Interrogatories
Who is your favorite Republican (living or dead)?
If Sarah Palin starts her own political party, what should she call it?
Have you ever been emancipated in any way?
What are the best beans? What is the best way to eat them?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1775, General George Washington took command of the Continental Army.
In 1844, the last two known Great Auks (flightless birds) were killed. By collectors! Ugh. Hopefully some still exist somewhere, far away from predatory humans.
In 1863, in a victory for Northern forces, the Battle of Gettysburg came to an end after 3 days of fighting.
In 1890, Idaho became the 43rd State.
In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down passenger airliner Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 aboard. They later claimed they thought it was a warplane. The U.S. settled with the families of the victims, but never apologized.
In 2005, Spain legalized same sex marriage.
In 2009, in a meandering and not-completely-coherent speech, Alaskan governor and right wing darling Sarah Palin announced she was resigning the governorship.
Born on This Day
1590 – Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana, Italian singer, organist, and composer (d. 1662)
1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish architect and designer, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
1738 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
1825 - William Strutt, English painter (d. 1915)
1825 - Erskine Nicol, Scottish painter (d. 1904) (see Tipple Jar)
1843 - Edmund Berninger, German artist (d. 1909)
1755 - Lazare Bruandet, French painter (d. 1804)
1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck German painter (d. 1869)
1852 - Theodore Robinson, US Impressionist painter (d. 1896)
1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1907)
1878 – George M. Cohan, American actor, director, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
1893 – Mississippi John Hurt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
1906 – George Sanders, English actor (d. 1972)
1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American writer (d. 1992)
1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist (d. 1965)
1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952
1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpeter (d. 1997)
1927 – Ken Russell, English director (Women in Love, Tommy) (d. 2011)
1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American conservative gazillionaire
1932 - Alberto Dutary, Panamanian painter (d. 1998)
1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright
1940 – Lamar Alexander, Republican Senator from Tennessee (moderate by Tennessee standards, which isn't saying much)
1940 – Fontella Bass, American singer-songwriter (Rescue Me) (d. 2012)
1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer
1943 – Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter and musician (The Seekers)
1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
1947 – Dave Barry, American comedian and author
1947 – Top Topham, English guitarist (first lead guitarist for the Yardbirds before they were successful, and the only one not to be come a Guitar God)
1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Little Feat)
1949 – Jan Smithers, American actress
1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and musician (Free, Sharks, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
1956 – Montel Williams, American actor and talk show host
1957 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2004)
1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Erasure, and VCMG)
1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor, writer, director, producer, and not particularly effective ambassador for Scientology.
1969 – Kevin Hearn, Canadian singer and musician (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics, and Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle)
1971 – Julian Assange, Australian founder of WikiLeaks, accused rapist
1980 – Olivia Munn, American actress, model, and author (The Newsroom)
Died on This Day
1672 – Francis Willughby, English biologist (b. 1635)
1749 – William Jones, Welsh mathematician (b. 1675)
1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, explorer, author, and astronomer, governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
1858 – Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
1860 - Simon Saint-Jean, French still life painter (b. 1808)
1895 - Théodore Gérard, Belgian painter (b. 1829)
1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
1929 - Pascal Dagnan Bouveret, French Realist painter and photographer (b. 1852)
1965 – Trigger, American acting horse (b. 1932)
1969 – Brian Jones, English musician, composer, and producer (The Rolling Stones) (b. 1942)
1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and actor (The Doors) (b. 1943)
1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
1988 - Agustín Segura Iglesias, Spanish painter (b. 1900)
1989 – Jim Backus, American actor (Thurston Howell III and Mr. Magoo's voice) (b. 1913)
1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Morphine and Treat Her Right) (b. 1952)
2005 – Pierre Michelot, French double bass player (b. 1928)
2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American Governor and Senator (Democrat, Wisconsin) (b. 1916)
2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, director, producer and writer (b. 1926)
Today is
Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
Women's Day (Myanmar)
National Chocolate Wafer Day
National Eat Beans Day
Stay Out of the Sun Day
Compliment Your Mirror Day
Disobedience Day (you might want to keep this one from the kids)