Topic for Wednesday June 29: iPhone Released This Day 15 Years Ago!
Embedded Files
iPhone (1st generation) (left-most image above)
The iPhone (also known as the iPhone 2G, iPhone 1 or original iPhone) is the first iPhone model and the first smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. After years of rumors and speculation, it was officially announced on January 9, 2007, and it was released in the United States on this day - June 29, 2007, 15 years ago!
Development of the iPhone as a product began in 2005 and continued in complete secrecy until its public unveiling. The device broke with prevailing mobile phone designs by eliminating most physical hardware buttons and eschewing a stylus for its screen-based interface, featuring instead only a few physical buttons and a touch screen. It featured quad-band GSM cellular connectivity with GPRS and EDGE support for data transfer, and it made use of continuous internet access and onboard processing to support features unrelated to voice communication. Its successor, the iPhone 3G, was announced on June 9, 2008.
The iPhone quickly became Apple's most successful product, propelling it to become the most profitable company at the time. The introduction of the App Store allowed established companies and startup developers to build careers and earn billions of dollars, via the platform, while providing consumers with new ways to access information and connect with other people. The iPhone largely appealed to the general public, as opposed to the business community BlackBerry and IBM focused on at the time, and, by integrating existing technology and expanding on usability, the iPhone turned the smartphone industry "on its head"
The iPhone was released in the United States on June 29, 2007, at the price of $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model, both requiring a 2-year contract. Thousands of people were reported to have waited outside Apple and AT&T retail stores days before the device's launch; many stores reported stock shortages within an hour of availability. To avoid repeating the problems of the PlayStation 3 launch, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police officers were hired to guard stores overnight. It was later made available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, and Austria in November 2007.
Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew before its release that the iPhone was coming.
The original iPhone received largely positive reviews. Only four writers were given review models of the original iPhone: David Pogue of The New York Times, Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, Steven Levy of Newsweek,] and Ed Baig of USA Today. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal published positive, but cautious, reviews of the iPhone, their primary criticisms being the relatively slow speed of the AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network and the phone's inability to connect using 3G services. The Wall Street Journal's technology columnist, Walt Mossberg, concluded that "despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.”
Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.
Net Discussion Questions:
Do you have an iPhone?
Do You have another type of SMARTPHONE?
How do you use it?
o Just for phone use
o Camera
o Smart phone
o What apps do you use?
Topics for Monday June 27: Babe Didrikson Zaharias and .... Field Day Reflections
Babe Didrikson Zaharias- - American athlete
Babe Didrikson Zaharias- - American athlete
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, byname of Mildred Ella Zaharias, née Mildred Ella Didrikson, (born June 26, 1911, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.—died September 27, 1956, Galveston, Texas), American sportswoman who was one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, achieving particular success in basketball and track and field, though she is perhaps best known for her achievements in golf.
Although Didrikson claimed to have been born in 1914, various sources indicate the correct year was 1911. From a young age, her goal was to be “the greatest athlete to ever live.” A standout baseball player, she asserted that, as a teenager, she acquired the nickname “Babe” in reference to Babe Ruth. She later dropped out of high school to pursue a career in sports. From 1930 through 1932, Didrikson was a member of the women’s All-America basketball team. During the same period she also won eight events and tied in a ninth in national championship competition in track and field. In the 1932 Women’s Amateur Athletic Association (AAU), competing as a team by herself, Didrikson won six individual events and the team title, outscoring the 20-women runner-up team from the Illinois Athletic Club 30 points to 22. She became known for her competitiveness and brash confidence.
At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles Didrikson won the 80-metre hurdles and the javelin throw but was deprived of a third gold medal in the high jump because she had used the unorthodox Western roll to achieve the highest jump; she was awarded the silver medal instead. Her Olympic success brought her national attention, not all of which was complimentary. At the time, women were not encouraged to compete in sports, and Didrikson faced much sexism as well as claims that she might actually be a man. One sportswriter noted, “It would be much better if she and her ilk stayed at home, got themselves prettied up and waited for the phone to ring.” Such comments failed to deter Didrikson, as she also excelled in softball, swimming, figure skating, billiards, and even football.
