A Day of Infamy

There have been many people (who we'll call "Celebrities") born on this day.
Let's look at a few:
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John Cleese:
Perhaps one of the funniest people to ever live on this Earth, John Cleese turned 67 today. This man will forever be known for his silly walks, calling King Arthur, "a pansy," and, "a chicken," and for walking around an apartment half naked while speaking Russian (if you don't know what I'm talking about, find out).
What most people don't know, however, is that beyond his comedic skills lies an incredibly smart man. Graduated with a degree in law from Cambridge, and is well spoken.
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Theodore Roosevelt:
The Bull Moose was born on this day 148 years ago.
Beyond his famous quotes ("Speak softly, and carry a big stick"), he had a photographic memory, and is known to be the father of the Teddy Bear. How? It's about a hunting trip. After no animals could be found, someone captured a stray bear cub and offered Roosevelt the opportunity to shoot it. He refused, saying it was, "unsportsmanlike." Like wildfire, news of his deed spread (this included a cartoon drawing of the President refusing to shoot the cub). A few weeks later, a function was held at the White House, and someone (supposedly Roosevelt's wife) had small dolls in the likeness of bears made as card holders for the place settings. The bears were taken home as souvenirs...and that's how it began.
Other interesting notes? He was asthmatic, but conquered it (and would be known for being tough).
"Good to the last drop," (The Maxwell House slogan) came from him.
Once delivered a one-hour speech in spite of being shot moments before by a would-be assassin. That is tough.
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Other famous people born on this date:
Lee Greenwood: Wrote the overplayed post 9-11 anthem "God Bless the U.S.A."
Roberto Benigni: "My English...I used it all up!"
Niccolo Paganini: Incredible operas were given to the world by this (no kidding) triple-jointed composer.
Oh, and then there's one other guy...but he's just some...unimportant teacher...so let's just move on, ok?
John Gotti: Well...you can't win them all. This former mafioso may have been born today, but he died of Cancer.
Matt Drudge: That's right...the Internet reporter himself came into being today.
Kelly Osbourne: Ozzy's daughter turned 22 today.
Ted Wass: Best known for being the dad on Blossom, he has now become an accomplished TV director.
Ivan Reitman: The man who gave us such films as Ghostbusters, and Kindergarten Cop turns 60 today.
Happy birthday to all, some of whom are alive, some of whom are not.
Namaste.

Why I Should Listen to Radio More Often

My son had to go to the doctor today, which was unfortunate (though they love him there and lavish attention on him. I swear, random nurses stopped in to smile and wave at my son...kids not even one and already a player....), but he survived getting shots.
He's been really sick lately, which is unfortunate, but a part of life.
So I'm driving to the appointment listening to Don Shelby and Jeff McKinny (or "The McSkinny" as they called it) on WCCO. One of them, I believe it was McKinny, was reading out of the recent issue of "Entertainment Weekly" (which made for thrilling radio). The subject was Sascha Baron Cohen's upcoming film Borat, which is getting hammered by some critics who don't have a sense of humor (oops, my real feelings popped out there for a second...sorry folks). So they are reading his interview to the audience when Shelby starts talking about how people think, even though Cohen is Jewish, that he is an Anti-Semite.
Except Shelby doesn't say, "Anti-Semite." Nope. He says (changed for pronounciation), "Anti-[See-mite]."
Thus begins a banter about See-mite versus Semite. As McKinny and Shelby banter, Shelby suddenly says (again for pronounciation), "You ever been in [See-men]?"
The air goes dead. I was chortling, because I had this vision of Don Shelby as the Peter Graves character (Captain Oveur) in Airplane.
Imagine Don Shelby saying, "You ever seen a...grown man naked, Billy?"
Yet the radio remained dead. It was at least five seconds before McKinny said, "Uh, no (Quick laughter). What else is on the list?"
This is why I should be listening to the radio more often. Where else but here can you get "Entertainment Weekly" read to you and have an Emmy-winning news anchor turn an ethnic slur into porno.
Good stuff.