Although a few of us may not perceive this, virtually all human beings are complex creatures. We are full of intricacies some of which we will never be aware of, such is human nature. We all have inherent contradictions, we are hypocritical and we are inconsistent. All of this, together with our choices, makes us who we are, unique in a crowd of billions.

Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple was one such person. His self-belief and ability to convince others helped found one of the most successful companies in the world. He even managed to convince a large following of people that his company was not a company. Ultimately his self-belief, which at times bordered on delusion would prove to be his downfall and would have fatal consequences.

‘Woz’

At the heart of Steve Jobs’s success was a computer whiz-kid called Steve Wozniak, known affectionately as ‘Woz’. Jobs met Woz while they both attended Homestead High School in California. They would strike up a productive relationship effectively turning the two Steve’s into the Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the computer industry.

After seeing Woz’s home-made computer, the Apple 1, Jobs convinced him that they could sell the computer to people. Woz expected the proceeds to be split right down the middle but was deeply hurt when he later found out the Jobs had taken the lion’s share of the profits.

This example sheds light into the character of Steve Jobs in which he saw himself as the dominant member of the duo. Able to manipulate the naive Wozniak with his more clever personality, this was to be the dynamic that would characterise their relationship.

Early Apple

Wozniak fully created the first Apple computer, the Apple 1, from the ground up. The computer was  a bare bones machine designed for the computer hobbyist market. The user had to supply their own monitor, keyboard and case for the computer.

It was a very humble beginning for the young company. The Apple 1 allowed the user to create their own programmes. However, at $666 dollars the computer was far more expensive than its rival, the Alastair 8800.

The Apple II was one of the company’s most successful computers. Once more it was the brainchild of Steve Wozniak. The Apple II and its various incarnations sold between five and six million units.

The Xerox Mouse

During a visit to Xerox Jobs was shown the first mouse, a graphical user interface. Stunned at this innovation Jobs decided that Apple most have a computer with this function and ripped off Xerox’s concept. The Xerox mouse, albeit in a different format, would find itself in the initially highly successful Wozniak-led Apple Mackintosh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSiQA6KKyJo

Bill Gates

This juncture in time saw Bill Gates strike up a partnership with Jobs and Apple. Gates, through his company Microsoft, wanted to design software for both IBM PCs and for Apple.

However, Jobs strongly disliked this idea. He also grew suspicious of Gates believing him to be using Apple for his company’s gain.

This belief was well-founded when Bill Gates stole the march on Apple’s graphical user interface. After reportedly shouting furiously at Gates (something that was not uncommon with Jobs), the Microsoft head replied calmly reminding Jobs that he had only done what Jobs had done to Xerox.

The Ejection

Shortly after the launch of the Apple Macintosh unit sales of Apple computers were unexpectedly poor. Uncertainty within the company grew and the board of directors where unhappy with the direction that Jobs was taking Apple. Apple’s CEO, John Sculley, was told by the board to limit Jobs’s scope.

Unhappy with this arrangement Jobs’s sought to remove Sculley. But lacking the boardroom experience of Sculley, Jobs found himself on the losing side and was kicked out of his position in the company he co-founded in 1985. He subsequently resigned.

After some initial success without Jobs the company floundered producing too many products and too many models of certain items. This scatter-gun approach diluted their appeal and made consumers question where Apple was heading.

The Unsuccessful NeXT

Jobs after departing from Apple set up NeXT a computer company which he started after talking to Paul Berg, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist who asked him if he would design a computer that would be suitable to run complex, resource intensive programmes. Such a machine would need to have more than one megabyte of RAM, a megaflop in processing capabilities and more than a megapixel display.

Being ousted by Apple gave Jobs the opportunity to implement this new, high-end approach.

Using seven of Apple’s employees Jobs founded NeXT. From a technical perspective the company was highly successful with revolutionary dynamic web page generation capabilities, one of the first CD-ROM drives and, at the time, a huge 128 megabytes of RAM. Nonetheless, the company was a business flop plagued as it was by inconsistent standards and hardware problems that stemmed from running such advanced compontents.

With just 50,000 units sold in total during the life of the company NeXT was a commercial failure it did change the course of the computer industry and made the modern-day Internet communications, newly created by the European Particle Physics research centre, CERN a reality.

Marketing Pixar

Conveniently assisted by financial problems being experienced by George Lucas, Jobs bought Pixar. Co-founded by Alvy Ray Smith and Ed Catmull, Pixar was responsible for creating award-winning computer generated imagery CGI.

Jobs installed himself as head of the company and a fractious relationship with key Pixar staff began. The tensions became so great, according to Smith, that staff much preferred to be free of Jobs’s controlling personality.

Smith and Jobs would come to an acrimonious ending after Jobs started shouting in his face. Smith knowing Jobs’s control-freak nature, grabbed a marker and wrote on the whiteboard. There was an unspoken rule that only Jobs wrote on the whiteboard. Smith quit Pixar shortly afterwards.

Jobs contemplated selling Pixar on more than one occasion. However, the breakthrough success of  Toy Story changed all this. The film made over $360 million at the Box Office and was one of the biggest movies of 1995.

In the Channel 4 documentary, Steve Jobs: iChanged The World, Alvy Ray Smith recalls of the staff’s reaction to Jobs and his disruptive influence:

‘They were just looking up at him with big doe eyes, soaking in everything he was saying as if it was true, and it wasn’t. Our management style was to be two hours away from him (and) try not to have him come into the building.’

According to Smith, it was only when Disney executives commented that Toy Story would be a huge success, after critics loved the film, that Jobs realised that he had a major success on his hands.

Jobs was then able to put his incredible marketing prowess to use and Pixar went from strength-to-strength before it was eventually bought out by Disney.

Apple Rebooted

NeXT was bought out by Apple in 1996. After Apple CEO Gil Amelio was removed by the board of directors, Jobs was reinstated as the new Chief Executive Officer.

With Apple’s huge debts, Jobs turned to Bill Gates and Microsoft for help. Gates bailed Apple from bankruptcy and saved the company. Besides investing $150 million Gates promised that Microsoft would continue to produce Apple compatible Windows operating software for the next five years.

With these lifelines Jobs set about making Apple profitable. He immediately began to cut Apple’s bloated product line. Now the company began to focus on its core products.

This time Jobs luck was firmly in as a talented young designer by the name of Jonathan Ive who had some radical ideas that would propel Apple into the computer stratosphere.

Jonathan Ive And The New Aesthetic

Apple computers before Jonathan Ive were never things of great beauty. Dull, aesthetically banal boxes of beige and off-white they never created a large impact. All of this changed when Jonathan Ive showed Steve Jobs his design for what was to become the iMac.

If the previous Apple computers were uninspiring the new iMac was anything but. It looked liked a computer clad in a colourful sweet. It was translucent and it was possible to see its innards. In short, there was simply nothing like it at the time and it grasped people’s attention.

Ive’s computer would soon pave the way for more aesthetically-pleasing products. The iPod soon followed and would be subsequently joined by the iPad.

Though there was nothing revolutionary or unique about these products, all of them followed in the footsteps of rival breakout products, there was one key difference. These products had very strong, appealing aesthetics. Ive’s designs were much sought-after. Always quick to realise changes in consumer trends, Jobs figured out that these products could be something special.

Jobs also utilised clever marketing strategies with both the iPod and the iPad. Both products were under-supplied. This allowed Apple to create a crazed, demand-fed response and allowed the company to claim that they were always selling-out. This in turn created further frenzy as both products became must-haves.

Changing The Music Industry

Jobs realised that the music industry was in great decline and used this advantage to position Apple at the fulcrum of online music. Due to his success with Pixar and the revival of Apple, Jobs started negotiations with the big name players of the music industry from a very strong vantage point.

Music was in decline and many people were simply downloading the singles and even entire albums of their preferred singers and bands for free. Jobs’s iTunes would wrestle back control into the hands of the music industry and allow record labels to obtain money from what would otherwise be lost revenue.

To this day, Apple, through iTunes, is one of the biggest players in the music scene and virtually every band of note has a presence on Apple’s online interface.

Death And Delusion

Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. Despite the grave nature of his illness, Jobs dallied for over nine months with alternative treatments before finally taking the recommended surgical procedure. Jobs’s ability to convince both himself and others was an enormous asset in the business world and without it is doubtful whether Apple could have been as successful as it became.

Yet it was this inner belief that now was acting against Jobs and many medical professionals believe that this delusional doggedness was the chief reason he died so young.

On the 5th of October, 2011, Steve Jobs died. His lasts words on his deathbed were reported to have been ‘oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.’

His passing on caused worldwide headlines, crowds of Apple fans queued up at Apple stores across nations to pay their respect. From these actions alone it is clear that Jobs meant a lot to a huge amount of people. But who was Steve Jobs?

What Was Steve Jobs?

Jobs was a complicated character and was certainly far from the nicest of people. What made him so unique was his ability to spot trends and go with them. He may not have been a great innovator. But perhaps he didn’t have to be as he surrounded himself with people that could realise his aims for him.

He was a futurist. When it came to large scale, big-picture thinking in the computer industry Steve Jobs was unrivalled.

Yet Steve Jobs had, not just a darker side, but a brutal uncaring selfishness without empathy that permeated his every existence. Steve Jobs was, according to the author, Michael Maccoby, a productive narcissist. Maccoby writing in the Washington Post in 2009 stated:

‘Steve Jobs is one of the most creative business leaders of our time. His products combining technological innovation with beauty of design are a gift that keeps giving. But he is not a good model for others to imitate.

Who would want to follow a leader who is often insulting to his subordinates, who uses people only as long as he needs them and then discards them, and who demands that they are on call at all hours? Some people would and do, because Jobs creates great products that change people’s lives and those who can stand him are inspired by him and can also make a lot of money. Steve Jobs is unique, but he resembles other leaders who want to change the world. I call them productive narcissists…’

Some people who worked closely with Jobs for any long period of time have testified to this. Writer, Robert Cringely, who worked with Jobs during the early years of Apple, certainly was not enamoured with the personality of the head of Apple.

‘Everyone in Steve Jobs’s life went through three phases. They were either being seduced, ignored or scourged. And it all depended upon whether he needed you or not. If he needed you he was your best friend and he would seduce you. And then you would work like a dog and if you weren’t working hard enough he would scourge you. And ultimately he would throw you away… Steve ultimately betrayed everyone.’

Despite this it is important to acknowledge the importance of Jobs. He changed the nature of the computer industry by leading the way in transforming consumer patterns. Jobs didn’t so much predict changes in trends as create them.

His marketing ability was second-to-none. He created a narrative for Apple products which focused people’s attention. In 1984 he shifted the focus on a perceived battle, whether real or not, between IBM and Apple in what was a great marketing coup.

Jobs succeeded in transforming a company into a movement. Instead of consumers Apple had followers. This gave the company unprecedented power and a voice that went beyond the normal constraints of a consumer products company.

Where To From Here?

The biggest question on everyone lips now is what will happen to Apple without its leader? What will befall the company? No one knows the answer to this. What we do know is that previously without Steve Jobs the company did poorly.

Lacking the necessary focus it launched too many products causing sales to plummet. It had missed out on what makes Apple so successful, its cache. Having loads of products destroys the impression of prestige. To ask the question of whether the products truly were premium or not would miss the point. The fact that people perceived that they were was the most important aspect. Jobs played an integral part in this.

With Steve Jobs death the true question is can followers of Apple attribute the same status to the company’s products or will they start to see them as vastly overpriced compared to their competitors. Only time will tell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Highly Recommended Reading

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is so far the best biographer on Steve Jobs. It does suffer due to Isaacson spending too much time with Jobs but it is one of the most  comprehensive

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You will know it when you see it. Instantly recognisable and plainly ubiquitous it can be seen everywhere. From advertising billboards, to television, to comic books to art galleries the work of Roy Lichtenstein has permeated the fabric of our everyday lives. 

The Early Days

Roy Lichtenstein grew up in the wealthy, West Side of New York city. His father was a real estate agent while his mother was a housewife with a talent for the piano. The family lived next door to the famous Russian pianist and composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff.

According to Roy Lichtenstein’s sister, Renee Tolcott, their mother was quite emotionally cold, distant and seemingly indifferent to the needs of her children.

His parents had very low expectations for their son. Lichtenstein was drafted into the U.S. Air Force during World War Two. There he served his time as a cartographer.

The Moulding Of An Artist

Lichtenstein had an initial dislike of cartoons and resented drawing them as he believed they did not constitute true art.
Roy sought out active duty and was a soldier in the Battle of Bulge.

Lichtenstein’s early art was very different from his famous, iconic images. His era coincided with the two great movements of 20th century art, abstract expressionism and pop art. Although Lichtenstein dabbled in abstract expressionism it was pop art that would shape and ultimately create his name.

Ben-Day Dots

The signature of Roy Lichtenstein’s art is his exaggerated use of Ben-Day dots. These small coloured dots were used in the magazine industry to produce cost-effective shading and colouring in their publications. They were used especially in comic books.

Lichtenstein used Ben-Day dots in a way that was certainly not intended by their inventor, Benjamin Henry Day. Instead of having barely discernible dots he blew them up in scale, so much so that some people considered them to be grotesque and shocking.

The Making Of Pop Art

Lichtenstein took art in a new direction, out of the galleries and into the everyday. Soviet art critic, Viktor Shklovsky encapsulates the nature of art and is a textbook example of what Lichtenstein’s paintings achieved.

‘The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known. The technique of art is to make objects ‘unfamiliar,’ to make forms difficult to increase the difficulty and length of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged.’

The nature of some art and its masters who breathe it life and give it existence is often circular and all together human. People have an ambiguous relationship with change. Many of us like things to remain the same, we find comfort in the familiar, the objects, activities and faces that surround us in the everyday.

Yet we still need variety and change, although when it does arrive it can often create shockwaves. Art is not far removed from this. Someone comes up with a new style that turns out to be so radically different from its predecessor that it is deemed iconoclasm. Gradually, over time, the mainstream encroaches and what was once unsettling and radical becomes absorbed and part of the furniture. And then the process  repeats itself, again and again.

Roy Lichtenstein was a paragon of the path new art takes. He work stunned and horrified people when it first appeared. There was nothing quite like it. His work basically seemed to suggest that art was everywhere and comic books and advertisements were just as valid as anything found in the art gallery.

End Game

Unlike his contemporary, Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein was never comfortable with fame and resisted being in the limelight. He continued creating art virtually up the his death in 1997.

Like all maverick, trail-blazing artists, Roy Lichtenstein’s work, initially so shocking, has been absorbed into established art. Many of his paintings are considered to be the best pop art has to offer. Through these Lichtenstein has taken his place amongst the pantheon of great artists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jowA-pH-Y8

Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Roy Lichtenstein Quotes: The Artist Who Changed Art for further insight into the man.

Roy Lichtenstein: Classic Of The New by Roy Lichtenstein is a great work that includes many of the artist’s paintings from the studio and spans over four decades. It also includes a biography based on his exhibitions. The biography is theme-based and is a great tool for offering an insight into his work.

You can obtain Roy Lichtenstein: Classic Of The New here from Amazon.

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5. Nikola Tesla: The Inventor Genius Who Irrevocably Changed The World

A thin, immaculately dressed man makes his way through New York. The same city which had undergone an electric revolution where streets at night were dazzlingly lit by arc lights, and Wall Street had been recently electrified through Edison’s direct current.

‘I have done better than that.’

Yet, this wondrous new world was confined to the very rich and mainly commercial buildings. It had still to reach the homes of people. Not everyone was amazed by Edison’s invention and one individual was particularly unimpressed.

The sharp-suited, rather withdrawn man worked long hours day and night in a workshop landscape that would have terrified the uninformed. Every now and then brightly lit sparks would fly and suddenly the whole room would be aglow as giant coils surged with electricity. This was no mere mortal pottering randomly away at machines this was Nikola Tesla – the man who would turn the world on its head.

A Transformational Force Of Nature

Changing the course of human history is something very few individuals can claim. People can change the world in two main ways, for better or for worse. For every positive contribution there are negatives ones.

Fewer people manage to transform human actively in a solely positive way. Nikola Tesla was one of those select few.

Early Years

A Croatian-born Serb, Nikola Tesla was from the village of Smiljan. He was born on July 10 (June 28 under the old Julian calendar) 1856 to a priest and a priest’s daughter.

A prodigious learner, from a young age Tesla showed promise. Finishing four years of school in three was an early indication of such potential. He would go on to Austrian Polytechnic, Graz, and study electrical engineering.

During this period hints of a troubled mind emerged. Tesla cut himself completely off from his family after dropping out from Graz’s university. This marked Tesla’s first nervous breakdown but he was later persuaded by his father to enroll with Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague.

He would have to deal also with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He would find himself being forced to do things in threes, counting steps, avoiding handshakes, and having phobias of women wearing ear-rings as well as human hair.

Memories Beget Us

Many people maintain that one of the keys to Tesla’s genius was his memory. It is believed that Tesla possessed eidetic memory, which is sometimes mistakenly called photographic memory. This allowed the inventor to recall both sounds, images and objects with great precision and clarity. Tesla would use this ability to memorise entire texts and visualise objects and ideas that he was working on.

Instead of putting pen to paper Tesla would ‘see’ the object in front of him in both detail and three-dimensions. These abilities were not without cost however as blinding flashes and unwanted visions would strain at the inventor’s sometimes fragile mental state.

The Land Of Opportunity

After moving to the United States in 1884 Tesla worked for Edison in New York city where he quickly began to improve on the companies electrical problems. Edison himself promised $50,000 to Tesla if he could make the companies inefficient direct current motors more efficient. However, Edison later stated that he was joking. Tesla subsequently quit after he was refused a pay rise.

In order to survive, Tesla performed manual labour tasks digging ditches while he started to plan ahead. 1886 saw Tesla set up the Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing and despite some initial setbacks he began a partnership with Westinghouse.

The following year Tesla would discover X-rays and take the first X-ray photograph of his hand. This was several years before Wilhelm Rontgen who is credited with their discovery.

In 1891 Tesla demonstrated wireless communications for the first time. However, once again it was Marconi’s that was credited with the invention of the radio.

Once more contrary to being several years before Marconi’s invention it was the Italian, not Tesla, that was unjustly credited with the invention of the radio.

The War of The Currents

Tesla’s invention of both alternating current and the AC motor meant he was on a direct collision course with Edison’s outdated and inefficient DC system. Yet Edison refused to concede defeat and began a vicious propaganda campaign in which he sought to portray AC power as being highly dangerous. He emphasised the thousands of volts by demonstrating live electrocutions to the public in which stray dogs and even elephants were killed to somehow prove that DC was superior.

In a stroke of genius Tesla swept aside all doubts by passing thousands of volts through his body in a magnificent live display of audacity and bright sparks. At the 1893 Chicago World Fair Tesla would use his AC system to light the exhibitions. Three years later in partnership with Westinghouse he would build the first hydroelectric AC system at Niagara Falls.

Tesla brought electricity to the masses. His complete alternating current (AC) made it possible to produce electricity cheaply and allowed for its transportation over huge distances. Alternating current could travel these distances without needing to be constantly amplified.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwps2-5cWSk

The Polyglot Polymath

Nikola Tesla was multi-talented. Unlike his contemporary, Thomas Edison, Tesla was both a theorist and an empiricist. Yet his abilities were not just confined to science and mathematics. The Serbian was also both a convergent and divergent thinker, a polyglot as well as a poet and writer.

Tesla had a gift for languages and along with his native Serbian he could speak English, French, German, Italian, Czech, Hungarian and Latin.

Naive Business Acumen

Tesla’s generous personality caused him to make a disastrous business decision with Westinghouse that would return to cause him difficulties. After agreeing to waive his patent rights when Westinghouse’s company got into financial difficulty. These rights would have guaranteed Tesla becoming the world’s first billionaire such was their value.

The waiver would also result in Tesla being unable to complete Wardenclyffe tower which was co-financed by J.P. Morgan. Wardenclyffe tower was designed to transmit the first transatlantic wireless communication but it overran its budget and remained unfinished. Tesla also had a second motive for building the tower which was the wireless transmission of free electricity. Having no funds meant Tesla would never have the opportunity to see if he could have made Wardenclyffe a success or not.

Death And Demise

On January 7, 1943 Tesla died alone from the effects of a heart thrombus in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan. He was 86 years old. All his work was seized by the Alien Property Custodian Office and subsequently by Herbert Hoover and the FBI.

After many years of struggle, his work and possessions were returned to his family. However, many pieces are believed to have been kept by the United States government.

The Legacy And The Man

The modern poly-phase induction motor, wireless communications (radio), RADAR, X-rays, the remote control, the spark plug for internal combustion engines and neon lighting as well as LASER, alternating current, Tesla Coils and more hypothetical technology such as Star Wars weaponry, particle beam guns and ion-propulsion are just some of the many things that Tesla invented.

Nevertheless, a lot of myths and fanciful notions surround the inventor. He was a complicated man. A feminist before his time he maintained that women would shortly take over from men as the dominant sex on Earth. His OCD obsessions meant that he fell in love with a white pigeon and was devastated when the bird died.

