PC Watch (part 4) - Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Bikes, Lights , a Sledder/everystockphoto.com

Mid-January. Mid-winter. 

And in some parts of the country....

Cold...

And a popular song from the 1940s expresses that sentiment.

Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Here is a clip when it was performed for the big screen in Neptune's Daughter (1949):

(reference: https://youtu.be/7MFJ7ie_yGU )

Yet, in 2018 this song had been branded as Not Politically Correct. A song of sexual harassment, to be banned as part of the #MeToo movement.

  ( reference: 'Baby, It's Cold Outside,' Seen As Sexist, Frozen Out By Radio Stations )

Many radio stations caved. Agreed not to play it.

Some did anyway. Like WAKY (who repeated the song over and over for many hours.) And this oldie made a comeback in many markets.

So there!

Cold?

Everyone stay calm!

Just the sight of this fireplace could melt many "Snowflakes."

( reference: https://youtu.be/RDfjXj5EGqI )

Play this for endless hours. 
For those cold, cold days.
And there's no carbon footprint. 

For now, it's safe from the virtue signalers and scolds. 

Be warm and be safe.

Peace.

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Previous post in this series:

PC Watch (part 1) - Political Correctness (2013)

PC Watch (part 2) - The South Park Offense (2013)

PC Watch (part 3) - Too Weak to Live with Freedom?  (2014) 

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Photo:  Bikes, Lights , a Sledder/everystockphoto.com

Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968

Earth Rise/wikipedia.com

Fifty years ago - 1968 

Earth was a troubled place

Some highlights in America at that time:

* The unpopular Vietnam War and more unpopular draft

* Assassination: Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy

* Riots at the Chicago Democratic National Convention

* Counter-culture hippie movement

* President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Elect Richard M. Nixon

A popular TV show at that time was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967 - 1970). The show featured s labor of love by filmmaker Chuck Braverman, described as:

A quick trip through the USA during the turbulent 1968

(reference: https://youtu.be/vtz5Emyldwg )

But in December 1968, Apollo 8  sent astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, orbiting the moon for the first time in history.

On their Christmas Eve broadcast, the crew transmitted the iconic Earthrise photo while reading from Genesis, as shown below: 

(reference: https://youtu.be/SxiTKeQVjuo )

Back to the future, 50 years later, these still are troubled times.

As we finish the year 2018, words from a hymn, This is My Father's World come to mind. And the last verse, not always included in other renditions, gives the reason we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world:

This is my Father’s world:

Oh, let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world,

The battle is not done:

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and Heav’n be one.

And in the closing words of astronaut Frank Borman:

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, 

we close with good night, good luck, 

a Merry Christmas, 

and God bless all of you -

 all of you on the good Earth." 

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Other post in the series:

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)

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Photo from: Earth Rise/wikipedia.com

Music (part 5) - Over There : Remembering World War I

WWI Montage/wikipedia

100 years ago...

World War I ended.

November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. Hence, November 11th had been observed as Armistice Day.  [reference: This Day In History | November 11, 1918 - World War I ends ]

For me, World War I has a special meaning as my grandfather fought in this war. Fortunately, he lived another 50 years after it ended.  Fathered my mother, who brought me into the world. And I still have his dog tags from his service.

Bur back in 1917, one of the popular songs to rally the troops was George M. Cohan's Over There:

( reference: https://youtu.be/wbggEGUaE28 )

And we won't come back till it's over

Over there.

After the Great War was over, Over There, its remembrance Armistice Day was first observed in 1920. But in 1954 after the Korean War, it was changed to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all wars. [reference: Why Armistice Day Became Veterans Day ]

Now, 100 years later: Veterans Day 2018 Marks Centennial of End of World War I 

The Great War
The World War
The War to end all Wars... though it hasn't lived up to this name, unfortunately
World War One
World War I
The First World War

Whatever we called it.

Over There has been a defining song to boost morale home and abroad in the 20th century.

