Radio Show for July 30, 2021
Special Holidays
National Paperback Book Day..July 30
During early times books were sold in heavy wooden covers. Today in 1935 a British company named Penguin published the first ‘paperback’ ever in the history of paperback books. The first batch of books included works by Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie. A few years later in 1939 publishers Simon and Schuster produced the Pocket Book paperback in the US and it is stated that “Lost Horizon” was the number one publication printed at that time.
Did you know?
*It is claimed that the first book ever written using a typewriter was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer…1876.
*The ‘bookmobile’ was launched in 1857. It was a horse drawn wagon run by George Moore in Great Britain. It served books from bookshelves mounted on the outside and traveled between eight villages.
*The word “bookworm” originated from insects who live in and eat the binding of books. Hence, avid readers “consume” the books they read, they are bookworms.
*Readers tend to live longer over non-readers. A study was published in ‘Social Science and Medicine’, that reading books for at least 30 minutes to an hour a day can increase a person’s lifespan.
National ‘Talk In an Elevator Day’…July 30
With most of us this is the time when we check our smart phones (sometimes to avoid verbal communication with other elevator riders). This day points us in another direction. If you ride in an elevator today make it a ‘laughter break’. Try out your stand-up comedy. Or you can show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected. You can crack open your briefcase or purse and while peering inside and ask, ”Got enough air in there?” Or maybe stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall without stepping out the door. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers through it. Start a sing-a-long. If comedy is not your style, break the silence with a miniature spelling bee.
Did you know?
*The fastest installed elevator reaches speeds of 67 feet per second in the Shanghai Tower, China’s mega-tall 128 story skyscraper.
*Elevator music first appeared in the 1920’s to calm the fearful passengers who used the elevators for the first time.
*There are older buildings in the US that still employ ‘elevator operators’ that manually operate it as well as serve as a greeter and guide to the passengers. Examples are the City Hall Building in Buffalo, New York and the Commodore Apartment Building in Louisville, Kentucky.
Birthdays….July 30
Christopher Nolan…July 30, 1970
Christopher Edward Nolan is a British-American film director producer, and screenwriter.
Nolan was particularly influenced by the work of Ridley Scott and the science fiction films “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Star Wars”. He began making movies at the age of 7 and borrowed his father’s Super 8 camera shooting short films with his action figures. He built sets from clay, flour, egg boxed and toilet paper rolls. By age 11 he decided to become a professional film maker.
After he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature he worked as a script writer, camera operator and director of corporate videos and industrial films.
He released his first feature film, “Following” in 1998 where he wrote, directed, photographed and edited. His next successful film project was “Memento” in 2000 which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Short List of Christopher Nolan films
Momento…2000, starred Guy Pierce, film nominated for 2 Oscars
Insomnia…2002..starred Al Pacino, Robin Williams, this film was a remake of a Norwegian film in 1997 starring Stellan Skargarsgard
Batman Begins…2005..starred Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, this film was the reboot of the Batman film series and included three films all with Bale as Batman, film nominated for one AA award
The Prestige…2006..starred Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie (as Nicola Tesla), nominated for 2 AA awards
The Dark Knight..2008..starred Christian Bale, Heath Ledger (his last film) and played the Joker, Gary Oldman, film nominated for 8 AA awards and won 2 including Best Supporting Actor Heath Ledger
Inception…2010..starred Leonardo DiCaprio, film nominated for 8 AA awards and won 4
The Dark Knight Rises…2012..starred Christian Bale..this was the last of this Batman trilogy
Interstellar…2014..starred Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, film nominated for 5 AA awards and won one for Best Visual Effects
Tenet…2020..starred Robert Pattison and John David Washington, film nominated for two AA awards and won one for Best Visual Effects
Arnold Schwarzenegger…July 30, 1947
Arnold is an Austrian-American actor, producer, retired body builder and former politician.
Arnold’s father was the local chief of police and an athlete. He said his parents were very strict and that his father had no patience for listening or understanding your problems. Arnold remained close to his mother.
He was academically average in school. Money was a problem in their household, he recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.
Arnold began weight training in 1960. At 14 he chose bodybuilding over football as a career. He said his father had wanted him to be a police officer and his mother wanted him to go to trade school.
He officially started his competitive bodybuilding career at 17. He went to the theatre often and his movie idols were Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller.
