I include this only because I love the kid’s binky.
Month: January 2010
Poe, source of mysteries even now
“There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told.”
Edgar Allan Poe
Today is 201st anniversary of Poe’s birth. Since 1949 a mysterious individual has been visiting Poe’s grave in Baltimore every year early on the morning of January 19th, toasting Poe and leaving behind the Cognac and three roses. That person did not show up this year.
Kate McGarrigle
A nice tribute Kate McGarrigle who died yesterday from cancer (sarcoma). She’s the mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Kate McGarrigle was 63.
The descriptors “Canadian icon” and “national treasure” are often used as lazy shorthand to refer to those artists who’ve made some sort of impact on our country’s music scene. But Kate McGarrigle was one of the awe-inspiring few who truly deserved those epithets — and then some.
Moi, j’me promene sur Ste Catherine
J’profite d’la chaleur du métro
J’ne regarde pas dans les vitrines
Quand il fait trente en d’ssous d’zero.
Me, I walk along St. Catherine [street]
Getting the warmth from the Metro
I don’t look in shop windows
When it’s 30 below zero.
“Complainte pour Ste. Catherine” (1977)
Video of Kate McGarrigle, with Rufus and Elvis Costello a year ago.
Today’s Photo
The Louvre, Paris. Photo by Jill, November 2009.
Early U.S. National Parks
There are currently 58 units of the U.S. National Park Service designated “national park.” I think it’s interesting to look at the older parks; the truest gems of the system in many ways.
This list comprises the first 29 of the 58 national parks. The year given is when the site was established as a national park (some were national monuments or another designation before becoming a “national park”). National monuments could be (and were) proclaimed such by the president; it took an act of congress to authorize a national park.
How many have you visited? (In my case, 23.)
Yellowstone — 1872
Sequoia — 1890
Yosemite — 1890
Kings Canyon — 1890 (originally General Grant NP; renamed 1940)
Mount Rainier — 1899
Crater Lake — 1902
Wind Cave — 1903
Mesa Verde — 1906
Glacier — 1910
Rocky Mountain — 1915
Haleakalā — 1916
Hawai’i Volcanoes — 1916 (Hawai’i Volcanoes and Haleakalā originally Hawai’i NP; separated in 1961)
Lassen Volcanic — 1916
Denali — 1917 (originally Mt. McKinley NP; renamed 1980)
Acadia — 1919 (originally Lafayette NP; renamed 1929)
Grand Canyon — 1919
Zion — 1919
Hot Springs — 1921
Bryce Canyon — 1924 (originally Utah NP; renamed 1928)
Grand Teton — 1929
Carlsbad Caverns — 1930
Great Smoky Mountains — 1934
Shenandoah — 1935
Olympic — 1938
Isle Royale — 1940
Mammoth Cave — 1941
Big Bend — 1944
Everglades — 1947
Virgin Islands — 1956
The National Park Service itself wasn’t created until 1916.
Idle thought
What exactly does “native people” mean?
In the post before this about Acadia National Park the Park Service says, “Evidence suggests native people first lived here at least 5,000 years ago.” Well, who lived there 6,000 years ago or 10,000 years ago? And where did the “native people” of 5,000 years ago live before they lived at what is now Acadia National Park?
And if all humans originated in Africa, as is pretty certain, then who really qualifies as native people anyway?
Acadia National Park (Maine)
… was renamed on this date in 1929. It has been Lafayette National Park since 1919 and Sieur de Monts National Monument from 1916 to 1919. Lafayette/Acadia was the first national park east of the Mississippi River.
From the National Park Service:
Located on the rugged coast of Maine, Acadia National Park encompasses over 47,000 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and ocean shoreline. Such diverse habitats create striking scenery and make the park a haven for wildlife and plants.
Entwined with the natural diversity of Acadia is the story of people. Evidence suggests native people first lived here at least 5,000 years ago. Subsequent centuries brought explorers from far lands, settlers of European descent, and, arising directly from the beauty of the landscape, tourism and preservation.
January 19th
Today is the birthday
… of Jean Stapleton. Edith Bunker is 87. She won three Emmys and two Golden Globes in that role.
… of Tippi Hedren. The actress in Hitchcock’s The Birds is 80.
… of Phil Everly. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (with older brother Don) is 71.
Phil and Don transformed the Appalachian folk, bluegrass and country sounds of their Kentucky boyhood into a richly harmonized form of rock and roll. The sons of entertainers Margaret and Ike Everly, a traveling country and western team, the Everly Brothers performed as part of the family act on radio and in concert. On their own, they sang beguilingly of adolescent romance in crisp, shimmering voices. With Don taking the melody and Phil harmonizing above him, the Everlys released a steady string of hit records between 1957-1962 that crossed over from country to pop and even R&B charts.
… of Shelley Fabares. Donna Reed’s television daughter is 66.
… of Dolly Parton. She’s 64.
With their strong feminine stances in the 1960s and 1970s, Dolly Rebecca Parton, along with fellow female pioneers Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, revolutionized the world of country music for women performers. Then Parton took her crusade a step farther by crossing over to the pop world—landing on the cover of Rolling Stone, achieving pop hits, and starring in a series of Hollywood movies. Along the way, however, she ultimately lost much of her core country audience, to the point that in 1997 she dissolved her fan club, which had been one of the staunchest in country music. But Parton’s career—and her appeal to fans of hard country—was far from over. Beginning in 1999 she returned to the music of her youth and began rebuilding a tradition-minded fan base with a series of critically acclaimed bluegrass albums.
… of Desi Arnaz Jr. Little Ricky, Lucille Ball’s TV son, also first appeared 57 years ago today, on I Love Lucy about 12 hours after Desi Jr. was born.
… of comedian Paul Rodriguez, 55.
… of Katey Sagal. The Married…With Children mom is 56.
… of Paul Rodriguez, 55.
… of Drea de Matteo. The actress who was whacked on The Sopranos is 38.
Paul Cezanne was born on this date in 1839. Click Cezanne painting of Chrysanthemums for larger version.
Robert E. Lee
… was born in Stratford, Virginia, on this date in 1807, the son of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee.
In 1810 the Lee family moved to Alexandria, then in the District of Columbia. The Lee’s lived first at 611 Cameron, but from 1811 or 1812 at 607 Oronoco.
Lee graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1829, second in his class and reputedly the only cadet to this day to have no demerits on his record. Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, great granddaughter of Martha Washington, at Arlington House in 1831. Arlington House was in the District of Columbia from the time it was constructed until 1847 when the Virginia portion of the District of Columbia was receded to Virginia.
So, although Lee supposedly supported preservation of the Union that his father and uncles had helped create and opposed slavery, and although his residence had been in Virginia no more than 17 of his 54 years, in 1861 he turned down command of the Union forces to remain loyal to Virginia.
I suggest that this nullified his record of no demerits.
Learning how to tie your shoes
Learn the right way (and the wrong way) to lace your shoes. It’s never too late.
Predictable
A week ago on Facebook, my brother Lee predicted that the Cardinals, Ravens, Cowboys and Chargers would win this past weekend’s NFL playoff games. I commented that he would go 0 for 4.
He went 0 for 4.
And that’s why I’m the oldest brother.
BTW, I have it in writing dated September 11, 2009, that Mack predicted the Vikings to win it all this year.
Never bet against Mack.
A Doctor in the Rubble
A first hand report from Haiti via Tracy Kidder.
Very worthy of the two-three minutes it will take you to read it.
Ay! Caramba!
“An Australian Open match was delayed by 40 minutes today when a (nervous? sick?) ballboy peed himself on the court. At least he has a long fruitful life of intense psychological therapy ahead of him.”
What's that? That noise?
Oh, it’s raindrops hitting the sunlights. I’d forgotten the sound.
When you’ve had only four one-hundredths of an inch of precipitation in five weeks you forget.
Crayola Evolution
An interesting graphic of the explosion of colors from the original eight.
Best line of the day
Apple sent e-mail invitations to journalists Monday morning for a “special event” to be held next Wednesday in San Francisco. “Come see our latest creation,” the message says.
Unless you’ve been living on another, Internet-deprived planet for the last year or so, you’ve probably got a pretty good idea what this is likely to be: the unveiling of Apple’s long-awaited, breathlessly hyped tablet computer. The device promises to hasten the extinction of paper, solidify Apple’s advantages in the mobile computing market, cure hunger and finally broker a peace between Jay and Conan.
It’s a very colorful invitation; might be worth your click.
Today’s Photo
Newbery and Caldecott Awards
Rebecca Stead, author of “When You Reach Me,” a mystery and a novel of friendship set in New York City, won the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature on Monday.
The association also awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children to “The Lion and The Mouse” by Jerry Pinkney. Mr. Pinkney’s book is a nearly wordless adaptation of Aesop’s fable about how the king of the animal kingdom is helped by one of its smallest creatures.
January 18th
Today is the birthday
… of Kevin Costner. Costner won the Oscars for director and best picture for Dances With Wolves and was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lt. John Dunbar. He’s 55 today.
… of hockey hall-of-fame inductee Mark Messier. He’s 49.
… of Jesse L. Martin. The Law & Order actor is 41.
It’s also the birthday of Cary Grant (Archibald Alexander Leach, 1904-1986) and Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminski, 1913-1987). Both won honorary Oscars though neither won the real thing; Grant had two nominations.
Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782.
The first college basketball game with five players on a side was played on this date in 1896 at Iowa City, Iowa. The University of Chicago defeated the University of Iowa 15 to 12.
White Sands National Monument (New Mexico)
… was established by President Herbert Hoover on this date in 1933.
At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico.
Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world’s largest gypsum dune field. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path.
Idle thought
Chargers fans. What were you expecting? Your coach is Norv Turner.
Best line of the day
“Animation is not just for children. They’re also for adults who take drugs.”
Paul McCartney at the Golden Globes; he gave out the award for best animated film.
Translating David Brooks
Matt Taibbi translates David Brooks for us. Taibbi begins:
A friend of mine sent a link to Sunday’s David Brooks column on Haiti, a genuinely beautiful piece of occasional literature. Not many writers would have the courage to use a tragic event like a 50,000-fatality earthquake to volubly address the problem of nonwhite laziness and why it sometimes makes natural disasters seem timely, but then again, David Brooks isn’t just any writer.
It’s raw, even for Taibbi — and it’s pitch perfect. He takes a segment of Brooks’s column, then tells us what it means. An excerpt:
TRANSLATION: The best thing we can do for the Haitians is let them deal with the earthquake all by themselves and wallow in their own filth and shitty engineering so they can come face to face with how achievement-oriented and middle-class they aren’t. Then when it’s all over we can come in and institute a program making the survivors earn the right to keep their kids by opening their own Checkers’ franchises and completing Associate’s Degrees in marketing at the online University of Phoenix.
Best line of yesterday
The scene: The Vikings led, 27-3, with 1:55 left and with a fourth-and-3 from the Dallas 11. Instead of running up the middle or kicking a field goal, Brett Favre threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe.
The Cowboys’ Keith Brooking:
“I just thought what happened at the end of the game was disrespectful. It was classless and all the things that are in that category. I’ll say it to the Vikings organization and whoever is over there calling plays. It wasn’t the right thing to do at that time. Period.”
Vikings Coach Brad Childress:
“As Lou Holtz used to say, ‘It’s our job to score points and it’s their job to stop us from scoring points.’ ”
Were Vikings ‘Classless’ in Adding Late Score? – The Fifth Down Blog
Best line of the day, so far
President Obama met with CEOs from 50 companies, including UPS and Microsoft, to consult with them about how to streamline government and improve services. What do you think?
Sandy Grice,
Unemployed
“Is one of the things they came up with to stop having meetings with 50 people at a time?”