SaturdaySat, May 16th Edition Go Back

On this day in 2023

On this day in 2022

• DEATHS
• Maurice Lindsay, British sports administrator (chairman Preston North End FC, Wigan Warriors RLFC; CEO RFL 1992-99), who died at 81.
• POLITICS
• Sri Lanka runs out of petrol, has only enough for one more day, has no cash to pay 1.4 million civil servants, says its newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

On this day in 2021

• EVENTS
• Taiwan imposes tough restrictions against COVID-19 pandemic as a recent spike in cases threatens their up-to-now pandemic success.
• Death toll passes 200 from Gaza conflict as 42 people killed in Gaza in Israeli airstrikes and three building flattened.
• DEATHS
• Mc Kevin, World Music Singer.
• Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), who died at 79.

On this day in 2020

• EVENTS
• 118-year old American department store JC Penney files for bankruptcy.
• DEATHS
• Donn Trenner, American jazz pianist, arranger, and orchestra leader (Steve Allen's Westinghouse Show), who died at 93.
• Arthur Summons, Australian rugby union fly-half (10 Tests; Gordon RFC) and rugby league five-eighth (9 Tests; Western Suburbs RLFC), who died at 84.
• SPORTS
• Tony Yates, American college basketball point guard (National C'ship 1961,62; Cincinnati Bearcats) and head coach (Cincinnati 1983-89), who died at 82.

On this day in 2019

• EVENTS
• UK talk show "The Jeremy Kyle Show" axed by ITV after a guest dies.
• British people get drunk more than any other nation,51 times year according to the Global Drug survey, with English-speaking countries drinking the most.
• Brooks Koepka fires tournament record equalling, and course record 63 (-7) to lead the PGA Championship by 1 stroke after the 1st round at Bethpage Black, NY.
• " Rocketman" film based on life of singer Elton John starring Taron Egerton premieres at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Pink was at No.1 on the US album chart with Hurts 2B Human. The album which reached No.1 in eight countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland became Pink's third consecutive album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart..
• New DNA research showing bedbugs are older than humans - 115 million years old and outlived dinosaurs, published in "Current Biology".
• Last episode of TV sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" starring Jim Parson, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco after 12 seasons.
• BIRTHS
• Wren Eleanor, TikTok Star, born in United States.
• DEATHS
• I. M. Pei, Architect.
• Nikolai Baturin, Novelist.
• Ashley Massaro, Wrestler.
• GAMING: PC
• Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love for PC is released. Irony Curtain: From Matryoshka with Love is a satirical point and click inspired by the classic adventure games. It smuggles you out of your comfort zone and throws you into the middle of a Cold War spy intrigue - where there’s an even bigger game being played...
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Bubsy: Paws on Fire for PlayStation 4 is released. From the developers of the Bit.Trip series comes the latest and greatest in bobcat-based gaming. Oinker P. Hamm is determined to capture every animal in the universe for his “Amazootorium.” Bubsy, fearing mostly for himself, is just as determined to stop him. No matter who emerges victorious, there’s going to be a whole lot of yarn along the way.
• Castlevania Anniversary Collection for PlayStation 4 is released. Classics that defined the Castlevania series.This KONAMI Castlevania Collection is designed to be a collection around the origins of the historic franchise.Included is a unique eBook that has details provided by developers, artists and other inspired by the Castlevania legacy.Released as part of the KONAMI 50th Anniversary celebration, now the best time to relive these timeless classics that helped define the platformer genre. Game List:Castlevania (1987/US,1988/EU)Enter At Your Own Risk! If you think it's scary on the outside, wait till you see the basement.You're in for the longest night of your life. Ghosts, goblins, demons, wolves, bats creatures lurking around every corner. Better pick up a weapon or two, because when you finally meet the Count, you know he'll be going for the jugular. Castlevania Simon's Quest1988/US,1990/EU) NESThis title tells the tale of Simon's subsequent adventures following the events in Castlevania.Unlike the previous installment, this one was developed as an action RPG. It maintains the action elements of its predecessor but mainly focuses on exploration and puzzle solving within a far more expansive game world. Castlevania Dracula's Curse (1990/US,1992/EU) NESLed by the immortal Count Dracula, the greatest army of evil ever assembled is poised to bury mankind in a tomb of terror. Destroying His legions will be the supreme challenge for the mightiest warrior.100 years before Simon Belmont's birth, Dracula is young at heart and it will take more than a stake to penetrate his evil. Luckily, you command the role of Trevor - Simon's forefather and the original vampire slayer. Super Castlevania (1991/US,1992/EU) SNESA century of Transylvanian tranquility is about to come to a shocking end. Once again the mortifying screams of helpless villagers shake the ground as they shrink from new horrors unleashed by the Duke of Darkness, Count Dracula. And this time he has a tombstone with your name on it, Simon Belmont. Castlevania The Adventure (1989/US,1991/EU) GBThis is the first title in the series to be released on the Game Boy handheld game console.The variety of power-ups available for the whip added depth to the strategy of the gameplay. Castlevania Belmont's Revenge (1991/US,1992/EU) GBFifteen years after vanquishing the evil Count Dracula, Christopher Belmont now faces a vampire swearing vengeance. Drac's back. And he's turned your son, Soleil Belmont, into a deadly demon to do his dirty deeds. To rescue him from the Count's clutches, you must first track him down through four creep packed castles. Castlevania Bloodlines (1994) GENUnlike the medieval setting of the other titles, this installment takes place during World War I. It introduces new elements to the series, such as the ability to choose one of two characters when starting the game.Huge bosses with dynamic, multi-jointed limbs that move erratically are just one of the many examples of the cutting-edge effects the game had for the time. Kid Dracula (1990/Japan exclusive) NESWith its laugh-inducing content and world full of gags, this spinoff is unlike anything else in the series. Players take control of Dracula's son (or so he says...), Kid Dracula, as he goes on a hilarious adventure filled with laughs that also satisfies as a full-fledged action game.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• Darkwood for Switch is released. Darkwood is a game about survival, exploration and fear, set in mysterious woods somewhere in the territory of the Soviet Bloc. It is a top-down, free-roam, surreal horror experience with a randomized world, taking cues from classic games, where oftentimes you had to figure things out for yourself. By blending RPG, roguelike and adventure elements together with a challenging difficulty, Darkwood aims to please players craving for a deep and rewarding experience.The fear of unknown is powerful and the unknown will try to remain unseen, forcing you to watch your back. Your senses will be deceived, your sight fooled, your smell tricked by Darkwood's surreal terrors. No answer will be given to you for free, yet somewhere in the woods lies the truth, an explanation to what has happened in this godforsaken place.Looking for your weakness, your inner demons, only to devour you. Welcome to Darkwood.
• Project Nimbus: Complete Edition for Switch is released. Project Nimbus is a high-speed mech action game set on a devastated future Earth, where the player maneuvers a weaponized humanoid general-purpose Battle Frame. Engage enemy units with various weapons and defeat huge bosses and unique ace pilots. Fly the skies with 360 degrees of freedom, and battle enemies with a variety of weapons and techniques, from smart missiles to the blade charge.
• POLITICS
• New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announces he is running for president, the 24th Democrat to run.
• Bob Hawke, Australian politician and 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (Labor: 1983-91), who died at 89.
• US President Donald Trump declares a national emergency over IT threats, banning US companies from using foreign technology without a license.

On this day in 2018

• EVENTS
• Painting "Past Times" by Kerry James Marshall is bought by Sean Combs for $21.1 million, most paid for a living African American artist.
• DEATHS
• Michael Slive, American college sports executive (Commissioner SEC), who died of prostate cancer at 77.
• Joseph Campanella, American character actor (Guiding Light, Mannix), who died at 93.
• GAMING: PC
• MachiaVillain for PC is released. Machiavillain is an evil mansion management and strategy game, inspired by Dungeon Keeper, Prison Architect and all the horror movie clichés! Build your own manor, raise your monsters, set up your traps, and exterminate your victims. But to gain reputation you'll have to slay by the horror movie rules.

On this day in 2017

• EVENTS
• 10-year-old girl granted special 20 week abortion request in Rohtak, India in land-mark case.
• DEATHS
• Jerry Nemire, Race Car Driver.
• Megan Lowe, Cricket Player.
• Eskild Fors, YouTube Star.
• GAMING: 3DS
• Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop for 3DS is released. Making puddings and sweets is lots of fun in Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop!Making puddings and sweets is lots of fun in Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop! Players make and create a wide assortment of delicious looking sweets and puddings, then serve customers in the shop to keep them happy. Create 60 different recipes by taking part in over 160 different mini-games, using the Nintendo 3DS stylus and even the microphone to cool, slice, stir, bake and decorate their creations. And just like always, dont worry if you make a mistake - Mama will fix it for you!Sweets can be arranged and displayed in the sweet shop, then given to your customers to bring happiness to them all. The more sweets you create and complete, the more recipes you discover and the more your shop expands. Better yet, take on your friends in a competitive cook-off for up to four players, seeing who can make the tastiest treats of all!-Join Mama in the kitchen and help her create many different delicious sweets and puddings!-Create 60 different recipes in over 160 mini-games by using the Nintendo 3DS stylus and even the microphone.-Arrange and display your sweet creations in your very own sweet shop to keep your customers happy.-Expand your sweet shop and trigger special events by making as many recipes as you can!
• GAMING: PC
• Empathy: Path of Whispers for PC is released. Empathy: Path of Whispers is an atmospheric and surreal adventure game where you explore a seemingly abandoned world through the emotions and memories of the people who once inhabited it, trying to restore the world’s lost balance by journeying through its past.
• Bounty Train for PC is released. Simulation-tactics roguelike RPG about railroad in the US
• The Surge for PC is released. Set in a dystopian future as Earth approaches the end of its long life, those who remain in the overpopulated cities need to work to survive as social programs become saturated by an ageing population and increasing environmental diseases. As the intelligence of technology incrementally increased over the years, many jobs for the human race had been made redundant, forcing Earth's people to flee to the suburbs seeking labor, aided by exoskeletons to improve their efficiency. The world of The Surge offers a grim vision of the future, one in which the evolution of our technology, our society and our relationship with the environment led to a decadent state of the Human condition. The Surge features innovative combat mechanics and an original character progression system based on modular upgrades gained through tight, visceral combat.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• Seasons After Fall for PlayStation 4 is released. Seasons After Fall is a 2D platform-puzzler game that will let you dive into a captivating universe and explore a land governed by magic and nature. As a wild fox you are sent on a perilous journey aided only by your ability to change the seasons at will, manipulating a gorgeous 2D world backed by an enchanting live string quartet.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies Chronicles for PlayStation 4 is released. Call of Duty®: Black Ops III - Zombies Chronicles is available now on PS4™, delivering 8 remastered classic Zombies maps from Call of Duty®: World at War, Call of Duty®: Black Ops and Call of Duty®: Black Ops II. Complete maps from the original saga are fully remastered and HD playable, within Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.
• Akiba's Beat for PlayStation 4 is released. Asahi Tachibana is a simple, jobless nerd, living a lazy, cozy life in Tokyo’s infamous “otaku mecca:” Akihabara. To him, every day is Sunday — but now, thanks to a time loop, every day really is Sunday! What’s more, people’s delusions are manifesting in reality, and only Asahi and his newfound friends are even aware that anything is amiss. Can they set things right, or will Akiba be beat? [Playstation.com]
• Farpoint for PlayStation 4 is released. A PlayStation VR exclusive, Farpoint is an unnerving space adventure set on a hostile alien world. After crash landing you must fight to survive as you explore and uncover the planet’s secrets. Your only hope of escape is to constantly keep moving and discover the fate of your team. [Impulse Gear]
• Injustice 2 for PlayStation 4 is released. Every battle defines you. Power up and build the ultimate version of your favorite DC legends in INJUSTICE 2. With a massive selection of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains, INJUSTICE 2 allows you to equip every iconic character with unique and powerful gear earned throughout the game. Experience an unprecedented level of control over how your favorite characters look, how they fight, and how they develop across a huge variety of game modes. This is your super Hero. Your Journey. Your Injustice.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION VITA
• Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy for PlayStation Vita is released. Tokyo, Spring of 20XXThe special forces unit known as the Xth Squad has been through countless battles, putting their superhuman abilities to the test. Thanks to them, the bizarre incidents, which threw the world into chaos, have been long forgotten.It looked as though their battles were finally over. But one day, everything changed...An unidentified object, nearly 2,000 miles long, appeared without warning high in the sky. It was dubbed...the Embryo. Was this a gift from heaven, or a sign of the end times? The world once again fell into chaos, and the United Nations turned to the Code Physics Agency for help. The Xth had a single mission: Infiltrate the mysterious object. Victory seemed within their reach, when suddenly...
• Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds for PlayStation Vita is released. The remastered telling of the visual novel Hakuoki focuses on the story set in Kyoto. The young Chizuru, determined to find her father, will romance the famous samurai of Shinsengumi through a series of engaging stories in this historical fantasy adventure.

On this day in 2016

• DEATHS
• Romaldo Giurgola, Architect.
• Julia Meade [Kunz], American actress and TV hostess (Spotlight Playhouse), who died at 90.

On this day in 2015

• EVENTS
• 140th Preakness: Victor Espinoza aboard American Pharoah wins in 1:58.46.
• WEDDINGS
• Glee singer/actress Heather Morris at the age of 28 weds high school sweetheart Taylor Hubbell at Old Canyon Ranch in Topanga, California.
• DEATHS
• Dean Potter, American free climber and BASE jumper, who died in a BASE jumping accident at Yosemite National Park, aged 43.
• Prashant Bhargava, American filmmaker (Patang), who died of cardiac arrest at 42.
• TV SERIES
• Bessie: Season 1 is released. The Dee Rees film dramatizes the rise to fame for blues singer Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah).

On this day in 2014

• EVENTS
• Paris Saint-Germain F.C. & Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations.
• WEDDINGS
• Supermodel and socialite Poppy Delevingne at the age of 28 weds James Cook in London.
• DEATHS
• Louise Wilson, Fashion Designer.
• MOVIES: MAY 16 2014
• A Night in Old Mexico is released. Forced to give up his land and home, Texas rancher Red Bovie (Robert Duvall) isn't about to retire quietly in a trailer park. Instead he jumps in his Cadillac and hits the road with his estranged grandson for one last wild adventure filled with guns, women and booze. It's just another night in Old Mexico.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Chinese Puzzle is released. A 40-year-old father of two, still finds life very complicated. When the mother of his children moves to New York, he can't bear them growing up far away from him and so he decides to move there as well.
• Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case is released. After 81 days of solitary detention, world famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is put under house arrest. He suffers from sleeping disorder and memory loss,18 cameras are monitoring his studio and home, police agents follow his every move, and heavy restrictions from the Kafkaesque Chinese authorities weigh him down. Journalists, the art world and his family all want a piece of him and on top of that he is met with a gigantic lawsuit from the Chinese government, soon to be named The Fake Case. Ai Weiwei is shaken, but during the year on probation he steadily finds new ways to provoke and challenge the mighty powers of the Chinese authorities in his fight for human rights. Ai Weiwei strongly believes that China is ready for change. And he will do everything to make it happen.
• Don Peyote is released. A midlife crisis over his upcoming wedding sends 32-year-old unemployed stoner Warren Allman on the drug trip of a lifetime. Fueled by vivid apocalyptic dreams, Warren becomes obsessed with Doomsday theories and decides to make a documentary on the subject while his fiancé is busy planning their wedding. [Xlrator Media]
• The Discoverers is released. Washed-up history professor Lewis Birch (Griffin Dunne) takes his begrudging teenage kids – Zoe (Madeleine Martin) and Jack (Devon Graye) – on a road trip to a conference in hopes of putting his career back on track. But, when Lewis’s estranged father Stanley (Stuart Margolin) goes AWOL on a Lewis and Clark historical reenactment trek, Lewis is forced to make a family detour. The Birch family find themselves on a journey of discovery and connection as they make their own passage west.
• Wolf Creek 2 is released. Once more the outback becomes a place of horror as another unwitting tourist becomes the prey for crazed, serial-killer Mick Taylor (John Jarratt).
• MOVIES: PG
• Million Dollar Arm is released. In a last ditch effort to save his career as a sports agent, JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) concocts a scheme to find baseball's next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called "Million Dollar Arm."With the help of a cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout (Alan Arkin) he discovers Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma), two 18 year old boys who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB brings the boys home to America to train. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India - the boys, who have never left their rural villages - are equally challenged when they come to the States. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball, JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell), learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family. [Walt Disney Pictures]
• MOVIES: PG13
• Godzilla is released. The world’s most revered monster is reborn in a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring Godzilla rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenseless. [Warner Bros. Pictures]
• MOVIES: R
• Half of a Yellow Sun is released. Olanna (Thandiwe Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) are glamorous twins from a wealthy Nigerian family. Returning to a privileged city life in newly independent 1960s Nigeria after their expensive English education, the two women make very different choices. Olanna shocks her family by going to live with her lover, the revolutionary professor Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his devoted houseboy Ugwu (John Boyega) in the dusty university town of Nsukka. Kainene turns out to be a fiercely successful businesswoman when she takes over the family interests, and surprises herself when she falls in love with Richard (Joseph Mawle), an English writer. Preoccupied by their romantic entanglements, and a betrayal between the sisters, the events of their life loom larger than politics. However, they become caught up in the events of the Nigerian civil war, in which the lgbo people fought an impassioned struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic, ending in chilling violence which shocked the entire country and the world.
• A Short History of Decay is released. A dark comedy about stepping up when your parents are going downhill; a love letter to anyone who's ever been a caregiver for someone who raised them.
• The Immigrant is released. 1921. In search of a new start and the American dream, Ewa Cybulski (Marion Cotillard) and her sister Magda (Angela Sarafyan) sail to New York from their native Poland. When they reach Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda is ill, and the two women are separated. Ewa is released onto the mean streets of Manhattan while her sister is quarantined. Alone, with nowhere to turn and desperate to reunite with Magda, she quickly falls prey to Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix), a charming but wicked man who takes her in and forces her into prostitution. And then one day, Ewa encounters Bruno's cousin, the debonair magician Orlando (Jeremy Renner). He sweeps Ewa off her feet and quickly becomes her only chance to escape the nightmare in which she finds herself. [The Wild Bunch]
• GAMING: PC
• King's Bounty: Dark Side for PC is released. Time has come to join the dark side. Take a trip to the other side of Teana, to the part of the world that has yet remained unseen to the royal bounty hunters.

On this day in 2013

• EVENTS
• It was reported that George Michael had been injured after the car in which he was travelling in crashed on the M1 during the evening rush-hour. Ambulance crews confirmed that the singer had to be airlifted from the scene, near the junction with the M25. Three days later Katherine Fox told The Sun newspaper that she was driving behind a silver Range Rover when the singer tumbled from out the passenger door on to the third lane of the northbound carriageway. She said Michael had "a nasty cut on his forehead and the back of his head. There was blood all down his face and on his teeth. He was breathing and conscious but in shock.".
• Pope Francis calls for ethical financial reform to fight speculation.
• Bill Gates regains his position as the world's richest man with $72.7 billion after losing the position in 2008.
• Human stem cells are successfully cloned.
• DEATHS
• Heinrich Rohrer, Physicist.
• Dick Trickle, American race car driver, commits suicide by gunshot at 71.
• Bernard Waber, American children's book author, who died from kidney failure at 88.
• Paul Shane, English comedian and actor, who died at 72.
• GAMING: 3DS
• The Starship Damrey for 3DS is released. THE STARSHIP DAMREY is an adventure/horror/suspense game designed by Kazuya Asano (Kamaitachi no Yoru (The Night of the Sickle Weasel), TORNEKO: The Last Hope) and written by Takemaru Abiko (Kamaitachi no Yoru (The Night of the Sickle Weasel), TRICK X LOGIC), known as pioneers of text-based adventure games in Japan. In the game, players awaken to discover that they are trapped in a Cold Sleep capsule aboard the titular Starship Damrey, with no memory of who they are or how they got there. With no tutorials, explanations, or hints provided, the game was created with the intent that self-discovery and experimentation be an integral part of the experience. An inconceivable truth awaits those willing to discover it.
• GAMING: PC
• Reus for PC is released. Reus is a god game by Abbey Games in which you take control of nature through the hands of mighty giants. You possess all imaginable powers over nature! There is only one thing on the planet that you do not control: mankind, with all their virtues and and all their vices. You can shape their world, but not their will. It’s your responsibility to maintain a balance in which man is not overpowered by nature, and nature does not fall to man’s greed.