08/12 Open Thread - World Elephant Day
~~ "One Tusk", by the author, 06-10-2008, Kenya
It should be prety much the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, and, I shit you not, it is called The Glorious Twelfth in Britain because it is the start of the Grouse Shooting season. I don't know if I can top that, I mean, really ...
On 8/12/1323, the Treaty of Noteborg between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic was signed. The Novgorod Republic was a piece of the Kievan Rus. In a sense, the history of Russia starts here.
On 8/12/1687 "Austria" laid such a crushing defeat on the Ottomans that the entire Ottoman army completely disintegrated shortly thereafter. This allowed the Austrian Empire to liberate or conquer, as the case may be, a lot of territory previously conquered by the Ottomans during the Ottoman expansion. The territory was previously conquered by and became part of the Roman Empire before being overrun by the Visigoths and such. Some travel to experience different cultures. Some simply stay at home and have it come to them. Charles V is generally given the credit for the win, but it was really the handiwork of Prince Eugene of Savoy, arguably the best general of his era.
On 8/12/1898 the Hawaiian flag over Iolani Palace was replaced with that of the US in an annexation ceremony marking Hawaii's official loss of sovereignty and incorporation into the US.
On 8/12/1960 NASA launched Echo 1A. Hello, hello, can you hear me now?
On 8/12/1981 the IBM Personal Computer, aka PC, was released and priced out of range of most persons. Luckily, a lot of people started making less expensive "PC Compatible" machines and now look where we are.
On this day in history:
1323 – The Treaty of Nöteborg between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic was signed, regulating the border between the two countries for the first time.
1687 – Second Battle of Mohács: Charles of Lorraine defeated the Ottoman Empire.
1765 – Treaty of Allahabad was signed; the beginning of Company rule in India.
1851 – Isaac Singer was granted a patent for his sewing machine.
1865 – Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery.
1883 – The last quagga died at a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1898 – The annexation of Hawaii by the imperialist USofA
1914 – The UK and the British Empire declared war on Austria-Hungary.
1960 – Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, was launched.
1976 – Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians were killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre.
1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
1981 – The IBM Personal Computer was released.
1992 – Canada, Mexico and the United States announced completion of negotiations for NAFTA
Some people who were born on this day:
The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.
~~ Erwin Schrodinger
1626 - Giovanni Legrenzi, composer and orgnist
1644 - Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, violinist and composer
1774 – Robert Southey, poet
1831 - Helena Blavatsky, occultist, theosophist, co-founder of the Theosophical Society
1859 - Katharine Lee Bates, poet who wrote the words to America the Beautiful
1876 - Mary Roberts Rinehart, author and playwright
1887 - Erwin Schrodinger, cat fancier
1907 - Gladys Bentley, singer and pianist
1914 - Ruth Lowe, pianist and songwriter
1918 - Sid Bernstein, record producer
1919 - Margaret Burbidge, astrophysicist
1920 - Percy Mayfield, singer and songwriter
1926 - Joe Jones, singer, songwriter and producer who discovered the Dixie Cups
1929 - Buck Owens, singr, songwriter and guitarist, pioneered the Bakersfield Sound.
1931 - William Goldman, author, playwright, and screenwriter
1945 - Dorothy E. Denning, computer scientist
1949 - Mark Knopfler, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1949 - Lou Martin, pianist, songwriter, and producer
1950 - August "Kid Creole" Darnell, musician, bandleader, singer-songwriter, and record producer
1954 - Pat Metheny, jazz guitarist and composer
1958 – Jürgen Dehmel, bass player and songwriter
1961 - Roy Hay, guitarist, keyboard player, and composer
Some people who died on this day:
War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.
~~ Thomas Mann
30 BCE- Cleopatra, queen of egypt
1424 – Yongle, emperor of the Ming Empire, patron of Zheng He
1827 – William Blake, poet and painter
1955 - Thomas Mann, author
1964 – Ian Fleming, spy, journalist and suthor
1973 - Walter Rudolf Hess, physiologist
1985 - Kyu Sakamoto, singer and songwriter
1988 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, painter
1989 - William Shockley, physicist
1992 - John Cage, composer
2009 - Les Paul, guitarist and songwriter
2010 - Richie Hayward, drummer and songwriter
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
World Elephant Day
International Youth Day
National Sewing Machine Day
Kinda sorta almost VJ Day *
* VJ Day used to be August 14, and celebrates an event that happened on 8/14, but now it's a floater, the second Monday, blah, blah, blah. It has nothing to do with 8/12 and vice-versa, so, no.
