Author Archives: dcaligari

It was on this date in 1777 that the Stars and Stripes was adopted as the official flag of the United States of America. The first Flag Day observance was not held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1877, as some sites might tell you, butContinue reading “Please stand while you’re reading this”

There are 200 days until New Year’s Eve! Reservations are still available – Plan accordingly

June 13, 1970 –The Beatles song, The Long and Winding Road becomes their last U.S. number one hit on this date. The Beatles recorded this in January 1969 as a fairly simple ballad. By 1970, The Beatles were breaking up and and Phil Spector was brought in to go through the tapes and produce theContinue reading “… The wild and windy night that the rain washed away ….”

June 13, 1970 –The Mungo Jerry song, In The Summertime hit #1 in UK, on this date. The song was written by Ray Dorset, who was the group’s lead singer and guitarist. He penned the song in 1968 when he was working for Timex in the UK – his band was just getting started andContinue reading “Just in time for the upcoming warm weather”

June 13, 1980 –Meatloaf displayed the range of his talents when he played a roadie in the film Roadie, which opened in the U.S. on this date. It’s been mistakenly reported that screenplay was inspired by Alice Cooper’s 1977 song Road Rats (a tune about roadies which he re-recorded for the film). Originally, Cooper’s roleContinue reading “Roadie premiered”

June 13, 1962 –Stanley Kubrick’s take on Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel, Lolita, premiered on this date. Stanley Kubrick held a special screening for Vladimir Nabokov a few days before the film’s premiere. It was at this time the author learned that most of his screenplay had been jettisoned, but he reported himself very happy withContinue reading “Still a very controversial film”

June 13, 1865 – The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. – William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures in 20th Century literature, was born on this date. He won the Nobel Prize in 1923. He was brother of the artist Jack Butler Yeats, the sonContinue reading “W.B. Yeats”

It’s the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called the Evangelical Doctor. He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost (I’ve often wondered if Marcel ProustContinue reading “The breadth of charity widens the narrow heart of the sinner”

Each year on June 12, people in the United States observe National Red Rose Day. The day is honors the red rose, the flower that is a symbol of love and romance. Apparent the other color roses don’t have as strong a lobby. Today is also Crowded Nest Awareness Day. While this holiday has beenContinue reading “Love and a red rose can’t be hid”

June 12, 1839 –Alexander Cartwright, and not, Abner Doubleday, should be credited with the invention of Baseball, which was not created on this date. On the one hundredth anniversary of the apocryphal story, June 12, 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, New York (in an effort to bring tourists to town.)Continue reading “Baseball was not invented on this date”