A Brief History On November 5, 2017, with President Donald J. Trump under fire from seemingly all sides (sometimes including us!), we take this opportunity to congratulate him on setting a fine example to the youth of America by neither smoking nor drinking alcohol. Nor does he use illegal drugs. Our previous President, Barack Obama, was criticized for being a smoker, a terrible example for impressionable youngsters that could conceivably chose to smoke with the excuse that, “Hey, the President does!” Digging Deeper Yes, Barack Hussein Obama smoked, although he tried to keep it out of public view and promised…
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A Brief History On November 4, 1955, Denton True “Cy” Young died, leaving the Earth as the greatest major league baseball pitcher in history, so great in fact, that the annual award for the best pitcher in each major league is named in his honor. (Why is he the greatest of all time? Well, 511 wins say he is!) Digging Deeper Born in 1867 in Gilmore, Ohio (Tuscarawas County), Young picked up the nickname Cy, short for “Cyclone,” because of his devastating fastball that would break up boards when an errant pitch hit them “like a cyclone.” Prior to starting…
A Brief History On July 21, 1989, Do the Right Thing, an American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who also played the part of Mookie in the film, was released in the United States of America. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is also notably the feature film debut of both Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez. The movie tells the story of a Brooklyn neighborhood’s simmering racial tension, which comes to a head and culminates in tragedy on a hot summer day. The film was a critical and commercial success and received numerous…
A Brief History On December 12, 1967, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, an American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose, was released in the United States of America. The film stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and features Hepburn’s niece Katharine Houghton. The film was one of the few films of the time to depict an interracial marriage in a positive light, as interracial marriage historically had been illegal in most states of the United States, and still was illegal in 17 states—mostly Southern states—until 12 June 1967, six months before the film was released, roughly two weeks after Tracy filmed his…
A Brief History On November 3, 1911, one of the most iconic American companies was founded when Louis Chevrolet teamed up with former General Motors William Durant to form the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Chevrolet went on to become the bedrock division of General Motors (GM) and has rivaled or even supplanted the Ford Motor Company as the most identifiably American car company. Digging Deeper Louis Chevrolet, the man who’s name the company has borne for over 100 years, was a Swiss race car driver, mechanic, and engineer that emigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1900 at the age of 22. …