Question: What place had a sign over the entrance that read “ Abandon All Hope, All Ye Who Enter..”?

Yesterday’s Question answered below: Did Mel Gibson ever sing in a movie?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
History for 12/9/2009
Birthdays: Sappho, John Milton, Jean De Brunhoff,Hermoinie Gingold, Dalton Trumbo, John Cassavettes, Broderick Crawford, Dick Butkus, Kirk Douglas is 93, Red Foxx, Cesar Franck, John Malkovich is 56, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Buck Henry is 80, Felicity Huffman, Judy Dench is 75, Star Trek’s Mr Worff- 2340 AD

536- The legions of Byzantine General Belisarius captured Rome from the Ostrogoths.
This was part of Emperor Justinians’ plan to win back the western half of the old Roman Empire.

1783- First executions began at Englands Newgate Prison, replacing the traditional
public hanging, drawing, quartering, branding, beheading place of Tyburn Hill- approximately where London’s Marble Arch is today.

1825- THE LATIN AMERICAN BUBBLE- The London Stock Exchange crashed over rampant stock speculation in the potential wealth in the new emerging Latin American republics. Financier Nathan Rothschild became a national figure when he lent the Bank of England millions to stay solvent. Thanks to new communications and international investment for the first time the London panic reached across national borders and caused the U.S. Stock Exchange and the Paris Bourse to also crash. This kind of speculation
in futures caused the South Sea Bubble in France and the Tulip craze a century earlier.
We’ve seen it in our own times with global credit crash of 2008.BGVbg

1889- The Chicago Auditorium dedicated. The landmark building’s architect Louis
Sullivan had hired a new assistant to help with the drawings-Frank Lloyd Wright.

1899- BLACK WEEK-Battle of Stormberg Junction. A series of small battles in which
British forces were defeated by Boer guerrillas in South Africa.
The commanding British general Sir Redvers Buller, was considered so slow moving
that one wag suggested they periodically hold a mirror up to his nostrils to check
for signs of life. He was later replaced with the more energetic Lord Roberts of
Kandahar.-“Ol’ Bobs”.

1905- Richard Strauss’s opera Salome premiered in Dresden. The lead role demands
a soprano with big Wagnerian lungs but also a flat stomach to do the strip tease
the Dance of the Seven Veils. When the opera debuted in New York old millionaires
like J.P. Morgan were shocked at its’ blatant sexuality. They threatened to cut
off funding until Sal and her skimpy veils were pulled from the schedule.


1907- the first Christmas Seals go on sale to fight tuberculosis.

1909- Mary Harris a.k.a. Mother Jones speaks at the Thalia Theater in support of
the "The Strike of the 20,000" Immigrant seamstresses in New York's garment
district. "Every strike I have ever been in has been won by women !"

1917- During World War One Field Marshal Allenby and the British army entered Jerusalem while Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab forces headed for Damascus. To promote harmony between Arabs and Jews, Allenby decided to build a YMCA in the Old City.

1946- Damon Runyon died, the writer whose characters the musical "Guys and
Dolls' are based. His philosophy: "All life is six to five against."

1960- Coronation Street premiered on British ITV.

1964-John Coltrane recorded his landmark jazz album “The Love Supreme”. Late on
foggy nights Trane liked to take his sax out onto the middle of San Francisco’s
Golden Gate Bridge and practice by himself.

1965- Bill Melendez's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" the first half hour
animated t.v. special featuring the music of Vince Guaraldi. Producer Lee Mendelson
had heard Guaraldi's jazz combo perform in San Francisco. He never scored a
film before:" How many yards of music do you want?"A Charlie Brown Christmas has run every year for over 40 years.


1967- At a Doors concert lead singer Jim Morrison was sprayed with mace and arrested
by Miami police for “lewd behavior” on stage, but probably more for referring to
the cops in derogatory terms.

1994- Disney Animators in California move into their new Animation building designed
by Robert Stern.

1994- The Surgeon-General of the United States, Dr Jocelyn Elders, was forced to
step down after her statements that sex education in primary schools include masturbation outraged many conservatives.

2004-Mia Hamm and the stars of the Women’s National Soccer Team played their last
game, defeating Mexico 5-0. Mia Hamm became a role model of women’s sports in the
US. Like hundreds of boys who want to be like Michael Jordan or Joe DiMaggio, now
scores of little girls want to be like Mia.

2008- Rod Blagojevich the Governor of Illinois was arrested for corruption.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday’s Question: Did Mel Gibson ever sing in a movie?

Answer. He sang in the Disney animated musical Pocahontas ( 1995). His voice was augmented by a professional singer who ‘s higher notes were digitally melded with Mel.