03/30 Open Thread - Take a Walk in the Park Day
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~~ Olympic_National_Park
"A walk in the park" is, at least in the US, a metaphor for something easy and/or pleasant to do. That said, I'm not at all sure how widely this idiom is still used today. I fired up a search engine to find out and the first things that came up were a recently published book and a lot of ads and promotions for it and sellers thereof. Regardless of all that, a walk in the park is likely to do one good because exposure to nature and peace and quiet are therapeutic. One doesn't even need a lot of equipment, at least, not beyond the various things one needs to use or wear in order to get around the house and neighborhood. One does, however, need access to a park.
It's National Pencil Day too. I must confess to having spent a portion of my life as a pencil pusher, but those days are long gone. Currently, I have zip diddley pencilled in for the short term future, but, truth be told. I am a fountain pen kind of guy anyway. Yeah, I know ....
On this day in history:
1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, a philosopher, was executed for being an atheist. Seems that one thing many different religious sects agree on is killing atheists
1815 – Joachim Murat issued the Rimini Proclamation, one of the earliest calls for Italian unification.
1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel read a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is "depolarized" by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.
1842 – Ether anesthesia was used for the first time, in an operation by the Dr. Crawford Long.
1855 – "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invaded Kansas and forced election of a pro-slavery legislature.
1856 – The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War. Russia kept Crimea
1861 – Sir William Crookes announced his discovery of thallium.
1867 – Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
1899 – German Society of Chemistry issued an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discovered the first clay tablet with hieroglyphic writing in a script later called Linear B.
1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter set a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
1945 – Soviet forces invaded Austria and captured Vienna. Polish and Soviet forces liberated Danzig.
1949 – A riot broke out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joined NATO.
1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was signed in New York City.
1976 – IIn the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians created the first Land Day.
1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel
2017 – SpaceX conducted the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket.
2018 – The Israeli Army killed 17 Palestinians and wounded 1,400 in Gaza during Land Day protests.
Some people who were born on this day:
Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.
~~ Vincent Van Gogh
1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, composer and organist
1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, mathematician and astronomer
1727 – Tommaso Traetta, composer and educator
1746 – Francisco Goya, painter and sculptor
1750 – John Stafford Smith, organist and composer
1811 – Robert Bunsen, chemist and academic
1820 – Anna Sewell, author
1844 – Paul Verlaine, poet
1853 – Vincent van Gogh, painter and illustrator
1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, composer, pianist, and teacher
1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, engineer
1858 – Siegfried Alkan, composer
1863 – Mary Calkins, philosopher and psychologist
1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, sociologist and economist
1880 – Seán O'Casey, dramatist, playwright, and memoirist
1892 – Stefan Banach, mathematician and academic
1892 – Fortunato Depero, painter and sculptor
1895 – Carl Lutz, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews
1902 – Ted Heath, trombonist and composer
1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, soldier, mathematician, and academic
1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, archaeologist and academic
1913 – Frankie Laine, singer, songwriter
1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson, singer, songwriter and harmonica player
1917 – Els Aarne, pianist, composer, and educator
1921 – André Fontaine, historian and journalist
1930 – Rolf Harris, singer, songwriter
1935 – Karl Berger, pianist and composer
1935 – Gordon Mumma, composer
1941 – Graeme Edge, singer, songwriter and drummer
1943 – Jay Traynor, pop and doo-wop singer
1945 – Eric Clapton, guitarist, singer, and songwriter
1947 – Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, activist, writer, and black anarchist
1947 – Terje Venaas, bassist
1948 – Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, rock singer
1949 – Dana Gillespie, singer, songwriter, and actress
1955 – Randy VanWarmer, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1964 – Tracy Chapman, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1965 – Piers Morgan, journalist and talk show host
1968 – Celine Dion, singer and songwriter
1973 – Adam Goldstein, keyboard player, DJ, and producer
1978 – Bok van Blerk, singer, songwriter, and actor
1979 – Norah Jones, singer, songwriter, and pianist
1990 – Thomas Rhett, country music singer and songwriter
Some people who died on this day:
The most important word in the language of the working class is "solidarity."
~~ Harry Bridges
1559 – Adam Ries, mathematician and academic
1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, atheist and philosopher, tried and executed for atheism
1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, general and engineer
1764 – Pietro Locatelli, violinist and composer
1864 – Louis Schindelmeisser, clarinet player, composer, and conductor
1874 – Carl Julian (von) Graba, lawyer and ornithologist who visited and studied the Faroe Islands
1935 – Romanos Melikian, composer
1949 – Friedrich Bergius, chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1955 – Harl McDonald, pianist, composer, and conductor
1956 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, author and poet who invented the Clerihew
1960 – Joseph Haas, composer and educator
1961 – Philibert Jacques Melotte, astronomer
1963 – Aleksandr Gauk, conductor and composer
1966 – Maxfield Parrish, painter and illustrator
1979 – Ray Ventura, pianist and bandleader
1986 – John Ciardi, poet and etymologist
1990 – Harry Bridges, activist and trade union leader
1993 – Richard Diebenkorn, painter
1995 – Rozelle Claxton, pianist
2004 – Timi Yuro, singer and songwriter
2005 – Fred Korematsu, political activist famous for Korematsu v US
2005 – Chrysanthos Theodoridis, singer and songwriter
2008 – Roland Fraïssé, mathematical logician
2013 – Phil Ramone, songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording
2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, astronomer and academic
2020 – Bill Withers, singer and songwriter
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
Land Day (Palestine)
National Doctors' Day (United States)
Take a Walk in the Park Day
World Bipolar Day
National Pencil Day
Today's Tunes
Take a Walk In The Park Day
Ted Heath
Frankie Laine
Sonny Boy Williamson
Els Aarne
Karl Berger
Graeme Edge
Eric Clapton
Terje Venaas
Dana Gillespie
Randy VanWarmer
Tracy Chapman
Celine Dion
Norah Jones
Pietro Locatelli
Ray Ventura
Rozelle Claxton
Timi Yuro
Phil Ramone
Bill Withers
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, Frankie Laine, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones, Timi Yuro, Bill Withers
Comments
in Europe, “Summer Time” (= Daylight Saving) has now kicked in
Vincent van Gogh’s bio, as brought to you by the eponymous museum in Amsterdam:
https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890
Good morning lotl. Thanks for reading
and thanks for that link.
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 --
Good morning...
We're less than a mile from the Little River Canyon National Preserve, so we don't even have to go to a park, we can just take a walk here. However, today we're off to B'ham to finalize my Mom's will/estate...last round, fortunately.
As to pencil day, I've always preferred a pencil because I need the eraser end a good bit of the time. I used to use a mechanical pencil, but for the last few decades I've been on "Ticoneroga" #2.
Hope everyone can get in a nice walk today or soon. Thanks for the OT and all the music!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning LO. We've a nearby park we can wak to, but it's
up quite a hill, so we are prone to drive to it so as to get in more walking in said park, which it, itself, fairly hilly.
When I relied upon a pencil, all day long, I defaulted to a 0.5 mm automatic because sharpenerw weren't always available or convenient. For recreational pencil work I too prefer ye olde #2, though I hear that serious pencil people prefer something called a "blackwing".
I learned in high school that using a fountain pen greatly improved the legibility of my writing, they aren't conducive to hurried scribbling, and thus became a convert. A side effect is lowered likelihood of writerr's cramp.
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 Fresnel Lens
These are pretty amazing when seen up close.
There is one in Portsmouth, VA mounted on the seawall which I have seen several times. Quite impressive. It was once
mounted in the Hog Island Lighthouse (ca. 1896) which is now decommissioned. It stands about 10 feet high,
weighs 2,500 pounds and is among the largest and brightest of its kind, with more than 250 prisms of optical glass.
Another stopping point on my coastal runs is St. Augustine, FL. This is the lens in the Ponce DeLeon Lighthouse.
It is quite a climb up to the lens (219 steps). Standing at 175', the tower was built in 1887.
The view from the observation platform spectacular, although a bit vertigo inducing.
Thanks for the open thread!
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning Cap'n Q. I've had the good fortune to
get good looks at a handful of old lighthouse lenses myself, starting with the Cabrillo Lighthouse out on Point Loma in San Diego at an early age. Living on the coast they are, of course, scattered all over. Thanks for the cool pics.
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 --
We've quite a few in RI
Most have been renovated since being built in the mid 1800's.
Most still operate to some degree, although all are privately maintained.
The government decided to hand them all off several years ago.
Instead, they have switched to 'bouys' maintained by the USCG.
Not much help in the fog as visual aids.
Zionism is a social disease
This pretty much rings true.
Good afternoon, el!
We have a nice park nearby, except certain folks are actually living in their cars in the parking lot and they approach people for food, cigarettes, or offer to have sex for a fair price. I prefer walking around my own property which, with each little bit of tree cutting, and brush removal, is looking very much like a park.
The appraised value for ad valorem taxes of my home jumped $7,000 from last year, and my office property jumped $17,000.
I should sell this damn office and rent something. Ridiculous.
Thanks for the OT, my 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. Thanks for stopping by. Real estate
has a special value to owners that isn't reflected in the ad valorum, imo. Maybe higher, maybe lower, but always special. It's noce that you can use yours as a park. We do like a stroll in the park, but also really tend to like the coast, but there are coastal parks, which really fit the bill.
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 --
Ouch!
.
That is a helluva jump. We are capped at something like 2.5%
increase per annum, which isn't too bad. I weep cause we pay
$2300/year. Guess that, in relativistic terms, is low?
Zionism is a social disease
Crazy.
The costs are due too emergency services, school districts, roads and bridges, and rise in the county budget. I have homestead exemption and over 65 age exemption, but no exemptions are available for business property or even a second home.
It doesn't necessarily reflect increase in real estate value.
I imagine I own it, but the county sort of rents it to me.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Gday EL
I've been to the Olympic National Park and can confirm how awesome it is. But it's not a park to just walk in.
Hiking trails abound and backcountry beckons the really adventurous. Some loops can take days and take you into deep rainforest.
Just don't step on the giant slugs (Ariolimax columbianus) or you could trip and fall on your bianus. Lol.
We love the coastal trails up and down the western coasts, especially the redwoods.
But if you want to really get lost, the dozens of designated Wilderness Areas in the PNW are The Place to do just that. You are required to fill out a backcountry form to leave at the trailhead, for reasons left unsaid.
Thanks for the OT.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good evening e1. Loved Olympic Park the one time I
was there. We tent camped (error, tent got soaked and we had to use it went all the way home). First morning we got up and a herd of Roosevelt Elk were grazing in the empty cmpsite next door. They just ignored us as we crept around doing our morning thing and eventually moved on to a presumably greened campsite.
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 --