Day Tripping: July 1
Celebration and Reckoning
Dan Aykroyd was born in 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s capital. He is an original member of the Not Ready for Primetime Players who launched Saturday Night Live way back in the seventies, and with his good friend and co-performer John Belushi, brought us the irreverent and inspiring Blues Brothers.
“We’re on a mission from God.” – Elwood J. Blues
Dan’s talents have evolved into an acclaimed dramatic actor with roles in award-winning films like Driving Miss Daisy during his career. It’s hard to imagine that he once considered becoming a priest. We’re glad he didn’t and it seems fitting he was born on this day because…
Today is:
Canada Day!
Celebrating the 154th birthday of The Great White North, festivities will be tempered this year as the nation reflects on some disturbing images from our past.
Not unlike any other country in the world, Canada has been faced recently with the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves, bearing the children who attended Residential Schools during the early and mid-twentieth century.
The deceased were children of indigenous people, native Canadians forced to move from their parents and housed in these oppressive institutions.
Canada has come a long way in dealing with the demons of its history, but there is still so much work to do to ensure that every human is treated equally by all. Today, we celebrate a great nation that continues on the path to enlightenment.
Musical Ride
A group of musicians who backed up Bob Dylan on his World Tour went into the studio at their farmhouse in upstate New York to record a new album for Dylan which would become The Basement Tapes.
At the same time, the group recorded their own work which when released in 1968, became Music From Big Pink. Without a name, the record company dubbed the Canadian-American combo The Band, and the group’s first album turned the heads of several famous peers like Clapton, Harrison, and Waters.
Today’s Moon Song is brought to you by another illustrious Canuck in keeping with our Canadian theme. Fabulous video!
Interesting Notes
Japan introduced the world’s first handheld portable music player, The Sony Walkman in 1979, playing cassette tapes. Remember them?
Gone But Not Forgotten
Marlon Brando was a legendary actor who won two Academy Awards and played the lead role in many of Hollywood’s best films, On The Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Mutiny on the Bounty, and Apocalypse Now. He died at age 80 in 2004.
In a strange coincidence, an actor who worked alongside Brando in several films including On The Waterfront and Streetcar for which he earned an Oscar, Karl Malden died on the same day five years later in 2009. He was 97.
Notable Births
1916 — Olivia de Havilland will always be remembered for her role as Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind which was also released this day in 1939. Until her death last year, de Havilland was the oldest living Oscar winner.
1961 — The fairytale life turned the tragedy of Diana, Princess of Wales, well documented in film, television, and written material. She brought humanity to the Royal family that had never been seen until her marriage to Prince Charles.
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping
