July 6, 2012 – Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac

Has it been five years already since the last one? Maybe so, but hey, so what? Spidey’s back! Sure, the others were action-packed and the Macguire-Dundst duo was dynamic, but I can’t help but cheer on this latest incarnation of a superhero that never ages in the minds of comic-book lovers and movie-goers who thrill to the agile feats of Spiderman setting things right everywhere he goes.

Yes, of course, the previous ones in this movie franchise were compelling in their story, delivery, action, and acting, but I still have to give this one a big thumbs-up, if only because it somehow seems to have a little more heart and a little more believable sci-fi. The edgier Peter Parker is quite refreshing, and Gwen’s big blue eyes and mini skirts, very fetching. Also, Uncle Ben and Aunt May do a fine job.

The ethos and pathos of a persona and an era remain even as some of the landscape and technologies look shinier and brighter. All said, for true fans of Spiderman, every new incarnation and re-telling of the story is as fresh as ever, and the dream lives on.

Updated July 5, 2012, 2:28 pm

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

Go to article »

On July 6, 1907, Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter famous for her surrealist and expressionist work, was born. Following her death on July 13, 1954, her obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1483 England’s King Richard III was crowned.

1535 Sir Thomas More was executed in England for treason.

1777 British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.

1854 The first official meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Mich.

1923 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.

1933 Baseball’s first All-Star game was held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, with the American League’s best beating the National Leauge squad 4-2.

1944 Fire broke out in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., killing 169 people.

1957 Althea Gibson became the first African-American tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

1974 Garrison Keillor’s radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” debuted in a live broadcast from St. Paul, Minn.

2003 Former ambassador Joseph Wilson, in a New York Times op-ed, disputed President George W. Bush’s statement that Iraq had sought uranium in Africa, saying he had found no evidence to support the claim when the CIA asked him to investigate.

2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina to be his running mate.

2005 Soap opera actress Kelly Monaco won the first season of “Dancing With the Stars.”

2005 New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative’s name.

2010 Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations for the first time since 1957 during her first New York visit in more than 30 years.

2010 Actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a residential substance-abuse program for violating her probation stemming from two separate 2007 cases of driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. (She served 14 days behind bars.) .

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actor Geoffrey Rush (“The King’s Speech”) turns 61 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Rapper 50 Cent turns 37 years old today.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

1921 Nancy Reagan, Former first lady, turns 91

1922 William Schallert, Actor (“The Patty Duke Show”), turns 90

1931 Della Reese, Singer, actress (“Touched by an Angel”), turns 81

1937 Ned Beatty, Actor, turns 75

1945 Burt Ward, Actor (“Batman”), turns 67

1946 George W. Bush, Former president of the United States, turns 66

1946 Sylvester Stallone, Actor, turns 66

1951 Allyce Beasley, Actress (“Moonlighting”), turns 61

1952 Grant Goodeve, Actor (“Eight is Enough”), turns 60

1953 Nanci Griffith, Country singer, turns 59

1954 Willie Randolph, Baseball player, manager, turns 58

1982 Brandon Jacobs, Football player, turns 30

Historic Birthdays

Frida Kahlo 7/6/1907 – 7/13/1954 Mexican painter.Go to obituary »

45 John Paul Jones 7/6/1747 – 7/18/1792
American Revolutionary War naval hero

80 Sir William Hooker 7/6/1785 – 8/12/1865
English botanist

34 Maximilian 7/6/1832 – 6/19/1867
Austrian archduke and emperor of Mexico (1864-7)

80 Vernor von Heidenstam 7/6/1859 – 5/20/1940
Swedish author; awarded Nobel Prize (1916)

87 Godfrey Malvern 7/6/1883 – 5/8/1971
English-born prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (1933-53)

57 Marc Bloch 7/6/1886 – 6/16/1944
French historian and educator; leader in Resistance

79 Axel Theorell 7/6/1903 – 8/15/1982
Swedish biochemist; awarded Nobel Prize (1955)

82 Dorothy Kirsten 7/6/1910 – 11/18/1992
American opera singer

55 Bill Haley 7/6/1925 – 2/9/1981
American singer and songwriter

1483	England’s King Richard III was crowned.
1535	Sir Thomas More was executed in England for treason.
1777	British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.
1854	The first official meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Mich.
1923	The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.
1933	Baseball’s first All-Star game was held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, with the American League’s best beating the National Leauge squad 4-2.
1944	Fire broke out in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., killing 169 people.
1957	Althea Gibson became the first African-American tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.
1974	Garrison Keillor’s radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion,” debuted in a live broadcast from St. Paul, Minn.
2003	Former ambassador Joseph Wilson, in a New York Times op-ed, disputed President George W. Bush’s statement that Iraq had sought uranium in Africa, saying he had found no evidence to support the claim when the CIA asked him to investigate.
2004	Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina to be his running mate.
2005	Soap opera actress Kelly Monaco won the first season of “Dancing With the Stars.”
2005	New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative’s name.
2010	Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations for the first time since 1957 during her first New York visit in more than 30 years.
2010	Actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a residential substance-abuse program for violating her probation stemming from two separate 2007 cases of driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. (She served 14 days behind bars.) .

1921	Nancy Reagan, Former first lady, turns 91
1922	William Schallert, Actor (“The Patty Duke Show”), turns 90
1931	Della Reese, Singer, actress (“Touched by an Angel”), turns 81
1937	Ned Beatty, Actor, turns 75
1945	Burt Ward, Actor (“Batman”), turns 67
1946	George W. Bush, Former president of the United States, turns 66
1946	Sylvester Stallone, Actor, turns 66
1951	Allyce Beasley, Actress (“Moonlighting”), turns 61
1952	Grant Goodeve, Actor (“Eight is Enough”), turns 60
1953	Nanci Griffith, Country singer, turns 59
1954	Willie Randolph, Baseball player, manager, turns 58
1982	Brandon Jacobs, Football player, turns 30

45	John Paul Jones 7/6/1747 – 7/18/1792 American Revolutionary War naval hero
80	Sir William Hooker 7/6/1785 – 8/12/1865 English botanist
34	Maximilian 7/6/1832 – 6/19/1867 Austrian archduke and emperor of Mexico (1864-7)
80	Vernor von Heidenstam 7/6/1859 – 5/20/1940 Swedish author; awarded Nobel Prize (1916)
87	Godfrey Malvern 7/6/1883 – 5/8/1971 English-born prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (1933-53)
57	Marc Bloch 7/6/1886 – 6/16/1944 French historian and educator; leader in Resistance
79	Axel Theorell 7/6/1903 – 8/15/1982 Swedish biochemist; awarded Nobel Prize (1955)
82	Dorothy Kirsten 7/6/1910 – 11/18/1992 American opera singer
55	Bill Haley 7/6/1925 – 2/9/1981 American singer and songwriter