Paradise Driver: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

OCTOBER 31ST

Today is Friday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2008.
There are 61 days left in the year.
This is Halloween.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

On this date:

In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state.
In 1926, magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit of gangrene and peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix.
In 1938, the day after his "War of the Worlds" broadcast had panicked radio listeners, Orson Welles expressed "deep regret" but also bewilderment that anyone had thought the simulated Martian invasion was real.
In 1941, the Navy destroyer USS Reuben James was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Iceland with the loss of some 100 lives, even though the United States had not yet entered World War II.
In 1967, Nguyen Van Thieu took the oath of office as the first president of South Vietnam's second republic.
In 1968, President Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.
In 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security guards.
In 1994, a Chicago-bound American Eagle ATR-72 crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people aboard.
In 1996, a Brazilian Fokker-100 jetliner crashed in Sao Paulo, killing all 96 people on board and three on the ground.
In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, bound from New York to Cairo, crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.

Ten years ago:

A genetic study was released suggesting President Thomas Jefferson did in fact father at least one child by his slave Sally Hemings.
Iraq announced it would cut off all dealings with U.N. weapons inspectors, a move condemned by the Security Council.

Five years ago:

A man angry at a lawyer over the handling of his trust fund was captured on videotape shooting and wounding the attorney by crews covering actor Robert Blake's murder case in Van Nuys, Calif. (The shooter, William Strier, was later convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.)
Teen surfing star Bethany Hamilton lost her left arm in a shark attack off Kauai, Hawaii.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in as Malaysian prime minister, ending Mahathir Mohamad's 22-year reign.

One year ago:

Three lead defendants in the 2004 Madrid train bombings were found guilty of mass murder and other charges, but four other top suspects were convicted on lesser charges and an accused ringleader was completely acquitted in the attacks that killed 191 people.
Gold traded above $800 an ounce for the first time since 1980.

Today's Birthdays:
Former Attorney General Griffin Bell is 90.

Author Dick Francis is 88.
Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk is 86.
Actress Lee Grant is 81.
Movie critic Andrew Sarris is 80.
Former astronaut Michael Collins is 78.
Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 77.
Folk singer Tom Paxton is 71.
Actor Ron Rifkin is 69.
Actor David Ogden Stiers is 66.
Actor Stephen Rea is 62.
Actress Deidre Hall is 60.
Talk show host Jane Pauley is 58.
Actor Brian Stokes Mitchell is 50.
Movie director Peter Jackson is 47.
Rock musician Larry Mullen is 47.
Actor Dermot Mulroney is 45.
Rock musician Mikkey Dee (Motorhead) is 45.
Rock singer-musician Johnny Marr is 45.
Actor Rob Schneider is 44.
Country singer Darryl Worley is 44.
Actor-comedian Mike O'Malley is 43.
Rap musician Adrock is 42.
Songwriter Adam Schlesinger is 41.
Rap performer Vanilla Ice (aka Rob Van Winkle) is 40.
Rock singer Linn Berggren (Ace of Base) is 38.
Actress Piper Perabo is 32.
Actor Eddie Kaye Thomas is 28.
Rock musician Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) is 27.

Thought for Today:

"An old error is always more popular than a new truth."
German proverb.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Thursday, October 30, 2008

october 30th

Today is Thursday, Oct. 30, the 304th day of 2008.
There are 62 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 30, 1938, the radio play "The War of the Worlds," starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS. (The live drama, which employed fake breaking news reports, panicked some listeners who thought the portrayal of a Martian invasion was real.)

On this date:

In 1735, the second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in Braintree, Mass.
In 1885, poet Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho.
In 1944, the Martha Graham ballet "Appalachian Spring," with music by Aaron Copland, premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, with Graham in a leading role.
In 1945, the U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing, effective at midnight.
In 1961, the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb, the "Tsar Bomba," with a force estimated at about 50 megatons.
In 1961, the Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved a resolution ordering the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb.
In 1975, the New York Daily News ran the headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead" a day after President Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.
In 1979, President Carter announced his choice of federal appeals judge Shirley Hufstedler to head the newly created Department of Education.
In 1984, police in Poland found the body of kidnapped pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko, whose death was blamed on security officers.
In 1995, by a razor-thin vote of 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, Federalists prevailed over separatists in a Quebec secession referendum.

Ten years ago:

In Nicaragua, a mudslide caused by Hurricane Mitch killed at least 2,000 people on the slopes of the Casitas volcano in Posoltega.

Five years ago:

The House approved an $87.5 billion package for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Four construction workers were killed when an Atlantic City, N.J., casino parking garage collapsed.

One year ago:

Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards sharply challenged Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's candor, consistency and judgment in a televised debate in Philadelphia.
Singer-actor Robert Goulet died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 73.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Dick Gautier is 71.
Movie director Claude Lelouch is 71.
Rock singer Grace Slick is 69.
Songwriter Eddie Holland is 69.
Actor Ed Lauter is 68.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 67.
Actor Henry Winkler is 63.
Rock musician Chris Slade (Asia) is 62.
Musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 61.
Actor Leon Rippy is 59.
Actor Harry Hamlin is 57.
Actor Charles Martin Smith is 55.
Country singer T. Graham Brown is 54.
Actor Kevin Pollak is 51.
Actor Michael Beach is 45.
Rock singer-musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 41.
Comedian Ben Bailey is 38.
Actress Nia Long is 38.
Country singer Kassidy Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 32.
Actor Gael Garcia Bernal is 30.
Actor Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 16.

Thought for Today:

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
Marie Curie, Polish Nobel Prize-winning chemist (1867-1934).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Hey everybody. I am sorry that the editorial cartoons are so large lately. It is beyond my control. Blogger makes them 600 pixels wide, regardless of what size setting I enter. Maybe they;ll fix it some day. Yeah, right. Don't hold your breath.