… of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. She’s 49 today.
… of Mike Scioscia. He’s 48.
Johnny Allen Hendrix was born in Seattle on this date in 1942. His name was changed to James Marshall Hendrix at age four. He acquired his first guitar at age 16. We know him as Jimi.
No. 1 Ohio State played No. 4 Florida in one NCAA football semifinal.
And then No. 2 USC met No. 3 Michigan in the other.
And then the winners played for the championship one week later.
And then … our alarm clock went off.
For those keeping track, there hasn’t been any precipitation in Albuquerque for six weeks. Some is possible Tuesday.
Meanwhile Seattle is within reach of the rainiest month ever there. The record is 15.33 inches, set in December 1933. By this afternoon there had been 14.84 inches of precipitation during November at Sea-Tac airport.
A map of the locations of the last 100 visitors to NewMexiKen as of about 3PM Mountain Time. The red dot was the most recent, green the 10 most recent. (I guess you can’t see all 100 dots because of the overlap.)
As the dancers move in the chill winter air, spectators remain hushed. They don’t clap.
That’s because this dance is not a performance; it’s a prayer. And visitors seem to know that instinctively.
All winter, visitors and friends of New Mexico’s Pueblo people have the opportunity to share the prayer by attending any one of a number of dances at the various Pueblos.
Whether celebrating at Christmas, marking a saint’s day or gathering to honor a tribe’s new government, Pueblo members have many “doings” throughout the winter.
To watch the Deer dancers come over the rise at Taos Pueblo, or to hear the drums at Ohkay Owingeh, or to see a plaza fill with dancers at Santa Clara is a holiday gift to yourself. Those memories of movement and music and feelings of stillness and peace will return to you throughout your life as bits of grace in a busy world.
The article continues, including a calendar of events.
By the Sunday after Thanksgiving I’ve usually been enough of a glutton that I swear off food entirely. You know, go cold turkey.
Reading this article by Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker last night I couldn’t help but think we’ve turned into a country that Shakespeare could write a historical tragedy about.
NewMexiKen lives near a state highway with a posted speed limit of 50 mph. (That translates to about 65 in practice). Parallel to the road, and about 50 feet away from it, is a bike path. The path, however, is used by strollers (both the people kind and the kid-carrying kind) and slower bicycle riders. Most of the lycra-wearing bike riders use the bike lane on the highway itself. I understand that drivers are often rude to cyclists and that some drivers seem to get off on endangering bicycle riders. That said, though, why do so many of these bicycle riders — including those riding solo — hug the painted line separating the bike lane from the traffic lane? Isn’t that inviting trouble? The bike lane is eight or ten feet wide. I drive down the middle of my lane, why can’t/won’t so many cyclists ride down the middle of their lane?
Why is it that some people put on both socks then both shoes, while other people put on one sock and one shoe then the other sock and shoe? I’m the latter type.
I kind of like the logo for the New Mexico Bowl, which is having its first game December 23. It’ll be UNM vs. Nevada or San Jose State.
Grinding the beans just before brewing the coffee really does enhance the flavor. It also gives you something to do while drinking the coffee — clean up the mess.
Notre Dame really needs to get into a conference for football. I know they like taking home ALL the TV money and not having to share it (as conference teams do), but playing the other independents like Army and Navy isn’t going to prepare them for pro teams like USC. Playing Stanford (1-10) and North Carolina (3-9) didn’t help either. The Big 10 has 11 teams. Why not 12?
I bought some Christmas lights at Costco. According to the info on the box, this 100-light string of multi-colored LED bulbs uses just 8 watts, compared to 36 watts for mini lamps and 500 for incandescent Christmas lights (C-7 bulbs). Seemed like a good choice; for indoor or outdoor. Bulbs never need replacing.
How come cocaine is against the law but Costco is permitted to sell chocolate covered bing cherries?
I bought the Obama book (mentioned in the previous post).
Anyway, all of this is just a long prelude to the fact that I picked up his book The Audacity of Hope
and was blown away at how well written it is. His stories sometimes make me laugh out loud and at other times well up with tears. I find myself underlining the book repeatedly so I can find the best parts quickly again in the future. I am also almost certain he wrote the whole thing himself, based on people I know who know him. I have no interest in politics, yet I am devouring this book. If you aren’t giving Freakonomics as a Christmas gift this year—probably you gave it to everyone on your list last Christmas 🙂 —this would make a great gift.
I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised at what a good writer he is because I read his first book Dreams from My Father
two years ago and loved that one as well. But unlike that first book, written 15-20 years ago before he had political ambitions, I thought this new one would just be garbage. Rarely does a book so exceed my expectations. Also, I should stress that I don’t agree with all his political views, but that in no way detracts from the enjoyment of reading the book.
If he has the same effect on others as he does on me, you are looking at a future president.
