Capt. Kirk gets the blues during real-life space voyage
Today's Birthdays: Paul Simon, AOC and Borat
Twisted History: October 13, 2025
On this day in 2021, Captain James T. Kirk went to space for reals. Ripping through the cosmos aboard one of Jeff Bezos’ rockets, actor William Shatner said the 10-minute flight filled him with “overwhelming sadness.” Probably because Mr. Spock was not by his side to help him make sense of it all.
On this day in 1792, construction began on the White House. Built by a team that included slaves, the grand opening was delayed until 1800 as color consultants Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore feuded over whether to paint it Antique Alabaster Ivory or Creamy Cotton-Pickin’ Marshmallow.
On this day in 1775: the birth of the United States Navy. Now the most powerful in the world, America’s Navy had its humble beginnings with just three 1,000-foot Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, two Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarines and a couple of friggin’ frigates.
Today’s Birthdays:
Paul Simon, 84: singer-songwriter; famous for such classic tunes as “The Sound of (Shhhh!),” “50 Ways to (Bleep) Your Lover” and “Still Stark Raving Bonkers After All These Years."
Marie Osmond, 65: singer; starred in the 1970s variety show “Donny & Marie” as the innocent girl next door opposite her acid-tongued partner, Donny Rickles.
Nancy Kerrigan, 56: Olympic silver medal figure skater, defeated archrival Tonya Harding in skating's Infamous pay-per-view Battle of Wounded Knee.
Sacha Baron Cohen, 54: Oscar-nominated actor-comedian; best known Borat, an ignorant, sexist, racist TV journalist from Kazakhstan who satirizes American ignorance, sexism and racism with his uproarious pranks and antics.
Video: The trailer for his 2020 Borat sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 36: U.S. representative (D-NY); at 29, became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. A strong supporter of gun law reform, AOC always seems to be triggering the GOP.