ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), the very first modern computer, that was big enough to fill a room, was first commissioned during the second World War, on the 5th of June, 1943. It was finally completed and announced to the public by the 14 of February, 1946. And on the 15th of February, 1946 (exactly 67 years to date), it was formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.

Computing systems have existed since the 19th century, yet it’s only in the early 20th century (specifically the 1930’s & 40’s), the modern computer era actually began. And ENIAC was the first; Turing-complete, digital, and capable of being reprogrammed; computer. The press at the time called it the ‘Great Brain’. The ENIAC was in operation until October 2nd, 1955; giving way to more advance technology. And today, thanks to this brainchild of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert from 67 years ago, we have laptops, tablets, iPads etc etc. You name it. The world today practically lives in Cyberspace.

Today is also the 131st Birth Anniversary of actor John Barrymore (One of the first of the Barrymore’s to brace the big screen, the paternal grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore). He died aged 60, in 1942.  The only movie of his that I have watched and loved so far happens to be the classic comedy, Dinner at Eight (1933), opposite the most famous platinum blonde of that era, Jean Harlow. Am yet to see some of his great performances from movies like, the silent classic based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella,  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) , to famed early talkies like Grand Hotel (1932), Rasputin and the Empress (1932) – with all three Barrymore siblings, Night Flight (1933) and Twentieth Century (1934); to name a few.

Actress Jane Seymour turns 62 today. Born in 1951, thus a part of baby boomer generation, she appeared in some interesting movies early in her career, like Richard Attenborough’s Young Winston (1972) for example, which was based on the early years of Winston Churchill’s life. But she most probably gained more popularity for her role of ‘Solitaire’, a Bond girl, in Live and Let Die (1973). It was later in her career when she focused her attention to the small screen that she got more acclaimed roles where she could prove herself as an actress, in television movies and mini-series such as, Obsessed with a Married Woman (1985) and playing the famed real life Opera singer ‘Maria Callas’ in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988), among many others. More recently I saw her in an episode of the TV series Castle (2009).

Nuwan Sen’s Historical Sense, Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense

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