Author Archives: dcaligari

June 7, 1954 –Despondent over court-ordered estrogen treatments to cure his homosexuality, Alan Turing committed suicide by consuming an apple laced with cyanide. (His inspiration – Snow White, his favorite movie.) Turing is considered the founder of modern computing, a pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and a crucial member of the team thatContinue reading “Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.”

It’s Dean Martin’s, Tom Jones’ and Prince’s birthday today. Think of the number of children conceived listening to their music. Demand Euphoria!

June 6, 1972 –David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on this date. Iggy Pop (note the name: zIGGY), Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Gene Vincent and Jimi Hendrix (“He played it left hand, but made it too far” – Hendrix was left-handed), were all likely influences onContinue reading “Today in Rock History”

June 5, 1975 –… Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!… During the Wish You Were Here recording sessions on this date, Syd Barrett just happens to wander into Abbey Road studio while Pink Floyd were mixing Shine On You Crazy Diamond, a song written about Barrett. At first, none of Syd’sContinue reading “Today in Rock History”

June 4, 1983 –The Police started a four week run at No.1 in the UK with a cut from their album Synchronicity, Every Breath You Take, (the group’s fifth and final No.1 single,) on this date. The Police performed this when they were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. TheyContinue reading “My poor heart aches …”

The Freemasons were officially founded in London on June 4, 1717. The Freemasons are not a secret society of assassins. They do not have Cesar Borgia’s head preserved in an urn filled with grappa. They were not responsible for the French Revolution. They did not kidnap Anastasia Romanov. They are not in control of theContinue reading “The triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

June 4, 1982 –Paramount released the epic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which should have been titled, Battle of the Outrageous Toups) opened on this date. Producers went ahead with a movie script featuring Khan, taking this for granted that Ricardo Montalban would be interested in or available for this film. Specifically, thisContinue reading “Today in Film History”

June 3, 1972 –The Staple Singers’ song, I’ll Take You There, hits #1 as the group makes a successful transition from gospel to secular music. This was the first of two #1 hits for the Staple Singers, the other is Let’s Do It Again. The Staple Singers were among the first groups to move fromContinue reading “Today in Rock History”

June 2, 1953 –Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor-Mountbatten officially becomes the head of her family’s business and had her coronation on this date. The entire ceremony was, save for the anointing and communion, televised throughout the Commonwealth, and was watched by an estimated 20 million people, with 12 million more listening on the radio. The Queen’sContinue reading “Just another day at the office”

June is the sixth month of the year and consists of thirty days. The ancient Romans gave it 29 days until 46 BC, when Julius Caesar added the thirtieth for reasons known only to himself (Caesar’s hobbies seem to be conquest of the known world, sleeping with some very rich North African teenager and calendarContinue reading “The month of leaves and roses”