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Issue #333 - 4 May 2012
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Friday 4 May - King Edward IV of England won the Battle of Tewkesbury in the Wars of the Roses, 1471. Inventor of the piano Bartolomeo Cristofori born, 1655. Highwayman John Nevison hanged, 1684. Rhode Island became the first American colony to renounce its allegiance to the British throne, 1776. Artist Hokusai died, 1849. Alice Liddell, for whom Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland, born, 1852. Silent film actress Anita Stewart died, 1961. British television presenter Kate Garraway born, 1967. The Canadian Don't Make a Wave environmental organisation, founded the year before, changed its name to The Greenpeace Foundation, 1972. Star Wars Day. Saturday 5 May - Roman emperor Galerius died, 311. Kublai Khan became the ruler of the Mongol Empire, 1260. Political philosopher Karl Marx born, 1818. Napoleon Bonaparte died, 1821. The first train robbery in the United States took place in North Bend, Ohio, 1865. Actor Tyrone Power born, 1914. In Operation Nimrod the Special Air Service stormed the Iranian embassy in London, ending a six-day siege, 1980. Singer Craig David born, 1981. Chess grandmaster and world champion Mikhail Botvinnik died, 1995. Sunday 6 May - Artist Dieric Bouts died, 1475. Spanish and German forces sacked Rome, an event considered to mark the end of the Renaissance, 1527. French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre born, 1758. The Glacierium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened in London, 1844. Cabaret performer Aristide Bruant born, 1851. Naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt died, 1859. Filmmaker Orson Welles born, 1915. The Channel Tunnel was officially opened, 1994. Lillian Asplund, the last American Titanic survivor, died, 2006. International No Diet Day. Monday 7 May - Joan of Arc, wounded by a arrow, led the final charge that relieved the Siege of Orléans, 1429. Printer Ottaviano Petrucci died, 1539. Philosopher David Hume born, 1711. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna, 1824. Composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky born, 1840. William Hesketh Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme, died, 1925. Geoffrey W.A. Dummer published the concept for the integrated circuit, the basis of modern computers, 1952. Actor Breckin Meyer born, 1974. Actress Machiko Soga died, 2006. Tuesday 8 May - Mexican revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo born, 1753. Chemist and tax collector Antoine Lavoisier was tried, convicted and guillotined for treason - all on the same day - in the French Revolution, 1794. Impresario Oscar Hammerstein I born, 1847. Novelist Gustave Flaubert died, 1880. Founding of Paramount Pictures, 1912. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough born, 1926. The Thames Barrier was officially opened, 1984. So-called psychic medium Doris Stokes died, and hasn't been heard from since, 1987. Wednesday 9 May - Thomas Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, 1671. Composer Dietrich Buxtehude died, 1707. Abolitionist John Brown born, 1800. Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opened in London, 1887. Journalist Mike Wallace born, 1918. The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opened formal, public, impeachment hearings against President Nixon, 1974. German militant Ulrike Meinhof probably committed suicide, 1976. Actress Rosario Dawson born, 1979. Singer Lena Horne died, 2010. Thursday 10 May - Christopher Columbus visited the Cayman Islands, naming them Las Tortugas, 1503. Sarah Osborne, accused in the Salem witch trials, died in jail, 1692. Mathematician Gaspard Monge born, 1746. The National Gallery in London opened, 1824. Actor and Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth born, 1838. Confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died, 1863. Guitarist Bert Weedon born, 1920. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa, 1994. Artist Frank Frazetta died, 2010.
This week, Nelson Mandela:It always seems impossible, until it is done.
A mixed bag of quotations. Answers next issue or from the regular address.Last issue's quotations were:
- - So you are proposing to go to war over these islands. They're thousands of miles away, a handful of citizens, politically and economically insignificant, if you'll excuse me.
- Just like Hawaii... I imagine.- Typical isn't it? You wait 20 years for a dad and then three come along at once.
- Life is only on Earth. And not for long.
- - Mademoiselle, will we be very happy?
- We will work hard, and we will be content.- - What exactly are you a professor of, "Professor" Logan?
- Art.
- We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.
-- Dog Soldiers [2002]- - Why would anyone want to be with you?
- I'm not sure really... oh yeah, perhaps because I'm rich, I live in a castle and I can do magic.
-- Your Highness [2011]- People don't realize this, but loneliness is underrated.
-- 500 Days of Summer [2009]- Life is like walking in the rain... you can hide and take cover or you can just get wet.
-- Hesher [2010]- - A kiss under the mistletoe. You know, mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it.
- But a kiss can be even deadlier... if you mean it.
-- Batman Returns [1992]
Strange stories from around the world, some of which might be true...
KRAKEN! After five hours' standing on the cold seafront at Brighton Marina, 73 fishermen packed up their gear and gave up on the All England Squid Championships. The 74th angler, ecologist David Thambithurai was about to cast his line back into the Solent for one last try when he noticed something on the lure. It was a 1cm- (3/8")-long baby squid, enough to win him the competition, to the embarassment of sponsor George Cunningham who had to hand over a £210 ($340) fishing rod, as the championship rules failed to specify a minimum size for eligible squid.
FOXY! The London Olympics are this summer, with events spread around the (mostly southern half of the) country, including shooting in temporary ranges at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, London. Unless the foxes have their way, that is. So far they have wrecked microphones, chewed cables and, er, left deposits on the podium area. Even more remarkable is that none have been caught or - given the presence of up to 800 world-class marksmen and women there to test the facilities ahead of the Games, shot. 2000 Olympic champion Richard Faulds was quoted as saying that "It adds a bit of fun to the event. Most of the shooters are very fond of them." The organiser in charge of the event for the Olympics added that the foxes were there before the shooting ranges, and that there were guards there at night who "...if need be, shoo them away."
THAT SINKING FEELING. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has contracted a Chinese shipyard to build a full-scale replica of the Titanic, as close as possible to the legendary ship's design and luxury, but powered by diesel rather than coal and with modern navigation equipment. He hopes that it will sail the original's intended route across the Atlantic from Southampton, England, to New York in 2016. "It will be designed as a modern ship with all the technology to ensure that [hitting an iceberg] doesn't happen. But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen," he said. When asked if it was unsinkable, as the original ship is erroneously believed to have been claimed to be, he replied with typical Australian directness "Of course it will sink if you put a hole in it."
BEARING UP! When a one-year-old bear found his way up a tree in a city in central Arkansas and refused to come down, wildlife officials turned to a children's party supplier to borrow two inflatable houses, and positioned them underneath the bear. Then they shot him with tranquiliser darts. "He would slide to one side, and we're like 'Oh, oh, oh, he's going to come down,'" police spokeswoman La Tresha Woodruff told reporters, "and then he'd balance himself again." Finally the bear - called Foster after the residential road he was on - passed out, but still didn't fall, so firefighters were called in to turn a hose on him until he fell out of the tree, landing, rather unfortunately, right between the inflatable houses. He was unharmed though, "just knocked out" according to Woodruff. He was later released in the Ozark Mountains.
LAVA-LY! Iceland is to offer tourists the chance to visit the inside of a volcano's magma chamber. For a mere ISK37,000 (£180, $290) visitors who drive the 30 minutes from Reykjavik and hike for 40 minutes across a lava field will take an open cable lift the 120m (394') down to the bottom of the Thrihnukagigur volcano's crater and spend around an hour inside the volcano. The volcano is believed to have been dormant for the last 4,000 years, and scientists first accessed its magma chamber in 2011.
IN BRIEF. 99-, 96-year old Italians to become world's oldest divorced couple after husband discovered that wife had an affair - in the 1940s. Chinese man pulls car with hooks in his eye sockets. Dinosaurs had really big fleas. Minnesota home owners call in recreational military tank-driving company to demolish old house. New claim that Loch Ness Monster could be large sleeper shark. Obiwan [sic] Kenobi charged with hit-and-run in California. Would-be robber wearing boxers on his head as disguise caught after cashier knocks them. Moles unearthing relics in Roman fort. Woman with 'GOD' tattooed across forehead arrested for stalking. Cuban actors starring in film about defectors... defect to US while there promoting film.
