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reetings from Australia.
Welcome to
this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations,
birthdays and events.
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Indeed, my good scholar, we may say of
angling, as Dr Boteler said of strawberries, "Doubtless God could
have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did "; and so, if
I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent
recreation than angling. Izaak Walton, born on August 9,
1593; The
Compleat Angler
It
might sweeten a man's temper at any time to read The Compleat Angler. English poet Charles Lamb; The Compleat Angler's author,
Izaak Walton, was born on August 9, 1593
Angling,
too, that solitary vice,
Whatever Izaak Walton sings or says; The quaint, old, cruel coxcomb, in
his gullet Should have a hook, and a
small trout to pull it. Lord Byron, on Izaak Walton
(born on August 9, 1593) and the cruelty of fishing (Don Juan)
Children have real understanding only of
that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach
them something too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it
themselves. Jean Piaget, psychologist, born on August 9, 1896
It
is like being pregnant. At first you are happy. Then you think it was
a mistake. And in the end you want it to be over. Melanie Griffith,
American actress born on August 9, 1957;on
her work
with James Woods
A Kirghiz family at the foot of the Kongur mountains in Zinjiang, China. The Kirghiz are a Mongol people living in central Asia. UN photo.
In 1994, the UN General Assembly
decided that the International Day of the World's Indigenous People
should be observed on August 9 every year
during the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (Resolution 49/214
of December 23). The date marked the day of the first meeting, in 1992, of
the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Already in 1990, the
General Assembly had proclaimed 1993 the International Year of the World's
Indigenous People (Resolution 45/164),
and in 1993, the Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of the
World's Indigenous People, starting on December 10, 1994 (Resolution 48/163).
The goal of the Decade was to strengthen international cooperation for
solving problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights,
the environment, development, education and health. The Coordinator of the
Decade was the High Commissioner for Human Rights; its theme was
'Indigenous people: Partnership in action'.
In 2004 the Assembly
proclaimed a Second International Decade by
Resolution 59/174 (PDF file). The goal of this Decade is to further
strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by
indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the
environment, and social and economic development.
Who are the world's indigenous
peoples?
Indigenous people are called 'first peoples', tribal peoples,
aboriginals and autochthons. They have a historical continuity with
pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their
territories. They consider themselves distinct from other sectors of
society now prevailing in those territories. There are at least 5,000
indigenous groups made up of 300 million people, that live in more than 70
countries on five continents.
The majority of indigenous people, more than 150 million, live in Asia.
In ancient Rome, a public sacrifice was made
on this day to Sol Indiges, an aspect of Sol (Greek,
Helios)
the sun god, whose name indicates that he is the sun god indigenous to the area.
Sol Indiges was worshipped on the Collis Quirinalis,
or Quirinal Hill, one of the seven hills, at the north-east of ancient
Rome.
The Romans had another temple to
Sol near the race-tracks at the Circus Maximus, where he was considered to be the protector of the chariots. Emperor
Heliogabalus
(c. 203 -
March 11, 222), imported the cult of Sol Invictus
('the Undefeated Sun', see December 25) from Syria, and Sol was made god of the state.
Animals provided by the more prosperous citizens, or by temple donations, were sacrificed and afterwards were used to provide free meals to the people attending the ceremonies, or to the local
indigent
(a word which, regrettably, your almanackist has too little Latin to
know whether it is related).
Goddess month of
Hesperis commences (ends Sep 5)
This month is dedicated to the Hesperides,
the nymphs who guarded the gardens of Juno.
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs
who tend a blissful garden in a far west corner of the world,
located, according to various sources, in the Arcadian Mountains in Greece,
near the Atlas mountains in Libya,
or on a distant island at the edge of the ocean.
Additionally, Hesperides (also called Fortunate
Isles) is a name given by the ancients to a
series of islands located to the extreme west of
the then known world. These may have included the Canary Islands, the Madeira Islands, and Cape
Verde.
According to different accounts, there were either
three, four, or seven Hesperides, but they are usually numbered
three, like the other Greek triads (the Three Graces and the Moirae).
See picture, September
5.
The Hesperides
"The Hesperides are nymphs who live in a
beautiful garden, situated in the Arcadian Mountains (Greece) or,
alternatively, at the western extreme of the Mediterranean, near
Mt. Atlas (hence they are sometimes considered daughters of Atlas).
In this garden grows the tree with the golden apples which Gaia had
given as a present to Hera on
her wedding to Zeus. This
garden is guarded by Ladon, a
dragon with a hundred heads. The only one who succeeded in
obtaining some of the apples was Heracles,
who tricked Atlas to get them for him. Thus Heracles completed the
eleventh of his Twelve
Labors.
"The Hesperides are Aegle, Arethusa, Erytheia and
Hesperia. They are also called The African Sisters"Source
Planting of the May-tree,
Brussels, Belgium
Second Monday in August, destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Unlucky
day
in Elizabethan England: the day of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Feast of the Fire Spirits, Druidic Source: The Phoenix and
Arabeth 1992 Calendar
Feast day of St Panteleimon,
martyr
(Russian
Orthodox Church)
St Panteleimon (Pantaleon), is considered in the West among the
late-medieval Fourteen
Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the 'Holy Unmercenary
Healers'. In the Western (Roman Catholic) Church his feast day is July
27 (qv).
Camberwell Fair was held for three weeks from this day, from the 13th
to 19th Centuries, England
Frost Nights begin, Norway
In Norwegian folklore, today begins of a series of frost nights,
with August
12 usually the most severe.
Kochi Yosaki Matsuri, at Oji, Japan (Aug 9 - 12) The title of this festival
is derived from a famous local folk song. Thousands of people dance
in streets today.
(Bauer, Helen, and Carlquist, Sherwin, Japanese Festivals, Doubleday & Co, Garden City, New York, 1965, 178)
Asia Day, Bradford, England A
cultural festival held in Bradford, England, reflecting the city's
large Asian population.
Kranti
Divas (Freedom Day; Quit India Day), Mumbai (formerly
Bombay), India "On 9 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India
Movement, a final push to rid India of British rule, at a public
meeting in Mumbai. The park where he made his call is now known as
the August Kranti Maidan and a commemorative meeting is held here
every year to mark the anniversary of the movement.
"A procession usually starts at Girgaum
Chowpatty beach at 8am and winds its way to August Kranti Maidan.
Here politicians and freedom fighters gather to acknowledge the
importance of the Quit India Movement to India's achievement of
Independence almost exactly five years later. A visit to the event
is well worthwhile to see and listen to some of the few remaining
living Indian freedom fighters."Source
Ásatrú Day of Remembrance for Radbod, king of the
Frisians "On this arbitrarily chosen date, we honor Radbod a king of
Frisia who was an early target for christian missionaries. Just
before his baptism ceremony, he asked the clergy what fate his
befallen ancestors who died loyal to Asatru. The missionaries
replied that Radbod's ancestors were burning in Hell – to which the
king replied: 'Then I will rather live there with my ancestors than
go to heaven with a parcel of beggars.' The baptism was canceled,
the aliens expelled, and Frisia remained free of grey slavery. Drink
a horn this day, in memory of Radbod."Source
On which day of the week were you born? Find out here
It became one
of the most reprinted books in the history of British letters (has never been out of print)
and
today is considered a classic of the language. Walton drew upon
Nicholas Breton's (c.1545-1626) fishing idyll Wits
Trenchmour (1597).
'The Patron Saint of Anglers'
Though he wrote of the country pursuits,
Izaak Walton was a prosperous Londoner who worked as a linen-draper
and went fishing for recreation. He retired at 50 and led another
forty years of leisured life.
Walton was a convert to the preaching of
his local vicar, the great English metaphysical poet,John Donne,
whom he counted as a friend. Walton had two children, by a second
marriage, who looked after him in his old age. His famous book was
published 1653, the same year Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector.
Because he wrote of keeping bait alive as long as possible on a
hook, Byron charged him with cruelty. Charles Lamb wrote: "It
might sweeten a man's temper at any time to read The Compleat
Angler".
