Five things worth knowing today

- Siena hosts the Palio, the horse race around the city square that's been a city tradition (along with its occasional attendants, bribery and death threats) since 1310.
- The green-centric Rothbury Music Festival, committed to both live music and energy independence, begins in Michigan. Yes, that overlap of interests means you'll have to sit through some String Cheese Incident. But it's worth it to see Dylan, the Band (separately), Willie Nelson, and a slew of other greats.
- Meanwhile, true believers of a different order gather in New Mexico for the Roswell UFO Festival.
- Today in 2001, Robert Tools received the world's first artificial heart.
- And today in 1947, comedian, actor, and misanthrope Larry David was born. You wouldn't want to be stuck on a desert island with the guy, but bless him for saying what we're (usually) all thinking—even if only to himself (below).

Five things worth knowing today

- Michael Mann and co. decided that the John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies was just too good to wait for a Friday release, and are loosing it on the world today. Were they right? We'll find out.
- Berlin Fashion Week begins today in the German capital, with shows by menswear and accessory designers including Boss Orange, Gant, and Eastpak.
- In related news, the denim-obsessed Bread and Butter tradeshow begins, also in Berlin. With the unceasing press surounding the antics of Brüno, it's nice to remember that not all Austro-German fashion is decided by guys (fake guys, at that) with a penchant for booty shorts and leather. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
- Today in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg began.
- And today in 2004, style god Marlon Brando died at 80. True, his last few years weren't exactly his most stylish (or appealing), but the guy did enough to advance the causes of the white T-shirt and the motorcycle jacket (in The Wild One, below) to last a lifetime.

Five things worth knowing today

- Montreal hosts its 30th International Jazz Festival, one of the jazz world's premier annual events. Expected guests include anybody and everybody—elder statesmen Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, and Jackson Browne among them. - James Gray's Two Lovers arrives on DVD today, hopefully bringing the great little movie the recognition that star Joaquin Phoenix's press-ready declarations of a fledgling rap career and famously loopy performance on Letterman denied it the first time around.
- In the tech world, MSN Messenger is officially laid to rest by Microsoft. Does this mean you'll have to actually get up (or pick up a phone) to bother your co-workers? Heaven forbid—the service will be replaced by an integrated chat program within Windows Live Hotmail.
- Today in 1953, the first Corvette came off the assembly line in Flint, Mich.
- And today in 1979, Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu was born. Only in America, folks. A far easier guest than Phoenix, Matisyahu performs "King Without a Crown" on Letterman, below.

Five things worth knowing today

- Tonight, HBO screens the Sundance selection Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech, a First Amendment doc by Oscar nominee Liz Garbus, with her father, constitutional law expert Martin Garbus.
- It's a day of big ideas all over, apparently: The Aspen Ideas Festival, which has been talking shop about thought for going on 60 years, begins in Colorado, with Madeleine Albright, Niall Ferguson, Susan Rice, and Toms' Blake Mycoskie among the speakers.
- What's missing from contemporary fiction these days? You guessed it—Sly Stone. Ben Greenman aims to fix that with his new, Stone-inspired novel, Please Step Back, which he'll read from at New York's Barnes & Noble tonight.
- Today in 1888, the first musical recording—of that seventeenth-century hit (well, sort of), Handel's Israel in Egypt—was made on a wax cylinder.
- And today in 2007, a device called the iPhone went on sale. The little guy's all grown up now—or a lot closer to it, with the 3GS announced earlier this month—so consider the device's first ad, below, aired during the Oscars, a stroll down memory lane. Here's baby's first word: "Hello."

Five things worth knowing today

- Jersey-rock heroes (yes, that's a category, just ask Springsteen) the Feelies hit New York's Whitney Museum for a rare acoustic set in conjunction with the museum's new Dan Graham show.
- And speaking of museums, MoMA opens its exhibition of the five finalists for its Young Architects program, which showcases proposals for temporary installation in the courtyard of the museum's Long Island City P.S. 1 space. (Spoiler: To see the winner, head to P.S. 1 itself come June 28.)
- And in Paris, the (capsule) trade show brings together fashion brands, buyers, and journalists in the City of Light.
- Back home, it's the tenth annual Take Your Dog to Work Day, apparently created for those whose pets got jealous of all the workplace acceptance that greeted their owners' daughters. One request: If you work in food service, please, don't.
- And today in 1970, love-him-or-hate-him filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson was born. Even if you fall into the latter camp, you've got to admit the guy's got balls—case in point, the famous frogs scene from Magnolia (below).

Five things worth knowing today

- Arrivederci, Milan, bonjour, Paris. The Spring 2010 menswear shows officially begin in the French capital today.
- Meanwhile, in a more uniquely American form of entertainment, Penn and Teller open the seventh (!) season of their Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit by debunking the myth of...the orgasm? Uh, if you say so, guys.
- And speaking of sevens, the Japan Society hosts its seventh annual Beer and Sake Festival in San Diego, an annual tradition we have a much easier time understanding.
- For what it's worth, it's also National Catfish Day. (No, that's not a with-sake serving suggestion.)
- And today in 1932, Pop artist Sir Peter Blake—the man responsible for some of rock's most iconic cover art, including Sgt. Pepper's—was born. Below, Sir Peter shows the Guardian around London on his art-bus-cum-gallery.

Five things worth knowing today

- The fashion, art, and culture supporters at Gen Art, who showcase emerging creatives, celebrate 15 years of your support (and ask for 15 more) at the I Heart Gen Art: 15th Anniversary Benefit in New York. We kid, but they're a good cause—designers they've supported include Hyden Yoo, Phillip Lim, and Zac Posen, who returns the favor as a benefit chair tonight.
- Farther south, the College of William & Mary hosts the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in Williamsburg. Given that the first New World performance of the Bard was in Williamsburg in 1753, we'd say they've got some history with the material.
- NBC premieres its new drama, The Philanthropist, about a billionaire playboy who sees the light and works to do good. That's fine, we guess, but more importantly? It co-stars Michael Kenneth Williams, a.k.a. Omar from The Wire! Not quite as good as his previous gig, but it's something.
- Today in 1441, Eton was founded.
- And today in 1945, Zombies frontman Colin Blunstone was born. Below, Blunstone and company croon their way through the sixties classic "She's Not There" for U.S. TV.

Five things worth knowing today

- There are feasts and festivals all over the Catholic world beginning tonight at midnight for the saint's day of John the Baptist tomorrow. But our favorite? The town-wide 12 o'clock water fight in Lanjarón, Spain, followed by several days of bingeing on ham. No, it doesn't make much sense. No, it doesn't need to.
- Providence, R.I.'s Deer Tick comes out with its second full-length release, Born on Flag Day, today. Hey, even Brian Williams likes these guys.
- And today in loathsome TV: Bravo's NYC Prep offers a glance into the "real" world of rich private school kids pretending they're on Gossip Girl. Get ready to hear a lot more about this show.
- But today in poetic justice, a reminder that some teenage antagonists get rich and not-so-rich alike. In 1926, the College Board administered the first SAT exam.
- And today in 1972, French soccer star Zinedine Zidane was born. Below, Zidane's head-butt heard 'round the world at the 2006 World Cup.

Five things worth knowing today

- Wimbledon begins at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club…sans Rafa, who's just dropped out due to a knee injury.
- Back in New York, Jeff Daniels takes to City Winery for a singer-songwriter gig. Weird enough to be good? Maybe—especially when you take into account that he's apparently got a ditty about William Shatner's songwriting prowess. And that it's at a winery. Sold.
- If you'd rather stay home to have your mind blown, the Science Channel's Exodus Earth heads for Mars tonight, where host Basil Singer learns to make oxygen from Mars rock.
- Today in 1981, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder of John Lennon.
- And today in 1987, film legend Fred Astaire died at 88. Below, the man puts on the Ritz—and makes a damn good argument for spats and tails.

Five things worth knowing today

-Harold Ramis' Year One hits theaters nationwide today. We can't say we're as excited for it as for Ghostbusters III, but we'll take it in the interim.
- In Wisconsin, America's largest Polish festival begins in Milwaukee. How many Poles does it take to make America's largest Polish festival? That's not a joke—we're actually just curious.
- In L.A., the Hollywood Bowl opens for the season with its annual June 19 concert and induction ceremony. As with any event involving both the words "Hollywood" and "music," John Williams will be on hand.
- It's also Juneteenth, celebrated by 31 states in the U.S. as the day slavery's abolition was announced.
- And today in 1930, actress Gena Rowlands was born. Rowlands was a great actress in her own right but never better than when starring in the films of her husband, John Cassavetes. Below, Rowlands and an impressively mustached Seymour Cassel in Cassavetes' '71 comedy Minnie and Moscowitz.