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phdhorn

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El Diablo

El Diablo 4232

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58 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Of course all of that cost was borne by the Chicago Syndicate investors who received 3,000,000 acres of Texas Panhandle land from the Legislature. Said land was organized into the famed XIT cattle ranch which operated into the early 20th Century before being sold off piecemeal by the bankrupted syndicate.

Cash poor and land rich, I guess that's what ya do.

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Armybrat
Armybrat

54 years ago today....  

RamjetFDO
RamjetFDO

I've shared this before (on the old site, I think) ... my MIL took this photo from across the Hudson in NJ just after the second plane hit.  They originally had plans to have lunch at the Windows on t

RamjetFDO
RamjetFDO

75 years ago today, WWII came to an end on this spot on the deck of the USS Missouri. My grandfather was in his B-29 as part of the show-of-power flyover of Tokyo Harbor.

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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Posted (edited)

1969- Seseme Street debuts 

1871- Henery Morgan Stanley locates missing explorer Dr David Livingston’s in Ujiji by Lake Tanganyika famously greeting him “Dr Livingston’s, I presume?”

1983- Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0

1775- The US Marine Corps is founded in the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, PA by Samuel Nicholas.

1951- coast to coast direct calls begin eliminating the need to talk directly to the operator

1975- SS Edmond Fitzgerald disappears without a trace during a storm with the loss of 29 crew on Lake Superior. After discovering and examining the wreck at the bottom of the lake years later, investigators believe the 729 ft ship was hit by a rogue wave and was flooded then sunk in as little as 4 minutes 

1972- Souther Airlines Flight 49 from Birmingham AL is hijacked and at one point threatened crashing the plane into Oak Ridge National Laboratory nuclear plant. After 2 days the plane lands in Havana Cuba where the hijackers are jailed by Castro.

1958- Hope diamond donated to the Smithsonian by Harry Winston

1940- Walt Disney starts to secretly work as an informant for the LA branch of the FBI, gathering and providing information on people he felt were subversives in Hollywood.

1928- The 124th Japanese Emperor Hirohito is crowned

1928- Knute Rockne give his speech where he says “win one for the Gipper”. Its considered the greatest locker room speech of all time. Noter Dame went on the beat Army at Yankee Stadium 12-6. 

1619- Rene Descartes has his first dream that inspire his Meditations on First Philosophy.

 

 

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Buffsoldier

Buffsoldier 1895

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1 hour ago, Doc Reeves said:

1972- Souther Airlines Flight 49 from Birmingham AL is hijacked and at one point threatened crashing the plane into Oak Ridge National Laboratory nuclear plant. After 2 days the plane lands in Havana Cuba where the hijackers are jailed by Castro.

Amazing fuel efficiency for a passenger aircraft in 1972. 2 days is a long time to spend in the air.

Edited by Buffsoldier
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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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On November 10, 1969, The National Educational Television (NET) network (the precursor to PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service) aired the first episode of the children's television program "Sesame Street". 

This was the first program in television history to make educational goals and a curriculum developed by early childhood education professionals the primary component of their format and content. It also marked the first time when the effectiveness of educational programming for young children would be monitored and measured. 

There are clear demarcations in the reading and writing skills and, just as importantly, in the social attitudes and cultural acceptance of children raised prior to and after the advent of Sesame Street, with racial and gender toleration being much, much higher in the population groups which were raised with this program. 

A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched the show by the time they were three years old, making it one of the most unifying forces in American life. 

With 8 Grammy Awards and 159 Emmy Awards, Grover, Kermit, Elmo, Obajita (a Walden family favorite), and many, many other characters far too numerous to count, and a list of guest actor appearances which includes everybody who has ever been able to beg their way on set, Sesame Street is near and dear to our family's heart, and we suspect the same is true for countless millions of other families throughout the world. Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

Edited by Walden Ponderer
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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed, giving the Plymouth Colony its first governing document. Fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England, the intrepid forebears of American democracy known by the peripatetic label of "Pilgrims" were aboard the infamous ship "Mayflower" when 41 of the elder men on board (out of a total of 101 passengers) signed the compact.

The Walden family is actually descended from Gov. William Bradford who was one of the signatories... some view that as a source of pride, others as a source of shame. Personally, I consider it just an interesting footnote, as the Puritans were neither as good nor as bad as they have been variously perceived. They were merely about 100 or so folks who decided to try something different, and more or less succeeded at it.

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SuingToGetAMessageBoard?

SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3871

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4 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed, giving the Plymouth Colony its first governing document. Fleeing from religious persecution by King James of England, the intrepid forebears of American democracy known by the peripatetic label of "Pilgrims" were aboard the infamous ship "Mayflower" when 41 of the elder men on board (out of a total of 101 passengers) signed the compact.

The Walden family is actually descended from Gov. William Bradford who was one of the signatories... some view that as a source of pride, others as a source of shame. Personally, I consider it just an interesting footnote, as the Puritans were neither as good nor as bad as they have been variously perceived. They were merely about 100 or so folks who decided to try something different, and more or less succeeded at it.

The fuck is this?  It’s 11:11 11/11/18, which you might note is 100 years after 11:11 11/11/18.  

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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November 12, 1969, an article written by Seymour Hersh (who had been Senator Eugene McCarthy's press secretary during the 1968 presidential election) appeared in thirty-three newspapers, exposing Army Lieutenant William Calley's (Company C, 1st Battallioin, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division) involvement in the mass murder of between 347 and 504 unarmed men, women, and children in the two hamlets of Sơn Mỹ village in Quảng Ngãi Province, Vietnam.

Subsequently known as the "My Lai Massacre", Hersh's article set off an investigation which resulted in twenty-six soldiers being charged with criminal offenses, though ultimately only platoon leader Calley actually got convicted. Found guilty of killing 22 villagers, he only served three and a half years under house arrest in spite of having been given a life sentence during the trial.

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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November 13th is the feast day of St. Brice, fifth-century Bishop of Tours. The most notable event associated with this day was the November 13, 1002 "St. Brice's Day Massacre" in England, wherein Æthelred the Unready "ordered slain all the Danish men who were in England" as a response to Danish threats to take his life, kill his councillors (as well as his kingdom), and just generally burn his damned house down.

There is not much archaeological evidence (and therefore no reliable estimates of casualties) related to this massacre, though most historians agree that there was significant loss of life. 

Perhaps the best circumstantial evidence for this being a large-scale event comes from the words of a royal charter two years later when Æthelred explained the need to rebuild St. Frideswide's Church:

Quote

"For it is fully agreed that to all dwelling in this country it will be well known that, since a decree was sent out by me with the counsel of my leading men and magnates, to the effect that all the Danes who had sprung up in this island, sprouting like cockle amongst the wheat, were to be destroyed by a most just extermination, and thus this decree was to be put into effect even as far as death, those Danes who dwelt in the afore-mentioned town, striving to escape death, entered this sanctuary of Christ, having broken by force the doors and bolts, and resolved to make refuge and defence for themselves therein against the people of the town and the suburbs; but when all the people in pursuit strove, forced by necessity, to drive them out, and could not, they set fire to the planks and burnt, as it seems, this church with its ornaments and its books. Afterwards, with God's aid, it was renewed by me."

 

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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November 15 is a festival day in Japan known as Shichi-Go-San (七五三, literally "Seven-Five-Three") on which three and seven year old girls, and three and five year old boys (don't ask, the explanation for the differences is fairly arcane) celebrate their growth and well-being. 

Said to have originated amongst the court nobles of the Heian period (平安時代 Heian jidai) which was roughly the 8th through 12th centuries, during which the Chinese influences of Buddhism and Taoism were at their height (before the prominence of Shintao, which placed Japanese ethnic supremacy as central, inevitably ending in the tragedy of Japanese anti-Korean, anti-Mongolian and anti-Chinese racism in World War II). 

As this festival for young children spans the ages and brings out the best in Japan (as opposed to the worst) it is obviously still important to families throughout the country. Since it is not an official holiday, most of the recognitions of the day happen on whichever weekend happens to be closest to Nov. 15. Children receive Chitose Ame (千歳飴) which loosely translated is "thousand year candy" -- in a bag decorated with a crane and a turtle, symbols for long life.

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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On November 16, 1776, The United Provinces (Low Countries, also known as "The Dutch Republic") recognized the independence of The United States of America, becoming the first international ally the Americans had in their war against Great Britain.

The Dutch support was not particularly effectual in any practical way, given that they were embroiled in their own continental political strife and were able to lend neither military nor financial support. However, given that in November of 1776, the Continental Army was in full retreat from a defeat at Fort Washington, having been completely routed in the previous weeks on Long Island and in Manhattan, and were about to be forced on a shameful, barefooted-in-the-snow retreat through New Jersey, with 90% of their troop strength depleted... any support at all was to be appreciated.

That the Dutch would show support at this juncture was particularly poignant given that, in November of 1776, it appeared the American cause was doomed. However, a mere month-and-a-half later, General George Washington would lead the Americans to unlikely victories in New Jersey at Trenton and Princeton in a ten-day campaign that to this day is recognized as one of the most brilliant triumphs in military history.

Hoera voor Nederland!

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Stoogey

Stoogey 219

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8 hours ago, Parliament said:

He was an idiot.

 

ETA

And I woulda thought the Government woulda took it because "artifacts."

That might be the way it works in the USA but you're wrong about English law. In fact, Prince Charles was so moved by Lawes' generosity, he influenced a change regarding finding artifacts in which the landowner is legally entitled to a share.

 

2 hours ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

We had a Fort Washington then?  Presumably named after George?

Yep. And Fort Lee, originally Fort Constitution on the opposite side of the Hudson River, was renamed after General Charles Lee in September 1776.

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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1384- Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland even though she is a woman

1532- Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro captures Inca Emperor Atahulpa blocking a blow to kill the emperor by a troop, leaving him with a sword wound scar on his hand, using him to control the Inca Empire. The Spanish executed Atahualpa, after he delivered a room “full of gold” but was tried and executed by strangulation after he agreed to be baptized instead of burning. He was baptized Francisco Atahulpa. To the Inca, death by fire meant that the soul could not go into the afterlife.

1821- William Bucknell is credited with officially opening the Santa Fe Trail opening trade with Mexico City. He connected trails and route used by natives, Mexicans, Spanish and French for hundreds of years

1907- Oklahoma suck up all of Indian Territory and joins the US as the 46th state.

1914- The Federal Reserve Bank of the US officially opens

1938- Swiss Chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman synthesizes LSD for the first time and its... its just fantastic...

1940- NYC “Mad Bomber” George Metesky places his first bomb at Manhattans Consolidated Edison.

1945- Operation Paperclip. The US admits 88 German scientists and engineers to help develop rocket technology

1989- El Salvadoran Deth Squad killed 6 Jesuit Missionaries and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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November 17 is "Den boje za svobodu a demokracii" ("Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day") in the Czech Republic, commemorating the student demonstration against Nazi occupation in 1939, and the protest in 1989 which began the Velvet Revolution. 

The day is also recognized as "International Students Day" in remembrance of Nazi Germany storming Czech universities and executing leaders of the protests, and sending countless others to concentration camps. Many universities throughout the world take advantage of the anniversary to promote multiculturalism and encourage the development of international student organizations. 

The 50th anniversary of the event, in 1989, marked an opportunity for student leaders together with the Socialist Union of Youth (SSM/SZM) to organize a mass protest against the communist party of Czechoslovakia. About 15,000 Czech students were thus responsible for the first steps taken towards the end of single-party rule in what are now the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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1558- Elizabethan Era begins when Mary I dies and is succeeded by Elizabeth I

1973- President Nixon told 400 members of the AP that “I’m not a crook”

1968- East Coast viewers of the Jets vs Raiders on NBC are denied the ability to see the exciting conclusion of the game in order to broadcast ‘Heidi’ instead. The outrage promptly leads to changes of sports broadcasting in the US

1970- USSR lands first remote robot, Lunokhod I, deployed in space on the moon. 

1950- Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama is enthroned as leader of Tibet at age 15

1871- National Rifle Association is given a charter by the state of NY

1869- inauguration of the Suez Canal

1855- Dr. David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls in present day Zimbabwe 

1800- The US Congress begins its first session in Washington DC

1771- Mozart’s “Ascanio in Alba” premiers in Milan. 

1603- Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason

1493- Christopher  Columbus lands in Puerto Rico.

 

 

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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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In 1307, Albrecht Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of the Swiss village of Altdorf (think "Sheriff of Nottingham" set in Switzerland here) raised a pole in the center of town, hung his hat on top of it, and decreed that all citizens must bow before the hat. 

On November 18, 1307, William Tell -- originally from Bürglen, which isn't really relevant to the story, I just like saying "Bürglen" -- visited Altdorf with his young son in tow. Upon being told to bow to the hat, Tell refused. 

Gessler knew of Tell's reputation as a marksman with his crossbow, and so devised a cruel punishment -- Tell and his son were to be executed, unless Tell could shoot an apple from atop his son's head. Tell, naturally, split the apple, as numerous children's cartoon renderings of the event undoubtedly informed you previously. 

The part of the story that is not generally told, however, is that Tell was incarcerated anyway; he had removed two bolts from his quiver, you see, and Gessler noticed. When asked why he drew two bolts, Tell's answer was chilling: "If I had missed, and injured my son, the second bolt was for your head." 

He escaped from the boat carrying him to prison across Lake Lucerne, ran cross-country to Küssnacht (Gessler's capital), arriving before Gessler, and assassinated him, sparking a rebellion which led to the creation of the Swiss Confederation, and making William Tell a Swiss national hero, and inspiring the music which would later be the theme to "The Lone Ranger" which is all most Americans need to know about the story.

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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1928- Th e release of Stamboat Willie and the first appearance of Micky Mouse

1307-William Tell shoots an apple off his sons head. 

401- The Visigoths finish their crossing of the Alps and officially invade northern Italy

1883- US and Canadian Railways institute 5 Time zones

2003- Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizes same sex marriage 

1999- at A&M 12 students are killed and 27 injured when their massive bonfire collapsed. The investigation concluded that the faggot of wood was critically flawed in engineering and poorly constructed leading the school to financially compensate the families of the victims after a very bitter legal battle.

1988- President Regan signs a bill into law that allows the death penalty for people convicted of drug trafficking without any evidence of violence. It didn’t work and is still seen internationally as an embarrassment for the US.

1985- Calvin and Hobbs is first published

1978- In Jonestown, Jim Jones led 918 of his followers to take their own lives, 270 were children. Shortly before, he had sent a death squad to murder a TV crew, exiting members and Congressman Leo. J Ryan. Serendipitously, when the camera man was killed his camera dropped to the ground in the direction of the attack, filming the murderers in the act.

1963- Fist push button phone goes into service 

1865- A story about a Frog Jumping Contest swindle by Mark Twain is printed in the New Your Saturday Press.

1626- St Peters Basilica is consecrated  

326- The old St. Peter’s Basilica is consecrated 

 

Edited by Doc Reeves
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Walden Ponderer

Walden Ponderer 12639

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In 2001, the World Toilet Organization (no, I'm not making this up, there really is such an organization) declared November 19 to be "World Toilet Day" (and no, I'm not making that up, either).

In 2010, in Malaysia, World Toilet Day celebrations concluded with around 400 of the approximately 5,700 public toilets in various schools, shopping centers, restaurants, etc. inspected by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government earning a 5 star rating, and winning cash prizes.

Unfortunately, over half the toilets inspected received only one or two stars. The World Toilet Organization has 151 member organizations in 53 countries, striving to remove a toilet taboo found in some parts of the world, improving sustainable sanitation, and working to make indoor plumbing accessible and affordable for all.

Their slogans, sadly, could use some work. Use your imagination, because I can't type any of the examples whilst and at the same time as keeping a straight face.

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HouTex

HouTex 1942

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1620 The Mayflower reaches Cape Cod & explores the coast

1805 Lewis & Clark expedition reaches the Pacific Ocean, first European Americans to cross the west

1950 US General Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of NATO-Europe

1953 US Supreme Court rules (7-2) baseball is a sport not a business

1961 Houston's George Blanda passes for 7 touchdowns vs NY Titans (49-13)

1962 Fidel Castro accepts removal of Soviet weapons

1969 Apollo 12's Charles Conrad & Alan Bean become 3rd & 4th humans on the Moon

1985 US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for first time

1985 In the largest civil verdict in US history, Pennzoil wins $10.53 billion judgement against Texaco

 

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El Diablo

El Diablo 4232

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2 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

In 2001, the World Toilet Organization (no, I'm not making this up, there really is such an organization) declared November 19 to be "World Toilet Day" (and no, I'm not making that up, either).

In 2010, in Malaysia, World Toilet Day celebrations concluded with around 400 of the approximately 5,700 public toilets in various schools, shopping centers, restaurants, etc. inspected by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government earning a 5 star rating, and winning cash prizes.

Unfortunately, over half the toilets inspected received only one or two stars. The World Toilet Organization has 151 member organizations in 53 countries, striving to remove a toilet taboo found in some parts of the world, improving sustainable sanitation, and working to make indoor plumbing accessible and affordable for all.

Their slogans, sadly, could use some work. Use your imagination, because I can't type any of the examples whilst and at the same time as keeping a straight face.

You posted this from your phone while on the shitter, didn't you?

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Stoogey

Stoogey 219

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Posted
On 11/17/2018 at 1:06 PM, Doc Reeves said:

1968- East Coast viewers of the Jets vs Raiders on NBC are denied the ability to see the exciting conclusion of the game in order to broadcast ‘Heidi’ instead. The outrage promptly leads to changes of sports broadcasting in the US

 

1950- Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama is enthroned as leader of Tibet at age 15

My father and I watched The Heidi Bowl. Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to win the game. Never got to see it.

The Dalai Lama is a Badger fan. I wish he'd do something about their football team.
TBEAofBy_o.jpg

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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1945- The Nuremberg Trials begin and last til the 1st of October. Known as “the greatest trial in history” the court was tasked with the charges against the highest surviving memeber of the Nazi Command. In the first days of the trial the mood of the defendants is jovial and defiant, particularly that of H. Goering. They maintain they knew nothing of the holocaust and the claim itself is Allied propaganda.Their mood is crushed day later when the hours of evidentiary film footage of Nazi atrocities compiled by the Allies is shown to the world. 

2008- Dow reaches its lowest point (7552.29) since 1997 due to several years of compiling failures in the financial system. This was a 47% drop in value from 2007.

1975- Francisco Franco dies after 36 years as military dictator of Spain. After his death, both parties decided on the “pact of forgetting” which basically said there would be no investigations or prosecutions for Franco or the civil war. That pact lapsed in 2000 and more pressure is mounting to investigate the civil war that brought him to power 

1969- Native activists occupy Alcatraz

1910- The Mexican Revolution begins

1805- Beethoven’s only opera ‘Fidelio’ opens in Vienna

285- Diocletian is chosen Emperor of Rome.

 

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El Diablo

El Diablo 4232

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1969- Native activists occupy Alcatraz

I vaguely remember this, they were claiming that Federal property that was no longer being used should revert to the original "owners" or something to that effect. Might have been a theme in the "Billy Jack" movies too, could be wrong there. Weird, interesting times.

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