Non-musical history for today: 1889 – The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defined the length of a metre. "The unit of length is the metre, defined by the distance, at 0°, between the axes of the two central lines marked on the bar of platinum–iridium kept at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures and declared Prototype of the metre by the…
Non-musical history for today: 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme River, beginning the Norman conquest of England. My last name, Beeman, is of Norman descent. It is derived (somehow) from Beaumont (pretty hill), and yes, the family, it seems, were beekeepers. Slàinte! Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 28. Recorded in…
Non-musical history for today: 1998 – The Google internet search engine retroactively claims this date as its birthday. It was founded on September 4, 1998, but for whatever reason, it celebrates on this date. Happy solar circumnavigational anniversary day, O' Ruler of the Universe. Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 27. Recorded in the Omniverus Podcast Studios at Liberty Plaza. Leave…
Non-musical history for today: 1580 – Francis Drake finished his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England. Like Columbus and others before him, he is credited for navigational missions, when in fact, it was a raiding mission; especially against Spanish settlements. He went south to the Strait of Magellan and through Indonesia to get to the Cape of Good Hope in present-day South Africa…
Non-musical history for today: 1690 – Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick, the first newspaper to appear in the Americas, was published for the first and only time in Boston. It seems the colonial gub'ment didn't like the allegation that during the French and Indian War, General Fitz-John Winthrop treated the French prisoners unfairly. They shut it down. Censorship sucks, y'all! Music history, album…
Non-musical history for today: 1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation's first National Monument. That was awesome, but it is probably better known as the mountain in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Had it just been the first or second kind? Maybe things would have been different with "Bear Lodge," as it is known by the…
Non-musical history for today: 38 – Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, was deified. Um... by Caligula. The incestuous part is accurate because Tinto Brass, Malcolm McDowell, Bob Guccione, and Gore Vidal all said so! Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 23. Recorded in the Omniverus Podcast Studios at…
Non-musical history for today: 1823 – Joseph Smith claimed to have found the golden plates after being directed by God through the Angel Moroni to the place where they were buried. These were supposedly translated from the reformed Egyptian language. These are what he used to write the Book of Mormon. I find it hard to believe any of that happened, and I think…
Non-musical history for today: 1780 – Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point. His name will forever be synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States. Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 21. Recorded in the Omniverus Podcast Studios at Liberty Plaza. Leave comments at tim@beeswaxvinyl.com or 336-422-NUMB (6862). Tune into Camel City Radio. On Camel City…
Non-Musical history for today: For fans of the Game of Thrones series or the books that preceded it, A Song of Ice and Fire, its author, J.R.R. Martin, turns 75 today! Music history, album anniversaries, birthdays, and deaths for September 20. Recorded in the Omniverus Podcast Studios at Liberty Plaza. Leave comments at tim@beeswaxvinyl.com or 336-422-NUMB (6862). Tune into Camel City Radio. On Camel…