ABC Wednesday Archives - Page 29 of 91

R is for Rainbows

I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

Because I was bereft of a topic, I decided to Google the word rainbows. Interesting things I found:

Author Donald Ahrens in his text Meteorology Today describes a rainbow as “one of the most spectacular light shows observed on earth”. Indeed the traditional rainbow is sunlight spread out into its spectrum of colors and diverted to the eye of the observer by water droplets. The “bow” part of the word describes the fact that the rainbow is a group of nearly circular arcs of color all having a common center.

Think You Know Rainbows? Look Again

Although the most common rainbow is a single crescent containing every color from red through violet, if you pay close attention, you will discover that rainbows come in a surprising variety of colors and shapes. And scientists are finally figuring out why.

From Wiktionary:

From Middle English reinbowe, reinboȝe, from Old English reġnboga ‎(“rainbow”), from Proto-Germanic *regnabugô ‎(“rainbow”), equivalent to rain +‎ bow ‎(“arch”). Cognate with West Frisian reinbôge ‎(“rainbow”), Dutch regenboog ‎(“rainbow”), German Regenbogen ‎(“rainbow”), Danish regnbue ‎(“rainbow”), Swedish regnbåge ‎(“rainbow”), Icelandic regnbogi ‎(“rainbow”).

XKCD (licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License).

Bible verses about rainbows (Genesis 9:12-17 and others)

God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth…”

Welcome to Reading Rainbow® Skybrary Family

Skybrary is a carefully curated, ever-expanding interactive library of digital books and video explorations designed to engage young readers and foster a love of learning.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

Rainbow Bridge is one of the world’s largest known natural bridges. The span has undoubtedly inspired people throughout time–from the neighboring American Indian tribes who consider Rainbow Bridge sacred, to the 85,000 people from around the world who visit it each year.

The Couch in Rainbow Colors: ‘L.G.B.T.-Affirming’ Therapy

Started in 2006, Antioch’s program is, to its leaders’ knowledge, the country’s first and only graduate-level L.G.B.T.-affirming clinical psychology specialization.

O is for #101 on the Billboard charts

The ONLY B-side of the Beatles first 21 regular Capitol/Apple releases not to chart in the Top 100.

I have the book Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100, 1959-2004, one of many Joel Whitburn tomes in my collection. This one notes the songs that did not quite make it to the list of the Hot 100 singles that were most popular. Some of these were regional hits, others B-sides of chart-toppers.

In the book, there’s a list of the songs that made it to #101 on the Billboard charts in the US, but no higher, rather like Moses not quite to the promised land. There were 402 songs during the period, excluding August 1985 to November 1992, when the Bubbling Under chart was discontinued.

Some songs I recognize, with which YOU may also be familiar.

Links to all:

Earth Angel – the Penguins. 2 weeks starting 1 Feb 1959. This was a cheat in that in 1955, it had gotten to #8 (and #1 for 3 weeks on the R&B charts); this was the reissue.

I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It The Blues, Pt 1 – Stevie Wonder. 31 Aug 1963. I first heard this on a hits compilation.

I’m Down – the Beatles. 7 Aug 1965. The ONLY B-side of the Beatles’ first 21 regular Capitol/Apple releases not to chart in the Top 100. B-side of Help! (#1 for three weeks.) This is a live take because I couldn’t find a studio version.

Baby Driver – Simon & Garfunkel. 19 Apr 1969. B-side of The Boxer (#7). I saw Paul Simon solo in 1991.

Today I Sing the Blues – Aretha Franklin. 1 Nov 1969. A cover of a Sam Cooke song.

Gypsy – Van Morrison. 27 Jan 1973. Not to be confused with Gypsy Queen.

Barbara Ann- The Beach Boys. 9 Aug 1975. ANOTHER cheat, as the original release went to #2 for 2 weeks in 1966.

Baretta’s Theme – Sammy Davis Jr. 22 May 1976. Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow, theme to a TV show starring Robert Blake.

Accidents Will Happen – Elvis Costello. 14 Apr 1979. I saw him live a few years ago.

It’s Different For Girls – Joe Jackson. Two weeks, starting 8 Dec 1979. I saw him live in the late 1980s.

Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie. 25 Oct 1980. The return of Major Tom.

Try Jah Love – Third World. 1 May 1982. I really thought the last four, plus the U2 song were bigger hits, as I heard them on the radio a lot.

Atomic Dog – George Clinton. Three weeks, starting 16 Apr 1983.

Two Hearts Beat As One – U2. Two weeks, starting 9 Jul 1983.

White Lines (Don’t Do It) – Grandmaster & Melle Mel. 2 weeks, starting 17 Dec 1983. But it did get to #47 on the R&B charts. I own this 12″, which is a couple of minutes longer than the single.

Skylark – Linda Ronstadt. 12 Jan 1985. From Lush Life, one of the three Nelson Riddle LPs that I have on a 2-CD set.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

L is for Lanes of Traffic

“When there’s no bike lane, you’re supposed to ride on the sidewalk.”

1. In July, traveling north on that stretch of Interstate 90 in New York between the Pennsylvania border and Buffalo, closer to the former, there are four lanes of traffic, two in each direction.

The Wife is driving and is in the right lane. Another car is in the left lane, slowly passing us. Suddenly, a motorcycle darts between us! Another motorcycle is already ahead of the other car.

Then the motorcycles, in turn, proceed to drive between not one, not two, but FOUR pairs of cars, in about three minutes. I was happy no one got hurt.

2. I am riding my bicycle down my street. I am as far right as I can be, given the fact there is a string of parked cars. I can sense that there’s a car that wants to pass me, but there’s oncoming traffic, and this is not an option.

We catch a red light, and we both stop. I can pull to the right because there’s no car that close to the intersection.

The driver says, “There’s no bike lane.”

“OK”

“When there’s no bike lane, you’re supposed to ride on the sidewalk.”

“NO, sir!”

“That’s the law.”

“You are INCORRECT, sir. Check your drivers’ manual. There’s a section on bicycles in there.”

Seriously, I used to carry around the booklet from DMV for such interactions. In my state, it is ILLEGAL for me to ride on the sidewalk, unless I’m under 14. (Note: I’m not.)

Apparently, this is a problem elsewhere.

3. Still, I LOVE riding my bicycle in the city, because I often find change on the ground, where the driver’s side door might be. I’ll stop for even a nickel, but not for a penny. Though if I stop for a mixture of coins – it has happened – I’ll get the pennies as well.

4. August: I was waiting for a bus, when a young man, probably in his twenties, asked me if I could “spare some change” so he could ride the bus. I told him that I could “spare a 50-cent change card” that I happen to have. (The fare is $1.50, and if I put in two $1 bills, I get the change card.)

His eyes narrowed as he said, teeth clenched, “Have a nice day.” I don’t think he was being sincere.
***
Now I Know: Slow and Steady Wins the Lottery

The Calculus of Bad Driving

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

K is for Kris Kristofferson

“He’s a walkin’ contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction”

I happened to get an issue of Rolling Stone magazine this year, and there’s a story called Kris Kristofferson: An Outlaw at 80, about how “one of the greatest songwriters of all time (covered by Johnny Cash… Elvis Presley and some 500 others)” was experiencing an “increasingly debilitating memory loss.” It turns out it wasn’t Alzheimer’s or dementia, but Lyme disease.

His first album, released as Kristofferson in 1970, was rereleased, with a nicer cover, a year later, as Me and Bobby McGee, named for the posthumous #1 song by Janis Joplin that he wrote. Some of the songs on that album include Help Me Make It Through the Night, For the Good Times, and Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, all hits for other people.

His second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I, featured Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again), a minor hit for Roger Miller, and got to #26 on the pop charts for Kristofferson. It also contains my favorite Kris Kristofferson lyrics, from The Pilgrim, Chapter 33:

He’s a poet, an’ he’s a picker, he’s a prophet, an’ he’s a pusher
He’s a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he’s stoned
He’s a walkin’ contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin’ ev’ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

His biggest single recording was Why Me, which got to #16 in 1973, from his fourth album, Jesus Was a Capricorn. He also recorded with his second wife Rita Coolidge.

Kris Kristofferson is also an actor, appearing in several films, before becoming a Movie Star in A Star is Born, with Barbra Streisand.

Now that he has most of his memory back, he’s listening to the old songs again, “to get reacquainted with his life’s work. ‘It just takes you back like a picture of something would,’ he says. ‘I was also interested in seeing if they still sounded good to me,’ he continues. ‘I’ve been pleasantly surprised, particularly with this one.’ He points to his third album, Border Lord. ‘I can remember at the time being so disappointed at the reception it got.’

“His wife [since 1983, Lisa] sits to his left and looks at him, beaming at his recall. ‘To me, the song is what matters, not necessarily the performances,’ he says as he moves a napkin to examine a picture of him in his twenties, looking disheveled in his meager Nashville bedroom. ‘Just the words and melody – that’s what moves your emotions.'”

“‘I may have some more creative work in me,’ he finally admits, then concludes on a characteristically impassive note. “But if I don’t, it’s not going to hurt me.'”

LISTEN TO:

“Blame It on the Stones”
“To Beat the Devil”
“Me and Bobby McGee”
“Best of All Possible Worlds”
“Help Me Make It Through the Night” which gets ‘lie’ and ‘lay’ right and wrong in the same song
“The Law Is for Protection of the People”
“For the Good Times”
“Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”
“The Silver Tongued Devil and I”
“Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)”
“The Pilgrim, Chapter 33”
“Nobody Wins”
“Why Me”

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

J is for scientist Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry created a program to study weather patterns in North America, a project that eventually led to the creation of the National Weather Service.

Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797 – May 13, 1878) was born in Albany, New York, to William and Ann Henry, two immigrants from Scotland. “In 1819 he was persuaded by some influential friends to pursue a more academic career, he entered Albany Academy, where he was given free tuition. He was so poor, even with free tuition, Joseph Henry had to support himself with teaching and private tutoring positions.”

Henry excelled academically. He “discovered the electromagnetic phenomenon of self-inductance,” which I shan’t attempt to explain, but it’s a big deal.

“The SI [international standard] unit of inductance, the henry, is named in his honor. Henry’s work on the electromagnetic relay was the basis of the practical electrical telegraph.”

After teaching at the precursor of Princeton University, and excelling as a scientist, he became the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, always working “tirelessly to support the field of American science.”

“Henry focused the Smithsonian on research, publications, and international exchanges. The system of international exchanges begins in 1849, with the Smithsonian providing a clearinghouse function for the exchange of literary and scientific works between societies and individuals in this country and abroad. Also by 1849, he created a program to study weather patterns in North America, a project that eventually led to the creation of the National Weather Service.”

The Albany (NY) School District science fair is named after Joseph Henry.

See the glass window? I view it almost every week, as it is a Tiffany creation, found in the Assembly Hall of First Presbyterian Church of Albany. Mr. Henry was baptized in the church, albeit in an earlier building.

Here is a memoir of Joseph Henry by Simon Newcomb, read in 1880, shortly after his death in his quarters in the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19