PAUL VERLAINE, French poet, born, (d: 1896); Did he or didn’t he? We know that Paul Verlaine wrote eighteen volumes of verse in alternating moods of sensuality and mysticism, that he wandered over Europe with that strange and perverse young poet, Arthur Rimbaud, that he was imprisoned for two years after shooting his lover. But did he in fact write a poem that is almost certain never to be taught in French I --  the so-called “Sonnet to an Asshole”? The chances are that he did. Even in English, the poem reflects the musical quality that was Verlaine’s hallmark: “Dark and wrinkled like a deep pink, / It breathes, humbly nestled among the moss / Still wet with love

JEAN-CLAUDE BRIALY, French actor and director, born (d: 2007); a French actor, director and socialite who starred in French films, Brialy moved to mainland France with his family in 1942, to Paris in 1954, and appeared in his first film in 1955. He became a star in the late 1950s when he was one of the most prolific actors of the French "nouvelle vague."

He made films with such important nouvelle vague filmmakers as Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle, Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda and Jacques Rozier; and with other filmmakers such as Roger Vadim, Claude Lelouche and Luis Bunuel. He was also himself a director of a number of films, including Eglantine (1971). In his autobiographies, Le Ruisseau des singes (River of Monkeys) (2000) and J'ai oublié de vous dire... (I Forgot to Tell You ...) (2004) he revealed that he was bisexual.

TRACY CHAPMAN, American singer, born; Although Chapman has never spoken publicly about her sexuality, PulitzerPrize-winning author Alice Walker discussed her love affair with Chapman in an interview with The Guardian on December 15^th2006. She explained why they did not go public with their relationship at the time (the mid 1990s), and said "[the relationship] was delicious and lovely and wonderful and I totally enjoyed it and I was completely in love with her, but it was not anybody's business but ours."

After waiting to graduate college, she signed to Elektra Records, releasing Tracy Chapman (1988). The album was critically acclaimed, and she began touring and building a fanbase. Soon after she performed it at the televised Nelson Mandela 70^th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988, Chapman's "Fast Car" began its rise on the US charts, eventually becoming a Top 10 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100. "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution," the follow-up, charted at #75, and was followed by "Baby Can I Hold You," which peaked at #48 The album sold well, going multi-platinum and winning three Grammys, including an honor for Chapman as Best New Artist. Later in 1988, Chapman was a featured performer on the worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. Chapman often performs at and attends AIDS charity events such as AMFAR and AIDS/LifeCycle

MICHAEL JETER, American actor, died (b. 1952); a Tony- and Emmy Award-winning American actor, well known for his work on stage and screen. His woebegone look, extreme flexibility and high energy led Tommy Tune to cast him in the Off-Broadway Cloud 9 and, on Broadway, in a memorable role in the musical Grand Hotel, for which he won a Tony Award in 1990. Much of his film and television work specialized in playing eccentric, pretentious or wimpy characters like The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas andDrop Zone.

Although occasionally, Jeter was able to stay away from these kinds of roles for more appealing characters like Jurassic Park III and Open Range. He won an Emmy award in 1992 for his role in the television sitcom Evening Shade. He was also a favorite with younger audiences in his role as "Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle" on Sesame Street from 2000 to 2003. The movie The Polar Express is dedicated to his memory. Jeter was an out gay man and for a time decided to retire from entertainment, but was eventually enticed back with roles on television and movies. He was diagnosed to be HIV-positive in 1997 and died from complications of that disease in 2003.

PASSOVER 2018 begins at sundown on Friday, March 30, and ends Saturday evening, April 7. The first seder is on the evening of  March 30, and the second Passover seder takes place on the evening of March 31.

Passover commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, and their transition from slavery to freedom. The main ritual of Passover is the seder, which occurs on the first two night (in Israel just the first night) of the holiday — a festive meal that involves the re-telling of the Exodus through stories and song and the consumption of ritual foods, including matzoh and maror (bitter herbs). The seder’s rituals and other readings are outlined in the Haggadah — today, many different versions of this Passover guide are available in print and online, and you can also create your own.

The central Passover practice is a set of intense dietary changes, mainly the absence of hametz, or foods with leaven. (Ashkenazi Jews also avoid kitniyot, a category of food that includes legumes.) In recent years, many Jews have compensated for the lack of grain by cooking with quinoa, although not all recognize it as kosher for Passover.

The ecstatic cycle of psalms called Hallel is recited both at night and day (during the seder and morning prayers). Additionally, Passover commences a 49-day period called the Omer, which recalls the count between offerings brought to the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. This count culminates in the holiday of Shavuot, the anniversary of the receiving of the Torah at Sinai.

GOOD FRIDAY is a Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and his death at Calvary. 

The day marks and in a sense celebrates the sado-masochistic torture death of a human being, also believed to be a god in later times, who was flogged and nailed to pieces of wood where he likely died of asphyxiation. While the S/M aspects are unique to Christianity, there are numerous parallel stories of a young man/god,, produced of a "virgin birth" who dies and returns to life on behalf of humankind. This is not an original story. Just a particularly sadistic one.

It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, Long Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter Week.

The date of the holiday on the Gregorian calendar varies from one year to the next, and there is disagreement about its calculation. It is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and twelve U.S. States. Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.