Ridley Scott Revisits ‘Black Hawk Down’
Ridley Scott Revisits Black Hawk Down in an interview with Geoff Boucher at Deadline and it is worth a read!
Category: History
Jim Cornette Presents Behind the Curtain: Real Pro Wrestling Stories
I’m really enjoying the Dark Side of the Ring series airing on Viceland. Three episodes in and I remain impressed. The series interviews the wrestlers, referees and behind-the-scenes folks that were actually involved in the events that each episode covers. If you have any interest in the business of old school professional wrestling, then The Dark Side of the Ring is worth checking out.
If you’ve read this far, you also might be interested in Jim Cornette Presents Behind the Curtain: Real Pro Wrestling Stories. Written by Cornette with an assist from Brandon Easton and art by Denis Medri, Jim Cornette Presents Behind the Curtain: Real Pro Wrestling Stories is…
A true-story style anthology, these insider tales will show the lengths that wrestlers went to uphold “kayfabe” (the old carny term for the presentation of legitimate conflict) as well as the noteworthy cultural, racial, and economic effects these events and characters had on society. This is the graphic novel that old school wrestling fans have been waiting their entire lives for: a no-holds-barred representation of the moments that wrestling insiders couldn’t talk about for years.
Featuring appearances by Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, Andy Kaufman, Sputnik Monroe, The Sheik, Junkyard Dog, the Fabulous Freebirds, the Midnight Express, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels.
Behind the Curtain – Real Pro Wrestling Stories present three chapters of tales, personally curated by Cornette and adapted by Brandon Easton (M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) and Denis Medri (Red Hood/Arsenal), the award-winning team behind Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven.
Jim Cornette Presents: Behind the Curtain – Real Pro Wrestling Stories drops on August 6, 2019 and is available for pre-order now.
Abraham Lincoln’s Last Possessions
Being a history buff, this interests me. I wonder why President Lincoln was carrying two pair of glasses. Also there are a few items I can’t identify. Any of you folks know what all of the items are?
Source: Michael Beschloss.
Quentin Tarantino Takes a Second Look at “Escape from Alcatraz”
Quentin Tarantino’s first line had me hooked…
Escape from Alcatraz, a film I didn’t like when it came out…
Why was Tarantino writing about a film he didn’t like? Sure, it starred Clint Eastwood and was directed by Don Siegel, but Tarantino didn’t like it and it wasn’t one of my favorite Eastwood films either.
Ah, but when Tarantino revisited it a few years ago, he gained a greater appreciation for it.
Ok Quentin, tell me more.
And he does in his overview of Escape from Alcatraz. If you click over and read it, you’ll not only get the backstory of Escape from Alcatraz, you’ll also learn about the connection to Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds and more. It’s an interesting read and has made me want to re-visit Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. Maybe I’ll like it as much on review as Quentin Tarantino.
“The Spy Behind Home Plate” Trailer is Here!
The Spy Behind Home Plate trailer is below and it presents an interesting story about a major league baseball player who was also a spy. If, like me, you want to know more then check out this site and watch out for the film!
Sly Stallone and “The Tenderloin” Are Coming!
Sly Stallone and his Balboa Productions is teaming with A+E Studios for The Tenderloin, a new television series. Stallone will serve as an executive producer as well as direct several episodes. Stephen Kay, who directed Stallone in Get Carter and whose television credits include Sons of Anarchy and The Shield, will write the pilot and serve as an executive producer.
The Tenderloin follows Charles Becker a turn-of-the-century New York City cop who led the Strong-Arm Squad in keeping order in an area of the city known as the Tenderloin. Think The Shield, except that The Tenderloin is based on real events. Charles Becker was…
…the first and only policeman in U.S. history to be executed for murder.
Sounds like something a lot of us are going to like!
Two “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Posters are Here!
Two posters for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood just dropped. Both were created by Alphaville Design.
Source: Tony Stella.
DNA May Have Revealed the Identity of Jack the Ripper!
It’s hard to believe, but DNA evidence may have led to the discovery of Jack the Ripper’s actual identity! Probably the most infamous of all serial killers, Jack the Ripper killed at least 5 women, mutilating their bodies and then writing letters taunting the police to catch him. Of course they never did despite having several likely suspects.
DNA was found on a shawl believed to have belonged to Ripper victim, Catherine Eddowes. Using DNA evidence found on the shawl and a sample from Eddowes great grand daughter, it was confirmed the shaw contained blood from Eddowes.
Additional DNA evidence was found on the shawl. This additional DNA was tested against the DNA of a descendant of Aaron Kosminski and they got a match! Kosminski was one of the prime suspects at the time of the murders, but police were unable to generate enough evidence to prosecute him. Kosminski was committed to an insane asylum where he died in 1919.
Source: Bleeding Cool.
The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Trailer is Here with a bit of Controversy
How about this trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
It didn’t take long for some fans to start complaining about Brad Pitt’s character getting the best of Bruce Lee. My thoughts: If it is rehearsal for a film, then, “Ok”. Maybe Lee’s character is scripted to lose. But if the scene is supposed to be a real fight, then, “No way.”
Then again, that’s not really Bruce Lee, so why the worry? Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t a documentary, and with a title that begins with Once Upon a Time we shouldn’t expect one.
At any rate, here’s the trailer.
Albert Einstein Trivia
Lucas Reilly and Mental Floss present 19 Things You Might Not Have Known About Albert Einstein. Here are three of my favorites…
4. NOBODY KNOWS EINSTEIN’S IQ.
Einstein’s IQ was never tested, though that hasn’t stopped people from guessing. Lots of websites claim the physicist’s IQ was 160, but there’s simply no way of verifying that claim. “One fundamental problem with the estimates I’ve seen is that they tend to conflate intellectual ability with domain-specific achievement,” Dean Keith Simonton, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Davis told Biography. For all we know, Einstein’s aptitude in arenas outside of physics might have rivaled that of an average Joe.
6. FASHION WAS NOT EINSTEIN’S STRONG SUIT.
Einstein hated wearing socks and was immensely proud of the fact that he didn’t have to wear them while giving lectures at Oxford in the 1930s. His antipathy apparently stemmed from a childhood realization: “When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in a sock,” Einstein reportedly said. “So I stopped wearing socks.” As an adult, he typically wore an undershirt, baggy trousers held by rope, and a pair of (occasionally women’s) sandals.
18. EINSTEIN WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YODA.
Yoda’s face was partly modeled after Einstein’s. According to Star Wars special-effects artist Nick Maley, “A picture of Einstein ended up on the wall behind the Yoda sculptures and the wrinkles around Einstein’s eyes somehow got worked into the Yoda design. Over the course of this evolutionary process Yoda slowly changed from a comparatively spritely [sic], tall, skinny, grasshopper kind of character into the old wise spirited gnome that we all know today.”
“The Highwaymen” Poster & Trailer are Here!
The Highwaymen poster and official trailer are here!
10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing
Ward Hazell and Listverse present 10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing. It’s hard to imagine a time where dueling was legal and even crazier when you consider some of the rules (Check out what rule was broken in the duel between Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson). At any rate, here are three of my favorites and my summaries of why (check out the Listverse article for full details)…
Alexander Hamilton And Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were two of our Nation’s Founding Fathers. They were both patriots having fought in the American Revolution. Burr was Vice President and Hamilton the first Secretary of the Treasury. The two men disliked each other so when Hamilton was to have said something unflattering about Burr and refused to apologize a duel with pistols was arranged.
Hamilton fired first and missed. Some believe that Hamilton, “as was customary for a gentleman, deliberately missed. Burr, on the other hand, whether by accident or design, shot Hamilton in the stomach, tearing through his internal organs and paralyzing him. Hamilton died 36 hours later.”
Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson
In 1806, Andrew Jackson challenged Charles Dickinson to a duel after Dickinson insulted Jackson’s wife and called Jackson a “poltroon and a coward.”
Dickinson was no stranger to duels and chose pistols. Dickinson fired first striking Jackson and breaking two of his ribs. Jackson’s gun misfired, so he recocked it and shot Dickinson dead.
Here’s where it gets crazy. Dueling rules required each man to fure ar the same time. If one man fired first the second man should fire in the air and not take time for a deliberate shot! “Though there was some unpleasantness over the issue, Jackson was never charged with murder. He was troubled with pain from the injury for the rest of his life, but it did his career no harm, as he went on to become the seventh president of the United States.”
Monsieur Granpree And Monsieur Le Pique
In 1808 Monsieur Granpree discovered his mistress having an affair with Monsieur Le Pique. The men agreed to a duel to settle the issue… they would fight from balloons in the air.
After a month of training, each man entered his balloon with a blunderbuss and a second. A crowd had gathered to watch this most unusual duel. The balloons lifted into the air and the restraining cords cut. The duel was on.
Le Pique fired first but missed. Granpree’s shot struck the balloon and as you can imagine, things went downhill quickly for Le Pique. “Le Pique and his second were “dashed to pieces”… when his balloon shredded and fell to the ground.
45 Amazing Facts About All 44 American Presidents
Corrine Cummings and Mental Floss present 45 Amazing Facts About All 44 American Presidents. Here are three of my favorites…
3. THOMAS JEFFERSON
Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library when the Library of Congress was burned by the British during the War of 1812. He sold them 6487 books from his own collection, the largest in America at the time.
35. JOHN F. KENNEDY
JFK lived off of his family’s considerable trusts, so he donated all of his congressional and presidential salaries to charities like the United Negro College Fund and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.
18. ULYSSES S. GRANT
In an attempt to unite the North and South, Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a national holiday in 1870.
The Impact of The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
On February 9, 1964, The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. In this age of hundreds of channels, the internet and celebrities having personal access to multiple social media outlets, it may be difficult to understand the impact that the Beatles performing on Ed Sullivan’s show had for those not alive during that time.
I was five. My mother got me out of bed to watch. We weren’t alone, as nearly 40% of the US population had tuned in.
Stacy Conradt presents 10 Facts About The Beatles’s ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ Debut, Here are three of my favorites…
THE BAND DIDN’T COME CHEAP …
Much like The Tonight Show today, being asked to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s was a huge honor for up-and-coming (and established) artists in the 1960s. The publicity generated from an appearance on the show was enough for most talent to say yes. But The Beatles would only agree to appear if the show covered their travel expenses and paid them a $10,000 fee (which would be just over $80,000 in 2019 dollars). Sullivan and his producers agreed, but only if The Beatles would commit to making three appearances. They had a deal.
BUT THEY ENDED UP BEING A RELATIVE BARGAIN.
Though forking over travel expenses and an appearance fee wasn’t the norm for The Ed Sullivan Show, it ended up being a great deal for the program, and proof that Beatlemania was just as thriving in America as it was in the UK. It’s been estimated that close to 74 million people—40 percent of the country’s population at that time—tuned in to watch The Beatles play.
ONE OF THE MONKEES WAS ON THAT NIGHT, TOO.
Davy Jones was also on The Ed Sullivan Show that night, but not as part of The Monkees. Jones was performing with the cast of Broadway’s Oliver! Jones played the Artful Dodger, first in London then in New York, and ended up being nominated for a Tony for the role.
10 Shocking Facts About The Black Dahlia, Hollywood’s Most Famous Unsolved Murder
Kristin Hunt and Mental Floss present 10 Shocking Facts About The Black Dahlia, Hollywood’s Most Famous Unsolved Murder. Here are the three I found most disturbing…
THERE WAS NO BLOOD FOUND AT THE SCENE.
The naked body Bersinger discovered was in horrifying condition. In addition to being cut completely in half at the waist, and having her intestines removed, Short’s mouth had been slashed from ear-to-ear, giving her face a ghastly, semi-smiling appearance known as a Glasgow Smile. Her body had also been washed clean before it was left to be found. Despite the severe mutilation, there was no blood at the scene, leading police to conclude that the young woman had been murdered somewhere else, drained of blood, then cleaned before the killer dumped her body.
SOME LINKED THE CASE TO THE CLEVELAND TORSO MURDERS.
When Short’s death became national news, police officers in Cleveland felt an awful sense of déjà vu. Between 1934 and 1938, a serial killer had terrorized their city, claiming 12 victims—all of whom were grotesquely dismembered. Some theorized that the Ohio serial killer and Short’s murderer could be the same person, especially since—like Short’s killer—the perpetrator of what came to be known as the Cleveland Torso Murders was never caught.
GEORGE HODEL IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS SUSPECTS.
One of those names is George Hodel, a physician who ran a venereal disease clinic in Los Angeles in the 1940s. According to The Guardian, Hodel was on a list of six primary suspects in the Black Dahlia case, and the LAPD even bugged his home during the investigation. But Hodel—who died in 1999—gained more recent notoriety when his son, Steve Hodel, accused him of killing Short in the 2003 bestselling book Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story.Steve claims his father’s handwriting matches strange letters the police received, supposedly from the killer. He also uncovered photos of a woman who resembles Short in his father’s personal photo album, and believes Hodel’s medical background would explain the precise, clinical cuts on the body. But some have discounted Steve’s claims since he started linking his father to other infamous unsolved murders, including the Zodiac killings.
