Author Archives: dcaligari

July 11, 1533 –The story of its origins is shrouded in sex and therefore important. Henry VIII assumed the English throne in 1509, an energetic young man of seventeen. He immediately decided to have a male heir. This became the enduring theme of his reign and he consequently came to be known as The SonContinue reading “The Church of England came into being on this date.”

ACME would like to issue their annual summer public service announcement concerning Brain Freeze (also known as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia) – Now to the point at hand – Why bring this up? The date today is 7/11 (at least in this country. Foreigners and other degenerates refer to the day as 11/7 but that’s another story…)Continue reading “Given the heat wave – something we can get behind”

Inventor and electromechanical genius Nikola Tesla, the man who invented the 20th Century, was born to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia on July 10, 1856 . Remember, if we could only harness the free floating electricity, we could do away with the electric companies. And so it goes

July 10, 1966 –The follow-up to the Japanese science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultra Q, Ultraman, premiered in Japan on this date. (I have seen it listed as having first aired one week later July 17, 1966. Who knows, I wasn’t in Japan at he time.) The sequences of Ultraman battling monstersContinue reading “Perhaps you saw it, perhaps you didn’t”

July 10, 1942 –Orson Welles‘ butchered masterpiece, The Magnificent Ambersons, was released by RKO Pictures, on this date. After a disastrous preview (which occurred a week after the Pearl Harbor attack,) it was clear to the execs at RKO that the film was too long, too dense and too somber. Orson Welles, however, had decampedContinue reading “The Magnificent Ambersons opened”

July 10, 1972 –Harry Nilsson’s eighth album, Son of Schmilsson was released on this date. It featured George Harrison under the name George Harrysong and Ringo Starr, listed as Richie Snare, on some of the tracks. Peter Frampton also played guitar on most of the album.

July 9, 1966 –The Beatles song Paperback Writer, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The B-side to this single was John Lennon’s Rain. Paul and John would always compete for the A-side of The Beatles singles.

July 9, 1983 –The Police song Every Breath You Take went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. It is about an obsessive stalker, but it sounds like a love song. Some people even used it as their wedding song.

July 9, 1999 –Universal Pictures finally shined a light on the world of pastriality when American Pie, starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, and Shannon Elizabeth was released in the US on this date. Eugene Levy was told he could improvise much of the dialogue for his character, includingContinue reading “American Pie first offered up a slice”

July 9, 2001 – The mockumentary The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and starring Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman first aired on BBC Two, on this date. The series started as a small, home-made video by Stephen Merchant when he was trying to get a job at the BBC. He came upContinue reading “The Office premiered”