|
Post by pegasus on Dec 10, 2011 10:32:27 GMT -7
NOBEL PRIZE DAY
Each year on the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the prizes bearing his name are awarded “to those persons who shall have contributed most materially to the benefit of mankind during the year immediately preceding.” Alfred Bernhard Nobel died on Dec. 10th in 1896 and the first of the Nobel Prizes was presented in 1901 according to instructions in his will. Nobel chose this method to ease his conscience after inventing the deadly explosive, dynamite. One of the richest men in the world, he also felt it would be wrong to leave his fortune to relatives. “Inherited wealth is a misfortune which merely serves to dull man’s faculties.” So instead of wishing you had a rich relative, get out there and do something good for man and womankind today ... and every day, for that matter!
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 11, 2011 8:20:46 GMT -7
AURORA BOREALIS DAY
The first display of the northern lights was recorded in America. The sighting was made in New England on this day in 1719. The report said that a mysterious face seemed to appear in the atmosphere; and, since most aurora borealis displays occur in September and October and again in March and April, this is very strange, indeed! The simplest explanation for the green, red, and frost-white northern lights is that, just as the gas in a neon light glows when charged with electricity, so the gas in the atmosphere glows with specific colors when charged with electric particles from the sun. For a more technical explantation, see Mankind’s Explanation: Aurora Borealis or Aurora Season Begins.
As far as we know, there is still no technical explanation for the off-season display.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 12, 2011 9:33:50 GMT -7
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD DAY
Francis Albert Sinatra came into this world Dec. 11th in 1915, in Hoboken, NJ, without making a sound or opening his eyes. In fact, he didn’t even sing a note until his grandmother held him under some cold running water. Then, for 82 years, he, with the blue eyes so famous that he was often referred to as Ol’ Blue Eyes, never stopped singing.
The Voice sang his way through weddings, local Union functions and made his commercial media debut singing with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra and the hits on radio’s The Lucky Strike Hit Parade. He then made his own hits, recording over 1500 songs, including the favorites: "All or Nothing at All" (Frank’s first), "I’ll Never Smile Again," "In the Blue of the Evening," "I’ll be Seeing You," "Five Minutes More," "The Loneliest Night of the Week," "I’m a Fool to Want You," "I’ve Got the World on a String," "I’ve Got You Under My Skin," "You Make Me Feel So Young," "Strangers in the Night," "Witchcraft," "That’s Life," "New York, New York" and "My Way"; taking home ten Grammy awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award.
For Frankie, being a singing idol wasn’t enough. The silver screen beckoned and he became bigger than life in over fifty films, including On the Town, Guys and Dolls, Ocean’s Eleven, Not as a Stranger, The Manchurian Candidate, None But the Brave, Young at Heart, The Tender Trap, High Society, Pal Joey and The Joker is Wild. Hollywood rewarded him with a Special Oscar for The House I Live In, a short he made to promote racial and religious tolerance; an Oscar nomination for The Man with the Golden Arm, and the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance in From Here to Eternity; plus the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1970.
The television industry embraced Frank, too, presenting him with an Emmy in 1965 for Outstanding Musical Special, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. Not to be outdone, the President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, presented Francis Albert Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.
Mr. S. died of a heart attack on May 14, 1998 in Los Angeles, California. He remains the Chairman of the Board in the memories of the four generations of his fans wordwide.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 13, 2011 9:40:03 GMT -7
AMERICAN IN PARIS DAY
It was on Dec. 13th in 1928 that the George Gershwin composition, "An American in Paris," was presented to the public. The debut was performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Walter Damrosch.
