tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212852742024-03-06T20:36:19.755-08:00Pop Culture InstituteBefore it's history it's pop culture!michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.comBlogger2983125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-48931135946343175382018-05-02T03:23:00.000-07:002019-04-30T16:16:04.133-07:00<div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'>good evening Michael<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><a href="https://goo.gl/PbXabq">https://goo.gl/PbXabq</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.1pt;font-family:Tahoma'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-88276686251616709562017-07-12T20:55:00.001-07:002017-07-12T20:55:47.931-07:00Hiya Michael
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<br>michael sean morrismichael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-43825288103990141292011-03-20T00:01:00.000-07:002011-03-20T10:32:49.433-07:00POPnews - March 20th<center><a href="http://photos.absoluteelsewhere.net/HippieJohn/PhotoAlbums/WeddingAlbum/wedding_album.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/John_Yoko_wedding.jpg" /></a><br />
[<span style="font-size: 85%;"><i>When John Lennon and Yoko Ono first met in November 1966 at an exhibition of hers in London's </i></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indica_Gallery" title="Indica Gallery"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i>Indica Gallery</i></span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i> she claimed to have never heard of either him or the Beatles, which isn't quite as disingenuous as it sounds; he was still married to </i></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Lennon" title="Cynthia Lennon"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i>Cynthia Lennon</i></span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i> when he wrote</i> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_John_and_Yoko" title="The Ballad of John and Yoko"><span style="font-size: 85%;">The Ballad of John and Yoko</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><i>, which is about the early stages of their relationship, by which time she was better informed.</i></span>]</center><br />
<b>1760</b> - The first <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Fire_Department#Great_Fire_of_1760" title="Great Fire">Great Fire</a> of Boston destroyed 349 buildings; another even greater fire would cause considerably more damage to that city in <a href="http://popcultureinstitute.blogspot.com/2007/11/popnews-november-9th.html">November 1872</a>.<br />
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<b>1815</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon</a> entered Paris after escaping from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elba" title="Elba">Elba</a> - with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000 - to begin his so-called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days" title="Hundred Days">Hundred Days</a> rule.<br />
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<b>1848</b> - Bavaria's King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_I_of_Bavaria" title="Ludwig I of Bavaria">Ludwig I</a> abdicated during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1848_in_the_German_states">Revolutions of 1848</a> which swept through the German states; he was succeeded by his son, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II_of_Bavaria" title="Maximilian II of Bavaria">Maximilian II</a>.<br />
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<b>1852</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe" title="Harriet Beecher Stowe">Harriet Beecher Stowe</a>'s controversial <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Toms-Cabin-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553212184">novel</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin" title="Uncle Tom's Cabin"><i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i></a> was published, having first appeared in June 1851 as a 40-week serial in the abolitionist newspaper <i>National Era</i>.<br />
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<b>1888</b> - <i>Children of the Forests</i>, the very first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romen_Theatre#Forerunners_of_Romen_Theatre" title="Romen Theatre">Romani language operetta</a>, was staged at Moscow's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maly_Theatre_%28Moscow%29" title="Maly Theatre (Moscow)">Maly Theatre</a>; to call it a success would be an understatement, as it would eventually run for 18 years.<b></b><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1899</span> - Having been sentenced to death for killing her stepdaughter Ida in February 1898 - and having been denied clemency by New York Governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt" title="Theodore Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_M._Place" title="Martha M. Place">Martha M. Place</a> became the first woman to be executed in an electric chair; executioner <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Davis" title="Edwin Davis">Edwin Davis</a> did the deed at <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_Sing_Correctional_Facility" title="Sing Sing Correctional Facility">Sing Sing</a> prison. Although she was the first woman to die in this way, the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Barbella" title="Maria Barbella">Maria Barbella</a>, who following her acquittal disappears from history.<br />
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<b>1913</b> - <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sung_Chiao-jen" title="Sung Chiao-jen">Sung Chiao-jen</a> - founding member of the Chinese Nationalist Party or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang" title="Kuomintang">Kuomintang</a> - was wounded in an assassination attempt; he died 2 days later.<br />
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<b>1922</b> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Langley_%28CV-1%29" title="USS Langley (CV-1)">USS <i>Langley</i></a> was commissioned as the US Navy's first aircraft carrier, having previously served as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collier_%28ship_type%29" title="Collier (ship type)">collier</a> USS <i>Jupiter</i>.<br />
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<b>1933</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Zangara" title="Giuseppe Zangara">Giuseppe Zangara</a> was executed in Florida's electric chair for fatally shooting Chicago mayor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Cermak" title="Anton Cermak">Anton Cermak</a> in an <a href="http://popcultureinstitute.blogspot.com/2007/02/on-this-day-in-pop-culture-february_15.html">assassination attempt</a> against President-elect <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt" title="Franklin Delano Roosevelt">Franklin Delano Roosevelt</a> the month before.<br />
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<b>1951</b> - <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujiyoshida" title="Fujiyoshida">Fujiyoshida</a> - a city located in Japan's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamanashi_Prefecture" title="Yamanashi Prefecture">Yamanashi Prefecture</a>, in the center of that country's main island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honsh%C3%85%C2%AB" title="Honshū">Honshū</a> - was founded.<br />
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<b>1956</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a> gained its independence from France.<br />
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<b>1964</b> - The precursor of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency" title="European Space Agency">European Space Agency</a> (once it merged with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Launcher_Development_Organisation" title="European Launcher Development Organisation">ELDO</a> in 1975) the European Space Research Organization (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESRO" title="ESRO">ESRO</a>) was established when the ESRO Convention - signed on June 1962 - went into force.<br />
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<b>1966</b> - Football's World Cup <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_Trophy">trophy</a> was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/20/newsid_2861000/2861545.stm">stolen</a> from where it was being exhibited at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Central_Hall" title="Westminster Central Hall">Westminster Central Hall</a>; it was found a week later in a garden in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Norwood" title="South Norwood">South Norwood</a> neighbourhood of London by a dog named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickles_%28dog%29" title="Pickles (dog)">Pickles</a>.<br />
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<b>1969 - </b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon" title="John Lennon"><b>John Lennon</b></a><b> married </b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono" title="Yoko Ono"><b>Yoko Ono</b></a><b> in Gibraltar.</b><br />
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<b>1985</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby_Riddles" title="Libby Riddles">Libby Riddles</a> became the first woman to win the 1,868 km (1,161 mile) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race" title="Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race">Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race</a>.<br />
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<b>1995</b> - A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway" title="Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway">sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway</a> killed 12 and wounded more than 1,300.<br />
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<b>1999</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legoland_California" title="Legoland California">Legoland California</a> opened in Carlsbad, California.<br />
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<b>2004</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Harper" title="Stephen Harper">Stephen Harper</a> won the leadership of the newly created <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_of_Canada" title="Conservative Party of Canada">Conservative Party of Canada</a>, thus becoming the first leader in the party's history.<br />
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<b>2006</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Larry" title="Cyclone Larry">Cyclone Larry</a> made landfall near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innisfail,_Queensland" title="Innisfail, Queensland">Innisfail</a> in the eastern Australian state of Queensland, destroying most of the country's banana crop for that year.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-7450994360394285672011-03-19T00:20:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:35:40.299-07:00"Rock Lobster" by The B-52s<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-UqKRGW6_rw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-UqKRGW6_rw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Wilson_%28American_musician%29">Ricky Wilson</a> - born on this day in 1953 - was one of the founding members of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_B-52%27s" title="The B-52's">The B-52's</a>, a band whose sound was sorta punk and sorta New Wave but mostly lotsa fun; the band's early records, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Lobster_%28song%29">this one</a> (their first), featured Wilson's buoyant guitar stylings, which were influenced by surf rock pioneers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ventures" title="The Ventures">The Ventures</a>.<br />
