Interrogatories
Do you have a big day planned for tomorrow? Are you staying put or going somewhere?
Did you get anyone a gift that you can't wait for them to open?
How good were you at manipulating your parents? Any examples? How good are your kids at manipulating you (or nieces and nephews, if you don't have kids)?
Did you get your pets anything for Christmas?
The Twitter Emitter
On This Day
In 1818, the first performance of "Silent Night" was given in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
In 1865, the original incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan was formed.
In 1943, Dwight Eisenhower became the Supreme Allied Commander.
In 1955, NORAD tracked Santa for the first time.
In 1964, shooting began on the Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage."
In 1973, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act was passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
Born on This Day
1596 - Leonaert Bramer, Dutch painter (d. 1674)
1689 - Frans van Mieris II, Dutch painter (d. 1763)
1809 – Kit Carson, American frontiersman. (d. 1868) Perhaps the only one who was not played by Fess Parker!
1810 - Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
1837 - Hans von Marées, German painter (d. 1887)
1858 - Eliseu Meifren, Spanish landscape painter (d. 1940)
1877 – Sigrid Schauman, Finnish painter (d. 1979)
1886 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director, his most famous film being "Casablanca." (d. 1962)
1887 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
1893 – Ruth Chatterton, American actress (d. 1961)
1898 – Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer who influenced all the influences (d. 1959) (he plays on this cut)
1905 – Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976)
1908 - Helen Twelvetrees, American actress (d. 1958)
1922 – Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
1924 – Lee Dorsey, American singer (d.1986)
1931 – Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist and composer
1945 – Lemmy, British singer, bassist (Motörhead)
1946 – Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, American racist sexist wingnut politician
1963 – Mary Ramsey, American singer (10,000 Maniacs and John & Mary))
1973 – Stephenie Meyer, American author (responsible for the sparkly vampire)
Died on This Day
1670 - Jan Mijtens, Dutch portrait painter (b. 1614)
1707 – Noël Coypel, French painter (b. Christmas1628, missed his birthday by one day!)
1784 - Giuseppe Bottani, Italian baroque painter (b. 1717)
1804 - Moses Haughton the elder, British painter (b. 1734)
1824 - John Downman, English portrait painter (b. 1750)
1826 - Auguste-Xavier Leprince, French painter and lithographer (b. 1799)
1863 – William Makepeace Thackeray, British writer (b. 1811)
1865 – Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, British painter and writer (b. 1793)
1868 - Abraham Cooper, British animal painter specializing in horses (b. 1787)
1904 - Gustav Bauernfeind, Austrian painter born (b. 1852)
1914 – John Muir, Scottish-American naturalist (b. 1838)
1957 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1893) See Tipple Jar
2008 – Harold Pinter, British playwright (b. 1930)
Today is
Christmas Eve
National Egg Nog Day
Last-Minute Shopper's Day