Sunday, May 3, 2020
Siteseeing
A tour of various
websites . . .
-----oOo-----
The Killings at
Kent State University:
Fifty years ago,
on May 4 1970, students at Kent Street University protested against the Vietnam
War, 5 days after President Richard Nixon had advised that the war had expanded
into Cambodia. Protestors broke windows,
threw bottles at police cars and set alight the ROTC building on campus. Ohio Governor James Rhodes, running in a
contested Republican primary for U.S. Senate, called in the National Guard
which fired tear gas at the crowd and fired a total of 67 shots from M-1 rifles
at the students. Some of the students were simply on their way to class. Four
students were killed and nine more were injured.
Ten days later
at Jackson State College (now University) in Mississippi, National Guard troops
and local law enforcement fired more than 150 shots into a dormitory, responding,
they said, to sniper fire. No evidence of sniper fire was ever found. Two students were killed in the barrage.
The Kent State
shooting remains a watershed moment in American history. It sparked a
nationwide student strike shortly thereafter and reverberated throughout the
final years of the Vietnam War and the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971,
which lowered the voting age to 18.
The article,
link below, looks at the university’s attempts to come to grips with the
shooting, originally trying to make it go away but then recognising and commemorating
it, including an on-campus museum, as well as the event becoming a part of
history.
Mary Ann Vecchio
screams as she kneels over the body of fellow student Jeffrey Miller at Kent
State University, Ohio, 4 May 1970.
The students
killed at Kent State
Smithsonian Magazine
May 1, 2020
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Media Manipulation:
Two Danish photographers
have taken photographs of the same scene from different perspective using different
lenses - a wide angle and a telephoto lens – to show how images can be
manipulated, especially important in this time of social distancing. Following are some of the images, telephoto first
and wide angle following:
Bored Panda
May 2, 2020
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The Nuke that
Fell from Space:
Between 1961 and
1978 the US launched 8 nuclear powered satellites to provide navigation services
to its navy. There were also numerous non-nuclear
satellites, eventually a total of 41 orbiting satellites. Russia did not start launching nuclear
satellites until 1965 and between then and 1987 launched over 30 satellites,
each carrying a small nuclear reactor on board to power the various
instruments. These satellites were mostly of reconnaissance type meant to spy
upon the US Navy’s vessels and submarines.
Because of space
and weight constraints, the fuel was highly enriched to weapons-grade level so
that the reactors were fast, efficient. Small and extremely powerful. The
reactor was mounted inside a separate unit that could be jettisoned further up
into space into a higher orbit once the satellite reached the end of its
operational life. This way the dead satellite could safely re-enter earth’s
atmosphere without the risk of radioactive contamination.
Cosmos 954 was
launched by Russia on 18 September 1977 but within weeks of launch its orbit
became erratic and the system which was intended to dispose the spent reactor
core into a safe orbit wasn’t working.
The Soviets
warned the US, which warned NATO, that the nuke was about to fall with
radioactive nuclear U-235 and that there could be contamination.
On 24 January
1978 Cosmos 954 entered the Earth's
atmosphere and broke up over Canada. Debris from the satellite fell along a
600-kilometer path from Great Slave Lake to Baker Lake, including portions of
the Northwest Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The subsequent search and
clean-up operation cost Canada nearly CA$14 million, while the US spent some
USD 2.5 million. Canada later billed the Soviet Union CA$6 million, of which
only half the amount was paid.
Search was
unable to locate the all-important core and it was concluded that it had
completely disintegrated.
It was considered
that the contamination was of a leser degree and that exposure would be no
higher than from an X-ray.
There have been
2 other instances of nukes falling, both from trhe Russians and both
disintegrating and/or falling into oceans.
The following
paragraph from the article linked below is of concern:
There is a possibility that such an event could occur again in future. There are many nuclear-powered satellites launched during the Cold War period that are still orbiting the earth. Although their orbits are high and currently stable, collision with space debris and meteorites could knock them out of their designated orbits and towards earth.
Using hand-held
radiation survey meters to find the debris
Amusing Planet
May 1, 2020
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Sightseeing on
Siteseeing:
There is a
Facebook site called “View From My Window” which asks people to post photos of
views from their windows whilst they are socially isolating and stuck at
home. The link to the Facebook site is:
Here are some of
the pics showing the variety of worldwide views and emphasizing that despite differences,
we are all still one, that we are in this together . . .
Source:
Bored Panda
May 1. 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
We Didn't Start the Fire, continued
Continuing a look at the stories behind the lyrics of We Dididn't Start the Fire:
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio.
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
-----oOo-----
1952:
-----oOo-----
Eisenhower:
Dwight David Eisenhower (1890 – 1969):
- American army general, five-star general in the Army in WW2.
- Served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe.
- Responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
- First Supreme Commander of NATO, 1951.
- 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Relevance to 1952:
Eisenhower was elected President in 1952 under the slogan “I Like Ike” with Richard Nixon as his VP running mate. He defeated Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson II in a landslide, with an electoral margin of 442 to 89, marking the first Republican return to the White House in 20 years.
1952 campaign button
1956 campaign button
By the way:
Some months after the end of his term as President, Eisenhower was asked if leaving the White House had affected his golf game. "Yes," he replied, "a lot more people beat me now."
-----oOo-----
Vaccine:
Jonas Salk (1914 – 1995) was an American physician, medical researcher and virologist who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines.
Polio was considered one of the most frightening public health problems in the world until 1955 when the Salk vaccine was introduced, and epidemics were increasingly devastating in the post-war United States.
Relevance to 1952:
The 1952 U.S. epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history, as 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis, most of its victims being children. The "public reaction was to a plague", said historian William L. O'Neill. According to a 2009 PBS documentary, "Apart from the atomic bomb, America's greatest fear was polio
Also in 1952 Jonas Salk began testing a vaccine for polio consisting of injections of dead polio virus. Later Sabin began trials of a cheaper and more effective oral vaccine. The use of the two vaccines has eliminated polio in most countries.
Dear Dr Salk
Where are you now that we need you?
-----oOo-----
England’s got a new Queen:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, came to the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI. She was in Kenya at the time and became the first Sovereign in over 200 years to accede while abroad. She was crowned on 2 June, 1953 in Westminster Abbey. Her Maj was the thirty-ninth Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
The new Queen Elizabeth II returning from Kenya to take up her duties following the death of the king, her father.
By the way:
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were driven from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach pulled by eight grey gelding horses: Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Snow White, Tipperary. McCreery and . . . Eisenhower.
The State coach at the coronation 1953.
(I don't know which horse is the one named Eisenhower.)
-----oOo-----
Marciano:
Rocky Marciano (1924-1969):
- the only heavyweight world champion to retire undefeated
- world heavyweight titleholder from 1952 to 1956
- six title defences
- known for his relentless fighting style, formidable punching power, stamina, and exceptionally durable chin
- included by boxing historians in lists of the greatest boxers of all time
- his knockout-to-win percentage of 87.76% remains one of the highest in heavyweight boxing history – 49 fights/wins, 43 by ko
Relevance to 1952:
Maciano became world heavyweight champ in 1952 when he defeated Jersey Joe Walcott with a knockout in the 13th round.
By the way:
Marciano retired at age 32. In 1969, the day before his 46rh birthday, he was killed when a light plane in which he was a passenger crashed on landing,
-----oOo-----
Liberace:
Wladziu Valentine Liberace (919-1987):
- American pianist, singer and actor
- a child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin
- in childhood, Liberace suffered from a speech impediment, and as a teen, from the taunts of neighborhood children, who mocked him for his effeminate personality, his avoidance of sports, and his fondness for cooking, and the piano
- enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements
- at the height of his fame, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Liberace was the highest-paid entertainer in the world, with established concert residencies in Las Vegas, and an international touring schedule
- embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off stage, acquiring the nickname "Mr. Showmanship".
Relevance to 1952:
Liberace was given a Los Angeles TV show in 1952 that became so successful it went national in 1953.
By the way:
Commenting on criticism, he once famously said that he cried all the way to the bank. He later revised this to being so successful that he had bought the bank he used to cry all the way to.
Liberace Museum, Las Vegas
-----oOo-----
Santayana goodbye:
George Santayana (1863-1952):
- philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.
- wrote 18 books on philosophy
- known for aphorisms such as:
“Love makes us poets and the approach of death makes us philosophers.”
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".”
"Only the dead have seen the end of war."
- held racial superiority and eugenic views, believed superior races should be discouraged from "intermarriage with inferior stock"
Relevance to 1952:
Santayana died in 1952, aged 88, of stomach cancer.
Friday, May 1, 2020
Limerick of the Week
There’s a warning to all that I would
Ask you to heed, you should -
It may come from the Pres
But forget what he says,
The brown disinfectant’s not good!
Ask you to heed, you should -
It may come from the Pres
But forget what he says,
The brown disinfectant’s not good!
Funny Friday
-----o😊o-----
Remember how TV weatherman Phil Connors repeats the one
day over and over again for years in Groundhog Day? On one occasion we see him in a bar with two boozing
locals, Gus and Ralph. Phil, smashed and
feeling sorry for himself, says “What would you do if you were stuck in one
place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” “That about sums it up for me” replies Ralph.
That is what the world seems like at the moment.
There has been one change, though, that you will have
noticed. The Limerick of the Week now is
posted in the Thought/Quote of the Week spot.
A mixed bag of humour this week, no theme except to
try to raise a smile or a laugh.
Stay safe and well, people.
-----o😊o-----
SOME HUMOUR . . .
An attractive young woman on a flight from Ireland
asked the priest beside her, "Father, may I ask a favor?"
"Of course child. What may I do for you?"
"Well, I bought my mother an expensive hair dryer
for her birthday. It is unopened but well over the customs limits and I'm
afraid they'll confiscate it. Is there any way you could carry it through
Customs for me? Hide it under your robes perhaps?"
"I would love to help you, dear, but I must warn
you, I will not lie."
"With your honest face, Father, no one will
question you," she replied.
When they got to Customs, she let the priest go first.
The official asked, "Father, do you have anything to declare?"
"From the top of my head down to my waist I have
nothing to declare."
The official thought this answer strange, so asked,
"And what do you have to declare from your waist to the floor?"
Father replied, "I have a marvelous instrument
designed to be used on a woman, which is, to date, unused."
Roaring with laughter, the official said, "Go
ahead, Father. Next please!"
-----oOo-----
Driving home after a hard day at work, a man gets
pulled over by a cop. His patience is wearing thin.
"Tell me, officer: would it be a crime for me to
insult you? Hypothetically speaking, of course - I think the police are
wonderful - but in theory, could you arrest me if I said you were a prick?"
Cop: "Yes sir. That would count as disorderly
conduct."
"What about if I were just to think it?"
Cop: "No sir. You can think whatever you
like."
"In that case, I think you're a prick."
-----oOo-----
A man sits next to another man on the train, pulls out
a photo of his wife and says “Isn’t she beautiful?”
The other man says “If you think she’s beautiful, you
should see my wife.”
The first man asks “Why? Is she a stunner?”
“No,” says the other man, “she’s an ophthalmologist”
-----oOo-----
A bad workman blames his fools.
EDIT: *tools
Stupid keyboard
-----oOo-----
"Waitress, can I ask you something about the menu
please?"
Waitress: slaps me across the face
"The men I please are none of your damn
business!"
-----oOo-----
A man goes into a restaurant and is seated. All the
waitresses are gorgeous. A particularly voluptuous waitress wearing a very
short skirt and legs that won’t quit came to his table and asked if he was
ready to order, “What would you like, sir?”
He looks at the menu and then scans her beautiful
frame top to bottom, then answers, “A quickie.”
The waitress turns and walks away in disgust. After
she regains her composure she returns and asks again, “What would you like,
sir?”
Again the man thoroughly checks her out and again
answers, “A quickie, please.”
This time her anger takes over, she reaches over and
slaps him across the face with a resounding “SMACK!” and storms away.
A man sitting at the next table leans over and
whispers, “Um, I think it’s pronounced ‘QUICHE.'”
-----o😊o-----
FROM THE VAULT . . .
At about 3.00am I was drunk as a skunk. I came home
just in time to hear the cuckoo clock cuckoo three times. Quickly coming up
with a plan, I cuckooed nine more times, hoping my wife would think it was
midnight. I was very proud of myself. The next day, my wife asked what time I
got home, and I replied, "Midnight, just like I said."
She said that was good, and for some reason she said
we needed a new cuckoo clock. When I asked why, she answered, "Last night
when it cuckooed midnight, it cuckooed three times, said 'Crap!,' cuckooed four
more times, farted, cuckooed three times, cleared its throat, cuckooed two more
times and then started giggling."
-----o😊o-----
GALLERY . . .
-----o😊o-----
CORN CORNER:
6 was afraid of 7 because 789. But why did 7 eat 9?
Because he needed 3² meals a day.
-----oOo-----
A child asks his father what "gay" means
The father says to his son that it means happy, to
which the son replies "Dad are you gay?"
The father laughs and says "No son, I have a
wife".
-----oOo-----
When I was a boy, I had a disease that required me to
eat dirt three times a day in order to survive... It's a good thing my older
brother told me about it.
-----oOo-----
I’m old enough to remember when emojis were called
"hieroglyphics."
-----oOo-----
I told my doctor that I broke my arm in two places. He
told me to stop going to those places.
-----oOo-----
I was addicted to the hokey pokey, but I turned myself around.
I guess that's what it's all about.
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