On This Day
781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: 6th day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Ten’o (天応) era).
Mount Fuji (富士山 Fujisan, IPA: [ɸɯꜜdʑisaɴ] (About this soundlisten)), located on Honshū, is the highest volcano in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft), 2nd-highest peak of an island (volcanic) in Asia, and 7th-highest peak of an island in the world.[1] It is a dormant stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–1708.[4][5] Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometers (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped for about 5 months a year, is commonly used as a symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.[6]
Mount Fuji is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” (三霊山 Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is also a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japan’s Historic Sites.[7] It was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22, 2013.[7] According to UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mount Fuji locality. These 25 locations include the mountain and the Shinto shrine, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, as well as the Buddhist Taisekiji Head Temple founded in 1290, later immortalized by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai.
Born On This Day
1904 – Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (d. 1977)
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 – February 4, 1977) is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Biography
Dresser was born in Chicago, Illinois, but mostly grew up in West Texas. Here he lost an eye to barbed wire as a boy, and thus had to wear an eye patch for the rest of his life.
At the age of 14, he ran away from home and enlisted in the U.S. 5th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, followed by a year of Border Patrol duty on the Rio Grande. After his service, he returned to Texas to finish high school. In search of adventure, Dresser traveled throughout the Southwest working at various odd jobs, including that of muleskinner, farm hand, deckhand on a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico, laborer in the California oilfields, etc. Eventually, he went to Tri-State College of Engineering, where he received a certificate in civil engineering. Back in Texas, he worked as an engineer and surveyor for several years before turning to writing in 1927.
After his first marriage (to Kathleen Rollins, who had two daughters from a previous marriage), Dresser was married to mystery writer Helen McCloy from 1946 to 1961; they had a daughter named Chloe. As partners, they formed a literary agency called Halliday and McCloy. Dresser also established Torquil Publishing Company, which published his books as well as those of other authors, from 1953 to 1965. In 1961, he married Mary Savage, also a writer; their son, Halliday, was born in 1965.
The first Shayne novel was rejected by 21 publishers before being accepted by Henry Holt & Co. in 1939. The Shayne series went on to be highly successful, reprinted in many editions and translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish, Japanese and Hebrew.
A radio series based on the Shayne character was heard during the 1940s. Twelve motion pictures were made, seven of them featuring Lloyd Nolan as Shayne. Five of the Nolan films, which were produced by 20th Century Fox, have been released on DVD: Michael Shayne, Private Detective; Sleepers West; Dressed to Kill; Blue, White and Perfect and The Man Who Wouldn’t Die. After the Fox series ended, five more Shayne films were made by PRC which featured Hugh Beaumont as the detective. There was also a TV series in 1960, starring Richard Denning, as well as a pulp fiction magazine that began as Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine and ran for nearly 30 years. The 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is based partly on Halliday’s novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them. The 2016 film The Nice Guys gave an acknowledgment to the works of Brett Holliday.[1]
In 1958, Dresser ceased penning the novels published under the name “Brett Halliday”, and Dell Publishers arranged for ghostwriters, among them Bill Pronzini and Robert Terrell.
Dresser was a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America, and in 1954 he and McCloy were given Edgar Awards for their critical writings on the genre.
He lived in Santa Barbara, California, until his death at the age of 72.
FYI
NFL.com: Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti dies at 78
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti (December 15, 1940 – July 30, 2019) was an American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) middle linebacker, who played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins. Buoniconti was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Early life and family
Buoniconti was born to Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti Sr. and Pasqualina “Patsy” Mercolino in Springfield, Massachusetts. The couple ran a family bakery in the predominantly Italian South End of the city. He was raised Roman Catholic and played football for Cathedral High School, where a plaque honoring him as a “Hometown Hall of Famer” was unveiled in 2012.[1][2]
In 1985, his son Marc suffered a spinal cord injury making a tackle for The Citadel, rendering him a quadriplegic.[3] Nick became the public face of the group that founded the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, now one of the world’s leading neurological research centers.
Buoniconti graduated from Notre Dame, and was drafted by the American Football League’s Patriots in the thirteenth round of the 1962 AFL draft.
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Harold Smith Prince (January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019) was an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the 20th century.
Over the span of his career, he garnered 21 Tony Awards, more than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing the year’s Best Musical, two as Best Producer of a Musical, and three special awards.
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One bullet.
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Because successfully growing old takes more than just time.
Recipes
By Shabbyfufu: 20 Ways To Make A Summer Salad
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wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 28 November 28, 2024Picture of the day Gjipe Beach, Albania. Today is Albania's Independence Day.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 27 November 27, 2024Picture of the day Eruption of Strokkur (Icelandic for "churn"), a fountain geyser located in the Haukadalur geothermal area, southwest of Iceland.