Didrikson began playing golf casually in 1932, but from 1934 she played that game exclusively. In 1938 she became the first woman to compete in a men’s golf event, though she did not make the cut. Also that year she married George Zaharias, a professional wrestler. Restored to amateur status after some years as a professional, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament in 1946. The next year she won 17 straight golf championships, including the British Ladies Amateur, of which she was the first American holder. Didrikson Zaharias subsequently became a professional again, and in 1948 she won the U.S. Women’s Open, a feat she repeated two years later.
Zaharias had her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the Grand Slam of the three women's majors of the day: the U.S. Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, a feat that made her the leader on the money list that year. Also that year, she reached 10 wins faster than any other LPGA golfer, doing so in one year and 20 days, a record that still stands.
In 1950 Didrikson Zaharias helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and she became the LPGA’s star competitor. Not only did she attract interest in the women’s game, she revolutionized the sport and was known for her powerful drives. At one point she quipped, “You’ve got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it.” Diagnosed with colon cancer, she underwent surgery in 1953. The following year, in one of sport’s greatest comebacks, she captured her third U.S. Open. Although she wore a colostomy bag, Didrikson Zaharias dominated the event, winning by 12 strokes. She won four other tournaments in 1954, and the following year she claimed two more victories, which were the last of her career. Source: Britannica.com
Net Questions
Did you know of Babe Didrikson?
Who is the world's greatest female athlete of all time, or who deserves consideration?
Any Field Day 2022 thoughts or reflections?
Topics for Wednesday June 22: National "Let It Go" Day...and The Summer of '68
National Let It Go Day
Stop wasting energy on negativity and grudges and start letting things go.
Quick facts
When is it?
Every June 23rd
Everyone has probably experienced those different sets of nagging regrets and grudges that tug at their souls for weeks, months or even years. It doesn’t even matter how much time has passed after the people, jobs or situations which once made them important ceased to be part of their life.
It can still be so very hard to let go of these things.
That is exactly what National Let It Go Day is all about! A national day when people all over the world can be intentional about taking the brave step to cast away all those hang-ups from a previous chapter in life and start fresh.
It’s time to celebrate National Let It Go Day!
History of National Let It Go Day
Regrets are not particularly useful to anyone. They tend to weigh on people’s consciences and leave them with a deficit of joy, often at a time when those who have been wronged have long since forgotten them. Even if the other person hasn’t offered forgiveness, it is an important step toward healing for people to learn to forgive themselves. This helps with the process of moving forward without guilt or bitterness and allows people to endeavor to live a better life in the future.
National Let It Go Day is one of a bevy of holidays created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays & Herbs. They knew the difficulty of living with a pocketful of regrets that can haunt a person during every quiet hour and knew that letting them go was the only way to find peace and contentment in their own lives.
So it was for this reason that National Let It Go Day was created, with the intention of encouraging others throughout the world to also let go of their regrets and forgive themselves for actions taken in the past.
National Let It Go Day is the perfect occasion to stop wasting so much energy on negative feelings from the past and instead focus on building a positive future.
Net Discussion:
In keeping with our “deep thought” topics last week, what might you “let go” of this year?
The Summer of ‘68
The 1960s were a volatile time in American history and 1968 was especially unforgettable.
The anti-Vietnam War movement continued to grow with protests around the globe. Some of those protests turned violent as did the ongoing fight for civil rights.
Earlier in 1968, U.S. soldiers fought the bloody Battle of Khe Sanh in Vietnam, North Korea captured the USS Pueblo, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam. The My Lai massacre occurred.
In the spring of 1968, two of America's most prominent leaders were assassinated with months of each other - the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy on June 5. Violent riots followed the King assassination.