The doyen of
the study of strange phenomena, Fort (the adjective from his name,
Fortean, is applied to bizarre occurrences) had many views about
blood falls which he discussed at length. He wrote the following
passage about red rains:
Or that our whole solar system is a
living thing: that showers of blood upon this earth are its internal
hemorrhages – Or vast living things in the sky, as there are vast
living things in the oceans – Or some one especial thing: an
especial time; an especial place. A thing the size of the Brooklyn
Bridge. It's alive in outer space – something the size of
Central Park kills it – It drips.
"Fort grew progressively blind. On 3rd
of May 1932, he was admitted to hospital suffering from
"unspecified weakness". He died within a few hours, apparently
of leukemia. He took notes almost to the end - the last one said
simply: "Difficulty shaving. Gaunt places in face." After Fort
died, Anna lost her interest in living and survived him by only
five years."Source
"On this day:
9 August. At 1:30 in the morning
of 9 August 1977, police constable David Swift saw a peculiar
bank of fog on playing fields near Stonebridge Avenue, East
Hull. He thought it might be smoke, and went to investigate. As
he walked across the field towards it, he made out three dancing
figures, each with an arm raised as though around an invisible
Maypole. There was a man in a sleeveless jerkin and
tight-fitting trousers and two women with bonnets, shawls and
white dresses. 'When I got about 50 feet away from them,
everything went, no-one was there,' he said."Fortean Times
1896Jean Piaget(d. 1980),
Swiss developmental psychologist who, in his
interactions with very young children, began to suspect that they
had thought processes that had their own kind of order and their own
special logic. Einstein called it a discovery "so simple that only
a genius could have thought of it".
Piaget: What makes the wind? Julia: The trees. P: How do you know? J: I saw them waving their arms. P: How does that make the wind? J: (waving her hand in front of his face): Like this. Only
they are bigger. And there are lots
of trees. P: What makes the wind on the ocean? J: It blows there from the land. No. It's the waves ...
Piaget recognized that five-year-old Julia's beliefs, while not
correct by any adult criterion, are not "incorrect" either. They
are entirely sensible and coherent within the framework of the
child's way of knowing. Classifying them as "true" or "false" misses the point and shows a lack of respect for the
child.
In London she
became a friend (and perhaps lover) of the poet George William
Russell ('AE'), who introduced her to his close friends, WB
Yeats and TS Eliot. (Yeats and Russell had met
at the Dublin Theosophical Society and conducted experiments into
the occult, and held séances.) Russell also introduced her to
writer and editor,
Alfred
Orage, who in turn introduced her to Gurdjieff.
Like her most famous character, Mary
Poppins, the motto of Travers appears to be 'never explain', and
perhaps this derives from the Gurdjieffian philosophy. Travers's
life is difficult to research as she was very private and would
rarely if ever discuss her life. One thing that is known is that her
father was a banker, like Mr Banks, the father figure in the Mary
Poppins books.
After her death at the age of 96, at
the peak of the Mary Poppins film's popularity, a fund was
started in the USA to erect a statue to PL Travers in New York's
Central Park, but the fund failed due to lack of support.
" … she was a stargazer as a
little girl, because her father was a stargazer and they used to
lie in the garden in Allora, which is a little town near
Toowoomba, and look at the stars, and he would tell her the
meaning of all the stars, their real names, the constellations'
names and so on."Source
1918Robert
Aldrich, American film director (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?;
The Dirty Dozen).
Robert Aldrich entered the film industry in
1941 when he got a job as a production clerk at RKO Pictures. He
soon worked his way up to script clerk, then became an assistant
director, a production manager and an associate producer. He began
writing and directing for TV series in the early 1950s, and directed
his first feature in 1954. Soon thereafter he established his own
production company and produced most of his own films, and
collaborated in the writing of many of them.
Aldrich is a cousin of former US Vice
President (1974-77) and governor of New York (1959-73) Nelson
A(ldrich) Rockefeller. Source
1922Philip Larkin,
British poet (The Whitsun
Weddings; High Windows)
reetings from Australia.
How it works
Like her most famous character, Mary
Poppins, the motto of Travers appears to be 'never explain', and
perhaps this derives from the Gurdjieffian philosophy. Travers's
life is difficult to research as she was very private and would
rarely if ever discuss her life. One thing that is known is that her
father was a banker, like Mr Banks, the father figure in the Mary
Poppins books.