bingo

is said to have been invented 80 years ago today by Edwin S. Lowe

Berlin Wall

this month has been a time of celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, a “peaceful revolution”, & “These events triggered drastic changes around the world, marking the end of the Cold War and of the division of Europe.”, more info here

Pete Burns

Peter “Pete” Burns, of the music band Dead Or Alive, was born 50 years ago today, in Port Sunlight, Wirral, England, (United Kingdom)

“You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby, right round round round..” – You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)

Honore De Balzac

was born 210 years ago today, in France, a skeptic & prolific novelist,

“Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn’t, bleed, like colors, on the whole of our existence.”

Academy Awards

the first Academy Awards ceremony was held 80 years ago today, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, “a professional organization dedicated to advancing the art and technology of filmmaking”, the event was hosted at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,
Wings was awarded “Outstanding Picture” & Sunrise was awarded “Unique & Artistic Picture”, 2 uncategorized awards were given to Charles Chaplin’s The Circus as well as The Jazz Singer produced by Warner Bros.

also referred to as “The Oscars” (a name the trophies were officially dubbed with 10 years later) the Academy Awards continue to be held annually in the U.S.A., for more information check out: http://oscars.com/ & http://www.oscars.org/

International Year Of Astronomy

is this year,  
2009 marks the 400th year since Galileo first used a telescope for astronomy

Charles Chaplin

a.k.a, “the little tramp” was born 120 years ago today, a marvelous filmmaker, & actor, Charlie Chaplin was born in Walworth, London, England, UK

Christopher Hitchens

was born 60 years ago today, in Portsmouth, England
a writer for The Nation from 1982 to 2002,
he continues his career as a contributor to Harper’s Magazine, Free Inquiry, etc.
“Why are we praised by godly men for surrending our “godly gift” of reason when we cross their mental thresholds?”
“What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.”
“As I never tire of saying, heat is not the antithesis of light but rather the source of it.”

Elihu Palmer

was born 245 years ago today, in Connecticut, U.S.A.,
a lawyer, he was a writer & lecturer in favor of deism as well

“Another important doctrine of the Christian religion, is the atonement supposed to have been made by the death and sufferings of the pretended Saviour of the world; and this is grounded upon principles as regardless of justice as the doctrine of original sin. It exhibits a spectacle truly distressing to the feelings of the benevolent mind, it calls innocence and virtue into a scene of suffering, and reputed guilt, in order to destroy the injurious effects of real vice. It pretends to free the world from the fatal effects of a primary apostacy, by the sacrifice of an innocent being. Evil has already been introduced into the world, and in order to remove it, a fresh accumulation of crimes becomes necessary. In plain terms, to destroy one evil, another must be committed.”

“Deism declares, that the practice of a pure, natural, and uncorrupted virtue, is the essential duty, and constitutes the highest dignity of man; that the powers of man are competent to all the great purposes of human existence; that science, virtue, and happiness are the great objects which ought to awake the mental energies, and draw forth the moral affections of the human race.”

Gloria Steinem

turns 75 today, born in Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. 
a journalist, and a feminist, she helped found Ms. Magazine

“Happy or unhappy, families are all mysterious. We are all mysterious. We have only to imagine how differently we would be described – and will be, after our deaths – by each of the family members who believe they know us.”

“We need to remember across generations that there is as much to learn as there is to teach.”

“It’s an incredible con job, when you think of it, to believe something now in exchange for life after death. Even corporations, with all their reward systems, don’t try to make it posthumous.”

“The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.”

“Hope is a very unruly emotion.”

“It is more rewarding to watch money change the world than watch it accumulate.”

“The authority of any governing institution must stop at its citizen’s skin.”

Free Tibet

the highest nation on earth, should be allowed its sovereignty, invaded & occupied by China since 1959, it still hasn’t regained the freedom it deserves, it has gained some more attention recently due to the Olympic Games being hosted in Beijing, China, I have felt for this movement for some time though, & bring it up now in hopes of getting the attention of others who would support the same cause, 2009 being the 50th year of this oppression

http://www.freetibet.org/

William Smith

was born 240 years ago today, in Oxfordshire, England, a geologist and engineer, a developer of the science of stratigraphy, he is sometimes referred to as the Father Of (English) Geology, he won the first Wollaston Medal

Amerigo Vespucci

was born 555 years ago today, in Florence, Italy, a cartographer, an explorer,
the Americas were named after him