Manhattan Skyline, 1902

Posted on May 15, 2013 by The Old Wolf

My city, seven years before my father was born there, two years after my grandparents immigrated from Italy (separately).

Events of 1902:

Jan 1st – 1st Rose Bowl game (Pasadena, California) (U of Mich-49, Sanford-0)
Jan 1st – Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio, Penn
Jan 3rd – Reg Duff 104 on Test debut, v England at MCG
Jan 4th – Hugh Trumble takes a hat-trick v England at the MCG
Jan 8th – 1st National Bowling Championship held (Chicago, Ill)
Jan 10th – Alphons Diepenbrock’s “Te Deum” premieres (Amsterdam)
Jan 13th – Textile workers strike in Enschede Neth till June 1
Jan 23rd – Winnipeg Victorias sweep Toronto Wellingtons in 2 for Stanley Cup
Jan 25th – Aleksandr Skriabin’s 2nd Symphony in C premieres in St Petersburg
Jan 27th – 5 workers killed on explosion during IRT subway construction (NYC)
Jan 28th – Carnegie Institute founded in Wash DC
Feb 1st – China’s empress Tzu-hsi forbids binding woman’s feet
Feb 1st – Hermann Sudermanns “Es lebe das Leben,” premieres in Berlin
Feb 6th – Young Women’s Hebrew Association organizes in NYC
Feb 11th – Police beats up universal suffrage demonstrators in Brussels
Feb 15th – Underground railway (U-Bahn)
Feb 18th – Opera “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” premieres in Monte Carlo
Feb 20th – Heavy surf breaks over Seal Rocks & damages Sutro Baths, SF
Feb 21st – Dr Harvey Cushing, 1st US brain surgeon, does his 1st brain operation
Feb 24th – Battle at Yzer Spruit: Boer general De la Rey beats British
Feb 28th – Jules Massenets opera premieres in Monte Carlo
Mar 2nd – Jimmy Collins, leaves Boston Beaneaters (NL) club to manage AL’s new Boston Somersets
Mar 4th – American Automobile Association (AAA) founded in Chicago
Mar 6th – Census Bureau forms
Mar 7th – Boers beat British troop in Tweebosch Transvaal
Mar 8th – 1st performance of Jean Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony
Mar 10th – Earthquake destroys Turkish city of Tochangri
Mar 10th – A United States court of appeals rules that Thomas Edison did not invent the movie camera.
Mar 17th – Stanley Cup: Montreal AAA beat Winnipeg Victorias, 2 games to 1
Mar 18th – Enrico Caruso becomes 1st well-known performer to make a record
Mar 18th – Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht,” premieres in Vienna
Mar 25th – Irving W Colburn patents sheet glass drawing machine
Mar 28th – 27.9 cm precipitation at McMinnville, Tennessee (state record)
Apr 2nd – 1st motion picture theater opens (LA)
Apr 2nd – Soccer team MVV ’02 forms in Maastricht
Apr 2nd – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
Apr 2nd – “Electric Theatre”, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.
Apr 4th – Cecil Rhodes scholarship fund forms with $10 million
Apr 5th – Maurice Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante defunte,” premieres in Paris
Apr 5th – In Glasgow, Scotland the Ibrox disaster occurs after a section of a grandstand collapses killing 25 and injuring 517
Apr 7th – Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms
Apr 11th – Battle at Rooiwal, South-Africa
Apr 13th – J C Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, Wyo
Apr 14th – JC Penney opens his 1st store, in Kemmerer, Wyo
Apr 15th – Pope Leo XIII encyclical “On Church in US”
Apr 18th – Denmark is 1st country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals
Apr 19th – 6th Boston Marathon won by Sam Mellor of NY in 2:43:12
Apr 20th – Marie & Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive element radium chloride
Apr 25th – Erwin Harvey becomes 1st Cleveland ballplayer (Cleveland Bronchos) to have six hits in one game
Apr 28th – Using the ISO 8601 standard Year Zero definition for the Gregorian calendar preceded by the Julian calendar, the one billionth minute since the start of January 1, Year Zero occurs at 10:40 AM on this date.
Apr 30th – Debussy’s opera “Pelléas et Mélissande,” premieres in Paris
May 3rd – 28th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Winkfield on Alan-a-Dale wins in 2:08.75
May 6th – British SS Camorta sinks off Rangoon; 739 die
May 6th – Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place” (BG)
May 6th – Zulu assault at Holkrantz South-Africa
May 7th – Soufriere volcano on St Vincent kills 2-5,000
May 8th – Mt Pelee erupts, wipes out St Pierre, Martinique, kills 30,000
May 15th – Lyman Gilmore is 1st person to fly a powered craft
May 15th – Portugal bankrupt by revolt in Angola
May 16th – 2 deaf-mutes face each other for 1st time as Dummy Hoy leads off for the Reds against Dummy Taylor of the Giants, Reds win 5-3
May 17th – Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
May 19th – Great Britain & Boers resume peace talks in Pretoria
May 20th – Cuba gains independence from Spain
May 20th – US military occupation of Cuba (since Jan 1, 1899) ends
May 22nd – 36th Belmont: John Bullman aboard Mastermam wins in 2:22.6
May 24th – Empire Day 1st celebrated in Britain
May 24th – Cleve’s Bill Bradley is 1st ALer to hit a HR run in 4 consecutive games, not duplicated until Babe Ruth does it June 25, 1918
May 27th – 27th Preakness: L Jackson aboard Old England wins in 1:45.8
May 29th – Dutch State Mine law forms
May 31st – Australia Cricket all out 36 v England, Edgbaston, their lowest ever
May 31st – Boer War Ends; Treaty of Unity signed, Britain annexes Transvaal
Jun 1st – Blue-White United soccer team of Amsterdam forms
Jun 2nd – 2nd statewide initiative & referendum law adopted, in Oregon
Jun 9th – 1st Automat restaurant opens (818 Chestnut St, Phila)
Jun 10th – Patent for window envelope granted to H F Callahan
Jun 13th – Prussian Upper house gives 350 million marks to Poland
Jun 15th – Canada’s Maritime Provinces switch from Eastern to Atlantic time
Jun 15th – Minor League’s most lopsided baseball game: Corsicana 51; Texarkana 3 Justin Clark of Corsicana, Tx minors hits 8 home runs in 1 game
Jun 23rd – Gioacchino Rossini’s unveils monument to Santa-Croce
Jun 24th – King Edward VII develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
Jun 26th – Order of Merit instituted by King Edward VII
Jun 26th – Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of 3 Garidebs” (BG)
Jun 28th – Congress authorizes Louisiana Purchase Expo $1 gold coin
Jun 28th – US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million
Jun 30th – Cleveland is 1st AL team to hit 3 consecutive HRs in same inning
Jul 1st – Ranji (230) & Newham (153) add 344 for 7th wkt, Sussex v Essex
Jul 1st – Start of Sherlock Holmes “Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax” (BG)
Jul 2nd – John J McGraw becomes manager of NY Giants (stays for 30 years)
Jul 3rd – Excelsior soccer team forms in Rotterdam
Jul 5th – Australia won the one & only Test Cricket played at Sheffield
Jul 8th – John McGraw, accused by Ban Johnson of trying to wreck Baltimore & Washington clubs, negotiates his release from the Orioles
Jul 11th – British premier Lord Salisbury resigns
Jul 12th – Australian parliament agrees to female suffrage
Jul 14th – The Campanile in St Mark’s Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
Jul 15th – Ranjitsinhji scores 180 before lunch, for Sussex v Surrey
Jul 16th – John McGraw named manager of NY Giants
Jul 16th – Test Cricket debut of K S Ranjitsinhji v Australia, at Old Trafford
Jul 17th – Orioles forfeit to St Louis having only 5 players available to play they then forfeit their franchise back to the AL
Jul 19th – NY Giants lose their 1st game under new manager John McGraw
Jul 24th – Trumper a century before lunch 4th Test Cricket v England
Jul 25th – James J Jeffries KOs Bob Fitzsimmons in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
Jul 26th – Australia beat England by 3 runs at Old Trafford
Jul 29th – Union of Orthodox Rabbis of US & Canada forms
Jul 30th – Anti-Jewish rioters attack funeral procession of Rabbi Joseph (NYC)
Aug 1st – Building begins on Dutch public housing
Aug 1st – Mine accident in Wollongong, Australia (100 die)
Aug 4th – The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens.
Aug 8th – 2nd Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles in New York (3-2)
Aug 9th – Edward VII of England crowned after death of his mother Victoria
Aug 9th – Edward VII is crowned king of the United Kingdom.
Aug 13th – England beat Australia by one wicket at The Oval Famous victory
Aug 22nd – Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car
Aug 31st – Split skirt 1st worn by Mrs Adolph Landeburg (horse rider)
Sep 1st – Tinker, Evers, & Chance appear together for 1st time
Sep 2nd – “A Trip To The Moon,” the 1st science fiction film released
Sep 3rd – Pittsburgh Pirates, win earliest pennent (full season)
Sep 3rd – Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of Illustrious Client”
Sep 10th – Utrecht soccer team UVV forms
Sep 17th – US protests anti-semitism in Romania
Sep 20th – Chic White Sox Jim Callahan no-hits Detroit Tigers, 3-0
Sep 24th – Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of Red Circle” (BG)
Sep 29th – Impresario David Belasco opens his 1st Broadway theater
Oct 10th – S Afr’s president Paul Kruger visits Utrecht
Oct 11th – 8th US Golf Open: Laurie Auchterlonie shoots a 307 at Garden City NY
Oct 11th – Commencement of 1st Test Cricket between South Africa & Australia
Oct 11th – Lawrence Auchterlonie wins US Open golf tournament
Oct 13th – Arna W Bontemps noted poet & librarian of Fisk University
Oct 21st – In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
Oct 25th – Maksin Gorki’s “Na dne,” premieres in Moscow
Oct 25th – Santa Maria Guatemala hit by Earthquake; about 6,000 die
Nov 15th – Leopold II, King of Belgium almost assassinated by Italian anarchist
Nov 18th – Bkln toymaker Morris Michton names teddy bear after Teddy Roosevelt
Nov 20th – Geo Lefevre & Henri Desgrange create Tour de France bicycle race
Nov 21st – 1st night football game, Phila Athletics beats Kanaweola AC, 39-0
Nov 21st – Baseball’s Phila Athletics & Phillies form pro football teams, joining Pitts Stars in 1st attempt at a National Football League
Nov 25th – Franz Lehars opera “Wiener Fraueen,” premieres in Vienna
Nov 29th – Gerhart Hauptmanns “Der arnë Heinrich,” premieres in Vienna
Nov 30th – American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor.
Dec 2nd – Soccer team Go Ahead forms in Deventer
Dec 8th – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr became Associate Justice on Supreme Court
Dec 9th – AL announces purchase of grounds for a stadium in NY
Dec 10th – Women are given the right to vote in Tasmania.
Dec 17th – Frank Wedekind’s “Der Erdgeist,” premieres in Berlin
Dec 25th – Clyde Fitch’ “Girl with Green Eyes,” premieres in NYC
Dec 26th – Most knock downs in a fight, Oscar Nelson (5) & Christy Williams (42)
Dec 28th – 1st indoor pro football game, Syracuse beats Phila 6-0 (Madison Square Garden, NYC)
Dec 28th – Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US
Dec 31st – Boers & British army sign peace treaty

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Unexplained mysteries: Ball Lightning

Posted on May 15, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Unlike UFO’s and Nessie, for which there is only scratchy, hazy, unfocused imagery available, ball lightning appears to have been captured on video many times, and even recreated in the laboratory. There are as many hypotheses as there are scientists studying it.

The video below is fascinating and haunting – especially with the background music. I have to say the Romanian one looks a bit hokey, and reminded me of one of these:

These were everywhere in Trek TNG, and I have one in my office.

The other clips, however, appear genuine.

Strange things exist in our world.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

New York: Hell Gate Bridge Construction, ca. 1915

Posted on May 14, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“Hell Gate Bridge (New York Connecting Railroad Bridge),” circa 1915. This steel arch span over the East River was completed in 1916.

Found at Shorpy

For a smile that glows in the dark!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste (ca. 1940-1945)

Found at the Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Collection

Doramad radioactive toothpaste was produced during World War II by Auergesellschaft of Berlin. The same company founded by Carl Auer von Welsbach who invented the gas lantern mantle!
A gamma spectroscopy analysis did reveal trace quantities of thorium, but the levels are too low to be detected with a simple hand-held survey meter.

——-

Tales from the Atomic Age

Paul W. Frame

Alsos and the Nazi Thorium

This story is adapted from the book Alsos, written by Samuel Goudsmit, H. Schuman Inc., New York, 1947. It appeared in the December 1996 issue of the Health Physics Society Newsletter.

In the early 1940s, the U.S. was at war and extraordinary efforts were underway to build an atomic bomb. The government even went so far as to confiscate the uranium oxides used by ceramics manufacturers to produce red/orange glazes. More than a few collectors must have been upset at the disruption in their supply of red dinnerware. Still, sacrifices were required. Similar confiscations occurred in occupied Europe to supply the Nazi A-bomb project, and keeping track of Germany’s atomic research was an allied intelligence effort code-named Alsos (the Greek word for grove, as in General Leslie Groves).

In the fall of 1944, the Alsos team learned that Auer Gesselshaft, a German chemical company involved in securing and processing uranium, had taken over the French company Terres-Rares during Nazi occupation. Ominously, Auer had shipped Terres-Rares’ massive supply of thorium to Germany. That the Germans wanted thorium suggested that their atomic research was further advanced than previously thought. Shortly after Paris was liberated, the Alsos team converged on the Terres-Rares office. They found it empty. Petersen, the Auer company chemist involved in securing the uranium and thorium supplies, had fled the allied advance (in Now It Can Be Told, Leslie Groves gives this man the name Jansen).

Petersen had gone to a town on the French-German border searching for some missing railroad cars carrying the thorium. And, as luck would have it, the area was captured by the allies shortly after Petersen arrived. Alsos had their first prisoner—and a suitcase bulging with documents! Among these was a dossier on a businesswoman who plied the world’s oldest profession sur les rues de Paris. Petersen’s explanation for having the dossier was that the woman had charged him an exorbitant 3000 francs although “in Berlin . . . it is only seven marks and a half per fling.” He said he was hoping to contact the proper authorities (whoever they would be) to recover some of his money. When the Alsos investigators took to the streets, they found that all aspects of Petersen’s implausible story proved true. However, the suitcase’s most shocking document revealed that Petersen had recently visited Hechingen, a town rumored to be a center for atomic research. Later it would be learned that the Germans had a lab there with an isotope separation unit and, in a nearby cave, an experimental pile. When the site was eventually captured, a ton and a half of metallic uranium cubes from the pile (likely produced by the Auer company) were found buried in a nearby field. Petersen’s explanation for his trip to Hechingen: he was visiting his mother (no doubt seeking advice on how to recover his 3000 francs). Darn thing was, his mother actually lived there.

Ultimately, Alsos’ hard work paid off and they discovered the true reason why Terres-Rares’ thorium supplies had been confiscated: the Auer Company, recognizing that the end of the war was near, and concerned about the consequent loss of business, concluded that there was no better future for their company than in cosmetics and related consumer products! Radium had already been used in toothpaste (Radiogen), why not use thorium instead? Auer had the patent, and with the thorium in hand they were ready to hit the ground running. They even formulated the following potential advertisement: “Use toothpaste with thorium! Have sparkling, brilliant teeth—radioactive brilliance!”

——-

Tube front:

Doramad
Radioaktive Zahncreme [Radioactive Toothpaste]
Biologisch wirksam [Biologically Effective]
Reinigend · Keimtötend · Erfrischend [Cleans – Kills bacteria – Refreshes]
Auergesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft [Auergesellschafft Inc.]
Abteilung Chemie · Berlin N 65. [Chemical Division – Berlin N 65]

Tube back:

Was leistet Doramad?

