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August 9, 1930 –A forerunner of the cartoon character Betty Boop made her debut in Max Fleischer’s animated short Dizzy Dishes on this date. In later films she loses the dog ears and becomes the familiar human character we know today. And so it goes

August 8, 1960 –Decca Records in England refuses to release Ray Peterson’s latest single, Tell Laura I Love Her, going so far as to throw away 25,000 pressings of the teen-tragedy song, which they feel is “too tasteless and vulgar for the English sensibility.“ A cover by Ricky Valance proves them wrong by going straightContinue reading “My love for her will never die”

August 8, 1968 –Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. Later that day, Nixon chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew to be his running mate. August 8, 1973 –VP Spiro T Agnew branded as “damned lies” reports he took kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland on thisContinue reading “Richard Nixon – Beware the 8th of August!”

August 7 is annually recognizes a famous sea serpent sighting. This sighting was made by the men and officers of HMS Daedalus in August 1848 during a voyage to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. The 60 foot long creature that they saw held a peculiar maned head above the ocean water. I, for one,Continue reading “Armless, harmless, ten foot tall and wet.”

Avoid mosquitoes at all cost, they’re not good! Though not as front of mind and the Delta variant, West Nile Virus cases have been been once again on the rise in New York City, as it has been in the past. Beyond being itch-provoking summer pests, mosquitoes kill more that an an estimated million peopleContinue reading “Bunkies, as we tell you every summer –”

August 6, 1945 –The first atomic bomb used in combat was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets, on this date. President Truman ordered the use of the first nuclear bomb, which the military referred to as “Little Boy.” Harry had been vice president for only 82 days when PresidentContinue reading “The Light of a Thousand Suns”

August 6, 1911 –Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t. Lucille Ball, film and television executive, actress and comedian, was born on this date. A commentContinue reading “Lucille Désirée Ball”

August 5, 1998 –The American spin-off of the British series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, hosted by Drew Carey and starring Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady, premiered on ABC-TV, on this date. The show was revived in 2013 and brought back most of the same cast members. Regular stars Ryan Stiles, Wayne BradyContinue reading “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

August 5, 1953 –Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr got busy in the surf and someone may have gotten a horse head telegram delivered to their bedroom – From Here to Eternity, also starring Montgomery Cliff, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, and Ernest Borgnine, premiered in NYC on this date. The James Jones novel was a bestContinue reading “From Here to Eternity”

August 4, 1942 –The Paramount Picture film, Holiday Inn, directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby was released in theaters on this date. Kemmons Wilson, who founded the Holiday Inn motel chain in 1952, named it after this movie. The Connecticut Inn set for this film was reused by Paramount 12Continue reading “Holiday Inn”