sixties and seventies

23
Apr
2024

TOOOOOOOSDAY!

Today is National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı), a national holiday in Turkey, always celebrated on April 23rd. Known as “23 Nisan”, the day commemorates the first opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara in 1920.

On April 23rd 1920, during the War of Independence, the Grand National Assembly, the nation’s unicameral parliament, met in Ankara to begin to lay the foundations of the new Turkish republic after the end of the Ottoman Empire.

To mark the event, April 23rd was proclaimed a national holiday in 1921, making this the first public holiday in the new republic.

Since 1927 it has also become Children’s Day, when the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, dedicated April 23rd to the children of Turkey to recognise that children are the future of the nation. With this, Turkey became the first country in the world to celebrate an official Children’s Day, as a gift to the children in Turkey and around the world.

Shakespeare Day – born April 23 1564 – died April 23, 1616

Today is the birthday, in 1936, of American singer-songwriter Roy Orbison “the Big O” who had a 1964 UK & US No.1 single with ‘Pretty Woman’ plus over 20 US & 30 UK Top 40 singles including ‘Only the Lonely’ (1960), ‘Running Scared’ (1961) and ‘Crying’. With the Traveling Wilburys he had a 1988 UK hit single ‘Handle With Care’. Orbison died of a heart attack on 6 December 1988. This video was recorded in 1987 as the finale of the Black & White Night Concert. Backed by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Tom Waits, kd lang, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, JD Souther, T Bone Burnett, Steven Soles, and Jennifer Warnes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PLq0_7k1jk

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
19
Apr
2024

it’s FRIDAY, fortunately

Today is Independence Declaration Day in Venezuela. Known in Spanish as ‘Declaración de la independencia’, this holiday commemorates the declaration of a local junta in Caracas on April 19, 1810.

In 1806, there had been a failed attempt to start a revolution in Venezuela by Francsico de Miranda. Despite the failure, the attempt had sowed the seed of insurrection and a few years later, events in Europe would gave the independence movement further impetuous.

In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the throne. Many of the Spanish colonies in Latin America remained loyal to the deposed King Ferdinand. On 17 April 1810, news that Ferdinand had been finally defeated by Napoleon reached Caracas, where the people decided independence was better than French rule.

On 19 April 1810 (Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday) Vicente Emparan, the Captain General of Venezuela, was dismissed, giving way to the formation of the Supreme Junta of Caracas, one of the first to form an autonomous government in Latin America.

Francsico de Miranda returned from exile, and pushed further for independence. A few months later, on 5 July 1811, the Declaration of Independence was finally signed, creating the First Republic of Venezuela. The Spanish resisted, however and full independence was not achieved until 1821 under Bolivar.

SIGNZ

Today is the birthday, in 1942, of English musician Alan Price, keyboards with The Animals who had the 1964 UK & US No.1 single ‘House Of The Rising Sun’). As a solo artsit he scored the 1967 UK No.4 single ‘Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-43lLKaqBQ

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
18
Apr
2024

Thirsty THURSDAY!

Today is Independence Day in Zimbabwe. This holiday marks independence from the United Kingdom on this day in 1980 and is the National Day of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was first influenced by Europeans with the arrival of The British South Africa Company in the 1890s. The company had been founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1889 to colonize the region. The area became known as Southern Rhodesia (in honor of Cecil Rhodes) in 1895 and was governed by the British South Africa Company until 1922 when the European settlers voted to become a British Colony.

In 1953, Britain created the Central African Federation, made up of Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi).

Following the breakup of the Federation in 1964, when Zambia and Malawi gained independence, Ian Smith became Prime Minister of the country (now called Rhodesia). Smith began a campaign for independence from Britain, with the government being run by the white minority. Independence was declared in 1965, but was not recognized internationally and led to sanctions against the country. This also led to an extensive campaign of guerilla warfare within Rhodesia.

Under this pressure, the white minority finally consented to multiracial elections in 1980. Robert Mugabe and his Zanu party won the independence elections, with Mugabe becoming Prime Minister and Zimbabwe’s independence being formally recognised on April 18th 1980.

translation…

Failed Geography…

Today is the birthday, in 1942, of Mike Vickers, British musician who came to prominence as guitarist, flautist and saxophonist with Manfred Mann, who had the 1964 UK & US No.1 single ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooeRA8ZhcoQ

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
16
Apr
2024

It’s TUESDAY at my house

Today is Emancipation Day in Washington, DC. Emancipation Day marks April 16th 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act.

The Act freed over 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia eight months before President Lincoln issued his broader Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act means the District has the distinction of being the only part of the United States to have compensated slave owners for freeing enslaved persons they held.




Bada Bing!!

I was disappointed to learn that the International Institute of Origami has folded. They lost their contract with PaperView.

You can’t fix stupid. But, you can sell it red hats, gold clown shoes, bibles, and worthless stock.

Now that the eclipse is over, those glasses can be used for viewing FOX news.

I think this ladder I’m on is unstab…

I went to the paint store to get thinner. It didn’t work.

I hope when I eventually choke to death on gummy bears, people will say I was killed by bears and leave it at that.

Dear Coca-Cola Company: No more new flavors. Either add the cocaine back or leave it alone.

We squint at the sun because it’s bright. We squint at some people because they’re not.

I watch so many crime programs when I turn off the TV, I wipe my fingerprints off the remote.

I didn’t know that Sylvester Stallone is on his third marriage…I guess his first one was rocky, and his second was rocky too.

Today is the birthday, in 1939, of English singer Dusty Springfield who had her first solo UK hit single in 1963 with ‘I Only Want To Be With You’, which reached No.4, the 1966 UK No.1 & US No.4 single with ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles. With her brother Dion O’Brien (“Tom Springfield”) and Tim Feild, Springfield formed the folk-pop vocal trio The Springfields. Two of their five 1961–63 top 40 UK hits ‘Island of Dreams’ and ‘Say I Won’t Be There’ reached No. 5 on the charts. Her image, marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup and evening gowns, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties. She died on 3 March 1999 age 59. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp4339EbVn8

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
12
Apr
2024

Finally FRIDAY!

Sinhala and Tamil New Year Eve is today! Called Aluth Avurudda in Sinhala and Puthandu in Tamil, New Year’s Day is a statutory holiday in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, the public holidays for Tamil New Year also recognise that this is also Sinhalese New Year. Like Tamil New Year, it marks the end of the harvest and the arrival of spring as indicated by the sun moving from Meena Rashiya ( Pisces) to Mesha Rashiya (Aries).

To mark the new year, everyone in the country celebrates by wearing light golden clothes and turning towards the east.

The rituals include milk rice mixed with curd as well as sweetmeats with undu flour at specific propitious times of the morning. In Sri Lanka, the day is the time of the traditional first plowing of the ground to mark the start of the new agricultural season. It is a tradition that the first financial transaction of the year is when elders give gifts of money to the unmarried young, as a sign of good luck.

Today is the birthday, in 1950, of American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Cassidy, known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother Shirley Jones), in the 1970s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to him becoming one of popular culture’s teen idols and pop singers of the 1970s. The Partridge Family had the 1970 US No.1 single ‘I Think I Love You’, and the 1972 UK No.3 single ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’. As a solo artist he scored the 1972 UK No.1 single ‘How Can I Be Sure’. He he died of liver failure on November 21, 2017, aged 67. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW4E0jAeAf8

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies