Clouds flow like water at Grand Canyon

July 17, 2017

Screen capture from the film, "Kaibab Elegy," by filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović, in Grand Canyon National Park.

Screen capture from the film, “Kaibab Elegy,” by filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović, in Grand Canyon National Park.

It’s beautiful, and it’s a reminder that Earth’s atmosphere is a giant pool of fluids, stuff flowing all the time.

It’s another Gavin Heffernan film, joined this time by Harun Mehmedinović.

MNN, the Mother Nature Network, alerted MFB to the film, and said:

The creators of “SKYGLOW,” a crowd-funded project showing the impact of urban light pollution through time-lapse videos, photos and a book, have another stunning video to share. In “Kaibab Elegy,” filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović visit Grand Canyon National Park and capture a rare weather event.

In the mesmerizing video, clouds build inside the canyon almost like bubbling water filling a jacuzzi as the sun rises and sets in the background, creating the pinkest sky you’ve ever seen. Those clouds roll like waves in the ocean and crash against the cliffs. This phenomenon is called full cloud inversion, and it happens when cold air is trapped in the canyon and topped by a layer of warm air, which combines with moisture and condensation.

“We were extremely lucky to be there to capture it, and it’s a collection of unique footage not found anywhere else,” Mehmedinović says.

He and Heffernan, who journeyed 150,000 miles around the globe for their new book and video series, work with the International Dark-Sky Association, a nonprofit fighting to preserve the dark skies around the world.

Tip of the old scrub brush to Mother Nature Network’s Twitter feed.

Save

1 Comment | National Parks, photography, Public Lands | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

July 2017: What dates do we fly the flag?

July 13, 2017

Caption from the Kansas Historical Society:

Caption from the Kansas Historical Society: “This is an illustration showing President Abraham Lincoln hoisting the American flag with thirty-four stars upon Independence Hall, Philadelphia, February 22, 1861. Copied from Harper’s Weekly, March 9, 1861.” Engraving by Frederick De Bourg Richards

July 4. Surely everyone knows to fly the flag on Independence Day, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.*

In the month of the grand patriotic celebration, what other dates do we fly the U.S. flag? July 4 is the only date designated in the Flag Code for all Americans to fly the flag.  Three states joined the union in July, days on which citizens of those states should show the colors, New York, Idaho and Wyoming.

Plus, there is one date many veterans think we should still fly the flag, Korean War Veterans Armistice Day on July 27.  Oddly, the law designating that date urges flying the flag only until 2003, the 50th anniversary of the still-standing truce in that war.  But the law still exists.  What’s a patriot to do?

Patriots may watch to see whether the president issues a proclamation for the date.

From Pinterest:

From Pinterest: “Riders in the patriotic horse group Americanas from Rexburg, Idaho, participate in the 163rd annual Days of ‘47 KSL 5 Parade Tuesday July 24, 2012 [in Salt Lake City, Utah]. (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune)”

Generally we don’t note state holidays or state-designated flag-flying events, such as Utah’s Pioneer Day, July 24, which marks the day in 1847 that the Mormon pioneers in the party of Brigham Young exited what is now Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley. But it’s a big day in Utah, where I spent a number of years and still have family. And I still have memories, not all pleasant, of that five-mile march for the Days of ’47 Parade, in that wool, long-sleeved uniform and hat, carrying the Sousaphone. Pardon my partisan exception. Utahns will fly their flags on July 24.

  • Idaho statehood, July 3 (1890, 43rd state)
  • Independence Day, July 4
  • Wyoming statehood, July 10 (1890, 44th state)
  • New York statehood, July 26 (1788, 11th state)
  • National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, July 27 (flags fly at half-staff, if you are continuing the commemoration which was designated in law only until 2003)

More:

_____________

* July 4? But didn’t John Adams say it should be July 2?  And, yes, the staff at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub sadly noted that, at the Georgetown, Texas, July 4 parade in 2011 pictured at top, it appears no one saluted the U.S. flag as it passed, as the Flag Code recommends. MFB’s been fighting flag etiquette ignorance since 2006. It’s taking much, much longer than we wished.

Image of the entire cover of the March 9, 1861, Harper's Magazine,

Image of the entire cover of the March 9, 1861, Harper’s Weekly, “A Journal of Civilization.” From a sale at Amazon.com

Yes, this post is a bit late this year.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Save

1 Comment | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, korean war, Utah | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

July 4, 2017: Fly your flag! 241st anniversary of public reading of the Declaration of Independence

July 3, 2017

At Four Mile Historic Park in Glendale, Colorado, Abraham Lincoln actor John Voehl pauses before delivering the Gettysburg Address at a 4th of July celebration (yes, Lincoln delivered the address on November 16; it's a great statement of the meaning and history of the Declaration of Independence, and probably appropriate for July 4, remembering that the actual independence resolution passed on July 2, 1776 . . .) Denver Post file photo

At Four Mile Historic Park in Glendale, Colorado, Abraham Lincoln actor John Voehl pauses before delivering the Gettysburg Address at a 4th of July celebration (yes, Lincoln delivered the address on November 16; it’s a great statement of the meaning and history of the Declaration of Independence, and probably appropriate for July 4, remembering that the actual independence resolution passed on July 2, 1776 . . .) Denver Post file photo

It’s a day of tradition — oddly enough, since we are in reality a very new nation, and Lee’s resolution to declare independence from Britain came on July 2.

A soak in Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub is nothing if not a steeping in tradition.  Fly your flag today, to celebrate the independence of the American colonies of Britain.

Fourth of July: NPR has already read the Declaration of Independence (or will soon, if you’re up early), PBS is ready to broadcast the Capitol Fourth concert  (maybe a rebroadcast is available, if you’re off at your own town’s fireworks — check your local listings), your town has a parade somewhere this weekend, or a neighboring community does, and fireworks are everywhere.

At the White House, traditionally, new citizens are sworn in — often people who joined our armed forces and fought for our nation, before even getting the privileges of citizenship.  Fireworks on the Capital Mall will be grand. President Obama’s White House would host a few thousand military people and their families from some of the best views.  Traditionally, five photographers, chosen by lottery, get to shoot photos of the fireworks from the windows of the Washington Monument; will that occur, with the Monument open again after repair from the earthquake?

There will be great fireworks also in Baltimore Harbor over Fort McHenry, the fort whose siege inspired Francis Scott Key to write the “Star-spangled Banner” from his boat in the harbor, in 1814. Fireworks will frighten the bluebirds nesting at Yorktown National Battlefield.  I suspect there will be a grand display at Gettysburg, on the 154th anniversary of the end of that battle. July 4, 1863, also marked the end of the Siege of Vicksburg; tradition holds that Vicksburg did not celebrate the 4th of July for 83 years after that. I’ll wager there will be fireworks there tonight.

In Provo, Utah, the city poobahs will have done all they can to try to live up to their self-proclaimed reputation as having the biggest Independence Day celebration in the nation.  Will the celebration in Prescott, Arizona, still be muted by the tragic deaths of 19 Hot Shot firefighters a few years ago; will drought halt the fireworks, too?  There will be fireworks around the Golden Gate Bridge, in Anchorage, Alaska, reflecting on the waters of Pearl Harbor, and probably in Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas Islands.

Fireworks on the Fourth is a long tradition — a tradition that kept John Adams and Thomas Jefferson alive, until they both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, in 1826, the sounds of the fireworks letting Adams know the celebration had begun (Adams erroneously celebrated that Jefferson, the Declaration’s author, still lived, unable to know Jefferson had passed just hours earlier).

Remember to put your flag up today.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan and the U.S. Flag -- Apollo 17 on the Moon (NASA photo)

Last flag on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and the U.S. Flag — Apollo 17 on the Moon (NASA photo)

If you’re not on the Moon, here are some tips on flag etiquette, how to appropriately fly our national standard.

Also:

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photo of the Apollo 17 landing site.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photo of the Apollo 17 landing site. NASA caption: Apollo 17 Lunar Module Challenger descent stage comes into focus from the new lower 50 km mapping orbit, image width 102 meters. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

This is mostly an encore post, but I so love that photo of the flag with the Earth in the distance.

Happy birthday, Kathryn!

Fireworks in Duncanville, Texas, for July 4

Fireworks in Duncanville, Texas, for July 4 — Kathryn Knowles’s birthday. We’re always happy the town chimes in with the celebratory spirit.

Tip of the old scrub brush to Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and the cast of thousands of patriots including George Washington.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Save

2 Comments | 4th of July, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Independence Day, Patriotism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Remember Helen Keller on her birthday, June 27

June 27, 2017

Helen Keller in a photo taken to promote her project of getting radios to blind children. Smithsonian Magazine/Corbis

Helen Keller in a photo taken to promote her project of getting radios to blind children. Smithsonian Magazine/Corbis

If it’s  June 27, it’s National Helen Keller Day. Helen Keller was born June 27, 1880.

Jimmy Carter designated her birthday National Helen Keller Day, in 1980. Twitter’s catching up with the celebration. Are you?

This is how we commemorated her in 2016.

More:

Leave a Comment » | Heroes, History, Typewriters | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Quote of the Moment: John Kennedy, citizen of Berlin, June 26, 1963 (54 years ago)

June 26, 2017

Rare color photograph of President John Kennedy addressing a crowd in the then-divided city of Berlin, June 26, 1963

Rare color photograph of President John Kennedy addressing a crowd in the then-divided city of Berlin, June 26, 1963

Let us remember ties that bind our nations in brotherhood with other nations, including especially the memorable speech of  U.S. President John F. Kennedy on June 26, in Berlin, in 1963.

From the Smithsonian Magazine site:

June 26, 1963: “Ich bin ein Berliner”

In West Berlin, President John F. Kennedy delivers the famous speech in which he declares, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Meaning literally “I am a citizen of Berlin,” the statement shows U.S. solidarity with democratic West Berlin, surrounded by communist territory.

View a video of President Kennedy’s speech at American Rhetoric, Top 100 Speeches.

Kennedy’s entire speech was good. It was well drafted and well delivered, taking advantage of the dramatic setting and the dramatic moment. John Kennedy well understood how to give a speech, too.

