Archive for November 2010
Vaulting pole…
Facing the waist-line challenges that lie ahead on this day of calorie-soaked celebration, a reader’s thoughts might well turn to exercise…
Most Americans are aware of the craze-let that purports to turn pole dancing into a fitness routine.
But as reader MK points out, in India poles are a guy’s domain– and are the locus of some pretty extraordinary moves; here, a look at the traditional sport– it dates back at least as far as the Twelfth Century– they call “Mallakhamb“…
As we marvel at the mastery, we might recall that it was on this date in 1952 that Agatha Christie’s mystery play The Mousetrap opened in London’s West End– where it has run, without interruption, since.
Special Holiday Extra: a day of “sincere and humble thanks”…
from xkcd (where, while Randall deals with illness in his family, Jeffrey Rowland [and others] have stepped in)
From Scenarios and Strategy:
On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as an official holiday of “sincere and humble thanks,” and the United States celebrated its first Thanksgiving under its new Constitution.
click image to see enlargement at source; click here to see original manuscript at the National Archives
The holiday became traditional, at least in New England, but was celebrated each year at different times in the late Fall. Then in September of 1863, a magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale wrote President Abraham Lincoln, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” Lincoln responded:
Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day
October 3, 1863
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart…
click image to see enlargement at the National Archive; click here for transcription
(According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. Indeed, on October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles noted in his diary that he had complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.)
Named virtues…
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, is charged with administering “the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage“– a duty they discharge by convening a committee once a year to select from member nations’ nominations those traditions that are needy of conservation.
Consider, for example:
Castells are human towers built by members of amateur groups, usually as part of annual festivities in Catalonian towns and cities… The human towers are formed by castellers standing on the shoulders of one another in a succession of stages (between six and ten). Each level of the tronc, the name given to the second level upwards, generally comprises two to five heavier built men supporting younger, lighter-weight boys or girls. The pom de dalt – the three uppermost levels of the tower – comprises young children. Anyone is welcome to form the pinya, the throng that supports the base of the tower… The knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation within a group, and can only be learned by practice.
On consideration, the committee ruled that Castells satisfied the criteria for inscription on the Representative List:
R1: Human towers are recognized by Catalan people as an integral part of their cultural identity, transmitted from generation from generation and providing community members a sense of continuity, social cohesion and solidarity;
R2: Their inscription on the Representative List could promote intangible cultural heritage as a means of reinforcing social cohesion, while encouraging respect for cultural dialogue and human creativity;
R3: The safeguarding measures being implemented and those planned are carefully described, and the commitments of both the State and the communities are well demonstrated, all aiming at ensuring the viability of the element;
R4: The nomination was elaborated through a process of consultation and cooperation with the bearers of the tradition who have provided their free, prior and informed consent;
R5: Human towers are registered in the Inventory of the Ethnological Heritage of Catalonia, maintained and updated by the Department of Culture and Media.
For a peek at 2010’s newly-anointed treasures, announced last week, readers can visit this Foreign Policy roster of “10 Traditions You Never Thought Needed Protecting.”
As we wonder if the castellers are now required to wear blue helmets, we might recall that it was on this date in 1993 that Hollywood’s homage to the Anglo-Saxon tradition of cross-dressing– Mrs. Doubtfire— premiered.
Hands up!…
For the Holiday travellers among our readers, a tribute– from Frank Sinatra himself– to the friendly folks at the TSA…
via Laughing Squid.
As we rethink the balance between “safety” and freedom, we might recall that it was on this date in 1976 that apneist Jacques Mayol, later Luc Besson’s inspiration for the film The Big Blue, became the first man to swim to a depth of 100 meters undersea without breathing equipment.
Mayol, headed down (source)
But after all that tryptophan, who feels up to the treadmill?…
From Smooth Fitness, a timely infographic:
to enlarge, click the image above, or here
As we prepare to loosen our belts, we might recall that it was on this date in 1975 that KC and the Sunshine Band hit #1 the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “That’s The Way (I Like It),” the follow-up to their breakthrough single “Get Down Tonight” (also a chart-topper), thus the second of the five times they would reach that peak.
This is the way– uh-huh, uh-huh (source)
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