On this day in history.

[giradman]

Leonard Cohen Dead at 82 - Delayed Announcement!

Leonard Cohen apparently died on November 7, but announced on the tenth - just appeared in my local paper this morning w/ a substantial obituary. He was a prolific and gifted songwriter over so many decades - I was never a big fan of his own singing but plan to go on Spotify and do some listening. One of his most favorite songs (for me) is Suzanne - below a couple of videos (from his younger years), one w/ Judy Collins, my favorite interpreter of that song. Dave

ADDENDUM: On Spotify on my iPad 2 and streaming the 2-disc album added at the bottom wirelessly to my BT soundbar (usually used for my HDTV w/ an optical cable) - plenty of else by him available, but this is a 31-song compilation of some of his most famous songs.

Leonard Norman Cohen (21 September 1934 – 7 November 2016) was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and personal relationships. Cohen was inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize (Source).

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[giradman]

I did some research on Joseph F. Ambrose and found a copy of his draft registration card.
View attachment 74686

Hey neat! I just grabbed that pic off the Wiki article on Veteran's Day - Dave

 

[scifan57]

Hey neat! I just grabbed that pic off the Wiki article on Veteran's Day - Dave

I found the link to the draft card on his Wikipedia page.

 

[giradman]

Leonard Cohen Sings in 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Last week, I added some Criterion BDs (their half-off sale) to my video collection - including the 1971 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller w/ Warren Beatty & Julie Christie; Leonard Cohen songs w/ him singing are on the soundtrack; a couple performed below for those interested - this is the Cohen voice I like to hear. Dave

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[J. A.]

November 12, 1984 was the release date of Paul McCartney's Frog Chorus (We All Stand Together).

We All Stand Together - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

Ellis Island Closes this day in 1954!

Ellis Island in New York harbor near the New Jersey shore - immigration peaked from its opening in 1892 until 1924; in 1907 over a million people were processed on the island. Presently, Ellis Island is part of the National Park Service and can be visited (see source in second quote below) - Susan and I have been there twice (boat tour from the Battery - see map; tours can be taken that also include the Statue of Liberty). A few added pics of the restored buildings/museum - Dave

On this day in 1954, Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, an estimated 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant Samuel Ellis, who owned the land in the 1770s (Source).

Following restoration in the 1980s, this building reopened as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, a symbol of this nation's immigrant heritage. The museum exhibits chronicle Ellis Island's role in immigration history, and view it in the context of its time and the still broader context of four centuries of immigration to America (Source).

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[giradman]

Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington this day in 1982

The War Memorials in Washington, D.C. are all different. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a rather stark V-shaped black wall w/ the names of the dead (nearly 58,000) (see pics below) - Susan & I have been there twice and the experience is sobering. Dave

Near the end of a weeklong national salute to Americans who served in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict, arranged in order of death, not rank, as was common in other memorials. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial soon became one of the most visited memorials in the nation’s capital (Source).

The designer of the memorial was Maya Lin, a Yale University architecture student who entered a nationwide competition to create a design for the monument. Lin, born in Ohio in 1959, was the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Many veterans’ groups were opposed to Lin’s winning design, which lacked a standard memorial’s heroic statues and stirring words. However, a remarkable shift in public opinion occurred in the months after the memorial’s dedication. Veterans and families of the dead walked the black reflective wall, seeking the names of their loved ones killed in the conflict. Once the name was located, visitors often made an etching or left a private offering (Source).

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[scifan57]

November 15, 1867;

The first stock ticker debuts at the New York Stock Exchange. Ticker tape - Wikipedia

 

[KevinJS]

18th November, 1936: The main span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is joined.

 

[giradman]

18th November, 1936: The main span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is joined.

Kevin - boy, I've been across that bridge so many times (mainly on trips to the Napa & Sonoma Valleys) - but has been a while - need to get back! Dave
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[scifan57]

18th November, 1936: The main span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is joined.

I've walked across it twice. On a clear day you get a great view of San Francisco Bay from the middle of the bridge.

I've stood on the point that the picture was taken from in your post Dave. The view was spectacular.

 

[giradman]

I've walked across it twice. On a clear day you get a great view of San Francisco Bay from the middle of the bridge.

I've stood on the point that the picture was taken from in your post Dave. The view was spectacular.

Beautiful views - been there too - Susan & I have often either driven or taken the ferries to Sausalito or Tiburon (of course, driving across the bridge) - views are always spectacular from any vantage point (and w/ Alcatraz sitting in the middle of the Bay) - need to get back! Dave

P.S. believe that I've only walked about half way across the bridge and back -

 

[KevinJS]

I've never been across it. First time I was in the US I drove across the Bay Bridge on the way from SF airport to South Lake Tahoe. Couldn't believe that the toll was only $1.

That was back in the day when I was a tourist.

 

[giradman]

Abraham Lincoln Delivers His 'Gettysburg Address' this day in 1863

The opening speaker at the event was the orator Edward Everett who spoke for 2 hours - Lincoln's speech was 2 minutes - later, Everett wrote a letter to the President stating "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes (Source)." Dave

On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War (Source).

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought some four months earlier, was the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Over the course of three days, more than 45,000 men were killed, injured, captured or went missing. The battle also proved to be the turning point of the war: General Robert E. Lee’s defeat and retreat from Gettysburg marked the last Confederate invasion of Northern territory and the beginning of the Southern army’s ultimate decline (Source).

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[scifan57]

November 20, 1945;

The Nuremberg trials begin for 24 high ranking Nazis.
Nuremberg trials - Wikipedia