Old Sailors' Almanac

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Week 21, 2018

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Jesse Owens made sporting history when he broke five world records and equalled a sixth in the space of 45 minutes on May 25, 1935 - On August 9, 1936 Owens wins 4th Olympic gold medal

Jesse Owens made sporting history when he broke five world records and equalled a sixth in the space of 45 minutes on May 25, 1935 - On August 9, 1936 Owens wins 4th Olympic gold medal

Jesse Owens made sporting history when he broke five world records and equalled a sixth in the space of 45 minutes: Four world records in three-quarters of an hour. Not 45 weeks or 45 days but 45 minutes.

At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, African American track star Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal of the Games in the 4×100-meter relay. His relay team set a new world record of 39.8 seconds, which held for 20 years. In their strong showing in track-and-field events at the XIth Olympiad, Jesse Owens and other African American athletes struck a propaganda blow against Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who planned to use the Berlin Games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority.

Born the son of Alabama sharecroppers in 1913, Owens emerged as a major track talent while attending high school in Cleveland, Ohio. Later, at Ohio State University, he demonstrated himself to be one of the greatest athletes in the world. In a single day of competition - May 25, 1935 - Owens broke the world records for the 220-yard dash, the 220-yard low hurdles, and the running broad jump, and equaled the world record for the 100-yard dash. The next summer, Owens and 311 other American athletes, including 17 African Americans, traveled to Nazi Germany to represent the United States at the XIth Olympiad.

In 1931, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1936 Summer Olympics to Berlin. The choice was meant to signal Germany’s return to the world community after defeat in World War I. Two years later, however, Adolf Hitler came to power. He transformed the democratic German government into a one-party dictatorship, purged political opponents and suspected dissidents, instituted anti-Semitic policies, and began the remilitarization of Germany.

Hitler initially held the Olympics in low regard because of their internationalism but became an avid supporter after Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels convinced him of their propaganda value. Seen as an opportunity to advance Nazi ideology, Hitler provided extensive funding for the Berlin Games, which promised to be the largest modern Olympics to date. The Nazi government used sport as part of its drive to strengthen the “Aryan race”, and “Non-Aryans”-Jewish, part-Jewish, or Gypsy athletes–were systematically excluded from Nazi-sponsored sports facilities and associations.

By 1935, a number of athletic groups in the United States were pushing for a boycott of the Berlin Games, but after a heated debate U.S. participation was narrowly approved in December 1935. A number of prominent Jewish athletes in the United States and other countries decided to independently boycott the Games in protest of Nazi oppression of Jews. Spain also planned an alternate “People’s Olympics” to be held in Barcelona in July 1936, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War forced its cancellation. In the end, 49 nations sent some 4,000 athletes to the Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Under international pressure, the Nazis agreed to allow one part-Jewish athlete on its Olympic team: fencer Helene Mayer. However, Joseph Goebbels forbid the Nazi-controlled German press from discussing the ethnicity of the blond-haired Mayer.

On August 1, 1936, Adolf Hitler opened the XIth Olympiad. The Olympic ritual of a runner arriving bearing a torch carried by relay from Olympia, Greece, occurred for the first time. The Nazis advertised this ceremony as a symbol of the myth that German civilization was the inheritor of the glorified culture of ancient Greece.

Olympic flags and swastika-bearing Nazi banners hung everywhere in Berlin. To prevent controversy, the anti-Jewish signs hung throughout the city were removed during the Games, and Jewish athletes and visitors from other countries were not subjected to anti-Jewish laws. Gypsies were cleared off the streets and interned in a camp at the edge of Berlin. A festive and hospitable atmosphere pervaded the German capital, and most tourists left the city with positive memories of their stay there.

With 348 athletes, Germany had the largest national team and captured the most medals overall, greatly pleasing Hitler. The Americans, however, dominated the popular track-and-field events. On the first day of competition, Hitler, who had been congratulating German and select other winners, left the stadium shortly after three African Americans swept the high-jump event. Whether Hitler left to avoid shaking hands with non-Aryans is unclear. In the aftermath of the incident, Olympic organizers asked Hitler to either receive all the medal winners or none, and he chose the latter. Contrary to the popular myth, Hitler never directly snubbed Jesse Owens, but he did continue to privately receive German winners throughout the Games.

With his four gold medals, Jesse Owens was the star of the Berlin Olympics. He equaled the world record (10.3 seconds) in the 100-meter race and broke the world records in the 200-meter race (20.7 seconds) and in the broad jump (26 feet 5 3/8 inches). He was enthusiastically applauded by the largely German crowd and developed a friendship with German long jumper and silver medalist Luz Long. However, he and other African American Olympians were demeaned by a Nazi newspaper that wrote of them as the “black auxiliaries” of the American team.

On August 9, Owens won his fourth medal as a member of the mixed-race 4×100-meter relay team. The world-record-breaking triumph was tainted by the revelation that U.S. coaches had benched two American Jewish relay runners the day before the event. Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were replaced with Owens and African American Ralph Metcalfe, the two best U.S. sprinters. However, both Stoller and Glickman had out-run Foy Draper, a white American who remained on the team, in a practice race. The coaches said Draper was more experienced, but Glickman and others thought that anti-Semitism was involved. Stoller, however, thought favoritism was to blame, as Draper and the fourth runner, Frank Wykoff, had trained under one of the Olympic coaches at the University of Southern California.

Despite the embarrassment of seeing his best Aryan runners bested by African Americans, Adolf Hitler hailed the Berlin Olympics as a great success. He commissioned a German architect to design a colossal, 400,000-seat stadium at Nuremberg that would host Olympics for “all time to come”. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 prevented the building of the stadium, and by 1945 Hitler’s plans for Nazi world domination had ended in absolute defeat. In the decades of Cold War that followed, the United States and the Soviet Union exploited the propaganda potential of the Olympic Games as freely as the Nazis did at Berlin in 1936.

Although only 23, Jesse Owens retired from amateur competition shortly after the Berlin Olympics in order to capitalize on his fame. This effectively brought his athletic career to an end. He later engaged in boys’-guidance activities, made goodwill visits to Asia for the U.S. Department of State, and served as secretary of the Illinois State Athletic Commission. He died in 1980.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Britannica Encyclopedia / Olympic.org / USATF.gov / Jesse Owens, Official Site Jesse Owens, Hitler reaction (YouTube) video


U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier USS Washington (U.S.Navy.mil)

The Old Salt’s Corner

Air Wing Organization

If assigned to a carrier or other vessel with embarked aircraft, it is important to familiarize yourself with their organization. It mirrors to a large extent, the ship’s organizational structure. The embarked aircraft squadrons retain their corporate identity and basic organization, but each squadron also supplies specific personnel, such as ship mess cooks, stewards, and laundry, to various departments listed above.

1. Air Wing Commander (CAG)

The CAG is directly responsible for the operational readiness and tactical performance of the air wing. He is responsible for the coordination and supervision of all activities of the embarked squadrons and detachments, and for the material readiness, communications, and intelligence functions of the air wing. The CAG does not fall directly under the carrier’s commanding officer. Rather, he is a co-commanding officer. Both the carrier CO and CAG report to the composite warfare commander under the CWC concept discussed earlier.

2. Deputy Air Wing Commander

The primary duty of the Deputy CAG is to assist the CAG, acting in effect as his executive officer. The Chief of Staff will ensure the activities and functions of the CAG staff adhere to the desires of the CAG.

3. Operations Officer

Responsible for supervising the training, operations, and readiness of all air wing squadrons. The Operations Officer standardizes operational procedures between squadrons, coordinates and develops operational contingency plans, and supervises the execution of those plans.

4. USW Operations Officer

Responsible for USW operations conducted by air wing assets. The USW Operations officer provides advice on the operational employment and training of the air wing USW squadrons.

5. Air Intelligence Officer

The Air wing Intelligence Officer is responsible for the collection, preparation, and dissemination of intelligence material needed by the CAG to plan and execute operations with air assets. He also directs and supervises the Mission Planning (MP) work center of CVIC.

