Author Archives: dcaligari

July 27, 1922 –Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything. Norman Milton Lear, television writer and film and television producer was born on this date,Continue reading “Norman Lear’s Birthday”

July 26, 1980 –The Rolling Stones started a seven week run at No.1 (the group’s eighth US No.1,) on the US album chart with Emotional Rescue, on this date. Mick Jagger sang much of this in a falsetto, which was the thing to do with disco songs. The Bee Gees did the same thing, butContinue reading “Emotional Rescue hit the top of the charts”

July 26, 1956 –A little more than 11 hours after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm, the Italian liner Andrea Doria, carrying 1,134 passengers and 572 crew, sank off New England coast. 46 people on the Andrea Doria and 5 crew members of the Stockholm died as a result of the crash. The SS IleContinue reading “Andrea Doria sank”

July 26, 1951 –Walt Disney’s 13th animated feature, Alice in Wonderland, premiered in the UK and New York City on this date. Continuing the pattern of film versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland not being commercially successful, this movie was a huge box office failure. However, it did become something of a cult film duringContinue reading “Alice in Wonderland premiered”

July 26, 2006 –The directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, went into limited release on this date. All of the girls acting as participants in the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant, exceptContinue reading “Little Miss Sunshine premiered”

July 25, 1984 –Russian astronaut Svetlana Savitskaya performed a space walk while stationed on the Soviet space station Salyut 7, becoming the first woman who walking in space. She also was the second woman in space – the first was Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova, 17 years earlier. And so it goes

July 25, 1865 –Dr. James Barry, British military medical officer and senior inspector general, died on this date. As the good doctor was being laid out, a charwoman, Sophia Bishop noticed that Barry was a ‘perfect female‘. She satisfied her curiosity and also noticed what appeared to be stretch marks on Barry’s stomach indicating theContinue reading “Hire more discreet domestic help”

St. Christopher was once the patron saint of bachelors, travelers, transportation workers, protector against sudden death and toothaches. The Saint Christopher feast day, celebrated on July 25, was removed from the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969. But by all means, please feel free to continue to pray to this beleaguered saint (or non-saint.)Continue reading “The mercy of heaven is greater than you or your sins.”

July 25, 1965 –The ever-changing Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, on this date. Dylan’s electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival surprised his audience — and not in a good way. The crowd booed, even when heContinue reading “Dylan goes electric”

July 25, 1953 –The Merrie Melodies cartoon, Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century, starring Daffy Duck as space hero Duck Dodgers, Porky Pig as his assistant and Marvin the Martian as his opponent, was released on this date Considering the period in which the cartoon was produced (the Second Red Scare was in fullContinue reading “Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century premiered”