In doing some Civil War research I discovered Clio, the Greek Muse of History, and have pronounced her the official "muse" of the Oak Openings and Observations blog. The Muses are the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths. Originally said to be three in number, by the Classical times of the 400s BC, their number had grown, and become set at nine goddesses who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces. The name Clio comes from the Greek word "Klieo", which translates as "glory." I discovered Clio at the monument to the 123rd New York Regiment at Culp's Hill in Gettysburg. ( see below) Double clicking on the picture gives you a better view of Clio. What follows are more visuals of "My Muse."
It is finally spring. I can tell by the color in the yard. The Iris have made an appearance. The Azalea in their purple majesty The shooting stars are about to appear. The grass in getting long. In fact I mowed it today. The tulips are here.
I just finished this book by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The author writes in a style that I always imagined Brennan doing. He explains science in a clear understandable way, with humor and creativity mixed in. More on the author later in the post. A few years ago there was quite an uproar when Pluto was demoted from one of the nine planets to a "dwarf planet".
As the New York Times wrote:
It has long been clear that Pluto, discovered in 1930, stood apart from the previously discovered planets. Not only was it much smaller than them, only about 1,600 miles in diameter, smaller than the Moon, but its elongated orbit is tilted with respect to the other planets and it goes inside the orbit of Neptune part of its 248-year journey around the Sun.
Pluto makes a better match with the other ice balls that have since been discovered in the dark realms beyond Neptune, they have argued. In 2000, when the new Rose Center for Earth and Space opened at the American Museum of Natural History, Pluto was denoted in a display as a Kuiper Belt Object and not a planet.
The planets are now put in groups: the 4 Terrestrial planets, including earth, and the 4 Jovian, or gaseous planets. No longer will students be trying to memorize the nine planets in order.
The change in Pluto's status created a lot of controversy, which is covered in the book. Pluto had been a planet all their lives, and they wished for it to continue that way. People are gradually making the adjustment to the new way of looking at our solar system.
I am currently reading The Frontiersmen by Allan W Eckert. It is a "narrative history" of the opening of Kentucky and the great Northwest Territory -- Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota -- during the period 1755 to 1836, through events of the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. It is the first of six in the series titled "The Winning of America." Allan W. Eckert is a historian, naturalist, novelist, poet, screenwriter, and playwright. Eckert was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, but has been a long-time resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, near where he attended university. As a young man, he hitch-hiked around the United States, living off the land and learning about wildlife. He began writing about nature and American history at the age of thirteen, eventually becoming an author of numerous distinguished books for children and adults. Seven of his books have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. One of his novels tells how the Great Auk went extinct. Eckert has sparked controversy with his "hidden dialogue" technique. After many years of research on a topic, he has felt free to recreate historical conversations and thoughts in what some critics have considered to be "an entertaining blend of fact and fiction" purporting to be a straight biography. His colorful evocations of history have been praised as more accessible than drier, more strictly factual, accounts. I enjoy his writing, and do not quibble about whether the speaker actually used those exact words.
The Lincoln family as represented at the new Lincoln museum in Springfield. Tad is the youngest of the Lincoln's four boys, and the one you hear the most about, mainly because of his antics in the White House. (see my previous blog post) Robert, the oldest, was more of a Todd than a Lincoln, and never really developed much of a relationship with his father. The second child, Eddie, died a month before his fourth birthday. The Lincolns described him as a warm-hearted, loving child.It was the Lincoln's third child, William Wallace, called Willie, that I believe was their most special gift. The development of the railroads allowed Lincoln to spend the weekends at home with his kids, and he became very fond of Willie. Once, after watching Willie solve an interpersonal problem, Lincoln remarked that he (Lincoln) solved problems the same way. Those who knew the boy considered him intelligent, generous, and kind. Willie was described as being "of great mental activity, unusual intelligence, wonderful memory, methodical, frank and loving, a counterpart of his father, save that he was handsome." Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote: “He was an avid reader, a budding writer, and generally sweet-tempered, all reminiscent of his father.”
Willie tragically died of typhoid fever at age 11. Abraham said, "My poor boy. He was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!"
