Interrogatories
What radio station(s) did you grow up on? What kind of music did they play? What tunes come to mind when you think back to those days?
Did you have a favorite Mouseketeer?
How do _you) define obscenity?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1949, the first U.S. radio station under black ownership went on the air in Atlanta, GA, under the call letters WERD.
In 1952, the U.K. successfully tested an atomic bomb, inside the hull of a ship off the coast of Western Australia.
In 1955, the Mickey Mouse club made its television debut on ABC.
In 1957, California State Superior Court Judge Clayton Horn ruled that Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Stories was not obscene, having "redeeming social importance."
In 1961, the Dick Van Dyke show debuted on CBS.
In 1990, Germany was reunified after the German Democratic Republic ended, with its territory reverting to the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 1995, ex-football hero O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
In 2008, Pretzeldent George W. Bush bailed out the "too big to fail" financial system when he signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Now conservatives blame Obama for this (he did vote for it).
Born on This Day
1644 - Adriaen Frans Boudewijns, Flemish painter (d. 1711)
1646 - Joseph Parrocel, French painter from a family that produced 14 painters in 6 generations (d. 1704)
1703 - Franz-Christoph Janneck, Austrian painter (d. 1761)
1716 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist (d. 1781)
1797 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1870)
1832 - Constant Mayer, French/American genre painter (d. 1911)
1835 - Stanislas Lépine, French Impressionist painter (d. 1892)
1858 – Eleonora Duse, legendary Italian stage actress (d. 1924)
1865 - Gustave Loiseau, French painter (d. 1935)
1867 - Pierre Bonnard, French painter (d. 1947)
1872 - Henri Evenepoel, Belgian painter (d. 1899)
1879 – Warner Oland, Swedish-American actor who is best known for playing the Chinese detective, Charlie Chan (because there were no Chinese actors around, right?) (d. 1938)
1882 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (d. 1974)
1894 – Elmer Robinson, American politician, 33rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1982)
1898 – Leo McCarey, American director and screenwriter (d. 1969)
1900 – Thomas Wolfe, American author (d. 1938)
1916 – James Herriot, English surgeon and author (d. 1995)
1922 - John Craxton, English painter (d. 2009)
1925 – Gore Vidal, American author, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2012)
1934 – Koo Nimo, Ghanaian singer and guitarist
1938 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960)
1941 – Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter
1949 – Lindsey Buckingham, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Fleetwood Mac)
1951 – Keb' Mo', American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Al Sharpton, American minister, talk show host, and activist
1954 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1990)
1962 – Tommy Lee, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and inadvertent porn star (Mötley Crüe)
1964 – Clive Owen, English actor (See Tipple Jar)
1969 – Gwen Stefani, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (No Doubt)
1973 – Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
1973 – Lena Headey, English actress
1979 – Josh Klinghoffer, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dot Hacker, Ataxia, and The Bicycle Thief)
Died on This Day
1226 – Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and saint (b. 1181)
1649 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian clergyman and theologian (b. 1576)
1685 - Johann Heinrich Roos, German painter (b. 1631)
1656 – Myles Standish, English-American military officer (b. 1584)
1830 - Robert Lefèvre, French painter (b. 1755)
1685 - Juan Carreño de Miranda, Spanish painter (b. 1614)
1838 – Black Hawk, American tribal leader (b. 1767)
1856 - Rafael Tejeo, Spanish painter (b. 1798)
1860 - Rembrandt Peale, U.S. painter from a famed American painting family (b. 1778)
1867 – Elias Howe, American inventor and engineer, invented the sewing machine (b. 1819)
1884 - Hans Makart, Austrian painter (b. 1840)
1892 - Paul Peel, Canadian painter (b. 1860)
1896 – William Morris, English author and poet (b. 1834)
1926 - Otto Eerelman, Dutch painter specializing in animals (b. 1839)
1929 – Jeanne Eagels, American actress (b. 1894)
1961 - Harold Knight, British painter (b. 1874)
1965 – Zachary Scott, American actor (b. 1914)
1967 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Almanac Singers) (b. 1912)
1969 – Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1902)
1987 – Jean Anouilh, French screenwriter (b. 1910)
1987 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter (b. 1947)
1998 – Roddy McDowall, English actor (b. 1928)
2000 – Benjamin Orr, American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Cars) (b. 1947)
2004 – Janet Leigh, American actress (b. 1927)
Today is
National Caramel Custard Day
Virus Appreciation Day