The Thing About Today – April 15

April 15, 2020April 14, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 15, 2020
Day 106 of 366

April 15th is the 106th day of the year. It is Jackie Robinson Day in the United States, commemorating the day that the first black major league baseball player made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended 80 years of color segregation in the league. If Major League Baseball was playing today, you would see the players and umpires all sporting the number 42 in Robinson’s honor.

Today is typically Tax Day in the United States, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, you have until July 15th to file this year.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Glazed Spiral Ham Day, National Rubber Eraser Day, National Take a Wild Guess Day, and National Titanic Remembrance Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1452, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect Leonardo da Vinci was born.
In 1469, Guru Nanak was born. He was the first Sikh guru.
In 1707, Swiss mathematician and physicist Leonhard Euler was born.
In 1736, the Kingdom of Corsica was founded.
In 1738, the Italian opera Serse by George Frideric Handel premiered in London, England.
In 1755, Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language was published in London.
In 1783, the preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War were ratified.
In 1817, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf. Established in Hartford, Connecticut, it was the first American school for deaf students.
In 1892, the General Electric Company was formed.
In 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survived.
In 1922, actor Michael Ansara was born.
In 1923, insulin became generally available for use by people with diabetes.
In 1924, Rand McNally published its first road atlas.
In 1933, actress Elizabeth Montgomery was born.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
In 1948, composer Michael Kamen was born.
In 1955, Ray Kroc opened a McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, effective founding the franchise.
In 1959, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter Emma Thompson was born.
In 1960, Ella Baker led a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina that resulted in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That group was one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
In 1962, voice actor Tom Kane was born.
In 1990, actress Emma Watson was born.
In 1992, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
In 1997, actress Maisie Williams was born.
In 2019, the Notre Dame Cathedral fire was ignited, severely damaging the historic structure.

April 15th is observed as World Art Day, an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA) in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide.

The date was decided in honor of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, who was chosen as a symbol world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood, and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.

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 – April 14

April 14, 2020April 13, 2020 Michael Falkner1 Comment

April 14, 2020
Day 105 of 366

April 14th is the 105th day of the year. It would be the first day of Takayama Spring Festival in Takayama, Gifu, Japan.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Dolphin Day, National Ex Spouse Day, National Gardening Day, National Pecan Day, National Reach as High as You Can Day, and Look up at the Sky Day.

Historical items of note:

In 43 BC, the Battle of Forum Gallorum occurred. Mark Antony, besieging Caesar’s assassin Decimus Brutus in Mutina, defeated the forces of the consul Pansa. He was then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius.
In 1561, a celestial phenomenon was reported over Nuremberg. It was described as an aerial battle.
In 1775, the first abolition society in North America was established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
In 1828, Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary.
In 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. He died from his wounds the next day.
In 1894, the first-ever commercial motion picture house was opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.
In 1902, James Cash Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
In 1912, the British passenger liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. It sank overnight.
In 1929, television producer Gerry Anderson was born.
In 1939, The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, was first published.
In 1949, actor John Shea was born.
In 1958, the Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 fell from orbit after 162 days. It was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika, but she did not survive the journey.
Also in 1958, actor Peter Capaldi was born. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who.
In 1961, actor Robert Carlyle was born.
In 1968, actor Anthony Michael Hall was born.
In 1977, actress and producer Sarah Michelle Gellar was born.
In 1996, actress Abigal Breslin was born.
In 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

April 14th is observed as Pan American Day, a holiday that commemorates the First International Conference of American States. That conference concluded on April 14, 1890, and created the International Union of American Republics, the forerunner to the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS works toward solidarity and cooperation among states in the Western Hemisphere.

Inspired by the idea of a Panamerica, United States Secretary of State James G. Blane first developed the concept of an International Conference for the Western Hemisphere. The idea took nearly a decade to bear fruit, but the resulting conference covered a large variety of subjects from currency and banking to military and trade.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover declared the first official National Pan American Day to be observed on April 14th. Before that proclamation, Pan American Day celebrations took place on various days throughout the year and across the country, including cultural events and festivals celebrating the Western Hemisphere and the whole of the North and South American continents.

