Well, they give him his orders in Monroe, Virginia …

September 27, 1903 –The Southern Railway freight train, known as the Fast Mail (or “Old 97”), jumped the tracks and crashed at the Stillhouse Trestle outside Danville, Virginia, killing eleven people, on this date. The accident became a public sensation, drawing thousands of spectators to the scene and inspiring a series of musical ballads. TheContinue reading “Well, they give him his orders in Monroe, Virginia …”

Not sure what you get a company that has and knows everything

Google is celebrating it’s ‘official‘ 27th birthday, despite the the fact that it has listed six other dates for it’s start.< The interesting fact is that September 27 isn’t the search giant’s birthday. The selection of September 27 as Google’s birthday seems to be a one of convenience than the actual date when the companyContinue reading “Not sure what you get a company that has and knows everything”

The subject of Paul Shaffer’s best impersonation had his first show

September 27, 1973 –Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert premiered on this date on ABC-TV, featuring The Rolling Stones first American television performance in over four years. Unlike TV music shows, such as American Bandstand, performances on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert were not lip-synched in a studio. Instead, the series featured raw, full-length performances in a liveContinue reading “The subject of Paul Shaffer’s best impersonation had his first show”

This one was a real stinker

September 27, 1991 –The very short-lived series (it only aired for eight episodes,) Princesses, starring Julie Hagerty, Fran Drescher, and Twiggy premiered on CBS TV, on this date. Even in the face of bottom five Nielsen ratings, universally-scathing reviews, behind-the-scenes problems, affiliate defections, and the general apathy of Fran Drescher and CBS programming head JeffContinue reading “This one was a real stinker”

It’s literally a moveable feast day

You wouldn’t be mistaken to be a tad confused when you heard today is National Pancake Day. Sometimes, it happens on Februay 28th, sometimes it’s March 4th (either time could be Ash Wednesday, wihich makes some sort of sense.) Whenever you celebrate, (the girls and I are on the upper East Side indulging this morning,)Continue reading “It’s literally a moveable feast day”

Downton Abbey premiered

September 26, 2010 – Reportedly, one of Queen Elizabeth II favorite tv shows, Downtown Abbey, starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Thomas Howes, Rob James-Collier, Rose Leslie, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, and Maggie Smith, in the United Kingdom onContinue reading “Downton Abbey premiered”