On this day ...

... in 1718, the eponymous James Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich is born. Apparently he 'invented' the sandwich (which he rather humbly named after himself) to allow himself to gamble for hours on end without leaving the table. Nice.

... in 1909, James 'Scotty' Reston is born. Apart from being my namesake and a fairly useful journalist, he also penned these words, which seem more and more appropriate these days:

"All politics are based on the indifference of the majority"

True dat Scotty, true dat.

... in 1921, legendary leather-faced film tough guy Charles Bronson is born. The Dirty Dozen remains an awesome film and if you're in any doubt, just ask Alvin "Geck" Thorley.

... in 1957, Sputnik II launches Laika (right) into space. As a dog-lover and general space-scrooge (surely the money could have been spent better here on Earth?) reading up about this was quite disturbing really. The poor little Muttnik dies just hours after launch from stress and overheating (thanks Wikipedia [nw]) and we're supposed to celebrate? Man's best friend? Treacherous as the sea those cosmonauts ...

Bizarrely, on the same day 2000 miles away in Stockholm the seeds were being sown for a legendary Russian hero to be brought to the silver screen 28 years later. Born on the same day as Laika got too hot, Dolph Lundgren immortalised all Russians as brutal machinic titans incapable of human emotion - Ivan Drago (left). As Nicoli points out in thick, generic Eastern Block staccato "Whatever he hits, he destroys". Fortunately for us all, there will always be a Rocky (read: U-S-A!) to come and save the day (yawn). Hmmm ... maybe I take back what I said about those unfeeling cosmonauts and their canine-space-barbecuing ways. Or not maybe.

... in 2007, I started this blog. The last one I started kind of fizzled out, but this one will no doubt exist for centuries to come. One day in a future where cows are only spoken of as mythical guardians of the fields, I imagine the complete works of this blog will be bound in ancient leather and auctioned for sensational amounts of money. The collected wisdom contained within will baffle, entertain and astound millennia of researchers and historians, providing invaluable insights into ... well, just about everything I suppose.

They'll probably skip this first post though. Tough break, but I guess everyone's got to start somewhere.

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. All hail the king.