Paradise Driver

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-268

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

SEPTEMBER 23RD

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 23, the 267th day of 2008.
There are 99 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One hundred years ago, on Sept. 23, 1908, one of baseball's most famous blunders occurred in a game between the New York Giants and the visiting Chicago Cubs. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth and two runners out, the Giants batted in what should have been the winning run. However, Fred Merkle, who was on first base, began to leave the field apparently without bothering to tag second; the Cubs then claimed to have forced Merkle out. Merkle was eventually ruled out, negating the winning run and leaving the game tied. (The Cubs won a rematch game on Oct. 8 and with it, the National League pennant; Chicago then went on to win the World Series.)

On this date:

In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle.
In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the British.
In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.
In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
In 1938, a time capsule, to be opened in the year 6939, was buried on the grounds of the World's Fair in New York City.
In 1952, Republican vice-presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon went on television to deliver what came to be known as the "Checkers" speech as he refuted allegations of improper campaign financing.
In 1957, nine black students who had entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.
In 1962, New York's Philharmonic Hall (since renamed Avery Fisher Hall) formally opened as the first unit of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1973, former Argentine president Juan Peron won a landslide election victory that returned him to power; his wife, Isabel, was elected vice president.
In 2001, 13 coal miners were killed in explosions at the Blue Creek Mine No. 5 in Brookwood, Ala.

Ten years ago:

The U.N. Security Council demanded a cease-fire in Kosovo, and threatened further action if fighting continued.
Sammy Sosa hit his 64th and 65th home runs, tying Mark McGwire for the single-season record.
Federal regulators approved the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group.
Actress Mary Frann, who played Bob Newhart's wife on TV's "Newhart," died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 55.

Five years ago:

Speaking at the United Nations, President Bush rejected calls from France and Germany to hasten the transfer of power in Iraq, insisting the shift to self-government could be "neither hurried nor delayed."
A federal appeals court unanimously put California's recall election back on the calendar for Oct. 7.

One year ago:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran for New York to address the United Nations; state media quoted him as saying the American people were eager for different opinions about the world, and that he was looking forward to providing them with "correct and clear information."
Cuba published a photo of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met with Angola's president.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Mickey Rooney is 88.
Actress Margaret Pellegrini ("The Wizard of Oz") is 85.
Singer Julio Iglesias is 65.
Actor Paul Petersen ("The Donna Reed Show") is 63.
Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 61.
Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 59.
Rock musician Leon Taylor (The Ventures) is 53.
Actress Rosalind Chao is 51.
Actor Jason Alexander is 49.
Actor Chi McBride is 47.
Actress Elizabeth Pena is 47.
Country musician Don Herron (BR549) is 46.
Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 44.
Actress LisaRaye is 42.
Singer Ani DiFranco is 38.
Rock singer Sarah Bettens (K's Choice) is 36.
Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 36.
Pop singer Erik-Michael Estrada ("Making the Band") is 29.
Actress Aubrey Dollar is 28.

Thought for Today:

"Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
George Orwell (Eric Blair), British author (1903-1950).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, September 22, 2008

SEPTEMBER 22ND

Today is Monday, Sept. 22, the 266th day of 2008.
There are 100 days left in the year.
Autumn arrives at 11:44 a.m. Eastern time.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 22, 1776, Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British during the Revolutionary War.

On this date:

In 1789, Congress authorized the office of Postmaster-General.
In 1862, President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.
In 1927, Gene Tunney successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title against Jack Dempsey in the famous "long-count" fight in Chicago.
In 1938, the musical comedy revue "Hellzapoppin'," starring Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, began a three-year run on Broadway.
In 1958, President Eisenhower's assistant, Sherman Adams, resigned amid charges of improperly using his influence to help a businessman.
In 1958, the television show "Peter Gunn," starring Craig Stevens, premiered on NBC.
In 1964, the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 3,242 performances.
In 1975, Sara Jane Moore attempted to shoot President Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed.
In 1980, the Persian Gulf conflict between Iran and Iraq erupted into full-scale war.
In 1988, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized for the World War II internment of Japanese-Canadians, and promised compensation.