The year 1968 remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history, marked by historic achievements, shocking assassinations, a much-hated war and a spirit of rebellion that swept through countries all over the world. Occurring at the dawn of the television age, the historic events of 1968 also played out on TV screens across the country, bringing them home in a way that had never been possible before.
Also, that summer - McDonald's began selling the Big Mac for 49 cents. The sandwich had debuted in 1967 in Uniontown, Pa.
Popular movies included "The Graduate," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "Bonnie and Clyde," "Valley of the Dolls," "The Odd Couple," "Planet of the Apes" and "Rosemary's Baby."
Popular musicians included the Rolling Stones, the Supremes, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Grateful Dead, The Monkees, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, The Doors, Cream, Marvin Gaye and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Some highlights from the summer of 1968:
July 3: Cleveland, Ohio, set a record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in July with 41 degrees F.
July 14: Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run.
July 17: The Beatles' animated film "Yellow Submarine" premiered in London.
July 20: The first International Special Olympics summer games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill.
Aug. 8: Richard Nixon was nominated to run for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach.
Aug. 21: Marine James Anderson Jr. became the first African American to win a Medal of Honor.
Aug. 25: Arthur Ashe became the first African American to win the U.S. singles championship in tennis.
Aug. 26: The Beatles released the single, "Hey Jude." It was the Billboard song of the year in 1968.
Sept. 14: The first broadcast of 60 Minutes was on CBS-TV.
Sept. 20: Mickey Mantle hit his final career home run, No. 536.
Net Discussion:
What do you remember from the Summer of 68?
Where were you, what did you do that summer?
Topic for Monday June 20: Jaws: The Movie - Released June 20, 1975
and Factoid-- Samuel B. Morse Patents His Telegraph Machine June 20, 1840
Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. In the film, a man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw). Murray Hamilton plays the mayor, and Lorraine Gary portrays Brody's wife. The screenplay is credited to Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.
Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and consequently had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks often malfunctioned, Spielberg decided mostly to suggest the shark's presence, employing an ominous and minimalist theme created by composer John Williams to indicate its impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures' release of the film to over 450 screens was an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture at the time, and it was accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.
Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, and it won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film until the release of Star Wars in 1977. Both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which pursues high box-office returns from action and adventure films with simple high-concept premises, released during the summer in thousands of theaters and advertised heavily. Jaws was followed by three sequels (without the involvement of Spielberg or Benchley) and many imitative thrillers. In 2001, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Source: Wiki
Net Questions: 1. Did you see Jaws when it first came out, since, or never saw it?
2. Did the film change your behavior in regard to swimming in the ocean? Does it still?
3. How does Jaws compare to other films that had an impact on people, or on you in particular?
Topics for Wednesday June 15: The Bucket List---- and ----- Bad Habits
THE BUCKET LIST
Made popular by the movie ….a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before becoming a (SK).
Net Discussion
What are you looking to do?
Where do you want to go?
BAD HABITS
Our lives are a culmination of habits, good and bad. Good habits help us experience positive results; bad habits impede progress and diminish our quality of life.
Net Discussion
Without getting too deep, what “bad habits” if any, are you looking to change?
Topics for Monday June 13: Gregorian Calendar---- and ----- What Projects Are You Working On?
June 13 is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 201 days remain until the end of the year.
Projects What are you working on at the moment?
Wow Mini PC Fanless Silent Mini Computer 12 Volt Power From Your to Automobile or any field battery that you use for field operation. All sorts of accessories. Mini Keyboards monitors, not your current computers voltage which is about 19 volts. Makes field operationeasy. And they are not Lacking on processor speed or memory.
Let's share some words about these great computers.
Topics for Wednesday June 8: Ham Summer Fun---- and ----- Fitz Henry Lane
Summer Fun
Amateur Radio stations traditionally are associated with a table full of gear in a home station. Now that the summer months are here, do you operate away from your home radio shack or do you stay put? For me personally my shack is in my attic. It gets hot up there! So, I am looking to do portable operations for the summer.
A new generation of compact, full-featured, portable radios combined with modern battery technology to make it easier than ever to set up your station outdoors or at another location and enjoy Amateur Radio. Added to the increase in organized outdoor operating activities like POTA and SOTA, and of course FIELD DAY, it’s no wonder that ham radio operators are inspired to venture into portable operations outdoors.
Anyone can give portable operating a try. Portable operators use HF and VHF bands, as well as SSB, FM, CW, and digital modes. There’s something for everyone, no matter your license class or interests. Whether you want to operate from a picnic table at a nearby park, or a remote summit after a backcountry hike, the summer weather makes it most enjoyable.
Net Discussion Questions:
Is your summer operation/set up different from the winter months?
Shack location
What equipment do you use away from your shack?
Transceiver
Antenna
Battery
Computer
What outdoor events or activities do you like to do?
Fitz Henry Lane (born Nathaniel Rogers Lane, also known as Fitz Hugh Lane) (December 19, 1804 – August 14, 1865) was an American painter and printmaker of a style that would later be called Luminism, for its use of pervasive light
Fitz Henry Lane was born on December 19, 1804, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Lane was christened Nathaniel Rogers Lane on March 17, 1805 and would remain known as such until he was 27. It was not until March 13, 1832, that the state of Massachusetts would officially grant Lane's own formal request (made in a letter dated December 26, 1831) to change his name from Nathaniel Rogers to Fitz Henry Lane.
As with practically all aspects of Lane's life, the subject of his name is one surrounded by much confusion—it was not until 2005 that historians discovered that they had been wrongly referring to the artist as Fitz Hugh, as opposed to his chosen Fitz Henry. The reasons behind Lane's decision to change his name, and for choosing the name he did, are still very unclear; although, one suggestion is that he did it "to differentiate himself from the well-known miniature painter Nathaniel Rodgers".
From the time of his birth, Lane would be exposed to the sea and maritime life—a factor that obviously had a great impact on his later choice of subject matter. Many circumstances of his young life ensured Lane's constant interaction with various aspects of this maritime life, including the fact that Lane's family lived "upon the periphery of Gloucester Harbor's working waterfront," and that his father, Jonathan Dennison Lane, was a sailmaker, and quite possibly owned and ran a sail loft. It is often speculated that Lane would most likely have pursued some seafaring career, or become a sailmaker like his father, instead of an artist, had it not been for a lifelong handicap Lane developed as a child. Although the cause cannot be known with certainty, it is thought that the ingestion of some part of the Peru Apple - a poisonous weed also known as jimsonweed -by Lane at the age of eighteen months caused the paralysis of the legs from which Lane would never recover. Furthermore, it has been suggested by art historian James A. Craig that because he could not play games as the other children did, he was forced to find some other means of amusement, and that in such a pursuit he discovered and was able to develop his talent for drawing. To go a step further, as a result of his having a busy seaport as immediate surroundings, he was able to develop a special skill in depicting the goings-on inherent in such an environment.
Lane could still have become a sailmaker, as such an occupation entailed much time spent sitting and sewing, and that Lane already had some experience sewing from his short-lived apprenticeship in shoemaking. However, as evidenced in this quote from Lane's nephew Edward Lane's "Early Recollections," his interest in art held much sway in his deciding on a career:
"Before he became an artist, he worked for a short time making shoes, but after a while, seeing that he could draw pictures better than he could make shoes he went to Boston and took lessons in drawing and painting and became a marine artist."
Lane acquired such "lessons" by way of his employment at Pendleton's Lithography shop in Boston, which lasted from 1832 to 1847. With the refinement and development of his artistic skills acquired during his years working as a lithographer, Lane was able to successfully produce marine paintings of high quality, as evidenced in his being listed, officially, as a "marine painter" in the Boston Almanac of 1840. Lane continued to refine his painting style, and consequently, the demand for his marine paintings increased as well.