Katie "Jordan" Price marrying for third time, apparently. Eastenders takes seven awards including Best British Soap at British Soap Awards; Coronation Street also took seven, Emmerdale three. You Me At Six take four noms for Kerrang! awards. Adele's 21 passes Michael Jackson's Thriller in UK album sales. BBC to shake up daytime schedules. Bob Dylan to receive US Medal of Freedom. Lady Gaga's world tour off to troubled start as Seoul authorites slap 18+ age limit on it. Kylie Minogue to headline Proms in the Park in September. Anonymous takes six German Film Academy awards, but Cannes winner Stopped on Track takes best director, best actor, best supporting actor and the Golden Lola (best film). Britain's Got Talent takes 0.1m ratings lead over The Voice after moving to later timeslot. Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves to direct live action The Jungle Book. Jack White's solo debut knocks Adele's 21 off top of UK album charts; Lana Del Rey at three. Kelly Rowland rules out returning to The X Factor judging panel. Warner Bros to release classic film scripts, production notes etc. as e-books. Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Paolo Nutini to headline Olympics concert, representing the four UK nations. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy to adapt fairytales for Christmas family stage show. The Hunger Games, Bridesmaids lead MTV Movie Awards noms with eight each. 2012 Turner Prize shortlist announced. Former Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser to perform first UK shows since 1998 at Meltdown Festival. Rolf Harris to receive Bafta Fellowship. Oscars venue renamed the Dolby Theatre after sponsorship change. Annie Liebovitz honoured by L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art. The Avengers (renamed, for unknown reasons, for its release on this side of the Pond Marvel Avengers Assemble) tops UK, Ireland box offices. One of the four versions of Munch's The Scream auctions for $120m (£74m), becoming the most expensive art work sold at auction. British Council puts over 120 short films of UK cultural and political history since 1939 online. Sky 1 to resurrect BBC comedy interview show The Kumars at No. 42. MMO based on The Elder Scrolls franchise in the works. Kate Bush's 50 Words For Snow beats 21 to take South Bank Sky Arts award for Best Pop Album. Shakira takes four Billboard Latin Music awards. Motorola wins patent case against Microsoft in Germany, gets injunction banning sale of XBox 360, Internet Explorer, WIndows 7 and Windows Media Player in the country if US court upholds action. First 100 names of albums in John Peel's collection published, rest to follow. UK Parliament committee says Rupert Murdoch "not a fit person" to head News Corp. Obits: The Killers saxophonist Thomas Marth (33), film/TV composer Joel Goldsmith (54), guitarist Charles "Skip" Pitts (65), musician John Birch (82).
Remembering the days when travel was glamorous and elegant, this week's site is a collection of travel posters from 1910-1959.http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/02/28/vintage-travel-posters/
^ THE AMAZING NOT-QUITE-RANDOM LOTTERY PREDICTOR!
Dumbledore Bear, our in-house psychic predicts that the following numbers will be lucky:8, 10, 11, 32, 33, 41
Little Jennifer was a prolific thumb-sucker. Her parents had tried everything to get her to stop, but to no avail. Finally, one Sunday, her father said to her, "Little Jennifer, if you keep sucking your thumb your tummy is going to swell up so much you won't be able to see your feet any more!" Little Jennifer looked thoughtful for a moment then pulled her thumb out of her mouth.
That afternoon her father took her to the park to feed the ducks. Half way round they bumped into her father's boss and his wife, who was heavily pregnant. Before Little Jennifer's father could even say hello, Little Jennifer went up to the wife, nodded to herself and said in a loud knowing voice, "I know what you've been doing. Daddy told me this morning!"
^ ...end of line