Posts Tagged ‘wedding’
“Welcome to the other side of the rainbow”*…
Utah has emerged as a virtual destination of a very special sort…
Xu Yanzhou and Zhu Xiaoming had a beautiful wedding. In front of flowers and candies, they exchanged vows reflecting on their five-year relationship, moving guests to tears. The pair put bangles on each other’s wrists. An officiant legally pronounced them husband and husband.
But little else was typical of a traditional Chinese wedding. The happy couple stood in their living room in Guangzhou, China, where same-sex marriage is illegal. The ceremony took place at midnight. And the officiant, appearing on Zoom, was in Utah…
The state of Utah in the United States has no citizenship requirements for marriage licenses, and Utah County is the only place there that allows international couples to register their marriages online. Since the county rolled out virtual weddings during the Covid-19 pandemic, it became a wedding haven for same-sex couples who are not able to officially marry in their own countries.
As sexual minorities in China face suppression at home, Utah County is allowing them to officially marry and celebrate their love — all for around $100. Although the marriages aren’t recognized in China, some 200 same-sex couples from mainland China and Hong Kong have gotten married via the county’s digital marriage license system since 2021…
Marital bliss, sourced remotely: “Same-sex couples from China are getting married in Utah over Zoom.“
* Washington state Sen. Ed Murray (D), Feb. 13, 2012, at the signing ceremony legalizing gay marriage in the state
###
As we extend the blessed estate, we might recall that it was on this date in 1914 that a wedding set the the course of modern American history…
John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, having just finished his term as mayor of Boston, walked his daughter Rose down the aisle to marry a guy he had doubts about. Sure, the bridegroom was then the youngest bank president in America, but Rose hadn’t dated around enough.
It’s a good thing she didn’t share her father’s doubts. The man waiting at the altar was Joseph Kennedy, and their wedding probably influenced the course of American history more than any before or since, thanks to the fruit of their union. Of their nine children, three became United States senators: Edward, known as Ted; Robert, who also became U.S. attorney general; and Jack — John F. Kennedy — who became a president of no small consequence…
Time
“Space: the final frontier”*…
This is a time of much division. Families and communities are splintered by polarizing narratives. Outrage surrounds geopolitical discourse—so much so that anxiety often becomes a sort of white noise, making it increasingly difficult to trigger intense, acute anger. The effect can be desensitizing, like driving 60 miles per hour and losing hold of the reality that a minor error could result in instant death.
One thing that apparently still has the power to infuriate people, though, is how many spaces should be used after a period at the end of an English sentence.
The war is alive again of late because a study that came out this month from Skidmore College. The study is, somehow, the first to look specifically at this question. It is titled: “Are Two Spaces Better Than One? The Effect of Spacing Following Periods and Commas During Reading.”…
Find out the truth at “The Scientific Case for Two Spaces After a Period.”
* the words opening each episode of Star Trek
###
As your correspondent basks in confirmation, we might recall that it was in 1770 that Germany and France moved past 30 years of animosity, celebrating their new alliance with the marriage of Archduchess Marie “let them eat cake” Antionette and Dauphin Louis-Auguste de France (soon enough to become King Louis XVI), in a lavish ceremony at Versailles, in front of more than 5000 guests.
A torrential thunderstorm pre-empted the fireworks planned for that evening; but the celebration continued through May 30th, when fireworks on Place de la Concorde killed 132 people– a grim omen of a reign that would prove tragic.
Marie Antoinette in her wedding dress, which was adorned with white diamonds
“Cartoons are not real drawings, because they are drawings intended to be read”*…
Hilarious, subtly subversive, and unique for his time, Virgil Partch was a 20th-century gag cartoonist whose “pleasingly grotesque style” still delights people today. Virgil, cousin of the composer Harry Partch, began his career at Disney, but left after a few years to supply cartoons, all signed “VIP,” to essentially every major outlet– though only a few to The New Yorker, as editor Harold Ross hated VIP’s style.
The Rumpus features more of Partch’s work, and a Q&A with designer, writer, and filmmaker Jonathan Barli on the life and work of the absurdist and visionary cartoonist, the subject of Barli’s new book, VIP: The Mad Life of Virgil Partch (Fantagraphics).
* Chris Ware
###
As we draw the line, we might recall that it was on this date in 1863 that miniature dancing chanteuse Lavinia Warren married Charles Sherwood Stratton… or, as he was better known, General Tom Thumb. The couple met as performers in P.T. Barnum‘s shows. Lavinia was hotly pursued by the tiny entertainer Commodore Nutt, but her affections belonged to General Tom Thumb from their first introduction.
The nuptials, promoted by Barnum, were front-page news: held at Grace Episcopal Church in New York, they were followed by a gala reception at the Metropolitan Hotel, attended by family, friends, and one thousand people who paid Barnum $75 each. With Barnum’s help, the couple became perhaps the most famous public personages of the 1860s: President Abraham Lincoln and his wife hosted a reception for the newlyweds at the White House; and Tiffany and Co. gave them a silver coach; and they amassed a fortune performing.
Wedding photo by Mathew Brady
Che sarà…
Pepperoni pizza, garlic bread, Italian dressing… now spaghetti and meatballs joins the list of Italian foods that aren’t Italian.
The full story at Smithsonian. [photo via]
###
As we we twirl our forks, we might recall that it was on this date in 1956 that Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Arthur Miller and silver screen icon Marilyn Monroe were wed. They held a press conference at Miller’s house in Roxbury, Connecticut, whose local newspaper had dryly announced the day before, “Local Resident Will Marry Miss Monroe of Hollywood,” adding, “Roxbury Only Spot in World to Greet News Calmly.” Once the 400 pressmen had gone away, the couple sneaked off to the Westchester County Court House in nearby White Plains, where they were married shortly before 7.30 pm. The ceremony lasted just over four minutes; the marriage, just over four years.
You must be logged in to post a comment.