Today is day 144 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Prickle-Prickle, Discord 71, 3187 YOLD (discordian) And let us not forget 13.0.8.9.16 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)
Jamestown is often described as the first permanent British settlement in what became the US. I have a quibble with that. Jamestown is currently some sort of living museum, a cross between a reenactment, a historical site, and Knott's Berry Farm. There was a point at which it ceased be be a functioning settlement, at which point it ceased being a "permanent settlement". By contrast, St. Augustine, founded about 42 years earlier (by the Spanish) has been continuously occupied as a village/town/city since its founding and is today a functioning city with hotels, restaurants, bars, schools, a small private college, a small private airport, and about 14,000 people. Jamestown may have been permanent, but it wasn't a permanent "settlement" in the same fashion as St. Augustine. Peter Minuit's legendary bargain purchase of Manhattan was just that, legend, or, if you prefer, a fraud. Manhattan was not for sale and could not be bought or sold, not from the Lenape or anybody else. Presaging their intolerant legislation of 1988, the so called British "Act of Toleration" of 1689 was nothing of the kind. The act provided for tolereance for those who swore to follow all kinds of rules and adhere to all kinds of beliefs of the dominant cult and to nobody else. On this day in history:
1218 – The disastrous Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt. 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appeared, the first printed catalog of an institutional library. 1607 – One hundred English colonists disembarked in Jamestown, establishing a permanent beachhead for the invasion to follow 1626 – Peter Minuit allegedly bought Manhattan even though it wasn't for sale. 1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, opened. 1689 – The English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration which waas no such thing 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began 1813 – Simón Bolívar entered Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela 1822 – Antonio José de Sucre won independence for the Presidency of Quito at the Battle of Pichincha 1844 – Samuel Morse sent a Bible text from DC to Baltimore by telegraph to open the line between those cities 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic 1930 – Amy Johnson landed in Darwin becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performed the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight. 1940 – Iosif Grigulevich failed in an attempt to assassinate Trotsky. 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest was held 1958 – United Press International was formed 1961 – Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for getting off their bus 1962 – Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule. 1976 – The Judgment of Paris took place 1988 – The UK passed a law making it illegal for local governments to intentionally promote homosexuality 1993 – Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia. 2000 – Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation. 2002 – Russia and the United States signed an arms reduction treaty
Born this day in:
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows
~~ Bob Dylan 1494 – Pontormo, painter 1544 – William Gilbert, physician, physicist, and astronomer 1868 – Charles Edward Taylor, Inventor, engineer, machinist, and mechanic; built the Wright Brothers' first engine and maintained their planes. 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, physician, journalist, revolutionary, and politician 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, painter 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, painter and academic 1863 – George Grey Barnard, sculptor 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, efficiency expert, time and motion studies promoter 1899 – Henri Michaux, poet and painter (d. 1984) 1902 – Sylvia Daoust, sculptor 1905 – George Nakashima, woodworker and architect 1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, novelist and short story writer, 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, soldier and painter 1937 – Archie Shepp, saxophonist and composer 1938 – Prince Buster, singer, songwriter, and producer 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, poet and essayist 1941 – Bob Dylan, singer, songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; 1944 – Patti LaBelle, singer, songwriter, and actress 1945 – Terry Callier, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1947 – Albert Bouchard, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and drummer 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer 1955 – Rosanne Cash, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1956 – Larry Blackmon, singer, songwriter, and producer 1960 – Guy Fletcher, keyboard player, guitarist, and producer 1969 – Rich Robinson, guitarist and songwriter 1973 – Rodrigo, singer and songwriter 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Isinger and keyboard player
Died this day in:
Enslave the liberty of but one human being and the liberties of the world are put in peril.
~~ William Lloyd Garrison 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, mathematician and astronomer 1632 – Robert Hues, mathematician and geographer 1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, physician and chemist 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, mathematician and academic 1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, author and composer 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, journalist and activist 1881 – Samuel Palmer, painter and illustrator 1956 – Martha Annie Whiteley, chemist and mathematician 1963 – Elmore James, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, singer, songwriter, and harmonica player 1974 – Duke Ellington, pianist and composer 1991 – Gene Clark, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, journalist and author (b. 1908) 2000 – Kurt Schork, journalist and scholar 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, organist and bandleader 2009 – Jay Bennett, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 2010 – Paul Gray, bass player and songwriter 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, journalist and author 2014 – Stormé DeLarverie, LGBT hero, Read her wikipedia entry
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Asparagus Day National Escargot Day Aviation Maintenance Technician Day (See Charles Edward Taylor, born 5.25/1868)
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
Patti LaBelle
Elmore James
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Duke Ellington
Jimmy McGriff
Robert Zimmerman
All right, this is where you list your favorite 100 or so Dylan songs and make note of those I left out. You may then post them in the comments but please don't hit me with all kinds of "How could you possibly leave out Lonseome Death of Hattie Carroll?" type static. Alternatively, you could try to guess which one we played at our wedding (though I probably won't tell) or what my selection criteria were (ditto)
It's an open thread, so do your thing, got it? Below this point this is a public forum, your forum, nothing is off topic, so go for it
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com