Toppling of the ancient tree Prometheus in 1964, leads to thoughts of Ray Culp and Phillies trades of the same era!!

The stump (lower left) and some remains of the Prometheus tree (center), in the Wheeler Bristlecone Pine Grove at Great Basin National Park near Baker, Nevada

The stump (lower left) and some remains of the Prometheus tree (center), in the Wheeler Bristlecone Pine Grove at Great Basin National Park near Baker, Nevada from Wikipedia

 August 6, 1964 – Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree, is cut down

The other day as I looked over the events that happened on August 6th throughout history, I came across a now, that worked out real well, didn’t it” moment or maybe a “What was I thinking moment! It seems that back in 1964 Donald Currey was sampling Bristlecone Pine Trees (Pinus longaeva) near Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada. One of the trees that Currey was evaluating was Prometheus (recorded by Currey as WPN-114) Prometheus had been named by Naturalists back in 1958 or 1961. Currey wasn’t able to get a definitive core  used for aging the tree, for whatever reason, and it was decided that the tree down would be cut down. When the tree was toppled it was discovered that the tree was the oldest known non-clonal organism, and was at east 4,862 years old, possibly more than 5000 years old!! Oops! My bad!…. Whether or not Currey and/or Forestry personnel knew the age of the tree or even if Currey had to or should have cut the tree down is up for debate. You can read the whole story here at Wikipedia! Read More

This Date in Music – August 7, 1937 – Blues Guitarist Magic Slim was born!!

On this date August 7th in 1937, Morris Holt, better known as Magic Slim was born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi. Magic Slim followed Muddy Water and Howlin’ Wolf to Chicago and became a force in the Chicago blues scene. I discovered his music when I started the blog Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries. Here’s my post about Magic Slim from 2o1o…..after this post Slim released one more album Bad Boy (2012) prior to his passing in February of 2013. From Wikipedia…. Read More

Exploring the Music of the Amazing Rashaan Roland Kirk on his birthday! (August 7, 1935)

Rashaan Roland KirkOver the years I have heard the name Rashaan Roland Kirk and have listened briefly to his music. Since I was not really a big fan of  improvisational and avant-garde music, I most generally avoided his music! But last year, I discovered the album Kirk’s Work, when I was researching Jack McDuff‘s music and was really, really impressed by the album. So today, on the 79th anniversary of this inventive and influential musician, I thought that it was a good time to explore the man and his music. Read More

Today in Music – August 6, 1957 – Harmonica and Vibes Virtuoso Hendrick Meurkens was born!!

Live at Bird's EyeOn this day, August  6, 1957  vibraphonist and chromatic harmonica virtuoso Hedrick Meurkens was born to Dutch parents in Hamburg, Germany. Meurkens was listed on today’s birthday list at All About Jazz as a harmonica player . When I went to Spotify to listen to his music, I started with his new release Junity, which opens with a nice rendition of The Beatles “Blackbird”. I listened to a few more tracks and then went to the next album his 2011 release Live at Bird’s Eye. As I listened to the album, I thought. boy, he sure is nice to give that vibes player so much time! Well, I thought he is pretty damn good! After I listened a little more and really liked the album, I went to Hendrick’s website, where I read that……. Read More

This Day in History – August 4, 1964 – The Bodies of Three Slain Civil Rights Workers Found in Mississippi!

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner(top to bottom)

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner(top to bottom)

On the night of June 21-22 in 1964 three American civil rights workers, James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner were shot at close range and killed.   The workers had been working on the “Freedom Summer” campaign, attempting to register African-Americans to vote. On today’s date August 4th, their bodies  were found in an earthen dam near the murder site. Read More

Fredric Wertham and the Comic Code Authority Making Comic Books Safe for Kids!!

One of the books that I am reading is Harold Schecter’s The Mad Sculptor: the maniac, the model and the murder that shook the nation. The Mad Sculptor is Robert Irwin, prior to committing the murder (I haven’t gotten that far yet) Irwin is committed to Bellevue hospital, after an attempt at a little self-emasculation (he stopped because of the pain). While he was there one of the psychiatrists who saw him was Fredric Wertham.
Frederic Wertham
  Read More

Today in History – July 31, 1200 – Byzantine's Game of "Broken"Thrones starring John "the Fat" Komnenos

On this day in the year 1201 or 1200? John Komnenos nicknamed “the Fat” attempted to usurp the imperial Byzantine throne from Alexios III Angelos – pizza (- sorry my mind just thinks pizza when it hears Angelos) Below is a map of the Byzantine Empire *circa 1204…..

Byzantium1215

Map to show the partition of the empire following the Fourth Crusade, c.1204. The overall outcome of the Crusades leaving the Empire permanently weakened.

Read More