Author Archives: dcaligari

Prague has always been a tough town for elected officials. On July 30, 1419, Jan Želivský, a Hussite priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snows, led his congregation in a procession through the streets of Prague to the Town Hall. The town council had refused to exchange their Hussite prisoners, andContinue reading “Keep passing the open windows”

President Richard Nixon might be considered on of the most controversial presidents but he did like his martinis. He liked a specific style of martini featuring a 7-to-1 gin-to-vermouth ratio, olives soaked in vermouth, and a preparation that was famously shaken vigorously enough that ice shards appear atop the glass rather than stirred. And afterContinue reading “Another great moment in Presidential history”

July 29, 1965 –The Beatles movie Help! opened in London on this date. By Paul McCartney’s and Ringo Starr’s own admission, they were so stoned on pot the day they shot the scene where Dr. Foot (Victor Spinetti) and Algernon (Roy Kinnear) tried to blow them up in the Austrian Alps, that when George HarrisonContinue reading “A fiendish thingie!”

July 29, 1972 –Gilbert O’Sullivan topped the charts with his hit Alone Again (Naturally) on this date. (I will not take responsibility for the following ear worm; listen to the clip at your own risk.) This was Irish-born singer Gilbert O’Sullivan’s only American #1. It sold 2 million copies, spent six weeks at the summitContinue reading “In a little while from now”

July 29, 1961 – The Merrie Melodies short, Compressed Hare, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, was released on this date This marks the last Bugs Bunny cartoon of the Golden Age of Animations where Wile E. Coyote talks.

July 29, 1939 – The Merrie Melodies short, Snow Man’s Land, directed by Chuck Jones, was released on this date The main Mountie is voiced by Pinto Colvig, using his Goofy voice.

July 29, 1959 –Another campy cult classic William Castle flick (this time featuring ‘Percepto‘,) The Tingler opened on this date. William Castle toyed with other ideas to frighten audience members, in addition to ‘percepto‘; among them: rolling bean bags to brush against the legs of audience members, speakers mounted at different areas that would giveContinue reading “The Tingle is loose in the audience!”

July 29, 1976 –The adventure film, Swashbuckler, directed by James Goldstone, and starring Robert Shaw, James Earl Jones, Peter Boyle, Geneviève Bujold, Beau Bridges and Geoffrey Holder, was released on this date. In an interview, Geneviève Bujold talked about her nude swimming scene. “In Puerto Vallarta I had to dive naked from the pirate shipContinue reading “Swashbuckler premiered”

Today is Lasagna Day. I’m not going to lie to you – I don’t believe you can just whip up a lasagna together in a day. It’s going to take you a day or two just to collect all of the ingredients. Why not have a nice family dinner this coming weekend by planning onContinue reading “Take life one layer at a time”

President Lyndon B. Johnson frequently engaged in high-speed joyrides around his Stonewall, Texas ranch while sipping Cutty Sark Scotch and soda out of a large, white Styrofoam cup. When his cup was empty, he would slow the vehicle down to a rolling pace, extend his arm out the window, and rattle the ice cubes andContinue reading “Great moments in Presidential history”