Author Archives: dcaligari

Lydia Kamekeha Liliuokalani was born on this date in 1838. Upon the death of her brother in 1891, she became sovereign Queen of Hawaii. This was considered posing by the American colonials of Hawaii, who reminded her that monarchy was unconstitutional in the United States. She reminded them that Hawaii was not part of theContinue reading “Think about this the next time you have any Dole pineapple”

Oranges may be the new black but it was originally green. Oranges are unknown in the wild. They are a hybrid of tangerines and the pomelo or “Chinese grapefruit” (which is pale green or yellow), and were first cultivated in south-east Asia. They weren’t orange, but green, and Vietnamese oranges and Thai tangerines are stillContinue reading “Green Juice does sound as appetizing”

September 2, 1950 –This program is brought to you by the Eagle Hands Laundry. Does your eagle have dirty mitts? … Here is one of my favorite non Bug Bunny Looney Tunes; the classic Daffy/ Porky outing, The Ducksters, was released on this date. On the game show Porky Pig wins: 1. The Rocky Mountains2.Continue reading “The Ducksters”

Oranges may be the new black but it was originally green. Oranges are unknown in the wild. They are a hybrid of tangerines and the pomelo or “Chinese grapefruit” (which is pale green or yellow), and were first cultivated in south-east Asia. They weren’t orange, but green, and Vietnamese oranges and Thai tangerines are stillContinue reading “Green Juice just doesn’t sound as appetizing”

September 1, 1914 –The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo on this date. There are various reasons for the extinction of the passenger pigeon – the main one unfortunately was they tasted so damn good broasted. Her body was frozen into a block of ice and sentContinue reading “Very proud, very sad, but very wise”

September 1, 1902 –Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon), written and directed by Georges Méliès, assisted by his brother Gaston, considered to be the first science fiction movie, was released on this date. After finishing work on the film, Georges Méliès intended to release it in America and thereby make lotsContinue reading “A Trip to the Moon”

Cleopatra was the first member of her dynasty to speak Ancient Egyptian. Ancient Egyptian is considered one of the most difficult languages to master in history. Well, Cleopatra was able to master it. Along with eight other languages including: Ancient Greek, Ancient Iranian, Ancient Parthian, Syriac, Ethiopian, Troglodytae, Hebrew and Arabic. Unfortunately she wasn’t asContinue reading “It’s always nice to learn a language”

September is the ninth month of the year, which is why its name is derived from the Latin Septem, meaning seven. (We have previously addressed this problem last month; see August, the Sixth Month.) On the French Revolutionary calendar, September is known as Vendémiaire (vintage,) and in Dutch, September is “the begining of autumn“, Hertmaand.Continue reading “Welcoming Summer’s Ghost”

August 31, 1879 –Alma Maria Schindler, noted in her native Vienna for her beauty and intelligence, was born on this date. In her youth she was an aspiring composer. But that’s not why I bring her up. She was the wife, successively, of the composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel, andContinue reading “Ach, that is the fräulein I must have!”

August 31, 1929 –RKO released the musical film-short St. Louis Blues, starring singer Bessie Smith, on this date. At W.C. Handy’s suggestion, Bessie Smith was picked to be the star of the film. Bessie had scored a huge hit in 1925 with her recording of St. Louis Blues, which had featured Louis Armstrong on cornet.Continue reading “St. Louis Blues”