A Brief History On October 11, 1975, television audiences in the United States experienced one of those magic moments when an icon was born, as the comedy skit show, Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted with George Carlin as host. Digging Deeper Carlin, one of history’s great comedians, and originator of “Seven words you can never say on television,” died in 2008 at age 71 of heart failure. His guests on that epic night included singer Janis Ian, singer Billy Preston, and comedian/actor Andy Kaufman. Kaufman went on to make a total of 16 SNL appearances, but tragically died in 1984 at…
Browsing: Arts & Entertainment
Read More
A Brief History “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a short story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859), contained in his collection of essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (1819-1820). Although written while Irving was living in Birmingham, England, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during the Halloween season. To that end, the short story is an excellent example of the creation of American culture in the early 19th century! Digging Deeper: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”…
A Brief History On October 3, 1995, in one of the most ridiculed jury findings in American history, a criminal jury found OJ Simpson not guilty of the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Digging Deeper Simpson had been an American hero, born into a working family and raised in the projects of San Francisco after his parents separated in 1952. OJ developed rickets as a child, and wore leg braces until age 5. A star high school football player, Simpson first played at the Community College level before transferring to USC where he…
A Brief History On this date, September 28, 48 BC, Pompey the Great was assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. Although we know of this incident, many open problems concern Ancient Egypt, and some of them may never be solved. Egyptian archaeology is in a state of constant transition, with much of the terminology and chronology in dispute. The archaeological record is incomplete, with countless relics and artifacts missing or destroyed. New archaeological discoveries can call into question previous conclusions about Ancient Egypt. Furthermore, there are internal problems of overall cohesion of various…
A Brief History On September 10, 1960, the final event of the Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, was the scene of the first Sub-Saharan African (Black) to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the prestigious Olympic Marathon race (about 26.2 miles long) and won it in high fashion, that is, barefoot! Digging Deeper Only 126 lbs, this slim 5’11” runner was 28 years old when he ran his historic race, and for good measure he won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Marathon in the 1964 Olympics as well. The course of events that led…
