Paracultural Calendar for Jan 30

[Mark Thibodeau]

The first ever jazz record – *Dark Town Strutter's Ball* – is recorded on
this day in *1917*. Reefer madness and wanton miscegenation ensue.

***

This day in *1922* was the first ever *World Law Day*. Hooray for laws!

***

German President *von Hindenburg* appoints *Adolf Hitler* chancellor on
this day in *1933*. The mustachio'd madman quickly sets about expending
political capital in the service of his mandate.

***

On this day in *1935*, "genius" poet *Ezra Pound* meets with Italian
Fascist dictator *Benito "Benji" Mussolini*. During their meeting, Pound
reads a selection from his epic, convoluted poem-cycle, Cantos. For those
of you who haven't read Pound, but have read *The Hitch-hiker's Guide to
the Galaxy*, know this: the Vorlons had nothing on this guy.

***

You thought the *Titanic* was a disaster? On this day in *1945*, the German
cruise liner *Wilhelm Gustloff* is torpedoed by a Soviet sub. It was headed
westward at the time, in order to escape the surging Soviet advance, and
was thus jam-packed with over ten thousand people - men, women and children
- non-combatant refugees of war. An incredible nine thousand three hundred
and forty three people died in the freezing Baltic that night, making this
the single worst catastrophe at sea in the history of maritime travel. And,
if you're anything like the twenty-odd random people I've asked today, this
is probably the *first time*
<http://www.feldgrau.com/wilhelmgustloff.html> you've
ever heard about it. Pretty freaky, huh?

***

On this day in *1948*, Indian spiritual and political leader *Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi* is assassinated by a Hindu fanatic who objects to the
Mahatma's tolerance of Muslims. Thank you, Vishnu! And, finally, also on
this day - only in the year *1956* this time - some pillars of the
community drive out to Ghandi-fan *Martin Luther King Jr*'s home... and
fire-bomb it. Thank you,*J. Edgar Hoover!*

***

On this day in *1972*, a sunny Sunday in Londonderry, Northern Ireland,
thirteen unarmed Catholic civil rights demonstrators are massacred by
British Army paratroopers in an event that becomes known as *Bloody Sunday*,
or *Sunday, Bloody Sunday* to fans of peat-eating bog-rockers *Ewe Too*.
Since 1969, sectarian conflicts in Northern Ireland have claimed more than
3,000 lives. Thank you, Jeebus!

***

On this day in *1976*, soon-to-be-vice-president *George Herbert
Walker"Poppy" Bush* is appointed by then-president *Gerald Ford* to head up
the *CIA*. Despite evidence that he had been a CIA agent since before the
Bay of Pigs fiasco, Bush has claimed he never worked for the agency prior
to this appointment. Yeah... *Right*
<http://www.angelfire.com/ky/ohwhy/Bush.html>.
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