This Day In History

Dec 23 1888
After an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh takes a razor and removes a portion of his left ear. Their quarrel regarded the prostitutes in Arles who seemed to prefer Gauguin over Van Gogh; the painter delivered his ear to one Rachel, who preferred Van Gogh. She fainted.

Dec 23 1972
Magnitude 6.25 Earthquake destroys central Managua Nicaragua, 10,000 die.

Dec 23 1985
In a school playground, James Vance presses a shotgun to his chin and pulls the trigger. He and cohort Raymond Belknap had forged a suicide pact while listening to Stained Class by Judas Priest. But where Belknap succeeded, Vance fails. He survives, destroying his face. He later uses his disfigurement to his advantage, terrorizing small children on his bicycle. Both kids' parents file suit against the band, but a judge ultimately rejects their subliminal message theory. Vance dies from painkillers on Thanksgiving three years later.
( The Story of James Vance & Judas Priest ) ..Click the link to watch the movie.

Dec 23 1994
Actor Christian Slater arrested while trying to board a plane with a semiautomatic firearm.

Dec 23 1995
Bodies of 16 members of the Solar Temple cult who had committed suicide are found on a plateau in the French Alps. Their bodies are charred and arranged in a star formation. Causes of death included stabbing, asphyxiation, gunshot, and poisoning. In 1994, 53 other members had suicided in similar fashion.

This Day In History

Dec 16
My father, Robert Aubrey was born. Happy Birthday, dad!



Dec 16 1920
In Kansu, China, an 8.6 earthquake kills 180,000 people, mostly from building collapses. But 20,000 froze later because they were unwilling to reoccupy housing during the winter.

Dec 16 1943
At Auschwitz, Dr. Horst Schumann was radiating genitals of Jewish men and women. After a time their genitals were removed and sent to Berlin. Records from his experiments do not survive intact, but the daysheet for today indicates 90 castrations. What were they doing with all those balls?

Dec 16 1950
To fight "world conquest by communist imperialism" in Korea, President Truman declares a state of National Emergency. The order is still in effect, one of four current states of national emergency granting extraordinary powers. We must be fools.

Dec 16 1954
In San Carlos, Venezuela, a hairy dwarf creature attacks residents, then flees into a hovering disk shaped UFO. The creatures escape.

Dec 16 1977
The pinnacle of the Disco era attained with the release of the polyester-clad film Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta.



Dec 16 1985
John Gotti has Gambino boss Paul Castellano whacked at Spark's Steak House in Manhattan.

This Day In History

May 18 1980
The body of Ian Curtis, lead singer of dirge band Joy Division, is discovered hanging in the kitchen by his wife. Curtis killed himself on the eve of Joy Division's U.S. tour. His surviving bandmates go on to form New Order.

May 18 1980
After a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Washington state, 57 people are killed in an avalanche of volcanic mud in the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The volcano spews out 200 million cubic yards of of pumice, ash, and debris which covers 24 square miles of the valley below.

This Day In History

Mar 27 1964
One of the largest quakes in US history strikes southeast of Anchorage, Alaska, hitting 8.6 on the Richter scale. 118 people are killed, and a tidal wave destroys four square blocks of Anchorage. The control tower at the airport, 60 feet high, snapped. Damage in the state is estimated at $500 million.

Mar 27 1977
The worst airline disaster in history occurs when the confused pilot of a KLM Boeing 747 taking off collides with a Pan Am Boeing 747 which was on the runway. A total of 583 people die.

Sirens in Hawaii Warn of Possible Tsunami

(CNN) -- Sirens sounded early Saturday morning across Hawaii, warning people of a possible tsunami and telling people to in coastal areas to evacuate.

The sirens sounded at 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. ET/1600 GMT) to warn of a potential tsunami triggered by a 8.8 earthquake in Chile.

The siren systems in each county are sounding to "to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas," Hawaii's Civil Defense Division said in a statement.

"Residents will be advised by their respective country civil defense or emergency management agencies to evacuate coastal areas."

The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii is 11:05 a.m. local time (4:05 p.m. ET/2105 GMT), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Director Charles McCreery said Hawaii would see some effect from the earthquake.

"We believe it will be a threat here in Hawaii, that's why we initiated a warning, not only for a Hawaii, but for the entire Pacific," McCreery said.

Asked by CNN affiliate KHON whether it was possible Hawaii wouldn't see any effect from the earthquake, McCreery said, "No, I wouldn't say that's possible at all. I think there's no chance we'll see no effect from this event.

"So people need to take this very seriously."

But he added, "We're not expecting this to be a worst-case scenario, but we are expecting ... dangerous waves coming on shore, and people need to take it very seriously."

Speaking of the evacuations, Shelly Ichishita, spokeswoman for the Civil Defense Division, said people in the evacuation zones -- basically coastal areas -- were "asked to go inland," she said. "We do not have evacuation shelters open."

John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman, told The Honolulu Advertiser that "If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate.

"This is a serious event. We're going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami."

The state's two U.S. senators, Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, urged Hawaii residents to remain calm.

"If you live in an evacuation zone I urge you to gather your family and please leave the area," Inouye said.

"It is important to remain calm, listen to the news, and follow the instructions being issued by state and county civil defense officials."

Earlier Saturday, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food, water and other supplies.

"We got lots of water, we got our batteries, we got toilet paper," one woman told KITV, while she stood in a line with other shoppers and their carts stuffed with supplies.

Asked if she was scared, another shopper said, "Very, very. We're from Georgia, so ..."

Businesses in the area said they will be closed all day Saturday, the affiliate reported.

Several tsunami waves have come ashore along the Chilean coast after the earthquake, which killed at least 122 people, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.

He said the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water.

McCreery said the first tsunami wave would sweep across Hawaii in about 30 minutes.

"And then the hazard will go on for many hours, because these waves, they get reflected off the islands, they wrap around the islands, and it becomes a very complex wave field that persists for quite a while."

This Day In History

Apr 18 1906
A devastating earthquake strikes San Francisco at 5:13 a.m., followed by a major aftershock three hours later. More than 3,000 people are killed from either collapsing structures or any of the 59 separate fires which burn over the next three days. In the downtown area, the U.S. Army is forced to dynamite whole city blocks in order to contain the flames, due to the lack of water pressure.