#295 – Hunkering down for a Blizzard!
December 11, 2010 /in Family History, History, Minnesota, Nature, North Dakota, Quebec/French-Canadians, Quietings /by dickbernard
UPDATE 8:15 P.M. DECEMBER 11: Most likely we have over 20″ of snow at our home, thus far no wind. Didn't leave the house all day. More snow than expected.
UPDATE II 8:10 A.M. DECEMBER 12: We can now classify the storm as a modern day catastrophe. Not only was the Vikings-Giants game postponed till Monday, but at least part of the Metrodome roof apparently has collapsed under the snow.
The storm lasted only 24 hours, and it didn't even approach blizzard standards, at least where we live, but it was an unusual time for us.
At the end of yesterday's post are some memories of past times storms.
Our grill in disguise, late afternoon December 11, 2010
There's something energizing about a blizzard, even if you're totally disabled and immobile (translated: not going out for coffee) as I am at this moment.
We're in the fairly early stages of what they're calling a blizzard – plenty of fluffy snow thus far, but relatively little wind. Once the wind comes along, those harmless little pieces of fluff will be even more disabling.
So there's little to do but revel in the warmth of a home (we're fortunate) and reminisce…about blizzards I have known.
Recently I completed a history of my French-Canadian roots, and a bit player in that history was Father Joseph Goiffon, called the "peg leg Priest".
Fr. Goiffon lost his leg in a mis-adventure when caught in an All-Saints Day (Halloween) blizzard in 1860 near where the Park and Red Rivers come together in northeast North Dakota. Fr. Goiffon only lost his leg; his horse froze to death. His nephew, Duane Thein, edited a most interesting 91-page book, still in print, about the near-tragedy in 2005 (see cover, above). Father Goiffon lived on to re-tell the story many times. He died in 1910.
I survived, somewhat more comfortably than Fr. Goiffon, the Halloween blizzard of 1991. I was living in Hibbing MN at the time, and it was said we got over 30 inches of snow which, after the wind, became the hard-pack flakes famous for igloos and fun for kids to build snow caves and forts.
For adults, such blizzards are usually the pits, even if in comfort (last night in a grocery store line I was chatting with the guy behind me who said the liquor store line had been even longer….) Yah, I'll hear the high-pitched whine of the snowmobiles shortly, but mostly we're house-bound.
In Hibbing, we were immobile for what I remember to be several days. There was nowhere to go, and no way to get there. Immobility for we in the mobile generation is difficult.
After the Halloween blizzard in Hibbing MN 1991
Growing up in North Dakota, I became accustomed to blizzards – two or three of them a winter, it seems.
Unlike today's blizzard, which was pretty accurately forecast, in those days in the 1940s and on, wise sages had to read the skies and we had to act prudently to avoid being caught in a killer out in the country. You knew those mean storms were out there, but you didn't know exactly when they'd hit or how bad they'd be.
But if you were indoors and had enough food and fuel, you were okay.
Afterwards, you could walk on the rock hard snow banks, and the kids would work harder than they'd ever work doing chores, digging snow caves and building snow forts and doing all the things kids can do when presented with a new opportunity.
I think of the Elgin ND Blizzard of February, 1965 – a bad one. But it is just another example. They happened every year.
I write in the early stages of this one, so I can't project what it will be like a few hours from now.
It appears to be of relatively short duration, but if it gets windy, watch out.
So far, nobody's out for fun. Those who are out are busy.
Today we'll put up the Christmas tree….
Christmas Tree 7 p.m. December 11, 2010, first view
UPDATE: Some responses to the above post:
From Mel Berning, Eureka CA, who recalls a storm he lived through in rural Berlin, North Dakota, right after WWII.
"There were lots of memorable blizzards in N. Dak. but only one remains in my
mind. Dad and Mom came to the Dakotas in 1906 and i remember dad telling about
blizzards so severe you couldn't see anything but dark lightness in the height of
the storm even during the daylight hours. As a wise kid I discounted these wild
stories as a flight of fancy until one day in deep winter I experienced just
My brother Gus and I decided to get the chores over quickly and do them at 4:30
in the afternoon. It was in the winter of [19]46?? and Gus was home from the
service at the time and staying on the farm with us. To get on with it we went
into the summer porch and lit our kerosene lantern in preparation for the trip
to the barn, a distance of about100 feet. We stepped out of the porch door and
the wind blew the lantern out, I turned to my older brother and hollered lets
hold hands till we get to the barn, surprisingly he gladly complied and we
stumbled blindly on through the howling snow hand in hand. Fortunately I had been
to the barn so often that we collided with the side of the barn and felt our way
around to the door. I kept hoping one of us had matches to relight the lantern
because it was dark as ink. We slid open the barn door, stepped inside, and lo
the lantern was still lit. neither of us could see it in the blinding snow and
it surely was a relief to have light.
Another winter story if you would, We had a 2 week snow with constant blizzard
conditions. As can be expected, dad was out of tobacco and we were running low
on groceries when the storm suddenly stopped and a Chinook [wind] came up from the
south. The temperature rapidly climbed to 50+ and my neighbor and I started to
plow our way to the store in Berlin [about five miles away]. By 3:00 o'clock we were able to reach the
plowed highway and returned home. We both picked up our grocery list and headed
back to Berlin to buy the family groceries. After doing the shopping we decided
to go to the Oasis, the pool hall, have a beer and shoot a game of pool, We
barely got to break the racked balls when some one came in and said it was
snowing out side. We hung up our cues and headed for home. The blizzard was
back and the temperature was dropping rapidly, we got to with in 2-1/2 miles of
home when we hit a new drift on the road and it was home from there on foot.
When I got home dad and mom were very relieved and by that time the thermometer
was on the minus side of 10 below. Several people and some stock died in Dakota
that night.
From Myron DeMers, Fargo ND, who grew up in rural Grafton, ND:
When you mention blizzards and I see so many people outside using snow blowers right now in Fargo, I remembered asking dad years ago if they did a lot of shoveling "in the old days". His answer surprised me. He said "yes and no" because with all the farmyard traffic, horses, sleighs etc the snow would pack down and most of the winter was spent riding on top of the snow rather then shoveling it. He said the only problem was Spring when it became a muddy mess but by then you were so happy to see Spring, the mud was "clean mud". Merry Christmas, Myron
From Ellen Brehmer, Grand Forks ND, who grew up in rural Langdon, ND
I hear your supposed to get 'a bit' of snow & wind. We are breathing a great sigh of relief because this one will miss us. We're just sinking into the depths of 20 to 30 below, and that's not wind chill. We do have the wind so I'm sure the old snow will drift some. It's always fortunate to be home when the storms hit.
One winter possibly late '50's we had to walk a mile across the field in the evening because the car got completely stuck and flooded trying to break through a snow drift on Schnieder's corner. That's 1 1/2 miles from home. We walked over the hard pack at an angle so it was probably only a mile – I'm here to tell you that my thighs were very very cold. I'm pretty sure that it was [siblings] Pat, Jerry, Marilyn and myself who walked behind Dad. We had been to some church thing or something. Nothing else got that cold, we all had scarves and mittens and boots, plus we were moving – the front thighs took the beating. So guess what gets cold first for me when I'm shoveling, yup the thighs.
From Mary Busch, Minneapolis, who grew up in ND and northern MN:
Your dad loaned my parents the car to drive to the Carrington Hospital [14 miles away] where I was born during a bad snow storm. (being a geographer-could we find info about that storm?) Late in her life mom revealed I was nearly born in the car. I always wondered about the very flat section of my head—-…
Growing up in Rugby North Dakota, we walked everywhere.
I valued my turquoise fluffy wool coat purchased in Herbergers in Grand Forks ND. The Little Flower School costume was skirts with white cotton socks with metal clasps tied to elastic garters holding them up… rubber boots over shoes and maybe pants… I remember the metal clasps near your skin burning and leaving red marks on cold days. It was a six block walk.
I craved excitement and would walk to the high school to watch Basketball games- Paul Prestis [Presthus?] became a star….It was so cold and about a mile there.
My parents STORED meat in a locked wooden box by the back door….a homemade freezer.
My dad had a complicated ritual involving army blankets to start the Plymouth in cold weather…We often visited relatives for vacations.
A geologist guest in the 1990s was raised in Siberia and commented that Rugby was exactly like Siberia in climate and geology so we had shared similar childhoods.
My dad would take us out ice fishing in very cold weather. We walked back into northern MN lakes, built a fire and drilled our holes. I kept my Rolliflex camera under my jacket so it did not freeze. I often brought guests home to Babbitt and recall an amazed despairing New York City gal, when I explained and demonstrated the toilet opportunities in subzero wilderness.
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#283 – Dick Bernard: A simple and positive idea, Holiday Greetings to those who may not otherwise receive them.
November 27, 2010 /in Community, Family History, Quietings /by dickbernard
A great friend clued me in on a project a friend of hers was doing: to deliver 1000 greeting cards to military service persons, their families or veterans. It has a deadline of December 10, 2010, and the details are here.
Early 1900s Christmas Card
I bought in on the project and it was simple process to complete 50 cards for the project. We had unused cards from previous Holiday seasons, and it was simple enough to find cards that were not overly focused on one religious tradition or another. I chose to identify myself as a US Army veteran because that is what I am. I was in the service in 1962-63, nearly 50 years ago, in an infantry company.
Back then, as Company Clerk, I was well aware of the fact that when mail call came, there were always colleague GIs who didn't get any mail at all. Some never got any mail. There is something unfortunate about feeling left out when (it seems) everybody in the unit is getting mail but you. This feeling intensifies when you're a long way from home and you're missing a major holiday.
The folks with this project have very simple rules: no inserts, personal messages, mailing addresses – that sort of thing.
The rules make sense…and they make the project even simpler. I simply offered "all best wishes, in peace" and that was that.
Dig out those leftover cards, complete as many as you care to, and send them in within the next week. They cannot be sealed, and the fold has to be inside so that the cards can be easily inspected for content.
If this particular idea doesn't intrigue you, replicate the idea in some other way this intense season of the year.
Whatever your tradition, or your personal feelings about this season, I'd recommend this as a worthwhile project.
Christmas postcard from December, 1913
My story about those long ago postcards, two of which appear above is here.
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#276 – Dick Bernard: 11 bells; 3 volleys. Nov. 11, 2010 remembered.
November 12, 2010 /in Peace & Justice, War /by dickbernard
"[My sister] Florence was born [Nov. 3, 1918] the year World War I ended. [Nov. 11, 1918] the hired girl and I were out in the snow chasing chickens into the coop so they wouldnt freeze when there was a great long train whistle from the Grand Rapids [ND] railroad track [5 miles away]. In the house there was a long, long telephone ringing to signify the end of World War I."
Esther Busch Bernard memories, p. 122 of Pioneers, the Busch-Berning family history (2005).
November 11 I attended both the Armistice and Veterans Day events held one block apart, roughly halfway between the State Capitol and Cathedral of St. Paul.
That context is important.
I think I have participated in most if not all Armistice Day events since 2002.
This year I intentionally broadened my context, and distanced myself from all participants in both events. I wanted to catch more of the resonance or emotional distance between those who remember Armistice Day (reminding us of the end of WW I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, continuing in many countries to this day); and Veteran's Day (which permanently replaced Armistice Day in the U.S. in 1954.) I wandered between the groups, one city block apart, easily visible to each other.
On the way to the events, yesterday, I stopped at my barber, a Marine combat veteran in Vietnam whose brother, also a Marine, was killed in Vietnam. Tom and I are long-time good friends. He angled a little towards conversation about war and peace this day; I chose to angle away. We talked of other things.
On the wall was a flat screen television tuned to the sports network, ESPN. The coverage this day included live film from a U.S. military base in Germany. Part of the coverage included a field game, similar to what kids would play, only in this case it was Hand Grenade toss, to see which GI participant could come closest to nailing a humanoid figure in the eye of a bullseye with a hand grenade facsimile. Not much focus on peace, there.
Haircut over I went to the Veterans/Armistice day field of memories.
There seemed to be roughly equal numbers of outside visitors at each, though the Veterans group was much more formal and fancier, including people in uniform, lots of flags, and what appeared to be a high school band. Both groups were heavily laced with military veterans.
I noted, really for the first time in many years coming here, a large sculpture of a soldier with what I'd call pleading outstretched arms. He stood roughly half way between the groups, primarily facing the Veterans Day event at the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
He had been standing there since 1982, the plaque said.
11:00 was approaching and I returned to the Armistice Day gathering to witness the bell-ringing, 11 times, to signify 11-11-11. The speaker holding our bell said that the Cathedral of St. Paul down the street had agreed to ring their bells 11 times this year – a first. We waited. 11:00 came and went, no bells. The group rang its own bell.
I left, and went over to the Veterans gathering just in time to see their ceremony, three men brought forth a rifle, a pair of boots and a helmet to signify a fallen soldier. The MC ordered three rifle volleys from the armed color guard.
I found myself thinking back to that sculpture between the groups. The caption said "Why do you forget us?" as the sculpted soldier faced the Veterans gathering.
Behind him, I thought to myself, was an Armistice group that might change that quotation only slightly. "Why do you forget ["the war to end all wars"]?"
I left the parking lot. 11:15 and still no bells from the Cathedral, looming over us a few short blocks away. The silence was deafening.
There is a story waiting to be told….
Regarding "the resonance or emotional distance"? Remember the distinction between 11 bells and 3 volleys of rifle fire. That catches it, in my seeing and hearing. At one site, the symbol of honor was a rifle, serving as a body of a soldier, with boots and helmet. At the other, a simple bell of peace.
Veterans Day Commemoration
Armistice Day Commemoration
Related, here.
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#191 – Dick Bernard: A Pleasant Spring Day in the Country May 4, 2000
May 4, 2010 /in History, War /by dickbernard
We had our breakfast in the hotel in Krakow the morning of May 4, 2000. We'd been together, the 40 of us**, since April 26, but this day was even more serious than most earlier days had been, and those days had been serious, too: Tabor, Terezin, Prague…. There was not much small talk this day.
We boarded the bus and travelled west out of Krakow towards the Polish town of Brzezinka, 40 miles away. Near Brzezinka we gathered in a parking lot, and entered a place called Auschwitz, filing under the archway with the infamous words "Arbeit Macht Frei". For us, roughly half and half Christian and Jew, this was not the first visit to a place of the horrors of the Holocaust – there had been several stops before today – but for most of us it was probably the most powerful single event.
May 4 also happened to be my 60th birthday.
As Spring days go, May 4, 2000, was ideal. The trees had leafed out; it was bright sun. But there is something about spending a pleasant day in a place like Auschwitz….
Brzezinka (Oswiecm to the Germans) was actually home to two of the three places in the Auschwitz group. Auschwitz I, where we went under the arch, was basically for Polish prisoners of the Reich.
We spent some somber time there, then it was time for Auschwitz II, a place called Birkenau, where between 1.1 and 1.5 million Jews perished between 1943 and its liberation January 27, 1945.
It is about 1 1/2 miles between Auschwitz I and Birkenau, and we requested and received permission to walk between the two places, most of the route along the same railroad track which transported the Jews to their death. It was a time of pretty intense introspection, there was no frivolity on that walk. For almost all the Jews who entered Birkenau, there was no exit.
A quiet walk on a beautiful day May 4, 2000
I guess you could say that we "toured" Birkenau, but somehow that word doesn't fit.
We saw the ruins of the ovens which, they said, could efficiently cremate 4415 bodies a day, but which often incinerated twice as many.
In the afternoon, in a pleasant glade between the ruins of the crematory ovens, there was a memorial service. The youngest of our group, and me, the birthday boy, were chosen to light candles to the memory of those who had died in the holocaust. Two of the photos, here, are at that place.
It was a beautiful afternoon, the birds were chirping in the trees surrounding us. Somehow it didn't match the black and white images of the camp when its sole function was to kill Jews. May 4, 2000, is one of those days whose memory will never leave me.
We're now 10 years from that day in 2000. Another ten years have passed.
May 4, 2000, was 16 months before 9-11-01 and all that has transpired since that time.
Our group stayed in touch for awhile, but it has been a long time since there was any real contact. Such is how things go, even when you're together in intense experiences as we were.
Entering the first museum building at Auschwitz one's eyes encounter George Santayana's famous quotation: "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".
I would like to propose a corollary to all of us: it is not enough to simply remember the past, unless one learns from it for the future, and diligently applies the learnings.
Remembering is not enough.
At night, back at the hotel, I mentioned to the group that my Uncle Frank Bernard was among the first American casualties of WW II, on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. In that awful war, WWII, it is said that at least 50,000,000 ultimately perished because of the war. Six million were Jews*. Another nearly six million were Poles.
The records show that the official beginning of the German surrender to the allies began 65 years ago today, May 4, 1945. It would be early September before the Japanese surrendered. Another uncle, my mother's brother, Navy officer George Busch, was aboard Destroyer DD460 which docked at Tokyo the evening of September 10, 1945.
Until we become more proficient at making Peace than we are at making War; at being friends than being enemies; all is ultimately lost….
I wish I could be hopeful.
Ben and the Memorial Candles within Birkenau
* One of the prayers at Auschwitz, May 4, 2000:
Reader: Silence. Only silence. Waiting for our reply. All of them, waiting. Three million and three hundred thousand Jews lived in Poland before the war.
Congregation: Three million died.
Reader: Two million eight hundred and fifty thousand Jews lived in Russia.
Congregation: More than a million died.
Reader: One and a half million Jews lived in the Balkans and Slavic countries.
Reader: Germany, Austria, France and Italy had six hundred and fifty thousand Jews.
Congregation: Half of them died.
Reader: Rhodes and Cyprus had happy, thriving congregations.
Congregation: The synagogues stand empty now.
Reader: Our brothers and sisters were murdered everywhere in the days of destruction.
Congregation: They died in cities and towns, in villages and fields.
Reader: They died in the night and the fog, they died between dawn and dusk.
Congregation: They died by fire and water, by poison and gun.
Reader: They died alone; but we will not forget them.
Congregation: They died alone; but we will not forget them.
Reader: We will remember them; in reverence, and in silence.
** – We were a delegation from Temple Israel and Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis MN. To my knowledge (I haven't checked, lately), Temple and Basilica were the first, and probably remain the only, joint Christian and Jew plaque on the remembrance wall at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. That is a testimony to the friendship of Rabbi Joseph Edelheit and Fr. Michael O'Connell.
Postscript June 30, 2010: Note this link: A powerful photo album from Auschwitz with pictures taken when the death camp at Birkenau was in operation..
Here's a more recent photo album, including photos taken by our fellow pilgrim on our visit to Auschwitz and other places of the Holocaust in April and May 2000. Note #3.
https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg 0 0 dickbernard https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg dickbernard2010-05-04 04:21:132010-05-04 04:21:13#191 – Dick Bernard: A Pleasant Spring Day in the Country May 4, 2000
#185 – Dick Bernard: Easter (and other) Postcards from the olden days
April 3, 2010 /in Community, Family History /by dickbernard
Some years ago I convinced my Uncle to loan me his collection of old postcards, sent to the rural North Dakota farm where he and my mother and many others grew up. The cards were mostly from the early 1900s, and in the end I scanned over 150 of them, and wrote a commentary about them which is still accessible. (At the end of the commentary I suggest that the cards are still viewable, but they are no longer available from that source. Maybe another spring project…. See paragraph below.)
I comment on the Easter cards in the post. Succinctly, about 40% of the cards had a religious theme, while the other 60% had more seasonal or secular themes. This surprised me somewhat because this farm family and its root family was very religious. And these cards were mostly from the first decade of the 1900s.
Following are samples of the cards, secular, religious.
There are many others. (The on-line album listed at the article is no longer available. Here is a link to all of the postcards, including the Easter themes.)
Have a good Easter, or spring day, or whatever is your wish or belief on this April 4, 2010.
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#88 – Dick Bernard: A Happy Birthday to Annelee, and a time to reflect on War
September 20, 2009 /in Family History, History, Peace & Justice, Politics, War /by dickbernard
See comment at end of post
Annelee Woodstrom is 83 years young today, and what a remarkable 83 years it has been. She's one of my role models. What a life. What an example.
We saw her reading from her book "War Child, Growing Up in Adolf Hitler's Germany" one week ago today. We were among 75 people in a church conference room, all listening carefully. You could "hear a pin drop", literally. Each time I hear her speak, her presentation is more compelling and powerful.
Annelee Woodstrom September 13, 2009
I met Annelee when I ordered a copy of her book in 2003. I had read a column about the book in the Fargo (ND) Forum, and sent her a note. We've been good friends ever since.
Annelee wrote the book when she was 77. It is about to go into its third printing. Last year, she wrote a followup, Empty Chairs, about 60 years in the United States, beginning as a war bride of an American GI from northwest MN. Their marriage of 51 years ended with his death in 1998. Empty Chairs has also been a success for Annelee. She has a powerful story to tell. ( #mce_temp_url# for details about the books. Both are well worth reading.)
Annelee was 7 years old when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. She lived in a town of about 6,000 people within walking distance of what is now the CzechRepublic. There were two Jewish families in her town. Both were forced to leave, both survived. At the end of the war, Annelee was 18 and a telegrapher in Regensburg, and near the end of the war she and a friend walked 90 miles home: better to die at home than through the bombs, they felt. They like other Germans were starving. Earlier she had been under the carpet bombing of the allies and survived. The detonation caused severe hearing loss.
What had seemed to be a glorious war for Germany, re-building national pride and securing additional land and resources, had an inglorious end for the Germans. There's a lesson in that for us.
In the official public accounts of the winners (as in schoolbook history) of WWII, the war usually begins with 1938; the U.S. engagement begins with Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. WWII ends with the surrender of Germany in May, 1945; and with Japan in September of that year. It was our heroic war, liberating good from evil. When asked when the Germans saw the end was coming, Annelee readily says "1943". She was 16, then.
Annelee began her talk by recalling German history between the end of the "war to end all wars", WWI, in 1918, and her birth in 1926. This was a time of destitution for ordinary Germans, rarely seriously discussed. The Nazis promised jobs and national pride and prosperity, and for a while produced on their pledge, especially for those who were loyal party members. Her parents refused to become party members, and refused her requests to join the Hitler Youth, whose parades and splendid uniforms enthralled her as a young girl.
There is almost literally a black hole in information about the privation of ordinary Germans after WWI. But it was this privation, and the resulting humiliation at the loss that probably were the major factors making ordinary Germans susceptible to Hitler and the Nazis propaganda.
Winners of wars write the always heroic official history; losers retain and pass down the memories and consequences of the loss. There is always a "black hole" – a story not to be told. Personal memory is powerful for the losers. There is no surrender of memory.
Annelee to her great credit remembers, and chooses to share.
Happy Birthday, Annelee!
Annelee's s story last Sunday reminded me of an earlier story I had read about Germany in the aftermath of WW I.
This story came in the form of a November 5, 1923, letter written by my great-uncle Herman Henry Busch of Dubuque Iowa to a nephew in Germany. At the time, HH had lived in the United States for over 50 years and he was a prosperous land developer. The original letter was in German, and I had it and several others translated for a family history I first wrote in 1993.
In relevant part, here's what HH Busch said about the consequence of WWI five years after it had ended. Bear in mind, he is writing from America, and at the time he writes has lived in the U.S. for over 50 years.
"The last letter [unavailable, apparently written in pre-war or WWI times] I counseled [a cousin] to shake the [German] dust from his feet and come over [to the U.S.]. It was the time when the bishop from Lemberg was taken into captivity by the Russians. He answered me that [Germany] had a good Kaiser and good times. My warning was justified.
The American millionaires and the government had loaned the Allies so many millions that against the will of the common folk, President Wilson was pulled into the War. England had nine million for newspaper propaganda (for war) in American newspapers about the brutal German and that the German-Americans had come to suffer under it, they were held for unpatriotic and were required to come before the court for little things as if they were pro-German[*]. The damned war was a revenge and a millionaire's war and the common people had to bleed in this bloody gladiator battle. Yes, until now the world still has no peace because of the revenge of France [**].
So now the Catholics of America have a nine day novena for peace, in our beautiful Marian church. The novena ends on the feast of All-Saints Day. It would be desirable for the strong God of the warring armies to let justice reign here and give the whole world the peace so that, at Christmas, the world can experience peace and good will to all. We Americans must now bear the war debt of fifty billion through taxes and it makes me happy that you [Germans] do not need help us pay the war debt. The last occupation map that I saw had [his home area between the Ruhr and Netherlands] Borken on the borderline, is Borken occupied? Is Borken included in the occupied area or not? Where do the garrison occupation lines run near you? Was the harvest good? Are many people in the area in misery? What is your business? Who lives in my old home now. I forgot nothing of the beautiful hunting grounds of my youth. If the hunt is still as good as then, it would be my utmost wish to make a hunt there in Soison. Report also of your family. If Germany will become more divided through loss of the Rhinelands and the revolution of the socialists and communists [***] then there is still a crisis to get through, and we very surely hope that the whole confusion is soon rectified and order comes. If Germany had been able to overflow the American newspapers with propaganda during the war like England, then America would have been on Germany's side instead of England's and it would be in a completely different position now in the world. One hears that the need in the cities is big and farmers fare the best…." (page 271, Pioneers: The Busch and Berning Families of LaMoure County ND, 1991, 1993, 2005)
* – German-Americans, especially those who spoke German, were considered suspect in the U.S., much as the Japanese-Americans were considered suspect in WWII, and the Arab-Americans today. The old patters continue unabated. If we do the same things in the same ways we will always get the same results…but it is a very hard lesson to learn.
** – In another letter, HH recounts a story told by his grandparents about the early 1800s when Napoleon overran their homeland of Westfalia, and for a number of years they were governed by France. No love was lost for France by this German.
*** – H. H. does not define "socialist" or "communist" in his letter, and no later record is known from later writings. The Nazis did eliminate the communists as competition, and the more I learn about the Nazis, they were, rather than "socialist", really a mother-lode for the capitalists of the day, both in their country and elsewhere. They were really the very epitome of the "military-industrial complex" which President Eisenhower feared in his farewell address to the U.S. Congress in January, 1961, and which is now a troubling reality. In his address, Eisenhower had actively considered adding reference to government to his phrase, but in the end did not.
In background, Annelee's family in 1943
Annelee's father was ultimately drafted into the German Army in a construction engineering capacity. Except for coming home around Christmas of 1943, he was never seen again. They believe he died in a Russian prison perhaps after the war, but no one is absolutely sure.
H.H. Busch died in 1933, the year Hitler came to power, and the Great Depression was raging in the United States. Except for the above letter, I have no further accounts by or about him.
UPDATE SEP 20, 2009 from Jim Fuller:
A key point in the piece is that the period between WWI and WWII is a "black hole" for most people, which means that they can have no real understanding of why the Nazis in Germany and Fascists in Italy rose so readily to power in their respective countries.
A painless way to gain considerable knowledge of that era, and have a great time in the process, is to read the novels of Alan Furst. They are superb, and beautifully written stories of spies and emigre intrigue in Europe between the world wars, but they also are filled with factual detail that one rarely, if ever, finds in history books. Another excellent novel that provides great historical insight is Erich Maria Remarque's "Black Obelisque." (Remarque was the author of "All quiet On the Western Front," which in its early chapters also tells much about that between-wars period.
https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg 0 0 dickbernard https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg dickbernard2009-09-20 05:46:462009-09-20 05:46:46#88 – Dick Bernard: A Happy Birthday to Annelee, and a time to reflect on War
#29 – Dick Bernard: Memorial Day 2009: A snapshot of the last year of WWII as experienced by two ND farm families
May 25, 2009 /in Community, Family History, History, North Dakota, Peace & Justice, War /by dickbernard
Taps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_iz8z2AGw
Today is Memorial Day, with all the varied meanings attached to it, all of which are deemed by their interpreters to be the proper meaning, all of which commemorate the tragedy of war.
An e-mail from Mel in California on Friday, May 23, led me back to a treasure trove of copies of old letters I've had for years. Most of them were written on my grandparents kitchen table, which would have been within the grove of trees included in the photo on the cover page of this blog. The others would have been written on another kitchen table on a farm about three-fourths of a mile to the right of Sam and his photographer, myself.
These letters were all written in 1944-45, and provide a snapshot of the impact of one war on one tiny community in the United States. The quotes were interspersed among mundane bits of news: harvesting, cold weather, going to town and church. I could have included more than these, but they suffice. Grammatical and punctuation errors are as they were. No editor was looking over the shoulder of these writers. They wrote from the heart to their son, brother, cousin….
My correspondent, Mel, my mother's first cousin who grew up on the neighboring farm in North Dakota, wrote about "Francis [Long] (marine killed in Tarawa)". I knew of Francis; Tarawa particularly interested me, as my friend, Minneapolis businessman Lynn Elling, was a young Navy officer, early in his tour, when his LST arrived at the gosh-awful remains of the Tarawa campaign in late 1943. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tarawa His experiences there, and later, seared into his memory, led him to a life long and still continuing quest for peace. http://www.amillioncopies.info .
Mel had his facts slightly wrong: his Aunt, my Grandma Rosa, wrote her son, George, an Officer on the USS Woodworth in the Pacific Theatre, on August 20, 1944: "Fri we had a Memorial Mass for Francis Long killed July 2 on Saipan…". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saipan
George kept letters he received in WWII, and a few years ago I incorporated all of the letters from home into a family history of two neighboring farm families, the Buschs and Bernings, rural Berlin, ND.
Deadly World War II comes alive simply from pull quotes from a few of the letters written to George from the kitchen tables. Following are a few samples:
Grandma, September 22, 1944: "I must give Francis Long a spiritual bouquet yet in a Mass they feel so badly."
September 22, 1944, Uncle Vince writes his brother: "Threshing is coming along fine…[one hired man], a ex-marine from Guadacanal." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guadalcanal
October 22, 1944, Aunt Edith: "[our sister Florence] wrote they were afraid they were loosing their hired man to the Army. He got his 1-A…."
Also October 22, Grandma Rosa "[my neighbor and sister-in-law Tina and her daughter Agnes] are going out to Whyoming… to see [their daughter and sister] Rose as Pinkey [Rose's husband George Molitor] has to go across now too she expects a baby in Nov. so its to bad he has to go at this time. Mrs. Heim says Elmer is in Holland now was in England & Belgium driving a tank so is in the front too at times Delores is in Italy…."
October 30, Grandma writes "[Vincent] got a card from the draft board saying he was in class II-C till Feb… How I wish it were all over." (II-C was likely a military deferment for essential work at home. Vincent was needed on the farm.)
November 5, Grandma: "The Bernings are well Aug[ust] is still at camp LaJeune NoCar… Ruby is in cadet nurse training in [Rockford] IL. Rufina is in training at Iowa City."
January 1, 1945, Grandma writes "[three] are leaving for the service soon…[another Long] is in Class A 1 now too…."
There is "radio silence" on the letters until June, 1945. Doubtless letters continued, but don't remain for posterity.
June 11, 1945, Aunt Tina, Rose's mother, writes "[daughter] Ruby has gone on to Montana to cheer up Rose a bit as her hubby is missing now for a month or so. I hope…that he turns up liveing." (George Molitor KIA over Italy April 4, 1945, leaving Rose with two daughters, aged two and six months.)
July 25, 1945, Grandma: "…had a letter from [Marine Captain] August [Berning] is on Okinawa he had a bad battle there got shot through his jacket…The boys were to a show last night in LaMoure "30 seconds over Tokyo"…." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa
August 8, 1945, Grandma: "Lorin H____ is at home now again they say he is nervous and has some shrapnel in his body but I bet he is glad to be home and will soon mend."
August 26, 1945, Grandma: "Hurrah! The old war is over I can't say what that means to me…."
The surrender documents were signed by the Germans on May 7; and by the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945.
War continues. "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."
https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg 0 0 dickbernard https://thoughtstowardsabetterworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/thoughts-300x138-1.jpg dickbernard2009-05-25 05:08:042009-05-25 05:08:04#29 – Dick Bernard: Memorial Day 2009: A snapshot of the last year of WWII as experienced by two ND farm families
#11 – Dick Bernard: Swine Flu, Fear, Hype and Hysteria
April 27, 2009 /in Community, Education, Family History, Health, International Relations, Peace & Justice, Politics /by dickbernard
During 1918, my mother almost died in the WW I flu epidemic. I know because she wrote about it in her memories, thusly:
"I think one of the most traumatic experiences I had happened when I was about nine years old and got the World War I flu. Many people were very sick and some died. I had a very rough siege with that flu and remember when Dr. Salvage came out in some very cold winter weather, in the middle of the night, to keep me from bleeding to death. I don't remember what he did but I had a very high fever and was bleeding from the nose and I spit out chunks of blood. I think they thought I was gone for sure. I recovered though and it took a long while for me to regain my strength. I can remember having some wild dreams and nightmares and must have been out of my head at least part of the time. ."
Esther Bernard, Jan. 1981, page 116 of Pioneers: The Busch and Berning families of LaMoure County North Dakota.
I was seven years old when I got hepatitis and had a very rough time with that. There was no simple way to handle yellow jaundice and it had to work out of the system. I think they give blood transfusions now. I had an upset stomach for several years after that which is probably why I had such a rough time with the 1918 flu
I thought of Mom's recollection this morning with the breaking news about the Mexican Swine Flu fears. It became big news yesterday; today's paper had much front page coverage, including a map of the United States which showed 8 cases in Ohio, 7 in California, 2 each in Texas, , Kansas and Ohio. "It's not a time to panic," the White House said", while suggestions were about that we were at a time of possible epidemic, or global pandemic. 1918 came up, as did 1957 and 1968. I wasn't around in 1918, but I don't remember anything about 1957 or 1968 so the grim reaper must've passed us by. (By the winter of 1918 Mom's family included her parents and six children. As best as I can tell, she is the only one who got sick with the flu. The 1918 pandemic apparently mainly impacted on young adults – people 20-40. My grandparents would have been in that general age range; neither got sick.)
I don't know all the details about 1918 and the flu epidemic. I know my grandparents had telephone then; that Dr. Salvage was in a town 10 miles away, that roads were good enough for a car to get through to most farms IF they weren't blocked with snow, or impassable due to mud.
I don't know what Dr. Salvage had in his medical bag when he visited Mom; I don't know if something in that bag helped her turn the corner, or if Mom just got lucky and slowly got better. It does appear, though, from the history she and her siblings recited that at her farm the grim reaper had picked her, and only her, for attention during that awful time period. And I know, too, that in that long ago time the odds of medicine making any difference at all were much lower than today: if you got sick, you either got better or you didn't. Other than the phone and the newspapers and word of mouth, there were no other media to really fan up the fear, such as there is today.
So, today, lots of newsprint and air time is expended to emphasize the possibility of a dire threat from a flu that has so far affected 21 people in the entire United States. (As I write, the MSN home page has updated the number to 40). People are assessing who they know who's been to Mexico recently. I took a couple across the driveway to the airport a month or so ago, as they were enroute to a two week vacation in Mexico. A good friend recently came back from a vacation in Mexico. Should I steer clear of them till the threat passes? Will I start to see people wearing masks in grocery stores? Should I buy a mask, or get in line for Tamiflu?
What I do know is that fear sells, and sells well; and fear can rapidly turn into hysteria. And there are many who benefit from the hype, selling fear and hysteria. Of course, fear and hysteria solve nothing, but are certain realities.
Is it useful to exercise prudence in these times? Absolutely. But making it into front page news at this stage?
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Home / Software / News
iPhone 11 rumors: The new iPhones have a sensor coprocessor named 'Rose' or 'R1'
What will be in Appleu2019s next iPhone? Weu2019ll keep track of all the rumors right here.
By Macworld staff
Macworld SEP 9, 2019 3:16 am PDT
Image: Digit.in/@onleaks
What's in store for the new iPhone in 2019? We won't officially know until the fall (most likely in September), but until then, you can bet that the rumor mill will be fully operational. This page will keep track of what's being rumored as new features of the 2019 iPhones, and we'll provide some analysis and whether or not a rumor seems feasible.
Updated 09/09/19: A new rumor from MacRumors states that the 2019 iPhones have a new sensor co-processor code-named "Rose" or "R1."
New 'Rose' or 'R1' sensor co-processor
Apple has used motion co-processors in the iPhone since the iPhone 5S in 2013. The first two (M7 and M8) were separate chips, but M9-M12 were integrated into the A-series processor. They process data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, barometer, and even enable the microphone to listen for "Hey, Siri." Basically, it's custom circuitry to process sensor info in a very high-performance and low-power way, so it can be done even while the phone is in sleep mode.
According to a new report from MacRumors, the iPhone 11 will include a new sensor coprocessor that goes by the codenames "Rose" or "R1." MacRumors has seen reference to it in code from an internal build of iOS 13. It supposedly performs a similar function to the M-series co-processors, only it processes data from many more types of sensors in order to get a more accurate picture of the phone's position and orientation.
It adds support for an inertial measurement unit (IMU), which is like a gyroscope and accelerometer, some Bluetooth 5.1 features like Angle of Arrival and Angle of Departure, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and even some camera tracking features.
The new capabilities are expected to be especially useful for the new Apple Tags product and augmented reality.
Three new iPhones coming in September
Bloomberg has a report on what Apple plans to announce during its September event, which has yet to be announced. According to Bloomberg, the featured products of the event are the "Pro" iPhones that will succeed the iPhone XS and XS Max, as well as a follow-up to the iPhone XR.
The list of the new features on the phones have been spinning through the rumor mill for months. They include the three-sensor camera on the Pro models with improvements to low-light and wide-angle still shots, as well as extensive video recording enhancements; Face ID with a wider field of view; A13 processors; reverse wireless charging; improved water resistance; and an outside matte finish instead of glossy.
Bloomberg also said that 3D Touch will be replaced by Haptic Touch, similar to what's on the iPhone XR. The successor to the iPhone XR will have a second back camera for optical zoom and enhanced portrait mode.
5G will not be available on the new iPhones. This will be available in 2020.
A smaller Apple Pencil incoming?
File this one under Weird Last-Minute iPhone Rumors. Online retailer Mobile Fun is selling an iPhone 11 Pro case by Olixar with an interesting feature: a slot on the rear of the case for a smaller Apple Pencil. Normally we'd completely dismiss such a odd rumor as ridiculous, but there are a few reasons why we're lending some credence to this one. For one, it's already being sold, but more importantly, Mobile Fun has a decent track record of predicting phone designs before launch. Earlier this year, it nailed the Galaxy S10's hole-punch design, and it was one of first to accurately predict that the Note 10 would be dumping the headphone jack. But this one is certainly going out on a limb. Not only does Olixar think the iPhone 11 Pro will have Apple Pencil support, it also think Apple will be making a shorter Apple Pencil for it.
Plausible: While we wouldn't be surprised to see this rumor go up in smoke, it's just crazy enough to be believable. If Apple is actually going to differentiate its flagship iPhone with the "Pro" moniker this year, it's going to need something other than a bigger screen to justify it. Apple Pencil support would fill that need well, and the current Pencil isn't exactly iPhone friendly, in that it's taller than every model. So maybe a smaller Pencil that only works with the iPhone 11 Pro isn't so crazy.
iPhone Pro
A random Twitter post about the next iPhone doesn't usually rise to the level of plausibility, but CoinX's 13 posts have been remarkably accurate. Not only did CoinX predict the return of the iPad mini, the weight of the iPhone XS Max, and the lack of a headphone jack on the latest iPad Pro, he also nailed the 2018 iPhone naming scheme. And now CoinX is claiming to know the name of Apple's next top-of-the-line iPhone: iPhone Pro. Presumably this will pertain to the 6.5-inch model, but CoinX doesn't specify in the cryptic tweet, which reads: "'Pro' for iPhone? Crazy naming schemes over the past few years."
Plausible? We're been hearing rumors about a supposed iPhone Pro for more years than we care to remember, so it's pretty clear that Apple has been toying with the name for a while. Since rumors have suggested that the larger iPhone won't include any additional features this year (other than the bigger screen, of course), we're not sure what will give it "pro" status, but we're definitely intrigued.
Improved Haptics
A report from 9to5Mac primarily reiterates the rumors we've heard before, with one significant new wrinkle: This year's new iPhones will feature "a new type of Taptic Engine, known by the codename leap haptics." It's not known what the new features of this improved Taptic Engine would be. Apple is already one of the very few to use a linear resonant actuator for its haptics, which provide much greater fidelity than the eccentric rotating mass vibration motors used in so many other phones.
Plausible? Apple is introducing a new Core Haptics framework in iOS 13 to give third-party developers greatly expanded control over the Taptic Engine, which has thus far been quite limited. Introducing new, more advanced haptics hardware at the same time would be excellent timing. In fact, it seems reasonable to assume that Apple's plans to introduce more advanced haptic hardware is the very reason it created a new developer framework for haptics.
No more 3D Touch
We've heard several rumors claiming that 3D Touch will be absent from all 2019 iPhones. The Wall Street Journal predicted as much back in January, and then analysts from Barclays "confirmed" it by talking with suppliers in May. The latest rumor comes from Digitimes in an article about the future sales of touch interface suppliers TPK Holding and General Interface Solution. It says the companies, "may see sales grow in the second half of 2019 though Apple may remove 3D touch sensors from all 2019 iPhone devices, according to industry sources."
Plausible? 3D Touch has been a fixture of iPhones since its introduction in the iPhone 6s, but is missing from the more affordable iPhone XR. It's said to be an expensive technology, and difficult to implement on larger displays, which is why we've never seen it on iPads.
We can't help but notice that iOS 13 greatly expands the "Haptic Touch" feature used by the iPhone XR, where users just tap and hold for a second to get a context menu with a little haptic feedback. In the upcoming version of iOS, the most important features of 3D Touch are replicated by Haptic Touch. This makes us think it's likely that Apple will get rid of this expensive technology that sometimes confuses users, and better unify touch interaction features across all iPhones and iPads.
A look at the logic board
Over on anonymous leaking site Slashleaks, there are a pair of images that claim to show the iPhone XI logic board (six of them, in fact).
Slashleaks
The alleged logic board for one of the 2019 iPhone models.
Of course we don't yet know if any of the phones will be called the iPhone XI, and we don't know which particular model this is supposed to be a logic board for (there are three rumored models for this year, just as last year). The back side of these logic boards have not yet been printed, and the chips have not yet been bonded to it—we're just looking at a single side of a mystery printed circuit board.
Plausible? Sure, these could be an iPhone PCB. Of the current models, only the iPhone XR has a rectangular circuit board like this; the iPhone XS and XS Max have L-shaped circuit boards. Therefore, this could be a look at the iPhone XR's successor, or it could be an indication that the iPhone XS successors will use a rectangular logic board and therefore have a different internal layout. There just isn't too much we can glean from this without the chips attached.
Case renders show camera bump, mute slider
Case maker Olixar is already offering preorders on a set of cases for the iPhone 11 Max (which may or may not be the name of the phone Apple introduces this fall). You can see them at the U.K. retail site MobileFun, where you'll see rendered versions of the cases in rendered versions of the iPhone 11 Max.
Olixar
Olixar thinks it knows what the next iPhone will look like.
There are a few items of note. One is the square camera bump, which after several rumors we have come to expect. The other is the somewhat smaller "notch" for the TrueDepth module—it could be smaller in the new iPhones, or this could be something of an optical illusion since we expect the iPhone 11 Max to be even bigger than the iPhone XS Max. Finally, eagle-eyed observers will note that the mute switch is a rounded slider that moves up and down, instead of the current switch that flips front-to-back.
Plausible? None of these details are far-fetched, but it's highly unlikely that any case manufacturer has learned about the minutia of the next iPhone already. In order to have cases available right at launch, manufacturers make a best guess based on their contacts in the manufacturing and supply chain, tweaking the design with more precise CAD dimensions closer to launch. These sort of early renders from case makers often get small details wrong, with corrections made as we get closer to launch.
18-watt USB-C power adapter included
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Apple is finally going to ditch the pitiful little 5-watt USB power adapter in favor of an 18-watt USB-C power adapter.
