Author Archives: dcaligari

July 14, 1933 – The iconic Popeye the Sailor, appeared in his first eponymous titled cartoon, on this date. (Kids, Betty, who is probably underage in this film, is not wearing a bra – so avert your eyes.) Popeye’s appearance is based on that of a fighter named Francis “Rocky” Fiegel whom his creator, ElzieContinue reading “The first Popeye the Sailor”

July 13, 1974 –George McRae’s single Rock Your Baby became the first disco song to hit #1 on this date. The song was written by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC & The Sunshine Band, and it formed the basis for their wildly successful writing and performing partnership which yielded five more USContinue reading “Rock Your Baby topped the charts”

July 13, 1977 –Starting at about 9 PM on this date, four lightning struck high-voltage transmission lines within the course of about half-an-hour, knocking out electricity and plunging millions of residents of New York City into a 25 hour black-out. The 1977 blackout, unlike the 1965 and 2003 blackouts, resulted in city-wide looting and otherContinue reading “The 1977 NYC Blackout”

If you missed seeing Manhattanhenge last night, you could try again tonight at 8:21 pm ET. Those Illuminati are generous, aren’t they? (And hey, pay attention to the traffic lights.)

July 13, 1985 –38 years ago, I had only recently patented the long birthday weekend…. (We weren’t cool enough to get MTV in The Bronx at the time, so we had to settle for the local TV broadcast of Live Aid.) (Find time to watch this short documentary about Bob Geldorf and his feelings aboutContinue reading “Live Aid began it’s broadcast”

July 13, 1923 –The Hollywood Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles on this date. It originally reads “Hollywoodland” but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949. Unfortunately it became a perennial favorite suicide location. Over the years, the sign had fallen into disrepair. A public campaign toContinue reading “An Icon is dedicated”

July 13, 1939 —When Frank Sinatra was just starting out as a singer, he carried his own P.A. system to the dives in which he typically performed. He got his big break when bandleader Harry James’ wife heard him sing as a waiter and recommended him to her husband. Sinatra made his first commercial recordingContinue reading “Sinatra’s first record”

July 12, 1962 –The Rolling Stones, (or more precisely, the group that they became) gave their first concert on this date. The concert was held in London at the Marquee Club. At the time, the band was called The Rollin’ Stones – they got their current name in 1963. One of the most successful groupsContinue reading “The first Rolling Stones’ gig”

July 12, 100 BCE –Julius Caesar was born on this date. He is famous for fighting the Garlic Wars and dying of the unkindest cut. His death so shocked the people of Rome that they buried him instead of praising him, although this may have been because he was a Proud Man. Interesting to noteContinue reading “A Boatload of celebrations”

It was great foresight on the part of our beloved city forefathers to lay out the city in such a way that this happens every year just around my birthday. Once again, the sun will be perfectly lined up with the east-west streets of New York. So get outside to catch the ‘Full Sun onContinue reading “Chasing the Sunset”