Happy Birthday, Nevermore???

Happy 201st Birthday Edgar Allan Poe!

Evidently this year broke with tradition when the Poe Toaster never showed up. Find out about the story in the Baltimore Sun: Poe Toaster is "Nevermore"

Then check out the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore site for some great info & links!

Happy Birthday to . . .

Daniel Boone who was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1734 to Quaker parents.

Find out more about this original American folk hero at:

Daniel Boone - Wikipedia

and

The Daniel Boone Homestead

A Spooktacular Happy Birthday To . . .

Bela Lugosi who was born on this day in 1882 in Lugos outside the western border of Transylvania. He has   remained (in spite of the Twilight series) the quintessential Count Dracula of all time. (IMHO)

Here are a couple of sites to check out:

Bela Lugosi -  Wikipedia  has info on his life, career path, filmography, references, further reading, external links & more.

Official Bela Lugosi Website is run by the Lugosi family and many pages appear to be under construction. This site is worth a look see for the cool intro plus the biography is written by his son, Bela Lugosi, Jr., and gives a unique perspective on the famous actor's life.

Did you know that after his death he was evidently buried in one of his Dracula capes? How cool is that?

Happy Birthday to.....

Star Trek! It was 43 years ago that the show first aired on NBC.

(Was it that long ago?Seems like yesterday!)

The folks over at TrekMovie.com have a nifty walk down memory lane to check out: Star Trek Turns 43.

And the folks at Wikipedia have a great Star Trek entry with many links covering the six television series and eleven feature films. Oh, and the books, fan base, computer and video games and cultural references (and more!) are covered too.

So dust off your tribbles, practice your Vulcan death grip, crank up the holodeck and enjoy!

Happy Birthday to (& some separation anxiety about) . . .

Kevin Bacon who was born on this day in 1958 in Philadelphia, PA. (Click on his name to go to his IMDB [Internet Movie Database] page to learn more about him and his career.

Now, you may have heard of the phrase Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon which is a trivia game based on the concept of the small world phenomenon and assumes that any actor can be linked through his or her film roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six steps.

(More PA trivia: This game was created by three students at Albright College in Reading, PA back in 1994. Check it out here: The Kevin Bacon Game.)

Why should we care about the concept of six degrees of separation? A "degree of separation" is a measure of social distance between people. You are one degree away from everyone you know, two degrees away from everyone they know, and so on.

Because Stanley Milgram's experiments back in 1967 suggested that human society is a small world type network characterized by short path lengths and mirrors what we know today as the World Wide Web. (A Microsoft study done in 2008 confirmed the theory.)

It really is a small world after all.

Happy Birthday To.....

David Rittenhouse who, by all accounts, was a rather remarkable fellow Pennsylvanian.

He became an astronomer, mathematician, instrument maker and one of the leading American scientists of the eighteenth century, second only to Benjamin Franklin.

He was also the first director of the United States Mint.

Find out more here: David Rittenhouse

Happy Birthday To.....

Shirley Jones, stage, screen, and television actress, who was born on this day in 1934 in Charleroi, PA.

Here is her website: Shirley Jones

And here is the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) page on her:
Shirley Jones on IMDB

You may remember her as the Mom in the TV show The Partridge Family. I remember her more for her work in Broadway musicals...especially those by Rogers & Hammerstein. Miss Bun particularly remembers her for that famous scene in The Music Man which is near and dear to her heart for obvious reasons.
Check it out below!

Happy Birthday To ...

Robert Frost who was born on this day in 1874. While he is mainly considered by most to be a rural New England poet, his work often addresses dark and universal themes.


Here are some other sites with good info:

The Friends of Robert Frost
(be sure to scroll to the bottom of the main page)

The Robert Frost Farm

Happy Birthday To ...

Harry Houdini who was born on this day in 1874. Check out this rather cheesy (and I mean that in the best possible way) site that has great info, photos, audio, videos & more!

Houdini

(One of Miss Bun's favorite movies is Houdini with Tony Curtis & Janet Leigh which came out in 1953.)

Yet Another Happy Birthday to...And a Book About....

yet another Pennsylvanian (albeit a transplant) Joseph Priestly (born March 13, 1733) who made his home in Northumberland, PA from 1794 until his death in 1804.

His is one of those vaguely familiar names that you kind of feel you should know but don't.

It turns out that Joseph Priestley is best remembered for his pioneering work in chemistry and in particular for the discovery of oxygen. But he was also a prolific theologian ( he founded Unitarianism), an innovative educator, and a liberal political philosopher. His inner circle included Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

You can go visit the Joseph Priestly House in Northumberland and learn more about him on Wikipedia.

And if that's not enough (and why should it be?) my favorite creative non-fiction writer
Steven Johnson (author of The Ghost Map) has just published a book called The Invention of Air : A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America. Check out the video of him talking about his book below.

(Miss Bun thinks Mr. Johnson is rather cute!)

Another Happy Birthday to......

fellow Pennsylvanian Barbara Feldon (remember the tv show Get Smart?) who was born in Bethel Park, PA in 1932. Happy 77th birthday!

Happy Birthday to.....

James Taylor who turns 61 today.

I've seen him in concert several times and I never get tired of his music. (Is that groaning I hear from New Hampshire???)

Happy Birthday JT! Everyone send good thoughts!


Check out the video below for some early stuff.

Happy Birthday to....

Dr. Seuss....who was born on this day in 1904.... which makes him 105!

To celebrate, try this Dr. Seuss site by Random House and learn about the man behind the Cat in the Hat, play some games and don't forget to eat some cake!

SEUSSVILLE

Then watch the out-of-print video below.

Happy Birthday to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter!

Our very own Senator Specter turns 79 today. If you see him (or not) send good wishes his way.

Another Happy Birthday To:

Fellow Pennsylvanian W.C. Fields!

To learn a little about this talented man whose career spanned vaudeville and films go here: http://www.netstate.com/states/peop/people/pa_wcf.htm .

Many people remember him for his comedy but he got his show business start with juggling...and he was AMAZING!
Don't believe me? Check out the YouTube video below. (He makes it look Sooooooooo easy!)

Happy Birthday To:

Jackson Pollock!
Just in case you don't know who this major force in the abstract expressionist art movement was you can go here to find out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock .

And just for fun try your hand at virtual painting in Pollock's style here (trust me, it's fun) :
http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

Note: You will see a blank page.....just move your cursor to get started.....clicking the mouse changes the color.
Now Peeps...... go be creative!!!!