Author Archives: dcaligari

February 4, 1966 –The Rolling Stones released 19th Nervous Breakdown, on this date. It goes on to reach No.2 on both the US and UK charts. The lyrics are an attack on spoiled brats who are given everything and are still unhappy. Jagger took pains to explain that the song was not autobiographical. Regarding theContinue reading “19th Nervous Breakdown went on sale”

Today is National Sweater Day in the United States and given how cold it is outside today, IT IS the best day to wear a sweater, striped of not. The first Thurday in February is the best day to wear a sweater for our neighbor to the North. It was National Sweater Day in CanadaContinue reading “An appropriate celebration for the day”

February 3, 1964 – Just prior to the Beatles invasion of the US, Meet the Beatles went ‘gold‘ on this date. Meet the Beatles! was The Beatles first “official” album in America, released on January 20, 1964 by Capitol Records, the sister company within EMI to their British label, Parlophone.

February 3, 1995 –Astronaut Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 is launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. STS-63 was the second mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first rendezvous of the American Space Shuttle with Russia’s space station Mir. In July 1999,Continue reading “Eileen Collins ride to the stars”

Today is the 13th day of the Lunar New Year. All of the festival food should probably be done by now. Most people just want to eat something simple on this day. Some people eat vegetarian foods to cleanse their digestive system (remember yesterday was Diarrhea Day.) This day is dedicated to the General GuanContinue reading “It’s lucky 13”

February 3, 1959 –The Day the Music Died: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper were on a tour called “Winter Dance Party” tour. The musicians were traveling from venue to venue on tour buses. A small plane carrying The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), Buddy Holly and Richie Valens crashed near Mason City, Iowa,Continue reading “Did you write the book of love?”

February 3, 1882 – P.T. Barnum purchased the elephant Jumbo on this date. He kept him for three years until the animal’s skull was crushed by a train. After his death, Jumbo’s skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The elephant’s heart was sold to Cornell University. Jumbo’sContinue reading “Maybe he should have stayed at the Zoo”

February 3, 1978 –The TV-movie Dead Man’s Curve, the first to deal with the tragic Jan & Dean story, premieres on ABC-TV on this date. Wolfmand Jack, Dick Clark, and Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, appear in the movie. In the film, Wolfman Jack introduces himself to Jan and Dean in a smallContinue reading “Dead Man’s Curve premiered”

February 3, 1945 – Walt Disney’s The Three Caballeros, premiered in the US, on the date. The premise of the film is that it is Donald Duck’s birthday and his friends give him a tour of Latin America as a gift. The date of the birthday is given as “Friday 13th” with no month specified.Continue reading “The Three Caballeros premiered”

Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives.Continue reading “Happy Marmot Day!”