Almost every day, I check to see what happened on that particular day in history. If I find something that's relevant to me, or something that I'm interested in, I try to write about it. Last week, I was looking at upcoming events in history, and I noted that on June 24, 1664, the colony of New Jersey was founded. That is relevant to me, because New Jersey is where my dad grew up.
The whole family went to New Jersey when we were little, but the only thing I remember is that at the hotel we stayed at, you could get a Belgian waffle with ice cream on top at the breakfast buffet. So I decided to call up my resident expert on New Jersey to learn some interesting factoids about this state. Below, I share my findings:
Molly: First off, the issue on everyone’s mind. How are Tiki and Ronde doing?
Dad: They are fine. They're starting to get a little closer, but there's still some hissing.
Molly: Okay, before we start, I want to make sure you’re really from New Jersey. So tell us what the state insect is.
Dad: Hmmm. Praying mantis?
Molly: I'm sorry, it's the European honey bee.
Dad: Oh.
Molly: Tell us some interesting facts about New Jersey.
Dad: Well, in 1976, the year of the bicentennial, New Jersey was the third largest state, but the most densely populated. Only 37 percent of the state was actually inhabited.
Molly: Why was 63 percent of it uninhabited?
Dad: There are a lot of pine forests, and the meadowlands, a lot of which they've gotten rid of now. Back then it was a swamp.
Molly: Any other interesting facts?
Dad: Well, it's called the Garden State because it's known for its truck gardens. The farmers would put their produce in their trucks and take it to market.
Molly: How did your parents end up in New Jersey?
Dad: My dad had a job in New York City, so before I was born, they lived there. But as my brother and sister started to get older, and when my mom was pregnant with me, my dad decided to move out to the country. And New Jersey at the time was the country. They moved to Westwood.
Molly: What was Westwood like?
Dad: Westwood was a small town that had a railroad running through it. It was a nice little town at that point. It's still a nice little town.
Molly: How does Westwood compare to other towns in New Jersey?
Dad: It was very middle class. In that part of New Jersey, one little town runs into another little town all the way to New York City. Some of those towns were more working class, some of them were very affluence, but Westwood was very middle class.
Molly: What was it like to grow up in New Jersey?
Dad: It was the kind of town that when I was little, I could ride bikes all over town. Things were very accessible. There were a lot of kids in the neighborhood, so it was easy to ride your bike and meet up with everyone to play baseball or to play football or to play army. Or we'd all ride our bikes somewhere together. But there were a lot less diversions back then. There was no internet. There were only a few channels on television.
Molly: You mentioned sports. Do you have a favorite New Jersey sports team?
Dad: This is something that bugs me. My favorite New Jersey sports team is called the New York Jets. They're called that, and they started in New York, but they play in New Jersey at the Meadowlands.
Molly: Did you have to leave the state due to illicit dealings with the mafia?
Dad: No.
Molly: Did you ever see any people who were in the mafia?
Dad: One time I went to a house where the guy had an indoor swimming pool, and that guy was reportedly in the mafia. Then there was a guy across the street, he was the head of a union, and he might have been in the mafia. But when I was in the newspaper when I was little for collecting political buttons, that guy called me over and gave me a button. And now that button sells for like $400 or $500.
Molly: You don't think he was trying to buy your silence?
Dad: Nah, it wasn't worth that much in 1964.
Molly: Well, I hope he doesn't see this blog and try to come after you.
Dad: I'm sure he's dead. If the mafia didn't get him, then old age did.
Molly: If the aliens were to come down to earth, and they wanted to know the best things to see and do in New Jersey, what things would you tell them to see?
Dad: We have great delicatessens and great homemade ice cream stores. We have nice little towns with nice downtown areas. People think New Jersey is nothing but concrete, but I grew up in a small town with white picket fences, the kind of town where I could ride my bike. Then later, I could walk to the bars when I was home from school.
Molly: I know you like state quarters. Do you have any comments on the New Jersey State quarter?
Dad: It's an excellent quarter. It shows George Washington crossing the Delaware from New Jersey to attack the British.
Molly: Are there any other New Jersey historical factoids you'd like to share?
Dad: The area where I was originally home to a lot of Indians, and then it was settled by the Dutch. Since the Dutch settled lots of New Jersey, there are lots of Dutch names up there. It was known as the Pascack Valley, and there was a team that called itself the Pascack Valley Indians. That may be insensitive today, but it was to honor the Indians in the area we grew up in.
Molly: True or false: Bruce Springsteen is the greatest person --other than you -- to come out of New Jersey.
Dad: False. We have lots more interesting people like Bruce Willis. Hold on, I'm going to go get my almanac so I can tell you some famous people from New Jersey. Like Charles Lindbergh. He lived there when his kid got stolen. Now Bruce Springsteen may be a friend of New Jersey, and he's certainly more famous than me, but I wouldn't put him at the greatest.
[Dad is still trying to find his almanac at this point]
Another great thing about growing up in New Jersey is that we had many different nationalities and religions represented. IT was a nice place to meet people and to realize that there were good people from all different backgrounds.
[finds almanac]
Okay, here we go. Some other famous people from New Jersey include Jason Alexander, Samuel Alito, Judy Blume, Jon Bon Jovi, Aaron Burr, James Fenimore Cooper, Danny Devito, James Gandolfini, who grew up in my hometown. Ed Harris, who I played football against. Ed Marinaro, who I also played football against -- he was on Hill Street Blues. Antonin Scalia, Joe Pesci, Martha Stewart. Meryl Streep, who lived the same county. Her father owned a tire store. Woodrow Wilson was one of our governors, even though he was originally from Virginia.
[Dad continues to read from the almanac]
New Jersey is 47th in size. It was the site of many battles during the American Revolution. It was the first state to approve the Bill of Rights. It's famous for its shore -- not the beach -- the Jersey Shore.
Molly: Would you ever want to live in New Jersey again?
Dad: I don't think so. Now it's crowded and expensive and the weather is a lot harsher than it is here. I think I would probably like to live here, but it was a nice place to grow up. Oh! Also, Frank Sinatra and Jack Nicholson are from New Jersey? How do you like them apples? The state motto is "Liberty and Prosperity." And if you had asked me the state flower or the state bird, I would have known those, because I have it on a little trivet in the basement.
Showing posts with label this day in history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label this day in history. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
this day in popes
As we all know, I just love popes. In fact, if it seems like I haven’t been blogging too much lately, it’s because I’ve been spending a fair amount of spare time cross-stitching the likeness of Pope John Paul II. If you have never cross-stitched before, I can tell you that it takes hours and hours for it to look like you’ve done anything at all, but it is a good activity to do while you watch junky summer television.
Anyhoo, one of the reasons I’m big on popes is the concept of infallibility, which as super powers go, is a pretty good one. However, papal infallibility is a relatively new concept, brought about by Pope Pius IX. And today we shall discuss good ol’ Pius IX, because it was on this day in history in 1846 that he was elected pope.
Things started getting exciting as soon as Pius IX was elected pope, and I mean that literally, because Pius’s election was confirmed at nighttime, so there was no chance to spread the word about what had actually happened during the conclave. People assumed that this other guy had been elected pope, and as per tradition, the other guy’s pals went to his home and burned all his vestments because he would get new papal ones. Then, the next day, they find out that actually, that other guy wasn’t elected pope. AWKWARD.
Pius IX came into office at a tricky time during Italy’s history – the Risorgimento, or unification of Italy. At first, it looked like Pius IX was a liberal pope in favor of unification, because he did things like install streetlights and railroads, which his predecessor wouldn’t do because he claimed that the world should remain exactly as God made it. Pius also granted asylum to political prisoners and got the Austrians out of Italy. Though he was super popular, Pius IX didn’t want to be some sort of symbol for unification. By 1848, he had given a speech that writer Eamon Duffy, in his book “Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes,” called “a douche of icy water on the overheated enthusiasm which had surrounded his first two years as pope.” What an awesome sentence.
Anyways, people didn’t like the papal states holding up the unification process, so Pius IX went from super popular to super unpopular. Then Pius IX’s papal minster was assassinated. So Pius IX disguised himself as a priest, which I guess was not really that much of a disguise at all, and fled to Naples. By this point, Pius IX saw people working for unification as working for the devil, while he of course, worked for the Lord. Eventually Pius IX returned to Rome and the papal states fell. This is part of why papal infallibility came about. Because the pope lost so much political power in the transition, many people wanted to grant him increased spiritual power.
But before Pius IX pushed through infallibility for himself, he had some other things to attend to. One of his biggest accomplishments was the dogma of immaculate conception, as well as a publication entitled the “Syllabus of Errors,” which I think we must all agree is one of the most wonderful titles of anything in the history of the world. He was involved in this bizarre situation whereby a Jewish boy was taken from his parents, baptized as a Christian, and then kept away from his parents based on some rule that Christians couldn’t be raised by Jews; one of my pope books includes an anecdote of the pope playing hide-and-seek with the boy under his papal robe, a regrettable description in the light of recent sexual abuse in the church. Pius IX also called Vatican I, arguably in the top two as far as Vatican councils go. Pius IX was the first pope to be photographed, and he also got all this work done while suffering from epilepsy.
However, by the time he died, Pius IX was not liked that much. He spent his last years as the “prisoner of the Vatican,” which is not too bad a gig, and Pius actually did quite a bit in terms of sprucing up St. Peter’s and the Vatican. Still, he considered himself a prisoner because he didn’t like the financial arrangements or power structures that were offered to him after the Risorgimento. When his dead body was being moved to its burial place, people threw rocks at the procession and tried to throw his body into the Tiber River.
Despite all the controversy, though, John Paul II beatified him in 2000; one has to wonder if John Paul II thought that he would break Piux IX’s record as longest-serving pope (after Saint Peter). However, John Paul II only served as pope for almost 27 years, meaning that Pius IX is still the longest-serving pope, at a whopping 31 years and 7 months. The fun facts just don’t stop with Pius IX. Actually, they do. Longest-serving pope was the last fun fact I had at my disposal.
Anyhoo, one of the reasons I’m big on popes is the concept of infallibility, which as super powers go, is a pretty good one. However, papal infallibility is a relatively new concept, brought about by Pope Pius IX. And today we shall discuss good ol’ Pius IX, because it was on this day in history in 1846 that he was elected pope.
Things started getting exciting as soon as Pius IX was elected pope, and I mean that literally, because Pius’s election was confirmed at nighttime, so there was no chance to spread the word about what had actually happened during the conclave. People assumed that this other guy had been elected pope, and as per tradition, the other guy’s pals went to his home and burned all his vestments because he would get new papal ones. Then, the next day, they find out that actually, that other guy wasn’t elected pope. AWKWARD.
Pius IX came into office at a tricky time during Italy’s history – the Risorgimento, or unification of Italy. At first, it looked like Pius IX was a liberal pope in favor of unification, because he did things like install streetlights and railroads, which his predecessor wouldn’t do because he claimed that the world should remain exactly as God made it. Pius also granted asylum to political prisoners and got the Austrians out of Italy. Though he was super popular, Pius IX didn’t want to be some sort of symbol for unification. By 1848, he had given a speech that writer Eamon Duffy, in his book “Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes,” called “a douche of icy water on the overheated enthusiasm which had surrounded his first two years as pope.” What an awesome sentence.
Anyways, people didn’t like the papal states holding up the unification process, so Pius IX went from super popular to super unpopular. Then Pius IX’s papal minster was assassinated. So Pius IX disguised himself as a priest, which I guess was not really that much of a disguise at all, and fled to Naples. By this point, Pius IX saw people working for unification as working for the devil, while he of course, worked for the Lord. Eventually Pius IX returned to Rome and the papal states fell. This is part of why papal infallibility came about. Because the pope lost so much political power in the transition, many people wanted to grant him increased spiritual power.
But before Pius IX pushed through infallibility for himself, he had some other things to attend to. One of his biggest accomplishments was the dogma of immaculate conception, as well as a publication entitled the “Syllabus of Errors,” which I think we must all agree is one of the most wonderful titles of anything in the history of the world. He was involved in this bizarre situation whereby a Jewish boy was taken from his parents, baptized as a Christian, and then kept away from his parents based on some rule that Christians couldn’t be raised by Jews; one of my pope books includes an anecdote of the pope playing hide-and-seek with the boy under his papal robe, a regrettable description in the light of recent sexual abuse in the church. Pius IX also called Vatican I, arguably in the top two as far as Vatican councils go. Pius IX was the first pope to be photographed, and he also got all this work done while suffering from epilepsy.
However, by the time he died, Pius IX was not liked that much. He spent his last years as the “prisoner of the Vatican,” which is not too bad a gig, and Pius actually did quite a bit in terms of sprucing up St. Peter’s and the Vatican. Still, he considered himself a prisoner because he didn’t like the financial arrangements or power structures that were offered to him after the Risorgimento. When his dead body was being moved to its burial place, people threw rocks at the procession and tried to throw his body into the Tiber River.
Despite all the controversy, though, John Paul II beatified him in 2000; one has to wonder if John Paul II thought that he would break Piux IX’s record as longest-serving pope (after Saint Peter). However, John Paul II only served as pope for almost 27 years, meaning that Pius IX is still the longest-serving pope, at a whopping 31 years and 7 months. The fun facts just don’t stop with Pius IX. Actually, they do. Longest-serving pope was the last fun fact I had at my disposal.
Monday, April 20, 2009
happy birthday to the best fish I know
Today is a big day in my apartment. Today is my fish Alvin’s birthday!!! Well, technically it is merely the anniversary of the date he came to live with me, but that is far more depressing and time-consuming to say and surely he wasn’t swimming around in that little cup in the pet store for too terribly long before I came to rescue him and put him into a slightly larger home. You can read the story of his arrival here: http://iwiggleitjustalittlebit.blogspot.com/2008/04/something-fishy-is-going-on.html
In honor of Alvin’s birthday, I decided to see what was happening on this date in history. And it is not good at all. It’s the anniversary of Columbine. It’s Hitler’s birthday. If I had gotten him a day earlier, he could have shared an anniversary with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI and with Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, as both couples were married on April 19. Plus he could have shared an anniversary with Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected pope that day. Or, if I had gotten him on April 21, he could have at least shared a birthday with Queen Elizabeth II. But noooooooooo. I had to give him Hitler and Columbine. I am such a bad fish owner.
Overall, though, Alvin and I have had a pretty good year together. I think it was a good year for me because I didn’t kill him, and also because I stopped having elaborate fantasies that I would come home from work to find him dead. I’m glad those ended because they were really messing with my head. And I think Alvin would say it was a good year for him because he doesn’t live in a little cup at the fish store anymore, and he could have gone home with some crazy person who might have had cats that would have eaten him by now.
That’s not to say it’s all been roses. As I have mentioned before on my blog, Alvin is a pretty emotionally needy fish, and he gets very upset when I leave for work or vacation, particularly the latter, because it means I leave a feeding pellet in his bowl that leaves the water cloudy and smelly. And that means I’ll have to change the water when I return, and Alvin does not like that one bit because he becomes convinced that I am trying to kill him, even though I speak sweetly and reassuringly to him the entire time I clean his bowl.
Still, we have come to an agreement. I will give him two pellets a day and in return, he won’t die and traumatize me. I can put up with his attitude if he can put up with the fact that he has to live in a tiny bowl with a fake frog. To celebrate his birthday, I am going to make taco salad and we will watch Dancing with the Stars, because most of the costumes resemble the fringe and flash that Alvin himself has. Happy birthday, Alvin!
In honor of Alvin’s birthday, I decided to see what was happening on this date in history. And it is not good at all. It’s the anniversary of Columbine. It’s Hitler’s birthday. If I had gotten him a day earlier, he could have shared an anniversary with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI and with Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, as both couples were married on April 19. Plus he could have shared an anniversary with Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected pope that day. Or, if I had gotten him on April 21, he could have at least shared a birthday with Queen Elizabeth II. But noooooooooo. I had to give him Hitler and Columbine. I am such a bad fish owner.
Overall, though, Alvin and I have had a pretty good year together. I think it was a good year for me because I didn’t kill him, and also because I stopped having elaborate fantasies that I would come home from work to find him dead. I’m glad those ended because they were really messing with my head. And I think Alvin would say it was a good year for him because he doesn’t live in a little cup at the fish store anymore, and he could have gone home with some crazy person who might have had cats that would have eaten him by now.
That’s not to say it’s all been roses. As I have mentioned before on my blog, Alvin is a pretty emotionally needy fish, and he gets very upset when I leave for work or vacation, particularly the latter, because it means I leave a feeding pellet in his bowl that leaves the water cloudy and smelly. And that means I’ll have to change the water when I return, and Alvin does not like that one bit because he becomes convinced that I am trying to kill him, even though I speak sweetly and reassuringly to him the entire time I clean his bowl.
Still, we have come to an agreement. I will give him two pellets a day and in return, he won’t die and traumatize me. I can put up with his attitude if he can put up with the fact that he has to live in a tiny bowl with a fake frog. To celebrate his birthday, I am going to make taco salad and we will watch Dancing with the Stars, because most of the costumes resemble the fringe and flash that Alvin himself has. Happy birthday, Alvin!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
this day in stream-of-consciousness
On this day in 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a bill into law that legalized the sale of beer and wine. As a resident of the state of Georgia, I can’t help but note with sadness that this anniversary fell on a Sunday, a day on which no one in this state can buy beer or wine, or any alcohol for that matter.
Well, I should amend that to say that you could drive to a restaurant, have as many beers as you want, and then drive home drunk, but you couldn’t drive to the grocery store, pick up some beer, and make the return drive perfectly sober to enjoy the beer in the comfort and safety of your own home. That is just not allowed.
To mark the passing of this day, I opened up a beer right at the time I started composing this entry (8:08 p.m.). I intend to type about whatever pleases me until the beer is gone. I have nothing else to say, really, about the stupidity of the Georgia no-Sunday sales situation, except to note that I was reading an article earlier today about how Georgia has some of the worst smoking ban laws in the country. So to recap, a typical Sunday here would be driving to a bar, inhaling a lot of smoke and booze, then driving home with carcinogens in your system and alcohol in your bloodstream. I guess there’s a joke in there about how living in Georgia fosters death wishes in people, but I’m too tired to think of it.
The main thing that bothers me about the Sunday rules is that I tend to do my weekly grocery store shopping on Sundays. Or, well, I used to. Now there’s no point, because you’ll have to make a separate trip back to get the wine and beer, so you might as well just move the shopping to another day, even though that totally messes up your schedule but we wouldn’t want to offend God by buying beer on Sunday.
The beer I am drinking is a Yuengling, by the way. I feel there have been lots of references to alcohol on the blog lately, but have no fear. I am not a lush. It’s just that it’s that perfect time of year for sitting out on the patio and having chardonnay. Except for the damn bees. The bees came back today. I have a balcony, and there are some bees that love to eat the wood that makes up said balcony. The bees are dumb, and frequently they fly into the glass sliding door that leads to the balcony. I could hear them from my bedroom this morning, when I was waking up. I could hear the thwack of bee against glass, and I knew those bees were back. Soon everything will be covered with pollen, and when it rains there will be streams of yellow water making their way down the road.
I just spent some time on Wikipedia, and though Wikipedia claims that Kansas has some of the strictest alcohol laws in the country, that state has allowed Sunday sales in some locations since 2005. Even in Massachusetts, where the Puritans live, they’re okay with Sunday sales now. I really can’t find another state that has laws as strict as these….I would settle for no sales until after 12 p.m. Earlier this year, with the economy so bad, there was a bill to permit Sunday sales, with the thought that people needed as many opportunities to earn money as possible (or that people were so down in the dumps that they needed to be able to get trashed on a Sunday), but that was killed by, as I understand it, religious children coming in front of the legislature to plead God’s case. It just seems like God might have more important things to worry about.
The no sales on Sunday thing is probably the worst thing about living in Georgia. It’s even worse than being a liberal in a red state. But though I have rambled on for several hundred words about the situation, I don’t want it to seem like this problem defines my life. Sometimes it makes me sad, but I never need a drink so bad that I am saddened by the roped-off beer aisle at the grocery store. I think if this is the worst problem I have to deal with, then my state is probably okay.
But then, I might be feeling lovey-dovey since I just killed three-quarters of a beer on an empty stomach. Speaking of which, after I finish this entry I’m going to have dinner, which is some Indian food. Trader Joe’s makes theses lovely boxes of things like Punjab eggplant, and if you put it over some rice, it is just wonderful. I will probably have orange juice with dinner, though, since this was my last beer, and in case I haven’t made this clear enough, I can’t buy anymore until tomorrow. On that note, it’s 8:32 and I have finished the beer. Cheers to FDR for doing the best he could on this day in history.
Well, I should amend that to say that you could drive to a restaurant, have as many beers as you want, and then drive home drunk, but you couldn’t drive to the grocery store, pick up some beer, and make the return drive perfectly sober to enjoy the beer in the comfort and safety of your own home. That is just not allowed.
To mark the passing of this day, I opened up a beer right at the time I started composing this entry (8:08 p.m.). I intend to type about whatever pleases me until the beer is gone. I have nothing else to say, really, about the stupidity of the Georgia no-Sunday sales situation, except to note that I was reading an article earlier today about how Georgia has some of the worst smoking ban laws in the country. So to recap, a typical Sunday here would be driving to a bar, inhaling a lot of smoke and booze, then driving home with carcinogens in your system and alcohol in your bloodstream. I guess there’s a joke in there about how living in Georgia fosters death wishes in people, but I’m too tired to think of it.
The main thing that bothers me about the Sunday rules is that I tend to do my weekly grocery store shopping on Sundays. Or, well, I used to. Now there’s no point, because you’ll have to make a separate trip back to get the wine and beer, so you might as well just move the shopping to another day, even though that totally messes up your schedule but we wouldn’t want to offend God by buying beer on Sunday.
The beer I am drinking is a Yuengling, by the way. I feel there have been lots of references to alcohol on the blog lately, but have no fear. I am not a lush. It’s just that it’s that perfect time of year for sitting out on the patio and having chardonnay. Except for the damn bees. The bees came back today. I have a balcony, and there are some bees that love to eat the wood that makes up said balcony. The bees are dumb, and frequently they fly into the glass sliding door that leads to the balcony. I could hear them from my bedroom this morning, when I was waking up. I could hear the thwack of bee against glass, and I knew those bees were back. Soon everything will be covered with pollen, and when it rains there will be streams of yellow water making their way down the road.
I just spent some time on Wikipedia, and though Wikipedia claims that Kansas has some of the strictest alcohol laws in the country, that state has allowed Sunday sales in some locations since 2005. Even in Massachusetts, where the Puritans live, they’re okay with Sunday sales now. I really can’t find another state that has laws as strict as these….I would settle for no sales until after 12 p.m. Earlier this year, with the economy so bad, there was a bill to permit Sunday sales, with the thought that people needed as many opportunities to earn money as possible (or that people were so down in the dumps that they needed to be able to get trashed on a Sunday), but that was killed by, as I understand it, religious children coming in front of the legislature to plead God’s case. It just seems like God might have more important things to worry about.
The no sales on Sunday thing is probably the worst thing about living in Georgia. It’s even worse than being a liberal in a red state. But though I have rambled on for several hundred words about the situation, I don’t want it to seem like this problem defines my life. Sometimes it makes me sad, but I never need a drink so bad that I am saddened by the roped-off beer aisle at the grocery store. I think if this is the worst problem I have to deal with, then my state is probably okay.
But then, I might be feeling lovey-dovey since I just killed three-quarters of a beer on an empty stomach. Speaking of which, after I finish this entry I’m going to have dinner, which is some Indian food. Trader Joe’s makes theses lovely boxes of things like Punjab eggplant, and if you put it over some rice, it is just wonderful. I will probably have orange juice with dinner, though, since this was my last beer, and in case I haven’t made this clear enough, I can’t buy anymore until tomorrow. On that note, it’s 8:32 and I have finished the beer. Cheers to FDR for doing the best he could on this day in history.
Monday, March 16, 2009
the lost weekend
So, though I vowed to blog everyday during Lent, I hit a bit of a stumble this weekend. And I have to say, once the blogging went, all of my Lenten resolutions fell off track. I had some soda. I didn’t do any stomach crunches. And then I figured that I’d done so poorly that I might as well have some chocolate as well.
What got me so badly off track? Here’s the thing. Earlier in the week I had been scanning what was happening this week in history on Wikipedia – that’s right, just because I’ve abandoned my weekly TWIH in history doesn’t mean that I don’t still check to see the week’s events. Lately they’ve been kind of boring, though, so I haven’t felt too bad about not posting a recap. Plus it seemed that no one liked that feature anyways. But I digress. In my Wikipedia research, I noticed that famed Chick-fil-a founder Truett Cathy’s birthday fell on March 14, a Saturday this year. And wouldn’t you know it, I was scheduled to eat with my family at the South Asheville Chick-fil-a on that very Saturday!
As you might imagine, the excitement was palpable. That’s why I didn’t blog on Friday. I was just too keyed up, wondering how each franchise would choose to celebrate their founder. Would we all get free chicken or ice cream? Would we all get our own dwarf, in recognition of the fact that the first Chick-fil-a was called the Dwarf House? Would there be, God help me, a Funfetti cake?
Well, there was cake alright, but it was only for a little girl who was having her birthday party at Chick-fil-a. For everyone else, there was nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nothing to honor the man that gave the world and its food courts a tasty variety of chicken products and waffle fries six days out of the week. Even those stupid cows couldn’t get it together to produce a misspelled sign along the lines of “Happi Berthdayy Truett.”
The fact that the South Asheville franchise was not honoring Truett Cathy sent me into a blind rage. I threw my box of chicken nuggets against the wall and smashed the little girl’s birthday cake. I ran into the play area, knocking little children out of my way. I climbed to the top of the playset, took some shots of honey mustard sauce and proclaimed for the whole restaurant to hear that this was Truett’s day, dammit, and we needed to bless our chicken sandwiches in his honor. At that point I think I went into an off-subject rant about how it’s nearly impossible to prove that he actually invented the chicken sandwich, as the store’s marketing claims, but then I got back on subject by singing an impromptu opera about pickles. After my song, I spread my arms and fell backwards into the ball pit.
Then, as I rested in the ball pit, a vision of Truett Cathy appeared to me. He extended an arm to me, as if he was offering me a college scholarship for my commitment to the company. He pulled me up, and we waltzed around the store. I whispered “Happy birthday” and thanked him for the dance, and he whispered, “My pleasure,” just as every employee does when they refill your drink. But his “My pleasure” was not perfunctory or accompanied by a scowl, the way some employees say it. His was heartfelt. I think I fainted in his arms.
The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground with my family standing around me, pouring the contents of their Styrofoam cups on my face to revive me. I did not feel guilty, for I knew they could get refills. I was drenched in iced tea and sweat, but I had done my duty. I had honored Truett.
Slowly, I got to my feet and headed for the condiment station, because I wanted to fill out a comment form to let this Chick-fil-a franchise owner know what I thought of his lack of loyalty and tradition (for those very loyal blog readers out there, this was in fact the same Chick-fil-a where I filled out a comment card regarding the lack of Diet Coke. You may have thought that was silly, but there’s currently Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero at that Chick-fil-a. Who’s laughing now?). Anyways, they didn’t have any comment cards available, which in and of itself is an offense that I would mention on a comment card, if one were available. I think that’s what they call a Catch-22.
Anyways, that’s why I didn’t blog, and why everything went downhill so fast. But I’m back on track now. I think we can all agree that being tempted by the devil in the desert is basically the same as your hometown Chick-fil-a not recognizing its founder. Totally and completely the same.
What got me so badly off track? Here’s the thing. Earlier in the week I had been scanning what was happening this week in history on Wikipedia – that’s right, just because I’ve abandoned my weekly TWIH in history doesn’t mean that I don’t still check to see the week’s events. Lately they’ve been kind of boring, though, so I haven’t felt too bad about not posting a recap. Plus it seemed that no one liked that feature anyways. But I digress. In my Wikipedia research, I noticed that famed Chick-fil-a founder Truett Cathy’s birthday fell on March 14, a Saturday this year. And wouldn’t you know it, I was scheduled to eat with my family at the South Asheville Chick-fil-a on that very Saturday!
As you might imagine, the excitement was palpable. That’s why I didn’t blog on Friday. I was just too keyed up, wondering how each franchise would choose to celebrate their founder. Would we all get free chicken or ice cream? Would we all get our own dwarf, in recognition of the fact that the first Chick-fil-a was called the Dwarf House? Would there be, God help me, a Funfetti cake?
Well, there was cake alright, but it was only for a little girl who was having her birthday party at Chick-fil-a. For everyone else, there was nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nothing to honor the man that gave the world and its food courts a tasty variety of chicken products and waffle fries six days out of the week. Even those stupid cows couldn’t get it together to produce a misspelled sign along the lines of “Happi Berthdayy Truett.”
The fact that the South Asheville franchise was not honoring Truett Cathy sent me into a blind rage. I threw my box of chicken nuggets against the wall and smashed the little girl’s birthday cake. I ran into the play area, knocking little children out of my way. I climbed to the top of the playset, took some shots of honey mustard sauce and proclaimed for the whole restaurant to hear that this was Truett’s day, dammit, and we needed to bless our chicken sandwiches in his honor. At that point I think I went into an off-subject rant about how it’s nearly impossible to prove that he actually invented the chicken sandwich, as the store’s marketing claims, but then I got back on subject by singing an impromptu opera about pickles. After my song, I spread my arms and fell backwards into the ball pit.
Then, as I rested in the ball pit, a vision of Truett Cathy appeared to me. He extended an arm to me, as if he was offering me a college scholarship for my commitment to the company. He pulled me up, and we waltzed around the store. I whispered “Happy birthday” and thanked him for the dance, and he whispered, “My pleasure,” just as every employee does when they refill your drink. But his “My pleasure” was not perfunctory or accompanied by a scowl, the way some employees say it. His was heartfelt. I think I fainted in his arms.
The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground with my family standing around me, pouring the contents of their Styrofoam cups on my face to revive me. I did not feel guilty, for I knew they could get refills. I was drenched in iced tea and sweat, but I had done my duty. I had honored Truett.
Slowly, I got to my feet and headed for the condiment station, because I wanted to fill out a comment form to let this Chick-fil-a franchise owner know what I thought of his lack of loyalty and tradition (for those very loyal blog readers out there, this was in fact the same Chick-fil-a where I filled out a comment card regarding the lack of Diet Coke. You may have thought that was silly, but there’s currently Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero at that Chick-fil-a. Who’s laughing now?). Anyways, they didn’t have any comment cards available, which in and of itself is an offense that I would mention on a comment card, if one were available. I think that’s what they call a Catch-22.
Anyways, that’s why I didn’t blog, and why everything went downhill so fast. But I’m back on track now. I think we can all agree that being tempted by the devil in the desert is basically the same as your hometown Chick-fil-a not recognizing its founder. Totally and completely the same.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
meatballs
Well, it's probably obvious by now that I'm in a bit of a blogging slump, with the This Week in History posts serving as my only lifeline to the blog in a given week. I'll try to get back on the ball. But as soon as I wrote that somewhat optimistic statement, then I saw a commercial for a new Hannah Montana movie. So now I am a bit gloomy about the world again. Perhaps this week's historic events might cheer me up?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 8
A glimpse at the events of February 8 answers that question very clearly. The events of Feb. 8 were very dark indeed. A doctor accused some girls of being witches, kicking off teh whole Salem Witch Trial thing. Mary Queen of Scots was executed. A thing called "The Devil's Footprints" mysteriously appeared in southern Devon (if it hadn't happened in 1855, I might try to make some sort of Miley Cyrus joke). The first exceuction using gas took place, the controversial film "Birth of a Nation" premiered, the Orangeburg massacre took place, a dust storm hit Australia, and Anna Nicole Smith died. History is really bringing me down lately.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 9
I am going to try really hard for the rest of this entry to focus on positive things. So let me tell you that today is the date that Joe Pesci was born; Pesci would go on to entertain America AND THE WORLD in his films Home Alone and Home Alone 2.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 10
Okay, here is a freaky coincidence. This morning I was reading an article in my new American History magazine (thanks, Dad!) about how P.T. Barnum took the dwarf General Tom Thumb to meet Queen Victoria. By all accounts, the queen really got a kick out of the dwarf and his routine, but she was still very concerned about his well-being. But according to Wikipedia, on this date in 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, and on this date in 1863, General Tom Thumb married another dwarf named Lavinia Warren. Wikipedia doesn't say whether General Tom Thumb picked the date to honor Queen Victoria, but it does say that the tiny couple stood on top of a piano to greet their guests, and after the wedding, they got to meet Abraham Lincoln at the White House. I don't want to sound crude, but why do dwarves get to do everything?!?!?!?!? Please don't be offended, little people.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 11
How are these events connected: the birth of Sarah Palin, the birth of Jennifer Aniston and the death of Sylvia Plath? If you guessed that they all happened on this date, then you are right! So get ready for the news shows and the comedy shows to comment on the Sarah Palin thing. And get ready for all the celebrity gossip sites to comment on the Jennifer Aniston thing. And salute your inner teenage girl regarding the Sylvia Plath thing, because I've never met a teenage girl who wasn't intrigued by Sylvia Plath's death.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 12
Did you know there was a king of Italy called Charles the Fat? I didn't, til right now, and it briefly cheered me, until I learned that the guy was considered lethargic, inept and was believe to have epilepsy. Then I felt guilty. Anyways, he was crowned today. But in happier news, everyone's favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, was born today! Me, I'm planning to wear a top hat ALL DAY. It's also Judy Blume's birthday, if you'd prefer to walk around angsty all day.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 13
I am trying to stay positive but it's hard to do when the most interesting thing that happened today was the birth of Peter Gabriel!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 14
On this day in 1859, Oregon was admitted to the U.S. as the 33rd state. I'm going to start calling Oregon "America's Valentine."
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 8
A glimpse at the events of February 8 answers that question very clearly. The events of Feb. 8 were very dark indeed. A doctor accused some girls of being witches, kicking off teh whole Salem Witch Trial thing. Mary Queen of Scots was executed. A thing called "The Devil's Footprints" mysteriously appeared in southern Devon (if it hadn't happened in 1855, I might try to make some sort of Miley Cyrus joke). The first exceuction using gas took place, the controversial film "Birth of a Nation" premiered, the Orangeburg massacre took place, a dust storm hit Australia, and Anna Nicole Smith died. History is really bringing me down lately.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 9
I am going to try really hard for the rest of this entry to focus on positive things. So let me tell you that today is the date that Joe Pesci was born; Pesci would go on to entertain America AND THE WORLD in his films Home Alone and Home Alone 2.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 10
Okay, here is a freaky coincidence. This morning I was reading an article in my new American History magazine (thanks, Dad!) about how P.T. Barnum took the dwarf General Tom Thumb to meet Queen Victoria. By all accounts, the queen really got a kick out of the dwarf and his routine, but she was still very concerned about his well-being. But according to Wikipedia, on this date in 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, and on this date in 1863, General Tom Thumb married another dwarf named Lavinia Warren. Wikipedia doesn't say whether General Tom Thumb picked the date to honor Queen Victoria, but it does say that the tiny couple stood on top of a piano to greet their guests, and after the wedding, they got to meet Abraham Lincoln at the White House. I don't want to sound crude, but why do dwarves get to do everything?!?!?!?!? Please don't be offended, little people.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 11
How are these events connected: the birth of Sarah Palin, the birth of Jennifer Aniston and the death of Sylvia Plath? If you guessed that they all happened on this date, then you are right! So get ready for the news shows and the comedy shows to comment on the Sarah Palin thing. And get ready for all the celebrity gossip sites to comment on the Jennifer Aniston thing. And salute your inner teenage girl regarding the Sylvia Plath thing, because I've never met a teenage girl who wasn't intrigued by Sylvia Plath's death.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 12
Did you know there was a king of Italy called Charles the Fat? I didn't, til right now, and it briefly cheered me, until I learned that the guy was considered lethargic, inept and was believe to have epilepsy. Then I felt guilty. Anyways, he was crowned today. But in happier news, everyone's favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, was born today! Me, I'm planning to wear a top hat ALL DAY. It's also Judy Blume's birthday, if you'd prefer to walk around angsty all day.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 13
I am trying to stay positive but it's hard to do when the most interesting thing that happened today was the birth of Peter Gabriel!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 14
On this day in 1859, Oregon was admitted to the U.S. as the 33rd state. I'm going to start calling Oregon "America's Valentine."
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Happy Super Bowl Day
Well, after George and I collaborated on our blog entry this morning (Courtney was in the shower), the three of us headed over to the Varsity, famed Atlanta institution. We made Courtney order since it was her first time there. After a delicious lunch, George and Courtney packed their car and headed home. I tried to do a little exercise to undo all the junk we consumed over the weekend, but as I write this, I figure that might be futile as I’m about to head off to a Super Bowl party. But before I go, let’s see what happened this week in history.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 1
Holy shit it’s February. I don’t know if I’m still logy from all the hot dogs I ate today, but I can’t find anything I really want to write about. Clark Gable was born, but people already know how much I love Gone with the Wind. The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was published and I like that song, but I don’t have all that much to say about it. This feels like a cheat, since the Super Bowl is on this date again, but today’s the anniversary of the Janet Jackson Nipplegate Super Bowl. So the best thing I can think to say about today is we got an awesome 12 minutes of the Boss coming up tonight.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 2
Man, I’m not finding anything interesting about this day either. So let me just tell you some more things I did with George and Courtney, in addition to the things already mentioned in the other entry: we went to H&M, we went to Jimmy John’s, we went to IKEA, we watched like 8 episodes of “The Girl Next Door,” and we ate some delicious desserts and drank a lot of wine.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 3
Fifty years ago today was the day the music died, meaning we lost Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. But hey, on this day, we got the births of German composer Felix Mendelssohn, Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola, French organist and composer Jehan Alain, Quebec singer Alys Robi, British singer Frankie Vaughan, American singers Dennis Edwards, Johnny Cymbal and Shawn Phillips. Plus Japanese musician Yasuharu Konishi. Also we got Dave Davies. And rappers Daddy Yankee and Sean Kingston. So how do you think they feel that today is the day the music died? Also, do you think the day would really become cursed if another singer dies today? I hope no one famous dies today. Tomorrow, I can’t be so sure.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 4
On this day in 1789, George Washington was elected the first President! Then on this day in 1792 he was elected to a second term! So I think a fun thing to do today would be to walk into a place of business and try to purchase something. Then, instead of handing over the money, throw a bunch of one dollar bills in the air and tell the befuddled cashier some fun facts about George Washington. But if you want to save that stunt for Washington’s birthday, that’s probably okay, too, though it will likely be more expected.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 5
It’s always kinda weird when you see someone was born and died in the same week. Or just if their name pops up a lot in a certain week. On this day in history, outlaw Belle Starr was born, but died almost exactly 41 years later on Feb. 3. I prefer if people die after one last birthday, because if it happens in the other order, I wonder what happens to the presents. Though I don’t know what kind of presents an outlaw gets.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 6
Ronald Reagan was born on this day. Will I eat his favorite candy, Jelly Bellys, at this Super Bowl gathering? Likely not, but I do need to stop blogging soon and head over there.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 7
Which is why I will tell you ever so briefly that today’s births are quite an esteemed group: John Deere (1804), Charles Dickens (1812), Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), Garth Brooks (1962), Eddie Izzard (1962), Chris Rock (1965), Ashton Kutcher (1978) and Tina Majorino (1985). An abundance of interesting births brings this lackluster week in history to a close.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 1
Holy shit it’s February. I don’t know if I’m still logy from all the hot dogs I ate today, but I can’t find anything I really want to write about. Clark Gable was born, but people already know how much I love Gone with the Wind. The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was published and I like that song, but I don’t have all that much to say about it. This feels like a cheat, since the Super Bowl is on this date again, but today’s the anniversary of the Janet Jackson Nipplegate Super Bowl. So the best thing I can think to say about today is we got an awesome 12 minutes of the Boss coming up tonight.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 2
Man, I’m not finding anything interesting about this day either. So let me just tell you some more things I did with George and Courtney, in addition to the things already mentioned in the other entry: we went to H&M, we went to Jimmy John’s, we went to IKEA, we watched like 8 episodes of “The Girl Next Door,” and we ate some delicious desserts and drank a lot of wine.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 3
Fifty years ago today was the day the music died, meaning we lost Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. But hey, on this day, we got the births of German composer Felix Mendelssohn, Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola, French organist and composer Jehan Alain, Quebec singer Alys Robi, British singer Frankie Vaughan, American singers Dennis Edwards, Johnny Cymbal and Shawn Phillips. Plus Japanese musician Yasuharu Konishi. Also we got Dave Davies. And rappers Daddy Yankee and Sean Kingston. So how do you think they feel that today is the day the music died? Also, do you think the day would really become cursed if another singer dies today? I hope no one famous dies today. Tomorrow, I can’t be so sure.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 4
On this day in 1789, George Washington was elected the first President! Then on this day in 1792 he was elected to a second term! So I think a fun thing to do today would be to walk into a place of business and try to purchase something. Then, instead of handing over the money, throw a bunch of one dollar bills in the air and tell the befuddled cashier some fun facts about George Washington. But if you want to save that stunt for Washington’s birthday, that’s probably okay, too, though it will likely be more expected.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 5
It’s always kinda weird when you see someone was born and died in the same week. Or just if their name pops up a lot in a certain week. On this day in history, outlaw Belle Starr was born, but died almost exactly 41 years later on Feb. 3. I prefer if people die after one last birthday, because if it happens in the other order, I wonder what happens to the presents. Though I don’t know what kind of presents an outlaw gets.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 6
Ronald Reagan was born on this day. Will I eat his favorite candy, Jelly Bellys, at this Super Bowl gathering? Likely not, but I do need to stop blogging soon and head over there.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 7
Which is why I will tell you ever so briefly that today’s births are quite an esteemed group: John Deere (1804), Charles Dickens (1812), Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867), Garth Brooks (1962), Eddie Izzard (1962), Chris Rock (1965), Ashton Kutcher (1978) and Tina Majorino (1985). An abundance of interesting births brings this lackluster week in history to a close.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
fortune telling
I’ve been told people skip right over these posts, the This Week in History posts. But I love them, and let me tell you why. During the week, when I’m reading other blogs or watching Letterman, there will be a post or a joke where somebody says, “hey, you know what happened this day in history? Blah blah blah.” And when it comes to what they are talking about, I did know. So it’s like research for the week ahead, as well as a good predictor of how things are going to shape up. For example, you know how last week I wrote about the anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death? I mentioned it was too hard to find any good in that day. And you know what happened to me that day? The “a” key on my work computer stopped working. It was dreadful. But I already knew it would be a dreadful day. OMENS, people.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 25
On this day in history, my work computer’s “a” key started working again. Hey, it’s worth a shot, right? Also, on this day in 1971, Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were found guilty of the Tate/LaBianca murders. In college, I had to read the book “Helter Skelter” by the prosecutor in the case, Vincent Bugliosi, for a criminal justice class. My roommate was in the class also, and we both became kinda obsessed with the book. To the point that we downloaded Mp3’s of Charles Manson singing off Napster and went to several Blockbusters trying to find this Charles Manson documentary. We were convinced we were being monitored and were going to end up on some awful governmental list. But what can I say? It’s a really good book, one of my favorites.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 26
On this day in 1905, Maria Von Trapp was born! I admit I don’t know much about the real Maria Von Trapp; I know about the Julie Andrews Maria Von Trapp. I just spent some time on the Trapp Family Lodge Web site, for it seems that something not covered in the movie is how they moved to Vermont and opened a ski lodge. I was particularly interested in the dining menus as I am a little bit hungry as of this writing. It seems overpriced, but what are you going to do? There are real-life Von Trapps there!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 27
As a resident of the state of Georgia, I feel compelled to mention that the University of Georgia was founded in 1785. When I was in high school, I had my parents drive me to Athens, so we could take a look at it. It was way, way too big for me, so I really wasn’t considering it, as I may have implied at the time. I really just wanted to be in the place where R.E.M. formed. This past year, when I was shopping for furniture for my current apartment, I liked this red couch. But I couldn’t get it, because I felt it sent a message of support to the University of Georgia that I wasn’t quite ready to send. I felt a red couch would have certain UGA meanings in Atlanta.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 28
Elijah Wood was born this day in 1981! Now, Elijah Wood was a childhood crush of mine, due to his roles in 1992’s “Radio Flyer” and 1993’s “The Good Son.” Since he was only a year older than me, I figured we could grow up and get married, though I remember being slightly turned off when I read in some sort of teen magazine that Elijah Wood really liked girls who had followed his career and could have deep conversations about his films. Cause even then I knew that sounded pretentious and self-absorbed and I really didn’t know how long talking about “The Good Son” might last before I became terribly bored. But it really didn’t matter, because once he became a hobbit (both physically and on the silver screen), I really wasn’t interested anymore.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 29
Today is Oprah’s birthday! Earlier in the week it was Ellen DeGeneres’s birthday! I don’t really get to watch any daytime television, but I’m mentioning this in case I have any readers who are giving birth this week. Maybe if you groom your child just right, they too will grow up and become talk show hosts! It’s an auspicious week for that.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 30
You know how earlier I was talking about omens? This does not look like it’s going to be a good day. Today is the day in history where Dick Cheney was born and the Beatles gave their last public performance. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and Martin Luther King Jr’s home was bombed. It’s also Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s day of birth, but I just don’t know if he can overcome all of the negativity emanating from today.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 31
Oh man, do you love Scotch tape? If not, why? It’s so useful, particularly when you’re wrapping presents! Anyways, on this day in 1930, 3M started marketing the product. According to Wikipedia, it’s called Scotch tape because they only put a little bit of sticky stuff on it at the beginning, and someone said that the stingy Scotch bosses needed to put more on. And voila, a valuable office supply was born.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 25
On this day in history, my work computer’s “a” key started working again. Hey, it’s worth a shot, right? Also, on this day in 1971, Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were found guilty of the Tate/LaBianca murders. In college, I had to read the book “Helter Skelter” by the prosecutor in the case, Vincent Bugliosi, for a criminal justice class. My roommate was in the class also, and we both became kinda obsessed with the book. To the point that we downloaded Mp3’s of Charles Manson singing off Napster and went to several Blockbusters trying to find this Charles Manson documentary. We were convinced we were being monitored and were going to end up on some awful governmental list. But what can I say? It’s a really good book, one of my favorites.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 26
On this day in 1905, Maria Von Trapp was born! I admit I don’t know much about the real Maria Von Trapp; I know about the Julie Andrews Maria Von Trapp. I just spent some time on the Trapp Family Lodge Web site, for it seems that something not covered in the movie is how they moved to Vermont and opened a ski lodge. I was particularly interested in the dining menus as I am a little bit hungry as of this writing. It seems overpriced, but what are you going to do? There are real-life Von Trapps there!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 27
As a resident of the state of Georgia, I feel compelled to mention that the University of Georgia was founded in 1785. When I was in high school, I had my parents drive me to Athens, so we could take a look at it. It was way, way too big for me, so I really wasn’t considering it, as I may have implied at the time. I really just wanted to be in the place where R.E.M. formed. This past year, when I was shopping for furniture for my current apartment, I liked this red couch. But I couldn’t get it, because I felt it sent a message of support to the University of Georgia that I wasn’t quite ready to send. I felt a red couch would have certain UGA meanings in Atlanta.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 28
Elijah Wood was born this day in 1981! Now, Elijah Wood was a childhood crush of mine, due to his roles in 1992’s “Radio Flyer” and 1993’s “The Good Son.” Since he was only a year older than me, I figured we could grow up and get married, though I remember being slightly turned off when I read in some sort of teen magazine that Elijah Wood really liked girls who had followed his career and could have deep conversations about his films. Cause even then I knew that sounded pretentious and self-absorbed and I really didn’t know how long talking about “The Good Son” might last before I became terribly bored. But it really didn’t matter, because once he became a hobbit (both physically and on the silver screen), I really wasn’t interested anymore.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 29
Today is Oprah’s birthday! Earlier in the week it was Ellen DeGeneres’s birthday! I don’t really get to watch any daytime television, but I’m mentioning this in case I have any readers who are giving birth this week. Maybe if you groom your child just right, they too will grow up and become talk show hosts! It’s an auspicious week for that.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 30
You know how earlier I was talking about omens? This does not look like it’s going to be a good day. Today is the day in history where Dick Cheney was born and the Beatles gave their last public performance. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and Martin Luther King Jr’s home was bombed. It’s also Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s day of birth, but I just don’t know if he can overcome all of the negativity emanating from today.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 31
Oh man, do you love Scotch tape? If not, why? It’s so useful, particularly when you’re wrapping presents! Anyways, on this day in 1930, 3M started marketing the product. According to Wikipedia, it’s called Scotch tape because they only put a little bit of sticky stuff on it at the beginning, and someone said that the stingy Scotch bosses needed to put more on. And voila, a valuable office supply was born.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
last night i saw snowflakes!
It’s soooooooooo cold in Atlanta as I write this. Sure, we’ll be back in the 50’s and 60’s soon, and I have no right to complain. But imagine if you lived in a place where it was always warm, and then suddenly out of the blue it was cold? Isn’t that a little worse than living in a place where you’ve come to expect really cold weather? What will warm me up? Reviewing what happened this week in history, of course.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 18
On this day in 1861, Georgia seceded from the United States. Man, what if Georgia had never come back? What if the country had never been reunited? I would probably never even have been born. But let’s say that I had been born…where would I live? Who would I be? Maybe I have hypothermia but suddenly I find this very freaky to think about. Earlier this year I was reading the Mental Floss blog, and there was this entry that showed a hypothetical re-drawing of state lines: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17550. Isn’t that weird? I’d kind of rather live in a state called Piedmont; it sounds nicer. But I would be from Cumberland, not Carolina, which makes me slightly sad. Perhaps I would have moved to Superior merely for the humor factor. Hmm.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 19
Continuing on yesterday’s theme, I feel compelled to tell you that on this day in 1807, Robert E. Lee was born. Maybe if things had been different, that would be a holiday or something. Also on this day, Dolly Parton and Paula Deen were born. So a fairly good day for the south, until you consider that on this day in 1862, at the Battle of Mill Springs, the Confederacy suffered its first major defeat.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 20
I couldn’t find anything of interest to Southerners today. Unless you live below the Mason-Dixon and really like “The Office.” Then you might be interested in knowing that it’s Rainn Wilson’s birthday. Even if that show is all about Yankees.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 21
On this day in 1924, Vladimir Lenin died. When I was in Moscow, I got to go see the embalmed body. It was creepy. You walk around in a line, no talking at all, while soldiers stare at you with a look that will make you very nervous. I just read what they do to preserve the body, if they’re preserving an actual body, on Wikipedia, and it only furthered the creepiness/nervousness I feel about the subject.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 22
Man, I tried to find something to cheer me up after all those unpleasant thoughts about Lenin. Well, let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing pleasant to be found in all my scrolling. I was getting near the bottom and thinking I was going to have to scroll through again and try to find something at least mediocre to share as pleasant. And, then, do you know what I found at the bottom of the Wikipedia page? Today is the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death. Blurgh. The press will make this day so depressing. So why should I try to find any sort of pleasant value in it?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 23
Today was a pretty good day for women in the United States! We had the first female doctor (Elizabeth Blackwell) and the first female secretary of state (Madeleine Albright). And also, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was born??
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 24
On this day in 1947, one of my favorite singers, Warren Zevon was born. In celebration, I advise you to have a sandwich, and to enjoy it. The nice thing about YouTube is you can watch many clips of Warren and David Letterman, which is how I found out about Warren. But sadly I didn’t see any of the clips where Warren Zevon talks about being the comedy deputy, which is one of the reasons I’ll always like him. Cause I thought that was so funny when I was younger. Well, here is a song:
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 18
On this day in 1861, Georgia seceded from the United States. Man, what if Georgia had never come back? What if the country had never been reunited? I would probably never even have been born. But let’s say that I had been born…where would I live? Who would I be? Maybe I have hypothermia but suddenly I find this very freaky to think about. Earlier this year I was reading the Mental Floss blog, and there was this entry that showed a hypothetical re-drawing of state lines: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17550. Isn’t that weird? I’d kind of rather live in a state called Piedmont; it sounds nicer. But I would be from Cumberland, not Carolina, which makes me slightly sad. Perhaps I would have moved to Superior merely for the humor factor. Hmm.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 19
Continuing on yesterday’s theme, I feel compelled to tell you that on this day in 1807, Robert E. Lee was born. Maybe if things had been different, that would be a holiday or something. Also on this day, Dolly Parton and Paula Deen were born. So a fairly good day for the south, until you consider that on this day in 1862, at the Battle of Mill Springs, the Confederacy suffered its first major defeat.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 20
I couldn’t find anything of interest to Southerners today. Unless you live below the Mason-Dixon and really like “The Office.” Then you might be interested in knowing that it’s Rainn Wilson’s birthday. Even if that show is all about Yankees.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 21
On this day in 1924, Vladimir Lenin died. When I was in Moscow, I got to go see the embalmed body. It was creepy. You walk around in a line, no talking at all, while soldiers stare at you with a look that will make you very nervous. I just read what they do to preserve the body, if they’re preserving an actual body, on Wikipedia, and it only furthered the creepiness/nervousness I feel about the subject.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 22
Man, I tried to find something to cheer me up after all those unpleasant thoughts about Lenin. Well, let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing pleasant to be found in all my scrolling. I was getting near the bottom and thinking I was going to have to scroll through again and try to find something at least mediocre to share as pleasant. And, then, do you know what I found at the bottom of the Wikipedia page? Today is the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death. Blurgh. The press will make this day so depressing. So why should I try to find any sort of pleasant value in it?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 23
Today was a pretty good day for women in the United States! We had the first female doctor (Elizabeth Blackwell) and the first female secretary of state (Madeleine Albright). And also, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was born??
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 24
On this day in 1947, one of my favorite singers, Warren Zevon was born. In celebration, I advise you to have a sandwich, and to enjoy it. The nice thing about YouTube is you can watch many clips of Warren and David Letterman, which is how I found out about Warren. But sadly I didn’t see any of the clips where Warren Zevon talks about being the comedy deputy, which is one of the reasons I’ll always like him. Cause I thought that was so funny when I was younger. Well, here is a song:
Sunday, January 11, 2009
any time of year, you can find it here
It’s hard to believe another week is upon us. This past week I had a cold, so my sincerest hope for this week is that it’s cold-free. I slept an obscene amount yesterday, though, so hopefully I’m starting the week off with my immunity as strong as can be. But enough about the present. What about the past?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 11
Man, today was a crazy day with all sorts of weird historical events to write about. I’m feeling a little indecisive, so I tried to pick something fairly boring just so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. And so I tell you that on this day in 1779, Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur. Wait a tic, now that I write that out, it doesn’t seem boring at all. Wait, now I just did a little research on Ching-Thang Khomba and apparently he’s awesome. So Jan. 11 I guess is just an awesome day overall. They started delivering milk in bottles, y’all!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 12
Today is the date of birth for actress Texas Guinan. I’d never heard of her, but I liked the name, so I did a little extra research. Unfortunately, Texas is not her given name; Mary Louise Cecilia is. But she was a firecracker nevertheless. She walked around saying “hello suckers!” and starred in movies as a cowgirl and opened a speakeasy during Prohibition. Also born today: Tex Ritter. So Jan. 12 = great day to give someone a Lone Star State nickname.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 13
On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison, giving the movie “Walk the Line” a way to frame their story. As much as I like Reese Witherspoon, I want to say that I think Joaquin Phoenix should have won an Oscar instead (if only one of them could have won). I think it’s interesting to imagine an alternate universe where Joaquin Phoenix did win—would he have gone all crazy and retired from acting like he did last year? Or would something like that have happened even earlier? It’s fun to think about. Joaquin Phoenix’s birthday is October 28, so imagine more speculation on the subject around that date.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 14
I was scanning through the notable births of the day, which include writer Tillie Olson being born this day in 1912. But I guess I was reading too fast, and I thought it said Nellie Olson, as in the character from Little House on the Prairie. I did a little more research on the subject and the last name is actually spelled Oleson, something I don’t remember from the books. Plus Nellie Oleson is just an composite of several people, named Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert. So once I read all that, and realized that the day should really be all about Tillie Olson anyways, I felt fairly… disappointed.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 15
Wikipedia went online on this day in 2001! On the same day, Ted Mann died. Ted Mann was an American businessman who bought movie theaters; he changed the name of Grauman’s Chinese Theater to Mann’s Chinese Theater once he bought that theater chain. Did the spirit of the newlyTed Mann enter into the newly born Wikipedia? Impossible to prove, but I’m starting that rumor now. If I were less lazy, I’d try to add it to Ted Mann’s Wikipedia page.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 16
People with interesting names that were born on this date:
-Edmund Crouchback
-Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter
-Irving Rapper
-Dizzy Dean
-Stirling Silliphant
-Dalvanius Prime
People with interesting names that died on this date:
-Charles Annibal Fabrot
-Amilcare Ponchielli
-Ike Quebec
-Ballard Berkeley
-Bobo Olson
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 17
I have decided that this week in history should be Nevil Shute Week. He was born on January 17, 1899, and he died earlier this week, on January 12, 1960. One of the few books I had to read in high school was On the Beach. I say it in that passive-aggressive condescending way because I feel like I should have been made to read far more books in high school. I’m sure Nevil Shute would have agreed with me; after all, I named a whole week in history after him.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 11
Man, today was a crazy day with all sorts of weird historical events to write about. I’m feeling a little indecisive, so I tried to pick something fairly boring just so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. And so I tell you that on this day in 1779, Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur. Wait a tic, now that I write that out, it doesn’t seem boring at all. Wait, now I just did a little research on Ching-Thang Khomba and apparently he’s awesome. So Jan. 11 I guess is just an awesome day overall. They started delivering milk in bottles, y’all!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 12
Today is the date of birth for actress Texas Guinan. I’d never heard of her, but I liked the name, so I did a little extra research. Unfortunately, Texas is not her given name; Mary Louise Cecilia is. But she was a firecracker nevertheless. She walked around saying “hello suckers!” and starred in movies as a cowgirl and opened a speakeasy during Prohibition. Also born today: Tex Ritter. So Jan. 12 = great day to give someone a Lone Star State nickname.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 13
On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison, giving the movie “Walk the Line” a way to frame their story. As much as I like Reese Witherspoon, I want to say that I think Joaquin Phoenix should have won an Oscar instead (if only one of them could have won). I think it’s interesting to imagine an alternate universe where Joaquin Phoenix did win—would he have gone all crazy and retired from acting like he did last year? Or would something like that have happened even earlier? It’s fun to think about. Joaquin Phoenix’s birthday is October 28, so imagine more speculation on the subject around that date.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 14
I was scanning through the notable births of the day, which include writer Tillie Olson being born this day in 1912. But I guess I was reading too fast, and I thought it said Nellie Olson, as in the character from Little House on the Prairie. I did a little more research on the subject and the last name is actually spelled Oleson, something I don’t remember from the books. Plus Nellie Oleson is just an composite of several people, named Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert. So once I read all that, and realized that the day should really be all about Tillie Olson anyways, I felt fairly… disappointed.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 15
Wikipedia went online on this day in 2001! On the same day, Ted Mann died. Ted Mann was an American businessman who bought movie theaters; he changed the name of Grauman’s Chinese Theater to Mann’s Chinese Theater once he bought that theater chain. Did the spirit of the newlyTed Mann enter into the newly born Wikipedia? Impossible to prove, but I’m starting that rumor now. If I were less lazy, I’d try to add it to Ted Mann’s Wikipedia page.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 16
People with interesting names that were born on this date:
-Edmund Crouchback
-Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter
-Irving Rapper
-Dizzy Dean
-Stirling Silliphant
-Dalvanius Prime
People with interesting names that died on this date:
-Charles Annibal Fabrot
-Amilcare Ponchielli
-Ike Quebec
-Ballard Berkeley
-Bobo Olson
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 17
I have decided that this week in history should be Nevil Shute Week. He was born on January 17, 1899, and he died earlier this week, on January 12, 1960. One of the few books I had to read in high school was On the Beach. I say it in that passive-aggressive condescending way because I feel like I should have been made to read far more books in high school. I’m sure Nevil Shute would have agreed with me; after all, I named a whole week in history after him.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
a fresh start
Happy New Year! Today starts off the first full week of 2009, and after a bit of a blogging break after my December sprint to the finish, I’m back to tell you interesting and useless factoids about what happened on these dates in history.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 4
Ok, as I write this, there are only about two hours left on this day. Eastern standard time of course. So I don't feel compelled to make a big production out of it. Suffice it to say that ELEVEN people who are described by Wikipedia as having something to do with football, be it in a coaching or playing position, either were born or died on this day in history. And I'm not going to get any more specific than that. Also, it is Michael Stipe's birthday.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 5
If your name is George Washington, there's a good chance that something monumental will happen to you today, for in 1759 on this date George Washington married Martha, and on this day in 1943, George Washington Carver died. HEY. If you have a baby today, name him/her George Washington, because we have a notable event and a notable death occurring on this date, but not a notable birth. YET.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 6
I found this day in history to be fairly dull.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 7
Oh man. The United States might be in trouble today if history provides any indication. Even before we were a country, we were having troubles on this day, such as back in 1608 when fire destroyed Jamestown. Then, in 1953 Harry Truman announced we had developed a hydrogen bomb. With eerie parallels to today's situation, on this date in 1980 Jimmy Carter authorized a bailout for Chrysler, and on this day in 1999, the impeachment of Bill Clinton began. And also, Dustin Diamond, a.k.a Saved by the Bell's Screech, was born. So watch your back, America!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 8
Though a fair amount of interesting historical things happened, I think I'd like to point out that Jenny Lewis was born this day in 1976. Her latest cd, Acid Tongue, was probably my favorite of 2008 though I don't know if that's saying much because I didn't hear a whole lot of new cd's in 2008 and some of the ones I heard weren't really that good. But that cd stays put in my car's cd player, even when I am tired of it and think I should switch it. Sometimes I don't and then I get right back into it.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 9
In other female singer news, Crystal Gayle was born this day in 1951. She was one of the first singers I was really aware of when I was little. She had all that hair. I think her greatest hits cd was one of the first, if not the first, cd that my dad bought when we started making the transition from cassette tape to compact disc.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 10
On this day in 681, Pope Agatho died. He was pope for about three years. So far he is the only pope with the name Agatho so keep that in mind when you're picking your pope name.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 4
Ok, as I write this, there are only about two hours left on this day. Eastern standard time of course. So I don't feel compelled to make a big production out of it. Suffice it to say that ELEVEN people who are described by Wikipedia as having something to do with football, be it in a coaching or playing position, either were born or died on this day in history. And I'm not going to get any more specific than that. Also, it is Michael Stipe's birthday.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 5
If your name is George Washington, there's a good chance that something monumental will happen to you today, for in 1759 on this date George Washington married Martha, and on this day in 1943, George Washington Carver died. HEY. If you have a baby today, name him/her George Washington, because we have a notable event and a notable death occurring on this date, but not a notable birth. YET.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 6
I found this day in history to be fairly dull.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 7
Oh man. The United States might be in trouble today if history provides any indication. Even before we were a country, we were having troubles on this day, such as back in 1608 when fire destroyed Jamestown. Then, in 1953 Harry Truman announced we had developed a hydrogen bomb. With eerie parallels to today's situation, on this date in 1980 Jimmy Carter authorized a bailout for Chrysler, and on this day in 1999, the impeachment of Bill Clinton began. And also, Dustin Diamond, a.k.a Saved by the Bell's Screech, was born. So watch your back, America!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 8
Though a fair amount of interesting historical things happened, I think I'd like to point out that Jenny Lewis was born this day in 1976. Her latest cd, Acid Tongue, was probably my favorite of 2008 though I don't know if that's saying much because I didn't hear a whole lot of new cd's in 2008 and some of the ones I heard weren't really that good. But that cd stays put in my car's cd player, even when I am tired of it and think I should switch it. Sometimes I don't and then I get right back into it.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 9
In other female singer news, Crystal Gayle was born this day in 1951. She was one of the first singers I was really aware of when I was little. She had all that hair. I think her greatest hits cd was one of the first, if not the first, cd that my dad bought when we started making the transition from cassette tape to compact disc.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 10
On this day in 681, Pope Agatho died. He was pope for about three years. So far he is the only pope with the name Agatho so keep that in mind when you're picking your pope name.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I forgot January 3!!!
Oh crap. Right after I posted that last entry I realized that I had left January 3rd off, which is the real end of this week. But then I realized that leaving that date off provided me with something of an opportunity. See, after this coming January 3, the date will be forever remembered as the day that my cousin Mary Henry got married to Brad; faithful readers of the blog will remember that last year around this time, there was a whole week dedicated to Mary Henry and Brad as they provided me with a list of questions I could answer to rack up more blog entries. Well, it seems they’ve done it again, because by leaving off January 3 in the last post, I have the opportunity to give it more attention, and also, a separate entry. Even when they’re not even trying, Brad and Mary Henry manage to help me reach my blog goals.
So let’s take a look back at January 3’s history, to determine if it is an auspicious date for marriage.
Notable Events occurring this day:
1496: Leonard da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Even geniuses fail, so don’t give up on the marriage if one time you have a fight.
1925: Benito Mussolini announces he’s taking dictatorial powers over Italy
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: No one should act like a dictator in marriage, because dictatorships are generally not well-remembered.
1953: Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Teach your children well, as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young would say.
1962: Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: See above re: dictators. Also, don’t become communist.
Notable births occurring this day:
1892: J.R.R. Tolkien
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Not all those who wander are lost. But if you do think your spouse is lost, you should probably go look for them since you're sorta responsible for them now. Also, if you don't, you might be a suspect in the disappearance.
1945: Stephen Stills
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: I would just like to say that you know how above, I wrote that you should “teach your children well”? I wrote that BEFORE I EVEN KNEW THAT TODAY WAS STEPHEN STILLS’ BIRTHDAY, WHICH HAS GOTTA BE SOME KIND OF GOOD SIGN FOR BRAD AND MARY HENRY.
1956: Mel Gibson
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: You shouldn’t abandon the Episcopal church to follow any weird offshoots of Catholicism.
Notable deaths occurring this day:
1903: Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hitler
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: What is it with you guys and dictators??
2002: Freddy Heineken
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Drink Dutch beer whenever possible.
Overall, it seems like Brad and Mary Henry will really be able to claim this day as their own, because not too many significant historic things happened. I approve it as a good choice.
So let’s take a look back at January 3’s history, to determine if it is an auspicious date for marriage.
Notable Events occurring this day:
1496: Leonard da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Even geniuses fail, so don’t give up on the marriage if one time you have a fight.
1925: Benito Mussolini announces he’s taking dictatorial powers over Italy
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: No one should act like a dictator in marriage, because dictatorships are generally not well-remembered.
1953: Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Teach your children well, as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young would say.
1962: Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: See above re: dictators. Also, don’t become communist.
Notable births occurring this day:
1892: J.R.R. Tolkien
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Not all those who wander are lost. But if you do think your spouse is lost, you should probably go look for them since you're sorta responsible for them now. Also, if you don't, you might be a suspect in the disappearance.
1945: Stephen Stills
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: I would just like to say that you know how above, I wrote that you should “teach your children well”? I wrote that BEFORE I EVEN KNEW THAT TODAY WAS STEPHEN STILLS’ BIRTHDAY, WHICH HAS GOTTA BE SOME KIND OF GOOD SIGN FOR BRAD AND MARY HENRY.
1956: Mel Gibson
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: You shouldn’t abandon the Episcopal church to follow any weird offshoots of Catholicism.
Notable deaths occurring this day:
1903: Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hitler
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: What is it with you guys and dictators??
2002: Freddy Heineken
What this means for Brad and Mary Henry: Drink Dutch beer whenever possible.
Overall, it seems like Brad and Mary Henry will really be able to claim this day as their own, because not too many significant historic things happened. I approve it as a good choice.
This Week in History: December 28-January 2
This is the first entry I’m writing on my new laptop! It was a gift I gave myself for Christmas and so far all this gift has done is freak me out. It is so new and different than what I am used to. I am trying not to dwell on it and to power through these last blogs before the end of the year. So let’s take a look at what happened this week in history, if my new laptop will cooperate and not freak me out for that long.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 28
A lot of really interesting things worth writing about happened today, but I didn’t want to write about any of them when I spotted that today is Sienna Miller’s birthday. She is just four months older than me but already she has been engaged to Jude Law and had an affair with the married Balthazar Getty. And what have I done? I don’t even know anyone named Balthazar.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 29
According to Wikipedia, today is the day that the Russians finally killed ol’ Rasputin back in 1916. But I clicked on Rasputin’s entry to learn more and found that this is only true if you recognize the Gregorian calendar rather than the Julian calendar because if you’re going by the old style than it’s a whole other date entirely. That made me tired and I didn’t want to read any more on the matter.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 30
For those of you who are fans of the Today Show, today is both Meredith Viera AND Matt Lauer’s birthday. The question is, what significance does this day have for Al Roker? That’s not really a good question, but I didn’t have anywhere to go with the Meredith Viera/Matt Lauer thing other than a Where in the World is Matt Lauer joke, which could hardly be considered a joke at all.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 31
Oh man, if you think lots happened on this day, being New Year’s Eve, then you are right. All sorts of important stuff happened as folks tried to get their milestones in before the start of the new year. But the one I am choosing to highlight is extremely personal, as today is the date of birth of my reputed ancestor, George Gordon Meade. I have written of this connection before: http://iwiggleitjustalittlebit.blogspot.com/2007/07/if-you-take-away-e-its-also-delicious.html This got me wondering, could I be related to anyone else celebrating a birthday this day? I looked over the options and here are my top three choices for possible relatives: Henri Matisse, Elizabeth Arden, and Ben Kingsley.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 1
Wikipedia has so many historic events listed for this day that I found it overwhelming, much as I find my new computer overwhelming. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll send a shout-out to Barry Goldwater, born this day in 1909. My dad recently said that he would have liked to have seen what a Goldwater presidency would have been like, and I have spent many hours hunting down Goldwater buttons with him. His middle name is Morris.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 2
On this day in 1942, former speaker of the house Dennis Hastert was born. I’m not going to lie…sometimes I see the name Dennis Hastert and think they’re talking about the guy who played Mr. Belding on Saved by the Bell. But that was Dennis Haskins, which is totally different; he was born on November 18, 1950, if Wikipedia is to be believed.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 28
A lot of really interesting things worth writing about happened today, but I didn’t want to write about any of them when I spotted that today is Sienna Miller’s birthday. She is just four months older than me but already she has been engaged to Jude Law and had an affair with the married Balthazar Getty. And what have I done? I don’t even know anyone named Balthazar.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 29
According to Wikipedia, today is the day that the Russians finally killed ol’ Rasputin back in 1916. But I clicked on Rasputin’s entry to learn more and found that this is only true if you recognize the Gregorian calendar rather than the Julian calendar because if you’re going by the old style than it’s a whole other date entirely. That made me tired and I didn’t want to read any more on the matter.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 30
For those of you who are fans of the Today Show, today is both Meredith Viera AND Matt Lauer’s birthday. The question is, what significance does this day have for Al Roker? That’s not really a good question, but I didn’t have anywhere to go with the Meredith Viera/Matt Lauer thing other than a Where in the World is Matt Lauer joke, which could hardly be considered a joke at all.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 31
Oh man, if you think lots happened on this day, being New Year’s Eve, then you are right. All sorts of important stuff happened as folks tried to get their milestones in before the start of the new year. But the one I am choosing to highlight is extremely personal, as today is the date of birth of my reputed ancestor, George Gordon Meade. I have written of this connection before: http://iwiggleitjustalittlebit.blogspot.com/2007/07/if-you-take-away-e-its-also-delicious.html This got me wondering, could I be related to anyone else celebrating a birthday this day? I looked over the options and here are my top three choices for possible relatives: Henri Matisse, Elizabeth Arden, and Ben Kingsley.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 1
Wikipedia has so many historic events listed for this day that I found it overwhelming, much as I find my new computer overwhelming. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll send a shout-out to Barry Goldwater, born this day in 1909. My dad recently said that he would have liked to have seen what a Goldwater presidency would have been like, and I have spent many hours hunting down Goldwater buttons with him. His middle name is Morris.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 2
On this day in 1942, former speaker of the house Dennis Hastert was born. I’m not going to lie…sometimes I see the name Dennis Hastert and think they’re talking about the guy who played Mr. Belding on Saved by the Bell. But that was Dennis Haskins, which is totally different; he was born on November 18, 1950, if Wikipedia is to be believed.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
This Week in History: Dec 21-27
I settled down with a cup of coffee and a bagel to write this week's look back in history. I was in a great mood. But as you scroll through the dates, Wikipedia tells you how many days are left in the year, and there are so few of them left that I started getting more and more depressed and overwhelmed. Also, while I was writing, the sun started moving so that now it's right in my eyes. Now I'm in a bad mood. Bah humbug. Enjoy these historical events from the week ahead.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 21
There's no way around it. The week starts off weird. The best I can do in terms of a silver lining is tell you that the first crossword was printed today. Otherwise, you must reconcile that it's the birthday of Joseph Stalin and Andy Dick. Perhaps you will be heartened by the fact that it's also Ray Romano's birthday, but he doesn't really do it for me.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 22
On this day in 1912, Lady Bird Johnson was born. I feel compelled to tell you that her real name is Claudia, because that seems like it would be a great pub trivia question. And now you will know the answer.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 23
I can't find anything on this day interesting enough for me to write about. Maybe everyone was too busy finishing their Christmas shopping to give birth to anyone interesting or to have any real impact on world history.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 24
On this day in 1927, writer Mary Higgins Clark was born, and I'd like to give a shout-out to her, because I feel that she was the first adult author I was really cognizant of. After graduating from things like The Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew's, I spent many a summer of my young life being enthralled by a Mary Higgins Clark book.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 25
As long as we're saluting heroes of my childhood--any self-respecting Parrothead knows that today is the birthday of Jimmy Buffett, turning the big 62 today. Unfortunately, "A Pirate Looks at 62" doesn't have quite the same ring. Also sharing a special day with Jesus Christ (observed) are Sir Isaac Newton, Clara Barton, Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Mandrell, Sissy Spacek, Karl Rove, Annie Lennox, Shane MacGowan and Miley Cyrus.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 26
Did you stop after reading that last entry and go, hey, wasn't Miley Cyrus's birthday back in November? If so….that is sick.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 27
If you like milk, then pour a little out today for your homey Louis Pasteur, born this day in 1822.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 21
There's no way around it. The week starts off weird. The best I can do in terms of a silver lining is tell you that the first crossword was printed today. Otherwise, you must reconcile that it's the birthday of Joseph Stalin and Andy Dick. Perhaps you will be heartened by the fact that it's also Ray Romano's birthday, but he doesn't really do it for me.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 22
On this day in 1912, Lady Bird Johnson was born. I feel compelled to tell you that her real name is Claudia, because that seems like it would be a great pub trivia question. And now you will know the answer.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 23
I can't find anything on this day interesting enough for me to write about. Maybe everyone was too busy finishing their Christmas shopping to give birth to anyone interesting or to have any real impact on world history.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 24
On this day in 1927, writer Mary Higgins Clark was born, and I'd like to give a shout-out to her, because I feel that she was the first adult author I was really cognizant of. After graduating from things like The Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew's, I spent many a summer of my young life being enthralled by a Mary Higgins Clark book.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 25
As long as we're saluting heroes of my childhood--any self-respecting Parrothead knows that today is the birthday of Jimmy Buffett, turning the big 62 today. Unfortunately, "A Pirate Looks at 62" doesn't have quite the same ring. Also sharing a special day with Jesus Christ (observed) are Sir Isaac Newton, Clara Barton, Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Mandrell, Sissy Spacek, Karl Rove, Annie Lennox, Shane MacGowan and Miley Cyrus.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 26
Did you stop after reading that last entry and go, hey, wasn't Miley Cyrus's birthday back in November? If so….that is sick.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 27
If you like milk, then pour a little out today for your homey Louis Pasteur, born this day in 1822.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
This Week in History: Dec 14-20
Well, our day-by-day look at history ended yesterday, but because of the feature's overwhelming popularity, and my overwhelming need for more blogs, I've decided to make the feature a weekly regular for awhile. So instead of searching for meaning in a day's random sad events, I'll just highlight one event a day from the upcoming week. So we all know what kind of history we might be doomed to repeat in the next seven days.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 14
Nostradamus was born this day in 1503. So he doesn't need to read any further in this entry, since he foresaw it all, I guess. Of personal interest, B.K.S. Iyengar was born this day in 1918. He's the founder of Iyengar yoga, which is the style of yoga I've been doing lately, so everyone's been all abuzz about the guy's 90th birthday. 90 years old and he still is practicing yoga.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 15
One of the most dazzling events in Atlanta's history occurred, today, as Gone With the Wind had its world premiere at Loew's. There were all sorts of parties and parades and events. The anecdote that is perhaps most associated with the event is that Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, could not attend without sitting in a separate section because segregation was still in full force. She elected not to attend, which pissed Clark Gable off, to the point that he didn't want to attend either. Hattie McDaniel convinced Clark Gable to go after all, where he gave a nice speech about how the night was really about the people of Atlanta and Margaret Mitchell. I think it's always nice to see the writer getting props.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 16
Today is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and Jane Austen's birthday! Celebrate by drinking tea and speaking in a British accent all day!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 17
On this day in 1903, the Wright Brothers made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, forever saddling North Carolina as the "First in Flight" state. There are a tremendous amount of interesting things about North Carolina, and all we get on license plates and state quarters and driver's licenses is that stupid "First in Flight" thing.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 18
Today brings us a weird grouping of celebrity birthdays. Try to imagine these people having a joint birthday party: Keith Richards, Steven Spielberg, Ray Liotta, Brad Pitt, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Katie Holmes. No, seriously, try to imagine such a birthday party. It will take you the rest of the day.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 19
I didn't really find this day in history too interesting on first glance, which is part of why I'm switching to this weekly format.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 20
Today is a day where something important might happen in terms of the United States. See, on this day in history in 1606, settlers set out to establish Jamestown, VA, which means maybe the United States will get bigger today. Supporting that idea, in 1803 we signed the Louisiana Purchase, making us even bigger. But in 1860, we got smaller, because South Carolina seceded from the United States. So my predictions: either we annex Canada, or we get rid of the states we don't need (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) once and for all.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 14
Nostradamus was born this day in 1503. So he doesn't need to read any further in this entry, since he foresaw it all, I guess. Of personal interest, B.K.S. Iyengar was born this day in 1918. He's the founder of Iyengar yoga, which is the style of yoga I've been doing lately, so everyone's been all abuzz about the guy's 90th birthday. 90 years old and he still is practicing yoga.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 15
One of the most dazzling events in Atlanta's history occurred, today, as Gone With the Wind had its world premiere at Loew's. There were all sorts of parties and parades and events. The anecdote that is perhaps most associated with the event is that Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, could not attend without sitting in a separate section because segregation was still in full force. She elected not to attend, which pissed Clark Gable off, to the point that he didn't want to attend either. Hattie McDaniel convinced Clark Gable to go after all, where he gave a nice speech about how the night was really about the people of Atlanta and Margaret Mitchell. I think it's always nice to see the writer getting props.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 16
Today is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and Jane Austen's birthday! Celebrate by drinking tea and speaking in a British accent all day!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 17
On this day in 1903, the Wright Brothers made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, forever saddling North Carolina as the "First in Flight" state. There are a tremendous amount of interesting things about North Carolina, and all we get on license plates and state quarters and driver's licenses is that stupid "First in Flight" thing.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 18
Today brings us a weird grouping of celebrity birthdays. Try to imagine these people having a joint birthday party: Keith Richards, Steven Spielberg, Ray Liotta, Brad Pitt, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Katie Holmes. No, seriously, try to imagine such a birthday party. It will take you the rest of the day.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 19
I didn't really find this day in history too interesting on first glance, which is part of why I'm switching to this weekly format.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: DECEMBER 20
Today is a day where something important might happen in terms of the United States. See, on this day in history in 1606, settlers set out to establish Jamestown, VA, which means maybe the United States will get bigger today. Supporting that idea, in 1803 we signed the Louisiana Purchase, making us even bigger. But in 1860, we got smaller, because South Carolina seceded from the United States. So my predictions: either we annex Canada, or we get rid of the states we don't need (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) once and for all.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
This Day in History: Dec 13
What happened this day in history? Well, the first thing Wikipedia alerted me to was the abdication of the papacy by Celestine V in 1294. This is actually a pretty cool story that I read up on in my pope books. After the previous pope died, there was a two-year stalemate in deciding upon a new pope. There was this guy, Peter, who was out living like a hermit in an order known for its very strict lifestyle. He wrote a letter to the electors and said, hey, please settle this thing for the good of the Catholic church. The electors, needing a compromise candidate, said, hey, about this hermit Peter? And so hermit Peter became Celestine V.
Celestine V wasn't too thrilled about becoming Pope, because he would have rather kept up his hermit lifestyle, punishing himself in penance to God. And no one in church leadership, once they got a good look at Celestine, was too excited either -- one book talks about how the man was basically illiterate and how every other word he said was something ridiculous and slightly vulgar. Perhaps to give him something to perform penance for later, I presume. But the election of Celestine V got all these little factions of hermits excited, because they wanted him to reform the church so that everyone was a penitential hermit.
Celestine V decided to keep living the life of a hermit, even within the public office of the papacy, so he lived in a little cell and gave day-to-day responsibility to a few cardinals. Despite his self-induced solitude, Celestine V did manage to pass a couple of rules, one of which was that a pope had the right to abdicate the office of Pope. Very convenient, Celestine V. After that rule was put into place, Celestine V decided to take advantage of it himself, and he gave this big speech where he announced his resignation; as he talked, he stripped off his papal clothing. Then, legend has it, or as I am making up right now, he ran naked to the woods to continue being a hermit.
Now, while he may not have run naked back to his hermit lifestyle, that was Priority Numero Uno for Celestine. Unfortunately, the next pope, Boniface VIII, was a little worried about an ex-Pope living like a hermit out in the wilderness. He figured that everyone who was inspired by Celestine V's brief reign would seek him out and make him a cult figure of sorts, which could represent real problems for the legitimacy of Boniface VIII. So Bonny 8 sent some goons out to get Celestine, and he kept him imprisoned for the rest of his natural life. Now, Celestine was up in years, about 90 or so, so it's reasonable to assume that Celestine died of natural causes. But rumors persist that Boniface actually starved him to death, or even shot him. It is a mystery for the ages. But because Boniface had such a rocky reign, with many conflicts with the French king, people think it could be possible.
Dante sent Boniface to hell in The Divine Comedy, and unfortunately, Celestine, despite his pious hermetical ways, is depicted as standing right outside hell, because Dante figured if that Celestine had not abdicated (which, as a reminder, happened on this day in history in 1294), then Boniface VIII would never have become pope. Perhaps the lesson here is never quit your job, because the person who gets it next might imprison you and possibly kill you, and despite whatever good you tried to do while as a hermit, you're still going to be forever remembered in literature as standing near hell. Remember that the next time you're about to quit something.
Celestine V wasn't too thrilled about becoming Pope, because he would have rather kept up his hermit lifestyle, punishing himself in penance to God. And no one in church leadership, once they got a good look at Celestine, was too excited either -- one book talks about how the man was basically illiterate and how every other word he said was something ridiculous and slightly vulgar. Perhaps to give him something to perform penance for later, I presume. But the election of Celestine V got all these little factions of hermits excited, because they wanted him to reform the church so that everyone was a penitential hermit.
Celestine V decided to keep living the life of a hermit, even within the public office of the papacy, so he lived in a little cell and gave day-to-day responsibility to a few cardinals. Despite his self-induced solitude, Celestine V did manage to pass a couple of rules, one of which was that a pope had the right to abdicate the office of Pope. Very convenient, Celestine V. After that rule was put into place, Celestine V decided to take advantage of it himself, and he gave this big speech where he announced his resignation; as he talked, he stripped off his papal clothing. Then, legend has it, or as I am making up right now, he ran naked to the woods to continue being a hermit.
Now, while he may not have run naked back to his hermit lifestyle, that was Priority Numero Uno for Celestine. Unfortunately, the next pope, Boniface VIII, was a little worried about an ex-Pope living like a hermit out in the wilderness. He figured that everyone who was inspired by Celestine V's brief reign would seek him out and make him a cult figure of sorts, which could represent real problems for the legitimacy of Boniface VIII. So Bonny 8 sent some goons out to get Celestine, and he kept him imprisoned for the rest of his natural life. Now, Celestine was up in years, about 90 or so, so it's reasonable to assume that Celestine died of natural causes. But rumors persist that Boniface actually starved him to death, or even shot him. It is a mystery for the ages. But because Boniface had such a rocky reign, with many conflicts with the French king, people think it could be possible.
Dante sent Boniface to hell in The Divine Comedy, and unfortunately, Celestine, despite his pious hermetical ways, is depicted as standing right outside hell, because Dante figured if that Celestine had not abdicated (which, as a reminder, happened on this day in history in 1294), then Boniface VIII would never have become pope. Perhaps the lesson here is never quit your job, because the person who gets it next might imprison you and possibly kill you, and despite whatever good you tried to do while as a hermit, you're still going to be forever remembered in literature as standing near hell. Remember that the next time you're about to quit something.
Friday, December 12, 2008
This Day in History: Dec 12
Look, there's no way around it. December 12 was a weird day in history. It's hard for me to find meaning in today. Look at all the things that happened:
--In 1098 there was this massacre as part of the First Crusade that eventually ended with everyone eating each other.
--1787: Pennsylvania becomes a state
--1863: Edvard Munch was born
--1915: Frank Sinatra was born
--1923: Bob Barker was born
--1941: Lots of World War II related deaths, including Hiter's secret meeting where he announced the extermination of the Jews.
--1942: A fire at a hostel in Newfoundland kills people.
--1946: A fire at an ice plant of all places spread to a nearby tenement and killed people
--At a massacre in Malaysia the guards kill people
--1963: Kenya became independent
--1975: Mayim Bialik was born
--1979: Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, which I think we can all agree was a change for the better, or at least more interesting and fun to say.
--1982: 30,000 women held hands and formed a human chain as part of a peace protest.
--1985: A plane crashed and killed people
--1988: A train crashed and killed people.
--2000: The Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore and killed people
--2003: Keiko, the whale from Free Willy, died
Man, I've been staring at that random list for at least five minutes trying to find some meaning in it. Overall, I think it's a harbinger of doom. Which is a letdown, because I was sure today was going to be a good day after hearing Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" in the car this morning. Oh well.
To make up for my lack of comment on the day's events, I thought I would just type out what my page-a-day Peanuts calendar had for the day, but it's kind of a snooze also: Charlie Brown tells Sally that he can't always help her with her homework, and that he's told her over and over again, and how often does he have to tell her? And Sally says, "For the umpteenth time?" Not Charles Schulz's best.
Anyways, after perusing the day's events and reading my daily Peanuts, I just have to tell you that I think you should go back to bed if such a thing is still an option.
--In 1098 there was this massacre as part of the First Crusade that eventually ended with everyone eating each other.
--1787: Pennsylvania becomes a state
--1863: Edvard Munch was born
--1915: Frank Sinatra was born
--1923: Bob Barker was born
--1941: Lots of World War II related deaths, including Hiter's secret meeting where he announced the extermination of the Jews.
--1942: A fire at a hostel in Newfoundland kills people.
--1946: A fire at an ice plant of all places spread to a nearby tenement and killed people
--At a massacre in Malaysia the guards kill people
--1963: Kenya became independent
--1975: Mayim Bialik was born
--1979: Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, which I think we can all agree was a change for the better, or at least more interesting and fun to say.
--1982: 30,000 women held hands and formed a human chain as part of a peace protest.
--1985: A plane crashed and killed people
--1988: A train crashed and killed people.
--2000: The Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore and killed people
--2003: Keiko, the whale from Free Willy, died
Man, I've been staring at that random list for at least five minutes trying to find some meaning in it. Overall, I think it's a harbinger of doom. Which is a letdown, because I was sure today was going to be a good day after hearing Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" in the car this morning. Oh well.
To make up for my lack of comment on the day's events, I thought I would just type out what my page-a-day Peanuts calendar had for the day, but it's kind of a snooze also: Charlie Brown tells Sally that he can't always help her with her homework, and that he's told her over and over again, and how often does he have to tell her? And Sally says, "For the umpteenth time?" Not Charles Schulz's best.
Anyways, after perusing the day's events and reading my daily Peanuts, I just have to tell you that I think you should go back to bed if such a thing is still an option.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
This Day in History: Dec 11
Well, another day, another opportunity to find out about historical events. Today we'll be examining the historical events of December 11th, and following yesterday's exciting events regarding the chartering of Emory College comes today's big event: the chartering of the University of North Carolina by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789. Today, the University of North Carolina system includes sixteen four-year universities scattered around the state, including Appalachian State University, the school my brother attends. But back in the day, there was just the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the oldest public university in the United States.
As a child growing up in North Carolina, it seemed to me that there were three ways that kids were raised: as UNC fans, as Duke fans or as NC State fans. Unfortunately, as I quickly realized, I was being raised none of those ways -- I was being raised as a Cavalier fan since my dad when to the University of Virginia. The closest I ever got to rooting for a home state team was cheering on Wake Forest since my dad went to law school there. My mom went to college in North Carolina, but her school wasn't in the same division and as such, my dad's teachings on this matter were prevalent.
Now, I don't want to say my dad "brainwashed" me, but let's just say that the idea of UNC made me very very upset as a child. I seem to remember an embroidered paperweight in his office that said "My two favorite teams are Virginia and whoever's playing North Carolina." So as far as I was concerned, that ram mascot was the scariest thing in the world.
As a very serious and sensitive child, I sometimes had a hard time knowing when people were teasing. My kindergarten teacher Miss Piercy was as big a UNC fan as my dad was a UVA fan, and despite my serious and sensitive nature, I became a pawn in their cruel game. Miss Piercy started sending me home with little UNC mementoes, like cups and keychains, which freaked me out. I cried and hid them in the bottom of my backpack because I didn't want my dad to find out. Then Dad and Miss Piercy made a bet on the UNC/UVA game, and instead of settling it amongst themselves, the winner got to dress me in shirts from the school of their choosing for a week. Since UNC won that year, I had to wear UNC shirts every day for a week. A week! I remember this being a miserable time. Typing this all out it seems miraculous that I made it through kindergarten which such emotional abuse being inflicted all the time.
But here's the crazy thing. I was raised to root against UNC, right? And then all of a sudden, it's time for me to go to college, and all of a sudden UNC starts looking real good to Dad, since it's in-state and tuition would be lower. Now, of course, we spent a lot of time looking at Virginia as well, but I’m just saying that it was quite confusing to be raised one way and then told to look a different way when it came to actually paying for a place.
Anyways, I am incredibly off-topic. Did anything else happen this day in history, you may be asking? Well, Indiana, birthplace of David Letterman and Johnny Cougar Mellencamp, became the 19th state. In World War II news, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States and the United States was all like, I'm rubber and you're glue and turned around and declared war right back. UNICEF was established. The Libertarian Party was formed. John Kerry and Mos Def were born, and Pope Damascus I and Sam Cooke died.
As a child growing up in North Carolina, it seemed to me that there were three ways that kids were raised: as UNC fans, as Duke fans or as NC State fans. Unfortunately, as I quickly realized, I was being raised none of those ways -- I was being raised as a Cavalier fan since my dad when to the University of Virginia. The closest I ever got to rooting for a home state team was cheering on Wake Forest since my dad went to law school there. My mom went to college in North Carolina, but her school wasn't in the same division and as such, my dad's teachings on this matter were prevalent.
Now, I don't want to say my dad "brainwashed" me, but let's just say that the idea of UNC made me very very upset as a child. I seem to remember an embroidered paperweight in his office that said "My two favorite teams are Virginia and whoever's playing North Carolina." So as far as I was concerned, that ram mascot was the scariest thing in the world.
As a very serious and sensitive child, I sometimes had a hard time knowing when people were teasing. My kindergarten teacher Miss Piercy was as big a UNC fan as my dad was a UVA fan, and despite my serious and sensitive nature, I became a pawn in their cruel game. Miss Piercy started sending me home with little UNC mementoes, like cups and keychains, which freaked me out. I cried and hid them in the bottom of my backpack because I didn't want my dad to find out. Then Dad and Miss Piercy made a bet on the UNC/UVA game, and instead of settling it amongst themselves, the winner got to dress me in shirts from the school of their choosing for a week. Since UNC won that year, I had to wear UNC shirts every day for a week. A week! I remember this being a miserable time. Typing this all out it seems miraculous that I made it through kindergarten which such emotional abuse being inflicted all the time.
But here's the crazy thing. I was raised to root against UNC, right? And then all of a sudden, it's time for me to go to college, and all of a sudden UNC starts looking real good to Dad, since it's in-state and tuition would be lower. Now, of course, we spent a lot of time looking at Virginia as well, but I’m just saying that it was quite confusing to be raised one way and then told to look a different way when it came to actually paying for a place.
Anyways, I am incredibly off-topic. Did anything else happen this day in history, you may be asking? Well, Indiana, birthplace of David Letterman and Johnny Cougar Mellencamp, became the 19th state. In World War II news, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States and the United States was all like, I'm rubber and you're glue and turned around and declared war right back. UNICEF was established. The Libertarian Party was formed. John Kerry and Mos Def were born, and Pope Damascus I and Sam Cooke died.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
This Day in History: Dec 10
Okay. December 10. Let's see what happened this day in history on December 10. Everyone's favorite melancholy poet, Emily Dickinson was born. Everyone's favorite weird drummer, Meg White, was also born. Clearly a good day for the birth of quiet and retiring women. Though Raven-Symone was also born. Man I hope Raven-Symone becomes this generation's Emily Dickinson.
The Nobel Awards are sort of like the thinking man's Oscars, minus all the fun and glamour and frivolousness. But if you follow the Nobels, you will probably be interested to note that Alfred Nobel died this day in 1896, which is why the Nobel Prizes, except the one for Peace, are always given this day in history. One year, I shall win one for…wait for it….chemistry. The chemistry of blogging. I just googled that phrase and the field looks pretty wide open so that's what I'm going to take up.
Anyways, enough babbling. The big event that happened this day in history was in 1836, when the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter for a Methodist college to be named after Bishop John Emory. That school, Emory College, was built in Oxford, Georgia, but luckily a little drink named Coca-Cola became popular at the turn of the century. The guy who owned Coca-Cola was brothers with a prominent Methodist bishop who had ties to Emory. The family gave some land and some money and voila, Emory College of Oxford became Emory University of Atlanta. Which is where I went to school.
On an interesting side note, that family's last name was Candler, which is also the name of my hometown in North Carolina. As the story was once recounted to me, the people who lived in Candler, NC were given the option to go down to Atlanta to help out with the marketing of this new-fangled Coca-Cola, but they passed, opting to stay in North Carolina. I assume they lived a poor but happy life in their little burrow while the big-city Candlers lived it up with rum and coke and got buildings named after them on Emory's campus. But…I can't say for sure.
Anyways, don't think I'm insane and knew exactly when my college was chartered. I didn't. Wikipedia told me. I did know that the school was founded in 1836 in Oxford because as a tour guide, I used to throw out that fact all the time. Also on the tour, I'd mention that in the 1970's, Emory got even more money from Coca-Cola, a sum that at the time was the largest gift given to a university. That's why you'll frequently hear Emory described as Coke University, though probably not as often as you hear Emory described as the Harvard of the South. That's also why all the buildings on campus are named Woodruff. That was another little joke on the tour.
Also on the tour, I used to tell this anecdote, even though I have no way of knowing if it's true. Apparently one day Pepsi machines were installed on campus, but they'd only been up for about five minutes when the baseball team, fresh from practice, walked by. Since the team knew which side their bread was buttered on, they took bats to the machine and that was the last Pepsi that was ever available at Emory.
Anyways, I especially benefited from that Coke money since the school kindly used some of it to pay for my tuition. Which is why it's an awful awful thing that I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke, and that I prefer Diet Dr. Pepper to all other soft drinks. I'm an awful awful ungrateful person, I know. But I'd like to think that my rebellious preference is actually a testament to Emory, because any good university will teach you to think critically. And with my critical thinking skills, I can tell you that the other products just taste better.
In any case, pour out a little Coke for the events that transpired on this day in history.
The Nobel Awards are sort of like the thinking man's Oscars, minus all the fun and glamour and frivolousness. But if you follow the Nobels, you will probably be interested to note that Alfred Nobel died this day in 1896, which is why the Nobel Prizes, except the one for Peace, are always given this day in history. One year, I shall win one for…wait for it….chemistry. The chemistry of blogging. I just googled that phrase and the field looks pretty wide open so that's what I'm going to take up.
Anyways, enough babbling. The big event that happened this day in history was in 1836, when the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter for a Methodist college to be named after Bishop John Emory. That school, Emory College, was built in Oxford, Georgia, but luckily a little drink named Coca-Cola became popular at the turn of the century. The guy who owned Coca-Cola was brothers with a prominent Methodist bishop who had ties to Emory. The family gave some land and some money and voila, Emory College of Oxford became Emory University of Atlanta. Which is where I went to school.
On an interesting side note, that family's last name was Candler, which is also the name of my hometown in North Carolina. As the story was once recounted to me, the people who lived in Candler, NC were given the option to go down to Atlanta to help out with the marketing of this new-fangled Coca-Cola, but they passed, opting to stay in North Carolina. I assume they lived a poor but happy life in their little burrow while the big-city Candlers lived it up with rum and coke and got buildings named after them on Emory's campus. But…I can't say for sure.
Anyways, don't think I'm insane and knew exactly when my college was chartered. I didn't. Wikipedia told me. I did know that the school was founded in 1836 in Oxford because as a tour guide, I used to throw out that fact all the time. Also on the tour, I'd mention that in the 1970's, Emory got even more money from Coca-Cola, a sum that at the time was the largest gift given to a university. That's why you'll frequently hear Emory described as Coke University, though probably not as often as you hear Emory described as the Harvard of the South. That's also why all the buildings on campus are named Woodruff. That was another little joke on the tour.
Also on the tour, I used to tell this anecdote, even though I have no way of knowing if it's true. Apparently one day Pepsi machines were installed on campus, but they'd only been up for about five minutes when the baseball team, fresh from practice, walked by. Since the team knew which side their bread was buttered on, they took bats to the machine and that was the last Pepsi that was ever available at Emory.
Anyways, I especially benefited from that Coke money since the school kindly used some of it to pay for my tuition. Which is why it's an awful awful thing that I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke, and that I prefer Diet Dr. Pepper to all other soft drinks. I'm an awful awful ungrateful person, I know. But I'd like to think that my rebellious preference is actually a testament to Emory, because any good university will teach you to think critically. And with my critical thinking skills, I can tell you that the other products just taste better.
In any case, pour out a little Coke for the events that transpired on this day in history.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
This Day in History: Dec 9
This Day in History will probably go down as the day that I learnt that Jay Leno is not going anywhere when he's done hosting the Tonight Show. As such it will go down as a sad day. He's not funny, people! Why do you keep trying to pretend that he is?
Anyways. Instead of dwelling on that depressing news, or the depressing news that went down This Day in History, I figured I'd try to focus on something more positive: birthdays. Since it's December 9th, I figured I'd give 9 birthday shout-outs to people born on this day.
Shout-out #1: John Milton
It's old Milty's 400th birthday today, and I give him a shout-out for daring to tell us that paradise was, in fact, lost. In my own humble opinion, I think the thing should have rhymed but what do I know.
Shout-out #2: Berton Churchill
Berty was born in 1879. He was a Canadian actor who made over 100 movies. I cannot find any connection to Winston Churchill, try as I might.
Shout-out #3: Clarence Birdseye
As someone who has eaten more than my fair share of Lean Cuisines, I feel compelled to give a shout-out to the founder of modern frozen food, born this day in 1886. He started considering new ways to freeze food while ice fishing with the Inuit.
Shout-out #4: Kirk Douglas
Born in 1916, Kirk Douglas gets a shout-out for being a fine actor in his own right but for also giving the world Michael Douglas.
Shout-out #5: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
This man, born on December 9, 1920, served as Italian Prime Minister and as president. I was kind of hoping that they named Rome's Ciampino airport after him (the airport you use if you fly Ryan Air or Easy Jet or something else cheap out of Rome) but as it turns out, that was named after Giovanni Giustino Ciampini, a religious scientist and archaeologist who lived in the area in the 1600's. Still, the shout-out reserved for Ciampi remains in effect.
Shout-out #6: Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke, born this day in 1929, was the 23rd prime minister of Australia. His reign qualifies as the third longest term for a prime minister and the longest-serving prime minister from the Australian Labor Party. He is not related to acclaimed actor/author/director Ethan Hawke as far as I can tell.
Shout-out #7: Orville Moody
I picked Orville Moody, an American golfer born this day in 1933, because I liked the name. He died about four months ago.
Shout-out #8: Tom Kite
Tom Kite is also an American golfer! And I like his name also! The only difference here is that Tom Kite was born in 1949 and is not dead yet, according to Wikipedia.
Shout-out #9: John Malkovich
Born in 1953. By just being himself, John Malkovich gave John Cusack one of the best roles in his career.
Not getting birthday shout-outs for reasons known only to me: Dalton Trumbo, Donny Osmond, Imogen Heap, Judi Dench.
Anyways. Instead of dwelling on that depressing news, or the depressing news that went down This Day in History, I figured I'd try to focus on something more positive: birthdays. Since it's December 9th, I figured I'd give 9 birthday shout-outs to people born on this day.
Shout-out #1: John Milton
It's old Milty's 400th birthday today, and I give him a shout-out for daring to tell us that paradise was, in fact, lost. In my own humble opinion, I think the thing should have rhymed but what do I know.
Shout-out #2: Berton Churchill
Berty was born in 1879. He was a Canadian actor who made over 100 movies. I cannot find any connection to Winston Churchill, try as I might.
Shout-out #3: Clarence Birdseye
As someone who has eaten more than my fair share of Lean Cuisines, I feel compelled to give a shout-out to the founder of modern frozen food, born this day in 1886. He started considering new ways to freeze food while ice fishing with the Inuit.
Shout-out #4: Kirk Douglas
Born in 1916, Kirk Douglas gets a shout-out for being a fine actor in his own right but for also giving the world Michael Douglas.
Shout-out #5: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
This man, born on December 9, 1920, served as Italian Prime Minister and as president. I was kind of hoping that they named Rome's Ciampino airport after him (the airport you use if you fly Ryan Air or Easy Jet or something else cheap out of Rome) but as it turns out, that was named after Giovanni Giustino Ciampini, a religious scientist and archaeologist who lived in the area in the 1600's. Still, the shout-out reserved for Ciampi remains in effect.
Shout-out #6: Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke, born this day in 1929, was the 23rd prime minister of Australia. His reign qualifies as the third longest term for a prime minister and the longest-serving prime minister from the Australian Labor Party. He is not related to acclaimed actor/author/director Ethan Hawke as far as I can tell.
Shout-out #7: Orville Moody
I picked Orville Moody, an American golfer born this day in 1933, because I liked the name. He died about four months ago.
Shout-out #8: Tom Kite
Tom Kite is also an American golfer! And I like his name also! The only difference here is that Tom Kite was born in 1949 and is not dead yet, according to Wikipedia.
Shout-out #9: John Malkovich
Born in 1953. By just being himself, John Malkovich gave John Cusack one of the best roles in his career.
Not getting birthday shout-outs for reasons known only to me: Dalton Trumbo, Donny Osmond, Imogen Heap, Judi Dench.
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