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Today is March 26 2014

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   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday

March 26th: National Spinach Day: More
Yes, it is also national Nougat day, but let's eat those greens first. Then you can have dessert.

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • Legal Assistance Day: More
  • Make Up Your Own Holiday Day: More
  • National Nougat Day: More
Events in the past on: March 26
  • In 1937, Spinach growers of Crystal City, Tx, erect a statue of Popeye.
    From Wikipedia: 'Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2010 census.'

    'The successful production of spinach evolved into a dominant industry. By March 26, 1937, the growers had erected a statue of the cartoon character Popeye in the town because his reliance on spinach for strength led to greater popularity for the vegetable, which had become a staple cash crop of the local economy. Early in its history, the area known as the "Winter Garden District" was deemed the "Spinach Capital of the World" (a title contested by Alma, Arkansas). The first Spinach Festival was held in 1936. It was put on hold during World War II and later years. The Festival was resumed in 1982. The Spinach Festival is traditionally held on the second weekend in November, and draws former residents (many of them former migrant farm workers) from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Washington State, and beyond'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1955, The 'Ballad of Davy Crockett' becomes the #1 record in US.
    From Wikipedia: '"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a song with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn.

    The song was introduced on ABC's television series Disneyland, in the premiere episode of October 27, 1954. Fess Parker is shown performing the song on a log cabin set in frontiersman clothes, accompanied by similarly attired musicians. The song would later be heard through out the Disneyland television miniseries Davy Crockett, first telecast on December 15, 1954, . Parker played the role of Davy Crockett and continued in four other episodes made by Walt Disney Studios. It was sung by The Wellingtons. Buddy Ebsen co-starred as George "Georgie" Russel, and Jeff York played legendary boatman Mike

    The first album version was recorded by Bill Hayes, quickly followed by versions by Fess Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford (recorded February 7, 1955). All three versions made the Billboard magazine charts in 1955: Hayes' version made #1 on the weekly chart (from March 26 through April 23) and #7 for the year, Parker's reached #6 on the weekly charts and #31 for the year, while Ford's peaked at #4 on the weekly country chart and #5 on the weekly pop chart and charted at #37 for the year. A fourth version, by bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman, reached #10 on the radio charts in May 1955. The song also reached #1 on the Cash Box charts, from March 26 through May 14, 1955. A contemporary version also exists of the Western singing group the Sons of the Pioneers. Over ten million copies of the song were sold.

    Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1957, Ricky Nelson recorded his first songs (I'm Walkin', A Teenager's Romance, You're My One and Only Love).
    From Wikipedia: 'Nelson played clarinet and drums in his tweens and early teens, learned the rudimentary guitar chords, and vocally imitated his favorite Sun Records rockabilly artists in the bathroom at home or in the showers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins's March 1956 Top Ten hit "Blue Suede Shoes".'

    At age sixteen, he wanted to impress his girlfriend of two years, Diana Osborn(e), who was an Elvis Presley fan and, although he had no record contract at the time, told her that he, too, was going to make a record. With his father's help, he secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing. On March 26, 1957, he recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love"'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - I'm Walkn' - on YouTube: More
    - A Teenager's Romance - on YouTube: More
    - You're My One and Only Love - on YouTube: More
  • In 1958, At the 30th Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, The Bridge on the River Kwai
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Alec Guinness for 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'
    Best Actress is Joanne Woodward for 'The Three Faces of Eve'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Supporting Actor is Red Buttons for 'Sayonara'
    Best Supporting Actress is Miyoshi Umeki for 'Sayonara'
    Best Song is All the Way from 'The Joker Is Wild'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  • In 1964, The musical 'Funny Girl' opens on Broadway starring Barbra Streisand.
    From Wikipedia: 'Funny Girl is a 1964 musical with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress and comedian Fanny Brice featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein. Its original title was My Man.

    The musical was produced by Ray Stark, who was Brice's son-in-law via his marriage to her daughter Frances, and starred Barbra Streisand. The production was nominated for eight Tony Awards but, facing tough competition from Hello, Dolly!, it failed to win in any categories.

    The original cast recording of Funny Girl was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004'.
    - At FamousDaily.com: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1982, A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.. There were originally 58,195 names (K.I.A and M.I.A). The current count as of Memorial Day 2013, is 58,286.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 2-acre (8,000 mē) national memorial in Washington, DC. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for (Missing In Action) during the War.

    Its construction and related issues have been the source of controversies, some of which have resulted in additions to the memorial complex. The memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Servicemen Memorial, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the best-known part of the memorial.

    The main part of the memorial, which was completed in 1982, is in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. The Memorial Wall was designed by American architect Maya Lin. In 2007, it was ranked tenth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects. As a National Memorial it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.'

    'On the walls are the names of servicemen classified as KIA (Killed in Action), or MIA (Missing in Action) when the walls were constructed. The names are inscribed in Optima typeface. Information about rank, unit, and decorations is not given. Those who died in action are denoted by a diamond, those who were missing (MIAs, POWs, and others) are denoted with a cross. When the death of one who was previously missing is confirmed, a diamond is superimposed over the cross. If the missing were to return alive, which has never occurred as of September 2015, the cross is to be circumscribed by a circle.

    The names are listed in chronological order, starting at the apex on panel 1E in 1959 (although it was later discovered that the first casualties were military advisers who were killed by artillery fire in 1957), moving day by day to the end of the eastern wall at panel 70E, which ends on May 25, 1968, starting again at panel 70W at the end of the western wall which completes the list for May 25, 1968, and returning to the apex at panel 1W in 1975.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1990, At the 62nd Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, Driving Miss Daisy
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Daniel Day-Lewis for 'My Left Foot'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actress is Jessica Tandy for 'Driving Miss Daisy
    Best Supporting Actor is Denzel Washington for 'Glory'
    Best Supporting Actress is Brenda Fricker for 'My Left Foot'
    Best Song is Under the Sea from 'The Little Mermaid'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  • In 2000, At the 72nd Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, American Beauty
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Kevin Spacey for 'American Beauty'
    Best Actress is Hilary Swank for 'Boys Don't Cry'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Supporting Actor is Michael Caine for 'The Cider House Rules'
    Best Supporting Actress is Angelina Jolie for 'Girl, Interrupted'
    Best Song is You'll Be in My Heart from 'Tarzan'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Nothing. Looks like I was lazy on this day.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today

No. 1 song

  • She Loves You - The Beatles: More
    I Want To Hold Your Hand, has been displaced by another Beatles song. 'She Loves You', which will hold the no. 1 spot until April 4th, when another Beatles song, Twist And Shout, takes over.

Top movie

  • The Pink Panther More
    Having displaced 'Kissin' Cousins', it will be there until the weekend box office of April 12, 1964 when, 'The Carpetbaggers', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): March 26
   V.
This month March 2014 (updated once a month - last updated - )

National Celery Month, National Flour Month, National Nutrition Month, National Noodle Month, National Peanut Month, National Sauce Month


March is:

March origin (from Wikipedia):
'The name of March comes from Latin Martius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war who was also regarded as a guardian of agriculture and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. '

March 'is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of seven months that are 31 days long. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20th or 21st marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere's March. '

March at Wikipedia: More

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1964 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

 VII.
Best selling books fifty years ago (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2014)

Best selling books of 1964 More

VIII.
Fun (Last link added October 1 2014, but content on each site may change daily)
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
  • NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
  • Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
  • NASA TV: (video feed) More
    NASA TV schedule: More
  • Public Domain eBook Links

    Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

  • Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  IX.
Other Holiday Sites (Last link added October 1 2014. Link content changes yearly)

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.


US Government Holidays

  • 2014 Postal Holidays More
  • 2014 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

  • List of holidays by country More
  • Holidays and Observances around the World More
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