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June 13, 1865 –In case it should come up in conversation today – William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures in 20th century literature, was born on this date. He won the Nobel Prize in 1923. He was brother of the artist Jack Butler Yeats, the son of JohnContinue reading “William Butler Yeats”

The Coldplay single Viva la Vida released on this date, goes on to become their first US No. 1 hit. A little-known US group called Creaky Boards accused Coldplay of stealing this song’s melody from a number they wrote in 2007 called, ironically, The Songs I Didn’t Write. Andrew Hoepfner, Creaky Boards’ singer and songwriter,Continue reading “Viva la Vida was released”

It’s the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called the Evangelical Doctor. He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost (I’ve often wondered if Marcel ProustContinue reading “A ray of light enables us to see the dust that is in the air.”

June 13, 1970 –The Beatles song, The Long and Winding Road becomes their last U.S. number one hit on this date. The Beatles recorded this in January 1969 as a fairly simple ballad. By 1970, The Beatles were breaking up and and Phil Spector was brought in to go through the tapes and produce theContinue reading “The Long And Winding Road reaches No. 1”

June 12, 1942 –A young Dutch girl received the crappy gift of a diary as a birthday present on this date. She natters on for a little more than two years of small, inconsequential things young girls usually do in their diaries and then she abruptly stops writing. Today, her diary has been published inContinue reading “Gifts sometimes matter”

June 12, 1839 – Alexander Cartwright, and not, Abner Doubleday, should be credited with the invention of Baseball. On the one hundredth anniversary of the apocryphal story, the National Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, New York (in an effort to bring tourists to town.) The first five inductees were Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner,Continue reading “A Red Letter Day in Baseball”

June 12, 1981 –A bizarre coincidence but Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1 and Lucas/ Spielberg’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark both premiered on this date. Beforehand, it was agreed that Orson Welles would receive $5,000 per day in exchange for his services. Figuring that he’d have to spend five eight-hour days recordingContinue reading “Such are the vagaries of life”

Each year on June 12, people in the United States observe National Red Rose Day. The day is meant to honor the flower that is a symbol of love and romance, the red rose. Apparent the other color roses don’t have as strong a lobby. Today is also Crowded Nest Awareness Day. While this holidayContinue reading “It’s a good year for the roses”

June 11, 1963 –A patent for the Mercury space capsule is granted to Blanchard, Chilton, Faget, Hammack, Johnson, Kehlet, and Meyer and and assigned to NASA, (US No. 3,093,346.) The invention is described as a “manned capsule configuration capable of being launched into orbital flight and returned to the earth’s surface.” The invention is intendedContinue reading “Mercury space capsule”

June 11 is an important day for American football fans and seems almost inevitably slated to someday become a national holiday. It’s the birthdays of Vince Lombardi (1913) and Joe Montana (1956). Mr Lombardi played at Fordham University and was a Latin and chemistry teacher in New Jersey before becoming the head coach of theContinue reading “Football birthdays”