We’ll keep it brief this evening. It was a foggy morning in New York City. Of course, its proximity to water means that fog is not an uncommon occurance. It’s just part of the deal. The morning of July 28, 1945 was no exception. Visibility in some places was near zero. As the clocks rolled [...]
Archive for July, 2010
Fog Blinds Pilot, Skyscraper Stops Pilot
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1945, Empire State Building, Lt. Col. William Smith, New York City, North American B-25 Mitchell on July 28 | Leave a Comment »
Forest Service Struggles with Man and the Elements
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1910, Bitterroot Mountains, Gifford Pinchot, Idaho, Lightning, Montana, President Theodore Roosevelt, United States Forest Service on July 26 | Leave a Comment »
The summer of 1910 was dry. Well, it was generally dry in the mountain regions of western Montana. But it was extremely dry even by Bitterroot standards. The fledgling United States Forest Service was hard-pressed to deal with the danger and prospect of fire when conditions were ideal. And conditions were far worse than ideal. It’s [...]
“The Catch” – Starring Otis Nixon
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1992, Andy Van Slyke, Atlanta Braves, Jay Bell, Otis Nixon, Pittsburgh Pirates, The Catch on July 25 | 2 Comments »
Twelve consecutive wins. It wasn’t the first time the Atlanta Braves had done it, but the last time had been 10 long years ago, when the miracle season of 1982 had begun with 13 straight victories. And in between, there had been a string of terrible seasons which featured some awful pitching, poor defense, and ultimately, 3-digit [...]
A Little About LeMond, a Lot About Cycling
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1990, Cycling, Doping, Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France on July 22 | 2 Comments »
Twenty years ago today, American cyclist Greg LeMond won his third Tour de France. The Tour is, in my mind, the most difficult and strenuous event in existence. In three weeks, the world’s premier cyclists cover roughly 2,200 miles, negotiating the most challenging terrain that any cyclist will ever see. With two rest days, it [...]
The Crime Dog Lights a Fire in Atlanta
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1993, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Baseball, Fred McGriff, Pennant Race, San Francisco Giants, Sid Bream, The Crime Dog on July 20 | Leave a Comment »
Let’s pick up the Fred McGriff story we started the other day… There was a lot of anticipation about McGriff’s arrival in Atlanta. The team was desperate to try to find some way, any way, to claw back into contention. The Crime Dog projected to be a huge upgrade at first base…which is not meant [...]
Atlanta Braves Deal for Slugger Fred McGriff
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1993, Atlanta Braves, Fred McGriff, John Schuerholz, Lincolnshire, San Diego Padres, Walker Bros. Pancake House on July 18 | Leave a Comment »
I don’t know how much I really enjoy Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game anymore. Rather than an actual game that the teams try to win, it’s become more of a juggling act where two managers attempt to balance the desire to win with the egos of highly-paid, highly-visible players. I watched a bit of this [...]
The Great Compromise: The Art of the Deal
Posted in The Confederation (1783-1789), United States, tagged 1787, Connecticut Compromise, Constitutional Convention, Federal Convention, Great Compromise, House of Representatives, Roger Sherman, Senate on July 16 | 3 Comments »
As the delegates to the Federal Convention worked through the process of revising the Articles of Confederation, a couple of things had quickly become apparent. One, the revisions wouldn’t likely be a band-aid, “patch-and-mend” fix of what already existed. A complete overhaul was being proposed. Second, included in that overhaul was a two-housed legislature, and the [...]
Batteries Need Charged?…Try a Die Hard
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1988, Bruce Willis, Die Hard, Dirty Harry, John McClane on July 15 | Leave a Comment »
When my younger brother was younger, he told me that his idea of a “chick flick” was a movie like Die Hard. I don’t know if many members of the fairer sex would agree with him, and his statement often left me wondering what his idea of a “Die Hard style” movie looked like. As [...]
The Bastille: The Fight for Freedom Starts at Prison
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1789, Bastille, France, Jacques Necker, King Louis XVI, Marquis de LaFayette, Paris, Storming of the Bastille on July 14 | 2 Comments »
Revolutions always seem to have a “Ground Zero”. I use that term with some caution because of the obvious connotations that it has here in the States. But it’s true nonetheless. The revolution of atomic power might be said to be Alamogordo, New Mexico. The revolution of flight could be Kitty Hawk. For delicious Crispy [...]
Lafayette Issues Declaration to French Assembly
Posted in Constitutional period (1789-1809), United States, tagged 1789, France, King Louis XVI, Marquis de LaFayette, National Assembly, Thomas Jefferson on July 11 | 3 Comments »
Over the last couple of months, we’ve spent some time discussing the Constitutional Convention. We’ll continue to do so, but let’s jump ahead a couple of years. The U.S. Constitution had been ratified and, one-by-one, the remaining state legislatures were voting to join the Union. In fact, of the original 13 Colonies, only New York, North [...]
Philadelphia Convention Sees First Early Departures
Posted in The Confederation (1783-1789), United States, tagged 1787, Alexander Hamilton, Constitutional Convention, Federal Convention, John Lansing, New York, Robert Yates on July 10 | 2 Comments »
From beginning to end, the Federal Convention in Philadelphia had its share of detractors. Some of them, like Rhode Island, were against even the formation of a convention. The small state would send no delegates and, of the 13 Colonies, would be the very last to ratify the document that came from the three-month gathering. [...]
Japanese Incursion into India Ends in Failure
Posted in China/Burma/India, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Burma Road, General Renya Mutaguchi, Imphal, India, Kohima, Operation U-Go on July 8 | Leave a Comment »
Well, that was a 3-day ”timeout” from writing that I didn’t intend to have. There were topics about which I wanted to write, but one little thing after another conspired to keep away from the keyboard. But as I was riding my bike home from work this afternoon, I saw my first Audi R8. That event alone is [...]
Sevastopol Loses Freedom on Independence Day
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, Schwerer Gustav, Sevastopol on July 4 | Leave a Comment »
I hope you all have had a wonderful 4th of July. This is two years in a row that ours has been atypical (at least for July). Last year, it was really cool. This year was a bit warmer, but it basically rained all day. Most of the fireworks displays around the area have been [...]
British Taste French Dip at Mers-el-Kebir
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul, Algeria, HMS Hood, Mers-el-Kebir, Operation Catapult, Oran, Prime Minister Winston Churchill on July 3 | Leave a Comment »
I very nearly published this piece a week early…I had the wrong date attached to it in the master spreadsheet. Good thing I double-checked first. I occasionally get facts messed up, but completely missing the date would have been really embarrassing. Anyways… With the fall of France to German forces in June of 1940, it [...]
Charles Guiteau’s Thoughts Become Deadly Actions
Posted in Late nineteenth century (1865-1900), United States, tagged 1881, Assassination, Charles Guiteau, President James Garfield on July 2 | Leave a Comment »
I took today off from work, simply because as we move into a holiday weekend, about 75% of our company’s workforce will be doing the same. And while there’s plenty to do, the prospect of a 4-day weekend was too tantalizing to pass up. But still I ended up riding my bike to work and [...]