Lane had visited Gloucester often while living in Boston, and in 1848, he returned permanently. In 1849, Lane began overseeing construction of a house/studio of his own design on Duncan's Point—this house would remain his primary residence to the end of his life. Fitz Henry Lane continued to produce beautiful marine paintings and seascapes into his later years. Lane died in his home on Duncan's Point on August 14, 1865, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Cape Ann Museum
In 1937, Alfred Mansfield Brooks became curator and president of the Cape Ann Historical Association. During his thirty-year tenure, he compiled the largest collection of Fitz Henry Lane paintings and printed matter in the United States.
Net Discussion Questions:
Did you realize that Lanes’ career as an artist was influenced by his handicap?
Have you visited the Cape Ann Museum to view his works?
Is Fitz Henry Lane held in high regard in the local community or is he just another painter?
Topics for Monday June 6: Famous Hams---- and ----- Vanity Calls
Famous Hams
W1AW Hiram Percy Maxim, ARRL founder, silencer inventor
K1JT Dr. Joseph Taylor, 1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics
KB1NXP John Baldacci, former Governor of Maine
W1ZE Irving Vermilya, first licensed radio amateur in the US
K2AMH Robert Moog, inventor of Moog synthesizer
W2BML Dr. Harold Beverage, inventor of Beverage antenna
K2GL Hazard Reeves, inventor of stereo sound system
KB2GSD Walter Cronkite, newscaster
K2ORS Jean Shepherd, writer, humorist
NE2Q Jay Kolinsky, electronic siren inventor
W2SGG Robert Cusumano, co-inventor of printed circuits
K2ZCZ George Pataki, former Governor of NY
NS3T Jamie Dupree, radio news correspondent
W4CGP Chet Atkins, singer, composer
WB4KCG Ronnie Milsap, singer, songwriter
K4EB Larry Junstrom, 38 Special band member(bass) and founding Lynyrd Skynrd member
N4KET David French, CNN news anchor
W4LAA Paul Kangas, co-anchor of Nightly Business Report
K4LIB Arthur Godfrey, TV personality
WD4LZC Larnell Harris, country & Christian music singer
WB4MCJ Carl Rochelle, news columnist
WA4SIR Ron Parise, astronaut
KD4WUJ Patti Loveless, singer
W4XAA/K2AES Tom Kneitel, magazine editor, columnist
K4ZVZ Gen. Paul Tibbets, WWII Enola Gay pilot (first atom bomb drop)
WA5AVA Dale Seidenschwarz (Clyde Clifford), Beaker St. radio host
KF5BOX Doug Wheelock, ISS astronaut
K5CSG Peggy Sue Gerron, subject of Buddy Holly hit song
W5GLJ George Marti, remote broadcast technology pioneer
W5LFL Dr. Owen Garriot, astronaut
N5QWL Jay Apt, astronaut
N5RAX Linda Godwin, astronaut
WB6ACU Joe Walsh, (Eagles) singer, guitarist, composer, record producer
W6BNB Robert Shrader, Electronic Communications text author
K6DUE Roy Neal, TV personality, news correspondent
W6EZV/K0GRL General Curtis Lemay, WWII leader and 1968 VP candidate
N6FFT Ray Briem, radio talk show host
N6FUP Stu Cook, bass player Creedence Clearwater Revival
W6FZZ Samuel F.B. Morse III, great grandson of code inventor
KA6HVK Burl Ives, singer and entertainer
NN6JA John Amodeo, TV Producer
N6KGB Stewart Granger, actor
KB6LQS Dick Rutan, pilot of Voyager airplane
KI6M Stu Gilliam, comedian
W6OBB Art Bell, syndicated radio personality
KD6OY Garry Shandling, actor, comedian
KE6PZH/FO5GJ Marlon Brando, actor
WB6RER Andy Devine, actor
W6UK Alvino Rey, musician, band leader
KA6UXR Dr. Alexander Comfort, author
N6YOS Priscilla Presley, actress
W6ZH Herbert Hoover, Jr. IARU & ARRL President
W6ZH/W6APW Herbert “Pete” Hoover III, AMSAT fundraiser
W7EQI Greg Walden, U.S. Congressman (1999-2020)
