Author Archives: dcaligari

May 5, 1821 –Napoleon died on the island of St. Helena on this date. After confession, Extreme Unction and Viaticum in the presence of Father Ange Vignali, Napoleon’s last words were, “France, l’armée, tête d’armée, Joséphine” (“France, army, head of the army, Joséphine“). Some suspect Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning. More likely, he died fromContinue reading “Another thing your teacher never told you”

Please take a moment from cutting those limes and getting that sea salt ready for the massive margarita you all have to make to celebrate this day. For those of you who don’t know – it’s not Mexican Independence Day (that’s September 16th) – it’s the celebration of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza victory over theContinue reading “No it’s not the Mexican Fourth of July”

May 4, 1959 – Originally called the Gramophone awards, the first Grammys were handed out on this date, to honor the musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Mort Sahl and held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At the same time, Recording Academy membersContinue reading “Today in Music History”

May 4th is called Star Wars Day. You get it – May the Fourth be with you. Oh, never mind. Demand Euphoria!

May 3, 1942 –Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, was put into effect by Lt. General John DeWitt from his headquarters in the SF Presidio on this date. It called for the evacuation of Japanese-Americans from Los Angeles effective May 9. Some 110,000-112,000 Japanese-Americans were settled in 10Continue reading “Another not so proud day in US history”

May 2, 1936 –Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by The Central Children’s Theatre of Moscow to create a symphonic tale for children. Peter and the Wolf had its world premiere in Moscow on this date. Prokofiev felt, in his own words, the work had an inauspicious opening at best: “…[attendance] was poor and failed to attractContinue reading “Today in Music History”

The month of May is named after Maia, a Greek goddess and mother of Hermes. Shockingly, May is the fifth month of the year in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Apparently, May is also a very bad month to get married… due to Mary Queen of Scots’ unfortunate history, and the fact that sheContinue reading “The Earth comes alive in May”

May 1, 1941 – The young filmmaker of this film was so obsessed with his project that his habit of consuming more than 30 cups of coffee each day led him to succumb to caffeine poisoning. He switched to tea, believing that the time it took to make each cup would slow him down, butContinue reading “Today in Film History”

Please rise, (or not.) Or take a knee, (or not.) May 1 is recognized as May Day pretty much everywhere but the United States, Canada, and South Africa. Modern May Day celebrations throughout the world typically feature huge outdoor gatherings of people, brightly colored signs and banners, and a whole lot of tear gas. TheContinue reading “Absolutely a Red Letter Day”

It takes four men to dress a salad: a wise man for the salt, a madman for the pepper, a miser for the vinegar, and a spendthrift for the oil. You may not have known it, but in the United States, May is National Salad Month. By an astonishing coincidence, the second full week ofContinue reading “A salad is not a meal, it is a style.”