Every Day Is Special

August 28 – Assumption of Mary in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Posted on August 28, 2017

Most Bosnians (about 51%) identify themselves as Muslims, but two of the largest groups of Christians are Roman Catholic (15% of the entire population) and the Serbian Orthodox (31%). Both of these Christian religions celebrate a holy day called the Assumption of Mary, although on different days. Today is the Assumption in the Serbian Orthodox church.

The story behind today's holiday is that Mary, the mother of the religion's central figure, Jesus, either never died but was physically lifted up to heaven...or she died like any normal person but three days later was resurrected (like Jesus) and that resurrected physical body was lifted up to heaven...or some similar story. I gather that different Catholic and Orthodox churches teach different things about Mary's departure from the Earth.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was once part of Yugoslavia and is now considered part of Eastern Europe.

Its capital, Sarajevo, is famous for blending east and west. There you can see a mosque (Muslim), a synagogue (Jewish), a cathedral (Catholic), and a church (Orthodox) quite close to one another.

Like nearby Croatia, Bosnia has some wonderful waterfalls, gorgeous gorges, and lovely coast scenery (but only a very short coastline). There are many cool historical buildings, picturesque bridges, and wonderful markets.

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the Peace Palace

Eat Crackers Over the Keyboard Day

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Anniversary of the discovery of a very special moon

Anniversary of MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech

Radio Commercials Day

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August 27 – Happy Birthday, LBJ!

Posted on August 27, 2017

There are four kinds of elected positions in the federal (national-level) government of the United States:

President
Vice-President
Senator
and Representative

There are, of course, loads and loads of other appointed positions - everything from Supreme Court Justices and other federal judges to cabinet members and Congressional aides and chiefs of staff and communications directors....Well, I could go on and on! There are thousands of different kinds of appointed positions, and millions of folks who work for the federal government.

But just four kinds of elected positions.

How many people, do you think, has held all four elected positions?

I would imagine at least a handful. There have only been 40-something people (all men, so far - sigh!) who have ever been a U.S. president, and a lot of them were governors, not senators or representatives, before assuming the highest office in the land. Of course, some were never in any other elected office before winning the presidency (Eisenhower and Trump come to mind). But, still, a few must have climbed the ranks from Representative to Senator to V.P. to President. Right?

Actually, only one has ever been elected to all four positions!

And that is today's famous birthday, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Born in a farmhouse in Texas on this date in 1908, Johnson was a high school teacher and a Congressional aide before he won his first office, in the House of Representatives, at age 29. He was elected to the Senate a decade after that, and he ran with presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, for the Vice Presidency, in 1960. When Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as president. Johnson won the presidential election of 1964 with a landslide.

Johnson was aggressive, even domineering, as he worked the angles with other lawmakers to get legislation passed. I would dislike that part of Johnson's personality a bit more if it wasn't for the fact that he used his aggressiveness to promote good for the country. He helped to expand civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare and Medicaid, and he waged a War on Poverty. He worked to support education, the arts, and a variety of public services.

Because he was domineering, many marginalized people fared better. Because he pushed and prodded and manipulated, the U.S. became a better place.

Johnson's downfall was his handling of the Vietnam War. That was a problem he inherited - when LBJ became president, there were already 16,000 American military personnel in Vietnam - and LBJ was following the initial desires of the American people and the recommendations of the military chiefs when he expanded war efforts and committed more troops - but let's face it: Johnson was the Commander in Chief. The buck stops with him, and the Vietnam War was a debacle. A lot of people died...a lot of people were badly injured...and for what?

Still, historians rank LBJ in the top 10 to 18 out of 43 presidents. (You may think that there have been 45 presidents, not 45, but Grover Cleveland is counted as President #22 and #24 because he served two non-consecutive terms, but he only gets one ranking as a president; also, even though it is pretty obvious that Trump is going to get low rankings, no president is ranked until after he has left office.)

Soak up some LBJ wisdom:

Also on this date:

Anniversary of Women's Revolt Day in Guinea

Moldova's Independence Day

Artist Alexandra Nechita's birthday

“The Duchess” Who Wasn't Day

Anniversary of the discovery of gallium

Anniversary of the installation of the world's biggest battery

International Bat Nights

Just Because Day

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August 26 – Happy Birthday, Peggy Guggenheim

Posted on August 26, 2017

When I hear the name "Guggenheim," I think of the art museum in New York City. It's famous for its cool building (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) and its great collection of impressionist, modern, and contemporary art.

Today's famous birthday, Peggy Guggenheim, collected modern art and created a museum. But not THE Guggenheim, the one that I know.

Born on this date in 1898, Peggy Guggenheim was part of a wealthy New York City family. Her father, tragically, died on the Titanic when Peggy was just a teenager, and she ended up with a much, much smaller inheritance than her cousins. However, she still had money - and family connections.

It was her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim, who established a foundation that started that NYC art museum.

Peggy Guggenheim loved art and began to hang out with artists and writers. She slowly began to collect art, and she exhibited her art collection even as she was building it. She opened a gallery in London, and she made plans to open a museum in London or Paris - but World War II put the kibosh on those plans.

After World War II, she settled in Venice, Italy, and started exhibiting her collection there. Now the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the biggest attractions in Venice.