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December 28, 1895 –Auguste and Louis Lumiere opened the first movie theater at the Grand Cafe in Paris, on this date . Other inventors, including Thomas Edison, were working on various moving picture devices at the time. But most of those other devices could only be viewed by one person at a time. The LumieresContinue reading “All those people, alone in the dark, for the first time”

December 28, 1945 –One of the first Hollywood films to deal with psychoanalysis, Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound premiered in the US on this date. Alfred Hitchcock was a big admirer of Salvador Dalí’s work, and realized that no one understood dream imagery better. Producer David O. Selznick was opposed to using Dalí from an expense pointContinue reading “Spellbound premiered”

December 28, 1958 –Toho Company Ltd. released Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, starring Toshiro Mifune and Misa Uehara to theaters in Japan on this date. Akira Kurosawa was depressed after the lack of success of his last two films which he deemed heavy and tragic, he decided to take a new tone with this movie,Continue reading “The Hidden Fortress premiered”

December 27, 1961 –Tony Bennett, playing in the Venetian Room of the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, made his first solo public performance of I Left My Heart in San Francisco, on this date. The song was written by George Cory and Douglass Cross in 1954 (Cory wrote the music and Cross wrote the lyrics) andContinue reading “Tony Bennett sang I Left My Heart for the first time in public”

The 12 acre complex in midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center developed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., on land leased from Columbia University opened to the public on December 27, 1932. Radio City Music Hall (named for one of the complex’s first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America) opened with a spectacular stage show, featuringContinue reading “Rockefeller Center opened”

December 27, 1979 –Knots Landing, CBS’ spinoff of Dallas, premiered on this date. The show went on for 14 seasons, making it one of the longest running prime time drama, in television history. Although it had outlasted all of its contemporaries (even Dallas) and was still in the top forty ratings, the network and theContinue reading “Knots Landing premiered”

December 27, 1947 –Hey kids, what time is it? A bleary eyed world, fresh from the horrors of a second World War awaken to the sight of a freaky marionette on NBC – Howdy Doody premiered on this date. This was the first nationally televised American children’s television show.

Once again, if you’re keeping score, you currently have, three French hens, four turtledoves and three partridges with their trio of pear trees (10 gifts.) The three French hens symbolize the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The hens, being french, will not associate with the common turtle doves – leave plenty ofContinue reading “Apparently they make good pets”

Tonight’s the first night of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa means “first fruit” in Swahili. Today is also St. Stephen’s Day. The citizens of the British Commonwealth denote the day by putting on trunks and gloves to beat each other bloody silly. Another reason to appreciate the American Revolution – a peaceful December 26th. If you are startingContinue reading “There are a plethora of events today”

Today is the start of Mulchfest 2022. MulchFest is an annual event held by the Department of Parks & Recreation that provides New Yorkers with the opportunity to bring their holiday trees to be recycled at designated sites across the five boroughs. For more information, visit the Parks Department’s Mulchfest page. Demand Euphoria!