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 – April 13

April 13, 2020April 12, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 13, 2020
Day 104 of 366

April 13th is the 104th day of the year. It is Teacher’s Day in Ecuador.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Make Lunch Count Day, National Peach Cobbler Day, and National Scrabble Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1743, United States Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was born. He was the third President of the United States.
In 1870, the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded.
In 1892, Robert Watson-Watt was born. He was the Scottish engineer who invented radar.
In 1906, Samuel Beckett was born. He was an Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and Nobel Prize laureate.
In 1935, actor Lyle Waggoner was born.
In 1942, composer and conductor Bill Conti was born.
In 1943, the discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre during World War II was announced. This caused a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London from the Soviet Union, which denied responsibility.
Also in 1943, the Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
In 1950, actor Ron Perlman was born.
In 1951, actor Peter Davison was born. He portrayed the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who.
In 1953, Central Intelligence Agency director Allen Dulles launched the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
In 1960, the United States launched Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
In 1964, at the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
In 1970, an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module exploded, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module Odyssey while en route to the Moon.
In 1972, the Battle of An Lộc began during the Vietnam War. The battle lasted 66 days.
In 1976, the United States Treasury Department reintroduced the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
In 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.

In 1742, George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah made its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.

Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter, the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer.

The text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ. Part I begins with prophecies by Isaiah and others before moving to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only “scene” taken from the Gospels. Part II concentrates on the Passion and ends with the “Hallelujah” chorus. Part III covers the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s glorification in heaven.

The initial composition was modest, but over time it has been adapted for larger and more powerful orchestras, particularly by Mozart.

After its Dublin premiere, it moved to London nearly a year later. The initial public reception was modest, but the oratorio gained popularity and has become one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

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 – April 12

April 12, 2020April 11, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 12, 2020
Day 103 of 366

April 12th is the 103rd day of the year. It is Easter Sunday, a Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day following his crucifixion. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by the 40-day Lenten period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

The holiday is also marked by the coloring and hunting of Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, gift-giving, and biting the ears off of chocolate rabbits. It was on an Easter Sunday in the early ’90s that I received my first Star Wars novel, and my life hasn’t been the same since.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National For Twelves Day, National Big Wind Day, National Colorado Day, National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, and National Licorice Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1606, The Union Flag was adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
In 1916, author Beverly Cleary was born.
In 1934, the strongest surface wind gust in the world (at the time) was measured at the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Wind speed was measured at 231 miles per hour, but has since been surpassed.
In 1936, actor Charles Napier was born.
In 1945, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office. Vice President Harry S. Truman became the thirty-third President of the United States upon succession.
In 1947, comedian and talk show host David Letterman was born.
In 1955, the polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was declared safe and effective.
In 1971, actress, director, and producer Shannen Doherty was born.
Also in 1971, actor Nicholas Brendon was born.
In 1979, actress Claire Daines was born.
Also in 1979, actress Jennifer Morrison was born.
In 1981, the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia occurred on mission STS-1.
In 1983, Harold Washington was elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
In 1992, the Euro Disney Resort officially opened with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and park names were later changed to Disneyland Paris.
In 1994, actress Saoirse Ronan was born.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space. He performed the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.

The flight consisted of a single orbit around the planet, spanning 108 minutes in total. Gagarin returned to the surface after ejecting from his capsule at 23,000 feet.

Gagarin was a Soviet Air Forces pilot who almost failed his initial flight training until his instructor provided him a cushion to help him see better from the cockpit. He expressed interest in the space program after the launch of Luna 3 in October 1959 and was selected in 1960.

In commemoration of his flight, the day is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day in Russia and as both Yuri’s Night and the International Day of Human Space Flight 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.

The Thing About Today – April 11

April 11, 2020April 10, 2020 Michael Falkner1 Comment

April 11, 2020
Day 102 of 366

April 11th is the 102nd day of the year. It is World Parkinson’s Day, observed in honor of Dr. James Parkinson, the English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, paleontologist, and political activist who first described the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in his 1817 An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Barber Shop Quartet Day, National Cheese Fondue Day, National Eight Track Tape Day, National Pet Day, and National Submarine Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1727, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b premiered at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.
In 1755, Dr. James Parkinson was born.
In 1881, Spelman College was founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary. It was designed as an institute of higher education for African-American women.
In 1940, author and screenwriter Thomas Harris was born. His most famous character is Hannibal Lecter.
In 1951, The Stone of Scone was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It was the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned and had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
In 1970, Apollo 13 was launched with astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. aboard. It was meant to be the third manned mission to the lunar surface, but the mission was aborted when an oxygen tank in the service module failed two days into the mission.
In 1974, actress Tricia Helfer was born.
In 2012, The Avengers premiered in Los Angeles, marking a major milestone for Marvel Studios and superhero cinema.

In 1900, the United States Navy took possession of the first modern submarine, the USS Holland (SS-1).

The first military submarine of the United States fleet was the Turtle from 1775, but the Holland was the first modern commissioned submarine, purchased for $150,000. She was commissioned on October 12, 1900, with Lieutenant Harry H. Caldwell in command. She was propelled by a gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a 66-cell battery with a maximum speed of 6 knots.

