Paradise Driver

Monday, November 17, 2008

NOVEMBER 17TH

Today is Monday, Nov. 17, the 322nd day of 2008.
There are 44 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 17, 1968, the NBC television network outraged football fans by cutting away from the closing minutes of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game to begin a special presentation of "Heidi" on schedule. (Home viewers were prevented from seeing the Raiders come from behind to beat the Jets, 43-32.)

On this date:

In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary.
In 1800, Congress held its first session in Washington in the partially completed Capitol building.
In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.
In 1917, sculptor Auguste Rodin died in Meudon, France, at age 77.
In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as "Lady Bird," in San Antonio, Texas.
In 1962, Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by President Kennedy.
In 1970, the Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1.
In 1973, President Nixon told Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla.: "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."
In 1987, a federal jury in Denver convicted two neo-Nazis and acquitted two others of civil rights violations in the 1984 slaying of radio talk show host Alan Berg.
In 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when six militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers were killed by police.

Ten years ago:

The public got to hear Monica Lewinsky's voice for the first time as the House Judiciary Committee released 22 hours of tape recordings secretly made by Linda Tripp.
Israel's parliament overwhelmingly approved the Wye River land-for-peace accord with the Palestinians.
Actress Esther Rolle died in Culver City, Calif., at age 78.

Five years ago:

John Allen Muhammad was convicted of two counts of capital murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th governor of California.
Rush Limbaugh returned to radio after five weeks of rehabilitation for a painkiller addiction.
Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez won the American League Most Valuable Player award.

One year ago:

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte delivered a blunt message to Pakistan's military ruler, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, telling him emergency rule had to be lifted and his opponents freed ahead of elections.
A Nobel-winning U.N. scientific panel said in a landmark report that the Earth was hurtling toward a warmer climate at a quickening pace.

Today's Birthdays:

Rock musician Gerry McGee (The Ventures) is 71.
Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 70.
Movie director Martin Scorsese is 66.
Actress Lauren Hutton is 65.
Actor-director Danny DeVito is 64.
"Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels is 64.
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver is 64.
Movie director Roland Joffe is 63.
Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 60.
Actor Stephen Root is 57.
Rock musician Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) is 51.
Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 50.
Actor William Moses is 49.
Entertainer RuPaul is 48.
Actor Dylan Walsh is 45.
Actress Sophie Marceau is 42.
Actress-model Daisy Fuentes is 42.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 41.
Rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) is 41.
Actress Leslie Bibb is 35.
Actor Brandon Call is 32.
Country singer Aaron Lines is 31.
Actress Rachel McAdams is 30.
Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 28.
Actor Justin Cooper is 20.
Actress Raquel Castro is 14.

Thought for Today:

"There's one thing that keeps surprising you about stormy old friends after they die — their silence."
Ben Hecht, American author and screenwriter (1893-1964).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-322

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Sunday, November 16, 2008

NOVEMBER 16TH

Today is Sunday, Nov. 16, the 321st day of 2008.
There are 45 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 16, 1908, conductor Arturo Toscanini made his debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera as he led a performance of Verdi's "Aida."

On this date:

In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington in New York during the American Revolution.
In 1885, Canadian rebel leader Louis Riel was executed for high treason.
In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.
In 1917, Georges Clemenceau again became prime minister of France.
In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.
In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway.
In 1961, House Speaker Samuel T. Rayburn died in Bonham, Texas, having served as speaker since 1940 except for two terms.
In 1966, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard was acquitted in his second trial of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, in 1954.
In 1973, Skylab 4, carrying a crew of three astronauts, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission.
In 1982, an agreement was announced in the 57th day of a strike by National Football League players.

Ten years ago:

The Supreme Court ruled that union members can file discrimination lawsuits against employers even when labor contracts require arbitration.
House Democrats re-elected Dick Gephardt as their leader.

Five years ago:

Serbs failed for the third time in a year to elect a president because of low voter turnout.
Bettina Goislard, a French United Nations worker, was shot and killed in Afghanistan.

One year ago:

Senate Republicans blocked a $50 billion bill by Democrats that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days.
Marchers surrounded the Justice Department headquarters to demand federal intervention in the Jena Six case in Louisiana and stepped-up enforcement of hate crimes.
Poland's new prime minister, Donald Tusk, formally took office along with a team of former anti-communist dissidents.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Clu Gulager is 80.
Blues musician Hubert Sumlin is 77.
Journalist Elizabeth Drew is 73.
Blues musician W.C. Clark is 69.
Actor Steve Railsback is 63.
Actor David Leisure is 58.
Actress Marg Helgenberger is 50.
Rock musician Mani is 46.
Country singer-musician Keith Burns (Trick Pony) is 45.
Former tennis player Zina Garrison is 45.
Former baseball player Dwight Gooden is 44.
Jazz singer Diana Krall is 44.
Actor Harry Lennix is 44.
Rock musician Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) is 42.
Actress Lisa Bonet is 41.
Actress Tammy Lauren is 40.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) is 39.
Actress Martha Plimpton is 38.
Actress Missi Pyle is 36.
Olympic gold medal figure skater Oksana Baiul is 31.
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 31.
Pop singer Trevor Penick is 29.
Actress Kimberly J. Brown is 24.
Actor Noah Gray-Cabey ("Heroes") is 13.

Thought for Today:

"History is a combination of reality and lies. The reality of History becomes a lie. The unreality of the fable becomes the truth."
Jean Cocteau, French author, director, poet (1889-1963).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-321

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Saturday, November 15, 2008

NOVEMBER 15TH

Today is Saturday, Nov. 15, the 320th day of 2008.
There are 46 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 15, 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

On this date:

In 1708, British statesman William Pitt (the Elder) was born in London.
In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.
In 1889, Brazil was proclaimed a republic as its emperor, Dom Pedro II, was overthrown.
In 1908, China's Empress Dowager Cixi died two weeks short of her 73rd birthday.
In 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.
In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.
In 1958, actor Tyrone Power died in Madrid, Spain, at age 44 while filming "Solomon and Sheba."
In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.
In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.
In 1988, the Soviet Union launched its first space shuttle, Buran, on an unmanned 3 1/2-hour flight.

Ten years ago:

Kwame Ture, the civil rights activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, died in Guinea at age 57.

Five years ago:

Two Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed in Iraq; 17 U.S. troops were killed.
Two synagogues were bombed in Istanbul; 29 people were killed.
A gangway on the cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 collapsed in St. Nazaire, France, killing 15 people.
Democrat Kathleen Blanco was elected the first female governor of Louisiana, defeating Republican Bobby Jindal in a runoff.
Death claimed billionaire Laurence Tisch at age 80 and actress Dorothy Loudon at age 70.

One year ago:

During a feisty Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Hillary Rodham Clinton accused her closest rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, of slinging mud "right out of the Republican playbook" and sharply criticized their records.
Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh, killing more than 3,200 people and leaving millions homeless. Baseball player Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. (A revamped indictment was unsealed last May.)
Actress Lindsay Lohan completed her jail sentence for drunken driving in a swift 84 minutes.

Today's Birthdays: