Good morning on Sunday, February 26 (2017), and in Chicago the temperature is currently a chilly 26°F, or -3°C. (The high today is predicted to be 47° F, or 8° C.) It’s National Pistachio Day, honoring my second favorite nut (the first is the macadamia). Wikipedia editors: please correct the February 26 entry to reflect that it is NOT National Wear Red Day (calling attention to heart disease) in the UK, at least this year: it falls on June 9. Instead, it really is The Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly massacre in Azerbaijan.
On this day in 1616, Galileo was banned by the Catholic Church from teaching or promulgating the idea that the Earth goes around the Sun. (Nothing to do with religion, of course!) In 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba, and, on this day in 1919, Grand Canyon National Park was established by order of President Woodrow Wilson. Exactly ten years later, Calvin Coolidge established the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On February 26, 1980, Egypt and Israel established diplomatic relations, and, in 1993, the first World Trade Center bombing took place, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
Notables born on this day include Victor Hugo (1802), Levi Strauss (1829, we probably would not have jeans without him), Buffalo Bill (1846), John Kellogg (1852, we probably would not have cornflakes without him), Jackie Gleason (1916), Theodore Sturgeon (1919), Fats Domino (1926), and Johnny Cash (1932). Those who died on this day include jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge (1989).
Here’s a great jam session featuring not only Eldridge, but the great saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. This was in 1958, and most of these guys had seen better days, but they’re still great, and such video footage is rare. Hawk comes in at 3:50, and Eldridge at 7:50. There are many other legends here, including Cozy Cole and Johnny Johnny Guarnieri. You can hear one of my favorite Eldridge solos, “Rocking Chair,” here.
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has curled herself into a ball. There is virtually no position a cat can’t sleep in!:
A: Are you here again?Hili: Yes, I’m inscribing myself into a wheel of history.
Ja: Znowu tu jesteś?
Hili: Tak, wpisuję się w koło historii.
Hawk is so easy. Not hard to listen to.
Hili seems to be in full control. She looks pretty good on orange.
Wait a second!! I thought cashews were a close second to macadamia nuts for you, PCC(e). Please clarify.
They are, but I’d take macadamias over cashews. And pistachios over cashews, though that would be closser.
Able was I ere I saw Elba.
And without Sturgeon we would have no caviar; without Domino we would have no pizza; and without Cash we would have no money.
Most times, I think cats are the only creatures that truly know how to relax. I would really like to be a werehousecat so I could go feline at night and get a good night’s sleep no matter what.
I read The Lion in the Living Room based on seeing it mentioned in a previous WEIT post. It’s a decent book in most places, but chapter three has quite a few problems with the information. As one example, the author repeatedly refers to cats as nocturnal animals rather than crepuscular (which explains the “evening crazies”), and she seems unaware of the nested hunting and feeding behavior schema that cats exhibit, and she misattributes cat allergies to dander rather than saliva (which is spread by the dander via grooming). On the other hand, she pulls no punches when she describes the sometimes devastating effect cats have as an invasive species, something a lot of cat lovers gloss over. Overall, while there are some better sources, albeit much more technical, on cat behavior, it was worth reading, and the bibliography is also worth diving into. My library search list is full.
Animals, who don’t have to walk upgright, have body designs that are much easier to make comfortable. I envy quadrupeds.
Nice jazz video with Cozy Cole. Pianist doing some nice blues. Hey lady, stop that smoking! You’re a vocalist!