Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Today is the 30th annual National Ice Cream Day.

In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan issued one of the most important proclamations of his presidency: He declared the month of July National Ice Cream Month. He further designated that all Americans should celebrate ice cream with "appropriate ceremonies and activities" on National Ice Cream Day, which he designated as July 15.

Since then, America has observed National Ice Cream day on the third Sunday of every July. I've drafted Yvonne Craig and a couple of friends to remind everyone to do their patriotic duty and enjoy some tasty frozen treats on this most momentous day.

Picture Perfect Wednesday:NananananananaBATMAN!

Yesterday, it was 45 years ago that the "Batman" TV show debuted on ABC, with Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin. Yvonne Craig later joined the heroic line-up as Batgirl. Legendary iconic television performances as recurring villains were provided by Cesar Romero (as The Joker), Frank Gorshin (as The Riddler), Burgess Meredith (as The Penguin) and Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt (as Catwoman, at various points).

The new Batgirl (secretly Commissioner Gordon's daugther, Barbara) was created by DC Comics editor Julie Schwartz and artist Carmine Infantino at the request of the show's producer, William Dozier, for its third season. Dozier envisioned Batgirl in her own spin-off series, a plan that never came to be.

The failure of the spin-off series to materialize doesn't change the fact that version of Batgirl remains the coolest version. Within the next month or so, I'll be reviewing the book reprinting her comic book adventures from the 1960s and 1970s, but in the meantime, here are some recent portrayals of her.

For more pictures from the classic Batman television show, check out this post at Cinema Steve.