Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On January 16, 1970, one of America’s greatest architects and all around “Renaissance Man,” Richard Buckminster Fuller, was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects.  Mostly famous for his use of what he called the “geodesic dome” in architecture, Fuller, known simply as “Bucky” to friends, was also famous for his 30 books and penchant for inventing words and phrases. Digging Deeper Fuller is so highly regarded that a form of carbon molecules called “fullerenes” are named in his honor.  Fuller also served as the second president of the genius organization, Mensa, from 1974…

A Brief History On January 15, 1559, Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London, England.  In honor of that momentous event, this article presents a list of movies related to the history of England.  This list also contains movies and TV series about her relationship with other countries because, as Rudyard Kipling asserts, “what do they know of England who only England know?”.1 Digging Deeper 5th Century King Arthur 12th Century The Lion in Winter Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Robin Hood The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries) 13th Century Ironclad Braveheart 15th Century Henry V (1989 film) Henry…

A Brief History On January 5, 1998, former rock and roll star and current Congressman from California, Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, died when he skied into a tree at a Nevada ski resort.  Sonny, former member of rock duo Sonny and Cher, was 62 years old when he died. Digging Deeper Born in Detroit to a Sicilian family, Sonny moved to California at the age of 7.  Bono’s first foray into the music business was as a songwriter, with the hit song “Needles and Pins” to his credit (#13 in US and #1 in the UK in 1964 by The Searchers).…

A Brief History On January 1, 2016, we started a new year with the same hopes and expectations we normally start every year.  Despite all the acrimonious politics, the Obama years had actually been slowly improving across the economy, for rich and poor alike.  Job numbers had grown for 81 consecutive months (a record) and Obamacare resulted in more Americans than ever having health insurance.  A Presidential election year had begun, and it was widely thought that this year would see the first ever woman nominated by a major political party (Hillary Clinton by the Democrats) and that she would…

A Brief History On December 30, 1970, former heavyweight boxing champion Charles L. “Sonny” Liston lay dead on the bedroom floor of his Las Vegas home.  There he would stay until his wife found his dead body on January 5, 1971, almost a week later.  Officially, the Coroner said heart failure (your heart always fails when you die, just sayin’) and lung congestion.  The body was already somewhat decomposed, making definitive analysis of cause of death difficult, and rumors started almost immediately. Digging Deeper Liston had won the heavyweight championship by beating Floyd Patterson in 1962 at the age of…