Happy Birthday Theodore Roosevelt!

Jake's blog informs me that today is the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, the most interesting president in the world.

Born this day, 1858, in New York City.

Who WOULDN'T vote for this guy?

Rather than sum up the man and his achievements I shall start by recommending some light reading:

• The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
• Theodore Rex
• Colonel Roosevelt all by Edmund Morris.

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt by a former professor I had at UT, Lewis L. Gould (he was awesome.)

Happy Birthday, Pablo Picasso!

The artist was born this day in 1881.  He lived to the age of 93.  He is famed for his bullheaded nature.

Happy Birthday, Bela Lugosi

Today is Bela Lugosi's 130th Birthday.

Born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Hungary, Lugosi arrived in America in the early 1920s. By 1927 he was cast as Count Dracula in a Broadway show.

Most famous for his role as Dracula in the 1931 film, Lugosi found himself typecast and caught in a strange whirlwind of the Hollywood system which kept him in spook pictures, more or less, his entire career.

It's the Halloween season.  Go out and get yourself a copy of Dracula if you've never seen the original movie.  He's pretty darn good.

Happy Birthday, Eddie Rickenbacker

No, he did not invent popcorn.  He has nothing to do with popcorn.

Eddie Rickenbacker was the leading WWI Ace of the United States Army Air Force.  In the deadly skies over Europe, in first a Nieuport 28 and then a Spad XIII, Rickenbacker has 27 confirmed air victories on record and flew more than 300 hours, the most of any American during the war.

A stunning feat, and certainly laurels enough upon which one could rest.  But after WWI, Rickenbacker first promoted Liberty Bonds, then started his own automobile company (that didn't make it), but went on to get involved with Eastern Air Transport and then Eastern Airlines, which he ran successfully during the golden age of air transport.

He would be 122 today.

Happy 117th to Buster Keaton

Happy Birthday to the great genius of cinema.

Groucho Marx - 122 years young today

Happy Birthday to a great American, Groucho Marx.

Why should I care about posterity? What's posterity ever done for me?

                                               -Groucho Marx

If I need to say anything else about Groucho, you need to go back to the beginning and start over.

Today is the 60th Birthday of Christopher Reeve

Today would have been the 60th Birthday of actor and activist Christopher Reeve.

Like most people, I am most familiar with Reeve thanks to his work in the four Superman movies and then his work around spinal cord injuries following the equestrian accident which paralyzed him.

If you've ever discussed Superman media with me, you know the esteem with which I hold Reeve's performance in the Superman movies.  I still find his take to be my touchstone for how I think of the alien who finds the joy in putting on the suit and helping others and who can never understand the forces that drive men like Lex Luthor.  I could go on, but suffice it to say, I'm a fan.

Reeve passed in 2004 after a valiant battle with his paralysis and associated ailments.  He became the premier voice for spinal cord research in the United States and his foundation is still active today.  Reeve had a dream of walking again, and I don't  think I was alone in believing he might just pull it off because he so believed it was possible.

For all of us who grew up thinking of Reeve as Superman, to see him take on the challenges dealt to him was an awe inspiring sight, and while you always know that's just an actor wearing the cape, it was a Superman who turned adversity into inspiration.

You can donate to The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and help keep the memory of our own Man of Steel alive.

In addition to his work as Superman, I quite like:

Somewhere In Time (1980)
Noises Off (1992)
The Remains of the Day (1993)
Village of the Damned (1995)
and his role as Dr. Virgil Swann on TV's Smallville.

You can see my comments on the day of his death in 2004 here.

Today is the Birthday of World War II Ace Major Richard Bong

Today, Richard Bong would have been 92 years old.

Richard Bong does not have time for your awards.  He has planes to shoot down.

World War II was an odd time for air combat.  The mechanized age had come into full swing, and the planes were far superior to the bi-winged aircraft of WWI.  Today's pilots are sitting behind 10's of millions of dollars in equipment and tend to get recruited from top universities.  During World War II, some airplanes were being assembled out of boxes on the tarmac and flown by anyone with stones enough to get behind the stick.

Richard Bong was one of nine children from a small town in Wisconsin.  He was attending a teacher's college when, in 1938, he signed up for the Civilian Pilot Training program (that's age 18) where he trained under Barry Goldwater of all people.

Today Would Have Been the 100th Birthday of Chuck Jones

If you have to ask who Chuck Jones was, I pity you, for you were not born into a world in which Looney Tunes seemed to be on the air 24 hours per day.

I can't really state how much impact Bugs may have had on me and my occasionally completely inappropriate responses to thuggishness.

this is my manifesto

I contend that Warner Bros. and the cartoons made at the studio under the eyes of huge talents like Fritz Freleng (an extraordinary talent), Tex Avery (who would go on to do his own work) and Hanna & Barbera (also - left to do their own work), were a huge cultural touchstone for folks who grew up in multiple decades from the 60's - 80's, when one could pretty much count on the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to teach them important lessons about not taking things all that seriously, even when faced with dynamite or a falling anvil.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Adam West

Happy Birthday to Mr. Adam West, most famous for his role in the 1966 movie and TV series, Batman. he was born this day in 1928.

