Author Archives: dcaligari

Today is Diwali, one of the biggest and brightest of all the Hindu celebrations. An ancient festival celebrating the triumph of light over dark and good over evil; the day is also significant in other religions including Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word, “deepawali”, meaning “row of lights”. The dayContinue reading “Most religions have a festival of lights”

November 12, 1964 –On his 19th birthday, Neil Young wrote Sugar Mountain, where he reflects on his fleeting youth (“You can’t be 20 on Sugar Mountain“), the first formal release was a recording of the song made on November 10, 1968. Joni Mitchell’s The Circle Game was inspired by this song. As she explained toContinue reading “We all went to Sugar Mountain for the first time”

November 12, 1912 –The bodies of Captain Robert Scott and his men were found on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, frozen solid in one huge block of ice, on this date. So he had literally become Scott of the Antarctic.

Before you go – The English department store chain, John Lewis and Partners released their annual holiday advert, (apparently this is one of the more highly anticipated commercials.) This year’s ad, surprisingly was not a tear-jerker, (almost). No need to warn you to grab your tissue box.

November 12, 2008 –Danny Boyle’s international hit, Slumdog Millionaire, starring Dev Patel and Freida Pinto went into limited release in the US on this date. Longiness Fernandes was the choreographer of the dance sequence set to the song Jai Ho, which is played during the end credits. But his name was inadvertently left out inContinue reading “Slumdog Millionaire opened”

November 12, 1992 – The screamingly funny TV comedy Absolutely Fabulous, written by Jennifer Saunders, starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley first aired on the BBC on this date. The inspiration for casting Joanna Lumley as Patsy came from a sketch on The Full Wax. There, Ruby Wax interviewed Lumley, where the actress (who hadContinue reading “Ab Fab premiered on the BBC”

November 11, 1985 – One of the first major films dealing with AIDS, An Early Frost, starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, first aired on NBC-TV on this date. Aidan Quinn (Michael) remembers that NBC’s Standards and Practices department were a constant (in Quinn’s words, “hovering“) presence on the set. TheyContinue reading “An Early Frost premiered”

November 11, 1978 –Donna Summer started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb’s MacArthur Park, which was also a hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968, (made No.5 in the UK). (Sorry for the earworm.) Jimmy Webb, whose songwriting credits include Up-Up and Away andContinue reading “MacArthur Park topped the charts”

November 11, 1959 – The beginning of American independent cinema can be traced to this date when Shadows, directed by John Cassavetes, opened in NYC. Shot with a 16mm handheld camera on the streets of New York. Most of the dialog was improvised, while all the crew were fellow class members of John Cassavetes orContinue reading “Shadows premiered”

At 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918 French Army clerk Henri Deledicq finished typing the peace treaty that would end World War I. He had put the carbon paper in backwards. Ten minutes later, in a railroad car in France, military leaders signed copies of an armistice that were completely unreadable. World War I endedContinue reading “Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.”