Crabs and Beer!

Today is the birthday, in 1877, of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, known as Aga Khan III. He was the 48th imam of the Nizari Ism’aili branch of Shia Islam. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Pakistan, serving as the first permanent president and founder of the All-India Muslim League (AIML). Shah sought the advancement of Muslims and the protection of Muslim rights in British India.

From a religious perspective, Shah followed a modernist approach to Islam. He believed there to be no contradiction between religion and modernity, and supported Muslims in their endeavor to embrace modernity. Shah was critical of the traditional religious establishment, particularly their emphasis on formalism, legalism, and literal interpretations of scripture. Shah opposed sectarianism, which he believed sapped the strength and unity of the Muslim community. In specific, he called for a rapprochement between Sunnism and Shīʿism.

Shah advocated for women’s rights not solely on the basis of their roles as mothers or wives, but as a matter of individual empowerment and social equity. He endorsed the spiritual equality of men and women in Islam, and he also called for full political equality. This included the right to vote and the right to an education. In regards to the latter issue, he endorsed compulsory primary education for girls.

He married four times and had three sons. He died in 1957 in Versoix, Switzerland, surrounded by his family members. His last words were repeating the verses of the Quran.

Muhammad Shah in 1936

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If you’re planning to travel…

Today is the birthday, in 1961, of Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter Kathryn Dawn Lang, (k.d. Lang). She had the 1993 UK No.15 single ‘Constant Craving’. Lang’s career received a huge boost when Roy Orbison chose her to record a duet of his standard, ‘Crying’, a collaboration that won them the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1989. In 2003, she won her fourth Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her collaboration with Tony Bennett on A Wonderful World. She is a vegetarian, and her “Meat Stinks” campaign in the 1990s created much controversy, particularly in her hometown, in the middle of Alberta’s cattle ranching industry, where she was banned from more than 30 Alberta radio stations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTx7XHqKYgk

Today is the birthday, in 1797, of John Adams. He was a Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the Continental Congress of the United States as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.

A lawyer and political activist prior to the Revolution, Adams was devoted to the right to counsel and presumption of innocence. He defied anti-British sentiment and successfully defended British soldiers against murder charges arising from the Boston Massacre. He was a member of the Committee of Five assisted Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence and was its primary advocate in Congress.

Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, are the only presidents of the first twelve who never owned slaves. He was the first president to occupy the White House.

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Spam anyone?

Nothing to add here…

Americans hate the metric system!

Use anything else!!

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Halloween music? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qae25976UgA

Today is the anniversary of Black Tuesday, part of the great stock market crash of 1929 which ushered in the Great Depression. The great bull market and enthusiasm of the 1920s had led the stock market to record highs. The market had been on a nine-year run that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average increase in value tenfold, peaking at 381.17 on September 3, 1929. Much of the stock was purchased on borrowed money.

Some experienced investors realized that stock prices were unsupportable and began selling. On October 24, “Black Thursday“, the market lost 11% of its value at the opening bell. In the first three minutes alone, nearly three million shares of stock, accounting for $2 billion of wealth, changed hands. The huge volume meant that the report of prices on the ticker tape in brokerage offices around the nation was hours late, and so investors had no idea what most stocks were trading for.

Several leading Wall Street bankers met to find a solution to the panic and chaos on the trading floor. They agreed to support the market with strong buying backed by their collective wealth. It didn’t work. On October 29, 1929, “Black Tuesday” hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Around $14 billion of stock value was lost, wiping out thousands of investors. The panic selling reached its peak with some stocks having no buyers at any price.

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Today is the birthday, in 1946, of Rob Van Leeuwen, from the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, who formed in The Hague in 1967. They had the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Venus’ which topped the charts in nine countries and was the first song by a Dutch band to reach No. 1 on the US chart. Worldwide, the single has sold over 5 million copies. Bananarama covered ‘Venus’ in 1986, hitting No.1 in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and reaching No.8 in the UK. American rock band Nirvana recorded a cover version of the Shocking Blue song ‘Love Buzz’ for its 1988 debut single, released on Sub Pop in the USA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LhkyyCvUHk

On this day in 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act over the veto of President Wilson. The act was designed to enforce the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919) which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. The act defined ‘intoxicating beverages’ as those containing more than 0.5% alcohol. The act also set forth the fines and jail sentences for the manufacture, sale and movement of alcoholic beverages.

The production, importation, and distribution of alcoholic beverages—once the province of legitimate business—was taken over by criminal gangs, which fought each other for market control in violent confrontations, including murder. Major gangsters, such as Omaha’s Tom Dennison and Chicago’s Al Capone, became rich, and were admired locally and nationally.

the Act allowed 200 gallons of “non-intoxicating cider and fruit juice” to be made each year at home. Some vineyards embraced the sale of grapes for making wine at home. Vine-Glo was produced ostensibly to let people make grape juice from concentrate but it included a warning on its packaging telling people how to make wine from it.

On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, voiding the Volstead Act and restoring control of alcohol to the states.

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British road signs…

Halloween gone wrong

Halloween pickle?

Marge Simpson?

Duct tape

Stanley Cup

FoilMan??

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On this day in 1972, Stevie Wonder released his 15th studio album Talking Book. The album’s first track, ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’, hit No.1 on the Billboard charts, and earned Wonder his first Grammy Award. The album featured a guest appearance of Jeff Beck on the track ‘Superstition’.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYj1DMHwFy4

On this day in 1948, a deadly smog event began in Donora, Pennsylvania. It was caused by hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. Steel’s Donora Zinc Works and its American Steel & Wire plant during an atmospheric temperature inversion. It killed 20 people and caused respiratory problems for 6,000 of the 14,000 people living in Donora, a mill town on the Monongahela River 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Pittsburgh.

Many of the illnesses and deaths were initially attributed to asthma. The smog continued until it rained on Sunday, October 31, by which time 20 residents of Donora had died and approximately one third to one half of the town’s population of 14,000 residents had been sickened. Another 50 residents died of respiratory causes within a month after the incident.

The event is often credited for helping to trigger the clean-air movement in the United States, whose crowning achievement was the Clean Air Act of 1963, which required the United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to hazardous airborne contaminants.

Donora Wire Mill

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Charcuterie for the season

Have the right Bumper Sticker!

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Today is the birthday, in 1949, of American musician and record producer Garry Tallent who is the bass player with the Bruce Springsteen E Street Band. He started playing with Springsteen in 1971 and as of 2013, and not counting Springsteen himself, Tallent is the only original member of the E Street Band remaining in the band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