Today is...

[IceWizard]

27 Aug 2017


The Duchess Who Wasn't Day



“The Duchess” Who Wasn’t Day celebrates the life of Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, an irish novelist who was always published under the pen name “The Duchess” in the United States – also the name of her most popular novel, published in 1887. Margaret is responsible for the popular phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, in her book Molly Bawn, so try and slip it into conversation!

In total, The Duchess had at least 57 works attributed to her name but could have written many, many more as a lot of her early work was published as Anonymous, and later as Mrs Hungerford, before “The Duchess” became popular in the States. She also wrote many newspaper articles and had a large family – four daughters and two sons.

Born on the 27th April 1855 in County Cork, she won prizes in school for writing stories. After the death of her first husband in 1876 The Duchess took to writing more seriously to support her three daughters, and it was shortly after this that her first book “Phyllis” was written, and a little later on “Molly Bawn”.

She remarried in 1882, had two sons and a daughter with her second husband and eventually died of typhoid fever in 1897.


And




International Bat Night

Bats drink on the wing, like swallows, by sipping the surface, as they play over pools and streams.
– Gilbert White

Bats have many places in literature and history, and serve roles both dark and hilarious depending on where you find them. Probably the most common association with the bat is with vampires, but there is also the fun-loving bat from Ferngully (Batty Coda) along with a host of other characters from literature and cinema. But bats have an important role to play in our eco-system, and some of them are becoming endangered. International Bat Night serves to raise awareness from our flying rodent friends and why they deserve to be protected.

History of International Bat Night

International Bat Night was established to help promote the good image of bats, and to help start creating some clarity on the facts about them above and beyond the rumors and Hollywood image. While we often think of bats as nocturnal predators feasting on the blood of the innocent and harboring rabies, the truth is quite different. Yes, there are bats that feed on blood, but they mostly feed on insects and believe us, you want bats to be out there patrolling the night and helping eliminate them.

Bats are one of the major contributors to keeping down obnoxious night insects like mosquitoes, and if you’re a camper, you know how unpleasant mosquitoes can make an otherwise pleasant camping expedition. There are also bats that feed on nectar and fruit, and actually help to pollinate and spread the seed of plants, in many cases they’re the only ones working to help those plants procreate!
These are just the beginnings of the wonders that bats possess, and there is far more just a flicker away, and International Bat Night is a great time to spend learning about them!

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August 27 Birthdays




Paul Reubens - 65




Lyndon B. Johnson - (1908 - 1973) (64)




Chandra Wilson - 48




Alex Lifeson - 64




Mike Smith - 45









August 27th


1995: Neil Young headlined the final night of the three-day Reading Festival in Reading, U.K. with Pearl Jam as his backing band. Other acts on the bill included Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and the Foo Fighters.

1992: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for “A Day in the Life” sold for $87,000 at a Sotheby’s auction.

1991: Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten which contained the rock radio staples “Alive”, “Even Flow”, “Jeremy” and “Black”. Ten would later peak at number two on the Billboard 200 Album Chart in 1992.

1990: Stevie Ray Vaughan died in helicopter crash in East Troy, WI en route to Chicago when the helicopter collided with a ski slope. He was 35 years old.

1983: Asia’s sophomore album Alpha entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart. It would go on to peak at number six & go on to be certified Platinum that October.

1977: Jackson Browne recorded “Running on Empty” during a concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. “Running on Empty” went on to reach number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart the following year.

1977: Crosby, Stills and Nash peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Just a Song Before I Go” which was their highest charting single in the U.S.

1967: The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein died of a sleeping pill overdose. The Beatles found this out while they were on a retreat with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

1965: Elvis Presley & The Beatles meet for the first and only time at Elvis’ home in Bel Air, CA. They had a brief jam session after Paul McCartney offered to give Elvis some lessons on the bass. When The Beatles left, John Lennon told Elvis’ friend Jerry Schilling to make sure that Elvis knew that “if it hadn’t been for him, The Beatles would be nothing.”



Birthdays:

Tim Bogert - Bassist for Vanilla Fudge born in 1944

Alex Lifeson - Guitarist for Rush born in 1953

Glen Matlock - Bassist for the Sex Pistols born in 1956