This was a man with many strings to his bow. The length and breadth of his inventions are simply staggering. Tesla invented the radio, the remote control and defeated one of the world’s first propaganda campaigns based on fear and manipulation.

However, his myriad of achievements ultimately pales into comparison with what he did for community. The liberation of a huge portion of the population, and a huge swathe of women from domestic drudgery, would not have been possible without Nikola Tesla.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj-xVf8sNq4

Recommended Reading

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5. The Commercial Corruption Of The Art World

‘Out of the furnace of flames and torrid heat comes the hardened steel blade. A blade that owes it very existence to its hellish birth.’

He was the dominant figure that ruled over the Kennedy family but he was far from perfect. Power-hungry and filled with ambition, if anybody got in his way Joe would simply use what ever means, either fair or foul, to get his desired result.

The third generation of a family that had fled Ireland to escape the famine during the 1840′s, Joseph Kennedy was born into a high achieving clan. His father, business man, P.J, and mother, Mary, brought Kennedy up in Boston, Massachusetts. P.J. was one of the Catholic leaders and was head of a local ward, or ward boss.

From this background, Kennedy was encouraged to achieve and while in Harvard College, the private University, he began furiously networking to gain entry into Harvard’s privileged clubs.

A Heart Of Infidelity

Joe Kennedy would go on to marry his wife, the highly-sought-after, Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, on October, 1914. Despite being wed to Rose, Kennedy had many extra-martial affairs, some of which were indiscreet. He had relationships with several actresses. The most famous of all was Gloria Swanson, who rose to fame during the silent film era.

These affairs would be part and parcel of Kennedy’s life.

Bootlegging Alcohol

Kennedy was never one to let the law get in the way of his plans and there is considerable evidence to suggest that he was responsible for a multitude of unsavoury and highly illegal tactics during his life.

Critics have implicated him in importing and selling alcohol (bootlegging) in America during the Prohibition. It is thought that he was a major player in this practice. Something which mob boss Frank Costello attested to.

Insider Trading And Market Manipulation

Insider Trading, the practice of financially benefiting from inside knowledge, was not given proper legislation until 1934. Neither was market manipulation. Joe Kennedy was therefore free to engage in these practices.

In 1923, the huge Bull market made Kennedy quite rich. He would become even more wealthy for betting short  on companies that he would spread scurrilous rumours about. It should be noted that Kennedy was not the only one who benefited from these tactics and J.P. Morgan also became rich from actions that would now earn serious jail-time.

Insinuating Rape

During the mid-1920′s Kennedy moved into the Film Industry and Hollywood. After buying out the Film Book Offices of America with a group of investors he set his sights on purchasing film theatres. One company that he wished to purchase was Pantages Theatre and he set about making an offer for the company.

Nonetheless, Alexander Pantages refused to sell the company for the large sum of $8 million (over $103 million in today’s money).

Strangely, Pantages would later be accused and tried for rape. Pantages Theatre lost their goodwill and Pantages was forced to accept Kennedy’s revised offer of $3.5 million ($45 million).

Later Pantages would allege that Kennedy was responsible for the rape allegation. He was later vindicated of rape after a second trial.

A Hand In The Wall Street Crash?

Some commentators maintain that Joe Kennedy had a contributing part to play in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He was thought to be the main man behind the ‘Bear Raid’ that weakened the stock exchange just before the crash.

The Bear Raid consisted of investing money in certain shares going short. In other words, if the shares in a company lost value Kennedy would gain financially. To facilitate the shares collapsing, negative rumours would be put into the public domain about certain companies that would scare investors and their shares would plummet.

British Ambassador And Caustic Coughlan

During the 1930′s an Irish-Canadian priest called Charles Coughlan gained notoriety for his bigoted and racist radio broadcasts. The inflammatory and highly egotistical Coughlan was starting to become a menace to the authorities. American president, Franklin Roosevelt sought out prominent leaders of the Catholic community, Kennedy among them, to quell Coughlan’s influence.

Roosevelt rewarded Kennedy for his contribution with the post of British Ambassador.

Condoning Hitler And Nazism

Kennedy’s strong political ambitions were to be dashed by his inability to recognise Adolf Hitler’s ruthless nature. He believed in Neville Chamberlain’s erroneous policy of appeasement. Kennedy publicly endorsed this view contrary to the word of warning offered from Winston Churchill.

Prior to the actual war occurring, Kennedy, twice acting unilaterally, sought personal meetings with Hitler.

While Great Britain was being bombed in 1940 by Nazi Germany, Kennedy was adamant that America should not send either economic or military aid to Britain.

Kennedy was putting himself in the limelight to position a run for the American presidency. A critic of Ambassador Kennedy, Josiah Wedgwood keenly noted, ‘We have a rich man, untrained in diplomacy, unlearned in history and politics, who is a great publicity seeker and who apparently is ambitious to be the first Catholic president of the U.S.‘

Meanwhile, Kennedy, once more acting on his own, stated ‘Democracy is finished in Britain.’ This was the final straw for the U.S. authorities who now realised that Kennedy could not be trusted with the Ambassadorial role. Kennedy would resign before he pushed.

An ‘Unperfect’ American

Joe Kennedy was far from the perfect model citizen. Manipulative and power-hungry, there were few things that he was unwilling to do for personal gain.

Out of this background, with the dark paternal shadow hanging over him, John. F. Kennedy would become the most famous president in U.S. history. Would he have achieved what he did without having a ruthless father? We will never know.

Check out Yellow Magpie’s John F Kennedy: The Man Behind The Image for further insight.

Highly Recommended Get The Book Through Amazon

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Joseph P. Kennedy Quotes: John F. Kennedy’s Harsh And Sometimes Brutal Father to find out what the man’s thought’s were on his son being president, voting and men.

The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty he founded is a riveting read about a highly manipulative and devious character that would become the head of one of the most powerful and famous families in American history.

Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Ronald Kessler, it chronicles a darker side of the Kennedy’s that is often glossed over. What is also noteworthy about the book is that it pays special attention to Joe Kennedy’s effect on his wife and her resultant depression.

You can obtain The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty he Founded here from Amazon.

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In 2003, she would become the most famous pianist in the world. The toast and the envy of the music industry, Joyce Hatto rose from a place of previous obscurity to temporarily become the world’s transcendent piano player as a series of her recordings caused tidals waves throughout the classical music sphere.

A Musical Genius?

So what made her performances so special? The reasons were two-fold. Hatto’s recordings were exquisite and masterful. More importantly though was the astonishing breadth of her repertoire. She appeared to be able to play the works of every famous composer with equal virtuosity and brilliance. From the classical style of Mozart to the romanticism of Tchaikovsky and Chopin, Hatto, it seemed, could play anything with equal aplomb.

To put this in context Hatto’s ability would be the musical equivalent of a doctor being an expert in all fields of medicine, a scientist excelling in all scientific fields, an engineer intimately knowing all aspects of machines and building construction. To put it mildly Hatto was a musical oddity.

Who Was She? Where Did She Come From?

As soon as her recordings began to cause a stir people wanted to know the person behind the music. Who was this woman and where had she been hiding all these years? The answers to these questions were to come thick and fast. Not only that, but they were nearly as unbelievable as the recordings themselves.

