1783 – Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan military and political leader and South American liberator, was born in Caracas, Venezuela.
1802 – Novelist – playwright Alexandre Dumas was born in Soissons, France.
1847 – Richard M. Hoe of New York City patented the rotary-type printing press.
1897 – Aviator Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, KS.
1911 – American archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovered the Incan city of Machu Picchu just north of Cuzco, Peru.
Filed under History
The state of politics in America. No wonder people are getting tired of this crap!
Filed under News
“Bachmann’s concept of Christian love brims with hate, and she has a deep satchel of stones to throw. From what kind of messiah did she learn that?”
– Frank Bruni, New York Times columnist on Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN).
I personally don’t care where this Bachmann nitwit got her religion. I just know people like her are part of what’s wrong with America. Christian fundamentalists are just one step above Al-Qaeda – they just speak English.
Filed under News
Archaeologists have uncovered a “dramatic” new Mayan temple in the Guatemalan jungle; one covered with giant faces embedded in the façade. This is just one of them: the Mayan sun deity as a “shark-man.” The temple was part of El Zotz, one of the Mayan’s smaller kingdoms, which features a palace and a tomb believed to hold its first ruler, who lived sometime in the 4th century A.D.
Filed under News
After years of study and millions of dollars, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finally confirmed one of my worst fears: mermaids do NOT exist. Damn! Now, we have one less reason to save the world’s oceans. In a formal statement released last week, NOAA officials proclaimed:
“No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.”
Aquatic humanoids, sea apes, mermaids, merdudes – whatever! We can now rest assured that, for centuries, sailors and navigators really have been hallucinating from alcohol, sun stroke, scurvy or full testicle syndrome. Fortunately, I’ve never had scurvy, but the rest of that mess can hurt like hell! I can’t imagine being stuck at sea, with only warm water and starfish to consume. One reason for the unusual response is a recent program on the Animal Planet entitled “The Body Found: Mermaid Sightings Throughout History.” It’s rife with special effects that look great on screen, but ultimately cast doubt on the veracity of the people quoted; supposed scientists who claim a government investigation proved years ago that mermaids – or “aquatic apes” – really do exist in the world’s oceans. They also claim the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar tests in the Pacific Ocean in the late 1990’s contributed to the mass beaching of whales and other marine life – including a purported humanoid creature in Washington state. According to anonymous sources, a pair of teenage brothers stumbled upon this creature and used a cell phone video camera to capture the moment. The program presented what at first looked like the actual video. But, that’s where the producers lose credibility; it’s obvious the “video” is fake. Check out the program and judge for yourself. I think it’d be fascinating if these creatures turned out to be real. Then, not only will National Geographic get some great photographs, stock in Sea World will go through the roof!
Filed under Curiosities
If today is your birthday, “Happy Birthday!”
Actress Gloria DeHaven (Two Girls and a Sailor, Three Little Words, Summer Stock, Broadway Rhythm, Nakia) is 87.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is 76.
Actor Ronny Cox (Scissors, Total Recall, Loose Cannons, RoboCop, Beverly Hills Cop series, Some Kind of Hero, Taps, The Onion Field, Harper Valley P.T.A., Gray Lady Down, Bound for Glory, Deliverance, Sweet Justice, Spencer, Second Chances, St. Elsewhere) is 74.
Nicholas Gage (author: Eleni, investigative journalist) is 73.
Radio talk show host Don Imus is 72.
Saxophone – woodwinds player Andy Mackay (Roxy Music) is 66.
Actor Larry Manetti (Magnum P.I., Baa Baa Black Sheep, Exit, The Take) is 65.
Actress Belinda Montgomery (Man from Atlantis, Doogie Howser, M.D., Stone Fox, Tell Me That You Love Me) is 62.
Guitarist Blair Thornton (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 62.
Actress Edie McClurg (WKRP in Cincinnati, The Hogan Family, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, A River Runs Through It, Eating Raoul) is 61.
Musician Martin Gore (DePeche Mode) is 51.
Actor Woody Harrelson (Cheers, White Men Can’t Jump, Natural Born Killers, Indecent Proposal, The Cowboy Way) is 51.
Actor Eriq La Salle (ER, Another World, Coming to America, Under Suspicion, Color of Night) is 50.
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Scent of a Woman, The Getaway, Twister, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Patch Adams, Magnolia, State and Main, Almost Famous) is 45.
Actor – writer Marlon Wayans (The Wayans Bros, Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2) is 40.
Filed under Birthdays
1715 – The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction at Little Brewster Island, MA.
1829 – William Burt of Mt. Vernon, MI, patented the first typewriter, or what he called a “typographer.”
1962 – The Telstar communications satellite sent the first live TV broadcast to Europe. The bird was used to send TV programs between the United States and Europe.
1984 – Vanessa Williams who, a year earlier, had become the first Black woman to win the Miss America title, became the first winner to resign, after Penthouse magazine announced plans to publish nude photos of her.
1996 – The U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team won its first-ever team gold at the Summer Games in Atlanta. The team was composed of Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps and Kerri Strug.
Filed under History
“Take the statue down or we will.”
– Verbiage on a sign flown by protesters in an airplane over the campus of Penn State University, urging campus officials to remove a statue of the late football coach Joe Paterno outside the football stadium. The university quietly complied this past weekend.
Goodbye and good riddance!
Dr. Sally Ride, Ph.D., who made history in 1983, when she became the first American woman in space, died today at age 61 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Ride was a physicist who dared to enter the all-male universe of space travel and put her name into a pool of applicants for NASA’s space shuttle program. In 1978, she won a spot over 1,000 other applicants and spent the next five years enduring NASA’s rigorous training program. Finally, on June 18, 1983, Ride made her place in history as she took off with her male colleagues aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She took one more trip on the craft and retired from the NASA program after Challenger exploded in 1986. In 2001, Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, with an emphasis on urging girls to explore careers in engineering, math and science.
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 