You're All Hideous And We Hate You: Happy Opposite Day!

Who knew there actually was an Opposite Day?

Toonces and Maeby, courtesy of our pal Molly

Happy weekend!

On this date in 1585, Walter Raleigh became Sir Walter Raleigh, not long after he named the general North American region “Virginia” in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, because of how she was also known as “The Virgin Queen,” which is just deeply, deeply weird when you think about it, which I have. Probably too much, if you want the truth. I mean, it just seems a little rude to name any slice of land after the state of the monarch’s hymen.

Coincidentally, it is also Virginia Woolf’s birthday, though as far as anyone knows, she was not named after Queen Elizabeth’s hymen situation. Here, to celebrate that, is the only known recording of her voice!

It is also the birthday of Irish folksinger Ewan MacColl, father of Kirsty MacColl, of “Fairytale of New York” and “There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis” fame. MacColl himself wrote “Dirty Old Town” (famously covered by The Pogues) and one of my favorite songs of all time, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for Peggy Seeger, who at 21 was about 20 years his junior, while he was still married to his second wife (Peggy would be his third).

That was kind of fucked, but it’s still a really, really, really good song.

And, of course, Roberta Flack is the best. We all know this.

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