Stop-Motion Great, Ray Harryhausen on This Day in History

This Day in History: Visual effects creator Ray Harryhausen died on this day in 2013. Harryhausen created a form of stop-motion model animation known as "Dynamation" which I was a big fan of when younger. I loved movies like Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad movies (7th Voyage; Golden Voyage & Eye of the Tiger), and or course his last major feature, Clash of the Titans in 1981. The following year would see the release of TRON, the first major film release with digital effects, which marked the end of Hollywood's stop-motion age and Ray Harryhausen retired. While many prefer today's CGI animation, the old stop-motion animation had a creepy effect modern movies lack. Ray Harryhausen would go on to inspire Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, Joe Dante, John Landis, J.J. Abrams, Tim Burton, James Cameron, and Guillermo del Toro.

Medusa in Clash of the Titans

Sigmund Freud on This Day in History

This Day in History: Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud was born on this day in 1856. While having a very recognizable name and a far reaching influence, his ideas have not stood the test of time, "Freud has, for the most part, fallen completely out of favor in academia. Virtually no institution in any discipline would dare use him as a credible source. In 1996, Psychological Science reached the conclusion that '[T]here is literally nothing to be said, scientifically or therapeutically, to the advantage of the entire Freudian system or any of its component dogmas.' As a research paradigm, it’s pretty much dead." https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-freud-still-matters-when-he-was-wrong-about-almost-1055800815

Todd Dufresne writes: “Freud is truly in a class of his own...Arguably no other notable figure in history was so fantastically wrong about nearly every important thing he had to say. But, luckily for him, academics have been — and still are — infinitely creative in their efforts to whitewash his errors, even as lay readers grow increasingly dumbfounded by the entire mess.”

The book "Freud: The Making of an Illusion" tells of a young Freud desperate for fame and riches, which he relentlessly pursued by championing one faddish quack remedy after another, backing away when justified criticism made his position untenable, covering his tracks with misleading or even completely false claims about what he’d been up to, then bustling on to the next gold mine.

However, there is a great story about Freud and the Gestapo that is worth relating. To be allowed to leave Vienna in 1938, the Nazi Secret Police made Freud write a statement saying that he had been treated fairly. Freud wrote "I can heartily recommend the Gestapo to anyone."

See also 175 Classic PDF Books on Psychology on DVDrom

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Cinco de Mayo on This Day in History

This Day in History: Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day that celebrates the Battle of Puebla in 1862 where the Mexicans defeated the French. The day is not only popular in the United States, but also in Vancouver Canada, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Brisbane Australia, London, New Zealand, Cape Town South Africa, Lagos Nigeria, Paris, and even in Osaka & Tokyo Japan. The funny thing is that it is not that popular in Mexico, and is only really celebrated in the state of Puebla.

Star Wars on This Day in History

Joseph Campbell and the Mythology of Star Wars

This Day in History: Today is Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you. Decades ago I listened to the amazing Bill Moyers/Joseph Campbell interview and learned that the themes in Star Wars are derived from Mythology. Joseph Campbell’s book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" tracked common mythological motifs and argued that myths from around the world that have been passed down through generations—like Beowulf or King Arthur—share a basic anatomy. According to Campbell, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

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Niccolò Machiavelli on This Day in History

This Day in History: Niccolò Machiavelli was born on this day in 1469.  He is best known for writing The Prince, a pessimistic look at human nature and political philosophy. As he writes: “It is much safer to be feared than loved because ... love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.” He argued that the ruler or government ought to do good when possible, but they must not be afraid to do evil to stay in power. Other men are willing to do evil in order to overturn the leader's rule, and because of this fatal tendency, leaders must also do evil from time to time. 

As a result, the word “Machiavellian” has come to denote someone who is cunning and unscrupulous. The Prince made it into the Catholic Church's first "Index of Forbidden Books" in 1557.

"Niccolò Machiavelli was reviled throughout Europe during the 16th century and on into the next two centuries. He was considered to be someone unique in the history of the West, a conscious preacher of evil, a diabolic figure who had unleashed the demons in the world of politics. The English used his given name as a synonym for the Devil, 'Old Nick.' As Macaulay put it, 'Out of his surname they have coined an epithet for a knave, and out of his Christian name a synonym for the Devil.'"~Murray N. Rothbard

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini wrote a discourse on The Prince. 

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin read The Prince and annotated his own copy. 20th-century Italian-American mobsters were influenced by The Prince. 

Hitler kept a copy of The Prince by his bedside.

John Gotti and Roy DeMeo would regularly quote The Prince and consider it to be the "Mafia Bible".

In the movie "A Bronx Tale", local mob boss says that while in jail, he passed the time by reading Machiavelli, whom he describes as "a famous writer from 500 years ago"—and then tells him how Machiavelli's philosophy, including his famous advice about how it is preferable for a leader to be feared rather than loved if he cannot be both—have made him a successful mob boss.

Rapper Tupac Shakur read Machiavelli while in prison and was so influenced by his work that he eventually changed his rap name from 2Pac to Makaveli.

Listen to the Audiobook

See also Machiavelli the Visionary 1892

Machiavelli's Prince, Article in The Nation 1891

Machiavelli Wasn't Machiavellian

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The King James Bible on This Day in History

This Day in History: The King James Bible was published on this day in 1611. Also known as the Authourized Version or the Common Bible, it has cemented its place as a monument in English literature. It was based on the best available Hebrew and Greek texts at the time, though about 100 years later it was discovered (by John Mill) that recently found older manuscripts had discrepancies...about 30,000 of them. This caused quite a stir at the time and eventually this has led to many revisions (official and unofficial). The first major revision was in 1881 with the English Revised Version and a few years later with the American Standard Version. Though these were great efforts, the public largely snubbed them. Another major revision, the Revised Standard Version was released in the early 1950's. The initial reception was harsh, in fact, in 1952 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina people congregated to burn copies of the RSV. However, the RSV was better received elsewhere, especially with Catholics many of whom still regard it higher than their own Catholic Bibles. This was updated in 1989 as the New Revised Standard Version and conservative Christians who were uneasy with some readings in the Revised Standard Version came out with the English Standard Version in 2001.

One of the textual differences (discrepancies) can be seen even in the Lord's Prayer. In the King James Version it ends with "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Other Bibles that are based on older Greek Testament texts do not have this verse.

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The Empire State Building on This Day in History

This day in history: The Empire State Building was dedicated on this day in 1931. At the time, it was the world's tallest building, and that record stood until the World Trade Center was completed. It was also the first building to exceed 100 floors. In 89 years it has had quite a history. In 1945 a bomber plane crased into it while flying through thick fog. The building opened back up for business 2 days later. On January 24, 2000, an elevator in the building suddenly dropped 40 stories after a cable was severed. Both occupants survived. The Empire State Building has had 30 suicide attempts, the first one being before the building was even finished, on April 7, 1931. One woman in 1979
jumped off the 86th floor only to have a gust of wind blow her back on to the building. The building has its own zip code (10001) and it has a secret 103rd floor.