This Day in History
Based on a father-daughter team, both of whom shared February 22nd as a birthday, today is Founders Day for various incarnations of ‘boy-scouts,’ and World Thinking Day for the associations around the globe that have followed the imprimatur of the original Girl Guide, Olave Baden-Powell; in the Chinese capital thirteen hundred twelve years ago, the sole female head of state in 4,000 years of imperial China abdicated her position and thereby restored the fifteen year hiatus to the Tang Dynasty; eight hundred eleven years subsequent to that moment, in 1316 in Europe, internecine struggles over the control of Greece—between Portuguese and Hanoverian interlopers—erupted into the Battle of Picotin, a pyrrhic victory for Ferdinand of Majorca; MORE HERE
A Thought for the Day
Coming face to face with failure and yet gazing gaily into the maw of doom remains an essential trick of most experiences, and any outright pursuit, of happiness: every sort of science, not to mention each individual’s expression of empirical reality, points out that even allowing for a vast quantity of ‘inconclusive’ results, failures vastly outnumber successes in any kind of arena other than that of professional sports or skill games, where in fact lopsided winning records—a bit more than half at best—are possible; this preponderance of defeat especially prevails whenever someone seeks to ‘push the envelope’ or otherwise promulgate new methods and protocols and experiences in place of the contemporary norms and standard operational procedures that soon enough garner the imprimatur of both selfish interests and received wisdom, in spite of the absolute truth of changing circumstances and incomplete awareness and, perhaps above all, the dialectical nature of the cosmos itself which, whatever the ultimate impact of entropy, embodies one revolution after another.
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay, A Few Figs from Thistles
Numero Uno—
Nearly Naked Links
From Tuesday’s Files
Facts & ‘Alternative Facts’ – https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/facts
Rene Dubos, “Of Human Nature” – http://panarchy.org/dubos/humannature.1968.html
EVENTS
VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS RESIDENCIES – ALASKA
The Voices of the Wilderness artist residency is a unique opportunity. It is modeled after traditional residencies in the national parks only with a twist. Instead of staying at a remote wilderness cabin, our participating artists are paired with a wilderness specialist and actively engaged in stewardship projects, such as research, monitoring, and education. The idea is to give artists a sense of the stewardship behind America’s public lands, fostering an artistic exploration of these natural and cultural treasures. The hoped-for result is artwork that communicates something of the meaning of these lands. Deadline Marech 1, 2017.
OPPS/SUBS/CONTESTS
The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod (AFCC) will be offering a summer internship for college students or recent college graduates.
JOBS
Are you a journalist with big ideas who wants your work to matter? If so, USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism invites you to apply to apply for the all-expenses-paid National Fellowship — five days of stimulating discussions in Los Angeles, a proving ground for new ways to think about health, plus grants of $2,000-$12,000.