Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Being a history buff has been a lifelong pleasure for me. I’ve always believed that individuals and governments have much to learn from their past mistakes and by studying those mistakes can improve their future circumstances. With that in mind I thought I’d step back in time to review and pass on to all of you a few interesting factoids on notable occurrences for March 1.
Some of you may find these items interesting and others not so much. My better-half will more often than not just roll her eyes and then turn up the volume of the music she’s listening to when I start spouting historical facts. I guess I can’t please everyone all of the time but I’ll keep trying. Here we go.
This Day In History – March 1st
1954 U.S.A. – US tests hydrogen bomb in the Pacific archipelago of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands.
1961 U.S.A. – President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps as a new agency within the Department of State.
1932 U.S.A. – The Lindbergh baby is kidnapped when stolen from his crib at the family estate in Hopewell, New Jersey,
1936 U.S.A. – The Hoover Dam ( Boulder Dam ) is completed and turned over to the U.S. government. It supplies hydroelectricity, irrigation and fresh water to homes in California and Nevada.
1941 U.S.A. – Nashville, Tennessee becomes the home of the very first FM radio station in the country. While the FM band had less static and more range, it didn’t become popular until the early 1960s.
1954 U.S.A. – Five U.S. congressmen were shot and injured during a House session today when Puerto Rican spectators who yelled "Free Puerto Rico" fired shots into the United States Capitol building.
1962 U.S.A. – On this day, 95 people were killed in a plane crash that occurred along the South shore of Long Island, New York. The irony of it all is that this plane crash happened after the end of a long stretch of bad weather (rain and fog) that had continued for about a week-on a clear day.
1966 Soviet Union – An unmanned Soviet probe called Venera 3 crashes on Venus in the pursuit of the conquest of space.
1971 U.S.A. – The radical left organization Weather Underground bombs the United States Capitol on March 1, 1971. A bomb was placed in the senate wing causing $300,000 damage and no injuries.
1972 Syria - This was one of the significant days of the attack by Israel against the Arabs. The Israeli army launched attacks against Arab Guerrilla camps that operated in southern Syria at this time. Fighting back and forth continued on at different times after this until the present day.
1973 Sudan – The Palestinian terrorist group Black September storm the Saudi Arabian embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, taking diplomats hostage. ( This was the same terrorist organization that murdered nine Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics).
1978 Switzerland - The coffin of Charlie Chaplin was stolen from a small, unguarded village cemetery in Switzerland .
1997 U.S.A. – Massive flooding occurred throughout the state of Kentucky with thousands left homeless and more than 50 people dead.
2002 U.S.A – The possibility of water still existing on Mars was made known. According to NASA, a spacecraft called Odyssey had detected it on this planet.
2005 U.S.A. – Dennis Rader, accused of leading a double life as the BTK ( Bind, Torture and Kill, ) serial killer, was charged in Wichita, Kan., with 10 counts of first-degree murder between 1974 and 1991.. (Rader later pleaded guilty and received multiple life sentences.)
2007 U.S.A. – A series of 55 Tornadoes strike the southern United States that began in Kansas on February 28th, 2007 and included Alabama and Georgia, the tornadoes leave 20 dead with the worst effected area being Enterprise, Alabama where a section of the Enterprise High School was destroyed during the middle of the school day killing 8 and injuring many more.
2008 Afghanistan - Prince Harry who was sent secretly to Afghanistan with his regiment in December at his request is forced to return to Britain following the American website, The Drudge Report, making his deployment public.
2008 United States – People have been watching the naming of the warship that was built from parts of the steel salvaged from the World Trade Center. The families of the 9/11 victims were among the thousands of spectators at the naming of the U.S.S. New York, in Avondale, Louisiana. The bow contains 7.5 tons of steel taken from Ground Zero. It bears a shield with two bars to symbolize the towers, and a banner with the slogan “Never Forget”. The New York is an amphibious landing ship with a crew of 360, and complement of 700 marines.
