Author: NewMexiKen

The Star-Spangled Banner

Star-Spangled Banner … became the official national anthem of the United States on this date in 1931. You know what that means? For 155 years is was not the official national anthem. For just 77 years it has been. We could change it. It isn’t etched in granite.

The first (of four) verses:

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Who wants a national anthem that glorifies war?

March 2nd

Five-time Oscar nominee, one-time winner Jennifer Jones is 89 today. As mentioned here not too long ago, Ms. Jones won the best actress award for The Song of Bernadette.

Author Tom Wolfe is 78 today.

“I can’t read him because he’s such a bad writer,” Irving said of Wolfe. When Solomon added that “Bonfire of the Vanities” author Wolfe is “having a war” with Updike and Mailer, Irving dismissed the notion out of hand: “I don’t think it’s a war because you can’t have a war between a pawn and a king, can you?”

Irving described Wolfe’s novels as “yak” and “journalistic hyperbole described as fiction … He’s a journalist … he can’t create a character. He can’t create a situation.”

Salon Books

Author John Irving is 66 today.

Reached through his publisher, Wolfe responded in writing. “Why does he sputter and foam so?” he asked about Irving. “Because he, like Updike and Mailer, has panicked. All three have seen the handwriting on the wall, and it reads: ‘A Man in Full.'”

If the literary trio don’t embrace “full-blooded realism,” Wolfe warns, “then their reputations are finished.” He also offers Irving some additional literary advice: “Irving needs to get up off his bottom and leave that farm in Vermont or wherever it is he stays and start living again. It wouldn’t be that hard. All he’d have to do is get out and take a deep breath and talk to people and see things and rediscover the fabulous and wonderfully bizarre country around him: America.”

Salon Books

Mikhail Gorbachev is 77.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Lou Reed is 66.

The influence of the Velvet Underground on rock greatly exceeds their sales figures and chart numbers. They are one of the most important rock and roll bands of all time, laying the groundwork in the Sixties for many tangents rock music would take in ensuing decades. Yet just two of their four original studio albums ever even made Billboard’s Top 200, and that pair – The Velvet Underground and Nico (#171) and White Light/White Heat (#199) – only barely did so. If ever a band was “ahead of its time,” it was the Velvet Underground. Brian Eno, cofounder of Roxy Music and producer of U2 and others, put it best when he said that although the Velvet Underground didn’t sell many albums, everyone who bought one went on to form a band. The New York Dolls, Patti Smith, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, U2, R.E.M., Roxy Music and Sonic Youth have all cited the Velvet Underground as a major influence.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Jon Bon Jovi, New Jersey’s second most famous rock-and-roller, is 46.

Green Eggs and Ham

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) was born 104 years ago today. When Geisel/Seuss was awarded an honorary degree from Princeton in 1985, the entire graduating class stood and recited Green Eggs and Ham.

Green Eggs and Ham is the third largest selling book in the English language — ever.

Green Eggs and Ham à la Sam-I-Am

1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
4 slices of ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1-2 drops of green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Wilt Chamberlain who apparently scored often, did particularly well on this date in 1962, when he scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors vs. the Knicks. The game was played in Hershey, Pennsylvania, before 4,124 witnesses. Wilt was 36 for 63 from the field and 28 for 32 from the line. The Warriors won the game 169-147.

Jesus, Matty and Felipe!

Eric Alterman wrote this and NewMexiKen posted it four years ago today.

“In my brief veep discussion yesterday, I left out the actually ideal choice — even including Edwards — which would be John McCain. Can you imagine? McCain’s recent voting record is closer to Kerry’s than to his party’s leadership and the man does hate Bush’s guts. It would be an enormous roll of the dice for both men but extreme times call for extreme measures.”

Worst call since Gore picked Lieberman.

Hates his guts, eh?

Bush McCain Hug

A pretty good line

First posted here three years ago today:

“A college class was told they had to write a short story in as few words as possible. The story must contain three components: (1) Religion, (2) Sexuality, and (3) Mystery. There was only one A paper in the entire class. In full: ‘Good God! I’m pregnant. I wonder who did it.'”

