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January 23rd, 2008 weds.
January 23rd, 2008

Congratulations to all the Oscar nominees- I lifted some of this list from Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew with his kind permission:

Best Animated Feature
• Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud)
• Ratatouille (Brad Bird)
• Surf’s Up (Ash Brannon and Chris Buck)
Note: For the second year in a row I got this group correctly. I gotta get to Vegas before this streak goes cold!

Best Animated Short Film
• I Met The Walrus (Josh Raskin)
• Madame Tutli-Putli (NFB, Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski)
• (Meme Les Pigeons Vont Au Paradis)Even Pigeons Go To Heaven (Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse)
• My Love (Moya Lyubov) by Alexander Petrov, who once fell asleep in the back of my Toyota coming from a Terry Thoren party.
• Peter And The Wolf (Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman)

Ratatouille also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay (Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird), Best Original Score (Michael Giacchino), Best Sound Editing (Randy Thom and Michael Silvers) and Best Sound Mixing (Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane).

Some negotiations have begun, hopefully the WGA strike will be settled soon, so it doesn't spoil the evening for all these talented folks.
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Quiz: What is meant by the term A Young Turk?

Yesterday’s Quiz answered below: What is that little space between your nose and upper lip called?
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History for Jan 23, 2008
Birthdays: Musio Clementi, Edouard Manet, Sergei Eisenstein, Derek Walcott, Ernie Kovacs, Stendahl, Jean Moreau, Randolph Scott, Dan Duryea, Rutger Hauer, Warner Bros animator Manny Davis, Disney animation director Dave Hand, Princess Caroline of Monaco

1789- Georgetown University was founded near the site of what will be Washington D.C.

1795- A fleet of 14 Dutch warships got stuck in ice and was attacked by French cavalry.

1806-Prime Minister Pitt the Younger dies at 46. A heavy port drinker, he had a stroke after getting the news of Napoleon's big victory at Austerlitz. As the maps and dispatches dropped from his lap, his last words were:" Oh My Country !" Another source said his dying words were "Oh I wish I had another one of Mr. Bellamy's Meat Pies !". Suspiciously, the source of that anecdote was a spokesman for the Bellamy's Meat Pies Company.

1812- The largest earthquake in North America. It was not in California but in the Mississippi Valley near New Madrid Missouri. The quake was felt as far south as New Orleans where it moved the mouth of the Mississippi River, and it rattled store windows in New York City. Legend has it Indian leader Tecumseh had predicted it. He told Indians who had signed treaties with the whites:" I will stamp my foot, then you will know the anger of the Great Spirit."

1862- Here’s a toast to that Great American- Count Agoston Haraszthy ! Who? Next time you raise a glass of Napa Valley Chardonnay think of him. This day the Hungarian immigrant count bought land in the Sonoma Valley and imported cuttings from 1,000 varieties of European wine grapes. There may have been one or more earlier vineyards, but He starts the California wine industry.

1867- New York City residents awoke this day to find the East River separating them and the City of Brooklyn had frozen solid. It stayed that way for several weeks wreaking havoc among the ship traffic and commerce. Everyone realized they needed a bridge. Work on the Brooklyn Bridge was begun two years later in 1869.

1879- The Defense of Rourkes Drift. After the British invasion force was annihilated by the Zulus at the Battle of Ishandlwana the other day, a ragtag group of stragglers, wounded and drivers behind an improvised wall of piled up oatmeal sacks hold off the entire Zulu army. The first Victoria Crosses were given out over this engagement. More were given here than at D-Day. One went to a sergeant who later had it stolen off the wall of his pub. He petitioned the government and got another one....and that too was stolen. When he died in 1911 he had the VC embellished on his tombstone....and,.. you guessed it....it was stolen.

1922- The first insulin injection given in Toronto by doctors Banting and Macleod to diabetic patient Leonard Thompson.

1930- Ivory Snow soap invented 'pure as the driven snow'. In 1969 the model on the Ivory Snow box, Marilyn Chambers, became a notorious porno star. The baby she held in the photo was actress Brooke Shields.

1942- Tupperware invented by Charles Tupper.

1968- THE PUEBLO INCIDENT- Just a few days after the shock of the Vietnamese Tet offensive, a US Navy spy ship doing CIA intelligence work is captured in North Korean waters. The hostage ordeal mesmerizes the public for weeks and the sailors are finally released after a long captivity and humiliating show-trials. After his release, the commander, Capt. Lloyd Bucher retired from the navy, went to Art Center in Pasadena and trained to become an illustrator.

1978- In Woodland Hills Terry Kath, the lead singer of the group Chicago, killed himself when he playfully put a pistol to his head. His last words were: "Don't worry. It's not loaded, see...?"

1989- Artist Salvador Dali’ died. Rushing to leave as much money as possible for his family his agents had him autograph reams of blank paper they intended to print Dali’ lithographs on later.

2004- Satellite TV dish installer Jay McNeil of Paduca Kentucky was trying out a new telescope when he discovered a nebula in space, now called McNeil’s Nebula.
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Yesterday’s Quiz: What is that little space between your nose and upper lip called?

Answer: The filcrum of philcrim.


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