3/20 - Vernal Equinox, Ostara, Mabon
~~ Satellite Image of Vernal Equinox
The Vernal Equinox is the astronomical beginning of spring, when the hours of daylight and the hours of night are approximately equal. The wiccan holiday Ostara celebrates the Vernal (or spring) Equinox. Because the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere, the wiccan holiday Mabon which celebrates the Autumnal Equinox applies south of the equator.
The FDA approved the drug AZT to combat AIDS on March 20, 1987. It took them 6 years to approve something that would neither cure nor prevent the disease, but simply ameliorate it some. Meanwhile, assorted religious bodies were able to outlaw to their adherents the use of condoms to actually prevent the spread of the disease in a matter of days. Some anti-condom warriors were elevated to somewhat high status. Since then tens of millions have died of AIDS related causes and some 38 million people have HIV. Something to think about.
Heh, it is Atheist Pride Day. That's just so sick I can't think of anything to do with it. "One Atheist, under god ...", wait! that's not how that goes at all, or shouldn't be, at any rate. Every time I try to attend some government meeting, committee, or hearing it turns out that it starts with a revival meeting. I'm not sitting through that. I just can't figure out what we're supposed to be proud of, national prayer day? Nah, that can't be it. Ah, I got it, only seven states clearly, expressly prohibit us from holding office, only 14%, W00t.
/RANT
On this day in history:
1815 -- Napoleon Bonaparte's "Hundred Days" rule began.
1852 -- Uncle Tom's Cabin was published
1883 -- The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed
1896 – The Qing dynasty post office opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
1915 -- Einstein's general theory of relativity was published.
1923 -- Pablo Picasso's first US showing took place
1926 – Chiang Kai-shek initiated a purge of communist elements within the National Revolutionary Army in Guangzhou (The Canton Coup)
1948 – The first telecasts of classical music in the United States, (under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini), are given on CBS and NBC.
1952 -- The US Senate ratified a peace treaty with Japan
1956 -- Tunisia gained its freedom from France
1985 -- Libby Riddles was the first woman to win the Iditarod
1987 -- The FDA approved AZT to fight AIDS
1995 -- The Aum Shinrikyo cult staged a sarin gas attack in Tokyo
2003 -- Shrub's coalition of the witless invaded Iraq on false pretences
Some people who were born on this day:
Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all.
~~ Ovid
43 BCE -- Ovid, poet
1612 -- Anne Bradstreet, Puritan poet, first woman published in England's American colonies
1811 -- George Caleb Bingham, luminist painter
1821 -- Ned Buntline, journalist, author, publisher, and know-nothing leader
1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, explorer and ornithologist
1828 -- Henrik Ibsen, poet, playwright, and director
1840 -- Illarion Pryanishnikov, painter
1856 -- John Lavery, painter
1884 -- Philipp Frank, physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member, Philosophy of Science
1879 – Maud Menten, physician and biochemist
1890 -- Beniamino Gigli, tenor and actor
1904 -- B. F. Skinner, psychologist and author, pigeon fancier
1906 -- Ozzie Nelson, actor and bandleader
1915 -- Sister Rosetta Tharpe, singer, songwriter and guitarist
1917 -- Vera Lynn, singer
1918 -- Marian McPartland, pianist and composer, Jazz Master, founded Halcyon Records
1922 -- Larry Elgart, saxophonist and bandleader
1925 -- John Ehrlichman, lawyer, criminal, Nixonian scumbag
1928 -- James P. Gordon, physicist and engineer, designed & built first maser.
1928 -- Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers.
1934 -- Willie Brown, lawyer, and politician
1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, chemist
1936 – Lee "Scratch" Perry, singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
1936 -- Harold Mabern, jazz pianist and composer
1937 -- Jerry Reed, singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor
1939 -- Don Edwards, guitarist, singer, and songwriter
1939 -- Walter Jakob Gehring, biologist and academic
1948 -- Nikos Papazoglou, singer and songwriter, formed band named oblique order
1949 – Marcia Ball, blues singer-songwriter and pianist
1950 -- Carl Palmer, drummer and songwriter
1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, blues-rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1955 -- Ian Moss, guitarist, singer, & songwriter
1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, singer and songwriter
1964 – Natacha Atlas, singer and songwriter
1968 – Ultra Naté, singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
1976 – Chester Bennington, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1995 – Kei, singer
Some people who died on this day:
It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.
