Author Archives: dcaligari

July 13th –July’s Full Moon is known as the Full Buck Moon, when the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. A disgusting image – bone pushing through flesh – for your early morning. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason thatContinue reading “A non-Manhattanhenge update”

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 went to the top of the charts”

July 13, 1985 –37 years ago, I had only recently patented the long birthday weekend…. (I love that WNEW thought that George Segal and Marilyn McCoo were the perfect host for their coverage of Live Aid.) (Find time to watch this short documentary about Bob Geldorf and his feelings about Live Aid.) (still the greatestContinue reading “Live Aid premiered”

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 Blackout”

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 “The Hollywood Sign first appeared”

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 Rolling Stones first gig”

July 12, 1960 –In 1955, a French electrician named André Cassagnes got an idea for a new toy after seeing how an electrostatic charge could hold aluminum powder to glass. He worked up a prototype for the toy—based on the design of a television screen—in his basement workshop and called it L’Ecran Magique, or theContinue reading “Etch-A-Sketch”

Make sure you check out this year’s Godzilla’s Atoll LPs) Demand Euphoria!

Tonight the sun will once again be perfectly lined up with the east-west streets of New York. you could try catching it again at 8:21 pm ET (but it actually might be stormy). Those Illuminati are generous, aren’t they? (And hey, pay attention to the traffic lights. Don’t ruin my birthday by getting run overContinue reading “If you missed seeing Manhattanhenge last night –”

July 12, 1990 – Viewers first met Dr. Joel Fleischman and the folks in Cicely, Alaska when Northern Exposure premiered on CBS TV on this date. The mural for Roslyn’s Café in the opening credits is an actual café. The apostrophe and an S was added in since the show is supposed to take placeContinue reading “Northern Exposure premiered”