That's the latest rumor from Mac Otakara, who claims its information comes from Chinese suppliers. All three new iPhone models are said to include the same 18-watt USB-C adapter as does the new iPad Pro, but that doesn't mean the iPhones will have USB-C ports. Instead, they'll come with USB-C Lightning cables in place of the current USB-A Lightning cables.
Plausible? We want nothing more than for Apple to catch up to 2016 Android phones in providing decent power adapters in the box. For a few years, iPhones have been capable of charging much more quickly than the 5-watt in-box power adapter will allow.
But we've been burned before. The 18-watt USB-C power adapter was a prominent rumor for last year's iPhones—there were even leaked photos!—and it never came to pass. It turns out the power adapter everyone was excited about was intended for the new iPad Pro. So call us hopeful but not optimistic.
Two-way wireless charging and a bigger battery
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who's forecasts on Apple products have been amazingly accurate, released a new supply chain report with some new predictions about the 2019 iPhone.
If you have the AirPods Wireless Charging Case, you may be able to charge it with the 2019 iPhone.
Kuo's latest said that he expects the new iPhone to support two-way wireless charging—in other words, you can use the iPhone to charge other devices. For example, if you have AirPods with a wireless charging case, you can place the encased earbuds on the new iPhone, and the iPhone will charge the AirPods.
As a result of this feature, Kuo said that Apple plans to make the iPhone batteries bigger. The successor to the iPhone XS could have a battery that's about 25 percent bigger, while the iPhone XS Max follow-up could see an increase of about 15 percent. The iPhone XR successor will see a smaller battery gain of about 5 percent.
Plausible? Android phones with two-way wireless charging have already hit the market, so the technology already exists and it doesn't seem far-fetched for Apple to adopt it. When you consider the monster success of the AirPods and the recent release of the wireless charging case (and even the demise of AirPower), it seems fitting (and inevitable) that Apple would implement this feature.
Three-camera system (two on XR)
Earlier this year we saw a render that most people dismissed as a concept that would never see the light of day. The funky design showed an iPhone with a giant square bump in the top left corner that housed three cameras and an LED flash. It didn't seem like something Apple would make.
Oft-accurate leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (@onleaks), who posted the original render, has returned with a complete schematic of the rear case, which appears to leaves telltale holes for three cameras and a flash positioned in the same way as the earlier leak. In fact, Hemmerstoffer overlaid the original render on the schematic and it matches up nearly perfectly.
Back in January, a report by Bloomberg says that Apple is currently testing iPhones with a rear three-camera system that will be found on larger iPhone models.
The third camera will allow a larger field of view, a wider range of zoom, and the ability to capture more pixels. Apple is also working on a new version of Live Photos that are 6 seconds, a boost from the current 3 seconds.
Rumors of the 2019 iPhone using three cameras started in April 2018, though there wasn't much detail as to how the three-camera system would work. A report by Digit featured leaked renders acquired by Steve Hemmerstoffer. The renders show the three rear cameras on the 2019 iPhone in a large square camera bump.
Digit and Steve Hemmerstoffer
Leaked render of an iPhone with a rear three-camera system.
Steve Hemmerstoffer later released new renders of 2019 iPhone prototypes with a three-camera system. The renders, posted by CompareRaja, show the cameras centered in a horizontal orientation, instead of the vertical lineup in the corner.
CompareRaja and Steve Hemmerstoffer
New leaked renders show a horizontal rear three-camera system and a smaller front notch.
CompareRaja says that both sets of renders are "100% legit prototypes" and "nothing is set in stone yet."
Hemmerstoffer further claims that the rear cameras will be 10 megapixels and 14 megapixels, instead of the current dual 12-megapixel setup. Presumably they will still be one wide-angle and one zoom. Details of the third sensor are unknown—it may be a camera sensor of unknown resolution and zoom or a depth sensor. The front-facing camera will also be upgraded from 7 megapixels to 10.
Prolific (and often accurate) Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has published a new research note for investors in April, in which he makes a more detailed forecast about the upcoming iPhone cameras:
We forecast the camera upgrade will be one of the new 2H19 iPhone's major selling points. Critical spec upgrades are as follows. (1) Rear cameras of 6.5-inch OLED, 5.8-inch OLED, and 6.1-inch LCD will likely upgrade to triple-camera and dual-camera, respectively. A super-wide camera will be newly adopted by the triple-camera system, which is equipped with the 12MP/1um CIS provided exclusively by Sony. (2) The front camera of all three new iPhone models will likely upgrade to 12MP CIS+5P lens (vs. current 7MP CIS+4P lens).
So according to Kuo, OLED-sporting iPhones will get a third, super-wide 12 megapixel camera with sensor from Sony, and the iPhone XR equivalent will move to the two-camera system you find on the high-end iPhones today (with a telephoto lens).
The front cameras on iPhones are part of the TrueDepth module, and it looks like the main color RGB camera in that module is getting an upgrade from 7 megapixels with 4 lens elements to 12 megapixels with 5 lens elements.
Kuo further claims that the front camera and the new super-wide rear camera will be coated in a special black coating, which will help make the cameras harder to see and blend in with the rest of the phone.
In May, Mark Gurman tweeted an image of a trio of alleged case moldings that reinforces the square camera bump rumor. It shows even the XR replacement with a square camera bump, though it has two cameras instead of three.
A report from 9to5Mac in July claimed that the front camera on the new iPhones would support slo-mo video recording up to 120fps.
@markgurman
Plausible? If Apple's going to continue to compete in the smartphone camera quality arms race, it's going to need two things: An additional rear camera, and even more advanced computational photography. It feels like a triple-lens rear camera, at least on the higher-end models, is a given at this point. All that remains is to find out details about the camera placement and arrangement, specifics of sensors and optics, and advances in Apple's photography software.
A13 processor
A report from DigiTimes states that the 2019 iPhone will have a processor "dubbed the A13." It'll be a 7-nanometer CPU manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
A report from Bloomberg in May said that TSMC entered test production of the chip in April, and that full production was imminent. That's about the expected production schedule for a fall release of the completed iPhone.
[We have our own predictions about what we can expect from Apple's A13 chip. Read about that here.]
Plausible? DigiTimes reports aren't always reliable, but this one makes sense logically—Apple's new top-of-the-line phones usually have new processors. The current CPU in the iPhone XS is the A12 Bionic and it was the first 7nm processor, so the report that the A13 will also be 7nm seems legit.
iPhone XR may get dual-camera system
While Tim Cook himself has all but admitted the iPhone XR isn't selling nearly as well as he hoped it would, it seems like Apple isn't ready to give up on it just yet. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will be sticking with the three-model lineup in 2019, with the LCD iPhone XR once again anchoring the low end. The publication says an all-OLED family could be in store for 2020. However, there will be one notable improvement: the XR will reportedly be receiving a dual-camera setup to match the one in the iPhone XS, while the XS Max receives the new triple-camera array.
Plausible? Definitely. The iPhone XR is one of the best phones Apple has ever made, and it would be crazy to outright kill it after just one cycle. In addition to the extra camera, Apple likely has some other refinements, but the question we have is: How will Apple differentiate it between the XS? The camera setup was by far the biggest difference between the two models, so if Apple takes away that advantage, what benefit do buyers have to spend an extra $250 (or whatever it costs next year) on the XS?
Smaller notch
The notch on the iPhone screen not only serves a functional purpose, but it also gave the iPhone a look that was instantly recognizable (at least until other companies copied it). But if the rumors are accurate, don't expect the notch to be a longtime characteristic of the iPhone.
AMS, a sensor manufacturer, announced that it has created a new optical sensor that can "accurately measure the intensity of ambient light from behind an OLED screen." According to Reuters, Apple uses AMS optical sensors for 3D facial recognition in the iPhone, so it's not that far of a reach to think that Apple would want to use AMS's new TCS3701 Color and Proximity Sensor in the next iPhone. This could result in a much smaller notch, or perhaps no notch at all.
AMS rendering of how its new sensor can eliminate the notch on smartphones.
Plausible? Apple and AMS have an established relationship (Reuters says that Apple accounts for 45 percent of AMS's business), and rumors that Apple has been looking to shrink or eliminate the notch have been out for a while.
But the ambient light and proximity sensors are two of the smallest parts of the TrueDepth module that constitutes the iPhone's notch. Far larger are the traditional front camera, the infrared front camera, the speaker, and the infrared dot emitter. In order to make the notch noticeably smaller, Apple would need to combine or eliminate some of those elements. Given their current placement, simply moving the proximity sensor and ambient light sensor underneath the OLED display, as per this rumor, wouldn't do much at all.
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WEATHER ALERTFull List of Active Watches and Warnings
CLOSINGS ALERTSFull List of Active Closings
Experts Say To Monitor Accounts After Capital One Breach
By Garrett Bergquist Raleigh
PUBLISHED 5:18 PM ET Jul. 30, 2019 PUBLISHED 5:18 PM EDT Jul. 30, 2019
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Financial advisers and IT consultants on Tuesday said the key to catching issues stemming from compromised data is to catch it early.
