1985 – Essendon defeats Hawthorn in the VFL Grand Final

As if they were only warming up the previous year, Essendon were never in doubt all day in the 1985 VFL Grand Final. Playing Hawthorn for the third successive year, on this day, Essendon started off strong and kept going that way. They led at the end of every quarter, finally recording a winning margin of 78 points (or 13 goals).
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1945 – Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun

Eva Braun first met Adolf Hitler in 1929, when she was only 17 years old. At the time, she was employed by Hitler’s personal photographer in Munich. Two years later, they began dating, and in 1936, she moved in to his house at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden.

The two were rarely seen publically – not until 1944 did she appear with him at a public event, and of course, the two were eventually married. The marriage ceremony – and the forty hours of wedlock that followed it – all took place in the Berlin bunker to which Hitler had retreated as the war drew to a close. Two days after the wedding, the pair committed suicide together, and a week later, Germany surrendered to the Allies.

Referenced in:

Defecate On My Face — This Is Serious Mum
To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap) — Mel Brooks

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Australian Anthems #8 – “Whatareya” by This Is Serious Mum

Possibly the most fundamental conflict in Australian society – more than any question of morality or ethics – is one particular social divide. It’s the one that lies between the two groups characterised by TISM as the yobboes and the wankers. Between the university-educated and the trade-school-educated; between the book reading and the Herald-Sun reading; between chardonay and beer drinkers.
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1984 – Essendon defeats Hawthorn in the VFL Grand Final

Favoured going into the game, Essendon played hard all day, but nonetheless trailed Hawthorn going into the game’s final quarter. But in that last quarter, they turned it all around, kicking 11 goals and 6 points (a record score for the last quarter of any VFL/AFL Grand Final), and more than doubling their score for the rest of the match.

They romped home at the game’s conclusion, defeating Hawthorn by four goals and winning Essendon’s 13th Premiership. It was particularly satisfying victory for Essendon’s fans – in the previous year’s Grand Final, the same two teams had fought, but the result had been very different, with Hawthorn winning by 83 points on that occasion.

Referenced in:

You’re A Long Way From Home 1 — This Is Serious Mum

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1967 – Jim Morrison dragged from the stage by the police

On December 9th, 1967, The Doors performed at the New Haven Arena in New Haven, Conneticut.

Accounts vary as to what motivated Morrison, but it is generally agreed that he launched into an extended rant in which he belittled the New Haven Police Department. The police invaded the stage, arresting Morrison and dragging him away, abruptly ending the concert. In response, the crowd rioted while the police booked Morrison on charges of indecency and public obscenity.

This incident helped to solidify Morrison’s reputation as a counter-culture hero and spokesman to his fans, and as a petulant drunkard to many others.

Referenced in:

Morrison Hostel — This Is Serious Mum
Peace Frog — The Doors

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1970 – Alex Jesaulenko marks over Graeme Jenkin in the 1970 VFL Grand Final

By half time, it looked like it was all over for Carlton. Another good year for them, but on the day, Collingwood had them outmatched. Minutes before the end of the second quarter, Jesaulenko marked over Jenkin (in what would become one of the game’s most iconic images), but it availed the Blues little. When the second quarter siren sounded, Carlton trailed by 44 points, an all-but insurmountable lead.

The half-time oration by Ron Barassi, with its legendary injunction to handball, has also become legend. Carlton changed their style of play in the game’s second half, to a faster, looser style of play that depended more on handballing than kicking to move the ball forward. Carlton kicked 8 goals to Collingwood’s 3 in the third quarter, and even though they entered the final term trailing by about three goals, the momentum had decisively shifted in their direction. They won the game by only 10 points, but a narrow win is still a win.

Referenced in:

The Back Upon Which Jezza Jumped – This Is Serious Mum

Happy Grand Final Day to my fellow Aussie Rules fans!

And to the rest of you:
honestly, you don’t know what you’re missing out on here :)

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1971 – Jim Morrison Dies

Morrison died on July 3, 1971, at age 27. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by Courson. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy has left many questions regarding Morrison’s cause of death.

Many believed that Morrison had in fact faked his death, as he had occasionally talked of doing over the preceding few years, but if so, he has yet to reappear. And it’s hard to believe that a man with Morrison’s ego and drug use could have stayed anonymous for nearly 40 years now…

Referenced in:

Morrison Hotel – This Is Serious Mum

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