The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was enacted by France’s National Constituent Assembly in 1789. It has been highly influential in the development of human rights in Europe and world-wide and is still part of the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
Herman Melville’s last novel, Billy Budd, is considered by some readers to be his masterpiece, superior to his better-known Moby-Dick, and certainly much more readable.
The plot follows Billy Budd, a seaman pressed into service aboard HMS Bellipotent in 1797, from another ship, The Rights of Man (named after the book by Thomas Paine). As his former ship moves off, Budd shouts, “Good-bye to you too, old Rights-of-Man.” Billy is an innocent with no satirical intent but tragically this line and the envy and treachery of an evil shipmate leads to his being accused of mutiny.
Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen have acted together in several movies.
1973: Badlands
1974: The Execution of Private Slovik
1985: Out of the Darkness
1985: The Fourth Wise Man
1987: Wall Street; Martin played father to the son’s Bud Fox.
1990: Cadence
1993: Hot Shots! Part Deux
1998: Free Money
1998: A Letter From Death Row
1998: No Code of Conduct
The only woman currently on Federal Death Row is Lisa M. Montgomery, who was convicted of the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett. Montgomery killed the pregnant Stinnett before delivering and kidnapped Stinnett’s unborn baby.
According to the US CDC, some leading death rates per 100,000 in the USA in 2014 include:
167.0: heart diseases
161.2: malignant neoplasms
40.5: Chronic lower respiratory diseases
40.5: Unintentional injuries (Motor vehicle-related injuries, Poisoning)
25.4: Alzheimer’s disease
20.9: Diabetes mellitus
13.0: Suicide
5.1: Homicide
Only one state capital in the USA had a major league sports franchise before expansion in the 1960s, that was Boston, in baseball, basketball and hockey. Since then there have been six state capitals in MLB and NFL ((AZ CO GA IN MA TN), and five more in NBA and NHL (CA CT OH OK UT). MN could arguably be added to the lis, but before expansion, the basketball team was the Minneapolis Lakers, thus excluding St. Paul…
Current capital cities with teams in the major sports leagues, NFL MLB NBA NHL, in the close vicinity are:
AZ: Phoenix (Cardinals Diamondbacks Suns Coyotes)
CO: Denver (Broncos Rockies Nuggets Avalanche)
MA: Boston (Patriots RedSox Celtics Bruins)
MN: Minneapolis (Vikings Twins Timberwolves Wild)
DC: Wasington (Redskins Nationals Wizards Capitals)
I’ll include DC here. Of these cities’ teams, only Boston’s teams have all won championships.
On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932, chartered by the Marshall University football team, crashed into a hill near Ceredo, West Virginia, killing all 75 people on board. At the time, Marshall’s athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus. The accident is the deadliest sports-related tragedy in US history.
]Off-game: Responded to Northern Piper’s query re royal charter of the Boy Scouts via private message.]
Every year, on the anniversary of the crash of Southern Air 932, on 14 November (next Monday), the Memorial Fountain at the entrance of Marshall’s Memorial Student Center is shut off during a commemorative ceremony and is not activated again until the following spring.
Pete Fountain was probably the most unhip jazz musician in the history of the world. So unhip, that he was invited to join the Lawence Welk family in 1958 But no so unhip, as he tried to jazz up a Christmas carol in the show, and Welk refused, so Fountain quit.
On December 19, 1843, A Christmas Carol, a novella by Charles Dickens, was first published. Three usages in the novella have wide currency yet today—the phrase “Merry Christmas,” the name “Scrooge,” and the exclamation “Bah! Humbug!”
My favorite of the bunch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTopAYE3IFw
In play:
American actor George C. Scott played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1984 TV production of A Christmas Carol, and was nominated for an Emmy for his performance. Novelist and essayist Louis Bayard described this adaptation as “the definitive version of a beloved literary classic,” praising its fidelity to Dickens’ original story, the strength of the supporting cast, and especially Scott’s performance as Scrooge.
Scrooge’s faux tombstone still rests in the Shrewsbury, England churchyard where the movie was filmed: Adaptations of A Christmas Carol - Wikipedia
It’s Veterans Day: George C. Scott joined the United States Marine Corps and served from 1945 to 1949. He was assigned to 8th and I Barracks in Washington, DC, where he taught English literature and radio speaking/writing at the Marine Corps Institute.
Semper Fi, and R.I.P., George. Say hello to Chesty for me. I’ll see you when we regroup.
James Doohan, who played Montgomery “Scotty” Scott on the original Star Trek was one of the first Canadians to land on Juno Beach on D-Day. Scott was hit by friendly fire during the invasion, taking six bullets. His cigarette case saved him from a fatal shot to the heart. He lost a finger, but otherwise recovered.
Akshat Saxena from Uttar Pradesh, India, is the world record holder for highest number of digits. He was born in 2010 with 7 fingers on each hand and 10 toes on each foot, for a total of 34 digits.
off game: Damn! Is that anywhere near Bopal?
A number with 34 digits is called one decillion, in American usage. In British English, it would be one thousand quintillion.
To date, three players from the 1975 NFL draft have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fred Dean was inducted in 2008. He was the 33rd overall draft pick and he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Randy White was inducted in 1994. He was the 2nd overall draft pick and he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. Walter Payton was inducted in 1993. He was the 4th overall draft pick and he was drafted by the Chicago Bears.
The three players were drafted ahead of Walter Payton:
- Steve Bartkowski, WB, Atlanta Falcons
- Randy White, Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboys
- Ken Huff, Guard, Baltimore Colts
Walter Payton wore the same jersey number throughout his entire NFL career: #34.
The original 1962 building of the Pro Football Hall of Fame contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet of interior space.
The US Department of Interior is responsible for most federal lands and their resources, including national parks. But not national forests, which are under the Department of Agriculture. In most other countries that designate a Department of Interior, that agency has the kinds of responsibilities that fall within the US Department of Homeland Security