This week in the Civil War: March 29, 1865

Fall of Richmond, Virginia, seat of Confederacy

The forces of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee reached the breaking point this week 150 years ago in the Civil War. Lee ordered infantry and cavalry units to hold a key defensive line at Five Forks, Virginia, only to come under withering Union attack. Union forces took many prisoners as they beat back Lee's forces and soon cut off Lee's only remaining supply line for the Confederacy to Petersburg and nearby Richmond, Virginia, seat of the Confederacy. News reports of the week recalled bloody combat and thousands of Confederates taken prison as the Southern troops were rapidly becoming demoralized. The dire turn of events forced Lee to inform Jefferson Davis that both cities would have to be evacuated and the Petersburg-Richmond siege lines abandoned. After a hasty Confederate evacuation begun on April 2, 1865, Union troops entered Richmond the next day. "Richmond and Petersburg Taken!" blared the New York Tribune in bold headlines in its April 4, 1865, edition. It added: "Colored Troops the First to Enter the Slaveholders' Capital ... THE REBELS LEAVE IN HASTE. Gen. Grant Attempting to Cut Off Lee's Escape." That same day, President Abraham Lincoln would visit the city, greeted by jubilant former slaves. Lee's surrender would only be a matter of days.

When the Limbaugh breaks

I honestly don't know if I should laugh, cry . . . or become violently ill. 

Apparently ubber-conservative Rush Limbaugh has published three (three!) books for impressionable young readers about a history teacher named Rush Revere and his talking horse, Liberty, who have "Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans." 

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims (2013)

Rush Revere and the First Patriots (2014)

Rush Revere and the American Revolution (2014)

MEET RUSH LIMBAUGH'S REALLY GOOD PAL, RUSH REVERE!

Okay, okay, my name's really Rusty—but my friends call me Rush. Rush Revere. Because I've always been the #1 fan of the coolest colonial dude ever, Paul Revere. Talk about a rock star—this guy wanted to protect young America so badly, he rode through those bumpy, cobblestone-y streets shouting "the British are coming!" On a horse. Top of his lungs. Wind blowing, rain streaming... 

Well, you get the picture. But what if you could get the real picture—by actually going back in time and seeing with your own eyes how our great country came to be? Meeting the people who made it all happen—people like you and me? 

Hold on to your pointy triangle hats, because you can—with me, Rush Revere, seemingly ordinary substitute history teacher, as your tour guide across time! "How?" you ask? Well, there's this portal. And a horse. My talking horse named Liberty. And—well, just trust me, I'll get us there.

Now I'm all for time-travel, but these?

I simply do not want to know what Limbaugh will make of the Civil War.

Eww.

Don't dream it, be it

I'm lucky, he's lucky, we're all lucky!

Brad, Magenta, and Columbia from The Rocky Horror Picture Show are coming to Phoenix Comicon 2015!

Tony Award Winner Barry Bostwick played Brad Majors in Rocky Horror and went on to gain notoriety on stage and on screen where he's appeared in titles including Spin City, Supernatural, and Scandal.

Nell Campbell appeared in both stage and film versions of Rocky Horror as Colombia. Following the film she continued to perform on stage in productions including A Street Car Named Desire, You Should Be So Lucky, and Nine.

Patricia Quinn also played Magenta both on stage and in the film version of Rocky Horror. She continued acting with roles in I, Claudius, Shock Treatment, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, and Doctor Who.

Yes, Momma frequently went to the midnight showings from 1979-1982. She even dressed up - usually as Brad or Columbia.

Stay tuned for what she's thinking of for us!