Good morning, bomberinos! Welcome to the F Bomb, where you can let down your hair (provided you have any), kick off your shoes (if you have changed your socks recently), and shoot the breeze (but not with a lethal weapon, please).
First up, a selection of tweets from yesterday (and a few older ones that still are relevant).
A Chart of Obama Conspiracy Theories
Michael Vick's Dogs - Reunion
On This Day
In 1777, San Jose, California, was founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. It was the first civilian settlement, or pueblo, in Alta California. (It is the site of the next Netroots Nation. See you all there!)
In 1877, Thomas Edison gave a demonstration of his phonograph for the first time. Word has it his DJ skills were atrocious.
In 1929, U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd became the first person to fly over the South Pole.
In 1944, the first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome was performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announced his resignation.
In 1972, Atari announced the release of Pong, the first commercially successful video game.
Born on This Day
1711 – Laura Bassi, Italian scientist, the first woman to officially teach at a university in Europe. (d. 1778)
1798 – Alexander Brullov, Russian painter (d. 1877)
1832 – Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (d. 1888)
1874 – Francis Dodd, British artist (d. 1949)
1895 – Busby Berkeley, American film director and choreographer (d. 1976)
1898 – C. S. Lewis, Irish writer (d. 1963)
1901 – Mildred Harris, American actress (d. 1944)
1908 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American civil rights leader and politician (d. 1972)
1915 – Billy Strayhorn, American musician and composer (d. 1967)
1918 – Madeleine L'Engle, American author (d. 2007)
1927 – Vin Scully, American baseball announcer
1928 – Tahir Salahov, Azerbaijani painter
1928 – Paul Simon, American politician (d. 2003)
1933 – John Mayall, British blues musician
1933 – James Rosenquist, American artist
1940 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas & the Papas) (d. 2007)
1940 – Chuck Mangione, American musician
1942 – Felix Cavaliere, American musician
1956 – Hinton Battle, American dancer
1957 – Janet Napolitano, United States Secretary of Homeland Security
1959 – Rahm Emanuel, effing American politician
Died on This Day
1530 – Thomas Wolsey, English religious figure (b. c. 1470)
1954 – Dink Johnson, American musician (b. 1892)
1980 – Dorothy Day, American journalist (b. 1897)
1981 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)
1986 – Cary Grant, British-born American actor (b. 1904)
1991 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor (b. 1904)
2001 – George Harrison, Beatle (b. 1943)
Today is
National Chocolates Day (note the plural form)
Square Dance Day
Electronic Greetings Day
National Lemon Creme Day
National Rice Cake Day
Throw Out Your Leftovers Day