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Brother of bandmate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Wilson" title="Cindy Wilson">Cindy Wilson</a>, and along with the other two men in the band - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Strickland" title="Keith Strickland">Keith Strickland</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Schneider" title="Fred Schneider">Fred Schneider</a> - openly gay, Wilson's untimely death in October 1985 from AIDS-related causes struck the band at the crucial mid-career point, scuttling their album <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouncing_Off_the_Satellites" title="Bouncing Off the Satellites">Bouncing Off the Satellites</a></i> (and its accompanying tour) and almost destroyed everything the five of them (including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Pierson" title="Kate Pierson">Kate Pierson</a>) had worked so hard to achieve.<br />
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After a two-year hiatus in which Wilson battled depression (in the form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_syndrome">survivor's guilt</a>) and Strickland taught himself to play guitar the way Wilson had once done, the band went on to release its magnum opus, the luminously loony <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Thing-B-52s/dp/B000002LGY">album</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Thing" title="Cosmic Thing">Cosmic Thing</a></i> in 1989. Both a tribute to their fallen comrade and a triumph over adversity, it represents nothing less than a testament to the power of positive thinking.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-62087778566191796222011-03-19T00:15:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:36:44.331-07:00Happy Birthday Philip Roth<center><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_roth" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Philip_Roth.jpg" /></a></center><br />
Catapulted to literary fame by his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Columbus-Stories-Vintage-International/dp/0679748261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269114675&sr=8-1">1959 book</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbye%2C_Columbus" title="Goodbye, Columbus">Goodbye, Columbus</a></i>, Philip Roth has been slaughtering sacred cows by the herd ever since; in 1969 he tackled the still-touchy subject of adolescent sexuality with his third novel, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portnoy%27s_Complaint" title="Portnoy's Complaint">Portnoy's Complaint</a></i>, one of the few books I've ever read that promises funny on the cover and actually delivers funny on almost every page between those same covers.<br />
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Endlessly inventive in terms of form as well as content, Roth's books could be counted on to challenge as well as amuse and enrage, often through the person of his literary alter ego <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Zuckerman" title="Nathan Zuckerman">Nathan Zuckerman</a>. Yet every voice raised in complaint against him was handily drowned out by the ringing of cash registers; for the last four decades his books have been the ones readers have wanted to read, along with those of Mailer, Vonnegut, Vidal, Updike, and Oates.<br />
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Coming to terms with the post-WWII era hasn't been easy, and in order to do it, Roth has had to train his laser-like mind on themes as close to himself as Judaism and masculinity, raising hackles at the same time as surely as he drove himself to the brink of madness. One of the first to blur the line between character and author (at least in his first-person narrations) for better or worse Roth was one of the towering talents who, in the latter half of the twentieth century, made the English-language novel an infinitely more self-aware animal than it had been.<br />
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Of them all, though, my favourite remains one of the most recent - namely <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plot_Against_America" title="The Plot Against America">The Plot Against America</a></i>;<i> </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Against-America-Novel/dp/0618509283">published</a> in 2004, it presents a conterfactual or <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_history_%28fiction%29" title="Alternate history (fiction)">alternate history</a> in which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin Delano Roosevelt</a> is defeated in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election%2C_1940" title="United States presidential election, 1940">the presidential election of 1940</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh" title="Charles Lindbergh">Charles Lindbergh</a>. The ensuing Fascism and anti-Semitism which sweeps the nation makes it an interesting counterpart to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewis" title="Sinclair Lewis">Sinclair Lewis</a>' still entirely readable <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Happen-Here-Sinclair-Lewis/dp/0451525825">1935 novel</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Can%27t_Happen_Here" title="It Can't Happen Here">It Can't Happen Here</a></i>, both of which I read at the height (or, if you prefer, depth) of the previous Administration - namely its re-election.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
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</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-8647672224057625352011-03-19T00:01:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:41:39.662-07:00POPnews - March 19th<center><a href="http://www.bridgeclimb.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge.jpg" /></a><br />
[<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Although the Sydney Harbour Bridge was set to be officially opened by </span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lang_%28Australian_politician%29" title="Jack Lang (Australian politician)">Jack Lang</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">, the Labour premier of New South Wales, on this day in 1932 it was actually opened by a nutjob named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Groot" title="Francis de Groot">Francis de Groot</a>, himself a member of the ultra-right <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guard" title="New Guard">New Guard</a>, who interrupted the ceremony by riding up on horseback and slashing the ribbon with a sword, declaring the bridge open 'in the name of the decent and respectable people of New South Wales'. He was promptly arrested and, after being declared sane, fined £5 for trespassing. Meanwhile, the ribbon was promptly retied and dutifully re-cut by Lang.</span>]</center><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1279</span> - A <span class="mw-redirect">Mongolian</span> victory at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yamen" title="Battle of Yamen">Battle of Yamen</a> ended China's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Dynasty" title="Song Dynasty">Song Dynasty</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1286</span> - Scotland's King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Scotland" title="Alexander III of Scotland">Alexander III</a> died; his succession, by his grand-daughter <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Scotland_%28Maid_of_Norway%29" title="Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway)">Margaret, the 'Maid of Norway'</a>, was disputed to the degree that is has been held responsible for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_Scottish_Independence" title="Wars of Scottish Independence">Wars of Scottish Independence</a> - a situation not even settled by her death in 1290 and the inauguration of her successor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Scotland" title="John of Scotland">John Balliol</a> in November 1292.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1687</span> - While searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River along the Gulf Coast of Texas, explorer <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cavelier_de_La_Salle" title="Robert Cavelier de La Salle">Robert Cavelier de La Salle</a> was murdered by Pierre Duhaut, one of his own men, during a mutiny.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1721</span> - Pope <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_XI" title="Pope Clement XI">Clement XI</a> died; he was succeeded by Pope <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_XIII" title="Pope Innocent XIII">Innocent XIII</a> on May 8th.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1863</span> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Georgiana" title="SS Georgiana">SS <span style="font-style: italic;">Georgiana</span></a> - said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser - was sunk on her maiden voyage with cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000; the wreck was discovered on the same day and month, exactly 102 years later by then teenage diver and pioneer <span class="mw-redirect">underwater archaeologist</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Lee_Spence" title="E. Lee Spence">E. Lee Spence</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1865</span> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bentonville" title="Battle of Bentonville">Battle of Bentonville</a> began, during the American Civil War; by the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Oaks,_North_Carolina" title="Four Oaks, North Carolina">Four Oaks, North Carolina</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1915</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto" title="Pluto">Pluto</a> was photographed for the first time - at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Observatory" title="Lowell Observatory">Lowell Observatory</a> - but was not recognized at the time as a planet.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1931</span> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisburg_Symphony_Orchestra" title="Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra">Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra</a> played its first concert at the William Penn High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1932</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Australia's </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge" style="font-weight: bold;" title="Sydney Harbour Bridge">Sydney Harbour Bridge</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> was opened.<br />
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1941</span> - The 99th Pursuit Squadron - also known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen" title="Tuskegee Airmen">Tuskegee Airmen</a>, the first all-black unit of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Corps" title="United States Army Air Corps">Army Air Corp</a> - was activated.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1943</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Nitti" title="Frank Nitti">Frank Nitti</a> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Outfit" title="Chicago Outfit">Chicago Outfit</a> second in command under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone" title="Al Capone">Al Capone</a> - committed suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1945</span> - Allied forces having irrevocably turned the tide of World War II against him, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> issued the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Decree" title="Nero Decree">Nero Decree</a>, ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1958</span> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_Underwear_Company_fire" title="Monarch Underwear Company fire">Monarch Underwear Company fire</a> in Manhattan left 24 dead and 15 injured.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1969</span> - The 385 metre (1,263 ft) tall television mast at <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emley_Moor" title="Emley Moor">Emley Moor</a> collapsed due to ice build-up.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1979</span> - The US House of Representatives began broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-SPAN" title="C-SPAN">C-SPAN</a>.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1982</span> - Argentinian naval forces landed on <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Georgia" title="South Georgia">South Georgia</a>, precipitating the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War" title="Falklands War">Falklands War</a>.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1987</span> - Televangelist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker" title="Jim Bakker">Jim Bakker</a> resigned as head of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTL_Club" title="PTL Club">PTL Club</a> due to a brewing sex scandal; he handed over control to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Falwell" title="Jerry Falwell">Jerry Falwell</a>, himself a bastion of those Christian virtues of forgiveness and tolerance.</div><div></div><br />
<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">2004</span> - Taiwanese president <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Shui-bian" title="Chen Shui-bian">Chen Shui-bian</a> was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-19_Shooting_Incident">shot</a> the day before that country's presidential election; relatively unharmed, he went on to win the next day's election by a slim margin.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">2008</span> - A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst" title="Gamma-ray burst">gamma-ray burst</a> dubbed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_080319B" title="GRB 080319B">GRB 080319B</a> that was the farthest object visible to the naked eye was briefly observed.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span></div>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-81342519473435147112011-03-18T00:25:00.001-07:002011-03-19T18:44:52.970-07:00Pop History Moment: Pluto Was Discovered<div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/Thumbnails/pluto1.jpg" /></a>On this day in 1930 Pluto was discovered by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tombaugh" title="Clyde Tombaugh">Clyde W. Tombaugh</a> - based on calculations by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbain_Le_Verrier" title="Urbain Le Verrier">Urbain Le Verrier</a>, who first posited there was a planet beyond <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus" title="Uranus">Uranus</a> (in other words <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune" title="Neptune">Neptune</a>) and therefore <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Neptunian_object" title="Trans-Neptunian object">trans-Neptunian</a> objects... Tombaugh's astronomical enthusiasm would also lead to the discovery of numerous asteroids and extend to a fascination with UFOs.<br />
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Pluto and its largest moon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_%28moon%29" title="Charon (moon)">Charon</a> are sometimes treated as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_system_%28astronomy%29" title="Binary system (astronomy)">binary system</a> because the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_mass#Barycenter_in_astrophysics_and_astronomy" title="Center of mass">barycentre</a> of their orbits does not lie within either body; no such conflict exists with the planetoid's other two moons, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_%28moon%29" title="Nix (moon)">Nix</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_%28moon%29" title="Hydra (moon)">Hydra</a> - which were discovered in 2005, just in time to witness Pluto being controversially stripped of its planetary status by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Astronomical_Union" title="International Astronomical Union">International Astronomical Union</a> in 2006.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span></div>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-29628922863333503532011-03-18T00:25:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:44:14.733-07:00Happy Birthday Queen Latifah<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Latifah" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/Thumbnails/latifah-1.jpg" /></a>When I was 19 I was living in Ottawa, dating Morgin (soon to become Lisa), and had only a vague idea what I wanted to do with my life. (Hint: it had something to do with writing.)<br />
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One day, while hanging out at Morgin's place we were watching a show on MuchMusic (which, like MTV, once used to actually show music videos*) called <span style="font-style: italic;">Rap City</span>. That particular episode was a pretty listless one, until a new video by a new performer was announced. Given how smart my readers are, they'll have already guessed that the performer was Queen Latifah; the song was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwTatUuocA"><span style="font-style: italic;">Come Into My House</span></a>, from her groundbreaking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Hail-Queen-Latifah/dp/B000000HHH">1989 album</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Hail_the_Queen" title="All Hail the Queen">All Hail the Queen</a></i>. At 19 she was doing what she wanted to do, and I was having sex with a woman trapped in a man's body.<br />
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In the years since my own ambitions have gradually crystallized while the lady has gone from strength to strength (not without a few bumps along the way, which she handled admirably). She has since received a well-deserved Oscar nomination - for setting the screen alight in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%282002_film%29" title="Chicago (2002 film)">Chicago</a></i> - so it's really time I started playing catch-up.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">*I realize this will be difficult for some of you to comprehend but I assure you it's true... If you don't believe me, ask your parents.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-style: italic;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-44831316594167589082011-03-18T00:20:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:47:39.616-07:00"Fame" by Irene Cara<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nTJHjuhCYos&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nTJHjuhCYos&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fame_%28Irene_Cara_song%29" style="font-style: italic;" title="Fame (Irene Cara song)">Fame</a> is one of those songs I am constantly rediscovering; I'll hear a snippet of that devastating bass line somewhere when I've almost forgotten it and be instantly transported to those halcyon days of yesteryear when I first used to dance around my bedroom, dreaming of the promise inherent in its very title...<br />
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Here then, on the occasion of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Cara" title="Irene Cara">Irene Cara</a>'s birthday, is the very song itself, performed by her - probably on the show <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_Gold_%28TV_series%29" style="font-style: italic;">Solid Gold</a> in what looks like 1980. The video quality's not great, but then if you'd ever seen 1980 for yourself, you'll be glad of that; nevertheless the campiness shines through, as it will...<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-24906334948530640992011-03-18T00:15:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:48:38.948-07:00Remembering... Edward Everett HortonIn the Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s, nothing ensured success for an actor like their ability to play a type; Edward Everett Horton's ability to portray meek, hen-pecked - even effeminate - men meant that he never lacked for work. Oh sure, he might have missed out on the overtly heroic scenes and the passionate embraces, but he also missed out on the insecurity that came along with leading roles as well...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Everett_Horton" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Edward_Everett_Horton.jpg" /></a>Born on this day in 1886, Horton got the usual start on Broadway and in vaudeville, but by the time performers of every kind began flooding into Hollywood in 1929 at the advent of the sound era he'd already been there for a decade, and because he was a character actor, he made the transition from silents to sound with ease.<br />
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In his heyday he had supporting roles in some of the finest films of the era, including <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Front_Page_%281931_film%29" title="The Front Page (1931 film)">The Front Page</a> </i>(1931),<i> </i><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Hat" title="Top Hat">Top Hat</a></i> (1935), <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Horizon_%28film%29" title="Lost Horizon (film)">Lost Horizon</a> </i>(1937)<i>,</i> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_%281938_film%29" title="Holiday (1938 film)">Holiday</a> </i>(1938),<i> </i><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_Mr._Jordan" title="Here Comes Mr. Jordan">Here Comes Mr. Jordan</a></i> (1941), and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_and_Old_Lace_%28film%29" title="Arsenic and Old Lace (film)">Arsenic and Old Lace</a> </i>(1944).<br />
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Like many people of my generation, though, I experienced Horton's career in reverse, having heard his narration on <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_%26_Bullwinkle" title="Rocky & Bullwinkle">Rocky & Bullwinkle</a></i> cartoons first (which he did in the 1960s towards the end of his life), and only then discovered the earlier film work which had secured his reputation.<br />
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Horton died in September 1970 at the age of 84.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-28531613126618598052011-03-18T00:10:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:49:31.376-07:00In Memoriam: Princess Mary, Duchess of SuffolkSeeing as the majority of history is written by men (or had been, at least until the advent of the social history revolution of the past two decades) it's no surprise that Mary Tudor - sister of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England">Henry VIII</a>, unwilling Queen to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XII_of_France" title="Louis XII of France">Louis XII</a> of France, lover of her brother's best friend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Brandon%2C_1st_Duke_of_Suffolk">Charles Brandon</a> and eventually Duchess of Suffolk, in addition to a noted hellion whose trouble-making outlived her in the form of her daughters and granddaughters - has been all but expunged from the historical record (if and when historians had been bothered to include her in the first place). Yet as interest in the Tudors continues to grow, she is one of the many exemplary women of her age whose life and accomplishments are being rediscovered...<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Tudor_%28queen_consort_of_France%29" target="_blank"><img align="left" alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Charles_Mary_Brandon.jpg" /></a>Born on this day in 1496 at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Palace" title="Richmond Palace">Richmond Palace</a>, for a long while Mary was Henry's cherished baby sister. He named his eldest daughter after her, as well as the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose" title="Mary Rose">Mary Rose</a></i>, once the pride of the British fleet. Initially betrothed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor">Charles of Castile</a>, the woman described as the most beautiful princess in Europe - indeed, the Dutch humanist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderius_Erasmus" title="Desiderius Erasmus">Erasmus</a> said of her that 'Nature never formed anything more beautiful' - could have become wife of the Holy Roman Emperor; instead, at the age of 18, she was sent to marry the King of France.<br />
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Royal lore has it she extracted a promise from her brother that once her political obligation was met she could marry anyone she wanted, a concession begrudgingly assented to by Henry. She then proceeded to wear out her ageing husband with lovemaking, or so the rumours have it; he died three months after their marriage without managing to impregnate her, at which point Mary was secretly wed to Charles Brandon in March 1515 when he was sent to France to bring her home. Since royalty - then as now - are the property of the State, such an act was treasonous, and could have resulted in his and hers executions; instead they were heavily fined, and in May 1515 were remarried at <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Palace" title="Greenwich Palace">Greenwich Palace</a>. Following their marriage she lived principally at her husband's country seat, Westhorpe Hall.<br />
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The Suffolks had three children: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Brandon%2C_1st_Earl_of_Lincoln" title="Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln">Henry Brandon</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Frances_Brandon" title="Lady Frances Brandon">Lady Frances Brandon</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Eleanor_Brandon" title="Lady Eleanor Brandon">Lady Eleanor Brandon</a>, and of these it was the middle one who gave the Crown the most grief in the years to come. Lady Frances Brandon's daughter - the ill-starred <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey" title="Lady Jane Grey">Lady Jane Grey</a> - was briefly the pretender to the English throne, proving a thorn in the side of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England">Mary I</a> in much the same way (although to a much lesser extent) that <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_Queen_of_Scots" title="Mary, Queen of Scots">Mary, Queen of Scots</a> - granddaughter of Henry VIII's other sister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Tudor" title="Margaret Tudor">Margaret Tudor</a> - would for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England" title="Elizabeth I of England">Elizabeth I</a>.<br />
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Mary's convivial relationship with her brother became strained in the 1520s over his attempted (and eventually successful) reformation of the English church; Mary had grown close to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon" title="Catherine of Aragon">Catherine of Aragon</a> during her years at court, and was one of the first to take a strong disliking to the woman her brother had in mind to replace her, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleyn" title="Anne Boleyn">Anne Boleyn</a>, whom she'd met during her brief tenure as Queen of France. Even following her death at Westhorpe Hall in June 1533 (aged only 37) she was troubled by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasteries" title="Dissolution of the Monasteries">Dissolution of the Monasteries</a>, as she was forced to quit her original burial spot at the abbey in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_St_Edmunds" title="Bury St Edmunds">Bury St Edmunds</a> for the nearby St. Mary's Church.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Mary Brandon has been portrayed by two of the movies' loveliest stars - first, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Davies" title="Marion Davies">Marion Davies</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">, in a 1922 silent version of </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013750/">When Knighthood Was in Flower</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">, and again in 1953 by Glynis Johns in the Disney <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Rose-Richard-Todd/dp/6302629195">film</a> </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_and_the_Rose" title="The Sword and the Rose">The Sword and the Rose</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"> (which is sadly only available on VHS); both were derived from the same source material, the 1898 <a href="http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=0cLX8-SUpRoC&dq=when+knighthood+was+in+flower&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6bq0cADZkf&sig=fYoQNAammAX29YRTUrpagEFnY70">novel</a> </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Knighthood_Was_in_Flower" title="When Knighthood Was in Flower">When Knighthood Was in Flower</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"> by Edwin Caskoden (the pen name of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Major" title="Charles Major">Charles Major</a>). Currently she is being portrayed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Anwar" title="Gabrielle Anwar">Gabrielle Anwar</a> in the Showtime <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/The-Tudors-Season-1/dp/B000WC8CA6">series</a> </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tudors_%28television_series%29" title="The Tudors (television series)">The Tudors</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">, although the character there is both heavily fictionalized and a composite of Henry VIII's two sisters, Mary and Margaret.</span><i><br />
</i><span style="color: white;">*</span><i><br />
</i>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-52514823576015016782011-03-18T00:05:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:46:06.397-07:00"Kiss An Angel Good Morning" by Charley Pride<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hRIRTQ_k-Sg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hRIRTQ_k-Sg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />
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When I was growing up, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Pride">Charley Pride</a> was a regular feature on my mother's stereo; even when, as a teenager, I rebelled against everything my parents liked and stood for (a fit of pique still going strong even in its twenty-fifth year) there were a few things - and people - who survived the rebellion. Charley Pride was among them; one of the few African-Americans to excel in the whiter-than-white world of country music - although his invitation to join the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ole_Opry" title="Grand Ole Opry">Grand Ole Opry</a> didn't come until 1993 - he remains the only black member in the history of that august institution. In other words, the sort of person tailor-made for me to admire.<br />
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During the 1960s and 1970s his sound was described as <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Sound" title="Nashville Sound">Countrypolitan</a>, and Pride was one of those responsible for helping to bring country music into the mainstream, as well as the first - and some would say, only - one to bring it to black audiences. This song was one such smash hit; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_an_Angel_Good_Mornin%27" style="font-style: italic;" title="Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'">Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'</a> went to number 1 in the country chart, in addition to grazing the bottom of the Top Twenty on the pop charts in 1971. It remains one of Pride's signature tunes.<br />
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Born on this day in 1938, before Pride was a singer, he was a baseball player, pitching for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Red_Sox" title="Memphis Red Sox">Memphis Red Sox</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_American_League" title="Negro American League">Negro American League</a> in 1952. In 1974, at the height of his fame, Pride faced legendary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles" title="Baltimore Orioles">Baltimore Orioles</a> pitcher (and underwear pitchman) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Palmer" title="Jim Palmer">Jim Palmer</a> for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Rangers_%28baseball%29" title="Texas Rangers (baseball)">Texas Rangers</a> during that season's training camp in Florida; he grounded out and singled during his two at-bats, helping the Orioles cinch the game 14-2.<br />
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Now in his 70s, Pride still performs concerts around the world, wowing audiences wherever he appears...<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-15230555073593479182011-03-18T00:01:00.000-07:002011-03-19T11:32:12.393-07:00POPnews - March 18th<center><a href="http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m092.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/M92.jpg" /></a><br />
[<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster" title="Globular cluster">globular cluster</a> in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_constellation" title="Hercules constellation">constellation Hercules</a> now known as M92 was first discovered by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Elert_Bode" title="Johann Elert Bode">Johann Elert Bode</a> in 1777, but was named for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier" title="Charles Messier">Charles Messier</a> who independently rediscovered it* in 1781</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">; located 26,000 light years from Earth, it contains a shitload** of stars and potentially an equal number of inhabited Earth-like planets.</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"> Although one of the larger globular clusters visible from the Northern Hemisphere, it is easily outshone by the even bigger and brighter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_13" title="Messier 13">Messier 13</a>, just like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Jonas">Nick Jonas</a> outshines his equally talented brothers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Jonas" title="Joe Jonas">Joe</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Jonas">the ugly one</a>***.</span>]<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1227</span> - Pope <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Honorius_III" title="Pope Honorius III">Honorius III</a> died; he was succeeded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_IX" title="Pope Gregory IX">Gregory IX</a> the following day.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1229</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Holy Roman Emperor">Holy Roman Emperor</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor">Frederick II</a> was crowned <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Jerusalem" title="King of Jerusalem">King of Jerusalem</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Crusade" title="Sixth Crusade">Sixth Crusade</a>. </div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1314</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_de_Molay" title="Jacques de Molay">Jacques de Molay</a> - the 23rd and last Grand Master of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar" title="Knights Templar">Knights Templar</a> - was burned at the stake at Paris' <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_de_la_Cit%C3%A9" title="Île de la Cité">Île de la Cité</a> on the orders of France's King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France" title="Philip IV of France">Philip IV</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1608</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susenyos_of_Ethiopia" title="Susenyos of Ethiopia">Susenyos</a> was formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1781</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier" style="font-weight: bold;" title="Charles Messier">Charles Messier</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> rediscovered the global cluster </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_92" style="font-weight: bold;" title="Messier 92">M92</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1871</span> - Following the Declaration of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune" title="Paris Commune">Paris Commune</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphe_Thiers" title="Adolphe Thiers">Adolphe Thiers</a> - the President of the French Republic - ordered the evacuation of Paris.</div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1913</span> - Greece's King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece" title="George I of Greece">George I</a> was <span class="mw-redirect">assassinated</span> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandros_Schinas" title="Alexandros Schinas">Alexandros Schinas</a> in the recently liberated city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki" title="Thessaloniki">Thessaloniki</a>.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1922</span> - The first public celebration of a <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27nai_mitzvah#Jewish_girls" title="B'nai mitzvah">Bat mitzvah</a>, for the daughter of Rabbi <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordecai_Kaplan" title="Mordecai Kaplan">Mordecai Kaplan</a>, was held in New York City at the headquarters of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_the_Advancement_of_Judaism" title="Society for the Advancement of Judaism">Society for the Advancement of Judaism</a>.</div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1937</span> - An <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion" title="New London School explosion">explosion</a> caused by a natural gas leak killed and/or injured hundreds, most of them children, at a school in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London%2C_Texas" title="New London, Texas">New London, Texas</a>; of the approximately 600 students and 40 teachers in the building at the time, only about 130 escaped without serious injury.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1940</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a> met at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenner_Pass" title="Brenner Pass">Brenner Pass</a> in the Alps, when they agreed to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom. </div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1950</span> - The Belgian government <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_2840000/2840237.stm">fell</a> after a referendum in which 57% of Belgians favoured the return of King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium">Leopold III</a> from exile in Switzerland; his return to Belgium was nevertheless met by widespread unrest, following which he abdicated in favour of his son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudouin_I_of_Belgium" title="Baudouin I of Belgium">Baudouin</a> in July 1951.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1962</span> - The <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evian_Accords" title="Evian Accords">Evian Accords</a> put an end to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_War_of_Independence" title="Algerian War of Independence">Algerian War of Independence</a>, which had begun in November 1954.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1967</span> - <span class="mw-redirect">The oil supertanker</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrey_Canyon" title="Torrey Canyon">Torrey Canyon</a> (chartered by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP" title="BP">British Petroleum</a>) <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_4242000/4242709.stm">ran aground</a> on Pollard's Rock in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Stones_reef" title="Seven Stones reef">Seven Stones reef</a> off the Cornish coast, spilling 100,000 tons of crude oil; 15,000 sea birds were killed in the aftermath, many from the toxic detergents used in an attempt to clean them. </div><div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<div></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1982</span> - Britain's Attorney General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Michael_Havers">Sir Michael Havers</a> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_2524000/2524269.stm">halted</a> an obscenity trial brought by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_whitehouse">Mary Whitehouse</a> against director <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bogdanov" title="Michael Bogdanov">Michael Bogdanov</a> and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Theatre" title="National Theatre">National Theatre</a> for its production of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Brenton" title="Howard Brenton">Howard Brenton</a>'s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Romans_in_Britain" title="The Romans in Britain">The Romans in Britain</a>.</i></div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1990</span> - In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings (collectively worth around $300 million) were stolen from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum" title="Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum">Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum</a> in Boston, Massachusetts.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">1992</span> - South Africa <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_2524000/2524695.stm">voted</a> to end apartheid in a special <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_referendum%2C_1992">referendum</a>.</div><br />
<div></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">2003</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Sign_Language" title="British Sign Language">British Sign Language</a> was recognized as a language, but not as an official language of Britain, meaning it has no legal protections.<br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">2005</span> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo" title="Terri Schiavo">Terri Schiavo</a>'s feeding tube was removed at the request of her husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia; Schiavo died less than two weeks later.<br />
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<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/*/http:/rooznegaar.blogfa.com" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/Further%20Thumbnails/Omid_Reza_Mir_Sayafi.jpg" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">2009</span> - Iranian blogger <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omid_Reza_Mir_Sayafi" title="Omid Reza Mir Sayafi">Omid Reza Mir Sayafi</a> was murdered in Tehran's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evin_Prison" title="Evin Prison">Evin Prison</a>, where he'd been incarcerated for telling the truth about the mullahs and their Islamic Republic. He was 29. Despite the removal of his blog - which was ostensibly concerned with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_traditional_music" title="Persian traditional music">traditional Persian music</a> - by the authorities, his work will live on thanks to the power of the Internet and foes of tyranny like the Pop Culture Institute. The <a class="external text" href="http://www.march18.org/" rel="nofollow">March 18 Movement</a> was created to honour his memory, and to oppose any attempts to silence new media and citizen journalists; it's a movement which this humble blog is proud to have joined.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">*Hard as it may be for modern minds to comprehend, in the olden days e'rybody wasn't up in e'rybody else's bidness like they are today; there was no Twitter in 1781 - except by birds - so two different people could easily discover something at around the same time without it devolving into a spate of name-calling on YouTube. Geez, huh? Old-timey guys were some messed up shizzle! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">**In Canada, a 'shitload' is an official measure; all's I know is it's bigger than a 'buttload'. Maybe it's metric... Look it up!<br />
