The Thing About Today – December 9

December 9, 2020December 2, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 9, 2020
Day 344 of 366

December 9th is the 344th day of the year. It is Anna’s Day in Sweden and Finland, marking the day to start the preparation process of the lutefisk to be consumed on Christmas Eve, as well as a Swedish name day that celebrates all people named Anna.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Pastry Day and Weary Willie Day.

I didn’t know that I already knew who Weary Willie was. More on that later.

Historical items of note:

In 1793, New York City’s first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, was established by Noah Webster.
In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established in Montreal.
In 1868, the first traffic lights were installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they used semaphore arms and were illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.
In 1897, activist Marguerite Durand founded the feminist daily newspaper La Fronde in Paris.
In 1902, schoolteacher, actress and voice artist Margaret Hamilton was born. She is best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, in The Wizard of Oz from 1939.
In 1906, American admiral and computer scientist Grace Hopper was born. Among other computer science revolutions, she designed the COBOL programming language.
In 1919, chemist and academic William Lipscomb was born. He was a Nobel Prize-winning inorganic and organic chemist working in nuclear magnetic resonance, theoretical chemistry, boron chemistry, and biochemistry.
In 1922, actor Red Foxx was born.
In 1928, actor Dick Van Patten was born.
In 1934, actress Judi Dench was born.
In 1935, the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later renamed the Heisman Trophy, was awarded for the first time. The winner was halfback Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago.
In 1941, actor, director, and producer Beau Bridges was born.
In 1952, actor and voice artist Michael Dorn was born.
In 1960, the first episode of Coronation Street, the world’s longest-running television soap opera, was broadcast in the United Kingdom.
In 1962, the Petrified Forest National Park was established in Arizona.
In 1965, the Kecksburg UFO incident occurred. A fireball was seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania, and witnesses reported something crashing in the woods near Pittsburgh.
Also in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first in a series of Peanuts television specials, debuted on CBS.
In 1968, Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as “The Mother of All Demos”. He publicly debuted the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS).
In 1972, actress Reiko Aylesworth was born.
In 1979, the eradication of the smallpox virus was certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction. The second was rinderpest, which was eradicated in 2011.
In 1997, the eighteenth James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, premiered.
In 2002, the tenth Star Trek film, Star Trek: Nemesis, premiered.
In 2017, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the eighth episode of the Skywalker Saga, premiered.

In 1898, American circus performer Emmett Leo Kelly was born.

Kelly was the performer who created the character of Weary Willie, a clown-like representation of the homeless vagrants of the Great Depression era. The character revolutionized the professional clowning industry by providing a contrast to the typical white-faced, brightly colored clowns.

The Weary Willie makeup is partially derived from the racist minstrel blackface makeup, and the white highlights around the mouth are the only traditional part of the “tramp clown” theme. The rest of the “tramp clown” theme depends on the performer, ranging in emotion from happy to angry and skills from juggling to cycling.

The cultural impact of the character and the man who created it are recognized annually on this date with Weary Willie Day.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 8

December 8, 2020December 2, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 8, 2020
Day 343 of 366

December 8th is the 343rd day of the year. It is the Day of Finnish Music, commemorating the 1865 birthdate of Jean Sibelius, widely recognized as his country’s greatest composer and, through his music, often credited with having helped Finland to develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Brownie Day and Pretend to Be A Time Traveler Day.

The origins of Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day are detailed in this Geek USA post.

Historical items of note:

In 1660, a woman appeared on an English public stage for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare’s play Othello.
In 1813, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony premiered in Vienna.
In 1861, French filmmaker George Méliès was born.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, formally establishing the process of Reconstruction.
In 1925, actor, singer, and dancer Sammy Davis, Jr. was born.
In 1936, actor, director, and producer David Carradine was born.
In 1947, astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic Margaret Geller was born. Her work has included pioneering maps of the nearby universe, studies of the relationship between galaxies and their environment, and the development and application of methods for measuring the distribution of matter in the universe.
In 1950, actor and makeup artist Rick Baker was born.
In 1953, actress Kim Basinger was born.
In 1964, actress Teri Hatcher was born.
In 1965, actor David Harewood was born.
In 1980, former Beatle John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.
In 2010, with the second launch of the Falcon 9 and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX became the first private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft.
In 2013, Metallica performed a show in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on all seven continents.

December 8th is Hari-Kuyō (針供養) in the Kyoto and Kansai regions of Japan.

The event is the Japanese Buddhist and Shinto Festival of Broken Needles, celebrated by women in Japan as a memorial to all the sewing needles broken in their service during the past year, as well as an opportunity to pray for improved skills. It is typically celebrated on February 8th in the Kanto region.

Hari-Kuyō began four hundred years ago as a way for housekeepers and professional needle-workers to acknowledge their work over the past years and respect their tools. In the animist traditions, items as well as humans, animals, plants, and objects are considered to have souls. This festival acknowledged the good given to people by their tools. Practitioners went to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to thank their broken needles for their help and service.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 7

December 7, 2020December 1, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 7, 2020
Day 342 of 366

December 7th is the 342nd day of the year. It is International Civil Aviation Day, a United Nations day to recognize the importance of aviation, especially international air travel, to the social and economic development of the world.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Illinois Day and National Cotton Candy Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1732, the Royal Opera House opened at Covent Garden, London, England.
In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
In 1842, the first concert of the New York Philharmonic was performed. It was founded by Ureli Corelli Hill.
In 1915, author and screenwriter Leigh Brackett was born. Known for her work on such films as The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959) and The Long Goodbye (1973), she also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Elements of her work remained in the film, but she died before the film went into production. She was the first woman shortlisted for the Hugo Award, and in 2020, she won a Retro Hugo for her novel The Nemesis From Terra, originally published as “Shadow Over Mars” in Startling Stories (Fall 1944).
In 1930, W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasted video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The telecast also included the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show.
In 1932, German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein was granted an American visa.
Also in 1932, actress Ellen Burstyn was born.
In 1965, actor Jeffrey Wright was born.
In 1966, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter C. Thomas Howell was born.
In 1972, Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, was launched. The crew took the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they left the Earth.
In 1978, actress, director, and producer Shiri Appleby was born.
In 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered. It marked the transition of the landmark American science fiction television series to the silver screen.
In 1989, actor Nicholas Hoult was born.
In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.
In 2017, the Marriage Amendment Bill to legally recognize same-sex marriages was passed in Australia’s parliament.

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii.

In total, 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft, including fighters, level and dive bombers, and torpedo bombers were launched in two waves from six aircraft carriers. Eight United States Navy battleships were present and all were damaged. Four of them were sunk, and all but USS Arizona were later raised. Six of the battleships were returned to service and went on to fight in World War II.

The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. A total of 188 United States aircraft were destroyed, and 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations were not attacked.

Japanese losses were light in comparison: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 64 servicemen killed. Kazuo Sakamaki, the commanding officer of one of the submarines, was captured.

Japan declared war on the United States later in the day, though the declaration was not formally delivered until the following day. On December 8th, the United States declared war on Japan. There were numerous historical precedents for the unannounced military action by Japan, but the lack of any formal warning, particularly while peace negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim the day “a date which will live in infamy”.

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces—with the unbounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

—President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941

Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was later judged in the Tokyo Trials to be a war crime.

On December 11th, Germany and Italy each declared war on the United States, which responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy. Just over two years after World War II began, the United States was forced to engage.

In 1994, the United States Congress designated December 7th of each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The joint resolution was signed by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 6

December 6, 2020November 30, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 6, 2020
Day 341 of 366

December 6th is the 341st day of the year. It is Independence Day in Finland as they celebrate their independence from Russia in 1917.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Pawnbrokers Day, National Microwave Oven Day, National Gazpacho Day, St. Nicholas Day, and Miners’ Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1790, the United States Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.
In 1865, Georgia ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. Georgia was the last the required 27 of the then 36 states required for ratification.
In 1877, the first edition of The Washington Post was published.
In 1896, songwriter Ira Gershwin was born.
In 1897, London became the world’s first city to host licensed taxicabs.
In 1912, the Nefertiti Bust was discovered.
In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London by British and Irish representatives.
In 1922, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State came into existence.
In 1933, United States federal judge John M. Woolsey ruled that James Joyce’s novel Ulysses was not obscene.
In 1947, the Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated.
In 1948, actress JoBeth Williams was born.
In 1957, the launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarted the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.
In 1969, Canadian actress Torri Higginson was born.
In 1975, English actor, director, and screenwriter Noel Clarke was born.
In 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country premiered.
In 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America sued the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.
In 2006, NASA revealed photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

December 6th is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Also known as White Ribbon Day, the day is commemorated in Canada on the anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, in which armed student Marc Lépine murdered fourteen women and injured ten others in the name of “fighting feminism”.

The commemoration date was established by the Parliament of Canada in 1991. Canadian flags on all federal buildings, including the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, are flown at half-mast. Canadians are also encouraged to observe a minute of silence and wear white or purple ribbons to share the commitment to end violence against women.

The day is aimed to examine the power dynamics between men and women, and tries to ensure that the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Woman stands for more than simply one massacre. Instead, it stands for awareness and change against the violence that occurs to women all around the world at the hands of men. Thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, according to the United Nations.

This day stands for change and for awareness of the power dynamic existing between men and women all over the world.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 5

December 5, 2020November 29, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 5, 2020
Day 340 of 366

December 5th is the 340th day of the year. It is World Soil Day, a day to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Sacher Torte Day, Bathtub Party Day, International Ninja Day, National Repeal Day, National Rhubarb Vodka Day, and Skywarn Recognition Day. The last two are typically observed on the first Saturday in December.

I didn’t know about Skywarn Recognition Day. It recognizes the vital public service contributions that Amateur Radio operators make during National Weather Service severe weather warning operations. It also strengthens the bond between Amateur Radio operators and the local National Weather Service.

Historical items of note:

In 1766, auctioneer James Christie held his first sale in London.
In 1831, former United States President John Quincy Adams took his seat in the House of Representatives. He remains the only former President to be elected to the chamber, although John Tyler was elected as a Confederate representative and died before being seated.
In 1890, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter Fritz Lang was born.
In 1901, animator, director, producer, and screenwriter Walt Disney was born. He co-founded the Walt Disney Company.
Also in 1901, German physicist and academic Werner Heisenberg was born. A theoretical physicist and one of the key pioneers of quantum mechanics, he is known for the uncertainty principle, which he published in 1927. He was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the creation of quantum mechanics”, and is also known for important contributions to the theories of the hydrodynamics of turbulent flows, the atomic nucleus, ferromagnetism, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles.
In 1926, Adetowun Ogunsheye was born. She was the first female Nigerian professor and university dean.
In 1932, singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor Little Richard was born.
In 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide prohibition on alcohol.
In 1949, English composer and conductor John Altman was born.
In 1955, E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks led the Montgomery bus boycott.
In 1958, Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) was inaugurated in the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II when she spoke to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
In 1975, actress Paula Patton was born.
In 1976, actress Amy Acker was born.
In 2004, the Civil Partnership Act came into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership was registered as a result.

December 5th is Saint Nicholas’ Eve in Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom. It is also Krampusnacht in Austria.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children. The legendary figure Sinterklaas is based on Saint Nicholas, and is also known as Sint-Nicolaas, De Sint (“The Saint”), De Goede Sint (“The Good Saint”), and De Goedheiligman (“The Good Holy Man”) in Dutch; Sanikolas in Papiamento; Saint Nicolas in French; Sinteklaas in West Frisian; Sinterklaos in Limburgs; Saint-Nikloi in West Flemish; Kleeschen and Zinniklos in Luxembourgish; Sankt Nikolaus or Nikolaus in German; and Sint Nicholas in Afrikaans. Sinterklaas is also one of the primary sources of the Christmas icon Santa Claus.

The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on December 6th, and part of that celebration is the giving of gifts on Saint Nicholas’ Eve on December 5th.

December 5th is also Krampusnacht, during which a wicked hairy devil named Krampus sometimes accompanies Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas concerns himself only with the good children, while Krampus is responsible for the bad. Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and the Ruten bundles.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 4

December 4, 2020November 28, 2020 Michael Falkner1 Comment

December 4, 2020
Day 339 of 366

December 4th is the 339th day of the year. It is Tupou I Day in Tonga, commemorating King George Tupou I’s installation as Tuʻi Kanokupolu in 1845.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Cookie Day, National Dice Day, National Sock Day, Faux Fur Friday, and National Bartender Day. The last two are typically observed on the first Friday in December.

Historical items of note:

In 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in New York City, General George Washington bid farewell to his officers.
In 1786, Mission Santa Barbara was dedicated in what would become Santa Barbara, California. This happened on the feast day of Saint Barbara.
In 1791, the first edition of The Observer, the world’s first Sunday newspaper, was published.
In 1872, the crewless American brigantine Mary Celeste, adrift in the Atlantic, was discovered by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged. Her master Benjamin Briggs and all nine others known to have been on board were never accounted for.
In 1881, the first edition of the Los Angeles Times was published.
In 1924, architect John C. Portman, Jr. was born. He designed the Renaissance Center and Tomorrow Square. He also had a particularly large impact on the cityscape of his hometown of Atlanta, with the Peachtree Center complex serving as downtown’s business and tourism anchor from the 1970s onward. The Peachtree Center area includes the Portman-designed Hyatt, Westin, and Marriott hotels, as well as the nearby AmericasMart.
In 1925, photographer and film title designer Maurice Binder was born. He is best known for his title credit sequences for the James Bond films.
In 1945, by a vote of 65-7, the United States Senate approved United States participation in the United Nations. The UN had been established on October 24th of the same year.
In 1949, actor Jeff Bridges was born.
In 1954, the first Burger King was opened in Miami, Florida.
Also in 1954, actor and producer Tony Todd was born.
In 1956, the Million Dollar Quartet of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash got together at Sun Studio for the first and last time.
In 1964, actress Marisa Tomei was born.
In 1991, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) ceased its operations after 64 years.

December 4th is National Cookie Day.

Cookies appear to have come from 7th century AD Persia, rising shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

As global travel became more widespread, cookies made a natural travel companion like travel cakes have been throughout history. One of the most popular early cookies, which traveled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the jumble, a relatively hard cookie made largely from nuts, sweetener, and water.

Cookies came to the Americas through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 1620s. The Dutch word “koekje” was Anglicized to “cookie” or cooky. The earliest reference to cookies in what would become the United States was in 1703.

The most common modern cookie, given its style by the creaming of butter and sugar, was not common until the 18th century.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 3

December 3, 2020November 27, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 3, 2020
Day 338 of 366

December 3rd is the 338th day of the year. It is Doctors’ Day in Cuba.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Roof Over Your Head Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1775, USS Alfred became the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag, which was the precursor to the Stars and Stripes. The flag was hoisted by John Paul Jones.
In 1800, the Presidential Election resulted in an Electoral College tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives convened a contingent election during which each state delegation cast one vote, and a victory in the contingent election required one candidate to win a majority of the state delegations. Neither candidate was able to win on the first 35 ballots of the contingent election. Most Federalist Congressmen backed Burr and all Democratic-Republican Congressmen backed Jefferson. Alexander Hamilton favored Jefferson over Burr, and he convinced several Federalists to switch their support to Jefferson. This gave Jefferson a victory on the 36th ballot of the contingent election.
In 1842, businessman Charles Alfred Pillsbury was born. He founded the Pillsbury Company.
In 1857, Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad was born. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he was considered a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature.
In 1904, the Jovian moon Himalia was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California’s Lick Observatory.
In 1910, modern neon lighting was first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
In 1927, Putting Pants on Philip, the first Laurel and Hardy film, was released.
In 1960, the musical Camelot debuted at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It would become associated with the Kennedy administration.
Also in 1960, actress and producer Daryl Hannah was born.
Also in 1960, actress and author Julianne Moore was born.
In 1968, actor and producer Brendan Fraser was born.
In 1973, Pioneer 10 sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
In 1981, actor Brian Bonsall was born.
In 1992, a test engineer for Sema Group used a personal computer to send the world’s first text message via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague.
In 1994, the PlayStation video game console, developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment, was released in Japan.
In 1999, NASA lost radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere.
In 2005, XCOR Aerospace made the first manned rocket aircraft delivery of U.S. Mail in Kern County, California.
In 2014, the Japanese space agency, JAXA, launched the space explorer Hayabusa2 from the Tanegashima Space Center on a six-year round trip mission to an asteroid to collect rock samples.

December 3rd is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

It is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. It has been observed with varying degrees of success around the planet.

The goal is to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

It was originally called “International Day of Disabled Persons” until 2007.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Timestamp: Tenth Doctor Specials and Tenth Doctor Summary

December 2, 2020September 23, 2021 Michael Falkner5 Comments

Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor Specials and Tenth Doctor Summary

The Tenth Doctor Specials were a great but short run.

The grouping ran from December 2008 to January 2010 – effectively, the year of 2009 – and helped to create David Tennant’s farewell tour. It was accompanied by the Doctor Who Prom (which included a mini-episode called Music of the Spheres) and The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

It was unique for exploring the darker side of the Tenth Doctor, following from the bittersweet victory of Journey’s End and evolving on what started in The Runaway Bride and the concept of the Time Lord’s unrestrained power.

In some fan circles, these episodes are looked down upon because they are so different in spirit from the zany friendly nature of the previous three series. I feel that they perform a great service in terms of a war veteran who is trying to make amends for the things he’s done while trying desperately to avoid any further destruction.

That’s where we are with The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead. The Doctor has just lost Donna and closed the loop with Rose, and that cuts him to the quick. By the time we reach The Waters of Mars, he’s been traveling for a while without a companion, which we have seen established before as a really bad thing for him. Without the balance of a companion, the Doctor believes that he can solve anything with his power as the last of the Time Lords.

All of this culminates in his temper tantrum at the time of his fatal radiation exposure in The End of Time. He wants to do so much more. In fact, he needs to. It is a primal, emotional necessity to make up for whatever he did in the Time War. He still does the right thing in saving Wilf, and then turns his need on its head by using his remaining time to help those he loves.

In that, the Doctor is redeemed for his flirtations with darkness Time Lord Victorious, and presumably for his role in the Time War. He’s done so much good that maybe, just maybe, he can finally rest.

From that perspective, I love this set of stories with the exceptions that I have previously noted. Particularly with the portrayal of the Master in The End of Time.

The Tenth Doctor Specials collection comes in at an average of 4.4. That’s fourth all-time for the Timestamps Project, coming in behind the classic Ninth Series, the new era’s Series Four, and the Eighth Doctor’s run. It’s just ahead of both Series One and Series Three.

The Next Doctor – 4
Planet of the Dead – 5
The Waters of Mars – 5
Dreamland – 3
The End of Time – 5

Tenth Doctor Specials (Revival Era) Average Rating: 4.4/5

Following tradition…

The First Doctor was a wise grandfather, the Second a sly jester, the Third a secret agent scientist, the Fourth an inquisitive idealist, the Fifth an honorable humanitarian, the Sixth a squandered cynic, the Seventh a curious schemer, the Eighth a classical romantic, the Ninth a hopeful healing veteran…

…and the Tenth Doctor is a bargaining humanitarian.

The Tenth Doctor continues the work of the Ninth on Kübler-Ross model of grief. The Ninth worked through Denial and Anger, while the Tenth Doctor picked up with Bargaining and worked into Depression (with added bits of Anger since, let’s face it, this model is not perfectly linear).

He tried to stop the bad things from happening, always looking for a way out. But when those bad things finally happened, he was so very sorry. As mentioned before, he was always looking to even the score for watching Gallifrey burn, and he wanted to do so much more before his death.

We can only hope that the Eleventh Doctor finds Acceptance.

I started watching Doctor Who with the Ninth Doctor back in 2008, but the Tenth was always “my” Doctor. Watching these stories again with the full context of the franchise behind me has been a joy.

Series 2 – 4.1
Series 3 – 4.3
Series 4 – 4.6
Specials – 4.4

Tenth Doctor’s Weighted Average Rating: 4.34

Ranking (by score)
1 – Eighth (4.50)
2 – Tenth (4.34)
3 – Ninth (4.30)
4 – Third (4.00)
5 – Second (3.67)
6 – Fourth (3.67)
7 – Seventh (3.54)
8 – First (3.41)
9 – Fifth (3.20)
10 – Sixth (2.73)

Ranking (by character)
1 – Tenth Doctor
2 – Second Doctor
3 – Ninth Doctor
4 – Eighth Doctor
5 – Third Doctor
6 – Fourth Doctor
7 – Seventh Doctor
8 – First Doctor
9 – Fifth Doctor
10 – Sixth Doctor

I’ve mentioned this before: Those top seven spaces on the character ranking are really, really, really close. I have been tempted to make them a a tie for first place since I would gladly watch any of those stories at any time, but that would be taking the easy way out. It’s far more challenging to actually rank them.

Next up, we change Doctors and showrunners.

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 2

December 2, 2020November 27, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 2, 2020
Day 337 of 366

December 2nd is the 337th day of the year. It is National Day in the United Arab Emirates, commemorating the country’s formal nationalization in 1971.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Fritters Day, National Mutt Day, Special Education Day, and National Package Protection Day (typically observed on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving).

Historical items of note:

In 1845, United States President James K. Polk proposed that the United States should aggressively expand into the West during his State of the Union address. This led to the widely held American imperialist cultural belief that American settlers were destined to expand across North America.
In 1867, at Tremont Temple in Boston, Massachusetts, British author Charles Dickens gave his first public reading in the United States.
In 1939, New York City’s LaGuardia Airport opened.
In 1942, during the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiated the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
In 1954, the United States Senate voted 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute”.
In 1963, English actor Brendan Coyle was born.
In 1968, actress and producer Lucy Liu was born.
In 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency began operations.
In 1982, at the University of Utah, Barney Clark became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.

December 2nd is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, an international day organized in 1986 by the United Nations General Assembly.

It follows from the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 1949. The date is used to raise awareness of the atrocities of modern slavery.

It should not be confused with a similar United Nations day, the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, observed annually on August 23rd to remind people of the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 1

December 1, 2020November 24, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 1, 2020
Day 336 of 366

December 1st is the 336th day of the year. There are 30 days remaining in 2020.

It is Great Union Day (Ziua Marii Uniri) in Romania, marking the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Pie Day, National Eat a Red Apple Day, Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day, Rosa Parks Day (in Ohio and Oregon), World Trick Shot Day (typically on the first Tuesday in December), and National Day of Giving – #GivingTuesday (typically on the day following Cyber Monday).

Historical items of note:

In 1824, the United States Presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives. None of the candidates received a majority of Electoral College votes, so the House of Representatives exercised their rights under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment and held a contingent election. On February 9, 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected as President, defeating Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford. It is one of three presidential elections (along with the 1800 election and 1876 election) that have been decided in the House. It is also one of five in which the winner did not achieve at least a plurality of the national popular vote (along with the elections of 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016), and the only U.S. election in which the candidate who had the plurality of votes in the Electoral College did not win the election.
In 1834, slavery was abolished in the Cape Colony in accordance with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
In 1865, Shaw University, the first historically black university in the southern United States, was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In 1913, Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War, was annexed by Greece.
In 1919, Lady Astor became the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
In 1940, comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter Richard Pryor was born.
In 1945, singer-songwriter, actress, and producer Bette Midler was born.
In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She was arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which led to that city’s bus boycott.
In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed. It set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and banned military activity on the continent.
In 1967, actor Nestor Carbonell was born.
In 1970, singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Coulton was born.
In 1977, Pinwheel is launched. It later became Nickelodeon.
In 1982, English actor and rapper Riz Ahmed was born.
In 1984, Beverly Hills Cop premiered.
In 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse premiered.
In 2019, the first known case of COVID-19 appeared.

In 1988, World AIDS Day was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This international day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.

December 1st is also Day Without Art, an observance established in 1989 as the national day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis, which had rapidly hurt the artistic community. To make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone, and inspire positive action, some 800 U.S. art and AIDS groups participated in the first Day Without Art, shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS.

Since then, Day With(out) Art has grown into a collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS service organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges take part.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

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