"Turkey good! Football good! Lip-synching in Macy's Parade bad!" There's lots to say about arts and entertainment over the next few days. Let's start at the top, with Boris Karloff, born November 23, 1887 . The erstwhile William Henry Pratt labored as a truck driver, farmhand, and occasional character actor until 1931, when he landed the role of the monster in "Frankenstein." Even though he went unbilled in the original release of the movie, he became an instant star whose name was linked with horror until his death in 1969. In a nice coincidence, Forrest J. Ackerman, the man who became one of Karloff's best friends and biggest boosters was born a day later (albeit in 1916). Ackerman was the longtime editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, and cultivated a love for monsters and psychological horror in a million youngsters in the 1950s and '60s. But we've only scratched the surface when it comes to entertainment. For example, in 1889, the first jukebox went into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. (We'll add that "juke" was slang for ... well, a "house of ill repute," and leave it at that.) This distant ancestor to the iPod contained a tinfoil phonograph with four listening tubes and a coin slot for each tube. So popular was it that it took in $1,000 in the first six months - a nickel at a time. Musical entertainment has evolved significantly in the century since. On Wednesday, we'll note the 142nd birthday of composer Scott Joplin. Joplin didn't invent ragtime music, but was one of its foremost composers, his "Maple Leaf Rag" virtually defined the era. Joplin isn't the only great artist who's an exemplar of his chosen genre. On Wednesday evening, PBS will broadcast an all-star concert celebrating the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist for some of the best - and most important - musicals in theatre history. And on November 25, 1949, Robert May and Johnny Marks'  "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" made its debut/ Gene Autry's recording of the tune eventually sold more than 25 million records. If those are the heights musical genres can reach, we note what some might consider the nadir, represented by tonight's episodes of "Glee" (featuring Carol Burnett) and the (tainted?) finale of "Dancing with the Stars." (And we mention the 1871 founding of the National Rifle Association purely in passing here - in case someone wants to emulate Steven Cowan.) Music can have an effect even in the world of science. Wednesday is the 36th anniversary of Donald Johanson and Tom Gray's discovery of the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton that they named "Lucy," after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The fine arts are also represented this week. Tuesday is the 118th birthday of Romain de Tirtoff, who, under the name Erté (taken from the French pronunciation of his initials) virtually defined the Art Deco style of the early 20th century, and Wednesday is the 146th birthday of French illustrator Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Toulouse-Lautrec captured the lives of the Parisian demimonde of the late 19th century. And while it's not exactly "art," the first issue of "Life" magazine was published in 1936. Over the next 36 years, the photojournalism magazine featured some of the finest photography in the world - though none of its photographers could have used a zoom lens until it was invented this week in 1948. In performing arts, Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play "The Mousetrap" opened in London's West End in 1952, and has been running ever since, making it the longest continuously-running play in history. (There was even a recent controversy over whether the surprise ending should be revealed on Wikipedia. It was, so if you go over there, consider yourself warned.). Pity movie producer John Woolf, who bought the movie rights to the play, on the condition that he not film it until it closed. Woolf died in 1999, but the play runs on. It sounds like a disaster almost profound enough to be filmed by producer Irwin Allen, king of such disaster movies as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno," and whose 94th birthday would have been Wednesday. It could be a disaster, but not a cosmic mystery suitable for solving by Doctor Who, the venerable BBC television series that began broadcasting this week in 1963. Crime and criminals also figure into this week (like every week, probably). On November 24, 1971, D.B. Cooper skyjacked a Boeing 727, collected $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted out over southern Washington state, never to be seen again. We mention an odd birthday coincidence in passing. Wednesday is the 122nd birthday of motivational author Dale Carnegie, and Thursday is the 175th birthday of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Dale (whose last name was originally spelled "Carnagey") wrote the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (which is still a best-seller on the self-help charts, nearly 75 years after it was published). Andrew made his fortune in the steel business and ended up giving most of it away, endowing libraries, schools, universities, along with numerous charities and foundations. By 1919, he had given away over $350 million (about $4.3 billion in 2010 dollars), with the remaining $30 million distributed after his death that year. In animal events, President Obama is scheduled to give an executive pardon to a turkey on Wednesday, and Thursday (in addition to everything else) is the National Dog Show in Philadelphia. Lastly, we mention what is, for many, the most notable event of the week: Thanksgiving, with its attendant gorging, football. T-Day also brings us the Macy's Parade, which gives television viewers across the country the chance to watch b-list actors and singers lip synch to lousy music, and this year will feature such traditional holiday entertainers as Jessica Simpson, Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, and Kanye West. Truly a Thanksgiving smorgasbord! Suggested Sites... Karloff.com - the Master of Horror -- and the nicest guy in Hollywood, by all accounts. Biography of Scott Joplin - the King of Sedalia, Missouri. The Discovery of Lucy - and we don't mean Mrs. Ricardo. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - the complete works. Top 10 Disaster Movies - the more stuff blows up, the more we love 'em!

