Born on this day – Emma Lazarus:

Emma Lazarus

Writer

July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887

Credits:

Author of The New Colossus (1883),

inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903.

The New Colossus

November 2, 1883.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Poems:

1492; Assurance; Chopin; City Visions; Critic and Poet: an Epilogue; Destiny; Echoes; From One Augur to Another; In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport; Influence; Life and Art; Long Island Sound; Marriage Bells; St Michael's Chapel; Success; Sympathy; Symphonic Studies (After Schumann); The Cranes of Ibicus; The Crowing of the Red Cock; The New Colossus; The New Ezekiel; The Supreme Sacrifice; The Taming of the FalconTo R.W.E.; Venus of the Louvre.

Books:

Poems in Prose (1887); Complete Poems with a Memoir (1888).

Recommended reading - The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook (2009):

The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook:
A Guide to Creating, Harvesting, and Cooking with Natural Honeys

By Kim Flottum.

Quarry Books.

Paperback.

Published 2009.

ISBN-10: 1592534740

ISBN-13: 978-1592534746

Description:

In The Backyard Beekeeper’s Honey Handbook, hive hints and honey-harvesting tutorials abound, all-delivered with the sound, practical, and common-sense perspective of a seasoned expert. Also, an illustrated guide to honey plants explores their regional bloom dates and honey flows in unprecedented detail. A wide array of honey-handling equipment is illustrated, explained, and reviewed. With this book at your side, you will be the sweetest, savviest, beekeeper in the neighborhood.

Lush, full-color photographs take you from flower bud to beehive, then onward through the mechanics and choreography of the honey harvest.

Expert instructions and insight on cultivating varietal honeys show you how to tap into honey’s time-tested health benefits.

More than 50 delicious, healthy recipes for both sweet and savory dishes featuring honey.

J. A. Jance, on writing:

When you have an important story to tell,

the words you need seem to come of their own accord.

- J. A. Jance.

On this day in movie history - Oppenheimer (2023):

Oppenheimer

directed and written by Christopher Nolan,

based on the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin,

was released in the United States on July 21, 2023.
Music by Ludwig Göransson.

Cast:

Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Scott Grimes, Jason Clarke, Kurt Koehler, Tony Goldwyn, John Gowans, Macon Blair, James D'Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Groener, Gregory Jbara, Ted King, Tim DeKay, Steven Houska, Tom Conti, David Krumholtz, Petrie Willink, Matthias Schweighöfer, Josh Hartnett, Alex Wolff, Josh Zuckerman, Rory Keane, Michael Angarano, Dylan Arnold, Emma Dumont, Florence Pugh, Sadie Stratton, Jefferson Hall, Britt Kyle, Guy Burnet, Tom Jenkins, Matthew Modine, Louise Lombard, David Dastmalchian, Michael Andrew Baker, Jeff Hephner, Matt Damon, Dane DeHaan, Olli Haaskivi, David Rysdahl, Josh Peck, Jack Quaid, Brett DelBuono, Benny Safdie, Gustaf Skarsgård, James Urbaniak, Trond Fausa, Devon Bostick, Danny Deferrari, Christopher Denham, Jessica Erin Martin, Ronald Auguste, Rami Malek, Máté Haumann, Olivia Thirlby, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Casey Affleck, Harrison Gilbertson, James Remar, Will Roberts, Pat Skipper, Steve Coulter, Jeremy John Wells, Sean Avery, Adam Kroeger, Drew Kenney, Bryce Johnson, Flora Nolan, Kerry Westcott, Christina Hogue, Clay Bunker, Tyler Beardsley, Maria Teresa Zuppetta, Kate French, Gary Oldman, Hap Lawrence, Panagiotis Margetis, Yaser Al-Nyrabeah, Hunter Avant, Aevrey Balin, Kevin Berndt, David Bertucci, Troy Bronson, Steven Bullard, Ross Buran, Andrew Bursiaga, Kaleb Clifton, Samuel Code, Michael DeBartolo, Elijah Dierking, Russel Donahue, Adam Walker Federman, Doug Friedman, Michelle Ghatan, Braden Kelsey Gile, James Paul Gregory, Christine Heneise, John T. Hillman, Katherine Hogan, Ben Holmquist, Kash Hovey, Jacquie Kachmann, Asher Kaplan, Dirk Kingston, Emily Joy Lemus, Benjamin Levine, Luke Matheis, Brendan McManus, Connor Mendenhall, Elise Newman, Jason Pfister, Skyler Pierce, Michaela Rances, Ryan Rathbun, Sam Russell, Paolo Saglietto, Meg Schimelpfenig, Susan Elizabeth Shaw, Travis Siemon, Ryan Stubo, Jacob Taylor, Scott Valentine, Jack Wang, Kyle Williams, Ansa Woo, Aamir Yusuf.

On this day in music history - Sirens of the Sea by OceanLab (2008):

Sirens of the Sea by OceanLab (2008)

Sirens of the Sea

Album by OceanLab,

released July 21, 2008.

Track list: Just Listen; Sirens of the Sea; If I Could Fly; Breaking Ties; Miracle; Come Home; On a Good Day; Ashes; I Am What I Am; Lonely Girl; Secret; On the Beach; Breaking Ties (Flow mix).

On this day in movie history - The Shootist (1976 movie & novel):

The Shootist

directed by Don Siegel,

written by Miles Hood Swarthout and Scott Hale,

based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout,

was released in the United States on July 21, 1976.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Rick Lenz, Scatman Crothers, Gregg Palmer, Alfred Dennis, Dick Winslow, Melody Thomas Scott, Kathleen O'Malley, Jack Berle, Johnny Crawford, Chuck Dawson, George Dunn, Duke Fishman, Christopher George, Jonathan Goldsmith, Leo Gordon, Charles G. Martin, Jim Michael, Ernesto Molinari, Ricky Nelson, James Nolan, Nick Raymond, Henry Slate, Bob Steele, Ralph Volkie, John Zimeas.

Recommended reading:

The Shootist

By Glendon Swarthout.

Introduction by Miles Swarthout.

Filmed as The Shootist (1976), directed by Don Siegel.

Published by Bison Books.

First published 1975.

ISBN-10: 0803238231

ISBN-13: 9780803238237

Description:

"Such style...such a strong central idea...the showdown is an unremitting as the build-up." – Sunday Times of London.

"This is an extremely well-written Western and gives the reader vivid insight into the workings of the mind of a wanderer and gunman." – Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sunday Advocate.

"The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout is the taleof the Old West's version of the modern 'hit man'. It is a splendid story, well-told and with a really satisfying ending." – Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post.

The Shootist is John Bernard Books, a man of principle and the only surviving gunfighter in a vanishing American West. He rides into El Paso in the year 1901, on the day Queen Victoria died, there to be told by a doctor that he must soon confront the greatest shootist of all: Death. In such a showdown, against such an antagonist, he cannot win. Most men may end their days in bed or take their own lives, but a man-killer has a 3rd option, one which Books decides to exercise. He may choose his own executioner.

As word spreads that the famous assassin has reached the end of his rope, an assortment of vultures gathers to feast upon his corpse--among them a gambler, a rustler, an undertaker, an old love, a reporter, even a boy. Books outwits them, however, by selecting the where, when, who, and why of his death, and writing in fire from a pair of Remingtons the last courageous act of his own legend. The climatic gunfight itself is an incredible performance by an incredible man, and by his creator, Glendon Swarthout.

The Shootist will rank with such classics as Shane and The Ox-Bow Incident, but it is much more than a Western. When, in the final afternoon of his life, J. B. Books crosses a street and enters a saloon to make something of his death, we cross, we enter, with him. He is us.

From a corner of the south window Gillom Rogers spied on the new lodger. The man unpacked his valise and put things in a drawer of the chiffonier, then hung his Price Albert coat in the closet. When he turned from the closet he was in shirt and vest. The boy's eyes rounded. Sewn to each side of the vest was a holster, reversed, and in each holster was a pistol, butt forward. As he watched, sucking in his breath, the man took the weapons out, revolved the cylinders, filled a chamber in one he had evidently fired, and replaced them before hanging the vest, too, in the closet. The pistols were a pair of nickel-plated, short-barreled, unsighted, single-action .44 Remingtons, obviously manufactured to order. The handle of one was black gutta-percha, the other pearl.

