Author Archives: dcaligari

June 16, 1904 –Happy Bloomsday! Every June 16 (the date on which the novel is set,) the reader of Ulysses celebrate the day Leo Bloom takes his famous walk around Dublin. James Joyce fans mark the date each year, greeting one another joyously Yes – yes – yes! they’ll nervously titter. They’ll think themselves veryContinue reading “There’ll be a lot of English Majors wandering around today”

June 16, 1960 – Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho opened in New York on this date. When the cast and crew began work on the first day, they had to raise their right hands and promise not to divulge one word of the story. Alfred Hitchcock also withheld the ending part of the script from his castContinue reading “Psycho premiered today”

Happy Bloomsday! June 16, 1904 –If you notice English majors greeting one another joyously saying, “Yes – yes – yes!” They’ll titter. It will all be terrific fun for them. And here’s the reason why – Today is the date on which all the events depicted in James Joyce’s famous novel Ulysses takes place, evenContinue reading “Longest way round is the shortest way home”

June 15, 1330 – King Edward III was a famous English king, celebrated for his invention of manners and discovery of the economy. He played tennis, and once famously rebuked the King of France for having sent him his balls in a box. King Edward established the Order of the Garter because he was whatContinue reading “So much history over unsupported hosiery:”

June 15, 1904 –The General Slocum worked as a passenger ship, taking people on excursions around New York City. On this date, the ship had been chartered for $350 by the St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the German district Little Germany, Manhattan. This was an annual rite for the group, which had made theContinue reading “The General Slocum disaster”

June 15, 1989 –Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, was released, on this date. The album Bleach initially sold about 35,000 copies, which was pretty good for an Indie band and got them signed to a major label. The album eventually sold over 1 million copies, as many Nirvana fans bought it after Cobain died. The albumContinue reading “Bleach was released”

Today is National lobster Day. I’m not sure if the holiday is celebrating this crustacean for its’ longevity or its’ delicious taste. Yes I know that if you are celebrating National Lobster Day today, you are celebrating the consumption of Canadian lobsters and not our own national variety. I don’t care, I love lobsters, especiallyContinue reading “Feeling a little shellfish tonight.”

June 14, 1983 – The BBC comedy series The Black Adder starring Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson premiered on this date. Rowan Atkinson has a stutter, which causes him to struggle with the letter ‘B.’ He has to visualise the letter before he says it – which is why he puts extra emphasis on wordsContinue reading “The Black Adder premiered”

June 15, 2007 – Bob Barker’s final episode as the host of The Price is Right airs on this date. Barker himself took it all in stride. He mentioned less about the occasion than he did for his 6,000th show. His final sign off at the close of the show: “Folks, I want to thankContinue reading “Bob Barker’s last day at work”

June 14, 1963 –The Soviet spacecraft Vostok 5 was launched into orbit on this date. Over the course of the next five days, Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky would set a new record for the longest manned space flight in history. The record would later be broken by the crew of Gemini 7, but Bykovsky will continueContinue reading “Vostok 5”