“Biologists argue that the purpose of the orgasm and the accompanying oxytocin is to create an emotional bond between two people so they’ll stay together. Well, it turns out there’s evidence that when people listen to music together or sing together, oxytocin is released then, too. So music forms a social bond in the same way orgasms may, which benefits us as a species.”
Daniel J. Levitin, author of The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
“It has been, for Dobbs, a Kafka-like metamorphosis from WASPy establishmentarian to angry-populist cockroach.”
“From Scarlett and Gisele to Ashton and Kiefer, VIEW OUR GALLERY of stars and their secret siblings…”
Fantasy-building fact-of-the day: Supermodel Gisele Bundchen has five sisters, including a fraternal twin.
Intelligent Life took a poll of readers. The top years:
1439
5 BCE
1953
1945
1776
According to the Brazilian environmental organization SOS Mata Atlantica, a household that flushes its toilet one less time per day saves more than 1,100 gallons of water per year. So the organization has launched a TV ad campaign encouraging Brazilians to avoid a flush by peeing in the shower.
Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator
Link via Marlita H (marlitah) on Twitter via other twitterers.
John Huston, the director, writer and actor, was born on this date in 1906. Huston received five Oscar nominations for direction, eight for writing and one each for acting and best picture. He won for best direction and writing for Treasure of the Sierra Madre in 1949.
Among his other films are The Maltese Falcon, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Prizzi’s Honor, Moby Dick and Moulin Rouge.
Huston cast his father Walter in Treasure of the Sierra Madre and his daughter Anjelica in Prizzi’s Honor. Both won Academy Awards.
John Huston played the title role in The Cardinal, his acting Oscar nomination, and the vile father of the Faye Dunaway character in Chinatown.
The first federal income tax was imposed on this date in 1861. It was 3% on all income above $800. The following July a $600 deduction was established and a second bracket was added, taxing income above $10,000 at 5%. The first withholding also began in 1862.
This Civil War income tax was abolished in 1872 — and direct taxes were ruled unconstitutional when attempted again in 1894. The 16th amendment (ratified in 1913) made direct taxes on individuals constitutional.
Tomorrow, August 6th, marks 64 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan by the United States at the end of World War II. Targeted for military reasons and for its terrain (flat for easier assessment of the aftermath), Hiroshima was home to approximately 250,000 people at the time of the bombing. The U.S. B-29 Superfortress bomber “Enola Gay” took off from Tinian Island very early on the morning of August 6th, carrying a single 4,000 kg (8,900 lb) uranium bomb codenamed “Little Boy”. At 8:15 am, Little Boy was dropped from 9,400 m (31,000 ft) above the city, freefalling for 57 seconds while a complicated series of fuse triggers looked for a target height of 600 m (2,000 ft) above the ground. At the moment of detonation, a small explosive initiated a super-critical mass in 64 kg (141 lbs) of uranium. Of that 64 kg, only .7 kg (1.5 lbs) underwent fission, and of that mass, only 600 milligrams was converted into energy – an explosive energy that seared everything within a few miles, flattened the city below with a massive shockwave, set off a raging firestorm and bathed every living thing in deadly radiation. Nearly 70,000 people are believed to have been killed immediately, with possibly another 70,000 survivors dying of injuries and radiation exposure by 1950. Today, Hiroshima houses a Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum near ground zero, promoting a hope to end the existence of all nuclear weapons. (34 photos total)
In this week’s New Yorker Judith Thurman writes about Laura and Rose Wilder, the mother and daughter behind the Little House stories.
“Why is General Motors, which is supposedly owned by the government, i.e., you and me, advertising on Sean Hannity’s radio show?”
Twelve individuals have walked on the surface of the moon.
The first of them, Neil Armstrong, is 79 today.
Marsha Brady (Maureen McCormick) is 53.
… was found dead on this date in 1962. She was 36.
According to Joe DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, after Monroe’s marriage to Arthur Miller had ended, she and DiMaggio had reconciled — the Kennedys notwithstanding. By 1962 they planned to re-marry. The wedding was set for Wednesday, August 8, 1962. Very private, very hush-hush.
Five days before the wedding date, on Saturday night, August 3, Marilyn died, a presumed suicide. According to Cramer, no coroner’s inquest was held.
Monroe’s funeral was August 8, 1962.
Of course, Bobby Kennedy was in Los Angeles at the time of Marilyn’s death, so maybe …
Top ten reasons to continue NewMexiKen
10. Too late to enter Tour de France
9. Conan has Tonight Show gig locked up
8. Not much use for a grandpa in porn films
7. Need to offset “fair and balanced” news media
6. Domain name (newmexiken.com) cost $10
5. Blogging less boring than playing Freecell
4. Local Wal-Marts not hiring greeters
3. Idea for film “Night at the Museum: Escape from Tinkertown” turned down
2. I’m a natural born citizen
and the number one reason to continue NewMexiKen
1. All the encouragement and help from readers yesterday — Thanks!
Would a jury convict me for shooting a neighbor for using his leaf blower at 6:35 AM?
An afternoon rainstorm in the Black Range, northeast of Silver City, NM — Rain in the Distance.
“Anybody who can’t make enough money off that shouldn’t be allowed to operate a hot dog stand, much less a media corporation.”
Athanae at First Draft, on the estimation that people spend 26.4 million hours per day reading the print edition of The New York Times.
Top Ten Reasons I Read NewMexiKen
10. The now-defunct Week Quiz and its successors.
9. There’s a page dedicated to Ron Howard’s brother.
8. Every day is somebody’s birthday.
7. I’ve been reading for so long I feel like the Sweeties and I are growing up together.
6. NMK is the hippest (and smartest) grandfather I know of.
5. I’m reminded of all the American history I’ve forgotten since high school.
4. NMK reads the rest of the Internet so I don’t have to.
3. There’s always something new.
2. He links to me.
1. Wisdom, whimsy, and wit: three things the Internet needs more of.
Remember the mother who drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway near New York City, eventually causing a crash that killed eight people, including her daughter and three nieces, and critically injured her son?
Police announced today that the woman, Diane Schuler, had a blood alcohol level of .19 and had also smoked marijuana in the hour before her death.
Apparently, she was driving erratically for some time before the crash: straddling lanes, tailgating, flashing her lights, driving across a median, and trying to pass on the shoulder. Six people called 911 to report her.
My initial reaction when I heard about this crash was to feel a measure of relief that this woman did not survive. I thought no person could or should have to live with that much pain. But, thinking now of what those last minutes must have been like for those terrified children, I find myself wishing she had survived.
Link from kottke.org (another NewMexiken favorite)
China should see its first lawsuit by an environmental group against authorities within weeks, state media reported today (July 31).
A member of the All-China Environmental Federation – which is backed by the central government – said a judge in Guizhou province had accepted its claim on behalf of residents who complain they have suffered from pollution.
I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.
After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.
Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.
I seriously wanted to participate today but I’ve been too busy trying to keep from drowning. Six inches of rain in 90 minutes this morning. A three hour respite. Now it’s at it again. Stay tuned for rainfall totals. Time for me to make my way home now. Glad I was on the swim team in a former life.
1974 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” Roberta Flack.
1964 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “A Hard Day’s Night,” The Beatles.
1958 The first ever Billboard Hot 100 chart appears. The number one song is Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”
http://www1.excite.com/home/music/music_thisDay/0,16111,thisDay,00.html