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Tag Archives: history

60th Anniversary of The Rolling Stones

The year is 2012 and it’s the 60th anniversary of a long lived rock group called The Rolling Stones.  They played in Hamburg, Germany back in the 1960s, as did The Beatles and dozens of other musicians and wannabes.

Review: “Ticket to Ride” by Graham Sclater; Hamburg Beat Central In the 1960s Reeperbahn District.

Did you know that the music business was dangerous in Hamburg and its Beat Central? Music producer Graham Sclater was one of the young British musicians there in the sixties after the Beatles toured. He has given us a story of a young band like his and others who lived through the Reeperbahn experience of the St. Pauli District. Some did not make it, but their stories are riveting.

The Titanic Animals

What Happened To the Pets On the Titanic in 1912?

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and from remastered 3D filming to cartoons and new amusement park rides, the Titanic is everywhere. People have Titanic Fever, but are hashing over the same topics and gossip about the ill fated luxury liner.

Fanzines are even appearing an a blog article envisioned a Saturday Night Live type of final scene between Jack and his beloved in the frozen sea. Title? – How Rose Killed Jack (with her selfishness). Odd but entertaining fare.When I first saw the title, though, all I could think of the the Kennedys.

All this aside, how about the pets on board the Titanic – what happened to them? What about the food animals in the galley area? You’ll be surprised at all the rumors surrounding these creatures as well when you access the link above.

Have a grand time if you see Titanic 3D, but it’s too much water for me! Cheers!

Women Millionaires

The Nine Richest Women in Africa and What They Do as Millionaires

These successful African women each possess  a net worth of over $30,000,000 (USD) each.

The list is a compilation from recent recognition awards lists and profiles published from 2011 and 2012. The wealthiest women in the group of 9 are significantly more wealthy than the number 10 person, whose net worth is “only” $16,100,000 as of February 2012.

Number One is Wendy Appelbaum, with a net worth in early 2012 1.99 Billion African Rand or 259.3 Million USD. That’s $259,300,000. Her net worth has been amassed through a family trust, the Gordon Family Trust, but she has worked hard in a number of ventures. All of the women on this list have worked in businesses, some as difficult as mining. Most are located in South Africa.

Lack of Science Training for Teachers K-5

What My Teacher Did Not Know About the Blue Whale

The Blue Whale is larger than the largest dinosaur of ages past.Four elephants can fit into a Blue Whale’s mouth. However, some of our K-5 teachers are not prepared with enough scientific training to know this and other science facts.

With the rush to train children to meet standards imposed by federal and state education organizations and to pass achievement tests, adequate scientific education for teachers and children has fallen by the wayside. Some US States are requiring teachers to earn a Master’s Degree within 10 years of beginning to teach with a Bachelor’s and that is helping to an extent. Hands on, project based learning has helped even more. Field trips and science projects related to wildlife are a great step forward.

Dolphins Registered as People

The Dolphins of Toshima Island

The people of an island belonging to Tokyo have registered a pod of 16 dolphins as people. The dolphins are registered citizens of Toshima Island and therefore, Tokyo, to which the island belongs. Toshima is a vacation spot int he Izu Islands with one village and a huge forest of camellia trees that makes up 80% of the landscape of the island.

It is also home to the largest species of lily in the world. All of this brings attention to the plight of over hunted sea life that ends up in tuna cans.  In order to protect these dolphin species from hunters, a group on Toshima called BlueVoice.org and their advocates among conservation societies have registered dolphins as official Japanese citizens. To hunt them is to commit murder. It is a brilliant move.

Beyond St. Patrick’s Day – How the Irish Saved Civilization

How the Irish Saved Civilization:

The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europ e- By Thomas Cahill, 1995

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Researcher Thomas Cahill uses his education and experiences in the Church and the Classics as he shows that the Irish were critical in preserving Western Civilization in the Classics at a time in which the Huns and Germanics – Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Ostrogothsm, and others – wanted to destroy it.

Irish monks preserved of Roman and Greek texts during the fall of the Roman Empire. it was the Irish that carefully copied the texts by hand in illuminated manuscript, a lengthy and worthy process, and added annotations in the margins. Each monk added what he knew from his own education, whether it referenced languages, history, customs, traditions, or whatever else he could add for the edification of new readers. Read more about this and see some illustrations at the link above.

Good Family Movies

Joyful Noise – Big Name Film that Popularizes Gospel Choirs and Competitions

Choir competitions are growing with the help of some related reality shows about vocal music and the help of this film, Joyful Noise.  If you like both Pop and Gospel music and want to see Dolly Parton in a food fight, then this is the film you need to see.

How George Lucas Presents the 332nd Fighter Group/US Army Air Corps and the North American P-51C Mustang Red Tails

George Lucas hopes to earn more than his filming budget with this movie about the Tuskegee Airmen. If and when he does, he will proceed on two additional films in a great trilogy. One will be a prequel that looks at the difficult training conditions offered the airmen in the Jim Crow South and the last will be a sequel to the fantastic Red Tails.

With the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor passing in December 1941, we are losing vast numbers of our World War II survivors every day. I hope that they see Red Tails or someone takes them to see it and that they will be her to enjoy the next two films in the series.  If you know a WWII veteran, ask him or her if they want to go to the movies.

When Winter Came to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium – A Dolphin Tale

How any of us do not know a Wounded Warrior in our own community that has returned from Iraq, Afghanistan or someplace else with the need for help and understanding? This film shows how a little compassion for sea life and veterans brought a doctor and a team of engineers together in order to help both. Because of them and a baby dolphin called Winter, double amputees can run on two legs now and others compete with gusto in the Paralympic Games. Look for them in London of 2012 right after the Summer Olympics! You’re going to be delighted.

Bundle of Black History Resources

Dozens of well researched articles about various aspects of Black History are offered at the link below and many are such that you will not find them anywhere else.

A thorough review of related historic sites in Detroit, Michigan is followed by interesting lesser-known events in history, the settling of the American West by Black Cowboys as well as the usual settlers, political and war-related materials that spotlight Africans and African-Americans in wartime from before the American Revolution to the present,  recipes and ethnic foods, and several sets of coloring pages.

These articles and links are among the best offered across the Internet to help readers understand and discuss the topics related to Black History in America and abroad and they make excellent source materials for school projects and re-enactments.

Black History Month is February.

Christmas Fun – Deliciously Different

A lot of these recipes can be prepared for an ocean of special occasions and they sparkle up any holiday season with something fresh and different. You can be sure that every 10 years, homemaking magazines come up with only slightly different versions of the same recipes of the past decade, hoping to attract new cooks. However, the rest of us get tired of “same same same.” You will not get tired of these dishes!

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Did you know that Christmas was once illegal in both the UK and the Thirteen Colonies? — The Irish and others used a code to celebrate anyway and we use it today.

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Have you lost loved ones close to Christmas, making it a sad time of year? You can turn all that arond with some moving tributes to help you remember them:

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Do you like Christmas Films? These are not the ones you’ve seen already 100 times, but they are funny, poignant, and memorable.

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How about Christmas Travel? -

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American Jobs Act – Low Paying Jobs?

What jobs will the American Jobs Act increase long-term?

One prediction is that it will be the low-to-moderate pay ranges that will experience the most increased jobs. Is this what we need?

The largest sector of Americans does not possess the postsecondary and professional education and certification required for most of the highest paid jobs advertised during this time period when the American Jobs Act appeared:  July, August, and September 2011.  Unemployment was 9.1% in those first two months.

Will tax cuts and incentives spur the adventurous among the unemployed to open their own businesses and create jobs for others?

What specific jobs will be increased? See the link above to find out.

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