Category: Criticality

Timestamp #204: The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End

Michael Falkner33 Comments

Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth
Doctor Who: Journey’s End
(2 episodes, s04e12-e13, 2008)

 

The return of a long-dead enemy and the rise of a family.

 

The Stolen Earth

The Doctor and Donna race back to Earth to find that everything is fine. It’s a calm Saturday, but the Doctor knows that the walls of the universe are breaking down because Rose has been able to travel between realities. When they return to the TARDIS, the planet begins to shake. When the violent tremors subside, the Doctor and Donna look outside to find themselves in space.

The TARDIS is in the same place, but the Earth has been stolen.

Far across the universe, Martha Jones wakes up in New York with her UNIT team. In Cardiff, Torchwood Three are picking up the pieces. On Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane Smith and Luke dust themselves off before Mr. Smith tells them to look outside. Sylvia and Wilfred look upward as well.

The planet Earth is among twenty-six other stolen planets, all of them visible in the sky above, and Rose Tyler has just arrived with a big freakin’ gun.

Back in Earth’s orbit, the Doctor and Donna puzzle over the mystery before setting a course for the Shadow Proclamation. On Earth, Torchwood Three discovers that the planet still maintains atmosphere and heat. Both Torchwood and Mr. Smith detect a space station and a fleet of ships. UNIT spools up their alert status as the two hundred ships enter orbit.

As rioters swarm the streets, Rose stops a pair of looters before using a stolen laptop to get an update.

Martha calls Jack as the planet intercepts a single repeated signal: EXTERMINATE! It rattles all of our heroes to their very cores as Dalek saucers open fire on Earth. The Supreme Dalek declares that they are now the masters of Earth.

The TARDIS touches down at the Shadow Proclamation and is greeted by a squad of Judoon. The Doctor meets with a member of the Proclamation and learns that twenty-four planets have been taken. Donna reminds the Doctor that Pyrovillia and Adipose 3 are missing. Adding the lost moon of Poosh, they have twenty-seven planets taken out of time and space and formed into an engine. The Doctor recalls that someone tried to steal the Earth a long time ago, but it can’t be…

The UNIT forces decide to activate Project Indigo, their top-secret project that Jack doesn’t think will work. Martha puts on a backpack apparatus, is handed something called the Osterhagen Key, and teleports away using Sontaran technology. Jack believes that she is scattered into atoms because the technology lacks coordinates and stabilization.

On the Dalek station, the Supreme Dalek orders the fleet to commence landing and rounding up of humans for “the Crucible”. A familiar-looking form asks about the Doctor, warning the Supreme Dalek about his pride and that Dalek Caan has an uneasy prophecy: The Doctor is coming.

Donna is deep in thought when a member of the Proclamation gives her sustenance. She knows that something was on Donna’s back and is sorry for the loss that’s about to come. The Doctor asks Donna what he’s not thinking of and she reminds him that the bees have gone missing. The Doctor says that it means that they were going home to the planet Melissa Majoria before the Earth vanished. The Doctor uses that to trace the planet’s course – an act that forces the Proclamation to order him to join their war fleet, which he declines – and the TARDIS is off to the rescue.

On Earth, the humans in Wilf and Sylvia’s neighborhood resist. The Daleks respond by destroying their homes. Wilf uses a paintball gun to try blinding a Dalek, but it doesn’t work. Before the Dalek exterminates Donna’s family, Rose rescues them by destroying the Dalek with her gun.

The TARDIS materializes in the Medusa Cascade, a place that the Doctor hasn’t visited since he was ninety years old. They’re in the middle of a rift in time and space, but there’s no trace of the missing planets.

Torchwood and Bannerman Road listen as the United Nations surrenders the planet to the Daleks. Their sorrow is interrupted by a mysterious (familiar sounding) signal from a “subwave network”. The caller is Harriet Jones (former Prime Minister) and she links Torchwood, Bannerman Road, and Martha Jones (who materialized at her mother’s house). Rose can only listen in since Sylvia considers webcams to be “naughty”.

Introductions are made around the table – Jack admires Sarah Jane’s work, but Sarah Jane has been staying away because of all the guns – and Harriet Jones warns that they will not use the Osterhagen Key under any circumstances. Rose is a bit jealous.

Using a sentient computer program from the Mr. Copper Foundation, the subwave network can boost the signal to reach the Doctor. Sure enough, the Doctor’s Army pools their resources and opens a channel, but the Daleks are hot on their trail. The TARDIS locks onto the signal as the Daleks blow a hole into Harriet’s home. She transfers control and faces them down before they exterminate her.

The TARDIS materializes in the middle of the missing planets, now one second out of sync with the rest of the universe. The Doctor opens a channel and makes contact with everyone but Rose. Moments later, Davros breaks into the signal and reintroduces himself to the Doctor. The Doctor saw him destroyed in the first year of the Time War, but Davros was rescued by Dalek Caan after the mad Dalek hybrid shifted through the time lock and rescued him. Davros returned the favor by donating his own DNA to rebuild the Dalek Empire.

