Paradise Driver

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Today is Wednesday, April 21st.

The 112th day of 2004.

There are 254 days left in the year.



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Today's Highlight in History:



On April 21, 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, CT.



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On this date:



In 753 BCE, According to legend, twin brothers Romulus and Remus, sons of the god Mars, found the ancient city of Rome.



In 1649, The Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly.



In 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.



In 1828, Noah Webster published the first American dictionary.



In 1836, An army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring the independence of Texas. Sam yelled "Remember the Alamo". The whole war battle took only 18 minutes, but it claimed 600 Mexicans and only 9 Texans.



In 1857, Alexander Douglas patented the bustle



In 1862, Congress established the U.S. Mint in Denver, Colorado.



In 1878, The first firehouse pole was installed in N.Y.



In 1913, Gideon Sundback of Sweden patents the zipper



In 1914, US marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico, and stayed 6 months.



In 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German flying ace known as the "Red Baron," was shot down and killed in action during World War I after dowining 80 enemy planes.



In 1940, The quiz show that asked the $64-question, "Take It or Leave It," premiered on CBS Radio.



In 1945, Soviet forces assaulted the headquarters of the German High Command in south Berlin.



In 1948, 1st Polaroid camera is sold in US



In 1954, U.S. Air Force planes began flying French troops to Indochina to reinforce Dien Bien Phu. The city later fell to communist Viet Minh forces.



In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.



In 1967, Svetlana Alliluyeva (Josef Stalin's daughter) defects in NYC.



In 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the surface of the moon.



In 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after 10 years in office.



In 1977, The musical play "Annie" opened on Broadway.



In 1982, The final episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati" aired on CBS.



In 1986, Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on TV & finds nothing



In 1989, Tens of thousands of people crowded into Beijing's Tiananmen Square, cheering students who waved banners demanding greater political freedoms.



In 1992, Robert Alton Harris became the first person executed by the state of California in 25 years as he was put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of two teenage boys.



In 1993, The first episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" aired on CBS.



In 1995, The FBI arrested former soldier Timothy McVeigh at an Oklahoma jail where he'd spent two days on minor traffic and weapons charges; he was charged in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing two days earlier.



In 1997, The swollen Red River, which had flooded 75 percent of Grand Forks, N.D., reached a projected crest of 54 feet -- or 26 feet above flood stage.



In 1997, Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry launched into orbit



Ten years ago (1994):



The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $28 billion get-tough-on-crime bill by a vote of 285-141.



Five years ago (1999):



A day after the mass killing at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., investigators continued their work, while memorial services were held across the city and dozens of counselors offered support to grieving students, parents, friends and family.



Actor and bandleader Charles "Buddy" Rogers died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 94.



The 200th episode of "L.A. Law" aired.



One year ago (2003):



Military officials in Iraq announced the arrest of Muhammad Hamza al-Zubaydi, a key figure in the bloody suppression of the Shiite Muslim uprising of 1991.



State-run media in China reported the government had dismissed Beijing's mayor following the disclosure of a steep increase in SARS cases in the Chinese capital.



Scott Peterson pleaded innocent in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son.



Robert Cheruiyot became the 12th Kenyan in 13 years to win the Boston Marathon; Svetlana Zakharova of Russia won the women's race.



Jazz singer Nina Simone died in France at age 70.



In Iraq, retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Jay Garner arrived in Baghdad as Iraq's postwar administrator.



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Today's Birthdays



Ice skater Werner Groebli ("Mr. Frick") is 89.



Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is 78.



Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 72.



Actor-turned-talk show host Charles Grodin is 69.



Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 57.



Singer-songwriter Paul Davis is 56.



Actress Patti LuPone is 55.



Actor Tony Danza is 53.



Actress Andie MacDowell is 46.



Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 45.



Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 45.



Actor John Cameron Mitchell is 41.



Rapper Michael Franti (Spearhead) is 36.



Comedian Nicole Sullivan is 34.



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Thought for Today:

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -

- Mark Twain (1835-1910).

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