"Can't Stop The Music" and "Xanadu" win top Golden Raspberry Awards 1981

The disco glam movie Can't Stop the Music was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry awards and took home the award for Worst Movie at the first annual ceremony held March 31, 1981. The Golden Raspberry awards were initiated to celebrate the worst of the film industry.  Can't Stop the Music is the reason John J. B. Wilson started the Golden Raspberries.  

Can't Stop the Music won Worst Screenplay for Bronte Woodard and Allan Carr.  It was nominated for Worst Director for Nancy Walker, Worst Actor for Bruce Jenner, Worst Actress for Valerie Perrine, Worst Supporting Actress for Marilyn Sokol, Worst Original Song for (You) Can't Stop the Music by Jacques Morali.

Xanadu was nominated for six Razzies and won for Worst Director for Robert Greenwald. It also received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Actor for Michael Beck, Worst Actress for Olivia Newton-John, Worst Screenplay and Worst Original Song for Suspended in Time (seriously?).

Can't Stop the Music was released during a period of rising anti-disco sentiment, which is probably why it received so much hate at the time.  However, some 45 years later, opinions toward it have mellowed somewhat and it seems that now it isn't considered to be as terrible as when it was released.  

Angela Lansbury wins first Golden Globe award 1946

Angela Lansbury won her first Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for her work as Sibyl Vane in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the 3rd annual ceremony held March 30, 1946.  It was the first of six Golden Globe awards for Dame Lansbury, and first of fifteen nominations. 

Hers was the only nomination for the film.

"Jaws" and "The Hindenburg" win Academy Awards 1976

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster horror film Jaws and the disaster flick The Hindenburg both took home Academy Awards at the 48th annual ceremony held March 29, 1976.

Jaws won Best Music Score for John Williams. It was his second Oscar and eleventh nomination. 

Jaws won Best Sound for Robert L. Hoyt, Roger Heman, Earl Madery, and John Carter.  It also won Best Film Editing for Verna Fields. It was nominated for Best Picture.

The Hindenburg was nominated for five Oscars and won two. It won two Special Achievement Awards: Sound Effects for Peter Berkos; Visual Effects for Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson.  It was nominated for Best Sound, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was the big winner that night with five Academy wins and Barry Lyndon with four. 

Happy birthday, Eric Idle!

Eric Idle, born March 29, 1943 in Tyne and Wear, England, is best known for his work in the comedy troop Monty Python.  He appeared in Monty Python's Flying Circus and the movie spin-offs. He appeared with Robbie Coltrane in one of my favorites, Nuns on the Run.  

I didn't realize this, that he has been nominated for six Grammys for Best Comedy Recording and Best Spoken Word Album for Children.  He won Best Musical Show Album for Monty Python's Spamalot in 1981.

"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" wins Golden Raspberry for Jar Jar Binks

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace got a lot of hate when it was released.  Admittedly, it had some huge shoes to fill after the earlier three movies, but I think it is one of the best movies out there.  A lot of movies, and I do mean a lot, don't even come close to matching it.  It did have its flaws, of course, such as introducing one of the most annoying characters of all time, Jar Jar Binks.  And it's better than any of the final three movies in the series.  

I don't think it deserved the criticism it received at the 20th Golden Raspberry Awards, held March 25, 2000. It was nominated for seven Razzie awards, but only took home one.  Ahmed Best won Worst Supporting Actor for his work as Jar Jar Binks.

Phantom Menace was nominated for Worst Picture, Sofia Coppola for Worst Supporting Actress, Jake Lloyd for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance as Anakin Skywalker, Worst Screen Couple for Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman, Worst Director for George Lucas (seriously?), and Worst Screenplay for Lucas (really?).  

However, Wild Wild West was the top winner (loser?) for the evening, taking home five awards from its nine nominations. Multi-Grammy award winner Stevie Wonder shared the Worst Original Song with co-writers Will Smith, and Kool Moe Dee.

"Return of the Jedi" wins five Saturn Awards 1984

IMHO, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is one of the best movies ever made.  Fortunately, I might not be the only one who thinks that, since the movie was nominated for ten Saturn Awards, and won five at the annual ceremony by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, March 24, 1984.

It won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actor for Mark Hamill for his performance as Luke Skywalker,  Best Costumes for Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero, Best Make-up for Phil Tippett and Stuart Freeborn, and Best Special Effects for Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston.  

Return of the Jedi was nominated for Best Director for Richard Marquand, Best Actress for Carrie Fisher, Best Supporting Actor for Billy Dee Williams, Best Writing for Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, and Best Music for John Williams. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes, an unusually dark film from Walt Disney won Best Fantasy Film and Best Writing for Ray Bradbury.  It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Jonathan Pryce, Best Music, Best Costumes, Best Make-up, and Best Special Effects.

Krull was not a box-office success, but I'm glad to see that the Academy showed it some love.  They nominated it for Best Fantasy, Best Music, and Best Costumes. 

Federal judge sees through Zeldin's lies

 

Tuesday, US District Judge Tonya Chutkan blocked the tRump’s Environmental Pollution Agency from ending $14 billion dollars in grants awarded to three climate groups: Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities.  The groups work towards long-term solutions for clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

Last week, EPA administrator/climate change denier/anti-science Lee Zeldin announced the funds would be frozen in what he called a “gold-bar” scheme.  He went onto say the grants “raises significant concerns and poser unacceptable risk”. 

However, Zeldin failed to prove any of his accusations. Judge Chutkan ruled the EPA have not explained why terminating the grants was a rational precursor to reviewing the green bank program, which is where the funds for the groups are kept.

She also said Zeldin’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient”.

In less than two months, Zeldin has tried to show he is on the side of the people by telling us he is saving our tax dollars. Each time, his lies prove he is not a champion for the people nor the environment. 

 https://apnews.com/article/epa-green-bank-zeldin-climate-trump-380000b014480350b35b7b53bd14e277#

https://apnews.com/article/epa-green-bank-zeldin-climate-trump-5168d11b7f63aeaf72001b50221c3c19

"Gamera vs. Jiger" released 1970

Gamera vs. Jiger, released March 21, 1970 in Japan, is the sixth movie in the Gamera franchise.  When a statue on Wester Island in the Pacific Ocean is requested for an exhibition for Japan's Expo '70, a tribal member tries to prevent the removal of the statue.  However, removal of the statue proceeds and Gamera shows up to hamper the process.  Only the children seem to know that Gamera isn't a threat, but the statue is removed.  

Soon Jiger appears and Gamera must come to the rescue of Osaka.  Interestingly, Gamera uses his smarts rather than his brute strength to win the day.

The Go-Go's release "Talk Show" 1984

The Go-Go's released their third studio album Talk Show, March 19, 1984. It only peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 and the first single Head Over Heels peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During recording, conflict arose among the members of the band and they broke up shortly after.  

Boeing Starliner Crew return to Earth yesterday

Boeing Starliner crew Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore

Boeing Starliner mission patch

Astronauts Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry Wilmore returned to Earth yesterday, March 18, 2025 after nine months in space.  They launched aboard the Boeing Starliner capsule to the International Space Station in June 2024 for an eight-day mission. However, the Starliner's thrusters malfunctioned as it approached the ISS, and NASA determined it was too risky for the crew to return.  The spacecraft returned uncrewed on September 7, 2024.

SpaceX Crew-9 launched on September 28, 2024 to the ISS with astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.  

The Crew Dragon spacecraft carried all four home.

Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Genesis" 1994

The nineteenth episode of the seventh season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Genesis, aired March 19, 1994.  I enjoyed this episode, even though it seems not many other people did.  Gates McFadden, who plays Dr. Beverly Crusher, directed the episode. 

Capt. Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) and Data (Brent Spiner) go chasing after a malfunctioning torpedo in an asteroid field.  Upon their return to the Enterprise, they discover that the crew has inexplicably mutated into strange creatures.

The episode won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Drama Series.  It was nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series. 

Happy birthday, Star Trek actor Connor Trinneer!

Connor Trinneer, born March 19, 1969 in Walla Walla, Washington, is best known for his role as Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker III in Star Trek: Enterprise. He was nominated twice for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series.

He's made appearances in 9-1-1, NCIS: Los Angeles, and 24.

Happy birthday, astronaut Matthias Maurer!

Matthias Maurer, born March 18, 1970 in West Germany, is an astronaut with the European Space Agency. He went into space as part of SpaceX Crew-3, launched in November 2021 to the International Space Station. He participated in Expeditions 66-67 and spent over 176 days in space.  He returned to Earth in May 2022.

SpaceX Crew-10 mission launched today!

Crew-10 (L-R): Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, Takuya Onishi

NASA SpaceX Crew-10 mission patch

SpaceX Crew-10 lifted off successfully from the Kennedy Space Center here at Cape Canaveral tonight, a little after 7pm.  Its crew consists of Commander Anne McClain (NASA), Pilot Nichole Ayers (NASA), Takuya Onishi (JAXA), and Kirill Peskov (Roscosos).  It is the first flight for Ayers and Peskov, the second for McClain and Takuya Onishi.  

They will dock with the International Space Station and participate in Expeditions 72-73, before returning to earth, scheduled for July 2025.

EPA Administrator Zeldin lies about carbon dioxide emissions, climate change.

 

 Environmental Pollution Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin didn’t waste time when he came out spreading lies and touting himself as the champion of the “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative.  He claims that tRump had been outspoken about his desire for people “to access clean air and clean water”.

However, this administration clearly has other plans. 

“Emissions went down during the [first] Trump presidency,” Zeldin said. 

This is a lie.  Emissions dipped during 2020, but that was due to the lockdown during the pandemic.  CO2 emissions have continued to rise over the past 50 years and do not show any signs of slowing.  The United States is the second highest producer of CO2 behind China. 

The timelines of those predictions of “climate change” ending the world have “come and gone,” Zeldin said, and the world is still here.

No, Zeldin.  Another lie.  The predictions of climate change are for the future.  There was no deadline, no “ending of the world” talk.  You made that up.  CO2 emissions have not peaked.  Climate change is real, and it isn’t going away, thanks to you and FOTUS.

While Zeldin talks about clean air, he has proposed rollbacks for car emissions, favoring fossil-fuel burning vehicles, and complaining that electric cars are an obsession with electric vehicles.  What does fElon say about that?

Zeldin also commented”

that Americans who want to be able to go out and purchase a gas-powered vehicle would have that option denied to them by the government

Who has been denied the purchase of a gas-powered vehicle?

Say good-bye to clean air, clean water, clean soil, and clean energy.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/epa-takes-aim-water-air-toxics-protections-part/story?id=119733125

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/icymi-administrator-zeldins-powering-great-american-comeback-unveiled-epa

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions?insight=global-emissions-have-increased-rapidly-over-the-last-50-years-and-have-not-yet-peaked#key-insights

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298441/annual-global-methane-emissions/

 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day wins 5 Saturn Awards 1992

James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day won five Saturn Awards at the 18th annual ceremony held March 13, 1992, by the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films. Terminator 2 won Best Science Fiction Film; Edward Furlong won Best Performance by a Younger Actor for his performance as John Connor; Linda Hamilton won Best Actress for her performance as Sarah Connor, beating Kathy Bates, Jodie Foster, Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, and Meryl Streep; James Cameron won Best Director; Stan Winston won Best Special Effects.

Terminator 2 was nominated for Best Actor for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Patrick, Best Writing, and Best Make-up.

Dark Shadows, a re-imagining of the original series which aired from January to March 1991, won Best Genre Television Series. I wasn't even aware this series existed, but Ben Cross playing Barnabas Collins rings a tiny bell.

Gene Roddenberry was give the George Pal Memorial Award.

Final episode of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" airs 1973

The twenty-fourth episode of the sixth season of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was the last of the series, airing March 12, 1973. The first episode aired January 22, 1968. Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Gary Owens, and Ruth Buzzi appeared in all seasons.

The final episode starred Ernest Borgnine, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, and Jo Anne Worley. The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate was awarded to the show itself.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer claimed that the show's jokes about Cleveland had caused economic damage to the city.

It was nominated for 32 Primetime Emmy Awards and won seven:

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Electronic Production for Arthur Schneider (1967)

Outstanding Writing Achievement in Music or Variety (1968)

Outstanding Musical or Variety Program for the 9/9/1967 episode (1968)

Outstanding Musical or Variety Series (1968)

Special Classification Achievements-Individuals (Variety Performances) for Arte Johnson (1969)

Outstanding variety or Musical Series

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety or Music for Mark Warren

The series was nominated for 6 Golden Globes and won two:

Best TV Show (1969)

Best Supporting Actress-Television for Ruth Buzzi (1973)

"Ice Age" premieres 2002

Blue Sky Studios premiered their animated comedy Ice Age, March 12, 2002, and released across the US March 15.  The movie follows the adventures of a wooly mammoth Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), a sloth (voiced by John Leguizamo), and a shady saber-toothed tiger (voiced by Denis Leary) as they try to return a human baby to the humans before the pass closes up.

It was well-received, ranking #1 at the box office during its first weekend. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.  It has spawned four sequels. 

"Bambi" "Miracle on 34th Street" win Golden Globes 1948

 

Miracle on 34th Street won two Golden Globe awards at the fifth annual ceremony held March 10, 1948. Edmund Gwenn won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance as Kris Kringle. George Seaton won for Best Screenplay.

Bambi, released in 1942, was given a Special Achievement Award. It was the first time Walt Disney was honored with a Golden Globe.

Max Steiner won Best Music, Original Score - Motion Picture for his composition for Life With Father.

https://youtube.com/shorts/HJVU1Y2AinM?si=moTCvR4esRSIaTqG

Supreme Court rules against public health, allowing San Francisco to discharge raw sewage in drinking water

 

It didn’t take long for the tRump Supreme Court to begin its campaign of rolling back protections for the public in favor of big corporations.  Announced March 4, the Supreme Court has ruled the Environmental Protection Agency has “overstepped” its authority under the Clean Water Act.  The Republican-controlled Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of San Francisco, saying “the agency has adequate tools to obtain needed information from permittees without resorting to ‘end result’ permits.  The Guardian reports that “end result’ is a new term coined by the court.

That means the Supreme Court MADE IT UP!

The court said the EPA overstepped its authority with water pollution permits that contain vague requirements for maintaining water quality, preferring specific requirements.  The permit in question was to limit generic discharges of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean after heavy rains.

Raw sewage?  Who wants any E. coli or fecal matter in their drinking water.  What part of ZERO do they not understand?  Any level of those contaminants can be harmful. I agree that it might be difficult to limit discharges after heavy rains but to relieve San Francisco of any responsibility is reckless and dangerous. 

Amy Coney Barrett was the only conservative to dissent.  Not surprising, Neil Gorusch voted in favor of rolling back protections.  If that name is familiar, it is because he is the son of Anne Gorusch, who was EPA Administrator during the Regan era.   She cut the EPA’s budget by 22% and reduced the number of cases filed against polluters.  Do you recall the character Dioxin Dolly, played by actress Audrie Neenan, from Not Necessarily the News?

Gorusch hired people from the industries they were supposed to be regulating.  Now that does that sound familiar!  Scott Pruitt.  Andrew Wheeler. And the list goes on.

