Net Topics Wednesday July 31: J.K Rowling....... & ..... Water Skiing
Embedded Files
J.K. Rowling, in full, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, pen name of Joanne Rowling, (born July 31, 1965, Yate, near Bristol, England), British author, creator of the popular and critically acclaimed Harry Potter series.
Ralph Wilford Samuelson
In the summer of 1922, Samuelson, then 18, began his attempts to stand up on skis on Lake Pepin, just a few blocks from his house in Lake City, Minnesota. After lots of trial and error, he eventually succeeded, and one of the world’s most beloved water sports was born.
Net Topic Questions
What books of the Harry Potter Series have you read? Have you seen any of the movies? Did you enjoy the Series?
Have you ever tried to Water Ski? How successful were you?
Net Topics Wednesday July 26: USPS....... & ..... Move Like Mick Jagger
The United States Post Office (USPO)
Created on July 26, 1775
Before the Revolution, there was only a trickle of business or governmental correspondence between the colonies. Most of the mail went back and forth to counting houses and government offices in London. The revolution made Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress, the information hub of the new nation. News, new laws, political intelligence, and military orders circulated with a new urgency, and a postal system was necessary. Journalists took the lead, securing post office legislation that allowed them to reach their subscribers at very low cost, and to exchange news from newspapers between the thirteen states. Overthrowing the London-oriented imperial postal service in 1774–1775, printers enlisted merchants and the new political leadership, and created a new postal system. The United States Post Office (USPO) was created on July 26, 1775, by decree of the Second Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin headed it briefly.
Before the Revolution, individuals like Benjamin Franklin and William Goddard were the colonial postmasters who managed the mails then and were the general architects of a postal system that started out as an alternative to the Crown Post.
After the Revolution
The official post office was created in 1792 as the Post Office Department (USPOD). It was based on the Constitutional authority empowering Congress "To establish post offices and post roads". The 1792 law provided for a greatly expanded postal network and served editors by charging newspapers an extremely low rate. The law guaranteed the sanctity of personal correspondence and provided the entire country with low-cost access to information on public affairs, while establishing a right to personal privacy.
The Post Office in the 19th century was a major source of federal patronage. Local postmasterships were rewards for local politicians—often the editors of party newspapers. About three quarters of all federal civilian employees worked for the Post Office. In 1816 it employed 3,341 men, and in 1841, 14,290.
The volume of mail expanded much faster than the population, as it carried annually 100 letters and 200 newspapers per 1,000 white population in 1790, and 2,900 letters and 2,700 newspapers per thousand in 1840.
First U.S. postage stamps were authorized by Congress March 3, 1847.
Earliest known use of the 5¢ Franklin is July 7, 1847, and the 10¢ Washington is July 2, 1847.
U.S. postal strike of 1970
On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City—upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights Movement—organized a strike against the United States government. The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 United States Post Office Department workers across the nation. While the strike ended without any concessions from the Federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970. The act replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with a new federal agency, the United States Postal Service, effective July 1, 1971.
Deliveries
The USPS is by geography and volume the globe's largest postal system, delivering 44% of the world's mail. As of 2021, the USPS operates 31,330 post offices and locations in the U.S., and delivers 128.8 billion pieces of mail annually, to 163 million delivery points (as of 2022).
USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022; on Sundays only Priority Express and packages for Amazon.com are delivered. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities. During the four weeks preceding Christmas since 2013, packages from all mail classes and senders were delivered on Sunday in some areas. Parcels are also delivered on holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The USPS started delivering Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in select locations for an additional fee.
The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of the year for the USPS with the agency delivering an estimated 900 million packages during the period of 2018.
- Info from Wikipedia
Rolling Stones Mick Jagger born today in 1943 – Happy 80th
The musician, actor, film producer and Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger is born in Dartford, Kent, England on July 26, 1943.
Raised in a middle-class English family, Michael Philip Jagger attended the London School of Economics but left without graduating to pursue a career in music. In the early 1960s, Jagger, along with Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart, founded the Rolling Stones, which would become one of the world’s most popular and enduring rock and roll bands. The group’s many hit songs include “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In his personal life, Jagger became famous for his wild rock-star lifestyle and glamorous girlfriends and wives.
Although best known as a singer and songwriter, Jagger has also acted in movies. He made his film debut in Performance (1969), which he followed with the title role in 1970’s Ned Kelly, about a real-life Australian outlaw. Among his other film credits are Freejack (1992), Bent (1997) and The Man from Elysian Fields (2002), co-starring Andy Garcia, in which Jagger played the owner of an escort service.
In addition, Jagger and the Rolling Stones have been featured in numerous documentaries, including 1970’s Gimme Shelter, Albert and David Maysles’ film about the notorious 1969 Altamont music festival, and 2008’s Shine a Light, directed by Martin Scorsese. In 1995, Jagger formed his own film company, Jagged Films, which produced the World War II code-breaking film Enigma (2001), directed by Michael Apted.
In addition to his on-camera appearances, Jagger’s music has been featured in a long list of movie soundtracks, including Apocalypse Now (1979), Goodfellas (1990) and Jerry Maguire (1996). Jagger won a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song for “Old Habits Die Hard,” which was featured on the soundtrack of Alfie (2004).
- Info from the History Channel
Net Discussion Questions:
The US Postal Service; are you a frequent user?
Are you a Mick Jagger fan?
If yes, what is your favorite Rolling Stones hit?
Net Topics Wednesday July 19: Incident at Chappaquiddick....... & ..... Churchill's "V" for Victory
Chappaquiddick Incident
The Chappaquiddick incident occurred on the island in Massachusetts of the same name sometime around midnight between July 18 and 19, 1969, when Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy negligently drove his car off a narrow bridge, causing it to overturn in a tidal pond. This resulted in the drowning death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.
Kennedy left a party on Chappaquiddick at 11:15 p.m. Friday. He maintained that his intent was to immediately take Kopechne to a ferry landing and return to Edgartown, but that he accidentally made a wrong turn onto a dirt road leading to a one-lane bridge. After his car skidded off the bridge into Poucha Pond, Kennedy swam free, and maintained that he tried to rescue Kopechne from the submerged car, but that he could not. Kopechne's death could have happened any time between about 11:30 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday, as an off-duty deputy sheriff stated he saw a car matching Kennedy's license plate at 12:40 a.m. Kennedy left the scene and did not report the accident to police until after 10 a.m. Saturday. Meanwhile, a diver recovered Kopechne's body from Kennedy's car shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday.
At a July 25, 1969, court hearing, Kennedy pled guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, and received a two-month suspended jail sentence. In a televised statement that same evening, he said his conduct immediately after the accident "made no sense to me at all", and that he regarded his failure to report the accident immediately as "indefensible". A January 5, 1970, judicial inquest concluded that Kennedy and Kopechne did not intend to take the ferry, and that Kennedy intentionally turned toward the bridge, operating his vehicle negligently, if not recklessly, at too high a speed for the hazard which the bridge posed in the dark. The judge stopped short of recommending charges, and a grand jury convened on April 6, 1970, returning no indictments. On May 27, 1970, a Registry of Motor Vehicles hearing resulted in Kennedy's driver's license being suspended for a total of sixteen months after the accident.
The Chappaquiddick incident became national news that influenced Kennedy's decision not to run for President in 1972 and 1976, and it was said to have undermined his chances of ever becoming President. Kennedy ultimately decided to enter the 1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries, but earned only 37.6% of the vote and lost the nomination to incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
1941 Great Britain "V For Victory"
Winston Churchill first used the sign on July 19, 1941, to symbolize defiance during World War Two
While Britain is at one of its lowest points in World War II Churchill one of the most effective motivators and speech makers of his time launches the "V for Victory" campaign across Europe by telling those in Europe under Nazi control to use the letter "V" (for Victory) at every chance they got in speaking, writing and urges them to write in big letter the letter V to signify V for Victory and let the Germans know they still had spirit and believed they would overcome Nazi Rule.
Churchill gave a speech over the radio. The letter V began to appear everywhere painted on walls or tapped out in Morse code on shop counters with knuckles or beer glasses or pencil stubs and was a rallying call across Europe that there was still hope. This is also why Churchill's most famous pictures from World War II always featured him giving the V for Victory Sign.
However, while the sign should be made with the palm facing outwards, Churchill was often holding a cigar and could be seen making the gesture with his palm facing towards him.
Being a member of the upper classes, initially Churchill was said to be unaware of its rude meaning.
But even after one of his staff told him that making the sign with his palm facing inwards meant 'up yours' - he still refused to stop using it that way.
Churchill's private secretary, John Colville, wrote at the time in his private diaries: "The PM will give the V-sign with two fingers in spite of representations repeatedly made to him that this gesture has quite another significance."
It meant that Britain's PM could insult his German enemy every time he made the 'up yours' sign at them - without them even realizing.
The double meaning - V for Victory or 'stick it up the Germans' became part of the national consciousness and stuck for the rest of the war.
Net Discussion Questions:
Does this event, that happened 54 years ago today, still cast a shadow over the beautiful island of Martha’s Vineyard?
Have you ever visited the Vineyard and Chappaquiddick?
Did you know about the double meaning to the V for victory gesture?
Net Topics Monday July 17: Disneyland....... & ..... Your Favorite Spy Film/Comedy
Disney Opens New Theme Park
During the week of July 17, 1955, Walt Disney’s new theme park, named “Disneyland,” opened to the public in Anaheim, California.
The 17th, a Sunday, was intended to be an “international press preview,” limited to selected invitees who could ride the attractions, witness the parades, and take part in the televised dedication of the park. However, many counterfeit invitations were distributed, and more than 20,000 eager guests showed up, overwhelming many areas of the 160-acre park. The official public opening came the next day, July 18, and within several weeks, Disney reported that more than 1 million people had visited the site.
Link: The Atlantic
Spy Show and Comedies
1) Have you ever visited Disney Land’s California Park or any other Disney Land location?
2) What is your favorite Comedy movie or the best one you have seen as of today?
Net Topics Monday July 10: Telstar....... & ..... EVs and Hybrids
Telstar, Communications Satellite, Launched July 10, 1962
Telstar 1, the first communications satellite to transmit live television signals and telephone conversations across the Atlantic Ocean, was launched this day in 1962, inaugurating a new age in electronic communications.
Link: Wiki
Electric / Hybrid Cars
An electric car or EV is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric traction motors, using only energy stored in batteries.
Hybrid powertrains are designed to switch from one power source to another to maximize both fuel efficiency and energy efficiency.
Net Topics Wednesday July 5: SPAM ....... & ..... Edward Hopper & Cape Ann
1937: Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corp on this day.
Spam is a brand of salty processed canned pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It was introduced by Hormel in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries (and trademarked in over 100) on six continents. In the U.S., Hawaii is the state with the highest per capita consumption of Spam, which has become an ingredient in Hawaiian cuisine.
The generic form of Spam may be sold in cans as "pork luncheon meat". Since its invention, it is now available in different flavors and using different meats. Like most hotdogs, Spam is precooked, making it safe and edible to eat straight from the can, but it is often cooked further to improve some characteristics of its palatability.
Spam's basic ingredients are primarily pork shoulder and ham, with salt, water, modified potato starch (as a binder), sugar, and sodium nitrite (as a preservative). Natural gelatin is formed during cooking in its tins on the production line. Concerns about Spam's nutritional attributes have been raised, in large part due to its high content of fat, sodium, and preservatives.
Spam has become part of popular culture, including a Monty Python sketch, which repeated the name many times, leading to its name being borrowed to describe unsolicited electronic messages, especially email. It is occasionally celebrated in festivals such as Austin's Spamarama.
Hormel introduced Spam on July 5, 1937. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America states that the product was intended to increase the sale of pork shoulder, a cut which did not sell well.
Ken Daigneau, the brother of a company executive, won a $100 prize that year in a competition to name the new item. Hormel states that the meaning of the name "is known by only a small circle of former Hormel Foods executives," but a popular belief is that the name is a contraction of "spiced ham." It has also been speculated to be an acronym for "Shoulder of Pork And Ham."
The difficulty of delivering fresh meat to the front during World War II saw Spam become a ubiquitous part of the U.S. soldier's diet. It became variously referred to as "ham that didn't pass its physical," "meatloaf without basic training," and "Special Army Meat." Over 150 million pounds of Spam were purchased by the military before the war's end.
During World War II and the occupations that followed, Spam was introduced into Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, and other islands in the Pacific. Immediately absorbed into native diets, it has become a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific islands.
As a consequence of World War II rationing and the Lend-Lease Act, Spam was sold in the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher later referred to it as a "wartime delicacy."
In addition to increasing production for the U.K., Hormel expanded Spam output as part of Allied aid to the Soviet Union. In his memoir Khrushchev Remembers, Nikita Khrushchev declared: "Without Spam, we wouldn't have been able to feed our army."
Throughout the war, countries ravaged by the conflict and faced with strict food rations came to appreciate Spam.
The billionth can of Spam was sold in 1959, the seven billionth can was sold in 2007, and the eight-billionth can was sold in 2012. It is estimated that 7 million cans are old every year. According to the folks at Hormel, the company that makes Spam, 12.8 cans of Spam are eaten in the world every second.
July 22 - Oct. 16, 2023, Upcoming Exhibition Cape Ann Museum
Edward Hopper & Cape Ann
Illuminating an American Landscape
July through October is your chance to see the American artist Edward Hopper’s early works painted on number of visits to Cape Ann at the start of his fame. Though Hopper (1882-1967) had painted for years in relative obscurity, selling only one painting before the age of 40, it was on Cape Ann, with the encouragement of his eventual wife, Josephine “Jo” Nivison, that he began the iconic watercolor landscapes and houses that launched his success.
Edward Hopper & Cape Ann: Illuminating an American Landscape is on view at Cape Ann Museum this summer. Opening on July 22, Hopper’s birthday, exactly 100 years after his pivotal trip to Gloucester (then celebrating its 300th anniversary), this once-in-a-generation exhibition offers a fresh look at one of America’s best-known artists at the crucial moment that profoundly shaped his art and his life. It shows the largely ignored but significant origin story of Hopper’s years in and around Gloucester, Mass.—a period and place that imbued Hopper’s paintings with a clarity and purpose that had eluded his earlier work. The success of Hopper’s Gloucester watercolors transformed his work in all media and set the stage for his monumental career.
Net Discussion Questions:
SPAM – Have you ever tried it?
Your thoughts on Spam.
What is Edward Hoppers’ most famous painting (shown first on the 6 pm net web page) called?Might you attend this exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum?
Net Topics Monday, July 3: Battle of Gettysburg ....... & ..... Rain, Rain, Rain
Battle of Gettysburg Ended
July 3, 1863
Following three days of intense fighting—casualties numbered more than 50,000—the Battle of Gettysburg ended on this day in 1863 with a victory for the Union forces and was seen as a turning point in the American Civil War.
Q: Have you visited the site of the battle of Gettysburg? Or have you visited any other historical sites / museums in Pennsylvania?
Rainy Summer 2023
Holiday Weekend!
Q: Did your 4th of July Holiday plans get postponed or canceled due to the current weather and upcoming forecast?
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