MTR12: 2012 McCall-Tyson Family Reunion

Cartographer Abraham Ortelius Issues the First Modern Atlas (1570)

Prior to 1570, maps were often unreliable, illegible, and unwieldy. When Ortelius published his Theatrum orbis terrarium, it was the first comprehensive, easy-to-use, and fairly up-to-date collection of world maps. It drew from the works of 87 cartographers, all of whom were credited. Demand was immediate and persisted for decades, during which time dozens of editions were published in several languages. In addition to practical contemporary maps, Ortelius published what? Discuss

Read More...(Source: This Day in History - Sun, 20 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Catherine of Aragon Married by Proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales (1499)

Catherine of Aragon is known as the first of King Henry VIII's six wives, but before they were wed, she was married to his older brother Arthur. Catherine was the youngest daughter of Spain's Ferdinand II and Isabella I, and her marriage to Arthur was primarily political. In fact, Arthur and Catherine were married by proxy before they had even met, in a ceremony attended by their representatives. The marriage was short-lived, as Arthur died young. When did Arthur and Catherine finally meet?

Read More...(Source: This Day in History - Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Mount Saint Helens Erupts (1980)

Beginning in mid-March 1980, a series of earth tremors and steam explosions at Washington's Mount Saint Helens suggested that the volcano—dormant since 1857—was on the verge of erupting. Then, on May 18, the entire north side of the mountain exploded in a cloud of ash, rock, and fiery gases that collapsed a good part of it and carried debris for many miles. About 60 people were killed, and millions of tons of ash blanketed much of the American northwest. How far did the ash eventually spread?

Read More...(Source: This Day in History - Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Malcolm X (1925)

Malcolm X was an African-American activist. His home was burned by the KKK when he was a child, and he joined the Nation of Islam in prison as an adult. Upon his release in 1952, he renounced his "slave name," Little, and took the surname X, representing his lost African ancestral surname. He became a minister and soon rose to prominence campaigning for black separatism, but he publicly broke with the militant Black Muslims in 1964 after a pilgrimage to Mecca. Who assassinated him the next year? Discuss

Read More...(Source: Today's Birthday - Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Walter Adolph Gropius (1883)

Gropius was the immensely influential director of the Bauhaus school of art and architecture in Germany. In 1937, he immigrated to America and became head of Harvard's architecture department. He was an early exponent of the International style and believed that all design—whether of a chair, a building, or a city—should focus on the particular needs and problems involved, without regard to old styles. His 1923 re-design of what everyday object is now considered an icon of 20th-century design?

Read More...(Source: Today's Birthday - Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Dennis Lee Hopper (1936)

Hopper was an American film actor. He appeared in two films with James Dean in the 1950s but achieved fame of his own after directing and starring in 1969's Easy Rider. His career foundered in the 70s, but important roles in Apocalypse Now (1979) and Blue Velvet (1986) helped him revitalize his career in the 80s and 90s. In addition to acting, he was a noted artist. In 1983, he checked into rehab shortly after performing what daredevil stunt involving dynamite?

Read More...(Source: Today's Birthday - Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Jerome K. Jerome

We are so bound together that no man can labor for himself alone. Each blow he strikes in his own behalf helps to mold the universe. Discuss

Read More...(Source: Quote of the Day - Sun, 20 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Willa Cather

Sometimes I wonder why God ever trusts talent in the hands of women, they usually make such an infernal mess of it. I think He must do it as a sort of ghastly joke.

Read More...(Source: Quote of the Day - Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Aristotle

Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age.

Read More...(Source: Quote of the Day - Fri, 18 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT)

Researchers try to understand naked mole rats' resistance to cancer

With their pinkish, translucent and wrinkly skin, double-saber buck teeth and black-bead eyes, naked mole rats look like characters in a nightmare from hell. In fact, they do live underground in pitch-dark burrows where their air, from a human point of view, can contain chokingly little oxygen, t...

Read More...(Source: - Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:03 EST)

Doctors try new models to push health insurers aside

Just about everyone agrees that the way we pay for primary care needs fixing. Under the current insurance model, doctors get paid for procedures and tests rather than for time spent with patients, which displeases doctors and patients alike and increases costs. Now some medical practices are side...

Read More...(Source: - Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:01:00 EST)

Medigap supplemental coverage can be too pricey for younger Medicare beneficiaries

One night three years ago, Joe Hobson finished reading a book, went to sleep and woke up blind. The problem, caused by a rare hereditary disease, forced him to give up his 20-year communications job, along with its generous health insurance. Now 63, the Arlington man is covered by Medicare, the f...