This is just the start, people.  Lee Zeldin, appointed by tRump and sworn in as EPA Administrator in January, is a climate-change denier, zero science education, and tRump boot-licker.  This ruling doesn’t affect just San Francisco.  It sets a precedent that will have far reaching consequences. 

Ignoring facts or a serious lack of understanding puts us all in danger.  Look for reductions in protections for air and soil. 

 

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/epa-ruling-sewage-water

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-san-francisco-water-pollution-6874dc505a394d9181b17a0aef41406f

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/politics/supreme-court-san-francisco-poop-epa/index.html

 

 

Bette Davis wins first Academy Award 1936

Film icon Bette Davis won her first Academy Award for her work in the movie Dangerous, at the 8th annual ceremony held March 5, 1936.  It was her second nomination having been nominated the year before.  

Mutiny on the Bounty was nominated for 8 Academy Awards but only took home the Best Picture award.

The Informer was nominated for 6 Academy Awards and won four: Best director for John Ford; Best Actor for Victor McLaglen, Best Writing Screenplay for Dudley Nichols, and Best Score for Max Steiner.   

 

ABBA releases "Waterloo" 1974

ABBA released their second studio album Waterloo March 4, 1974.  It was their first album to be released internationally.  The single Waterloo was released the same day, and it was the song that won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.  

The single reached #1 in many countries.  It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ended the year at #49. The album only reached #145 on the Billboard 200 charts.  

The album generated the singles Honey, Honey, which peaked at #27 US Billboard Hot 100, and Hasta Manana.

"Cinderella" released 1950

Walt Disney's animated classic Cinderella was released across the US on March 4, 1950.  Walt Disney Productions had been suffering financial losses after the dismal performances of Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi.  

Cinderella received widespread acclaim and was Disney's biggest box office success since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Original Song for Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, and Best Sound Recording. 

In 2018, Cinderella was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". 

Happy birthday, Antonio Vivaldi!

Antonio Vivaldi, born March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy, was one of the most beloved and greatest Baroque composers ever. He was also a virtuoso violinist. He composed over fifty operas and The Four Seasons, considered his most famous work. 

Vivaldi wrote more than 500 concertos.  

My favorite is his Gloria in D, which I've had the honor to perform.

Vivaldi passed away in July 1741.

FireFly Aerospace's Blue Ghost has landed on the moon!

Blue Ghost Mission 1, launched January 15, 2025, landed on the moon this morning.  The robotic mission is the first commercial company, FireFly Aerospace, to successfully land on the moon.

The spacecraft landed at Mare Crisium and will study the moon's regolith, the loose, fragmented rock, and soil.  The Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) will determine how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the moon's environment during landing and lander operations.

The Next Generation Lunar Retroflectors (NGLR) will measure the distance between Earth and the moon precisely, using reflectors on Earth.

The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) will take images of the interaction of Earth's magnetosphere with the flow of charged particles from the sun.

The Reconfigurable, Radiation Tolerant Computer System (RadPC) will demonstrate a radiation-tolerant computing technology. 

These are among the instrumentation Blue Ghost will employ while it studies the lunar surface. 

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Theodor Seuss Geisel, born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is best known by his pen name Dr. Seuss.  He began his career as an illustrator and cartoonist for various publications such as Vanity Fair and Life, an illustrator for advertising campaigns, and a political cartoonist.  

He published his first children's book, And to Think That I saw it on Mulberry Street in 1937. It was rejected 27 times before Vanguard Press published it.  He published over 60 books, some of which have been adapted into eleven television specials, five feature films, four television series, and a Broadway musical.

His commercially released film Design for Death in 1947 won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.  His original short story Gerald McBoing-Boing won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short film.

He has received two Primetime Emmy Awards.  One for Outstanding Children's Special for Halloween is Grinch Night in 1978, and Outstanding Animated Program for the Grinch Grinches the Cat In The Hat in 1982.

He won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation in 1984, and his birthday has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day.  

Geisel passed away in September 1991.