Monthly Archives: June 2013

My Kinda Stadium!

Stadium

Teamwork

Teamwork

Stop! You’re under arrest!

Under A Rest

Unicorn Meat?

Unicorn Meat

When You’re Upset

When You're Upset

Impasta

Impasta

Inflatable Leg

Inflatable Leg

RIP Peter Falk (Farewell Detective Columbo)

Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles and was nominated for an Academy Award twice (for 1960’s Murder, Inc. and 1961’s Pocketful of Miracles), and won the Emmy Award on five occasions (four for Columbo) and the Golden Globe award once.

Peter Falk

Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011)

Wikipedia Link

Happy Birthday, Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer “Kris” Kristofferson is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”.

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – )

Wikipedia Link

Cat Has Your Teeth

Cat Has Your Teeth

Anniversary of Jaws

Jaws Poster

In 1975, we learned that it was no longer “safe to go back into the water.”

Wikipedia Link

First Motion Picture Theater

The first motion picture theater was called a nickelodeon because admission was a nickel.

It opened in McKeesport, PA on June 19,1905.

RIP Clarence Clemons

Clarence Clemons w/ Bruce Springsteen

Clarence playing with Bruce Springsteen

Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985 had a hit single with “You’re a Friend of Mine”, a duet with Jackson Browne. As a guest musician he also featured on Aretha Franklin’s classic “Freeway of Love” and on Twisted Sister’s “Be Chrool to Your Scuel” as well as performing in concert with The Grateful Dead and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. As an actor Clemons featured in several films, including New York, New York and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. He also made cameo appearances in several TV series, including Diff’rent Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons and The Wire. Together with his television writer friend Don Reo he published his autobiography, Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales, in 2009. Clemons suffered a stroke on June 12, 2011 and died of complications from the stroke on June 18 at 69 years of age.

Wikipedia Link Read more »

Butt Snore

Butt Snore

First roller coaster in America opens

On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. The new entertainment was an instant success and by the turn of the century there were hundreds of roller coasters around the country.

Coney Island, a name believed to have come from the Dutch Konijn Eilandt, or Rabbit Island, is a tract of land along the Atlantic Ocean discovered by explorer Henry Hudson in 1609. The first hotel opened at Coney Island in 1829 and by the post-Civil War years, the area was an established resort with theaters, restaurants and a race track. Between 1897 and 1904, three amusement parks sprang up at Coney Island–Dreamland, Luna Park and Steeplechase. By the 1920s, Coney Island was reachable by subway and summer crowds of a million people a day flocked there for rides, games, sideshows, the beach and the two-and-a-half-mile boardwalk, completed in 1923.

The hot dog is said to have been invented at Coney Island in 1867 by Charles Feltman. In 1916, a nickel hot dog stand called Nathan’s was opened by a former Feltman employee and went on to become a Coney Island institution and international franchise. Today, Nathan’s is famous not only for its hot dogs but its hot dog-eating contest, held each Fourth of July in Coney Island. In 2006, Takeru Kobayashi set a new record when he ate 53.75 hot dogs with buns in 12 minutes.

Roller coasters and amusement parks experienced a decline during the Great Depression and World War II, when Americans had less cash to spend on entertainment. Finally, in 1955, the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, signaled the advent of the modern theme park and a rebirth of the roller coaster. Disneyland’s success sparked a wave of new parks and coasters. By the 1970s, parks were competing to create the most thrilling rides. In 2005, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, introduced the Kingda Ka roller coaster, the world’s tallest (at 456 feet) and fastest (at 128 mph).

By the mid-1960s, the major amusement parks at Coney Island had shut down and the area acquired a seedy image. Nevertheless, Coney Island remains a tourist attraction and home to the Cyclone, a wooden coaster that made its debut there in 1927. Capable of speeds of 60 mph and with an 85-foot drop, the Cyclone is one of the country’s oldest coasters in operation today. Though a real-estate developer recently announced the building of a new .5 billion year-round resort at Coney Island that will include a 4,000-foot-long roller coaster, an indoor water park and a multi-level carousel, the Cyclone’s owners have said they plan to keep the historic coaster open for business.

Happy Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, a little boy decides to make his dad breakfast in bed. He makes scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. He brings it into his dad, hands him the cup of coffee and says, ”Try it dad.”

The dad takes a sip and nearly passes out because it is so strong.

The little boy asks, ”How do you like it Dad?”

The dad doesn’t want to hurt the little boy’s feelings so he says, ”This is….something else, I’ve never tasted coffee quite like this before, Son.”

The little boy smiles from ear to ear. And says, ”Drink some more Pops.”

As the dad is drinking, he notices two army men in the bottom of the cup, and says, ”Hey! Why did you put army men in here?”

The little boy again smiles and sings, ”The Best Part Of Waking Up, Is SOLDIERS In Your Cup.”

Happy Father’s Day!

Family Circus Father's Day

Atomic Future

Atomic Future

Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” The national flag, which became known as the “Stars and Stripes,” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states.

On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed by Congress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and in 1949 Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

Happy Birthday, Burle Ives

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an acclaimed American folk music singer, author and actor.

Possibly his most remembered role today is as narrator Sam the Snowman in the Rankin-Bass animated television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).

Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” is a very popular tune during the Christmas season, as it’s frequently played on the radio and was featured in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special.

Burl Ives

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995)

Baby Mechanic

Baby Mechanic