Officials with Capital One said a data breach jeopardized the data of some 100 million customers
Experts say to spread out your accounts and sign up for credit monitoring services
Consumers say to use good sense when applying for and using credit cards
Capital One announced on Monday someone stole data from some 100 million customers, including 140,000 social security numbers and 80,000 bank account numbers. A suspect has been arrested in the case. Allison Berger, a certified financial planner based in Raleigh, said signing up for a credit monitoring service is a good idea for anyone, especially if they believe their information was compromised.
"Taking those actions just accomplishes making sure that you're on top of things and things aren't being done that you're not aware of," she said.
News of the breach generated little surprise on the streets of Raleigh. Stefanie Stephens said she has come to expect data breaches as technology and IT skills proliferate. Still, she said the situation is unfortunate, especially for new credit card holders. Anya Johnson said she trusts that companies that might face a data breach will do right by their customers.
To minimize the impact of any future data breaches, Berger said to spread out your finances among a number of different accounts. At a minimum, she said to have a savings account or a money market account that is not tied to your checking account. That way you have another source of money if someone gets your checking account number. Stephens and Johnson said they have a few tricks of their own to minimize fraud. Stephens said she tears up any credit card offers she gets in the mail while Johnson said she does not store her credit card number on any website she doesn't trust.


Iran Human RightsBritish MP Criticises Foreign Office for Not Working Hard...
British MP Criticises Foreign Office for Not Working Hard Enough to Obtain Release of Dual National Held Hostage in Iran
Iran Focus
London, 18 Jul – A British MP has criticised the Foreign Office over its reluctance to help the British-Iranian charity worker who has been held hostage in an Iranian jail for over a year.
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq revealed that there is effectively a two-tier system within the Foreign Office, which means that dual nationals like Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe are given less priority than solely British nationals like her three-year-old daughter Gabriella, who is also stuck in Iran after her passport was confiscated.
This is despite the fact that Iran doesn't allow its people to renounce their Iranian citizenship.
Siddiq, who is Zaghari-Ratcliffe's local MP, told the Guardian that her meeting with Tobias Ellwood before the general election had had an "ultra-defensive atmosphere" which she was shocked at. Ellwood has since moved to the Ministry of Defence.
Siddiq said: "I had the strong impression from the meeting that their priority was making sure they got Gabriella back to the UK, seeing as she is a full British citizen, rather than helping Nazanin. That would take the pressure off them, given Nazanin is a dual citizen."
The Foreign Office's guidance states the UK doesn't usually get involved in dealings between dual nationals and their country of origin. However, they do have the ability to get involved in the cases of vulnerable people or serious cases, but only if the other country agrees to it.
Ellwood said in September 2016: "The Iranian government does not recognise dual nationality and does not permit our consular staff to visit British-Iranian dual nationals detained there."
Siddiq said she was frustrated that the government had never openly called for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release or publicly declared her innocence.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, was accused of attempting to overthrow the Iranian Regime while on holiday with her daughter in April 2016; charges which have no evidence to back them up.
Siddiq said: "She is held on ridiculous charges of espionage that the government has not refuted despite numerous requests. I do think there is more than meets the eye behind the lack of action."
The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn said that the Foreign Office must be more willing to defend the rights of dual nationals abroad and she will lead a debate in Parliament on Tuesday and has drafted a 10-minute rule bill to give Foreign Office officials more powers in the cases of dual nationals.
She said: "Our law must change to ensure greater protection when dual nationals are detained. FCO staff care about Nazanin's plight, but they are hamstrung by an approach that isn't strong enough. The government must state that there should be no exception to taking clearly documented action on behalf of all UK nationals facing breaches of their human rights."
She expressed hope that this would receive backing from Conservative MPs
She said: "This isn't about me opposing the Conservative government, this is about taking constructive action to protect the rights of vulnerable people."
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in September 2016 and her conviction was upheld in April 2017.
Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has expressed great concern over her physical and mental health.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is one of many dual nationals who are imprisoned in Iran.
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English National Press Release
India participates in "Golden Door" – World' first International Writer' Awards for Truth and Integrity to be held in Singapore
Posted on February 20, 2020 Author Amit Kumar Comment(0)
The new decade 2020 is all set to welcome winners from across the globe for the 'Golden Door', World's first International Writer's Awards for truth and Integrity of digital content and printed literature. Symbolic as the 'Golden Door of Truth', this award aims to recognise non-fiction writers as agents of truth and integrity. First endorsed by Singapore Ambassador-at-large Professor Tommy Koh, the awards will be inaugurated in Singapore on Saturday 5th September 2020 at the iconic Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre. It will be attended by World leaders, Change-makers and Truth-tellers from more than 20 countries.
The management committee consist of the Founder of Golden Door, a veteran Technologist, Tahira Amir Sultan Khan, Chair of the Judging Panel and Singapore's Literary and Cultural Critic, Dr. Kirpal Singh and Human Advocate and CEO of Krescendo Communications, Ganesh Somwanshi. The Judging Panel comprise of a distinguished group of internationally acclaimed writers, speakers and academia from USA, India and Australia. Some level of the evaluation will be supported by AI for the integrity of content.
There are 3 categories : the Golden Door Non-Fiction Book Award, Golden Door Non-Fiction Essay Award (Blogs included) and Golden Door Poetry Award. There will also be 2 veterans who will receive the 'Golden Door Lifetime Achievement Award'. From change champions, bestselling authors, business leaders, UN ambassadors, human rights commissioners as well as prodigies, bloggers, renown film-makers, the hall will be filled with movers and shakers of great diversity either to witness or to contend for the awards.
Tahira Amir Khan, Founder, The Golden Door opined, "We have received a positive response
for the concept from across the World and I hope that the awards will create a cascading effect for truth tellers. This initiative aims to encourage writers of all kinds, be it book authors, bloggers and even vloggers to write honestly, and from there to transform these truth-inspired written works into real-world ventures. I chose Singapore to be the launchpad as it is one of the 'meeting points' for the world. The next phase I envision for Singapore is to be the world beacon for Truth. But more than that, to bring the 'Golden Door Awards' concept to every major city from the UK to India, and beyond."
Dr. Kirpal Singh, Chair of the Judging Panel added, "The golden truth has been pursued from time immemorial. From ancient Greece and Rome to ancient China and India, sage after sage has sought and shared his (mainly his though there is the occasional female voice as well) insight/vision of what may be labelled as GOLDEN TRUTH. The GOLDEN DOOR AWARDS cherish and honor the Truth-seekers and those whose own life journeys have taken them deep into reflecting on this profound theme/topic."
For free tickets do not forget to visit the website https://www.goldendoorawards.org.
Safety-O-Kid launches Unique Baby Safety Kits to ensure the safety of children at home
Posted on May 30, 2022 Author Amit Kumar
Gurugram (Haryana) [India], May 30: Safe-O-Kid, one of India's fastest-growing baby products brand focused 100% on bringing the safest products to market for children up to 12 years of age, has launched unique and highly researched BabySafetyKits to steer kids away from potential dangers at home. The Baby Safety Kits come in 4 variants: Essential, Standard, […]
StylebeeFashion – Miss & Mrs. Face of Asia Pageant Finalist Miss Preeti Rajput from Chandigarh
November 24: Stylebee India being a fashion house, a pageant organizer, and a digital fashion platform, it also is a platform for everyone to experience a journey of being a model and bring out the extraordinary from what is told to be ordinary by the world. Our Shows, Beauty Pageants, modelling platform, is not about […]
India to come up with its own Swadeshi Size chart – INDIA SIZE
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Schott's Vocab | A2/AD
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Schott's Vocab
A miscellany of modern words and phrases
A2/AD
December 20, 2010 2:00 pm December 20, 2010 2:00 pm
Initialism describing China's weapons: Anti Access and Area-Denial.
Writing for The Washington Times, Bill Gertz reported that assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, Wallace "Chip" Gregson recently revealed a new Pentagon term:
Anti-access and area-denial weapons are now called A2/AD arms and pose a major challenge to key U.S. strategic objectives for keeping stability in the Asia Pacific region, said Gen. Gregson, a retired Marine lieutenant general, during a speech Tuesday to the Progressive Policy Institute.
"These [weapons] are designed to deny access to the Western Pacific region or to deny the ability to operate within that vital area," he said. "A2/AD systems threaten our primary means of projecting power: our bases, our sea and air assets, and the networks that support them." …
The A2/AD weapons are not limited to a single weapon system or tactics but instead are "a series of overlapping capabilities across multiple domains," he said.
Just Post a Tweet, Pete
Daily Lexeme: Sampladelic
Schott's Vocab is a repository of unconsidered lexicographical trifles — some serious, others frivolous, some neologized, others newly newsworthy.
Each day, Schott's Vocab explores news sites around the world to find words and phrases that encapsulate the times in which we live or shed light on a story of note. If language is the archives of history, as Emerson believed, then Schott's Vocab is an attempt to index those archives on the fly.
Ben Schott is the author of "Schott's Original Miscellany," its two sequels, and the yearbook "Schott's Almanac." He is a contributing columnist to The Times's Op-Ed page. He lives in London and New York.