***Ummm... In the interest of full disclosure I should say that this photo caption is a blatant hit grab... Not unlike the </span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Brothers" title="Jonas Brothers">Jonas Brothers</a></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"> themselves!<br />
</span><span style="color: white; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">*</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;"><br />
</span> </div></div>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-35940928484148679412011-03-17T01:15:00.000-07:002011-03-17T05:47:25.036-07:00In Memoriam: Bayard RustinRoutinely described as the architect of the American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955-1968%29">Civil Rights Movement</a>, Bayard Rustin is just as routinely denied his legacy today by the offspring of the Baptist ministers who were his lieutenants in this most noble undertaking because Rustin was openly - even unashamedly - gay at a time when he could still be jailed in many jurisdictions for being so...<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Bayard_Rustin.jpg" /></a>Born on this day in 1912, Rustin was raised by his maternal grandparents; both were active in their community - Rustin's grandmother was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends" title="Religious Society of Friends">Quaker</a>, his grandfather belonged to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.M.E._Church" title="A.M.E. Church">A.M.E. Church</a> - as a boy he was taken by them to meetings of the local chapter of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_People" title="National Association for the Advancement of Colored People">National Association for the Advancement of Colored People</a> (NAACP). Not only would he have heard <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.E.B._Du_Bois" title="W.E.B. Du Bois">W.E.B. Du Bois</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Weldon_Johnson" title="James Weldon Johnson">James Weldon Johnson</a> speak there, but these legendary civil rights pioneers were also frequent guests in his grandparents' home.<br />
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Originally enrolled at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilberforce_University" title="Wilberforce University">Wilberforce University</a>, Rustin's academic career took on a peripatetic quality following his work on behalf of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys" title="Scottsboro Boys">Scottsboro Nine</a> in 1936; the outrageous bigotry directed at nine black men unfairly imprisoned lit the fuse of the civil rights movement in America - not to mention lighting a fire under one of its most tireless proponents - a fuse which would eventually detonate a generation later in another corner of Alabama during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott" title="Montgomery Bus Boycott">Montgomery Bus Boycott</a>.<br />
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The idea for a march on Washington first occurred during World War II, when the military was still officially segregated; with his typical aplomb President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> deftly defused that situation before it got out of hand by implementing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_8802" title="Executive Order 8802">Executive Order 8802</a>, following which Rustin went to California to advocate on behalf of interned Japanese-Americans. Imprisoned for violating the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940" title="Selective Training and Service Act of 1940">Selective Service Act</a>, he continued to agitate on behalf on civil rights while incarcerated.<br />
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As Rustin's star rose, questions about his sexuality and past affiliation with Communism began troubling the civil rights leadership, notably Rep. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clayton_Powell%2C_Jr." title="Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.">Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.</a> (D-NY), who forced Rustin's resignation from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Christian_Leadership_Conference" title="Southern Christian Leadership Conference">Southern Christian Leadership Conference</a>, which Rustin had founded with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr." title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>; undeterred, Rustin went to work on realizing his other dream. At the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom" title="March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom">March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom</a> in 1963 Dr. King made his famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream" style="font-style: italic;" title="I Have a Dream">I Have a Dream</a> speech, but the dream had been Rustin's first, a fact too often overlooked today. In response to the March on Washington, President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Johnson">Lyndon Baines Johnson</a> bullied the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964" title="Civil Rights Act of 1964">Civil Rights Act (1964)</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act" title="Voting Rights Act">National Voting Rights Act (1965)</a> through both houses of Congress.<br />
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Following King's assassination, Rustin eschewed the angry tactics (and blatant homophobia) of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Power" title="Black Power">Black Power</a> movement by turning his attention to gay rights, stating: 'The barometer of where one is on human rights questions is no longer the black community, it's the gay community. Because it is the community which is most easily mistreated.' Bayard Rustin died of complications following surgery in August 1987; he was survived by Walter Naegle, his partner of 10 years.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The memoir of record is Jervis Anderson's </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bayard-Rustin-Troubles-Ive-Seen/dp/0520214188">Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've Seen</a><span style="font-style: italic;">; the PBS documentary </span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2002/brotheroutsider/">Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer - a clip of which can be seen </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBnUAoKjykM" style="font-style: italic;">here</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> - draws heavily on this work. My thanks to </span><a href="http://www.keithboykin.com/blog2/">keithboykin.com</a> </span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">for this additional <a href="http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2003/01/17/brother_outside">information</a>.<br />
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</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-28782711279169585962011-03-17T00:45:00.000-07:002011-03-17T05:23:14.932-07:00Ed Byrne on Drinking<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cL51QamqY1Q" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
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Irish comedian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Byrne">Ed Byrne</a> sounds off on what is stereotypically (as well as statistically) Ireland's favourite hobby - behind slagging off the English, of course - on this, the drunkard's highest holy day.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-78493397753652187122011-03-17T00:35:00.001-07:002011-03-17T05:17:39.880-07:00Dara O'Briain Confronts 'The Troubles'<object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hP7Di7te5yM&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hP7Di7te5yM&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br />
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To my mind the only thing the Irish do better than music is comedy, which accounts for the day's second St Patrick's Day video hat trick...<br />
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Here, comedian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dara_O%27Briain">Dara O'Briain</a> discusses the one incident of anti-Irish sentiment he's encountered in England, at (of all places) the <a href="http://www.britainexpress.com/cities/york/modelrailway.htm">Model Railway Museum</a> in York.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-30610133555811071482011-03-17T00:35:00.000-07:002011-03-17T05:08:54.858-07:00Politics and Religion With Dylan Moran<object height="340" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/odFJr3Krr3A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/odFJr3Krr3A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="425"></embed></object><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Moran">Dylan Moran</a> is just one of a crop of talented Irish comedians entertaining audiences around the world; a talented stand up, he's also proven himself capable of anchoring a sitcom, as the star of the BBC <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Books-1-3-Box-Set/dp/B0002OJU0U">programme</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Books" title="Black Books">Black Books</a></i>.<br />
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In fact, he's so popular, I've lost track of the number of times I've featured him on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pop Culture Institute</span>, which is an honour usually reserved for obscure 'Newfoundland royalty of the 1930s'* and the like.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">*As Mr Barr is so fond of describing my content...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-style: italic;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-75285131342555305302011-03-17T00:30:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:58:38.873-07:00Shades of Green<center><a href="http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/?action=view&current=DSCF0508.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/DSCF0508.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-71462227016939839742011-03-17T00:25:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:56:18.168-07:00"The Hands That Built America" by U2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UxCAvK2wIEo" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
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What <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day" title="St. Patrick's Day">St. Patrick's Day</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_music">Irish music</a> video hat trick would be complete without <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2" title="U2">U2</a>? Not this one, I can tell you that right now!<br />