6. Maintenance Officer

This individual is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the maintenance of air wing assets, and ensuring all necessary equipment and spare parts required by the squadrons is available. The Maintenance Officer also reports to the CAG regarding the impact on operational readiness by maintenance and material conditions in the squadrons.

7. Weapons Officer

Advises the CAG on loading, handling, and expenditure of the weapons employed by the air wing. This individual will assist the squadrons in all matters relating to weapons handling and employment.

8. Landing Signal Officers (2)

Two LSOs are normally assigned to the air wing. They coordinate with pilots to improve recovery (i.e., landing) operations and safety awareness.

9. Flight Surgeon

The Flight Surgeon provides medical care for the officers and men of the air wing. He is tasked with keeping the CAG informed of particular medical problems affecting the air wing.

10. Carrier Air Wing Intelligence Team

This group consists of the squadron intelligence officers and intelligence specialists assigned to the squadrons in the air wing. The Air wing Intelligence Officer is the leader of this team and as such is the Mission Planning Coordinator. All squadron intelligence personnel work in CVIC when embarked. That is, they integrate into a combined CV/CVW intelligence team. The Carrier Air Wing Intelligence Team provides direct support to the air wing with cyclic event briefs/debriefs, and in-flight aids in support of exercises and/or operations. Except for the TARPS officer, the members of this team also augment the SUPPLOT. The TARPS officer normally works in the Multi-Sensor Interpretation (MSI) area of CVIC.


“I’m Just Sayin’”

“I’m Just Sayin”

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,

places to play in and pray in,

where nature may heal

and give strength to body and soul.”

~ John Muir


“Thought for the Day”

“Thought for the Day”

“An idealist is one who,

on noticing that

a rose smells better than a cabbage,

concludes that it makes a better soup.”

~ Bertrand Russell


“What I Have Learned”

“What I Have Learned”

“Arguing with an idiot is like

playing chess with a pigeon.

No matter how good you are,

the bird is going to poop on the board

and strut around as if it won.”

~ Anonymous


Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Passenger drops farts so putrid pilot is forced to make emergency landing

Passenger drops farts so putrid pilot is forced to make emergency landing

A pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a row caused by a passenger who refused to stop farting.

The passenger apparently kept breaking wind on board a Transavia Airlines flight from Dubai to Amsterdam Schiphol last weekend.

The two Dutchmen sitting next to him didn’t take very well to his flatulence, but the unashamed man was apparently not put off and refused to hold back.

Members of the crew on the Dutch low-cost airline were apparently less than sympathetic and refused to do anything about it.

Despite a warning from the pilot, a fight between the men then broke out, causing the flight to be diverted to Vienna Airport.

The women are now taking the Dutch budget airline to court after being removed from the flight, and claim they have done nothing wrong.

Nora Lacchab, 25, a law student from Rotterdam, and her unnamed sister, say being removed was ‘humiliating’ are now seeking to legal action.

The two women, who are of Dutch and Moroccan descent, were returning to Amsterdam after a week holidaying in Dubai.

Passenger drops farts so putrid pilot is forced to make emergency landing

Nora told De Telegraaf: ‘We had nothing to do with the whole disturbance. We distance ourselves from that.

“Do they sometimes think that all Moroccans cause problems? That’s why we do not let it sit.”

“We had no idea who these boys were, we just had the bad luck to be in the same row and we didn’t do anything. All I will say is that the crew were really provocative and stirred things up.”

All four passengers have since been released, and were not arrested as they had not broken an Austrian laws.

However, they have all been banned from Transavia Airlines, who say that the two girls were also involved in the fight.

In a statement they said: “Our crew must ensure a safe flight. When passengers pose risks, they immediately intervene. Our people are trained for that.”

“They know very well where the boundaries are. Transavia is therefore square behind the cabin crew and the pilots.”

METRO (02/17/2018) video


Why Do Onions Make Us Cry?

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: Why Do Onions Make Us Cry?

