09/22 Open Thread - The Autumnal Equinox
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~~ Mabon
This year, today is the Autumnal Equinox called Mabon in the Northern Hemisphere and Ostara in the Southern according to the Neopagan Wheel of the Year. It begins at 11:19 am Pacific Time. It is a natural phenomenon caused by the fact that the axis upon which the rotates is at an angle to the plane defined by its rotation around the sun. As a result of this arrangement, there are exactly two days upon which, when viewed from the equator, the sun "rises" due easst and "sets" due west and there exactly identical amounts of daytime and night time. These two days are the spring and autumn equinoxes. Given that we have all this scientific - astronomical information and knowledge, why call it Mabon, you may ask? Well, it seems that humans need festivals and special events and mystical magical thinking to deal with life. Because the cycle or round of the year is a natural phenomenon, it makes sense to use some sort of nature looking mythos to account for it if one cannot simply get by on science and reality
We have, as a species, had and still have boatloads of theistic and deistic religions to serve those functions., More than one of them resorted to extreme violence, torture, murder and genocide to rid us of those more naturalistic systems of accounting for these cycles, as well as heretics, empiricists, unbelievers and those whose faith differed in some detail of cant, ceremony, doctrine, or dogma, and where has that left us? We have had endless wars, myriads of tyrants,, a ravenous lust to exterminate the other, divisiveness, the extinction or vast numbers of species and the horrible trashing of our environment and all for no meaningful reason or purpose. For my money, as an empiricist and arguably free-thinker I teel that those of us who can't handle science and straight up reality and need something to shelter us from existential dread, should resort to things like neo-paganism, striving for unity with nature and the universe as opposed to conquest and control over it and all within it. Among other things it lacks that history of all those centuries of open warfare on empiricists and free thinkers that some of us find rather off-putting.
On this date in 1692 the last eight victims of the Salem Witch hokum ceremonies were clearly not false or fraudulent but holy. During my lifetime, persons have died during processes entered into to drive out their demons and faith healers still abound. Though no longer the law of the land, that thinking became part of our common law, culture, and, in many places, statute and judicial law concerning fraud. I do seriously hope that they're no longer harassing ordinary palm readers and psychics simply for failing to wear clerical collars, it seems the epitome of hypocrisy.
On this day in history:
1236 – The Samogitians defeated the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule.
1692 – Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Ann Pudeator, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell were hanged, the last of those to be executed in the Salem witch trials.
1711 – The first attacks of the Tuscarora War began in present-day North Carolina.
1789 – The office of United States Postmaster General was established.
1789 – Alexander Suvorov's Russian and allied army defeated superior Ottoman Empire forces at tattle of Rymnik
1792 – This was Primidi Vendémiaire of year one of the French Republican Calendar
1823 – Joseph Smith claimed to have found some golden plates after being directed by God through the Angel Moroni
1862 – A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation was released by Abraham Lincoln.
1919 – The steel strike of 1919 began in Pennsylvania
1948 – The All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League.
1953 – The Four Level Interchange, first stack interchange in the world opened in Los Angeles.
1957 – François Duvalier aka Papa Doc was elected president of Haiti and things went to hell from there
1960 – The Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation
1975 – Sara Jane Moore tried to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, seriously, Betty Ford's old man, wow.
1976 – Red Dye No. 4 was banned by the US FDA after discovery that it caused tumors in the bladders of dogs.
1980 – Iraq invaded Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War. The US had no hand in this, really. 
1993 – A barge struck a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history.
1995 – The Nagerkovil school bombing was carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force
Some people who were born on this day:
There’s nothing quite as frightening as someone who knows they are right.
