June 11, 2009

Today is the birthday of Gene Wilder, the actor. He made his major screen debut in Bonnie and Clyde. It was Quackser Fortune has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970, and directed by Waris Hussein which is of interest for those who are members of the My Name is Hussein Society or the Hussein's for Hope or the Insane Hussein's Movie Review) that I first remember seeing him in as the lead. Strange movie but very funny. The one that made a deep impression on me was his Frisco Kid with Harrison Ford as the outlaw who helps Wilder as a bumbling rabbi get across the country so he can lead a congregation in San Francisco. Grea scene about what is really important- life or a Torah scroll.

Today is King Kamehameha I Day in Hawai'i (the apostrophe seems to have been added while I wasn't looking). It's an official holiday there but was established in 1871 by Kamehameha V.

Last year year there was news of an on-going peaceful re-occupation by the Hawaiian Kingdom Government on the grounds of the Iolani Palace. They would meet everyday and conduct business, especially on how to get back the islands. No news yet if they had sandwiches for lunch. I couldn't find out if they are still there. Amazing.

Today is the birth anniversary of Jeannette Rankin, US Representative from Montana and famous for you better know what. First woman elected to Congress, voted No on entering WWI, No on war with Japan in 1941 (and the only one to do so), voted Present on war with Germany and Italy.

Founding member of Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, co-founder of ACLU, and for some odd reason, had property in Watkinsville, GA. It's a mystery, but there is a movie about her in progress called A Single Woman. Maybe some answers. I want to know what's in Watkinsville besides it being the birthplace of the founder of the Zaxby fast food restaurant chain.