Author Archives: dcaligari

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 cast untilContinue reading “Why, she wouldn’t even harm a fly…”

June 16, 1997 –The Verve released Bitter Sweet Symphony in the UK on this date. The song lives up to it’s title: the song is a huge hit, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end up getting credits and royalties. The famous orchestral riff incorporates a sample from an obscure instrumental version of the 1965Continue reading “You’re a slave to money then you die”

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 “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake”

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 “Please take notes, this will be on the test:”

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. I don’t care, I love lobsters, especially in my tummy, floating in a sea of gin, especially BombayContinue reading “Today is National Lobster Day.”

June 15, 1960 –The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, opened in New York on this date. This is the film Billy Wilder completed after his smash hit Some Like It Hot. Jack Lemmon said he learned much about filmmaking from Billy Wilder, particularly the director’s use of “hooks,” bits of business the audienceContinue reading “Shut up and deal…”

It was on this date in 1777 that the Stars and Stripes was adopted as the official flag of the United States of America. The first Flag Day observance was not held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1877, as some sites might tell you, butContinue reading “Please rise during the reading of this”

June 14, 1939 –Ethel Waters became the first African-American singer to perform on television on this date when she appeared in an NBC variety show. (Unfortunately, other than publicity stills, the program was not recorded and videotapes of it do not exist.) Waters was also the first African-American woman to be given equal billing withContinue reading “I never felt I belonged. I was always an outsider.”

June 13, 1917 –18 German Gotha bomber planes flew over London in the first aerial bombardment in history (not counting Zeppelins). They were met by over 90 British fighters, but not one Gotha was brought down. This bombing raid caused 162 deaths. On June 13, 1944, Germany commemorated the anniversary by launching the first ofContinue reading “It must be a German thing”

It’s the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called the Evangelical Doctor. He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost (I’ve often wondered if Marcel ProustContinue reading “The life of the body is the soul”