This Date in History - February 25

 

Happy birthday, Tea Leoni.  Our Secretary of State looks like this...at least on the CBS show a few years back.

138:  THE ROMAN EMPEROR HADRIAN ADOPTS ANTONINUS PIUS, EFFECTIVELY MAKING HIM HIS SUCCESSOR.

This bunch was changing leadership as much as they were changing their togas.

493:  ODOACER SURRENDERS RAVENNA AFTER A THREE-YEAR SIEGE AND AGREES TO A MEDIATED PEACE WITH THEODORIC THE GREAT.

Theodoric was later nicknamed the Beaver.

628: KOSRAU II IS OVERTHROWN BY HIS SON KAVADH II.

Who Cares II?

1336:  4,000 DEFENDERS OF PILENAL COMMIT MASS SUICIDE RATHER THAN BE TAKEN CAPTIVE BY THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS.

Doesn't say much about the Teutonic Knights.

1570:  POPE PIUS V EXCOMMUNICATES QUEEN ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND.

This is the Queen Elizabeth without the handbag.

1797:  COLONEL WILLIAM TATE AND HIS FORCE OF 1000-1500 SOLDIERS SURRENDER AFTER THE LAST INVASION OF BRITAIN.

Lots of tails between lots of legs.

1836:  SAMUEL COLT IS GRANTED A US PATENT FOR THE COLT REVOLVER.

Malt liquor to follow.

1843:  PROVISIONAL CESSATION OF THE HAWAIIAN OR SANDWICH ISLANDS ESTABLISHED BY LORD GEORGE PAULET.

A combination would be a Hawaiian sandwich, probably with pineapple slices.

1866:  MINERS IN CALAVERAS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, DISCOVER WHAT IS NOW CALLED THE CALAVERAS SKULL --- HUMAN REMAINS THAT SUPPOSEDLY INDICATED THAT MAN, MASTODONS, AND ELEPHANTS CO-EXISTED.

Until, of course, the mastodons and the elephants got hungry.

1870:  HIRAM RHODES REVELS, A REPUBLICAN FROM MISSOURI, IS SWORE TO THE US SENATE, BECOMING THE FIRST BLACK EVER TO SIT IN CONGRESS.

Liberals, please note all the irony in that sentence.

1901:  JP MORGAN INCORPORATES THE US STEEL CORPORATION.

Money to be made there.

1901:  ACTOR ZEPPO MARX IS BORN.

Oh, horse feathers!

1913:  ACTOR JIM BACKUS IS BORN.

Watch out for that next step, Magoo!

1913:  ACTOR GERT FROBE IS BORN.

Gold-fing-uh.

1920:  RELIGIOUS LEADER SUN MYUNG MOON IS BORN.

Rising in the east.

1929:  MUSICIAN TOMMY NEWSOM IS BORN.

He once asked to borrow my pen.   Long story.

1932:  ADOLF HITLER OBTAINS GERMAN CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION, WHICH ALLOWS HIM TO RUN IN THE 1932 ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT.

Jesse Owens also got to run later on, too.

1940:  BASEBALL PLAYER RON SANTO IS BORN.

He used to click his heels when the Cubs won.   That was while he still had heels to click.

1941: IN OCCUPIED AMSTERDAM, A GENERAL STRIKE IS DECLARED IN RESPONE TO INCREASING ANTI-JEWISH MEASURES INSTITUTED BY THE NAZIS.

And you wonder why the Franks went to the attic.

1943:  BEATLE GEORGE HARRISON IS BORN.

My sweet Lord.

1948:  THE COMMUNIST PARTY TAKES CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT IN  CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND THE PERIOD OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC ENDS.

Czech, please.

1954:  GAMAL ABDEL NASSER IS MADE PREMIER OF EGYPT.

Nasser later is the place where all US space shots were made.

1966:  ACTRESS TEA LEONI IS BORN.

If Tea Leoni married James Lipton...

1968:  DURING THE VIETNAM WAR, 135 UNARMED CITIZENS OF HA MA IN SOUTH VIETNAM ARE KILLED AND BURIED EN MASSE BY SOUTH KOREAN 
TROOPS IS WHAT WAS LATER KNOWN AS THE HA MY MASSACRE.

Ha, indeed.

1986:  PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES FERDINAND MARCOS FLEES THE NATION AFTER 20 YEARS OF RULE.

Wait!  You forgot your wife!

1987:  ACTOR JAMES COCO DIES.

Death by Death.

1996:  ACTOR HAING S. NGOR DIES.

The Killing Fields, indeed.

1997:  YI HAN-YONG, NORTH KOREA DEFECTOR, IS MURDERED.

He didn't defect fast enough.

2006:  ACTOR DARREN MCGAVIN DIES.

I guess he was frag-ile.

2013:  SURGEON C. EVERETT KOOP DIES.

Hazardous to his own health.

2014:  GAME SHOW HOST JIM LANGE DIES.

A Straight-From-The-Coffin Kiss!!!!

2017:  ACTOR BILL PAXTON DIES.

Reliable actor.

Dinner last night:   Leftover pappardelle.

Len's Recipe of the Month - February 2026

 

I follow a couple of cooks with YouTube channels.  Around Christmas, three of them posted recipes for a traditional Bolognese sauce.   I was intrigued and gathered the fixings to do this myself.

Two days later, a couple of hernias sent me to the hospital.  So much for Bolognese sauce.

So, five weeks later, I finally tackled it with great success.   When done traditionally, it is a convention of flavors you cannot imagine.   So, follow along.

Buy one of those 8 oz packages of diced pancetta.   Heat up some EVO in a Dutch oven saute the pancetta for about five minutes.  You need the fat you are rendering.

Next, some mirapoix.   What is that, you ask?   It is the holy trinity of cooking up a sauce base.  Carrots, onion, and celery.   Chop two carrots, an onion, and two celery ribs.   Or, thanks to Bristol Farms, you can buy it ready made.

Add a little more EVO and saute the mirapoix with the pancetta.   Now, for the meat.   After all, this is a meat sauce.   The cooks I follow suggest a pound and a half of a mix of beef and pork.  For maximum flavor, I used a pound of ground Italian sweet sausage and 1/2 pound ground beef.   

Into the Dutch oven it all goes and, for about 15 to twenty minutes, you brown the meat and get the veggies translucent.   Keep stirring it.

When the whole mixture is a brownish gray color, mince four or five garlic cloves and add that.   Take this opportunity in the process to salt and pepper it all.

Mix in a tablespoon of tomato paste.   Then deglaze the pan with a cup of red wine.  Make sure to use a wooden spoon to scrape up the stuff stuck to the bottom.  That's flavor, gang.

Now add a cup of beef broth.   Or mix one tablespoon of Better Than Boullion with a cup of water.

There's more.

Now add two 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes.   Use a brand like Cento that is made in Italy.

Salt and pepper again.

Most chefs add a piece of Parmesan Reggiano cheese rind.   This is another key for flavor.   You can buy these at most super markets.  Drop it in.  Over the long cooking time, it will melt.

And here's another trick up the sleeve.   Stir in a cup of whole milk.   Apparently, that's the way it's done in Italy.   Who will argue?

Drop in two bay leaves and the prep is done.  

Now, for cooking, there are two schools of thought.   One is to stash it away in the oven for three to four hours.   The longer the better.   But you can also let it simmer on low for four to five hours on the stove with the cover slightly ajar.   

But the real secret is what these chefs will recommend next.   Don't serve it the same day.  When you are done cooking, put it in the fridge and let it mull overnight.   Somehow and some way, it tastes even better this way.  One of those cooking magic acts.

