Lines from Linda

Today in History…

The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe was first published by the Atlantic Monthly.

Good Day for Literary Folks

January 29th was a pretty good "this day in history" in the world of wordsmiths. The Raven was first published on this day by the New York Evening Mirror (in 1845); Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet was first performed (1595); American Revolutionary leader and author of Common Sense Thomas Paine was born on this day (1737); plus, it's Tom Selleck's birthday.

If you're wondering what Tom Selleck has to do with the literary world, then you obviously weren't a teenage girl during the 1980s. I was only a teenager for one year of that decade, but hey, that was long enough to fall in love with Magnum PI.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Happy Birthday!

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

If you recognize that line, you may be interested to know that not only is today my daughter's birthday (she's not a teenager anymore!), but today is the anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Happy Birthday to both Elena & one of her favorite books!

The Rest of the Story…

Most everyone has heard of Florence Nightengale, the "ministering angel" who dedicated her life to nursing, however you may or may not have heard of her employer and mentor. Back in January 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated with a degree in medicine from Geneva College (now Hobart College) in New York, becoming the nation's first female doctor.

Being a woman, Blackwell had been denied entrance to a number of schools, however the faculty of Geneva College put her application up to a student body vote. Most students thought it was a hoax and voted to accept her. She reinforced the fact that her intent to study medicine was not a hoax by graduating at the top of her class.

Blackwell was barred from practicing at most hospitals, and therefore spent some time in Paris to receive training. She later returned to the United States and founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children. She later founded a medical college for women and, leaving her sister who had also become a doctor to run the school, returned to her native England and opened a women's medical college with Nightengale.

Elizabeth Blackwell retired at the age of 86, and died three years later on May 31, 1910. The Elizabeth Blackwell Award is presented periodically by Hobart and William Smith colleges to women who have demonstrated "outstanding service to humankind."

Click on Dr. Blackwell's picture to learn more about her life and the event that inspired her to study medicine.

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Benjamin Franklin was born on this day, in Boston, back in 1706. Here's an excerpt from his obituary. I wonder if he wrote it!

"Elder statesman of the American Revolution," oldest signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, scientist, diplomat, author, printer, publisher, philosopher, philanthropist, and self-made, self-educated man. Author, printer and publisher of Poor Richard's Almanack (1733-1758). Born at Boston, Mass., died at Philadelphia, Penn., April 17, 1790.

Whether or not he wrote the above words is unknown, however, he did write and publish (in Poor Richard's Almanack) a premature epitaph, which first appeared in 1771:

The body of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer, Like a Covering of an old Book, Its contents torn out And stript of its Lettering and Gilding Lies here, Food for Worms; But the work shall not be lost, It will (as he believ'd) appear once more In a New and more beautiful Edition Corrected and amended By the Author.

National Nothing Day

We live in a busy world. Thank goodness for people like Harold Pullman Coffin, who gave Americans a day where we can relax without honoring, observing, or celebrating anything. I think I'll do that.

Thanks, Harold!

You Gotta Love the Internet

Where would we be without the Internet? I mean, how else would we know that today, January 13, marks the birthdate of Elisa Bonepart, Napolean's little sister?

So, how, when, and why did the Internet really get started? According to WikiAnswers:

The Internet was originally developed by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as a means to share information on defense research between involved universities and defense research facilities. Originally it was just email and FTP sites as well as the Usenet where scientists could question and answer each other. It was originally called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork). The concept was developed starting in 1964, and the first messages passed were between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute in 1969. Leonard Kleinrock of MIT had published the first paper on packet switching theory in 1961. Since networking computers was new to begin with, standards were being developed on the fly. Once the concept was proven, the organizations involved started to lay out some ground rules for standardization.

Many others contributed to the Internet's development and its later commercialization, including Jennifer Wimborne, who coined the terms "Internet" and "Email."

And speaking of "Advanced Research Projects," I use the Internet quite a bit for my own research projects, such as answering questions like "What on earth am I going to blog about today?" Which is why I Googled "January 13" in the first place.

Another thing I learned today from browsing online is that one of my favorite actors -- Patrick Dempsey -- shares a birthday with Napolean's little sister.

January 11th

Due to temporary insanity (lasting, hopefully, at least through the end of this year), I signed on with Blog 365, committing to blog each and every day (save February 29th) of 2008. Blogging daily is all well and good when I can think of something to blog about. And when I can't, I can always refer to my handy, dandy Chase's Calendar of Events book. It's the 2003 edition (bought cheap on eBay), but I figure not much has changed in the way of holidays and celebrations since then.

