Ghost Riders in The Sky
The song Ghost Riders in The Sky was written in 1948 by Stan Jones (1914-1963) while he was working in Death Valley for the National Park Service. During that summer he was assigned to the movie crew that was filming The Walking Hills as a technical adviser. He would play his songs for them while [...]
Presidential Births
President’s Day is celebrated in the United States on the 3rd Monday in February. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two men considered to be great presidents, was born in this month. Each at one time had the anniversary of their births celebrated as a national holiday before those two holidays were combined into one. They [...]
Heavy Metal is Born
It was on Friday the 13th, February 1970 that the album that many consider the first Heavy Metal album was released. It was released in the United Kingdom. The debut album of a band from Birmingham England. The band and the album shared the name Black Sabbath. The album had seven tracks. Five were original [...]
Peter Cooper
Many people may not know the name Peter Cooper, but nearly everyone knows of the things that he did during his life. Peter Cooper was active as a businessman and inventor during the first half of the 19th Century. He was born on February 12, 1791. And received patent, 4048, for a powered gelatin. We [...]
The Baltimore Orioles
Spring Training is just around the corner. My favorite team is the Baltimore Orioles. It’s been hard following them the past few years. In a word, they have been BAD. Although right now with the moves that the their General Manager, Andy MacPhail, has been making, I do think there is a bright future for [...]
The Schnozzola
Nearly everyone knows him as the voice of the narrator of the classic Chrismas cartoon Frosty the Snowman. Jimmy Durante was the voice and at the time he was near the end of a career that lasted for nearly 70 years. James Francis Durante was born on February 10, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York. Durante [...]
History Writ with Lightning
‘The Birth of a Nation’ was produced and directed by D.W. Giffith and released on February 8, 1915. It starred Lillian Gish, Henry Walthall and Mae Walsh. The 3 hour 10 minute film was originally presented in two parts separated by an intermission. The film cost $110,000 (over 2 Million in 2006) and grossed over [...]
The Tramp’s First Appearance
Whenever anyone speaks of Charlie Chaplin, the image that will come to mind is his signature character, the Little Tramp. Chaplin himself called him The Little Fellow. The character rarely was referred to by any name onscreen. The Little Tramp was first seen by the public when Keystone released the comedy short Kid Auto Races [...]
A Savior for Baseball
After the “Black Sox” scandal of 1919 baseball needed a hero. That hero came in the name of Babe Ruth. He changed the game by hitting long home runs at a time when very few players hit them. He took the fans and the media minds away from the scandal. 1920 was the Babe’s finest [...]
Facts about the Super Bowl
1) The original name of the game was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt coined the term Super Bowl. Hunt only meant his suggested name to be a stopgap until a better one could be found. None has been found. 2) The ticket price for the 1st Super Bowl [...]
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