august 25

Flashback Friday: Shoshone National Park 1891

Posted on March 3, 2023 Updated on March 2, 2023

The Dyrt Magazine Image One — Image Credit: The Dyrt Magazine

One-hundred, thirty-two years ago, today…

[The] Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2,500,000 acres in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest Service and was created by an act of Congress, signed into law by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years and when the region was first explored by European adventurers, forestlands were occupied by several different tribes. Never heavily settled or exploited, the forest has retained most of its wildness. Shoshone National Forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem […].

The Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains are partly in the northern section of the forest. The Wind River Range is in the southern portion and contains Gannett Peak, the tallest mountain in Wyoming. [The] Continental Divide separates the forest from its neighbor Bridger-Teton National Forest to the west. The eastern boundary includes privately owned property, lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and, the Wind River Indian Reservation, which belongs to the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians. Custer National Forest along the Montana border is on the northern frontier. The Oregon Trail, the 19th century covered wagon route, passes just south of the forest, where broad and gentle South Pass allowed the migrants to bypass the rugged mountains to the north. The forest is home to the Grizzly bear, Cougar, Moose, tens of thousands of Elk as well as the largest herd of Bighorn sheep in the U.S.

Cody Wyoming Website Image Two — Image Credit: Cody Wyoming Net

[On] March 3 [of] 1891, Congress enacted, and [President] Harrison signed, the Land Revision Act of 1891. This legislation resulted from a bipartisan desire to initiate reclamation of surplus lands that had been, up to that point, granted from the public domain, for potential settlement or use by railroad syndicates.

The Act reversed previous policy initiatives, such as the Timber Culture Act of 1873, which did not preclude land fraud by wealthy individuals and corporations. The legacy of the General Revision Act of 1891 [Forest Reserve Act/Land Revision Act] is frequently credited as its serving as a catalyst to a series of federal land reform initiatives, notably under President Theodore Roosevelt.

Wikipedia Summaries

As a side note, when my father was a Freshman at N.C. State University in 1963-1964, he studied Forestry. Prior to his death on August 25, 2022, he still remembered most of the Latin terms for all trees and forest plants.

Additional:
♦ Shoshone National Forest (Wyoming State Parks)
♦ America’s First National Forest (Forest Service)
♦ Our First National Forest (National Park Service History)

This entry was posted in History, Nature and tagged 1873, 1891, 2022, arapahoe, august 25, benjamin harrison, bighorn sheep, bridger teton national forest, bureau of land management, cody, cody wyoming, continental divide, cougar, custer national forest, elk, forest reserve act, forest service, general revision act, greater yellowstone ecosystem, grizzly, lake, land reclamation, land revision act, montana, moose, n.c. state, national park service, north carolina state university, oregon trail, president harrison, railroad syndicates, shoshone, shoshone national forest, shoshone national park, south pass, state parks, surplus lands, the dyrt magazine, theodore roosevelt, timber culture act, united states, united states forest service, usda, wikipedia, wind river indian reservation, wind river range, wyoming, yellowstone, yellowstone national forest, yellowstone timberland reserve, youtube.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery

Posted on October 31, 2020 Updated on December 10, 2020

Sean Connery Far Out Magazine UK Image One — August 25, 1930 ~ October 31, 2020
Bond. James Bond.
Photo Credit: Far Out Magazine UK

I just found out about the passing of actor Sean Connery. There are certain actors I have a thing for and he is one of them. Our birthdays are five days apart and we both have Scottish (and Irish) ancestry. He enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 16, was assigned to the HMS Formidable as an Able Seaman and was medically discharged at 19 for ulcers.

Darby O'Gill Connery Time Magazine Image Two — Darby O’Gill & The Little People
Image Credit: Time

One of his early endeavors was as an artist’s model. He was into bodybuilding and was in a Mr. Universe contest, though the actual year is disputed. He was a footballer, playing for Bonnyrigg Rose and was once offered a contract to play professionally:

“[I] realised that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30 and I was already 23. I decided to become an actor and it turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves.”

He was a member of the Scottish National Party and campaigned for Scottish Independence, financially supporting the party until the UK passed legislation to prohibit overseas funding. One of his two tattoos was “Scotland Forever.”

He managed to make it all the way to 90 but, according to his son Jason, he had been unwell for some time. He passed peacefully in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas. I think it altogether fitting and proper that Sir Sean left on Halloween during a full Blue Moon. Godspeed. ~Vic

Sean Connery Hunt For Red October — The Hunt for Red October
Image Credit: Reddit

Career Highlights:
His acting debut (uncredited) was in the UK film Lilacs in the Spring (titled Let’s Make Up in the US) in 1954, a British musical starring Errol Flynn. On UK TV, he played MacBeth, Alexander the Great and Count Vronsky. His first appearance on US TV was on The Jack Benny Program in 1957. His first credited film roll in the US was a UK/US collaboration in the movie Action of the Tiger, also in 1957. He was the first James Bond (and some say the only one), he played a savage in the distant future, became Robin Hood, was a Marshal in outer space, was King Agamemnon, was a sword-wielding immortal, did a turn as a Franciscan friar, was an Untouchable, a Provost Marshall in San Francisco, was the father of Indiana Jones, a Russian submarine Captain, appeared as King Richard, became a doctor, was a detective, a professor, played King Arthur, played an ex-con & an art thief, was a reclusive author and, was the voice of The Last Dragon. He was only in one Western in 1968. His last time on the big screen was in 2003 playing Allan Quatermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and his last time on TV was playing character John Muir in an episode of the documentary Freedom: A History of US, also in 2003. He did voice work up to 2012.

Awards:
♥ 1987 Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor/The Untouchables)
♥ 1987 BAFTA (Best Actor/The Name of the Rose)
♥ 1998 BAFTA Fellowship
♥ 1972 Golden Globe (Henrietta Award/World Film Favorite-Male)
♥ 1987 Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actor/The Untouchables)
♥ 1995 Golden Globe (Cecil B. DeMille Award)

Indiana & Henry, Sr., Pinterest Image Four — Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Photo Credit: Pinterest

Nominations:
♦ 1987 BAFTA (Best Supporting Actor/The Untouchables)
♦ 1989 BAFTA (Best Supporting Actor/Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
♦ 1990 BAFTA (Best Actor/The Hunt for Red October)
♦ 1965 Golden Globe (Henrietta Award/World Film Favorite-Male)
♦ 1968 Golden Globe (Henrietta Award/World Film Favorite-Male)
♦ 1989 Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actor/Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

www.seanconnery.com (Web Archive)

Additional Reading & Sources:
BBC News
Belly Buzz (Web Archive of Connery’s Military Service)
List of Work (IMDb)
List of Work (Wikipedia)
Muscle Memory (As Tom Connery)
Scottish Junior Football Association (Web Archive)
Scottish Roots
Talk-Talk UK (Archive Today Copy of Connery’s Biography)

This entry was posted in Halloween Stuff, Movies, News, Television, Thoughts and tagged 007, 1930, 1954, 1957, 1968, 2020, able seaman, action of the tiger, actor, air craft carrier, alan caldwell, alexander the great, allan quatermain, artist's model, august 25, bahamas, barley, BBC, bbc news, biography, blue moon, body builder, bond, bonnyrigg rose, british musical, captain ramius, close birthdays, complete consciousness, count vronsky, darby o'gill, douglas meredith, draco, dragonheart, errol flynn, far out magazine, first knight, footballer, freedom: a history of us, godspeed, halloween, henry jones sr., heritage, highlander, hms formidable, hunt for red october, indiana jones and the holy grail, irish, james bond, jason connery, jessie, jim malone, john connor, john muir, john patrick mason, juan sánchez-villalobos ramírez, king agamemnon, knighthood, let's make up, lilacs in the spring, little people, mac macdougal, macbeth, mark rutland, marshal, medical discharge, michael mcbride, model, mr. universe, nineteen, october 31, outlander, passed in sleep, paul armstrong, paul bradley, prince of thieves, private flanagan, provost marshal, raisuli, reddit, robert campbell, robin hood, royal navy, russian captain, savage, science fiction, scifi, scotland forever, scotsman, scottish, scottish football, scottish independence, scottish national party, scottish nationalist, scottish roots, shalako, sir sean, sixteen, SNP, talk-talk, tattoo, the jack benny program, the presidio, the untouchables, thomas sean connery, time magazine, tiscali.co.uk, tom connery, ulcers, uncredited, universe championship, web archive, william forrester, william t. o'niel, william von baskerville, zardoz.

Theodolite Thursday: Satellites Interfere With Astronomy

Posted on August 27, 2020

Earth Satellites Image One — Image Credit: NOIRLab
NSF
AURA
P. Marenfeld
Science Magazine

“A report warns that fleets of new communication satellites in low-Earth orbit will spoil some astronomical observations, even if all known mitigation strategies are taken.”

Astronomers and the operators of new, thousands-strong […] low-orbiting satellites will have to work together to prevent them from having a devastating impact on ground-based observations of planets, stars and other celestial objects, says a [recent] report […]. Even then, there is no escaping some harm from the fleets of commercial orbiters.

“All optical and infrared observatories will be affected to some degree,” [stated] astronomer Anthony Tyson of the University of California, Davis, […] at a briefing on the report.

“No combination of mitigation will eliminate their impact,” added astronomer Connie Walker of the U.S. National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory.

The satellites, designed to provide internet access in remote areas, now number in the hundreds. [Following] the launch of the first batch by SpaceX in May 2019, astronomers were alarmed by how bright they appear in the sky. If all the planned [launches] go ahead, the number of satellites will grow beyond 100,000. Since last year, there have been a number of independent studies of [satellites’] possible impact. [The] workshop’s report is the first time the satellite companies, and those who would be affected (astronomers to the agencies that fund them and their telescopes), have pooled their results and worked out a strategy for the future.

Photo Credit: NASA on Unsplash

The satellite trails are very bright, and out of focus slightly, so they’re wide and cover several pixels on images taken with a test version of the (soon to open Vera C.) Rubin Observatory’s camera, notes Tyson. [Telescopes] that need to work during twilight will also run into problems. Because the satellites are in low orbits, they will often be seen close to the horizon and will be most visible when they are still in sunlight but, the observer is not. If, however, satellite operators choose orbits above 600 kilometers, the situation gets worse because, then, their spacecraft are visible for more of the night, and in [the] summer, all night long. Astronomers should also develop software tools to remove satellite trails from images and the companies should make accurate orbital data available for their orbiters so telescopes can try to avoid them.

The only measure the report could offer to totally eliminate the damage to astronomy was to launch fewer or no low-orbiting satellites…likely not an option given the financial investments the companies are making in the [satellites] and the lucrative market they foresee.

Tyson and his colleagues have been working with SpaceX engineers to modify their satellites to reduce their brightness. His team has also modeled trying to steer the Rubin Observatory telescope to avoid passing satellites but, Tyson says there are simply too many. Astronomers are already actively pursuing image processing solutions but, he says “the jury’s out” on how much that can help.

Daniel Clery
Science Magazine
August 25, 2020