The onion has been traced back as far as the Bronze Age and was worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians (and eaten by the Israelites during their bondage in Egypt). Onions were rubbed over the muscles of Roman gladiators, used to pay rent in the Middle Ages, and eventually brought to the Americas, where today we fry, caramelize, pickle, grill, and generally enjoy them.

Many of us burst into tears when we cut into one, too. It's the price we pay for onion-y goodness. Here's a play-by-play breakdown of how we go from grabbing a knife to crying like a baby:

1. When you cut into an onion, its ruptured cells release all sorts of goodies, like allinase enzymes and amino acid sulfoxides. The former breaks the latter down into sulfenic acids.

2. The sulfenic acids, unstable bunch that they are, spontaneously rearrange into thiosulfinates, which produce a pungent odor and at one time got the blame for our tears. The acids are also converted by the LF-synthase enzyme into a gas called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, also known as the lachrymatory factor (or the crying factor).

3. Syn-propanethial-S-oxide moves through the air and reaches our eyes. The first part of the eye it meets, the cornea, is populated by autonomic motor fibers that lead to the lachrymal glands. When syn-propanethial-S-oxide is detected, all the fibers in the cornea start firing and tell the lachrymal glands to wash the irritant away.

4. Our eyes automatically start blinking and producing tears, which flushes the irritant away. Of course, our reaction to burning eyes is often to rub them, which only makes things worse since our hands also have some syn-propanethial-S-oxide on them.

It only takes about 30 seconds to start crying after you make the first cut; that's the time needed for syn-propanethial-S-oxide formation to peak.>

WHY DON'T GREEN ONIONS MAKE US CRY?

The onion's relatives, like green onions, shallots, leeks and garlic, also produce sulfenic acids when cut, but they generally have fewer (or no) LF-synthase enzymes and don't produce syn-propanethial-S-oxide.

Why Do Onions Make Us Cry?

HOW TO AVOID CRYING?

Method #1: Chill or slightly freeze the onions before cutting, the idea being that this will change the chemical reactions and reduce the gas that is released.

Result: The onion from the fridge has me crying just as quickly as room temperature ones. The one that was in a freezer for 30 minutes leaves you dry-eyed for a bit, but by the time your done dicing my eyes start to burn a little.

Method #2: Cut fast! Get the chopping over with before the gas reaches your eyes.

Result: Just hacking away at the onion, you get in the frying pan without so much as a sting in your eyes. The onion looks awful, though. Doing a proper dice, you take a little too long and start tearing up. If you don't mind a mangled onion, this is the way to go.

Method #3: Put a slice of bread in your mouth, and cut the onion with most of the bread sticking out to “catch” the fumes.

Result: It seems the loaf of bread you have has gone stale. Stop the experiment and put bread on your shopping list.

Method #4: Chew gum while chopping. It keeps you breathing through your mouth, which keeps the fumes away from your eyes.

Result: This seems to work pretty well as long as you hold your head in the right position. Leaning toward the cutting board or looking right down at the onion puts your eyes right in the line of fire again.

Method #5: Cut the onions under running water. This prevents the gas from traveling up into the eyes.

Result: An onion in the sink is a hard onion to cut. Confucius said that?, but it certainly keeps you from crying.

Method #6: Wear goggles.

Result: In an effort to maintain dignity, try eyeglasses and sunglasses first. Neither do any good. The chemistry lab safety glasses make you look silly, but help a little more. Would imagine swim goggles would really do the trick, but they are usually unavailable.

Method #7: Change your onion. “Tear free” onions have been developed in the UK via special breeding and in New Zealand via “gene silencing” techniques.

Result: Your local grocier doesn't generally sell genetically modified produce or onions from England. Tonight, we eat leeks!

Library of Congress.govMental FlossQuoraRecipes, How Stuff WorksScience News for Students.orgWikipedia Why Do Onions Make Us Cry? (YouTube) video


NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang - U.S. Navy

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Shark bait: A package of bright green dye, attached to a life vest. Used to attract the attention of a rescue helicopter in the event of a man overboard by the victim in the water.

