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December 13, 1975 –Richard Pryor hosted NBC-TV’s Saturday Night Live on this date. Fearing Pryor would say things that were too offensive for television at the time, the show was placed on seven-second delay for the very first time Pryor requested in the opening sketch that Garrett Morris say “Live from New York, it’s SaturdayContinue reading “Oh, what a night”

December 13, 303 –It the feast of St. Lucy (Santa Lucia) today. (Early depictions show Lucy offering her eyes on a platter; she is now the patron saint of Sicily and of Opticians.) Because her extreme beauty attracted too many admirers, Lucy gouged her own eyes out (she had body issues). Miraculously they grew back.Continue reading “It is very hard to be a saint in the city”

Christmas trees are known to have been popular in Germany as far back as the sixteenth century. In England, they became popular after Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, who came from Germany, made a tree part of the celebrations at Windsor Castle. In the United States, the earliest known mention of a Christmas tree is inContinue reading “More useless trivia:”

I’m sorry to tell you but it’s Friday the 13th. If it gives you some comfort, today is the last Friday the 13th of this year. In most large cities in the United States, many building don’t have 13th floors. In Japan, they don’t have 4th floors, because the word for four sounds similar toContinue reading “Boo!”

December 12, 1980 –Whip It earned Devo a gold record on this date. It is the first distinction of its kind for any song about masturbation to earn a gold record. When MTV launched in 1981, they had very few videos to choose from. Some European and Australian artists had been making videos, but veryContinue reading “Well, whip it good”

December 12, 1966 –Supermarionation was on full display when Thunderbirds are GO, based on the successful TV series, was released in the UK on this date. While the film received good reviews, it was not a box office success. The first feature film to be shot using the Livingston Electronic Viewfinder Unit, also known asContinue reading “Thunderbirds are GO premiered”

December 12, 1972 –Irwin Allen’s ocean disaster movie, The Poseidon Adventure, opened in NYC on this date. Shelley Winters gained 35 pounds for the part of Belle Rosen. Afterward, she complained that she was never able to get back to her original weight, no matter how hard she tried.

December 12, 1954 –BBC Television aired the landmark adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four on this date. It was the most expensive drama produced to date. Prince Philip commented that he and Queen Elizabeth II had thoroughly enjoyed the broadcast; the BBC repeated a live broadcast four days later, attracting the largest television audience sinceContinue reading “Hooray for Big Brother”

December 12, 1915 –It’s the birthday of Francis Albert today. Once again, under advise of legal council, I have make no jokes or innuendos about Mr. Sinatra’s alleged organized crime connection, especially since I work at a union facility (Please note – I did not use the word, Mafia.) And once again, We here atContinue reading “They’re dancing in many social clubs in Bensonhurst”

December 12, 1531–It’s the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an indigenous peasant, had visions of the Virgin Mary. Legend held that the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego outside Mexico City and left an imprint on his cactus-fiber poncho. The poncho became an icon for the Virgin of Guadalupe. It’s earlyContinue reading “No Bunkies, it’s not a Holy Day of Obligation”