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April 25, 1946 – The clasic film noir, Gilda, directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, and Joseph Calleia, opened in the US on this date. There is a rumor that this film is the only time Rita Hayworth’s real singing voice is heard, but that is not true. AccordingContinue reading “Gilda premiered”

Today is Malaria Awareness Day. Malaria Awareness Day was designated on this date by President George W. Bush in 2007, to remind people that Malaria kills 3,000 children a day. He asked the world to join the fight to wipe out malaria on the African continent. So I encourage all Americans to begin heavily drinkingContinue reading “Baseball and malaria keep coming back.”

Today is Arbor Day. The holiday is celebrated on the last Friday of April – The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician originally from Michigan. Throughout his long and productive career, Morton worked to improve agriculturalContinue reading “The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit”

Somehow it’s Pig in a Blanket Day again, encouraging the consumption of ‘pigs in blankets’ – small pork sausages wrapped in bacon or pastry, and cooked until crispy (for those of you porcine adverse, choose your own ground meat filling.) Please celebrate sensibly.

April 24, 1941 –George Stevens’ tearjerker classic, Penny Serenade, starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, and Edgar Buchanan, opened in the US on this date. In a flagrant disregard of the then Production Code, it would appear that Irene Dunne and Cary Grant share a marital bed instead of separate ones. Also, there’s anContinue reading “Penny Serenade premiered”

April 24, 2000 –In support of their first studio album after twenty years, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen appeared on an episode of The VH-1 series Storytellers, and spend an hour on the show, playing their songs, take requests from the audience, and in their typically cryptic fashion divulge some of the concepts behind theirContinue reading “Give her some funked-up music”

April 24, 1976 –With rumors of a Beatles reunion swirling, Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels goes on camera to offer the guys $3,000 (union scale) to reunite on the show, on this date. Paul and Linda McCartney were spending the evening with John Lennon at his New York Dakota apartment and watched SaturdayContinue reading “The time they almost got back together”

April 24, 1974 –David Bowie released his iconic album, Diamond Dogs, on this date. This song introduces us to Bowie’s post-Ziggy Stardust persona, Halloween Jack: “The Halloween Jack is a real cool cat and he lives on top of Manhattan Chase.” It has also been suggested this song was influenced by Dhalgren, a science fictionContinue reading “This ain’t Rock’n’Roll – This is Genocide!”

Dionysiac (die-uh-NIS-ee-ak) (Latin Dionysiacus, from Greek Dionusiakos, from Dionusios), adjective Of or relating to Dionysus, the god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature. Of or relating to the Dionysia, ancient Greek festivals held seasonally, chiefly at Athens, in honor of Dionysus.Often dionysiac. Ecstatic or wild; Dionysian. KeepContinue reading “Only the red flame now lives there”

Today is believed to be the birthday of William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. He was a playwright and poet and is considered the most influential — and perhaps the greatest — writer in the English language. His tragedies have been celebrated for centuries. For example, there’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, inContinue reading “Now we sit through Shakespeare in order to recognize the quotations.”