May 8, 2013
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). As a senator in the early 1940s, he gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud and corruption in wartime contracts. Truman was the final running mate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when Roosevelt died after months of declining health. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded World War II through the controversial use of atomic bombs against Japan (at Hiroshima and Nagasaki). In the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War. Truman was born on this day in 1884.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #16 of 43.
May 1, 2013
Groucho Marx was an American comedian and film and television star. He was known for his quick wit and is widely considered one of the best comedians of the modern era. His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included slapstick quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, glasses, cigar, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. Marx made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers. He also had a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio and television game show You Bet Your Life. The famous “Groucho glasses” are a one-piece novelty disguise consisting of horn-rimmed glasses, large plastic nose, bushy eyebrows and mustache.
March 22, 2013
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa directed approximately one film per year, including a number of highly regarded films such as Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961). In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was born on March 23, 1910.
March 20, 2013
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983. As a director, he is best known for Do the Right Thing (1989). Lee’s movies have examined race relations, colorism in the black community, urban crime and poverty. He has won an Emmy Award and received two Academy Award nominations. As a superfan of the New York Knicks (and the Yankees), Lee is often seen courtside at Madison Square Garden. He was born on this day in 1957.
P.S. Happy Spring Equinox!
February 15, 2013
Matt Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, producer, animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell (1977-2012) as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons (1989-present) and Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-present). Groening has won 12 Primetime Emmy Awards, 10 for The Simpsons and two for Futurama. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 14, 2012. Groening was born in Portland, Oregon on this day in 1954.
P.S. Given his Oregon roots, it is widely believed that Groening named the setting of The Simpsons after Springfield, Oregon (which is next to Eugene, home of the Oregon Ducks), despite his comments to the contrary.
August 22, 2012
Ray Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. He is best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his science fiction short story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951). Many of Bradbury’s works have been adapted into television shows or films. He was born on this day in 1920 and died on June 5, 2012.
August 15, 2012
Oscar Pistorius is a South African sprinter and Paralympics gold medalist. Known as the “Blade Runner” and “the fastest man on no legs,” Pistorius, who has a double below-knee amputation, is the world record holder for T44 in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. He runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fiber artificial limbs. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the amazing Pistorius became the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.
One of my favorite Olympic moments was when Grenada teenager Kirani James asked Pistorius to exchange name bibs with him after their 400-meter semifinal (in which Pistorius was eliminated). It was a touching gesture and a gracious show of respect. James went on to win the gold medal, which was the first medal for Grenada in Olympic history.
June 1, 2012
Martina Navratilova is a former tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 41 Grand Slam doubles titles during her career. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Navratilova became a U.S. citizen in 1981. She holds the Open Era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). Navratilova is one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time, if not the greatest.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 5 for French Open week.
May 29, 2012
Billie Jean King is an American former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 Grand Slam doubles titles during her career. She has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. King won “The Battle of the Sexes” in 1973, in which she defeated Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men’s singles champion, for $100,000. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #2 of 5 for French Open week.
May 1, 2012
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Lew Alcindor) is a former NBA player with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, from 1969-1989. Known for his legendary skyhook, he played the center position and is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points.
Note: This is 8-bit character #5 of the 13 greatest NBA players of all time.
March 2, 2012
Theodor Seuss Geisel is an American writer, poet and cartoonist known for his children’s books written under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His children’s books include Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and 43 more. His picture books are often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme and frequent use of trisyllabic meter. Geisel was born on this day in 1904.
Note: Geisel’s birthday has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,” said Dr. Seuss.
Sixto Rodríguez – No. 602
Sixto Rodríguez (also known as Rodríguez or Jesús Rodríguez) is an American folk musician based in Detroit, Michigan. His music career initially proved short-lived with two little-sold albums in the early 1970s and some brief touring in Australia. Unbeknownst to Rodríguez, however, his work became extremely successful and influential in South Africa, where some of his songs served as anti-apartheid anthems. In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to find and contact him. Their story is told in the 2012 Academy Award winning documentary film Searching for Sugar Man, which helped revive Rodríguez’s career and gave him a measure of fame in his own country, at 70 years old.
Both Cold Fact (1970) and Coming from Reality (1971) are fantastic studio albums with beautiful, poetic lyrics. I can’t believe they weren’t hits among the folks who bought records by Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the Beatles in the 1970s. Both Rodríguez albums were re-released in 2012. I think Rodríguez’s “Cause” is one of the greatest songs of all time. And Searching for Sugar Man is a heartwarming movie that tells the incredible true story of Rodríguez, a remarkably humble man and the greatest 1970s rock icon who never was.