Mr. West as Batman inspired me to my first word: "Batman", and fueled me with a deep desire to both do what's right and say ridiculous things in a completely earnest tone. I continue to enjoy the TV show, lo' these many years later.

Happy Birthday to the great Cassandra Peterson

Today is the birthday of this person, Cassandra Peterson.

Today she is 61.

You probably know her better as:

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Happy birthday, wherever you are, Ms. Peterson.

It's Jake's birthday

here's weird 1990's movie Cap played by the son of JD Salinger here to wish you a happy birthday, Jake.  I assume you're turning 87 or 13.  I'm not sure how old you are.

Patsy Cline's 80th Birthday

Patsy Cline was born on this day in Virginia in 1932.

Perhaps most famous for her performance of "Crazy" (written by a young Willie Nelson), Patsy's voice and mid-century country stylings are still very much in vogue and end up in more movies, TV shows and commercials than you want to think about.  She's very much a part of the American soundtrack.

She retains a following among Austinites in no small part thanks to the nigh-nightly tribute to Patsy that's done at Austin's own Esther's Follies, a sort of comedy/ variety show that's had the Patsy Cline bit going since it debuted.  Maybe.  I don't know.  Patsy's music seems to fit lazy, hot evenings pretty well, so maybe she's still this popular across the south.

Cline was part of a great era of American Country before "popular" Country music became watered down pop-rock in the 80's and settled there in the 90's when the big money rolled in.  She was a performed at the Grand Ole Opry and a major talent.  Had she not died in a plane crash in 1963, there's really no telling where she would have ended up.  I suspect she would have continued performing for a long, long time.

Happy Birthday, Patsy.

Rave On! It's Buddy Holly's Birthday!

Today in 1936, Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock, Texas.

At some point in 7th grade a Buddy Holly tape found it's way into my possession (I think KareBear gave it to me for Christmas) - and 23 two-and-half-minute songs later, I was a fan.  I still consider Rave On to be one of the best pop songs ever written.

Happy Birthday to Jack "King" Kirby

Today would have been the 95th Birthday of Jack Kirby, the greatest comics creator of the 20th Century.

Kirby's family is supporting The Hero Initiative, a non-profit that helps support veteran comics creators facing tough financial times (there isn't much of a retirement or healthcare plan for freelancers).

We recommend checking out The Hero Initiative website and maybe donating a bit to the fund.  Make Jack proud.

Happy B-Day to The Admiral

Happy Birthday to The Admiral.

Interestingly, he's doing his favorite thing on his birthday:  looking at someone else's finances and criticizing them.

You can retire a finance man out of business but you can't take the finance out of the man.  Or something.

Happy Birthday, man.  We'll grab a taco on Saturday.

Happy Birthday, Maureen O'Hara

Friday was the birthday of Maureen O'Hara.  We missed it.  Oh, well.  Happy Birthday to Ms. Maureen O'Hara, one of Ireland's finest exports.

Happy Birthday, Ronnie Spector!

Sorry for the last minute post, but we just noticed it's Ronnie Spector's birthday!

Happy birthday to an amazing vocalist.

Ronnie is/ was, of course, the centerpiece of the Wall of Sound project, The Ronettes.

And, of course, the ex-wife of producer/ zvengali and convicted murderer, Phil Spector.

50th Anniversary of the Death of Marilyn Monroe

On June 1 of this year we wished Marilyn Monroe a happy birthday.  August 5th is listed as the day when Marilyn Monroe was found dead, but reports seem to say that she died before midnight on the 4th.

There's enough speculation out there, from the various conspiracy theories surrounding Monroe's death, and I've no idea what her career might have looked like had she lived.  The final years before she passed were difficult, and she'd been fired off a movie.  Like so many who are revered who passed when they were still young and beautiful, it's easy enough to build an image that has nothing to do with who the person was, what their career was really like, or even what was really happening when they passed.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the date, and so we do.  Godspeed, Ms. Monroe.

Happy Birthday to Judy, the Mother-in-Law

we're pretty sure this captures the spirit of our own Judy McB

Happy birthday to my mother-in-law and enabler, Judy.

I know all the old stereo-types about meddling or annoying mother-in-laws, but since Day 1, I've been pretty fond of Jamie and Doug's mom.  She's a lot of fun, totally supportive of Jamie and myself, and where 95% of mother-in-laws would (at best) just let the whole comics thing slide, Judy sometimes seems to enjoy my superhero collection in her own way and even adds to it from time to time.

She's a world traveler, a naturalist, a birder, and a small time gambler.  What's not to like?

Happy B-Day, Judy!  We'll see you this evening.

The in-laws, Dick & Judy, enjoy some BBQ at Central Texas' famous "The Salt Lick"