A Brief History On September 5, 1927, long before he became famous for his feature film cartoons and amusement parks, Walt Disney’s production of Trolley Troubles, an animated cartoon featuring the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, was released by Universal Pictures. A far cry from what we now associate Walt Disney with, Trolley Troubles was only just over 6 minutes long and was in black and white, and although it did not feature sound to go along with the animation, music and sound effects were added years later. Oswald became a popular cartoon character and Disney was on his way…
Read More
A Brief History On September 4, 1972, The Price is Right, created by Bob Stewart, Mark Goodson, and Bill Todman, made its television debut with Bob Barker as host. The show would go on to become the longest running American television game show, and Bob Barker, host from 1972 to 2007 (when Drew Carey took over) was the longest tenured US television game show host. The remarkable show is still going strong, still with Drew Carey at the helm. In 2007, TV Guide Magazine called The Price is Right the greatest game show of all time. Considering the incredible array…
A Brief History In 1785, the first grades issued at Yale University (and possibly the first in the United States of America) were given out when President Ezra Stiles recorded in his diary that there were “Twenty Optimi, sixteen second Optimi, twelve Inferiores (Boni), [and] ten Pejores” among 58 Seniors. Today, bad grades scare most students and it is also true that neither students nor teachers like seeing a bad grade. Fortunately, grades can be improved by following some strategy. This article elaborates on some ways to avoid bad grades in high school and college. If avoiding a negative grade is one of your…
A Brief History On September 2, 2019, we take a moment to review a nifty “What if?” horror film, Brightburn. The title comes from a mythical small town in Kansas, one that is more or less analogous to Smallville in the Superman super-hero franchise. But what if little Kal-El came to Earth and turned out to not be on our side? Brightburn kind of addresses that question. Digging Deeper With a modest budget of less than $12 million, you would not expect spectacular action and gaudy scenes that show off cutting edge special effects. And you would be right! Although…
A Brief History On September 1, 1939, US Army General George C. Marshall, Jr. was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Marshall would go on to lead the American military effort through World War II and later be appointed General of the Army, a 5 star rank created so that the United States military would have general officers equivalent to the European Allies’ Field Marshal rank. (It would not do to have a lesser rank American in charge of Allied Field Marshals.) Digging Deeper George Marshall was a highly competent officer and not one prone…