Author Archives: dcaligari

August 18, 1905 –Roald Amundsen and his crew of six aboard Gjøe, a converted herring boat, made contact with the US Coast Guard cutter Bear which confirmed their crossing the Northwest Passage following a 26-month journey, on this date. but what the hell do you care. Today is National Bad Poetry Day in the UnitedContinue reading “A poet can survive everything but a misprint.”

Today is as Cat Night. The term Cat Night harks back to a rather obscure old Irish legend concerning witches and the belief that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us theContinue reading “Remember the dog days are over”

August 17, 1960 –A great George Pal sci-fi classic, The Time Machine was released on this date. George Pal wanted the disk on the machine to spin clockwise for travel into the future and counter-clockwise for travel into the past. Due to the way the mechanism was built it was deemed too expensive and time-consumingContinue reading “The Time Machine opened”

August 17, 1979 – Handmade Films released the classic religious satire film, Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the US on this date. After the first take of the scene where a nude Brian addresses the crowd from his window, actor, writer, and director Terry Jones pulled Graham Chapman aside and said, “I think weContinue reading “Always look on the bright side of life”

August 17, 1943 –Robert De Niro, American actor, was born on this date. He and Martin Scorsese were brought up blocks apart in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan, but never formally met when they were young. When introduced at a party in 1972, the two came to realize that they had seen each otherContinue reading “Robert Anthony De Niro”

August 17, 1974 –Eric Clapton’s second studio album 461 Ocean Boulevard, started a four-week run at No.1 on the Billboard charts on this date. The house featured on the album cover is 461 Ocean Boulevard in the town of Golden Beach, Florida near Miami where Clapton lived while making the album. He recorded the albumContinue reading “461 Ocean Boulevard topped the charts”

August 16, 1962 –The Beatles fired their original drummer Pete Best in favor of Ringo Starr on this date. Afterwards, Best formed a new band and released the album: Best of the Beatles, a play on his own name. This led to disappointment from fans who bought the album without reading the track listing.

August 16, 1969 –Eric Clapton’s supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album, on this date. On the cover is a photo of a naked 11-year-old girl holding a model spacecraft. An alternate cover with a band photo was issued in America for stores that refused to stock it. Blind Faith was one of the firstContinue reading “Blind Faith’s first album”

August 16, 1940 –The first of Alfred Hitchcock’s war-time thrillers, Foreign Correspondent, starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day and Herbert Marshall, opened on this date. Shooting was completed on May 29, 1940, after which director Alfred Hitchcock made a visit to England. He returned on July 3 with the word that the Germans were expected toContinue reading “Foreign Correspondent premiered”

August 16, 1985 – CBS-TV’s adaptation of the Arthur Miller classic Death of A Salesman, directed by Volker Schlöndorff and starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich premiered on this date. Author Arthur Miller always pictured Willy Loman as a short, weak man with a booming voice. After nearly forty years, Miller finally got his wishContinue reading “Attention must be paid”