Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On February 18, 2001, a nation of racing car fans was stunned when the biggest current star of NASCAR stock car racing, Dale Earnhardt, died in a high speed crash into a wall at the Daytona 500, the premier race of NASCAR. Digging Deeper Known as “The Intimidator” for his aggressive racing style, Earnhardt was born Ralph Dale Earnhardt (later Sr.) in 1951.  Winner of the 1998 Daytona 500 and tied with Richard Petty with a record 7 Winston Cup Championships in 1994 (later tied in 2016).  Dale Sr. also  added 4 IROC Championships to his list…

A Brief History On February 13, 1954, Franklin Delano Selvy, shooting guard/small forward for the Furman University (South Carolina) basketball team scored an NCAA Division I record 100 points in a game against Newberry College (South Carolina), a feat never matched in Division I play. Digging Deeper The 6’ 3” Selvy, known as Frank, hailed from Corbin, Kentucky and was born in 1932, presumably the reason he was so named.  (Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the 1932 US Presidential election the same month Selvy was born.) In a story right out of a book of Fairy Tales, Selvy was being honored…

A Brief History On February 8, 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was officially opened with the placement of the first 8 brass and terrazzo stars in the famous sidewalk.  The Walk of Fame would almost immediately become a tourist favorite and a treasured honor to have one’s name placed in the sidewalk at Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. in Hollywood, California. Digging Deeper Administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the attraction gets about 10 million visitors per year.  Now having over 2500 stars (no, we are not going to list them!), the inaugural class of 8 plaques included…

A Brief History On February 7, 1497, the followers of Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola of Florence, Italy, gathered and burned a large quantity of objects they referred to as “vanities,” objects such as cosmetics, books, artwork, mirrors, fancy clothes, playing cards, and musical instruments, any objects these religious zealots thought could lead people to sin. Digging Deeper Misguided people have engaged in burning books and other articles that they have seen as contrary to their view of what is “proper,” “right,” or “moral” throughout history, and of course the Florence incident was not the first or largest of these burnings,…

A Brief History On February 4, 1983, the World was shocked to hear that popular 32 year old singer Karen Carpenter had died, due to complications from anorexia nervosa.  The public gaped at photos of an emaciated and shrunken singer they had known as a beautiful girl. Digging Deeper Carpenter, one half of the brother sister singing duo known as The Carpenters, had scored mega hit records with “Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Superstar,” “Hurting Each Other”, “Sing,” “Yesterday Once More,” and many others.  Karen and her brother, Richard, were also popular overseas, ranking 3rd all-time in Japan…