Joyce Hatto was born in London on the 5th September, 1928. She was a promising young concert pianist who performed as a soloist in Britain and Europe during the 1950′s and 1960′s with some critical acclaim.

However, during the 1970′s Hatto suddenly disappeared from public view. It wasn’t until 2003, with the realease of her remarkable recordings, that she had come out again.

When more details of how and why the recordings were made began to filter into the public. Hatto’s story turned surreal, when it emerged that she was dying of cancer and had recorded her now world-famous music in a shed in her back garden.

Unending Virtuosity

Outstanding recording after outstanding recording continued to emerge from Hatto as the music industry listened mouths agape in wonderment. In all, Hatto would produce over 100 recordings of the most stunning performances the music world had ever heard. All of this came from a shed in a back garden while Hatto was fighting cancer.

Doubts About Hatto’s Authenticity

In May, 2005, a comment by the musicologist Marc-Andre Roberge on a Yahoo group would later hint at disquiet beneath the surface. Roberge said  that on a Chopin-Godowsky recording, a misread chord was identical to one played by the highly accomplished Italian pianist, Carlo Grante. No further heed was paid to this comment until much later.

But doubts were beginning to emerge about the likelihood of a pianist, who had disappeared for over three decades from public consciousness, producing such sterling works while being in the last years of her life.

On June 29th, 2006, Joyce Hatto died.

A Shattered Legacy

The revealing of the true nature of Joyce Hatto’s works would come from a rather unexpected source. A New York financial analyst one day noticed that Joyce Hatto’s Liszt Transcendental Studies were credited to another composer, a hungarian called Laszlo Simon. He informed the classical critic, Jed Distler, of this strange quirk.

Hatto’s musical legacy was destroyed when Distler and others carefully uncovered the true sources of the works. It quickly became apparent that all of the recordings were from other musicians.

The Brainchild Of Hatto’s Husband

Hatto’s husband, William Barrington-Coupe, was the man responsible for the fraud. It would emerge that pianists, Carlo Grante, Andre Previn, Laszlo Simon and John O’Connor, amongst others, were the actual sources for the music.

It would later emerge that Barrignton-Coupe, a record producer by profession, had not just copied from other recordings. In some cases the plagiarised music was sped up or slowed down. This digital manipulation was so good that it even fooled those whose material was stolen. When their own music was played to them many just did not recognise it as being their own playing.

Lingering Questions

Her music may have taken the world by surprise and prior to the true nature of ‘her’ recordings she was many people’s favourite pianist. What role, if any, she played in her husbands scheme is open to conjecture. Barrington-Coupe claims that she believed the recordings to be her own and he didn’t tell her otherwise.

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5. Great White Shark: The Reality Of Its Jaws

In a time when science was well-funded and complex technology was improving all the time, one man went against the grain with wonderful results.

Without scientific training and without huge resources, he was the first person to see the invisible world of the microscopic, the first to watch tiny, single-celled animals hurling across their watery environment. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch business man with an obsession with lens, forever changed the world.

Early Life

Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Netherlands on October 24, 1632. He would live to be 90 years of age and would die in Delft on August 26, 1723.

It’s All About The Lens

Van Leeuwenhoek’s linen business meant that magnifying lenses were needed to examine the quality of the linen fibres. But Van Leeuwenhoek was a keen lens enthusiastic. It was this hobby that would give him access to a world that people never knew existed. From this pastime he created microscopes which were much more powerful than the microscopes of the time.

The secret to Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes was the lens. Unlike conventional lens that were created through a cutting and polishing process, his lens used a completely different process. He melted and stretched pieces of glass moulding them into the desired shape. His lens were tiny but they were much more spherical than any of the lens used by the compound microscopes of the 17th century and as a result they had a far higher magnification.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txg1FlBPFHM

Whereas compound microscopes could only magnify up to a certain point without distorting the image, Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes could magnify up to 500 times without losing distortion. Images that were only one or two microns  (one/thousandth of a millimetre) in size could be observed in razor-shape detail.

The Microscope

With lens that were superior to anything that was available in the world, Van Leeuwenhoek could set about building his simple microscopes constructed from metal ores which he melted down and moulded to form the metalwork of the scope.

With his custom-made microscope he could control the focus very precisely it also allowed him to move the samples around the scope with equal precision. Throughout his life, Van Leeuwenhoek created over 500 lenses and some 250 microscopes.

The Brave New World Of The Microscopic

What an amazing world Van Leeuwenhoek saw. Tiny, unknown animals were everywhere. They were in our water, in our food, abundant in everything.

In 1674 Van Leeuwenhoek saw the first protists (unicellular micro-organisms), infusoria. He saw the first bacteria in 1676 and the first human sperm a year later. He would become the first person to see life in water, the first to see the patterns of fibrous muscle, and also the first to see human red blood cells.

Royal Society Recognition

Van Leeuwenhoek realised quite quickly that in order to achieve recognition and to secure his place in history his work would have to gain credibility. He saw that his best hope of getting recognition was receiving approval from the British Royal Society. He sent many letters to the society detailing his discoveries and what he had seen.

Initially, the two enjoyed a good relationship but this was mainly because Van Leeuwenhoek wasn’t straining convention and his initial drawings were close-ups of parts of bees. When Van Leeuwenhoek broached the subject of his discoveries of micro-organisms in 1676 the relationship became highly strained. It wasn’t until 1680, at Van Leeuwenhoek’s determined insistence, that the Royal Society accepted his account after sending over a team to the Netherlands to look through Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscope.

Van Leeuwenhoek’s Business Acumen

Van Leeuwenhoek’s business background helped to copper-fasten his legacy. He realised that if anyone discovered how easy it was to make his microscope lens – it would undermine his place in history. Therefore, he resolved to keep it a secret and instead told people of supposed countless hours that he would spend toiling away making his lens. In reality they were relatively easy to make and could be completed quite quickly.

In keeping it a secret, Van Leeuwenhoek added to their mystic. It would be over 200 hundreds years later, in the 1950′s, that people discovered how he made his lenses. It would take 100 hundred years for technology to surpass his lens and it wasn’t until the 19th century that scientists had more powerful microscopes at their disposal.

Legacy

Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek created his own legacy. He designed something that on the surface appeared simple – yet no one had every done it before. His persistence in corresponding continuously with the Royal Society is a lesson in how you have to fight for your accomplishments and recognition.

His hard work paid off and Van Leeuwenhoek became known as ‘The Father Of Microbiology‘. He met countless celebrities, Kings and Queens who all wanted to seek tantalising glimpses into this alien universe, the place of the tiny.

He gave us access to a world that was invisible. Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek literally changed the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D5Gu_9hEus

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While Edwin Hubble may have garnered all the plaudits for discovering other galaxies, the true genius that did all the work is often forgotten. Punished because of her sex, Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s work has changed the nature of astronomy forever.

Science, like virtually every aspect of humanity, is bound by our mindset. Sometimes we can be confined by convention and concepts that we take for granted. The greatest thinkers have questioned the status quo and have revealed our world to be much different than we imagine. Henrietta Swan Leavitt was one such person.

