A Brief History On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed on the streets of New York City by a crazed fan.  Lennon, a former Beatle, was also a well-known advocate for world peace and had been vocal about his anti-war stance.  Many musicians, be they rock n’ roll musicians or even folk singers, use their music as a means of protest and to communicate their feelings about hot and controversial topics such as politics, war, racism, sexism, etc.  Here 10 protest songs are listed.  These were not all necessarily big hits or particularly effective, but they were all spectacular on…

A Brief History On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a devastating surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and the Hickam Field Airbase on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.  Digging Deeper American Naval and Army forces were caught by surprise that fateful sunny Sunday morning and paid a terrible price for their lack of vigilance.  All the American battleships were either sunk or disabled.  Of the 390 American warplanes, 188 were destroyed and 159 damaged.  Over 2,400 Americans died.  The Japanese were met with some token anti-aircraft fire and air-to-air interception, but the results were scant.  One…

A Brief History On December 6, 1952, Vladimir Nabakov finished his novel Lolita.  With a subject matter concerning a mature man and a young girl in a love affair, it was no surprise that prudes would find the subject “unfit” for public dissemination.  The Soviets and the Nazis banned and burned many books that were not in line with their concepts; the Chinese go so far as to also censor the internet.  Here 10 reviled written works that someone at one point in time or another wanted to ban are listed.  Digging Deeper 10. Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler). Although the…

A Brief History On December 5, 1952, the people of London, England found out the hard way that smog is no joke.  Air pollution, cold weather, fog, lack of wind and a phenomenon known as an anticyclone combined in such a manner that huge quantities of smoke from factories and furnaces, largely from the burning of coal, was left lingering over the city. Digging Deeper The noxious smoke, at first believed to not be dangerous, even penetrated buildings, causing people respiratory distress.  Londoners called the episode, which lasted until December 9 when the weather finally cleared, “The Great Smog of 1952,” or…

A Brief History On July 9, 1540, the marriage between Henry VIII and his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was annulled. Digging Deeper Annulled on the basis of non-consummation of the marriage, the real reason Henry wanted the divorce was because he found Anne unattractive, if not revolting.  Yes, it sounds very harsh, but it was probably a bit of an exaggeration as Henry had to get his point across to morally win his case.  How could he possibly be expected to make love to a woman who did not turn him on?  Well, he should have asked his forefathers who…