Monthly Archives: April 2012
Good Friday
For most people, every Friday is good. In the Christian faith, ‘Good Friday’ is observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. The celebration, which commemorates the suffering of Jesus Christ, is as old as Christianity itself. Many people engage in prayer, fasting and repentance on Easter. Many Catholic schools consider it a holiday and close for the day. In years past, students of Catholic schools had to attend Good Friday services at their local church, or they’d be considered absent and subsequently penalized. When I attended Catholic grade school in Dallas in the 1970’s, I guess that practice had ceased.
It’s interesting that many people only visit church on Easter Sunday and treat it like a car inspection: it’s good for a year. While no longer a practicing Catholic, I still believe in Jesus Christ, which may come as a surprise to those who’ve heard my anti-religious rants. But, there’s a distinct difference between being a person of faith and being devoutly religious. Some of the best people I’ve ever known have no religious preference, or don’t believe in a Supreme Being at all. Some of the worst people I’ve known, however, can quote a religious text word for word, but are arrogant and disrespectful towards others. I’ve worked with many of those types, and our current crop of GOP presidential candidates are prime examples. I honestly believe Jesus is disappointed in how people have twisted his philosophies of love, respect and tolerance.
Regardless of your faith, or lack of faith, I hope everyone has a great weekend and treats you with the dignity and respect you deserve!
Filed under News
April 5, 2012 – 259 days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: Yesterday I mentioned the importance of a tornado preparation kit in your arsenal of supplies. But, it’s also important that you be able to recognize the actual signs of an approaching or pending tornado. It’s obvious, if you’re outside on a jog, or in the yard planting azaleas, when some heavy winds suddenly come along and start sucking up stuff that you’re in the midst of a tornadic event and need to seek shelter immediately. “The Wizard of Oz” is just a movie and doesn’t reflect the reality that you’ll get scooped up into a tornado and then safely dropped onto the ground. It’s a more likely scenario that you’ll end up like that witch who got her ass flattened by the house.
Many people rely on their local TV and radio stations to tell them exactly when and where a tornado will hit. That’s like relying upon the Audubon Society to tell you when a bird is going to crap on your head. These people are what are commonly known as idiots. They depend too much on technology and the government to make their lives comfortable and keep them safe. They most likely will die in the apocalypse, which won’t necessarily be a bad thing. The fewer stupid people around, the better the “New Universe” will be. Besides, it’ll leave more chocolate for you and your loved ones. More importantly, the probable shift in the Earth’s axes could spawn a plethora of tornadoes and hurricanes and knock out power utilities at the same time.
I’m sure you already know that clouds filled with precipitation are dark blue in color. If you didn’t know that, you’ve spent too much time watching TV or playing video games. Tornado-bearing clouds are often anvil-shaped, and the actual twister drops down from the narrow point of that anvil formation. If you don’t know what an anvil is, then – again – there’s not much hope for you.
Many changes also take place in the atmosphere. Before the tornado-bearing clouds form, the sky often acquires a lime green color. Aside from a tie I wear on St. Patrick’s Day and freshly cut grass, the only lime green I like is mixed with Bacardi and Coke. But, as the tornadic-type clouds come closer, the sky grows darker, almost black. A black sky usually means it’s nighttime, but if it’s in the middle of the day, trouble is brewing above.
Here are a few other signs of an approaching tornado, or tornado-bearing cloud:
- Strong, persistent rotation in a cloud.
- Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base – this may indicate a tornado funnel that is still inside the cloud.
- Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can’t be seen.
- Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn’t fade in a few seconds like thunder. A tornado also may sound like a waterfall, trains, or jets.
- Small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm at night, as opposed to lightning flashes or strikes. These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong winds, which may be a tornado.
- Clouds moving overhead very rapidly.
- Debris falling from the sky; this is a really big sign of an approaching tornado.
Remember, tornadoes form in North America more than anywhere else on Earth, and Indigenous Americans lived with them for thousands of years. They learned to recognize the warning signs of an approaching storm and move into their stone and concrete homes. No, they didn’t all live in teepees! If you believe that, you’ve watched too many damn John Wayne movies. More importantly, the native peoples respected the wind and rain and realized those elements were masters of the world. Adopt the same philosophy and you’ll survive nicely into the next Baktun!
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Today’s Notable Birthdays
If your birthday is today also, “Happy Birthday!”
Colin Powell, Chairman U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff [1989-1993], U.S. Secretary of State [2001-2005], is 75.
Songwriter – singer Tommy Cash (Six White Horses, Rise and Shine, One Song Away; brother of Johnny Cash) is 72.
Actor Michael Moriarty (Bang the Drum Slowly, The Last Detail, Windmills of the Gods) is 71.
Director – writer Peter Greenaway (Prospero’s Books; The Belly of an Architect; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover) is 70.
Actor Max Gail (Barney Miller, Whiz Kids, Normal Life) is 69.
Actress Jane Asher (Dreamchild, Masque of the Red Death, Brideshead Revisited) is 66.
Singer Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA) is 62.
Guitarist Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) is 46.
Filed under Birthdays
On April 5…
1614 – Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, married English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, VA.
1792 – President George Washington exercised the first veto of a Congressional bill. The bill would have divided seats in the House of Representatives and increased the number of seats for northern states.
1856 – Author – educator – political leader Booker T. Washington was born in Franklin County, VA.
1869 – Daniel Bakeman, the last surviving soldier of the Revolutionary War, died at the age of 109.
1900 – Actor Spencer Tracy (Boys Town, Captains Courageous, The Old Man and the Sea, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) was born in Milwaukee, WI.
1908 – Actress Bette Davis (Dangerous, Jezebel, All About Eve, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) was born in Lowell, MA.
1920 – Author Arthur Hailey (Airport, Hotel, Wheels, The Moneychangers) was born in Bedfordshire, England.
1923 – Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, OH began the first regular production of balloon tires.
1933 – Dr. Evarts Graham performed the first operation to remove a lung on Dr. James Lee Gilmore, a 49-year-old obstetrician from Pittsburgh, PA, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
Filed under History
Inspiration for the Aspiring Nonfiction Author
David Krell
First-time author David Krell offers advice for any aspiring scribe by using an old sports saying: if you avoid risk, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. We all know that life is filled with risks. Some can pay off big, either financially or emotionally; others can turn disastrous. But, you never know if you don’t try. Krell is taking plenty of chances with his first book, Blue Magic: The Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, and the Battle for Baseball’s Soul. It will be a historical narrative enhanced by interviews with fans, historians, journalists and the children of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the team’s 1950’s glory years. Outside of being a fan, Krell is not part of the baseball industry; he doesn’t even have any business contacts in professional baseball. To make things more interesting, he has no blog or web site. But, he did manage to land an agent; a thoroughly bold undertaking for a new author. Most first-time authors are lucky to get their manuscript beyond the slush pile. Using his experiences thus far, Krell presents these 5 points of guidance:
1: Never Assume That Someone Will Say No
“I have reached out to people with the simple explanation that I’m writing a book about the Brooklyn Dodgers and requesting an interview. The subject line of the email reads “Media Interview Request – Brooklyn Dodgers,” so they know immediately why I’m writing.
The result has been extraordinary. Interviews are granted with pleasure to participate. The ‘Forewords’ to Blue Magic will be written by two exceptional people dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Brooklyn Dodgers: 1) Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson, and 2) Branch Rickey III, the grandson of Branch Rickey, the Dodgers executive that signed Robinson to break the color barrier in baseball.
Even if you’ve never written a book before, send a request to people whom you want to interview.”
2: Don’t Wait For the Perfect Shot
“You cannot wait until you complete your research, sign with an agent, and get a publishing deal. That could be months away. Maybe years. Start compiling your target interview list now. And remember that each interview might yield an expansion of your network. Several times, interviewees offered to put me in touch with friends and colleagues. The stronger your network, the stronger your research.”
3: Speak Loud and Proud
“There are conferences, associations, and other opportunities related to your topic. A few Google searches yielded me a wealth of baseball conferences with speaking opportunities. So far, I have been accepted to: The New York Mets 50th Anniversary Conference, Society for American Baseball Research’s Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Baseball Conference, National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and the American Culture, and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.
Your book’s topic is like a wheel – a hub with many spokes. Consequently, tailor your topic to the conference audience with the appropriate spoke. For the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, I pitched the nostalgia angle of the Brooklyn Dodgers immediately in the title: The Brooklyn Dodgers – Nostalgia’s Team.”
4: Expand Your Horizon
“At the Writer’s Digest Conference in January, a friend suggested that I apply to speak at the Urban History Association’s conferences. When I asked why, she responded with the beauty of simplicity, “Didn’t you just tell me that the Dodgers were synonymous with Brooklyn back in the day? And didn’t you also say that the team got a sweetheart deal for the Dodger Stadium site in Los Angeles? That’s urban history, my friend!”
So, I applied to be a speaker at the UHA annual conference in the Fall. According to the UHA’s web site, I should get an acceptance or rejection by April 15th. I’m hoping for the former, of course. But, if my proposal is rejected, I will take the motto of the Brooklyn Dodgers fans to heart: Wait Till Next Year!”
5: A Whiteboard Is An Author’s Best Friend
“Taking a page from Dr. Gregory House, I bought a white board and easel from Staples. Any brainstorm goes immediately on the white board. It’s all there. Target interviews. Deadlines. Writers conferences.
No Excel spreadsheet with thousands of rectangles mocking me with their blankness. No legal pads with scribbles created frantically out of enthusiasm that appear disorganized, unreadable, and useless to the sober eye a week later. No relegating to my memory bank with the faulty belief that I can retrieve any idea at a moment’s notice.”
Read the complete article here.
Filed under News
Second Quote of the Day
“From the Dept. of Clueless, RNC chair says GOP problems with women are contrived by media.”
– David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to President Obama, responding to Preibus’ comment on Twitter.
Filed under News
First Quote of the Day
“Well, for one thing, if the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars, and mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we have problems with caterpillars. The fact of the matter is it’s a fiction and this started a war against the Vatican that this president pursued. He still hasn’t answered Archbishop Dolan’s issues with Obama world and Obamacare, so I think that’s the first issue.”
– Reince Preibus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, in response to a question from Al Hunt if the GOP is waging a war on women, as the Democratic National Committee has alleged.
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 