January 2, 2017 Open Thread; National Science Fiction Day
January 2 is the 2nd day of the year. There are 363 days left.
Today's number is 2
2 is the smallest even integer, and defines the even integers (they are those divisible by 2)
Finite multiples of 2 must end in 2, 4, 6, 8, or 0
If the last digit of a whole number is evenly divisible by 2, then the entire number is
2 is the first and smallest prime number
2 is the only even prime number
2 is the third Fibonacci number (1, 1, 2)
Ordinary fractions with 2 for a denominator will not result in an infinite decimal expansion
2 is the base of the binary number system
One can readily count to 1023 in binary in one pass on one's fingers & thumbs
2 is unique in that 2+2 = 2x2 = 2 squared
Powers of two play a significant role in computer programming and computer science
2 is central to the definition of Mersenne Primes (primes that are one less than a power of two)
The square root of 2 is the length of the diagonal of a unit square
2 is Helium
2 is the atomic mass of deuterium
Group 2 of the periodic table is the alkaline earths; its elements usually have a valence of 2
2 appears twice in R2D2.
It takes 2 to Tango
TITLE 2 of the U.S. Code is THE CONGRESS
2 BCE was the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Silvanus.
Emperor Augustus was proclaimed Pater Patriae
The Aqua Alsietina Roman aqueduct was constructed.
2 CE was the Year of the Consulship of Vinicius and Varus (which Varus is a tad unclear, however)
Publius Alfenus Varus, whoever that may have been, was the consul above, not Varus the Butcher.
Tiberius was allowed to return to Rome
Gaius Caesar signed a treaty with the Parthians who agreed to recognize Roman Claims to Armenia.
In China, Wang Mang, known for having but one wife, Lady Wang, embarked on a course of further personal aggrandisement.
The first Chinese census was completed, showing almost 60 million Chinese
Did somebody say Armenia?
On this day in:
0366 -- The Alemanni invaded the Roman Empire.
0533 -- Mercurius became "Pope John II", the first pope to use an alias
1492 -- The Emirate of Granada surrendered
1920 -- The 2nd Palmer Raid saw 6,000 leftys arrested without cause and held without trial.
1967 -- Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California
2016 -- Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr & 46 others were executed by the Saudis for demanding rights for Saudi Shias.
Born this day in:
1836 -- Queen Emma of Hawaii
1901 -- Bob Marshall, co-founder of The Wilderness Society
1914 -- Kenny Clarke, drummer and composer who popularized the ride cymbal for keeping time.
1918 -- Beatrice Hicks, engineer & co-founder of the Society of Women Engineers
1920 -- Isaac Asimov, chemist, author, and academic
1937 -- Martin Lauer, German runner and journalist
1938 -- Lynn Conway, transgender activist, engineer, inventor and computer scientist
1938 -- Dana Ulery, computer scientist
1956 -- Lynda Barry, cartoonist and author
1986 -- Trombone Shorty, musician & composer
Died this day in:
1892 -- George Biddell Airy, mathematician and astronomer known for his disks.
2012 -- Larry Reinhardt, guitarist
2016 -- Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian Shia Cleric
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such:
National Science Fiction Day (US)
National Creampuff Day (US)
So, for music
Two
Trombone Shorty
Larry Reinhardt
2 good men
Love Me Two Times
It takes Two
2 (Plus) 2=?
Topsy Part 2
Two Hearts
Two Tickets to Paradise
Two of Us
2000 light years from home
2 lovers
2 Steps Away
The Entertainer, a Rag Time Two Step
Louisiana Two Step
Spanish Two Step
New SpanishTwo Step
Texas Two Step
Two Steps From The Blues
Trombone Shorty
Larry Reinhardt
OK, what's on your minds?
Bonus tune(s): Some Twopelo honey
Comments
Good morning...
Thank you for your 2 cents on 2, el!
(More than 2 cents worth but I had to say that.)
Good morning, OLinda, thanks for stopping in.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
How about tea for two?
(4 min)
"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar. Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and Broadway producer. Vincent Youmans died of tuberculosis at age 47, in Denver, Colorado. In 1970, Youmans was posthumusly inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WupsWuMHUg]
Stéphane Grappelli (26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardtin 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. He has been called "the grandfather of jazz violinists". This self-taught French musician is considered the greatest jazz violin virtuoso of all time. The Quintet of the Hot Club of France was made up of Stephane Grappelli on violin, Django Reinhardt on guitar, Joseph Reinhardt (Django's brother) and Roger Chaput on rhythm guitar, and Louis Vola on bass. The group started with jam sessions between sets at the Hotel Claridge in Paris where Stephane, Django, Roger and Louis were playing in a dance band at the time.
And another (perhaps even nicer) version with Django (3 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sNx8UaPW_c&spfreload=10]
Jean "Django"Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a Belgium-born French guitarist and composer of Romani ethnicity. Reinhardt is regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time; he was the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the guitar genre. After his fourth and fifth fingers were paralyzed when he suffered burns in a fire, Reinhardt used only the index and middle finger of his left hand on his solos. He created an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar), which has since become a living musical tradition within French Gypsyculture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz".
I hope your day is just two, too, to good to believe!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Can't say why, but I've never been a fan of Tea for Two,
though I'm definitely a Django fan.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Oh, Ar-men-I-nia
Somehow never got that that back in real time. Timely. Bitter days for me, every step should be fossilized. Or blown away, as on the beach. Like sand, for the slows.
Casually shopping for a cat to adopt. They are furniture-destroyers and bird-killers, why consider this now with a less than 1 year-old dog? Yes. I would prefer a kitten, but might consider a dog-friendly older from my SPCA. I know what cooperative behavior can accomplish behind human backs. They (dogs and cats) can be roaming gangs.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I don't know if the Who was making the Armenia connection
of not, but it gives me a chance to play that tune. Have a good year, even if you do choose to import a roaming gang into the house. We just figure that we never had a lot of nice things before, so we don't need them now either.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Happy 2
This means we have 18 days left until the world ends.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
The world never seems to end so much as reboot,
sometimes unchanged and sometimes with added malware. I figure that soon it will be possible for die-hard Democrats to start to see war, assassinations, regime change and extra-judicial killings as bad things and to learn to oppose them. Then maybe they can internalize that and act to prevent such wrongdoing no matter who is in charge.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Airy isostacy
Airy is also known for describing / explaining Airy isostacy, or isostatic rebound of the earth’s crust following the last (or previous) Ice Ages.
In some parts of the world the land masses are still rising relative to sea level, which could to some extent mitigate the effects of sea level rise (but not forever, because at some point the rebound will “overshoot” and begin to sink again.)
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.
Good morning, tapu, thanks for the information of the
Airy rebound.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
"You will be sterilized with fear" favorite sci-fi vid fun
Celebrating Science Fiction Day. Thanks.
The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra Trailer
Filmed in the miracle of Skeletorama rawr
Here be an Ode to BoJo, I did so enjoy MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
https://youtu.be/_EAXYH4b4yM?t=4m37s The words, any mistakes are mine:
Let's do Chuck! ;-D (shirley ellis - the name game)
No, no, no, no. We must put our faith in John:
you know, John Yaya, John Smallberries, John Bigbootie, et al.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Science Fiction seems like an oxymoron.
Science Fiction Day should not be January the Two. It should be May the Fourth.
Perhaps it should be called fictionalized science, or science
based fiction. May the Fourth celebrates something that comes fearfully close to being space opera, whilst, I suspect that 1/2 celebrates the immortal Asimov.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I saw the original Star Wars as
as an old time Western, set in space instead of in the Wild West of the US The good "guys" are good to the bone and the bad "guys" are bad to the bone and romantic love is alluded to briefly, but is not a central part of the film and we see very little of the physical side of love. There's a shootout and, the good guys win.
I didn't know Asimov was born on January 2. Thanks!