‘Never Forget’
2012 United States – Thursday, 1st March, 2012 : The suspected gunman, TJ Lane, in a deadly school shooting will face charges as a juvenile in the US state of Ohio. Lane was suspected of killing three students and wounding two at Chardon High School.
There’s your history lesson for today. Whoever said that March was a slow winter month was badly mistaken. Just ask Julius Caesar.
What are two things that most people think about every day. My best guess would be death and sex. With that thought in mind I decided to supply you all with a list of global statistics about many things but mainly death. Many of these numbers are current up to and including today. Some of the information is shocking and some is simply unbelievable.
Global Death Rate
Statisticians have calculated the "mortality rate" for the world to be roughly .883 percent. This means that 1 out of every 113 people in the world died last year.
World Population:
- has reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011
- is projected to reach 8 billion by 2024
- has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion)
- is currently growing at a rate of around 1.13 % per year
- growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2%
- growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years
- average annual population change is currently estimated at over 80 million
- world population will reach 10 billion persons in the year 2056
As of Today
"This year" = from January 1 (00:00) up to now
"Today" = from the beginning of the current day up to now
"net population growth" = births minus deaths
145,641 Births today
60,991 Deaths today
22,888,972 Births this year
9,585,278 Deaths this year
84,650 Net population growth today
13,303,694 Net population growth this year
Technology
37,472,003 Computers produced this year
2,092,893 Cellular phones sold today
$ 74,559,389 Money spent on videogames today
3,316,866,142 Internet users in the world today
82,805,119,987 Emails sent today
229,774,292 Tweets sent today
1,711,619,570 Google searches this year
Health
1,621,694,128 Overweight people in the world people in the world
1,731,966,562 Water consumed this year (million L)
134,660 Deaths caused by water related diseases this year
661,570,850 People with no access to a safe drinking water source
Natural Resources
Quick Facts: Barrel = 42 Gallons = 159 Liters
31,340,762 Oil pumped today (barrels)
1,158,647,387,197 Oil left (barrels)
13,793 Days to the end of oil (~38 years)
Miscellaneous Deaths
1,215,470 Deaths of children under 5 this year
54,974 Deaths of mothers during birth this year
268,816 Deaths caused by HIV/AIDS this year
1,313,313 Deaths caused by cancer this year
156,851 Deaths caused by malaria this year
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
5,659,200,051 Cigarettes smoked this year
799,386 Deaths caused by smoking this year
399,945 Deaths caused by alcohol this year
171,477 Suicides this year
215,859 Road traffic accident fatalities this year
$ 63,971,038,394 Money spent on illegal drugs this year
How’s that for a quick and dirty summary of the human race. Chaos, death, destruction, confusion, and life goes just keeps rolling along.
IT’S MUCH MORE FUN TALKING ABOUT SEX
I decided to step away from a journal entry today and offer up some unusual tidbits of presidential trivia. Since the political winds are once again beginning to blow I thought it might interest some of you. This information has been chosen at random and I’m not picking on any one party. To be sure, there’s enough useless information coming out of both parties to make everyone happy. Here we go. . .
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Edith Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, often rode a bicycle in the corridors of the White House.
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Richard M. Nixon once worked as a carnival barker.
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Thomas Jefferson had a pet mockingbird that followed him upstairs to bed every night.
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First Lady Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, used to hang laundry in the White House East Room to dry.
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David Rice Atchison, a state senator from Missouri (1843-1855), was President of the United States for one day.
Who knew we had a president for just one day? I can think of quite a few others I would have loved to have for only one day.
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Calvin Coolidge, President from 1923 to 929, was the last President to write his own speeches.
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President Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
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Ronald Reagan received over seventy-five thousand gifts, including three hundred seventy-two belt buckles, a dog house, a six foot long pencil, and a four-square-foot portrait made out of ten thousand jelly beans.
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When Zachary Taylor became President in 1849, he kept his horse “Old Whitey” on the front lawn of the White House.
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Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested near the White House and fined twenty dollars for driving a team of horses too fast.
I don’t doubt for a minute that Grant was probably under the influence of some unknown alcoholic beverage. That’s the same guy who once upon a time allegedly threw up on one of his officers .
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The middle initial “S” in President Harry S. Truman’s name didn’t stand for anything.
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John Tyler (1790-1862), 10th president, was unable to get a decent job after leaving office and worked at a village pound tending cows and horses.
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Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), once delivered a one-hour speech in spite of being shot moments before by a would-be assassin.
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President George H.W. Bush banned broccoli from the White House in March 1990, the California broccoli growers delivered nine tons of the vegetable to Washington.
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President Millard Fillmore, in 1851, became the first chief executive to use a bathtub in the White House.
Here’s a special bonus entry for JFK. He was known for a lot of questionable shenanigans but I’ll be nice and take the high road today. He was also the first President born in the twentieth century.
That should do it for today. More to come. . .
It’s 630am and I just finished watching Julius Caesar be murdered for the umpteenth time. What a bizarre way to start my day. I’m badly addicted to the late great HBO series, Rome, and watching it has slowly become my morning ritual. My fixation with all things Roman began in my junior year of high school with the reading of Julius Caesar and my three years of Latin language classes also helped. Later in college I became quite fond of wearing togas giving me a whole new appreciation for Roman ingenuity when it came to easy-removed clothing.
Over the years I’ve read almost everything I could find about that time period trying in vain to understand how such an advanced society could become so bloodthirsty and uncaring about human life. The history of the time gave me a great deal of respect for Spartacus and his minions who rose up and attempted to free themselves from slavery even though they were all killed in the process. I remain puzzled by the entire era which forces me to keep reading about it.
I’ve heard so many people over the years comparing the situation in this country to Rome’s decline and in some ways agreed with them. The only accurate comparison for me concerned the continuing lack of morality in Rome that seemed to increase year by year with their affluence. The United States seems to me to be in a similar rut but comparing the two in their entirety is like comparing apples with oranges.
I’ve been reading for the last few months a book written in the mid-1700’s by Edward Gibbons, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It’s a difficult read on a good day as are all books written by so-called intellectuals. There are as many footnotes as actual text in the book and I wanted to scream out loud before I made it through the first 100 pages. It became somewhat easier when I decided to completely disregard all of the footnotes and just read the actual text. I’ll probably finish reading this cumbersome tome in a few months but it won’t be easy. Unfortunately there’s just enough valuable information in it to keep me reading to the end.
I just finished my second cup of hot black coffee and I can feel my energy level beginning to rise. I’ll be spending some time today putting the finishing touches to a print I’ve been working on. It’s an abstraction of a family photo
taken last Christmas in front of the tree. It’s more of an experiment in the use of vivid colors while working with materials that are somewhat new to me. It’s preparing me for a more detailed and difficult project that I’ll be starting in the next few weeks using these same materials. As always practice and preparation make for a satisfactory completion of any project.
I’ll watch a few more minutes of Rome then get up to face my day. I should be safe since the Ides of March are still a few weeks away.
February it seems is a rather boring and utterly useless month. It’s two biggest holidays are Groundhog Day and Valentines Day which says a lot about relevance to me.
It’s such a slow short month that all of our overpaid politicians are forced into action to show the electorate they’ll actually are doing something, even if it’s in February. I can’t list all of the observance that have been piled up into the shortest month of the year because there are just too damn many. The following partial list contains a few weekly observances for this week that will help make my point.
Celebration of Love Week: 7-13th
Children of Alcoholics Week: 7-13th
Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: 7-14th
Dump Your Significant Jerk Week: 7-13th
Have A Heart for A Chained Dog Week: 7-14th
Jell-O Week: 7-13th
National Secondhand Wardrobe Week: 7-13th
Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14th
I can just see and hear a group of politicos sitting in a local tavern on any given Friday night telling war stories to each other concerning all of their weeks accomplishments. "I finally got that ‘Dump Your Jerk Week’ observance passed. It’s been a year of hard work getting it pushed through and I was forced to call in all of my IOU’s to do it. It was exhausting work but someone had to finally get it done." His buddy sitting nearby had to do a little one-upmanship, "I had a tough week too. That observance of ‘Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week’ was a killer. I spent six months arm twisting damn near everyone to get it passed. The United States is now a better place for it."
I found only two daily observance for February 10th and they are just as stupid. I had to look up the word PLIMSOLL to discover it’s some sort of an athletic shoe. Who knew?
Plimsoll Day
All The News That’s Fit To Print Day
So a great big THANK YOU goes out to those geniuses responsible for cluttering up our lives with more useless crap. We shouldn’t be allowed to vote until we’ve been made to review all of these stupid observances to find out what politicians are responsible for them.
AND THANKS TO NH FOR KICKING HILLARY’S ASS.
Most of us are considered members of TV generations. We were all raised in front of a TV, ate supper while watching TV, and knew nothing about current events that wasn’t told to us by all of the famous talking heads like Walter Cronkite.
Since I love all things trivia and also old TV shows I thought for a change of pace I’d give you all an opportunity to flex your trivia muscles. I’ll give you ten questions and then in my next posting on Ground Hog Day I’ll supply the answers. Most of these questions are tough and they’ll certainly test your trivia knowledge. Here we go:
Questions
1. What was the address of Big Bird’s nest on TV’s Sesame Street?
2. How many fingers does Mickey Mouse have on each hand?
3. What was the name of the church to which comedian Flip Wilson’s character Reverend Leroy belonged?
4. What role did Art Carney play in the Jackie Gleason’s first Honeymooner’s sketch?
5. What famous Hollywood star turned down the part of Marshall Mat Dillon on TV’s Gunsmoke before James Arness was offered the part?
6. On what TV show did comic Robin Williams first appear as the alien Mork?
7. How did the TV sitcom Sanford and Son get it’s name?
8. What was the name of the USS Enterprise in the original draft for the Star Trek series?
9. On TV’s sitcom Petticoat Junction, what were the names of the three Bradley girls and their uncle?
10. What was the name of the attorney on the Flintstones who never lost a case?
BONUS QUESTUION - At what age did Lucille Ball become a redhead?
For all of the answers check my posting for 2-2-2016. If anyone gets more than five answers correct, they are true trivia champs.
Can this non-sports fanatic make the grand announcement today? The New England Patriots rolled down the old NFL drain last night against a team from somewhere in Colorado. Not that I really care all that much but it really succeeded in turning my better-half into an insane basket case. We have a agreement on nights when these games are scheduled. She moves to the upstairs family room to yell, scream, and cheer on whatever teams she thinks she supports. I remain downstairs watching whatever I please on Netflix well out of reach of the denigrating influences of professional sports.
‘Ugly Sports Fans?’
I’m not entirely sure where along the way I lost all interest in almost every kind of sporting event. I played many different sports as I grew up and was pretty damn successful in all of them. I had a lot of natural ability and I knew if I became good enough I might just get laid occasionally. Why women and girls are drawn to sports figures is beyond me but it’s a fact of life.
‘Oversized Sports Fan?’
The only sporting events that even remotely interest me these days is the Little League World Series and it’s accompanying playoffs. It’s much more honest and upstanding than what professional sports has turned into. Money is power and absolute power corrupts absolutely . . . so welcome to professional sports. Don’t forget the performance enhancers, steroids, the lying, the dishonesty, and the too many to count criminal indictments.
‘Oversexed Sports Fan?’
I even lost interest in the Olympics decades ago. Patriotism be damned. The political overtones became a constant turn off and I now make a point of religiously avoiding any and all events on any network related to the Olympics. The point of the Olympics originally was to promote a non-violent means for countries to compete and to develops a better understanding of each other. Just think about it for a minute and you’ll realize just how much of a failure that has been. Take a look back to Munich and ask the Israelis what they think about it.
‘Rainbow Coalition Sports Fans?’
Over the last few years I’ve even been forced to give up my small addiction to talk radio. The airways are now dominated by the two things which make my blood curdle, sports and politics. Listening to sports experts 24/7 is akin to having your teeth drilled near the nerve with no Novocain. Even worse than sports are the endless shows of talking heads who claim some sort of expertise and understanding about all things politic. Of course their political views directly coincide with their networks agenda and the possibilities of career advancement if they agree to prostitute themselves and tow the company line.
Welcome to life in the good old U. S. of A. here in 2016.
I’m just lying in bed this morning having my coffee and catching up on the state of our civilization here in the United States. Don’t let that intimidate you, that just means I’m perusing the Drudge Report. I’m not a drudgeaholic but as news goes it’s better than some and worse than others. Unfortunately Drudge like all of the other news outlets seems to have his own agenda at times which puts me off a little when it doesn’t agree with me.
The first thing I noticed was all of the panic and horror being brought on by this world ending 30 inches of snow expected soon in the mid-Atlantic states. Oh yeah, they’ll be severe flooding as well but I’m certain that Obama and FEMA will have things totally under control.
Obama will soon begin his campaign of directing the rest of the country into having community prayer meetings begging whatever God they believe in to save Washington DC from total destruction. Then the media will begin it’s never ending assault on our consciences with heart rendering pictures of overturned cars, children in snow up to their waist, and a recount of all the homeless people forced to stay in shelters. Then the special interest groups will step in and have their web sites ready to go to accept any and all donations to save these poor innocent victims of this horrific "Storm of the Century. If you aren’t reading sarcasm in this, wake up.
As I continued my review of Drudge I came upon an item which pretty much tells the whole story about where things have gotten to culturally in this country. It was a blurb out of the Sundance Film Festival about a much acclaimed movie, The Swiss Army Man. It’s a story based entirely on one man’s relationship with a farting and rotting corpse. It apparently caused many people to just get up and leave the theatre but also as disturbingly many did not. The star, Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame should be ashamed of himself. There’s a fine line between avant-garde and just plain disgusting. He apparently hasn’t figured out just where that line is.
Reading that story was enough for me. It motivated me to get the hell out of bed, get dressed, and get on my way to do just about anything else. That certainly doesn’t include reading more about celebrities and pop culture idiots doing their best to show the rest of the word just how far we’ve come. It’s apparent that we in this country have forgotten our history lessons about the all powerful Roman Empire that crumbled and disappeared when their limits of decency and morality were ignored.
I don’t think we’re quite there yet but it seems we’re getting closer and closer each year to their level of idiocy.
HAVE A HAPPY STORM WEEK
I spent some time yesterday rereading some of my recent postings and I was a little disappointed. Anytime I find myself writing about boredom and depression the warning flags go up.
As a result of those feeling I sat down yesterday and wrote a rather long and harsh assessment of American politics and American politicians. After reading it for the third time I deleted the entire thing and went back to the drawing board. My problem with politics is that even though I try to remain calm these stupid politicians continually do everything they can to take money out of my pocket and also to erode as many of my basic civil rights as possible. Not one party is guilty, they all are. Sometimes I must rant or I’ll just explode and make a mess.
If I’m going to be bored and blue I might as well attempt to ridicule a portion of the population I dislike . . . celebrities and so-called famous people. They try so hard to be the cultural or pop icons for the masses but almost always do or say something utterly stupid or inane. I thought I’d give you an interesting review of some no-so-well spoken fools.
“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” –Irving Fisher, Economics Professor at Yale, in 1929, just before the Wall Street Crash.
“His ears are too big. He looks like an ape.” – American film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, refusing to sign Cary Grant to Warner Brothers.
“Who in the hell wants to hear actors talk?” – Harry Warner of Warner Brothers in 1927.
“We don’t like their sound. Groups with guitars are on their way out.” – Dick Rowe, A&R man at Decca, turning down the Beatles in 1962.
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
This is a perfect example of people who are know-it-all’s that don’t know it all. Let’s move onto a new subject, last utterances before death. There are too many to list but this one just made my day.
Meher Baba, Indian guru who spoke his last words in 1925, 44 years before his death. The last thing he said before taking a vow of silence was:
“Don’t worry, be happy.”
A guru with a bizarre sense of humor or just a dumb ass with nothing more to say. We will never know.
Let’s move on to famous people who became famous for committing the ultimate crime . . . murder. You always hear that they get a last meal request just prior to the end. Let’s see what they ask for:
Gary Gilmore executed by firing squad in Utah 1/17/77 – A last meal of hamburger, eggs, and potatoes. His last words were “Let’s do it.”
Timothy McVeigh, the “Oklahoma Bomber”, executed on 6/11/2001 – His last meal consisted of two pints of mint chocolate ice cream.
Larry White was executed on 5/22/97 for the murder of a 72 year old woman. – His last meal was liver and fried onions, tomatoes, cottage cheese, and a glass of water. The state refused his request for a last cigarette on health grounds (How moronic is the state?).
John William Rook was executed by lethal injection on 9/19/86 for the rape and murder of a nurse. – His last meal was a dozen hotdogs with mustard and a can of cola.
‘Ted Bundy’
Here’s one last quote from a former famous guitar player Terry Kath of the group Chicago. On 1/23/78 he was putting away some guns at a roadie’s house after a party. He stated emphatically, “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded.”, put the barrel to his head, pulled the trigger, and died instantly.
BEING FAMOUS DEFINITELY DOESN’T MAKE YOU SMARTER
Thank God the Christmas season is finally behind us for another year. As much as I enjoy it while it lasts, when it’s over it’s over. Let’s’ move right along to the next all consuming holiday, New Years. It’s during this in-between time every year that I usually do a final review of my New Year’s resolutions and introduce my list for 2016. With that in mind here is a quick recap of 2015.
2015
1. I vow to exercise for forty-one minutes every other day for the entire year. COMPLETED – I’m now up to 46 minutes.
2. I vow to call President Obama nasty names only during months with an "R" in them. COMPLETED, This one was easy.
3. I further vow to never say anything good about President Obama in months without an "R". COMPLETED: This one was even easier.
CAUSTIC COMMENT – Goodbye OBAMA, your fifteen minutes is almost over.
4. I vow to never blurt out any F-Bombs in front of the grandson now that he’s started repeating damn near everything. COMPLETED
5. I vow to say many more F-Bombs around those people (except the grandsons) who irritate, annoy or piss me off. COMPLETED, and still going strong.
6. I vow to stop flirting with just anyone. There are times when I feel like such a slut and that’s not good for my self esteem. INCOMPLETE, It’s really difficult to break this semi-bad habit but my hearts not really into trying.
7. For the third year in a row I vow not to prance naked anywhere near the front picture window. It creeps out the neighbors and one or two of our regular joggers. COMPLETE, Due entirely to my better-half’s purchase of a new window treatment.
8. I also vow not to screw with my cat as much this year due to his advanced age and sharp claws. INCOMPLETE, I have a few new scars but he really deserves being messed with whenever possible.
9. I vow to take at least 500 really good photographs a month. INCOMPLETE, I’m just not getting it done.
10. Read 2 books a week for a year. COMPLETE, 104 AS OF 12/29/2015.
Now for my resolutions for 2016. I’ve been giving these a lot of thought because I feel the need to shake things up a little. Here goes.
2016
1. With the help of my better-half, complete the family recipe book. We’ve procrastinated long enough.
2. Complete my blog book for 2015.
3. Between August 8th and New Years, complete at least one more tandem skydive.
4. Buy a dog.
5. Keep my foul language to an absolute minimum around the grand kids. I know at some point they’ll both learn all those nasty words but let it be from someone other than me.
6. Set aside at least two days a month for some quality time with my camera along the Maine coast or in the woods.
7. Try as hard as I can to give a damn about politics. You should know this resolution has absolutely no chance of ever being accomplished.
8. Try to be a little more confrontational and assertive with ignorant people who insist on annoying me. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
9. Stop eating potato chips.
10. Set time aside to get back into sketching and painting. I’ve gotten away from it for a few years and it’s time to return.
There you have it. I completed seventy percent of my resolutions for 2015 and I’m really proud of myself but I’m also reasonably sure the list for this year will be a lot more difficult.
I can only keep on keeping on.
