Sorry for being offline again. It’s been chaotic here.
But today we’re headed to London to visit The Tate which is home to the United Kingdom’s national art. Four museums make up The Tate: Tate London (aka Tate Gallery), Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Modern. You can visit Tate Online to view some of the artwork found there.
There’s nothing on TV tonight except the State of the Union address. I have no desire to watch that. Especially when I have Netflix DVDs I need to watch before my account switches to streaming at the end of the week. So I’ll either be watching Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence or Murdoch Mysteries.
Reading: Been reading a steampunk novel called The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar which was good. And I’m about to start From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns.
We’re off to Australia once again, this time to visit the beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales. The mountains get their names from the blue haze created by the way light hits the oil of the eucalyptus trees. The scenery is spectacular. There is also a scenic railway, museums, and antique shops.
Today in history:
- 1883 – The first electric lighting system using overhead wires, which were built by Thomas Edison, began service at Roselle, New Jersey.
- 1915 – The neon discharge tube was patented by Georges Claude for use in advertising.
- 1937 – Howard Hughes flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds, setting a new air record.
- 1953 – 68% of all television sets in the United States were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky.
On TV tonight: Wipeout, The Finder, and Person of Interest. But I’ll be tuned in to the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction.
Reading: Still reading Dragonseye. Should finish that up tonight.
No travel/history blog post today. If you’d tried to access Google or Wikipedia today you’ll have seen they’re blacked out in protest of the asinine bills in Congress & the Senate, SOPA and PIPA. These bills were pushed by Hollywood in an effort to stop online piracy. Now I know that is a problem. I’ve had many friends who’ve had their books pirated and put online. But these bills would give the government the ability to shut down sites WITH NO PROOF. I don’t want people I like and trust having this ability let alone officials I don’t trust as far as I could throw an elephant. So I’m joining many others in opposing these bills.
