Pond--Moonlight. Died at 93, March 25, 1973.
  • Gloria Swanson (1899)  Prominent Actress. From silents to television, credits include Society for SaleAirport 1975 &The Beverly Hillbillies. Died April 3, 1983.
  • Sarah Vaughn (1924) Jazz Singer. Hits include Whatever Lola Wants, It's Magic & If You Could See Me Now. Died April 3, 1990.
  • David Janssen (1931) Actor. With nearly 100 creditd, he is most famous for role of Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive TV series.  Died at age 48, February 13, 1980.
  • Michael York (1942) Actor. Appearing in over 150 roles including Return of the Musketeers, Cabaret, Knots Landing, Austin Powers and currently has 3 projects in production. 
  • Xuxa (1963) Brazilian Entertainment. Most famous in America for her children's show. 
  • Quentin Tarantino (1963) Actor/Director/Producer...etc. Too many things to mention if you want to know more about him..I recommend IMDB.com or en.wikipedia.org
  • Mariah Carey (1970) American Singer. Also dabble in acting. 
  • Stacy Ferguson (1975) Singer. AKA "Fergie" I don't know much about her. For more information you can talk to my niece. 
  • Brenda Song (1988) Actress. Plese see the comment above for Stacy Ferguson. 

Thursday, March 25, 2010

March 25th

TODAY IS PECAN DAY AND INTERNATIONAL WAFFLE DAY!

HISTORY CLASS
  • 1634  St Mary’s settlement founded on St Clement’s Island on Maryland’s western shore.
  • 1774  Boston Port Act passed in British Parliament. England closed the port of Boston until the city paid for  all of the tea that was ‘lost’ during the Boston Tea Party 3 months earlier.
  • 1955 Howl (ginsberg) confiscated by US Customs.  It had been deemed obscene.  (I glanced at is… I Don’t get it)
  • 1958  Common Market (European Economic Community was founded.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
  • Arturo Toscanini (1867); Some say THE greatest conductor in the world. Metropolitan Opera-NY, NY Philharmonic Orchestra, NBC Symphony Orchestra. Died 16Jan1957, Stroke, NYC.
  • Gutzon Borglum (1867); Artist/Sculptor. Most known for sculpting Robert E. Lee at Stone Mountain (1923-4) and Mount Rushmore (1927-41). He died in 1941, surgical complications, Chicago,
  • David Lean (1908); One of the greatest film directors of all time. Best known for Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago & Passage to India. He won 2 Ocsars, being nominated for 9. He was knighted in 1984 and died in April 1991.
  • Howard Cosell (1920) Outspoken sports journalist. He died in 1995 in NYC of a heart embolism
  • Gloria Steinem (1934) Feminist, journalist.
  • Anita Bryant (1940) Singer. Also know for orange juice commercials. AND outspoken gay rights opponent. She now lives quietly in Edmond, Oklahoma.
  • Aretha Franklin (1942) Singer. Her signature song is Respect (spell it honey).
  • Paul Michael Glaser (1943) Actor/Director. Detective David Starsky in the 70's series Starsky and Hutch.  And in directing The Cutting Edge (one of my faves!) Trivia: Michael is not his real middle name.
  • Bonnie Bedilia (1946) Actress. Best know as Bruce Willis' onscreen wife (or not) in the Die Hard Movies.
  • Elton John (1947) Singer/Songwriter. Birth name was Reginald Kenneth Dwight, no wonder he changed it in 1972. Known for the best selling single of all time-Candle in the Wind. He was knighted in 1995.
  • Sara Jessica Parker (1965) Actress. Sex and the City, Honeymoon in Vegas, Hocus Pocus and Mars Attacks (one of my faves!)
  • Danica Parker (1982), Auto Racer. Does well in the IndyCar series and had dipped her toes in the Nationwide Series in NASCAR. Spokesperson for GoDaddy.com.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

March 24th

TODAY IS NATIONAL CHOCOLATE COVERED RAISIN DAY!



HISTORY CLASS
  • 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died after 44 years on the throne. QE1 was the daughter of Henry VIII and rose to the throne after her half-sister, Mary, died.
  • 1955 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennesse Williams debuted in New York.
  • 1958 - Elvis Presley was inducted into the US Army, much to the dismay of 90% of the American girl polulation.
  • 1989, ExxonValdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska causing tremendous damage to the ecosystem.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS



  • Andrew Mellon
  • Harry Houdini
  • Fatty Arbuckle
  • Clyde Barrow
  • George Sisler
  • Steve McQueen
  • Lara Flynn Boyle
  • Alyson Hannigan
  • Peyton Manning

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March 23rd

TODAY IS NATIONAL CHIP & DIP DAY AND NEAR MISS DAY


National Chip & Dip Day is obvious so celebrate in style with your favorite chip and dip combo.

Near Miss Day was created in honor of that day in 1989 when an asteroid passed very close by Earth at a eyelash distance of 500,000 miles away. Had this asteroid hit earth, chances are its large crater (60 square miles) would not have been the only thing that would have changed on Earth including changing weather patterns and, depending on where it hit, the polar ice caps and shorelines would be affected.


WHO WAS BORN TODAY??


Erich Fromm, born in Frankfurt in 1900. He studied jurisprudence at University of Frankfort, transferred to University of Heidelberg and changed majors to sociology. became psychoanalyst under teachings of Freda Reichmann. He wrote Eros and Civilization,The Theory of Communivative Action, among other books. He died in 1980 at his home in Switzerland.

Joan Crawford was born in 1905 in San Antonio,Tx as Lucille Fay LeSueur.  As an actress she worked in over 140 movies/films/television credits and received an Academy Award for her roll as Mildred Pierce. She may be most famous for a roll she did not perform on film in the film adaptation of her daughter Christine's autobiography Mommy Dearest which was written after Joan's death, May 10, 1977 in NYC.

Akira Kurosawa was born outside Tokyo, Japan in 1910 and is most famous for his film-making prowess including Seven Samurai and Rashomon.  In 1989 he received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar. He died at the age of 88 in his native Japan September 6, 1998.

Werner Von Braun was born in 1912 in Wirsitz, German Empire. In 1955, he became a naturalized US citizen. He worked on countless rocket and astronautics projects including Saturn V, Jupiter-C/Explorer1. He died June 16, 1977 in Alexandria, VA.

Roger Bannister was born in 1929 in Harrow, England. He studied at several colleges and Universities, including Oxford, he became a respected neurologist but is most famous for being the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes (it happened in May, 1954). He is still living in England.

Louie Anderson was born in 1953 in Minneapolis, MN, and is a very well known stand-up comedian. He has participated in a multitude of movies and televisions including Family Feud, Scrubs and Touched by an Angel. Currently he is active in raising charity funds as the co-founder of H.E.R.O.

Chaka Khan was born as Yvette Marie Stevens in 1953 in Chicago, IL. She is featured on dozens of albums, 22 Grammy nominations-winning 10 awards, and is still performing.

Keri Russell was born in Fountain Valley,CA in 1976 and is a budding actress and has a 31 project resume including Honey I Blew Up the Kid, The Babysitter's Seduction and Extraordinary Measures.

Michelle Monaghan was born in 1976 in Winthrop, IA. Her first acting roll was in the series Young Americans. She has also been seen in Boston Public, Mission:Impossible III, and Eagle Eye. She is currently filming Source Code.



HISTORY CLASS
History was a bit boring today including the first publishing of the term OK (actually meaning oll correct) in 1839, Tornadoes devisated Nebraska in 1913, Barney Clark, the first artificial heart recipient, died in 1983, Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, Wayne Gretzky scored number 802. Right, boring???

What did I miss???