Author Archives: dcaligari

May 26, 1988 –Frank Sinatra appeared in a commercial for Michelob singing The Way You Look Tonight, as part of the brewery’s “The Night Belongs to Michelob” ad campaign. At the time, Anheuser-Busch marketing explained Sinatra’s presence in the ad, “We’re trying to show the length and breadth of ‘the night.’” That and the brewingContinue reading “Sinatra in a Michelob commercial”

Saint Vitalis of Assisi (not to be confused with St. Vitalis of Milan, patron saint of grey haired Lotharios) was an Italian hermit and monk who died in 1370. He became a saint despite an early life marked by licentiousness and immorality. However, in an attempt to atone he went on pilgrimages to various sanctuaries.Continue reading “I don’t believe the old ladies in the back of the church can help with this one”

May 25, 1979 –Twentieth Century Fox released the science fiction film Alien, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, and John Hurt, on this date. The blue laser lights that were used in the alien ship’s egg chamber were borrowed from The Who. The band was testing out the lasersContinue reading “Alien spawned”

Today is Towel Day. Remember a towel is “about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have.” Towel Day is celebrated every May 25th as a tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. On this day, fans carry a towel with them to demonstrate their love for the books andContinue reading “There’s a chockablock of things to celebrate”

May 25, 1999 – The final episode of Home Improvement, The Long And Winding Road aired on ABC-TV on this date. The character Wilson was based on Tim Allen’s childhood memories of when he was too short to see over a fence, and was therefore unable to see his neighbor.

May 25, 1977 – Even Satan took pity and released them from their eternal damnation when ABC TV aired the last episode of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour aired on this date. Maureen McCormick (Marcia) had become bulimic and developed addictions to cocaine and Quaaludes, which caused mysterious bruises on her arms and legs andContinue reading “The end of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour”

May 24, 1968 –The Rolling Stones released Jumping Jack Flash, in Britain, on this date. The Rolling Stones have played Jumping Jack Flash during every tour since its release; it ranks as the number the band has played in concert most frequently.

May 24, 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge (originally the New York and Brooklyn Bridge), one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretches 5,989 feet (1825 m) over the East River connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn opened for business today. On completion, it was the largest suspension bridgeContinue reading “After 14 years of traffic, the Brooklyn Bridge opened”

May 24, 1999 – The last episode of Mad About You: The Final Frontier aired on NBC on this date. (The re-boot of the series can be seen on Amazon TV.) The series exists in the same universe as Friends and Seinfeld. Ursula Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), the waitress, is Phoebe Buffay’s (Lisa Kudrow) twin sister,Continue reading “The Finale of Mad About You”

May 24, 1993 – The firm of Sugarbaker & Associates closed their doors when the final episode of Designing Women: Gone with a Whim was aired on CBS TV on this date. During Delta Burke’s falling out with the ladies on the show, she privately apologized to everyone. But it took over a decade forContinue reading “The Finale of Designing Women”