A tone poem, "An American in Paris" was used as a ballet for Gene Kelly’s 1951 performance in the movie of the same name. Unfortunately, George Gershwin did not live to see his composition being danced to in the Academy Award-winning An American in Paris. It won six Oscars: Best Art Direction/Set Direction , Best Color Cinematography, Best Costume Design , Best Story and Screenplay, Best Picture ... and Best Score.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 14, 2011 16:16:17 GMT -7
NOSTRADAMUS DAY
Michel de Notredame was destined to tell the world about its destiny. He was born on Dec. 14th in 1503 at St. Remy, Provence, France. We know him as Nostradamus, author of ten books of prophecies, titled Centuries (Volumes I-X), that many still believe foretold the future. He was a physician, an astrologer and a clairvoyant. Nostradamus’ famous astrological predictions were written in rhyming quatrains (four-line poems) and, according to many readers of our time, accurately predicted the Great London Fire in 1666, Spain’s Civil War, and a Hitler who would lead Germany into war. He even correctly predicted his own death on July 2, 1566. Acclaimed today as one of the most accurate seers in the history of the world, he wrote in code, since in his day, if he was found out, he would have been considered a sorcerer and would probably have been burned at the stake. He used symbolism, metaphors, and added and deleted letters to make his writings even more obscure. Most were written in French, although Nostradamus, an educated man, would also use Italian, Greek and Latin. What if something got lost in the translation? Since none of us really knows, nor do we know what his code was, nor which calendar Nostradamus was using, we can only try to make events fit into the 942 quatrains. That’s a lot of history and a lot of destiny to prove. Is it fact or fancy?
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 15, 2011 16:34:42 GMT -7
]GONE WITH THE WIND DAY
The cinema spectacular, Gone With the Wind, premiered at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia on Dec. 15th in 1939. It was the first movie premiere ceremony to be televised. The governor of Georgia proclaimed the day a state holiday in commemoration of the event and the holiday celebrations continued for three days.
Earlier the same year on June 27th, a ‘wrap’ party was held to celebrate the completion of the major cinematography of GWTW. David O. Selznick had paid author Margaret Mitchell $50,000 for the movie, and ultimately, the TV rights to her novel. MGM then paid out $1.25 million to help finance the film, to convince Clark Gable to play the role of Rhett Butler, and to receive a 50% share of the movie’s profits. Two versions of the film were produced. One contains Rhett Butler’s famous farewell to Scarlett, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” For including the word ‘damn’, Selznick was fined $5,000. The other version had Gable’s Butler saying, “Frankly my dear, I just don’t care.”
Author Margaret Mitchell’s working name for her lead character was Pansy O’Hara. The final version of GWTW read Scarlett O’Hara. Among the many actresses considered for the role before Vivien Leigh was chosen to star were Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Miriam Hopkins, Susan Hayward, Paulette Goddard, Norma Shearer, Lana Turner, Jean Arthur, and Joan Bennett. Vivien Leigh earned $30,000 for the role that keeps on playing.
Ironically, Hollywood’s most famous, and possibly America’s greatest film, has resided permanently in Atlanta for some years. A theatre at the CNN Center Cinemas shows only Gone With the Wind. The famous flick plays continuously on a daily schedule. The movie is now owned by Ted Turner. He acquired the entire MGM film library for TBS & TNT. We figure MGM made its money back and then some.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 16, 2011 7:57:49 GMT -7
PETER RABBIT DAY
Now, wait a second. Here we are getting ready for Christmas and a visit from Santa Claus and we’re already speaking about bunny rabbits? Actually, on Dec. 15th in 1901, the famous story, Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time, complete with Potter’s watercolor illustrations.
Ms. Potter had come up with the Peter Rabbit concept eight years earlier when she sent a story, told in pen and ink drawings, to a five-year-old who was sick in bed. The first story about the ill-behaved rabbit was meant to cheer up the little boy.
Of course, all good little boys and girls remember that Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail were the good little bunnies who went down the lane to gather blackberries. But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight to Mr. McGregor’s garden, and squeezed through the gate. First he ate some lettuce and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes ... and he got too fat ... and Mr. McGregor is coming ... and we gotta get out of this garden ... and it’s getting late ... we will have to finish this later.
Peter Rabbit aka The Tale of Peter Rabbit has been a bedtime favorite ever since. In fact, children throughout the world continue to enjoy the first and 22 more tales about the cotton-tailed bunny and his friends.
Now, off to bed with you. Story time is over. Nitey-nite!
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 17, 2011 16:06:58 GMT -7
TIPTOE DOWN THE AISLE DAY
We pause for a moment in remembrance of Tiny Tim (Herbert Buchingham Khaury) marrying Miss Vickie (Victoria Budinger) this night in 1969 on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. This is the Tiny Tim of the falsetto version of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" fame.
The NBC-TV program earned the 2nd-highest, all-time audience rating; second only to Neil Armstrong’s walking on the the moon. No, Armstrong did not sing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on the lunar surface.
