New England is composed of six northeastern states: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Total area of these six states is about 72,000 square miles. If this were all one state, it would rank 17th in size, between South Dakota and North Dakota.
The official name of the state of Rhode Island is “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”
In 2009, Rhode Island’s General Assembly voted to hold a referendum regarding dropping the “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name, due to the term “plantation” having a connotation of slavery. The referendum was held in November, 2010, and 78% of voters in the state voted to keep the full name.
Of the six New England states, only one of them (New Hampshire) has a name with a connection with England. Two of them (Maine and Vermont) have French names. Two have names with Native American origins; Massachusetts is named for the Massachusett tribe, while Connecticut’s name comes from the Mohegan word quinetucket, which means “beside the long, tidal river”. Rhode Island may be named for the island of Rhodes or for the reddish appearance of its soil, which was described by explorer Adrien Block as “een rodlich Eylande” in 17th-century Dutch.
The New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers are the only 2 NFL franchises named for regions instead of cities or states. Patriots owner Billy Sullivan took the name Boston out of his team’s name when he moved them to his new stadium in Foxboro, after a failed attempt to build one in Boston, out of disgust over the city’s politicians’ demands for “considerations”. Later owner Robert Kraft ran into the same problem when trying to site his replacement facility there, ultimately building it on the same Foxboro site.
The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, and Tennessee Titans are named for a state and not a city.
New England state Rhode Island is the only two word state name that doesn’t have a geographical direction or “New” in its name. While four states have “New” (Hampshire, Jersey, Mexico and York), two states have “North” (Carolina and Dakota) and two states have “South” (same two), only one has "West (Virginia) and none had East. Or Old.
The same pro-Union Wheeling Convention which was recognized by the Lincoln Administration as the lawful government of Virginia - as opposed to the pro-secession, Confederate state government in Richmond - also gave its consent to the creation of West Virginia from the territory of Virginia, pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 3 of the U.S. Constitution, during the Civil War. The decision, although controversial, was later upheld in court.
“Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” is a song which was written by James A. Bland (1854–1911), an African American who wrote over 700 songs.
A reworded version of the song was Virginia’s state song from 1940 until 1997, using the word “Virginia” instead of “Virginny.” In 1997, it was retired as state song, largely due to controversy over the lyrics’ racial content. On January 28, 1997, the Virginia Senate voted to designate “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” as state song emeritus and a study committee initiated a contest for writing a new state song.n January 2006, a state Senate panel voted to designate “Shenandoah” as the “interim official state song.” On March 1, 2006, the House Rules Committee of the General Assembly voted down bill SB682, which would have made “Shenandoah” the official state song.
USS Shenandoah, the first of four United States Navy rigid airships, was destroyed in a squall line over Noble County, Ohio, in September 1925. The Cathedral of the Air in Lakehurst, NJ has a chapel which features stained glass windows memorializing the loss of naval airships USS Akron and USS Shenandoah, both of which were stationed there.
In 1986, writer Steven Dietz and songwriter/lyricist Eric Peltoniemi wrote the musical Ten November in memory of The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking. The musical was re-edited into a concert version called The Gales of November,which opened on November 10, 2005 the 30th anniversary of the sinking at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Ten November Seventeen Seventy Five, or 10 November 1775, is the birth date of the US Marine Corps. Every 10 November, Marines all over the world celebrate with a Marine Corps Birthday Ball, a formal event, celebration, and party. Semper Fidelis.
The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is an annual marathon held in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC. Known as “The People’s Marathon,” the MCM is open to all runners ages 14 and above and is the largest marathon that does not offer prize money. The event typically occurs on the final Sunday in October, a few weeks before the United States Marine Corps birthday on November 10. The route finishes at the Marine Corps War Memorial (the Iwo Jima flag raising statue) in Arlington National Cemetery.
William Howard Taft, Republican of Ohio, and John F. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, are the only two Presidents of the United States interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Alan Jay Lerner was educated at Bedales School in England, The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut, and Harvard. At both schools he was a classmate of John F. Kennedy’s; at Choate they had worked together on the yearbook staff.
Lerner would later become a successful playwright and lyricist, writing the words for the musical Camelot, still associated with the Kennedy administration:
Don’t let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot.
Two separate medieval castles in Segovia, Spain, were used in the film Camelot. The Alcazar de Segovia was used for Sir Lancelot’s home in Gaul (France). The opening and closing scenes were also filmed on the grounds of the castle. For Camelot itself, the Coca Castle, also in Segovia, was used in long shots and background shots to depict the towers and battlements of Arthur’s legendary kingdom. Warner Bros. built a castle on their studio backlot for closer shots and direct storyline action. Long known at the studio as the “Camelot Castle” after filming ended, it was used in other films. In 1972, it was renovated into a Tibetan Lamasery for the musical remake of Lost Horizon (1973). It was used extensively in Kung Fu (1972). In the 1980’s, the backlot castle was torn down to make room for an office building.
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Spain. Many professional classical guitarists today were students of Segovia, or students of his students. Segovia’s contribution to the modern-romantic repertoire not only included commissions but also his own transcriptions of classical or baroque works. He is remembered for his expressive performances: his wide palette of tone, and his distinctive musical personality, phrasing and style.
Trivia for today, what would have been B.B. King’s 94th Birthday:
In 2005, for B.B. King’s 80th birthday, Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the 80th Birthday Lucille. They presented the first prototype, which was engraved by Baron Technology, Inc, with design work by Scott Jeffrey, to King as a birthday present. King used the guitar as his main guitar until the summer of 2009, when it was stolen. On September 10, 2009, Eric Dahl unknowingly purchased the stolen instrument from a pawn shop in Las Vegas, and was contacted by a Gibson Artist Relations representative, who informed Dahl of the stolen status of the guitar. This Lucille was returned to King in late November 2009.
“Lucille” was the name which B.B. King always used to refer to his guitar, though it was not a specific guitar.
King related that the name came about from an incident at a dance club where he was playing, in Arkansas in 1949. The club was heated by a barrel of burning kerosene. During the performance, two men got into a fight, knocking over the flaming barrel, and causing the club to catch fire. King had left the burning club, but then ran back inside to retrieve his guitar.
He later learned that the men had been fighting over a woman named Lucille; King proceded to name all of his guitars “Lucille,” as a reminder to never do something as stupid as enter a burning building, or get into a fight over a woman.
The current Spanish King is Felipe VI, who ascended to the throne in June of 2014. His ascension followed the abdication of his father, Juan Carlos I. Juan Carlos announced his abdication following two scandals. One of the scandals accused his daughter of embezzlement, and the other was an elephant-hunting trip that cost double the average Spanish annual salary.
N/m Ninja’ed