Category: Criticality

Timestamp #SJA8: The Day of the Clown

Michael Falkner6 Comments

Sarah Jane Adventures: The Day of the Clown
(2 episodes, s02e02, 2008)

 

Sarah Jane’s worst fear come true?

A group of kids is playing football in a field when one of them kicks the ball into the forest. A boy named Tony goes for the ball, but he ends up getting snurched by a clown.

At the Smith house, Sarah Jane considers the three recently missing children as Luke reads an e-mail from Maria, obviously pining for her. Clyde arrives with news of new arrivals across the street. The boys head to school as Clyde leaves Sarah Jane with the idea that Maria might have left something behind.

By chance, the boys meet Rani, one of the new residents of Bannerman Road. They all head to class and meet the new headmaster, Mr. Chandra, a rather humorless chap. Clyde gets in trouble off the bat and Rani keeps seeing the mysterious clown.

Sarah Jane brings a welcome gift of tea and biscuits to her new neighbors. She meets Gita, Rani’s mother, and scans the house for alien residue. The coast is clear.

Oh, and the humorless headmaster? He’s Rani’s father.

Also, Sarah Jane prefers to be called Sarah Jane, even though the Doctor has nearly always called her Sarah.

By accident, Clyde hits Mr. Chadra in the head with a basketball, so he’s called to the headmaster’s office. While waiting for his talking-to, he encounters the clown and gives chase. He finds the clown in a restroom mirror and is inadvertently saved from doom by the headmaster.

Their discussion doesn’t go well and Clyde resolves to consult with Sarah Jane. He spots the clown with Luke after school, but Luke can’t see it. The boys try to locate it but only find a red balloon. Rani arrives in the nick of time to stop them from touching it, expressing a deep interest in the phenomenon. They all walk to Bannerman Road where the Chandras meet Clyde and the Smiths.

In the attic, the team develops a plan: Luke decides to keep an eye on Rani while Clyde and Sarah Jane investigate the missing children. Both teams eventually come to Spellman’s Magical Museum of the Circus, home of a clown who was handing out tickets to the attraction. Only children with tickets were seeing the clown apparition.

At the museum, we meet the strange Elijah Spellman and learn that Sarah Jane suffers from coulrophobia (the fear of clowns). During their tour, Clyde spots a watercolor picture that resembles their mysterious clown. Sarah Jane identifies it as the Pied Piper, a legendary figure of folklore that stole children from Hamelin. When Luke and Rani arrive, the clowns in the museum come to life and give chase. Sarah Jane disables them with the sonic lipstick and leads the kids out, but the doors are locked.

Spellman reveals himself as the clown, the Pied Piper, and he is intent on having the kids. The entity feeds off of their fear. Rani’s phone rings and somehow freezes Spellman, and the team is able to run back to Bannerman Road. Once they arrive, Sarah Jane offers Rani the Matrix choice between going back to her normal life and seeing how far the rabbit hole goes.

She chooses to explore Sarah Jane’s world.

She’s a bit overwhelmed by the truth and Mr. Smith, but sticks around as the alien “supercomputer” researches clowns and missing children. The clown, also known as Odd Bob, is traced back to a meteorite from the Jeggorabax Cluster that landed on Earth in 1283. It’s currently at the Pharos Institute, and Sarah Jane resolves to get a sample.

Sarah Jane offers Rani a device to keep her safe, trying to temper the young woman’s expectations. Later, while researching clowns, Luke asks her why she’s afraid of clowns. She explains that, as a child, she was frightened of a clown marionette owned by her Aunt Lavinia. It was one of the few times she missed having parents she could call on for comfort.

As the morning comes, Sarah Jane visits the Pharos Institute and secures a sample of the meteorite. Spellman arrives and rattles her, promising that families will perish at the deaths of a nation of children. At the school, a batch of red balloons fall from the sky, and those children that touch them lose free will. They mindlessly march, like rats to a piped tune, to Spellman’s museum.

Mr. Smith analyzes the meteorite and determines that Odd Bob is one of a species that feeds on emotion. Luke calls to alert her to the marching children and she meets the team at the museum’s front doors. She uses Mr. Smith to dial every student’s mobile, releasing them from Spellman’s thrall.

Unfortunately, the clown steals Luke, so Sarah Jane enters the museum and locks Rani and Clyde out. She heads to the Hall of Mirrors and tries to navigate the maze to Luke. Using the sonic, she shatters a mirror and uncovers a door.

Clyde and Rani sneak in through an open window as Sarah Jane confronts the clown. He tells her that he’s amassed a lot of children over the last 700 years, even though they fade away over time. He refuses to return them because to do so would eliminate his power.

Clyde and Rani figure out how to defeat fear: They start telling jokes, weakening Spellman with humor. As he weakens, Rani notices that the meteorite sample is glowing. Sarah Jane holds it out and pulls Spellman back into the vessel in which he came to Earth. Luke returns and all is well.

The rest of the children return home with no memory of their time away. Sarah Jane puts the meteorite into a safe box. Clyde makes amends with Mr. Chandra with the team’s help.

And Rani becomes a full-fledged member of the Bannerman Road Gang.

 

I like to think that her close relationship with the Doctor is why Sarah Jane prefers others to call her by both names. Only the Time Lord gets the special privilege.

That aside, this is a creepy and well-told story, hinging on a loose historical connection and playing off of a popular phobia. Bradley Walsh was phenomenal, channeling completely different (but each incredibly unsettling) personas for each face that he wore. Spellman’s robot clown army echoes the Nestene Consciousness (which we know from Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, and Rose), and the clown aspect provide a similar level of unease as The Celestial Toymaker and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, in the latter of which the clowns were also robots.

I really admire Rani’s forthright zeal for the unknown. She’s completely enamored by the life that she could only speculate about, and I think she’ll bring a lot of energy to the team. I did keep looking for the Rani, but I’ll get used to the name in short order.

It’s also fun seeing the first Doctor Who-related meeting between actors Bradley Walsh and Anjli Mohindra (Rani). They’ll flip the roles in the Thirteenth Doctor’s era when Walsh plays a companion and Mohindra dons the villainous makeup in Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror.

 

 

Rating: 5/5 – “Fantastic!”

 

UP NEXT – Sarah Jane Adventures: Secrets of the Stars

 

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 – June 10

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June 10, 2020
Day 162 of 366

 

June 10th is the 162nd day of the year. It is Portugal Day, or officially Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities, a commemoration of Portuguese poet and national literary icon Luís de Camões. Camões died on June 10, 1580, and his work is often compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil, and Dante.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Egg Roll Day, National Ballpoint Pen Day, National Iced Tea Day, National Black Cow Day, and National Herbs and Spices Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1829, the first annual Boat Race competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames in London.
  • In 1854, the United States Naval Academy graduated its first class of students.
  • In 1895, actress Hattie McDaniel was born. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American to win an Oscar, for her role as “Mammy” in 1939’s Gone with the Wind.
  • In 1916, entrepreneur William Rosenberg was born. He was the founder of Dunkin’ Donuts.
  • In 1922, singer, actress, and vaudevillian Judy Garland was born.
  • In 1928, author and illustrator Maurice Dendak was born. Among other books, he wrote Where the Wild Things Are.
  • In 1929, astronaut James McDivitt was born.
  • In 1947, Saab produced its first automobile.
  • In 1963, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program.
  • In 1964, the United States Senate broke a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill’s passage. The filibuster was launched by twenty conservative “Southern Bloc” senators who vowed to resist, “to the bitter end”, any measure or any movement that would bring social equality and “intermingling and amalgamation of the races” to the Southern states.
  • In 1965, model, actress, and producer Elizabeth Hurley was born.
  • In 1983, actress and producer Leelee Sobieski was born.
  • In 1992, model and actress Kate Upton was born.
  • In 2001, Pope John Paul II canonized Lebanon’s first female saint, Saint Rafqa.
  • In 2003, the Spirit rover was launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.

 

June 10th is World Art Nouveau Day.

World Art Nouveau Day is dedicated to (you guessed it) art nouveau, a style of artwork that breaks down the traditional distinction between fine arts and applied arts. It was organized by The Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest in cooperation with Szecessziós Magazin, a Hungarian Magazine about the art form.

The selected date is the anniversary of the death of two famous architects of the movement, Antoni Gaudí and Ödön Lechner.

 

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 – June 9

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 9, 2020
Day 161 of 366

 

June 9th is the 161st day of the year. It is Autonomy Day in Åland, celebrating the anniversary of the first congregation of the regional government. The Åland Islands, or more simply, Åland, is an archipelago province at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. They were granted autonomy in 1921.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Donald Duck Day, National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day, National Earl Day, and Call Your Doctor Day (observed on the second Tuesday in June).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1732, James Oglethorpe was granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
  • In 1891, composer and songwriter Cole Porter was born.
  • In 1922, pilot and poet John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was born.
  • In 1934, Donald Duck made his first appearance in a cartoon called “The Wise Little Hen”.
  • In 1951, composer, conductor, and producer James Newton Howard was born.
  • In 1954, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashed out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
  • In 1959, the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was launched. It was the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
  • In 1961, actor, producer, and author Michael J. Fox was born.
  • Also in 1961, screenwriter, producer, and playwright Aaron Sorkin was born.
  • In 1963, actor Johnny Depp was born.
  • In 1964, actress Gloria Reuben was born.
  • In 1973, Secretariat won the U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
  • In 1978, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finally opened its priesthood to “all worthy men”, ending a 148-year-old policy of inexplicably excluding black men from one of the most important aspects of their faith.
  • Also in 1978, actress Michaela Conlin was born.
  • In 1981, actress and filmmaker Natalie Portman was born.
  • In 1989, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier premiered.
  • In 2014, Laverne Cox became the first transgender woman to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.

 

June 9th is Coral Triangle Day.

The day celebrates and raises awareness of ocean conservation and protection, especially on the Coral Triangle, the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity.

The Coral Triangle is the vast ocean expense located along the equator and the confluence of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The region covers the exclusive economic zones of six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and East Timor, collectively known as the “CT6” countries. The Coral Triangle is considered one of the three mega ecological complexes on Earth. The other two are the Congo Basin and the Amazon Rainforest.

The region represents the global epicenter of marine life abundance and diversity, containing 76% of all known coral species, 37% of all known coral reef fish species, 53% of the world’s coral reefs, the greatest extent of mangrove forests in the world, and spawning and juvenile growth areas for the world’s largest tuna fishery.

The area also may have a buffer against the future of climate change, making it potentially the world’s most important “refuge” for marine life. The combined resources provide profound benefits to the 363 million people who reside within the CT6 countries and benefit many millions more outside the region.

That said, the region is under significant threat by warming, acidifying, and rising seas.

Coral Triangle Day was first observed in 2012, working in conjunction with World Oceans 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.

 

 

Culture on My Mind – Quarantine Con, Episode VII

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Quarantine Con, Episode VII
June 8, 2020

This week’s “can’t let it go” is yet another panel from the Classic Track Irregulars!

Broadcasting from their respective socially distant quarantine bunkers, the Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track panelists have returned to talk about which classic vampires they would let near their necks.

Classics Track co-directors Joe Crowe and Gary Mitchel are joined by Jason De La Torre and Michael Williams to talk about vampires in ’80s and ’90s movies and TV. Lost Boys! Interview with a Vampire! Near Dark! Forever Knight!

More things like that!

As before, Joe and Gary will be hosting more of these, so stay tuned to the YouTube channel and the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook.
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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

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

The Thing About Today – June 8

Michael Falkner1 Comment

June 8, 2020
Day 160 of 366

 

June 8th is the 160th day of the year. It is World Brain Tumor Day, an international commemoration of brain tumor patients and their families.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Best Friends Day, National Name Your Poison Day, and National Upsy Daisy Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland began an eight-month eruption that killed over 9,000 people and started a seven-year famine.
  • In 1789, James Madison introduced twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress. Of those proposed amendments, ten were ratified as the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. Another became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment (dealing with Congressional salary changes) on May 5, 1992. The last one, concerning Congressional apportionment, is still pending before the states with an indefinite time limit.
  • In 1860, Irish-English mathematician and theorist Alicia Boole Stott was born.
  • In 1867, architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born. He designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater.
  • In 1887, Herman Hollerith applied for United States patent #395,781 for the “Art of Compiling Statistics”, which was his punched card calculator.
  • In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law. This authorized the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.
  • In 1912, Carl Laemmle incorporated Universal Pictures.
  • In 1918, Air Force captain, actor, and singer Robert Preston was born.
  • In 1933, comedian, actress, and television host Joan Rivers was born.
  • In 1936, actor and singer James Darren was born.
  • In 1940, singer and actor Nancy Sinatra was born.
  • In 1943, Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who) Colin Baker was born.
  • In 1949, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was published.
  • In 1953, the United States Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.
  • In 1959, USS Barbero (SS-317) and the United States Postal Service attempted the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. The cost of continued service could not be justified.
  • In 1966, an F-104 Starfighter collided with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype number 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, were both killed.
  • Also in 1966, actress Julianna Margulies was born.
  • In 1972, nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc was burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl was seen running down a road. The resulting photograph would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winner.
  • In 1973, model and actress Lexa Doig was born.
  • In 1984, homosexuality was declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
  • Also in 1984, the original Ghostbusters was released.
  • Also in 1984, Gremlins was released.

 

In 1992, the first World Oceans Day was celebrated. It coincided with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainability Development Goals and fosters public interest in the management of the ocean and its resources. The day is marked in a variety of ways, including information campaigns and initiatives, special events at aquariums and zoos, outdoor explorations, aquatic and beach cleanups, educational and conservation action programs, art contests, film festivals, and sustainable seafood events.

 

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 – June 7

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 7, 2020
Day 159 of 366

 

June 7th is the 159th day of the year. It is National Cancer Survivor’s Day in the United States, celebrated on the first Sunday in June.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Boone Day, National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, National VCR Day, and National Oklahoma Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1776, Richard Henry Lee presented the “Lee Resolution” to the Continental Congress. The motion was seconded by John Adams and would lead to the United States Declaration of Independence.
  • In 1862, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed in the Lyons–Seward Treaty to suppress the African slave trade.
  • In 1896, physicist, chemist, and Nobel Prize laureate Robert S. Mulliken was born.
  • In 1909, actress Jessica Tandy was born.
  • In 1911, engineer and designer Brooks Stevens was born. He designed the Wienermobile.
  • In 1917, singer, actor, and producer Dean Martin was born.
  • In 1946, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) returned to broadcasting its television service, which had been off the air for seven years because of World War II.
  • In 1950, actor Gary Graham was born.
  • In 1952, actor Liam Neeson was born.
  • In 1955, Lux Radio Theatre signed off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934 and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
  • In 1958, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor Prince was born.
  • In 1960, screenwriter and producer Bill Brady was born.
  • In 1965, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, prohibiting the states from criminalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
  • In 1971, the United States Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • In 1972, actor Karl Urban was born.
  • In 1979, actress Anna Torv was born.
  • In 1982, Priscilla Presley opened Graceland to the public, however, the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier was kept off-limits.

 

June 7th is Journalist Day in Argentina.

The Gazeta de Buenos Ayres – translated, the Buenos Aires Gazette – was a newspaper originating in Buenos Aires, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, in 1810. Initially, it was used to give publicity to the actions of Primera Junta, the first post-colonial Argentine government.

The Gazeta provided information about new laws, the development of the Peninsular War and the Argentine War of Independence, and served as a medium for political thought. The government ordered that the newspaper be read aloud at chapels after mass celebrations, because of the high illiteracy rate among the population.

It was closed by Bernardino Rivadavia, the minister of government to Buenos Aires, in 1821.

The paper was organized on June 2, 1810, and the first issue was released on June 7th with each issue following on a weekly basis. The observance of Journalist Day started in 1938.

 

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 – June 6

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 6, 2020
Day 158 of 366

 

June 6th is the 158th day of the year. It is National Huntington’s Disease Awareness Day in the United States, designed to bring awareness to the inherited disorder that results in the death of brain cells and the quest for a cure.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Eyewear Day, National Higher Education Day, National Gardening Exercise Day, National Yo-Yo Day, National Drive In Movie Day, and National Applesauce Cake Day. It’s also the first Saturday in June, which means that it’s National Black Bear Day, National Bubbly Day, National Prairie Day, and National Trails Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London. The Village People  would tell us all about it 134 years later.
  • Also in 1844, the Glaciarium opened in London. It was the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink.
  • In 1859, Queensland was established as a separate Australian colony from New South Wales. The date is commemorated as Queensland Day.
  • In 1892, the Chicago “L” elevated rail system began operation.
  • In 1912, the eruption of Novarupta in Alaska began. It was the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
  • In 1918, biochemist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate Edwin G. Krebs was born.
  • In 1923, author, illustrator, and painter V.C. Andrews was born.
  • In 1932, the Revenue Act of 1932 was enacted. It created the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon.
  • In 1933, the first drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.
  • In 1934, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • In 1947, actor Robert Englund was born.
  • In 1963, actor Jason Isaacs was born.
  • In 1971, Soyuz 11 was launched.
  • In 1987, actor Daniel Logan was born.
  • In 2002, a near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter exploded over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion was estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.

 

In 1944, the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II – codenamed Operation Overlord – began with Operation Neptune, commonly referred to as D-Day.

The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. 155,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland.

Planning began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted Operation Bodyguard to mislead the Germans regarding the date and location of the main Allied landings. The landings were conducted in poor weather and were actually postponed one day from their intended assault. If the weather was any worse for June 6th, a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks due to the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day.

The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault consisting of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armored divisions began landing on the coast of France at 6:30am.

The target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The landing was treacherous: The beaches were under heavy fire from gun emplacements, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire. Due to the high cliffs at Omaha, the casualties were heaviest there. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialized tanks.

Despite all of this, the Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. The five beachheads were not connected until June 12th, but the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000. Between 4,000 to 9,000 German soldiers died during the assault.

 

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.

 

 

Culture on My Mind – The Floor is Lava?

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
The Floor is Lava?
June 5, 2020

This week’s “can’t let it go” is a childhood game.

Last month, game designed, curator, and writer Holly Gramazio published an essay on her blog about the game The Floor is Lava. It’s really a fascinating read.

The game is pretty simple: Players chase each other around while never touching the floor or the ground. It’s usually played indoors, much to the chagrin of parents as kids are trouncing all over the furniture.

When Holly Gramazio was growing up, though, the floor was never lava. Quicksand, maybe, but never lava. So when she heard the general version of the game was about molten earth, she ran a social media poll of 3500 people and got some interesting results.

Especially regarding what the game is called and how it works in other countries.

Seriously, check it out: “The Floor” by Holly Gramazio
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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

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

The Thing About Today – June 5

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 5, 2020
Day 157 of 366

 

June 5th is the 157th day of the year. It is Arbor Day in New Zealand.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Gingerbread Day, National Moonshine Day, National Veggie Burger Day, and National Doughnut Day (which is typically observed on the first Friday in June).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1832, the June Rebellion broke out in Paris in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy of Louis Philippe. It was memorialized by Victor Hugo in his novel Les Misérables and figures largely in the stage musical and films that are based on the book.
  • In 1849, Denmark became a constitutional monarchy by the signing of a new constitution.
  • In 1916, Louis Brandeis was sworn in as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. That made him the first American Jew to hold such a position.
  • In 1919, author and illustrator Richard Scarry was born.
  • In 1934, American journalist and 13th White House Press Secretary Bill Moyers was born.
  • In 1953, film producer, co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, and president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy was born.
  • In 1956, Elvis Presley introduced his new single, “Hound Dog”, on The Milton Berle Show. The audience was scandalized with his suggestive hip movements.
  • Also in 1956, saxophonist, songwriter, and producer Kenny G was born.
  • In 1964, the deep-sea research vehicle DSV Alvin is commissioned.
  • In 1971, model, actor, producer, and rapper Mark Wahlberg was born.
  • In 1977, actress Liza Weil was born.
  • In 1989, the Tank Man halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests.
  • In 1995, the Bose–Einstein condensate was first created. It is a state of matter, sometimes known as the fifth state of matter, which is formed when a gas of bosons at low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (-273.15 °C).

 

June 5th is World Environment Day.

The day is the United Nations’ principal event for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness about environmental issues such as marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming/climate change, sustainable consumption, and wildlife crime.

World Environment Day is a global event with participation from over 143 countries annually.

 

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 – June 4

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

June 4, 2020
Day 156 of 366

 

June 4th is the 156th day of the year. It is the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, a United Nations observance that was established on August 19, 1982. Originally focused on victims of the 1982 Lebanon War, its purpose expanded to “acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental, and emotional abuse.” The day affirms the UN’s commitment to protect the rights of children.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Clean Beauty Day, National Old Maids Day, National Cheese Day, and National Cognac Day. IT is also recognized as National SAFE Day, which is an event that brings awareness to gun safety and responsible storage of firearms.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrated their montgolfière. It is better known as the hot air balloon.
  • In 1784, Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covered four kilometers in 45 minutes, reaching 1,500 meters altitude.
  • In 1855, Major Henry C. Wayne departed New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
  • In 1876, the Transcontinental Express arrived in San Francisco after traveling 83 hours and 39 minutes from New York City via the First Transcontinental Railroad.
  • In 1907, actress Rosalind Russell was born.
  • In 1912, Massachusetts became the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
  • In 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded. Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall received the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe), Jean Jules Jusserand received the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days, and Herbert B. Swope received the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
  • In 1919, the United States Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sent it to the states for ratification.
  • In 1928, German-American therapist and author Ruth Westheimer was born.
  • In 1939, the Motorschiff St. Louis was denied permission to land in Florida. Carrying 963 Jewish refugees, the ship had previously been turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.
  • In 1940, British forces completed the evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivered his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech to the House of Commons.
  • In 1944, Rome became the first Axis capital to fall to Allied forces in World War II.
  • In 1960, author Kristine Kathryn Rusch was born.
  • Also in 1960, English television presenter, comedian, singer, former footballer, and Doctor Who companion Bradley Walsh was born.
  • In 1961, singer-songwriter and producer El DeBarge was born.
  • In 1964, actor Sean Pertwee was born.
  • In 1970, Polish-Swedish actress, model, and Bond Girl Izabella Scorupco was born.
  • In 1971, actor and producer Noah Wyle was born.
  • Also in 1971, actor James Callis was born.
  • In 1975, actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist Angelina Jolie was born.
  • In 1982, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released.
  • In 1986, Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
  • In 2010, the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, named Falcon 9 Flight 1, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

 

In 1989, the Tiananmen Square protests were suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army.

The Tiananmen Square protests, also known as the Tiananmen Square Incident and the June Fourth Incident – 六四事件, literally the six-four incident – were student-led demonstrations that started on April 15th and were forcibly suppressed almost two months later when the government declared martial law.

This led to the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in which troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military’s advance into the square. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded.

The protests were sparked by the death of pro-reform Communist general secretary Hu Yaobang. Amid the backdrop of rapid economic development and social changes in post-Mao China, these protests reflected social anxieties about the country’s future, both among the populace and the political elite. The economic reforms of the 1980s developed a nascent market economy that helped some but not all, and the legitimacy of the single-party political system was challenged.

The country faced inflation, corruption, limited preparedness of graduates for the new economy, and restrictions on political participation. Students raised their voices, calling for greater accountability and due process. They wanted democracy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech.

At the height of the protests, nearly 1 million people assembled in the Square.

Authorities responded with both conciliatory and hardline approaches, revealing deep divisions in the party. A student-led hunger strike galvanized support for the demonstrators around the country, spreading the protests to 400 cities, and forcing party leadership to use stronger measures. The State Council declared martial law on May 20th and mobilized approximately 300,000 troops to Beijing. In the early morning hours of June 4th, they advanced into the city and began killing both demonstrators and bystanders.

The international community, human rights organizations, and political analysts condemned the action and the government. The Chinese government responded with widespread arrests of protesters and their supporters, suppression of other protests around China, expulsion of foreign journalists, and strict control of information by stifling the media, demoting and purging officials, and authoritarian strengthening of security forces.

It is considered a watershed event in world history, but the limits established on the Chinese people have kept the Tiananmen Square event one of the most sensitive and most widely censored topics in China.

 

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.