Mr. Tiny Tim and Miss Vickie had a daughter, Tulip. Then in 1977 they stopped tiptoeing together.
Tiny Tim died Saturday, November 30, 1996. He died as he lived, performing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" to an audience at a benefit in Minneapolis, Minn. He cut the song short, commenting to his wife, Miss Sue (they were married in 1995), that he felt ill. As he was making his way with Sue to her table -- amidst the applause of his loyal fans -- he collapsed, was taken to a Minneapolis hospital and died without regaining consciousness
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 19, 2011 8:17:13 GMT -7
SUSPENSION BRIDGE DAY
In 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge which, incidentally, is located nowhere near Williamsburg, Virginia, was opened in New York City, where the East River provides a lot more water. (Actually there is a section of NYC referred to as Williamsburg.) At any rate, this was America’s first major suspension bridge (1600 feet). It cost $24,000,000 to build -- in 1903 dollars.
The Verrazano Narrows suspension bridge in New York, completed in 1964, is the longest suspension bridge in the U.S. (4,260 ft.) For you West Coast fans, the Golden Gate is sixty feet shorter than the Verrazano.
Now we’ll end your suspense and tell you which suspension bridge is the longest in the world. It is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, which cost about $3.8 billion. Opened on April 5, 1998, it links Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, with the biggest island of Honshu. The mid-section length, between the bridge’s two massive support towers, measures 6,529 feet (about 1,990 meters), making it over 1,900 feet longer than the previous record holder, the Humber Estuary Bridge in the United Kingdom. That span is 4,626 feet or 1,410 meters.
By definition, a suspension bridge is one with a deck suspended from cables anchored at their extremities and usually raised on towers.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 26, 2011 11:44:06 GMT -7
BOXING DAY
No one seems to know whether the celebration of Boxing Day began in the middle of the 19th century or the middle of the 9th century. What we do know is that it definitely had its origins in England and is always celebrated on this day (except when December 26th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the official holiday is moved to Monday) with government offices and many businesses closed.
Although folks throughout Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada celebrate Boxing Day, most don’t seem to know where the name originated or what Boxing Day signifies. All the theories of origin have the same theme: Those who considered themselves of a higher social class, gave to those beneath them. The wealthy landowners of the Middle Ages celebrated Christmas on Christmas Day, and their servants who worked for them on Christmas Day were given boxes of food and fruit on December 26th. Leftovers?
Another theory states that, in England, servants would carry boxes to their employers to receive coins, or their employers would leave small earthenware boxes for them filled with money on the day after Christmas. These were special year-end gifts. The first Christmas bonuses?
Still another theory: Church alms boxes were opened on Christmas Day and the contents distributed on December 26th. The first annual holiday-donation solicitation?
Today, Boxing Day is celebrated with family, friends, food, fun and friendship. The boxes involved are more likely to be filled with gifts being exchanged or after-Christmas sale items.
Charles Dickens wrote that Boxing Day was a holiday “… on which postmen, errand boys, and servants of various kinds received a Christmas box of contributions from those whom they serve.”
Now you know where the Christmas fruitcake ends up.
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 28, 2011 22:01:11 GMT -7
ALMANACK DAY
The Pennsylvania Gazette, owned by Benjamin Franklin, ran an ad for the first issue of Poor Richard’s Almanack on Dec. 28th in 1732. The ad promised “...Many pleasant and witty verses, jests and sayings ... new fashions, games for kisses ... men and melons ... breakfast in bed, &c.” Poor Richard’s Almanack was published from 1733 to 1757 by Richard Saunders, who was really Ben Franklin. An almanac is a calendar, but Franklin found room on his calendars to include short, witty sayings about daily situations. This unique idea was a popular success and Franklin became very rich.
Here are some of the epigrams Ben served up in Poor Richard’s Almanack:
*Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. *Let thy maidservant be faithful, strong, and homely. *God heals, and the doctor takes the fees.
Not all of the maxims were as pointed or cynical. Writing in 1754, he advised:
*Think of three things: whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.
Franklin earned so much money with his almanack that, for the first time in his life, he could enjoy the luxury of leisure time. He began to fly kites (experimenting with electricity) and you know the rest of that story...
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 29, 2011 9:38:38 GMT -7
NCAA DAY
In the early 1900s, college football was a brutal game ... so rough that many students suffered serious injuries and sometimes, death. This prompted many schools to discontinue the sport. Others urged that football be reformed or abolished from intercollegiate athletics. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt summoned college athletics leaders to two White House conferences to encourage such reforms.
In early December 1905, Chancellor Henry M. MacCracken of New York University held a meeting with 13 institutions to initiate changes in football rules. At a subsequent meeting on December 28 in New York City, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) was founded by 62 members.
The IAAUS was officially constituted the following spring. Then, on Dec. 29th in 1910, it changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Today, the NCAA is a voluntary association representing more than 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals devoted to the sound administration of intercollegiate athletics.
The Association strives to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. The NCAA also stands for good conduct in intercollegiate athletics and serves as the colleges’ national athletics accrediting agency.
If it weren’t for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, there would be no college bowl games nor any college sports, for that matter. So, let’s hear it for the NCAA:
Rah! Rah! Sis-boom-ba!
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 30, 2011 10:42:07 GMT -7
BOOK 'EM DANNO DAY
The kid from Brooklyn, born in New York on December 30, 1920, made it big ... so big that he spent the better part of his life living in luxury among the rich and famous in the Kahala area of Honolulu, Hawaii. John Joseph Patrick Ryan, known to most as actor Jack Lord, was even better known throughout the world as Steve McGarrett. Tough cop McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) came into our homes on our TV screens once a week for 12 years (1968-1980). His chiseled handsome face; windblown hair; set jaw; the image of the man standing at the top of the Ilikai Hotel at the gateway to Waikiki; was so familiar that audiences equated Jack Lord with Steve McGarrett. They were one and the same.
However, Jack Lord was also an accomplished artist (before he became an actor). In fact, he was barely twenty years old when two of his paintings were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum of Modern Art. Painting was his first love, a talent he continued to hone for the rest of his life. He majored in art at New York University. the university he attended on a football scholarship. Jack Lord also starred in several movies, performed on Broadway, and later, produced and directed several episodes of Hawaii Five-O. He was an accomplished photographer, tried his hand at writing TV scripts, and was always the consummate professional.
Critics referred to Lord as a tyrant on the set, a loner, a snob. Others, including his wife of 43+ years, Marie, knew him as a sensitive man who would often read poetry aloud on the set.
The world said “aloha” to Jack Lord on January 21, 1998. But, he remains forevermore in our memories ... wearing his plantation hat, and scarf wrapped jauntily around his neck, while Steve McGarrett continues to bring evildoers to justice, repeating his famous line, “Book ’em Danno.”
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Dec 31, 2011 10:20:32 GMT -7
AULD LANG SYNE DAY
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played "Auld Lang Syne" as a New Year’s Eve song for the first time on this night in 1929. "Auld Lang Syne" had been the band’s theme song long before 1929. However, this night was the start of a New Year’s Eve tradition as Lombardo’s famed orchestra played at the Hotel Roosevelt Grill in New York City to usher in the new year.
Where did it Auld begin? Scottish poet Robert Burns said he heard an old man singing the words, and wrote them down; but Burns is considered the original author. The literal translation means “old long since”; less literal: “days gone by”.
The writers and editors of Those Were the Days spend a lot of time with days gone by. So from all of us to all of you the world over:
Auld Lang Syne and Happy New Year!
|
|
|
Post by pegasus on Jan 1, 2012 9:17:50 GMT -7
NEW'S YEARS DAY
The world’s most celebrated holiday, New Year’s Day, has been observed on January 1 in most English-speaking countries since 1751 when the British calendar act was passed. Before that, folks wished everyone a Happy New Year on March 25, to coincide, approximately, with the beginning of spring.
In many other countries, it is customary to wish everyone a Happy Birthday (rather than Happy New Year) on January 1st since the day is called Everyman’s Birthday; the day when everyone gets a year older whether it’s their real birthday or not. For some unknown reason, this rule also applies to race horses. No matter when they were born, all race horses become a year older today. So, wish a horse and your friends, “Happy Birthday” today, and don’t nag them about their ages.
Happy New Year and Happy Birthday (especially to those of you born on this day) -- this could get confusing -- from everyone on the proboards. We wish you and yours a New Year filled with peace, prosperity and good health.
|
|