~~ MichaelFarady
1211 – Ibn Khallikan, scholar and judge
1480 – Tenali Rama, poet in the court of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire
1547 – Philipp Nicodemus Frischlin, philologist, mathematician, astronomer, and poet
1715 – Jean-Étienne Guettard, mineralogist and botanist
1741 – Peter Simon Pallas, zoologist and botanist
1762 – Elizabeth Simcoe, painter and author
1765 – Paolo Ruffini, mathematician and philosopher
1791 – Michael Faraday, English hysicist and chemist
1806 – Bernardino António Gomes, physician and naturalist
1819 – Wilhelm Wattenbach, historian and academic
1868 – Louise McKinney, educator and politician
1870 – Arthur Pryor, trombonist, composer, and bandleader
1880 – Christabel Pankhurst, activist, co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union
1887 – Bhaurao Patil, Indian ducator and activist
1891 – Alma Thomas, painter and educator
1899 – Elsie Allen, Native American Pomo basket weaver
1900 – Paul Hugh Emmett, chemist and engineer
1901 – Charles Brenton Huggins, physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1907 – Maurice Blanchot, philosopher and author
1912 – Herbert Mataré, physicist and academic
1913 – Lillian Chestney, painter and illustrator
1915 – Grigory Frid, pianist and composer
1918 – Hans Scholl, activist
1918 – Henryk Szeryng, violinist and educator
1920 – Eric Baker, activist, co-founded Amnesty International
1921 – Will Elder, illustrator
1922 – David Sive, environmentalist and lawyer
1924 – Ray Wetzel, trumpet player and composer
1925 – Leila Hadley, author
1926 – Bill Smith, clarinet player and composer
1928 – Eric Broadley, engineer and businessman
1928 – James Lawson, activist, author, and academic
1930 – Joni James, singer
1931 – Fay Weldon, author and playwright
1939 – Marlena Shaw, jazz singer
1943 – Toni Basil, singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1943 – Paul Hoffert, keyboard player, composer, and academic
1946 – King Sunny Adé, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1947 – Norma McCorvey, activist
1951 – David Coverdale, singer and songwriter
1953 – Richard Fairbrass, singer, songwriter, musician and producer
1956 – Debby Boone, singer, actress, and author
1956 – Doug Wimbish, singer, songwriter, and bass player
1957 – Nick Cave, singer-songwriter, author, and actor
1957 – Johnette Napolitano, singer, songwriter, and bass player
1958 – Andrea Bocelli, singer, songwriter, and producer
1958 – Joan Jett, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
1959 – Saul Perlmutter, astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
1964 – Ken Vandermark, saxophonist and composer
1967 – Brian Keene, novelist
1967 – Ian Mortimer, historian and novelist
1969 – Matt Sharp, singer, songwriter, and bass player
1973 – Yoo Chae-yeong, singer, songwriter, and actress
1976 – David Berkeley, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1979 – Emilie Autumn, singer, songwriter, violinist, and poet
1981 – Subaru Shibutani, singer and songwriter
1983 – Kyla, singer
1989 – Kim Hyo-yeon, singer, dancer, and actress
1994 – Jinyoung, singer, actor, songwriter
1995 – Nayeon, singer
1999 – Kim Yo-han, singer and actor
2000 – Seungmin, singer
Some people who died on this day:
" "
~~ Marcel Marceau
1072 – Ouyang Xiu, historian, poet, and politician
1158 – Otto of Freising, bishop and chronicler
1253 – Dōgen, monk and philosopher
1554 – Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, explorer
1607 – Alessandro Allori, painter and educator (born 1535)
1692 – Martha Corey, one of a vast number of women accused of witchcraft
1703 – Vincenzo Viviani, mathematician and physicist
1777 – John Bartram, botanist and explorer
1828 – Shaka Zulu, chieftain and monarch of the Zulu Kingdom
1852 – William Tierney Clark, engineer
1981 – Harry Warren, composer and songwriter
1993 – Maurice Abravanel, pianist and conductor
1996 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, ballerina, choreographer, and director
1996 – Dorothy Lamour, actress and singer
2001 – Isaac Stern, violinist and conductor
2007 – Marcel Marceau, mime and actor
2010 – Eddie Fisher, singer
2012 – Irving Adler, mathematician, author, and academic
2012 – Grigory Frid, pianist and composer
2013 – David H. Hubel, neurophysiologist and academic
2013 – Álvaro Mutis, author and poet
2014 – Erik van der Wurff, pianist, composer, and conductor
2015 – Yogi Berra, baseball player, coach, and manager
2018 – Chas Hodges, musician and singer
2024 – Roy Clay, computer scientist
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
American Business Women's Day (United States)
Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere:
Mabon in the Northern Hemisphere, Ostara in the Southern Hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
First Day of Fall
World Rhino Day
National Elephant Appreciation Day
National Eat Local Day
Today's Tunes
Mabon (Willie, that is)
Witch Trials
The Four Level Interchange
Grigory Frid
Henryk Szeryng
Ray Wetzel
Bill Smith
Joni Jame
Marlena Shaw
Paul Hoffert
King Sunny Ade
David Coverdale
Richard Fairbrass
Debby Boone
Nick Cave
Joan Jett
Leonard Feather
Dorothy Lamour
Isaac Stern
Eddie Fisher
Erik van der Wurff
Some words of wisdom from the USA'a wisest man, Mr. Yogi Berra:
"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be".
"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else".
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore".
"You can observe a lot by watching".
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"It ain't over until it's over"
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. What's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com
open thread, Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, Witches, Michael Farady, Louise C. McKinney, King Sunny Ade, Joan Jett, Isaac Stern, Marcel Marceau, Yogi Berra
Comments
Summer's end at about 1pm CT today...
I've been enjoying this one which I learned this summer.
Hope everyone has a good start into fall. Thanks for the OT and all the music!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, LO. Thanks for the video, any Prine is
good Prine, even summer's end, one might say. Of course, the leaf fall has already begun, so here we go again.
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 --
Who is Terry Wing?
At first glance I thought the illustration might be by Kinuko Craft.
Mary Bennett
No idea. I had to thoroughly search the column to see where
the name occurred in order to get some context. Most of the photos I pick are chosen based on the results of a topic search and I seldom know who did them.
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 --
Not far from the truth.
Already sweeping the Charlie Kirk assassination under the rug …
… even though there are contradictions, discrepancies, and questions galore?
Time to review our understanding of the “Manchurian candidate” concept?
Already outdated on several points but Ian Carroll’s even-headed, skeptical attitude is exemplary:
Good afternoon, Lotl, thanks for the video. I'll
try to watch it, though, frankly, I can't get that upset about it. Off the top of my head I see 2 Kennedy;s, Malcolm, Martin, Fred Hampton, and so very many more.
The broad view, per some, of "manchurian candidate" is of somebody who is disloyal to their country (or clan or clique or corporation because they are controlled by some "other". To me, this describes every US politician, spook, and corporate officer for starts and cannot but beg the question as to what are the country's interests (in the petitio principi sense of the phrase, not the ta;king head usage)
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 --
Malcolm X and Fred Hampton do indeed deserve to be named there
The real coup was back then, in November 1963. Everything since has been, so to speak, the fruit of that poisonous geopolitical tree.
Malcolm X (1925–1965)
Fred Hampton (1948–1969)
Ian Carrol is interesting
....His stream of consciousness reporting adds an illuminating mood to the puzzle. Slows down the rush to adopt a theory. I find it hard to instantly identify stereotypes they are discussing. How is it possible that Westerners have no idea what the Left looks like, what it does, what it believes, what it strives for?
Overall, there is something wrong with this story, some kind of space warp that makes it unbelievable . I am very familiar with that state. And confident in my instinct.
Ian Carrol, actually, gets a little weird at the end. He's got the local Gawd babbling in his right hemisphere So, you know, he's physically unmoored from any convergence with the evolving universe. Just part of the local food chain.
Thanks for the link.
For somebody who purports to oppose divisiveness
he sure does go on about gawd a lot, the single most divisive idea/ideology/dogma in the entire history of the "western world". It also conflicts with all of his yammering about getting to and finding out the truth insofar as there is no supporting 4vdence for any variant of that concept.
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 --
What a coinkydink!
Hi EL!
I see that Ouyang Xiu was one of the departed you cited on your Sept 22 list. I had just closed over the weekend about half a dozen windows I had open related to him for four weeks, that I had not yet fully explored. I did finally post an interpretation of one of his poems last week. I was too distracted by the insanity du jour to do any more. But I do enjoy looking at these old poems and he's an interesting guy.
The Wikipedia entry on him had an exemplar of one of his "picking mulberries" poems in Mandarin, so I tried to interpret it, this morning. I started with the somewhat awkward google translation, and used a couple of other computer dictionaries to get a better idea of what the "West Lake" poem is about. West Lake is in Anhui province, I think. This is the same region The Little Chinese (Everywhere) woman is from (on youtube). Another coincidence. I have her latest video from a Kazahk region in Xinjiang open which I was trying learn some Chinese from in my haphazard way over the weekend. Didn't get very far.
In any case, there are ten different picking mulberries poems Ouyang Xiu wrote, or thirteen, I read from another source. Below is my casual interpretation. The Baidu computer translation doesn't agree with me either. It's vernacular, I don't know the sounds of the Chinese characters nor the structural requirements of the poem, and if I did, I couldn't match them anyway. This is my challenge to someone in my family who thinks AI is so great. It can't do that either.
Ouyang Xiu
Picking Mulberries
In late spring, after the rain, West Lake is beautiful.
Hundreds of flowers vie in beauty, butterflies flutter about, bees buzz.
The sunny day warms blossoms to fruition.
A row boat drifts slowly among lotus flowers,
Did I become a sprite?
The light's reflection glistens between ripples,
A breeze carries aloft a flute's notes over broad waters
The Wikipedia entry on Ouyang Xiu is interesting, he was a statesman and historian among other vocations.
Look forward to browsing through your musical selections EL. Seems like witch hunting is in vogue lately, doesn't it?
I have trouble getting into the younger South Korean performers. Showing my age.
語必忠信 行必正直
Good afternoon Soryang. Thanks for the poem.
I too have trouble with most younger Korean performers except for Luna Lee.
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 --
could be a theme song for bonanza
.
.
or a high plains drifter show
good sound
Zionism is a social disease
Early surf rock, as I recall, but she does do morricone
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 --
Yes, Luna Lee
I had been listening to her for years. I think the thing that makes her music so appealing, especially for Americans is that she plays mostly, if not all, US material, so its kind of a recognizable fusion sound with the gayageum. I think she modified her gayageum to get an electric sound which was quite inspired really. Initially in Seoul in 1987, this is what I found so appealing in the live music there. It was the fusion of US rock and folk sound with Korean songs. The fusion sound is so unique in either direction. Luna is like a gateway to traditional Korean music, well it was for me, anyway.
A lot of Kpop now, for the quite young, tries to be fusion, with the "exotic" English, phrases and expression mixed in with the Korean lyrics. Sometimes I hear excellent singers here and there among them, but unfortunately the lyrics are juvenile. I guess there's a market for that.
I do like Ayageum's channel. When she's live I try to hear the song titles, or ask in the chat, if it's a particularly good sound. Then I try to find a good copy of the song lyrics. I've done this for years. I learned Korean really by listening mostly to song lyrics. I used to sing them in the truck alone while driving. Ms. So bought me the discs from Korea to keep me company while away from home.
This is my one of my old favorite's about Seoul:
夢 Dream
Lyrics here
This is Lee Jong-pyo below. She has an academic interest in gayageum and other old forms of traditional Korean song. She's very good, but has very few followers. She doesn't promote her work. I think she's a music Phd. This is one of the first songs ever recorded in Korea in 1932. It was banned by the Japanese.
Lyrics-
Hwangseong Ruins
Thanks for sharing Luna, EL! I think she's great too.
edited a couple of typos
語必忠信 行必正直
Very nice, thanks for the videos and linked lyrics. n/t
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 --
Good afternoon, el!
The Marceau quote is full of wisdom! I am gonna steal it!
Cool version of "Take Five"!
I read that Trump directed that there be no hunger survey done this year. We have toughened the requirements for food stamps. We approved sending Israel $100 billion.
Israel bombed Lebanon,killing 4 American citizens, including 3 children. Israel said they would look into it.
sigh...
Thanks for the OT, dear friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good afternoon otc. Glad you liked the quote and
also that version of take 5. Be sure to keep us up to date on the war on the ants.
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 --