1958: Events and Inventions

Feb6

January 31, 1958. The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

February 1, 1958. Egypt and Syria unite to form the United Arab Republic. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser will be president of the U.A.R. until Syria secedes in 1961.

May, 1958. In Algeria, 40,000 French settlers riot in protest against the French government’s agreement to give Algeria its independence.

June 16, 1958. Two years after the Hungarian uprising against Soviet control of their country, former Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy, who sympathized with the rebels, is hanged for treason. Hungarians are angry but powerless to resist the Soviet-influenced Communists who control the country.

July 14, 1958. King Faisal of Iraq and Jordan, his son the crown prince and the prime minister of Iraq are all murdered n a military coup, and a republic is established.

July 29, 1958. The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

October, 1958. The USSR agrees to loan money to Egypt to build the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt.

November 28, 1958. Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community.

December 21, 1958. General Charles de Gaulle is elected president of France for a term of seven years. The major issue facing his government is whether or not to grant Algerian independence. French settlers in Algeria want the colony to remain under French rule, but Algerian nationalists are fighting for independence.

December 29, 1958. Rebel troops under Che Guevara begin to invade Santa Clara, Cuba. President Fulgencio Batista resigns two days later, on the night of the 31st.

1957: Events and Inventions

Feb6

January 3, 1957. Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.

January 20, 1957. Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula (captured from Egypt on October 29, 1956).

March 14, 1957. President Sukarno declares martial law in Indonesia. Sukarno continues to consolidate his power in Indonesia until he is made President for Life in 1963.

March 25, 1957. Six nations—France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg–set up the European Common Market or European Economic Community.

July 25, 1957. Tunisia becomes a republic, with Habib Bourguiba its first president.

August, 1957. Malaya receives its independence from the United Kingdom and elects its first president, Abdul Rahman.

September 22, 1957. Dr. FranÃ§ois Duvalier (Papa Doc) comes to power in an election in Haiti. He later declares himself president for life, and rules until his death in 1971.

October 4, 1957. The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.

November 3, 1957. The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2, with a dog called Laika on board, the first animal sent into orbit.

December 20, 1957. The Boeing 707 airliner flies for the first time.

Warning: Political Rant

Feb6

I have made what is for me a momentous political decision. I will be voting for neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney in November.

My reasons for rejecting Barack Obama are multitudinous: Obamacare, forcing Catholics to pay for birth control, cap-and-trade, the U.S. budget deficit, our huge and growing national debt, my higher personal taxes, the ridiculous unemployment rate, increased government regulation of almost everything, hubristic ideas of what government is responsible to do, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

However, and the powers that be in the Republican party need to hear this from a profusion of voices, as much as I want to have a new president in 2013, I refuse to vote for Bob Dole, John McCain, George H.W. Bush, etc. again. Hey, I like G.W. Bush, as a person and as a president, but even he was a compromise candidate who turned out better than I thought he would. I’ve done it over and over: voted for the Republican candidate because he was “better than the alternative.”

This time I refuse. If Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination, I will not vote for him. I will stay home or vote for a third-party candidate, and I will encourage my friends and family to do the same. I know all the arguments against such a course of action; I’ve used all the arguments to drum up support and convince myself and others to vote for, most recently, John McCain. “If you vote third-party or don’t vote, you’re just giving the election to Obama.” “This country can’t afford four more years of Obama.” “Anyone is better than President Obama.”

All I know is that as long as we sheep are willing to keep voting for McCain in a different suit, the media and the moneymen and the coastal Rhinos will keep giving us candidates who differ from the Democrat liberals only in degree, and not much of that. Romney only wants the state governments to take over our health care system, piece by piece, state by state. Romny only wants keep to the status quo as far as abortion is concerned, instead of imposing payment for abortion costs on taxpayers who don’t believe it’s morally just as Obama will do if he can. Romney only wants “regional” cap-and-trade programs. Romeny wants to “streamline processes” and “consolidate programs”, but I don’t see anywhere that he wants to eliminate anything that government is already doing. Romney wants to reduce taxes and cut some regulations here and there. At least, he says he does. But when he gets to Washington, I think he’ll compromise with Democrats and big government Republicans who pressure him to “do something” just as he says he compromised when he was governor of Massachusetts.

I live in Texas. By the time we have a primary, if we ever get a firm date for that event, I believe the nominee will already be chosen. Listen to me now: I will not vote for Mitt Romney. I have been here too long and seen this same scenario play out too many times. If you want a moderate Democrat-in-disguise to become president, you’ll have to find someone else to elect him. It won’t be me this time.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Desert Elephants by Helen Cowcher

Feb6

“In Mali, West Africa, the last remaining desert elephants follow the longest migration route of any elephant in the world. THeir largest circular route is 300 miles long across harsh land just south of Sahara desert. When the dry season begins, they start their journey for water. Their lives depend on it.”

This 2011 nonfiction picture book tells the story of the desert elephants of the Sahel. These elephants live in a area called the Gourma in central Mali. The tribes that live in this same area are the Dogon, Fulani, and Tuareg peoples. The book tells how the elephants migrate to find water during the dry season and during the rainy season, and it also tells about the tribal peoples’ efforts to live in harmony with the elephants and to not disturb them.

The illustrations are lovely, showing the beauty of the elephants and of the people that live near them. the vibrant colors in the people’s clothing and environment will help to dispel the image of desert Africa as a land of sand-colored tents and fabrics and not much more. In an author’s note at the end of the book, Ms. Cowcher says, “These dramatic textiles are another way of communicating. Designs can include popular goods like fans, phones, stoves, or water pumps or more traditional symbols like hands, fingers, or eyes.”

The book also shows the importance of radio communication in the parts of the world where many of the people are illiterate and are spread out over miles of territory. “The radio tells people about how to protect the land they share with the elephants, gives them advice on health and education, and broadcasts programs about women’s issues. . . Radios also play soap operas and music.”

Curriculum and unit study uses for Desert Elephants: deserts, elephants, mammals, Africa, North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, the Sahara, Tuareg, Dogon, Fulani, Black History Month, environments, conservation, water.

Nonfiction Monday, a round-up of reviews of children’s nonfiction books is hosted to day at Capstone Connect.

Saturday Review of Books: February 4, 2012

Feb3

â€œAfter the work is read, attention must be given. This is the time for serious reflection that goes beyond the act of good reading to the broader acts of good living.â€ ~~James W. Sire

Welcome to the Saturday Review of Books at Semicolon. Hereâ€™s how it usually works. Find a book review on your blog posted sometime during the previous week. The review doesnâ€™t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can link to your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Then on Friday night/Saturday, you post a link here at Semicolon in Mr. Linky to the specific post where youâ€™ve written your book review. Donâ€™t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after youâ€™ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book youâ€™re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews theyâ€™re most interested in reading.

After linking to your own reviews, you can spend as long as you want reading the reviews of other bloggers for the week and adding to your wishlist of books to read. That’s how my own TBR list has become completely unmanageable and the reason I can’t join any reading challenges. I have my own personal challenge that never ends.

1. Donovan @ Where Pen Meets Paper (The Yiddish Policemen’s Union)
2. Donovan @ Where Pen Meets Paper (Good News to the Poor)
3. the Ink Slinger (Black Hawk Down)
4. Hope (Hell’s Guest – WWII book)
5. Girl in Translation@ Nudging the Universe
6. Glynn (A Pair of Blue Eyes)
7. JoAnne@The Fairytale Nerd (Legend)
8. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Darth Paper Strikes Back)
9. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Anne of GG adaptation)
10. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Yucky Worms)
11. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Read Aloud Thursday)
12. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (This Week in Books)
13. Barbara H. (Rilla of Ingleside)
14. Beckie @ ByTheBook (Beyond Molasses Creek)
15. Beckie @ ByTheBook (Not In The Heart)
16. Beckie @ ByTheBook (Everything Romance)
17. Beckie @ ByTheBook (Pieces of Light)
18. Becky (In the Garden of Beasts)
19. Becky (5 Board Books about the 5 Senses)
20. Becky (My Brother’s Shadow)
21. Becky (A Million Suns)
22. Becky (Double Star)
23. Becky (Door Into Summer)
24. Becky (The Pupper Masters)
25. Beth@Weavings(Reading Journal – Love on the Line & Who Get’s the Drumstick?)
26. SuziQoregon@ Whimpulsive (Start Shooting)
27. SuziQoregon@ Whimpulsive (The Buddha in the Attic)
28. SuziQoregon@ Whimpulsive (Pronto)
29. Collateral Bloggage (The Passage)
30. Collateral Bloggage (Batting Stance Guy)
31. Book Addict (Chopsticks)
32. Thoughts of Joy (Chasing Windmills)
33. Thoughts of Joy (The A.B.C. Murders)
34. Patricia (11 from january)
35. Lazygal (Zombie)
36. Lazygal (The False Prince)