The Holland was the fourth submarine to be owned by the Navy, preceded by Alligator, Intelligent Whale, and Plunger. That last one became the namesake for the second commissioned boat, USS Plunger (SS-2).

Most of Holland‘s service life was spent in experimentation and training. She was decommissioned on July 17, 1905, and sold as scrap for $100, but her legacy lives on as she started an unbroken chain of United States submarines that continues to this day. Her success was also instrumental in the founding of the Electric Boat Company, now known as the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation.

As a result of the Navy’s purchase of the USS Holland, today is recognized as National Submarine Day by certain circles of veterans. In 1969, Senator Thomas J. Dodd of Connecticut introduced a bill to designate April 11th as National Submarine Day, but no record of a proclamation from President Richard Nixon has been found.

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 – April 10

April 10, 2020April 8, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 10, 2020
Day 101 of 366

April 10th is the 101st day of the year. It is International Siblings Day.

It is also Good Friday, a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week, preceding Easter Sunday, and coincides this year with Passover.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Cinnamon Crescent Day, Encourage a Young Writer Day, and National Farm Animals Day.

Historical items of note:

In 837, Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 3.2 million miles.
In 1710, the Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, came into force in Great Britain.
In 1886, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
In 1872, the first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska.
In 1912, RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England on her maiden voyage. It would also be her only voyage.
In 1915, actor Harry Morgan was born.
In 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published in New York City.
In 1929, actor Max Von Sydow was born.
In 1954, actor Peter MacNicol was born.
In 1963, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) was lost at sea. One hundred twenty-nine sailors were lost when key systems failed during deep-diving tests. The incident was the first loss of a nuclear submarine in history, and resulted in the development of the SUBSAFE program, a rigorous submarine safety maintenance standard.
In 1970, Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
In 1971, in an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosted the United States table tennis team for a week-long visit.
In 1975, actor David Harbour was born.
In 1982, actress and singer Chyler Leigh was born.
In 1984, actress and singer Mandy Moore was born.
In 1988, actor Haley Joel Osment was born.
In 1992, actress Daisy Ridley was born.
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was signed in Northern Ireland. The pair of agreements ended most of the violence of the Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had been ongoing since the 1960s.
In 2019, scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announced the first-ever image of a black hole, located in the center of the M87 galaxy.

This year, April 10th is the National Day of Silence.

National Day of Silence in April is a student-led movement to protest bullying and harassment of LGBTQIA+ students and those who support them. The observance brings awareness and illustrates to schools and colleges how intimidation, name-calling, and general bullying has a silencing effect. Participating students take a day-long vow of silence.

Bullying and harassment come in several forms, from verbal and physical to damage to property, manipulation, intimidation, and long-term micro-aggressions that build over time. Whether it comes in a physical or verbal form, both are harmful and leave lasting damage.

No matter the form, the effects on the individual and surrounding community can be destructive. It behooves us all to fight against bullying and harassment for the safety and health of our communities overall.

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 – April 9

April 9, 2020April 8, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 9, 2020
Day 100 of 366

April 9th is the 100th day of the year. It is National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day in the United States.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Cherish an Antique Day, National Chinese Almond Cookie Day, National Name Yourself Day, National Unicorn Day, National Winston Churchill Day, and National Alcohol Screening Day. The last one is typically observed on Thursday of the first full week in April.

Historical items of note:

In 1784, the Treaty of Paris was ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It has previously been ratified by the United States Congress on January 14th, and the document formally ended the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents would be exchanged on May 12th.
In 1860, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville made the oldest known recording of an audible human voice on his phonautograph machine.
In 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia (nearly 27,000 strong) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This action effectively ended the American Civil War.
In 1937, Canadian screenwriter and producer Marty Krofft was born.
In 1945, the United States Atomic Energy Commission was formed.
In 1947, the Journey of Reconciliation began through the upper American South. It was the first interracial Freedom Ride and took place in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court’s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
In 1959, NASA announced the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, and Scott Carpenter. They were quickly dubbed as the “Mercury Seven”.
In 1979, actress Keshia Knight Pulliam was born.
In 1991, Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union.

In 1939, African-American singer Marian Anderson gave a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused permission for Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. At the time, Washington, D.C., was a segregated city and black patrons were upset that they had to sit at the back of Constitution Hall. The venue also did not have the segregated public bathrooms required by DC law at the time for such events. The District of Columbia Board of Education also declined a request to use the auditorium of a white public high school.

The incident thrust her into the spotlight of the international community on a level unusual for a classical musician.