Durch ihre radioaktive Strahlung steigert sie die Abwehrkräfte von Zahn u. Zahnfleisch. Die Zellen werden mit neuer Lebensenergie geladen, die Bakterien in ihrer zerstörenden Wirksamkeit gehemmt. Daher die vorzügliche Vorbeugungs- und Heilwirkung bei Zahnfleischerkrankungen. Poliert den Schmelz aufs Schonendste weiß und glänzend. Hindert Zahnsteinansatz. Schäumt herrlich, schmeckt neuartig, angenehm, mild u. erfrischend. Ausgiebig im Gebrauch.

What Does Doramad Do?

With its radioactive radiation, it enhances the defensive abilities of teeth and gums. The cells are charged with new life energy, and the destructive power of bacteria is blocked. This results in excellent preventative and healing effects in the case of gum disease. Enamel is gently polished to brilliant whiteness.

ts radioactive radiation increases the defenses of teeth and gums. The cells are loaded with new life energy, the bacteria are hindered in their destroying effect. This explains the excellent prophylaxis and healing process with gingival diseases. It gently polishes the dental enamel so it turns white and shiny. Prevents plaque buildup. Foams wonderfully with a new, pleasant, mild and refreshing taste. Can be used sparingly.

Size: 4 3/4″ long

The following images are of a Doramad brochure.

This is a good example of the kinds of radioactive quack cures which have been introduced over the years. If it had any effects at all, it would probably contribute to radium jaw.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Macaronics (The Legs of the Romans are Bony)

Posted on May 12, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Anyone who has spent any serious time studying Latin has probably felt the need for something more powerful than Tylenol™ to quiet the throbbing in his or her head. In the absence of Oxycontin™, humor has long been a good substitute for mitigating the effects of “bonus, bona, bonum, boni, bonæ, boni…”

Here a random collection of humorous tidbits regarding the vagaries of classical Latin (and other languages). Macaronics are, properly, text which uses multiple languages, and often bilingual puns.

While not macaronics proper, it’s still a great Latin joke: It reads (liberally translated), “If you can read this bumper sticker, you’re well-educated and TOO DAMN CLOSE!”

——-

What is this that roareth thus?
Can it be a Motor Bus?
Yes, the smell and hideous hum
Indicat Motorem Bum!
Implet in the Corn and High
Terror me Motoris Bi:
Bo Motori clamitabo
Ne Motore caedar a Bo—
Dative be or Ablative
So thou only let us live:—
Whither shall thy victims flee?
Spare us, spare us, Motor Be!
Thus I sang; and still anigh
Came in hordes Motores Bi,
Et complebat omne forum
Copia Motorum Borum.
How shall wretches live like us
Cincti Bis Motoribus?
Domine, defende nos
Contra hos Motores Bos!
–Alfred Dennis Godley

The above poem pokes fun at the difficulty of Latin declensions, and inflects the words “motor” and “bus” as though they were classical Latin nouns (which, in a certain sense, they are.)

——

Latin verbs are memorized with their principal parts:

1st person singular, present indicative
infinitive
1st person singular, perfect indicative
and past participle.

Most Latin verbs are regular:

amo, amare, amavi, amatus (to love)
salto, saltare, saltavi, saltatus (to dance)

Some, however, are devilishly irregular:

sum, esse, fui, futurus (to be)
ferro, ferre, tuli, latus (to carry) – did you know transfer and translate are basically the same word, meaning “carry across”?

Students, in apparent desperation at having to learn these niceties, came up with

flunko, flunkere, faculty, bouncem

to which I add my own sophomoric creation:

farto, fartere, pui, flatus

I’m quite proud of it, actually. And thanks to reader bman:

spitto, spittere, achtui, splattus

old_wolf_rofl

——-

As the title of this article indicates, “leges romanorum boni sunt” (the laws of the Romans are good,) but obviously this sounds like something much sillier.

——-

A bad Latin joke:

A professor of Latin at Yale, (sounds like a limerick in the offing, doesn’t it?) having ordered a meal at a fine New Haven restaurant, decided that he would like some wine with his dinner. So he summoned the wine steward and asked for a bottle of hock. Feeling clever, he added, “hic, haec, hoc.”

“Very good, sir,” replied the wine steward, and left.

Twenty minutes later, no wine. The learned man summoned the steward again, and asked, “Didn’t I order a bottle of hock?”

“You did indeed, sir,” replied the steward, “but then you declined it.”

——

Found on the wall at Pompeii:^[1]

Civili derego
Fortibus in ero
Demes nobus, demes trux
Vadis inem, causan dux

——-

Dicora, dicora, doggium!
Ascendit mus horologium.
Insonuit ora,
Descendit mus,
Dicora, dicora, doggium!

——-

Parvus Jacobus Horner
Sedebat in corner
Edens a Christmas Pie
Infuerit thumb,
Extraherit plum,
Clamans, “Quid sharp puer am I!”

——-

Mollis abuti
Has an acuti;
No lasso finis
Molly divinis.

——-

Macaronics are not restricted to Latin, but rather are more properly any sort of bilingual wordplay. As a teenager playing with calligraphy, I did this for my father, who long treasured it:

It’s no more Provençal than I am Abkhazian, but it makes for a funny sign, and good advice in any age.

——-

The above sign leads me to one of the greatest collections of macaronics ever, Mots d’Heures: Gousses, Rames by Louis d’Antin van Rooten. This is a collection of (purportedly) classical French poetry with illuminating notes. However, if one reads them aloud, they become heavily-accented modern Mother Goose rhymes. One of my favorite examples:

Jacques s’apprête
Coulis de nos fête.^[a]
Et soif que dites nos lignes.^[b]
Et ne sauve bédouine tempo^[c] y aussi,
Telle y que de plat terre, cligne.^[d]

Notes:

a. Coulis, a sort of strained broth. Jacques was either a sauce chef or an invalid.
b. Jacques was also an alcoholic, since his thirst is beyond description.
c. He was fond of Arab music.
d. He believed the earth was flat. The last word of the line, meaning “wink,” is obviously a stage direction. Poor Jacques, whoever he was, was obviously considered a fool.

——-

A similar work was created for German by John Hulme: Mörder Guss Reims – the Gustav Leberwurst Manuscript. A sample:

Um die Dumm’ die Saturn Aval;
Um die Dumm’ die Ader Grät fahl.
Alter ging’s Ohr säss und Alter ging’s mähen.
Kuh den “putt” um Dieter Gitter er gähn’.

——-

If you are familiar with both classical Greek and French, you might be both delighted and scandalized by

οὐκ ἔλαβον πόλιν, ἀλλά γάρ ἐλπίς έφὲ κακά .^[2]

Supposedly from a text by Xenophon – I have not been able to source it definitively – the sentence means “They did not capture the city, since they didn’t have a hope of taking it.” It’s pronounced “Ouk élabon polin, alla gar elpis éphè kaka.”

In French, however, it sounds like something quite different, the kind of thing schoolchildren would laugh up their sleeves about: “Où qu’est la bonne Pauline? À la gare, elle pisse et fait caca.” Google Translate will help you out if you’re really curious.

Vetus lupus locutus est.^[3]

[1]Not really. I don’t think the Pompeiians would have resonated with

See, Willy, there they go
Forty buses, in a row
Dem is no bus, dem is trucks!
What is in ’em? Cows and ducks.

[2] If any classical Greek scholar would care to correct this – I know it’s not perfect – I welcome your input.

[3] Resistance is futile.

Psychic Backlash

Posted on May 11, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“Psychic Sylvia Browne told Amanda Berry’s mother that Berry had died when the two appeared on a talk show shortly after Berry’s disappearance nearly 10 years ago. Since Berry and two other kidnapped girls were found alive at a house in Cleveland this week, Browne and her psychic readings are facing a backlash from disgusted critics.”

-USA Today

Sylvia Browne

In an interesting episode of “Criminal Minds,” (Cold Comfort, 4/14), the plot seems to lend credence to the supposition that psychics can assist law enforcement to resolve cases.

Stanley Usher, portrayed by Vondie Curtis-Hall

According to a recent article at Slate on the same topic, “Academics have repeatedly tested the abilities of psychics to provide any useful information in a crime investigation, and the results are damning.” The article is worth a read.

When my mother was alive, her twilight years were plagued by an onslaught of scam mail and phone solicitations that very nearly bankrupted her, and would have done so completely were it not for some very favorable and rare events that recovered the bulk of her funds. As a result, I spent a good bit of time putting together the Sweepstakes Fraud Factsheet. Most of this website has to do with the rampant scamming of elders and the gullible by selling sweepstakes entry aggregations under the false head of “You may have already won…”, one section describes the Psychic Connection.

If you find yourself on a “sucker list”, sweepstakes offerings are not the only things you will receive. The crooks think, “Ah! We’ve found someone stupid!” and you will receive some of the most bizarre solicitations you have ever seen. “Psychics” and “Clairvoyants” from all over will want to improve your luck, free you from curses, cast out evil spirits, teach you how to win contests, and much more.

Be smart! Avoid worthless solicitations of this nature like the plague! Never respond, or you’ll find yourself inundated with hundreds of similar offers.

Here is one of the most disgraceful examples of this kind of fraud.

As the Slate article mentions, “While not especially good at making predictions, psychics are typically quite skilled at self-promotion.” Science and good police work trump mumbo-jumbo every time.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

London in Color – 1927

Posted on May 10, 2013 by The Old Wolf

This beautiful video was taken by an early British pioneer of film named Claude Frisse-Greene, who made a series of travelogues using the colour process his father William – a noted cinematographer – was experimenting with. It’s like a beautifully dusty old postcard you’d find in a junk store, but moving. (Found at Vimeo).

Music by Jonquil and Yann Tiersen.

This is “moving” in more than one way; I was quite touched to contemplate these scenes.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

The Grapes of Wrath

Posted on May 10, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Joad Family Album, 1938 (Horace Bristol)

In the winter of 1937-38, photographer Horace Bristol and writer John Steinbeck teamed up for a Life magazine assignment and for nearly two months traveled California interviewing migrant workers of the Great Central Valley. Before finishing the project, however, Steinbeck withdrew—deciding to utilize the research for his novel The Grapes of Wrath instead of an article for Life. When Steinbeck’s book was published in 1939, Life ran an article featuring the photographs taken by Bristol. Rather than using the real names of those photographed, Life used the fictional names of Steinbeck’s characters with captions featuring excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath—thus creating a photo album for the fictional Joad family that has since been mistaken for reality.

Found at Glaserei.

Horace Bristol: Rose of Sharon

The Berlin Clock of Lives, 1935

Posted on May 10, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“A CLOCK of Lives operated by the Statistical Office in Berlin, Germany, informs spectators that the German population is constantly increasing. To insure being seen by many people, the clock was placed in Dönhoffplatz, a busy Berlin thoroughfare. The clock tolls the number of births and deaths occurring every quarter of an hour. The tone of the bells indicates whether a birth or a death has occurred.”

Another view of the Clock of Lives:

The clock, more properly called the Wilhelm-Lach Tower, was built in 1935. The small bell tower had the following inscription:

Every five minutes, nine children are born in the German Reich – every five minutes, seven men die. This tower is dedicated to the memory of the first National Socialist Mayor in the Central District, P[arty] M[ember] Wilh[elm] Lach, Born 9 June 1801- Died 6 July 1935″

According to the German Wikipedia site, the buildings around the square were heavily damaged during the war, and were largely razed and rebuilt. It is assumed that the clock tower met its demise around the same period.

A photo of the clock memorial taken in 1935.

Berlin no longer has a population clock, but it has a pretty sick world time clock in Alexanderplatz:

Der Alte Wolf hat gesprochen.

Playing in the World Game

As One

Manhattan Skyline, 1902

Unexplained mysteries: Ball Lightning

New York: Hell Gate Bridge Construction, ca. 1915

For a smile that glows in the dark!

Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste (ca. 1940-1945)

Tales from the Atomic Age

Macaronics (The Legs of the Romans are Bony)

London in Color – 1927

The Grapes of Wrath

The Berlin Clock of Lives, 1935