37. Lazygal (The Fault in Our Stars)
38. Lazygal (Pink Smog)
39. Lazygal (Game Changers)
40. Lazygal (Bad Apple)
41. Lazygal (Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink)
42. Lazygal (Illuminate)
43. Lazygal (Hearts of Darkness)
44. Lazygal (The Downside of Being Charlie)
45. Lazygal (Storm Makers)
46. Lazygal (Starters)
47. Lazygal (If Only)
48. Lazygal (The Cabinet of Earths)
49. Lazygal (Welcome Caller, This is Chloe)
50. Lazygal (The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom)
51. Lazygal (Blood on the Moon)
52. Mental multivitamin (On the nightstand)
53. Becky (Time for Stars)
54. Alice@Supratentorial(Confessions of a Prairie Bitch)
55. DebD (The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains)
56. Sarah Reads Too Much (The Color Purple)
57. Girl Detective (Sweet Tooth GN 4 Endangered Species)
58. S. Krishna’s Books (The Devil’s Bones)
59. Girl Detective (The Unwritten GN 5 On To Genesis)
60. Girl Detective (The Sisters Brothers)
61. S. Krishna’s Books (A Wrinkle in Time)
62. S. Krishna’s Books (The Legacy of Eden)
63. S. Krishna’s Books (Home Front)
64. S. Krishna’s Books (The Uncoupling)
65. S. Krishna’s Books (The Thirteen Hallows)
66. Debbie @ Exurbanis (Dog in Boots)
67. Debbie @ Exurbanis (The Market Square Dog)
68. Debbie @ Exurbanis (Giraffe and Bird)
69. Debbie @ Exurbanis (I Want My Hat Back)
70. Debbie @ Exurbanis (Coyote Sings to the Moon)
71. utter randomonium (The Help)
72. utter randomonium (The Book of Lost Things)

73. Andrew @ Where Pen Meets Paper (Damned)
74. Jules Book Reviews (The Colony of Unrequited Dreams)
75. Jules Book Reviews (Anil’s Ghost)
76. Jules Book Reviews (Transitions)
77. Jules Book Reviews (Books That Followed Me Home)
78. Jules Book Reviews (Selected Short Stories – Virginia Woolf)
79. Jules Book Reviews (A Long, Long Way)
80. Jules Book Reviews (January Wrapup)
81. Carol in Oregon (Books and Food)
82. Colleen @ Books in the City (O Come Ye Back to Ireland))
83. Colleen @ Books in the City (150 Pounds)
84. the Ink Slinger (On the Bookshelf III)
85. Nicola (The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby)
86. Nicola (Irena’s Jars of Secrets by Marcia Vaughan)
87. Nicola (The Yellow House Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner)
88. Nicola (Jellaby: Monster in the City by Kean Soo)
89. Nicola (Shot at Dawn by John Wilson)
90. Nicola (Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King)
91. Nicola (Jellaby by Kean Soo)
92. Becky (Cinder)
93. Quieted Waters (Night by Elie Wiesel)
94. BooksYALove (Eleventh Plague)
95. Becky (A Suitor for Jenny)
96. Becky (Crossed)
97. Amy@book musings
98. Melody @ Fingers and Prose (Weird Sisters)
99. Melody @ Fingers and Prose (Gilead)
100. Yvann @ Reading With Tea
101. aloi@guiltlessreading (High Fidelity)
102. Diary of an Eccentric (Summer of My German Soldier)
103. Diary of an Eccentric (Catalyst)
104. Diary of an Eccentric (Poems from the Frost Place)
105. Diary of an Eccentric (The Last Nude)
106. Gina @ Bookscount (Not Yet 40)
107. Top Books I’d Give to Someone That Doesn’t Read

100 Valentine Celebration Ideas at Semicolon.

1957: Books and Literature

Feb1

The National Book Award goes to a book called The Field of Vision by Wright Morris.

Albert Camus wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) publishes The Cat in the Hat, using only 236 simple words. The story, about a subversive cat who brings chaos into two children’s rainy day but then manages to resolve the problem before mom comes home, is an instant classic.

Published in 1957:
Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. Mrs. Elliot tells the story of her husband, Jim Elliot, and the other men who in attempting to make contact with the Waorani Indians in Ecuador were killed by the very people they came to help.

Kids Say the Darndest Things by Art Linkletter. Art Linkletter had a daytime TV show, a talk show called House Party, and at the end of each show he had a panel of children that he talked with and interviewed.

4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie. Aren’t trains romantic? Several of Agatha Christie’s novels involved trains, train travel, death on a train, even romance on a train.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I’ve never read it, even though road trips are one of my many fascinations. The New York Times hailed it as “the most beautifully executed, the clearest and the most important utterance yet made by the generation Kerouac himself named years ago as “beat”. I’m just not interested in drug-hazy memories of taking drugs while driving across country looking for more drugs.

The Guns of Navarone by Alistair McLean. We watched the movie based on this book a few months ago, and it felt really hokey and unbelievable. I remember the book as a better experience, but I read it a really long time ago.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.

On the Beach by Nevill Shute. Semicolon review here.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I’m not an Ayn fan. Has anyone else here read it?

The Assistant by Bernard Malamud. I read this book when my mom was taking the aforementioned Jewish literature class, but I was too young to get it.

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. My opinion of this very long Russian romance is the same as her opinion, without the cursewords.

Twelve Projects for 2012

Feb1

For several years now, I’ve been starting off the year with projects instead of resolutions. I don’t alway complete my projects, but I enjoy starting them and working toward a goal. And I don’t feel guilty if I don’t finish. If I do finish, I feel a sense of accomplishment. Win-win. So, here are my twelve projects for 2012, that I never got posted at the beginning of the year, and an update on each one as to how I’m doing as of the end of January.

1. Bible study project. I’ve picked twelve books or portions of the Bible to study in 2012—one per month. To be posted soon. In January I’ve just been reading in Psalms and trying to get my mind back after a long journey into lunacy.

2. Twentieth Century History Project. I’m continuing this project as I teach my twentieth century history at our homeschool co-op. We’re through the 1950’s now and into the years that I can actually remember.

3. North Africa Reading Challenge. You can still join, if you’d like. And here’s the update for January.

4. Praying for Strangers (and Friends) Project. I was quite impressed last year by my reading of River Jordan’s Praying for Strangers. I still can’t walk up to strangers and tell them that I’m praying for them or ask them for prayer requests. But in 2012 I hope to ask God to give me one person each day to focus on and to pray for. Maybe I’ll be praying for you one day this year. I need to make myself do this consistently.

5. Read Aloud Thursday. I really want to concentrate on reading aloud to Z-baby this year. Right now we’re reading The Lord of the Rings (her request), and maybe we will be reading it for the rest of the year! And I want to participate in Read Aloud Thursday each week at Hope Is the Word.

6. Texas Tuesday. I still want to read books about Texas, by Texas authors and set in Texas and post about them on Tuesday. I’d also like to round-up other reviews of Texas books either weekly or monthly, but I don’t have a plan worked out for that yet. I haven’t really done much about this project in January, and tomorrow is Tuesday.

7. U.S. Presidents Reading Project. I got David McCullough’s biography of Truman for Christmas, and I plan to read that chunkster during my Lenten blog break. I don’t know if I’ll read any other presidential biographies this year, but if I finish Truman I’ll be doing well.

8. 40 Inspirational Classics. I had a plan last year to post about 40 inspirational classic books over Lent, but I only managed to write about eighteen. Maybe I can post about the other twenty-two this year.

9. Shakespeare Project. I hope to plan a Shakespeare course for my homeschool co-op next year, and I’ll probably be posting about that quite a bit in the latter part of the year.

10. Meal planning project. I hate meal planning. When I do plan, I decide that I don’t want what I planned. So my “project” is to figure out a meal planning idea that works.

11. Wednesday’s Word of the Week. I was doing well on this project until the holidays came along, and then it got lost.

12. My Lenten Blog Break. For the past few years, I have taken a break from blogging during Lent. Ash Wednesday this year falls on February 22, less than a month from now. I hope to have posts pre-written and scheduled for Lent before I go on hiatus. If you are interested in guest-writing a post, particularly a post for Texas Tuesday or Wednesday’s Word of the Week, please email me at sherry.early@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to schedule your post on either of those subjects for publication on Semicolon if you can get it to me before February 22.

January Check-in: North Africa Reading Challenge

Jan31

I’ve been interested for a while in reading books about Africa. If you look at the top of this page you will see a link to my pages of Books about Africa, sorted by region and then by country. So I decided to get organized in 2012 and sponsor a challenge for myself and anyone else who wants to join in.

