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Please match the Russian Czar (Tzar, Tsar) with how he met his untimely end: A. Nicholas II B. Peter III C. Paul I D. Peter the Great E. Ivan VI F. Alexander II Overthrown by his own wife, imprisoned; killed by his wife’s favorite Struck in the head with a sword, then strangled and trampledContinue reading “Kids, have you been paying attention:”

The Russian Royal family was having a really bad day. On March 21, 1917, Nicholas II and his family were arrested. It was a confused and confusing period, and the situation would only continue to deteriorate until the October Revolution (in November). The eventual triumph of the proletariat, as everyone knows, finally put an endContinue reading “Today’s episode of Oh, that Wacky Russian Revolution:”

March 21, 1952 –The first rock and roll concert was held in America on this date, when DJ Alan Freed (the man who coined the phrase “Rock and Roll“) hosted The Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio. The first rock and roll concert was shut down after the first act, when it appeared that aContinue reading “Today in Rock History”

Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris and began his “Hundred Days” rule (from March 20 to July 8, 1815 ), which lasted 111 days. Days were measures in the metric system back then. Napoleon was accompanied by a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, Napoleon again became ruler of France. The periodContinue reading “March 20, 1815”

Bunkies I know that this may seem hard to believe, but Winter appears to be officially over. While you are attempting to balance those eggs and brooms today, remember that the Vernal Equinox occurred at 5:37 AM (EDT) this morning. That means it’s spring. This year, please don’t take off your clothes. Stay at homeContinue reading “O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

It’s the Feast of St. Joseph, stepdad to Jesus and patron saint of real estate closers (that’s why the pastries are for him – he’s a closer.) Remember to go out and have the very delicious Sicilian pastry that bears his name (but get the ones with canolli filling, not the custard.) It’s so good,Continue reading “A little slice of heaven”

March 18, 1913 –Itinerant sailor and general layabout Philip Mountbatten’s (nee Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg) grandfather, Christian Wilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (sibling to a king and two queens) was out on an afternoon stroll. This, in and of itself, is not remarkable, except for the fact that this minor Danish/ German prince had changed hisContinue reading “(Once again kids follow along, it’s complex.)”

March 17, 1960 –My good friend John (a fraternity brother) was born on this day. Not to be confused with his cousin, John, who was also born but not on this day. March 17, 1970 –My actual fraternal brother Keith, was born at Jewish Memorial Hospital in Upper Manhattan on this date. As was notedContinue reading “And on a personal note:”

The Feast Day of St. Patrick is celebrated on March 17. St. Patrick is considered the father of Celtic Christianity. He founded more than three hundred churches, drove the snakes out of Ireland, invented green beer, and coined the popular slogan, Kiss me, I’m Irish (although, he himself was not.) This year, the Citizenry ofContinue reading “Speaking Fluent Blarney”

March 16 1792 –At a masquerade ball, a disgruntled Captain Jacob Johan Ankarstroem shot Swedish King Gustav III near the heart with a bullet composed of lead and carpet tacks, on this date. It took the King almost two weeks to die. Shakespeare never wrote about Gustavus, probably because Gustavus was born well after Shakespeare’sContinue reading “Ouch!!!”