March 13, 2017 Open Thread; L Ron Hubbard's Birthday

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 5:00am

March 13 is the 72nd day of the year. There are 293 days left.

Today's number is 13

13 is
13 is a prime number, it is the 6th prime

13 is a Wilson Prime (see numberphile video)

13 is also a prime if the digits are reversed (31).

13 is a fibonacci number (0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13).

13 is the hypotenuse of a right traingle with sides of 5 & 12. 5, 12 & 13 can be used to test for right angles, like 3,4 & 5 can

There are 13 Archimedean Solids.

1/13 is the non-ending decimal 0.076923 with endless repetitions of 076923 thereafter

A deck of cards has 4 suits of 13 cards each.

The US was formed from 13 rebellious British Colonies

Title 13 of the US Code is CENSUS.

13 BCE
was the Year of the Consulship of Nero and Varus
Yep, that damn Varus again, Publius Quinctilius Varus. Ptui!

13 CE
was the Year of the Consulship of Silius and Plancus
One assumes that Silius was really played by John Cleese or Michael Palin
Strabo published a book on the shape of the Earth & Ovid published books 1-3 of his Epistulae ex Ponto.

On this day in:
0624 -- The Battle of Badr, known as the turning point of Islam.
1639 -- Harvard College was named
1697 -- The capital of the last independent Maya kingdom fell to the conquistadors.
1781 -- William Herschel discovered Uranus
1845 -- Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto premiered
1884 -- The Siege of Khartoum began
1897 -- San Diego State University was founded (originally San Diego State Collge)
1943 -- German forces liquidated the Jewish ghetto in Krakow.
1954 -- Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap began the Battle of Dien Bien Phu eventually resulting in a US invasion
1979 -- The New Jewel Movement staged a nearly bloodless coup in Grenada leading indirectly to the later US invasion
2013 -- Pope Francis was elected

Born this day in:

1593 -- Georges de La Tour, painter
1700 -- Michel Blavet, composer & flautist
1781 -- Karl Friedrich Schinkel, architect & painter
1855 -- Percival Lowell, astronomer & mathematician, founder of Lowell Observatory
1864 -- Alexej von Jawlensky, painter
1892 -- Janet Flanner, author & journalist
1902 -- Mohammed Abdel Wahab, singer and composer
1908 -- Walter Annenberg, publisher
1908 -- Myrtle Bachelder, chemist who worked on Mnhattan Project
1910 -- Sammy Kaye, saxophonist, bandleader & songwriter
1911 -- L. Ron Hubbard, author, con-man, nutbag & ""religious" leader", Xenu's gofer,
1913 -- William J. Casey, politician & spook
1921 -- Al Jaffee, cartoonist, most notably for MAD.
1925 -- Roy Haynes, drummer & composer
1929 -- Bunny Yeager, photographer & model
1930 -- Blue Mitchell, trumpet player
1932 -- Jan Howard, Opry singer
1933 -- Mike Stoller, songwriter & produce, especially with Jerry Lieber
1938 -- Erma Franklin, did original Piece of my Heart, Aretha's big sis.
1939 -- Neil Sedaka, pianist, singer, songwriter
1942 -- Scatman John, pianist, singer, songwriter
1950 -- Charles Krauthammer, physician & author
1951 -- Charo, singer and guitarist, Cuchi-Cuchi
1956 -- Jamie Dimon, uber capitalist, chief of shadow government of the USA
1960 -- Adam Clayton, U2 bassist
1962 -- Terence Blanchard, trumpet player, bandleader & composer
1966 -- Chico Science, singer, songwriter, founder of manquebeat
1975 -- Glenn Lewis, singer & songwriter

Died this day in:

1842 -- Henry Shrapnel, general, inventor of shrapnel
1906 -- Susan B. Anthony, activist
1938 -- Clarence Darrow, lawyer
1943 -- Stephen Vincent Benet, poet & author
1990 -- Bruno Bettelheim, quack & mis-educator, shrink
1998 -- Judge Dread, singer who holds record formost songs banned by the BBC
1999 -- Lee Falk, cartoonist, playwright, director & producer
2006 -- Robert C. Baker, anti-gastronome, inventor of the chicken (mc)nugget
2013 -- Cartha DeLoach, feeb, sleaze, Jedgar's gofer

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such:
L Ron Hubbard's Birthday (Scientology)

So, for music 
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Michel Blavet
Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Sammy Kaye
Roy Haynes
Blue Mitchell
Jan Howard
Mike Stoller
Erma Franklin
Neil Sedaka
Scatman John
Charo
Adam Clayton
Terence Blanchard
Chico Science
Glenn Lewis
Judge Dread




 -

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Michel Blavet

Mohammed Abdel Wahab

Sammy Kaye

Roy Haynes

Blue Mitchell

Jan Howard

Mike Stoller (got a couple of days, we can do a full retrospective)

Erma Franklin

Neil Sedaka

Scatman John

Charo

Adam Clayton

Terence Blanchard

Chico Science

Glenn Lewis

Judge Dread (not his forte, but safe for work)

OK, what's on your minds?

Bonus: Some Lieber & Stoller

Tags:

Open Thread

Badr

Harvard

Vote

Comments

Submitted by eyo on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 5:47am

13 to make magic

Only 3 to make a coven, 13 can make powerful magic. Merry meet, merry part.

Peace

Edit: it's deja vu all over again because I think I posted this last year?
Fibonacci's Fractals in five minutes. Love fractals.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 12:01pm

coven

@eyo

13 to make magic Only 3 to make a coven, 13 can make powerful magic. Merry meet, merry part.

Oh, you mean like Jesus and the 12 Apostles!

Think about it: all male, 12 coveners, one High Priest.....

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 12:46pm

Numberphile has a bunch of videos relating to fractals,

@eyo
3 that I recall have to do with the Mandlebrot set, the dragon curve, and sandpiles, but I'm sure that there are more or ones devoted to other topics that venture into fractals. A lot of series will relate to fractals.Then there's Sierpinski's triangle, a simple pen & paper "look ma, fractals" exercise.

—

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 --

Submitted by PriceRip on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 1:08pm

Vihart of the Khan Academy is my favorite.

@enhydra lutris

She has an attitude. I like math with an attitude.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 3:22pm

I especially liked her rant against Pi and in favor of Tau.

@PriceRip
I think that we should all celebrate June 28 as Tau day.

—

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 --

Submitted by HenryAWallace on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 7:53am

Abdul Wahab was a freak of nature.

He was a singer, composer and instrumentalist, playing several stringed instruments (and maybe the Middle Eastern drum--not sure). He also acted.

He composed a total of 1820 songs, including movie scores and--wait for it--three national anthems: Libya, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. A film in which he starred is still shown in Egypt from time to time.

Geez, and I'm proud of myself when I get all my chores done.

I looked up his wiki because I had thought he was a singer, but there was no singing on the video you posted. I am in awe.

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 11:18am

Yeah, I read a bit about him, but figured I would, as with

@HenryAWallace
most of those I list, try to keep it short. I also decided I would definitely not do any of the national anthems.

Thanks for bringing it up, though, as folks really should know more about him than I included.

—

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 --

Submitted by Lookout on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 8:26am

But why are we scared of 13?

I had to look it up...

An early myth surrounding the origin of the fear involved one of the world’s oldest legal documents, the Code of Hammurabi, which reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. In reality, the omission was no more than a clerical error made by one of the document’s earliest translators who failed to include a line of text—in fact, the code doesn’t numerically list its laws at all.

Mathematicians and scientists, meanwhile, point to preeminence of the number 12, often considered a “perfect” number, in the ancient world. The ancient Sumerians developed numeral system based on the use of 12 that is still used for measuring time today; most calendars have 12 months; a single day is comprised of two 12-hour half days, etc. Following so closely on the heels of a “perfect” number, some argue, the poor 13 was sure to be found lacking and unusual. This fear of the unknown would seem to play into two other popular theories for the number’s unlucky connotation, both of which revolve around the appearance of a 13th guest at two ancient events: In the Bible, Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest to arrive at the Last Supper, is the person who betrays Jesus. Meanwhile ancient Norse lore holds that evil and turmoil were first introduced in the world by the appearance of the treacherous and mischievous god Loki at a dinner party in Valhalla. He was the 13th guest, upsetting the balance of the 12 gods already in attendance.

It also seems as if unexplained fears surrounding the number 13 are a primarily Western construct. Some cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, actually considered the number lucky, while others have simply swapped numbers as the base of their phobias—4 is avoided in much of Asia, for example. More than 80 percent of hi-rise buildings in the United States do not have a 13th floor, and the vast majority of hotels, hospitals and airports avoid using the number for rooms and gates as well. But in much of East and Southeast Asia, where tetraphobia is the norm, you’d be hard-pressed to find much use of the number 4 in private or public life, thanks to similar sounds for the Chinese language (and Chinese-influenced linguistic sub-groups) words for “four” and “death.”

