The Thing About Today – May 11

Michael Falkner1 Comment

May 11, 2020
Day 132 of 366

 

May 11th is the 132nd day of the year. It is National Technology Day in India.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Eat What You Want Day, National Foam Rolling Day, and National Women’s Checkup Day (which is typically observed on the second Monday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1888, Belarusian-American pianist and composer Irving Berlin was born.
  • In 1904, Spanish artist Salvador Dali was born.
  • In 1910, an act of the United States Congress established Glacier National Park in Montana.
  • In 1918, physicist, engineer, and Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman was born.
  • In 1920, actor Denver Pyle was born.
  • In 1963, actress Natasha Richardson was born.
  • In 1969, the British comedy troupe Monty Python was formed. The membership was Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.
  • In 1973, citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg’s charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times were dismissed.
  • In 1997, chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in the last game of their rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.

 

May 11th is known as National Twilight Zone Day. Always observed on this day, National Twilight Zone Day features mysterious twists and turns highlighted with eerie background music and unexplainable occurrences as it honors the popular anthology franchise The Twilight Zone created by Rod Serling.

The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, suspense, horror, and psychological thriller. They often conclude with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. They are, in effect, modern fairy tales or versions of Aesop’s fables.

The original series was shot entirely in black and white and ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964. It followed in the tradition of earlier television shows such as Tales of Tomorrow (1951–1953) and Science Fiction Theatre (1955–1957), as well as radio programs such as The Weird Circle (1943–1945), Dimension X (1950–1951) and X Minus One (1955–1958). It was also inspired by the radio work of Norman Corwin.

The success of the series led to a feature film (1983), a TV film (1994), a radio series (2002–2012), a comic book, a series of novels, a magazine, and a theme park attraction. It was followed by various spin-offs over the next five decades, including three revival television series.

The first revival (1985–1989) ran on CBS and in syndication during the 1980s. A second revival ran on UPN (2002–2003). In April of 2019, CBS All Access officially premiered the third Twilight Zone revival, this time helmed by Jordan Peele.

As a testament to the original series, which introduced many people to science fiction and fantasy, TV Guide ranked it at #5 in their 2013 list of the 60 greatest shows of all time, and at #4 in their list of the 60 greatest dramas.

 

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 10

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May 10, 2020
Day 131 of 366

 

May 10th is the 131st day of the year. This year, it is Mother’s Day, which typically falls on the second Sunday in May. In 1908, it was observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Clean Up Your Room Day, National Lipid Day, National Shrimp Day, and National Washington Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 28 BC, a sunspot was observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
  • In 1773, the Parliament of Great Britain passed the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation led to the Boston Tea Party.
  • In 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
  • In 1888, Austrian-American composer and conductor Max Steiner was born.
  • In 1899, actor, singer, and dancer Fred Astaire was born.
  • In 1902, director and producer David O. Selznick was born.
  • In 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock”, the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
  • In 1960, the nuclear submarine USS Triton (SSRN-586) completed Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
  • In 1962, Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
  • In 1969, author John Scalzi was born.

 

In 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, was completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.

The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to connect the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento, California and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha, Nebraska on May 10, 1869.  The First Transcontinental Railroad was a 1,912 mile (3,077 km) continuous railroad line, and construction was started in 1863. The spike was placed in a ceremony where Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (better known as the Jupiter) were driven cowcatcher to cowcatcher. After the ceremony, the golden spike was taken away and the real final spike was driven.

The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the American West. It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer, and less expensive.

In 1904, a new railroad route called the Lucin Cutoff was built bypassing the Promontory location to the south. By going west across the Great Salt Lake from Ogden, Utah, to Lucin, Utah, the new railroad line shortened the distance by 43 miles and avoided curves and grades, but that also meant that main-line trains no longer passed over Promontory Summit.

In 1942, the old rails over Promontory Summit were salvaged for the war effort, an event that was marked by a ceremonial “undriving” of the last iron spike. The original event had been all but forgotten except by local residents who erected a commemorative marker in 1943. The 75th anniversary was marked with a commemorative postage stamp, but it wasn’t until 1948 that the first re-enactment was staged.

In 1957, Congress established the Golden Spike National Historic Site to preserve the area around Promontory Summit as closely as possible to its appearance in 1869. Working replicas of the locomotives were built, and those replica engines are drawn up face-to-face each Saturday during the summer for a re-enactment of the event.

The golden spike is now displayed in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

 

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 9

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May 9, 2020
Day 130 of 366

 

May 9th is the 130th day of the year. It is Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day, which is observed on the second Saturday of May. Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) causes a range of physical, cognitive, and medical challenges.  It is a genetic disorder that even though present at birth, it is not always diagnosed at birth.  Affecting the physical and intellectual development of a child, CdLS is often known as Bushy Syndrome or Amsterdam dwarfism.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Lost Sock Memorial Day, National Moscato Day, National Butterscotch Brownie Day, National Sleepover Day, National Birth Mother’s Day (Saturday before Mother’s Day), National Babysitter’s Day (Saturday before Mother’s Day), National Dog Mom’s Day (Second Saturday in May), National Train Day (Saturday closest to May 10th), National Archery Day (second Saturday in May), and National Miniature Golf Day (second Saturday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1662, the figure who later became Mr. Punch (of Punch and Judy) made his first recorded appearance in England.
  • In 1671, Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempted to steal England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
  • In 1860, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie was born.
  • In 1887, Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show opened in London.
  • In 1893, psychologist and author William Moulton Marston was born. He was the creator of Wonder Woman.
  • In 1918, journalist Mike Wallace was born.
  • In 1936, actor Albert Finney was born.
  • In 1940, director, producer, and screenwriter James L. Brooks was born.
  • In 1946, actress and producer Candice Bergen was born.
  • In 1949, singer-songwriter and pianist BIlly Joel was born.
  • In 1958, Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo premiered in San Francisco.
  • In 1974, the United States House Committee on the Judiciary opened formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

 

This year, May 9th is Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day. Observed on the second Saturday in May, it is the largest one-day food drive in the United States. It occurs in more than 10,000 cities and towns, and the food is collected by United States Postal Workers.

Over the last 20 years, one billion pounds of food has been delivered by this drive which is sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. The letter carriers representing the NALC receive help from rural letter carriers, other postal employees, and other volunteers. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has received a number of accolades over the years, including two Presidential Certificates of Achievement.

 

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 III

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Culture on My Mind
Quarantine Con, Episode III
May 8, 2020

This week’s “can’t let it go” is more classic science fiction discussion.

It’s the irregulars from Dragon Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track, back once again from their individual COVID-19 quarantine bunkers, this time discussing the works of Mister Wigglestick.

Or was that Shakespeare?

More specifically, the weirdest adaptation of the Bard’s works.

Classics Track co-directors Joe Crowe and Gary Mitchel are joined by Tegan Hendrickson and Bethany Kesler. Gary wants everybody to figure out what obvious adaptation they forgot. He also wants you to know that Deanna (his long-time co-host on the RevolutionSF RevCast) says that it’s all his fault.

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 8

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 8, 2020
Day 129 of 366

 

May 8th is the 129th day of the year. It is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It is also the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, who was born in 1828, was the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Coconut Cream Pie Day, National Have A Coke Day, National Student Nurse Day, National Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and National Provider Appreciation Day. The last two are typically observed on the Friday before Mother’s Day.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1429, Joan of Arc lifted the Siege of Orléans, thereby turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
  • In 1858, English author and poet J. Meade Falkner was born. To my knowledge, he is of no relation.
  • In 1884, Thirty-third President of the United States Harry S. Truman was born.
  • In 1886, pharmacist John Pemberton began to sell Coca-Cola as a patent medicine.
  • In 1899, the Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
  • In 1912, Paramount Pictures was founded.
  • In 1919, Edward George Honey proposed the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the event that ended World War I.
  • In 1926, English environmentalist and television host David Attenborough.
  • Also in 1926, actor and comedian Don Rickles was born.
  • In 1935, actress and dancer Salome Jens was born. She is potentially best known as the female Founder leader on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
  • In 1940, author and screenwriter Peter Benchley was born. If you know of Jaws, The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark, you know of Peter Benchley.
  • In 1958, Dracula was released. The film starred Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire, was directed by Terence Fisher, and is the first Hammer Horror film released.
  • In 1964, actor and director Melissa Gilbert was born.
  • In 1975, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor Enrique Iglesias was born.
  • In 1976, the rollercoaster The New Revolution opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was the first steel coaster with a vertical loop.
  • In 1978, the first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen occurred. The ascent was conducted by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
  • In 1980, the World Health Organization confirmed the eradication of smallpox.
  • In 1981, actor Stephen Amell was born.

 

May 8 is Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day.

It is the anniversary of the formal acceptance of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces during World War II on May 8, 1945. This event marked the end of World War II in Europe.

VE Day is celebrated across the Western European states on 8 May, with several countries observing public holidays on the day each year. The holidays are known as Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day, or simply Victory Day.

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the western world, especially in the United Kingdom and North America. More than one million people celebrated in the streets throughout the United Kingdom, and crowds massed in London’s Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. There, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the palace before the cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander incognito among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.

In the United States, the victory celebrations coincided with President Harry Truman’s 61st birthday. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died less than a month earlier, stating that his only wish was “that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day”. Later that day, Truman said that the victory made it his most enjoyable birthday.

Celebrations took place in many American cities, especially in New York’s Times Square. The celebrations were tempered by Churchill’s and Truman’s warnings that the war with Japan was still looming.

May 8th has also been designated by the United Nations as the Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, an annual observance that pays tribute to the victims of World War II.

 

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 7

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 7, 2020
Day 128 of 366

 

May 7th is the 128th day of the year. It is World Password Day, a day to promote better password and security habits. It is typically observed on the first Thursday in May.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Packaging Design Day, National Paste-Up Day, National Barrier Awareness Day, and National Roast Leg of Lamb Day. Since it is the first Thursday in May, it is also simultaneously observed as the National Day of Prayer and the National Day of Reason.

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1697, Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) was destroyed by fire. It was replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
  • In 1824, the world premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony occurred in Vienna, Austria. The performance was conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
  • In 1833, German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms.
  • In 1840, Russian composer and educator Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born.
  • In 1846, the Cambridge Chronicle was published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper.
  • In 1864, the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide was launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England,. It was used to transport passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
  • In 1915, German submarine U-20 sank RMS Lusitania. 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, were killed in the attack, and public reaction to the sinking turned many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
  • In 1919, actress and Argentinian First Lady Eva Perón was born.
  • In 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, aircraft from the USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Yorktown (CV-5) attacked and sank the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō. The battle marked the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships.
  • In 1946, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering was founded. It would later be renamed as Sony.
  • In 1952, the concept of the integrated circuit was first published by Geoffrey Dummer. The concept was the basis for all modern computers.
  • In 1992, the Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched on mission STS-49. It was the first for the orbiter, which was a replacement for the Space Shuttle Challenger.
  • In 1997, The Fifth Element premiered. At the time, it was the most expensive European film ever made.

 

In 1895, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrated his invention to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society in Saint Petersburg.

The Popov lightning detector used a coherer to detect radio noise from lightning strikes, making it the world’s first radio receiver, albeit a primitive one. Popov was able to use his experience as a teacher at a Russian naval school to explore high-frequency electrical phenomena. A year later, he was able to transmit radio signals 250 meters between different campus buildings.

As a result, May 7th is celebrated in parts of the Russian Federation as Radio 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.

 

 

Timestamp #202: Midnight

Michael Falkner8 Comments

Doctor Who: Midnight
(1 episode, s04e10, 2008)

 

All that glitters is death.

It’s time for a vacation. The Doctor wants to visit a sapphire waterfall, but Donna wants nothing more than to lounge poolside with drinks and sunbathing (in X-tonic radiation with is immediately lethal without proper shielding). So, the Doctor goes alone. What could possibly go wrong?

The Doctor ends up on a tour bus of sorts, traveling four hours each direction with a cheerful allons-y. His fellow passengers include the Cane family – Val, Biff, and their bored teenage son Jethro –Professor Hobbes and his assistant Dee Dee Blasco, and recently-divorced businesswoman Sky Silvestry. The bus is a little empty and will be taking a slight detour because of a diamond fall on the normal path.

It’s also annoying as hell due to every entertainment option playing at the same time, but a subtle wave of the sonic screwdriver results in silence that the Doctor fills with small talk amongst the captive crowd. Among other things, we find out that there was no life on Midnight before the leisure resort arrived.

The trip is delayed while the bus experiences mechanical problems. The Doctor uses his psychic paper to access the control compartment and assess the situation. A rescue truck is on the way, and the Doctor convinces the drivers to open the window for a couple of minutes to take in the breathtaking view. The mechanic spots an odd shadow before the shields are restored and the Doctor is sent back to his seat.

The passengers start to speculate on the problem, but it soon rises into a panic. The Doctor calls for silence, but the calm is broken by a knocking on the hull. The silence becomes deafening as terror takes hold and panic rises again. The knocking moves around to each of the airlocks, mimicking Biff and the Doctor as they knock in return.

It intensifies, knocking the bus around as Sky screams that it is coming for her. The lights go out and the entertainment system comes on briefly – Rose Tyler (“I had a friend who went a different universe.”) screams silently as the screen goes out again – before the chaos settles. Sky is cowering in her seat, which is dismantled, and the cockpit is missing. The drivers are dust and only a single door shields the passengers from the lethal radiation. The control circuits in the bus have also been severed.

The Doctor tries talking to Sky, but she’s not herself anymore. She echoes every word that the passengers say and moves with bird-like precision, almost as if she’s absorbing everything around her. Panic rises again and the cacophony of repetition becomes unbearable. It ends as the backup power systems engage.

Sky has moved from repetition to predictive mimicry. The Doctor settles the passengers and then continues his examination of Sky. Jethro and the Doctor both conclude that Sky is not Sky anymore. The Doctor moves everyone else to the back of the bus and asks them for patience over the next fifty minutes as they wait for rescue.

The tour attendant suggests throwing Sky off the bus, which Professor Hobbes continues to believe is a lifeless planet beyond. The passengers start to follow that path of logic, but the Doctor vehemently protests. The passengers turn on him as their hysteria and paranoia rise, picking apart his alien nature and threatening to throw him out as well. They demand to know his name but don’t accept the “John Smith” pseudonym.

The mood is broken as Jethro notices a change in Sky’s demeanor. She’s only copying the Doctor now, and he’s intrigued that she’s chosen his voice… or perhaps, his cleverness. She advances to predicting his voice, and as Sky comes back to life (but still not as herself), the Doctor becomes more and more rigid.

Sky asks the professor to help her up as the Doctor remains behind. Sky appears to have returned to normal, and soon rallies the passengers to turn against him. Dee Dee thinks that Sky is still the intruder, but the rest of the passengers are fully onboard with the whispers. Sky orders the Doctor’s execution and Biff and the professor try to drag him to the airlock.

The tour attendant realizes that Sky is talking with the Doctor’s voice when she uses his odd phrases – allons-y and molto bene – and takes action to save the Doctor’s life. She wraps Sky in a hug and activates the cockpit door, blowing the two of them into the diamond death beyond.

The passengers calm down as they realize what came over them and what they were about to do. As the rescue vehicle approaches, the Doctor asks what the hostess’s name was. None of them know.

The Doctor returns to Donna and suggests that the resort will have to move, leaving Midnight to spin in silence. Donna says that she cannot imagine the Doctor without a voice, and he replies with a forced smile and a molto bene. Donna repeats it, but that’s just too much for him to bear.

 

This is one creepy, edge-of-the-seat episode. It’s a “companion-lite” story, which is a first for the franchise. We’ve been down the road of stories without companions and stories without the Doctor before, but this is a milestone of sorts. It’s also a TARDIS-free episode, which is a bit more common in the franchise — Mission to the Unknown, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Mind of Evil, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Sontaran Experiment, and Genesis of the Daleks — but is a first for the revival era.

Finally, it is the first televised story in franchise history that does not reveal the villain.

The Medusa Cascade gets another mention after The Fires of Pompeii and The Sontaran Stratagem, this time in concert with the names Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, and Donna Noble.

The guest stars did a considerable amount of the dramatic lifting in this one, and while they were all amazing, two stood out. First, Jethro was played by Colin Morgan, who shocked me as a moody teenager since the last time I saw him was as a wide-eyed innocent sorcerer in Merlin. Second Professor Hobbes was portrayed by David Troughton, son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, and a Doctor Who alumni in his own right from The Enemy of the World, The War Games, and The Curse of Peladon.

All of that just adds spice to an excellent and thought-provoking tale.

 

 

Rating: 5/5 – “Fantastic!”

 

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Turn Left

 

 

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 6

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May 6, 2020
Day 127 of 366

 

May 6th is the 127th day of the year. It is the first day of Hıdırellez, a celebration of spring in Turkey that commemorates the day on which the Prophets Hızır (Al-Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on Earth.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Nurses Day, National Beverage Day, National Crepe Suzette Day, National Bike To School Day (a day that changes annually), National School Nurse Day (the Wednesday of National Nurses Week), and National Skilled Trades Day (the first Wednesday in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1527, Spanish and German troops sacked Rome. This date is considered to be the end of the Renaissance.
  • In 1782, construction began on the Grand Palace at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. It would be the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok.
  • In 1856, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was born.
  • In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
  • In 1915, Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run. He was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at this point in time, and this home run was the first of the 714 he hit during his record-setting career.
  • Also in 1915, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Orson Welles was born.
  • In 1940, John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
  • In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
  • In 1960, more than 20 million viewers watched the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
  • In 1961, actor George Clooney was born.
  • In 1983, actress Adrianne Palicki was born.
  • In 1994, The Channel Tunnel was opened, linking France and the United Kingdom under the English Channel. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiated the event.

 

In 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Thirty-six people were killed in the incident, including 13 passengers, 22 crewmen, and one observer on the ground. The disaster was the subject of newsreel coverage, photographs, and announcer Herbert Morrison’s recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day.

The cause of the accident is unknown, but a variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. Speculation for the cause includes sabotage, a static spark that ignited the hydrogen in the gas volume, a lightning strike, and potential engine failure upon docking. The fuel for the fire that consumed the ship has been speculated as well, from the hydrogen in the gaseous volume, incendiary paint in the superstructure, and an undetected fuel leak.

The event shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era.

 

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 5

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

May 5, 2020
Day 126 of 366

 

May 5th is the 126th day of the year. It is the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, starting from the equinox and headed toward the solstice.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Astronaut Day, National Cartoonists Day, National Silence the Shame Day, National Totally Chipotle Day, National Hoagie Day, National Foster Care Day (the first Tuesday in May), and National Teacher Appreciation Day (the Tuesday of the first full week in May).

 

Historical items of note:

  • In 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman awarded a United States patent. It was for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
  • In 1835, the first railway in continental Europe opened between Brussels and Mechelen.
  • In 1865, the Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia at the end of the American Civil War.
  • In 1866, Memorial Day was first celebrated in the United States at Waterloo, New York.
  • In 1891, the Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) had its grand opening and first public performance. The guest conductor was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
  • In 1905, the trial in the Stratton Brothers case began in London, England. It was notable for being the first time that fingerprint evidence was used to gain a conviction for murder.
  • In 1937, English musician, arranger, and composer Delia Derbyshire was born. She arranged the theme music for Doctor Who.
  • In 1940, actor Lance Henriksen was born.
  • In 1942, actor Marc Alaimo was born.
  • In 1943, actor and comedian Michael Palin was born.
  • In 1944, actor and screenwriter John Rhys-Davies was born.
  • In 1957, actor, director, and screenwriter Richard E. Grant was born.
  • In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space. Part of Project Mercury, the Freedom 7 mission was a sub-orbital flight.
  • In 1962, the West Side Story soundtrack album went to #1 on the music charts and stayed there for 54 weeks. That set a new record with more than 20 weeks longer than any other album.
  • In 1983, actor Henry Cavill was born.
  • In 1988, singer-songwriter Adele was born.

 

May 5th is known as Cinco de Mayo. In 1862, the Mexican Army defeated the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla.

Under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza, the victory of the smaller Mexican force against a larger French force was a boost to morale for the Mexicans. The victory was bittersweet since Zaragoza died months after the battle due to illness and a year after the battle, a larger French force defeated the Mexican army at the Second Battle of Puebla. Mexico City soon fell to the invaders.

In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial. The city of Puebla marks the event with an arts festival, a festival of local cuisine, and re-enactments of the battle.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. The day is far more popular in the United States and has become associated with a celebration of Mexican-American culture. These celebrations began in California, starting annually observations in 1863. The day gained nationwide popularity in the 1980s thanks especially to advertising campaigns by beer and wine companies, leading to beer sales now on par with the Super Bowl.

Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day. That being the most important national holiday in Mexico, it is celebrated on September 16 and commemorates the Cry of Dolores, which initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain.

 

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 – May the Conference Be With You

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
May the Conference Be With You
May 4, 2020

I’m a little early this week, but for this purely made-up internet holiday for one of my favorite franchises, I thought I’d tie my “can’t let it go” to the pandemic.

If you’re still sheltered for the pandemic like I am, the folks at Lucasfilm have a solution to add a little flair to your teleconferences. They have offered up a gallery of images to use as your background on Zoom (or other compatible video conferences) to give your meeting a little GFFA style. Simply click on one of the pictures at the blog post to expand it to full resolution, save it to your computer or device, and follow the instructions in your video conferencing software to set your new office far far away.

Source: Join Meetings from a Galaxy Far, Far Away with These Star Wars Backgrounds via StarWars.com (April 16, 2020)

I’m partial to the classic background paintings like Bespin and Tatooine, but the dusty solitude of Jakku and the busy cityscape of Coruscant also tickle my fancy. You can go to a Rebel or Resistance base, call in from the bridge of a Star Destroyer, or even give a project status update from the winter wonderland of Hoth.

Despite being physically separated during the pandemic (depending on your locale), I hope that this adds a little bit of Star Wars joy to your fan festivities.
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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.