The Problem Of Measuring Distance

Scientists were faced with a very difficult problem when it came to measuring distance and time in the Universe. One of the earlier methods of calculating distance, was through parallax. This basically used two perspectives to measure objects. So for example, a star’s position was noted in both summer and winter. The angle between the two positions allowed astronomers to measure distances between stars in Space.

However, measuring distance using parallax had a significant drawback. The further away the objects were, the smaller the difference in perspectives. Certain objects could not be measured as they were too far away.

A Universe With Only One Galaxy

Prior to Leavitt many scientists maintained that the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the Universe. Although there were those that thought otherwise, neither side could conclusively prove their argument one way or another as it was possible to use evidence to support both sides.

This debate would not be solved until the 1920′s when an unsung woman would change the nature of the world for ever.

The Genius Of Leavitt

Henrietta Swan Leavitt changed all this as she helped to conclusively prove that there were a myriad of galaxies in the Universe. She worked as a so-called ‘computer’ counting images of stars on plate photographs taken from telescopes throughout the world.

With painstaking effort and detail Leavitt marked out the subtle details of the stars and recorded them. During the course of this work, she would come up with a remarkable idea that centred on objectively finding the true brightness of the stars.

The Cepheid Variable

One particular star that caught her attention is called a Cepheid variable. Cepheid variables are pulsing stars that populate the Universe. The genius of Leavitt was that she recognised that there was a distinct correlation between their luminosity and the rate at which they pulsed. To simplify, there was a relationship to the number of times they blinked and their brightness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9gvk_OkrPw

Once Leavitt knew this she could find Cepheid variables that pulsed at the same rate. These stars, even if one shun brighter than the other would burn at the same luminosity. The only difference was that the dimmer star was farther away. Using this Leavitt could calculate the distance between the brighter and dimmer stars. Leavitt had discovered a way of measuring stars that lay well beyond the limitations of parallax and the standard candle, which is used to measure the vast distances of Space, was born.

Sexism

But Leavitt was a second class citizen. She, like countless others, was forbidden from using a telescope. Why? Because she was a woman and women were believed to be intellectually inferior to men. And so in this sexist environment she couldn’t progress her work.

Instead her work was taken up by the visionary and highly egotistical Edwin Hubble. Hubble, using the latest in telescopic technology, used Leavitt’s work to find a Cepheid that was outside of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The variable was located in our nearest neighbouring galaxy, in what would become known as Andromeda. The Andromeda galaxy is over 2.5 million light years away. Or if you look at it another way – what we see in the sky as Andromeda is what the galaxy looked like over two million years ago. When we look up at Andromeda in the night sky we are actually receiving the light that started off on its 2.5 million year journey before the existence of the modern human.

Leavitt’s Achievement

Through Leavitt, Hubble had shattered the belief that the Milky Way was an island galaxy, the only galaxy in the Universe. One can only speculate what Leavitt would have achieved in a non-sexist world but stuck in the early 20th century, it was clear that being a woman prevented her from realising her potential.

As it stands, despite all of this, Leavitt managed to change the world, she may not have received the Nobel Prize for Physics but thanks to her we now have a better understanding of the Universe, and the world that we inhabit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjmjEDYqbCk

Recommended Get The Book Through Amazon

Notable Women and Broken Ceilings: Female Firsts in Computing Including Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Radia Perlman and More goes some way towards addresses the forgotten women who contributed so much to our world.

You can obtain Notable Women and Broken Ceilings here from Amazon.

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Eccentric, larger-than-life and extremely charismatic, one woman revolutionised cooking in the United States. Becoming America’s culinary sweetheart by bringing the exotic and sophisticated French cuisine into homes across the USA, Julia Child became one of the first celebrity chefs of the television age.

Making cooking fun and enjoyable with her unconventional and no nonsense approach, she made creating some of the most exquisite dishes simple and easy.

Early Life

Julia Child was born Julia McWilliams, in Pasadena, California, on August 15, 1912. Julia received her education at the prestigious Katherine Branson School for Girls after which she went on to study at the Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

After her graduation she moved to New York where she went to work as a copywriter in the advertising department of W&J Sloan a home furnishings company.

Patriotic Espionage

When World War Two broke out Julia, volunteered as a research assistant for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) a government intelligence agency, where she worked for the head of OSS, Gen William Donovan.

In 1944 she was posted to Kandy, Ceylon, where she was responsible for registering, and communicating huge volumes of highly classified documents to OSS undercover stations in Asia.

She was later posted to China where she received the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service as head of the Registry of the OSS Secretaria. While she was in China she met and fell in love with Paul Cushing Child, who was also an OSS employee, when the war was over the couple returned to America and got married in September 1946.

Paul Child had lived in Paris for a while living as an artist and poet and while there he developed a love of sophisticated food and fine wine. Under his influence Julia also became interested in food and wine.

In 1948 her husband was sent to Paris to work in the U.S Information Service, and Julia went with him. Julia often recalled her first meal in Paris, which consisted of oysters, sole meuniere and wine, she described it as ‘opening up the sour and spirit for me’.

French Cuisine

While she was in Paris she began to take a great interest in French cuisine and enrolled for a six month course in the world famous Cordon Bleu cooking school where she took private lessons from one of their master chefs.

When she left the school Julia and two other students Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck decided to start up their own cooking school. Together they wanted to bring French cuisine to America. The new school was called L’Ecole de Trois Gourmandes.

Julia, Louisette and Simone also published a cookbook titled Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One. The book was a terrific success. Julia was back living in Massachusetts and was in a position to be able to promote the book on the Boston public broadcasting station, during which she prepared an omelette, the public loved her down to earth manner and humour and soon after Julia was invited to present her own cookery series.

Julia The TV Presenter

The new series called The French Chef premiered on WGBH in 1962 and was an instant success. The series helped to transform the way Americans related to food.  Soon after The French Chef was syndicated to 96 stations throughout America. Julia received The George Foster Peabody Award in 1964 and an Emmy Award in 1966. The programme also became the first programme to be captioned for the deaf.

America’s Favourite Chef

Julia became more and more successful regularly appearing on Good Morning, America. Her other television programmes included Julia Child and Company, Julia Child and More Company and Dinner at Julia’s. She also published more bestselling books, Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 2 (Paperback) in partnership with Simone Beck, another book From Julia Child’s Kitchen was illustrated with her husband’s photographs.

In 1981, Julia founded the Educational American Institution of Wine & Food, which became the American Center For Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa, California, with vintners Robert Mondavi and Richard Graff. The aim of the institution was to promote and advance the appreciation of fine wine.

Paul’s Death and Retirement

Her husband Paul died in 1994 and in 2001 Julia moved into a retirement community in Santa Barbara, California.

On August 13, 2004, Julia died from kidney failure.

Julia’s last book was published posthumously  in 2006, the book which was autobiographical was titled My Life in France and was written with her husband’s great nephew Alex Prudhomme.

Julia Child And Accusations Of Homophobia

Some people have claimed that Julia Child was homophobic. Author Laura Shapiro in her book, Julia Child: A Life, (see below for link) quotes Julia Child as saying:

‘She often used the term pedal or pedalo—French slang for a homosexual—draping it with condescension, pity, and disapproval. “I had my hair permanented at E. Arden’s, using the same pedalo I had before (I wish all the men in OUR profession in the USA were not pedals!),”‘

However, it must also be noted that one of Julia Child’s most adored friends was American chef and writer, James Beard who happened to be gay.

Julia Child was also actively involved with AIDS benefits at a time when AIDS was almost exclusively associated with homosexuals.

Julie Powell

In 2002 a woman called Julie Powell began to blog her experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The Blog later became a memoir, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, the paperback version of the memoir was retitled Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.

The screenplay was written by Nora Ephron, for the film Julie & Julia , which is currently on release starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBQD3aSZ9R4

Further Reading

If you are interested in reading more of Julia Child’s books on cookery, check out these Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Volume Two (hardcover set) Fortieth Anniversary Edition. For some interesting DVDs, featuring Julia Child, try Julia Child – The French Chef or The French Chef With Julia Child 2

However, if you would let to know a bit more about the woman behind the image one of the better books is Laura Shapiro’s Julia Child: A Life.

Another book by Julie Powell is Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Two and Laura Shapiro’s Julia Child: A Life.

Julia Child: The French Chef, The French Chef With Julia Child 2 and Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Two and Laura Shapiro’s Julia Child: A Life.

Julia Child: The French Chef, The French Chef With Julia Child 2 and Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession from here.

Amazon.de
For Germany:  Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Volume Two and Laura Shapiro’s Julia Child: A Life.

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession.

Amazon.fr
For France: Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One and Volume Two and Laura Shapiro’s Julia Child: A Life.

Julia Child: The French Chef, The French Chef With Julia Child 2 and Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession.

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4. Quotes On Unconventional Wisdom

Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland and is credited with bringing Christianity to the pagans of the Emerald Isle. Even more remarkably, he is also said to be responsible for ridding the country of snakes.

Yet perhaps oddly, for one of the most famous people ever to have existed, very little is known about the man behind the legend. Although he is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, we now know that this was not the case and the he was preceded by several missionaries prior to his arrival in Ireland.

Quick Reference Guide

Saint Patrick: Synonymous With Being Irish

While one can doubt the legends that surround Saint Patrick, one cannot be incredulous of the effects that he has had on the world. Despite the fact that he was not a native of Ireland, Saint Patrick is a focal point for Irish identity. He has acted for centuries as a conduit for something truly unique. A coming together of a global Irish diaspora which extends not only to national boundaries but also to mindsets.

Saint Patrick is not only firmly entrenched in the very idea of being Irish, he is also a reference point for what it means to be ‘Irish’ and all that entails. The Irish are said to be free-spirited, friendly and empathetic. So in essence, no birthright is required to join this Irish club only a similar outlook.

Although cynics could be forgiven for thinking that the whole festival either seems like one giant advertisement by the Irish Tourism board, there is a genuine expression of cultural identity.

Saint Patrick’s Day goes way beyond a religious festival. It is a cultural phenomenon. A kernel adopted by the Irish people has grown from its seedling into an International Day. A day which not only traverses both local and national boundaries but one which brings together a multitude of nations. All with a common aim to celebrate life and happiness.

One could speculate about what Patrick would have made of his day of commemoration. However, his most likely thought probably would be one of surprise.

Saint Patrick’s Day: A National Day Of Festivities

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th of every year and is a national day of festivity in Ireland with parades and fun the order of the day. Meanwhile, other countries around the world have also taken to holding parades in honour of the great man.

This year Bord Failte, the Irish Tourism Board, has spent over twenty eight million euro as part of a tourism drive a feature of this promotion will see such  iconic buildings and constructions such as the Empire State Building, The Sydney Opera House,  The London Eye and The Manneken Pis in Brussels, turning the colour green for the big day. Even the fountain in front of the White House will also gush green water to mark the occasion. All of which suggests that to be Irish is something to be proud of and also hints at something of the magic and mischief of the Irish people.

Who Was Saint Patrick?

Saint Patrick was said to be a Romano Briton and a missionary. Two authentic letters survive that give the only true account of the life of the saint.  When he was only 14 years of age, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland. There he worked for six years with legend saying he tended sheep on Sliabh Mis, in County Antrim until he made his escape and returned to his family back in the British Isles.

However, according to folklore, Patrick always had a longing to bring the faith to the pagan people of Ireland and after entering the church and becoming a Bishop he returned to Ireland to the North and West of the country. However, the details are sketchy. There is only limited information about his work, and no link has been officially found to any particular church.

But he is said to have founded over 300 churches and baptised over 120,000 natives. Thereby, gaining their respect and trust. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to preach the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The three leafs of the shamrock represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in one god symbolised by the stem. Hence the association of the shamrock with Ireland and its use as the national emblem of Ireland.

Saint Patrick is thought to have fasted for 40 days and 40 nights on top of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo and it was here he is supposed to have gathered snakes from all over the country and banished them forever from the land.

He is also heralded with lighting the first Easter Paschal Fire on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, this was in contravention of the laws at the time which said the fire of Easter should first be lit by the King of Tara.

There are a variety of dates given as to when Saint Patrick died, ranging from 387 AD to 490 AD with many giving March 17 as the exact date.

The Wearing Of The Green

Everything green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day and most people try to wear at least something of that colour on the day. While other people grow shamrock and pin it onto their coats.

Saint Patrick’s day is a national holiday in Ireland and most people are off from work and attend Mass which is often celebrated in the Irish language.

‘Hail Glorious Saint Patrick’ is the hymn that is usually sung at these Masses.

Which begins ‘Hail Glorious Saint Patrick, dear saint of our Isle. On us thy poor children bestow a sweet smile. For now thou are high in thy mansions above. On Eireann’s green valley look down in thy love.‘

The Parades

It is usually after Mass that the parades begin and they are held up and down the country with every village and town doing their best to create floats and show off their local bands and sporting organisations. Many of the more cunning take the opportunity to advertise their business.

However, there has been criticism in recent years at the high level of drinking that takes place on the day with many feeling it is just an excuse to get drunk. This criticism is especially vociferous in Ireland itself.

But most of the Irish enjoy the day and have a traditional dinner of bacon and cabbage, followed by a desert of hopefully something sweet and in some cases green.

Irish coffee is another drink associated with Saint Patrick’s Day and is a delicious blend of sugared coffee and whiskey topped off with thick cream. This can warm the cockles after the parades on what are often extremely cold days.

From humble beginnings, Saint Patrick’s day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In fact, where ever there are Irish people, there is sure to be a Saint Patrick’s day parade, with shamrocks, green badges, balloons, hats and coats the order of the day.

This year President Obama will welcome the Taoiseach of Ireland, Enda Kenny and a number of other dignitaries to the White House. That night there will be a dinner and the Taoiseach will present President Obama with a bowl of shamrock.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day To All Our Readers!

For a taste of what Saint Patrick’s Day is all about  enjoy watching this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNhrLlIW_ac

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Saint Patrick Quotes: Words Attributed To The Man to see what he thought about religion, God, and violence.

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Jackie Kennedy seemed to have it all, beautiful, smart, elegant and married to the President of the United States of America. She was the envy of every woman in the world.Yet the reality of her life was very different and was instead filled with sadness and tragedy.

A Life Filled With Tragedy

From an early age Jackie encountered loss with her parents divorcing when she was very young. Her marriage to JFK was also marked with the loss of two babies her first through miscarraige and the other through respiratory disease.

She also had to endure the humiliation of her husband’s constant womanising, the most notorious being with Marilyn Monroe. Her controversial marriage to Aristotle Onnassis was another disaster with the two constantly rowing. Jacqueline Kennedy’s life was anything but Camelot.

Early Life

Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier was born in Southampton, New York, on July 28, 1929. The daughter of John Vernon Bouvier the third, and his wife, Janet Lee, Jacqueline’s younger sister Caroline was born in 1933.

Jackie was educated in the very best private schools, such as Chapin and Miss Porter’s School in Farmington Connecticut.  She also learned to ride horses and studied ballet. In addition, she loved to write stories and poems. In 1948, she was named ‘Debutant of the Year’.

Parent’s Divorce

Her parents divorced in 1940, and in 1942, her mother married Standard Oil heir, Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jackie and Caroline went to live with their mother and her new husband in Merrywood. However, both sisters remained close to their father and visited him often in New York.

On graduating from High School, Jackie spent her first years of college life in Vassar, Poughkeepsie, New York, she also studied in the Sorbonne and Grenoble Universities, in France.  On her return from France, she went to study at the George Washington University, in Washington. From there she graduated in 1951, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, in French Literature.

Early Career

Her first job was with the Washington Times Herald, where she worked as an ‘inquiring photographer’.  Her job entailed asking people some questions, with the questions, answers and photographs appearing in the paper.

During her time at the paper, Jackie moved in the same social circle as John F. Kennedy. In May, 1952, at a dinner party organised by friends, the two were formally introduced. They dated on and off, as Kennedy was busy at the time running for the U.S. Senate, however, after he was elected, the romance became more serious and in June, 1953, they announced their engagement.

Kennedy Marriage

They got married later that same year, on September 12. The wedding was considered the event of the year, with 700 guests invited to the ceremony and 900 attending the lavish reception afterwards at Hammersmith Farm.

In 1957 following an earlier miscarriage and the birth of a still-born girl in 1956, their first child Caroline Bouvier was born.

Jackie found being the wife of an energetic politician, difficult. She also found the demands of the Kennedy family hard to cope with.  Her husband was in bad health and suffered chronic back pain, from a war time injury. During his time of illness, Jackie encouraged him to write. The result was ‘Profiles in Courage’ a book which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.

Presidential Campaign

In 1960, John F. Kennedy, announced that he was going for the Presidency, Jackie helped him in his campaign, doing everything she could to support him.  A couple of months into the campaign she discovered she was pregnant. Because of her previous history, her doctor ordered her to stay home.

However, this didn’t stop Jackie from being an important source of support to her husband. From her home she answered thousands of campaign letters, gave interviews, and wrote a newspaper column, called ‘Campaign Wife’.  On November 11, 1960, Jackie, gave birth to her third child John Fitzgerald Kennedy Junior.

Presidential First Lady

Following her husband’s inauguration on Friday, January 20, 1961, Jackie set about revamping the White House. To assist her in the restoration task, she enlisted the help of antiques experts, art historians, and directors of galleries and museums. She funded the restoration by publishing a guide book to the White House. Six months after its publication the book had sold 350,000 copies.

On February 14, 1962, she allowed CBS cameras inside the White House to see the magnificent results of her efforts.  Fifty million viewers tuned in to see the hour-long tour, which combined charm, elegance and sophistication. Jackie had also transformed the White House into a fitting tribute to American history.

On August 7, 1963, Jackie gave birth to Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, sadly he died two days later on August 9 from Hyaline Membrane disease, now more commonly called infant respiratory distress syndrome.

Throughout this time, Jackie had to contend with her husband’s womanising.  Marilyn Monroe was one of his most famous affairs. It is believed that particular affair lasted up to 8 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQ0X9ABXqM

Assassination: Coping With Loss

In November 21, 1963, Jackie accompanied President Kennedy on a political trip to Dallas, Texas. There on that fateful day as the President and Jackie were travelling in an open-top car in a motorcade, President John F. Kennedy, was shot dead. At the age of just 34, Jackie Kennedy became a widow.

Viewer Discretion Is Advised For the Video Below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IHYSwK9Xac

Following the death, Jackie was greatly admired for her dignity and courage, organising her husband’s funeral, with distinction and stateliness.  At her request an eternal flame was placed on John F. Kennedy’s grave.

Following the death of her husband, the attention of the media focused on Jackie and her family, so she decided to move to New York, where she purchased an apartment, on Fifth Avenue.From there she went about establishing the John F. Kennedy Library, which is today situated in Boston.

Death Of Robert Kennedy

More tragedy arrived in June, 1968, when the younger brother of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy was also assassinated as he left the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This dealt another blow to Jackie, who had grown close to Robert Kennedy and leaned on him after the death of her husband. Jackie became increasingly nervous and afraid for the safety of her children and said she didn’t want to live in America any longer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmc2EzkRDkI

Troubled Marriage To Onassis

In 1968, Jackie announced her engagement to Greek shipping millionaire Aristotle Onassis. The announcement caused shock waves across the world and widespread disapproval.

Jackie and Aristotle were married on October 20, 1968, on the Greek Island of Skorpios. After the wedding Jackie, Caroline and John moved to live with Onassis, on the island.

However, although the early days of the marriage were happy, it wasn’t long before they  degenerated into constant rowing as Onassis became frustrated over Jackie’s extravagance. To add to the tension, Onassis’s son was killed in a plane crash, leaving him bitter and depressed. Onassis also began seeing opera singer Maria Callas, whom he had dated prior to marrying Jackie Kennedy.

Back To New York

In January 1975, Onassis became seriously ill, and two months later on March 15, he died.

After his death, Jackie and her two children moved back to New York. Once there she decided that it was time she tried to live an independent life and to rediscover herself. She took up a position as book editor at Viking, before moving to Doubleday. She was remembered at Doubleday as smart, warm and engaging.

Lymphoma And Untimely Death

In 1994, Jackie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She received chemotherapy treatment and many expected her to recover. However, further tests revealed that the disease had spread to other organs. The doctors were unable to do anything further for her. Her family brought her back home, where they stayed by her bed night and day. On May 19, at the age of 64, she passed away.

See the second part of the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQ0X9ABXqM

Further Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Jackie Kennedy Quotes: Life, Women, Men, John And Sex to find out what this icon had to say and John F Kennedy: The Man Behind The Image for further insight.

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, a book by C. David Heymann, charts the relationship between Jackie and Bobby Kennedy, following the assassination of JFK. It also describes how Bobby became a surrogate father to Jackie’s children and of the affair that ensued between the two.

Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedys, Peter Evans book, provides a fascinating insight into the relationship not only between Jackie Kennedy and Onassis but also describes the hatred Onassis bore for Bobby Kennedy. Evans claims Onassis was behind the assassination of Bobby Kennedy.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story and Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought the Kennedys here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story and Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought the Kennedys from here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story and Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought the Kennedys.

Amazon.fr
For France: Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story and Nemesis: The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought the Kennedys.

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