As far as NewMexiKen is concerned, Gates, Obama, whoever, I’m voting for Jeb Bush.
… of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tina Turner (with Ike); she’s 67.
The Ike and Tina Turner Revue was one of the highest energy ensembles on the soul circuit in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.
Ike Turner had begun as a bandleader and talent scout in the ‘40s for blues and R&B performers. He recorded “Rocket 88,” considered by many the first rock ‘n’ roll recording, under the name of his baritone sax player, Jackie Brenston, in 1951.
Turner and his band, the Kings of Rhythm, found a young singer named Annie Mae Bullock in 1956. Eventually, the singer was renamed Tina Turner and the two married.
Their first hit, “A Fool in Love,” was recorded in 1961 when another singer failed to show up for a session. After several early ‘60s hit R&B singles, including “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” in 1961, they became major stars in England.
A 1971 cover version of John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary” reached No. 4 on the pop chart. Ike and Tina divorced in 1976.
… of Oakland Raiders coach Art Shell. He’s 60. Shell is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player and he was the first African-American head coach in modern NFL history.
Hall of Fame pitcher Vernon Louis “Lefty” Gomez was born on this date in 1908. He died in 1989.
“No one hit home runs the way Babe (Ruth) did. They were something special. They were like homing pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause briefly, suddenly gain its bearings, then take off for the stands.” Lefty Gomez
“When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew immediately what it was. That was a home run ball hit off me in 1933 by Jimmie Foxx.” Lefty Gomez
Charles M. Schulz was born on this date in 1922. He died in February 2000, the night before his last Sunday strip appeared.
It was, indeed, Microsoft whose trademark was registered with the New Mexico Secretary of State 30 years ago Sunday. Gates and Allen, as ballsy as any two entrepreneurs ever, came to Albuquerque because Micro Instrumentations & Telemetry Systems here was producing the very first personal computer — and they wrote the software for it.
Here’s a good, quick history of Microsoft from American Heritage.
“To put it delicately, Kevin’s piñata is woefully short of candy.”
Dan Neil referring, of course, to Kevin Federline.
Neil continues, “And yet, that’s how this worthless-hubby, canceled-credit-card, Malibu train wreck narrative plays out, right? It’s K-Fed, David Gest, Ike Turner and Bobby Brown playin’ Texas hold ’em in celebrity man-mooch heaven.”
Oh, BTW, it’s also a great review of the redesigned Acura MDX.
Photo essay from Jesus’ General.
And this from Maureen Dowd:
“After the Thanksgiving Day Massacre of Shiites by Sunnis, President Bush should go on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and give an interview headlined: ‘If I did it, here’s how the civil war in Iraq happened.'”
This is too easy.
“On November 26, 1976, the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico awarded a trademark to a four-man Albuquerque startup headquartered in a two-bedroom apartment.”
What was the company called?
Answer here.
… Percy Sledge, 65.
Percy Sledge will forever be associated with “When a Man Loves a Woman,” a pleading, soulful ballad he sang with wrenching, convincing anguish and passion.
Sledge sang all of his songs that way, delivering them in a powerful rush where he quickly changed from soulful belting to quavering, tearful pleas. It was a voice that made him one of the key figures of deep Southern soul during the late ’60s. (VH1.com)
The song was number one for two weeks in 1966.
… Ben Stein, the writer/actor/game show host, is 62.
… Jill Hennessy, 38. The Canadian has a twin sister, also 38 today, named Jacqueline. They once had an act, Jack and Jill. In her first role, Hennessy was billed as Jillian Hennessy.
… Christina Applegate, 35. Ms. Applegate was nominated twice for the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for appearances on “Friends.” She won in 2003. She first appeared on television in a commercial at age five months.
… Donovan McNabb, just 30.
… Barbara and Jenna Bush, 25.
Andrew Carnegie was born on this date in 1835. He died in 1919.
Until he was a septuagenarian, Andrew Carnegie believed that he was born in 1837. Then on a return visit to his native town in Scotland he learned that the date 1837 in the church records merely meant that the records were commenced in that year, and he was listed as a living child in the first census. He announced his correction of the date of his birth by clicking the news to his brother telegraphers on a miniature telegraph instrument at his plate at the dinner they were giving in his honor, supposing it to be his seventy-first when it was really his seventy-third birthday. (The New York Times)
“The day is not far distant when the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which were free for him to administer during life, will pass away ‘unwept, unhonored, and unsung,’ no matter to what use he leaves the dross which he cannot take with him. Of such as these the public verdict will be, ‘The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.'” Andrew Carnegie (1898)
Karl Benz, the inventor of the gasoline-powered automobile (1885), was born on this date in 1844.
