This is a pretty cool day, historically speaking. I've been doing a bit of research, you see, and while I know that for most of you, August 12 is tomorrow, for me it's today, and I'm going to enlighten you with just a fraction of what I've found.
In 1484, Sixtus IV, [Francesco della Rovere], Pope since 1471, died. A few years later, on a date that many of us now actually recognise, Christopher Columbus discovers the Canary Islands. That was 1492. Yes, the movie with Gérard Depardieu.
Much like our Hatrack Trolls, in 1553 Pope Julius III ordered the confiscation and burning of the Jewish Talmud, while chanting "I'm right and you're wrong - God doesn't love you!" then in an-popely fit, stuck his fingers in his ears and loudly exclaimed "lalalalalalalalalalalala I can't hear you.
However, in a pre-realisation of the spirit of brother (and sister) hood of Hatrack, the first war between American colonists and Native Americans ended in New England in 1676. It was then that the (((((hug))))) convention was instituted.
In 1757 ALF was born. You remember ALF? Surely?
1759 saw the Battle of Kunersdorf when the Russian-Austrian army overpowered the Prussians. All because of a silly little "P".
Some Births:
1881: Cecil B deMille, Mass, directed God (10 Commandments, Cleopatra) 1887: Erwin Schrödinger, Austria, physicist (The guy with the cat. Or not, as the case may be) 1931: William Goldman, author (Lord of the Flies-Nobel 1983 {and not, it turns out, author of "Princess Bride"}) 1936: John Poindexter, US Chief of Staff 1949: Mark Knopfler, guitar/vocals (Dire Straits-Sultans of Swing, MTV) 1959: Suzanne Vega, NYC, rocker (My Name is Luka, Tom's Diner)
And Some Deaths:
1964: Ian L Fleming, British journalist/writer (James Bond), dies at 56 1992: John Cage, avante-garde composer, dies of a stroke at 79
Some Inventions/Events: 1851: Isaac Singer patents sewing machine 1865: Joseph Lister became the first doctor to use disinfectant during surgery. 1877: Thomas Edison invents Edisonphone, a sound recording device 1909: The Georgia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution calling on Congress to create a $5 million prize for the first person to discover an effective method to eliminate the boll weevil. 1914: Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary 1923: Enrico Tiraboschi is 1st to swim English Channel westward 1927: "Wings," the only silent film to win an Oscar for best picture, opens 1935: Babe Ruth's final game at Fenway Park, 41,766 on hand 1941: French Marshal Henri Petain gave full support to Nazi Germany 1942: British premier Churchill arrives in Moscow, meets Stalin
1966 - The last tour for the Beatles began at the International Amphitheater in Chicago; and John Lennon apologized for boasting that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. London’s "Catholic Herald" said Lennon’s comment was “arrogant ... but probably true.”
1967 - Fleetwood Mac made their stage debut at the National Blues and Jazz Festival in Great Britain.
1981- IBM (International Business Machines) introduced the Model 5150 PC (personal computer). The IBM PC ran on the Intel 8088 microprocessor at 4.77 mHz with one or two 160K floppy disk drives. It had 16 kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k, five 8-bit ISA slots, a 65-watt power supply, no built-in clock, no built-in serial or parallel ports, and no built-in video capability -- it was available with an optional color monitor. MS-DOS 1.0/1.1 was issued with the PC (IBM later released its own operating system: PC-DOS). Prices started at $1,565.
1982 - The Dow Jones industrial average hit bottom, closing at 776.92. The next morning, a bull market began that lasted until the 500-point crash of 1987.
2002: CDAC announces it is moving to Linux Operating System for Super Computing with support from IBM.
Today is also:
: Thailand Queen's Birthday : Texas Pioneer' Day : Massachusetts, Oklahoma Indian Day : Cuba People's Victory Against Machado Tyranny
And in Music History, this songs were top of the charts on August 12:
1959 A Big Hunk O' Love - Elvis Presley There Goes My Baby - The Drifters Lavender-Blue - Sammy Turner The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
1967 Light My Fire - The Doors All You Need is Love - The Beatles Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees Ode to Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
1975 Jive Talkin' - The Bee Gees Please Mr. Please - Olivia Newton-John Why Can't We be Friends? - War Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
1983 Every Breath You Take - The Police Maniac - Michael Sembello Stand Back - Stevie Nicks Your Love's on the Line - Earl Thomas Conley
1987 I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2 I Want Your Sex - George Michael Heart and Soul - T’Pau One Promise Too Late - Reba McEntire
1989, the song "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.
It's also Steve Wozniak's birthday - co-inventor of Apple Computer, born 1950.
However, to balance it out, the Dark Side also has a special occasion today: 1996 saw the release of the first Microsoft Browser.
Oh. And it's my birthday.
[ August 11, 2003, 09:54 PM: Message edited by: Troubadour ]
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Nice set-up, Troubs. You win...
This does sound like a cool day, all in all. By the way, you have the dubious pleasure of being the first person I've known to have an August birthday. That I've heard about, that is...
(Doesn't know too many people)
OH! And Happy Birthday!!!
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Happy Birthday, Troubs! I had no idea ALF was that old.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
Happy Birthday, you Aussie hunk, you!
Hope it's grand. Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Your birthday!? Well then, it's the best gosh darn day ever (at least until the next persons birthday!
Happy Birthday dude!!
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Wow.
Happy birthday!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Happy Birthday, darlin' Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Unless they are in some sort of siamese twin situation that I didn't know about, WIlliam Goldman (author of The Princess Bride) and William Golding (author of The Lord of The Flies) are two different people.
Oh, and to take away from being such a smartass, Happy Birthday.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Um... But William Goldman didn't write The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern did. William Goldman merely adapted it for publication. He did, however, write the script for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Happy Birthday! Posted by Ethics Gradient (Member # 878) on :
Happy Birthday, Kelsey! Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I don't know if you were joking, Ryuko, but just in case you didn't know, there is no such person as S. Morgenstern. William Goldman invented him as part of the story of The Princess Bride. Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Really? Well I was hornswoggled again. ;_; (pouts)
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
Thanks all! Seeing "We Will Rock You!" tonight, heading down the Mornington Peninsula on the weekend....
All in all, a pretty good birthday!
Thanks Fitz and Mac for the pressies - and Squicky for pointing out my error... I just so wanted it to be true!!
Posted by Geoffrey Card (Member # 1062) on :
"Unless they are in some sort of siamese twin situation that I didn't know about, WIlliam Goldman (author of The Princess Bride) and William Golding (author of The Lord of The Flies) are two different people."
Oddly enough, however, William Goldman's birthday is tomorrow, August 12. He's turning 72. Everyone send him a card.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Happy birthday to one of my favorite Aussies!
Posted by Geoffrey Card (Member # 1062) on :
Not only that, but William Golding was born on September 19th. Clearly, we've got a few mixed-up facts here Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I knew it all along. You are ALF.
Happy Birthday!!! Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
Ok, so I got one date wrong in two entirely different ways.
Sue the internet.
And here's to ya all:
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
quote:1967 Light My Fire - The Doors All You Need is Love - The Beatles Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees Ode to Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
1975 Why Can't We be Friends? - War
1983 Every Breath You Take - The Police Stand Back - Stevie Nicks
1987 I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2
Pretty good day for top songs, in several years.
Oh, and happy birthday. Aren't we August people special?
Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :
Happy Birthday Troubs!
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
Aren't we just Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
i'm glad you're on this planet. hey, that's something, ain't it??!
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
That's a whole lotta somethin', Sara Posted by Zotto! (Member # 4689) on :
*splats Troubs in the face with a big ol' cake*
Happy birthday, man!
[ August 12, 2003, 02:06 AM: Message edited by: Zotto! ]
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I just recieved a note. Today is also the festival of Raksha Bandhan
quote:The annual "festival" of Raksha Bandhan, which is meant to commemorate the abiding ties between siblings of opposite sex, usually takes place in late August, and is marked by a very simple ceremony in which a woman ties a rakhi ? which may be a colorful thread, a simple bracelet, or a decorative string ? around the wrist of her brother(s). The word "raksha" signifies protection, and "bandhan" is an association signifying an enduring sort of bond; and so, when a woman ties a rakhi around the waist of her brother, she signifies her loving attachment to him. He, likewise, recognizes the special bonds between them, and by extending his wrist forward, he in fact extends the hand of his protection over her. The thread-tying ceremony is sometimes preceded by the woman conducting aarti before her brother, so that the blessings of God may be showered upon him, and this is to the accompaniment of her enunciation or chanting of a mantra, which may be in Sanskrit or one of the other Indian languages.
In Punjabi, for instance, the mantra says: "Suraj shakhan chhodian / Mooli chhodia beej / Behen ne rakhi bandhi / Bhai tu chir jug jee", which can be roughly translated as follows: "The sun radiates its sunlight / the radish seeds / I (the sister) tied the rakhi / brother, may you live long." After the conclusion of the ceremony, she places a sweet in her mouth, and he might return the gesture. The brother bestows a small gift upon his sister, generally in the form of a small sum of money, such as Rupees 51, 101, 251, or 501.
It is doubtless possible, from a feminist perspective, to view raksha bandhan as another _expression of patriarchal culture, however well-intentioned. It is, after all, the brother who extends his protection to his sister, and the woman who, in a manner of speaking, agrees to place herself under the protection of her brother. Against such a reading, one could well argue that the festival seeks to celebrate simply the affectionate ties between siblings of opposite sex, and that the brother-sister nexus is, comparatively speaking, innocent. This is scarcely to say that the relationship is devoid of power, or that there are not habitual practices and customs which define the relationship. But the real significance of raksha bandhan may lie elsewhere. Though it has been common in most societies for the woman to leave her natal home at marriage for her husband's home, in India this is firmly entrenched as a social practice, and has often had undesirable consequences.
Women who are subjected to harassment or life-threatening behavior on account of dowry by the husband's family have often been reluctant to return to their natal home, and similarly parents are reluctant to take back their married daughters on account of the immense stigma attached to the return of a married daughter. There is ample evidence to suggest that the problem of dowry has unquestionably been aggravated by the social sanction placed upon married daughters residing in their natal home. Consequently, raksha bandhan can be viewed as an occasion for reasserting a woman's ties to her natal home. The brother conveys a message to his sister that she has not been abandoned by her biological kin; similarly, the woman conveys a message to her husband's family that she can well count upon her natal family to come to her assistance.
Though in principle raksha bandhan is an observance between biological siblings of the opposite sex, the practice often extends more generally to people of the opposite sex who are not biologically related, or who are not related as siblings. On raksha bandhan day, a number of women may tie the rakhi around the Prime Minister's wrist (unless the Prime Minister be a woman), and similarly soldiers can expect to have women tie rakhis around their wrists.
Everywhere, especially in north and western India, females might tie a rakhi around the wrist of boys and men without sisters. A man might acquire a muh boli behen, that is a sister who in every respect is such except in biological fact; or a woman may tie a rakhi around the wrist of her male first cousin who is without sisters. Imagining a person of the opposite sex as a sibling is certainly one way of obscuring the problem of sexual desire, and Indian texts are rife with the observation that men should look upon women as their sisters and mothers.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
That's the one! That's the ceremony I took part in last year.
The Indian students here have thier sisters mail them rakhis and they either put them on themselves, or ask a female here to do it.
I was told that it was based in on a story about a queen who's people were being attacked. She sent a fine threaded bracelet to a neighboring ruler and asked for help, saying that the thread was a symbol of the tie between them as brother and sister.
I was also told that the sisters give gifts like chocolates, so I made some mint trains for him.
I didn't get any money....
Oh, and happy birthday! Posted by Vána (Member # 3262) on :
In an attempt to save the whole Princess Bride reference, you will perhaps be pleased to know that Mark Knopfler wrote the music for the movie.
Does that help?
Happy Birthday either way!!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Happy Birthday, Troubs! Give us a song! Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Happy Birthday!!! Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Happiest of birthdays and may this year bring you unexpected joy, great happiness and success in the fields of your choosing!
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
Thanks Guys!
I did indeed know that Mark Knopfler wrote the music for Princess Bride!
My beautiful lass and I went and saw We Will Rock You, the Queen musical, last night. My sister bought us some good seats... a truly superb show!
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