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Post by pegasus on Mar 3, 2012 8:58:57 GMT -7
TIME DAY
Take time to celebrate the fact that on Mar. 3rd in 1923 the first issue of the weekly periodical TIME appeared on newsstands. The first issue was 32 pages and featured a charcoal sketch of House Speaker Joseph Gurney ‘Uncle Joe’ Cannon on the cover. It was the United States’ first modern news magazine (circulation of 3,700).
The worldwide news weekly, founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, is printed in several languages and is among the most popular magazines in history (readership of 3.3 million). The magazine, published by Time Warner, has a corporate staff housed in its own building: the Time and Life Building in New York City.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 4, 2012 10:45:52 GMT -7
MIKE DAY
This day is celebrated by disc jockeys, TV hosts, movie stars, department store announcers, rock groups, politicians and many, many others. For it was on Marach 4th in 1877 that Emile Berliner, the man behind so many inventions, came up with a thing called the microphone. Good thing, too, because the Bell System, run by Alexander Graham Bell, was in desperate need of something to save it from financial ruin -- and to help the progress of the telephone.
So, the Bell Labs came up with a compact way to put Mr. Berliner’s microphone on a wooden box, with a crank, an earpiece, a cradle hook for the earpiece and some wires, and called it the telephone.
There was no such thing as a telephone dial. One rang up ‘Jenny’ (the operator) with three turns on the crank. That got her to put a cord into the switchboard connecting you directly to the phone you were calling. Because of the microphone, people could hear you speak. Neat, huh?
And in 1957, operators in upstate New York (90 miles from Manhattan) and other somewhat rural areas throughout the U.S. were still saying, “Number, plee-uz” into their little mouthpiece microphones attached to headsets.
Even as late as the 1980s, the average Joe would shy away when a microphone was stuck in his face. Today, with all the amazing electronic gadgets we have, hardly a soul is afraid of a microphone. Witness karaoke!
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Post by pegasus on Mar 5, 2012 19:29:43 GMT -7
ANNIE OAKLEY DAY
Just five feet tall, one wouldn’t expect Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee to be able to use a rifle, a pistol or a shotgun. Yet, the diminutive Annie Oakley -- as she was better known -- found out, at the age of nine, that she was a dead shot. Born in a log cabin in Patterson Township, Ohio, Annie starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for seventeen years equally adept at hitting targets with any of the three weapons.
On March 5th, in particular, in 1922, Annie broke all existing records for women’s trap shooting. She smashed 98 out of 100 clay targets thrown at 16 yards while at a match at the Pinehurst Gun Club in North Carolina. She hit the first fifty, missed the 51st, then the 67th.
This was a record-breaker, true; but Annie Oakley was well-known throughout the US and Europe for her expert shooting ability. In one day, ‘Little Sure Shot’ took a .22 rifle and hit 4,772 glass balls out of 5,000 tossed in the air. She could hit a playing card from 90 feet (the thin side facing her), puncturing it at least five times before it hit the ground. It was this display that named free tickets with holes punched in them, Annie Oakleys.
In 1935, Phoebe Mozee was immortalized on film in Annie Get Your Gun, which was later made into a musical for the stage. In 1985, another film, Annie Oakley, was made for TV. It included silent-film footage of the record-breaking sharp-shooter, taken by Thomas Edison.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 6, 2012 20:21:02 GMT -7
REMEMBER THE ALAMO DAY
It was on March 6th in 1836, the last of a thirteen-day siege, that Mexico’s dictator, Santa Anna and his thousand-man army defeated a little band of Texas volunteers. The last of these 189 brave men (who included Davy Crockett) died on March 6, holed up in the Alamo.
Their fight for Texas’ liberty did not go unnoticed. 46 days later, with the battle cry, “Remember the Alamo,” Gen. Sam Houston and his Texans captured Santa Anna and finished the job started at the Alamo. Texas gained its independence.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 7, 2012 16:03:22 GMT -7
MONOPOLY DAY
It was on March 7th in 1933 that Charles Darrow created the game we know as Monopoly. Or was it?
Maybe Lizzie J. Magie’s The Landlord’s Game, patented on January 5, 1904, was the real monopoly game. Or was it? Lizzie's game was very similar to Monopoly, except she, a Quaker from Virginia, created it as a political comment to promote a single land-ownership tax. She shared it with other Quakers and proponents of the tax measure. Families copied the game, adding their own favorite street names and changing the rules as they pleased. The name of the game changed as the rules changed.
A Reading, Pennsylvania college student, Dan Layman, played the version his friends called Monopoly in the late 1920s. Once out of college, and back home in Indianapolis, he produced the game under the name, Finance. His dorm-mate, Louis Thun, copyrighted several rules that the two had written. Was Layman’s the real Monopoly game?
Or was it Ruth Hoskins and friends, Quakers who lived in Atlantic City, who made the Monopoly game we still play? Ruth learned how to play the game from a friend of Layman’s in Indianapolis. She then moved to Atlantic City and shared it with other friends. In 1930, they made a version complete with Atlantic City street names like Boardwalk, Park Place, Virginia and Pennsylvania Avenues; even including Marven Gardens, a residential section at the edge of Margate City, a suburb of Atlantic City.
Charles Darrow, an inventor of sorts, first saw and played the game in 1931, when he and his wife were introduced to Monopoly by mutual friends of Ruth Hoskins. The Darrows, who lived in Germantown, Pennsylvania, were penniless. The Depression had left them destitute. Fascinated with the game, Darrow made some modifications, misspelled Marven Gardens as Marvin Gardens, added copyrighted artwork and produced games which he then began to sell on this day in 1933.
The popularity of the game was instant. Darrow could not keep up with the demand. He eventually sold his ‘rights’ to Parker Brothers who initially turned Darrow away, saying that his game had “52 fundamental errors.” The 50-year-old company eventually agreed to give Darrow royalties on every Monopoly game sold, on the condition that they could write “short version” game rules. Ultimately, Darrow became a millionaire at age 46.
So, who made the unwritten rule that the next player to land on Free Parking gets the money, if any, collected from Chance and Community Chest fees? We don't have the answer to that or who the real Monopoly creator was ... but we wonder if whoever it was owned Boardwalk? And, did they pass GO and collect $200?
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Post by pegasus on Mar 8, 2012 12:40:35 GMT -7
BEULAH DAY
Because Louise Beavers, a talented actress, was born on March 8th in 1902 and not some fifty years later, she was forced to forever play the role of a maid. Louise, a member of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, performed in a time when a black woman was stereotyped and unable to get choice roles. Even in the part of a maid, she able to show the world that she was an extremely talented actress. One critic, Jimmie Fiddler, said her starring role in the film, Imitation of Life, was the finest performance of 1935.
Louise Beavers appeared in more than 125 films over a thirty-year period, including Tammy and the Bachelor [1957], The Jackie Robinson Story [1950], Dixie Jamboree [1944], Reap the Wild Wind [1942], General Spanky [1936] and Coquette [1929].
Yet, she is still best remembered for her role as Beulah, the maid, in the television series by the same name. The part was originally played by Ethel Waters. A major cast change was made in 1952 when actress Hattie McDaniels of Gone with the Wind fame was to replace Waters. McDaniels became ill and Louise Beavers took over. Beulah ended when Louise no longer wanted to play the part.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 11, 2012 21:09:01 GMT -7
PRIME TIME DAY
On March 11th in 1971, television networks ABC, CBS and NBC were told by the Federal Communications Commission that a limited three-hour nightly program service -- or ‘prime time’ -- would begin in September. The network programs were to be slotted between 8 and 11 p.m. on the East and West coasts -- an hour earlier in the Central and Mountain time zones.
