Today In History

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Thank you, Keith! You are so right! I didn’t know who composed “The Grand Canyon Suite”. Now I know!

As to his being “seminal” in the tone poem movement I would agree. As to the works produced, I would say they are “germinal”.

Dr. Ken and I had a lengthy discussion of the applicability and the merits of each.

[RTH10260]

To note the guy is mentioned in above Wiki as

arranger Ferde Grofé orchestrated the rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pit orchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring.

[pipistrelle]

I tripped over this.

[GlimDropper]

Found on facebook:

George Takei
·
On this day 82 years ago, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the height of insanity of racism after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, signed Executive Order 9066.

It ordered all Japanese Americans on the West Coast to be summarily rounded up and imprisoned within 10 barbed wire prison camps, with no charges, no trial, no due process.

One day, a few months later, we saw two soldiers marching up our driveway, carrying rifles with shiny bayonets on them. They stopped up the porch right in front of our window and banged on the front door. My father answered, and one of the soldiers pointed the rifle at him, right in front of us, and ordered us out of our home. I had just turned five in April; it was May when they came to take us away.

My father gave my brother Henry and me two heavy suitcases. And we brought them out onto the driveway and waited for our mother to come out. When she did, she had our baby sister in one arm, a huge duffel bag in the other, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

That is one morning that is seared into my memory. I will never be able to forget all the innocent people, my family included, who had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor, most of who were law abiding U.S. citizens, who were suddenly categorized as ‘enemy aliens.’

Today, I hear terrifying words from political leaders today that once more raise the specter of what happened before, right here in America.
Donald Trump and his allies are talking about rounding up 11 million people and putting them into mass detention camps before deporting them.
There won’t be time for due process, to sort out who is documented and who is not. Homes will be lost. Businesses, too. Families will be torn apart. Lives will be ruined, over fear and ignorance, all to serve the ambitions and agendas of politicians.
I know, because I lived through it.

I say, never again. Not while I have one ounce of fight still left in me.

Join me. Fight this madness. Help keep America from repeating the mistakes of its past.

[Flatpoint High]

On this day in history, Abraham Lincoln pardoned President Biden's great-great grandfather, Robinnete Biden.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/ ... dents-day/

[northland10]

Thank you, Keith! You are so right! I didn’t know who composed “The Grand Canyon Suite”. Now I know!

As to his being “seminal” in the tone poem movement I would agree. As to the works produced, I would say they are “germinal”.

Dr. Ken and I had a lengthy discussion of the applicability and the merits of each.

In terms of tone poems (or symphonic poems), I have 2001 reasons why you can go back earlier, such as to a dude named Richard Strauss.

The are probably folks with a Lizst of more folks that predates Strauss.

[keith]

In terms of tone poems (or symphonic poems), I have 2001 reasons why you can go back earlier, such as to a dude named Richard Strauss.

Yeah, point well made.

The are probably folks with a Lizst of more folks that predates Strauss.

I'm not convinced, but I don't know much about Lizst.

Edit: I stand corrected.

I just did 'my own research' and improved my understanding of the tone poem.

Liszt is considered the originator of the 'symphonic poem' which is another word for 'tone poem'.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Lizst was the Elton John/Billy Joel if his generation.

[northland10]

In terms of tone poems (or symphonic poems), I have 2001 reasons why you can go back earlier, such as to a dude named Richard Strauss.

Yeah, point well made.

The are probably folks with a Lizst of more folks that predates Strauss.

I'm not convinced, but I don't know much about Lizst.

Edit: I stand corrected.

I just did 'my own research' and improved my understanding of the tone poem.

Liszt is considered the originator of the 'symphonic poem' which is another word for 'tone poem'.

On this day, in 1854, Liszt referred to Les préludes as his new orchestral work. Two days later, an announcement about the upcoming premiere performance of the work scheduled for 23 February 1854, it was referred to as a Symphonische Dichtung (symphonic poem). Thus, the term appears to have been born.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_pr%C3%A9ludes

A trained musician using Wiki? Well, I'm too lazy to run to the library to check the New Grove Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians or dig out my copy of Donald Grout's music history book, A History of Western Music (the book my parents used in college during the late 50, the same one I used in the late 80s, and ones students at my alma mater use today, though each version has more history than the previous ones).

And here it is.

[RTH10260]

60 years ago - 1964 - Fail Safe film

1964 Cold War thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet

Fail Safe is a 1964 Cold War thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The film follows a crisis caused by a critical error that sends a group of U.S. bombers to destroy Moscow, and the ensuing attempts to stop the bomber group before it can deploy a nuclear first strike. The film features performances by actors Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton, Larry Hagman, Fritz Weaver, Dana Elcar, Dom DeLuise and Sorrell Booke.

In 2000, the novel was adapted again as a televised play starring George Clooney, Richard Dreyfuss and Noah Wyle, and broadcast live in black and white on CBS.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fail_Safe_(1964_film)

movie full length 1hr 52'

► Show Spoiler

[Suranis]

The 2000 version was excellent.

[John Thomas8]

Not exactly today, but Drachinifel visited the USS Monitor recently and on the 9th there's a commemoration of the battle:

[RTH10260]

10 years ago - March 8, 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 disappears

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370)[a] was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination, Beijing Capital International Airport in China.[1] The reason for its disappearance has not been determined.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_ ... Flight_370

[Whatever4]

Elizabeth Smart Marks 21st Anniversary of Kidnapping Rescue: ‘Always Be a Reminder That Miracles Happen’

The activist and commentator, 36, who was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City at the age of 14 in June 2002, shared a TikTok video on Tuesday to mark the date of her rescue.

“For those of you who don’t know me, my name’s Elizabeth Smart and back in 2002 I was kidnapped and I was held hostage for nine months but I was rescued on March 12th of 2003,” she continued. “So today is 21 years since I was rescued.”

She went on to say, “I know anniversaries mean a lot of different things for different people and I respect whatever it means to everyone individually but for me, it really is a reminder that life is good and that dreams really do come true and that we should never ever give up.”

[Volkonski]

Happy Evacuation Day!!!!

On this day in 1776 the Siege of Boston ended when British Army retreated from Boston while under attack by General George Washington.



The British skedaddled off to Nova Scotia.

However it is widely believed that the British stole the Sacred Cod from the Massachusetts State House. Massachusetts (and those of us who were born and grew up there) will never forgive them for this crime.

The replacement Cod installed in 1784 which still hangs in the State House-



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuatio ... achusetts)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Cod

[northland10]

Happy Evacuation Day!!!!

On this day in 1776 the Siege of Boston ended when British Army retreated from Boston while under attack by General George Washington.



The British skedaddled off to Nova Scotia.

However it is widely believed that the British stole the Scared Cod from the Massachusetts State House. Massachusetts (and those of us who were born and grew up there) will never forgive them for this crime.

The replacement Cod installed in 1784 which still hangs in the State House-



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuatio ... achusetts)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Cod

I am from the Midwest so at Culver's right now, I had the sacred Walleye instead of the Sacred Cod.

[RTH10260]

Happy Evacuation Day!!!!

However it is widely believed that the British stole the Scared Cod from the Massachusetts State House. Massachusetts (and those of us who were born and grew up there) will never forgive them for this crime.

shanghaied - no wonder it was scared

[northland10]

Tri-state tornado outbreak in 1925 kills 751.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-State ... o_outbreak

New London School explosion kills around 300 in 1937.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Londo ... _explosion

This day sucks.

[raison de arizona]

1965

Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, after passing through an air lock on the spacecraft Voskhod 2, became the first man to walk in space.

[RTH10260]

50 years ago - March 1974 - Discovery of the Terra Cotta Army site

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.[2] Other, non-military terracotta figures have been found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army

also :

(2009) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ ... -30942673/

(2020) https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/terra ... iors-china

[RTH10260]

100 years ago - 1924 - the Surrealism movement establishes itself

Origins can be traced back to the year 1917. In 1924 two Surrealist factions declared their philosophy in two separate Surrealist Manifestos.

snippet from a very extensive description in WIkiedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism

Surrealism is an art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike scenes and ideas.[1] Its intention was, according to leader André Breton, to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality", or surreality.[2][3][4] It produced works of painting, writing, theatre, filmmaking, photography, and other media as well.

Works of Surrealism feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur. However, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost (for instance, of the "pure psychic automatism" Breton speaks of in the first Surrealist Manifesto), with the works themselves being secondary, i.e., artifacts of surrealist experimentation.[5] Leader Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was, above all, a revolutionary movement. At the time, the movement was associated with political causes such as communism and anarchism. It was influenced by the Dada movement of the 1910s.[6]

The term "Surrealism" originated with Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917.[7][8] However, the Surrealist movement was not officially established until after October 1924, when the Surrealist Manifesto published by French poet and critic André Breton succeeded in claiming the term for his group over a rival faction led by Yvan Goll, who had published his own surrealist manifesto two weeks prior.[9] The most important center of the movement was Paris, France. From the 1920s onward, the movement spread around the globe, impacting the visual arts, literature, film, and music of many countries and languages, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy, and social theory.

[RTH10260]

30 years ago --- Apr 7, 1994 – Jul 15, 1994 --- The Rwandan genocide

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the actual number of fatalities is unclear, and some estimates suggest that the real number killed was likely lower. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide

[Suranis]

30 years ago --- Apr 7, 1994 – Jul 15, 1994 --- The Rwandan genocide

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the actual number of fatalities is unclear, and some estimates suggest that the real number killed was likely lower. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide

"Shake hands with the Devill: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" by the head of the UN peacekeeping force in Rawanda is a sobering read. He concludes he was sent there to fail. Why else would they send a man with no experiance in this stuff totally inadiquate resources and money, and have his reports of massacres ignored, with requests for another report?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shake_Han ... vil_(book)

[raison de arizona]

On this day in 1995, a right-wing terrorist detonated a truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 men, women & children, and injuring hundreds more, in the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

[AndyinPA]

Yes, and two years before it was Waco, Texas. Probably a coincidence, but I was already wondering if the fire of, apparently, a person, near the tfg hush trial will have anything to do with it.

And I recommend the movie on HBO and MAX about the Oklahoma Bombing.