Below is most of the speech, nearly five minutes’ worth, from a YouTube file — another indication that schools need to open up their filters to allow at least some of the best YouTube material through:

Amazing to look at the massive crowd, and see no magnetometers were in use to check for weapons, and no significant barriers stood between the people and the speakers on the dais. Wouldn’t happen today. O, tempora, o, mores!

You may also want to note these posts:

German government photo and caption: The masses that greeted Kennedy in front of the West Berlin City Hall and throughout the city were jubilant. (© Press and Information Office of the Federal Government; Steiner)

German government photo and caption: The masses that greeted Kennedy in front of the West Berlin City Hall and throughout the city were jubilant. (© Press and Information Office of the Federal Government; Steiner)

Update: NBC News featured the speech on its network feed this evening.

 

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Save

Save

2 Comments | Accuracy, Cold War, Communism, Famous quotes, Freedom - Political, History, History audio sources, History video sources, Quotes, Video and film | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Quote of the moment: Kennedy, art is truth, not propaganda (reprise)

June 26, 2017

President John F. Kennedy at the ground breaking of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963

President John F. Kennedy at the ground breaking of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963

“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” 

Remarks at Amherst College upon receiving an Honorary Degree (439),” October 26, 1963, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1963. Via JFK Library

More:

Audio of the speech at Youtube:

Amherst student newspaper report on the event, image:

The Amherst Student, front page, special convocation edition, October 23, 1963. Headline,

The Amherst Student, front page, special convocation edition, October 23, 1963. Headline, “Kennedy given honorary LLD, envisions a future America.”

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Famous quotes, History, John F. Kennedy, Libraries, Poetry | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Mozambique uses 4 million mosquito nets in turn from pesticide, in war on malaria

June 20, 2017

Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme distributed 4 million LLIN, insecticide-impregnated nets, to protect children and others from malaria as they sleep, the time most malaria-infecting mosquito bites occur. Malaria Consortium photo

Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme distributed 4 million LLIN, insecticide-impregnated nets, to protect children and others from malaria as they sleep, the time most malaria-infecting mosquito bites occur. Malaria Consortium photo

Mozambique is one of only ten nations still using DDT for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) to fight malaria.

But DDT’s effectiveness diminishes rapidly, as does the effectiveness of the other eleven insecticides generally used for IRS against malaria or other vector-borne diseases. Insecticides are sprayed indoors, and not outdoors, to provide protection where humans are most often bitten, and to prevent non-target mosquitoes and other creatures from being exposed to the insecticides. This prevents harmful pests from developing resistance to the insecticides, and diminishes damage to beneficial species, like food fish.

Instead of spraying, malaria fighters turn increasingly to bednets impregnated with insecticide, known as Long-Lasting Insecticide-impregnated Nets (LLIN). A net provides closer to 100% protection from bites than IRS. A net immediately protects anyone sleeping under it, while IRS must treat at least 80% of nearby homes to achieve more than 50 percent prevention.

While still using IRS, Mozambique stakes its future malaria fighting on nets.

The Malaria Consortium aided in the recent distribution of nets.

Malaria Consortium has successfully completed a mass distribution campaign of over four million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) across Nampula and Niassa provinces in Mozambique. The nets were distributed almost simultaneously across all districts of each province – 23 districts in Nampula in November 2016, and 16 districts in Niassa in May 2017 – using a new operational model aimed at optimising resources.

Throughout the campaigns, Mozambique’s National Malaria Control Programme was responsible for the LLIN acquisition and led overall planning and implementation through the decentralised structures of the health system. Malaria Consortium’s role consisted of operational support, which included financial management, transport, procurement, logistics, training, management of service providers, efficient use of resources and effective coordination at provincial, district and field levels.

Sonia Gwesela, Malaria Consortium Mozambique Country Director said, “In Nampula Province, a major achievement was that 99 percent of households collected their nets. We successfully delivered 98 percent of the nets in both provinces, coming well above the 90 percent target set by the National Malaria Control Programme.

“With the successful completion of the distribution, we can now focus on a post-distribution communications campaign about the correct use of LLINs,” she concluded.

The Malaria Prevention and Control Project is funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and supports the efforts of the Mozambican government to reduce malaria throughout the country through scale up of prevention and control efforts with community involvement. Malaria Consortium is working in partnership with World Vision, Fundacao para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidadeo, International Relief and Development, and the Mozambique Ministry of Health.

Bednets can be twice as effective as IRS in preventing the spread of malaria. Beating malaria also requires upgrading health care for quick diagnoses and quick, complete treatment of malaria in humans, and prevention projects to drain mosquito-breeding places within 50 yards of homes; more prevention of bites means less medical treatment is required.

WHO estimated 5 million people died of malaria in the 1950s into the 1960s. WHO’s Malaria Report 2016 reported malaria deaths fell to less than 430,000 world wide, a more than 90 percent reduction since 1963, mostly accomplished without DDT.

Malaria Consortium on Twitter, @FightingMalaria.

Save

Save

Save

3 Comments | Africa, DDT, Health care, Malaria, medicine | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

« Previous Entries
%d bloggers like this: