Classic Costello: Saturday Night Live (1977)

Birthday boy Elvis Costello's scandalous appearance with The Attractions on Saturday Night Live in December 1977 more than made up for a last-minute cancellation by the Sex Pistols.

Costello, forbidden to play Radio Radio, played it anyway. Lorne Michaels banished the man his mum calls Declan from the show for a dozen years; history has proven that punishment very light, given that most of them were not the show's best.

Anyway, it never done 'im no 'arm, eh? He married Diana Krall, had twins, and they all lived happily ever after...

1111 - A Year In Review

<sup>[In this gorgeously moody engraving by Gustave Doré, Bohemund I is seen climbing the ramparts of Antioch alone during the First Crusade.]







* * *</sup>
For those of you who are interested in interesting things, the year 1111 will be of no interest to you.

However, if you're like me, and revel in what you don't know (especially since there's so damn much of it!) then 1111 is a veritable cornucopia obscura. Or something like that.

A n y w a y...

In case you weren't aware, that's the year the Synod of Rathbreasail was held, which profoundly reordered the Church in Ireland. That was pretty... Uh. Important.

Henry V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Paschal II? Most powerful man in Europe at the time... And the Emperor wasn't too shabby either. No?

Baldwin VII became Count of Flanders? I mean, he probably wasn't even voted Most Likely To Succeed in high school or anything.

I understand. I'll be nice and spare you any mention of Agnes of Babenberg, Henry of Blois, or even Bohemund I of Antioch.

Hee hee hee...

A Mini-Milestone!

I decided that a thousand posts was a long time to go without a milestone. So today I commenced my thinker to workin' - seriously though, numbers and everything; at one point, I almost took an Advil - and I came up with five "mini" milestones: 1111, 1153, 1234, 1357, and 1510. Those oughta get me through the next couple of months.

This, then, is my 1111th post. Yay me!

The significance of 1111 is fairly obvious. Not only is it four numbers the same, I have a friend who swears he looks at the clock several times a week at 11:11.

Which I find creepy, because I do that with 1153. When I was in high school, our lunch break started at 11:53. Twenty years later (gulp!) I still look at the clock at that time 20 times or more a month. I guess you could say it's my lucky number.

1234 is another obvious one, 1357 a run of odd numbers; 1510 is a bit cryptic (one-five-ten).

Onward and upward!