Now traditionalists will tell you to use this sauce with a wide pasta noodle like pappardelle or fettucine.  I did that and it was fine, although a bit clumsy to eat.  Frankly, I think this would work with most pastas, except for spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair.  

Regardless, this is one meal you will never ever regret making.

Dinner last night:  Chicken tenders.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - February 23, 2026

 The snows of February conclude.   After the storm, there is...the snow blowers.

Dinner last night: Pappardelle with homemade Bolognese sauce.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Springtime for...

 

Well, sort of. We were in the same place. We were literally one table away from each other. I could pretty much hear his whole conversation. If I talked as loud as he did, he could pretty much hear my whole conversation. And he could see what I was eating.

That's where the root of this story lies.

Years ago, I was lunching with a producer-friend of mine at the 20th Century Fox commissary. If you think this is particularly glamorous, you've been watching way too much Entertainment Tonight. I've eaten at both Fox and Warner Brothers, and all the people around you tend not to be stars. They're office people, prop masters, and computer programmers. The closest I ever got was seeing George Clooney stop at the cashier for a pack of Altoids.

But Mel Brooks behind me at Fox was very real. You couldn't miss the manic voice. It bounced off all four walls. I knew he was there, but my friend and I just kept talking. The trick is that you really try to zone in and not focus on the people around you. The waiter brought our food. Mine was a club sandwich and a side of French fries. I started to chow down. I noted that the cacophony at the table behind me had subsided. Mel was off peeing. But his companion was not. She tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, you're eating French fries."

Huh??

"You'll have to hide them before Mel comes back."

Huh???

"Mel loves French fries but he's on a very strict diet right now."

So???

"He can't see you eating French fries."

How does one respond to a request for covert dining? I wondered what kind of consequences would result if Mel Brooks saw my French fries.

"He'll go nuts."

Oh.

I had no idea why, but I suddenly became conscious of offending Hollywood royalty. I took a piece of leaf lettuce from my sandwich and tucked the French fries underneath it. Mel walked by a few moments later. There were no air raid sirens. He had seen nothing.

Until he left about ten minutes later.

In a comfort zone, I had gotten a little loose with my fries. One had sidled over to the other side of my plate. Mel saw it as he walked by.

An icy glare. His companion quickly hustled him out the door.

I exhaled. Another day in Hollywood.  Meanwhile, the man hopefully celebrates his 100th birthday this summer.

Dinner last night:  BBQ Chicken Salad from Maria's.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - February 2026

 Sadly, the only thing I remember about Inger Stevens and this series from 60 years ago is that she killed herself shortly thereafter.

Dinner last night:  Salisbury steak.

Smile!

 

More snapshots from Hell. I don't know why this baby is smiling. He's next.

For once, they're not looking through bars.

Toucans bite as she will soon painfully discover.

My three sons. An arsonist, a molester, and a serial killer.

It was a bitch sliding these things down my birth canal.

"Dad, I told you. I'm in the witness protection program. No photos!!!!!"

Dinner last night:  Grilled hamsteak.

Overheard...

I can only relay the conversation exactly as I heard it in Aisle 6 of Bristol Farms.  Two young female gremlins (if you saw them in person, you would agree with that description) were talking as they took turns looking at cans of crushed tomatoes.

Girl #1: It was a hassle, but it was so worth it for my own protection. It's not hard to get a temporary restraining order. If my boyfriend comes within 20 yards of me, I can call the cops.

Girl #2: The one I got for my last boyfriend, he couldn't come within 10 yards. And my friend's TRO on her ex-husband didn't allow him to be within one mile of her.

They moved onto Aisle 7.

So, how easy are these temporary restraining orders to get? 

Is there a department at Target for them? 

Or, maybe you can get the fancy ones at Nordstrom's. You know they are all so customer-service-oriented there. "I know you want the 30 yard one, but I think you'd be much happier with the 15 yard TRO. They are more popular these days."

Actually, I am going to request my own TRO and start with these two super market cookies.

Dinner last night:   Salad.