Monday, January 31, 2011

Maypole dance

In England there was, for many years, one very curious feature in May Day celebrations, which would have made many American boys and girls—yes and grown-ups, too—stare with surprise. This was the procession of the chimney-sweeps. It used to be the custom in London to make little boys climb up chimneys and sweep down the soot. Now they no longer employ such chimney-sweeps; but in the old days it was their custom, every May Day, to have a great procession of the sweeps in London. On some occasions kind-hearted people helped to make the day a glad one for the little folks of the chimneys by asking them all to a good dinner of roast beef and plum pudding.

Another of the sights in London, on May Day, was the line of stage coaches, which were used before railways were made, all gaily decorated, with the horses smartly groomed, and the harness brightly polished, and the drivers and guards or conductors in their new clothes. The milkmaids, too, used to bedeck themselves with flowers and go from house to house dancing and singing.

As with all celebrations in olden times, some strange ideas were held by the country folk in connection with May Day. One of them was that if you wet your face with dew, on May Day morning, your complexion would be greatly improved. So on the first of May you might have seen hundreds of girls and women out in the fields while the dew was yet on the ground, seeking to make themselves more attractive by this means.

Maypole danceTitle: The book of holidays. Author: Joseph Walker McSpadden. Publisher: Thomas Y. Crowell company, 1917. Original from: the New York Public Library. Digitized: Jan 7, 2009. Length: 309 pages
Subjects: Holidays Social Science / Holidays (non-religious)

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1917, are now in the public domain.

But the great event of the English day was dancing around the maypole. This pole was not one of the small size used in our May Day celebrations, but a big tree. In some cases it took forty yoke of oxen to haul it from the woods, whence it was brought all decorated with flowers and streamers. This tall tree was set firmly in the ground (for it often remained in its position for a year) and round about it little booths and arbors were often built. When the decoration of it was properly finished, the people used to spend the rest of the day in dancing around it.

Washington Irving, the author who wrote "Rip Van Winkle," was so delighted when he saw a maypole on the banks of the Dee, near Chester in England, that he wrote: "I shall never forget the delight I felt on first seeing a maypole. My fancy adorned it with wreaths of flowers and people*} the green bank with all the dancing and revelry of May Day. The mere sight of this maypole gave a glow to my feelings and spread a charm over the country for the rest of the day."

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948. Political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement through civil disobedience. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma Gandhi or "Great Soul".

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town which was then part of the Bombay Presidency, British India. In May 1883, the 13-year old Mohandas was married to 14-year old Kasturbai Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, according to the custom of the region. On 4 September 1888, less than a month shy of his 19th birthday, Gandhi travelled to London, England, to study law at University College London and to train as a barrister. In April 1893, he accepted a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, then part of the British Empire.

In 1915, Gandhi returned from South Africa to live in India. In December 1921, Gandhi was invested with executive authority on behalf of the Indian National Congress. In December 1928 calling on the British government to grant India dominion status or face a new campaign of non-cooperation with complete independence for the country as its goal. On 8 May 1933, Gandhi began a 21-day fast of self-purification to help the Harijan movement. Gandhi returned to active politics again in 1936, with the Nehru presidency.

Mohandas Karamchand GandhiMohandas K. Gandhi, in the 1920s. Scan by Yann from a picture given by Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad.

This work is in the public domain in India because its term of copyright has expired.

According to The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 PDF (Chapter V Section 25), Anonymous works, photographs, cinematographic works, sound recordings, government works, and works of corporate authorship or of international organizations enter the public domain 60 years after the date on which they were first published, counted from the beginning of the following calendar year. Posthumous works (other than those above) enter the public domain after 60 years from publication date. Any other kind of work enters the public domain 60 years after the author's death. Text of laws, judicial opinions, and other government reports are free from copyright.

While the Indian National Congress and Gandhi called for the British to quit India, the Muslim League passed a resolution for them to divide and quit, in 1943. On the 14th and 15th of August, 1947 the Indian Independence Act was invoked and the following carnage witnessed a displacement of up to 12.5 million people in the former British Indian Empire with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million.

On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking to a platform from which he was to address a prayer meeting.

TEXT CREDIT: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Image of Winged monkeys flying monkeys Wizard of Oz

"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on both feet. This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a great chattering and flapping of wings, as the band of Winged Monkeys flew up to them. The King bowed low before Dorothy, and asked,

"What is your command?"

"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child, "and we have lost our way."

"We will carry you," replied the King, and no sooner had he spoken than two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her. Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion, and one little Monkey seized Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him.

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were rather frightened at first, for they remembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had treated them before; but they saw that no harm was intended, so they rode through the air quite cheerfully, and had a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them.

Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest Monkeys, one of them the King himself.

Winged monkeys flying monkeys Wizard of Oz

Winged monkeys flying monkeys Wizard of Oz
Title: The new Wizard of Oz. Author: Lyman Frank Baum. Illustrated by: William Wallace Denslow. Publisher: Bobbs-Merrill, 1903. Length: 208 pages.

On August 1, 1900, the Library's Copyright Office received from L. Frank Baum this hand-written copyright application with required title page deposit showing the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman.

W. W. (William Wallace) Denslow (1856-1915) was a well-known newspaper cartoonist and poster designer when he illustrated Baum's Father Goose, His Book (1899). Following its success, the two men teamed up for Baum's next work, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1900, are now in the public domain.

These images are also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case William Wallace Denslow died March 29, 1915, and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year.

They had made a chair of their hands and were careful not to hurt her.

"Why do you have to obey the charm of the Golden Cap?" she asked.

"That is a long story," answered the King, with a laugh; "but as we have a long journey before us I will pass the time by telling you about it, if you wish."

"I shall be glad to hear it," she replied.

"Once," began the leader, "we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit, and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. Perhaps some of us were rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to pull the tails of the animals that had no wings, chasing birds, and throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest. But we were careless and happy and full of fun, and enjoyed every minute of the day. This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Don Quixote de la Mancha

OUR RENOWNED HERO. Down in a village of La Mancha,* the name of which-I have no desire to recollect, there lived, not long ago, one of those gentlemen who usually keep a lance upon a rack, an old buckler, a lean horse, and a coursing grayhound. Soup, composed of somewhat more mutton than beef, the fragments served up cold on most nights, lentils on Fridays, collops and eggs on Saturdays, and a pigeon by way of addition on Sundays, consumed three-fourths of his income; the remainder of it supplied him with a cloak of fine cloth, velvet breeches, with slippers of the same for holidays, and a suit of the best homespun, in which he adorned himself on week-days.

His family consisted of a house-keeper above forty, a niece not quite twenty, and a lad who served him both in the field and at home, who could saddle the horse or handle the pruninghook. The age of our gentleman bordered upon fifty years: he was of a strong constitution, spare-bodied, of a meagre visage, a very early riser, and a lover of the chase. Some pretend to say that his surname was Quixada,t or Quesada, for on this point his historians differ; though, from very probable conjectures, we may conclude that his name was Quixana. This is, however, of little importance to our history; let it suffice that, in relating it, we do not swerve a jot from the truth.

Don Quixote de la ManchaTitle: ADVENTURES OF DON QUIZOTE DE LA MANCHA. Author: Charles Jarvis. Published: 1880. Original from: Harvard University. Digitized: Nov 8, 2007. Illustrator: Paul Gustave Doré, January 6, 1832 – January 23, 1883. A French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1880, are now in the public domain.

and also in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) in this case (Paul Gustave Doré, January 6, 1832 – January 23, 1883) and that most commonly run for a period of 50 to 70 years from december 31 of that date.

Be it known, then, that the afore-mentioned gentleman, in his leisure moments, which composed the greater part of the year, gave himself up with so much ardor to the perusal of books of chivalry, that he almost wholly neglected the exercise of the chase, and even the regulation of his domestic affairs; indeed, so extravagant was his zeal in this pursuit, that he sold many acres of arable land to purchase books of knighterrantry, collecting as many as he could possibly obtain.

Among them all', none pleased him so much as those written by the famous Feliciano de Silva, whose brilliant prose and intricate style were, in his opinion, infinitely precious; especially those amorous speeches and challenges in which they so abound; such as: "The reason of the unreasonable treatment of my reason so enfeebles my reason, that with reason I complain of your beauty." And again: "The high heavens that, with your divinity, divinely fortify you with the stars, rendering you meritorious of the merit merited by your greatness." These and similar rhapsodies distracted the poor gentleman, for he labored to comprehend and unravel their meaning, which was more than Aristotle himself could do, were he to rise from the dead expressly for that purpose.

He was not quite satisfied as to the wounds which Don Belianis gave and received; for he could not help thinking that, however skilful the surgeons were who healed them, his face and whole body must have been covered with seams and scars. Nevertheless, he commended his author for concluding his book with the promise of that interminable adventure; and he often felt an inclination to seize the pen himself and conclude it, literally as it is there promised: this he would doubtless have done, and not without success, had he not been diverted from it by meditations of greater moment, on which his mind was incessantly employed.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

1967 Shelby Ford Mustang

On this day in 1965, the Shelby GT 350, a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang developed by auto racer and car designer Carroll Shelby, is launched.

The 1965-1966 cars were the smallest and lightest of the G.T. 350 models. These cars are often improperly called "Cobras", which was the Ford-powered AC-based two-seat sports car also produced by Shelby American during the same period. The confusion arises from the use of the Cobra emblem, the paint scheme, and optional "Cobra" valve covers on many GT350s (part of a marketing tie-in by Shelby as well as one of his iconic symbols). All 1965-66 cars featured the K-Code 271 hp 289, modified to produce 306 hp. 1965-1966 G.T. 350s were delivered from Ford's San Jose assembly plant in body in white form for modification by Carroll Shelby's operation.

All but one 1965 G.T. 350s were painted Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue rocker stripes. The one exception was blue with white stripes. Contrary to popular belief, very few GT350s were delivered with the optional "Le Mans" (or "LeMans") top stripes, which run the length of the entire car.

For 1967, the GT 350 carried over the K-Code high performance 289 with a 'COBRA' aluminum hi-rise. The GT 500 was added to the lineup, equipped with the 428 Police Interceptor. These later cars carried over few of the performance modifications of the 1965-66 GT350s, although they did feature more cosmetic changes.

1967 Shelby Ford Mustang1967 Shelby Ford Mustang

Description: '67 Shelby Mustang (Cruisin' At The Boardwalk 2010).jpg. 1967 Shelby Mustang photographed in Ste. Anne De Bellevue, Quebec, Canada at Cruisin' At The Boardwalk 2010.

Date: 06/19/10. Source: Own work. Author: Bull-Doser. Permission: All Rights Released. By Bull-Doser (Own work.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I Bull-Doser , the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I Bull-Doser grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt State of the Union Address

Addressing the United States Congress, in a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.

This photograph, from U.S. Office of War Information files in the National Archives, has long been identified as the President delivering his war message on 8 December 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

However, a note with the original photograph states that the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (Hyde Park, NY) has said that the view is not of that event. If that is the case, it may represent the 1941 or 1942 State of the Union Address, as the presiding officers (seated behind the President) are Vice President Henry A. Wallace and House Speaker Sam Rayburn.

Photographed by Harris & Ewing, Washington, D.C.

Photograph from the Office of War Information collection in the U.S. National Archives.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt State of the Union AddressThis file is a work of a employee of the U.S. Office of War Information, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.

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IMAGE and TEXT CREDIT: DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER 805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

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Monday, January 24, 2011

Alaska Wild Berries

Title: Alaska Wild Berries. Creator: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Subject: Wildlife refuges, Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, Plants, Vegetation, Alaska. Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contributors: INNOKO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

Innoko National Wildlife Refuge was established to conserve waterfowl, peregrine falcons, other migratory birds, black bears, moose, furbearers, other mammals, and salmon; to fulfill treaty obligations; to provide for continued subsistence uses; and to ensure necessary water quality and quantity.

Showing little impact from human habitation, the vegetation of the refuge reflects a transition zone between the boreal forest of Interior Alaska and tundra types common in western and northern Alaska. These natural ecosystems provide the food, shelter, and water that wildlife need to survive.

Type: Still image. Format: JPG. Source: Innoko NWR-088. Language: English.

Rights: Public domain.

Audience: General. Date created: 2008-04-18. Date modified: 2008-05-28.
Alaska Wild BerriesThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video and that are in the public domain. You are free to use them as you wish - no permission is necessary. We do ask that you please give credit to the photographer or creator and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This file is a work of a employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.

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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Steely McBeam Pittsburgh Steelers

The fifth-oldest franchise in the NFL, the Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney, taking their original name from Pittsburgh's baseball team, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time. The Steelers have used black and gold as their colors since the club's inception.

The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding. The current owner is Art's son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II.

Prior to the 2007 season, the Steelers introduced Steely McBeam as their official mascot, as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the team. His name was selected from a pool of 70,000 suggestions submitted by fans of the team. Diane Roles of Middlesex, Pennsylvania submitted the winning name which was "meant to represent steel for Pittsburgh's industrial heritage, "Mc" for the Rooney family's Irish roots, and Beam for the steel beams produced in Pittsburgh. Steely McBeam is visible at all home games and participates in the team's charitable programs and other club-sponsored events.

Steely McBeam signing autographs for fans at Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on August 2nd, 2007, just before his name was unveiled. Up to that point, he signed his autographs as "Mascot 07".

Steely McBeam Pittsburgh SteelersPermission: Released into the public domain (by the author).

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Jgera5 at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible: Jgera5 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

TEXT CREDIT: Pittsburgh Steelers From Wikipedia

New York Jets game against the Jacksonville Jaguars

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kerry Rhodes #25, free safety, New York Jets, carrys an American Flag on field during pre-game introduction, Nov. 15. Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Army service members participated in a tribute to veterans before the game. A Coast Guard detachment sang the National Anthem and were joined by a joint-service color guard before the New York Jets game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, presented the coin for the pre-game coin toss.(Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton)

Information available at www.marines.mil is consistent with Marine Corps and DoD policies and The Principles of Information and contains information cleared for public release. This photograph is considered public domain and has been cleared for release. If you would like to republish please give the photographer appropriate credit.

This file is a work of a Marine or employee of the U.S. Marine Corps, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.
New York Jets game against the Jacksonville JaguarsGenerally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

RELATED:

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Catmon Hill (Hill 120) Dulag Leyte

Deployed in 1944 to Schofield Barracks Hawaii, the 96th Infantry Division (The "Deadeye" Division) led the "Return to the Philippines Assault".

USS TENNESSEE BB-43 took up her position off Dulag before dawn on 19 October and, at 0645, began to bombard the landing area north of the town. Her main battery opened up from 8,300 yards, and her secondaries chimed in a few minutes later as she aimed at fortifications and antiaircraft gun emplacements. Catmon Hill, received particular attention from the ships.

Following four hours of heavy naval gunfire on A-day, 20 October, Sixth Army forces landed at Dulag Leyte on Leyte Island assigned beaches at 10:00. By the end of A-day, the Sixth Army had moved 2 mi inland and controlled Panaon Strait at the southern end of Leyte. In the XXIV Corps sector, the 96th Infantry Division held the approaches to Catmon Hill (Hill 120).

On the evening of 22 October General Makino, commander of the 16th Division on Leyte, made changes in his plans. The 16th Division was divided into the Northern and Southern Leyte Defense Forces. The Northern Leyte Defense Force, consisting of the 9th Infantry Regiment reinforced by elements of the 22d Field Artillery Regiment, would defend the Catmon Hill area against the 96th Division.

According to the COMMANDER, THIRD AMPHIBIOUS FORCE "The only smoke mission called for was the smoking-off of Catmon Hill which commanded the northern beach area. This was accomplished expeditiously by smoker aircraft and white phosphorous projectiles from the fire support ships. The smoke was very effective."

Catmon Hill (Hill 120) Dulag LeyteU.S. M7 howitzer fires on Japanese positions at Catmon Hill, Leyte, 27 October 1944.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

LtGen Thomas E. Bourke "The 11th Gun Battalion, near the beach, found itself swinging its guns around to fire on dug-in Japanese positions on Catmon Hill from which the beach and rear area installations were receiving fire."

Before moving inland and defeating major Japanese resistance with attacks at Tabonatabon and the Central Leyte Valley airfields from the XXIV Corps beachhead Gen. Hodge had sent his two divisions into the southern Leyte Valley, which already contained four airfields and a large supply center, Maj. Gen. James L. Bradley's 96th Infantry Division was to clear Catmon Hill (Hill 120), a ridge some 500 yards long 1,400 ft (430 m) promontory, the highest point in both corps beachheads, and used by the Japanese as an observation and firing post to fire on landing craft approaching the beach on A-day. Keeping the enemy on Catmon Hill occupied with intermittent artillery and naval gunfire, Bradley's troops made their way through the swamps south and west of the high ground. The 96th assaulted Catmon Hill on 28 October. By the 31st, when the mop-up of Catmon Hill was completed, American troops had cleared fifty-three pillboxes, seventeen caves, and many other prepared positions.

The Division seized Dulag Leyte beaches and Catmon Hill (Hill 120) this is where the first American flag was raised by the Liberating Forces of Sixth Army, XXIV Corps, 96th Infantry Division.

The Division completed the Leyte mop-up and prepared to depart for the Ryukyus Campaign. The 96th Infantry Division made amphibious assault landings on Okinawa April 1, 1945, the Division captured Dick Hill and Conical Hill and broke resistance. The Division completed the Okinawa mop-up in late July 1945 and sailed to Mindoro Island in the Philippines to prepare for the planned invasion of Japan.

On Leyte 20th October is celebrated as Liberation Day. On Blue Beach where the 3d battalion, 392 infantry landed the 96th Infantry Divisions Memorial Park is now located.

RELATED: General Douglas MacArthur Returns Leyte, Philippine

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Friday, January 21, 2011

Be My Valentine

Title: He doesn't come to bite you, this little dog of mine, but simply to invite you to be my valentine. Date Created/Published: 1919 Jan. 16. Medium: 1 card : color. Summary: Card shows a little boy in a military uniform holding a leash with a dog that has a valentine in its mouth "Will you be mine?" Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-24348 (digital file from original item)

Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.

Call Number: LOT 7607 [item] [P&P] Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print. || JPEG (47kb) || JPEG (131kb) || TIFF (28.3mb) ||

Notes:

* Title from item.
* The A. M. Davis Co., Boston.

Subjects:

* Cards--1910-1920.

Be My ValentineFormat:

* Valentines--1910-1920.

Collections:

* Miscellaneous Items in High Demand.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

To my Valentine

Title: To my Valentine. Date Created/Published: 1919 Jan. 16. Medium: 1 card : color. Summary: Card shows a man with a large quill pen and ink well writing on oversized paper. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-24351 (digital file from original item)

Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.

Call Number: LOT 7607 [item] [P&P] Other Number: 509648. Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

Notes:

* 509648 U.S. Copyright Office.
* Title from item.
* The A. M. Davis Co., Boston.
* Quotation on card: "All the paper in the country, all the stamps and pens and ink I should need if I should tell you, all the compliments I think, yours truly".

To my ValentineSubjects:

* Cards--1910-1920.

Format:

* Valentines--1910-1920.

Collections:

* Miscellaneous Items in High Demand

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Paul Cezanne

Paul Cézanne1 January 19, 1839 – October 22, 1906

In a letter dated a year or so before his death Cezanne wrote: "I am too old; I have not realized; I shall not realize now. I remain the primitive of the way which I have discovered." What the way was is summarized by his artist-friend, Emile Bernard, as "a bridge, thrown across conventional routine, by which impressionism may return to the Louvre and to the life profound."

Cezanne was born at Aix in Provence in 1839. Among his college friends was Zola with whom he shared a taste for literature and entered into rivalry in prose and poetic compositions. It was not until he visited Paris and was introduced by Zola to Courbet and Manet that his thoughts turned to painting. Soon, in favor of the latter, he renounced all other interests and settled down to that concentrated and patient study of nature and art which dominated the remainder of his life.

He passed through a period of absorbing the influence of others; by turns Delacroix, Daumier, Courbet and finally Manet, among whose followers he figured for a time conspicuously. Then he grew dissatisfied with impressionism and retired to Aix to prosecute his studies in seclusion. He ceased to exhibit and Paris had forgotten his existence, when in 1899 a number of his pictures appeared in the sale of his friend, M. Choquet's, collection. From this event dated his present reputation and the influence which he has exerted on Matisse and the still younger painters, who call him reverently, the Sage. He died at Aix in 1905.
Paul Cézanne, c. 1861Photography of Paul Cézanne, c. 1861.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1901, are now in the public domain.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Cezanne's dissent from impressionism grew out of what he believed to be its two deficiencies. One anticipated the later development of neo-impressionism, in so far as the latter has tried to substitute scientific certainty for "instinct" and "inspiration." The other was a reaction from the flat arabesques of impressionism to a more constructive kind of composition; which should replace the fugitive effects with those of bulk and permanence. Impressionism was too much at the mercy of temperament, too preoccupied with the merely passing show. Hence its manifest inferiority to the great art of the past.

On the other hand the latter ceased to be a living expression with the passing of the life to which it had responded and the academic, classicalized attempt to perpetuate it artifically has resulted in "conventional routine." It was over this routine that Cezanne set himself to build a bridge, which should unite the throbbing life of to-day with the noble art of the past, and let some of the profound life of Classic art pass across into the art of the present.

No one will dispute the grandeur of the aim or the need of achieving it, if modern painting is ever to take rank not only with the great art of the past but also with the great works of the present in other departments of civilization.

Cezanne recognized that modern painting in its effort to recover greatness was debarred for the most part from one source of Italian grandeur. It could no longer ally itself to the sumptuousness of that life and reinforce itself with the superb illustration of Biblical and mythological lore. It was compelled to be the expression of a life whose main characteristic is a keen consciousness of actualities. The painter of to-day cannot soar into the clouds; he must occupy himself with the actual perceptions of things as they are. He can, however, save himself from banality by relying upon his sensations, aroused by the perceptions, and by giving to them a concrete form. This, in fact, was what impressionism had done.

TEXT CREDIT: The story of French painting

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Captain James Cook

Captain James Cook, R.N., the Circumnavigator, was by birth a Yorkshireman, a native of the district of Cleveland, but of his ancestry there is now very little satisfactory information to be obtained. Nichols, in his "Topographer and Genealogist," suggests that "James Cooke, the celebrated mariner, was probably of common origin with the Stockton Cookes, and might also be one of Edward Cooke's progeny, though it has been alleged his family came from Scotland." Nichols's chief reason for making this suggestion seems to have been the possession by a branch of this Stockton family, of a crayon portrait of some relation which was supposed to resemble the great discoverer in features and expression. He does not attempt to explain the fact that James Cook and all his family invariably spelt their name without the final e, which the Stockton Cookes as invariably use.

The opinion of those of Cook's contemporaries, who had been in actual contact with him or his family, was that his father was either a Northumbrian or a Scotsman, and it would appear most probable that the last is correct. Dr George Young, a former vicar of Whitby,

who published a "Life of Cook" in 1836, went to that place about 1805, and claims to have obtained much information "through intercourse with his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, including one or two surviving school companions." He is undoubtedly the most reliable authority on Cook's early years, if not the only one, and he appears thoroughly satisfied that Cook was of Scotch extraction.

Captain James Cook. From the portrait by Nathaniel DanceOn January 18, 1778, Captain James Cook (November 7, 1728 – February 14, 1779) discovered the Hawaiian Islands.

From the portrait by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet (May 8, 1735 – October 15, 1811) , in the Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital.

Title: Captain James Cook, R. N., F.R.S., "the circumnavigator". Author: Arthur Kitson. Publisher: E.P. Dutton, 1907. Original from: the University of Michigan. Digitized: Jan 11, 2007. Length: 525 pages

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1907, are now in the public domain. and also in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) in this case (Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet May 8, 1735 – October 15, 1811) and that most commonly run for a period of 50 to 70 years from december 31 of that date.

Dr George Johnston, usually a most careful writer, states in his book, "The Natural History of the Eastern Borders," that in the year 1692, at the time when the father of James Thompson, the author of "The Seasons," was the minister of Ednam in Roxburghshire, a man named John Cook was one of the elders of the kirk. This John Cook married, on the 19th of January 1693, a woman of the name of Jean Duncan, by whom he had a son, James, baptized on 4th March 1694, and this child, Johnston positively asserts, was afterwards the father of the future Captain James Cook.

These entries of the marriage and baptism have been verified by the Rev. John Burleigh, minister of Ednam in the year 1898, and it may be pointed out that the date of the baptism of the child James Cook agrees with the probable date of the birth of Captain Cook's father, for he died on 1st April 1778, in his eighty-fifth year. In the course of time young James left Ednam to "better himself," but owing to the whole of the church records being missing for some years after 1698, Mr Burleigh is unable to trace the time of his departure; he, however, thinks that it is almost certain that young Cook would take away with him a "testificate of church-membership," and, in that case, it is possible, though perhaps not very probable, that such testificate may still exist.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking as Edward B. Footmon of the National Park Service looks on Civil Rights March on Washington

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking as Edward B. Footmon of the National Park Service looks on.], 08/28/1963 ARC Identifier 542068 / Local Identifier 306-SSM-4D(107)8 Item from Record Group 306: Records of the U.S. Information Agency, 1900 - 2003

Creator(s): U.S. Information Agency. Press and Publications Service. (ca. 1953 - ca. 1978). Type(s) of Archival Materials: Photographs and other Graphic Materials
Contact(s):

Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001. PHONE: 301-837-0561; FAX: 301-837-3621; EMAIL: stillpixorder@nara.gov.

Production Date(s): 08/28/1963. Part Of: Series: Miscellaneous Subjects, Staff and Stringer Photographs, compiled 1961 - 1974.

Access Restriction(s): Unrestricted
Use Restriction(s): Unrestricted

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking as Edward B. Footmon of the National Park Service looks on Civil Rights March on Washington

Variant Control Number(s): NAIL Control Number: NWDNS-306-SSM-4D(107)8

Copy Status: Preservation. Contact(s): Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001. PHONE: 301-837-0561; FAX: 301-837-3621; EMAIL: stillpixorder@nara.gov

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Mark Sanchez

Mark Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a quarterback for the New York Jets. Sanchez was born in Long Beach, California and is of Mexican American descent. Height: 6 ft 2 in. Weight: 225 lb. Career information: College: Southern California. NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5, Debuted in 2009 for the New York Jets

Soldiers attend NY Jets practice by Master Sgt. Jennifer K. Yancey

For the past three years, the New York Jets organization has opened its doors to our local military. Up to 60 service members are invited each year to attend a Jets practice the Friday before their annual Military Appreciation Game. The service members have always been well received by the organization and especially by the players, some of whom have personal ties to the military.

Images on the Army Web site are cleared for release and are considered in the public domain. Request credit be given as "Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army" and credit to individual photographer whenever possible.

This file is a work of a soldier or employee of the U.S. Army, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.
Mark SanchezGenerally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

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Thomas Edward Patrick Tom Brady, Jr.

Tom Brady. Public Domain ClipArt Stock Photos and Images. Super Bowl Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. quarterback for the New England Patriots. He has played in four Super Bowls, winning three of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX). He has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII) and has been selected to six Pro Bowls.

Brady has the fifth-highest career passer rating of all time (95.2) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts. Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records, including most touchdown passes in a regular season (50), highest single-game completion percentage, regular season or postseason (26/28, 92.9%), most completions in one Super Bowl, most completions in Super Bowl history (career), the highest winning percentage of any quarterback ever during his first 100 starts (76 wins), and the longest streak of games with 3 or more touchdown passes (10 games).

Tom Brady Super Bowl

Tom Brady takes the snap during Super Bowl XXXIX. Brady threw for 219 yards to give the Patriots their third Super Bowl victory in four years.

This image or file is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Marine Corps. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. Author: Lance Cpl. Edward L. Mennenga, USMC

Brady married Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen on February 26, 2009 in a Catholic ceremony in Santa Monica, California. On June 19, 2009, reports surfaced that Bündchen was pregnant. On September 11, 2009, Brady confirmed to ESPN that they were expecting, and that Bündchen was due in December 2009. On December 8, 2009, Bündchen gave birth to the couple's first child together.

Description: Welker-Brady-Moss.jpg. Tom Brady with Wes Welker and Randy Moss in the background. Date: 12 September 2010(2010-09-12). Author: Denis Laflamme.

I Dennislaflamme, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I Dennislaflamme grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Description: TomBradyin2008.jpg. Tom Brady in a 2008 game. Date : 2008-08-04 (EXIF), 2008-08-11 (original upload).

This file has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Georgejabraham at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: Georgejabraham grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

TEXT CREDIT: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens)

Title: Snow Geese. Alternative Title: Chen caerulescens Chen caerulescens. Creator: Lee Karney, Description: Flock of Snow geese on Bosque del Apache NWR. Subject: Birds. Aquatic animals. Location: New Mexico. FWS Site: BOSQUE DEL APACHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

The Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The breeding population of the Lesser Snow Goose exceeds 5 million birds, an increase of more than 300 percent since the mid-1970s.

Publisher: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Type: Still Image. Format: JPG. Item ID: WO_297 LKarney Snow Geese flock. Language: English.

Audience: General. File Size: 293.798 KB. Height: 474, Width: 639. Color Space: RGB,
Original Format Digital. Date created: 2008-04-18. Date modified: 2008-07-21

Rights Public Domain.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video and that are in the public domain. You are free to use them as you wish - no permission is necessary. We do ask that you please give credit to the photographer or creator and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens)This file is a work of a employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley (1753 – December 5, 1784) Known as the first African-American woman in United States history to have her poetry published.

Brought, in 1761, on a slave ship from Africa to the Boston slave market, and purchased by Mrs. John Wheatley.a benevolent and cultured lady. When bought she was thin and sick from a rough, tedious sea voyage, for her constitution was delicate at best. Impressed by her intelligent countenance and modest demeanor, she was selected from a large number of slaves.

It was the intention at first to teach her the duties of a house servant; but clean clothing and good food wrought such a change for the better, that her mistress decided to instruct her in letters. She was only eight years old and proved a very apt pupil; in less than a year and a half she had mastered the English language sufficiently well to read the most difficult portions of the Bible. She also mastered writing with equal ease, and in four years from the time she was taken out of the slave market could carry on an interesting correspondence upon many topics. Her amiable disposition and budding intellect attracted the attention of the refined and cultured of Boston, who gave her encouragement by lending her books and conversing with her upon literary subjects. Having acquired a fairly good English education, she began the study of Latin, and soon became so proficient that she made an admirable translation of one of Ovid's tales, which was published in Boston and republished in England, where it was heartily commended by many of the reviews.

Phillis WheatleyTitle: Poems on various subjects, religious and moral. Author: Phillis Wheatley. Publisher: W.H. Lawrence, 1887. Original from: Princeton University. Digitized: Apr 3, 2009. Length: 149 pages. Subjects: Poetry / American / General Poetry / General

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1887, are now in the public domain.



When asked what she remembered about her home in Africa she replied, "Nothing except the fact that every morning my mother poured out water before the rising sun" She could not help but contrast this with the worship of the true and only living God, andthis child of Ahica became deeply pious. In 1770, at the age of sixteen, she was happily converted and united with the congregation at the "Old South Meetinghouse." Four years afterwards, her master manumitted her. But the New England climate was too severe for one of her studious and sedentary habits, with delicate constitution, and she began to go into a decline. At the suggestion of eminent physicians, her adopted mother, for such she proved herself to be, sent her on a voyage to England, in care of her son,who wasgoing on business. Some years previous to this Phillis had developed a great talent for poetry, which she had cultivated to the utmost. Indeed her reputation was well established, and had preceded her to England. Her rare conversational powers and charming demeanor took London by stcrm.

Soon the nobility, thoughtful people, and press, united in extolling the name of Phillis Wheatley, the African poetess.

Her poems were first published in Boston in 1770. But her admiring friends prevailed upon her to bring out a second and better edition in London in 1773. This was a small octavo volume of about one hundred and twenty pages, comprising thirty-nine pieces. It was dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon, and contained a picture of the poetess, and a letter of recommendation signed by the governor and lit r tenant governor of Massachusetts, with many other reliable citizens of Boston, including her master; establishing the fact that all the poems contained in the book were written by Phillis. For the poems were so excellent, strangers were disposed to question their originality.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass:—It is not known just when this remarkable man was born; but he supposes it was in February, 1817, in the village of Tuckahoc, Maryland.

His mother's name was Harriet Bailey, and he remembers that she was the only black person in the village who could read; he also recollects that she was quite black and glossy; and as he is many shades lighter, his father must have been a white man. Frederick had an older brother named Perry, and four sisters. His mother, as if anticipating his future career of greatness,gave him a name in keeping with it; she called him Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; but after his escape, wishing to conceal his identity, he took the name he has since borne.

The Negroes on his master's plantation received the usual cruelty accorded slaves in Maryland at this time. Many were the floggings the boy witnessed, which brought blood from the backs of the victim of an overseer's lash.

However, there were a few bright spots in his plantation life to which he could look back with pleasure.

His master's daughter, Mrs. Thomas Auld, called by the slaves "Miss Lucretia," treated him with great kindness; indeed he became quite a pet with her, and often when hungry, his usual condition, would sing under her window, receiving for his pay a slice of bread and butter. When struck on the forehead by another slave boy, she it was who dressed his bleeding wound.
Frederick DouglassThe white side of a black subject: enlarged and brought down to date. : a vindication of the Afro-American race : from the landing of slaves at St. Augustine, Author Norman B. Wood. Publisher: American Publishing House, 1897.

Original from: the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Digitized: Jun 19, 2009. Length: 408 pages. Subjects: African Americans. Slavery, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, Social Science / Slavery

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1897, are now in the public domain.



After this, he was sent by his master to Baltimore, where his new mistress, the wife of Hugh Auld, was very kind to him, and began teaching him to read; but was prevented by her husband, who said in the presence of the boy, that "learning would ruin any nigger" and if Fred was taught to read the Bible it would be impossible to keep him a slave. The words of his master were treasured up by our young hero, who resolved at all hazards to get learning.and with all his getting to "get understanding."

He always carried a Webster's spelling book in his pocket,and induced his little white playmates to give him instructions. He turned bootblack, and earned fifty cents with which he bought a "Columbian Orator, "and read with such avidity he might be said to have devoured it.

In 1834 Frederick's master hired him to one Covey, a prominent Methodist in the same county, who talked religion on Sunday to his slaves, and prayed before them morning and evening; but his treatment of them was not in keeping with his profession. When he had been there but a few days, Covey sent him with a yoke of unruly oxen to draw in wood from the forest. This would have been a difficult task for an experienced ox driver; but our hero had never driven oxen before, and as might have been expected, they became unmanageable, tangling themselves and the cart, until it was hard work releasing them; however, this was finally accomplished, and with his load on he started to the house; but the oxen ran away even with the load on the cartjbreaking the gate to pieces, they almost crushed the driver between the wheel and the gate-post.

He did not reach the house until late noon, but Covey at once ordered him back for a second load; and following after saw what had been done. He now cut three black gum sprouts, noted for their toughness, from four to six feet long; tearing off Frederick's clothes,he were them out on his bare back, one at a time, and his coarse shirt kept the sores rubbed and open for weeks. On another occasion during a hot afternoon in August, Frederick was taken deathly sick while cairying wheat to a fan. Covey saw him lying on the ground,and with a brutal kick in the side, ordered him to rise; he made an effort and fell back, but a second heavy kick brought him to his feet, only to fall helpless on attempting to pick up the tub of wheat and chaff. Upon which Covey struck him over the head with a stick, causing the blood to gush out, saying,"I will cure your headache." His victim was still too weak to rise.and was left bleeding in a fence corner.

The flow of blood relieved his dizziness, and he determined to go and complain to his master; seeking a iroment when Covey's back was turned, he crept into the woods, where,after resting a while,he made his way almost exhausted to St. Michaels, and reported to Captain Auld, only to be sent back the next day. He did not present himself before Covey until Sunday morning, having spent Saturday night with a slave named Sanday and his wife, who gave him food and ministered to his wants. Brother Covey received him kindly, for it was the Sabbath,and the good man (?) was just starting to church.

He attempted to whip Fred once more after this, but the worm turned on him. The slave had noticed, "men are whipped oftenest who are whipped easiest." He determined to resist, and did so with such success that he drew blood from Covey without losing a drop himself.

He never attempted to whip him afterwards. He was a slave four years longer, but was never again whipped, for whenever it was attempted he always gave as good as he received, sometimes better.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth,—The Libyan Sibyl:—It is not known when this remarkable woman was born, as it was not customary to keep a record of such trivial events as the birth of a slave-child. This much is known, she was manumitted by an act of the legislature of New York in I811, by which all slaves forty years of age were liberated at once, the others in 1828, and the children on reaching their majority.

Her former name was Isabella, that of her parents, James and Betsey, slaves of Colonel Ardinburgh.who belonged to that class called Low Dutch; he lived in Hurley, Ulster County,New York.

She remembered that her parents, Bomefree and Mau-mau-Bett, after having all their children, whom God had intended as the prop and stay of their declining years,sold away from them, were emancipated when they became old and well nigh helpless. But this was little more than liberty to starve or perish from cold,for they were given to understand that they could expect no help from the very people who had been enriched by thier unpaid toil for more than half a century.

At nine years of age, Isabella was sold for one hundred dollars to one John Nealy of Ulster County, New York. She thinks her sale was connected in some way with a flock of sheep. The trials of her life dated from this period, or as she expressed it, "Now the war begun." She knew nothing of the English language, while the Nealys could not talk Dutch. Mr. Nealy, however, could understand that language, but neither mistress nor maid could understand the language of the other.
Sojourner TruthThe white side of a black subject: enlarged and brought down to date. : a vindication of the Afro-American race : from the landing of slaves at St. Augustine, Author Norman B. Wood. Publisher: American Publishing House, 1897.

Original from: the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Digitized: Jun 19, 2009. Length: 408 pages. Subjects: African Americans. Slavery, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, Social Science / Slavery

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1897, are now in the public domain.

This naturally led to frequent misunderstanding, and punishment for poor Isabella. She was often slapped over for bringing the wrong article to her mistress. She suffered terribly from cold, her feet becoming badly frozen. And while they gave her plenty to eat, they also gave her plenty of whippings; often for no other reason than her inability to understand what she was told to do.

One Sunday morning she was sent to the barn. where she found her master waiting for her with a bundle of rods in his hand Stripping her to the waist, and tying her hands before her,he gave her the most cruel flogging she ever received. Her flesh was deeply lacerated, the blood streaming to the barn floor, the scars remaining to her dying day. And she never knew why she was so cruelly whipped.

Often afterwards she stated,"When I hear'em tell of whippin' women on the bare flesh, k makes my flesh crawl, an' my very hair rise on my head! Oh my God, what a way is this of treatin' human bein's!" She now remembered her mother's instruction to pray to God in time of trouble, and at once obeyed, begging God to send her father, who was still living, and through him to provide a kinder master.

This prayer (and indeed all her prayers) was promptly answered. In a short time her poor old father came to see her. When he started away she followed him to the gate, and unburdened her heart.

He promised to do what he could and in a short time sent a rough but kind-hearted man, by the name of Schriver, who purchased Isabella of her master for one hundred and five dollars. Schriver lived about six miles distant, and owned a large farm, but left it unimproved, while he engaged in fishing, and keeping a hotel. He and his family were coarse, ignorant, and profane, but honest, kind-hearted people. Here Isabella was kindly treated, but learned from their example to swear like a trooper. Her work consisted of carrying fish, hoeing corn, bringing roots and herbs from the woods for beers, and going on errands to the Strand for a jug of molasses or liquor.

Naturally instead of improving in morals she retrograded, during the year and a half she spent there.

Her next master was John j. Dumont, to whom she was sold for seventy pounds in the year 1810. He also lived in Ulster County, near the town of New Paltz. She remained with him until the fall of 1827. Mr. Dumont was a kind-hearted man, but his wife was not accustomed to Negroes and disliked Isabella from the first.

Sarah E. Goode Folding Bed Patent

Judy W. Reed, of Washington, D.C., and Sarah E. Goode, of Chicago, were the first African American women inventors to receive patents. Reed may not have been able to sign her name, but she may be the first African American woman to receive a patent. Signed with an "X," patent no. 305,474, granted September 23, 1884, is for a dough kneader and roller. Goode's patent for a cabinet bed, patent no. 322,177, was issued on July 14, 1885. Goode, the owner of a Chicago furniture store at the time of her invention, invented a folding bed that could be formed into a desk when not in use. It was a great space-saving idea!

These patents, as well as the more than six million patents issued since the first in 1790 and the 2.3 million trademarks registered since 1870, can be seen on the Department of Commerce's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site at www.uspto.gov. Last year USPTO issued 187,824 patents and registered 102,314 trademarks.

Born a slave, Goode gained her freedom after the American Civil War and moved to Chicago, Illinois. She soon opened a furniture store that was modestly successful. Due to the limited living spaces of urban life, many of her customers complained about not having enough room to place full-size beds in their apartments. Goode was inspired to design and construct what is known today as the Folding Bed. Sarah E. Goode died in Chicago c1909
Sarah E. Goode Folding Bed PatentThis image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1885, are now in the public domain.

and also in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) in this case (Sarah E. Goode c1909 ) and that most commonly run for a period of 50 to 70 years from december 31 of that date.

[Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

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Saturday, January 08, 2011

Elvis Presley birthplace Tupelo, MS

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Vernon Elvis and Gladys Love Presley. In the two-room shotgun house built by his father in readiness for the birth, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn.

The shotgun house is a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than 12 feet (3.5 m) wide, with doors at each end. It was the most popular style of house in the Southern United States from the end of the American Civil War (1861–65), through to the 1920s. Alternate names include shotgun shack, shotgun hut, and shotgun cottage

Description: Elvis' birthplace Tupelo, MS 2007.jpg. Shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi; birthplace of Elvis Presley. Date: 2007-11-16 (original upload date) Permission: (Reusing this file) Released into the public domain (by the author).

This file has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Markuskun at the wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible: Markuskun grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Elvis Presley birthplace Tupelo, MS

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Friday, January 07, 2011

Humpback whale dives amidst thousands of seabirds

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Humpback whales are well known for their long "pectoral" fins, which can be up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in length. Their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big-winged New Englander" as the New England population was the one best known to Europeans. These long fins give them increased maneuverability; they can be used to slow down or even go backwards.

Similar to all baleen whales, adult females are larger than adult males, reaching lengths of up to 60 feet (18 m). Their body coloration is primarily dark grey, but individuals have a variable amount of white on their pectoral fins and belly. This variation is so distinctive that the pigmentation pattern on the undersides of their "flukes" is used to identify individual whales, similar to a humans fingerprint.

Humpback whales are the favorite of whale watchers, as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching (jumping out of the water), or slap the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads.

A magnificent profusion of life as a humpback whale dives amidst thousands of seabirds. The NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON is in the distance.

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)Image ID: anim1019, NOAA's Ark - Animals Collection. Location: Alaska, off Unalaska Island. Photo Date: 2005 September 7. Photographer: Dr. Phillip Clapham, NMFS, AKFSC, NMML. Category: Great Whales, NOAA 200th Photo Contest/

Most NOAA photos and slides are in the public domain and CANNOT be copyrighted.

There is no fee for downloading any images on the NOAA Photo Library.

This file is a work of a employee of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the file is in the public domain.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Credit requested be given to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce. Where a photographer is noted, please credit the photographer and his/her affiliated organization as well.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Metamorphic rocks

Photograph of compositionally-layered gneiss outcrop southeast of San Gorgonio Mtn in the San Bernardino Mountains, southern California (Section 16 of T.1S., R.2E.); pencil is about 6 inches (15 cm) long. This outcrop shows metamorphic rocks that look considerably different today than when the geologic materials first were formed. The rocks began life either as sedimentary materials deposited in a marine environment, or as igneous materials of granitic composition.

Whatever their original origin, the parent rock (protolith) was subjected to high temperatures and strong directed forces (stress) that reconfigured the original mineral components into the conspicuous dark- and light-colored (mafic and felsic) layers that characterize the outcrop. This mineral segmentation into discrete layers is a type of foliation that geologists refer to as gneissose layering, and the rock generally is called "gneiss". Note the contortion of the mafic and felsic layers into small folds. Photo by J.C. Matti, USGS, June, 1978.

Copyright: Generally, materials produced by federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission.

Generally speaking, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Metamorphic rocks

U.S. Geological Survey For questions regarding original photographs or usage, please contact Photo Collection at (303) 236-1010 or den_lib@usgs.gov.

All photographs are provided with the understanding that such material may not be used to show, by implication or otherwise, that the U.S. Department of the Interior or the U.S. Geological Survey endorses any product or service.

For any use made of a photograph, credit is requested be given to the individual photographer and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Metamorphic rocks

It's not hard to see that this metamorphic rock, called gneiss, has been intensely folded! This rock had to have been under very high pressure and temperature to allow it to fold like this without breaking. Photo by Edward P. Klimasauskas, USGS.
Metamorphic rocks started out as some other type of rock, but have been substantially changed from their original igneous, sedimentary, or earlier metamorphic form. Metamorphic rocks form when rocks are subjected to high heat, high pressure, hot, mineral-rich fluids or, more commonly, some combination of these factors. Conditions like these are found deep within the Earth or where tectonic plates meet.

In metamorphic rocks some or all of the minerals in the original rock are replaced, atom by atom, to form new minerals.

Metamorphic rocks are often squished, smeared out, and folded.

Despite these uncomfortable conditions, metamorphic rocks do not get hot enough to melt, or they would become igneous rocks!

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Sedimentary rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms. They form from deposits that accumulate on the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks often have distinctive layering or bedding. Many of the picturesque views of the desert southwest show mesas and arches made of layered sedimentary rock.

Clastic sedimentary rock

Clastic sedimentary rocks are the group of rocks most people think of when they think of sedimentary rocks. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of pre-existing rocks. Pieces of rock are loosened by weathering, then transported to some basin or depression where sediment is trapped. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, forming sedimentary rock.

Clastic sedimentary rocks may have particles ranging in size from microscopic clay to huge boulders. Their names are based on their clast or grain size. The smallest grains are called clay, then silt, then sand. Grains larger that 2 millimeters are called pebbles. Shale is a rock made mostly of clay, siltstone is made up of silt-sized grains, sandstone is made of sand-sized clasts, and conglomerate is made of pebbles surrounded by a matrix of sand or mud.

Sedimentary rocks

Description: Triassic Utah.JPG. Middle Triassic marginal marine sequence, southwestern Utah. Date: 2008-01-13 (original upload date)
Source

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Biologic sedimentary rock

Biologic sedimentary rocks form when large numbers of living things die, pile up, and are compressed and cemented to form rock. Accumulated carbon-rich plant material may form coal. Deposits made mostly of animal shells may form limestone, coquina, or chert.
Chemical sedimentary rock

Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed by chemical precipitation. The stalactites and stalagmites you see in caves form this way, so does the rock salt that table salt comes from. This process begins when water traveling through rock dissolves some of the minerals, carrying them away from their source. Eventually these minerals can be redeposited, or precipitated, when the water evaporates away or when the water becomes over- saturated with minerals.