danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

Everyone in America was apparently glued to the television last Thursday, when it appeared that a young boy had been carried aloft by a weather balloon that proceeded to float across eastern Colorado and land in the middle of a farm.  Admittedly, it makes for a dramatic story, particularly when it was accompanied by live video.  As the balloon drifted toward high-voltage power lines, I can understand how so many would feel so much anxiety for the safety of that boy.

We know now, however, that it was a hoax perpetrated by the child’s whore parents, in a shameful effort to attract attention they could parlay into a “reality” television deal.

Hearing about this fraud instantly brought a host of questions to mind.  Did these people think they were going to get away with it?  Do they have any concept of morality?  Does it bother them that, across the country last week, millions of genuinely anxious people wasted millions of honest prayers?  Is this how far our society has degenerated?

The answers to the first three questions are: apparently; apparently not; and I don’t know.  I was tempted to believe that the answer to the last question was a resounding yes – that our society has, in fact, been driven to the point of moral bankruptcy in the short span of our living memory.

Then yesterday Wikipedia stepped forward unexpectedly to challenge my perceptions.  It reaffirmed that we are indeed living in an age of depravity, but it moved the date of our moral degradation back nearly three hundred years, to 1726, to be precise.  In that year, a woman from Surry named Mary Toft perpetrated a hoax that seems so obviously unbelievable, so completely ridiculous, that it is hard to believe anyone could have fallen for it.  And yet people did, and some paid dearly for it.

Mary Toft suffered a miscarriage.  That much is true, and that much is surely worthy of pity.  But Mary Toft took things to another level.  A totally crazy level.  There’s no polite way to tell what she did, but, put simply, she cut up some rabbits and stuck them in her hoo-hoo, and then claimed to give birth to rabbits.  Some doctors heard of this and went to see her, and when they pulled more parts of rabbits from her hoo-hoo, they thought, “hey, this lady’s full of bunny babies!”  Now, you and I would immediately suspect something was amiss, because we know that there just wasn’t enough time since her miscarriage to carry rabbits to full term.  Also, people cannot give birth to rabbits.  But some people believed her.  In fact, some people had the hilariously ignorant idea that a woman could give birth to whatever she had been around.  So, let a cat sleep on your bed, and you’re going to deliver a kitten baby.  When the hoax was discovered (and I can’t believe it took as long as it did), the reputation of a prominent doctor was ruined, and the medical profession in general suffered.

So, let us not grieve for our lately-departed sense of decency; it has been dead for a long time.

UPDATE – 23 December 2009: The parents of “Balloon Boy” (a sort-of inaccurate name) were sentenced to time in jail today, and prohibited from profiting from their story for four years.

Filed under: Current Events, History, Musings on October 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

In the Dana Heritage Project’s Catalog of Significant Objects, the Sesame Street Book and Record is a cherished item.  I cannot remember a time in my life before I heard this recording, so I must have had it since I was very, very young.

Actually, I never really possessed this record until I was much older.  It was always at my grandparents’ house, where I could listen to it on visits.  And since I visited so often, and since I loved Sesame Street so much, I have heard this album more times than I could ever count.  Of course, I got older, and though I never forgot that this record existed, I only thought of it occasionally.  Then, a couple years ago, my grandmother gave it to me as a Christmas present.

As you can see from the cover, the Sesame Street Book and Record “contains [a] 24 page illustrated book”, and a “full color poster [is] included”.  Most of that stuff is long gone from my copy.  I have three or four pages from the book inside the gatefold jacket, and the vinyl album itself isn’t even in a sleeve.  Naturally, the disc is in fairly bad shape, with plenty of pops, and a couple skips on side two.

But, aside from the magical nostalgic quality, what I can appreciate about this record even as an adult are the songs.  They’re clever, sweet, and performed in a surprisingly unadorned style when compared to what is popular today.  The little kids sound like little kids, and not children mimicking Aretha Franklin.  Susan’s a little bit soulful on “I’ve Got Two” and “Nearly Missed”, and the backing band gets pretty funky in “Up and Down”, but you never forget that it’s a record for children.  “What Are Kids Called”, “Somebody Come and Play”, and “J-Jump” are especially sweet.  “Number 5″, “I Love Trash”, and “Rubber Duckie” are lots of fun, and “Green” is a quality song.  I seem to recall “People in Your Neighborhood” being a favorite.

I don’t know if I would have admitted it at the time, but the Sesame Street Book and Record was my favorite album until I was a teenager.

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Filed under: Dana Heritage Project, Nostalgia, Popular Music on October 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today.  Like everyone else, I was surprised to read the news this morning.  Some people, however, are demonstrating a complete lack of class by whining about the Nobel Committee’s decision.  It isn’t just Republicans; many on the far-left are griping.  Stop it, everyone.

Obviously, President Obama hasn’t accomplished peace in the Middle East, or achieved nuclear disarmament.  Obviously, nine months in office isn’t much time to solve the complex issue of Islamic extremism.  Obama himself said that he didn’t feel he deserved it, and, indeed, it seems odd, particularly when some past recipients devoted their entire lives to peace, like Martin Luther King, Jr.  But the committee evidently believes that, tangible results or not, Obama has promoted peace, if only by turning America’s diplomatic posture from one of reckless aggression to one of respect for our allies.  The award citation reads in part: “Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.”  If that’s the criteria the committee set, then that’s the criteria.

But I think that the committee also intended to send a message about what they–and really the rest of the world–would like to see from the United States.  I believe Senator John McCain understands this quite well:  “I think part of their decision-making was expectations. And I’m sure the president understands that he now has even more to live up to.  I think Americans are always pleased when their president is recognized by something on this order”.

Americans should be pleased, as Senator McCain says.  But, as has been demonstrated recently, there are some whose disdain for Obama exceeds their love for America.  The people who cheered when Chicago lost its Olympic bid showed their true colors.  Disapprove of Obama’s politics if you want; it is perfectly patriotic to disagree with a president or a legislature when you do so in an intellectually honest manner.  But I cannot respect anyone who would rather America lose than Obama win.

A sitting American president has once again won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the appropriate response is not derision, but careful consideration of what message has been made.  President Obama didn’t solicit this award, and I’ll bet that if it were up to him, he’d rather they have picked someone else.  But the Nobel Committee made their choice, and now Obama’s presidency will take up the crusade.  If promoting peace is his “call to action”, as he put it, so much the better.  And, if you don’t think America’s cause is peace, then I feel sorry for you.

Filed under: Current Events, Politics on October 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

This weather this week has been disgusting, and today was the worst.  Have you ever walked from a cool, air-conditioned room into a bathroom where someone has just taken a scalding hot shower, and the air is thick with water vapor?  That’s what it felt like this morning when I left for school.  It was in the mid-90s today, and the humidity is close to 90 percent.  A week or so ago we had a couple days with highs in the 70s.

Filed under: Meteorology on October 7th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I do not understand the resentment being directed at President Obama over Chicago’s failed Olympic bid.  Sure, the president flew to Copenhagen to address the International Olympic Committee.  And, sure, Chicago wasn’t awarded the Olympics.  But the people who are asking if Obama made a huge mistake are making foolish, false analogies.  This wasn’t like a coach calling a risky play that doesn’t work out, losing the game for the team.  Obama didn’t have a Mitt Romney level of involvement in this venture.  All he did was fly to Denmark, make a speech, and go home.  But–oh, no!–he spent all that time flying across the ocean when our country is in such terrible economic danger!  Really?  Many of the people griping about Obama’s trip are the same people who defended President Bush and his 490 days of vacation in Crawford by saying that he was still working.   And we were in plenty of danger while he was president.  As those people pointed out at the time, the president is never out of reach, whether in Washington or Crawford.  And Air Force One is the most “connected” aircraft on earth.  Were tax dollars wasted to take Obama all the way to Europe?  I guess.  But weren’t tax dollars wasted to take President Bush on seventy-seven trips to Texas?  Or to fly Air Force One over NASCAR race tracks?

The facts are these: If you’ve ever been to Chicago, you know it’s an amazing city, and would be a great Olympic host.  But Rio was going to win the Olympics no matter what.  South America has never held an Olympic games, and, really, it was due.

Obama wanted to go to bat for his home town and his country.  The leaders of the other bidding countries did the same thing.  This isn’t a big deal.

Filed under: Current Events, Politics, Sports on October 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment »