07.31.07
State of California
1. On September 9, 1850 California became the 31st state of the United States of America. It was admitted as a Free State.
2. The name California is believed to derived from a paradise ruled by Queen Califia. The Myth of Califia was first recorded in 1510. It it thought that this myth helped to fuel the exploration of the area by the Spanish.
3. Spanish missionaries set up 26 missions on the present California coast beginning in 1769 with a mission at present day San Diego.
4. After the Mexican War, Mexico lost the area that included California, Arizona, Nevada Colorado and Utah to the United States.
5. California is the most populated state of the United States and 3rd in area. The Capital of the state is Sacramento with its largest city being Los Angeles.
6. The geography of the state varies from mountainous with it’s highest peak being Mount Whitney at over 14,500 feet, the lowest point is -282 feet at Death Valley in the dessert as well as Pacific coastal beaches.
07.27.07
The Death of William Desmond Taylor
1. On the morning of February 2, 1922, the body of silent film director William Desmond Taylor was discovered at his home. The director had been killed by a shot in the back. In his pockets was his wallet with 78 dollars, a silver cigarette case and an ivory toothpick. A 2 caret diamond ring was on his finger.
2. Mabel Normand, the popular film comedy actress was at the Taylor home on February 1, leaving the house at 7:45. It is thought that she was the last person, other than the murderer who saw him alive. She left the house in a happy mood.
3. Taylor was born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner on April 26, 1872 in Ireland. he came to America in 1890. He married in 1901 to Ethel May Harrison whose father was a wall street broker. He vanished in 1908 deserting his wife and daughter.
4. While there were many suspects including Mabel Normand, Edward Sands – a former Taylor’s Valet, and Henry Peavy – Taylor’s Valet.
5. It has been discovered that Taylor had a relationship with teen screen actress Mary Miles Minter. At his death Taylor was 49 and she was 19, but they may have had an intimate relationship prior to her turning 18. Minter’s mother Charlotte Shelby has also been linked as a possible suspect in the murder. It was also possible that Shelby may also have had an intimate relationship with Taylor.
6. From 1993 to 2000, Bruce Long collected and compiled information about Taylor and the murder. He called his effort Taylorology. It can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/
07.26.07
Unlikely Records in Baseball to be Broken
1. Cy Young’s career record of 511 wins. Young played in a day when a pitcher started nearly every game. Even the post 120 record of 417 wins is far below Young’s and 300 wins in a career is rarely reached.
2. Johnny Vander Meer’s record of 2 consecutive No-Hitters. A No-Hitter at best takes a lot of luck and 2 in a row while could be broken, it’s unlikely to happen although it is just as likely to be the one broken since it only takes 2 good starts in a row and not a career or season to reach.
3. Ty Cobb’s career average of .367. It takes a great hitter to reach a career average of .300 and most great hitters will fall below .300at the end of their career. It’s unlikely to ever happen. Just as a player having a .400 season is unlikely to happen.
4. Nolan Ryan’s career strikeout of 5714. Can it be reached? Yes, but not likely. Roger Clemens is considered a great strike out pitcher and he is still over 1000 behind.
5. Joe DiMaggio 56 game hitting streak. No one has come close. Pete Rose only hit in 44 straight games in 1978 and he is the closest.
6. Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played streak of 2632. When he moved into second place behind Lou Gehrig he was 700 games away and people still felt that Gehrig’s streak would not be broken. Ripken not only broke Gehrig’s record of 2130 straight games played, but he played for another 501 games.
07.25.07
About the Musical Rent
1) Rent, written by Jonathan Larson is based on Giacomo Puccini’s classic 1896 opera, La Boheme. It tells the story of struggling young artists in New York’s East Village. Rent features character who are gay, lesbian,transgender, drug users, living with Aids. It opened on Broadway on April 29, 1996 and has been performed over 4,000 times and still running.
2) Larson would not live to see Rent’s true success. He died from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm in the early morning of January 25, 1996.
3) The musical won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I also won 10 Tony award including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best performance by leader Actor and Actress and Best Performance by featured Actor and Actress, sweeping most of the major awards.
4) During a 365 day year, there are as the song says 525,600 minutes. On a leap year that increases by 1440 the number of minutes in a day.
5) The show runs 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission, with the current cast consisting of Mayumi Ando, Will Chase, Frenchie Davis, Robin De Jesús, D’Monroe, Shaun Earl, Ava Gaudet, Chirstopher S. Hanke, Colin Hanlon, Nicolette Hart, Marcus Paul James, Justin Johnston, Destan Owens, Kenna Ramsey, Antonique Smith.
6) In 2005 the movie version of Rent was made. Many of the actors who created the roles on Broadway reprised their parts in the movie. It was not successful ending the year as the 94th movie based on gross not reaching its production cost.
07.24.07
World’s Tallest Buildings
1. On July 21, 2007 the developers of Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates reported that the building, which is not scheduled for completion until 2009, has reached the height of 1680 feet. This would make it the world’s tallest. The final height is being kept in secret.
2. The Taipel 101 in Taipei, Republic of China completed in 2003 stands at 1670.60 ft to the tip of it’s spire. The building has 101 floor.
3. The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed in 1998 each stand at 1482.9 feet. Each tower has 88 floors. Each of the towers have foundations that are 250 feet deep. Between the 41st and 42nd floors of the tower is a skyway. The skyway is the highest 2 story bridge in the world.
4. The Sears Tower in Chicago. Illinois USA stands at 1721 feet and was completed in 1974. At the time of its completion it had become the world tallest building passing the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. The World Trade Center was the world’s tallest for only a year. The Top of the Sears Tower is the highest point in Illinois.
5. The Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, China completed in 1998 has a height of 1380 ft.
6. The tallest structure in the world is the KVLY-TV mast near Fargo North Dakota USA. It is a transmission antenna consisting of a bare metal structure supported by guy-wire. Its top is at 2063 feet.
07.20.07
Dover International Speedway
1. In 1969 Dover Downs opened. Located in the northern part of Dover Delaware it is a unique facility that serves a dual purpose. It was designed as a track for both auto and horse racing.
2. In 1982 the Busch Series race began racing on the Saturday before the Cup race on Sunday. This made it a bif race weekend. The Truck series race began in 200o.
3. Beginning in 1986 with the completion being in 2001, it was expanded from a modest 3200 seat grandstand to a track with a seating capacity of 133,000. It is the largest sports facility in the mid-Atlantic region.
4. With the passage of legislation allowing slot machines at Delaware’s tracks that mandated that harness racing purses would increase, the track became a national leader in that sport as well.
5. The first Cup race after the attacks of New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 was held at the Dover International Speedway.
6. The track, known as the Monster Mile is a concrete track of 1 mile. The 1076 feet straightways have a bank of 9 degrees while the turns back at 24 degrees.
07.19.07
About Trans Fats
1. The official term is Trans Fatty Acids and is a type of unsaturated fat. While naturally occurring, most of them are created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils. Partial hydrogenation changes a fat’s molecular structure so that it raises its melting point and reduces rancidity.
2. About 100 years ago it was learned that liquid oils could be converted to solid fats by the process called hydrogenation. The procedure is hydrogen is added to the liquid oil gradually until it is harden.
3. Scientific evidence has shown that the consumption of trans fats can raise low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). This increases the risk of coronary disease.
4. Beginning in January 2006 food manufacturers in the United States were required to list trans fats on their product labels. The requirement is to list trans fat on a separate line, under saturated fat. The FDA regulatory chemical definition for trans fatty acids is all unsaturated fatty acids that contain one or more isolated double bonds in a trans configuration.
5. There is an organization called Ban Trans Fats working towards banning the use of Trans Fats in America’s restaurant. Their website is bantransfats.com.
6. Tiburon California was the first American city to ban trans fats in the town’s restaurants. Tiburon is located on the San Francisco Bay and is near Sausalito. The City of New York followed and others are considering the ban.
07.14.07
4-H
1. The website for 4-H 4husa.org says, “4-H is a community if young people across america who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.” It is adminstered by the Cooperative extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture.
2. The 4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands and Health.
3. The organization serves over 9 million members in the United States from ages 5 to 21 in almost 100,000 clubs.
4. The 4-H started as youth program in Clark Count, Ohio in 1902 and with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service of the USDA. Included within the CES charter the work of various boys’ and girls’ clubs involved with agriculture, home economics and related subjects. By 1924 these clubs became organized as “4-H” clubs and the clover emblem was adopted.
5. The organization is often associated with summer camps, county fairs and state fairs.
6. National 4-H Council is the national, private sector non-profit partner of 4-H and the Cooperative Extension System. National 4-H Council focuses on fundraising; brand management; communications; legal and fiduciary support to national and state 4-H programs; and operation of the full-service National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., and the National 4-H Supply Service, the authorized agent for items bearing the 4-H Name and Emblem.
07.13.07
Friday the 13th
1. A Friday that occurs on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in many cultures around the globe. Any month that begins on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th. Every year has at least one and some may have as many as three Fridays the 13th. There will be 48 occurrences in 28 years cycle of years. This is an average of 1.7 times per year.
2. There has not been a historical date identified as the origin of the superstition. Before the 20th century, although there is evidence that the number 13 was considered unlucky, and Friday was considered unlucky there was no link between them.
3. Friday the 13th doesn’t even merit a mention in E. Cobham Brewer’s voluminous 1898 edition of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. There is and entry for “Friday, an Unlucky Day” and “Thirteen Unlucky.”
4. Paraskevidekatriaphobics is the name for people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people are affected by a fear of this day.
5. On May 9, 1980 an independent film independent slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller with the title Friday the 13th was released. The film ’s budget was less than $ 600,000. While not a critical hit is was a box-office success.
6. Science has shown that on Friday April 13, 2029, Asteroid 2004 MN4 will come scarily close to Earth. It will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles above the earth. For reference geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles. “At closest approach, the asteroid will shine like a 3rd magnitude star, visible to the unaided eye from Africa, Europe and Asia–even through city lights,” says Jon Giorgini of JPL.
07.12.07
PTA (Parent Teacher Association)
1. In 1897 Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst organized the first meeting of National Congress of Mothers. It was held February 17–19, Washington DC. They were expecting about 200 people, 2000 attended. Birney was elected President with Apperson named First Vice President. The wife of Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the United States was named another of the Vice-Presidents.
2. It is the largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation. The National PTA reminds the United States of its obligations to children and provides parents and families with a powerful voice to speak on behalf of every child while providing the best tools for parents to help their children be successful students.
3. National PTA is composed of 54 state congresses and nearly 26,000 local units in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Department of Defense Schools in Europe and the Pacific. National PTA, as directed by its board of directors, provides leadership, programs, support, and resources to its members at all levels of the association.
4. Jan Harp Domene of Anaheim, California, is the PTA national president for 2007 to 2009. As president, she plans to raise the level of parent involvement nationwide by increasing PTA membership and strengthening outreach to diverse communities; focus on ensuring the inclusion of PTA’s recommendations for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act; continue to build PTA’s parent involvement programs and partnerships; and to connect parents and engage families by providing them with the knowledge they need to be advocates for their children.
5. Membership is open to anyone who believes in the Mission and Purposes of National Parent Teacher Association. Individual members may belong to any number of PTAs and pay dues in each. Every person who joins a local PTA automatically becomes a member of both the state and National PTAs.
6. The Mission of the Parent Teacher Association
• To support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community, and before governmental bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children;
• To assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children;
• To encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of this nation.
Sources: pta.org
