Author Archives: dcaligari

April 7, 1979 – With Richard Benjamin as the guest host, Rickie Lee Jones is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, on this date. She performs her hits Chuck E.’s In Love and Coolsville. The episode is notable not only for Rickie Lee Jones performance but it is the first appearance of Rodney DangerfieldContinue reading “We found out what happened at the Pantages”

April 7, 1939 –That little old Italian wine maker, Francis Ford Coppola, (who is also a magazine publisher and hotelier) was born on this date. Like Martin Scorsese, Coppola was a sickly youth, a case of polio which allowed him time to indulge in puppet theater and home movies.

April 7, 1933 –Today is National Beer Day. While it is not actual a national holiday, in March of 1933, President Roosevelt signed the Cullen–Harrison Act allowing the sale of beer once again with the proviso, the beer remain no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, the first legal alcohol allowed since Prohibition began inContinue reading “Beer: Because adulting is hard.”

Today is National Caramel Popcorn Day – enjoy! It’s also Sorry Charlie Day. The day is dedicated to remind us that we have all been rejected, and yet somehow survived it. Celebrate this day by taking a minute to remember a past rejection. After doing this, be happy and realize the fact, that most ofContinue reading “Adding nuts is between you and your God”

April 6, 1946 – Another in the series of Daffy/ Porky cartoons, Daffy Doodles, premiered on this date. This cartoon is the first full-length cartoon that animator Robert McKimson directed.

April 6, 1967 – The Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever premiered on this date. It has been considered the best episode of the series by fans, critics, and crew alike. The episode was widely be considered controversial for a number of reasons, not the least is which is that theContinue reading “Arguably the best Star Trek episode”

April 6, 1936 – Flash Gordon: The Planet of Peril, a film serial which tells the story of three people from Earth who travel to the planet Mongo to fight the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless, opened on this date. Despite its large budget, this serial utilized many sets from other Universal films, such asContinue reading “The first Flash Gordon serial premiered”

April 6, 1992 –RCA Records released Annie Lennox’s debut solo studio album, Diva, in the UK, on this date. Annie Lennox had plenty to write about when she started work on the Diva album: She had recently become a mother, her father had died, and she was just getting going as a solo artist.

It was on this day in 1614 that Pocahontas married John Rolfe (and not John Smith) in the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia. The story of Pocahontas has become an American legend; it’s been retold countless times, in history books, novels, poems, TV shows, and movies. Many versions distort the facts by focusing on Pocahontas‘Continue reading “File under: More Lies My Teacher Told Me”

April 5, 1902 –Maurice Ravel’s Pavane pour une Infante Défunte, (Pavane for a Dead Princess) premiered in Paris, France on this date. You may now feel morally superior to the person in the next cubicle for knowing this.