The Doctor pilots the TARDIS to Earth while Dalek Caan predicts death for the most faithful companion. Jack uses Martha’s coordinates to fix his vortex manipulator and teleport to her location as the Daleks descend on Torchwood. Ianto and Gwen mount a defense.

Sarah Jane leaves Luke in Mr. Smith’s care as she races to the TARDIS’s landing point. Rose also teleports away with a wish of luck from Donna’s family, appearing behind the Doctor and Donna on a street full of abandoned cars. The Doctor and Rose race to each other, but a Dalek rounds the corner and shoots the Doctor. Jack appears and destroys the Dalek, but they’re too late.

Rose, Jack, and Donna take the Doctor back to the TARDIS. Rose and Jack know what’s coming, but Donna has no idea. The Doctor’s hand begins to glow.

Sarah Jane is trapped by Daleks. Torchwood is under assault.

The Doctor begins to regenerate.

 

Journey’s End

The Doctor channels the regeneration energy into the hand in the bubbling jar, leaving his companions baffled. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane is rescued by the surprise appearance of Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler, and Torchwood’s certain doom is stopped by a strange bubble in time. It’s a time lock developed by Tosh before her death, but it means that Ianto and Gwen are trapped in Torchwood HQ.

The Doctor used enough regeneration energy to heal himself, but refused to change his face. The Daleks surround the phone box and place it in a temporal prison before transporting it to the Crucible. Sarah Jane warns her saviors to put down their guns before they all surrender to the Daleks, intent on being sent to the Crucible. Martha uses Project Indigo, but only makes it as far as Germany.

Rose tells the Doctor about the coming darkness and how all the timelines are converging on Donna. The loss of power on the TARDIS also means that the capsule is as fragile as the wooden doors that it resembles. These are, after all, the Daleks that fought the Time Lords. The TARDIS lands at the Crucible, but Donna is lost in thought once more. The Doctor and his companions exit the TARDIS, certain of their fate as they face the Supreme Dalek, but Donna doesn’t leave the ship.

The TARDIS door closes and the Daleks eject the time capsule into the heart of the Crucible. The Doctor fears that it will be destroyed and begs for Donna’s life. On the TARDIS, Donna is enthralled by the hand in a jar, and she reaches for it, it glows with regeneration energy and explodes into a fully formed duplicate of the Doctor.

The new Doctor – the Metacrisis Doctor – pushes a button and the TARDIS vanishes. Everyone in the Crucible above believes it to be destroyed and Jack opens fire with his revolver. The Daleks exterminate him and lead Rose and the Doctor away as Jack revives and plays possum.

The Metacrisis Doctor fixes the TARDIS and bonds with Donna, discovering that he only has one heart. He’s a human-Time Lord hybrid, and he believes Donna to be special. They’ve been heading to this moment from the very beginning, from the runaway bride to the convenient parking of Donna’s car near the TARDIS during the Adipose incident. But time or destiny or fate or whatever is not done yet.

Martha arrives at a castle, one of the Osterhagen bases. The caretaker threatens her by gunpoint not to go through with the plan, but Martha presses on.

On the Crucible, Jack escapes disposal and is free to find his allies. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane and her new friends arrive. The Doctor and Rose are put in confinement beams and converse with Davros, who the Doctor calls the Daleks’ pet. Davros reveals Dalek Caan, the last of the Cult of Skaro, and says that the Supreme Dalek is afraid of the mad hybrid’s prophecies about the Children of Time. Davros revels in the darkness with the Doctor, but the Time Lord puts it away as quickly as it surfaced when he learns about the secret weapon: A reality bomb.

As the prisoners are processed, Sarah Jane and Mickey escape with her sonic lipstick. The Daleks test their reality bomb on the prisoners, using the neutrino energy channeled through the aligned planets as a weapon. Just as it’s about to fire, Jackie’s teleporter recharges and she escapes as the prisoners are vaporized. They literally vanished from existence.

Davros plans to destroy the entirety of creation, every single corner of reality in every universe. The only thing to remain will be the Daleks.

Jack meets up with Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie. Jack and Mickey share a manly hug as Sarah Jane produces a warp star – a warp fold conjugation trapped in a carbonized shell, or an “explosion waiting to happen”, gifted to her by a Verron soothsayer – to destroy the Crucible. On Earth, Martha makes contact with the other Osterhagen bases and opens a channel to the Crucible, threatening to use a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads around the globe to destroy the planet. Jack also makes contact, threatening to use the warp star to destroy the Crucible, and Davros is pleased to see Sarah Jane once again.

Davros is pleased that the Doctor, a pacifist, has honed his companions into weapons ready to kill. He asks the Doctor – the man who keeps running because he dare not look back for fear of the shame – to consider how many others have died in his name. The drama is a distraction as the Supreme Dalek locks onto all of the Doctor’s allies and teleports them to the Doctor’s location.

The Daleks then initiate the reality bomb.

One the TARDIS, the Metacrisis Doctor and Donna rig a device to cause the reality bomb to backfire. The TARDIS materializes in the Crucible and the Metacrisis Doctor races out, but Davros strikes him with an electrical charge before trapping him. Donna picks up the device and is similarly dispatched before Davros destroys the weapon. Unfortunately for the Daleks, Donna stops the reality bomb, Davros, and the Daleks with knowledge that she shouldn’t have.

The creation of the Metacrisis Doctor was a two-way street. It created the Doctor-Donna, which was sparked by Davros when he shot her.

The Time Lords and humans send the missing planets home and round up the Daleks. Davros asked why Dalek Caan couldn’t see this coming, but the truth is that Dalek Caan put everything in motion to end the Dalek reign of terror. The Supreme Dalek tries to stop them, but Jack destroys it. As the Doctor rushes into the TARDIS, the Metacrisis Doctor decides to send a surge of energy into the entire fleet to prevent the Daleks from attacking the universe.

As the Daleks explode, the Doctor is appalled at the bloodlust of his duplicate, and he rushes his allies into the TARDIS. The Doctor offers sanctuary for Davros, but earns the name “Destroyer of Worlds” in return as his offer is declined. The TARDIS takes off but cannot break free of the time bubble, so the Doctor contacts Torchwood and Bannerman Road – including K9! – to break free with every companion on the console.

Just as the TARDIS is meant to be flown.

The time capsule tows the planet Earth back to its rightful place in our solar system. As they arrive, having saved the world in epic fashion, the console room erupts in a celebration that bleeds onto the planet below.

The Doctor bids farewell once again to Sarah Jane, who tells him that he has the biggest family on Earth. Mickey decides to stay behind in this reality as the Doctor disables Jack’s vortex manipulator. Jack and Martha walk away with Mickey in close pursuit.

The Doctor takes the TARDIS to Bad Wolf Bay in Rose’s parallel universe. Jackie tells the Metacrisis Doctor that she needs to find her husband and son, and the Doctor tells Rose that he’s leaving his clone with her. The Metacrisis Doctor is exactly how Rose found the Doctor, full of anger and fury, and he needs Rose’s influence to grow and change. The big difference is that he is part human and will grow old with her.

She asks the Doctor what he was going to say on the day he left her behind in Bad Wolf Bay. The Metacrisis Doctor whispers the answer to her and they kiss as the TARDIS vanishes from sight.

As the TARDIS flies, Donna’s Time Lord knowledge begins to overload her brain. She wants to stay with him, but if she does, the metacrisis will destroy her. She cannot be with him forever as she wanted. She begs him not to leave her behind, but he has no choice but to say goodbye as he wipes her mind.

He delivers her home and makes Wilf and Sylvia promise that she can never remember anything about her travels with the Doctor. If she remembers any thread of it, she will die. Wilf is understanding but angry, and he takes solace in the fact that she saved so many in her travels. For one shining moment she was the most important woman in existence. Sylvia says that she still is. The Doctor reminds her to tell Donna every once in a while.

Donna awakens and rushes in, but she doesn’t remember any of it. The Doctor bids her farewell as John Smith, and Wilf promises to look up to the stars on his behalf every night. The Doctor walks away in the rain takes flight in the TARDIS once more.

Time Lord victorious. Time Lord alone.

 

It is no secret that this story earns every last bit of a high rating.  The balance of action and dramatic tension as all of our heroes from the last four years come together to defeat one of the Doctor’s oldest enemies is masterful. They all bring strengths and weaknesses, and they leverage all of them together to save the world. The universe. All of creation.

The cinematography was quite impressive. I was blown away by the beautiful dichotomy between the close shots of the celebrating family and the long shots of the Doctor alone and somewhat defeated.

There’s also a great deal of attention paid to the franchise’s mythology, both old and new. It’s important for them to do so because, hey, it’s the Daleks. We met Davros in Genesis of the Daleks and watched him lose his hand in Revelation of the Daleks. UNIT gets another crack at the Daleks after their first encounter in Day of the Daleks. The Daleks tried to steal the Earth before in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, which is also where we first encountered a Supreme Dalek.

We last saw Davros and the Supreme Dalek in Remembrance of the Daleks as the Dalek Civil War came to a close, and that’s a really interesting dynamic: Davros commanded the Imperial Daleks and the Supreme Dalek commanded the Renegades. After the Time War, it seems that bygones are bygones as there is only one faction of Daleks now.

Of course, in the post-Time War era, we’ve seen the Cult of Skaro. Survivors of the Time War, it adds a twist as a hybrid helps give birth to the new Dalek empire before destroying it.

In more comical callbacks, we’ve seen Daleks disabled by attacking their eyestalks – The Daleks, Planet of the Daleks, Resurrection of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks, The Parting of the Ways – often screaming, “My vision is impaired!” This time, the trope was flipped to both humorous appeal and heightened tension.

The Doctor has been shot by a Dalek before, but this is the first time it was effectively lethal. When the Third Doctor took a hit from a Dalek cannon in Planet of the Daleks, he was only paralyzed for a short time.

In terms of the missing planets, the theft of Earth is nothing new since it was stolen by the Time Lords (and renamed Ravolox) in The Trial of a Time Lord. Earth’s twin planet Mondas was moved and became home to the Cybermen.

We heard about Adipose 3, Pyrovillia, and the Lost Moon of Poosh through this series. We’ve never seen Shallacatop or Jahoo, but three others have been mentioned in one way or another: Clom was the home of the Abzorbaloff (Love & Monsters), Woman Wept was the site of an off-screen adventure for Rose and the Ninth Doctor (Boom Town), and Calufrax Minor could be in the same vein as the miniaturized Calufrax from The Pirate Planet.

Then we get to the Children of Time.

I know that Rose is a fan favorite, but I stand by my assessment that Martha was superior in every way. Rose is a liability to the Doctor, almost costing him his life in the middle of a war. Sure, the reunion was touching, but her jealousy was nearly intolerable.

It’s a little ironic that an avatar resembling her will be the key to saving the Doctors, the Time Lords, and Gallifrey down the road.

The consequences of the Rose and Doctor relationship also gives us the notion that Time Lords have some degree of control over their regenerations.

Martha, Sarah Jane, and Jack continue to bring their strengths to bear in a conflict, each tackling the problem with their unique skillsets. I had the biggest grin at Sarah Jane’s line about Torchwood using their guns too often, and Jack’s fanboy nature over Sarah Jane was adorable.

Gwen (who gets the callback to The Unquiet Dead) and Ianto holding down the fort at Torchwood makes sense, particularly since they’ve never encountered Daleks before. The same goes for Luke and Mr. Smith. I was also pleased to see Mickey (“Us Smiths gotta stick together!”) and Jackie following Rose through the breach and, in a natural evolution since their debut, fighting for their planet.

That leaves us with Donna. Oh, Donna. Her departure is heartbreaking, particularly since she wanted to travel with the Doctor for the rest of her life. She considered him to be her destiny, and she was correct thanks to Dalek Caan. Now she doesn’t remember any part of her adventures with the Doctor, even though the universe remembers her.

Donna Noble was the Doctor’s conscience, saving him with her direct nature and wide-eyed innocence more than once. She reminded him of his empathy, which Davros tries to use against him by reminding him of those who sacrificed themselves for him and those he couldn’t save – Harriet Jones, Ceth Ceth Jafe, the Controller, Lynda Moss, Sir Robert MacLeish, Angela Price, Colin Skinner, Ursula Blake, Bridget Sinclair, the Face of Boe, Chantho, Astrid Peth, Luke Rattigan, Jenny, River Song, and the hostess – and how easily any of his Earth family could join those ranks.

None of the Doctor’s companions physically died to save the world, but the Donna that he knew is gone. She didn’t love him, but she loved everything about him. She believed in him. She saved him.

And he saved her in turn.

I’m going to miss her.

 

Rating: 5/5 – “Fantastic!”

 

UP NEXT – Series Four Summary

 

 

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 – May 20

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 20, 2020
Day 141 of 366

 

May 20th is the 141st day of the year. It is European Maritime Day, an event that seeks to raise European citizens’ awareness of the seas and their importance. It was established jointly by the European Council, European Parliament, and European Commission in 2008 as part of the EU maritime policy.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Be a Millionaire Day, National Pick Strawberries Day, National Rescue Dog Day, National Quiche Lorraine Day, Emergency Medical Services for Children Day (typically observed on the Wednesday of Emergency Medical Service Week), and National Juice Slush Day (typically the third Wednesday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1570,  cartographer Abraham Ortelius issued Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. It was the first modern atlas.
  • In 1609, Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published in London (perhaps illicitly) by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
  • In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a United States patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
  • In 1883, Krakatoa began to erupt. More than 36,000 people were killed when the volcano exploded three months later.
  • In 1891, Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope was first publicly displayed.
  • In 1908, actor James Stewart was born.
  • In 1911, author and DC Comics alum Gardner Fox was born.
  • In 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot. She landed in Ireland the next day.
  • In 1936, actor Anthony Zerbe was born.
  • In 1946, singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Cher was born.
  • In 1959, actor Bronson Pinchot was born.
  • In 1960, actor John Billingsley was born.
  • In 1964, cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
  • In 1968, actor and producer Timothy Olyphant was born.
  • In 1983, the first publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS were made in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.
  • In 1996, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.

 

In 1875, the Metre Convention was signed by 17 nations, leading to the establishment of the International System of Units (SI).

The SI (abbreviated from French: Système international (d’unités)) is the modern form of the metric system. It is a coherent system of measurement starting with seven base units:

  • the second (the unit of time with the symbol s)
  • the metre/meter (length, m)
  • the kilogram (mass, kg)
  • the ampere (electric current, A)
  • the kelvin (thermodynamic temperature, K)
  • the mole (amount of substance, mol)
  • the candela (luminous intensity, cd)

The system allows for an unlimited number of additional units, called derived units, which can always be represented as products of powers of the base units. There are twenty-two derived units that have special names and symbols, including hertz, joule, watt, ohm, volt, and so on. Both the base and derived units can use prefixes (such as kilo, mega, and centi) to measure nearly any quantity.

Prior to 2019, the base units were defined by simple readily observable terms. For instance, a kilogram was defined as, “The mass of one litre of water at the temperature of melting ice. A litre is one thousandth of a cubic metre.” Unfortunately, these measurements were also imprecise and subjective.

Since 2019, the magnitudes of all SI units have been defined by declaring exact numerical values for seven defining constants when expressed in terms of their SI units.

  • The speed of light in vacuum, c
  • The hyperfine transition frequency of caesium, ΔνCs
  • The Planck constant, h
  • The elementary charge, e
  • The Boltzmann constant, k
  • The Avogadro constant, NA
  • The luminous efficacy, Kcd

These defining constants range from fundamental constants of nature (the speed of light in a vacuum) to the purely technical (Kcd). One consequence of the 2019 redefinition is that the distinction between the base units and derived units is in principle not needed since any unit can be constructed directly from the seven defining constants.

All of the technical jargon aside, this all makes the International System of Units incredibly precise and exacting.

In celebration of the anniversary of the International System of Units, World Metrology Day is celebrated annually on May 20th.

 

In 1734, the pioneer of beekeeping Anton Janša was born. In honor of his birth and to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem, World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20th.

 

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 – May 19

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 19, 2020
Day 140 of 366

 

May 19th is the 140th day of the year. It is National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National May Ray Day and National Devil’s Food Cake Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1848, Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This ended the Mexican-American War and ceded California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for $15 million.
  • In 1911, Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, was established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
  • In 1934, journalist and author Jim Lehrer was born.
  • In 1939, astronaut Dick Scobee was born.
  • In 1941, director, producer, and screenwriter Nora Ephron was born.
  • In 1944, actor Peter Mayhew was born.
  • In 1946, wrestler and actor André the Giant was born.
  • In 1948, singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Grace Jones was born.
  • In 1962, a birthday salute to United States President John F. Kennedy took place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight was Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
  • In 1963, the New York Post Sunday Magazine published Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
  • In 1966, actress Polly Walker was born.
  • In 1999, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace premiered.

 

In 1925, American Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X was born.

A popular figure during the civil rights movement, he is best known for his staunch and controversial black racial advocacy and for his time spent as the vocal spokesperson of the Nation of Islam. He joined the Nation of Islam while in prison for crimes he committed in his teenage years. He adopted the name Malcolm X and quickly became one of the organization’s most influential leaders after being paroled in 1952. He served as the public face of the organization for a dozen years, advocating for black supremacy, black empowerment, and the separation of black and white Americans. He publicly criticized the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on nonviolence and racial integration.

He also found himself under federal surveillance due to the Nation of Islam’s supposed connections to communism.

In the 1960s, Malcolm X grew disillusioned with the Nation of Islam and its leadership. He subsequently embraced Sunni Islam and the civil rights movement after completing the Hajj to Mecca, adopting the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. He traveled across Africa and publicly renounced the Nation of Islam, afterward founding the Islamic Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Pan-African Organization of Afro-American Unity.

As his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, he started receiving death threats before being assassinated on February 21, 1965. Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given indeterminate life sentences.

Despite being a controversial figure, Malcolm X is a widely celebrated figure within African-American and Muslim American communities for his pursuit of racial justice. He was posthumously honored with Malcolm X Day, which is celebrated on either his birthday or the third Friday in May. The event commemorates him in various countries worldwide.

 

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 – WHOlanta’s Virtual TARDIS

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
WHOlanta’s Virtual TARDIS
May 18, 2020

This week starts with news of a virtual convention.

This year was supposed to be our hiatus year from Wholanta. But current lockdown situation has provided a way for us to have a con after all! And basically, I have a slight problem and have had a difficult time letting this thing go. So another Wholanta is born!

WHOlanta, the Atlanta-area Doctor Who-centric convention, hung up the scarf and bow tie last year after their annual celebration of all things wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey. But, as R. Alan Siler said, there was an opportunity so he jumped on it.

The convention will be hosting a virtual event on Saturday, May 30th from noon to 8:00pm EST. So far, they have character/creature actor Jon Davey, actress Sophie Aldred (who portrayed Ace), revival era director Rachel Talalay, and series composer Dominic Glynn. They also promise more guest announcements to come.

For the celebrity panels, there will be streaming Q&As where attendees can post their questions in the chat. They’ll also be supporting a virtual dealer room and cosplayers.

Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information.
cc-break

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 – May 18

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 18, 2020
Day 139 of 366

 

May 18th is the 139th day of the year. It is World AIDS Vaccine Day, also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, during which advocates promote the continued urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS.

 

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Visit Your Relatives Day, National No Dirty Dishes Day, and National Cheese Soufflé Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1291, the Fall of Acre marked the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
  • In 1652, Rhode Island passed the first law in English-speaking North America. It was to make slavery illegal.
  • In 1872, British mathematician, historian, philosopher, and Nobel Prize laureate Bertrand Russell was born.
  • In 1897, director Frank Capra was born.
  • In 1917, the Selective Service Act of 1917 was passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
  • In 1927, Grauman’s Chinese Theater opened in Hollywood, California.
  • In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
  • In 1946, actor Andreas Katsulas was born.
  • In 1953, Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier.
  • In 1955, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter Chow Yun-fat was born.
  • In 1965, Gene Roddenberry suggested 16 names for the captain on Star Trek. Among them was the name Kirk.
  • In 1969, Apollo 10 was launched on a “dress rehearsal” of the first Moon landing with astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan aboard.
  • In 1970, actress, producer, and screenwriter Tina Fey was born.
  • In 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the State of Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
  • In 2005, a second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

 

May 18th is International Museum Day, an event coordinated by the International Council of Museums that highlights specific themes to reflect the basis of the international museum community’s preoccupations.

The day provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and address challenges in the community. It serves as a platform to raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society today, on an international level.

Each year, all museums in the world are invited to participate in the event to promote the role of museums around the world, thus creating unique, enjoyable, and free activities around an annual theme.

 

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 – May 17

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 17, 2020
Day 138 of 366

 

May 17th is the 138th day of the year. It is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, which aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. It’s also the National Day Against Homophobia in Canada.

 

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Pack Rat Day, National Cherry Cobbler Day, National Graduation Tassel Day, National Walnut Day, National Idaho Day, and Take Your Parents To The Playground Day (which is typically observed on the third Sunday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
  • In 1875, Aristides won the first Kentucky Derby.
  • In 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was first published in the United States. The first copy was given to the author’s sister.
  • In 1936, actor and director Dennis Hopper was born.
  • In 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the landmark decision U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools were ruled unconstitutional.
  • In 1955, actor and director Bill Paxton was born.
  • In 1961, Irish singer-songwriter and producer Enya was born.
  • In 1962, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host Craig Ferguson was born.
  • In 1969, actress Paige Turco was born.
  • In 1973, televised hearings began in the United States Senate for the Watergate scandal.
  • In 1977, Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese’s in San Jose, California.
  • In 1983, The United States Department of Energy declassified documents showing the world’s largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. There was ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds of mercury contamination, and the discovery was in response to the Appalachian Observer’s Freedom of Information Act request.
  • In 1990, the General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
  • In 2004, the first legal same-sex marriages in the United States were performed in the state of Massachusetts.

 

In 1865, the International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union, both known as the ITU) was established in Paris.

The oldest global international organization, the ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies. The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards.

The organization is also active in the areas of broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting, and next-generation networks.

World Telecommunication Day, later replaced by World Information Society Day, is observed on May 17th to commemorate the establishment of the ITU. The day also serves to raise global awareness of social changes brought about by the internet and new technologies, as well as helping to reduce the digital divide.

The term digital divide, which was coined and publicized by Larry Irving when he was head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, describes a gap in terms of access to and usage of information and communication technology. Traditionally, it was the question of having or not having access, but the penetration of mobile phones in the global market has changed that a measure of relative inequality with respect to bandwidth.

 

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 – May 16

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 16, 2020
Day 137 of 366

 

May 16th is the 137th day of the year. It is Honor Our LGBT Elders Day, which recognizes the people in the LGBT community who have blazed the trail for access and social acceptance. The rights and acceptance that LGBTQ individuals have today did not happen in a vacuum or by accident, and the observance is an opportunity for community centers, faith organizations, educational institutions, and aging service providers to recognize the lives of older adults in the community and honor their contributions to history.

 

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Barbecue Day, National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day, National Love a Tree Day, National Mimosa Day, National Piercing Day, National Sea Monkey Day, National Biographer’s Day, National Coquilles Saint Jacques Day National Armed Forces Day, and National Learn to Swim Day. The last two are typically observed on the third Saturday in May.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1771, the Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The “Regulators”, occurred in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
  • In 1804, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was born. She was an American educator who founded the first kindergarten in the United States.
  • In 1831, David Edward Hughes was born. He was a Welsh-American physicist and co-inventor of the microphone.
  • In 1842, the first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest set out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
  • In 1866, the United States Congress established the nickel.
  • In 1868, the United States Senate failed to convict impeached President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
  • In 1888, Nikola Tesla delivered a lecture describing the equipment which would allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
  • In 1891, the International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Frankfurt, Germany. It featured the world’s first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current, which is the most common form of electrical power today.
  • In 1905, actor Henry Fonda was born.
  • In 1918, the Sedition Act of 1918 was passed by the United States Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It would be repealed less than two years later.
  • In 1919, pianist and 1960s Batvillain Liberace was born.
  • In 1929, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place in Hollywood, California.
  • In 1937, ballet dancer and actress Yvonne Craig was born.
  • In 1947, actor Bill Smitrovich was born.
  • In 1953, actor and producer Pierce Brosnan was born.
  • In 1955, actress Debra Winger was born.
  • In 1960, Theodore Maiman operated the first optical laser. It was a ruby laser located at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
  • In 1969, Soviet space probe Venera 5 landed on Venus.
  • Also in 1969, actor David Boreanaz was born.
  • In 2002, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones premiered.
  • In 2005, Kuwait permitted women’s suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
  • In 2011, Mission STS-134 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It was ISS assembly flight ULF6, and was the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.

 

In 1991, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addressed a joint session of the United States Congress. While not the first world leader to address Congress, she was the first British monarch to do so.

And now… trivia time!

According to the Office of the Historian at the United States House of Representatives, French general and Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette was the first foreign dignitary to address the House of Representatives, which happened on December 10, 1824.

Non-heads of state have also addressed Joint Meetings of Congress. The first was Polish Solidarity Leader Lech Walesa in 1989. Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress addressed a Joint Session in 1990. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization addressed a Joint Meeting in 2019, and including Secretary General Stoltenberg, 116 leaders or dignitaries have addressed Joint Meetings of Congress.

Queen Elizabeth’s address made history in another way: She was the first religious leader to address a Joint Meeting of Congress. Remember, the British Monarch is also the head of the Anglican Church. King George VI, the current monarch’s father, attended a reception in the Capitol Rotunda on June 9, 1939, but he did not address the body.

There have been 120 Joint Meeting addresses delivered by foreign leaders and dignitaries, starting with King David Kalākaua of Hawaii in 1874. To that end, eleven monarchs or members of royalty have addressed Joint Meetings.

Twelve women have addressed Joint Meetings of Congress:

  • Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was the first on April 3, 1952.
  • Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
  • United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
  • Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino
  • Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto
  • Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
  • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia
  • Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia
  • Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
  • Park Geun Hye, President of the Republic of Korea (8 May 2013).

Addresses to Congress can also be a family affair. Two different families have had multiple generations of descendants do so. From the Netherlands, both Queen Juliana and her daughter Queen Beatrix have addressed Joint Meetings. Queen Wilhelmina, who was Juliana’s mother and Beatrix’s grandmother, would have made three but she only addressed the Senate with the House as an invited guest in 1942. The other family was King Hussein I and King Hussein II.

France, Great Britain, and Israel have the distinction of sending the most leaders or dignitaries to deliver Joint Meeting addresses before Congress, with eight per country. After those three, the countries with the most include Mexico (7), Italy (6), Ireland (6), the Republic of Korea (6), Germany (including West Germany and unified Germany) (5),  India (5), Canada (3), Argentina (3), Australia (3), and the Philippines (3).

Finally, Winston Churchill and Binyamin Netanyahu have made more addresses to Congress than any other individuals. Churchill did so three times, as did Netanyahu. Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Yitzak Rabin of Israel have both addressed Joint Meetings of Congress on two occasions.

 

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 IV

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Quarantine Con, Episode IV
May 15, 2020

This week’s “can’t let it go” are those who are about to rock, because I salute you.

It’s the irregulars from Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track, back once again from their individual COVID-19 quarantine bunkers, this time taking it to eleven with geeks who make music.

Classics Track co-directors Joe Crowe and Gary Mitchel are joined by Leigh Tyberg, Madison Metricula Roberts, Tegan Hendrickson, and Ryan Cadaver. Tune in and crank it up!

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.

cc-break

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 – May 15

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 15, 2020
Day 136 of 366

 

May 15th is the 136th day of the year. It is the International Day of Families, a day proclaimed by the United Nations to reflect the importance the international community attaches to families. The day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic, and demographic processes affecting families.

It also provides a good day to remember that not all families are based on blood.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Chocolate Chip Day, National Nylon Stocking Day, National Endangered Species Day, National Defense Transportation Day, National Pizza Party Day, National Bike to Work Day, and NASCAR Day. The last five of those events are typically observed on the third Friday in May.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 495 BC, a newly constructed temple in honor of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.
  • In 1252, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull ad extirpanda. It authorized, but also limited, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
  • In 1536, Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stood trial in London on charges of treason, adultery, and incest. She was condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
  • In 1618, Johannes Kepler confirmed his discovery of the third law of planetary motion. He first discovered it on March 8th but initially rejected it after some initial calculations were made. Obviously, he changed his mind.
  • In 1718, London-based lawyer James Puckle patented the world’s first machine gun.
  • In 1776, the Fifth Virginia Convention instructed its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain. This paved the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
  • In 1817, the first private mental health hospital in the United States opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason, but is now Friends Hospital.
  • In 1856, novelist L. Frank Baum was born.
  • In 1857, Scottish-American astronomer and academic Williamina Fleming was born.
  • In 1859, French physicist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate Pierre Curie was born.
  • In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill into law that created the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It was later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
  • In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in New York.
  • In 1890, short story writer, novelist, and essayist Katherine Anne Porter was born.
  • In 1905, Las Vegas was founded when 110 acres were auctioned off. The land was part of what would later become downtown.
  • In 1928, Walt Disney’s iconic character Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy. It was a silent short sent to distributors, but it failed to gain any traction. Mickey’s first film with sound (and the first in wide release) was Steamboat Willie. Plane Crazy was later released with sound, becoming Mickey’s fourth film.
  • In 1940, McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
  • In 1949, astronaut Frank L. Culbertson Jr. was born.
  • In 1958, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 3.
  • In 1960, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 4.
  • In 1963, the final Mercury mission was launched. Mercury-Atlas 9, also known as Faith 7, carried Gordon Cooper into orbit where he became the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
  • In 1987, the Soviet Union launched the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform, but it failed to reach orbit.
  • In 2005, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
  • In 2008, California became the second U.S. state after Massachusetts (in 2004) to legalize same-sex marriage. This was after the state’s own Supreme Court ruled a previous ban unconstitutional.
  • In 2010, Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted, around the world solo.

 

May 15th is Peace Officers Memorial Day in the United States. It is an observance that pays tribute to the local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty. It is sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and is implemented by the FOP Memorial Committee.

The holiday was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy on October 1, 1962. President Bill Clinton amended the law in 1994 with direction to fly flags in the country at half-staff.

Much of the holiday centers on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. The wall features the names of more than 21,183 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

 

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 – May 14

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 14, 2020
Day 135 of 366

 

May 14th is the 135th day of the year. It is Flag Day in Paraguay.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Decency Day, National Underground America Day, and National Buttermilk Biscuit Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1727, English painter Thomas Gainsborough was born.
  • In 1796, Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox inoculation.
  • In 1800, The 6th United States Congress went to recessed. The process of moving the United States Government from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., began the following day.
  • In 1878, the last witchcraft trial held in the United States began in Salem, Massachusetts. It started after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
  • In 1925, Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway was published.
  • In 1936, actor and singer-songwriter Bobby Darin was born.
  • In 1938, The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland was released.
  • In 1939, Lina Medina became the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five. She is also believed to be the youngest documented case of precocious puberty. The father’s identity was never determined, but Medina’s son grew up healthy until he died from a bone disease at the age of 40.
  • In 1944, director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur George Lucas was born.
  • In 1952, director, producer, and screenwriter Robert Zemeckis was born.
  • In 1961, a white mob attacked a Freedom Riders bus two times near Anniston, Alabama. They then fire-bombed the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who fled the burning vehicle.
  • In 1965, author Eoin Colfer was born.
  • In 1969, actress Cate Blanchett.
  • In 1971, director, producer, and screenwriter Sophia Coppola was born.
  • In 1973, Skylab was launched. It was the United States’ first space station.
  • In 1983, actress, author, model, and director Amber Tamblyn was born.

 

May 14th is known in some circles as National Dance Like a Chicken Day.

This is where I shout out to Kevin and Kornflake from The Flopcast, as well as the Mayor and all of the citizens of Chickentown! Grab a coffee and join them to discuss Saturday morning cartoons, Dr. Demento-style funny music, television and movies of the 1970s and 1980s, comic books, conventions, chickens, and more.

On May 14th, everyone is encouraged to flap their arms and strut like a chicken, because it’s highly probable that you’ve danced the “Chicken Dance” at least once in your lifetime. It’s a silly song that is popular at wedding receptions, Oktoberfest, and other celebrations. It’s catchy and gets people moving.

Also known as the Bird Song, the Birdie Song, the Bird Dance, or the Chicken Song, is an oom-pah song composed in the 1950s by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland. It hit the United States sometime in the 1970s after Belgian producer Louis van Rymenant heard Thomas playing it in a hotel or restaurant. Once it was published in America, it acquired choreography with repetitive beak, wing, and tail motions, as well as its current name.

A version by Henry Hadaway actually reached #2 on the October 1981 music charts, and by 2000 it was voted as “the most annoying song of all time” by a poll on the dotmusic website. It has been featured on Lawrence Welk, and is very popular among children, novelty fans, and various celebrations.

 

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.