Miscreants attack Shah Rukh's residence

Mumbai Two unidentified persons allegedly threw kerosene bottles at actor Shahrukh Khan's bungalow 'Mannat' in suburban Bandra in the wee hours on Friday.

"Around 0230 hours, motorcycle-borne miscreants threw the bottles filled with kerosene and fled from the scene. The security men at the residence 'Mannat' chased the miscreants but in vain," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Niket Kaushik.

When the incident occurred, Khan was not in the house and nobody has sustained any injuries, he said adding that a complaint has been registered and further investigation is on in the matter.

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The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

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The History of Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day History

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

The History of Saint Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.


The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Valentine Traditions

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!

Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

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Mangalore gets ready for Valentine's Day

If Mangaloreans did not pay much attention to Valentine's Day before - they will certainly know it is approaching this year.

Ironically, this is largely due to the Sri Ram Sene and it's leader Pramod Muthalik - a fallout of their attempt to stop this day being celebrated.

The threats sound almost ridiculous - the Sri Ram Sene says it will forcibly marry off couples found being romantic in public on Valentine's Day. But given the track record of this group and what they are capable of - the administration in Mangalore says it is ready for them.

"We will ensure that the whole Valentine Day celebration or whatever you may call is uneventful as far as law and order situation is concerned," said V S Acharya, Karnataka Home Minister.

"For Valentine's Day we have a bandobast scheme where you have 120 to 130 constables exclusively for this job," said Satheesh Kumar, SP, Mangalore.

At least some young people in the city are defiant.

"Nobody can stop them, not the Rama Sene at least. It is their personal thing so let them do it. And this marrying and all that stuff - it sounds really funny actually," said a girl.

"They will be behind bars for one - because we are all underage - so they cannot get us married!" said a boy.

Thanks to the threat by the Ram Sene there is more attention being paid to Valentine's day than would ever have happened in the city's history.

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Valentine's Day history and legends

By Middle Ages, Saint Valentine became the patron saint of love and lovers in England and France. In 498 AD, when Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to pagan celebration of Feast of Lupercalia and 14th February was declared as St Valentine's Day..

THE ROMANTIC festival of Valentine’s Day is said to have originated in pagan times in Rome when people celebrated annual fertility festival called Feast of Lupercalia in mid-February. A unique custom of the festival was the mating of young boys and girls for a year through a lottery system. Quite often the couple would fall in love and marry.

Strongly associated with the festival of Valentine’s Day are the legends of three or more Saint Valentine of Rome. One of the most popular legends says, Valentine or Valentinus lived in Rome when the country was under the reign of Emperor Claudius II.

It is said that Claudius engaged Rome in several unpopular and bloody campaigns. To maintain a strong army, Claudius continuously needed to recruit soldiers. But to his disappointment Claudius found that most men were unwilling to join army because of their strong attachment with their wives and their families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. A romantic at heart priest, Valentine, secretly arranged marriages of young boys and girls and defied this unjustified and callous order of Claudius. When the Emperor discovered this defiance, he put Valentine behind bars and he was finally executed on February 14, about 270 AD. For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.

By Middle Ages, Saint Valentine became the patron saint of love and lovers in England and France. In 498 AD, when Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to pagan celebration of Feast of Lupercalia, he declared that 14th February be celebrated as St Valentine’s Day.

Some scholars however, say, romance was linked with Valentine’s Day because of the popular belief in England and France during the Middle Ages that birds began to start looking for their mate from 14th February.

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Thieves ransack 60 Coke machines at Taj Mahal

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A couple hits it big at the Taj Mahal Casino Resort, leaving Atlantic City with $15,000 more than when they got there.

But they didn't strike it rich at the slot machines or roulette wheels.

Police say the pair robbed 60 Coca-Cola vending machines on hotel floors of the resort complex.

Video surveillance shows a man and a woman using a master key to open the machines and clean out all the cash inside.

Authorities say they think they know who the woman is, and are searching for her and her male companion.

Authorities say they may be involved with other similar thefts from vending machines in southern New Jersey.

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The Taj Mahal ताज महल - masterpieces of the worlds

The reason why people come to Agra is very obvious: to lay their eyes on the impressive Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal (pronounced /tɑdʒ mə'hɑl/ ---- Hindi: ताज महल; Persian/Urdu: تاج محل) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.The Persian architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.

One of the famous hotel in Agra


The Agra Fort accross the river is also a very impressive structure. It was built by the same Moghul rulers who built the Taj. Some people say that the Shaj Jahan's son, involved in some serious trouble with his father, took his father away from the Taj and locked him in teh octagonal tower with a view on the Taj. In this way, he could at least prevent his father from becoming even more famous. Sjah Jahan had the intention of building a second Taj in black marble just on the other site of the river in order to construct the perfect symmetrical picture (and his own mausoleum of course).

Most people visit Agra on a daytrip from Delhi. But the city is well worth an overnight stay. If you are traveling from Delhi to Varanasi it is an ideal place to spend the night.

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Joanna Pacitti out of 'American Idol,' Felicia Barton in.

Joanna Pacitti, the American Idol season 8 hopeful who was shown advancing to the top 36 on Wednesday night's telecast, has been booted from the competition and replaced by 26-year-old Felicia Barton. "It has been determined that Joanna Pacitti is ineligible to continue in the competition," stated a Fox press release sent early Thursday morning announcing the show's full roster of semifinalists.

For the last several weeks, Pacitti has been the subject of Internet chatter regarding her former deal with A&M Records, which yielded the single "Let It Slide" (embedded below), and more recently, for her rumored close relationship with a pair of 19 Entertainment executives. Specifically, Star magazine reported that Pacitti lived for a time in the same apartment building as 19's Michelle Young and Roger Widynowski, even referring to the former exec as her "best friend"; 19, of course, is the production company behind Idol.

Barton, meanwhile, was shown getting eliminated by the judges during Wednesday night's final Hollywood Week telecast, although a brief clip of her singing "Put Your Records On" during the Louisville, KY, audition round had created a decent mount of buzz among Idol watchers. (Read our recap of that episode, including a mention of Barton, by clicking here; and check out a YouTube clip of Barton covering Alicia Keys' "No One" embedded beneath Pacitti's video.)

Check back later tonight and tomorrow morning at EW.com for further updates

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CollegeBoard.com: Home of the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, AP, and CLEP

For candidates of the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, AP, and CLEP, CollegeBoard.com should be the first destination in their online preparation journey. Not only does the site, being the home of these tests, provide official testing information but it is also the place where students can practice online for the tests.

