July 2003

Hardest Wordgame on Net

And it is!! From etymologic

Brush up on your Bible

I read thru this series and found it somewhat interesting.

For reasons best known to himself, God singles out one particular tree -- called the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" -- whose fruit man is forbidden to eat. This, of course, is the famous "forbidden fruit," though you may be surprised to know that that phrase appears nowhere in the Bible. (It was coined in the seventeenth century; "forbidden apple" is even older). And despite all those pictures of a serpent tempting Eve with an apple, the Bible never tells us what kind of fruit the tree of knowledge bears. If anything, it was more likely apricots, pomegranates, or figs than apples. (Adam and Eve will use fig leaves to hide their nakedness at Genesis 3: 7; thus the expression "to cover with a fig leaf.")

If you happen to crave the "forbidden fruit" of your forebears, you can still find it today if you live near a good market. The term has been bestowed on a few species of citrus, such as the grapefruitlike shaddock, one variety of which is known as Citrus paradisi. Another term for this fruit is "Adam's apple," a name also given to that projection of cartilege in men's throats, on the fanciful assumption that a piece of forbidden fruit stuck in Adam's.

Here is another bible site (awitness.org) - extremely complex. I would have to say the author is either atheist or agnostic. Just the sitemap is a quarter meg to load in browswer. His essays are interesting - site worth visiting.

California: name origin

I read this in a trivia newsletter I subscribe to:

What US state is named for an imaginary female ruler?

California. When Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes first saw what is now Baja California in Mexico, he was reminded of a Spanish novel he had read about a fictional female ruler named "Calafia." Before long, the entire Pacific coast had been named "California."

Then I did a google advance search. It is amazing the variety of findings putting in 3 words. Done this many a time researching, using different combinations until I get an answer. Still not sure what the truth is. Another answer from here:

There are several theories regarding the naming of California. The US Governement produced a paper in 1878 in which the naming of California was mentioned. That paper suggested that the name was of Spanish origin, whereas two early Jesuits believed that the name was of Greek or Latin origin, and was a corruption or misinterpretation of an Indian word. There were other proponents for Indian naming, while some say that a book written in the early 1500's was the source. One early sailor who was with Cortes wrote that that was the name Cortes gave to the area now known as California.

Space Travel

Surfed into a forum thru google, looking for something else. Kind of interesting. The topic:

Which is most likly to be a realistic way to travel bewteen the stars: the commonly used Warp (Star Trek for example), the relativistic travel from the Ender books, the interstellar transporters from Battlefield Earth, or wormholes (Star Trek Deep Space Nine)?

Someone explaining the background of travel in scifi

Hyperspace, warp, subspace, slipstream, and wormholes are all based on the concept of a "second space." The theory, as I understand it, is that there are ripples in time and entering this alternate dimension would allow us to bore through and take "shortcuts." Now, there are some variations on this. Star Trek warpdrives, I believe, use a subspace "bubble" as sort of a lubricant that allows the vessels to travel faster than light. Hyperspace/subspace (a la Babylon 5) is based on the concept of an alternative plane where every hyperspace point corresponds to a real universe point. Slipstream (Andromeda/ Star Trek Voyager) I believe is based on the concept that star systems are kind of philotically bonded and that a vessel could follow these bonds.

Jazz

Jazzreview.com is a decent jazz website. It has a quiz page for each month. I got 5 out of 12 correct with June and the May quiz; didn't have a clue. They review albums and artists each month. Discuss jazz in their forum with fans from all over the world. This is taken from an interview with Chick Corea:

JazzReview: Getting back to the album, another artist involved in the Blue Note project that I'm curious about is Miroslav Vitous. You mention in the notes that one of the reason's he's kept a fairly low profile in jazz recently is that he's been involved in making recordings for sampling.

Chick Corea: Miroslav's developed a whole business recording orchestral samples, which I understand are very popular with the people who use samples. So, he hasn't been completely active lately playing jazz, although that's changing. He recently completed a new album for the ECM label, a couple of tracks of which I contributed to.

JazzReview: That's certainly welcome news, and I'll definitely look for that one when it's out. Your two most recent groups are Origin and the New Trio, they're both featured on the new album and they both share the nucleus of Jeff Ballard on drums and Avishai Cohen on bass.

Chick Corea: Well, the New Trio grew out of Origin. Origin is an ensemble I put together in 1997, and it started out really with Avishai's bandmates--I produced Avishai's band as the first release on Stretch Records, and then ended up working them into Origin--I just added Bob Sheppard and Tim Garland, and that was Origin. I worked with those guys for a couple of years and then did the Past, Present and Futures CD as the New Trio with Avishai and Jeff and played with that unit for a year or two.

Slavery

I was surprised to read that the start of West African import of slaves began in 1441 by a Portuguese sea captain named Antonio Gonsalves. Part of the Oral History Project, put on by the National Park Service. The main page is at SEAC.

The story of African-American life in Georgia and South Carolina begins over 500 years ago with the ambitions of a Portuguese nobleman, Prince Henry the Navigator. Acknowledged as a leading force behind the age of exploration, Prince Henry dispatched many ships from the coasts of Portugal to distant seas to acquire goods. Among those sailing under his orders was a young Portuguese sea captain, Antonio Gonsalves. In 1441, Gonsalves, intending to acquire a cargo of animal skins and oils to sell in Europe, landed on the shores of West Africa. The ten Africans he abducted were almost an afterthought.

When he returned to Portugal, Gonsalves made a gift of the captives to Prince Henry, who in turn presented them to the Pope, then as much a powerful political figure as religious leader. The gesture so pleased the pontiff that he granted Prince Henry title to a broad chunk of West African territory. For a brief time thereafter, the Portuguese dominated European trade with the continent of Africa and the peddling of its inhabitants.

Long a part of history throughout much of the world, the practice often enslaving others now entered a new era, the so-called "Commercial Age." Thousands of Africans during this period were herded into cramped, unsanitary quarters and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean for sale. Within two decades of Antonio Gonsalves' voyage, the African slave trade had become a highly profitable venture for Europeans. And within 50 years, the biggest demand for the captives came from the New World. The flood of forced migration to the Western Hemisphere was well underway by 1540, when an estimated 10,000 slaves were annually reaching Spanish colonies. Gradually, more of the great European powers of the day joined in the flesh trade, with the French, Dutch, British, and others participating in and encouraging the increasingly thriving business.

Radio Advertising

A snip from an interview (articles have turned subscription - was not when snip copied) with Chris Sabo, founder and chairman of Sabo Media (consulting firm that specializes in radio).

B2: How powerful are Howard Stern, Imus, and the other big names in radio?

Sabo: Howard Stern, Imus, Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Paul Harvey, Neil Rogers, Howie Carr, and Mancow are extremely powerful because they move advertisers' product off the shelf. Their bond with their audience is based on honesty. Those talented performers sell product like no other vehicle in any medium -- TV, print, or anything else. Nothing is as effective at selling product as a live commercial read by Paul Harvey or Howard Stern. That's why Paul Harvey is the highest-paid person at ABC. Yes, more than Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, or Regis Philbin. That's why companies have to wait a year to get a commercial on his show.

My favorite story to show this is Snapple. Snapple grew from a New York brand to a national brand primarily because of Howard Stern's endorsement. When Quaker Oats bought Snapple, they paid $1.7 billion. But the new management was all offended by Howard Stern's show. They pulled the commercials from him and Rush Limbaugh. Sales tanked. Quaker made a myriad of mistakes with the brand. As a result, they sold it for $300 million. The head of Quaker's beverage division lost his job. If your job is to move product and you want to keep your job, buy live commercials on Howard Stern!