Directory categories: Movie Genres, Ragtime Musicians, TV Series, Paleontology, Thanksgiving Recipes

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This may not be a pipe, but it is the illustration for a Spark Two events earlier this week couldn't help but remind us of their historical precedents. First, the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton made us remember that Friday is the 63rd wedding anniversary of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. If you were thinking of sending Liz and Phil a present, it's probably not necessary; they're managing to squeeze by, even in this tight economy. Tuesday's groundbreaking for the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas made us think of November 19, 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, on the grounds of the Roosevelt family estate. It was America's first official presidential library. Until then, executive papers were either distributed to the President's families, given to the National Archives, or tossed away. The result was a mess that plagued historians. For example, there are numerous drafts and handwritten copies of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, all of which differ slightly, so that today it's unclear exactly what he said on November 19, 1863, when he delivered the speech to mixed reviews. Democratic newspapers panned it as "silly, flat, and dishwatery," and Republican papers called it "tasteful and elegant." You pays yer money and you takes yer choice, we guess. (Good thing there isn't that kind of partisanship today ...) Speaking of "paying yer money," we're guessing that more than a few people will be doing just that at the movies this weekend, as the first part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" opens. We don't know if folks will be lining up for that, or to see the trailer for next summer's Green Lantern" movie, but we're willing to bet that there'll be some who are more interested in space opera than in teenage wizards. "Green Lantern" is a movie about an interstellar police force. We don't know if their home planet of Oa (or even Mogo, the Green Lantern who is a sentient planet) would be visible using the Hubble Space Telescope, but we do know that Saturday would have been the 121st birthday of Edwin Hubble, the astronomer for whom the telescope is named, and is the 26th anniversary of the founding of the SETI Institute, which searches for extraterrestrial life. Whether there's anyone else out there is a mystery that SETI is dedicated to solving, but that riddle pales in comparison to the one that gripped America over the summer and fall of 1980, when the country wondered who shot J.R. Ewing. Sunday is the 30th anniversary of the episode of "Dallas" that solved that mystery. It was estimated that 83 million people were tuned in that night, which is still the third-largest TV audience ever. Appropriately, Sunday is also World Television Day, dedicated to the boob tube and all its splendors. (It's also World Hello Day, during which you're supposed to say "Hello" to ten people. But if you're watching television, you probably won't get the chance. Of course, if you've spent Saturday night watching UFC 123 from Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Sunday afternoon watching the NASCAR Ford 400 from the Miami Homestead Speedway, you may be ready to get off the couch and socialize. Crazed from too much TV? You might try sending birthday greetings to Belgian artist René Magritte. He was born on November 21, 1889, and died in 1967, but his art is so surreal - with trains rushing from fireplaces and apples replacing human heads - that he might appreciate the good wishes anyway. If you're still desperate to make a human connection, you can wish a happy 45th to Bjork, the surrealist Icelandic singer and swan fancier. We close with week with two holidays: Sunday is Universal Children's Day, created by the United Nations in 1954 to encourage work that benefits and promotes the welfare of the children of the world, and Friday is World Toilet Day, which sounds funny, but promotes clean and sanitary conditions for everyone, child and adult. We are reminded on this day that a straight flush beats a full house. Suggested Sites... Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Museum - "When I go up to Hyde Park, it is not just for the ride there / It's not that I love Hyde Park, but I love to park and hide there." Library of Congress: Gettysburg Address - "Seven score and seven years ago ..." DC Comics: Green Lantern - "In brightest day, in blackest night ..." Hubble Site - 20 years of breathtaking images. Los Angeles Time: The "Dallas" Shot That Was Heard Round the World - "Who shot J.R.?" (Warning: spoilers ahead.)

Directory categories: Royalty, U.S. Presidents, Harry Potter Movies, Green Lantern Comics, Astronomers

Archived under: 1950s, 1980s, 19th Century, Abraham Lincoln, Aliens, American History, Anniversaries, Artists, Astronomy, Buildings, Celebrations, Children, Childrens Health, Civil War, England, Events, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Bush, Harry Potter, Health, Libraries, Movie Trailers, Movies, Music, Musicians, Mysteries, Newspapers, Presidents, Royalty, Science, Scientists, Singers, Space, Speeches, Superheroes, TV, Texas, Toilets, Tourist Attractions, U.K. History, United Kingdom, United Nations, United States, Villains, War, Weddings

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Frank W. Buckles, the oldest living veteran of World War I, at the age of 16 On Tuesday, we noted Hedy Lamarr's patent of a communications system, but on this day in 1930, a scientist you'd expect to get a patent got one -- but for an invention you wouldn't associate with him. It's no surprise that Albert Einstein would be granted a patent, but what is surprising (to us, anyway) is that he and fellow physicist Leo Szilard (who devised the nuclear chain reaction that made the atomic bomb possible) were granted patent number US1781541 for a refrigerator. As you might expect, it’s a special refrigerator that uses no electricity, has no moving parts, and needs only a heat source to operate, but still – Einstein invented a fridge? As we think about refrigerators, we’re reminded that we'd better start making room in our own for Thanksgiving (and just how in the world did it get to be November already?). Contemplating Turkey Day, brings the pilgrims to mind, and today is the 290th anniversary of the Puritans sighting land off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Something that would have utterly baffled those pilgrims is Pee-wee Herman, so we don’t expect to see any puritans at the Broadway opening of "The Pee-wee Herman Show" tonight. But, Pee-wee's fan base being what it is, you never know ... Someone we think might have appreciated Pee-wee, or, at least, appreciated his anarchic spirit, was novelist Kurt Vonnegut, born on this day in 1922. Vonnegut used black humor and satire in such novels as "Slaughterhouse-Five," "Mother Night," and "Cat's Cradle" to eviscerate modern American society, politics, and organized religion. We don't know if Mr. Vonnegut ever traveled Route 66, the "Mother Road" that ran (according to Bobby Troup's song) "from Chicago to L.A.; more than 2,000 miles along the way." The highway was established on this day in 1926, and until its decommissioning in 1985, carried millions of travelers though the heart of America, allowing them (for the first time in many cases) to see peoples they never would have met, eat strange local foods, and become more acquainted with the mosaic that was pre-war America. It's still possible to drive Route 66, but in many cases, the road is untended and in bad repair, and many of the small towns and businesses that thrived fin its heyday shut their doors when it was replaced by gleaming new interstate freeways. The most notable events of this day are inextricably linked. In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, World War I finally ended after more than four years of senseless battle, with 16 million soldiers and civilians killed and another 21 million wounded. Starting in 1919, November 11 has been designated either Armistice Day (in honor of the cause of peace) or Veterans Day (honoring all who have served in the armed forces). Suggested Sites... Einstein's Refrigerator - a solution to global warming? The Pee-wee Herman Show - today's secret word is "Broadway." The Political Wisdom of Kurt Vonnegut - notable quotes. Legendary Route 66 - how to travel (what's left of) the Mother Road. History of Veterans Day - from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Directory categories: Physicists, Kitchen Applicances, Thanksgiving Recipes, Novelists, Veterans

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"That's "Hedy," not "Hedley!" Tuesday: As mysterious as Dorothy Kilgallen's death on November 8, 1965, is the 1965 blackout that overtook much of the Northeast United States and Ontario, Canada on this day. While the official cause was a series of mistakes and blown relays, there were also reports of UFOs near some of the power stations. We don't necessarily believe the reports; we're just saying ... Not all of the Northeast was affected, however, and a full moon that night kept things surprisingly safe, with New York City reporting only five instances of looting. When one speaks of New York, it's difficult to not think of Stanford White (whose 157th birthday falls on this day). White's distinctive architectural fingerprints can still be found all over Manhattan more than a century after his death. Such structures as the Municipal Building, the Washington Square Arch, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art – not to mention many of the millionaires' mansions on Fifth Avenue - were his designs. While White's firm designed things to be built, it's a demolished object that we take special notice of today, as it's the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall itself was the literal dividing line between East and West Berlin, constructed to keep East Germans from escaping the Communist regime. When that government fell, so did the wall. Something that irriatated those killjoy East German officials was rock music, and on this day in 1967, the first issue of "Rolling Stone" was published. While "Rolling Stone" was originally dedicated to rock, pop, and blues music and musicians – and those are still its primary focus – it's expanded in the decades since to become one of America's most respected magazines, known for its reporting on politics and entertainment. Speaking of respect, we throw a little of it to the creative community today as it's Inventor's Day, celebrated today because it's the birthday of actress Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr was not only one of the most glamorous and beautiful actresses of the 1930s and '40s, but was also something of a scientific genius. In 1942, she was granted a patent for a communication system that would "hop" frequencies in order to make radio-guided torpedoes harder to detect. While the technology went basically unused until the '60s, today it forms the basis for wi-fi networks and cell phones. Suggested Sites... November 9th, 1965 Blackout - sometimes Occam's Razor is a UFO. New York Architecture Images: McKim, Mead, and White - a century later, still some of Manhattan's most beautiful buildings. The Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Personal Account - the wall came a-tumblin' down. Hedy Lamarr Foundation - devoted to cultivating both brains and beauty. 5 Surprising Inventions From Famous People - Isaac Newton invented the cat door?

Directory categories: Electricity, Berlin, Rock and Pop Musicians, Magazines, Classic Hollywood Actors

Archived under: 1940s, 1960s, 1980s, 19th Century, Actors, American History, Anniversaries, Architects, Architecture, Arts, Beauty, Berlin, Birthdays, Buildings, Canada, Celebrations, Celebrities, Cell Phones, Communism, Communists, Electronics, Entertainment, Europe, European History, Events, Germany, History, Holidays, Ice, In Character, Invention, Inventors, Journalism, Magazines, Men, Museums, Music, Music History, New York, Rock and Roll, Science, Scientists, Tourist Attractions, UFOs, United States, Urban Legends, Weird Stuff, Women

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Quite possibly the worst photo ever taken of the Mona Lisa (Taken by the author in 2009.) A new week presents new opportunities, new challenges, and new events to note. Let's begin, shall we? Monday: Last week we mentioned that Wednesday was anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci commission to paint the portrait that became known as the Mona Lisa. Well, today is the anniversary of the museum that is the painting's home. In 1793, the French government opened the Louvre to the public as a museum. Built as a fortress in the 12th century and gradually converted into a palace, following the French Revolution, it eventually became the most-visited art museum in the world (approximately 8.5 million visitors a year), with a collection of nearly 400,000 items - ranging from ancient Egyptian antiquities to 19th-century masterpieces– of which only 35,000 are on display at any one time. Our birthday of note today is that of Edmond Halley, born in 1656. Halley (pronounced "Holly," not "Hal-ee," or "Hailey") was the English astronomer who realized that not only were the various celestial objects that had visited the earth since 466 BCE actually only one comet, but also that the comet was in such an orbit that it would return like clockwork every 76 years. In 1705, Halley predicted that the comet would return in 1758 – which it did. Unfortunately, Halley never actually saw his prediction confirmed, as he died in 1742. Speaking of deaths, we note the 1965 passing of newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen. Kilgallen was nationally known for her "Voice of Broadway" column in New York's "Journal-American" as well as her weekly appearances on the "What's My Line?" game show. Always political, she became obsessed with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, doing extensive interviews and investigations, and coming to the conclusion that there had been a massive cover-up of the murder. She claimed to have evidence that would blow the lid off the case, but was found dead in her apartment under very mysterious circumstances. Apparently healthy only hours before, she was found sitting in bed in a bedroom she never used, fully made-up and dressed, with a book she had finished weeks earlier by her side, and her reading glasses nowhere nearby. Her husband claimed she had come home at midnight, but eyewitnesses had seen her out on the town as late as 2 a.m. All her research on the assassination had mysteriously vanished. The official verdict said that her death was due to either a heart attack or a drug overdose, but we have our suspicions. In happier news, Conan O'Brien will make his TBS debut tonight, with his new talk show, the eponymously-titled "Conan." We should probably make the nearly-obligatory joke about the barbarian of the same name, but haven't those been done to death? Suggested Sites... Le Louvre - home of the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Nike of Samothrace -- and a McDonald's. Stealing Mona Lisa - whodunnit? Halley's Comet Through History - hope you're around in 2061. Dorothy Kilgallen: Mysterious Death? - certainly seems that way to us. Wikipedia: The War for Late Night - Jay? Dave? Conan? Kimmel? Fallon? Does anyone come out well here?

Directory categories: Pars Museums, Astronomy, Comets, Gossip Columnists, Talk Shows

Archived under: 17th Century, 18th Century, 1960s, American History, Anniversaries, Archaeology, Art Museums, Arts, Assassinations, Astronomy, Biographies, Birthdays, Buildings, Celebrities, Comets, Conan OBrien, Conspiracies, Cover Ups, Dead Celebrities, Death, England, Entertainment, Europe, European History, France, Gossip, Halley's Comet, History, In Character, Journalism, Journalists, Louvre, Media, Men, Murder, Mysteries, Nostalgia, Reporters, Rumors, Science, Scientists, Secrets, Space, TV, Talk Show Hosts, Tourist Attractions, United Kingdom, Urban Legends, Women, Writers

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