Author Archives: dcaligari

To A Squirrel At Kyle-Na-No. Come play with me;Why should you runThrough the shaking treeAs though I’d a gunTo strike you dead?When all I would doIs to scratch your headAnd let you go. For some reason, today is Squirrel Appreciation Day Demand Euphoria!

January 20, 1993 –The Supreme Court let stand on this date, a $2.5 million award to Tom Waits over use of what the singer had charged was a sound-alike artist to mimic his voice in a television commercial. Although Tom Waits was notoriously against selling himself in commercials, he did let his principles slip slightlyContinue reading “Tom Waits wins a big lawsuit”

January 20, 1982 –While playing in Iowa to promote the release of his second solo album The Diary of a Madman, a live bat was thrown onstage in front of and, dazed by the bright spotlights and its hard landing, (the bat) was knocked unconscious. Ozzy, thinking that the bat was made of rubber, proceededContinue reading “Ozzy cemented his reputation”

Jimmy Naismith was born in Ramsay township in Ontario, Canada in 1861. He grew up and eventually went to McGill University in Montreal. He became their Athletic Director and in 1891 he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, to take a post at the YMCA Training School. It was there that he was confronted with the problemContinue reading “The first Peachball game”

Today is National Disc Jockey Day – The day is celebrated in remembrance of the death of Albert James “Alan” Freed, (AKA Moondog,) the man who coined the term “Rock ‘n’ Roll”. The first DJ, or Disc Jockey, was sixteen-year-old student Ray Newby, who played the first records over the airwaves at Herrold College ofContinue reading “I am what I play”

January 20, 2006 –Once upon a time, Kenny Ortega mega-hit teen musical, High School Musical starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale premiered on the Disney Channel, on this date. (This was my daughters favorite movie for a time – when they were very young children.) Zac Efron’s singing voice was that of DrewContinue reading “High School Musical premiered”

The series that some consider one of the best dramas ever on TV, Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan and starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul premieres on AMC on this date. In 2005, after Showtime, TNT, and HBO rejected the initial pitch for the series, FX stepped in and immediately began development on theContinue reading “Breaking Bad premiered”

January 19, 1949 –I believe that my music is just about feelings, and the style is just a side effect. Robert Palmer, blue-eyed soul singer, was born on this date.

January 19, 1952 –In the first match-up between Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny, Operation: Rabbit, directed by Chuck Jones, premiered on this date. This was the second cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote (following 1949’s Fast and Furry-ous), and the first in which he is identified by his full name. It is also theContinue reading “Operation: Rabbit premiered”

January 19, 1953 –68% of all television sets in the United States were tuned in to I Love Lucy on this date to watch Lucy give birth to a baby boy – the same day Lucille Ball gave birth to her son, Desi Arnaz Junior. All the while they couldn’t say pregnant on TV orContinue reading “Lucy Goes To The Hospital premiered”