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From the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_hands_that_built_america">2002 film</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_of_New_York" title="Gangs of New York">Gangs of New York</a></i> - itself loosely based on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Asbury">Herbert Asbury</a>'s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gangs-New-York-Informal-Underworld/dp/1560252758">1928 book</a> of the same name which was itself only loosely based on actual history - it's the Oscar-nominated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_hands_that_built_america"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hands That Built America</span></a>.<i><br />
</i><span style="color: white;">*</span><i><br />
</i>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-65943842275610412852011-03-17T00:20:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:51:36.802-07:00"Bonny Portmore" by Loreena McKennitt<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lnQiADRQz0Y" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
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Since it's <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day" title="St. Patrick's Day">St. Patrick's Day</a> (more on that later) I feel compelled by a serious case of Anglo guilt to highlight the cultural accomplishments of the Irish on this fine, green day. Despite centuries of Papist oppression and almost constant drunkenness they've managed to crank out quite a quaint little culture for themselves. (What else can I say? Once an English bastard, always an English bastard.) Plus they kind of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Saved-Civilization-Hinges-History/dp/0385418493">saved</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture">Western Civilization</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_ages">Middle Ages</a>, which was pretty cool of them all things considered...<br />
<br />
This song, though, has long been one of my favourites; I first heard it in 1992, when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreena_Mckennitt">Loreena McKennitt</a>'s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Visit-Loreena-McKennitt/dp/B000002LT2">album</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visit_%28Loreena_McKennitt_album%29" title="The Visit (Loreena McKennitt album)">The Visit</a></i> (on which it appears) was released. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonny_Portmore" style="font-style: italic;" title="Bonny Portmore">Bonny Portmore</a> describes the rape of Ireland by the British, who decimated the oaken forests of Ireland so as to build ships with which to set about conquering the world. Which, need I remind you, they very nearly did, or at any rate did better than anyone before them until American capitalism beat them at their own game.<br />
<br />
What was I talking about?<br />
<br />
Oh yeah... Great song... Have a listen...<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-87909190722737199912011-03-17T00:15:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:47:49.278-07:00"The Celts" by Enya<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yyR1c7CWCQw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yyR1c7CWCQw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />
<br />
I can hear you purists groaning, but I've long been a fan of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enya">Enya</a>, and since I think this is the most Irish of her songs that surely qualifies it for placement here; certainly I've posted things on flimsier pretexts before, which to be quite honest I did so as to later justify stuff like this.<br />
<br />
Just be grateful I'm not wearing orange.*<br />
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A n y w a y... The song you see above, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Celts</span>, is taken from Enya's 1987 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enya_%28album%29">self-titled</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Celts-Enya/dp/B000002MSM/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268840310&sr=8-11">debut album</a>, which was re-released in 1992 as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celts_%28album%29" title="The Celts (album)">The Celts</a></i>, remastered and with a couple of the tracks altered.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*Not even I would be that stupid.<br />
</span><span style="color: white; font-size: 100%;">*</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-82732906907368222252011-03-17T00:10:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:45:51.064-07:00What's The Occasion? St. Patrick's DayAs with many holidays of relatively long-standing, there is considerable lore surrounding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day">St. Patrick's Day</a>; for instance, did you know that the colour associated with St. Patrick is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Blue">blue</a>? The whole green thing is purely Irish, and what better, as it's said that there are more shades of green in any view of the Irish countryside than the human eye can register. It probably took someone at the <a href="http://www.discoverireland.ie/">Irish Tourist Board</a> ages to come up with that, but it's still a pretty sentiment nonetheless...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick" target="_blank"><img align="right" alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/St_Patrick.jpg" /></a>My personal favourite annual tradition is the dyeing of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River">Chicago River</a> green, which makes a pleasant change from grey speckled with chunks of brown; later in the evening even the alleys and gutters of the city run green, so persistent is the presence of food colouring used in beer that it lends its joyous hue to urine and vomit alike.<br />
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Of course, St. Patrick himself wasn't Irish at all, but Roman-born, and brought to Ireland as a slave. This is in marked contrast to many Irish, who left Ireland because they felt like slaves of the British, only to face 'No Irish Need Apply' signs in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The Irish diaspora has become so successful - even in the face of that grievous bigotry - that even Glasgow holds a St. Patrick's Day parade; no word yet on what sort of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Day">St. Andrew's Day</a> parade Dublin will be having come November, but it's likely to be a darn sight better than the one they hold on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_Day">St. George's Day</a>.<br />
<br />
These parades are commonplace around the world, but the most famous one is in New York City, where annually millions gather to practice their homophobia under the watchful eye of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Order_of_Hibernians" title="Ancient Order of Hibernians">Ancient Order of Hibernians</a>. Here at the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pop Culture Institute</span>, of course, we celebrate things a little differently, as you might have guessed if you've been following our coverage; here March 17th is St. Passive-Aggressive's Day, he being our patron saint. We light a candle to Brigid and I exchange the red paint-ball pellets I normally use to take potshots at the drunken frat-boys in the alley behind my apartment for green ones. A good time is had by all (or, in this case, me).<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The image used in this post was taken (by me) from a mural on the side of </span><a href="http://www.rcav.org/schools/listing/2_St_Patricks/index.htm" style="font-style: italic;">St. Patrick's Secondary School</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> in Vancouver.<br />
</span><span style="color: white; font-size: 100%;">*</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-79883145990911851492011-03-17T00:05:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:42:25.889-07:00"Danny Boy" by The Muppets<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OCbuRA_D3KU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OCbuRA_D3KU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />
<br />
What better way to kick off St. Patrick's Day than with a touching (in so many ways) performance by three of <i><a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Muppet_Show" title="The Muppet Show">The Muppet Show</a></i>'s finest singers - including <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Beaker">Beaker</a>, <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Animal" title="Animal">Animal</a>, and the <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Swedish_Chef" title="The Swedish Chef">Swedish Chef</a> as <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Leprechaun_Brothers" title="The Leprechaun Brothers">The Leprechaun Brothers</a> - performing that Irish classic <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Danny_Boy" style="font-style: italic;" title="Danny Boy">Danny Boy</a>; originally the <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/UK_Spots_%28The_Muppet_Show%29" title="UK Spots (The Muppet Show)">UK Spot</a> of <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_520:_Wally_Boag" title="Episode 520: Wally Boag">Episode 520</a>, whenever it's played around the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pop Culture Institute</span> there's nary a dry eye (or, indeed, seat) in the place. <br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-14241436065877748452011-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:002011-03-17T04:38:00.874-07:00POPnews - March 17th<center><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/12/2008-03-12_gov_spitzer_resigns_in_wake_of_prostitut.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m135/icon_watcher/More%20Thumbnails/Eliot_Spitzer_resignation.jpg" /></a><br />
[<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">As Attorney-General of New York, Eliot Spitzer led (amongst others) a campaign against high-end prostitution; his promising career as governor - which some said could have taken him all the way to the White House - cooled when, within weeks of his taking office in 2007, his inner douchebag (which had been so useful in his previous job) began to emerge and terrorize the sensitive burghers of Albany. A year later, on this day in 2008, Spitzer was busted for hypocrisy and hounded from office to live out the rest of his days in tabloid ignominy and on a very short leash indeed - one which his wife, alas, would be holding. Not hot...</span></span>]</center><br />
<div><b>45 BCE</b> - In his last victory, at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Munda" title="Battle of Munda">Battle of Munda</a> - two days short of one year before his murder - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> defeated the forces of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Labienus" title="Titus Labienus">Titus Labienus</a> (who was killed that day, alongside 3,000 of his men) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnaeus_Pompeius" title="Gnaeus Pompeius">Pompey the Younger</a> (who was later captured and executed for treason).</div><br />
<div></div><b>180 CE</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius" title="Marcus Aurelius">Marcus Aurelius</a> died, leaving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus" title="Commodus">Commodus</a> the sole emperor - although he wasn't murdered by Commodus as depicted in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott" title="Ridley Scott">Ridley Scott</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gladiator-Two-Disc-Collectors-Tomas-Arana/dp/B00003CXE7">film</a> <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator_%28film%29" title="Gladiator (film)"><i>Gladiator</i></a> (2000).<br />
<br />
<div><b>1337</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward,_the_Black_Prince" title="Edward, the Black Prince">Edward, the Black Prince</a>, was made the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Cornwall" title="Duke of Cornwall">Duke of Cornwall</a>; this was also England's first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_cornwall">duchy</a> - although it is not intended to be <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dutchie">passed around</a> the left hand side, but rather automatically to the eldest son of the sovereign by birthright.</div><br />
<div><b>1776</b> - At the outset of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution" title="American Revolution">American Revolution</a>, following the 11-month long <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Boston" title="Siege of Boston">siege of Boston</a>, British forces under General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Howe">William Howe</a> evacuated several thousand troops and loyalists after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington" title="George Washington">George Washington</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Knox" title="Henry Knox">Henry Knox</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortification_of_Dorchester_Heights" title="Fortification of Dorchester Heights">fortified Dorchester Heights</a> by placing artillery overlooking the city in order to secure what was then the busiest port in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Colonies" title="Thirteen Colonies">Thirteen Colonies</a>; the day is still commemorated there as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_Day_%28Massachusetts%29" title="Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)">Evacuation Day</a>, which ties in quite nicely with the after-effects of drink copious quantities of green beer.</div><br />
<div><b>1805</b> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Republic_%28Napoleonic%29" title="Italian Republic (Napoleonic)">Italian Republic</a>, with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon</a> as president, became the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy_%28Napoleonic%29" title="Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)">Kingdom of Italy</a>, with Napoleon as King. <span style="font-style: italic;">Coincidence?</span> No... Not at all.</div><br />
<div><b>1845</b> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_band" title="Rubber band">rubber band</a> was first patented, in England, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Perry" title="Stephen Perry">Stephen Perry</a>.</div><br />
<div><b>1861</b> - The <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29" title="Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)">Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)</a> was proclaimed; its first King was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_II_of_Italy">Victor Emmanuel II</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Savoy" title="House of Savoy">House of Savoy</a>. This is not to be confused with the Kingdom of Italy declared on this day in 1805 - <span style="font-style: italic;">see above</span> - which was a vassal state of France, and did not comprise the entire <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Peninsula" title="Italian Peninsula">Italian Peninsula</a> (which even this one would not control until 1870). </div><br />
<div><b>1941</b> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery_of_Art" title="National Gallery of Art">National Gallery of Art</a> was officially opened by President <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt" title="Franklin Delano Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>, in Washington, DC.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1950</span> - Researchers at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Berkeley" title="University of California, Berkeley">University of California, Berkeley</a> announced the creation of element 98, which they named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californium" title="Californium">Californium</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1957</span> - A plane crash in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu" title="Cebu">Cebu</a> killed Philippine President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Magsaysay" title="Ramon Magsaysay">Ramon Magsaysay</a> and 24 others.</div><br />
<div><b>1958</b> - The United States launched <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1" title="Vanguard 1">Vanguard 1</a> as part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vanguard" title="Project Vanguard">Project Vanguard</a>; the first solar-powered satellite, it is still aloft (although no longer is use), and is thus the oldest piece of space junk orbiting the Earth.</div><br />
<div><b>1959</b> - One week after an unsuccessful uprising in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzin_Gyatso" title="Tenzin Gyatso">Tenzin Gyatso</a>, the 14th <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama" title="Dalai Lama">Dalai Lama</a>, fled Tibet for India, hotly pursued by the Chinese, who have illegally occupied his country since 1950.</div><br />
<div><b>1966</b> - Off the Mediterranean coast of Spain the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Alvin" title="DSV Alvin"><i>Alvin</i></a> submarine found the fourth 70-kiloton warhead accidentally <a href="http://popcultureinstitute.blogspot.com/2008/01/popnews-january-17th.html">dropped</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palomares_hydrogen_bombs_incident" title="Palomares hydrogen bombs incident">Palomares Incident</a> two months earlier, the other three having fallen on land, thankfully without detonating.</div><br />
<div><b>1969</b> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir" title="Golda Meir">Golda Meir</a> was sworn in as the first woman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Israel" title="Prime Minister of Israel">Prime Minister of Israel</a>.</div><br />
<div><b>1979</b> - The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penmanshiel_Tunnel" title="Penmanshiel Tunnel">Penmanshiel Tunnel</a> - first opened in 1846 - collapsed during engineering improvements, killing two workers; the tunnel is no longer in use, its collapse having rather effectively, if drastically, closed it.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1985</span> - Having already raped and murdered Jennie Vincow, serial killer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez" title="Richard Ramirez">Richard Ramirez</a> - aka the 'Night Stalker' - committed the second and third of his 14 murders, killing Maria Hernandez and Dayle Okazaki in a spree which terrorized Los Angeles prior to his capture on August 24th.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1992</span> - A suicide <span class="mw-redirect">car-bomb</span> killed 29 and injured 242 during an <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Embassy_attack_in_Buenos_Aires" title="Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires">attack on the Israeli Embassy</a> in Buenos Aires.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2000</span> - The Ugandan cult <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Restoration_of_the_Ten_Commandments_of_God" title="Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God">Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God</a> - a breakaway Catholic sect founded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credonia_Mwerinde" title="Credonia Mwerinde">Credonia Mwerinde</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kibweteere" title="Joseph Kibweteere">Joseph Kibweteere</a> - celebrated what they considered to be the apocalypse by roasting and eating three bulls washed down with 70 crates of soft drinks before killing more than 800 of its members in an explosion.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2008</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - </span><span class="mw-redirect" style="font-weight: bold;">New York </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Governor </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer" style="font-weight: bold;" title="Eliot Spitzer">Eliot Spitzer</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> resigned after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute; he was succeeded by Lieutenant-Governor </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paterson" style="font-weight: bold;" title="David Paterson">David Paterson</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, whose own past was also less than pristine.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span></div>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21285274.post-4007871618731093942011-03-16T00:25:00.000-07:002011-03-16T03:06:12.994-07:00"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xz-UvQYAmbg" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
There are two different clips of this song on YouTube, and now both of them are on the Pop Culture Institute as well...<br />
<br />
Probably the most famous of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammi_Terrell" title="Tammi Terrell">Tammi Terrell</a>'s duets with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Gaye" title="Marvin Gaye">Marvin Gaye</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_No_Mountain_High_Enough" title="Ain't No Mountain High Enough"><i>Ain't No Mountain High Enough</i></a> was written by an equally famous duo - <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickolas_Ashford" title="Nickolas Ashford">Nickolas Ashford</a> & <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Simpson" title="Valerie Simpson">Valerie Simpson</a> - in 1966, and was recorded by Terrell and Gaye in 1967. It was an even bigger hit for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Ross" title="Diana Ross">Diana Ross</a> in 1970, as she was separating from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Supremes" title="The Supremes">The Supremes</a>; personally I prefer the less bombastic arrangement being used here.<br />
<span style="color: white;">*</span>michael sean morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06336285190644141596noreply@blogger.com0