Syndicated shows were drastically cut back by local stations to make way for the new network packages. Independent stations (those with no network affiliation) began to scramble for newer off-network programming in order to compete.
In addition to cable networks, several new networks for ‘free TV’ broadcasters have emerged, including FOX Television. Now who knows what time is prime time! Check listings for time and channel in your area... .
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Post by pegasus on Mar 13, 2012 8:43:52 GMT -7
UNCLE SAM DAY
Hey! Let’s take the day off! It’s Uncle Sam Day! On March 13th back in 1852, the New York Lantern newspaper published an Uncle Sam cartoon for the first time. The drawing was the work of Frank Henry Bellew.
Through the years, the caricature changed with Uncle Sam becoming symbolic of the US being just like a favorite uncle. A prime example of this symbolism were US Army posters that portrayed Uncle Sam pointing and saying, “I want you!” As a result, many of us joined his ranks.
Uncle Sam always wore a nifty suit of red, white and blue, a hat with stars and stripes down the trousers of both of his long legs. The origins of how he became known as Uncle Sam are varied, but include a dock worker wondering what the words “From U.S.” meant on shipping crates. Reportedly, he was told jokingly, “Oh, this is from your Uncle Sam.”
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Post by pegasus on Mar 14, 2012 16:44:08 GMT -7
GOLD RECORD DAY]/b]
On March 14th in 1958, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the first gold record. It was Perry Como’s "Catch a Falling Star" on RCA Victor Records. The tune became the first to win million-seller certification, though other songs dating as far back as the 1920s may have sold a million records or more. Due to lack of a certification organization like the RIAA, they weren’t awarded the golden platter.
The next three gold records that were certified after Perry Como’s million seller were the 45 rpm recordings of "He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London, "Patricia", an instrumental by the ‘Mambo King’, Perez Prado and "Hard Headed Woman" by Elvis Presley. The first gold-album certification went to the soundtrack of the motion picture, Oklahoma!, featuring Gordon MacRae.
Is there really a gold record inside the wooden frame presented to winners? Those who know say, “No.” Its a gold-leaf veneer of maybe 18 kt. gold and/or it is a record painted gold. Yes, the song earning the award is supposed to be the one making up the gold record, but this is not always the case, according to several artists who have tried to play theirs.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 15, 2012 19:00:00 GMT -7
#1 ALBUM DAY
Billboard magazine began a new feature. It was the record chart of top albums. What album was the first to top this new chart? For those who thought it was something by Lauryn Hill, move two steps back, please. For those who thought it was a wax cylinder from Thomas Edison and the Record Rappers, jump back another three spaces. If, however, you said that the first album to reach #1 on this day in 1945 was Nat King Cole Trio, you are absolutely correct! Of course, the albums mentioned on the Billboard list were, for several years, 78 rpm disks, not the 33-1/3 albums we came to know. Billboard and other trade magazines continue to list the week’s top albums. Billboard lists the Top 200 in order, from #1 on down. Some even have ‘bullets’ to reflect the week’s top movement in sales and radio airplay.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 18, 2012 19:22:52 GMT -7
PENNY LANE DAY
The Beatles went gold March 18th in 1967 -- receiving a gold record for the hit single, "Penny Lane." This was not an unusual event for The Beatles. However, the recording of "Penny Lane" has left us with some interesting trivia. According to Paul McCartney, Penny Lane is a bus roundabout in Liverpool; and there is a barber’s shop showing photographs of every head he’s had the pleasure to know -- no that’s not true, they’re just photos of hairstyles, but all the people who come and go stop and say hello. “It’s part fact, part nostalgia for a place which is a great place, blue suburban skies as we remember it, and it’s still there.”
There were at least two different endings to the song. Radio stations were furnished with a 45 rpm version that featured a trumpet solo of seven notes, sustaining on the final note into Ringo’s cymbal conclusion. Record buyers, on the other hand, heard the words “Penny Lane” at the end of the song, which then went into a sustaining note under Ringo’s cymbal. There was no trumpet fanfare.
The original version shows up on the Rarities album on Capitol Records. Those having the original ‘Promotional Copy’ of the song have quite a valuable find. "Penny Lane" is also included on the American release of the Magical Mystery Tour album, but not the British EP version. While a number one song in America, "Penny Lane" made it to number two in England, causing some to wonder “if The Beatles were beginning to slip,” according to The Beatles -- An Illustrated Record.
The ‘B’ side of gold record was the popular "Strawberry Fields Forever."
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Post by pegasus on Mar 19, 2012 8:54:37 GMT -7
SWALLOW DAY
This is St. Joseph’s Day, the day that those little birds known as swallows traditionally return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. Every March 19th since 1776 (with very few exceptions), the birds come back to usher in spring in this Southern California seaside town.
While their return is an annual tourist attraction, some in the community have gotten a bit fed up with the mess left behind when the birds migrate in the fall (October 23rd, St. John’s Day). It is costing the quaint town of San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, California, a lot of money to clean up historic, old buildings where the swallows return to roost year after year.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 20, 2012 9:35:05 GMT -7
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN DAY
It was on March 20th in 1852 that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic book was published. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, subtitled Life Among the Lowly became an instant success, selling 300,000 copies in its first year. It has since been translated into twenty languages and performed as a play the world over. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was even spotlighted in the Broadway musical and film, The King and I. Maybe you remember the haunting chant from the show, “Run Eliza, Run!” Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel remains a must-read for school children -- and a reminder to all of us of an ugly time in the history of the United States.
The antislavery novel and the adapted plays all feature the elderly, kind slave, Uncle Tom; the slave child, Topsy; Little Eva, the daughter of Tom’s owner; Eliza, a young mulatto woman and the cruel, northern-born overseer who beat Tom to death, Simon LeGree.
The book brought much sympathy from around the world toward the American “peculiar institution” of slavery. In fact, Abraham Lincoln told Harriet Beecher Stowe she was “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war,” referring of course, to the Civil War.
’Til this day, we refer to an employer or any other with slave-driving tendencies as a ‘Simon LeGree’.
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Post by pegasus on Mar 21, 2012 17:13:29 GMT -7
GOD BLESS AMERICA DAY[/b] "God Bless America", written by Irving Berlin back in 1918 as a tribute by a successful immigrant to his adopted country, was recorded by Kate Smith for Victor Records on March 21st in 1939. Ms. Smith first introduced the song on her Thursday, November 10, 1938 radio show (aired live the day before Armistice Day). "God Bless America" was a fitting tribute to its composer, who gave all royalties from the very popular and emotional song to the Boy Scouts. The song became Kate Smith’s second signature after "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain;" and the second national anthem of the United States of America. On several occasions, it has even been suggested that the U.S. Congress enact a bill changing the national anthem to "God Bless America." [/i][/size][/color]
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Post by pegasus on Mar 23, 2012 8:09:44 GMT -7
MONKEY DAY[/b] An evolution law, enacted March 23rd in the great State of Tennessee in the year 1925, made it a crime for a teacher in any state-supported public school or college to teach any theory that contradicted the Bible’s account of man’s creation. Tennessee’s Governor Austin Peay said, “The very integrity of the Bible in its statement of man’s divine creation is denied by any theory that man descended or has ascended from any lower order of animals.” Opponents planned to challenge the law, denouncing it as a violation of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Within two months, a Dayton, Tennessee high school science teacher, John T. Scopes was indicted, and later convicted, in the famous ‘Monkey Trial’ for teaching his students the theory of evolution; that man descended from a lower order of animals ... or monkeys. Scopes was fined $100. Defense Attorney Clarence Darrow stated that this was “the first case of its kind since we stopped trying people for witchcraft.” Remember this the next time you think about swinging from a tree ... especially while eating a banana and singing, “Yaba daba daba.” [/i][/size][/color]
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