KA7EVD Donnie Osmond, singer
NK7U Joe Rudi, major league baseball player
K7UGA/6BPI/K3UIG Barry Goldwater, US Senator, 1964 Pres. candidate
8CR Powell Crosley, broadcast pioneer, founded WLW
W8OK Frank Schwab, Mr. Hamvention
9ALD Edgar Johnson, founder of E F Johnson Company
9DRV David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett Packard
W9EGV John Frye, columnist Carl & Jerry, Mac’s Service Shop
K9EID Bob Heil, concert sound engineer, inventor
W0CXX Art Collins, founder of Collins Radio
W0FQY Carl Mosley, founder of Mosley Electronics
DG1KIM Ulrich Walter, astronaut
EA0JC Juan Carlos, King of Spain
HS1A Bhumiphol Adulayadej, King of Thailand
I0FCG Francesco Cossiga, President of Italy
JY1 King Hussein of Jordan
RV3DW Sergei Avdeyev, astronaut
TI2DR David Ruben M. D., author
VU2RJ Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India
YN1AS General Anastasio Somoza, President of Nicaragua
9N1MM Rev. Marshall Moran, Jesuit Priest, Educator (Nepal)
WB4APR Bob Bruninga (SK), inventor of APRS in 1992
VANITY CALLS
Do you have one?
Do you plan to change your call?
Let's hear the story about your call sign,
Topics for Wednesday June 1: Origins of Famous Phrases ---- and ----- Debut of CNN
Such a challenge seems unheard of in modern warfare, but nearly a year into the War of 1812, Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke of the British frigate Shannon wrote to Captain James Lawrence of the United States frigate Chesapeake promising that their ships could duel outside of Boston without interference from any vessel. The ships could even sail out under a flag of truce; “choose your terms but let us meet. To goad his subject, Broke went on to write that, after all, these single-ship actions are all that “your little navy” can accomplish. The statement stung on both ends because the small U.S. Navy had indeed won a series of stunning one-on-one actions against the Royal Navy. The 31-year-old Lawrence, commanding another vessel, the Hornet, had been one of those victors, feted as “Captain Jim” in New York and Philadelphia.
In Captain Broke of the Shannon, Lawrence would find his match, as the ships were evenly gunned and manned. There was gallantry even in the way the ships approached each other, with the captains at first refusing to maneuver in the most advantageous manner. On June 1, 1813, with the first gun, US Captain Lawrence had a white banner with the slogan “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights” run up the foremast. Once the broadsides began, however, the action was as bloody and desperate as battle can be: In the less than fifteen minutes of fighting, 228 men were killed or wounded in the bloodiest frigate action of the War of 1812. The British frigate Shannon’s gunnery did make the difference, inflicting enough initial damage on the Chesapeake’s officers, gun crews, rigging, and maneuverability as to leave her vulnerable to the Shannon’s men, who, as the ships collided, boarded right onto the quarterdeck.
Captain Lawrence, standing conspicuously in full-dress uniform on deck, had seen the midshipmen serving alongside him killed instantly. He was already nursing a pistol ball in the leg when he received his fatal wound from the enemy’s swivel gun in their maintop. It was here that he gave, repeatedly, his famous command, “Don’t give up the ship. “Fight her till she sinks” and “Tell them to fire faster, don’t give up the ship.” Once helped below, lying on the surgeon’s table, and informed of the British sailors boarding above, he then called out, “Then blow her up! “Blow the ship up!”
Defeated and captured, Lawrence died in agony three days later and was buried with full honors by his captors in Halifax. His body was transferred first to Salem, Massachusetts before coming that September to its final prominent resting place in Trinity Churchyard in his adopted city of New York. He became even more of a hero in defeat as his command became a rallying cry throughout the war and the enduring motto for the United States Navy. Philip Broke, who had led the Shannon’s boarders onto the Chesapeake’s quarterdeck, suffered a severe head wound but recovered enough to live out his life as a baronet and British hero.
As is common in the chaos of warfare, painful ironies accompany Lawrence’s famous order: For one thing, it was not the Americans who formally “gave up the ship,” but rather the Shannon’s borders who had gained control of the main deck and raised the blue British colors over the Stars and Stripes. Arriving among them was the Shannon’s First Lieutenant George Watt who then wanted to raise an even showier white British ensign on the mizzen halyards. As he went about doing this, he and his men were killed by a Shannon gun whose crew most likely thought the momentary lowering of the blue flag was the work of straggling American survivors.
“THE BATTLE FLAG”
"Don't give up the ship", a phrase repeated by Captain James Lawrence during his dying days after being wounded by enemy fire aboard the Chesapeake on June 1, 1813, became the battle cry of Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry learned of Lawrence's demise upon arrival at Presque Isle and commanded that Lawrence would be honored with the name of a brig, which would simply be called Lawrence. A battle flag would also be needed, and the words of Perry's good friend Lawrence would be just the battle cry suited for the coming days. As of July 2009, Perry's flag, and Lawrence's dying words can still be seen today, as the flag has been placed on display in Bancroft Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
NET DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What other famous phases can you think of?
Example: "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Ted Turner's Cable News Network (CNN), headquartered in Atlanta, began 24-hour live news broadcasts this day in 1980 and gained worldwide attention in 1991 for its around-the-clock coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
CNN, in full Cable News Network, Inc., television’s first 24-hour all-news service, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia. CNN’s headquarters are in Atlanta.
CNN was created by maverick broadcasting executive Ted Turner as part of his Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), allegedly because industry professionals had told him it could not be done. After four years in development, CNN signed on the air June 1, 1980, with a news telecast anchored by the husband-and-wife team of Dave Walker and Lois Hart.
Initially derided by its more affluent competitors as “the Chicken Noodle Network” because of its comparatively meagre financial resources, CNN endured an arduous struggle to earn respect in the broadcast world. Maturing and expanding along with the cable industry itself, CNN maintained a loyal following by offering what the major networks did not: full, continuous coverage of all news events, both large and small. Its mantra throughout this period was “Go live, stay with it and make it important.” Endeavoring to accommodate its worldwide audience, CNN adopted a policy of banning such exclusionary words and phrases as “foreign” and “here at home” from its newscasts.
In 1986 the network scooped the competition with its on-the-spot coverage of the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Five years later CNN again trumped the other networks with its live “in-country” telecasts of the Persian Gulf War. Covering the battle from both sides of the conflict, CNN’s team of correspondents—including Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett, and John Holliman—became familiar faces. Other prominent CNN reporters and commentators have included Daniel Schorr, Wolf Blitzer, Catherine Crier, Mary Alice Williams, Christiane Amanpour, and Paula Zahn. The “voice of CNN” is provided by distinguished actor James Earl Jones, whose recorded voice regularly intones, “This is CNN.”
In addition to its news broadcasts, CNN offered a steady diet of daily and weekly prime-time series. Hosted by Larry King and long one of CNN’s most popular series, the nightly Larry King Live (1985–2010) was also for a number of years cable television’s highest-rated interview program. More-recent staples of CNN programming include Anderson Cooper 360° (2003– ) and The Situation Room (2005– ). In 2013 the channel started adding documentary and reality television programs to its schedule, notably Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–18), an award-winning travel show hosted by former chef Bourdain.
In 1996 CNN, along with the rest of the Turner Broadcasting System, was absorbed by entertainment conglomerate Time Warner Inc. (later called WarnerMedia).
NET DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Do you watch CNN?
If yes, what do you like?
If no, what do you dislike?
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse