HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE

Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882).

Today is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the naturalist who demonstrated "natural selection," the basis of our modern evolutionary theory. Accepted by the scientific community, and rejected by televangelists, uneducated yokels, and the willfully ignorant, Darwin still stirs strong emotions two centuries after his birth. Creationism, under the guise of "intelligent design," still bamboozles the gullible, but Richard Dawkins, Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, refutes it's claims quite easily. We'd love to see him debate the proponents of creationism directly, because he'd make mincemeat out of them, but that would be like debating people who believe the world is flat. It would only give them a platform, and it would be beneath Dr. Dawkins. Still, we love a good row.


Richard Dawkins presents Darwin and his masterpiece, "The Origin of Species," in the opening episode of the three part documentary "The Genius of Charles Darwin."

Read "Why Darwin Matters" by Richard Dawkins in the Guardian here.

Read Nicholas Wade's piece in the Science section of the New York Times (2/9/09) here.

GROWING UP

Okay, it's my birthday, so here are a couple songs about growing up. The first is from that old honey-baked ham William Shattner. I knew him in childhood as Captain Kirk. Here he sings a song that's schmaltzy to begin with, and makes it even schmaltzier. The Captain really pours on the cheese in his sentimental version of "It Was a Very Good Year." He's probably been smoking that Romulan ganja.

The second clip is the Garden State's own Bruce Springsteen performing a song called "Growin' Up." Here you have it all: love, hate, joy, confusion, loss of innocence, delusions of grandeur, self-loathing, despair, and utter ecstasy. In other words, growing up. Here the boss plays it quietly, without the bombast and glockenspiels, and I like it that way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RINGO!

On the special occasion of Ringo Starr's 68th birthday, we're screening the movie "Help!"

Ringo is in trouble again, this time being chased by a cabal of Indian mystics who are after his ring. Hilarity ensues as Ringo vows to liberate all sentient beings from samsara and deliver them into Nirvana. The Beatlesattva does not seek bodhi (Awakening) solely for himself, but chiefly for the sake of freeing all other beings and aiding them into bliss. East meets West in this zany romp, with catchy tunes from Ringo's old pop combo, The Fabs. There are many paths to enlightenment, grasshopper. Seriousness isn't one of them.

This week, Ringo celebrated his 68th (!) birthday with a "peace & love" street party in Chicago. The old geezer still has his priorities straight. People came from all over for tea and cake. Happy Birthday, Ringo!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARILYN!

June 1st is the birthday of legendary screen goddess Marilyn Monroe. She would have been 82 today.

"We think of Marilyn who was every man's love affair with America. Marilyn Monroe who was blonde and beautiful and had a sweet little rinky-dink of a voice and all the cleanliness of all the clean American backyards." - Norman Mailer, 1973

"I'm for the individual as opposed to the corporation. The way it is the individual is the underdog, and with all the things a corporation has going for them the individual comes out banged on her head. The artist is nothing. It's really tragic. Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul." - Marilyn Monroe


1953 Coca Cola commercial with Marilyn Monroe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB DYLAN

Dylan is 67 today. Here's an outtake from DA Pennebaker's reels of film from the 1965 tour.