Saturday, June 20, 2015

The air will clear my mind

If you're going to be around Coney Island, don't forget to check out the 33rd annual Mermaid Parade.


(scenes for last year's parade)

The Mermaid Parade is the largest art parade in the nation.

This year's King and Queen of the parade are Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz


June 20, 1942 -
It's Brian Wilson's birthday today, ushering in those lazy, hazy days of summer.



Do yourself a favor and check out the Brian Wilson film, Love and Mercy, this weekend.


June 20, 1946 -
Rex Harrison's
first American movie, Anna and the King Of Siam, with Irene Dunne, opened in theaters on this date.



In a scene early in the film, Anna is seen walking through an open-air market. While this scene was being filmed, an airplane passed over the set, creating a low hum on the soundtrack. Composer Bernard Herrmann was instructed to compose an accompanying score that would obscure the airplane motor. He used low gongs. .


June 20, 1974 -
Forget about it Jake. It's Chinatown
The unforgettable film noir classic, Chinatown, was released on this date.



After several takes that never looked quite right, Faye Dunaway told Jack Nicholson to actually slap her. He did, and the scene made it into the movie.


June 20, 1975 -
Steven Spielberg's
thriller, Jaws, premiered 40 years ago on this date. Beach vacations were never the same again.



An accident during filming caused the Orca to begin sinking. Steven Spielberg began screaming over a bullhorn for the nearby safety boats to rescue the actors. John R. Carter, already up to his knees in water on the sinking Orca, held his Nagra (tape recorder) up over his head and screamed, "F**k the actors, save the sound department!"


Today in History:
June 20, 1793
-
Eli Whitney applied for a patent on his Cotton Gin on this date. More affordable than gin distilled from grain alcohol and juniper berries, Cotton Gin quickly became the drink of choice among America's rural poor.



This led to widespread outbreaks of Cotton Mouth and eventually caused the Civil War.


June 20, 1756 -
In Calcutta, 146 British prisoners are placed in a 18 foot by 14 foot cell known as The Black Hole by a Bengali, Siraj-ud-daula, and held there until the following morning.


Of those imprisoned, only 23 survive. Even with the economic downturn, a 250 sq ft apartment would start a huge bidding war in Manhattan.


June 20, 1782 -
Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States on this date.




Although several people on the committee were Masons, the Masonic institutions themselves deny that the Seal is Masonic; therefore, any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Of course.


June 20, 1791-
King Louis XVI and his family attempted their escape from Paris to the royalist citadel of Montedy on this date.



They were captured at Varennes-en-Argonne when they were recognized. It didn't go too well for them after this.


June 20, 1893 -
Lizzie Borden
is found innocent of giving her stepmother and father 40 and 41 whacks, respectively.



Once O.J. finds the real killers of his wife while in prison, he promised to get cracking on this case as well.


June 20, 1947 -
Bugsy Siegel
(Warren Beatty) was shot to death at Virginia Hill's (Annette Bennings) mansion, on orders purportedly from Meyer Lansky.



The drive-by shooting never was solved and remains an open case.


June 20, 1967 -
Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) had refused to serve in the U.S. military, stating that it went against his religious beliefs and his opposition to the Vietnam War. This led to his conviction of violating Selective Service laws on this date.

The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.



And so it goes.

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