Today's Tunes
Singer's Sewing Machine
Echo 1A
Gladys Bentley
Percy Mayfield
Joe Jones
Buck Owens
Mark Knopfler
Kid Creole
Pat Metheny
Jürgen Dehmel
Roy Hay
Kyu Sakamoto
John Cage
Les Paul
Richie Hayward
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com
Open Thread, August 12, Elehants, Battle of Mohacs, Hawaii Annexation, Echo 1A, IBM PC, Gladys Bentley, Percy Mayfield, Buck Owens, Les Paul, Kyu Sakamoto, Mark Knopfler
Comments
Hey, good morning!
.
.
Scoped the sky last night, looking for meteorites.
The brighter stars shown, but enough of a haze to
obscure detection of the small zipping flashes.
A Bard owl perched in a tree outside the window made
some amazing hoots about 4 AM. Eventually giggling with
his mate back in the woods. Ah, nature.
Thanks for the OT!
question everything
Good morning QMS. Those high, clear (and icy cold) skies
are never around when one wishes to star gaze, a variant of Murphy's Laws. At least you had owls for entertainment.
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 --
Hey QMS
Ahoy Capt.!
So your Bard Owl must have been orating, poetically? Normally they are called Barred Owls, but if they really get going Bard could be appropriate.
Very neat birds, and one of the owls most likely to be seen in the daytime.
Love your new avatar Capt.! Is that a self-portrait?
take care brother!
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
the owls are not barred from performing oratories
.
.
around here, poetic justice.
Used to have a mountain goat avatar here
years ago, took it down, got tired of it.
This one is sitting down, which seems more
appropriate for this old goat.
Cheers!
question everything
Monday Monday
Hi all, Hey EL!
1865 – Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery.
I presume this was the first known use of Listerine?
1883 – The last quagga died at a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
What a sad thing, and a cool looking zebra they were. They were fine until Euro man arrived, like the Dodo, Passenger Pigeon, and a thousand other species...
1898 – The annexation of Hawaii by the imperialist USofA
I presume this to be a day of mourning there... and celebrated in the Dole and C&H houses. It also started a trend of justified violence for profit that hasn't ended, but gotten worse unfortunately.
Thanks for the history and great sounds...
That Slate-throated Redstart is still in its spot in SFO, 10+ days now! The birds are panting here.
happy trails 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
Good morning Dysto. Don't know what the patient's
breath was like, but Lister used carbolic acid to make a barrier around the incision, and I think he coined the word antiseptic for the process.
I can imagine the heat stress on the birds down there.
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 --
To no ones surprise the US's European puppets continue to take
a fair and balanced approach to the Gaza situation.
https://www.politico.eu/article/iran-will-bear-responsibility-for-attack...
Meanwhile the puppets give war criminal Netenyahoo carte blanche to continue the genocide.
Good morning humphry. Typical absolute bullshit.
The victim is to blame because the perp is an ally.
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 --
The neocon war mongers and the MIC are overjoyed to hear this.
Edited to add:
Speaking of war mongers.
Heh. I caught Putin's position on eiher Sputnik or RT.
Graham's, of course, belongs in Cracked or Mad, but he's both a buffoon and a liar, so what would you expect.
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 --
How about another tusk?
The famous video with the USC marching bank is blocked due to copyright violations!
Thanks for the OT, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Tusk, great tune. The marching band video, was
great, and that's coming from a Cal Grad (SC is a major rival).
Great freudian slip with USC bank. You must have been told about the size of their tuition.
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 --
oopsie!
I just looked at The Google.
Maybe the cool video with Fleetwood Mac and the SC marching band does still exist!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Ahh, the missing tusk
.
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good rendition, especially the last section.
Except for the lead singer screaming.
Thanks!
question everything
Spotted a long, white convertible with red interior
.
today while bopping about. Checked it out, is an Olds 98, long as a whale, probably
as heavy as a pregnant elephant. Knew about the Olds 88 series, first time spotting 98.
Kind of an elder Detroit vehicle aficionado. Saw an old Rambler the other day, tooling
down the road. A surprising model to me. A wagon of the early 60's vintage. Almost
looked like a shortened Studebaker. Maybe a melding of the species?
Have a question for the insect specialists here. This is a flower bug parked around the corner.
We have a weird local ordinance that if you sell something in your front yard, it has to be on
wheels. What kind of bug is this?
question everything
Good morning again Cap'n.
I always thought that to be an abbreviation for Captain, not Capricorn. learn something every day around here.
I've heard of such Beetles. Crafted by those who took "flower power" literally, it is a zero HP "extreme low emissions" model.
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 --
that is hilarious
.
.
flower powered bug
makes a lot of sense
question everything
Long ago I used to own one of those cars like the orange bug.
As a matter of fact it was my first car.
yeah, me too
.
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think it was four on the floor, could'a been three?
Before that it was tractors in the field, different
response to the clutch. Good in snow with the
rear engine traction. Hell to find reverse.
Simpler times ..
question everything