Author Archives: dcaligari

November 26, 1977 –The Southern Television (an ITV broadcasting license holder for the South and South-East of England,) broadcast interruption, also known as the Vrillon Incident, was a hijacking of the British television broadcast on this date. An unidentified voice claiming to be Vrillon, a representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command, interrupted the ITN newsContinue reading “Our Alien Overlords tried to contact us”

November 26, 1956 –The seemingly ageless gameshow, The Price Is Right, hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo, first aired on CBS TV, on this date. (those smarty pants out there, may know that this is actual the second episode of the series – the first episode is lost in the ephemera ofContinue reading “The Price Is Right premiered”

Absolutely eat dessert first. The thing that you want to do the most, do that. Here’s one last British holiday commercial for this season, (except for whenever the second part of the Waitrose: Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery commercial is dropped.) Starbucks has created a holiday campaign by that encourages people to take a breakContinue reading “We’re two days away”

Alright, you’ve made it this far — it’s all downhill from here (in the best possible way). All good things come to an end, and so does your Thanksgiving meal. But as every great host knows, it’s best to let your guests bring a little something to share. However, if you feel the unshakable desireContinue reading “Absolutely Eat Dessert First”

November 25, 1967 –The Strawberry Alarm Clock single Incense And Peppermints hit #1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The group’s guitarist, who co-wrote this song, was Ed King. In 1970, an unknown band called Lynyrd Skynyrd opened some shows for The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and King got to know them. In 1973, KingContinue reading “Incense And Peppermints topped the charts”

November 25, 1920 –Contrary to popular belief, Macy’s didn’t host the first Thanksgiving Day parade (Macy’s held their first parade in 1924, tied for second in the nation with the J.L. Hudson’s Dept. store Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit) – that honor goes to their longtime (and now defunct) rival Gimbel Brothers (Gimbels), in Philadelphia,Continue reading “The actual first Thanksgiving’s Day parade”

November 25, 1940 – Walter Lantz’s introduced Woody Woodpecker with the release of Knock Knock on this date. Although Woody made his first appearance in this film, he doesn’t have a name until his next film, Woody Woodpecker.

November 25, 1987 –The now classic John Hughes’ Thanksgiving film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy, premiered in the US on this date. On instruction from John Hughes, Edie McClurg’s role as the St. Louis rental car agent was partially improvised. Hughes told her to simply riff a fake phone conversationContinue reading “Planes, Trains and Automobiles opened”

November 25, 1937 –William A. Wellman’s wonderful screwball comedy, Nothing Sacred, starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March, opened in NYC on this date. The snooty society matron who berates Hazel and Wally for “besmirching the memory of that gallant girl Hazel Flagg” is played by a well-known character actress whose acting career was on theContinue reading “Nothing Sacred premiered”

That’s one big heritage bird Not all of the UK holiday adverts are cleverly trying to sell you something. The charity organization, Big Issue, is trying to remind us of the spirit of the season: The spot features real Big Issue vendors and frontline workers revealing the top 12 reasons that a person could findContinue reading “You don’t need to call the Butterball hotline”