Features:

• Information on the tests and how to register (online registration tool for the SAT)

• SAT question of the day, official SAT practice questions, and official SAT practice test with answer explanations

• Practice questions for the PSAT/NMSQT (critical reading, math, and writing skills)

• Study/test-taking tips and previously administered free-response questions for the AP

• Demo software to practice computer-based CLEP

Site URL: http://www.collegeboard.com/testing/

Source..

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Celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday at the Library or Online

The Library of Congress is doing a great deal to raise awareness for itself as an institution, and that includes an ongoing technology push that carries over into the online realm. The latest exhibition at the Library of Congress is called With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition, and it opens to the public on Feb. 12.

The purpose of this exhibition is to offer additional insight into the 16th president, culminating several events that are taking place this year, from Lincoln’s 200th birthday to the observation of President’s Day, to Obama’s presidency, which Obama himself has used on several instances to honor his fellow citizen of Illinois.

The Library of Congress actually combines many of its on-site exhibits with online features, and it’s no different with Lincoln’s exhibition. Several Lincoln-related artifacts will be available in the digital sense, at on-site kiosks as well as on the Library’s website, which will have Lincoln’s exhibit featured here. The Library also has a specific initiative for combining the on-site and online worlds with personalized “passports” that key in at various exhibits and are linked to your email address, so you can carry on your on-site experience at home when you sign back into the website. From there, you can further explore exhibits, see details you may have missed on-site, and even receive recommendations for other content you might find interesting.

All of this comes in addition to the other technology-driven initiatives coming from the Library of Congress, which includes a partnership with photo-sharing site Flickr, among other things. The Library of Congress relies a great deal on the private sector, from a partnership with Microsoft for providing the technology behind the software running interactive on-site exhibits to the company that provides hosting for the Library’s data storage.

What that translates into is far more accessibility on the Library’s part, as it becomes more and more able to turn to the web for marketing, support and media-sharing. This comes in the form of stand-alone applications as well as integrated media-sharing options, which is a dual-ended strategy that will hopefully pay off in the end. Especially as education becomes a priority for investment and development under President Obama’s new administration, having institutions such as the Library of Congress seek more integrated ways in which to reach out to children (of all ages) is a promising move for similar programs online.

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Dollhouse Is Stretching Eliza Dushku's Acting Ability

Eliza Dushku is having the time of her lives, playing Echo, the woman with a million programmable personalities. She talked to reporters about Dollhouse, and we asked her about Joss Whedon's five-year plan. Spoilers!

In Dollhouse, which starts Friday at 9 on Fox, Dushku plays a woman named Echo whose brain has been erased to make way for whatever personality and skills a paying client wants her to have. But Echo is starting to keep some of her memories and recognize her fellow mindwiped puppets, which is considered a "glitch in the system."

Dushku said the show is a metaphor for her own life, where people are constantly expecting her to be different people in different situations. It's also a metaphor for objectification.

I asked Dushku where she sees her character in four or five years. Does Dushku still think she'll have new places to go with the character in Dollhouseseason five? She said absolutely. After all, most people evolve so much in just a single day. People are constantly evolving, so there are plenty of places to with a character like Echo who's able to become different characters and is evolving on her own as well.

She added:

Apparently from day one, Joss has had a five year plan for the show... what's so exciting about this show is, it's so open for endless possibilities, because you're dealing with so much, it's mankind. [Our] thoughts and wishes and desires are there by the millions and the trillions.

In Dollhouse, Dushku's character has an active named Boyd Langton, who's supposed to keep her safe during her "engagements" with paying clients. But Dushku says "it's obviously not a perfect system," and things do tend to go wrong during her gigs.

Playing Echo has allowed Dushku to "play and jump around in between these characters, every week and sometimes multiple times in one show." She says she has an "appetite" to experience different emotions, and Josh has given her "the ability to show different colors." Her favorite characters, so far, have included a blind cult member (who's sent inside a cult with cameras in her retinas.) And a "prissy" 50-year-old woman who's put into Dushku's body.

She's also enjoyed getting to play some scenes opposite Tahmoh Penikett, who plays FBI agent Paul Ballard, who's investigating the Dollhouse.

The show only gets better as it goes along, says Dushku, because Joss Whedon and his writers are like a novelist, building the story as they go along. In future installments, you'll learn more about the history of the Dollhouse, including how long it's been around and what happened to past "Dolls."

Dollhouse is Dushku's first time as an executive producer of a show, in addition to starring. It sounds like she's pretty active in the writers' room, helping to break stories. And she says she's also involved in day-to-day stuff like morale on the set and making sure the crew's voices are heard. She's been way more hands-on than with anything else she's worked on, but luckily everybody involved with it wants it to succeed as badly as she and Joss do.

In some episodes, you'll find that clients who hire Dushku's character, Echo, customize her in ways that they may end up regretting. Sometimes what people think they desire isn't what they really desire, but they don't find out until it's too late, says Dushku.

Dushku says she's aware she has a big lesbian fan following from her days on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, with its subtext-rich Buffy-Faith frenemy relationship. Dollhouse almost had a gay-themed episode, but that script didn't make it into the first 13 episodes. "I'm already thinking up ideas for the next 13 episodes," she added. "I'm dying to get back to the writers' room and tell more stories."

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adopt a soldier

http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=adopt-a-soldier

http://www.adoptaussoldier.org

http://adoptasoldier.bigjohnmiska.com/

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Bill O'Reilly: Mother of octuplets committed child abuse

The stunning announcement that a California woman had given birth to octuplets was greeted warmly in some circles. The birthing doctors were all smiles, and the media hyped the "human interest" part of the story. Eight babies! Wow!

But behind the high-fives lies a very troubling situation. This may be child abuse at the highest level.

Here are the facts: The mother, Nadya Suleman, is a 33-year-old single mom already raising six young children in the small home of her parents. Nadya is a health care worker who, according to her mother, became pregnant with all the children through in vitro fertilization.

Six was not enough for Nadya, so last spring she allowed multiple embryos to be implanted in her womb. Subsequently, the octuplets were born on Jan. 26.

In Great Britain, Nadya and her doctor would be under arrest. There, the law permits only two embryo implants at a time. But in California, there are no rules at all. Fertility clinics and the doctors who make big money in them can do anything they want.

So now Nadya has eight new babies, all of whom weigh less than 3 pounds. The littlest is about a pound and a half. Doctors say there is a strong likelihood that some, if not all, of the children will experience significant health problems growing up.

When the babies finally leave the hospital in suburban Los Angeles, they will be taken to a three-bedroom house in Whittier, Calif. Seventeen human beings will be living in that house. Eight babies will have to be fed, washed and cared for around the clock almost simultaneously.

Who will pay for that? Chances are, the taxpayers. Nadya has little money and her parents have filed for bankruptcy. By the way, the hospital bill for the octuplets and mom is estimated to be around $1.3 million.

But Nadya seems to have a plan. She has hired a "spokesperson," a woman named Joann Killeen. Killeen has been running around various TV shows telling the world what a great person and mother Nadya is, what a joy to be around she is. When asked whether the mother of the year wants major money to tell her story, Killeen dodges and weaves.

This is child abuse of the worst kind and few seem to care. The taxpayers will wind up paying for much of Nadya's irresponsibility, and the 14 children will pay an enormous price, just wait and see.

Meantime, a callous media and a largely apathetic state medical system will watch to see whether it will be Oprah, Barbara or Katie who will give the babies their first starring TV roles.

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Bill O'Reilly Blames Liberals (And Media Matters In Particular) For His Refusal To Apologize To Helen Thomas

Not surprisingly, there has been some media fallout after the mean-spirited attacks on Helen Thomas earlier in the week on The O'Reilly Factor. But instead of just admitting he had been a pinhead for making a boorish imitation of Thomas as the Wicked Witch of the East, O'Reilly blamed liberal groups and liberal hypocrisy for his refusal to apologize. O'Reilly obsessed about Thomas throughout his show last night (2/11/09). He also obsessed about Media Matters whom he blamed for the entire backlash (overlooking my own role, I'm sorry to say). O'Reilly wanted to send them a cake with “something inside.” Bernard Goldberg, who had also made a mean-spirited joke about Thomas, suggested sending black, dead roses. With video.

I hate to be an armchair psychologist but it was pretty clear O'Reilly knew he was wrong but didn't want to admit it because he didn't want to give Media Matters (and moi, I'm sure) the satisfaction.

O'Reilly devoted his Talking Points Memo to the burning issue of Thomas and Media Matters. O'Reilly described Media Matters as “guttersnipes,” and said the organization “routinely assassinates the characters of conservatives and Republicans... hoping to harm people with whom they disagree.”

“I poked a little fun at Helen,” O'Reilly said, by way of characterizing his cawing imitation of a witch and the suggestion that Barack Obama should have poured water on the 88-year-old veteran correspondent.

O'Reilly complained that after Media Matters publicized his “little fun,” it was “picked up by the far left fringe.” That's presumably me, since I also posted about the incident and my post was cited by Bonnie Erbe, in her blog for US News & World Report. Erbe's bio is right on her blog. She's a contributing editor at US News & World Report, she hosts a weekly PBS television show and she's a syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. That's pretty mainstream.

But Erbe had the audacity to call O'Reilly's remarks hateful so, apparently, that was reason enough to categorize her, along with Adam Moss of New York Magazine as the “far left fringe” of society that was somehow in cahoots with Media Matters.

Enter The Women's Media Center which found O'Reilly's comments sexist and ageist and sent out a press release urging people to send an official complaint to FOX News. After his Talking Points Memo, O'Reilly's first guest last night was Courtney Martin, of The Women's Media Center. FOX News called their video of the discussion (below) "Liberal Lunacy."

O'Reilly was obviously hoping that Martin would assuage his sore ego. In his mind, The Women's Media Center had been somehow hoodwinked by Media Matters (or was it Erbe? Or both?) into believing that O'Reilly had done anything objectionable. He said, “Now, I could have attacked Helen Thomas, called her a pin head, said that she shouldn't be there, said she was past her game. I could have been serious about it and really demeaned the woman and I would have been in my rights because Helen Thomas uses her platform, as a columnist for Hearst, to just brutalize anybody she disagrees with. Now, I could have done that and I chose not to. So I think I'm a nice guy.”

But Martin was there to have a serious discussion, not to schmooze. “This woman deserves our respect,” she told O'Reilly.

“Why? She just accused the United States of murdering innocent people. Why should I respect her?" O'Reilly asked, "She's 88, right? Does that mean I can't make fun of her, cause she's 88?”.

Then, when he realized Martin was neither going to assuage his conscience nor collapse under his debating prowess, O'Reilly began to lose his temper and accused Martin of being part of some left-wing conspiracy. “Where were YOU when Sarah Palin was getting the hell kicked out of her? You didn't say a word.”

O'Reilly started yelling and pointing his finger: “You guys are hypocrites. You guys are phonies. You guys are being used by the left to do this nonsense... If you had defended Sarah Palin, then I would respect you and I would say, 'You know, you were right. Maybe I should apologize.' But you didn't! This is a left-wing play. That's what this is.”

Martin replied calmly, “This isn't about us, this is about you.”

“No, this is about you," O'Reilly insisted. Changing his tune about the apology now, he said, "(Thomas is) not getting (an apology) from me because I'm not sorry about anything I did.”

O'Reilly continued harping on Thomas throughout the show, including his later segment with Goldberg.

Speaking of Martin, Goldberg told O'Reilly, “A man needs a humorless feminist like a fish needs a bicycle... Here's my political analysis... Screw them.”

Goldberg went on to characterize O'Reilly's mockery of Thomas as a witch as “good natured.” Goldberg said, “When you made a good-natured joke, I very seriously said that Helen Thomas' 15 minutes were up during the Lincoln Administration (and O'Reilly had laughed). And you know what? If they want to take shots at me. And if they want to take shots at you, they need to know one thing. They're throwing spitballs at battleships. Bring it.”

“But they never learn,” O'Reilly said with frustration. “I should send Media Matters a little valen(tine). ...I want to send them a cake but I want something to be inside the cake, and I might be putting in (unintelligible).”

Goldberg added, “You should send them flowers, black dead roses.”

“But they never learn, Bernie. They're still doing this crap and the poor lady who came in (Martin), who's a very courageous woman, buys into this nonsense. She doesn't know it's a George Soros generated – you know, not conspiracy but, you know.”

Goldberg said, “They're humorless. They're humorless. Bill, They're humorless and they're unimportant and they're unserious.”

I don't know about unimportant but humorless? I had a great laugh out of this and I'm a serious person!

By the way, perhaps in solidarity, Sean Hannity also attacked Helen Thomas last night, during his “media mash” segment. He criticized her “with all due respect” for referring to “our enemies” as “so-called terrorists” in her question to President Obama during the news conference.

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Flight 1549’s Singer-Songwriter Survivor Emma Sophina Speaks In the Smoking Section

As the crew and passengers of US Airways flight 1549 make the media rounds this week, we’re seeing a familiar face. Our friend Emma Sophina turned up on The Howard Stern Show this morning. We first told you the Australian singer-songwriter’s remarkable story over in the Smoking Section, with Sophina recounting how a site-seeing trip to New York ended with an emergency landing in the Hudson River.

“I couldn’t leave New York because my passport and everything I had went down in the river,” she told the Smoking Section’s Austin Scaggs. Sophina was then inspired by a producer to turn her experience into music, booked some studio time and recorded the songs “Wake Up” and “Send Another Prayer.” With record labels already calling her, Sophina’s next goal is to pull a Jonas Brothers and sing alongside Stevie Wonder. Read the whole story,
Flight 1549 Survivor Makes Sweet Music, over in the SS.

Sophina also made an appearance on CBS’ Early Show, singing the folky “Send Another Prayer” for the plane’s captain Sully Sullenberger and the flight’s crew. “I think I kept it together the entire time and last night watching 60 Minutes I lost it,” she admitted. Regarding the crash-inspired pop, she says, “I was in Charlotte, I got out of New York and [the lyrics] came out in about 15 minutes. I wanted to write something that was a thank you to God and a thank you to everybody.” Those lyrics include “But before I lay my head down there’s just one thing to do, I’m gonna send another prayer to heaven/Say I’m thankful for the things that you’ve done.”

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Maxine Waters grills CEO's over the raising of credit card interest rates

Download | Play    Download | Play

Maxine Waters asks CEO's about their practice of raising credit card limits at the Bank CEO hearing today. How many of us have had a sudden jump in our interest rates without ever even knowing it.Which of course never allows people to pay off the debt. Waters is making a key point here.

Waters: Since you received TARP money, have any of you increased the amount of interest on the credit cards by sending out letters to the consumers, to your credit card holders indicating that this was part of the contract even though this was in small print and you now have the ability to do it, have any of you Did any of you do that?

Did you do this?

CEO: I was volunteering. First of all I feel like corporal of the universe not captain of the universe.

Waters: Did you increase your credit card interest rate?

CEO: In 2008, we increased interest rates on 9 % of our customers.

Waters: Thank you very much, did anyone else increase credit card rates after you received TARP money? Anyone else, if so would you please raise your hand. (most of them did)

You sent out the letters I'm trying to describe? Saying that you have the authority to do that. Did any of you reduce the amount of credit that was available to credit card holders because they shopped at certain stores? Just raise your hand if you did. None of you did. Let the record reflect, none of them raised their hands.

Tom Geoghegan has repeatedly talked about the idea of helping the American consumer with their credit debt by canceling their private consumer debt which would immediately stimulate the economy. He often speaks about how these institutions can raise their rates to as high as they want. The consumer can never catch up and it's a sad practice which will cripple Americans with overriding fear about their state of finances. And as he points out in the linked video, we always come up with the money for war....

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Ohio Teacher Amber Carter: Great Teacher… Or Greatest Teacher?

An Ohio fourth-grade teacher had a side job as a prostitute, and even skipped class after using a school computer to arrange an afternoon tryst at a motel, authorities say.

Logan County sheriff’s officials said 35-year-old Amber Carter was arrested Tuesday at a motel parking lot in Bellefontaine in central Ohio. She was charged with misdemeanor prostitution and a felony, unauthorized use of property, regarding the computer.

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Former Teen Country Star Molly Bee Dies at 69

Molly Bee, best known for the 1952 holiday hit 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,' has died from complications following a stroke. She was 69.

Bee was just 10 years old when she started singing professionally, gaining instant fame with her performance of the Hank Williams classic 'Lovesick Blues' on the Rex Allen radio show. The Bell Buckle, Tenn. native was just 13 years old when she released 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.'

Bee had a string of country hits throughout the '50s, including 'Young Romance,' 'Don't Look Back' and '5 Points of a Star.' She was also a regular performer on several television programs, including the popular 'Hometown Jamboree' show.

Bee passed away Saturday at an Osceanside, Calif. hospital. Her manager tells the Associated Press the singer had been ill for several months.

Molly Bee on the 'Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'

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WebClawer: 22 dogs rescued from car, seal scared of fish, a soft drink made from cow urine?

America's biggest dog show may be over, but animals are still making headlines:

* Authorities in Texas seized 20 dogs and two puppies that were all found crammed into a station wagon with their owner. When they tried to serve the owner with a warrant, the reportedly incoherent woman locked the car doors and refused to come out. The dogs were taken to a shelter until a hearing, scheduled for this month, to determine their custody. "The car was soaked with urine and covered in feces. The ammonia level in the vehicle was 23 parts per million even after the doors had been opened for several minutes. As a frame of reference, humans start experiencing health issues at 12 parts per million," said Courtney Stevens of the SPCA of Texas. The woman does not face charges, and the SPCA said it had contacted Adult Protective Services about her. Associated Press

* A 5-week-old seal pup who became separated from her mother and was rescued from a beach in Norfolk, England, stumped her caregivers at the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary with an odd phobia: herring. Animal care experts were unable to persuade her to eat the fish, and after two weeks without eating they were forced to do the next best thing: namely, blending special "herring smoothies" and feeding them to her through a tube. "It's the first time we've ever come across a herring phobia and it's really quite unusual as all the seals get fed on herring," said Matthew Fuller of Hunstanton. Fortunately, the seal has begun to show interest in fish, and the sanctuary hopes to release her back into the wild when she reaches her target weight of 55 pounds. Telegraph

* The parents of a 3-year-old Las Vegas boy who was attacked by an 18-foot pet python have been arrested on felony child neglect, abuse and endangerment charges. The snake coiled around the boy and had begun to constrict when the mother, 25-year-old Melissa Melendrez, intervened, stabbing it more than a dozen times with a kitchen knife. The snake was later euthanized. Both parents are scheduled to appear in court Thursday. Associated Press

* A new soft drink is coming to India, and we think we'd prefer plain old 7-Up. "Gau jai," as the drink will be called, is Sanskrit for "cow water" and is made from a blend of cow urine and medicinal and ayurvedic herbs. The drink's developers say it's now in a testing phase and they expect it to be available to the public by year's end. "Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty too," said Om Prakash, the head of the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which developed the drink. "Its unique selling point will be that it's going to be very healthy. It won't be like carbonated drinks and will be devoid of any toxins." Daily Mail

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Stephen Fowler, Top Thing Searched on Google for February 11, 2009

In the past week there have been some major news stories splashed on every newspaper, in all the magazines or talked to death on network television. Everything from the economy/stimulus plan, to President Obama's every move, to the Grammy's and the recent Chris Brown scandal are being covered this week.

With that in mind, I pulled up Google Trends, curious to see which of these stories would get the number one spot on today's most searched item in Google. To my surprise, it was none of these stories.

Stephen Fowler took the prize. Not knowing who he is, I clicked on a few stories about him and found out that he is one of the worst contestents to ever be on the show "Wife Swap," a hit show on ABC.

Apparantly he was rude, stereotypical, and an overall jerk. I guess there is just no predicting what has the power to trump breaking news and be popular on google.

source

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Stephen Fowler, "Worst Husband in the World"

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Stephen Fowler: Wife Swap Fowler backlash (photo)

Stephen Fowler, a husband contestant on the TV Reality show “Wife Swap” was accused of ill treating his temporary spouse, Gayla Long. Fowler has received backlash for his behavior on Wife Swap.

Stephen Fowler forgot or purposefully ignored the rules of Wife Swap. The spouse is supposed to get into the spirit of the game by adapting to Wife Swap. Instead, Mr Fowler berated Ms Long. Fowler humiliated Long for who she was.

Fowler was aware of his actions. Eventually, he himself could no longer stomach his own behavior and asked the producers to move Ms Long out for the remainder of the Wife Swap schedule. Ms Long stayed at a hotel nearby. Fowler received a tirade of backlash for his outrageous behavior on camera. Some social networking websites have supposedly banned or removed Stephen Fowler to protest his treatment of Ms Long.

Stephen Fowler has apologized by virtue of a brief note on his wife’s (Renee Stephens) website.

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Chris Russo flies first class for Sirius, 'which is fair'

My favorite line from Chris Russo's appearance with Howard Stern on Sirius this morning came as Russo tried to illustrate the fact Sirius' financial situation is not as dire as reported, based on the fact his budget has not been cut:

"I’m going to spring training for two separate trips in spring training. In my contract I’ve got that they have to fly me first class, which is fair, and they’ve got to send me to nice hotels. No Motel 6. I don’t get the impression we’re about to fall apart."

Click below for much more, if you're nuts. (Still awaiting Mike Francesa's on-air response to all this.)

Here is Russo on reports Sirius XM is on the verge of bankruptcy:

"I gave Mr. [Mel] Karmazin a status report on Jan. 6. Fill him in, what’s going on, who are we going to hire here, what are we going to hire there, sat with him for 45 minutes. In my contract I have a budget that I am not supposed to exceed for the rest of the channel. We wanted to figure out if we could do a little something on the weekends to up the budget. Mel said no, but he said also this: 'I will live up to the terms of that contract. You’ll have every penny you need up to the terms of that contract to do what you have to do.'

"Now, I don’t get the idea that a company that is about to fall apart, they would take my stuff away, leave me out by myself, Chris, just do your show and we’ll worry about the company in six months from now and then worry about your channel. That did not happen.

"Plus, I’m going to spring training for two separate trips in spring training. In my contract I’ve got that they have to fly me first class, which is fair, and they’ve got to send me to nice hotels. No Motel 6. I don’t get the impression we’re about to fall apart."

At this point Stern launched a defense of Sirius, saying, "I still believe satellite will be the dominant force in radio."

Then Stern asked Russo this: "You just signed a $3 million-a-year contract for yourself, personally. It’s very, very lucrative. What if the new owner comes in, let’s say he’s successful, though I don’t think he will be, and wants to open up the contract and give you less money. Will you buckle, or will you go back to terrestrial radio?"

Said Russo: "I will not go to terrestrial radio. I will not do that. I keep hiring all these guys. In Charlotte I have a morning guy, Gary Williams, who does a great job. I have an overnight guy in San Francisco, Larry Krueger. I can’t just bail out and leave these guys to hang. A lot of these guys took this job because of the idea of it - free radio, do what I want, I can do the kind of show I want to do. I can’t bail out on that.

Then Howard asked Russo how Francesa has done in the ratings without him.

Said Russo: "It depends who you ask. Their ratings, from an FAN perspective, seem to be the same. I have spoken to some other people at 1050 ESPN that said they’ve gotten murdered in certain parts of the tri-state area, Jersey for instance. And if you noticed, ESPN, they moved their show." [I assume he meant the expansion of Michael Kay's afternoon show.]

Stern: "There was always a question of who needed who more. Did Mike Franceso [Stern kept mispronouncing his name] need you more, or did you need him? Now, if his ratings are down and you're making $3 million a year, you win. You're the winner and he’s the loser."

Russo: "It’s intangible. I don’t have the ratings in front of me. Plus there’s that new system, that PPM, that people meter thing. It’s not a diary."

Russo insisted he was not aware of Francesa's ratings, and also said he has not listened to or watched Francesa's show since leaving WFAN.

"I hear the quality of the show, he misses the energy, he does this, he does that, and I miss Mike, too. It goes both ways. So I’ve heard that. But as far as, Chris, did you see or look at this, that this rating was 10 percent less than when you were there? No."

Stern's producer at this point quoted ratings from November showing WFAN had fallen somewhat, but he was using ratings covering the entire day, not the afternoon slot occupied by Francesa and Russo.

Finally, Russo conceded ratings were down, just to shut up Stern. "There’s been a little bit of a decrease, if it makes you happy. I’ve got pride, of course."

Russo told Stern that he and Francesa have seen each other twice since they broke up. The first was in November at Joe Torre's "Safe at Home Foundation" dinner.

"Perfect, we talked about sports, about the station, like long lost friends, phenomenal," Russo said. But he said "it was a little awkward" when they saw each other again Jan. 26 in Tampa.

"We were both at an event to cover, so there was a little bit more of a competition scenario to that, because I’m looking for the same guests and the same kinds of things he’s looking for in Tampa two Mondays ago," Russo said.

Then Stern asked about Francesa's decision to do his show Super Bowl week from the Hyatt lobby rather than Radio Row.

Stern: "Mike, your former partner, thinks he’s such a big deal, thinks he’s so good, that he decides he doesn’t have to be at Radio Row and he sets up a separate hotel room for himself where all the guests should come to him and this way he aces guys out like you. So what happened? No one showed up to Mike’s hotel room. Am I right or wrong?"

Russo: "For the most part you’re right. It wasn’t a hotel room, it was a lobby of a hotel. You had to walk eight blocks for interviews."

Stern: "Your ex-partner thinks he’s such a ---- big deal that he’s going to stand in a hotel room eight blocks away and people are going to come to him like he’s Jesus. Comment on that."

Russo: "That was a mistake. What the motivation was, maybe Mike just felt with me there, I’ve got the NFL radio network with Sirius maybe he felt that would be a compromising situation. But as you say, in that situation, the big spots are not going to walk eight blocks to do a 15-minute interview on WFAN."

Stern: "Is it fair to say that Mike made a power play that completely failed?"

Russo: "Power play might be a little too strong, but I had 56 guests that week, and Mike had 26 guests."

Stern: "And isn’t it true that Mike’s big thing was he always had a personal relationship with Bill Parcells? He and Bill Parcells are super tight, Bill Parcells my best friend, and you had nothing to do with it. And isn’t it true Bill Parcells gave you an interview and didn't do an interview with Mike? . . . His so-called good friend Bill Parcells didn’t even do an interview with him?"

Russo: "That was a little dicey. I didn’t understand that either, myself. I did get Parcells on Friday at 5:35. So the Friday before the Super Bowl, Bill’s sitting there for 15 minutes. Now, he was doing it because he was promoting Gatorade. So it’s not like he just said, 'I’m going to do Russo today.' He was there for a reason. But the two channels he did, you’ll be proud of this, were Sirius. He did the NFL channel on 124, and he did us on 123, nothing else."

Stern: "Have you heard your old partner Mike is out of mind over this? It’s embarrassing!"

Russo: "That I have not heard."

Stern then admitted he made it up, and went on to recount Russo's fight with Francesa over Parcells in 1996, and made some off-color jokes about Francesa's wife that Russo refused to react to.

The two went on to discuss Russo having Joe Torre in-studio last week and Francesa only by phone. Russo explained Francesa is located in Queens, making it more difficult logistically to have some guests in-studio. I didn't get that stuff on tape.

Back to the Super Bowl thing: "We got [Parcells] on for 15 minutes and that Friday at the Super Bowl, that’s a huge show the Friday before the Super Bowl. We had Madden, Costas, Ebersol and Bill. And the day before was Bruce [Springsteen], you heard about that."

From that, the two veered off into Springsteen and movie talk, so I stopped typing. Oy.

source

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Clarence King (1842-1901)

Introduction: Mount Shasta's Role in American Geology

The story of the scientific exploration of Mount Shasta is an integral part of the history of science in America. Clarence King is part of the story.

Drawing of James Dwight Dana from the Smithsonian Institute The first scientific expedition to come to the Shasta region was the Overland Expedition of 1841, a segment of the worldwide 1838-1842 Wilkes Expedition. The overland expedition was led by George Foster Emmons. James Dwight Dana was the geologist on this expedition and as such he is the first geologist to describe Mount Shasta. It is interesting to note that Dana described the Shasta Valley hills, which have intrigued and puzzled scientists up until our own time. On October 1, 1841 Dana states, "The volcanic hills, stretch over the prairie towards the Shasty peak, and are probably connected in origin with the former eruptions of this extinct volcano-none of the hills had the form of craters, tho' this may have been the case with some..." (Dana in Miess 1993). It is now known that these hills are part of a gigantic debris flow from the collapse of ancient Mount Shasta. The key to understanding these hills was the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens and the landscape it produced.

John C. Frémont led the next governmental expeditions to the Mount Shasta region in 1843-44 and 1845-46 (Miess 1993). Frémont later ran for president against James Buchanan in 1856 when Clarence King was fourteen years old.

King was in the first graduating class of the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, graduating in 1862. He was especially inspired by two professors there, George Brush and James Dwight Dana, the geologist on the Overland Expedition. In addition, his German teacher was the brother of Josiah Dwight Whitney and King heard about Whitney's geological exploits in California through the letters Whitney sent to his brother. The year after graduation King and his friend Jim Gardiner set out for California. On a steamer heading down the Sacramento River towards San Francisco they met Professor William H. Brewer (Farquhar in King 1997; Brewer 1974). Brewer records this meeting in his journal,

"At Sacramento I took steamer, and meeting an old friend had a pleasant trip. On the way down two young men came up to me, asked if my name was Brewer, and introduced themselves as two young fellows just graduated last year in the Scientific School at Yale College, who this summer have crossed the plains. Their names are Gardner and King. Of course I was glad to see them; King I have taken with me on this trip."

Gardiner later joined them at the end of the trip in 1864. Gardiner described their meeting with Brewer in a letter home (Powell 1989),

"The steamboat was crowded with people from the mines. Many rough, sunburned men in flannel shirts, high boots, belts, and revolvers were around me, but among them one man attracted my attention. There was nothing peculiar about him, yet his face impressed me. Again and again I walked past him, and at last, seating myself in a chair opposite, pretending to read a paper, I deliberately studied this fascinating individual... I went to Clare and told him the case, and showed him the man. He looked at him, and, without any previous knowledge to guide him in the identification, said, from instinct, 'That man must be Professor Brewer, the head of Professor Whitney's geological party.'"

A famous photo, which graces the 1974 edition of Brewer's journal, shows Gardiner, Cotter, Brewer, and King in 1864. Although Brewer was a botanist, Josiah Dwight Whitney had selected him to lead the northern California portion of the Geological Survey of California. For Brewer and most other scientists of his day, "Mount Shasta was an item of Great Expectations" (Brewer 1974). It was then considered the highest peak in the continental United States. Prior to climbing Mount Shasta with Professor Whitney in 1862, Brewer mentions several "Shasta Rumors" which would fill "an amusing volume." His final story is that Mr. Sim Southern "said that he had nearly reached the top, but an impassable glacier had stopped every person from going farther. Such were the stories, which would fill a volume--a few grains of truth, and an abundance of pure fiction--so, as I write facts, I will pass them." Not only did Brewer and Whitney fail to see any glaciers (most likely due to the weather as well as the route they took), Brewer stated in an 1862 letter to George Brush, "In this climate, although immense quantities of snow fall in winter, no rain falls during the long cloudless days of summer, so there are no glaciers." The letter describes how difficult the climb was; Whitney had "his fingers frostbitten" and much of the day was cloudy. Brewer was at Mount Shasta twice, in 1862 and 1863.

King was with Brewer on the 1863 trip to Shasta. However, they arrived late in the season and so the party only inspected Mount Shasta from its base. King noted the milky waters (probably from Whitney Creek as they were camped near Sheep Rock) and stated that there must be glaciers on Mount Shasta. Brewer insisted that there were not any glaciers as he and Whitney had climbed Shasta the year before. King vowed to himself that he would again return and explore the mountain he so wanted to climb (Young 1968).

Drawing of Shasta Butte and Shasta Valley by John J. Young, 1858 It is said that King conceived of the idea of a geological survey of the 40th parallel while on the last leg of the Geological Survey of California at Yosemite in 1866 (Bartlett 1962; Rabbitt 1989; Young 1968; Wild 1981). It should be noted that in the 1850s several railroad surveys were conducted to find appropriate railroad routes in the West. In particular, the 1855 Williamson Expedition searched for a north-south route to connect California and Oregon (Camp 70A, shown on left, was part of this trip) and another 1854-55 expedition conducted a survey of the 41st parallel. Twelve volumes were produced as a result of these surveys during the 1850s (Miess 1993). Artists were typically a part of these surveys, and their works of art were included in the publications. King's interest in art along with his love of geology, as well as his association with Dana, makes it quite probable that he read some of these works prior to his departure for California.

King did indeed lead a geological survey of the 40th parallel. Although the proposal was written "to examine and describe the geological structure, geographical condition, and natural resources of a belt of country extending from the 120th meridian eastward to the 105th meridian, along the 40th parallel of latitude...," the study of volcanoes in the West was included during the summer of 1870 (Faul and Faul 1983). While King explored Mount Shasta, other members of the party went to Mount Rainier and Mount Hood. King and his party, led by the local guide Mr. Sisson, did not take the route selected by most climbers but instead first climbed Shastina. From the rim of Shastina King described his experience,

Whitney Glacier in October 1999 "We clambered along the edge toward Shasta, and came to a place where for a thousand feet it was a mere blade of ice, sharpened by the snow into a thin, frail edge, upon which we walked in cautious balance, a misstep likely to hurl us down into the chaos of lava blocks within the crater. Passing this, we reached the north edge of the rim, and from a rugged mound of shattered rock looked down into a gorge between us and the main Shasta. There, winding its huge body along, lay a glacier, riven with sharp, deep crevasses yawning fifty or sixty feet wide, the blue hollows of their shadowed depth contrasting with the brilliant surfaces of ice."

King knew that other scientists who had climbed Shasta stated that there were not glaciers there. However, Sisson was with them and he knew about the glacier, for an 1866 article in the Yreka Journal states, "Mr. Sisson called our attention to what he termed a grand natural road, which is pecularly well-defined..." The author goes onto state that "This is undoubtedly the track of descending glaciers..." Apparently Mr. Sisson, like a good guide, let them make the discovery on their own. King also found three other glaciers in addition to Whitney Glacier, and described the small lake in the crater of Shastina, now called Clarence King Lake.

Top of the Coast Geodetic Survey marker formerly located atop Mount Shasta. Image courtesy of the Sisson Museum. Later expeditions were also to come to Mount Shasta. The Coast Geodetic Survey placed the highest reflector used in geodetic surveying at the top of Mount Shasta in 1875 (the top of the reflector is now located at the Sisson Museum in Mount Shasta City, shown at right). Gilbert Thompson, in charge of the 1883 USGS survey of Mount Shasta, created the first topographic map of the mountain. Sisson helped guide this group as well. J. S. Diller spent many years, beginning in 1883, working for the USGS and he conducted several studies of Mount Shasta. C. Hart Merriam, during his biological survey of Mount Shasta in 1898, named Diller Canyon after J. S. Diller. Merriam had with him the botany report by Sereno Watson, Volume V of King's 40th Parallel Survey (Miess 1993; Freeman 1997; Dennis Freeman, personal communication, 1999).

Biography

Clarence King was born at Newport, Rhode Island in 1842 to a prosperous family. For generations his family had been involved in the sea as makers of navigational tools, captains, and traders. His uncles and father, James, were engaged in the China trade. During the Opium Wars when they were forced to return home, James proposed to childhood friend 15-year-old Caroline Florence Little and they were married the next year. Florence's father was a linguist, which may help explain her skills in languages, which she in turn passed onto King. Florence was pregnant when James returned to China. Clarence, called Clare by his mother, was born during his father's absence. Only during of two of King's early years was his father home. During this time two more children were born but they died as infants. King's father died in 1848 when Clare was only six years old (Young 1968; Wild 1981; Wilkins 1988).

For Clare's 7th birthday his mother bought him a magnifying glass. At the time he was enrolled in Christ Church Hall for his early education while Clare and his mother resided in a local boarding house (Wilkins 1988). His teacher, the Reverand Dr. Roswell Park, was interested in geology and wrote a book entitled Pantology, which included a section of engravings of dinosaurs. When Clare was seven years old he discovered his first fossil, a fern, which he examined with his magnifying glass. Due to Clare's eagerness to know all about it, his mother began reading to him from Hitchcock's Geology (Young 1968; Wilkins 1988).

In 1852 Clare's teacher resigned for another position and the Kings moved to New Haven to live with Clare's maternal uncle Robbins Little. One of the reasons Florence chose to move there was because she felt the influence of Yale would be good for Clare. She tutored her son herself but attended lectures in order to better be able to do so (Young 1968; Wilkins 1988). When Clare was 13 they move to Hartford so Clare could attend a good school. His favorite teacher there was Mary Dodge, an abolitionist like Clare's maternal grandmother. It was here and then that Clare became friends with Ted Gardiner (also spelled Gardner), one of King's lifelong bosom friends.

During this time the 1857 Depression, as well as a bad trade scene in China due to the Opium Wars, resulted in the King & Talbot trading company going bankrupt and the Kings lost their livelihood. Shortly afterwards, Florence married the elderly George Howland who Clare didn't like one bit. It sent him into a depression and he quit school. At seventeen he moved to New York and he wouldn't move back home unless his stepfather would pay for his education. Howland agreed, so Clare went to the new Scheffield Scientific School at Yale. King encouraged his friend Gardiner to come to school at Scheffield, which he did for a time. King was in the first graduating class the summer of 1862 (Young 1968; Wild 1981; Wilkins 1988).

After graduation King, Gardiner, and two other friends went on a boating trip on Lake Champlain. They were arrested as draft dodgers but were soon released. King returned home and spent time with his family. He loved his new little half-sister Marion. He visited Professor Brush and heard a letter from William Brewer about Mount Shasta. At the time, it was thought Mount Shasta was the tallest peak in the United States. It is said that King made his decision to go to California after hearing the letter from Brewer (Young 1968; Wilkins 1988).

King studied geology by reading Dana's new Manual of Geology, attending lectures at Yale, and going to Harvard to hear Agassiz lecture. He also did field work along the Hudson River. It was during this time that King and his friends formed "The Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art." Ruskin, their hero, stated that the "ultimate job of the realist is not photographic duplication but creation of internal truths through faithfulness to nature" (Wild 1981). I think that King held this idea firmly throughout his life, as well as his love of art (see Clarence King as Artist and Scientist). When Gardiner had a nervous breakdown, King decided it was time for them to go to California (Young 1968; Wild 1981; Wilkins 1988).

Once in California, King met Brewer and Whitney and volunteered to work on the California Geological Survey with them. His work was exemplery, although King did exhibit some odd tendencies, such as dressing up for dinner even in the field. It is said that King conceived of the 40th parallel survey while at Yosemite, the last stop on the tour of California (Bartlett 1962). King returned to Washington D.C. to convince congress to finance the expedition, which they did. King became the leader of the survey. This in turn was so successful that Clarence King became the first director of the new United States Geological Survey in 1879. More will be told about King's geological work in the next section.

King resigned his work in 1881 at the USGS after two years. His resignation from the USGS signaled his withdrawel from the scientific world and his entrance into a life fraught with failure. He was unsuccessful in several mining adventures including his stint with the Anglo-American Mining Company in 1883 as a consultant. The United States entered a depression which made things worse for King.

In 1888 King married Ada, a Black woman twenty years his junior. He never told his family about his marriage, which was performed under the assumed name of James Todd, nor of the birth of his five children.

The rest of King's life was beset by faulty mining ventures, extravagence, and poor mental and physical health. In 1893 King was arrested for disturbing the peace and was put into a mental institution, the Bloomingdale Asylum. After his release, he resumed his travels and spent a lot of time helping to solve mining disputes. Towards the end of his life King was sickly. He traveled to the tropics to try and recuperate. When that didn't work he visited his family. He left Gardiner in charge of his affairs and told his wife his true name. Clarence King died in Arizona on December 24, 1901.
King's Contributions to Geology
King was one of the greatest scientists in the 19th century. He has been called "the ideal American" and "the best and brightest man of his generation" (Wild 1981; Faul and Faul 1983). King was well-known for his organizational skills, scientific accuracy, and integrity. King contributed enormously to our understanding of the geology of the American West during his assistance on the California Geological Survey from 1863-1866, his survey of the 40th parallel from 1870-1878, and during his reign as the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879-1881. In addition to endowing the scientific community with his works, he also contributed to the economic well-being of the country. He introduced the general public to geological concepts in his book Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, considered a literary masterpiece (see Chapters XI and XII from this book, which deal with Mount Shasta).

In 1863 Whitney assigned King to study the Mariposa gold mine. At first, King was criticized for his lack of progress, which made him gloomy, but he determined he would do a good job. One of King's first scientific contributions was in determining the age of the Sierra by finding the fossil belemnite in gold-bearing, partially metamorphosed shale (Young 1968; Shebl 1974). It was while at Mariposa that King gazed across at the grandeur of the Sierra and questioned whether the peaks he saw might not be taller than Mount Shasta, the peak believed at the time to be the highest in the United States Young 1968; Wilkins 1988).

Glaciers on Mount Shasta were not described in the scientific literature until Clarence King published his observations of an 1870 expedition on Mount Shasta in the American Journal of Science in 1871. They had, however, been mentioned to Brewer in 1862 and had been publicized in the August 24, 1866 issue of the Yreka Journal (Brewer 1974).

King and Gardiner went to Yosemite in 1864. In his journal King noted the "unmistakeable ice striae" extending from Mount Hoffman into Yosemite. He further concluded, in reference to El Capitan's surface, "in all probability, they were worn when the glacier occupied the valley..." In addition, he claimed that the four morainal ridges he saw "will require great ingenuity to attribute to any other cause than glaciers." However, this material was not published. When Muir proclaimed, later that year, that Yosemite was carved by glaciation, Whitney responded that Muir's theory was "based on entire ignorance of the whole subject." King disavowed his own findings to publicly support his boss. However, he later changed his mind and supported Muir (Young 1968; Wild 1981; Shebl 1974; Smith 1987). Even though King had visited several areas, such as Black Mountain in the Sierra Nevada, prior to Muir, King did not observe the glaciers that Muir reported to the world. Also during 1864, King climbed and named Mount Tyndall (after the famous mountaineer of the Alps) and named Mount Whitney when he determined that it was the highest peak in the United States (Whitney's survey party was reserving the name Mount Whitney for the highest peak in the Sierra). He wasn't successful in climbing Mount Whitney that year. To name a peak, one was supposed to make the first ascent, and it was questioned for awhile whether Mount Whitney's real name might be Fisherman's Peak.

King became famous for his geological work pertaining to mining beginning with the exposure of the diamond fraud in 1872 which prevented a financial catastrophe. He intentionally first published Mining Industry, Volume III of the 40th Parallel Survey, in order to show the public and Congress that what they were doing was beneficial. After the Diamond Hoax, King became sought after to serve as an expert witness in mining claims. King participated in the Tenth Census of mineral resources and production and set the standards for future statistical studies of precious metals; some consider this King's major achievement during his directoship of the USGS (Emmons 1906; Stegner 1982; Faul and Faul 1983; Smithsonian 1906).

In 1877 King publicly put forth arguments against the followers of Lyell and Darwin. He was not trying to completely return to the catastrophic viewpoint, but he felt the uniformitarians were going to far, as he had personally observed that the rate of change had not remained steady. This was not well-received by the scientific community (Smithsonian 1906).

In regards to King's Systematic Geology, published in 1878, Emmons stated in 1909, "Probably no more masterly summary of great truths of geology had been made since the publication of Lyell's Principles." This masterpiece laid the foundation for the geological understanding of the American West (Shebl 1974). In this work, King reconstructed the Archean landscape then proceded to describe the changes which occurred over geologic time. He further noted that Archean topography greatly influenced the present topography; Archean faults and mountain ranges were lines of weakness where later orographic movements would express themselves (Merrill 1906; Goetzmann 1993).

King's last scientific work to be published, in 1893, was entitled "The Age of the Earth" and was published in the American Journal of Science. He estimated the Earth to be 24 million years old.

Arnold Hague, the petrologist hired by King for the 40th Parallel Survey, claimed that it was King's detail of topographic maps that set him apart from others (Emmons 1909). Indeed, King is credited with the use of contour lines in mapping (as opposed to the commonly used hachure marks) as well as developing a new method of triangulation using theodolites on mountain peaks and using telegraphs rather than chronometers to determine longitude (Wild 1981; Goetzmann 1993).

Samuel Franklin Emmons, a member of the 40th Parallel Survey, stated that King's "crowning service" to science in America was the fact that King combined competing scientific projects into one agency, the United States Geological Survey, which resulted in the continuation of scientific studies (1909).

King himself insisted on waiting until the survey was finished before publishing the work. Although this resulted in King permitting others to publish similar findings before him (such as Gilbert's work on Lake Bonneville), it resulted in what are considered the first thorough, professional scientific studies of the American West (Smithsonian 1906).

If, sometime, you gaze upon Mount Clarence King in the Sierra or down at Clarence King Lake in the crater of Shastina, you can reflect upon the contributions he made to geology.
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