January 30, 2019
Good morning dear readers. Today in the Almanac, it’s tough at the top, as King Charles I and Andrew Jackson show in On This Date, Hall and Oates dominate Top of the Charts, while Philosophy 101 offers a discussion on the difference between genius and talent, with a quote from Schopenhauer providing the impetus.
THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1649 – Charles I, the king of England, is beheaded in London, punishment following his conviction for treason. Charles had declined to enter a plea or, for that matter, acknowledge that any earthly court had jurisdiction over him. Justice was swift back then: his trial had begun on the 20th and he was found guilty on the 26th. The English were so displeased with the monarchy they would remain a commonwealth until restoring the throne, to his son, Charles II, in 1660.
In 1835 – The first assassination attempt against a president of the United States occurs when one Richard Lawerence attempts to shoot Andrew Jackson. Jackson was leaving the US Capitol building at the time and Lawrence tried to shoot him twice in the back, but both pistols misfired. After the attempts, Lawerence was subdued by the crowd, including President Jackson, who beat him with his cane. Lawerence would later be found not guilty by reason of having lost his marbles, and spent the remaining 26 years of his life in asylums.
Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1982:
Hot 100 – I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)…Daryl Hall and John Oates (only week)
Soul Chart – I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)…Daryl Hall and John Oates (only week)
Country Chart – I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)…Daryl Hall and John Oates (only week)
Just kidding. The soul chart listing is legit, but we are just funnin’ you with the country chart listing. The real #1 country song is this one:
Country Chart – The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)…Juice Newton…(only week)
Album Chart – 4…Foreigner (10th of ten non-consecutive weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.
Numbers Racket
10,633: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.966: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
648: days until Election Day 2020.
Philosophy 101
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits targets no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer
One of the life’s greatest lessons is all of us can do something well, and it’s a lesson we were fortunate enough to be taught very early in our lives. We were all issued varying measures of assorted talents and ambitions at birth and what we get out of our lives depends on how much we maximize and utilize those talents. Often the difference between success and failure is the amount of work we were willing to put into something.
Now, our talent is not exclusive to us, lots of people can do lots of things in this world, but what we get out of that talent is exclusive to us. We must have the wisdom to know what we are about, the courage to live the life we were meant to live and the wisdom to see our paths through to the very end.
Only we can make our mark on this world: nobody else can do it for us because no one else sees the same targets we do. If we follow our genius, if we live the life we were meant to live, then the targets we were meant to hit will be plain for us to see.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher.
Many thanks for reading, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn