Babbitt is a novel by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1922. The novel exposes and critiques the conformity of the American middle class.
Carl Lewis achieved the world record for the indoor long jump at the Millrose Games in January 1984. At 28 feet 10.25 inches (8.5 m), it’s a record which has stood for over thirty years.
From 1928 to 1967, the long jump record progressed 1’ 4.75". In one jump, Bob Beamon broke the record by 1’ 9.75". Since then there has been one longer jump extending the record by 1.75"
Michelangelo, the iconic Italian painter and sculptor, was born on March 6, 1475.
On a completely unrelated topic, Juan Carlos I was crowned King of Spain on November 22, 1975, two days after the death of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco. As of May 2014, Juan Carlos is still the Spanish King, and Gen. Franco is still dead.
President John F. Kennedy was to speak at the Trade Mart in Dallas on November 22, 1963, after taking part in a motorcade through downtown and Dealey Plaza, and then go on to Austin.
The village of Lakewood, NY is pretty far west in New York state - about 25 miles from the state border with Pennsylvania. Lakewood NY’s zip code, and what links this post to the last one, is 14750.
NM, ninja’d by EH.
In play:
President John F. Kennedy was to speak at the Trade Mart in Dallas on November 22, 1963, after taking part in a motorcade through downtown and Dealey Plaza, and then go on to Austin.
Austin, TX is home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. The US National Archives and Records Administration has 13 presidential libraries and museums.
Harold Baines was a pro baseball player, drafted in the first round by the White Sox in 1980 and, after playing for several other teams, retired from baseball with the White Sox as well, in 2001, at age 42.
In an article in Life Magazine in 1949, critic James Agee wrote about “Comedy’s Greatest Era,” discussing four silent film comedians and introducing them to a younger audience. The four were Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon. Langdon has dropped out of critical consideration (his success may have been dependant on one of his writers, Frank Capra), but the other three are still mentioned first when silent comedy is discussed.
Former President Harry Truman personally picked up trash left by tourists on the lawn of his home in Independence, Missouri.
Harry Truman refused to move from his home on Spirit Lake and was killed on May 18, 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted.
[off-topic]I heard the eruption while living in Seattle. There is a viewpoint where you could [maybe still can] see how far the lake was moved by the eruption. Compare the before and after pictures here Spirit Lake is northeast of the mountain[/ot]
Another Harry Truman was the sheriff of Twin Peaks, Wash. in the late Eighties TV show created by David Lynch.
Hugh Beringar is the Sheriff of Shrewsbury in the Brother Cadfael books. He starts out as a possible adversary to Cadfael, but quickly becomes a strong ally, although sometimes not able to follow Cadfael’s more unorthodox approach to legal issues.
Berengaria of Navarre was the wife of Richard the Lionheart. The daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile, although she was married to Richard for eight years, she never set foot in England, having followed him through all of his Crusades and other wars.
All three English kings named Richard died violent deaths.
Richard Chamberlain starred as Carl Brown and sang the title song for the 1965 movie Joy in the Morning, based on the novel by Betty Smith.
“Joy to the World”, the 1971 hit single by Three Dog Night, was written by folk musician Hoyt Axton. Other famous songs written by Axton include “The Pusher” by Steppenwolf, “No-No Song” by Ringo Starr, “Sweet Misery” by John Denver, and “Lightning Bar Blues” by Brownsville Station/Hanoi Rocks.
John Denver did not write “Forest Lawn” and “Whose Garden Was This?” Chad Mitchell did not write “The Marvelous Toy.” And “Rambling Boy” is not a “traditional American folk son.”
Tom Paxton wrote all of them, though most people don’t know that.
Bill Paxton shot his cameo for The Last Supper during a weekend off from filming Apollo 13.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is not in a museum. It is a wall mural, painted on the wall of the dining hall in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan.