Browsing: March

A Brief History On March 5, 1770, British soldiers opened fire on a group of unarmed American protesters, killing 5 (either 3 or 4 immediately, one dying later), an event referred to as The Boston Massacre, sometimes called the first shots fired in the American Revolutionary War. The first American gunned down was Crispus Attucks, a freeman of African and Native American descent. Digging Deeper Described in contemporary documents as a “mulattoe,” Attucks was of mixed race, definitely of African and Wampanoag descent, possibly with White mixed in. It is not known if he was a runaway slave, or if…

A Brief History On March 4, 2018, we eagerly await the 8 pm EST opening of the 90th Academy Awards show tonight in which the Oscars honoring the best films and performances on film of 2017 will be awarded. Hosted by late night host Jimmy Kimmel, the show will come from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Kimmel is the first host to host the show in back to back years since 1997-1998 (Billy Crystal). As you know by our frequent reviews of motion pictures, we are movie enthusiasts. Today we list our favorite films of 2017, showing of course our…

A Brief History On March 3, 2005, Steve Fossett of the USA made a non-stop, unrefueled solo flight around the globe, the first person in aviation history to achieve that particular milestone.  Already 60 years old at the time of his historic flight, Fossett died tragically only 2 ½ years later, predictably in a plane crash. Digging Deeper Born in Tennessee, Fossett grew up in California, attending Garden Grove High School and was educated at Stanford University for undergraduate work and at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for grad school where he earned an MBA. Like his father, Fossett…

A Brief History On March 2, 1933, the classic monster movie, King Kong, opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The big ape has starred in remakes of the movie and different adaptations of the idea of a giant gorilla, and the name, “King Kong,” has become a metaphor for a large, ferocious person, several people taking on the name of the great ape as their own nickname. King Kong started a genre of classic movie monsters that continues today, and we take this opportunity to offer our list of the 10 movie monsters we think are…

A Brief History On March 1, 1790, the first census in the history of the United States was authorized, with some interesting results. Article One of the US Constitution mandates that a census be taken every 10 years, an important task since allocation of representatives to Congress and allocation of funds and other things are based where the population is currently living. The most recent census was compiled in 2010 and presents an interesting comparison to the 1790 results. Digging Deeper The census has taken on a certain amount of resistance from conspiracy theorists, including the move of the Census…