Culture

by

On 41

In Science
41, the atomic number of the element niobium (Nb), whose neutrally charged atom has 41 protons and 41 electrons

41 Daphne is a large asteroid

In Music
Symphony No. 41, the longest and last symphony of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

#41, a song by Dave Matthews Band.

Sum 41, a Canadian rock band

American Skin (41 Shots), a song by Bruce Springsteen

Opus 41, musical compositions by Tchaikovsky (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), Elgar (In the Dawn and Speak, Music!), Sibelius (Kyllikki), and Rachmaninoff (Three Russian Songs)

Fabric 41, a 2008 album by Luciano

In Literature
Sonnet 41, one of William Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/41

41 Stories, a book of 41 short stories by O. Henry

41: A Portrait of My Father, a book written by George W. Bush for his father George H. W. Bush

In Movies
41, an independent documentary about Nicholas O’Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire

41, a 2012 Documentary about on the life of George H. W. Bush, the 41st US President

41, Charlton Heston’s designation as a Roman warship slave in Ben-Hur

41st floor, Morpheus is aggressively questioned about the murder of Amadou Diallo in The Matrix

41, the NYPD precinct number on the police car shown during the earthquake in Ghostbusters

Highway 41, where Cary Grant is attached by a crop-dusting airplane in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest

In Sports
41, the race number worn by Sir Roger Bannister when he broke the 4-minute mile barrier (1954)

41, retired jerseys – MLB: Eddie Mathews (Braves), Tom Seaver (Mets); NFL: Brian Piccolo (Bears); NBA: Wes Unseld (Wizards); NHL: none

NASCAR #41: 27 wins (most by Curtis Turner, followed by Richard Petty, Kurt Busch, Jim Paschal, and A.J. Foyt)

Super Bowl XLI: Indianapolis Colts 29 Chicago Bears 17 (4 Feb. 2007 Miami, Florida)

In Mathematics
41, a natural number, a prime number, a supersingular prime number, a Newman-Shanks-Williams prime number, a Sophie Germain prime number, and Eisenstein prime number, a Proth prime number, a centered square number, and the largest lucky number of Euler

41, only divisible by 1 and 41

Embed from Getty Images

In History

41 AD

  • a common year starting on Sunday
  • Holocene calendar year 10041, Korean calendar year 2374, Discordian calendar year 1207
  • Claudius succeeds his nephew (Caligula) as Emperor
  • Claudius restores religious freedom to Jews throughout the empire, but prohibits Jews in Rome from proselytising
  • Emperor Guangwu of the Han dynasty deposes his wife
  • The disciples of Jesus form Christian communities in Damascus and Antioch

41 BC

  • Either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
  • Buddhist calendar year 504, Ab urbe condita calendar year 713, Assyrian calendar year 4710
  • Year of the Perusine War
  • Mark Antony meets Cleopatra in Tarsus and formed an alliance
  • Arsinoe IV of Egypt (Cleopatra’s half-sister) dies

In US History
Bush 41, George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States

Montana, the 41st state of the United States

Federalist Paper No. 41, a general view of the Powers Conferred by the Constitution (written by James Madison) http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed41.asp

41, the number of members in the U.S. Senate needed to defeat a cloture vote and sustain a filibuster indefinitely

In Geography
Interstate 41, a highway connecting Chicago, Illinois and Green Bay, Wisconsin

41st Street in Manhattan – click for a walking tour http://www.nysonglines.com/41st.htm

41st parallel North – crosses Span, Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, North Korea, Japan, United States, Portugal

41st parallel South – crosses Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina

41st Meridian East – crosses Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Antarctica

41st Meridian West – crosses Greenland, Brazil, Antarctica

In Culture
41, forty-one, Cuarenta y uno, Čtyřicet jedna, Eenenveertig, Nelikümmend üks, Keturiasdešimt vieną, Afartan mid ka mid ah, XLI, and more

In Mexico “cuarenta y uno” (41) is slang referring to a homosexual

41st book in the bible is the Gospel According to Matthew

41st wedding anniversary, traditional gifts throughout the world include topaz, iron, birch, and nasturtium

In numerology, 41 is conscientious, sensual, quick wit, adventurous, curiosity, and pragmatism

In Organizations
41 Entertainment LLC (“41E”), a privately held American animation company developing, producing, and distributing popular children’s television series

City 41, part of the leading news media group of Pakistan, City News Network

41 Hotel or No. 41, a Red Carnation Hotel luxury hotel in London, England

Foundation 41, a medical research organisation based in Sydney, Australia

In Miscellaneous
The international direct dialing (IDD) code for Switzerland

C-41 process is the film developing process for 35mm color negative film

41 stories, the number of floors in the ONE St. Petersburg building in St. Petersburg, Florida

“41 for Freedom”, the collective term for the 41 ballistic missile submarines of the George Washington class and its successors

STS-41, the eleventh mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery

Season 41 of Saturday Night Live, 2014-15

Embed from Getty Images

 

41, all this in honor of our 41st wedding anniversary. For those wondering, we first met in September 1974. Here’s Dave Matthews singing his song, #41. Happy Anniversary to my long-time love.

Advertisements
by

On Respect

Embed from Getty Images

Aretha spells it: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Merriam-Webster defines it:

  • a relation or reference to a particular thing or situation
  • remarks having respect to an earlier plan
  • an act of giving particular attention
  • the quality or state of being

A thesaurus provides substitute words: appreciates, considerate, dignity, honor, recognize, regard, courtesy, and more

The Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial Board writes it.

Respect, it would seem, is in incredibly short supply in America these days. Inappropriate actions, offensive and rude language and a general lack of manners are, unfortunately, becoming the norm. And increasingly, there seems to be little patience or respect for the diverse ideas or experiences of others.

America has become a nation of absolutists in love with their own perspectives and intolerant of differing ones. But what has always made this country great is its diversity of people and their opinions, ideas and culture. …

Respect for each other’s differing opinions and backgrounds opens the door for healthy dialogue as opposed to the often angry, back-and-forth that masquerades as conversation on social media.”

United States Air Force Lt. General John Silveria says it.

by

On a Worthy Read

Embed from Getty Images

Walls can surround to keep something out. Walls can also surround to keep something in. Either way, walls divide. Walls are barriers – and barriers can come in different forms.

Rick Steves is a respected travel guru in the U.S. – especially specializing in Europe. His shows and books are very well done, and one we appreciate for our travels. We have not taken any of his tours, but everyone that I know who has rave about them.

A new American president has made quite a splash in the news. Although he states his desire to be a president for all, his actions do not support his statement. After all, actions are more powerful than words – or as I like to say, behaviors and actions demonstrate one’s true value.

Rick Steves has a perspective about building a wall and actions that act like a wall. To me, this is a worthy and powerful read. Click here to read it.

 

 

by

On the Most Beautiful Species

Embed from Getty Images

Sunrise, sunsets, rock formations, the star-filled sky, a brilliant moon, a blooming meadow is a valley surrounded by mountains, and much more … Natural beauty is all around us.

Beauty within the living world is easy to find – rainforests, coral reefs, grasslands, deserts, marshes, under the water’s surface, in a cave, around the house, in the soil, many more places – let alone in the microscopic world.

Because beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, some find their ultimate beauty in flowers ranging from exotic orchids to a wide variety of houseplants. Others find the ultimate biological beauty in the wild animals of Africa, in the colorful fishes in the warm ocean waters, or in our domestic pets. Bloggers as Bulldog, Cathy, Cindy, Nia, Robin, Suzanne, and many more wonderfully capture this beauty.

Yet, at least to me, the most beautiful species is hidden among us – masked in selfishness, horror, ego, and deceit – thus I present three reasons supporting my surprise nomination of the most beautiful biological species – Homo sapiens – humans.

Embed from Getty Images

Do you think the markings on every peregrine falcon are exactly the same?

Variation within a species is an important aspect of evolutionary success. Look at the spectrum of variations with some external human traits as skin color, hair color, – let alone ranges of straight to curly plus the hairstyle of individual choice – Add eye color, height, body shape, lips, then toss in personalities and abilities – there’s something for everybody, thus humans display beauty in so many ways!

Most, if not all, organisms have variations. the beautiful cheetahs don’t have many variations, thus one of the reasons they are in biological trouble. One may think all the leaves on a certain type of tree are the some, but they aren’t. One may think all the spots on the underbelly of a specific bird are the same and in the exact same pattern, position, and number – but they probably aren’t. Variation within a species is important, and the range within humans is extraordinary.

Embed from Getty Images

The second aspect of the most beautiful species is the human brain, which allows a great range of communication, individuality, creativity, problem solving, culture, learning, and more. While we can easily criticize the choice many make from the result of having the most complex neural masses in the biological community, humans demonstrates the greatest range of creativity – and much of it relates to human ability to problem solve.

Think about the questions and decisions one encounters every day. Consider all the material items we contact every minute of every day in every year – and all these manufactured products have a story centered around problem solving.

Think about all the ways we communicate – facial expressions, mathematical, written, visual, musical, and oral – let alone in so many languages. Look at all the styles in the visual arts – after all, the visual arts are communicating, thus touching us in different ways.

The arts with all its styles and media are a story in itself. The painting world alone is huge. Toss in music, literature, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, photography, and many others – no wonder I proclaim the arts as the ultimate expression of human creativity.

In order to accomplish what we can, humans must be capable of learning – and the capacity for the human brain to learn is overwhelming – then alone the ability to apply the learning to a problem solving and/or creative situation. Human learning is a story in itself, yet as a species, I wonder if there are limits to learning besides the self-imposed and the impaired.

Although some human behavior is instinctive, human learn behaviors (good and bad), and have the ability to learn new ones (good and bad) – and each of us are a collection of behaviors that gives us our own individuality. Thus, one of the challenges of being human is the ability to deal with so many personalities.

Embed from Getty Images

There is no question that today’s world has it share of human-created issues that are based in culture – but culture is the last reason for humans being the most beautiful biological species. Culture is a set of shared, learned behaviors, and beliefs that are passed on from one generation to the next. (Thanks BSCS) (A culture post from the aFa archives)  There are many aspects to culture: dress, dance, food, language, art, religion, behaviors, holidays – well, only to name a few.

While leading a training session in Boston years ago, I encountered a participant who embraced her heritage with her clothes. The colors, the patterns, and the design were so stunning, each day I looked forward in anticipation to seeing her attire. What beauty! Whether from someone sharing photos from their travels or daily surroundings, I see similar beauty through images on blogs as with the lady in Boston.

Given the variations within the humans species, the human brain, and human culture, there is no doubt that humans are the most beautiful species on this planet. Yes, it depends how one defines beauty – let alone their perspective. Yes, variation within a species is common throughout the biological world. Yes, other organisms communicate, problem solve, and have societies – but no other organism does it to the level of humans … and yes, we have a tendency to deny our own good because of the negatives in today’s world.

by

Flashbacks: On Perspectives

To close this series, below are a few perspectives that you may enjoy. Visit as many as you want, and I hope you comment on the post you visited.

by

On a Tough Wait

This evening we got the news that our friend (who is has been in the hospital most of November) has taken a drastic turn for the worse. I wonder if she will still be with us when I awaken in the morning.

I want to take a day away from my planned post for her and her family. I know she would suggest I press on, by hey, this is still a post.

No matter if one has faith or not, no matter the religion, and regardless of geography, human nature is to feel a sense of sadness during times like this.

So on this night and through the day tomorrow, I hope and pray for peace and strength for her and her wonderful family.

—-

Update 11:oo am EST Dec 1, 2011

We received word that our friend peacefully passed away at 8:15 am EST. I know no more pain and uncertainly, and in the spirit of the baptism that I believe, she is in a better place. I can’t imagine what her family is feeling after having their life turned upside down in a matter of 3 weeks. Please keep “the family of Frank’s friends” in your prayers. Thanks everyone for caring.

by

On Human Culture

Culture: the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

Culture: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group

Culture: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time

Culture: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization

Culture: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic (All the above are from Merriam-Webster)

I don’t know why, but I enjoy being around different cultures of human society, although growing up in a bilingual household may be part of it.

Across the US, geography creates different American cultures as rural-city, east-west, urban-suburban, Catholic-Protestant, Christian-Jew-Muslim-Hindu-Budahist, and many more. Pockets of ethnic neighborhoods remain today in many cities today where a foreign culture strives on American soil. Yep – count me as one who loves the Italian neighborhoods as in San Francisco (North Beach) and Boston (North End).

Today, I think of two important aspects of culture. First, American culture has a rich history of effects from immigration. After all, our melting pot heritage is loaded with remnants from days gone by. Secondly, given the ease of travel and communications and a worldwide economy, cultures are in contact with one another more and more with each passing day.

Our ballroom dance studio is an interesting place as I’ve gotten to know people from India, China, Guatemala, Russia, and Ukraine. On my recent work project, I’ve encountered a team from India. These very kind people noticed my interest in their culture, thus told me about their life in India and shared food with me that they prepared.

To me, the bottom line is simple and they have reinforced a something I believe – goodness is a human quality that transcends all cultures. Although we tend to dwell on the negative, we need to remind ourselves that good people are throughout the world. Through different languages, different religions, different ways of life, different dress, different ideologies, different traditions, different values, and different foods, goodness exists – thus kindness, smiles, and understanding go a long way.