Ten years ago:

Congressional Republicans worked to snuff out new talk of a punishment for President Clinton short of impeachment, an idea floated by Democrats as poll numbers showed that most Americans didn't want Clinton removed from office.
The U.S. and Russia agreed to help Russia privatize its nuclear program and stop the export of scientists and plutonium.

Five years ago:

A suicide car bombing outside U.N. offices in Baghdad killed an Iraqi policeman.
NATO allies picked Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as the alliance's next secretary-general.
Actor Gordon Jump died at age 71.

One year ago:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the United Nations in their first face-to-face talks since a Baghdad shootout involving guards from a U.S. company protecting American diplomats.
Marcel Marceau, the master of mime, died in Paris at age 84.

Today's Birthdays:

Baseball Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda is 81.
NBA Commissioner David Stern is 66.
Musician King Sunny Ade is 62.
Actor Paul Le Mat is 62.
Captain Mark Phillips is 60.
Rock singer David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) is 57.
Actress Shari Belafonte is 54.
Singer Debby Boone is 52.
Country singer June Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 52.
Singer Nick Cave is 51.
Rock singer Johnette Napolitano is 51.
Opera singer Andrea Bocelli is 50.
Singer-musician Joan Jett is 50.
Actress Catherine Oxenberg is 47.
Actor Scott Baio is 47.
Actor Rob Stone is 46.
Rock musician Matt Sharp is 39.
Rock musician Dave Hernandez (The Shins) is 38.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Big Rube (Society of Soul) is 37.
Actor Tom Felton is 21.

Thought for Today:

"The autumn always gets me badly, as it breaks into colours. I want to go south, where there is no autumn, where the cold doesn't crouch over one like a snow-leopard waiting to pounce."
D.H. Lawrence, English author (1885-1930).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-266

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Sunday, September 21, 2008

SEPTEMBER 21ST

Today is Sunday, Sept. 21, the 265th day of 2008.
There are 101 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 21, 1938, a hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming some 700 lives.

On this date:

In 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy.
In 1897, the New York Sun ran its famous editorial that declared, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."
In 1937, "The Hobbit," by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published.
In 1948, Milton Berle made his debut as permanent host of "The Texaco Star Theater" on NBC-TV.
In 1957, Norway's King Haakon VII died in Oslo at age 85.
In 1970, "NFL Monday Night Football" made its debut on ABC-TV as the Cleveland Browns defeated the visiting New York Jets, 31-21.
In 1982, Amin Gemayel, brother of Lebanon's assassinated president-elect, Bashir Gemayel, was himself elected president.
In 1982, National Football League players began a 57-day strike, their first regular-season walkout ever.
In 1983, in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Interior Secretary James G. Watt jokingly described a special advisory panel as consisting of "a black ... a woman, two Jews and a cripple." (Although Watt later apologized, he eventually resigned.)
In 1987, NFL players went on a 24-day strike, mainly over the issue of free agency.

Ten years ago:

President Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony was publicly broadcast; in it, Clinton tussled with prosecutors over "the truth of my relationship" with Monica Lewinsky.
Olympic gold medal track star Florence Griffith Joyner was found dead at her home in Mission Viejo, Calif.; she was 38.
Hurricane Georges roared through Puerto Rico and the northeast Caribbean.

Five years ago:

Former Citigroup CEO John S. Reed was named temporary head of the New York Stock exchange.
Paul Martin was elected by Canada's Liberal Party to succeed Jean Chretien as prime minister.
NASA's aging Galileo spacecraft deliberately plunged into Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, bringing a fiery conclusion to a 14-year exploration of the solar system's largest planet and its moons.

One year ago:

One student was mortally wounded, another injured, at Delaware State University. (A suspected gunman has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge.)
The Rev. Rex Humbard, whose televangelism ministry once spanned the globe, died in Atlantis, Fla., at age 88.
Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ghostley died in Los Angeles at age 81.

Today's Birthdays: