Five books in five days (3)

Oops. NewMexiKen found other things to do Saturday and has fallen temporarily behind the pace of reading five books in five days.

Which reminds me of the time in high school when I spent most of the day reading a book during various classes so I could give an oral book report on it in last period English — Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember. I can still see the smiling, smirking and disapproving faces of a whole classroom full of high school juniors who thought it was somehow hilarious (and/or a mortal sin) that I pulled this off.

“On-demand delivery” is all the rage now. I was just ahead of the times.

It’s the birthday

… of Milton Supman. The television comedian, known as Soupy Sales, who was a big part of NewMexiKen’s life when I was 8 or 10 years old, is 80.

On New Year’s Day 1965 Soupy, miffed at having to work on the holiday, ended his live broadcast by encouraging his young viewers to tiptoe into their still-sleeping parents’ bedrooms and remove those “funny green pieces of paper” from their pants and pocketbooks. “Put them in an envelope and mail them to me,” Soupy allegedly instructed the children. “And you know what I’m going to send you? A post card from Puerto Rico!” In his 2001 autobiography Soupy Sez! My Life and Zany Times, Soupy admits it is true. He was suspended by the station for two weeks for encouraging children to steal. Soupy received $80,000 from viewers, mostly in play money. Any real money was donated to charity. (Wikipedia)

… of newscasters Sander Vanocur (78) and Charles Osgood (73).

… of Shirley Bassey. The singer of “Goldfinger” is 69.

… of Bob Eubanks. “The Newlywed Game” emcee is 68.

… of Stephen Hawking. The physicist and author is 64.

… of Yvette Mimieux. The actress is 64.

Born to a French father and Mexican mother, actress Yvette Mimieux grew up within shouting distance of Hollywood Boulevard. The blonde, well-proportioned Mimieux was a beauty contest winner and model when signed to an MGM contract in 1959. With her second film appearance as ethereal 800th century girl Weena in The Time Machine (1960), Mimieux achieved stardom; with her next film, Where the Boys Are (1960), she proved capable of heavy dramatics via a discreetly handled “gang rape” sequence. An appearance as a terminally ill girl on the 1964 Dr. Kildare episode “Tyger Tyger” drew a great deal of press attention for Mimieux, principally because she spent most of her early scenes in a bikini. (All Movie Guide via New York Times)

… of David Bowie. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is 59.

David Bowie is rock’s foremost futurist and a genre-bending pioneer, chameleon, and transformer. Throughout his solo career and in his alliances with other artists – including Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and Nine Inch Nails – Bowie has positioned himself on the cutting edge of rock and roll. His innovations have created or furthered several major trends in rock and roll, including glam-rock, art-rock and the very notion of the self-mythologized, larger-than-life rock star. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

The Battle of New Orleans

… was fought on this date in 1815.

News of the peace treaty between Britain and the United States that had been signed at Ghent on December 24, 1814, did not reach the United States in time to avert the battle. Major General Andrew Jackson’s army of six-to-seven thousand troops consisted chiefly of militiamen and volunteers from southern states who fought against 7,500 British regulars.

The British stormed the American position, fortified effectively with earthworks and cotton bales. The fighting lasted only half an hour, ending in a decisive U.S. victory and a British withdrawal. British casualties numbered more than 2,000 (289 killed); American, only 71 (31 killed). News of the victory reached Washington at the same time as that of the Treaty of Ghent and did much to raise the low morale in the capital.

The anniversary of the Battle was widely celebrated with parties and dances during the nineteenth century, especially in the South. More recently it was commemorated in the “Battle of New Orleans,” as sung by Johnny Horton and others.

Battle of New Orleans by Jimmy Driftwood

In 1814 we took a little trip,
along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,
and we fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a comin’,
There wasn’t ’bout as many as there was awhile ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Oh we looked down the river and we seen the British come.
There must have been a hundred of ‘em beatin’ on a drum.
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring.
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn’t say a thing.

Old Hickory said we could take ‘em by surprise,
if we didn’t fire our muskets till we looked ‘em in the eyes.
We held our fire till we seen their faces well,
then we opened up our squirrel guns and gave ‘em a little…Well….we…

…fired our guns and the British kept a comin’,
There wasn’t ’bout as many as there was awhile ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our cannons till the barrels melted down,
then we grabbed an alligator and we fired another round.
We filled his head with cannonballs and powdered his behind,
and when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

We fired our guns and the British kept a comin’,
There wasn’t ’bout as many as there was awhile ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Jesse Garon Presley and Elvis Aron Presley

… were born in a house without electricity or plumbing in East Tupelo, Mississippi, on this date in 1935. Jesse, the older twin, was stillborn. The parents were Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Smith Presley.