Category Archives: Uncategorized

February 22, 1956 –Elvis Presley’s song Heartbreak Hotel debuted on the Billboard pop chart at No. 68, on this date. Mae Axton, a Nashville songwriter who wrote the music for Heartbreak Hotel, was living in Jacksonville when this song was written. She got a local country singer named Glenn Reeves to do the demo forContinue reading “I wonder what the room rates are there?”

February 22, 1956 –The film widely considered the worst film produced by a major studio in the 50s, The Conqueror, directed by Dick Powell and starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, and Pedro Armendáriz, premiered in the US on this date. The film was shot downwind from a nuclear test siteContinue reading “A lot of people died getting this film made”

February 22, 1934 –Frank Capra’s romantic comedy It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, premiered at Radio City Music Hall on this date. Claudette Colbert complained nearly every day during the making of the film. On the last day of shooting she told a friend, “I just finished making the worst pictureContinue reading “Gable nearly killed the undershirt industry”

Today is the 12th day of the Lunar New Year. Technically, the Spring Festival is 15 days, but celebrations start on New Year’s eve making it 16. However, you can also say that the holiday season starts in lunar December with the Laba Festival (December 30,) making it 34 days of celebration. Since the LunarContinue reading “We’re nearing the end, have faith”

February 21, 1947 –Edwin H. Land first demonstrated, the first instant camera, the Polaroid Land camera, during a meeting of the Optical Society of America (OSA) at the Hotel Pennsylvania, in New York City. The camera produces a black and white photograph in sixty seconds, using development and fixer chemicals sandwiched in pods with theContinue reading “Shake, shake”

February 21, 2008 – Paul Mawhinney’s collection of 3 million vinyl records, amassed over 40 years while he owned a record store in Pittsburgh, was sold on eBay for $3,002,150, on this date. The bid was a sham, it turned out to be an unsuspecting Irishman who said his account had been hacked. Mawhinney heldContinue reading “That’s a lot of vinyl”

February 21, 1967 –One Million Years B.C., starring Raquel Welch (R.I.P.,) her pre-historic brassière and a bunch of dinosaur puppets, premiered on this date. As I’ve mentioned in the past, folks going to the Creation Museum, this is NOT a documentary.

February 21, 1981 –Charles Rocket, first in the long line of performers on Saturday Night Live to drop the f-bomb, cursed live at the end of the episode in response to a question about how it felt being shot during a skit. (the clip from SNL is no longer available from NBC.) Due partially toContinue reading “The sad tale of Charlie Rocket”

The eleventh day of the Lunar New Year is known as the day to welcome Zigu Shen (the Purple Lady). According to legend, Zigu was a concubine of a rich man in ancient China. The wife of the rich man killed her in the toilet due to her jealousy. The Heavenly God had compassion forContinue reading “It always comes down to toilets”

February 20, 1988 –The Pet Shop Boys (featuring Dusty Springfield) song What Have I Done To Deserve This? climbed to No. #2 on the Billboard charts in America, on this date. The song marks Dusty Springfield first big hit since 1969. The song’s co-writer Allee Willis was later responsible for the Friends theme, I’ll BeContinue reading “What Have I Done To Deserve This? topped the charts”