When Arnold moved from Austria to the US at 21 he spoke little English. In 1968 he trained at Gold’s Gym in Venice, Los Angeles under Joe Weider’s supervision, in 1970 he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York and would go on to win the title a total of seven times. He soon moved from bodybuilding into acting as in 1970 he got a role in the film “Hercules in New York”. His second role was in “The Long Goodbye” which he played a deaf-mute mob hitman.
In 1984 Arnold made his first appearance as the character that some would say was his signature role as a cyborg assassin back in time from 2029 to 1984 in James Cameron’s “The Terminator”.
Arnold starred in 59 films. He won a Golden Globe award in 1977 for “Stay Hungry”, won a primetime Emmy in 2014 for “Years of Living Dangerously” (television documentary about climate change) and was nominated for several Saturn awards.
Short List of Arnold Schwarzenegger films
Conan the Barbarian…1982, director John Milius, co-written by Milius and Oliver Stone
The Terminator…1984, director James Cameron and co-starred Linda Hamilton, film was nominated for 7 Saturn awards and won 3 of them.
Total Recall…1990, director Paul Verhoveven, co-starred Sharon Stone, film based on a story by Philip K. Dick, it had 2 AA award nominations and won a Special Achievement Academy Award
True Lies…1994, director James Cameron, co-starred Jamie Lee Curtis, film earned one AA nomination (for Best effects)
Eraser…1996, director Chuck Russell, co-starred James Cann, James Coburn, Vanessa Williams, film was nominated for one AA award
The 6th Day…2000, director Roger Spottiswoode and co-starred Robert Duvall
Arnold’s political views were always well known. He was chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Red Cross Ambassador and decided to run for office as he announced his candidacy in the 2003 for a recall election for Governor in California and won. He served as Governor from 2003 to 2011.
Alton Brown…July 30, 1962
Alton Crawford Brown, Jr. is an American tv food show presenter, chef, author, actor, cinematographer and musician.
He was born in Los Angeles, lived and was raised in Georgia. His father was a media executive, owner of a radio station, and publisher of a newspaper in Cleveland, Georgia. He died on Alton’s last day of sixth grade from apparent suicide.
After studying film at the University of Georgia in the late 1980’s Alton was the cinematographer for several music videos including for rock band R.E.M.
Brown was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on television so he set out to produce his own show, in preparation he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute and graduated in 1997. He was a poor science student in high school and college but he focused on the subject to understand the underlying process of cooking.
Many times his show “Good Eats” featured Brown building makeshift cooking devices in order to point out that many of them are simply fancified hardware store items. “Good Eats” was nominated for the Best TV Good Journalism Award by the James Beard Foundation in 2000. The show was also awarded a 2006 Peabody Award.
Brown was once a motorcycling enthusiast and is an airplane pilot, owning two planes. He also collects vintage watches and has written several books.
Short list of Alton Brown TV shows
Good Eats…1999-2021
Good Eats Reloaded since 2018
Cutthroat Kitchen…host…2013-2017
Iron Chef America…Commentator..2005 to 2018
Honorable Mentions
Laurence Fishburne..July 30, 1960, starred in over films, known for “The Matrix” trilogy
Paul Anka…July 30, 1941, singer and songwriter, wrote over 900 songs including “My Way” Frank Sinatra’s signature song
Emily Bronte…July 30, 1818-1848, author “Wuthering Heights”
Peter Bogdanovich…July 30, 1939, director The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon and is noted for the revitalizing film genres of the 30’s and 40’s
William Powell…July 29, 1892-1984, actor known for “The Thin Man” series, characters created by Dashiell Hammett
Betye Saar…July 30, 1926…African-American contemporary artist known for her work in assemblage
On This Day
“The Tingler” released on July 29, 1959
This film was directed and produced by William Castle and starred Vincent Price.
A little on the director…
William Castle was orphaned at 11 and dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theatre. He learned the trade, became a director and acquired a reputation for the ability to churn out B-movies quickly and on budget and promoted them using gimmicks. Joe Dante’s film “Matinee” portrays this unique director and his theatre stunts. Castle is Robert Zemeckis’s favorite director.
“The Tingler” tells the story of a scientist who discovers a parasite in human beings that feeds on fear.
Castle attached electrical buzzers to the under side of some seats in the theatres where “The Tingler” was screened to provide a tingling kick during certain scenes. During the screening the film stops and in some theatres the house lights came on, a woman screamed and pretended to faint. And the voice of Price asked the audience to remain seated. During this scene the theatre projectionist activated the buzzers giving some audience members an unexpected jolt.
The film was praised for its exaggerated qualities and the plot was called “ingeniously ludicrous”.