~~ Brendan Behan
1726 -- Isaac Newton, physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, physician and physicist
1964 -- Brendan Behan, Irish republican, poet, novelist, short story author and playwright
1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, mathematician and academic
1993 – Polykarp Kusch, physicist and academic,
2018 – C. K. Mann, a Highlife musician and producer
2020 – Kenny Rogers, singer
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
Ostara (Northern Hemishpere)
Mabon (Southern Hemishpere)
Vernal Equinox
Atheist Pride Day
Extraterrestrial Abduction Day
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
International Day of Happiness
coincides with
Act Happy Day
New Year (Thelema)
Feast of the Supreme Ritual (Thelema)
That does it, 2, count them, 2 Thelemic Holidays. This calls for
Today's Tunes
Beniamino Gigli
Tunisia's Freedom
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Vera Lynn
Marian McPartland
Larry Elgart
Harold Mabern
Jerry Reed
Don Edwards
Nikos Papazoglou
Marcia Ball
Carl Palmer
Jimmie Vaughn
Ian Moss
Mariya Takeuchi, singer and songwriter
Natacha Atlas
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Ultra Nate
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Chester Bennington
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Kei
C.K. Mann
Kenny Rogers
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Open Thread, 20, Ostara, Mabon, Equinox, Vera Lynn, Carl Palmer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Henrik Ibsen, Larry Elgart
Comments
Happy Spring time
https://www.space.com/equinox-march-2023-not-so-equal
Had the year 2000 not been a leap year
it would have paid hel for the programs. In comparison, Y2K would be a cakewalk.
Hola QMS, finally got reply button to work.
Thanks for the astropoop. What can you expect from a calendar written by priests to track the celebrations of arbitrary religious festivities and, on the side, try to coopt the ancient celestial ones. The Mayan calendar would do a far better job, since they started with the sky and added the myth, instead of vice-versa.
be well and have a good one
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 --
Apples and oranges
https://asiatimes.com/2023/03/chinese-drone-shot-down-now-xi-putin-will-...
That's about a 2500 : 1 cost differential.
Fortuitous circumstance, IMHO (if true).
Russia prolly has gobs of those and other inexpensive drones and prolly sends several per week minimum into ukiestan. They also prolly buy them retail, online.
be well and have a good one
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 --
Love is like that
Shin Min-a had the lead in Oh My Venus. Her last three dramas were excellent. Chief of Staff, Home Town Cha Cha Cha, and Our Blues. An interesting political drama, and two seaside venue, small town dramas respectively. Especially liked the Jeju he-nyeo women divers group in Our Blues.
I think my favorite OST theme for the romantic Kdrama category is My Only One. Excellent drama as well.
語必忠信 行必正直
Thanks, Soryang, and thanks for reading.
be ell and have a good one
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 --
Diplomacy is a lost art in amerika
I'm sure this is somewhat theater but amerika's $0.02 is
beyond believable. Haven't they stated numerous times that
Ukraine's decisions are up to Ukraine??
I've heard that they are all there to arrest Vlad
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Good morning gg, thanks for the info. Our "diplomacy"
has always been of the "bayonet" and "gunboat" type, hence it's destructiveness.
be well and have a good one
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 spring!
Sunny and chilly here.
The Equinox in Dzibilchaltun where the sun rises in the middle of the Temple of the Seven Dolls.
This evening the serpent will appear on the pyramid in Chichen Itza
We warm up through the week hitting 80 by Thursday. Yesterday the high was 40 something and breezy. Didn't feel like spring.
Have a good day. Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Cool pics, Lookout, thanks.
be well and have a good one
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 --
Sorry folks, terrible internet today so far, can't do nuthin.
be well and have a good one
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 --
Isn't wonderful to live in a peace spreading nation?
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3334472/dod-announ...
The only peace we've ever spread is that of the grave.
be well and have a good one
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 --
It is just practising. Nothing to worry about!
This buffoon claims to be a DIPLOMAT.
A huge chunk of the global south are siding with CH/RU
and all Blinken has to spout is (paraphrased)
this is my war, and there will be no cease fire until
I say so! Peace is not an option!
ya' think anyone is listening?
Foresighted country leaders are looking at the aftermath
of this latest US fiasco and it doesn't bode well for the
Biden bunch.
The fools are in DC
US B-1B
Strategic bombers in drills with South Korea on same day as North Korean missile launch
CNN March 19
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/18/asia/north-korea-ballistic-missile-launch...
The article reports the Freedom Shield joint exercises with the US are the largest in five years. It mentions the "extended deterrence" notion that bringing strategic bombers like B-1s is intended to deter North Korea. I think anyone that knows anything about the Korean conflict, knows that threats of massive bombing attacks is the worst thing one could try to intimidate North Korea- especially if one was really interested in "denuclearization." This is exactly why the North developed nuclear weapons. A war with North Korea would likely result in massive destruction and deaths in all three states, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. Extended deterrence involves the visible presence of US strategic assets, bombers, nuclear submarines, and/or a carrier strike group in the Korean theater periodically. Only diplomacy can stabilize the situation.
The low apogee of this type relatively short ranged ballistic missile fired by North Korea makes it more difficult to detect, track and intercept. It also may have a variable terminable trajectory also problematic for defensive missile systems. This is what I have heard from South Korean defense analysts on the youtubes in the past. They ride in the seam between envelopes of ostensibly complementary, long ranged and shorter ranged ABM systems.
語必忠信 行必正直
Monday Monday
la da da, la da da... Hi all, hey EL! Hope it's all good out there!
Still winter here at 30N today, hi-lo temp spread of 42-52F. About the same for two prior days as well. Chilly and wet, we got 1.5" of rain the other day. That sucking sound was the drought stage D3 ground.
Interestingly the 12 hour daylength at my latitude was actually reached four days ago, we're at 12 hrs: 6 min. today.
I love vernal ponds, pools, and marshes. They so explode in life when they get wet, so much, so fast, they are amazing to watch cycle.
I forget the percentage, but it was huge as it is disgusting, of people that felt their career would be negatively affected if ownership or management knew of their atheism. Certainly I have been in that position in my corporate tie time. There is no freedom from religious persecution. I too can't stand prayer commencements of meetings, etc., particularly at any government related function, it is completely unacceptable.
I want to nominate another special day for today. It is the G.W. Bush and Dick Cheney Shock & Awe, yellow cake missile tube WMD Day. Besides the honorble namesakes Shrub and Shoot-em-up Cheney the lawyer hunter, speakers will be Condoleeza Rice and Judith Miller, with pre-taped appearances by Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell.
I love Carl Palmer, at the peak ELP, Brain Salad Surgery, he was a Hendrix in drumming. No one had or had ever heard synthesized drums like that before. It was the first such kit. Like Keith's sythesizers, one of a kind custom, incredibly creative artistry in musicianship.
Glad I'm not one of the swallows or Martins that just showed back up here the last few days. Hummingbirds (Black-chinned) are bonkers at the feeders. Last weekend had our first Golden-cheeked Warbler of the spring. The first few Yellow-throated Warblers, and Yellow-throated Vireo are back. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher will be back as soon as it warms after this front goes away.
I heard there were some good Swainson's Hawk liftoffs somewhere in the Borrego area in the last week or two. Should be a decent bloom this year? Mammoth is getting clobbered with snow, they have over 20 FEET of base! That place is a snow magnet.
Yeah Sister Rosetta!
Have good ones all!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Hola Dysto, nice collection of birds. I could drive you
straight to the Swainson's liftoffs, three mains sites, year after year. We'll be there, assuming nothing goes haywire, Monday evening after a long run down from Buellton - maybe 5 & 1/2 hours without rest stops, but we'll definitely need to take a few (and I need to do late starts, so not early evening.)
Bloom is hoped for, more rain there yesterday. The key is that the rain isn't enough, they need a hot spell to follow it, so we're hoping for at least moderately high temps down there from here on out to April. As of the 17th they were still having a winter bloom, Coyote Cyn and out Henderson Rd, also two of the Swainson's sites as well, and the Cactus Loop Trail out of the Tamarisk Grove to Yaqui Well and back. There's more outside the park at Aqua Caliente. the ABFoundation has a map, not that it will help you any where you are.
FWIW, we've been getting as many as 7 band tailed pigeons almost every day since the 10th or so, right out the dining room window.
be well and have a good one
edit, changed 19th to 10th above
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 --