Some cool Animation books coming out.



IWAO TAKAMOTO'S BIO- I'm going tonight to the Van Eaton Gallery to get my copy signed by Iwao's collaborators Mike Malory and Willie Ito.



Hippo in a Tutu, a serious examination of the role of music in Disney Films, with enlightening new information from Alex Rannie.



Don Hahn's new two volume collection of Walt Stanchfield's lectures are now available on line for Pre-Order.



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Question: Of the great battles of history, which of these famous rivals never met face to face? A)- Napoleon vs. Wellington, B)- Hannibal vs. Scipio Africanis, C)-Lee vs. Grant,
D)- Richard the Lionhearted vs. Saladin?

Yesterday’s Quiz answered below: Did Pontius Pilate invent Pilates?
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History for 3/14/2009
Birthdays: Georg Phillip Telemann, Johann Strauss Sr., Albert Einstein, Casey Jones, Quincy Jones is 76, astronaut Frank Borman, Les Brown, Hank Ketcham, Wolfgang Petersen, Diane Arbus, Chris Klein, Michael Cain born Maurice Mickelwhite is 76, Ba-Ba Boowie, Billy Crystal is 61

On the Roman religious calendar this was the Second Equirra, the Blessing of the Horses of the Roman Cavalry. The Romans had no regular Sabbath day, but they had 154 feast days out of 366. Sorry about the deadline boss, but I have to go bless the Horses...

Today is also the Feast of Saint Matilda, wife of German Emperor Henry the Fowler and mother of Otto the Quarrelsome.

Happy pi Day (einstein's b-day) 3-14 geek stuff.

44BC –The night before their planned assassination of Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius met with the other conspirators. They had heard that tomorrow at the opening of the senate, outgoing consul Lucius Cotta planned to declare Caesar a king. The senators resolved to kill him, then debated whether they should then kill more of Caesars followers like Marc Anthony and Octavian. Marcus Brutus successfully argued that if they killed all their political enemies, then this gesture would just look like another partisan brawl. They would strike down one man, the dictator Caesar, in the name of Liberty and all would respect the purity of their motives. It turned out this was a big mistake, because the men whose lives they spared, were the ones who hunted them down.

44BC- This same night Julius Caesar held a dinner party. Guests remembered at one point the conversation went to the topic-What is the best kind of Death? Caesar answered: " That which is quick and unexpected."

1757- THE ADMIRAL WAS SHOT AT NOON- English Admiral of the Blue John Byng was shot by firing squad on the poopdeck of his own flagship, the HMS Monarch. He had lost a battle off Minorca to the French fleet so was court-martialed. The admiral was seen as a scapegoat for London's slow response to the enemy threat to Minorca. Byng had already been absolved by court martial of cowardice and treason, he himself wondered just why he was being shot. Pleas for mercy even came from his French enemy the Marquis De Gallissoniere. Years later whenever the Duke of Wellington or Lord Nelson was going through a bad time they would wonder: " If I fail they'll probably shoot me like Byng..."

1872- Stanley says goodbye to Dr. Livingston. After finding the English missionary at his desolate African post, Henry Stanley spent 4 months with him, then left for England.

1883- Karl Marx died in London. Marx's last words were:" Get out of Here!
Last words are for fools who haven't said enough already!"

1885- Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Mikado premiered in London.

1903- President Teddy Roosevelt, the first and last Republican environmentalist, established Pelican Island as the first Federal Wildlife Preserve.

1923- President Warren Harding became the first President to file an Income Tax Return..

1932-Inventor GEORGE EASTMAN shot himself- The inventor of the Roll-film camera, who named his celluloid strips 'film' and founded Eastman/Kodak. He had been suffering from a long illness and left the note: " To my friends: The End is near, why wait? "

1941- Xavier Cugat and his orchestra recorded "Babalu".

1943- THE BATTLE OF IMPHAL BEGAN- The Japanese 15th Army began an invasion of India from occupied Burma. Japan called it the "Drive on Dehli". For the next several months the Japanese, British , Indians, Nepalese, Gurkhas and Draguts fought on the plains of Imphal with tanks, planes, samurai swords and kukhris- the famous Gurkha boomerang shaped blade.

1943- Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" premieres. George Szell conducting. Young Leonard Bernstein once asked Copland how he could write more "American" sounding music. The maestro answered:" Lenny, just shuttup and write. You're American. It's all going to sound that way anyway!"

1967- Nine executives of the German pharmaceutical firm Grunethal were indicted over the Thalidomide scandal. Thalidomide was prescribed as a sedative for pregnant women , but the drug caused thousands of children to be born with deformed limbs.

1986- The IPO or initial public offering of stock of a new company called Microsoft. Twenty-seven dollars a share.

1991- Lyricist Howard Ashman ( Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) passed away of HIV/AIDS.

1992- Famous Soviet Communist newspaper Pravda- truth, ceased publication.

1998- The epic disaster movie Titanic surpassed Star Wars and Jurassic Park as the greatest money earning film ever. It cost over $200 million to make but it earned at least $1 billion in box office alone. Quote director James Cameron: I’m King of the World!!
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Quiz: Did Pontius Pilate invent Pilates?

Answer: No. It was developed in Berlin during World War One by Greek-German Josef Pilates as a way to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers.