We’ve all known someone who had one significant accomplishment, and then on the basis of that one achievement they enjoyed notoriety and reputation based on that one achievement, though they never managed to come close to achieving anything on that scale again, right? Yes, I’m talking about the Ides of March. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
Yesterday was the anniversary of the first lunar landing, when Eagle, the Apollo 13 mission’s Lunar Excursion Module, landed on the moon at the Sea of Tranquility. This is a repost of what I’ve posted in the past on that date. (We were out and about yesterday, hence the lack of posting.) Sam Seaborn: There are a lot of hungry people in the world, Mal, and none of them are hungry ‘cause we went to the moon. None of them are colder and certainly none of them are dumber ‘cause we went to the moon. Mallory O’Brian: And weDown the rabbit hole….
Sheila O’Malley has a typically amazing post about photographer Lee Miller, about whom I need to learn more because she is fascinating and because of photography: Much of her history was erased through decades of obscurity and a total and shameful lack of a proper archive where her accomplishments get proper credit. Her son discovered a treasure trove of over 60,000 photos and negatives, and slowly but surely Miller is taking her proper place. More work needs to be done. There are biographies out now, and art books featuring her photos, and there have been a couple of very prominentDown the rabbit hole….
Roger wrote a lovely post the other day about old maps: When I was growing up, my grandfather, McKinley Green, gave me the maps included in his subscription to National Geographic magazine. I still have many of those old maps he provided from about 1958 to 1971 when I went to college. For a time, I thought to throw them out. But there’s a fascinating thing about these documents. They become historical relics. Remember Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, which are now multiple countries? East and West Germany, now one nation? British Guyana and British Honduras, now Guyana and Belize, respectively? I,Down the rabbit hole….
A few days after Richard Nixon died (on this date, 1994), I was out riding around with my father as he did some errands. We stopped at the post office in the town where we lived, and Dad noticed that the flag was at half-staff. He asked why, and I said something like, “Well, a former President died–“ At that my father sputtered and said, “The flag’s down for Nixon? That piece of shit?!” Dad hated Richard Nixon. Hated him. Mom did too. Dad hated Nixon so much that he was angry at Gerald Ford for the rest of his politically-aware life (“Nixon shouldDown the rabbit hole….
Here’s something I never knew about! Fascinating story, this. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
On this date in 1963, Maestro Erich Leinsdorf was to take the podium in Boston…. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
For lack of anything better to post today, here’s a rundown of the British monarchy, all the way back. Note Edward VIII, saying a hearty “Nope!” to the whole thing. Full-size version here. (And if you’re the artist, let me know! Or tell me to take it down, whichever you prefer.) Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….