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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 2, 2013
July 2, 2013
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Anniversaries:
It's a badly kept secret among scholars of American history that nothing much really happened on Thursday, July 4, 1776.
Although this date is emblazoned on the Declaration, the Colonies had actually voted for independence two days earlier (yes, that would be today); and the document wasn't signed until a month later.
When JOHN ADAMS predicted that the "great anniversary festival" would be celebrated forever, from one end of the continent to the other, he was talking about July 02. Plenty of dates that truly made a difference aren't always the ones we know by heart; frequently, they've languished in dusty oblivion. July 02 is one of those dates, so Happy Birthday, America.
Editor's note: Of course the politicians didn't do anything on the 4th. It was a holiday! (Maiman)Other anniversaries:
Some people believe that a UFO crashed near Roswell, NM, on this date in 1947.
Culture Shock:
Marketing Daily reports a new study from Experian Marketing Services finds the number of Americans identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered are younger, more tech-savvy, create more affluent households and spend more money than other Americans.
As a percentage of the population: Experian finds 4.3 percent of the non-Hispanic adult population identifying as LGBT today, compared with 3.4 percent in 2006.
Experian says married gay men have the highest household income compared with their heterosexual and lesbian counterparts. And they have the highest discretionary spend per capita, devoting some $67-hundred dollars per capita annually to nonessentials, about $750 more than what heterosexual men spend.
While households with married or partnered straight men pull in about $102-thousand dollars, gay households make on average $115,500, per the Experian study. However, the glass ceiling remains: the study finds lesbian women tend to earn less than straight women. (Kaye)Bottom feeding:
RIHANNA has a soft spot for pain. MIKE WALKER of the National Enquirer reports the wild child popped into a place called the Fuzz Wax Bar in Toronto for a Brazilian Wax and shocked the staff by refusing to use numbing cream. Apparently the young super star genuinely enjoys having hair ripped out by the roots and spent the torturous time singing and humming a few songs. (Lee)
Designer Update:
ONE DIRECTION is releasing its line of back-to-school supplies this Friday. Fashionista.com says the band's "Live Nice," collection with Office Depot will include notebooks, pens, nail polish, and "study buddy" cutouts of the boys. Proceeds from the sale benefits an anti-bullying campaign. (Bartha)
The Reel Deal:
Five things you might not know about the Lone Ranger (from the Hollywood Reporter):
1. He's older than Superman. "The Lone Ranger" premiered in January 1933 on WXYZ radio in Detroit, so he's 80 this year. Superman did not make his debut until 1938. The program ran for more than 25-hundred episodes before going off the air in 1956.
2. It was the first Western made for TV, in 1949. CLAYTON MOORE starred as the Lone Ranger and JAY SILVERHEELS as Tonto. The show became the biggest show on ABC, then the last-place network.
3. Silver bullets. Like any good superhero, the Ranger has cool stuff. He uses silver bullets, although the reason varied in the show. Early on radio, it was a silver mine the Reid family owned and the Ranger used the bullets to remind him of the family he lost. Later, the TV version tweaked the story so that the Ranger used an expensive metal in his bullets to remind him of how precious human life is and to be cautious in how he often he shot someone.
4. "Kemosabe" is a made-up word. The show's creators never said where the word came from.
5. "The Lone Ranger" hasn't been a hit in 50 years. After the show stopped doing new episodes in 1956, there have been other shows and pilots that were tried, but never were successes.Pet Patrol:
A celebrity chef in England has created the "world's most luxurious cat food."
SIMON RIMMER says the new cat chow features roasted duck, lobster sushi roll, and Beluga caviar. A single serving of the gourmet stuff costs 40-bucks. Rimmer says, "By working closely with animal experts we've created a dish that is not only good for cats but also a 'once-in-nine-lifetimes' food experience for them." (Still) -
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