"I say, Jeeves; this 'Spark' thing is a bit of a rum go, isn't it?"
"Actually, sir, I believe it's a rather useful compendium of Internet
links."
"Nonsense, Jeeves; there's nothing useful on the Internet."
Now that it's officially autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway), events seem to be
calming down as we prepare for the long winter hibernation.
But don't think for a minute that nothing's going on. For example:
Monday:
In 1759, Mason Weems
was born. Although he studied theology and became a parson in the Episcopal Church, we remember him best for his 1800 History of the Life and Death, Virtues and
Exploits of General George Washington. The book was less a biography than a collection of
exaggerations and falsehoods -- most notably the story of six-year-old George chopping down a cherry tree,
then confessing to the crime. The book
was popular in its time, but has been debunked in the centuries since.
It's a day to celebrate politicians, such as the 126th birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the First Lady of the land for some 12 years, During her time in the White
House, she fought tirelessly for liberal causes and human rights, continuing
her work after her husband's death, as both a United States delegate to the United Nations, and as chair of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Not that she couldn't have fun or take time out to appear
on quiz shows
or hawk margarine
on television.
And it's the 35th wedding anniversary of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Hint to Bill: the 35th is the coral or jade anniversary). Little did the Clintons know that
their wedding night would coincide with the premiere of Saturday Night Live, a program that would, in the decades to come, poke
endless fun at both of them.
Remember last week when we were all aquiver over the Nobel Prizes being announced? Well, the festivities conclude today with
the announcement of the winner of the Prize for Economics. Economics
being an inexact science, this is the only one of the prizes not founded by Alfred Nobel, having been established by the Bank of Sweden in 1969.
What better way to celebrate winning a Nobel than by having a huge Thanksgiving feast? Think it's too early for Thanksgiving? Not if you're in Canada,
where today is Turkey Day, thanks to their earlier harvests. And leftover turkey makes a great sandwich, perfect for National School Lunch Week, which begins today.
Finally, and more seriously, in light of the recent "It Gets Better"
project, we note that today is National Coming Out Day, on which we celebrate our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer friends and family members and
their fight for equality. Sadly, tomorrow is the 12th anniversary the death of Matthew Shepard, who was tortured to death solely for being gay.
Tuesday:
Not so interested in equality was the Roman emperor Nero, who ascended to the throne on this day in 54. While Nero
was, by all accounts, a tyrant and a dictator, he is likely best known for the
apocryphal scenes of him fiddling or playing the
lyre while Rome burned
in a fire that destroyed a good portion of the city – a tale that's as false as
the one about Washington and the cherry
tree -- or the myths that Paul McCartney suffered a premature death.
The "Paul is Dead" craze began when a group of Drake University students uncovered a series of "clues" they
thought had been planted by the Beatles to indicate McCartney had died. On this day in 1969, they
persuaded WKNR
DJ Russ Gibb
to play "Revolution #9" backward in order to reveal its supposedly masked
message of "Turn me on, dead man."
Some notable TV anniversaries today. Most important to us is the 1950 premiere
of The George Burns and
Gracie Allen Show. While Burns and Allen were
one of the top acts in vaudeville,
movies,
and radio,
their television show was their most important contribution to show business.
Decades ahead of its time, the show featured such innovations as George talking directly to the audience about the plot of the episode (which he
generally found out about by watching the program -- as it was taking place --
on the television in his den, and replacing actors in mid-scene with other
actors playing the same part. All of it was highlighted by Gracie's unique form
of humor, which combined a lovable dimness
with an inability to see beyond the literal meanings of words.
In 1953, The Bob Hope Show began its 20-year run on NBC, as America's favorite comedian traded quips and appeared in skits with the country’s top movie stars,
athletes,
and personalities.
1978 saw the premiere of Sneak Previews, the first national iteration of the many shows
featuring film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert battling each other over which movies were any good. Those that were were
awarded the coveted "two thumbs up"
rating. Those that weren’t were usually greeted by Aroma the Educated Skunk or Spot the Wonder Dog, who highlighted the "stinker" or "dog"
of the week.
We can assume that such a dismal fate would not await either the nominees for
the Booker Prize, awarded each year to the best English-language novel
written by a citizen of the British Commonwealth (the winner of which will be announced today), or those
hoping for a National Book Award, the finalists for which will be announced tomorrow.
Those who are afraid they won’t get either a nomination or an award can take
comfort in knowing that tomorrow is National Face Your Fears Day.
Buck up and wait till next year!
One would think a holiday would be anything but controversial, but today is Columbus Day (even if the banks were closed yesterday), and the
"discoverer of America" is anything but universally hailed, especially by Native American groups.
Wednesday:
Only three events of note today, but none of them are without interest.
First of all, today is the 235th anniversary of the founding of the United States Navy.
It's also National Bring Your Teddy
Bear to Work/School Day, in the hopes that having a stuffed friend nearby will relieve some of your workplace stress.
And speaking of stress, it was four years ago today that the Six Flags theme park
in Gurnee, Illinois held a live cockroach eating contest. If only they'd waited until the 14th, they
could have made the competition part of National Chocolate
Covered Insect Day or even National Dessert Day. Yum!
Thursday:
We mentioned that last week was the anniversary of the start of the carving of Mount Rushmore, and we have to wonder, given today's anniversary, whether Theodore Roosevelt could have done all the sculpting by himself, using only
his bare hands. Why? On this date in 1912, while campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roosevelt was shot at point blank range. Fortunately, a
metal glasses case and the speech he was supposed to deliver was folded in his
breast pocket and took most of the impact. Even with a fresh flesh wound and
the bullet still in him, TR still delivered the speech. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
Speaking of unique individuals, today is the birthday of actress Lillian Gish. Born in 1893, Miss Gish began her film career in 1912,
working with pioneering director D.W. Griffith, and kept working until 1987’s The Whales of August. Her career spanned virtually the entire history of
cinema. While it might seem impossible that one woman could have been in both
1915’s The Birth of a Nation and an episode of The Love Boat 65 years later, Miss Gish did it!
Miss Gish even did live TV (there was no other kind in the 1950s, after all),
and NBC's 30 Rock will revive that artform tonight, with a special live
episode from Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H,
normally the home of Saturday Night Live.
As unique as Theodore Roosevelt, Lillian Gish, and live television are, is Winnie-the-Pooh, the children’s classic by A.A. Milne, first published on this day in 1926.
Friday:
Speaking of characters, we note quite a few of them today. For example, Grace Bedell,
the eleven-year-old girl who wrote
Abraham Lincoln on this date in 1860, suggesting that he grow a beard
because "all the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands
to vote for you and then you would be President." Whether or not Lincoln
took the advice seriously, he did start growing a beard within a month and was indeed elected.
Then there's P.G. Wodehouse, born in 1881. Wodehouse wrote some of the funniest novels
ever penned (many of which featured the hopelessly dim Bertie Wooster
and his invaluable valet, Jeeves) and was also a talented songwriter, who worked with
composer Jerome Kern to, more or less, create the American musical.
And let us not forget Jack the Ripper (there's a transition!), who in 1888, sent his
letter "From Hell" to the police investigating his
murders.
Speaking of death, superspy Mata Hari met hers on this day in 1917. Even though she had lured
many a man to his doom during World War I, she met her own end before a firing squad.
Of course, the entire world nearly met its end in 1962, as the Cuban Missile Crisis began. The Soviet Union had deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from
the Florida coast, and the whole world held its breath as U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev went toe-to-toe, daring each other to blink first.
Khrushchev ultimately conceded, removing the missiles after two weeks.
