Author Archives: dcaligari

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”

June 12, 1839 –Alexander Cartwright, and not, Abner Doubleday, should be credited with the invention of Baseball. On the one hundredth anniversary of the apocryphal story, the National Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, New York (in an effort to bring tourists to town.) The first five inductees were Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, TyContinue reading “Take me out to the ballgame”

Each year on June 12, people in the United States observe National Red Rose Day. The day is meant to honor the flower that is a symbol of love and romance, the red rose. Apparent the other color roses don’t have as strong a lobby. Today is also Crowded Nest Awareness Day. While this holidayContinue reading “A lot is going on”

June 11 is an important day for American football fans and seems almost inevitably slated to someday become a national holiday. It’s the birthdays of Vince Lombardi (1913) and Joe Montana (1956). Mr Lombardi played at Fordham University and was a Latin and Chemistry teacher in New Jersey before becoming the head coach of theContinue reading “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

June 11, 1978 –Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John opened, on this date. In the stage play, the song Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee had a reference to Sal Mineo, who was murdered in 1976. For the movie, the lyric was changed to reference Elvis Presley, who died the same day the sceneContinue reading “Keep that pelvis far from me”

June 10, 2007 –The final episode of (what could arguably have been the greatest television series ever broadcast) The Sopranos aired on this date. I’m not even going to comment upon what actual happened in the last few moments of the broadcast. Coincidence or not, Italian Businessman John Gotti died on this date in 2002.Continue reading “I went ahead and ordered some for the table”

June 10, 1953 –Arguably, one of the worse films ever (save those of auteur Ed Wood), Robot Monster was released upon an unsuspecting public, on this date. Most of the movie was shot at Bronson Canyon. The scenes in the ruined home were shot in a hilly residential area. Reportedly, the film was shot entirelyContinue reading “Show yourselves, and I promise you a painless death.”

Today is International Archives Day. Don’t worry about how to celebrate the holiday correctly, the various Congressional, Senate and Independent committees already has all the information you might need. So you can just go about your business; They’re already on the case. Take it from your doctor and check out Archives.gov (or Archive.org); just aboutContinue reading “Everyone today has a story; the world’s an archive.”