Author Archives: dcaligari

January 15, 1967 –Ed Sullivan, when he wasn’t fall down drunk, swore a lot. He swore that his arch-rival, Walter Winchell was a goddamned bastard. He swore that his ‘so called friend‘ J Edgar Hoover was a goddamned transvestite but surprising spry in his cha-cha heels. And he swore that those goddamned filthy limey boys,Continue reading “You used to not be able to say certain things on TV”

Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Please try to remember the reason we have a three day weekend; it’s Martin Luther King Day. To celebrate the day and the man, I’d like you to once again opine these words: There comes a time when one must take a position that isContinue reading “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”

January 14, 1957 –I should never have switched from scotch to martinis Humphrey Bogart, the Greatest Male Star of All Time, model for the Gerber baby and founding member of the Hollywood Rat Pack (a phrase coined by Lauren Bacall) finally decided to let the world catch up with his three drink lead and succumbsContinue reading “Humphrey Bogart”

January 14, 1980 –The Blues Brothers movie with Dan Akroyd and John Belushi opened on this date. John Belushi was nicknamed ‘The Black Hole’ onset, as he went through hundreds of pairs of sunglasses during production. He would do a scene and then lose the pair before filming the next one.

January 14, 1972 –Sanford and Son, featuring comedian Redd Foxx (whose last name was really Sanford) and Demond Wilson, premiered on NBC-TV on this date. Throughout the series, whenever Lamont threatened to move out, or things did not go Fred’s way, he would clutch his chest and fake a heart attack, shouting variations of “HearContinue reading “You Dummy!”

January 14, 1956 – Little Richard released Tutti Frutti on this date, (to fully take advantage of the healing powers of Little Richard, much like Elvis – you must remove all your clothing (underwears optional) and dance around the house, continually touching your afflicted regions.) This song introduced Little Richard’s famous “Whooooo,” and also aContinue reading “Stupid record buying public.”

January 13, 1989 –British comedy sketch show series A Bit of Fry and Laurie starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie debuts on BBC1 on this date. Stephen Fry was never able to convincingly fake hitting someone, so often he genuinely hit Hugh Laurie while filming the sketches.

January 13, 1945 – One of the ‘banned’ World War II Looney Tunes cartoons, Herr meets Hare, premiered on this date. This cartoon marks the first appearance of Bugs’ classic “left turn at Albuquerque” joke. The cartoon was finally broadcast in its entirety in July, 2001, on a special episode of the Cartoon Network’s programContinue reading “Herr meets Hare premiered”

January 13, 1962 –Television: A medium. So called because it’s neither rare nor well done. Ernie Kovacs was killed in an automobile accident when he lost control of his Chevrolet Corvair station wagon while turning fast. Crashing into a power pole at the corner of Beverly Glen and Santa Monica Boulevards, he was thrown halfwayContinue reading “Ernie Kovacs”

Bunkies, the folks at ADS are going to use a vulgarity and I am merely going to quote them: According to the American Dialect Society – “enshittification” was chosen as Word of the Year (2023)  in its annual vote. It was the 34th anniversary of the society’s original Word of the Year vote in DecemberContinue reading “Oh those cunning linguists.”