Which is too bad, because today's list isn't inspiring my blog muse.

I suppose I could write about born-on-this date William James, psychologist extraordinaire, among whose great quotes is "There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it." Okay, that's a bit deep for me. Especially when the clock is fast approaching 10:30 p.m. and I have to blog before midnight or I'll be turned into a ... I'm not sure what would happen, but Cinderella honey, I feel your pain.

Then, of course, I could celebrate with Morocco upon its independence from France. But that would require a bit of research before I could comment intelligently on the event. And if I mention Morocco, I'd have to name Nepal, too, as today marks the celebration of paying homage to King Prithvi narayan Shah (1723-75). (Americans are lucky our presidents have names like Adams, Grant, and Bush. Imagine being a third-grader and called on to spell Prithvi narayan Shah.)

The next logical choice on the list, and, incidentally, the longest entry in today's installment, would be the birth anniversary of Theodosius the Great (347 A.D.). (Did I hear a "Who?") But, before we delve any deeper into the history of the Holy Roman Empire (yeah, he was an emperor), I want to ask this -- did these guys just arbitrarily stick the suffix "the Great" onto their names, or was this voted on by the general public?

Today's event list certainly gave Wikipedia a workout! After scanning the remaining references, I suppose the best of the January 11th lot is the fact that today (being the second Friday in January) officially launches Cuckoo Dancing Week. And if you know the significance of that without Googling it, I'll give you a cookie!

Happy New Year!

I read an article over the weekend that said 2007 was better than a hacking cough. But not by much. For me it was a good year, although my final act of the year was to delete one of my main web sites in an attempt to update the blogging platform to the newest release. Oops! I spent the final hours of 2007 banging my head against my computer monitor.

As always, my perpetual resolutions of losing weight and getting organized made my 2008 to-do list. Other goals include reading the Bible through and working on the launch of my humor column, Overweight & Underorganized. Oh, yeah...that was the site I Houdinied last night. Hopefully I'll have it up and running smoothly again soon. Maybe after the Cotton Bowl.

I'm using a new Bible Reading Schedule this year so I won't get hung up in Numbers or 2 Chronicles. This one divides the Bible into its various genres: History, Law, Poetry, Prophecy, Psalms, Epistles, and the Gospels. Each day of the week, you read a few chapters of that day's genre. I think that will be an interesting way to read the Bible and I'm looking forward to it.

My other goals for 2008 are to edit and sell a historical novel I've finished and to write a new novel. That should keep me busy for the next 12 months. I also signed up for some ridiculous blogging challenge to blog every single day during 2008. That should be fun!

I hope everyone has had a blessed holiday season & has a great year!

‘Tis the Season to Resolve - Or Not

Is it just me, or does anyone else dislike the term "resolution"? The word stems from “resolute,” which describes an army’s firm stance against an enemy, and has a host of synonyms, including “unyielding”; “starched”; "inflexible”; “determined”; and, my personal favorite, “stubborn.” All characteristics my parents discouraged during my growing-up days.

Maybe my aversion to the word stems from my unsuccessful history with resolutions of the New Year’s variety. It’s not that I’m against self-examination, evaluation, and improvement, but the task of writing down a laundry list of things I must either repeat unfailingly or fail repeatedly for the next 365 days seems a little daunting to me.

Besides, for the past I-can't-remember-how-many years, my list has consisted of the same two items:

1. Lost Weight
2. Get Organized

The fact that these two items grace the Top Ten Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions List is encouraging. It either means (1) I’m fairly normal (questionable); or (2) others have failed to succeed in their past resolution attempts as well. I’m voting for the latter option.

Since "resolve" means a firm stance, if we yield to temptation even one time, we have already failed. That’s why many choose the term “Goal” over “Resolution.” A goal, simply defined, is a place toward which something moves. And, as in football, one can expect obstacles and setbacks along the route toward a goal. Those setbacks and lost yardage don't necessarily dictate failure; they merely offer an opportunity to get up and try again -- sometimes using a different method.

Setting goals and/or resolutions at New Year’s is a long-standing tradition that dates back to ancient Babylon days. When the Roman Senate chose to change the calendar, January was selected because the god Janus has two faces: one to look backward and another to watch the future, representing a time of reflection and change.

After reflecting back, I’ve decided to watch my future from a different perspective in 2008, and, hopefully, increase my odds of success. Instead of referring to my I-wish-I-were-this list as “resolutions," conjuring up all the negative connotations contained within that term, I’ve chosen to dub my list, “The Impossible Dream.”

No matter which term you prefer, take some time today to pause and reflect on the past and evaluate what changes could be made for the future.