2+9=11

Today is the birthday

… of Roger Mudd, 83.

… of Nobel Prize-winner for literature J.M. Coetzee. He’s 71.

… of Carole King. Tonight You’re Mine Completely, You Give Your Love So Sweetly — at 69. Songs she’s written or co-written are listed at CaroleKing.com — there are three pages of titles beginning with A alone, 6 beginning with I.

Lookin’ out on the morning rain
I used to feel uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired

Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
But your love was the key to my peace of mind

‘Cause you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like
A natural woman

One fine day
You’ll look at me
And you will know our love was meant to be
One fine day
You’re gonna want me for your girl

Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There’s something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing
Or maybe we just stopped trying

And it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died
And I can’t hide and I just can’t fake it

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view
A wondrous, woven magic in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold

That’s her last year in the video below accompanying a friend (of 40 years) on some song she wrote.

… of Joe Pesci. Tommy DeVito is no longer a “yute,” he’s 68.

… of Barbara Lewis. Baby I’m Yours and I’ll be Yours Until the Stars Fall from the Sky — or until she’s 67.

… of Alice Walker. One assumes her birthday cake is The Color Purple as she turns 67 today.

… of Mia Farrow. The former Mrs. André Previn, Mrs. Frank Sinatra and significant other of Woody Allen is 66.

… of Senator Jim Webb, 64.

… of Travis Tritt. He’s 48. Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).

… of Julie Warner. Vialula is 46 today.

… of the newest Oriole, Vladimir Guerrero. He’s 36.

Bill Veeck, the man who brought a dwarf (Eddie Gaedel) to bat in the major leagues, was born on this date in 1914. Veeck was owner of three different major league franchises (Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox) and created many of the publicity innovations we take for granted today. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. As told in the first chapter of Veeck’s autobiography, Veeck as in Wreck: “When Eddie went into that crouch, his strike zone was just about visible to the naked eye. I picked up a ruler and measured it for posterity. It was 1-1/2 inches. Marvelous.”

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State in the Administrations of Kennedy and Johnson, was born 102 years ago today. I met Secretary Rusk at the Johnson Library. Unlike most high-profile board members, Rusk thought meeting the staff was a considerate thing to do.

Samuel J. Tilden was born on this date in 1814. Along with Andrew Jackson in 1824 and Albert Gore in 2000, Tilden in 1876 shares the honor of winning the popular vote and having the electoral vote taken from him.

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, and the one serving the shortest period of time — just 30 days — was born on February 9th in 1773. Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin, was the 23rd president.

Flicks

The muse is still avoiding me, so just quick mentions of films I’ve seen in the past week.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps — Tuco himself is in this movie, 95-year-old Eli Wallach. The Shia LeBeouf character’s ringtone even plays the theme from Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), as a tribute to Wallach I assumed. That’s the foremost thought I took from this film, which was an entertaining if unremarkable sequel to the 1987 movie. Michael Douglas reprises the Gordon Gekko character, but this time around, Josh Brolin is the real villain, as bad though a lot slicker than he is as Tom Cheney. Charlie Sheen has a cameo.

Winter’s Bone — I’ve seen five of the 10 best picture nominees so far and this is by far the most engrossing film. Jennifer Lawrence surpasses both Annette Benning and Natalie Portman as best actress and John Hawkes is superb in a supporting role — he too has an Oscar nomination. Set and filmed in the deepest Missouri Ozarks, Lawrence plays Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old raising her two younger siblings. Hawkes plays her uncle, Teardrop, a man in Roger Ebert’s words “whose existence inflicts a wound on the gift of being alive.” Provocative. I rented this movie, but intend to watch it again as soon as it’s available on streaming. Highly recommended.

[Winter’s Bone is the kind of movie that could surprise come Oscar night. I don’t predict it will win anything — though it did at Sundance. I just wouldn’t be surprised if it did.]

Dogtooth — This movie from Greece is nominated for best foreign film. It’s a bizarre tale of a family totally secluded from the outside world by the father, even though the son and two daughters are nearing 20. In one example, they see planes flying high over — the father tosses a toy plane into the yard, and they think it has fallen from the sky. The father brings in an outsider to have sex with the son. Things begin to unravel from there. Very strange.

Tortilla Soup (2001) — Hector Elizondo plays a widowed, middle-aged father with three grown daughters still living at home. Romance and comedy ensue. Paul Rodriguez and Raquel Welch have minor parts, hers mostly silly. The star of this film is the Mexican cuisine — the father is a chef and cooks Sunday dinner at home. For me, the movie did for Mexican food what Chocolat did for chocolate. Entertaining.

Rio Bravo (1959) — One of the best of the genre with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson (Wayne’s love interest, and, of course, half his age). The sheriff (Wayne) arrests the bad guy (Claude Akins) for murder. The killer’s brother promises to spring his sibling. He sacrifices countless hired hands in the attempt. Dean and Ricky sing.

The Bourne Identity (2002) — The best of the three.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest — Not the best of the three.

Coming up next, Oscar nominees Restrepo and Toy Story 3.

The College of William and Mary in Virginia

King William III and Queen Mary II granted the charter to found William and Mary 318 years ago today.

The College of William & Mary is the second-oldest college in America. The original plans for the College date back to 1618—decades before Harvard—but were derailed by an “Indian uprising.” We couldn’t make this stuff up.

On February 8, 1693, King William III and Queen Mary II of England signed the charter for a “perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences” to be founded in the Virginia Colony. And William & Mary was born.

Workers began construction on the Sir Christopher Wren Building, then known simply as the College Building in 1695, before the town of Williamsburg even existed. Over the next two centuries, the Wren Building would burn on three separate occasions, each time being re-built inside the original walls. That makes the Wren the oldest college building in America, and possibly the most flammable.

The College has been called “the Alma Mater of a Nation” because of its close ties to America’s founding fathers. A 17-year-old George Washington received his surveyor’s license through the College and would return as its first American chancellor. Thomas Jefferson received his undergraduate education here, as did presidents John Tyler and James Monroe. [And NewMexiKen daughters Jill and Emily.]

William & Mary is famous for its firsts: the first U.S. institution with a Royal Charter, the first Greek-letter society (Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776), the first student honor code and the first law school in America.

The College became a state-supported school in 1906 and went coed in 1918. In 1928, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. chose the Wren as the first building to be returned to its 18th-century appearance as part of the iconic Colonial Williamsburg restoration.

William & Mary – History & Traditions

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (Georgia)

. . . was authorized as a national battlefield site on this date in 1917.

The name Kennesaw is derived from the Cherokee Indian “Gah-nee-sah” meaning cemetery or burial ground.

Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield is a 2,923 acre National Battlefield that preserves a Civil War battleground of the Atlanta Campaign. The battle was fought here from June 19, 1864 until July 2, 1864. Sherman’s army consisted of 100,000 men, 254 guns and 35,000 horses. Johnston’s army had 63,000 men and 187 guns. Over 67,000 soldiers were killed, wounded and captured during the Campaign.

There are 3 battlefield areas: In front of the Visitor Center, off Burnt Hickory Road and the main site is located at Cheatham Hill [then commonly known as the Dead Angle]. The visitor center provides introductory information about the Battlefield and the battle. While walking some of the 17.3 miles of interpretive walking trails you will see historic earthworks, cannon emplacements and various interpretive signs. There are 3 monuments representing states who fought here.
. . .

. . . Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield was authorized for protection by the War Department in 1917 and was transferred to the Department of the Interior as a unit of the National Park System in 1933. The 2,923 acre Battlefield includes the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War. The Battlefield was set aside as an important cultural property dedicated to public inspiration and interpretation of the significant historic events that occurred here.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

James Dean

. . . was born 80 years ago today.

I, James Byron Dean, was born February 8, 1931, Marion, Indiana. My parents, Winton Dean and Mildred Dean, formerly Mildred Wilson, and myself existed in the state of Indiana until I was six years of age. Dad’s work with the government caused a change, so Dad as a dental mechanic was transferred to California. There we lived, until the fourth year. Mom became ill and passed out of my life at the age of nine. I never knew the reason for Mom’s death, in fact it still preys on my mind. I had always lived such a talented life. I studied violin, played in concerts, tap-danced on theatre stages but most of all I like art, to mold and create things with my hands. I came back to Indiana to live with my uncle. I lost the dancing and violin, but not the art. I think my life will be devoted to art and dramatics. And there are so many different fields of art it would be hard to foul-up, and if I did, there are so many different things to do — farm, sports, science, geology, coaching, teaching music. I got it and I know if I better myself that there will be no match. A fellow must have confidence. When living in California my young eyes experienced many things. It was also my luck to make three visiting trips to Indiana, going and coming a different route each time. I have been in almost every state west of Indiana. I remember all. My hobby, or what I do in my spare time, is motorcycle. I know a lot about them mechanically and I love to ride. I have been in a few races and have done well. I own a small cycle myself. When I’m not doing that, I’m usually engaged in athletics, the heartbeat of every American boy. As one strives to make a goal in a game, there should be a goal in this crazy world for all of us. I hope I know where mine is, anyway, I’m after it. I don’t mind telling you, Mr. Dubois, this is the hardest subject to write about considering the information one knows of himself, I ever attempted.

“My Case Study” to Roland Dubois,
Fairmount High School Principal, 1948

The Official Site of James Dean

A Bad Document’s Good Ideas

The Constitution for the Confederate States of America was approved 150 years ago yesterday. It, of course, authorized “the right of property in negro slaves,” but it did have two good ideas: single six year term for the president and the line-item veto for appropriations.

Background from Discunion, a daily commentary on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Update

Yes, I am “boxcars” now, two-thirds evil.

The low at my place last week was 8-below-zero — but I was in Tucson that morning where it was 18º and everybody seemed to suffer a lot more. There were no plumbing problems or natural gas shortages at Casa NewMexiKen.

They are forecasting single digit lows and snow beginning tomorrow. Will this winter ever end?

Can’t we pass a law requiring that only the Marine Corps Band can play the “National Anthem” at big events? My god, that was disgraceful.

And how much longer will the halftime show try and replicate a Las Vegas floor show? Awful. Just. Awful.

