Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Daily F Bomb, Monday 1/6/14

Interrogatories

Death penalty – for or against, and why?

Do you have any idea what frankincense and myrrh are? Would you be pleased by such a gift?

What is the longest flight you were ever on? How was it?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1540, King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife. He was hit by “buyer’s remorse” when he saw that she did not look as good as the portrait he had received of her. Luckily (for her) she was amenable to a divorce that allowed her to remain in England and be taken care of for the rest of her life.

In 1907, Maria Montessori opened the first of her schools and daycare centers.

In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state.

In 1941, in his State of the Union address, FDR gave his famous Four Freedoms speech.

In 1947, the first regularly scheduled around the world flight was instituted by Pan Am.

In 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. The attack was planned by rival Tonya Harding along with Harding’s ex and another friend.

In 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was arrested as a suspect in the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. He was found guilty in state court of three counts of manslaughter on June 21, 2005, the forty-first anniversary of the crime. He appealed the verdict, but his sentence of three times 20 years in prison was upheld on January 12, 2007 by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Born on This Day

1367 – King Richard II of England (d. 1400)

1412 – Joan of Arc, French military figure and Roman Catholic Saint (legendary date) (d. 1431)

1655 – Empress Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1720)

1745 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor. He was one of the two Montgolfier brothers who pioneered hot air ballooning. (d. 1799)

1819 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (d. 1886)

1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter, illustrator and sculptor (d. 1883)

1868 – Stefan Luchian, Romanian painter (d. 1917)

 photo StefanLuchian.jpg

1873 – Joaquín Mir Trinxet, Spanish painter (d. 1940)

 photo Joaquin-Mir-Trinxetjog.jpg

1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)

1880 – Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)

 photo TomMix.jpg

1882 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)

 photo AleksandraEkster.jpg

1883 – Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)

1889 – Louis Ritman, U.S. Impressionist painter (d. 1963)

 photo LouisRitman.jpg

1899 – Phyllis Haver, American actress (d. 1960)

1903 – Francis L. Sullivan, English actor (d. 1956)

1906 – Ruth Hiatt, silent film actress (d. 1994)

 photo RuthHiatt.jpg

1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)

1915 – Alan Watts, English writer/philosopher (d. 1973)

1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)

1928 – Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)

1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American author

1934 – Sylvia Syms, English actress

Sylvia Syms photo SylviaSyms.png

1940 – Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979) (The Hustle)

1946 – Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter (Pink Floyd and Stars) (d. 2006)

1947 – Sandy Denny, English singer and songwriter (Fairport Convention and Fotheringay) (d. 1978)

1951 – Kim Wilson, American musician (The Fabulous Thunderbirds)

1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer

1962 – Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)

1964 – Mark O’Toole, English musician (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

1986 – Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets)

Died on This Day

1504 – Pedro Berruguete, Spanish painter (b. 1450)

 photo PedroBerruguete.jpg

1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)

1541 – Bernaert van Orley, Flemish painter (b. 1488)

1750 – Georg Lisiewski, Polish portrait painter (b. 1674)

1840 – Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752)

1840 – Charles Towne, British painter of dogs and horses (b. 1763)

 photo CharlesTowne.jpg

1852 – Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (b. 1809)

1866 – Paul Emil Jacobs, Danish painter (b. 1802)

 photo PaulEmilJacobs.jpg

1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)

1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist (b. 1857)

1952 – Charles Ginner, British Camden Town Group painter (b. 1878)

1961 – Alfred Aaron Wolmark, Polish-born British painter (b. 1877)

1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican Social Realist muralist, painter (b. 1896)

1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, acclaimed jazz trumpet player (b. 1917)

1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (b. 1938)

1994 – Virginia Dell Cassidy, Bill Clinton’s mother (b. 1923)

2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)

2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)

Today is

Bean Day

National Shortbread Day

Three Kings Day

Cuddle Up Day

Apple Tree Day


12 comments

  1. Floja Roja

    I hope everyone is keeping warm.

    I once almost moved into the pro column for death penalty, but my mom’s argument was the most persuasive: It brings us down to the level of the killers. Other excuses like it costs less to kill them than to keep them don’t wash, that has been proven wrong. Then there is the possibility in many cases that they have the wrong guy. Juries are fallible as hell. And never once has any victim’s family achieved “closure,” which is a mythical beast. I remember an interview with one family member who said that she her only regret was that the perp couldn’t be executed a million more times. Yup, that’s closure! lt’s not justice anyway, it’s punishment. You know, I’ll be if they brought back public executions, they’d get huge ratings. Humans are a bloodthirsty lot.

    I’ve never really bothered to Google frankincense and myrrh to find out what they are. If someone gave me some, I’d be more bemused than anything. What’s this for? I read in Salon yesterday that Myrrh actually was a form of birth control in ancient times. Though that doesn’t explain why it was given to baby Jesus. He wasn’t ready for that sort of thing. And his mom didn’t need it.

    My longest flight was from L.A. to Paris (then transferring to a short flight to Italy). I was with my family, so we were in the center seats. That’s not so bad if you know everyone in the seats, which I did. I hate climbing over strangers to get to the restroom. It was Air France, so the food was OK, the wine was abundant and free, and the seats had individual TV sets with a good selection of films. And I had my Kindle. It wasn’t too bad.

  2. Gee

    So, it warmed up again, and the rain got rid of most of the snow.  It’s 47 degrees, and it’s supposed to plummet to 7 before the day’s out.  High of 18 tomorrow.  By Saturday, up to 52.

    Death penalty – for or against, and why?

    Do you have any idea what frankincense and myrrh are? Would you be pleased by such a gift?

    What is the longest flight you were ever on? How was it?

    Against, because humans are anything but infallible.  History is littered with our mistakes.

    Is frankincense incense?  My knowledge of these things is myrrhky.  I’m sure if I were Mary or Joseph I’d be pleased.  If I were baby Jesus, I’d probably oblivious.

    All my longest flights have been from DC to California, somewhere around 4 or 5 hours.  I enjoy looking out the window if it’s not cloudy.

  3. Gee

    In 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. The attack was planned by rival Tonya Harding along with Harding’s ex and another friend.

    I’ll be looking forward to your commemoration of Tonya’s pathetic untied skate at the Olympics.

  4. JG in MD

    Death Penalty: If only the worst of the worst could get it, I’d be in favor. Fallibility of juries and, well, everybody is the problem.

    Frankincense and Myrrh: I love the unusual. I’d preserve it, freeze it or bronze it and keep it forever.

    Flight: My family flew from New York to Europe on a prop plane in 1958 to take up a diplomatic assignment. I flew to England in 1987 when I was working for an airline. Friendly British steward served me Stilton and some kind of nice wine. Those were the days.

  5. Maybe our resident math(s)ematician, bubbanomics, can tell us more.

    I am pretty sure it was wrong to laugh at this:

       Today in 2010, Alabama rejected same-sex marriage, but continued to recognize same-family marriage.

       – Disalmanac (@Disalmanac) January 3, 2014

    One of my favorites from the weekend:

    I was not on Twitter much because the sports-smack-talk got a little too close to home (136 miles to be exact) so turned it off. 🙂

    Back later to hover …

  6. bubbanomics

    on the other hand, i suppose it’s better than the alternative.

    Death penalty – for or against, and why?

    agin it. Some mistakes are not correctable. Although I could make an exception (and perform the deed myself) for that fucking shoe bomber.

    Do you have any idea what frankincense and myrrh are? Would you be pleased by such a gift?

    no idea.  I’m sure I’d be gracious in receipt tho.



    What is the longest flight you were ever on? How was it?


    LAX-SYD. woof that was long.

    currently playing on the bubbapod

Comments are closed.