Alex Haley

… was born 90 years ago today. Haley was the author of two publishing phenomena — The Autobiography of Malcolm X (6 million copies) and Roots, which was not only a best-seller, but led to one of the most successful television series ever. Nearly half the people in the country watched the last episode in January 1977. Haley won a special Pulitzer for Roots, “the story of a black family from its origins in Africa through seven generations to the present day in America.”

Subsequently it bothered me to learn he plagarized sections of the book and possibly fudged some of the genealogy. Clearly, that wasn’t right. Even so, the good his work did in educating both black and white America (and I include both books) was a legacy of major proportion.

I sat on the stage behind Haley once in 1979 as he spoke. He was a very self-possessed and self-assured speaker, confident yet pleasant and informal. He spoke for some time without notes, telling the story about the story — that is, how he learned about his family. As he spoke I could see the rapture on the faces of his listeners. To an audience of genealogists this was the Sermon on the Mount.

Haley, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard 1939-1959, before becoming a full-time writer, died of a heart attack in 1992. The Coast Guard has named a cutter for him.

‘This ain’t a football game. We do this every day.’

Gene Lyons wishes politics was baseball, and makes this observation:

Business correspondent Ali Velshi struggled to explain the basics to the excited anchorman. Investors cashing out of stocks were buying U.S. Treasury bills. Bond yields were dropping — precisely the opposite effect S&P’s grandstanding would have caused if markets took it seriously.

Short of dousing Blitzer with a fire extinguisher, there seemed no way to make him understand. Actually, I expect he wasn’t confused, but performing. Cable news channels hype Washington melodrama to boost ratings. Absent real crises, they invent them. Broadly speaking, Republican operatives understand this; Democrats not so much.

. . .

Now a baseball announcer who didn’t grasp the infield fly rule, or pretended that the Yankees batting order affected their earned run average would be out of work. Fans demand competence. Sports journalists have their faults, but they do have to get the scores right.

The Markets

… are totally repudiating the debt ceiling deal. Stocks are dramatically down; government securities are dramatically up.

Do they not have televisions, radios, newspapers or the internet in Washington? Are they too busy talking to each other to see and hear what is happening in the country and around the world? Is their assigned agenda unmovable at any cost? Scaring the people so that Medicare and Social Security can be undermined seems to be all that matters.

It is as if they wanted another Great Depression. Investors are scared.

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680

On the Feast Day of San Lorenzo, August 10, 1680, the Franciscan priest Fray Juan Pío left early from Santa Fe to say Mass in the nearby pueblo of Tesuque. A Spanish settler living in Tesuque had been murdered the day before and Pío was preoccupied with reports of an imminent Indian uprising.

Before the day was over, Pío would disappear, his bloodstained shield found, and four hundred Spaniards, among them twenty other Franciscan priests, would be killed. After more than 140 years of submission to Spanish colonial rule, the Pueblos had united with other Indian tribes to revolt against their colonizers. Led by a medicine man known as Popé, they plundered homes and demolished churches and other signs of the Spanish empire, including government documents. The Pueblo Revolt had begun.

Spanish survivors were driven as far south as present-day El Paso. For the next twelve years, New Mexico would remain free of Spanish rule.

From Trouble for the Spanish: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Humanities, Volume 23/Number 6, November/December 2002

Popé, or Po’pay, is one of two New Mexicans depicted in the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.

In 1675 Po’pay and 46 other Pueblo leaders were convicted of sorcery; he was among those flogged, while others were executed. In 1680 Po’pay organized the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. According to legend, to coordinate the timing of the uprising, he and his followers sent runners to each pueblo with knotted deerskin strips. One knot was to be untied each day, and the revolt would begin on the day the last one was untied. However, the Spaniards arrested two of the runners, and the pueblos were quickly notified to accelerate the revolt. The attacks began on August 10, two days before the last knot would have been untied. The Spaniards took refuge at Santa Fe; the besieging Indians cut off their water supply but soon permitted them to leave the area. The Pueblo Revolt helped to ensure the survival of the Pueblo culture and shaped the history of the American Southwest.

Tweet of the day

“@DenaliNPS: Ripe soapberries can turn a river bar hike into a bear-y experience.”

Here’s the not terribly encouraging advice they direct you to:

If You Encounter a Bear

  • Running may elicit a chase response. Bears can run faster than 30 mph (50 km/hr). You cannot outrun them. If the bear is unaware of you, detour quickly and quietly away. Give the bear plenty of room, allowing it to continue its activities undisturbed. BACK AWAY SLOWLY IF THE BEAR IS AWARE OF YOU! Speak in a low, calm voice while waving your arms slowly above your head. Bears that stand up on their hind legs are not threatening you, but merely trying to identify you.
  • SHOULD A BEAR APPROACH OR CHARGE YOU—DO NOT RUN, DO NOT DROP YOUR PACK! Bears sometimes charge, coming within ten feet of a person before stopping or veering off. Dropping a pack may encourage the bear to approach people for food. STAND STILL until the bear moves away, then slowly back off.
  • IF A GRIZZLY MAKES CONTACT WITH YOU, PLAY DEAD. Curl up into a ball with your knees tucked into your stomach and your hands laced around the back of your neck. Leave your pack on to protect your back. If the attack is prolonged, fight back vigorously.
  • IF A BLACK BEAR MAKES CONTACT WITH YOU, FIGHT BACK.

Denali National Park and Preserve – Bear Safety

The only good advice in grizzly country is to hike with a partner that is slower than you.

August Tenth

Leo Fender was born 102 years ago today.

“It’s safe to say there would be no such thing as rock and roll without its distinctive instrumentation. To put it another way, rock and roll as we know it could not exist without Leo Fender, inventor of the first solid-body electric guitar to be mass-produced: the Fender Broadcaster. Fender’s instruments – which also include the Stratocaster, the Precision bass (the first electric bass) and some of the music world’s most coveted amplifiers – revolutionized popular music in general and rock and roll in particular.
…

The bass-driven soul music of Motown and Stax would have been inconceivable without Fender’s handiwork.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Jimi, Clapton, Jeff Beck all used a Fender Strat.

Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10 in 1874. Mr. Hoover, who was the 31st President of the United States, lived until 1964. Among the presidents, only Ford, Reagan, and the first Adams have lived longer.

Born in Iowa, orphaned at nine, Hoover grew up in Oregon. He was in the first class at Stanford University, graduating as a mining engineer. Hoover earned millions in mining before turning his attention to public service. He was instrumental in relief and humanitarian efforts during and after World War I. He was Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Harding and Coolidge. Hoover, the Republican, defeated Al Smith, the Democrat, handily in the 1928 election with 58% of the popular vote.

President at the time of the stock market crash and subsequent depression, Hoover believed that, while people should not suffer, assistance should be primarily a local and voluntary responsibility. Even so, he supported some measures to aid businesses and farmers; indeed, among his party he was moderate. But he was simply not bold enough to meet the crisis. Hoover lost to Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, 57.3% to 39.6% of the popular vote, 472-59 in the electoral vote.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bobbie Hatfield was born on this date in 1940 (on the right in the photo). The Righteous Brothers — blue-eyed soul. No one believed they were white. The name had something to do with that, but it was the sound that fooled everyone. Hatfield had the higher voice; Bill Medley the lower. In the book accompanying the Phil Spector compilation, Back to Mono, songwriter Cynthia Weil recalls that:

After Phil, Barry [co-writer Barry Mann] and I finished [“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”], we took it over to The Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley, who has the low voice, seemed to like the song. I remember Bobby Hatfield saying, “But what do I do while he’s singing the whole first verse?” and Phil said, “You can go directly to the bank!”

Hatfield died in 2003.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Veronica Bennett is 68 today. That’s Ronnie Spector, one-time Mrs. Phil Spector (married 1968-1974), and lead singer of The Ronettes (with her sister and cousin). Hits included Be My Baby and Walkin’ in the Rain. “I like to look the way Ronnie Spector sounds: sexy, hungry, totally trashy. I admire her tonal quality.” — Madonna, quoted at RonnieSpector.com.

Rosanna Arquette is 52.

Antonio Banderas is 51 today.

Andrew Sullivan is 48.

Angie Harmon is 39.

Country singer, TV personality, sausage seller Jimmy Dean was born on August 10th in 1928. He died last year. Dean’s “Big Bad John” was the number one song for five weeks 50 years ago.

Singer Eddie Fisher was also born on this date in 1928 and died last year. He was Mr. Debbie Reynolds when Elizabeth Taylor caused him to compromise his marriage vows. And he is Carrie Fisher’s father.

Eusebio Kino was baptized on this date in 1645. Kino was instrumental in the exploration and Christianization of northern Sonora and what is now southern Arizona (Pimería Alta). Born Eusebius Franz Kühn in present-day Italy (Kino is the Spanish variation), he was educated in Innsbruck (now Austria) and joined the Jesuits in 1665. Kino came to Pimería Alta in 1687 and in 24 years established 24 missions and explored some 50,000 square miles. His is one of two statues representing Arizona in the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.

Fort Necessity National Battlefield (Pennsylvania)

… was designated such 50 years ago today.

Fort Necessity

On July 3, 1754, in the wilderness of the Allegheny Mountains, Colonial troops commanded by 22 year old Colonel George Washington were defeated in this small stockade at the “Great Meadow”. This opening battle of the French and Indian War began a seven year struggle between Great Britain and France for control of North America. Great Britain’s success in this war helped pave the way for the American Revolution.

Fort Necessity National Battlefield is located in the mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania, about 11 miles east of Uniontown. The park comprises approximately 900 acres in three separate sites. The main unit contains the visitor center, the battlefield with the reconstructed Fort Necessity, and the Mount Washington Tavern. The Braddock Grave unit is approximately 1.5 miles west of the main unit and the Jumonville Glen unit is approximately seven miles northwest of the main unit.

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

August 9th

Today is the birthday

… of Bob Cousy, basketball hall-of-famer. He’s 83. Bob Cousy was a star of such stature that when a new basketball coach was hired by my high school in 1958, his claim to fame was he’d held Cousy to ten points once in college.

… of Rod Laver, tennis hall-of-famer. He’s 73.

… of Ken Norton, boxing hall-of-famer. He’s 68.

… of Sam Elliott, 67 today. Elliott just looks like a cowboy, or the image we think of when we think of cowboy. Even so, NewMexiKen liked him best as General John Buford in Gettysburg and he was good in The Contender.

… of Melanie Griffith, 54 today. No longer a working “girl.” She got an Oscar nomination for best actress for that role. Ms. Griffith’s mother is Tippi Hedren, known from the Hitchcock thriller The Birds.

… of Whitney Houston, 48.

… of Brett Hull, hockey hall-of-famer. He’s 47.

… of Deion Sanders. Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens and was on Super Bowl champion teams with the 49ers and Cowboys. He also played for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. Sanders is 44.

… of Audrey Tautou, 33. If she’s made any bad movies, I haven’t seen them. In America I suppose she is best known as Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code. Check out Amélie or A Very Long Engagement.

… of Robert Shaw, born on this date in 1927. Shaw was Doyle Lonegan in The Sting and Captain Quint in Jaws. He was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons. A favorite of NewMexiKen is his work as Mr. Blue in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Shaw died in 1978.

Izaak Walton was born on this date in 1593. He’s the author of many books, most famously The Compleat Angler, first published in 1653.

Indeed, my good scholar, we may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, “Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did”; and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.

Jesse Owens won the fourth of his four Olympic gold medals on this date in 1936. In Berlin, Owens won gold for the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and — on August 9th — the leadoff leg of the 400 meter relay (a world record that lasted for 20 years).

The Creek War

… also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War ended on this date in 1814, when Major General Andrew Jackson signed the Treaty of Fort Jackson. According to the Library of Congress:

The agreement provided for the surrender of twenty-three million acres of Creek land to the United States. This vast territory encompassed more than half of present-day Alabama and part of southern Georgia.

The war began on August 30, 1813, when a faction of Creeks known as the Red Sticks attacked a contingent of 553 American settlers at Lake Tensaw, Alabama, north of Mobile. In response, Jackson led 5,000 militiamen in the destruction of two Creek villages, Tallasahatchee and Talladega.

On March 27, 1814, Jackson’s forces destroyed the Creek defenses at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Eight hundred Creek warriors were killed and 500 women and children captured.

The war had begun largely as a conflict among traditional Creeks, the Red Sticks, and those more accepting of white encroachment. Many of the latter supported and fought with Jackson, but they too were sold out in the 1814 treaty. Eventually the Creeks were moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) as part of the Indian Removal Act.

The Creek people prefer now to be known as The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)

… was authorized on this date in 1916.

Lassen.jpg

Beneath Lassen Volcanic’s peaceful forests and gem-like lakes lies evidence of a turbulent and fiery past. 600,000 years ago, the collision and warping of continental plates led to violent eruptions and the formation of lofty Mt. Tehama (also called Brokeoff Volcano.) After 200,000 years of volcanic activity, vents and smaller volcanoes on Tehama’s flanks-including Lassen Peak-drew magma away from the main cone. Hydrothermal areas ate away at the great mountain’s bulk. Beneath the onslaught of Ice Age glaciers, Mt. Tehama crumbled and finally ceased to exist. But the volcanic landscape lived on: in 1914, Lassen Peak awoke. The Peak had its most significant activity in 1915 and minor activity through 1921. Lassen Volcanic became a national park in 1916 because of its significance as an active volcanic landscape.

All four types of volcanoes in the world are found in the park.

Source: Lassen Volcanic National Park

The second — and last?

… nuclear bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on this date in 1945.

The BBC provides some facts (the first two are as reported at the time of the bombing):

The bomb was dropped by parachute from an American B29 Bomber at 1102 local time.

It exploded about 1,625 ft (500m) above the ground and is believed to have completely destroyed the city, which is situated on the western side of the Japanese island of Kyushu.

About 30% of Nagasaki, including almost all the industrial district was destroyed by the bomb and nearly 150,000 people were killed or injured.

The bomb, nick-named “Fat Man” in a reference to Winston Churchill, measured just under 3.5m (11ft 4in) in length, had the power of 22 kilotons of TNT and weighed 4,050kg (9,000lbs).

Residents of both cities are still suffering the physical and mental consequences of radiation to this day.

On 14 August Japan surrendered to the Allies.

Capulin Volcano National Monument (New Mexico)

… was authorized on this date in 1916. The monument is located in far northeastern New Mexico.

Mammoths, giant bison, and short-faced bears were witness to the first tremblings of the earth and firework-like explosions of molten rock thousands of feet into the air. Approximately 60,000 years ago, the rain of cooling cinders and four lava flows formed Capulin Volcano, a nearly perfectly-shaped cinder cone, rising more than 1000 feet above the surrounding landscape. Although long extinct, Capulin Volcano is dramatic evidence of the volcanic processes that shaped northeastern New Mexico. Today the pine forested volcano provide habitat for mule deer, wild turkey, and black bear.

Souce: Capulin Volcano National Monument

Redux post of the day

First posted two years ago today.

this morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the national aeronautics and space administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US department of agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the food and drug administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the national institute of standards and technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my national highway traffic safety administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the environmental protection agency, using legal tender issed by the federal reserve bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US postal service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the department of labor and the occupational safety and health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right

My source, Discourse.net. He doesn’t know its origins.

Hope and Change — Not

Barack Obama’s aides and advisers are preparing to center the president’s reelection campaign on a ferocious personal assault on Mitt Romney’s character and business background, a strategy grounded in the early stage expectation that the former Massachusetts governor is the likely GOP nominee.

The dramatic and unabashedly negative turn is the product of political reality. Obama remains personally popular, but pluralities in recent polling disapprove of his handling of his job and Americans fear the country is on the wrong track. His aides are increasingly resigned to running for reelection in a glum nation. And so the candidate who ran on “hope” in 2008 has little choice four years later but to run a slashing, personal campaign aimed at disqualifying his likeliest opponent.

Above the beginning of a report from Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin at POLITICO.com.

Evolution’s Gold Standard

How evolution makes us crave. The brief essay begins:

Feeling low? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, when people feel bad, their sense of touch quickens and they instinctively want to hug something or someone. Tykes cling to a teddy bear or blanket. It’s a mammal thing. If young mammals feel gloomy, it’s usually because they’re hurt, sick, cold, scared or lost. So their brain rewards them with a gust of pleasure if they scamper back to mom for a warm nuzzle and a meal. No need to think it over. All they know is that, when a negative mood hits, a cuddle just feels right; and if they’re upbeat and alert, then their eyes hunger for new sights and they’re itching to explore.