I don’t know if I didn’t blog because I was depressed or was depressed because I wasn’t blogging. Either is sick.

When it comes to sinning

. . . I say make the most of it.

A week ago Annette wrote that her “church pastor said flirting is a sin.”

I believe that a pastor flirting with any member of his or her congregation would be a sin.

I believe that a person married or in a committed relationship flirting with someone not his or her partner could be a sin.

But other than that, I believe her pastor is just revealing his own hang-ups.

What do you believe?

Hmm line of the day

“Joining a group that meets just once a month produces the same increase in happiness as doubling your income.”

David Brooks in a fascinating article, What the science of human nature can teach us, from the January 17th New Yorker.

Though I thought he started off slowly — where are we going with this? — it’s a fascinating essay about you and me and everybody else.

I urge you to take the time to read and enjoy it. I could have posted another dozen remarkable lines.

Thanks to Rich for the pointer.

Silliest line of the day

“[T]hose who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.”

How Meditation May Change the Brain – NYTimes.com

I can’t remember the last time I meditated and I don’t understand the people who do meditate. Life is too busy. Who has time for that shit?

Best lines of the day

As an aging baby boomer, I remember the 1970s; and one of the things I remember is that it was the era of unfortunate acronyms. Nixon had the Committee to Re-Elect the President, which everyone, and I mean everyone, referred to as CREEP. Ford had the Council on Wage and Price Stability, which everyone referred to as COWPS, pronounced phonetically.

Since then, politicians have acquired consultants, who create names that are embarrassing, but in a different way.

But as many people have pointed out, the apparent new Obama slogan — Win The Future — has some of the old problem.

Paul Krugman

January 28th

Today is the birthday

… of Alan Alda. He’s 75.

… of Barbie Benton. Hugh Hefner’s one-time main squeeze is 61. Hef wouldn’t even date anyone as old as Benton’s kids could be.

… of Sarah McLachlan. She’s 43.

… of Bilbo Baggins. Elijah Wood is 30.

Jackson Pollock

Lucien B. Maxwell sold the “Maxwell Land Grant” for $1,350,000 on this date in 1870. The grant was more than 1.7 million acres, the largest tract of privately owned land in the Western Hemisphere. (Source: New Mexico Magazine)

Jackson Pollock was born on this date in 1912. Click image for larger version.

In 1929, Pollock began studying under Thomas Hart Benton, the realist mural painter, at Manhattan’s Art Students League. Pollock said, “He drove his kind of realism at me so hard I bounced right into nonobjective painting.” Pollock became deeply influenced by Pablo Picasso’s work and the work of other surrealist painters, and this led Pollock to experiment with his painting. He developed the “drip” technique, where he would draw or drip paint onto enormous canvases. Sometimes he applied paint directly from the tube, and other times he used aluminum paint to make his work more brilliant. He was so energetic in his attacks on the canvas that his approach to painting became known as “action painting.”

The Writer’s Almanac from American Public Media (2008)

The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded moments after takeoff on this date in 1986. Read about it from The New York Times.

Best line of the day

“[M]ost people get worse as they grow older, because they become more like themselves.”

Paul Krugman stating a particular example from Issawi’s Law on the conservation of evil.

That may be the single most insightful line that has ever appeared on this blog (or anywhere for that matter).

It is certainly the scariest line that has appeared here.

Best mathematical problem of the day

Researchers have found a fractal pattern underlying everyday math. In the process, they’ve discovered a way to calculate partition numbers, a challenge that’s stymied mathematicians for centuries.

Partition numbers track the different ways an integer can be divvied up. The number 3, for example, has three unique partitions: 3, 2 + 1, and 1 + 1 + 1. Partition numbers grow so fast that mathematicians have a hard time predicting them.

“The number 10 has 42 partitions, but with 100 you have 190,569,292 partitions. They get impossibly huge to add up,” said mathematician Ken Ono of Emory University.

Since the 18th century, generations of mathematicians have tried to find a way of predicting large partition numbers. Srinivasa Ramanujan, a self-taught prodigy from a remote Indian village, found a way to approximate partition numbers in 1919. Yet before he could expand on the work, and convert it to a clean equation, he died in 1920 at the age of 32. Mathematicians ever since have puzzled over Ramanujan’s manuscripts, which tie the primes 5, 7 and 11 to partition numbers.

Inspired by Ramanujan’s work and that of the late mathematician A.O.L. Atkin, Emory mathematicians Amanda Folsom and Zachary Kent joined Ono to discover an infinite, fractal-like pattern to the series. It is described in a paper hosted by the American Mathematical Institute.

Hidden Fractals Suggest Answer to Ancient Math Problem | Wired Science

I was only an equation or two away from solving this myself.

Best line of the day but it’s pretty doggone early

“President Obama is tied with… wait for it… Kim Kardashian as one of the top ten twitter follower getters, and yes, that’s how you say that.  If you are new to our country, welcome!  This is how we roll.”

Shoebox » Newsdroppings

Another from the same source:

“One of those arrested during a protest of higher tuition fees in England was the son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. So much for that thing about not needing no education.”