Ninety years ago today: The first religious broadcast. It is interesting to note that at the time, not only did no one protest or was offended by such a broadcast, the technicians who set up the broadcast were not of the same religious denominations as the broadcasting church.
Want to know what’s going to happen? What the 1930s tell us about today.
An evening pause: As we approach the end of the this first decade of the 21st century, let’s take a look back at the progress of the past two hundred years, illustrated by the progress of a single graph and animated in a way you’ve never seen before.
An evening pause: The Christmas eve telecast by the Apollo 8 astronauts from lunar orbit, December 24, 1968, probably the most listened to space telecast in history. The story behind how and why these men said what they did is the central theme of my first book, Genesis, the Story of Apollo 8.
Urban caving in Berlin’s underground bunkers.
The Library of Congress has posted a collection of over 700 Civil War portraits to Flickr.
Engineers to the rescue! The Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans as much as it used to, but the lean it has is now expected to last for at least another 200 years.
An evening pause: This newsreel, made shortly after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, gives an honest sense of the rage felt by Americans following the attack. Or to quote the words placed in the mouth of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto from the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!:
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
Though it is not clear that Yamamoto ever actually said this line, it encapsulates the consequences of Pearl Harbor quite concisely.
A deal with the devil: Former shuttle manager decries NASA’s commercial crew safety regulations. Key quote:
The U.S. government did not always rely on voluminous specifications to safeguard pilots or astronauts, Hale said, citing requirements for the first U.S. military aircraft which covered only 2.5 pages and those of NASA’s Gemini capsule which were about 12 pages long.
Scientists have exhumed the body of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe in order to do a new autopsy.
Anti-American propaganda from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Key quote:
In my thirty years as a professor in upper education, I have never witnessed nor participated in a more extremist, agenda-driven, revisionist conference, nearly devoid of rhetorical balance and historical context for the arguments presented.
An evening pause: In honor of the anniversary of the 1929 stock market crash, Bing Crosby singing “Brother, can you spare a dime?”
Wikipedia bans global warming propagandist. Key quote:
Through his position, Connolley for years kept dissenting views on global warming out of Wikipedia, allowing only those that promoted the view that global warming represented a threat to mankind. As a result, Wikipedia became a leading source of global warming propaganda, with Connolley its chief propagandist. His career as a global warming propagandist has now been stopped, following a unanimous verdict that came down today through an arbitration proceeding conducted by Wikipedia.
An evening pause: Who says miracles cannot happen? In 1969, the New York Mets proved that they can. Even if you are not a sports fan, watch this short film (which only covers the World Series and not the entire astonishing season) and you’ll get a glimmer of how miraculous that victory was. Today, October 16, is the anniversary of that victory.
An evening pause: With the death of film director Roy Ward Baker yesterday, I think it appropriate to watch a clip from one of his classics, A Night to Remember (1958). This understated but frighteningly powerful film captured the reality of the Titanic’s sinking in a style that is unfortunately rare today.
Archeologists have uncovered a stone age dwelling site from 3500 BC, practically intact.
An evening pause: October 4, 1957, the space age began.
Remembering Willie Ley. He never flew in space, and died just weeks before the Apollo 11 landing. Yet he probably did as much if not more to make it happen than any other man.
A researcher at the University of Cambridge is posting audio recordings on the web of Babylonian poetry, myths, and other texts, so that everyone can hear what the ancient languages sounded like. Key quote:
“In many cases [the works] are the equivalent of Old English tales like Beowulf,” Dr. Worthington added. “Through them, we meet gods, giants, monsters and all sorts of other weird and wonderful creatures. As stories they are amazing fun.”
