February 13, 2019
Dearest readers, thank you for visiting today.
Today, The Almanac’s chronicle of mankind visits Galileo and a North Korean assassination, Top of the Charts looks at the top songs from this date in 1982 and Gore Vidal provides the anchor for today’s Philosophy 101 lesson.
Have a good day,
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn
THE ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1633 – Galileo, an Italian astronomer – among other things – arrives in Rome for his trial before the Roman Inquisition, which was sponsored by the Catholic Church. Galileo was tried for promulgating assorted theories that had the nerve to contradict Catholic Church doctrines, such as the earth and other planets revolving around the Sun. Galileo was found guilty by the Inquisition and sentenced to prison, which was later changed to house arrest, in which he remained until his death in 1642 at age 77.
In 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, is murdered in Malaysia when two North Korean agents apply a nerve agent to his face. Jong-nam had been traveling under the alias Kim Chol, a name he also used on Facebook and for email, which made it pretty easy for North Korean agents to find him. His backpack held $100,000 in US currency and four North Korean passports under the Chol name.
Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1982:
Hot 100 – Centerfold…J. Geils Band (2nd of six weeks)
Soul Chart – Call Me…Skyy (2nd of two weeks)
Country Chart – Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight…Eddie Rabbit (only week)
Album Chart – Freeze Frame…J. Geils Band (2nd of four weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.
Numbers Racket
10,645: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
22.009: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
636: days until Election Day 2020.
Philosophy 101
If you follow a straight road, who will follow a crooked one?
Gore Vidal
Creation
Creation is a historical novel and today’s quote is attributed to Confucious, one of several historical figures who appear in this wonderful, profound book. It comes from a sequence when Confucious is holding court with followers on the topic of leadership, Confucius making the point that a leader who follows a straight path will compel followers to do the same.
History has shown, however, people will follow leaders regardless of the path they take. Two good examples of this come from World War II: Adolf Hitler and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hitler got large numbers of people to follow him despite being as evil a person as our species has produced. FDR brilliantly read the mood of the country and equally brilliantly marshaled America’s resources into the production juggernaut that won World War II. He may well have been the only person who could have done so.
This principle applies to us mortals, too, because even if we are not sentenced to live down the ages we can hold sway over others, too, simply by living the life we were meant to live. Having the wisdom to know the life we are meant to live, the courage to go and live that life and patience to see it through to the very end will provide a splendid example for everyone who crosses our path.
Gore Vidal (1925-2012) was an American writer.