Charles Edward Russell, a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and chair of the DC citywide Inter-Racial Committee, convened a meeting the next day and formed the Marian Anderson Citizens Committee (MACC) composed of several dozen organizations, church leaders and individual activists in the city. The committee elected Charles Hamilton Houston as its chairman and on February 20, the group picketed the board of education, collected signatures on petitions, and planned a mass protest at the next board of education meeting.

As a result of the ensuing furor, thousands of DAR members, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, resigned from the organization. Roosevelt wrote: “I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist … You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed.”

With the aid of the First Lady and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the capital. She sang before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.

Two months later, in conjunction with the 30th NAACP conference in Richmond, Virginia, Eleanor Roosevelt gave a speech on national radio and presented Anderson with the 1939 Spingarn Medal for distinguished achievement.

Anderson continued to break barriers for black artists in the United States, becoming the first black person, American or otherwise, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 7, 1955. Her performance as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at the Met was the only time she sang an opera role on stage.

She worked for several years as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and as a “goodwill ambassadress” for the United States Department of State. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Among her various awards and honors, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.

She died on April 8, 1993, at the age of 96.

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 – April 8

April 8, 2020April 7, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 8, 2020
Day 99 of 366

April 8th is the ninety-ninth day of the year. It is International Romani Day, which is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National All is Ours Day, National Empanada Day, and National Zoo Lovers Day.

The Jewish holiday of Passover (or Pesach) begins tonight and runs until the evening of April 16th.

Historical items of note:

In 1730, Shearith Israel was dedicated. It was the first synagogue in New York City.
In 1820, the Venus de Milo was discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
In 1904, Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan was renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
In 1906, Auguste Deter died. She was the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
In 1913, The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution became law. It requires the direct election of Senators rather than relying on the states to nominate their own.
In 1955, actor and stuntman Kane Hodder was born. He’s probably best known for his five-time portrayal of Jason Vorhees in the Friday the 13th film franchise.
In 1959, a team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper met to discuss the creation of a new programming language. It would come to be called COBOL.
In 1960, actor and singer John Schneider was born.
In 1966, actor, producer, and director Robin Wright was born.
In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run (at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium) to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
In 1980, actress Katee Sackhoff was born.
In 1992, retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announced that he has AIDS, which he acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
In 2008, the construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines was completed in Bahrain.

April 8th is celebrated as National All Is Ours Day.

The day takes observers along three views to appreciation.

The first approach can be looked at as a time to reflect on all of the beauty of nature and all the wonderful things in life. It can be as simple as observing the variety of birds that inhabit your local ecosystem or discovering what a local park or trail system has to offer. Basically, taking in your surroundings is the gift.

The second way to celebrate is by appreciating everything we have. This approach encourages thought about what we do have and avoiding thinking about the things we do not have.

The third approach is sharing all that we have. Many of the things that we have gain value by sharing the experiences and the memories associated with them. The greatest times and the greatest things in life are those that are shared.

The origins and creator of this holiday are unknown, but the sentiment is one that I appreciate and enjoy. Despite our current world crisis, we can still find creative ways to celebrate it.

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 – April 7

April 7, 2020April 6, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 7, 2020
Day 98 of 366

April 7th is the ninety-eighth day of the year. It is Genocide Memorial Day in Rwanda, as well as the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide as established by the United Nations. The Rwandan genocide was a mass slaughter of Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutu between April 7 and July 15, 1994, during the Rwandan Civil War. The massacre was perpetrated by the Hutu government and related militias, and the attacks were racially motivated. Estimates of those murdered range between 500,000 and 1,074,016.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Beer Day, National Coffee Cake Day, National Girl Me Too Day, and National No Housework Day. It is also recognized as the SAAM Day of Action, a day during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) to stop sexual assault, harassment, and abuse before they happen through education. The day is typically observed on the first Tuesday in April.

Historical items of note:

In 529, the first draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis – recognized as a fundamental work in jurisprudence – was issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
In 1141, Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title “Lady of the English”.
In 1724, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, BWV 245, held its premiere performance at St. Nicholas Church, in Leipzig, Germany.
In 1805, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Symphony premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria.
In 1827, English chemist John Walker sold the first friction match. He had invented the device in the previous year.
In 1906, Mount Vesuvius erupted and devastated Naples, Italy.
In 1915, singer-songwriter and actress Billie Holliday was born.
In 1927, the first long-distance public television broadcast occurred. It was from Washington, D.C., to New York City, and it displayed the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover.
In 1928, actor, singer, and producer James Garner was born.
In 1931, activist and author Daniel Ellsberg was born.
In 1933, the prohibition on alcohol in the United States was repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. Prohibition was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages starting in 1920 with the Eighteenth Amendment. The repeal happened eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment and is now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.
Also in 1933, actor Wayne Rogers was born. He played Captain “Trapper” John McIntyre on M*A*S*H.
In 1939, director, producer, and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola was born.
In 1940, Booker T. Washington became the first African-American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
In 1945, the battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, was sunk by American aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.
In 1946, special effects designer and makeup artist Stan Winston was born.
In 1949, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific opened on Broadway. It would run for 1,925 performances and win ten Tony Awards.
In 1954, martial artist, actor, stuntman, director, producer, and screenwriter Jackie Chan was born. (No, he doesn’t do all of his own stunts: Look up Mars (Cheung Wing-fat), one of Jackie Chan’s best friends, who was first credited as his stunt double in 1983’s Project A.)
In 1955, Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
In 1964, actor Russell Crowe was born.
In 1983, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson performed the first Space Shuttle spacewalk during Mission STS-6 on Challenger.
In 2001, Mars Odyssey was launched.

In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) was established by the United Nations. Its main objective is ensuring “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”

The WHO’s broad mandate includes advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting human health and well being. It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards and guidelines, and collects data on global health issues through the World Health Survey. Its flagship publication, the World Health Report, provides expert assessments of global health topics and health statistics on all nations. The WHO also serves as a forum for summits and discussions on health issues.

World Health Day, the celebration of the organization’s birthdate, is a global health awareness day sponsored by the WHO. The organization brings together international, regional and local events on the day related to a particular theme. World Health Day is acknowledged by various governments and non-governmental organizations with interests in public health issues, who also organize activities and highlight their support in media reports, such as the Global Health Council.

World Health Day is one of eight official global health campaigns marked by WHO, along with World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World AIDS Day, World Blood Donor Day, and World Hepatitis Day.

The theme for World Health Day 2020 is the support of nurses and midwives.

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 – April 6

April 6, 2020April 5, 2020 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

April 6, 2020
Day 97 of 366

April 6th is the ninety-seventh day of the year. It is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), an annual celebration of the power of sport to drive social change, community development and to foster peace and understanding. The date was chosen to commemorate the inauguration of the first Olympic Games of the modern era, which took place in Athens, Greece in 1896.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Caramel Popcorn Day, New Beer’s Eve, National Sorry Charlie Day, National Student-Athlete Day, National Tartan Day, and National Teflon Day.

Historical items of note:

In 1320, the Scots reaffirmed their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
In 1652, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope. It eventually became Cape Town.
In 1712, the New York Slave Revolt began near Broadway.
In 1808, John Jacob Astor incorporated the American Fur Company. The company would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
In 1861, the first performance of Arthur Sullivan’s incidental music for The Tempest debuted. It was a success, and led to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
In 1869, celluloid was patented.
In 1889, George Eastman began selling his Kodak flexible rolled film for the first time.
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was arrested in the Cadogan Hotel in London after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece. This was 1,500 years after the original games were banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany in World War I.
In 1929, film composer and pianist André Previn was born.
In 1937, actor Billy Dee Williams was born.
In 1947, the first Tony Awards were presented for theatrical achievement.
Also in 1947, actor and director John Ratzenberger was born.
In 1953, Scottish composer Patrick Doyle was born.
In 1965, Early Bird was launched. It was the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
In 1969, actor Paul Rudd was born.
In 1973, the Pioneer 11 spacecraft was launched.
In 1974, the Swedish pop band ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”. This moment launched their international career.
In 1975, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Zach Braff was born.
In 2009, the Star Trek reboot film directed by J. J. Abrams premiered in Austin, Texas.

The Declaration of Arbroath – Declaration o Aiberbrothock in Scots, Declaratio Arbroathis in Latin, and Tiomnadh Bhruis in Scottish Gaelic – was the declaration of Scottish independence on April 6, 1320.

It was sent in the form of a letter in Latin to Pope John XXII to confirm Scotland’s status as an independent, sovereign state and defending Scotland’s right to use military action when unjustly attacked. Generally believed to have been written in the Arbroath Abbey by Bernard of Kilwinning, then Chancellor of Scotland and Abbot of Arbroath, and sealed by fifty-one magnates and nobles, the letter is the sole survivor of three created at the time.

The others were a letter from the King of Scots, Robert I, and a letter from four Scottish bishops which all made similar points.

National Tartan Day is a North American celebration of Scottish heritage, set on the date upon which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed. It originated in Canada in the mid-1980s. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s.

This year Scots would be celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath with events of various kinds, but the COVID-19 pandemic will likely result in multiple cancellations.

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

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

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