Kaitlyn's Reading Salon

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. 

February 12, 2019
Good morning dearest readers.

Today The Daily Almanac visits England in 1554 and Washington, D.C. in 1999 while Top of the Charts is from 1983 and Philosopy 101 is anchored by a quote from Benjamin Franklin about putting our abilities to work for us.

Many thanks for stopping by, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, all of 17, is beheaded after being convicted of treason. A year earlier Jane had reigned as queen of England for nine days following the death of Edward VI and was succeeded by Mary I. Jane was buried at a nearby chapel though no stone was erected at her grave.

In 1999 – President of the United States Bill Clinton is acquitted in his trial by the United States Senate. Previously, the House of Representatives had issued one article of impeachment against Clinton for perjury and another for obstruction of justice, both stemming from his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was the second president to be tried by the Senate. In 1868 Andrew Johnson was acquitted on eleven articles of impeachment.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1983:
Hot 100 – Down Under…Men at Work (4th of four non-consecutive weeks)
Soul Chart – Billie Jean…Michael Jackson (1st of nine weeks)
Country Chart – Till I Gain Control Again…Crystal Gayle (only week)
Album Chart – Business as Usual…Men at Work (14th of 15 weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,644: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.972: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
637: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
I have always thought that one man of tolerable abilities may work great changes, if he first forms a good plan, and makes the execution of that same plan his sole study and business.
Benjamin Franklin
Autobiography

One of the myths of our human experience is that you need an awful lot of talent to succeed at something. Sure, you must have a knack for what you are doing, but if you are listening to your heart as it tells you where to go this will never be a problem, because our hearts will never show us a path that goes against our grain.

Yours truly is a good example of this. You are reading Morning Coffee w/ Kaitlyn because writing is what we have a knack for. We are not out training to run sprints in the Olympics because we have neither a knack for nor an interest in sprinting in the Olympics.

Some resiliency helps and, as we discussed yesterday, you must have confidence in yourself. Those that get on in this world genuinely believe that success is, was, there for the taking. All they had to do was pursue it with diligence and courage.

It’s the same with us. The wisdom to know what we are about, some courage to go and live the life we were meant to live and the patience – and no small measure of it – to see our paths through to the very end, and the success we want will be there for the taking, too.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) was, among other things, an American statesman, inventor and diplomat. 

February 11, 2019
Good morning dearest readers.

Thank you for tolerating our few days off. Writing is an interesting activity. It is not physically taxing, but every now and the mind needs a rest, too.

It’s good to be back, though. Today the Almanac visits two events in the 1990s and Top of the Charts is from 1978. Philosophy 101 has some drivel about believing in yourself.

Many thanks for stopping by, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from a South African prison, after 27 years of captivity for having the nerve to protest racist conditions in his country.  Mandela earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was president of South Africa from 1994-99. He died in 2013 and his full name was Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, with the middle name meaning ‘troublemaker’ in Xhosa.

In 1999 – Pluto – after 20 years inside of Neptune’s orbit – crosses the orbit of Neptune and once again becomes the farthest planet from the sun. The planets are not in any danger of colliding, however, as they travel on different planes and will never be in the same place at the same time. Pluto will again duck inside Neptune’s orbit in 2227.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1978:
Hot 100 – Stayin’ Alive…The Bee Gees (2nd of four weeks)
Soul Chart – Theme from Which Way is Up…Stargard (2nd of two weeks)
Country Chart – I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love…Larry Gatlin (only week)
Album Chart – Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack…Various Artists (4th of 24 weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,643: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.971: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
638: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
…never think that you are not good enough yourself…My belief is that in life people will take you very much at your own reckoning.
Anthony Trollope

There is no substitute for confidence: you must believe you have what it takes. It doesn’t matter the endeavor, either. It could be a tryout for the church choir or making a quilt for the county fair next summer or preparing for the Olympic Trials. Sometimes the difference between champion and runner-up is the champions deep-seated believe in himself. Nobody – and nobody means no one – will believe in you as much you do. Your mother and a good spouse will try but, really, no one believes in you as you do.

Now, we must confuse confidence with cockiness. The former is earned, born deep inside and forged in the fire of experience. The latter is mere conceit, born of arrogance and forged in ignorance and does neither you or me any good.

People will take us often how we take ourselves. How many times have you drawn conclusions about someone based on how they conducted or presented themselves? Probably a lot. Perhaps it was an opponent or someone you were interviewing for a job, how they projected themselves gave you a first impression, one that was probably pretty accurate. It’s the same for us. If we’re confident, if we look the part, if we exude energy and purpose people will sense that. If we’re slouched, or unenthusiastic or otherwise giving the impression of not being interested or caring, people will sense that, too.

Those that get on in this life put themselves in a position to succeed, and a big part of being in a position to succeed is believing you will succeed.

Anthony Trollope (1815-82) was an English writer. 

February 6, 2019
Good morning dearest readers. Many thanks for stopping by today. 

In the Almanac, the first Sunday is recorded and Elizabeth II takes charge, we visit 1971 for Top of the Charts while a quote from Don Quixote provides the text for today’s Philosophy 101 lesson.

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In AD 60 – This is the earliest date for which a day of the week is known. Some graffiti on a wall in Pompei, Italy gives the day of the week for February 6, 60 as a Sunday, though in modern reckoning it would have been a Wednesday. 

In 1952 – Princess Elizabeth becomes queen of England, immediately upon the death of her father, King George VI. Elizabeth is in Kenya, in a tree house, of all places, at the immediate moment of succession. She would be 0fficially crowned on June 2, 1953, and Elizabeth II still reigns, with today being the 24,473rd day of her reign.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1971:
Hot 100 – Knock Three Times…Dawn (3rd of three weeks)
Soul Chart – (Do The) Push and Pull…Rufus Thomas (1st of two weeks)
Country Chart – Joshua…Dolly Parton (only week)
Album Chart – All Things Must Pass…George Harrison (6th of seven weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,638: 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
643: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished.
Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote

We cannot control every aspect of our lives. We can dream and plan and scheme, but there are an awful lot of us on this planet and we are all leading more or less random lives and those who attempt to micromanage their own lives as well as manipulate others often find matters do not work out like they had hoped. However, those who surrender to what their hearts tell them to do, regardless of what that may be, and have the patience to see it through to the end, are generally those who are enjoying lives well spent.

Leaving matters to fortune is simultaneously difficult and easy. It’s difficult because it involves shedding the safety of the familiar and the roles others may have assigned us. On the other hand, it’s easy because all there is to do is follow our hearts, which tell us where to go and trust our instincts, which tell us how to get there.

Fortune has the life we want waiting for us for only the price of the wisdom to recognize our talents, the courage to get the most out of them and the patience to see our journey through to the very end. When we do this, when we shed outside influences and live from the inside out, we allow Fortune to take us where we were meant to go.

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) was a Spanish writer. The word ‘quixotic’ has worked its way into the worldwide lexicon, meaning something that is foolishly impractical or exceedingly idealistic.

Many thanks for reading, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn

February 5, 2019
Good morning friends. We are glad you made it today. 

On tap for you, we have the Almanac spotlighting the end of History’s longest war, Top of the Charts is from 1966 and Philosophy 101 talks about accepting responsibility for our lives.

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1971 – Apollo 14 lands on the moon, man’s third visit to the lunar surface. Commanded by Alan Shepard and also manned by Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa, it was the first Apollo mission following Apollo 13’s aborted lunar mission and had been delayed four months. Shepard and Mitchell spent nine-and-a-half hours walking on the moon and Apollo 14 is mainly remembered for Shepard hitting a couple of golf balls and for being the last crew to be quarantined after returning to Earth.

In 1985 – The Third Punic War officially comes to an end when the mayors of Carthage and Rome meet in Tunis. The war was conducted over three years a century-and-a-half before Christ and ended with a Roman victory over Carthage. A peace treaty, however, was never signed, Rome merely took possession of and rebuilt Carthage and at 2,1,31 years the Third Punic War remains the longest war in history.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1966:
Hot 100 – My Love…Petula Clark (1st of two weeks)
Soul Chart – Uptight (Everything’s Alright)…Stevie Wonder (3rd of five weeks)
Country Chart – Giddyup Go…Red Sovine (5th of six weeks)
Album Chart – Rubber Soul…The Beatles (5th of six weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,637: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.965: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
644: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
Neither age nor size makes a man…It is the willingness to accept responsibility.
Louis L’Amour
The Lonesome Gods

The Lonesome Gods is mainly about alpha males doing alpha male things so it would follow the reference in the quote is for a man. We forgive Mr L’Amour for this, though because few provide the insights into our human experience that he does and L’Amour, one of our more thoughtful if not most technically brilliant writers, can be excused for singling out men.

Today’s quote applies to everyone: male, female, young, old, everyone. Those that get on in this world all accept responsibility, the responsibility for making your time on this planet serve you, instead of merely marking time or serving a sentence.

It is not always easy to do this because this usually involves going against society’s grain. It is very easy to settle for the road most traveled: it’s a well-trod path with few bumps and fewer successes or failures. However little of what we want in this life can be found on a well-worn path. We must blaze our own path in this world.

We must know what we are about and then we must have the courage to toss society aside to go live the life we were meant to live.  We cannot merely pass the years breathing everybody else’s air. We must accept the responsibility for making the most out of the time we spend on this planet. When we do that life’s great prize, living the life we were meant to live, awaits.

Louis L’Amour (1908-88) was an American writer. 

Many thanks for reading, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn

February 4, 2019
Good morning friends, many thanks for stopping by today.

The Electoral College and Chicago Transit Authority are featured in On This Date while 1989 is spotlighted in Top of the Charts. Philosophy 101 features and old saying about how everything has already happened.

Today is, more or less, the midpoint of winter, summer for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere.

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1789 – The Electoral College unanimously elects George Washington president of the United States. While John Adams also received electoral votes and was elected vice president, Washington was the only candidate named on every elector’s ballot and is considered to have been unanimously elected. Washington would duplicate this feat four years later and he remains the only president unanimously elected by the Electoral College. He would take office on April 30, the first president under the new Constitution.

In 1977 – Two trains operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) crash, killing eleven and injuring 180. The initial crash actually wasn’t that bad – one train rear-ended the other at a slow speed and passengers only reported a slight bump- but the operator of one of the trains, who turned out to be high, kept his train going, leading to its derailment and crashing down on the street below. The accident occurred near the intersections of Lake Street and Wabash Avenue and remains the deadliest accident in CTA history.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1989:
Hot 100 – When I’m With You…Sheriff (only week)
Soul Chart – Can You Stand the Rain…New Edition (1st of two weeks)
Country Chart – What I’d Say…Earl Thomas Conley (only week)
Album Chart – Don’t Be Cruel…Bobby Brown (3rd of six non-consecutive weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,636: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.974: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
645: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
Everything has happened. Everything will happen.
An old saying

We’ve heard today’s thought attributed to everyone from the Hindus to American Indians to the Chinese; it’s a common thread running through our human experience and in many respects it is true: we are not the exciting salt and summit of humanity that we may think we are; we are what our ancestors were: people trying to make a go of it, albeit with smartphones in our pockets now. Of course, we are continuously evolving and advance, but the inevitable march of progress doesn’t change and neither does the fact us that collectively us humans continue to tread much the same course those before us trod.

Individually, however, we are responsible for every new thing in this world. No one was born with the exact same combination and measure of talents, skills and ambition that we were. It’s nature’s gift to us and our gift to our fellow humans and we have both the opportunity and obligation to maximize the talents we were born with. Those that get on in this world do this every day. Not some days and not others, not some months or years and not others: they make the 24-hours they are issued every day – the only commodity we all have in equal measure – serve them.  They intuitively know the life they are meant to lead and they go and lead that life.

We intuitively know the life we were meant to lead, too. If we want to also get on in this life we must have the courage to go and live that life and the patience to go and live it every day.

We are the only new things in this world. It’s up to us to show this to ourselves and the world.

Many thanks for reading, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn

February 3, 2019
Good morning friends, many thanks for stopping by today.

Today, On This Date has an aviation bent, the Top of the Charts investigates 1968 and Philosophy 101 has a quote from Saul Bellow to keep us thinking.

THE DAILY ALMANAC
On This Date:
In 1959 – Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens J.P. Richardson – better known as the Big Bopper – and their less-famous pilot are killed in a plane crash in north-central Iowa. The flight was en route from a show in Clear Lake, Iowa to another show in Moorhead, Minnesota. Country music legend Waylon Jennings, a member of Holly’s band, lost a coin flip to Richardson for a seat on the flight. Fares for the flight were $36 per person, a bit more than $300 in today’s dollars.

In 1961 – The US Air Force begins Operation Looking Glass, a program of round-the-clock flights designed to provide airborne command of US nuclear forces in the event ground command centers are inoperable. The plane is headed by a commanding general and a staff of about 20, not including aircraft personnel. The operation ceased continuous airborne operations in 1990, but remains on 24-hour alert.

Top of the Charts
#1 songs on this date in 1968:
Hot 100 – Green Tambourine…The Lemon Pipers (only week)
Soul Chart – Chain of Fools…Aretha Franklin (3rd of four weeks)
Country Chart – Skip a Rope…Henson Cargill (1st of five weeks)
Album Chart – The Magical Mystery Tour…The Beatles (5th of eight weeks)
– Chart data courtesy of Billboard.

Numbers Racket
10,635: the continuous number of days the US has been at war.
21.970: the number of dollars, in trillions, of America’s national debt. – Source: usdebtclock.org
646: days until Election Day 2020.

Philosophy 101
I almost never think of my calendar years. I’m forever hiking across the same plateau with no end in sight.
Saul Bellow
Ravelstein

It is very easy to think of our calendar years. Our need to reckon time is a fundamental part of human nature, so much so that we have names for each new day and these days are broken up into hours and minutes. Enough days and a week has passed and weeks make up a year and these years make up decades and centuries. Every year the anniversary of our birth awaits us, reminding us how much time we’ve spent on this planet and how much, or how little, we might have left. No one’s time on this planet is unlimited and unless there’s a death warrant with our name on it, we generally don’t know when or how it will end. Marking our days and years is a much a part of our human experience as eating.

It’s human nature to mark time, but how necessary is it? Those that get on this world generally do not pay too much attention to the passing of the years. They were meant to make their time serve them and not to merely stand around marking its passing and they work hard to get the most out of their time on this planet. They do this by cultivating and getting the most out of the talents they were born with and those who do this with dilligence and courage lead lives whose end, while a foregone conclusion, has no bearing on their present.

Our lives are, indeed, similar to a plateau whose end cannot be seen. Of course, the years pass and they will take their toll: hair will turn gray, our bodies will no longer the limber temples they were in earlier years. But if we are on our paths, if we are counting on our hearts to tell us where to go and our instincts to tell us how to get there – which they never fail to do – we may well find the years passing without reference from us.

Saul Bellow (1915-2005) was a Canadian and American writer. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. 

Many thanks for reading, and have a good day.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn