12 August is the day of my birth, so I thought I’d make that my theme in anticipation of the celebration of my aging.
1. Janis Joplin’s final concert
On the day of my birth, Janis Joplin performed at what would become her last concert. It was at the Harvard Stadium in Boston, and it was a mess from the start. She and her band landed in Boston, only for their equipment to be stolen. Some 40,000 fans waited in anticipation as the band scrambled to come up with a backup plan. The concert finally began more than an hour and a half late, but it was widely considered to be one of her best. This is the set list of her final show:
- Tell Daddy’ – Clarence Carter cover
- ‘Half Moon’
- ‘Mercedes Benz’
- ‘My Baby’ – Garnet Mimms cover
- ‘Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)’
- ‘Maybe’ – The Chantels cover
- ‘Summertime’ – George Gershwin cover
- ‘That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll’
One of my favorites:
2. the discovery of Sue
On this day in 1990, Susan Hendrickson (an American explorer and fossil collector) discovered the largest and most complete skeleton of a T-rex, named Sue in her honor. It was found on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, and it is now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Scientists believe that Sue gained her full size by the age of 19, passing away at age 28. This is the longest estimated life span of any known tyrannosaur.
3. sharing birthdays
I share my birthday with many people, including…
- 1931: William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride
- 1939: George Hamilton, actor
- 1963: Sir Mix-a-Lot, rapper and actor
- 1971: Yvette Nicole Brown, actress and comedian
- 1973: Todd Marchant, former NHL player (who I knew vaguely back in a day when he played for Clarkson University in my hometown)
- 1996: Ilona Maher, rugby player and my hero
4. #1 songs in the US
On 12 August 1970, the #1 song was “(They Long To Be) Close To You” by Carpenters. And the #1 R&B song was “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder.
5. the auspicious day of my birth
I’m a Gen-Xer, born on a Wednesday. According to the childhood poem, that makes me full of woe. Lovely. I’m a Leo, my birthstone a peridot. Leos are associated with fire, ruled by the sun. 1970 was the Chinese Year of the Dog, specifically a metal dog. This makes my lucky numbers 3, 4, and 9, and my unlucky numbers are 1, 6, and 7.
6. a few statistics about me
By my birthday, I will have lived 20,078 days, or 2,868 weeks. Assuming I sleep an average of 8 hours a night, I’ve slept 6,693 days, or 18.32 years. I guarantee you those numbers are an overestimate! My first 1 billion seconds of life occurred sometime on 20 April 2002.
7. #1 NYT Bestsellers
The #1 fiction book was Love Story by Erich Segal, which held that spot from 10 May 1970 to 14 February 1971. The book was released on 14 February 1970, later translated into 33 languages. Love Story was originally a screenplay that Paramount Pictures requested be adapted by the author into a novel to be a part of the marketing for the film. The movie was released on 16 December 1970. 7 years later, Segal released a sequel, Oliver’s Story, which was released as a film in 1978. An article about the novel and movie inaccurately said that the plot was based on Al Gore’s life at Harvard. The true inspiration was actually Tommy Lee Jones, who was Gore’s roommate. The author met them both at Harvard, when he was on sabbatical at the university. Later, Jones played a supporting role in the movie.
8. the #1 box office movie in the US
The Out-of-Towners was the #1 box office movie, 11 weeks after release. On the day of my birth, it made $540,237+. The movie starred Sandy Dennis and Jack Lemmon, a Neil Simon comedy. Both leads were nominated for Golden Globe awards in the comedy acting categories. In 1999, a remake staring Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, and John Cleese was released.
The full movie is free here:
9. the verdict is read
In June of 2013, the trial of crime boss Whitey Bolger began, trying him for 32 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and weapons charges. That included complicity in 19 murders. On 12 August 2013, he was found guilty on 31 of those 32 counts, including complicity in 11 murders. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and incarcerated at the US Penitentiary Coleman II in Florida. He was later transferred multiple times, finally passing away within hours of his final transfer, after being beaten to death by inmates.
10. no parole for Mark David Chapman
In 2008, on my birthday, Chapman was denied parole for the fifth time. Convicted of shooting and killing John Lennon on 8 December 1980, the NYS Division of Parole stated as its reason for denial the concern for public safety. Now 70 years old, he’s incarcerated in Green Haven, scheduled for his fourteenth parole hearing some time this month.
11. the last of the quagga
The quagga are an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, hunted to extinction by the end of the 19th century. It was a big animal, roughly 8’5″ long and over 4′ tall. It differed from other zebras in its pattern. Their stripes, brown and white, were largely limited to the front part of their bodies, while the back half was generally brown, more like horses. It is believed they gathered in herds of 30 to 50 animals. Some were captured and taken to zoos in an attempt to breed them as a way of combatting their overhunting, but no breeding program was successful. The last captive quagga died on 12 August 1883 in Amsterdam. Only one was ever photographed while alive (above), with only 23 skins still in existence. In 1984, the quagga became the first extinct animal to have their DNA analyzed. The Quagga Project has attempted to breed zebras that resemble quagga in their striping pattern.
12. the release of Wings
On 12 August 1927, the silent/synchronized sound movie Wings was released in New York City. The synchronized sound version of the movie has no audible dialogue, just a musical score with sound affects. The movie stars Clara Bow, Buddy Rogers, and Richard Arlen. Most movies of the era took not much more than a month to film, while Wings took almost nine months. It has the distinction of being one of the first widely released films to show any nudity, in this case the backsides of a group of men. It was the first movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it is still the only silent film to win that award.
13. Metallica’s The Black Album
The album, a self-titled collection known colloquially as The Black Album, released on 12 August 1991, and it’s my all-time favorite album of any musician or band ever. From the first track to the last. I listen to at least one song from it virtually every day. The album debuted at #1 in 10 countries, making it the band’s first album to top the album charts. Earlier this year, the album was certified 2x Diamond, having sold over 20 million copies in the US alone.
My favorite song off the album…
Happy birthday. So, that makes you almost a year older than me (my birthday’s at the end of July, so so close it makes basically no difference).
Happy Birthday! I have some years on you. They tell me I’m at the tail-end of the boomers but I fit in better with Gen-X. Generation Jones is what they call some people my age now.
I loved Janis Joplin. She was gone too soon. I share my birthday with Enya! Have a great one.
I love so much about this list. William Goldman is my favorite author/screenwriter. Have you ever heard Janis’ live performance of “Ball and Chain?” She says, “It’s all the same f-ing day, man.” I quote that all the time post-covid. What day is it? Does it matter, if all the same f-ing day, man? I’ve met Sue, here at Chicago’s Field. Now I want to learn more about the quagga. Looks a lot like my favorite zoo animal, the okapi. Thanks for this terrific list, and happy birthday.