Heaven

March 1st, temp in the upper 60s, humidity in the teens, not even a wisp of a cloud in the blue, blue sky.

The Land of Enchantment, happy to call it home.

Of course, in March even heaven has an occasional front pass through. The forecast:

SUNDAY: PARTLY CLOUDY. WINDY. ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING…THEN ISOLATED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE 50S TO LOWER 60S. WEST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH INCREASING TO NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT: WINDY. BLOWING SNOW IN THE EVENING. PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH POSSIBLE…MAINLY IN THE FOOTHILLS. COLDER. LOWS IN THE 20S.

Pretty good lines of the day

“Just in case, John McCain has already written a first sentence for his concession speech in November: ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.'”

— Some Guy

“And how about Ralph Nader, running for president? I like Ralph Nader. He looks like the doctor you go to and have the bullet removed.”

— David Letterman

Best line of the day, so far

“I’m a part of that dwindling demographic: a newspaper reader. I grew up with a morning paper, an afternoon paper and a local paper every day. . . . Hell, I even enjoy reading the Albuquerque Journal every day, which is like someone claiming to be a connoisseur of wine while nursing a bottle of Ripple.”

mjh’s blog

Mjh has a great illustration of the problem.

Witch way did they go?

The examination of witnesses at the Salem Meeting House began on this date in 1692. Before the 17-month ordeal was over, 25 had died — nineteen executed by hanging, one man tortured to death, and five who succumbed to conditions while in jail. More than 160 people were accused, most jailed and many deprived of property and legal rights. Those who confessed and accused others were saved; those who maintained their innocence were executed.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

March 1st

Harry Belafonte is 81 today. Here is a little of what Bob Dylan wrote about Belafonte in Chronicles:

To Harry, it didn’t make any difference. People were people. He had ideals and made you feel you’re a part of the human race. There never was a performer who crossed so many lines as Harry. He appealed to everybody, whether they were steelworkers or symphony patrons or bobby-soxers, even children—everybody. He had that rare ability. Somewhere he had said that he didn’t like to go on television, because he didn’t think his music could be represented well on a small screen, and he was probably right. Everything about him was gigantic. The folk purists had a problem with him, but Harry—who could have kicked the shit out of all of them—couldn’t be bothered, said that all folksingers were interpreters, said it in a public way as if someone had summoned him to set the record straight. He even said he hated pop songs, thought they were junk. I could identify with Harry in all kinds of ways. Sometime in the past, he had been barred from the door of the world famous nightclub the Copacabana because of his color, and then later he’d be headlining the joint. You’ve got to wonder how that would make somebody feel emotionally.

And Belafonte was about the best looking man on the planet too.

Ron Howard is 54 today. He’s been on TV and in the movies for 50 years and, of course, won an Oscar for best director for A Beautiful Mind. Howard has been married to Mrs. Howard since 1975 and is the older brother of TV and film character actor Ron Howard’s brother.

Today is also the birthday

… of Roger Daltrey. “Who?” you say. “Of The Who,” I say. He’s 64.

… of Catherine Bach. “Who?” you say. “Daisy Duke of TV,” I say. She’s 54.

… of Oscar-winner Javier Bardem. He’s 39.

… of Chris Webber, the basketball player who called timeout when his team had none left and down by just two points in the 1993 national championship game. That would be a technical foul. Two shoots. Both made. Down four. Oops. He’s 35 today.

SnoLepard

Well-known Americans of the 20th century born on this date include band-leader Glenn Miller (1904), author Ralph Ellison (1914), poet Robert Lowell (1917), Mad magazine publisher William M. Gaines (1922) and NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle (1926).

And Lee, official brother of NewMexiKen, circumnavigator of the globe and Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker celebrates his birthday today. That’s him a few years back in front of some mountain someplace.

Also on March 1st, the Lindbergh infant son was kidnapped (1932), Richard Wright’s Native Son was published (1940), the Peace Corps was established (1961), Johnny Cash married June Carter (1968) and the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to execute an individual who had committed their crime before age 18 (Roper v. Simmons, 2005).

Yellowstone National Park

AN ACT to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park.

Yellowstone Act

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River . . . is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.

Yellowstone Canyon

SEC 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.

. . .

s / Ulysses S. Grant, March 1, 1872

Document photo, National Archives. Yellowstone Canyon photo, NewMexiKen 2002. Click images for larger versions.

The lifeblood of politics

In my zip code, $17,251 has been donated to Republican and $235,042 to Democratic presidential candidates since 2004.

All calculations are based on public records filed with the FEC of contributions by all individuals totaling more than $200 (and some totaling less than $200) to a single Republican or Democratic presidential campaign or national committee for the 2004 and 2008 election cycles.

Try your area at Fundrace 2008 Campaign Donations.

Santa Fe is $74,402 to Republicans and $1,711,320 to Democrats (23:1).

Thanks to Duke City Fix for the pointer.

Does Cheney know about this?

In reading a little about the calendar today NewMexiKen learned that Pontifex Maximus, the official that kept the Roman calendar, was so corrupt before Julius Caesar’s reforms in 46 BCE, that he, Maximus, sometimes lengthened the year to keep certain officials in office longer (or shortened it when his enemies were in office).

Best line of the day, so far

“[Obama] needs to give a speech in which he explains this all to a willfully amnesiac country that has grown illiterate of its Constitution, ignorant of its founding principles, and taught by three decades of conservative government and idiot popular culture that its fundamental rights are at best inconveniences and, at worst, loopholes through which criminals escape justice and terrorists infiltrate the country. They are not ‘their’ rights. They are our rights, damn it.”

Charles Pierce, who has more on the speech Obama should give.

Mr. Science

Why do we have leap year anyway?

The regular calendar has 365 days, but it takes 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds for the Earth to orbit the sun. That means the calendar falls behind the seasons 348.75 minutes every year.

Who cares if the calendar falls behind the seasons?

The people of Arizona and parts of Indiana.

How does leap year fix it?

Every four years we are 1395 minutes behind (348.75 times four), so we add a day (1440 minutes).

Wait, 1395 doesn’t equal 1440, aren’t we adding 45 too many minutes?

You are wise beyond your years. Every 100 years (25 leap years times 45 minutes) there would be 1,125 minutes too many. Eliminating leap year every 100 years tips the balance back toward even. That’s why there wasn’t a leap day in 1700, 1800 or 1900 and won’t be in 2100. But we did have a leap year in 2000 (and will again in 2400) to tweak it back a bit the other way.

Does that do it?

No, even then the intelligent design is such that the calendar will be off by a day in a few thousand years. Nothing’s perfect.

Leap Babies

Not many birthdays today (one-fourth the norm one assumes).

Alex Rocco is 72 (1936). You know, Moe Greene in The Godfather. Got it right in the eye. Actually Rocco has nearly 150 credits listed at IMDb; much TV and voice-over work.

Update: Functional Ambivalent has a great Alex Rocco Story.

Dennis Farina is 64 (1944). Among his many roles, Farina was Ray “Bones” Barboni in Get Shorty.

Two famous entertainers were leap day babies.

Bandleader Jimmy Dorsey (1904) had 12 number one hits with his own band, and two before that with his brother, Tommy. (The two brothers split in 1935, but reunited in 1953.) Jimmy played saxaphone. He died in 1957.

And singer, radio-TV star Dinah Shore (1916). Miss Shore had four number one hits in the 1940s, including Buttons and Bows, which was at the top for 10 weeks. She had a popular TV variety show and then a talk show, and a fling with Burt Reynolds, 19 years her junior. Dinah Shore died in 1994. Throw us a kiss, Dinah.

And two famous athletes.

Al Rosen (1924), four-time American League All-star and 1953 MVP with the Cleveland Indians (and someone NewMexiKen chatted with once upon a time). Rosen lead the AL in home runs (43), RBIs (145) and was second in batting (.336) in ’53. He lost the triple crown by one point (Mickey Vernon batted .337).

And Henri Richard (1936), the Pocket Rocket, brother of the even greater NHL player Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. Henri hated the nickname Pocket Rocket (he was 5-foot-7). One supposes that helped drive him to be part of 11 Stanley Cup champion teams, more than any other player.