Get behind me, Satan

Is today's date making you nervous? For some, getting out of bed on 6/6/06 is like walking under a ladder while carrying a black cat and a broken mirror. If you're one of those superstitious Richmonders, take heart: We're known as a city that shuns the devil.

Remember 10 years ago when the city canceled the Marilyn Manson concert, citing the band's satanic underpinnings? Of course the civil liberties folks stepped in and protested, and the show went on as planned (with twice the ticket sales), but our point was made: Richmond is not Lucifer's playground.

As a helpful local newscaster noted this morning, today is not only the devil's day (and opening date of "The Omen" remake -- by the way, does Liev Schreiber strike anyone else as too young to be an ambassador?), it's also the 62nd anniversary of D-Day. And the date has other significant meanings, according to Wikipedia: It's the 73rd anniversary of the opening of the country's first drive-in theater, David Bowie released his Ziggy Stardust album today in 1972, and it's the birthday of Robert Englund, aka Freddy Krueger. So those are some positive things to think about today.

As for me, I'm going to have some deviled eggs for lunch.