Interrogatories
Are you or any of your friends peculiar? Proudly so?
What kind of houseplants do you have?
What was your favorite Masterpiece Theatre series of all time?
Have you done anything to your place that helps cut energy costs, like insulation, solar panels, ugly windows, etc?
The Twitter Emitter
Unscrupulous aides acting on their own led to this tweet. I knew nothing of it. I'm as surprised as you.
— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) January 9, 2014
Are we about at the time where we can stop saying Chicago-style politics and start saying New Jersey-style politics?
— Sara Lang (@SaraLang) January 9, 2014
results of traffic study: closing lanes causes backups
— Atrios (@Atrios) January 9, 2014
Let's close that bridge when we come to it.
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 9, 2014
Did Christie accidentally fire the staffer who tells him when to end a press conference?
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) January 9, 2014
If it wasn't a legitimate traffic study, the Port Authority has a way of shutting those thing down.
— Stacie Rose (@igotviews) January 9, 2014
Reductio ad Benghazum
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) January 9, 2014
Christie showing his devotion to Springsteen by giving three hour press conference with two encores.
— Ray Radlein (@Radlein) January 9, 2014
Living well is the best traffic study.
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 9, 2014
I wonder how many people listened to that press conference while they were stuck in traffic.
— Ben Greenman (@bengreenman) January 9, 2014
Chris Christie today adamantly "denied all knowledge" – I have to agree. I, too, think Christie lacks knowledge
— Dean Obeidallah (@Deanofcomedy) January 9, 2014
Chris Christie is probably the only person in the world who is now looking back fondly at 2013.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) January 9, 2014
I'm imagining Trentonian bedsheets; full of Whopper wrappers-Whopper wrappers & tears. #Inners
— Andrew Gatto (@AndrewGatto) January 10, 2014
On This Day
In 49 BC, Julius Caesar illegally crossed the Rubicon river, the beginning of a civil war and of a famous idiom.
In 1776, Thomas Paine published “Common Sense,” which is a misnomer if ever there was one.
In 1810, Napoleon Bonaparte divorced Josephine, his first wife, trading her in for a younger (and more blue-blooded) model.
In 1861, Florida seceded from the Union.
In 1870, Standard Oil was incorporated by John D. Rockefeller.
In 1927, Fritz Lang’s cult classic film “Metropolis” premiered in Germany.
In 1929, “The Adventures of Tintin” was published for the first time.
In 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London.
In 1964, the Beatles’ first U.S. album, “Introducing the Beatles” (brilliant title, that) was released.
In 1971, “Masterpiece Theatre” premiered on PBS, with “The First Churchills” as the opening series, and with Alistair Cooke hosting.
In 2007, George W. Bush announced the “surge” of 21,500 troops to Iraq.
Born on This Day
1680 – Philip van Dyk , Dutch painter (d. 1753)
1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
1708 – Donatien Nonnotte, French painter (d. 1785)
1745 – Étienne Aubry, French painter (d. 1781)
1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, 24th U.S. Attorney General and 23rd Secretary of State. (d. 1883)
1819 – Pierre Édouard Frère, French painter (d. 1886)
1843 – Frank James, American outlaw (d. 1915)
1853 – Jessie Bond, English singer and actress (d. 1942)
1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American silent film star (d. 1966)
1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian silent film star (d. 1984)
1901 – Pauline Starke, silent film actress (d. 1977)
1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
1916 – Eldzier Cortor, African-American painter
1917 – Hilde Krahl, Austrian actress (d. 1999)
1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer (d. 2008)
1924 – Max Roach, American musician and composer (M’Boom) (d. 2007)
1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer (d. 1990)
1930 – Elaine Devry, American actress and ex-Mrs. Mickey Rooney
1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American musician
1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player
1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer
1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
1943 – Jim Croce, American singer (d. 1973)
1945 – Rod Stewart, Scottish singer (The Jeff Beck Group and Faces)
1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer.
1949 – George Foreman, American boxer
1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer
1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer
1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer, and guitarist (Flight of the Conchords)
Died on This Day
1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
1760 – Félix Anton Scheffler, German painter (b. 1701)
1777 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
1883 – Dr Samuel A. Mudd, American medical doctor (b. 1833)
1890 – Johann Baptist Reiter, Austrian painter (b. 1813)
1892 – Charles Louis Müller, French painter (b. 1815)
1893 – Johan Philip Koelman, Dutch painter (b. 1818)
1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
1917 – William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
1941 – Sir John Lavery, Northern Irish artist (b. 1856)
1949 – Othon Friesz, French Fauvist painter (b. 1879)
1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
1968 – Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
1971 – Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, French fashion designer (b. 1883)
1976 – Howlin’ Wolf, American musician (b. 1910)
1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian (b. 1926)
2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
Today is
Bittersweet Chocolate Day
Peculiar People Day
National Cut your Energy Costs Day (in the middle of winter?)
Houseplant Appreciation Day
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