Gillom slipped away to take the horse to the livery, letting the breath of revelation out of his lungs. He was seventeen, and spent much of his time in saloons. He was not yet served, but he enjoyed himself and picked up a great deal of miscellaneous information, some of it true, some of it of doubtful authenticity. But the man in corner room was no stranger to him now. He had heard enough scalp-itch, blood-freeze tales to know that only one man carried a similar pair of guns in a similar manner...

Born on this day – Robin Williams:

Robin Williams

Actor

Comedian

July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014

Credits:

A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out (1992); A Wish for Wings That Work (1991); A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); Absolutely Anything (2015); Aladdin (1992); Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996); Aladdin on Ice (1995); America 2-Night (1978); American Idol (2008); An All-Star Toast to the Improv (1988); An Evening at the Improv (1981); An Evening with Robin Williams (1983); August Rush (2007); Awakenings (1990); A Merry Friggin’ Christmas (2014); Back to Neverland (1989); Being Human (1994); Bicentennial Man (1999); Bobby McFerrin: Don’t Worry, Be Happy (1988); Boulevard (2014); Cadillac Man (1990); Can I Do It ‘Till I Need Glasses? (1977); Cinemax Comedy Experiment (1986); Club Paradise (1986); Comic Relief (1986); Dead Again (1991); Dead Poets Society (1989); Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987); Death to Smoochy (2002); Deconstructing Harry (1997); Disney’s Math Quest with Aladdin (1998); Eight Is Enough (1977); Everyone’s Hero (2006); Faerie Tale Theatre (1982); Fathers’ Day (1997); FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992); Flubber (1997); Freedom: A History of US (2003); Friends (1997); Good Morning, Vietnam (1987); Good Will Hunting (1997); Hamlet (1996); Happy Days (1978–1979); Happy Feet (2006); Happy Feet Two (2011); Homicide: Life on the Street (1994); Hook (1991); House of D (2004); In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994); Insomnia (2002); Jack (1996); Jakob the Liar (1999); Jimmy Kimmel & Ben Affleck: I’m Fucking Ben Affleck (2008); Jonathan Winters: On the Ledge (1987); Jumanji (1995); L.A. Doctors (1999); Laugh-In (1977–1978); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008); License to Wed (2007); Louie (2012); Man of the Year (2006); Mork & Mindy (1978–1982); Mork & Mindy / Laverne & Shirley / Fonz Hour (1982); Moscow on the Hudson (1984); Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Mrs. Doubtfire: Deleted Scenes (2003); Night at the Museum (2006); Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009); Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014); Nine Months (1995); Noel (2004); Old Dogs (2009); On Location: The Comedy Store’s 11th Anniversary Show (1983); One Hour Photo (2002); One Saturday Morning (1998); Out of the Blue (1979); Patch Adams (1998); Popeye (1980); Portrait of a White Marriage (1988); Pryor’s Place (1984); Rabbit Ears: Pecos Bill (1988); World’s Greatest Dad (2009); Rabbit Ears: The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991); Robin Williams Live on Broadway (2002); Robin Williams: An Evening at the Met (1986); Robin Williams: Elmer Fudd Sings Bruce Springsteen (1983); Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction (2009); Robots (2005); RV (2006); Saturday Night Live (2010); Saturday Night Live: The Best of Robin Williams (1991); SCTV Network (1982); Seize the Day (1986); Shakes the Clown (1991); Shrink (2009); Sorority ‘62 (1978); SpongeBob SquarePants (2009); The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988); The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014); The Best of Times (1986); The Big Wedding (2013); The Big White (2005); The Birdcage (1996); The Butler (2013); The Crazy Ones (2013–2014); The Earth Day Special (1990); The Earth Day Special (1990); The Face of Love (2013); The Final Cut (2004); The Fisher King (1991); The Larry Sanders Show (1994); The Night Listener (2006); The Richard Pryor Show (1977); The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch (2003); The Secret Agent (1996); The Survivors (1983); The Timekeeper (1992); The World According to Garp (1982); The Young Comedians All-Star Reunion (1986); To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995); Toys (1992); What Dreams May Come (1998); Wilfred (2012).