Author Archives: dcaligari

December 30, 1965 –Unbelievably but The Kinks, The Who, Manfred Mann, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers all appeared on the episode of Shindig!, on this date. The show was canceled in 1966, after experimenting unsuccessfully with more mainstream musical guests

December 30, 1951 –The Roy Rogers TV Show, surprisingly starring Roy Rogers, Dave Evans, Trigger, the Golden Palomino, and Bullet, the Wonder Dog premiered on NBC-TV, on this date. The phrase “Whoa Nelly!” originated with Pat Brady. Nelly was short for Nellybelle, the name of his cantankerous Jeep. He used the phrase in nearly everyContinue reading “We started rolling along with the tumbleweeds”

December 29, 1967 –Sergio Leone’s iconic Spaghetti Western, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, opened in the US on this date. The term originated in the 1960s, when it was cheaper to make movies in Italy than the United States. Moviemakers made their westerns thereContinue reading “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly premiered”

December 29, 1965 –The best James Bond title – Thunderball, opened in US on this date. The only Bond movie where we get a glimpse of all 00 Agents in one shot. They are summoned to M’s briefing, and 007 is the last to join in. He sits down in the only available chair, theContinue reading “Thunderball premiered”

December 29, 1967 – The Star Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles – arguably one of their most famous episodes – first aired on this date. To create the one tribble moving on its own, the prop supervisor bought a battery powered toy dog and stripped it down to the mechanical works. Once recovered withContinue reading “So would an ermine violin, Doctor”

Today is the Fifth Day of Christmas. Your house is currently stuffed with; five golden rings, eight calling birds, nine French hens, ten turtledoves and five partridges in their respective pear trees (begin thinking preserves.) The official gift tally total (37 gifts) Today is also the Feast of St. Thomas Becket who was the ArchbishopContinue reading “A gift we can get behind”

December 28, 1958 –Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York’s Yankee Stadium on this date. The game is considered the “Greatest Game Ever Played“. Its legendary status in the pantheon of historic NFL games was again confirmed by a nationwide pollContinue reading “Greatest Game Ever Played”

December 28, 1895 –Auguste and Louis Lumiere opened the first movie theater at the Grand Cafe in Paris, on this date . Other inventors, including Thomas Edison, were working on various moving picture devices at the time. But most of those other devices could only be viewed by one person at a time. The LumieresContinue reading “The first publicly exhibited film”

It’s the Fourth day of Christmas and you’ve just received four calling bird, sometimes know as colly birds or collie birds (which are actually blackbirds). Today’s score: you currently have 22 gifts – four calling birds, six French hens, eight turtledoves and four partridges in their respective pear trees (when do these trees become aContinue reading “Did you ever mention that you liked birds?”

December 28, 1968 –Marvin Gaye’s song I Heard It Through the Grapevine hit number #1 on this date. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. They refused to credit another writer, so Strong took itContinue reading “I Heard It Through the Grapevine topped the charts”