Between 1885 and 1887, three versions of the three-wheeler were designed: the Model 1 which Benz donated to the Deutsches Museum in 1906, the Model 2 which was probably altered and rebuilt several times, and lastly the Model 3 with wood-spoked wheels which Bertha Benz took on the first long-distance journey in 1888.
By 1886 the existing production facilities could no longer cope with the insatiable demand for stationary engines and “Benz & Co. Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik” moved to a larger factory building in Waldhofstrasse in which motor vehicle engines were manufactured until 1908. The appearance in 1890 of new partners, Friedrich von Fischer and Julius Ganß, marked the growth of “Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik” into Germany’s second-largest engine factory. In 1893 Karl Benz introduced the axle-pivot steering system into automobile construction and in 1896 he developed the “contra” engine which was to become the precursor to today’s horizontally opposed piston engine.
Between 1894 and 1901 the Benz “Velo” was built at Benz & Co. It was a reasonably priced, light automobile for two people which signaled the breakthrough to higher sales and, with total production of some 1200 units, can be legitimately described as the first series production car. As the turn of the century approached, Benz & Co. had grown into the world’s leading automotive manufacturer. In 1899 the firm was converted into a joint-stock company. (Mercedes-Benz USA)
Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born on this date in 1881. He became Pope John XXIII in 1958 (and died in 1963).
Joe DiMaggio was born on this date in 1914. He died in 1999.
Joe DiMaggio is remembered as one of the game’s most graceful athletes – a “picture player” both at bat and in center field. Many rate his 56-consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 as the top baseball feat of all time. “The Yankee Clipper” used an unusually wide stance in winning two batting championships and three MVP awards. In 13 seasons he amassed 361 homers, averaged 118 RBI annually and compiled a .325 lifetime batting mark. At baseball’s 1969 Centennial Celebration, he was named the game’s greatest living player.
“Joe DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw. His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. It might sound corny, but he had a profound and lasting impact on the country.”
— Ted Williams
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John F. Kennedy Jr. was born on this date in 1960. He died in 1999. The photo was taken on his third birthday. |
“Later on in the segment [James Dobson] tries to define what causes homosexuality to Larry King. He says his opinion is a wee bit controversial, but I say it’s bat shit crazy.”
James Amato, Crooks and Liars, which has the video of Dobson with Larry King.
Dobson’s controversial thinking:
[Homosexuality] usually comes out of very, very early childhood, and this is very controversial, but this is what I believe and many other people believe, that is has to do with an identity crisis that occurs to early to remember it, where a boy is born with an attachment to his mother and she is everything to him for about 18 months, and between 18 months and five years, he needs to detach from her and to reattach to his father.
It’s a very important developmental task and if his dad is gone or abusive or disinterested or maybe there’s just not a good fit there. What’s he going to do? He remains bonded to his mother and…
A Canadian man who could not figure out how to deal with his girlfriend’s feverish 10-month-old daughter put the baby into a freezer to cool her down, a local newspaper reported on Friday.
Derrick Hardy faces charges of criminal negligence and assaulting the infant, who was rescued when her mother came home, the Charlottetown Guardian said.
It’s hard to believe anyone is actually this stupid but it appears (from reading the rest of the article) that the guy was doing everything he could think of to reduce the baby’s fever. He was right about that.
Junipero Serra (1713-1784)
“A priest in the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church, Junipero Serra was a driving force in the Spanish conquest and colonization of what is now the state of California.” (PBS – THE WEST)
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)
Northerners and Southerners disputed sharply whether the territories wrested from Mexico should be opened to slavery, and some Southerners even threatened secession. Standing firm, Zachary Taylor was prepared to hold the Union together by armed force rather than by compromise.
Born in Virginia in 1784, he was taken as an infant to Kentucky and raised on a plantation. He was a career officer in the Army, but his talk was most often of cotton raising. His home was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi.
But Taylor did not defend slavery or southern sectionalism; 40 years in the Army made him a strong nationalist.
(The White House)
Taylor’s early death probably delayed New Mexico’s entry into the Union by 62 years. It’s also interesting to compare this Virginian career Army officer’s thinking about the Union to another’s, that is, Robert E. Lee.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
The great Ragtime composer left no sound recordings, but he did make several piano rolls. It’s interesting to hear his tempo.
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)
“Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don’t put off being happy until some future date.”
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
$101 off on some computers, $31 off on iPods, $21 on Nanos. More.
Google is good for a lot of things, but here’s my favorite new search engine.
Update: I’ve been back to visit Ms. Dewey again. I can’t believe I am so easily amused.
“And even the upper-middle class kids who are having sex don’t know where to get condoms.”
Sylvia Ruiz, executive director of the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition, quoted in The Albuquerque Journal in a report on the state’s continuing to rate high in teen-age pregnancy.
The upper-middle class kids know where to get booze and marijuana, but aren’t familiar with Walgreens?
From a report in the Los Angeles Times:
As the National Park Service begins planning for its 100th birthday in 2016, the venerable agency has reason to wonder who will show up.
By the services own reckoning, visits to national parks have been on a downward slide for 10 years. Overnight stays fell 20% between 1995 and 2005, and tent camping and backcountry camping each decreased nearly 24% during the same period.
Visits are down at almost all national parks, even at Yosemite, notorious for summertime crowds and traffic jams. Meanwhile, most of the 390 properties in the park system are begging for business.
“Most days, wed be delighted to see 10 people,” said Craig Dorman, superintendent at Lava Beds National Monument, a seldom-visited site near the California-Oregon border that is even emptier these days. “It was pretty crowded around here during the Modoc War,” he said, referring to the 1872 Modoc Indian uprising. “But there probably havent been that many people here since.”
Typically, families with children recede from the parks in the fall. Now, the retirees who traditionally take their place in the fall and winter are choosing to go elsewhere. Last year, about 569,000 vacationers went to Yosemite in July, nearly 20% fewer than in the same month in 1995. In January, there were 94,000 visitors, about 30% fewer than in January 1995.
NewMexiKen wonders how much of the recent drop-off is from foreign visitors. I’ve read recently that entering the U.S. has become so difficult (so much of a hassle) that many are traveling to other destinations.
… of William F. Buckley, 81.
“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”
… of Oscar Robertson, 68.
Whenever basketball discussions turn to naming the greatest player in history, Oscar Robertson’s name is always prominently mentioned. Red Auerbach, who coached a slew of Hall of Famers with the Boston Celtics, rates Robertson as the best, most versatile player he has ever seen. Most other basketball experts would agree: the “Big O” could do it all. He was an unstoppable offensive player; one who could score from every spot on the court and in any manner he saw fit. Robertson’s offensive prowess changed the point guard stereotype from simply a passer and “floor general” to a scorer and offensive weapon. Robertson truly had a presence on the court.
A three-time All-State selection at Indianapolis’ Crispus Attucks High School, the “Big O” was heavily recruited and opted to remain close to home at the University of Cincinnati. Robertson’s collegiate career (1957-60) was historic: he established 19 school and 14 NCAA records and led the Bearcats to a 79-9 record and two straight NCAA tournament third place finishes in 1959 and 1960. A three-time College Player of the Year and national scoring leader at Cincinnati, Robertson scored 2,973 points (33.8 ppg), placing him seventh all-time in NCAA history. (Basketball Hall of Fame)
… of Pete Best, 65. Best was the orginal drummer in The Beatles, fired in 1962 to be replaced by Ringo Starr.
… of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Donald ”Duck” Dunn, 65.
The group came together in the early Sixties at Stax Records, a studio and record store on East McLemore Avenue in Memphis. By 1962, guitarist Steve Cropper, organist Booker T. Jones and bassist Lewis Steinberg were established session musicians at Stax. They were joined on a recording date for Billy Lee Riley (of “Flying Saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll” fame) by drummer Al Jackson, with whom Steinberg had played in the house band at Memphis’ Plantation Inn. It was during some down time at the Riley session that this lineup recorded the classic Sixties soul instrumental “Green Onions.” The definitive version of Booker T. and the MGs (which stood for “Memphis Group”) was completed in 1963, when bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn – a former schoolmate and bandmate of Cropper’s who’d been touring with the Mar-Keys, another Stax backup group – replaced Steinberg. This lineup lent instrumental fire and uncluttered rhythmic support to countless soul classics. Particularly fruitful was their relationship with Stax’s biggest star, Otis Redding. In addition to playing on virtually all of his records, the band backed him at his legendary performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 (along with the Mar-Kays), and guitarist Cropper co-wrote his best-known number, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” Cropper also shared writing credits on such soul standards as Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour,” Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man,” Eddie Floyd’s “Knock On Wood” and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.” (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum)
… of Stanley Livingston, 56. He was Chip, the original third son on my three sons. Later Stanley’s brother Barry Livingston played even younger son (when oldest brother Mike played by Tim Considine left the show).
… of Katherine Heigl, 28. That’s Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens to you. NewMexiKen hopes I never get sick, but if I do I want to go to the hottie doctor hospital.
“Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
John Kerry
“A black C student can’t do shit with his life. A black C student can’t be a manager at Burger King … meanwhile a white C student just happens to be the President of the United States.”
Chris Rock
The New York Times Book Review has published its annual list.
Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after have a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
From the only contemporary account of the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving, a letter by Edward Winslow dated December 11, 1621.
And for all the talk about other Thanksgivings — and they surely do deserve recognition — and how the traditions we have now have very little to do with the actual Pilgrims, let’s give them — and the Wampanoags — some credit.
Nothing is more commercial than the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — more of a variety show that walks than a parade.
But still, it’s the big time, and here’s Dora. Where’s Boots?
