Author Archives: dcaligari

November 22, 1963 –We, in this country, in this generation, are – by destiny rather than choice – the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. – from the address that President John F. Kennedy never got to deliver in Dallas on this date. A covert CIA operation privately funded by a plutocratic cabal ofContinue reading “Appointment in Dallas”

November 22, 1968 – The Beatles released their long-awaited double album, simply called The Beatles, but better known as The White Album. The album was the first the Beatles undertook following the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, and the first released by their own record label, Apple.

November 22, 1963 –Unbeknowst to Phil Spector, he unfortunately chose this date to release his holiday record, A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, which he worked on all summer with his best musicians. Given the timing with the events in Dallas this day, the album suffers dismal sales initial. Later, the album wouldContinue reading “A gift that came on the wrong day”

November 22, 1965 –The documentary, Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees, narrated by Orson Welles, premiered on CBS, on this date. Watched by over 25 million viewers, the documentary brings Jane Goodall to international attention.

November 22, 1995 –Disney and Pixar released the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery, Toy Story, on this date. Billy Crystal was originally offered the chance to voice Buzz Lightyear, but declined. After seeing the finished film, he said the decision was the biggest mistake of his career. Upon learning this, John LasseterContinue reading “Toy Story premiered”

This year the UK food chain, Tesco, has hit upon a universal theme – how to get your teenage/young adult children in the holiday spirit. While I don’t know if taking them grocery shopping will really help, it did bring a little tear to my eye (but then again I will tear up for manyContinue reading “Feeling the Holiday Spirit”

November 21, 1942 –Babbit and Catstello, take-offs on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello try to catch Tweety bird (in his first appearance) in A Tale of Two Kitties, premiered on this date. Early model sheets for this short indicated that Tweety’s original name was Orson, but no name is given in the film. After censorsContinue reading “The first appearance of Tweety Bird”

November 21, 1980 –After several years delay and hopelessly over budget, MCA Records released seventh studio album by Steely Dan, Gaucho, on this date. MCA tried to recoup the cost of producing Gaucho by selling the album at $9.98 retail, rather than the average rate of $8.98 retail. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker couldn’t helpContinue reading “Arguably the best Steely Dan Album”

November 21, 1980 –In what was one of the most-watched TV cliffhangers in television history, 350 million viewers worldwide tuned into the television series Dallas to find out who had shot J.R. Ewing at the end of the show’s previous season. As it turned out, he was shot by his wife’s sister, who also wasContinue reading “Who shot J.R.”

November 21, 1931 – James Whale classic retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, debuted on this date. The Monster in this film does not physically resemble the character in Mary Shelley’s novel. It was make-up artist Jack P. Pierce who came up with innovations such as the Monster’s flat head, the bolts through the neck, theContinue reading “Frankenstein premiered”