Shillelagh / Shillalah: A piece of fire hose, sometimes soaked in saltwater, used as a cudgel to hit wogs on the buttocks during Shellback initiation.

Shellback: An individual who has crossed the Line/Equator.

Sherwood Forest (Submarine Service): The missile area on a boomer.

Shinbuster: Same as knee-knocker.

Ship over: Re-enlisting.

Shipmate: (1) Any fellow sailor.

(2) (derogatory) Any junior enlisted about to get chewed out.

Shoe: (when used by Navy SEALs) Anyone in the Navy who is not a SEAL. “Look at those stupid shoes with their haircuts and fat bellies.”

(2) (when used by Naval Aviators) Surface Warfare Officers, so called because of their noticeable black shoes.

Short arm inspection:The inspection a ship's corpsman performs on a sailor's penis, looking for visible signs of any venereal disease, if the sailor suspects he may have contracted one.

Short Seabag or Without a Full Seabag: Reporting aboard without a full uniform; deficient in aptitude or intelligence.

Short Timer: A sailor with less than 90 days until discharge or transfer and an attitude to match.

Short Timer's Chain: A chain that hangs from the belt of a “short timer” for all to see, with one link representing a day, signifying too short to care, and usually starting with 30 links. Verbal equivalent is “__ days and a wake-up.” The chain may also be taken from the small brass chain keeping a sound power phone jack cover attached to the jack housing.


Just for MARINES - The Few. The Proud.

Just for you MARINE

Wetting-down or Wet Down: Celebration in honor of one's promotion as an officer or to the SNCO ranks, so named for the tradition of wetting the recipient and/or the promotion warrant.

Whiskey Locker: Supply locker/closet.


Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

VFA-105 - “Gunslingers”
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. - Established May 1, 1952


Where Did That Saying Come From

Where Did That Saying Come From?

Where Did That Saying Come From? “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush:”  Meaning: It's better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

Origin: 'This 16th century proverb is one of the oldest and best-known in English. It warns against taking unnecessary risks - it is better to keep what you have (a bird) than to risk getting more and ending with nothing (two birds out of your reach).

This proverb, like many others, warns against taking risks and suggests that you should keep what you have and not risk losing it by going after more. The other reading of the meaning is that it refers to medieval falconry where a bird in the hand (the falcon) was a valuable asset and certainly worth more than two in the bush (the prey). It may well be that both of these meanings were intended by the coiners of this proverb, which may go some way to explaining why it has resonated over the centuries and is still in common use.

This proverbial saying is first found in John Heywood's 1546 glossary A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the englishe tongue:

“Better one byrde in hande than ten in the wood.”

It's probable that Heywood didn't coin the expression himself but by how long the phrase pre-dates his publication isn't clear. Interestingly, the next line in Heywood's book (which is form in rhyming couplets) is another of the best known proverbs:

“Rome was not bylt on a daie (quoth he) & yet stood.”

Variations of the proverb existed prior to 1546, for example, this piece from Wycliffe's Bible, 1382:

“Ecclesiastes IX - A living dog is better than a dead lion.”

Variants that explicitly mention birds in hand come later. The earliest of these is in Hugh Rhodes' The Boke of Nurture or Schoole of Good Maners, circa 1530:

“A byrd in hand - is worth ten flye at large.”

The expression fits well into the catalogue of English proverbs, which are often warnings, especially warnings about hubris or risk-taking. Some of the better known examples that warn against getting carried away by some exciting new prospect are:

“All that glitters is not gold”, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”, “Look before you leap”, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure”, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley”.

The Bird in Hand was adopted as a pub name in England in the Middle Ages and many with this name still survive.

English migrants to America took the expression with them and 'bird in hand' must have been known there by 1734 as this was the year in which a small town in Pennsylvania was founded with that name.

Other languages and cultures have their own version of this proverb, notably the Czech:

“Lepsi vrabec v hrsti nez holub na strese” (A sparrow in the fist is better than a pigeon on the roof.).

Phrases.org UK


The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

A Third of Young Millennials Are Confused About This Incontrovertible Fact

A Third of Young Millennials Are Confused About This Incontrovertible Fact

Only 66 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. are confident that the world is round, according to a new national survey.

The findings don't necessarily indicate an epidemic of flat-Earthism, as only 4 percent of the 18- to 24-year-old age group said they actually believe the world is flat. Rather, there seem to be a relatively large number in this age group who are willing to entertain doubts: 9 percent said they had always believed the world was round but were recently having doubts, 5 percent said they had always believed the world was flat but were becoming skeptical of that conclusion and 16 percent just weren't sure.

Flat-Earth philosophy has been around since the 19th century, but it has recently blown up online, particularly on YouTube and Twitter. Believers post videos and memes arguing their case for a flat Earth and positing conspiracy theories to explain away everything that makes it clear that the planet is, in fact, a globe.

Flat-Earth believers"

It's hard to pin down precisely how many flat-Earthers there are. The first flat-Earth conference in the United States, held last year, drew a crowd of 500, according to its organizers. The new survey, conducted by YouGov, drew respondents from its online panel of 1.8 million residents of the United States. The survey questioned 8,215 adults, and the results were then weighted to represent the demographic makeup of the U.S. population. [Seven Ways to Prove the Earth Is Round (Without Launching a Satellite)]

The geography of religion"

The most predictive demographic factor that explains flat-Earth belief appears to be religion, the YouGov survey suggested. According to the results, 52 percent of those who said the world was flat also called themselves “very religious”, a descriptor that only 20 percent of Americans as a whole use for themselves. Another 23 percent of flat-Earth believers called themselves “somewhat religious”, while 25 percent said they were either not very religious or not religious at all.

While few polls have focused specifically on flat-Earth beliefs, other national polls have suggested that Americans are shaky on facts generally taught by the time they reach fourth grade. A 1999 Gallup poll found that 18 percent of Americans mistakenly thought the sun revolves around the Earth, rather than the other way around. (Germans and Britons were similarly heliocentrically confused in surveys taken around the same time, according to Gallup.)

Google Trends suggests that interest in the concept of “flat Earth”, if not necessarily belief, has been on the rise over the past few years. For example, searches for “flat Earth” rose around the time of the August 2017 solar eclipse, which spurred much sparring between flat-Earthers and mainstreamers online.

Live Science (03/22/2018) video


© CEASAR CHOPPY by cartoonist Marty Gavin - archives Ceasar Choppy's Navy! “© CEASAR CHOPPY” by Marty Gavin

SONG FACTS

“Enter Sandman” - Metallica 1991

“Enter Sandman” - Metallica
Album: Metallica
Released 1991 video

Written by band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett, this is about nightmares and things that go “bump” in the night. It has by far the most radio play of all of Metallica's songs.

James Hetfield's original lyric was about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Crib Death), when a baby dies inexplicably in its crib. The line, “Off to never never land” was, “Disrupt the perfect family”, and the “sandman” kills the baby.

Pretty gruesome stuff, so their producer Bob Rock convinced him to change it to make it more accessible and meaningful. The band had a policy of not commenting on each other's individual contributions, but Rock was an outsider and felt free to speak up. To his surprise, Hetfield took it well and altered the lyric accordingly.

Speaking with Uncut in 2007, Hetfield said: “I wanted more of the mental thing where this kid gets manipulated by what adults say. And you know when you wake up with that s--t in your eye? That's supposedly been put in there by the sandman to make you dream. So the guy in the song tells this little kid that and he kinda freaks. He can't sleep after that and it works the opposite way. Instead of a soothing thing, the table's turned.”

The line in the chorus, “Take my hand, we're off to Never Never Land” is a reference to the children's story Peter Pan, as Peter lives in the magical world of Neverland. In this song, the Sandman lives in Never Never Land, and it is a much less pleasant place.

At 3:26 into the song, there is a rendition of an ancient children's prayer performed by James Hetfield and Metallica producer Bob Rock:

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord, my soul to keep

If I die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

The song marked a shift from Metallica away from the more complex tracks with multiple time signatures that were in play on their previous album, ...And Justice For All. In an effort to build “shorter, to-the-point” songs, they used just two riffs on the track and based the rest of the song off those. The result was a straightforward hard rock song that helped seal the coffin on hair metal.

This is often played at baseball games when an intimidating relief pitcher comes in to finish off the game for the home team. The implication is that the pitcher is about to secure the victory and put the other team to bed. One example is Mariano Rivera, the closer for the New York Yankees. Members of The Yankees scoreboard operations staff chose the song, as Rivera didn't care or listen to the music played when he entered the game. A few years later, a reporter told Rivera about the song, and he approved, liking the idea of giving opposing hitters nightmares.

After the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, this was one of the songs they played over and over is sessions designed to break the will of Saddam Hussein's supporters. The U.S. military also played children's songs at these sessions, including selections from Barney the dinosaur.

Metallica official site / Billboard / All Music / Song Facts / Ultimate Classic Rock / Metallica

Image: “Metallica (album)” by Metallica


Trivia

Trivia

● What kinds of creatures were Heman Munster and Grandpa? The Frankenstein monster and Count Dracula.

● The months of July and August are named after Julius and Augustus Caesar.

● London was founded in the year 43 A.D. following the Roman conquest of Britain.


Jeopardy

A Test for People Who Know Everything

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “YE OLDE JOB FAIRE” ($200):

“In the old days of law enforcement, people might say, 'There's a new shrieve in town' instead of this job.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer Quora

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “A REAL BUSY BODY” ($400):

“The 'big 3' exercises of powerlifting are the squat, the deadlift & this 'press'.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer Bodybuilding

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “AMERICA SINCE 1900” ($1,000):

“This 1920s scandal erupted when Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall leased govt. oil fields to private individuals.”

Answer for People Who Do Not Know Everything, or Want to Verify Their Answer Britannica Encyclopedia


Answer to Last Week's Test

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “SEAN CONNERY & BURT REYNOLDS” ($1,000):

“Sean said, 'He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue' in this film.”

● Answer: The Untouchables. IMDb

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “HISTORIC DOCUMENTS” ($400):

“He was inducted into the Inventors' Hall of Fame for pioneering the solid-body electric guitar.”

● Answer: Magna Carta. The British Library

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “A CLOUDY CATEGORY” ($200):

“Cloud computing holds onto your data with vast arrays or 'farms' of these computers that process requests.”

● Answer: Servers. Rack Space


Joke of the Day

Joke of the Day

Joke of the Day

“A new teacher and a Psychology course.”

A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses. She started her class by saying, “Everyone who thinks they're stupid, stand up!”

After a few seconds, Little Larry stood up. The teacher said, “Do you think you're stupid, Larry?”

Little Larry responds, “No, ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!”


Little Larry watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed cold cream on her face.

“Why do you do that, mommy?” he asked.

“To make myself beautiful”, said his mother, who then began removing the cream with a tissue.

What's the matter, asked Little Larry “Giving up?”


Joke of the Day

The math teacher saw that Little Larry wasn't paying attention in class.

She called on him and said, “Larry! What are 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?”

Little Larry quickly replied, 'NBC, FOX, ESPN and the Cartoon Network!'


Little Larry's kindergarten class was on a field trip to their local police station where they saw pictures tacked to a bulletin board of the 10 most wanted criminals.

One of the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted person.

“Yes”, said the policeman. “The detectives want very badly to capture him.”

Little Larry asked, “Why didn't you keep him when you took his picture?”


Joke of the Day

Little Larry attended a horse auction with his father.

He watched as his father moved from horse to horse, running his hands up and down the horse's legs and rump, and chest.

After a few minutes, Larry asked, “Dad, why are you doing that?”

His father replied, “'Because when I'm buying horses, I have to make sure that they are healthy and in good shape before I buy.”

Little Larry, looking worried, said, “Dad, I think the UPS guy wants to buy Mom ....”