Halloween With the Stars
Three costumes from Halloween 2009…Heidi Klum as a raven…Pop singer Debbie Gibson as a devil…
Biographies
‘Colonel Sanders’ Invades United Nations Building
The tricky devil.
“The Loin In Winter”
Headline of the day, from a NY Times article on the aging Hugh Hefner.Comes with a slide show with shots of a young, intense-looking Hef.
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin: The Patent
Today’s document from the National Archives is the patent application for Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.Whitney applied for a patent on October 28, 1793 and on March 14th of the following year was granted a U.S. patent for his machine, which removed seeds from the cotton fiber.
What’s the Correct Way to Wish Happy Birthday to a Dead Person?
On this day in 1872 Emily Post was born. Post set etiquette standards for Americans for most of the 20th century by adapting high society rules of behavior for a wider class of people — but class was still the operative word. Women were “ladies” and men were “gentlemen,” and her books on etiquette still presumed a level of education and sophistication associated with higher incomes and bigger cities.
United Employee Flies Pan Am First Class In His Garage
Anthony Toth has built a replica of a Pan Am 747 first-class cabin in his garage, complete with original seats, swizzle sticks, and spiral staircase. Good for him!
Henry V at Agincourt
For the anniversary of Henry V’s victory over the French at Agincourt in 1415, a news release from historians at the University of Southampton has challenged the notion that the English were vastly outnumbered by the French.
Rare Video of Anne Frank
The Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam has posted this footage to its YouTube Channel.
Where’s Buzz? At the Beverly Hilton!
Buzz Aldrin is a stud. Dude landed on the moon. Whatever he and Neil Armstrong want to do with their time is OK by us. They could start robbing banks together and we wouldn’t say a word.
Book Review: “The Silent Spirit”
“She’s a master.” -Tony HillermanAnyone writing a Native American mystery has to wrassle with the presence of the genre’s 500-pound gorilla: the late Tony Hillerman. Margaret Coel dispatches the issue with a Hillerman blurb right on the front cover of her new novel, The Silent Spirit. (Could that be Hillerman’s Last Blurb? He died last October.)