Why is Elvis’ mansion called Graceland?

Several searches on “Graceland” finally led me to a fascinating American Art piece by Ann Marling, Elvis Presley’s Graceland, or the Aesthetic of Rock’n’Roll Heaven. If you’re even mildly interested in interior design, rock stardom, retro aesthetics, idol worship, Gone with the Wind, myth marketing, or The King, I highly recommend reading this article. It’s outstanding.

In answer to the specific question, the Graceland estate was named after Grace Toof, a wealthy lady whose family owned the property for almost one hundred years. Grace’s niece, Ruth, inherited the land in 1940 and promptly built herself a grand colonial mansion, replete with Greek columns and antique heirlooms. Gone with the Wind had come out the year before.

In 1957, Elvis was in Hollywood shooting a movie while his parents, Vernon and Gladys, and his uncle Vester were scouting out potential properties for the star. They called him immediately after viewing Graceland. On the 17th of March, Elvis bought the place for one hundred thousand dollars. He was twenty-two years old.

Yahoo!’s Graceland category has several great sites devoted to the “house on the hill,” including some virtual tours. And don’t forget the official website, which answers a few other common questions: Why aren’t we allowed upstairs? And what’s with the misspelling of Aaron on the tombstone?

Who was the first olympic champion of the modern Era?

James Brendan Bennet Connolly (October 28, 1868 – January 20, 1957) was an American athlete and author. In 1896, he became the first modern Olympic champion of the modern Era.

Early life
James Connolly was born to poor Irish American parents, fisherman John Connolly and Ann O’Donnell, as one of twelve children, in South Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up at a time when the parks and playground movement in Boston was slowly developing, Connolly joined other boys in the streets and vacant lots to run, jump, and play ball.

He was educated at Notre Dame Academy and then at the Mather and Lawrence grammar school, but never went to high school. Instead, Connolly worked as a clerk with an insurance company in Boston and later with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia.

His predisposition to sport also became apparent. Calling a special meeting of the Catholic Library Association (CLA) of Savannah in 1891, he was instrumental in forming a football team. Soon thereafter, Connolly was elected captain of the CLA Cycling Club and aggressively sought to promote the sport on behalf of the Savannah Wheelmen.

Altogether dissatisfied with his career path, Connolly sought to regain the lost years of high school through self education. In October 1895, he sat for the entrance examination to the Lawrence Scientific School and was unconditionally accepted to study the classics at Harvard University.

The Olympic Games
After the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894, the first modern edition of the Olympic Games were scheduled for April 6 to 15, 1896 in Athens, Greece. Connolly decided to participate, and submitted a request for a leave of absence to the Chairman of the Harvard University Committee on the Regulation of Athletic Sports and was denied. According to Connolly himself, he was informed that his only course of action would be to resign and make a reapplication to the College. Connolly then claimed to have replied:

“I am not resigning and I’m not making application to re-enter. I’m getting through with Harvard right now. Good day!” It is unclear whether this really happenend. Harvard records do show a request by Connolly for a leave of absence to Europe, which was denied. Connolly then requested an honorable withdrawal as a student, which was granted on March 19, 1896.

Representing the Suffolk Athletic Club, which paid for most of Connolly’s expenses (Connolly later claimed he paid it all himself), he left for Greece on a German freighter, the Barbarossa, along with most of the rest of the first American Olympic team. After arriving in Naples, Italy he was robbed and almost lost his ticket to Athens. He managed to retrieve it only after a pursuit against the robber. Finally he took the train to Athens, arriving there just for the Games.

The first final on the opening day was the triple jump (then known as the hop, skip and jump), one of the events in which Connolly competed. Connolly’s style, taking two hops with the right foot, is no longer allowed in this event nowadays, but was perfectly acceptable in 1896. With this style, he outjumped the field, finishing more than one meter ahead of his nearest opponent by jumping 13.71 m (44 ft 11 3/4 in), earning him the first silver medal (gold medals did not yet exist). With this performance, he became the first Olympic champion since 385 AD, when Athenian Zopyros won the pankration (other sources name the Armenian Varasdates, who won at boxing in 369).

He went on to take second place in the high jump (1.65 m / 5 ft 5 in) tying with Robert Garrett behind Ellery Clark, and third place in the long jump (5.84 m / 19 ft 2 in). Back home in Boston, Connolly was welecomed enthusiastically, and was presented a gold watch by the citizens of South Boston.

Connolly would also visit the second edition of the modern Olympics, held in Paris. There, he failed to retain his title in the triple jump, losing to compatriot Meyer Prinstein.

Writer
The 1904 Summer Olympics were also attended by Connolly, but as a journalist, not as an athlete. Earlier, he had already published his accounts of the Spanish-American War in the Boston Globe as Letters from the front in Cuba. He served there in the Irish 9th Infantry of Massachusetts.

Connolly became an authority on maritime writing, after spending years on many different vessels, fishing boats, military ships all over the world. In all, he published more than 200 short stories, and 25 novels. Furthermore, he twice ran for Congress of the United States on the ticket of the Progressive Party, but never was elected.

He never returned to Harvard, but received an honorary athletic sweater in 1948. A year later, he was offered an honorary doctorate by Harvard University, which he turned down. Connolly died in New York at the age of 88. A collection of items related to Connolly, including his triple jump silver medal, is housed in the library of Colby College in Maine.

Whatever happened to the cast of "Revenge of the Nerds"?

Well, there was a time when wearing cardigans and sporting pocket protectors got you a one-way trip to the lunchroom garbage can. Revenge of the Nerds helped to end “nerd persecution,” and it was the film’s stellar cast who did the heavy lifting.

The most famous Tri-Lam alum is Anthony “Gilbert” Edwards. Ol’ Gil went on to wield a mean scalpel in the ER. Who says a receding hairline is an automatic death sentence in Hollywood? Gilbert’s right-hand man was Louis Skolnick, brought to glorious life by Robert Carradine. Once the star of rowdy comedies, Carradine has
since toned down his trademark laugh in Lizzie McGuire.

Timothy Busfield was the Tri-Lams’ lady-killing violinist, Poindexter. Fans of feel-good political dramas might recognize him from The West Wing.

Brian Tochi played Takashi. According to IMDb, he’s done a lot of voice work in cartoons and videogames. Oh, and he was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle too.

Andrew Cassese (Harold Wormser) is a graduate of NYU film school. His official site states that he’s worked on Broadway and has appeared in Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

Larry B. Scott played the effeminate Lamar Latrell. Like several of his fellow nerds, he’s keeping busy with voice work and independent films.

Last but not least, there’s Curtis “Booger” Armstrong — the heart and soul of the Tri-Lams. His list of credits stretches from TV work in Felicity to a rather large role opposite Jamie Foxx in Ray. Bravo, Booger, bravo!

50th Post – Lets celebrate and learn as well

It is the 50th Post, so in order to celebrate, here is some fact about the number 50, because after all, 50 is a magic number too :o)

In mathematics
Fifty is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of two squares in two distinct ways: 50 = 12 + 72 = 52 + 52. It is also the sum of three squares, 50 = 32 + 42 + 52. It is a Harshad number.

There is no answer to the equation φ(x) = 50, making 50 a nontotient. Nor is there an answer to the equation x – φ(x) = 50, making 50 a noncototient.

In astronomy
Messier object M50, a magnitude 7.0 open cluster in the constellation Monoceros
The New General Catalogue object NGC 50, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus
The Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on 1201 February 11 BC and ended on 97 April 1. The duration of Saros series 50 was 1298.1 years, and it contained 73 solar eclipses.
The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on -1134 July 3 and ended on 164 August 20. The duration of Saros series 50 was 1298.1 years, and it contained 73 lunar eclipses.
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Other fields
Fifty is also:
The atomic number of tin
The fifth magic number in physics
The traditional number of years in a default jubilee period.
The number of states in the USA (since 1959, still true in 2005).
Hawaii Five-O – TV police show – so-called because Hawaii is the 50th state.
A calibre of ammunition (0.50 inches: see .50 BMG)
In millimeters, the focal length of the normal lens in 35mm photography.
the percentage ( 50% ) equivalent to one half, so that the phrase “fifty-fifty” commonly expresses something divided equally in half, or an event of probability one half
In U.S. dollars, the U.S. fifty dollar bill, the denomination of the Federal Reserve note with Ulysses S. Grant’s portrait, the denomination of the savings bond with George Washington’s portrait, and the denomination of treasury bonds with Thomas Jefferson’s portrait.
In New Zealand, the NZD 50 bill features Sir Apirana Ngata, a prominent Maori politician who worked to protect and rejuvenate Maori culture.
In cents of the U.S. dollar, the denomination of the coin with John F. Kennedy’s portrait.
In years of marriage, the gold or “golden” wedding anniversary.
In the title of the movie 50 First Dates, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
part of the name of 50 Cent, a rapper.
One of the years: AD 50, 50 BC, or (for example) 1950.

Other languages
Spanish – Cincuenta
Esperanto – Kvindek
French – Cinquante
Interlingua – cinquanta
Italian – Cinquanta
Netherlands – vijftig
Portuguese – Cinqüenta
Slovenian – število

What kind of tree lives the longest?

The world’s oldest living tree is a 4,767-year-old bristlecone pine. It resides in the White Mountains near the California-Nevada border. An average bristlecone pines lives for 1,000 years, with a few surviving to over 4,000 years. Alerce trees and sequoias also live well into their thousands.

These ages are especially impressive given that urban trees live (on average) for only 32 years and inner-city trees for only 12.

So what causes mature trees to die? Apparently, they run out of energy. As trees grow and age, their size and complexity demands more energy. At the same time they’re able to store less energy for emergencies. As a result, older trees are less able to respond to stress and eventually succumb to pollution, drought, insect infestation, or lack of nutrients. Urban environments are especially stressful.

Bristlecone pines have a number of energy-conserving survival strategies that enable them to reserve the energy needed to survive long periods of stress. Trees don’t die from “old age,” but older trees eventually die from stress placed on their ability to produce energy. Species that successfully reserve energy and live in less stressful environments may live for thousands of years.

What’s the purpose of the little pocket in the right front pocket of jeans?

The answer to this one is easy – or is it? — coins. It has to be coins, right? I scoured dozens of online jeans listings. Pretty much every “classic five pocket design” boasted a coin pocket in the front right scoop pocket. Some of the coin pockets were exposed, some had flaps, some had insignias, but they were all described as coin pockets.

But then I stumbled onto a similar query on Ask MetaFilter and found the real answer — watches. Back in the day before the wrist became multi-functional, folks carried pocket watches. These were fastened to the end of chains, and stored in special pockets woven into pants or vests.

Levi’s 501s, originally introduced in 1890, featured watch pockets. And sure enough, after more snooping around, we found these vintage jeans from the 1970s listed as having “five pocket styling with watch pocket.”

interestingly enough, in France it is referred at the “Zippo pocket” – one can only assume that could be a reason for the poor French time keeping, or a reason why they smoke so much.

For more on pockets and their uses, the BBC has a surprisingly interesting essay entitled A Very
Brief History of the Pocket. And this Smithsonian piece details the evolution of pocket watches to wrist watches.

Speed of light.

If I drove my car at the speed of light and turned on the lights, what
would happen?

Alas, hapless traveler, a car cannot travel at the speed of light. Only bodies without mass can move at the required 186,000 miles per second, so the simple answer is, nothing.

But that’s no fun. The beauty of this brainteaser is that it helps to shed light (so to speak) on some of the more interesting properties of Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity. That must be why the question is often posed in online science forums. In fact, headscratchers like this originally inspired Einstein to explore his
theories — and judging by the scientist’s frazzled hairstyle, they may have caused him to literally scratch his head more than once.

Theoretically, the family minivan could come close to the speed of light. Given that distant possibility, some sources claim its headlights would work as advertised. How? Light travels at a constant speed. Assuming your car could never reach the speed of light, you’d still be able to see your way through the cosmos because the
headlights are out in front.

As fun as it sounds, we don’t recommend you take the trip. The amount of petrol needed to fuel such a fantastic voyage would be prohibitively expensive. Plus there’s a good chance you’d suffer a horrible death in the attempt. So, for safety’s sake, keep your headlights focused on the motorway.

How did Thousand Island Dressing get its name?

With a toss of lettuce and a sprinkling of croutons, I searched for the “history of thousand-island salad dressing.” This led me to the original birthplace of the creamy condiment. This slightly sweet, chunky salad dressing got its name from the Thousand Islands area of upstate New York. The region is filled with about 1,800 islands and stretches along the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, reaching into both the U.S. and Canada. In the 1870s, vacationers discovered the area and began building summer homes and hotels.

In the early 20th century, Sophia LaLonde of Clayton, N.Y., served the dressing at dinner for guests of her husband, who was a popular fishing guide. One of the dinner guests was leading actress May Irwin. It was Irwin who christened the dressing with the Thousand Island name, and the dressing was served by Irwin’s request at the Herald Hotel in Clayton. The actress also introduced the dressing to the wider world when she gave LaLonde’s recipe to the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Thousand Island Dressing is a variation on the so-called Russian dressing popular around the time, which consisted of a yogurt base with chili sauce or ketchup added for flavor. Early Thousand Island recipes used mayonnaise instead of yogurt and added pickle relish, chives, and sometimes chopped hard-boiled eggs. In the 1950s, Thousand Island Dressing made of mayo, ketchup, and pickle relish became a standard condiment, used on sandwiches and salads alike.

What are bowling balls made of?

Despite my fondness for chucking one down the gutter, I had no idea what mysterious material goes into a bowling ball. A Google search on “bowling ball made of” led me to an enlightening article from the Complete Bowling Index web site. The article summarized the recent history of bowling-ball material.

In the 1960s, hard rubber balls were king.

Polyester balls stole the scene in the ’70s. (Most of the “house balls” in your local bowling alley are of the polyester variety.)

The ’80s saw the dawn of the urethane ball.

Urethane balls matured in the early ’90s with the introduction of reactive urethane.
I then searched on “reactive urethane,” hoping for more information about this new breed of ball, and uncovered the FAQ page of the J & J Bowling Supply web site.

As the site informed us, the innovations didn’t end with reactive urethane. The newest material is proactive urethane, which gives the ball a “fuzzy” feel and imnproves traction, “sort of like an all-weather tire does on the motorway.”

Where is Che Guevara buried?

A Google search for “Che Guevara” led me to a collection of web sites about the Latin American guerrilla leader, revolutionary theorist, and radical icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara de la Serna. Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928. In 1954, he met Cuban political exiles and brothers Fidel and Raul Castro in Mexico, and helped them plan the revolution to overthrow the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Che joined Castro’s invading army, and when Cuba’s Marxist government was established in 1959, he became a Cuban citizen, a prominent policy-maker and leader, and a close associate of Fidel Castro.

He gained fame (and notoriety) as an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy, and as a leading advocate of Cuban-style socialism and guerilla warfare throughout impoverished Latin America.

I learned the grim facts of Che’s death from a web site titled The Death of Che Guevara: Declassified. This chronology of events and collection of original U.S. government documents was assembled by Peter Kornbluh, for the National Security Archive, an independent non-governmental research institute and library that publishes and exhibits previously classified documents acquired through the Freedom
of Information Act.

Here’s the chain of events: In 1966, Che traveled incognito to Bolivia to lead a guerrilla insurrection. In the fall of 1967, his group was destroyed by the Bolivian army, apparently aided by intelligence, training, and support from U.S. military advisers and CIA agents. On October 8 (my birthday), 1967 Che was wounded and captured. He was executed on October 9th, and on the 10th, his death certificate was signed by doctors in Vallegrande, Bolivia.

There were conflicting stories about the location of his remains and whether he’d been buried or cremated. Details of Che’s death remained obscure for close to thirty years.

In a 1995 interview, a Bolivian general told Guevara biographer Jon Lee Anderson that Che was “buried in a mass grave near the dirt airstrip outside the little mountain town of Vallegrande in Central Bolivia.” In 1997, his remains were returned to Cuba, and he was reburied in Santa Clara, Cuba, in a public ceremony attended by Fidel Castro and thousands of others.