I'll trade you two railroads and the waterworks for Ventor Ave. and Oriental (Photo by Andrea Allen) Friday: We note the death of three show business giants today. First is George M. Cohan, who died in 1942. Cohan was the first Broadway star of the modern age, a quadruple-threat who acted, wrote, composed, and produced scores of plays and musicals. Unlike the energetically over-the-top Oscar-winning portrayal of him by James Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy," Cohan's actual on-stage style was simple, warm, and intimate, contrasting sharply with the bombast of most other performers of the time. In 1956, pianist Art Tatum died at the age of 47. Despite his near-blindness, Tatum was certainly the greatest jazz pianist who ever lived, if not the greatest musician, period. His dazzling runs and breathtaking virtuosity have never been equaled. Vladimir Horowitz, no mean piano player himself, was in awe upon hearing Tatum's unrivaled technique and improvisational skills, saying that if Tatum ever took up classical music, he'd quit the next day. This day in 1960 saw the passing of Mack Sennett. In the 1910s and '20s, Sennett's film comedies were unsurpassed. He had a flawless eye for talent, discovering (among others) Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, Roscoe Arbuckle, Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Ben Turpin, and Harry Langdon. Unfortunately, Sennett's vision did not include business acumen, and his career began a slow decline with the coming of sound in the late 1920s. He mostly retired in the mid-'30s, but spent the final quarter-century of his life making occasional cameos in other people's comedies and announcing projects that never quite got off the ground. His Keystone comedies remain the gold standard for early silent comedy. Sennett retired in 1935, but we don't know if he ever played Monopoly, the board game that was introduced by Parker Brothers on this day in that year. All this talk of movies has made us wonder just what’s opening today, and it’s actually a fair bunch of films (none of which are summer blockbusters, indicating it's probably the start of awards season). For example, there’s "Fair Game," starring Naomi Watts as exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame and Sean Penn as her husband Joseph Wilson; "For Colored Girls," directed by the ubiquitous Tyler Perry, and starring Janet Jackson; "Megamind," an animated superhero comedy starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey; "127 Hours," with James Franco as hiker Aron Ralston, who was forced to amputate his own arm when it became trapped under a boulder; and "Client 9," a documentary about former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. If motion pictures don't appeal to you, you might travel to England, to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, which commemorates the 16th century plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by burning scarecrow effigies of the "Gunpowder Plot's" alleged ringleader. Saturday and Sunday: Saturdays in the fall are college football day, and this is the anniversary of the day in 1869 when Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) traveled to Rutgers College to play the first intercollegiate football game. (Rutgers won, 6-4.) What more appropriate way to celebrate that anniversary than by watching a modern college football game? Perhaps you could make it better by watching that game in Forest Grove, Oregon (fifteen miles west of Portland) and indulging in the Verboort Sausage and Kraut Dinner. And then throw in some delicious nachos as a part of National Nachos Day. With all the resulting wind you'll be producing, you could pick up your saxophone and blow a tune; after all it is the 196th birthday of Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax, the inventor of both the saxophone and saxotromba, and hence, Saxophone Day. Two more birthdays of note today. Thomas Ince (1882), who in a brief 14-year career, wrote, directed, produced, or acted in nearly 200 movies, and provided the fodder for one of Hollywood's first big scandals when he met his death on board the yacht of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. While the official story was that Ince died of heart trouble (at the age of 42), rumors have persisted that Hearst shot and killed Ince over the latter’s undue interest in Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies. (This incident supposedly led to the long career of gossip columnist Louella Parsons, who was a witness to the alleged crime and given a lifetime contract to shut her up.) In 1892, Harold Ross was born in Aspen, Colorado. After working in his teen years on various newspapers and serving as an editor on the Army’s paper "Stars and Stripes" during World War I, he settled in New York, founding and editing "The New Yorker" in 1925. For the last 85 years, it's been the gold standard of American magazines, hailed for its in-depth reportage, fiction, and cartoons. Had Ross been near a television (still a relatively new invention) on his 55th birthday in 1947, he could have watched the inaugural broadcast of "Meet the Press," which began its reign as the longest-running television show in the world that day. After 63 years, the show can still make news, unlike Sunday's big event, the end of daylight saving time. In spite of the fact that daylight saving ends every year, for reasons we'll never be able to figure, our evening commute home is always plagued with bumper-to-bumper traffic as people apparently forget how to drive in the dark. Since we expect traffic to be bad, we'd better take off now. See you next time! Suggested Sites... George M. Cohan 101 - introduction to the "Man Who Owned Broadway." NPR Jazz Profles: Art Tatum - audio report on Tatum's life and legacy. Gunpowder Plot Society - "remember, remember, the fifth of November." The First Intercollegate Game - report on Rutgers vs. Princeton. Wlliam Randolph's Hearse - did Hearst murder Thomas Ince?

Directory categories: Songwriters, Jazz Pianists, Silent Movie Actors and Directors, Games, Sausages

Archived under: 17th Century, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Actors, American History, Anniversaries, Biographies, Birthdays, Board Games, Brad Pitt, Broadway, CIA, Cartoons, Celebrations, Celebrities, Classical Music, College Football, College Sports, College and Universities, Comedians, Composers, Conspiracies, Cover Ups, Dead Celebrities, Directors, Driving, Eating, England, Entertainment, European History, Events, Filmmaking, Food and Drink, Football, Games, Gossip, Guy Fawkes Day, History, Holidays, Hollywood, In Character, Jazz, Journalism, London, Men, Movie History, Movies, Murder, Music, Music History, Musical Instruments, Musicals, Musicians, Mysteries, New York, Performing Arts, Reporters, Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle, Secrets, Silent Movies, Songs, Sports, TV, The New Yorker, U.K. History, United Kingdom, Unsolved Crimes, WWI, Women

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

The most famous shot in "A Trip to the Moon." Special effects have gotten slightly better in the century since. Welcome once more to The Spark, your weekly digest of events and happenings and information in the Yahoo! Directory to help you appreciate them more. As we begin this last Spark before the Labor Day holiday, we have to ask just where in the heck the summer went. Seems like it was Memorial Day about five minutes ago, and now kids are back in school and Fall is lurking around the corner. Anyway, let's look at the week ahead. Monday: It's a day for monsters and creators. In the former category, we have Benedict Arnold, who on this day in 1780, secretly promised to surrender the Continental Army's fort at West Point, NY, to the British. Arnold was an egomaniac, who was frustrated with the lack of attention he had received, and what better way to get attention than to commit treason? Speaking of outsized egos, we note that today would have been the 127th birthday of Huey Long, the "Kingfish" who ran Louisiana like a private fiefdom until he was gunned down in 1935. Long ruled the state as both governor and senator, and his campaign slogan of "Every Man a King" mixed populism and fascism in equal measure. But let us not mention only those who destroy, let's celebrate those who create. When thinking of monsters, one almost automatically turns to thoughts of Dr. Frankenstein and his creation, for which we owe thanks to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, born in 1793, she wrote her novel, "Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus," at the tender age of 18. And where would kids (and parents) be today without Babar? Laurent de Brunhoff (born in 1925), is son of Jean de Brunhoff, who created the elephant king, and who continued his adventures when his father died. Of course, those kids grow up to be teenagers and young adults, and where would they be without Robert Crumb, who turns 73 today? Crumb was in the vanguard of the underground comix movement of the 1960s, and he’s still active and creative, and his influence on modern pop culture is incalculable. And what would pop culture be without the Beatles? One hesitates to guess, but you can try to get a handle on it this week at the International Beatle Week in Liverpool, England. Of course, the Beatles played in the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York when they made their American debut in 1964, and that theatre is today home to the Late Show with David Letterman, which made its own debut in "the Ed" in 1993. A nice contrast to end the day. Gazillionaire Warren Buffett hits the big 8-0 today, and out in the Nevada desert, Burning Man begins. The best thing we can say about Burning Man is that it gets all those people who want to go to Burning Man in one spot away from the rest of us. Tuesday: More monsters. In 12, Gaius Caligula was born. Though the surviving sources are incomplete, Caligula was one of the most notorious Roman emperors of them all, known for the stories of his cruelty, instability, and sexual perversion. (We won’t deal with them here, but you can find the stories easily enough.) But Caligula isn't the only monster we note. On this date in 1888, Mary Ann Nichols was murdered and became the first of known victim of Jack the Ripper. And, of course, in 1928, Berlin saw the premiere of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s "Die Dreigoschenoper" (known in English as "The Threepenny Opera"), with its main character, the vicious murderer Captain Macheath, better known as "Mack the Knife." In 1959, Bobby Darin had a huge hit with that song (which is really odd, when one considers it's about a mass murderer killing people), and Friday will see the 51st anniversary of that song being banned by WCBS radio in New York City. At the time, there had been a series of teenage stabbings in the city, and the station didn't want to those crazy teens any ideas. And while marijuana possession is small potatoes compared to all of the above, we see that, in 1948, actor Robert Mitchum was arrested in a Hollywood drug bust, and was eventually sentenced to 60 days in prison, a scandal which in those days threatened to kill his career, but nowadays would rate only a passing mention on "Entertainment Tonight." All this talk of criminals and murderers makes us long for a hero, and fortunately, in 1942, "The Adventures of Superman" radio series began airing on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Wednesday: All we have for today is that in 1902, George Melies’s "A Trip to the Moon," was released in France and became the world’s first science fiction film. Thursday: So, in 490 BCE, the Athenian army was at Marathon, battling with Persia. The herald Pheidippides was sent to Sparta for help. He ran the 150 miles in two days, but because of religious laws, the Spartans couldn't send any help, so he ran back. In spite of not having the extra troops, Athens won the battle. And poor Phidippides took off again, this time running the 26.2 miles from Marathon to Athens to carry the news of the victory. He gasped out his last words, "We have won," and dropped dead of exhaustion. The lesson: do not underestimate the usefulness of warm-ups and warm-downs. In 1666, the Great Fire of London began in the wooden house of King Charles II's baker. By the time it ended three days later, more than 13,000 houses, including St Paul's Cathedral, had burned to the ground -- but amazingly, only six people had died. If you were living in England in 1752, tomorrow would have been September 14th. While most of the rest of the world had switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, the stubborn Brits had stuck to their guns. But, after nearly 200 years, there was an eleven-day discrepancy between the two calendars, and the English had no choice but to convert. There were actual riots, as people cried, "Give us back our eleven days!" But it was to no avail. Great Britain and her colonies were dragged kicking and screaming into the 18th century. Speaking of fighting against reality, in 1934, singer Russ Columbo accidentally shot himself to death. Columbo was a wildly popular singer and actor, and when he killed himself (with an antique gun that was supposedly unloaded), his friends thought the news would prove fatal to his mother, so for the last years of her life, those friends created an elaborate ruse, sending postcards and letters from far-off locations, and using his records to simulate a radio show. In 1944, Mrs. Columbo died, never suspected that her son had died a decade before. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: Let's talk about pioneers this weekend. First, there's Louis Sullivan, born in 1856. Sullivan is, for all intents and purposes, the man who invented the skyscraper. Since Chicago had had its own giant fire in 1871, Sullivan had the opportunity and the laboratory to erest steel-framed buildings that towered over anything built before. In 1833, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty answered an ad in "The New York Sun" and became the first world's first newsboy, which is why we celebrate Newspaper Carrier Day today -- at least for those relatively few Americans who still have newspapers carried to them. Sunday would have been the 163rd birthday of Jesse James. Jesse was not the first Western outlaw, but he was the first to become world famous while plying his dubious trade. 1885 saw the opening of the Exchange Buffet in New York City. It was the first self-service restaurant (read, "cafeteria") in the United States. We don't know if they served chocolate (we'd guess yes), but whether they did or not, it's World Chocolate Day Friday, so you can serve yourself and indulge. In 1888, George Eastman registered the trademark "Kodak" (for the clicking sound a camera's shutter makes) and received a patent for his camera that used rolled film. Eastman's "Brownie" camera came from the factory loaded with enough film for 100 photos. When the roll was complete, the customer would mail the whole camera back to the factory in Rochester, NY, where the pictures would be developed and sent back along with a new camera. Sunday is the 81st birthday of comedian Bob Newhart. Newhart is a two-time pioneer, having been in the forefront of the stand-up comedy revolution of the 1950s, when he transformed himself from "button-down accountant" to a comedian with the top-selling album in America. Then, in the '70s, his sitcom, "The Bob Newhart Show," set new standards for writing, ensemble acting, and just plain goofiness. The weekend before Labor Day always marks the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. While it's easy to criticize the telethon for its corniness and out-of-date show business aesthetic, it's impossible to deny Lewis's commitment and ability to raise money -- nearly a billion-and-a-half dollars since 1966. Lastly, we'll note the 98th birthday of the late avant-garde composer John Cage with 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Suggested Sites... United States Military Academy at West Point - for sale, cheap. Contact Gen. Arnold. Official R. Crumb Site - keep on truckin'. The Beatles - the core of the apple. Dangerous Minds: Early Technicolor - the good folks at Kodak bring you color movies from 1922. Jerry Lewis Telethon - mock him if you will, but he does good work.

Directory categories: Revolutionary War, Children's Literature, Rock and Pop Artists, Musicals, Running

Archived under: 17th Century, 18th Century, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 19th Century, Actors, American History, Ancient History, Anniversaries, Architects, Architecture, Artists, Arts, Athletes, Authors, Berlin, Birthdays, Books, Buildings, Burning Man, Business, Calendars, Cameras, Cartoonists, Celebrations, Celebrities, Chicago, Children´s Literature, Classical Music, Comedians, Comic Books, Comics, Communities, Composers, Conspiracies, Contemporary Art, Counterculture, Crime, Criminals, Cultures, David Letterman, Dead Celebrities, Dictators, Ed Sullivan, England, Entertainment, Europe, European History, Events, Exercise, Festivals, Fiction, Fire, Fitness, Food and Drink, Germany, Gunslingers, History, Holidays, Huey Long, Invention, Inventors, Jack the Ripper, John Lennon, Law Enforcement, Literature, London, Martin and Lewis, Media, Millionaires, Monsters and Creatures, Movies, Murder, Music, Music History, Musicals, Mythology and Folklore, New York, News, Newspapers, Nostalgia, Old West, Performing Arts, Philanthropy, Photography, Radio, Regional, Restaurants, Rock and Roll, Rome, Running, Scandals, Science Fiction, Serial Killers, Silent Movies, Singers, Skyscrapers, Society and Culture, Superheroes, Superman, TV, The Beatles, The West, Theatres, U.K. History, United Kingdom, United States, Unsolved Crimes, Urban Legends, Variety Shows, Vintage, War, Weird Stuff, Westerns, Women, Writers, Writing

Post a comment (5) | Email this posting

We celebrate the return of The Spark -- and the anniversary of the invention of champagne (Photo by geishaboy500) Welcome back! As the little girl said in "Poltergeist 2," "Wee’rrrrreee baaaa-aack!" Our new mission here at The Spark is to point you to the Yahoo! Directory, America's favorite source of aggregated and categorized Internet information for more than a tenth of a century. Look, we know you're busy, we're busy, everyone's busy. But there are times when you want to know a bit (or a lot) more about an event or topic, and that's where we come in. Since 1995, we've searched the web to find the best sites and information in order to present them to you. The beauty part of it is, every week, we'll give you an overview of what's happening and what's coming up. If you simply want to know what's going on, we're one-stop shopping. But if you see something that piques your interest, well, there's plenty more lurking behind the links. So, here we go! Monday: Today is the 241st anniversary of the founding of Los Angeles. In fact, it's a good fortnight for civic anniversaries, as August 12th marks the 177th birthday of Chicago. The London Tube turns 140 today. It was the world's first subway, and is ridden by around three million people daily. As long as we've already mentioned Los Angeles and Chicago, we should note that they have subways, too. Chicago's El (which isn't a "subway," but you know what we mean ...) came along in 1892, so Chicagoans had to wait only 60 years to hitch a ride, but Angelenos weren't able to ride underground until 1990. (We won't mention the old Southern Electric Red Cars that were replaced by the freeway system.) We note the birthdays of some of our favorite actors today. Myrna Loy (1905) was voted "Queen of the Movies" in the 1930s (in the same poll that named Clark Gable "The King"). Ann Dvorak (1912) had a shorter career, but remains indelible for what performances she did give. She was once described as being able to do everything Bette Davis could -- plus being able to sing and dance -- but she never got the right roles and faded. Peter O'Toole celebrates his 78th birthday. He's been nominated for eight Oscars (the most ever without a win) for movies like "Lawrence of Arabia," "The Stunt Man," and "My Favorite Year." And if you should feel a need to celebrate any of those birthdays, you might break out your favorite board game and head for Amish country, since this whole week will see the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. Tuesday: Even a multi-gazillion dollar business like college sports got a start somewhere, and today's the anniversary of that beginning: in 1852, Harvard and Yale competed in a boat race that was the first intercollegiate athletic event in the U.S. More birthdays today: Mystery novelist P.D. James hits 90, singer Tony Bennett is 84, homemaker extraordinaire Martha Stewart turns 69, and both film director John Landis and actor Martin Sheen hit the big 6-0. And while it’s not a "birthday," per se, the National Basketball Association was founded on this day in 1949. Wednesday: More birthdays: jazz legend Louis Armstrong would have been 109 today if he could only have laid off the reefer and laxatives, and, in an odd juxtaposition, both President Barack Obama (49) and recently-retired journalist Helen Thomas (90) are celebrating today. If only they could have talked things over with a glass of champagne (which was invented by Dom Perignon on this date in 1693), maybe Helen wouldn't have had to retire. Thursday: We note some travelers today. In 1620, the Mayflower left Southampton, England, with its passenger list of sour Puritans who were eager to see that no one in the New World had a good time. Neil Armstrong, who was the first man on the moon in 1969, is 80 today. Movie director John Huston, who traveled from Hollywood to Ireland to Africa making films would have been 104 today. And actress Marilyn Monroe shuffled off this mortal coil -- whether by her own hand or a conspiracy -- on this day in 1962. Friday: A mixed bag today. We begin by noting the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which kind of throws all the other events into perspective. In happier anniversaries, in 1889, London’s Savoy Hotel opened. At the time, it was one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, run by César Ritz (yes, that Ritz, as in "Puttin' on the ...") and featuring chef Auguste Escoffier in the kitchen. The Savoy is currently undergoing a three year, $150 million renovation, and will reopen in October. It's also pioneering television comedienne Lucille Ball's 99th birthday and the 50th anniversary of Chubby Checker's first appearance on national TV doing his (one and only) hit, "The Twist." Oh, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival opens today. It's the world's largest convocation of performing artists and writers from around the planet. The whole town will be one giant stage for the next three to four weeks, so consider that either an invitation or a warning. Saturday: It's really something for everyone today. For those who like football, well, this weekend, the 2010-2011 season begins, with the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, followed by Sunday's pre-season opener featuring Cincinnati and Dallas (boy, that ought to be a real barn-burner). For those who like a more violent pastime, may be present UFC 117 in Oakland? For those who like intrigue and sex, well, you can commemorate the 134th birthday of World War I's superspy Mata Hari. And for those of you who are skeptical of all of the above, you can celebrate the 82nd birthday of James (The Amazing) Randi, professional skeptic and debunker of any number of hoaxes and scams. Sunday: To finish the week, may we offer the suggestion of having a breakfast of waffles (since it is National Waffle Day) and taking the time to watch an "Little Rascals" comedy featuring birthday boy Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer? Well, that's all for this week. See you again next time with the random events and facts that you've gradually come to love over the course of the last five years. Suggested Sites... The Red Cars of Los Angeles - the largest urban transportation network in the world -- and then it vanished. World Boardgaming Championships - I wanna be the top hat. How Champagne is Made - the bubbles tickle my nose. Edinburgh Fringe Festival - from genius to hooey, it's all here. The Life and Death of "Our Gang's" Alfalfa - a short, and (unfortunately) unhappy one.

Directory categories: Classic Hollywood, Mystery Authors, Jazz, Apollo Project, Conspiracies

Archived under: 1930s, Actors, Alcohol, American History, Anniversaries, Astronauts, Athletes, Authors, Barack Obama, Birthdays, Board Games, Books, Celebrations, Celebrities, Champagne, Chicago, College Sports, College and Universities, Conspiracies, Cover Ups, Dead Celebrities, Death, Directors, Disasters, England, Entertainment, Events, Exploration, Explorers, Festivals, Fiction, Filmmaking, Food and Drink, France, Gamers, Games, History, Jazz, Journalism, Journalists, London, Los Angeles, Louis Armstrong, Marilyn Monroe, Movies, Music, Music History, Mysteries, NFL, Nostalgia, Nuclear Weapons, Our Gang, Pennsylvania, Performing Arts, Reporters, Scotland, Spies, Sports, Suicide, The Spark, United Kingdom, United States, Unsolved Crimes, Vintage, WWI, WWII, War, Weapons, Yahoo! Directory

Post a comment (3) | Email this posting

Jimmy Hoffa: Still missing Ambrose Bierce was a cynic, a muckraker, and a satirist. In the late 19th century, it would have been hard to find a more famous writer and journalist. Unfortunately, most of his works have been neglected in the 21st century. So much so that the most salient fact about him is that, in 1913, while traveling with Pancho Villa's army in Mexico, he disappeared without a trace. Bierce was hardly the first or last celebrity to utterly vanish, but since his 168th birthday occurs this week, we couldn't help but be reminded of some of those other missing celebrities. The roster includes such notables as Judge Joseph Crater, an associate justice on the New York Supreme Court. Crater had led a more-or-less unremarkable life (despite some shady connections and extramarital affairs) until one night in 1930, when he got into a New York taxicab and became famous for never being seen again. Aviatrix Amelia Earhart was the most famous female pilot in the world when she set out on an attempted around-the-world flight in 1937. She made it as far as the South Pacific before sending an emergency message that she was low on fuel. Her plane disappeared and despite weeks -- well, decades, really -- of searching (and hundreds of rumors), neither she nor the plane have ever been found. In recent years, the gold medal for vanishing acts must go to Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa, the former boss of the powerful Teamsters union, had numerous (alleged) mob ties until he took a powder in 1975. Numerous theories have been offered as to his final disposal and whereabouts, which have ranged from suburban Detroit to the New Jersey Meadowlands. But despite countless tips, books, and investigations, no one knows -- or if they do know, they're not talking. "Dead men tell no tales," indeed! Suggested Sites... The Ambrose Bierce Site - original art, fiction, drama, and essays about Bierce. What Happened to Judge Crater? - http://www.prairieghosts.com/crater.html Amelia Earhart.com - official site with biography, photos, quotes, and accomplishments. truTV Crime Library: The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa - as many of the facts as we know. Wikipedia: List of People Who Have Disappeared - includes those who were famous before and after they vanished.

Directory categories: Ambrose Bierce, Judge Joseph Force Crater, Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, Missing Persons

Archived under: 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, Amelia Earhart, American History, Birthdays, Celebrities, Conspiracies, Cover Ups, Crime, Dead Celebrities, Detroit, Disappearances, Jimmy Hoffa, Missing Persons, Murder, Mysteries, New York, Unsolved Crimes

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

"Psst! Did you hear that rumor about Cheeta? (Photo courtesy Photos8.com) Back in the Golden Age of Radio, there was a program called "I Love a Mystery." Even though it lasted only five years, there are any number of people who still subscribe to its title, and who will even create mysteries and conundrums where none exist. We call them "conspiracy theorists," and today we take note of them. Why? Well, August 5th marks the 47th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, and that occasion reminds us of the many conspiracy theories that have arisen in the decades since. Monroe, a troubled woman who had many personal problems in her final years, could not simply have either taken her own life or accidentally overdosed on barbiturates, these theorists insist. It's obvious to them that she was murdered because of her tenuous connections to organized crime or her romantic entanglements with John F. Kennedy or his brother Robert -- or both. Mentioning the Kennedys opens its own particular can of worms. Were they murdered by lone assassins, as the evidence suggests, or were they victims of a cabal that included -- solely, or in various combinations -- Lyndon B. Johnson, the Mafia, the CIA, Fidel Castro, the Soviet Union, or the military-industrial complex? You’d think a conspiracy that large would have leaked out somewhere over the past four decades, but so far, only rumor and innuendo have made it through the filter. Of course, that's the beauty of the conspiracy theory. Only a few random facts or inconsistencies can be knitted together to form a vast plot that would make even the most ambitious comic book supervillain blush. Let us assure you, though, that Dr. Doom wasn't behind the recent transition to digital TV, and Lex Luthor had nothing to do with killing the electric car. In some sense, conspiracy theories are fun. It's like something straight out of a movie to imagine that aliens did indeed crash land at Roswell, New Mexico, and that their technology is being studied at Area 51, or that water fluoridation was a plot by Communists to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of Americans. But, on the other hand, some theories are too dark to laugh off. 9/11 "Truthers" have amassed much "evidence" that "proves" that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were inside jobs, and a number of coups d’etat and overthrown governments that were alleged to be conspiracies turned out to be actual conspiracies (usually headed by the CIA). Lately, the most persistent conspiracy comes to us courtesy of the "Birthers," who are convinced, despite all logic and no actual evidence or proof, that President Obama was either born in Kenya or is somehow not a U.S. citizen. (Seems like Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" went further than he imagined.) Let it not be said, though, that just because something is dismissed as a crackpot conspiracy theory doesn’t mean it's not real. The men who gather in Northern California's Bohemian Grove every year to meet and plan their global domination? That one's legit. Suggested Sites... Above Top Secret - clearinghouse for all sorts of crazy -- and not so crazy -- theories. Seven Insane Conspiracies That Actually Happened - just because they're conspiracies doesn't mean they're not real. Snopes.com - debunker (and confirmer) of rumors and conspiracies. Is This Article on Conspiracies Part of a Conspiracy? - the Skeptical Inquirer inquires skeptically. Gawker: The Birthers: Who Are They and What Do They Want? - the latest in conspiracies.

Directory categories: Conspiracies, John F. Kennedy Assassination, Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Bohemian Grove, The Illuminati

Archived under: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 9/11, Aliens, Anniversaries, Assassinations, Assassins, Astronauts, Barack Obama, CIA, Celebrities, Communism, Conspiracies, Counterculture, Cover Ups, Cultures, Dead Celebrities, Fanatics, History, Hoaxes, Illuminati, Issues and Causes, Marilyn Monroe, Murder, Mysteries, Organized Crime, Presidents, Suicide, Unsolved Crimes, Urban Legends, Villains

Post a comment (1) | Email this posting