I (we) will be concentrating on Northern Africa this year. It’s a good place to start because I think we could all afford to know a little more about this part of the world from which so much of our heritage comes and in which so much has been happening lately. In my template, there are eleven countries in Northern Africa: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. (South Sudan is a brand-new country in this region, and of course books set in South Sudan count, too.) The challenge is to read eleven books either set in this region or written by authors from this region in 2012. I hope to read read at least one adult book and one children’s book from each country. The children’s books may be more difficult to find.

You are welcome to try any one of the following challenges—or make up your own.

1. North Africa Tour: Read at least one book from each of the eleven countries in Northern Africa. Since the challenge runs for eleven months, this challenge would entail reading one book per month.

2. African Country Concentration: Read five books set in one of the countries of Northern Africa or five books by authors from one of the countries of Northern Africa. Example: Read five books by Egyptian authors.

3. Children’s Challenge: Read five to eleven children’s books set in Northern Africa. Adults are welcome to do this challenge either with a child or not.

The Northern Africa Challenge begins on January 1, 2012 and ends on December 1, 2012. If you choose to read eleven books for this challenge, that will be one book per month. You can still join. If you would like to join me in this challenge in 2012, please leave a comment. I will keep a list of challenge participants in the sidebar, and I will link to your reviews, if you write them and send me links, on my Africa pages. (If you already have book reviews on your blog related to Northern Africa, those books don’t count for the challenge. However, if you send me the links at sherryDOTearlyAtgmailDOTcom, I will add your reviews to my Northern Africa page.)

You may be interested in also joining the Africa Reading Challenge at Kinna Reads which can overlap with this one (or replace it). My goal, and Kinna’s if I read her correctly, is just to get people reading and talking about Africa and the literature of Africa.

Have you read any books in January set in North Africa or written by North African authors? Have you reviewed those books on your blog? If so, please leave a link here so that we can share our journeys through the countries of northern Africa.

1956: Events and Inventions

Jan31

January 1, 1956. The Sudan becomes an independent republic, gaining its independence from Egypt and Britain.

January 8, 1956. Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming are killed by the Waodani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.

March 2, 1956. Morocco declares its independence from France.

May, 1956. In France, Teflon Co. markets a non-stick frying pan, the first non-stick kitchenware.

July 26, 1956. Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt, seizes control of the Suez Canal. His plan is to build a dam on the Nile at Aswan with the money the canal generates. In October Anglo-French forces bomb the canal, and in November they take the canal back from the Egyptians. The United Nations sends troops to take control of the canal.

September 13, 1956. The hard disk drive is invented by an IBM team led by Reynold B. Johnson.

September 21, 1956. Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa is assassinated. His sons, Luis Somoza and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, rule the country of Nicaragua for the next twenty-three years.

October 17, 1956. 13-year-old Bobby Fischer beats Grand Master Donald Byrne in the NY Rosenwald chess tournament.

October 26, 1956. Rebels against the Communist government and the Soviet presence in Hungary destroy a huge bronze statue of Stalin in Budapest and face off with Soviet troops stationed in Hungary. Prime Minister Imre Nagy sympathizes with the rebels, but more Soviet troops are being sent to quell the uprising.

Back-to-school fashions in 1956-57

1956: Movies and Television

Jan30

The King and I with Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr is on my list of Ten Best Movie Musicals Ever.

The Ten Commandments also came out in 1956. Biblical epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille. I prefer Prince of Egypt, but no one should miss Charlton Moses.

The Man Who Knew Too Much, an Alfred Hitchcock film starring Doris Day and Jimmy Stewart, also opens in June, 1956. It’s a great Hitchcock thriller, and Doris Day wins an Oscar for Best Song with “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)“.

On April 19, 1956, movie star Grace Kelly becomes Princess Grace as she marries Prince Rainier, ruler of the principality of Monaco.

On September 9, 1956, Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He sings four songs in two sets: Don’t Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, Ready Teddy, and You Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog. The show is viewed by a record 60 million people which at the time was 82.6 percent of the television audience, and the largest single audience in television history. Elvis’s first movie, Love Me Tender, opens in November.

In November 1956, the film And God Created Woman (French title: Et Dieuâ€¦ crÃ©a la femme), directed by Roger Vadim, husband of starring French actress Brigitte Bardot, is released in France and makes a big splash, gaining Ms. Bardot the appellation of “sex kitten.” Heavily edited to pass the censors, the movie will be released in the United States in 1957.