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/whats-so-unlucky-about-the-numbe...

Here's hoping your day is filled with good luck and fortune....

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 5:33pm

Thanks. As I rule, I generally skip number superstitions,

@Lookout
numerological theories/beliefs and numbers in religion because there are such an immense number and, if you start down that road, you have to be all-inclusive.

I had to look it up... An early myth surrounding the origin of the fear involved one of the world’s oldest legal documents, the Code of Hammurabi, which reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. In reality, the omission was no more than a clerical error made by one of the document’s earliest translators who failed to include a line of text—in fact, the code doesn’t numerically list its laws at all. Mathematicians and scientists, meanwhile, point to preeminence of the number 12, often considered a “perfect” number, in the ancient world. The ancient Sumerians developed numeral system based on the use of 12 that is still used for measuring time today; most calendars have 12 months; a single day is comprised of two 12-hour half days, etc. Following so closely on the heels of a “perfect” number, some argue, the poor 13 was sure to be found lacking and unusual. This fear of the unknown would seem to play into two other popular theories for the number’s unlucky connotation, both of which revolve around the appearance of a 13th guest at two ancient events: In the Bible, Judas Iscariot, the 13th guest to arrive at the Last Supper, is the person who betrays Jesus. Meanwhile ancient Norse lore holds that evil and turmoil were first introduced in the world by the appearance of the treacherous and mischievous god Loki at a dinner party in Valhalla. He was the 13th guest, upsetting the balance of the 12 gods already in attendance. It also seems as if unexplained fears surrounding the number 13 are a primarily Western construct. Some cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, actually considered the number lucky, while others have simply swapped numbers as the base of their phobias—4 is avoided in much of Asia, for example. More than 80 percent of hi-rise buildings in the United States do not have a 13th floor, and the vast majority of hotels, hospitals and airports avoid using the number for rooms and gates as well. But in much of East and Southeast Asia, where tetraphobia is the norm, you’d be hard-pressed to find much use of the number 4 in private or public life, thanks to similar sounds for the Chinese language (and Chinese-influenced linguistic sub-groups) words for “four” and “death.” http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/whats-so-unlucky-about-the-numbe... Here's hoping your day is filled with good luck and fortune....

—

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 --

Submitted by QMS on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 8:35am

Did you know...

... that the Church of Scientology used espionage, front groups, private detectives, and over 2,500 lawsuits to gain tax exemption in the United States?

mentioning Hubbard brought this to mind

—

question everything

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 11:33am

Actually, I did know about that, and it is pretty

@QMS
uncool. They denied its members deductions for the various processing sessions as charitable because services were received, then as medical because quackery, but then buckled and allowed it as charity after all. Parallel situations with other religious groups were not treated the same.

—

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 --

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 12:12pm

Scientology: more information

@QMS

Did you know that the Church of Scientology used espionage, front groups, private detectives, and over 2,500 lawsuits to gain tax exemption in the United States?

Yes, I knew that.

More information on these kinds of things can be had from the following:

"Something Can Be Done About It", the blog of Mike Rinder, formerly in charge of Scientology's "dirty tricks department". This blog works much like ours; one can register and post comments (I don't know about essays, though; I think essayists submit to Mr. Rinder who then decides on publishing.)

"The Underground Bunker", Tony Ortega's blogsite, also dedicated to exposing Scientology.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by eyo on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 9:46am

OT: Mexico Approves 4 Trademarks for Trump

http://www.mexiconews.net/news/252391923/mexico-approves-4-trademarks-for-trump

VOA - Monday 13th March, 2017
That same day a law firm in Mexico City quietly filed on behalf of his company for trademarks on his name that would authorize the Trump brand, should it choose, to set up shop in a country with which he has sparred over trade, migration and the planned border wall.

The Trump trademarks have now been granted by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). Records show the last three were approved February 21, just more than a month after Trump took office, and a fourth was granted October 6, about a month before the U.S. election.
...
Trump's company has notched several trademark wins recently. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Chinese government recently granted preliminary approval for 38 trademarks to Trump and a related company.

That sparked outrage from some Democratic senators and critics, who have been pushing Trump to sever financial ties with his global businesses to avoid potential violations of the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars federal officials from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress.
...

So familiar, I'm not even shocked or stunned anymore. Billionaires handing money around between governments and stuff. Mexico China United States. Same same same. Better Trade Deals for Trump, waiting for trickle.

Thanks

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Mon, 03/13/2017 - 5:31pm

Thanks. I expect that registering trademarks like that

@eyo
is pretty routine these days.

—

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 --