University of Nebraska Press

This Week in History: June 23-27, 2008

Well bloggers, it’s about that time again. Yep, it’s This Week in History! We’ve got the Battle of Okinawa, the Angora Fire, and Veronica Guerin.  Care to stick around?  I think we’ve got quite a week in front of us…..

June 23, 1945: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the Imperial Japanese Army forces fall apart on Mabuni.
The Battle of Okinawa was significant to WWII, as it was just weeks before the atomic bombings.

If you’re interested in this region of the world, wars aside, than please check out Genealogies of Orientalism: History, Theory, Politics, by Edmund Burke III for a close look.

June 24, 2007: Angora Fire starts near South Lake Tahoe, California destroying over two hundred buildings in the first two days alone.

Wildfire and Americans, by Roger G. Kennedy, is an appeal on behalf of the author to begin looking at natural disasters as possessing more of a human origination. How do we contribute as humans to the new face of wildfire?

June 25, 1966: Congolese basketball star, Dikembe Mutombo is born.

Mutombo won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times, and when he was 40 he was the oldest player in the league. To get a closer look on the modern African American basketball player please take a look at Young, Black, Rich, and Famous, by Todd Boyd.

June 26, 1996: Irish Journalist, Veronica Guerin, is shot in her car by drug dealers.

Guerin’s tireless fight against drug dealers in Ireland, ended up in her death, but left a significant mark on the Irish Parliament’s determent and punishment of criminals.  For another book about significant women in history please take a look at Give Me Eighty Men, by Shannon D. Smith

June 27, 1962: Paul Viding, Estonian poet dies today.

Viding was a significant writer who’s work had known influences of T.S. Eliot in it. If poetry is your thing, than you may be interested in Modern Archaist: Selected Poems by Osip Mandelstam  written by Osip Mandelstam.

Ok bloggers, you can find all these books and more at the University of Nebraska Press website. Please join us Tuesday for some more Trivia!

Linking in Lincoln: June 26, 2008

Linking in sibling rivalry!

New this season from the University of Nebraska Press is, Sister Brother: Gertrude and Leo Stein by Brenda Wineapple.  This book chronicling the “devoted, eccentric, and compelling” brother and sister follows them from childhood to adulthood and the events leading to their separation. To celebrate the beloved relationship, this weeks Linking in Lincoln is going to Link all things Sibling!

As always, we must first define what we are investigating. Check out Wikipedia to see what constitutes a sibling.

“Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” Gertrude Stein was a prolific writer, go here to take a look at some of her work.

In the Boston area? Have a bite to eat at the Sibling Rivalry restaurant for some authentic American Cuisine.

Did you know that 40 states have actually ratified a “Siblings Day”? Go here to check it out.

Volunteering for Big Brothers and Big Sisters is a great way to forge a sibling like relationship without the rivalry. Go to the volunteer website to see how you can make a difference.

Drama is always better than real life. To see Hollywood’s take on siblings check out the Emmy award winning Brothers and Sisters on ABC.

Well bloggers, join us again Friday for This Week in History.

The Future Is Now

Whenever someone sends me something with that title it always accompanies some article about the first bionic eyes hooked into the brain of a blind woman or some thing about getting closer to cold fusion.  Things that we aren't going to see in common use for the time being, if ever.  Meanwhile the amount of technology that is coming into our lives is increasing.  When you think about it, we are the science fiction stories.

Years and years ago, in that preteen age I read a story about a young woman obsessed with a rock singer.  I don't remember the name of the story or the author, but it was one of the rare realistic things I read.  The girl and her friend sneak into the hotel and meet the rock star who turns out to be an utter dipwad, thereby crushing the girl's vision of him.  Now you don't need to go to the trouble of sneaking into a hotel room.  Now you can just read their blog.

I'm thinking of this because there are a lot of sf authors who blog.  (It makes sense that sf authors would embrace new technology, doesn't it?)  And it isn't unheard of for fans to backlash against an author.  There was the Anne Rice incident and if I remember right, Poppy Z. Brite also had thing with her fans a few years back, though I don't remember what and I can't seem to find anything on it now.  But even if we're not talking about big fireworks, there is still a level of personal interaction and knowledge of the authors we love.

Which brings me to technology.  Years ago if you loved Heinlein or Asimov or not even that far back, if you adored William Gibson in the 80s, you found every book and story by that author and you read it.  You'd hunt up interviews if you could get them.  And that was about it.  You could read the author bios at the back of the book and see the picture if they had one.  The rest was up to you.  Writers were wizards who conjured up worlds and there was no humanizing aspect to change that perception.  Just their stories, polished, perfected, bound and sold for $4.95 in paperback.

Now there are blogs.  (Yes, I'm writing one.)  It's not quite like meeting the author in person, but you do get a sense of the person behind the words.  The magic is gone, the wizard comes out from behind the curtain, and you learn that he or she also is on a diet, hates to exercise, is nervous about a new novel sent out, angry at politicians, got caught in traffic, had a flight canceled.  Do we really want to know?

Mind you, I read a lot of blogs, and I clearly write one, so I'm not arguing for or against blogging, I'm simply wondering at the implications of it.  Are losing something by this practice?  Will today's fourteen year-olds ever feel the awe towards writers that I felt at that age?  Or will they feel it more because of the on-line personal connection?  In blogging, do authors give away too much, taking off the wizards cap and showing the human behind the magic?  Do we need to look up to writers at all?  Maybe thinking of them as wizards in the first place is unhealthy.  Maybe knowing the daily life of favorite authors will inspire others to write. 

For better or worse, the technology is here and we will use it.  The results and implications will work themselves out.  But I find it interesting, we could now tell that story about the girl and the rock star using technology instead of a hotel room.  The girl would never need to meet her object of affection face to face.  A science fiction story set in the current time.  The future is now.

Tuesday Trivia Answers

1. Magic Johnson
2.Mike Tyson
3. Michael Vick
4. Chicago White Sox
5.Tanya Harding
6. Kobe Bryant
7. Pete Rose
8. Boris Onischenko

Guest Blog: STANLEY H. TEITELBAUM—“SPORTS HEROES, FALLEN IDOLS”

“ THE CURRENT EPIDEMIC OF SPORTS SCANDALS”

Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Floyd Landis, Spygate, and  Pete Rose.

We are bombarded with sports scandals on a regular basis.  Last July there were three major scandals within a three week span: the Tim Donaghy NBA referee gambling scandal, The Chris Benoit wrestling murder and suicide episodes, and the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal.  Even the gentlemens’ game of tennis has been rocked with reports of match fixing.

The public put sports stars on a pedestal because they need heroes to admire and identify with, and the fans are sadly disillusioned when these heroes are discovered to have clay feet.  The culture of cheating in sports has become so prevalent that we have come to expect it, and, yet, we are repeatedly shocked and disappointed with each new scandal in which an athlete is exposed in off the field misbehavior, or a sports league is tainted.

We have come to look at sports and sports figures as symbols of integrity and character, as our political and business leaders submerge in a sea of corruption.  As we become increasingly disillusioned in celebrities who are exposed as fraudulent (e.g . James Frey’s memoir “A Million Little Pieces”) and politicians who are guilty of lying, cheating, hypocrisy, and deception (e.g. Governors Eliot Spitzer, Jim Mc Greevey, and Senator Larry Craig), many people turn to sports and sports heroes as emblems of excellence.

In many ways sports represents the last frontier for establishing solid values and commendable character traits in our children.  Instead of solidifying these goals we are seeing an erosion of character in our sports stars, which is being passed along to youths who are all too eager to emulate their heroes.  As a result we are in danger of producing a corresponding epidemic of erosion of character in our youth culture.

Scores of athletes whom we idolize have become tarnished by their transgressions, and the major sports leagues including baseball (steroids), football (spygate), basketball (referee game fixing), and tennis (gambling) are currently riddled with scandals of corruption.

As the 2008 NBA finals got underway, pitting the Celtics vs. the Lakers, the excitement about this classic rivalry was preempted by new allegations from the disgraced referee, Tim Donaghy, about NBA executives and referees involved in manipulation of game results.  The media, which trades on scandals, played it up, and once again sports fans were obliged to confront questions about integrity and honesty in sports.

Many fans have become inured and desensitized to the media frenzy about cheating in sports, and in some quarters the former widespread sense of moral outrage has morphed into reactions of numbness and indifference.  For example a recent

Gallup

poll indicated that 57% of the respondents believe that Roger Clemens had lied about using steroids, and 62% maintain that, nevertheless, he should get into the Hall of Fame.

In “Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols” I describe how under pressure from their inner demons or as an outgrowth of a distorted self image that conditions them to think they have a free pass to do whatever they want, some of our sports stars behave in ways that have dire consequences. What I call the toxic athlete profile often emerges, which includes the personality characteristics of arrogance, grandiosity, and entitlement, and leads many of our cherished stars to transgress into moral and illegal territory.

Tuesday Trivia: June 24, 2008

It's no surprise when a famous athlete ends up in the papers for a sex scandal, or drugs, or dog fighting….yet how often do we investigate the events leading up to these very public falls from grace? New this month from the University of Nebraska Press is Sports Heroes Fallen Idols: How Star Athletes Pursue Self-Destructive Paths and Jeopardize their Careers, by Stanley H. Teitelbaum.  Using his background in psychotherapy, he takes a serious look at how society props up our athletic heroes and then revels in their demise. In this week’s Tuesday Trivia we’re going to take a look at famous sports scandals and test just how closely we pay attention to their downfalls.

Match the scandal with the year it happened.
1.    1992
2.    2003
3.    1991
4.    2007
5.    1989
6.    1919
7.    1976
8.    1994

A.    Magic Johnson announces that he is HIV positive.
B.    Mike Tyson is convicted of rape.
C.    Michael Vick is indicted for dog fighting.
D.    The Chicago White Sox threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
E.    Ice skater Tanya Harding, hired men to injure competitor Nancy Kerrigan in the 1994 Olympic Games
F.    Kobe Bryant is accused of sexual assault
G.    Pete Rose, manager of the Cinncinati Reds, was banned from baseball for gambling on games.
H.    Boris Onishenko wired the handle of his fencing sword to trigger the scoreboard, during the Olympic Games.

Ok, bloggers how’d you do? Check back tomorrow for the answers!

This Week in History: June 16-10, 2008

What do Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Abraham Lincoln, and Juliano Belletti all have in common? Well, other than This Week in History, not a whole lot. They are all, however, very significant to our humble blog as their endeavors give us reason to exist. So in honor of their efforts, we will proceed with another session of This Week in History.

June 16, 1859: Abraham Lincoln gives his famous speech House Divided in Springfield, Illinois.

Whether you are a fan or not, the legacy President Lincoln has left on this country has been considerable to say the least. For a look at an equally important figure on the opposite side, check out Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby, by Kevin H. Siepel

June 17, 1631: Mumtaz Mahal dies giving birth. Her husband, Mughal  Emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends the next twenty years building her tomb. We know this as the Taj Mahal.

Now THAT is a love story, and if romance is your thing you might be interested in Valentines, by Ted Kooser.
June 18, 1981: The AIDS epidemic is formally recognized by the medical professionals of San Francisco.

The tragedy of disease has had its affects all over the world, and we are weighted down with the stories of loss. The miracles are less frequent, however,  so if you’re in the mood for one then please check out  It’s Good to Know a Miracle: Dani’s Story, by Jay and Sue Shotel.

June 19, 1953: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are put to death at Sing Sing in New York.

Their tale of Soviet espionage, with regards to the Atomic Bomb, gained international attention during the cold war. If seedy crime, and even seedier trials are your thing then have a look at Atrocities on Trial, by Patricia Herbre and Jurgen Matthaus.

June 20, 1976: Today Brazillian Juliano Bellitti was born.

Are you a fan of South America, and perhaps also athletics? If so, then Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom by Milton H. Jamail may just be the book for you!

You can find all these and more at the University of Nebraska Press website. Otherwise, we’ll see you on Tuesday for a little trivia!

Linking in Lincoln: June 19, 2008

New this month from the University of Nebraska Press is, Green Plans by Huey D. Johnson.  By studying the Green Plans in place around the world, Johnson provides a detailed and accessible examination of their theory, implementation, and performance across the globe, highlighting the challenges and successes of green plans in the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany, the rest of the European Community, and Singapore. This week Linking in Lincoln is taking the hint, and proposing a few ways you can go green yourself.

Curious just how far the eco situation has escalated?  Then check out Eco Statistics to get the specifics here.
There are so many aspects to “going green” that one might say you could use a guide. Well, National Geographic just happens have created one.

Maybe you’re like me, and your favorite part of going green is organic fashion. Or maybe that’s something you’ve never heard of….? Well, either way it’s here to stay so you can check it out here at Style Antidote.

Part of being an adult, and having an 8-5 job (well, the fun part anyway…) are the office supplies. That’s a lot of paper though, so perhaps going green in that capacity might save a few trees. Greenroom Eco has a great selection of bright, well made, and fun office supplies.

Wanting to Go Green at home?  And maybe you don’t have the money to do it? Well Ehow has some great tips to get the job done, and maybe save some cash.

Organic is finding itself all over the place. Check out biota.org to see the new face of organic art and its composers.

Check back with us Friday for a new dose of This Week in History

Tuesday Trivia Answers

1.True
2. 166 Billion
3.The bottle is encrusted with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires
4.Hydroxyl group bounded to a carbon atom
5. Prohibition
6.False, traditional Christian beliefs
7.C-1
8.1.3% or 18 million
9. True
10. It's an appropriate gift for teachers

Tuesday Trivia: June 16, 2008

New from the University of Nebraska Press is, Bad Fruits of the Civilized Tree by Izumi Ishii. This book “examines the role of alcohol among the Cherokees through more than two hundred years, from contact with white traders.”  Chronicling the socially destructive aspects of the beverage, Ishii how the brew was integrated into the native community and how this event impacted their economic escalation. This week Tuesday Trivia is going to take a look at this wonder we call alcohol, and see if we can determine just why its history is so pervasive.

1.    True or False: Almost all cultures have some sort of disclaimer against drunkenness.

2.    What is the estimated annual cost of an alcohol addiction (hint: it’s in the billions…)

3.     A bottle of Diva Vodka costs $1,060,000 because of what?

4.    In chemistry, alcohol is a compound where a _____ group is bound to a ____atom creating CnH2nt1OH

5.    1920-1933 refers to what period, where the sale, transportation, and manufacture of alcohol for consumption were illegal.

6.    True or False: Traditional Muslim beliefs were “alcohol is a gift from God that makes life more joyous and over indulgence, which leads to drunkenness, is a sin”

7.    Alcohol was listed as which number on MSN's list of top 5 most expensive addictions?
A.2
B.3
C.1

8.    What percent of health care is spent on drug and alcohol treatment?

9.    True or False: The Marines first recruiting station was in a bar

10.    Among the Lepcha people of Tibet, alcohol is the only form of payment for whom?

Check back tomorrow for the answers!