Author Archives: dcaligari

May 12, 1989 –The very silly sci-fi comedy Earth Girls Are Easy, directed by Julien Temple and starrings Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Julie Brown, Charles Rocket and Michael McKean, opened on this date. Jeff Goldblum taught acting at the time, and inexperienced actors Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans would often goContinue reading “Earth Girls Are Easy premiered”

May 12, 1960 –Elvis Presley guest-starred in The Frank Sinatra Timex Special (the show is commonly referred to as Welcome Home Elvis) on ABC-TV. This was Elvis‘ first appearance on TV in three years; he had only recently been discharged from the army. Elvis was paid an at the time incredible sum of $125,000 forContinue reading “Sinatra welcomed Elvis back”

Limerick, Ireland’s third largest city, was founded by the Vikings in 812. Some of Limerick’s well-known sons and daughters include actor Richard Harris, rock legends The Cranberries, broadcaster Terry Wogan, novelist and playwright Kate O’Brien and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt But that has nothing to do with the fact that it’s Edward Lear’s birthday.Continue reading “A delight when well done”

Happy 70th Birthday, Homer Simpson!

May 11, 12 and 13 are the feast days of Saints Mamertus, Pancras and Servais (or Servatuis or Gervatuis.) These three are known as the The Icy Saints not because they were cold during their lifetimes, but because these days are traditionally the coldest of the month. English and French folklore (and later American) heldContinue reading “Hopefully, it will only get warmer from here”

May 11, 1974 –ABC Records released Steely Dan’s Any Major Dude Will Tell You, on this date, (oh yeah, Rikki Don’t Lose that Number was the A-side.) “Have you ever seen a Squonk’s tears,” a Squonk is a mythical woodland creature who has the ability to dissolve in its own tears. Steely Dan came acrossContinue reading “I never seen you lookin’ so bad, my funky one”

May 11, 1957 – The Merrie Melodies short, Fox-Terror, directed by Bob McKimson, starring Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg, debuted on this date. This is one of the few Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg cartoons where both win at the end.

May 11, 1931 – Fritz Lang’s first sound film, M (Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder), starring Peter Lorre, opened in Berlin on this date. Fritz Lang’s cruelty to the actors was legendary. Peter Lorre was thrown down the stairs into the cellar over a dozen times. When Lang wanted to hire Lorre for Human DesireContinue reading “M premiered”

May 11, 1969 –It’s … the day the Monty Python comedy troupe was formed. John Cleese and Graham Chapman were introduced to Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin on the set of their British TV series, Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Today is World Lupus Day, created to help us understand that this seemingly random grab bag of symptoms is actually a debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease suffered by approximately 5 million people worldwide, with 1.5 million of them living in the United States alone. Awareness events for World Lupus Day are held in most of theContinue reading “Fears Not Faced Become Limits”