Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On June 28, 2018, we review the second Sicario movie starring Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which premiers across the United States on June 29, 2018. The first thing we want to say is that it is not necessary to see the first film, Sicario (2015) with the same stars (plus Emily Blunt) to completely enjoy Soldado. The new movie easily stands on its own, although we did love the first one and recommend it highly. The films cover the violent and depressing situation of brutal Mexican drug cartels and the…

A Brief History On June 27, 1985, US Route 66, known as “The Main Street of America,” was officially taken off the list of US highways. Established in 1926, it was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica). Spawning a hit song (by Nat “King” Cole) and a hit television series, this route was the American highway, at least until superseded by the Interstate Highway System. It survives (barely) today in pieces as “State Route 66” in some states and as stretches of a “National Scenic Byway.” We previously discussed “10 Iconic American Things You Do Not…

A Brief History On June 25, 1947, boxer Jimmy Doyle of Los Angeles, California had the opportunity of his life by getting to fight the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson for the welterweight boxing world championship in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the fight did not go as planned, and proved to be the last time he would ever box or for that matter do anything else, as he was knocked out in the 9th round and never regained consciousness in the St. Vincent Charity Hospital, declared dead hours later. Digging Deeper While it is not rare for a boxer to…

A Brief History On June 21, 2018, we celebrate the Summer Solstice just like our ancestors, welcoming the season of vacations, swimming pools, fishing, baseball, and barbecues. Another thing we love about Summer are the great songs about this greatest of seasons, or at least featuring “Summer” in the song. We list 10 songs we believe are either iconic as representing the genre of Summer songs or at least among our favorites. Digging Deeper 1. “A Summer Song,” Chad and Jeremy, 1964. Written by Chad Stuart with minor contributions by Jeremy Clyde (and others) this soft and beautiful song is…

A Brief History On June 18, 1815, the combined forces of the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blucher defeated the French army at the battle of Waterloo. The battle is remembered by history not as a victory of the British and Prussians, but as a defeat for Napoleon Bonaparte, his final major defeat. Certain battles are known more for their vanquished than their victor, and in the past we published the article “10 Famous Defeats,” while today we examine “10 More Famous Defeats” but this time dealing with sporting events. Digging Deeper 1. Warriors blow 3-1 lead in NBA…