Almanac for September 5

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for Sept. 5th: https://ko-fi.com/post/September-5th-Freddie-T6T312SDNJ

The Sept. 5, 1926 Washington (D.C.) Evening Star

Bummer September 5th

September 5, 1970: German race car driver Jochen Rindt is killed when his Lotus 72 crashes during practice for the Italian Grand Prix. As Rindt goes to brake, the car's right front inboard brake shaft fails, propelling him into the guard rail. The improperly installed guard rail gives way, and the Lotus crashes head-on into a stanchion. Rindt’s 5-point seatbelt, with only four of the five restraints engaged, allows his body to slip forward. As he does, the belt slits his throat. Rindt dies on the way to the hospital. 

Jochan Rindt. This is an image from the Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives, and Spaarnestad Photo, donated in the context of a partnership program.

September 5, 1983: Canadian stunt performer Ken Carter is killed when the rocket car he’s using to jump over an Ontario pond overshoots the landing ramp, flips, and lands on its roof. 

Almanac for July 21st

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 21st: https://ko-fi.com/Post/July-21-Lady-Chatterlys-Lover-F1F71HQFBW

Artist Birthday: Ernest Hemingway
Julie S. Howlin post of the day: Ernest Hemingway's birthday

Bummer July 21st

July 21, 1796: The poet Robert Burns dies at the age of 37, leaving behind his wife and five children.

July 21, 2023: Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, who posted nutrition content on social media accounts including Instagram and TikTok under the name Zhanna D’Art, dies at age 39 of an apparent infection at a hospital in Phuket, Malaysia. Samsonova’s “raw food” diet included only uncooked plants, leaving her with a very thin body type that may have contributed to her body’s inability to fight off infection.

Almanac for January 29th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for January 29th: https://ko-fi.com/post/January-29-The-Raven-M4M319KAUE

Bummer January 29th

January 29, 1916: During the Great War, Germany uses zeppelins to bomb Paris. The physical damage is minimal, but the aerial bombardment has the effect of psychologically terrorizing Parisians.

January 29, 1933: Poet Sara Teasdale overdoses on sleeping pills, an apparent suicide. She is 48 years old.

January 29, 1964: Actor Alan Ladd, age 50, dies at his home in bed from cerebral edema caused by an overdose of alcohol and prescription medications. His life had been difficult as you will see on July 3rd, November 2nd, and November 29th.

January 29, 2003: A dust explosion caused by highly flammable polyethylene dust at the West Pharmaceutical Plant in Kinston, North Carolina, kills six people, injures 36 workers, and subsequently injures two firefighters who arrive to fight the fire caused by the explosion.

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Almanac for January 25th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for January 25th: https://ko-fi.com/post/January-25-Burns-Supper-X8X2199WHE

January 25, 1926

Today's Observation: Burns Night (in honor of Robert Burns)

Author Julie S. Howlin post of the day: Virginia Woolf

Bummer January 25th

January 25, 1960: Actor Diana Barrymore, aunt of actor Drew Barrymore, dies at the age of 38. Her death is initially thought to have been caused by an accidental drug overdose, but no evidence of drug overdose is found during her autopsy. The cause of her death remains undetermined.

Drew Barrymore at the Lucky You film premiere on May 1, 2007. Public domain.

January 25, 1979: Robert Nicholas Williams, working at Ford Motor Company Flat Rock Casting Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, becomes the first human being known to have been killed by a robot. The 5-story robot, called the Parts Retrieval System, is either retrieving parts incorrectly or not quickly enough. Therefore, Williams attempts to either fix the machine or at least get a closer look. Williams climbs to the third story of the robot and is struck from behind by one of the one-ton transfer vehicles used to move the robotic arms. The vehicle crushes him, killing him instantly.

January 25, 1980: University of South Carolina student Lurie "Barry" Ballou chokes to death on his own vomit after a night of heavy drinking as part of a Sigma Nu fraternity hazing ritual. At the time of death, Ballou’s blood-alcohol level was 0.46. Impairment begins at a blood-alcohol level of 0.08, and anything above 0.40 can cause fatal respiratory failure.

January 25, 2006: Bailiffs arrive to repossess the bedsit flat occupied by Joyce Carol Vincent in Wood Green, North London. Vincent owes £2,400 in back rent. Authorities are shocked to discover Vincent’s mostly skeletal, decomposed body lying on her back next to Christmas presents that Vincent had apparently wrapped but never delivered. Food in her refrigerator has expiration dates from 2003, and although the TV is still on and the heat is working, it appears that Vincent had died in December 2003 of natural causes and her body has lain undiscovered until that January day.

With no sign of foul play, her cause of death is suspected to be either an asthma attack or complications from a peptic ulcer, both of which she’s documented to have suffered from. Vincent had a sister, but apparently had distanced herself from her family and they didn’t try to contact her during the more than two years that her body lay undiscovered in her flat.

Drinkify: Brilliance or Balderdash?

I owe this post to Little Luck Tree, a craft/art/beauty/truth blog by Shannon. It's a gorgeous blog and you should absolutely check it out; I especially loved her silver bullet werewolf necklace and vampire-bite necklace crafts.

Shannon also made me aware of Drinkify.org, which is either a work of sheer inspiration OR a really stupid time-wasting random generator.

Simply put, you tell Drinkify what music you're listening to, and it tells you what you should be drinking. (You're under no obligation to comply. It's actually more of a suggestion.) It also plays a sample of your music, with matching band graphic and album cover.

For example, I type in the late, great Etta James, and it tells me I should mix 2 oz. Hennessy, 2 oz. coconut milk and 1 oz. elderflower cordial in a highball glass, then garnish with cucumber. That seems appropriate.

(Obviously made by Americans, since the WHOLE REST OF THE WORLD pours drinks metrically.)

Suppose I were listening to Maroon 5 as I write this. (I am.) It would again suggest elderflower cordial, this time 10 oz., mixed with 10 oz. Glenmorangie Scotch (you may have some left over from your January 25th Burns Night Supper!) and 8 oz. club soda. I dunno - that one doesn't sound great to me. Plus, I thought there would be Manischewitz.

I don't think it quite nailed Lady Gaga either, suggesting vodka, neat, garnished with an olive. Surely something more theatrical would be more appropriate? Shouldn't it at least be birthday cake-flavored vodka, garnished with a burning glitter candle?

I typed in a few literary-themed bands, and this is what Drinkify suggested:

Shakespeare's Sister: vodka and cranberry juice

Moby: 6 oz. gin on the rocks

Poe: gin again, this time with Red Bull and lime juice, garnished with a maraschino cherry

(Red Bull is, in itself, a literary reference - to a character in Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. But I digress.)

So, is this thing brilliant, or is it just random?

Image: Rick A., Creative Commons license

Hogmanay: New Year's Eve in Scotland

The Scots invented the modern-day celebration of New Year's Eve, from "Auld Lang Syne" to the big disco ball. In Scotland, New Year's Eve is called Hogmanay.

The word's origins are obscure; it may be of Celtic, Norman (French) or Anglo-Saxon origin. The nearest Gaelic term is oge maidne, or "new morning." Large Hogmanay festivals are now held in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling.

"Auld Lang Syne" is often attributed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns, but Burns was only transcribing and adding to an existing folk song. Translated from the Scots dialect into everyday modern English, "Auld Lang Syne" means "old long since." In Scottish folk tales, "In the days of auld lang syne" takes the place of "once upon a time," and "for auld lang syne" could be restated as "for old times' sake."

The big disco ball is a modern descendant of the fireballs traditionally swung on Hogmanay. This tradition has its roots in pagan bonfire nights, also observed at Samhain and Beltane. The light wards off evil spirits and encourages the days to get longer. You'll see men carrying a 20-pound fireball attached to a 5-foot pole in Aberdeen's southern neighbor, Stonehaven. The fireball's traditional name is the Clavie.

Hogmanay is also celebrated with the custom of first footing. The first person to set foot through your door on the new year should be a tall, dark male. (Blonds, associated with the Viking invaders, were bad luck.) Traditionally, he would bear gifts of coal, whisky and black bun (a really heavy Scottish fruit cake) or another kind of cake. In eastern Scotland's fishing communities, he may also bring herring. Coal meant the house would stay warm for the coming year, and food gifts meant the house would not go hungry.

(Hogmanay 2007 in Biggar - by David Hamilton, Creative Commons)

Clement A. Miles writes in Christmas Customs and Traditions, "Drinking is and was a great feature of the Scottish New Year Eve."

During the Protestant Reformation years when celebrating Christmas was discouraged, Hogmanay became the gift-exchanging day in Scottish custom. Scottish children chose Hogmanay rather than Christmas Eve to go door to door wassailing - a begging custom that will remind Americans of trick-or-treating. Welsh kids carry a gray mare, but the old Scottish wassailing custom is for the leader of each group of children to dress in a sheepskin.

Hogmanay has its own website. This one is specific to Edinburgh Hogmanay.