It’s Friday, July 20, 2018, and National Lollipop Day (some Americans call them “suckers”). It’s also International Chess Day, celebrating the day that the International Chess Federation (the pusillanimous FIDE) was founded 94 years ago.
Things happening on this day: In 1807, according to Wikipedia, “Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world’s first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.” In 1848, after only two days, the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention ended in New York. You’d think they would have required a lot more than two days to discuss the inequities and what to do about them! On this day in 1903, the Ford Motor Company shipped its first automobile from Detroit. The proud owner was Ernest Pfennig, a Chicago dentist, who, on July 23, received a Model A that looked like this:
On July 20, 1944, German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators tried, unsuccessfully, to assassinate Adolf Hitler by putting a bomb in the Führer’s field headquarters. More than 7000 people were arrested after this attempt, and nearly 5,000 executed, including von Stauffenberg and Erwin Rommel, who was forced to commit suicide even though he might not have even been part of the plot. On this day in 1960, Ceylon elected Sirimavo Bandaranaike its Prime Minister, making her the world’s first elected female head of government.
And who can forget this day in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Here’s the famous film from that Apollo 11 landing when the first human foot stepped on another celestial body (I was watching on television, a callow youth of 19):
On July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died at age 32 from brain edema. Exactly three years later, the American Viking 1 probe successfully landed on Mars. It was active for 2307 days: over six years. On this day in 2005, same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada. Finally, exactly one year ago today, O. J. Simpson got parole, released from prison after serving only 9 years of a 33 year sentence.
Notables born on July 20 include Petrarch (1304), painter and photographer László Moholy-Nagy, (1895), Edmund Hillary (1919), Cormac McCarthy (1933), Natalie Wood (1938), Carlos Santana (1947) and Sandra Oh (1971). Those who passed on on this day include Bernhard Riemann (1866), Pancho Villa (1923), Bruce Lee (1973; see above), Lucian Freud (2011), and Theodore Bikel (2015). Here’s a nice self portrait by Lucian Freud, one of the few modern painters (i.e., working after 1950) I like:
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is scornful of humanity. Malgorzata explains: “Do you approve human conduct in almost every field? Hili doesn’t and she thinks they should know better. Andrzej is of the same opinion.”
Hili: Humans should know better.A: I think so too.
Hili: Ludzie powinni wiedzieć lepiej.
Ja: Też tak myślę.
Tweets from Heather Hastie, with this one a bizarrely shaped treehopper that has clearly evolved to mimic an ant. The ant “sculpture” emanates from its head and thorax:
Insect of the day: A titchy South American treehopper (Cyphonia clavata) whose elaborate pronotum is a fake ant. The imitated 'ant' head faces towards the back of the treehopper. More here: https://t.co/GV7emP5ozB pic.twitter.com/1Dch6qwT9p
— Ross Piper (@DrRossPiper) July 18, 2018
Here’s a lovely woman who rescues bats; be sure to put the sound on:
This woman's rescued hundreds of bats and helped them recover in her home ️🦇❤️ pic.twitter.com/mJ99W8LU5o
— The Dodo (@dodo) July 18, 2018
A gaggle of goats jump over a chasm. The adults seem to do it effortlessly:
https://twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1019642142283784193
Look at this thing! How can it even be alive?
https://twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1019663179788451841
Bengal cat family. Some day one like these will be mine. . .
https://twitter.com/Elverojaguar/status/1019658207738908677
A rabbit who consumes mass quantities:
https://twitter.com/CUTEFUNNYANIMAL/status/1019576071015018496
And a budding romance between a woman and a white tiger:
https://twitter.com/Elverojaguar/status/1019266460282249217
From Matthew, we have several tweets, including this one giving yet another paper with no evidence of “epigenetic inheritance” of stress-induced changes in DNA:
https://twitter.com/niederhuth/status/1019200439894634497
The marvels of sexual selection:
🎶 Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off… 🎶#AnimalsBehavingBadly pic.twitter.com/0PkiDtqRWD— BBC One (@BBCOne) July 18, 2018
God, in danger of being expelled as Chief Deity, tenders an apology:
I’m deeply sorry for the racist, sexist and homophobic things I wrote when I was younger.
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 18, 2018
More evidence of Matthew’s love of nightjars. Look at that chick!
As part of our study we have been monitoring a number of nests, some with nest cams. This has enabled us to get a totally different insight into this magical birds life cycle, whilst capturing some great images in the process @_BTO @DorsetWildlife @DorsetBirds @harbourbirds pic.twitter.com/VCskU33KXl
— Dorset Nightjars (@DNightjars) July 17, 2018
Can you guess the two novels alluded to in the following tweet?
https://twitter.com/jonathancoe/status/1019221581845934081
What aliens might think if they looked at the “universal contact plaque” upside down (this was partly designed by Carl Sagan):
Oops. pic.twitter.com/k7gu0wjLQi
— Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb) July 19, 2018
Damselfly with really spiffy boots!
Damselfly w/ boots pic.twitter.com/zedSooQva0
— Brett Morgan (@vagr_ant) July 19, 2018
And a weird geological formation that I’d love to see in person:
Igneous intrusions !!!
⚒ Hosta Beach rock formations – North Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Amazing Geologist pic.twitter.com/togBoISwve
— Geology Tweets (@GeologyTime) July 19, 2018
Finally, an Off the Mark cartoon by Mark Parisi, sent by reader Diane G. It’s a clever and foolproof method for keeping d*gs off the Internet:
Never give a sucker an even break!
Related to the “universal contact plaque” I used to feel embarrassed that we blasted a mix tape on a phonograph album into space. But now.. now I’m sure the aliens will say: “Whoa, check it out! These creatures have gone back to vinyl. Clearly they are civilized. We shouldn’t eat them.”
The model A, a real collector’s item.
I watched the moon landing in the day room in the barracks at RAF Lakenheath.
I listened on the radio from Lai Khe, Vietnam while with Alpha Company, 227th Assualt Helicopter Battalion, 1st Calvary Division.
One wag asked if they took fire while landing.
>>Apollo 11 landing
I was fortunate to be in the USA on that glorious and memorable day.
I also remember the papers the next day. Volkswagen had taken a centre-spread ad in all of the papers I read. Under a picture of the Lunar Module, it simply said, “It’s ugly, but it gets you there.” There is no other car ad I remember from that year(or any other).
Alan.
The Third Policeman & At Swim-Two-Birds by Brian O’Nolan/Flann O’Brien.
The Third Policeman is one of my favourite books of all-time. It’s completely mind-blowing.
The Third Policeman and The Poor Mouth (aka An Béal Bocht in the original Irish), I think.
The Poor Mouth one depends on pronouncing “paw” & “poor” more or less the same, which might work better for Bostonians than most? Doesn’t work well for this Dubliner in any case.
Yep, you’re probably right. I interpreted the first emoji as bird footprints and that, together with the female lips, gave me two birds, “bird” being British/Irish slang for a young woman. What the hell was I thinking!
An interesting pancake to be sure.
But what is your opinion of the three-speed gear?
Here in London I sat up most of the night with my heavily pregnant wife to watch the Moon landing. It seemed something close to a miracle. Such courage. Armstrong and Aldrin had the right stuff by the bucket load. Collins too of course.
Didn’t know her name or face before today. Sub to bat lady’s [Megan] channel on YouTube if you like your bats: Batzilla
This is easily my favorite moon landing videot
Holy shit, the fake landing.
Bats and Lucien Freud. Made my day!
I think my favourite Freud is Benefits Supervisor sleeping.
I did a presentation on Freud in my Art History class two years ago. When showing the images of Leigh Bowery, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping and others, I suggested we think of the artist approaching flesh as a landscape. That approach gave me a fresh perspective – and several others agreed.
An interesting perspective. Freud is so honest, paints what he sees, warts and all. Rembrandt did the same.
About the “epigenetics inheritance” thing – do we know how conserved across lineages the demethylation (?) mechanisms are?
As an occasional philatelist I wondered about this today, and indeed von Stauffenberg was commemorated on a postage stamp, along with seven other resistance martyrs including Sophie Scholl, all the way back in 1964.
O ! in re “I was watching on television,” as
was I ! I can still in my brain’s neuron
see that black and white – screen’s worth of The Walk !
And with two fully paid for – tickets in tow,
I was also getting readied that / this day
some 49 years ago … … for thumbing it
over the very next month to Mr Yasgur’s Bethel acreage
and … … Woodstock !
What a summertime y1969’s was !
Blue
So you made it to Woodstock in 69 and I made it to the Isle of Wight Festival a bit later in 70. Between us we covered the two largest outdoor music events in history. It is stated that as many as 600,000 made it to the Isle festival but I was not counting.
We did DO that, didn’t we, Randall ? !
My three Boys, when they introduce their mama
to their friends ? Well, I have done a few
other things within my life; actually I have.
But. When those three, since they were wee and
who are now all within their late 30s and
two into their 40s, one of whom was born on 15 August, ie, nine years to its first day later ?!
I only .ever. get introduced as,
“And this is our mother, Blue.
She was at Woodstock.”
The ensuing conversation goes
… … from there on.
Blue
I on the other hand hardly bring it up because most would simply say, what was that?
In ’73 I went to Watkins Glen, at that time supposed to be the biggest outdoor fest ever:
http://alanpaul.net/2017/08/9390/
https://www.newyorkupstate.com/concerts/2017/07/flashback_summer_jam_brings_600000_music_fans_to_watkins_glen_in_1973.html
That flamingo must have been designed by Dr. Seuss.