Movie director Franco Zeffirelli (“Romeo and Juliet”) is 89.
Former professional baseball player and sports announcer Joe Garagiola is 86.
Music producer and keyboardist for The Doors Ray Manzarek is 73.
Steve Hackett, bassist for Genesis, is 62.
Singer and songwriter Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) is 60.
Comedian, actor and former talk show host Arsenio Hall is 57.
Actress Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family”) is 32.
Filed under Birthdays
1809 – Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born in Hodgenville, KY.
1878 – Frederick W. Thayer, captain of the Harvard University Baseball Club, patented the now-familiar, baseball catcher’s mask.
1912 – The last emperor of China, Hsian-T’ung, was forced to abdicate, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule.
1924 – President Calvin Coolidge, known by many as the ‘Silent President,’ made the first presidential political speech on radio. The speech originated from New York City and was broadcast on five radio stations. Some five million people tuned in to hear Coolidge speak.
1973 – The State of Ohio went metric, becoming the first in the U.S. to post metric distance signs along Interstate 71. These new signs showed the distance in both miles and kilometers. The metric system, though standard in many nations around the world, never quite caught on in the United States, except on major-league baseball stadium fences – and on that highway in Ohio.
1973 – The release of U.S. prisoners-of-war (POW’s) began in Hanoi, Vietnam as part of the Paris peace settlement.
1994 – The XVIIth Winter Olympic Games opened in Lillehammer, Norway. The games proceeded, despite the infamous Nancy Kerrigan – Tanya Harding clubbing fiasco.
1999 – The 5-week impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton ended with the Senate voting to acquit him on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
2000 – Hall-of-Fame football coach Tom Landry, who led the Dallas Cowboys to five Super Bowls in 20 consecutive winning seasons, died.
Filed under History
A man emerges from Lisi Lake in Tbilisi, Georgia. Poor guy! He went in as Igor and came out Anastasia.
Filed under News
“Voters with forty years of politically correct education are ecstatic to have the first Black president. They just love the idea of it – even if we did get “Flavor Flav” instead of Thomas Sowell.”
– Ann Coulter describing President Obama at CPAC 2012
Ann’s biography is due out next month: “Meth – An American Trailer Park Tragedy.”
Filed under News
The Southwest Indian Foundation is offering hand-carved art pieces for sale. Proceeds will be directed towards Native American communities of the Southwestern U.S.
Etched Dreamcatcher pot
Filed under News
Award-winning pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hill, CA, hotel this afternoon. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent,” but the cause of death is being investigated.
Filed under News
Following on the “redneck” piece, Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat, says his proposed bill to rename the Gulf of México the “Gulf of America” was purely “satirical.” I have to admit I wouldn’t be surprised if some legislator actually tried this. If anything, though, they could just call it the Big Gulf!
Filed under Curiosities
Ken Webber of Medford, Oregon has filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix-Talent School District to get his job back as a school bus driver. Webber was fired after he refused to remove a Confederate flag with the word “Redneck” emblazoned across the back of it from the CB antenna on his pickup truck. He claims his free speech rights have been violated. First of all, I’m shocked to find out there are rednecks in Oregon. I didn’t realize they’d migrated that far north. But, I guess, since there are Negroes in México, that really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Second, if the U.S. Supreme Court can allow the Westboro Baptist Church scumbags to protest at funerals, then I imagine a school bus driver in rural Oregon can fly a Confederate flag from his own truck. Tell me, though, doesn’t he look a little like “Larry, the Cable Guy” – except cuter?
Filed under Curiosities
Young housewives and older moms are among nearly 2 dozen people who bought assault rifles from Texas gun dealers in an alleged weapons smuggling ring tied to Mexican drug cartels. Federal agents announced February 8 they seized more than 200 weapons – including AK-47s and sniper rifles – and arrested 22 people. That’s amazing – from soccer moms to sniper moms. That’s quite a leap! Then again, considering the out-of-control drug problem in the U.S., there may be some logic to it. As usual, though, I’m sure the National Rifle Association (NRA) will say this is just an aberration. To be fair, I’m a firm supporter of the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment, as much as I am a supporter of the 1st Amendment. But, I don’t think our “Founding Fathers” had AK-47s in mind.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 