But it's not all gloom and doom today (even if today is National Grouch Day and tomorrow is National Boss Day -- are they inseparable?). It’s the anniversary of the 1951
premiere of I Love Lucy, the sitcom
that soon became the nation's favorite program
and has aired continually ever since, thanks in large part to star and producer
Desi Arnaz. In the early days of television, comedies were either
aired live and lost forever, or syndicated using a kinescope
(that is, by placing a camera in front of a monitor and filming the live
broadcast). Arnaz had the idea of filming the show with three cameras before a live audience, treating the
whole thing as a small movie -- a technique used to this day.
Of today’s last two events, one is unnecessary and the other is most necessary.
The unnecessary one is Global Handwashing Day, which has the goal of encouraging everyone to wash their
hands using soap and water to prevent the spread of disease. We know all our
readers wash their hands -- especially after using the bathroom -- so there’s no need for the notice, right?
The necessary event is National Mammography Day, on which all women over 40 -- and those at risk -- are
urged to schedule a mammogram in the hopes of detecting any early signs of breast cancer.
Saturday and Sunday:
Saturday is Dictionary Day, dedicated to that book with all the answers -- or,
at least, with all the definitions. Why? Because, in 1758, Noah Webster, the man whose name has become synonymous (adj., "Having the same or a similar meaning" or
"equivalent in connotation") with the idea of defining words, was
born.
It’s also the birthday of two of the greatest playwrights in world history -- though they couldn't have been more
different. 1854 saw the birth of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie
Wills Wilde, who wrote with a flamboyance and genius that has seldom been equaled. His plays, such as The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Windermere’s Fan, bristle with wit. Unfortunately, his homosexuality
was anathema to Victorian English society, and he was sentenced to two years at
hard labor, which broke both his body and his
spirit. He died in exile in Paris in 1900.
In 1888, Eugene O’Neill was born. The son of one of America's finest actors, James O’Neill, Eugene was drawn to the theatre from his youth. After
stints as a merchant seaman and in a tuberculosis sanatorium, he began writing plays that were generally experimental,
theatrical,
and tragic.
His final plays, including A Moon for the Misbegotten and The Iceman Cometh, are towering achievements, but both are surpassed by Long Day’s Journey into Night, a portrait of his family that is simultaneously
horrific, lacerating, forgiving, tragic, and comedic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1936, and died in 1953.
Actress Angela Lansbury
turns 85 today. She began her film career at the age of 17
and hasn't stopped working since. While most audiences know her as mystery
novelist Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, she is widely considered to be the first lady of the
American stage, whose work
in such musicals
as Mame
and Sweeney Todd have earned her seven Tony Award nominations and five awards, not to mention multiple nominations for the Academy Awards (three), the Golden Globes (fifteen), and
the Emmys (eighteen).
No doubt our good friends at the Ultimate Fighting
Championship will note Ms. Lansbury's birthday
with tonight's UFC 120 in London, as will the folks who urge you to protect and improve the
lives of cats around the country on National Feral Cat Day.
If you'd like to raise your own glass to her, we urge you to cook up a mess of noodles to accompany it, since tomorrow is National Pasta Day. If you don't have the urge to cook, you might want to pass
on a quick burger and join others who are noting World Anti-McDonald’s Day. While we'd never do that, personally -- the fries are just too
darn good -- we appreciate the sentiment.
However you celebrate, don't overdo it, or you won't be able to join us next
time. See you then!
Suggested Sites...
- Truth, Lies, Parson Weems, and Walt Disney - how Parson Weems's truth-stretching has persisted throughout American history.
- Remembering Gene - Roger Ebert discusses his friend and rival Gene Siskel on the tenth anniversary of his death.
- Lillian Gish.com - all about the longest career in the history of the movies.
- History of the Musical Stage: 1910-1919 - how Jerome Kern, P.G. Wodehouse, and Guy Bolton invented the modern musical.
- The Cuban Missile Crisis - the JFK Library's official history.
No comments:
Post a Comment