RenoVous

  Despite the ridiculousness in the White House right now and a strong desire to not celebrate these United States, this weekend is a pretty big deal. "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -Mark Twain Open Thread since I'll be off tomorrow and Monday.  We're going down to Vegas - not for the 4th in particular, but other scheduled plans. For Science is Fun Fridays: Benjamin Franklin is widely considered the first American scientist, which was rooted in natural philosophy.  He founded the American Philosophical Society with the purpose of "promoting useful knowledge." Site

  From the collection, A Warning to the Curious, I finished this story yesterday. And it actually spooked me. The ones before it were subtle hauntings, told as stories heard from someone else, of some perceived curse or disruption of a spirit. But this one contained a true horror trying to hide itself within a ghost story. I still shudder to think of it. So what have you been reading?

  Eyes on Asteroids This day marks the anniversary of the Tunguska event in Siberia, 1908. It was the largest impact in recorded history, but as we touched on before, it never actually hit the ground.  It exploded in the air, sending a shockwave that flattened millions of trees across 830 square miles. The largest confirmed impact crater is the Vredefort in South Africa, formed about 2 billion years ago. The Chicxulub crater is buried underneath the Yucatan Peninsula, from 66 million years ago.

 Lauryn Hill wins the Living Legend Icon Award at the BET Awards. Teyana Taylor Kelly Rowland Queen Latifah Millie Bobby Brown Zendaya Ali Larter Zoey Deutch Milly Alcock

  Often called the "rainforests of the sea," coral reefs are just as important, supporting over 25% of marine life.  If an area of the Amazon turned white, we would be concerned. But scientists have been fighting for years to make us understand the global red flag of dying reefs. When they collapse, it's not just a loss of biodiversity, it's a loss of human food security and coastal safety. The  Allen Coral Atlas  is powered by Arizona State University, originally conceived by Paul Allen. Teams have mapped reefs across the globe, and continue to monitor for bleaching events.  All it takes is a 2 degree rise in water temperature for the corals to stress react by purging the algae that lives within it. The algae is what produces 90% of the coral's energy through photosynthesis.  Without the algae, the polyps turn clear, so all we see is the skeletal structure.  Without enough energy to eat, the coral will eventually die. Okay, so not fun-filled informati...

  I've been following Winnie Harlow (Chantelle Brown-Young) since I first saw her on America's Next Top Model in 2014. She's had one of the more successful careers after the show. More importantly, she became a spokesperson and a positive figure for those with vitiligo. Vitiligo is a condition in which the immune system targets melanocytes, the cells that produce melanin, the pigment that contributes to skin, hair, and eye color. This is of course most noticeable on darker skin tones, but around 3 million people in the US are affected.

 10 years ago, the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Florida became the deadliest attack on the gay community in this country.  Prior to that, it had been arson at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans in 1973. A fire was set in the stairway, which trapped and killed 32 people.  The cause was noted as "undetermined," however, so no one was ever arrested. Fifteen people who jumped from the second story reported smelling gasoline before the blaze. Churches in the area reportedly refused to host funerals, and a bishop even rebuked one reverend who held a prayer service for the victims. In 2013, the Catholic Archdiocese apologized.

  Back in high school, my bestie took me along to see this at our local theater. Bob Fosse is considered the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in the twentieth century.  The play is a showcase of his choreography, but we'll pull from the originals. "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity "Nowadays" and "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago "Steam Heat" from The Pajama Game "Manson Trio" and "Glory" from Pippin "Mein Herr" , of course. And here he is performing "From This Moment On" from Kiss Me, Kate

David and Victoria Beckham Zendaya Michelle Obama Eve Colman Domingo Queen Maxima Angelina Jolie Lexi Minitree rewears a dress Reese Witherspoon wore to Legally Blonde.  She is the new Elle Woods.

 In a three month period, archaeologists found two cannonballs from the famous Battle of Alamo, 1836. The one on the left is from the Mexican side, and is made of bronze. The one on the right is from the Texas side, made of iron. While many other pieces of ammunition and shrapnel have been found around the site, these are the first examples of "solid shots" they have ever found. The battle was part of the Texas Revolution, and it became a state 10 years later in 1846. It was the westernmost slave state, and today is Juneteenth. The day that the news of freedom finally reached Galveston in 1865. The Bolivar Archaeological Project has recovered artifacts belonging to pioneering Black entrepreneurs during Reconstruction.   Tom Cook

It's been a morning at work, and I'm not too inspired by any of the day's topics, but summer starts on Sunday and you know we've already been enjoying the outdoors. Hot days and long nights. So this can be whatever you want today - history, music, summer vibes, whatever. 😊

  One of my favorite shots from the Statue of Liberty, which arrived in New York Harbor on this day, 1885. Designed by sculptor, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, with assistance from Gustave Eiffel, the project began in 1870.  Construction started in 1875 and was completed in the summer of 1884.  It had to be shipped in pieces, in more than 200 cases. It was named, "Liberty Enlightening the World." The corner stone of the pedestal was laid August 5, 1884. The completed dedication ceremony took place October 28, 1886. Ellis Island opened in 1892, serving as America's chief immigration station, where many saw Lady Liberty as a symbol of a new beginning. The famous poem by Emma Lazarus was added in 1903. This is part of the old Fort Wood (on which the pedestal was built), a star shaped fortress built in 1808 to protect the harbor during the War of 1812.  It remained an active military post until 1937.

  Released fully in 1922, James Joyce's Ulysses  takes place in a single day - June 16, 1904. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential books in the English language, and it is especially celebrated in Dublin. I have a cousin Molly Bloom, her mother's a big fan, and a few years ago they were in Ireland for this day.  They attended a reading and had lunch at the Davy Byrnes pub. In the book, Leopold Bloom has a Gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of burgundy there. Ulysses has been on banned lists for being "obscene."  In fact, there was a trial in the United States when a literary magazine, The Little Review, published a chapter in April 1920.  The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice filed charges against the editors under the Comstock Act of 1873, which made it illegal to send obscene materials through the US Mail. The episode did include Leopold masturbating on the beach.  Sexual inner monologues are throughout the book, as well as d...

 World Cup Performance Ejae Taylor Swift Olivia Rodrigo Zendaya Greta Lee Abubakar Salim Kristin Scott Thomas That's the best we're gonna get.

  Our counterclockwise bias has been proven yet again. A study back in 2013 looked specifically at mosh pits during heavy metal concerts.  And you can see the circle in motion. Then in 2020, an international team was studying social distancing, and found that we may not be moving as randomly as we think. So they set out to study this directly, and found a significant preference for turning left. This was mapped across a variety of age groups, cultural settings, and spaces. They also tested individual movement.  209 people were asked to walk freely within a hexagonal enclosure, and showed that without influence of a crowd, there is still a significant bias. Researchers aren't sure why we do this, but they did rule out something in the eyes - participants were also patched and blindfolded, and the results did not change. Understanding this can be important for building design and emergency planning.  If people are going to unconsciously want to go left....

 A Finnish symphonic metal band, currently composed of three classically trained cellists. Their first album, Apocalyptica Plays Metallica,  was released in 1996.  Just a couple years ago they released Volume 2. I bought one of their albums that includes other band covers (like Pantera) as well as a few originals. But this is the song I wanted. I hadn't looked into the newer covers though, so I was super stoked when they opened with this. From the first volume, this was the first Metallica song they played together. You can hear how much fuller their sound has gotten over the years, as they fully embraced neoclassical metal. It was a full Metallica set, and I had a great time. 🤘

 The Salem Witch Trials began in February of 1692, following fits experienced by children in the village, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams.  A doctor concluded they were suffering from the effects of witchcraft, and the girls were pressured to name names. On this day in 1692, Bridget Bishop was found guilty and was the first to be hanged. She was not the first to be charged though.  That was Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba.  As an enslaved woman from Barbados, owned by Samuel Parris, she was the presumed main culprit, with her "Haitian Vodou."  She was allowed to contest at trial, and she helped point fingers at others. Bishop had been accused by more individuals than anyone else.  She didn't dress by Puritan standards, she had been married three times, and she was known to frequent taverns. HEATHEN! Many were found guilty based on the response of the "afflicted" during proceedings.  By October, the special court had been dissolved by the g...

 Sacred Celtic Knot Tree of Life, Yggdrasil. Celtic knots and spirals have been used in art and architecture for centuries.  Interlacing patterns spread out from Roman art, and have been found in Byzantine art, Ethiopian art, and Russian art. The knots are symbolic and carry different meanings.  The Celtic Cross was used long before Christianity came to the Celts, and it represented the four elements and four cardinal directions.  The circle represents the sun, moon, and the infinite cycles of nature.  It was then known as a Sun Cross, or Solar Wheel. The Book of Kells is a 9th century manuscript, containing the four gospels of the New Testament.  Almost all of the folios contain some decorative art, such as within letters. The Dara knot is a modern design based on lore and tradition.  Ancient oaks were considered a symbol of strength, wisdom, and endurance.  It represents the roots. The oldest is the Celtic spiral, also known as triskele, dating ...

 Sir, yes, Sir! Jeremy Pope Laura Benanti Rose Byrne Amber Ruffin Camila Mendes Colman Domingo Emily Blunt H.E.R. Naomi Watts Jennifer Lopez