A strange day, this February 7th. Born this day were Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sinclair Lewis and Gay Talese, legendary writers all, and yet perhaps the two most indelible February 7th debuts in pop culture come from the releases of “Blazing Saddles” (1974) and 2 Live Crew’s, “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” (1989).

While “Saddles” satarized racism and old Westerns, “Nasty” satarized pretty much everthing, becoming the first album ever deemed legally obscene (later overturned).

To more musicians who just didn’t give a fu**, The Clash played their first ever U.S. gig tonight in 1979. They played at the Berkeley Community Theatre outside of San Francisco. Their opening number was, what else, “I’m So Bored With the USA.”

Today in 1940, Walt Disney released their second animated feature, “Pinocchio.” It won two Oscars, Best Score, and Best Original Song, “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

The king of all board games, Monopoly, made its debut today in 1935. Parker Brothers called it, “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game.” It’s where most of us learn how to cheat.

Believe it or not, there’s an NHL scoring record not held by Wayne Gretzky. Tonight in 1976,  the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Darryl Sittler notched 10 points in a 11-4 win over the Boston Bruins. Sittler scored six goals and had four assists.

Birthday wishes to Garth Brooks (51), Chris Rock (48) and Steve Nash (39).

Brooks’ Top Ten:

1. Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
2. Friends In Low Places
3. The Dance
4. Standing Outside the Fire
5. Unanswered Prayers
6. The Red Strokes
7. Callin’ Baton Rouge
8. Ain’t Goin’ Down (Til’ the Sun Comes Up)
9. Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House
10. Every Now and Then

— Bill Hubbell

The best mini-series in the history of television hit the screen tonight in 1989. “Lonesome Dove” told the tale of a cattle drive from a small Texas town to the greener pastures of Montana. Led by two former Texas Rangers played by Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall, the series was a huge ratings hit and received universal acclaim from critics.

The baby in “She’s Having a Baby” turns 25-years old today. And while dad is trying to catch a serial killer and mom is off in England being a countess, nobody is really sure what happened with the male offspring. Considering how good the soundtrack was, he’s probably fronting an indie band that plays in all the cool clubs in Chicago.

There was the “young cop,” “the funny cop,” and “the megaphone cop,” in the only memorable scene from “Loaded Weapon I” which came out today in 1993. They were played by the dream trio of Cory Feldman, Phil Hartman and J.P. Hubbell. It was memorable because my brother spent an afternoon with Phil Hartman and talks about what a great guy he was.

Your writer didn’t stand much of a chance in this showdown with JP

Before their was “Brokeback Mountain,” there was “Personal Best,” which came out today (see what I did there) in 1982. The movie was about a group of female athletes who were trying to qualify for the 1980 Olympics, only to see their hopes dashed when the Unites States decided to boycott the games as a political stand against the USSR. The film was praised by critics and cheered for its sensitive portrayal of the relationship between a lesbian and the bisexual lead character played by Mariel Hemingway.

Happy Birthdays to Hank Aaron and Don Cherry, (79), Roger Staubach (71) and Christopher Guest (65).

— Bill Hubbell

Today in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched “Thefacebook”as a way for Harvard students to socially interact with each other via their computers. It was a pretty good idea.

Today in 1789 George Washington invented “MySpace”. Wait, that’s not right… Washington was unanimously elected the first President of the United States by the Electoral College.

Today in 1977, Fleetwood Mac released one of the greatest albums ever made, “Rumours.” Produced by the band and Colbie Callait’s father Ken, the album sold over 40 million copies worldwide and was lauded by critics.

If you were alive in the 1970’s there’s a good chance you know every song by heart:

Side One:

1. Second Hand News
2. Dreams
3. Never Going Back Again
4. Don’t Stop
5. Go Your Own Way
6. Songbird

Side Two:

1. The Chain
2. You Make Loving Fun
3. I Don’t Want To Know
4. Oh Daddy
5. Gold Dust Woman

Today in 1983 Karen Carpenter died of complications from Anorexia. She was just 32 years old.

1994 saw the release of “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” Nobody would have ever guessed the free fall Jim Carrey would take from the public eye at the height of his success.

— Bill Hubbell

Both of these photos were snapped on February 1, one gave the world a glimpse of Janet Jackson’s right nipple and one gave the world a glimpse of the horror of war. Both were “wardrobe malfunctions,” in a sense. In the first photo it was the lame cover up story, in the second, the South Vietnamese Police Chief is shooting a Viet Cong policeman who was randomly killing police and civilians alike while in civilian clothes. The first photo, from 2004, lays in the pile of history as a bad joke, the second won a Pulitzer Prize for photographer Eddie Adams and is one of the most gripping photos ever snapped.

Today in 1884, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. Yo, it’s cra cra, there’s like vowels in almost every word, wtf?

Tonight in 1982, NBC debuted “Late Night with David Letterman.” The show changed television, and comedy, forever.

Today in 1978, Roman Polanski skipped out on his bail and fled the United States. Polanski had plead guilty to having sex with a 13-year old girl.

David Stern was named NBA Commissioner today in 1984. Stern is credited with globalizing the NBA and taking it to its greatest heights of popularity. It probably didn’t hurt that Stern entered the league the same year as Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton and Charles Barkley.

One of Stern’s lackeys, Gary Bettman, became the first NHL Commissioner today in 1993. He didn’t no anything about hockey then or now.

Happy Birthday to my wife, Jennifer, who turns….. more lovely every day.

— Bill Hubbell

“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.””– Ronald Reagan

It was today in 1986, at 11:38 am, that the space shuttle “Challenger” disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, just 73 seconds into it’s flight, killing all seven on board, the only time the U.S. has lost lives in space. The Challenger disaster was being watched by a national television audience as it had a teacher, Christa McAuliffe on board.

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” — Jane Austen

“Pride and Prejudice” was first published today in the United Kingdom in 1813. The novel follows the travails of Elizabeth Bennett in her search for self. Along the way Ms. Bennett tackles manners, education, upbringing and marriage. It is one of the most beloved novels ever written. The two pictures are from different adaptations, but the two played their respective parts the best.

Elvis Presley made his first ever television appearance tonight in 1956, singing “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Heartbreak Hotel” on CBS’ “Dorsey Brothers Show”. There was no outrage over his appearance, that would come later when he performed on Milton Berle and Steve Allen’s shows.

Tonight in 1995, 27-year old production assistant for “Entertainment Tonight” was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his homemade movie, “The Brothers McMullen.”

Coming off a 1-10-1 season, the Green Bay Packers today in 1959 hired Vince Lombardi, who’d been an assistant with the New York Giants. Just two years later, Lombardi’s Packers would defeat the Giants to win the NFL Championship. Lombardi would win five titles, including the first two Super Bowls.

Happy Birthdays go out to Sarah McLachlan (45) and Gaslight Anthem lead singer Brian Fallon (33). Their top fives (and I would take Fallon’s top 60 over any McLachlan song):

McLachlan:

1. Building a Mystery
2. I Will Remember You (the theme song from “Brothers McMullen”)
3. Adia
4. Possession
5. Angel

Fallon:

1. Stay Lucky
2. We Came to Dance
3. Here’s Looking At You, Kid
4. The ’59 Sound
5. Great Expectations

— Bill Hubbell