Browsing: March

A Brief History On March 20, 2018, we are still recovering from screening the new horror/drama/thriller, Unsane, which premiers on Friday, March 23, 2018 across the United States. This movie is something special, filmed entirely on smart phones, but with the excellent picture quality you would expect from normal Hollywood camera equipment. The unique filming contributes to the creepy pall the movie casts over the audience’s grasp of reality. Without monsters, demons, or excessive gore, the film nonetheless created more suspense, anxiety and terror in us than any movie in recent years. The audience clapped at the end, if that…

A Brief History On March 20, 1922, the USS Langley CV-1 was commissioned as the first American aircraft carrier in the US Navy. The ship had previously been a coal hauling ship (collier) named USS Jupiter AC-3 and had been converted for use with airplanes. The US Navy had seen the value of airplanes as anti-ship weapons when Army Air Corp Maj. Gen. Billy Mitchell demonstrated his ability to sink or heavily damage battleships by aerial attack. Of course, the scouting ability of an air fleet greatly expanded the ability of a sea going commander to reconnoiter the seas around…

A Brief History On March 19, 1954, William Joseph Mosconi (Willie to friends) set the all time record of making 526 balls in a row in straight pool, a record that still stands. From 1941 to 1957, Mosconi won the World Straight Pool Championship 15 times, a record never matched before or since. Along with his many tournament wins, Mosconi also developed and displayed numerous trick shots, amazing onlookers everywhere he played. Digging Deeper Not surprisingly, Willie was born into a family that owned a pool hall in Philadelphia and lived above the pool room. Little Willie was discouraged from…

A Brief History On March 18, 1850, the future financial services giant American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo, 2 years before those business partners founded Wells Fargo and Company. Famous today for their credit cards and travelers cheques, American Express rakes in revenues over $33 billion per year, placing them among the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market indicating group. Digging Deeper American Express started out as an express mail delivery company, a merger of companies owned by Wells, Fargo, and John Butterfield (who co-owned another company with Wells). Headquartered…

A Brief History On March 17, 2017, much of the English speaking world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day in honor of the English (possibly of Roman descent) missionary and Bishop that brought Christianity to much of Ireland. Recognized as a saint by the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches, St. Patrick is remembered on March 17 as the supposed day of his death, although his birth and death dates are lost to history, his life most likely having occurred during the 5th Century A.D.. Digging Deeper Born in England of English and probably Roman descent sometime in the 5th Century,…