( reference: https://youtu.be/i5oWH6JWBJY )

Especially during World War One and World War Two.

For other selected blog posts about World War One:

* America's Story (part 10) - Sergeant York  (2014)

* Culture 101 (part 14) - World War I - that Golden Summer of 1914  (2014)

* ELM (part 6) - The Boys Going West  (2016)

* Veteran's Day 2011 - final homecoming of the WWI vets  (2011) 


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Previous posts in the series:
  

Music (part 1) - Winter (2016) 
  

Music (part 2) - All You Need is Love (2016) 

Music (part 3) - Passover (2016)

Music (part 4) - Armed Forces Medley  (2016)

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Photo:  WWI Montage/wikipedia

Physics (part 5) - Be Curious, Don't Give Up

Curiosity Cat/everystockphoto.com

Curiosity killed the cat
But satisfaction brought her back

Curiosity and Perseverance

In the world of science, these attributes can lead to breakthroughs. Rewrite text books. Create paradigm shifts in our thinking.

Let's spotlight two prominent physicists of the late 20th century, who exemplified those qualities.

* Dr. Stephen Hawking

* Dr. Richard Feynman

Stephen Hawking is considered one of the greatest physicist of recent times. And he passed away this year (2018) on March 14th, the same day as Einstein's birthday. [reference: Stephen Hawking ]

Yet perseverance helped him overcome the physical challenges of ALS.  With perseverance and curiosity, he pursued a distinguishing career in cosmology and theoretical physics, as shown below:

( reference: https://youtu.be/DTlLxzYWdMk )

Likewise, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman was driven by curiosity. Which drove him to learn new things. Get out of his comfort zone. Search for answers. Solve nature's puzzles. Connect the dots.

While a graduate student days at Princeton, Feynman developed a method that served him well. He started with an empty notebook titled -

NOTEBOOK OF THINGS I DON’T KNOW ABOUT. 

He filled the pages as he reorganized his thoughts in the concrete form of pen and paper. Trying to find the essential kernel of each branch of physics. This discipline may have paved the way to his Nobel Prize.

* Check out:  The Feynman Notebook Method  and the video below:

( reference: https://youtu.be/UjEngEpiJKo )

Learning new things can be hard.  It takes work. Most resist it. Yet, through curiosity and perseverance, as Stephen Hawking said -

 It can be done. 

Regardless of vocation, avocation, hobby, interests, passions...

Stay curious
and
Don't give up

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Previous posts in this series:

Physics (part 1) - Picking Feynman's Brain (2013)
  
Physics (part 2) - Flat Earth? It depends ...  (2015)

Physics (part 3) - 100 years of Einstein (2015) 

Physics (part 4) - Einstein and Pi  (2016)

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Photo: Curiosity Cat/everystockphoto.com

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60

NASA Seal/wikipedia.com

What was happening 60 years ago?

(reference:  https://youtu.be/AXIHoO76xpM )

And this October 1st, NASA
-- National Aeronautics and Space Administration --  

first opened its doors
60 years ago.

(reference: https://youtu.be/VV6QeZFaVSQ )

NASA's Vision: 

We reach for new heights
and reveal the unknown
for the benefit of humankind.

[reference: About NASA ]

Want to hear more?

Check out: An Animated Celebration of NASA’s 60th Anniversary

And in the words of Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear:

"To infinity…and beyond!" 

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Similar posts:

AI (part 4) - Spaceman / Starman (2018)

PPP (part 2) - Psalms, Proverbs, and the Pale Blue Dot  (2017)

October Sky 2010 (2010)

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Picture: NASA Seal/wikipedia.com

Biblia Files (part 8) - What's Yom Kippur?

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur/wikipedia.com

What's Yom Kippur?

It's the Day of Atonement. Its origins found in Leviticus 16 as well as other places in the Old Testament. And it's still observed. This year, the most holy day falls on September 19, 2018.  After the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana.

[ reference: Jewish Holidays 2018-2019 ]

For a good summary of its history and modern observances, here it is in 60 seconds...

(reference: https://youtu.be/cP0MeqOgF3Y )

Yesterday was a shadow...

The law is only a shadow
of the good things that are coming—

not the realities themselves. 

For this reason it can never, 

by the same sacrifices
repeated endlessly year after year, 

make perfect those
who draw near to worship. 

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)

Today, full atonement through faith...

God presented Christ
as a sacrifice of atonement, 

through the shedding of His blood—
to be received by faith.

He did this to demonstrate
His righteousness, 

because in His forbearance 

He had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished— 

 He did it to demonstrate
His righteousness at the present time, 

so as to be just and the One
who justifies those
who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:25-26  (NIV)

Blessings for the New Year of 5779!

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More posts in the series:

Biblia Files (part 1) - Thru the Bible (2013)

Biblia Files (part 2) - What is the Bible Basically About? (2013)

Biblia Files (part 3) - Gideon - weakness, warts and all (2013) 
   
Biblia Files (part 4) - Holy Hyperlinks (2014)

Biblia Files (part 5) - Waiting .... (2014)
  

Biblia Files (part 6) - Crowns and Frowns (2015)
  
Biblia Files (part 7) - Follow Me (2017)

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Photo: Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur/wikipedia.com

ED (part 1) - Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

Bennet School 1912/everystockphoto.com

It's the end of August...

For most students, that means the start of another school year.

The classroom is open. So let's begin with a history lesson and some music and irony. A protest song from 1979 against the rigid education system:

 Pink Floyd from The Wall.

Actually, Another Brick in the Wall.
(It fits the theme of the old brick schoolhouse, above, doesn't it?)

(reference: https://youtu.be/YR5ApYxkU-U )

We don't need no education 

We don't need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teacher leave those kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
...

-- Pink Floyd Lyrics

Another Brick in the Wall was Pink Floyd's only number-one single. So this one must have really hit a chord with the people and resonated.

Lots of talk. Much has been discussed about public education. What's being taught. Who dictates the curriculum. Why little Johnny and Susie can't read. And why kids are exposed to mature and sensitive topics beyond their tender years.

Reforms? In 1979, President Jimmy Carter had signed a law to create a Department of Education. Just what we needed. Another layer of bureaucracy between the government and the people. More money thrown at the problem.

Since then? Common Core. Some charter schools. Homeschooling. Private schools for those who can afford them. Or are lucky enough to get scholarships. But most of the America's children are educated in public schools.

We don't need no thought control...Teacher leave those kids alone...

Conformity. It still seems to be the norm. Though the norms have shifted--some say a radical shift to the Left--since 1979. Creativity still stifled. Beat out of kids in grade school. Dissent not tolerated in the name of tolerance.

Diversity.  It's championed big time. But only certain kinds. Like physical attributes of perceived oppressed victim groups. But diversity of thought punished and censored. Only sanctioned group think seems to be rewarded.

Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

Other experiences? Here's what another musical artist said about education when he was a child,

“When I was 5 years old, 

my mother always told me 

that happiness was the key to life. 

When I went to school, 

they asked me what I wanted to be 
when I grew up.
   
I wrote down ‘happy’. 

They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, 

and I told them they didn’t understand life.” 

-- John Lennon 

Amen.

Sadly, John Lennon was murdered in 1980, a year after the release of Another Brick in the Wall.

Instead of Another Brick in the Wall,
may there be Doors!

 (The Doors is another iconic band of the times. It's a joke.)

So begins another rip roaring thread -- Education or ED

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Similar posts in the series:

LOL (part 3) - Year in the Life of a Teacher  (2017)

PC Watch (part 2) - The South Park Offense  (2013)

ZAMM (part 3) - Chautauqua, then and now  (2011)

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photo: Bennet School 1912/everystockphoto.com