His Web site can be viewed at benschott.com, and his Opinion pieces here.
Select Month June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010
Such Sweet Sorrow
After two and a half years, thousands of posts and tens of thousands of comments, Schott's Vocab is closing its doors.Read more…
If at First You Don't Succeed Skydiving Is Not for You…
This weekend, co-vocabularists have generously shared their jokes.Read more…
Daily Lexeme: Limmer
A rogue, scoundrel. A light woman; a strumpet.Read more…
Weekend Competition: Bring the Funny
It's been a tough week; tell us a joke…Read more…
Chalaque
The British police code name for President Obama's state visit to the United Kingdom.Read more…
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California Notice


SB1300: Inmates; Board of Local and Regional Jails to review services provided during pregnancy, etc.
SB1300ER
VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER An Act to direct the Board of Local and Regional Jails to review services provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery; report. [S 1300] Approved
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Board of Local and Regional Jails (the Board) shall conduct a review of services provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery. In conducting such review, the Board shall (i) identify and analyze all obstetric and gynecological services and any other services provided by local and regional jails to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery; (ii) compare such services to best practices recommended by the American Correctional Association, American Jail Association, National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and (iii) develop recommendations to ensure that proper services are provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery.
§ 2. In the course of such review, the Board shall convene and consult with a stakeholder work group composed of the following members: representatives of the Indigent Defense Commission, Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Sheriffs' Association, and Virginia Association of Regional Jails; at least one physician and one mental health professional who provides care to inmates; at least one obstetrician, one birth advocate, and one reproductive rights advocate; at least two former inmates who were pregnant or gave birth while incarcerated in a local or regional jail; and other interested stakeholders. No more than half of the work group members shall be employees of or under contract with a local or regional jail.
The Board shall also, as necessary, consult with other relevant stakeholders and experts, including the Department of the Treasury's Division of Risk Management.
§ 3. Any records or information obtained from current or former inmates during such review shall be used only for purposes of conducting the review required by this act and shall be confidential and exempt from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). No report or other document generated by the Board or the work group during the review shall contain identifying information specific to any current or former inmate, local or regional jail, or prior case or complaint.
§ 4. The Board shall report its findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, House Committee for Courts of Justice, and House Committee on Public Safety by July 1, 2022. The Board shall post such report on its website.
§ 5. The Board shall adopt regulations consistent with its findings and recommendations.
SENATE BILL NO. 1300 Offered January 13, 2021 Prefiled January 11, 2021 A BILL to direct the Board of Local and Regional Jails to review services provided to inmates during pregnancy, pregnancy termination, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery; report.
Patrons-- Favola, Boysko, Ebbin, Hashmi and McClellan; Delegates: Hope, Keam and Kory
Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services
For a plain English description of this bill, comments, voting, tagging, etc., return to the main page for SB1300.
This is the actual text of the bill—the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books, but sometimes it's proposing an entirely new law.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they'll take you to that section of the Code of Virginia.


Home > Posts tagged "NHL 18"
Tag: NHL 18
NHL Threes Looks Like Fun
by Russ_Cohen - August 2, 2017 August 2, 2017 0
NHL 18 today released the new NHL THREES trailer (see below) with an in-depth look at the new, arcade-inspired NHL THREES game mode. Alongside the new trailer, EA SPORTS announced that the NHL 18 beta, featuring three playable modes, including NHL THREES, EA SPORTS Hockey League and Online Vs., is now open for all players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4
NHL 18 Teaser Trailer
by Russ_Cohen - June 15, 2017 0
NHL 18 released a teaser featuring one of the young gunners that's keeping the league fresh, as well as a fast and fun sneak-peek at what's to come in the next iteration of EA SPORTS NHL. Watch it here: https://www.easports.com/nhl Full reveal to come at the 2017 NHL Awards.


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Right to work checks - Update
On 6 August, the government announced a temporary protection for those EU, EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK who missed the 30 June 2021 deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme but who make their application on or after 1 July 2021. A successful application is required to continue to work, live and study in the UK.
Applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme from 1 July 2021
Those who apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from 1st July 2021, and their joining family members, will continue to have their rights protected, including their right to work in the UK, while their application is being determined. This means they will be able to accept new employment while they await the outcome of their application.
Where a prospective employee has a Certificate of Application (CoA) confirming a valid application to the EU Settlement Scheme made on or after 1 July, employers should verify this with the Home Office Employer Checking Service (ECS) in accordance with the current home office guidance, available here. Updated guidance is expected in due course.
For further information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/right-to-work-checks-employing-eu-eea-and-swiss-citizens
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SportsColumnistsBob Glauber
By Bob Glauber @BobGlauber
Leonard Williams showing why Giants traded for him; now, will he be here for long haul?
Giants defensive end Leonard Williams against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 14. Credit: AP/Evan Pinkus
Updated November 26, 2020 10:21 PM
In the end, the Jets still might win the Leonard Williams trade from last year, especially if promising rookie safety Ashtyn Davis becomes as impactful a player as the one he replaced, Jamal Adams. But say this much for the deal that initially looked entirely lopsided: Williams is justifying the belief Giants general manager Dave Gettleman had in him.
Williams has been one of the most effective players on a defense that has been better than expected. And while we'd never pronounce this group on a level with the '85 Bears, it has been good enough to keep the Giants competitive through nearly every game and a big reason they stand a fighting chance to win the NFC East title.
After being taken with the sixth overall pick in 2015, Williams was a major disappointment through most of his career with the Jets. Billed as a dominant defensive lineman who could disrupt games with his unique skill set as a quality pass rusher and run stopper, he simply never panned out.
In 71 games with the Jets, he had only 17 sacks, but he has blossomed in his first full season under Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. In 10 games, he has five sacks and seven tackles for loss, putting him on a pace for career highs.
Williams seems to have benefited from a switch to playing mostly tackle in the Giants' 4-3 scheme; he was a defensive end in the Jets' 3-4 alignment. But he also has been helped by quality play in the defensive backfield, which makes life easier for any pass rusher.
"Sometimes a lot of stuff plays a part," Williams said. "We have a good secondary that can help the quarterback hold the ball for that split-second longer when we have corners plastering their guys."
Graham also has used Williams in a variety of different ways, which makes him less predictable than he was with the Jets. The intricacies of Graham's blitzes also have been a factor.
"We have a lot of different blitzes that help out," Williams said. "We're moving around. I'm playing three technique, I'm playing five technique, I'm playing outside, moving all around. I think a lot of that stuff goes into it. [Defensive line coach Sean Spencer] and Coach Pat have been doing a good job coaching."
The Giants have even had Williams play from a standing position — something he'd never done with the Jets — although he much prefers playing with his hand in the dirt, as players like to call a three-point stance.
"I don't prefer to stand up," he said. "I think it just depends on what type of look I'm getting from the offense. It's just situational football."
Graham has emphasized a better first step with Williams, and it's paying off in a big way.
"The biggest thing for Leo was let's hit it quick, man, let's go, get to the quarterback," Graham said. "Just do that."
Even when he wasn't putting up solid sack numbers with the Jets, Todd Bowles and Gregg Williams routinely praised his effort and consistency. The same goes for Joe Judge, who is getting the benefit of increased production from the 26-year-old.
"I think this guy has done a really good job with everything we've asked him to do," Judge said. "He's playing good, fundamental technique and good, sound execution within the schemes. He's using his hands very well to get off blocks, he plays with a high motor. He's really using his pass rush moves and his counters off it to get him to the ball."
Now comes the hard part — the part that will go a long way toward determining whether the trade was worth it.
Gettleman couldn't work out a long-term deal with Williams, so he used the franchise tag in 2020, valued at $16.1 million. Williams will be a free agent next year, so if the Giants lose him to another team, they'll have only 1 ½ seasons to show for a deal in which they gave up the third-rounder this year and a fifth-rounder in 2021. And i
f Williams' production keeps improving, the price tag will only go higher.
But first things first. Williams can help his team — and himself — with more good play down the stretch.
"This is definitely the time where you have to play some of your best football," he said.
He's right about that. And if he continues to play at this level, he'll create the kind of problem the Giants don't mind addressing. One they won't mind paying for to make the trade worth it.
Bob Glauber has covered the NFL since 1985 and has been Newsday's NFL columnist since 1992. Twice selected as the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association, he is president of the Pro Football Writers of America and author of "Guts and Genius."
Red Bulls trade LI's Parker to Houston


Posts Tagged 'built the White Tower of London'
Our "Relations" with the Tower of London.
Posted in The White Tower of London, tagged built the White Tower of London, William the Conqueror on May 23, 2011| 2 Comments »
Micki Suzanne LeCronier (C)
On my last trip to the library, I checked out "Life in a Medieval Castle" by Joseph & Frances Gies. I expected details on things I'd heard – like the contents of privies at upper levels of castles were emptied into the moats below; or that the ladies kept lap dogs to help keep them warm as cold radiated off the stone walls and floors.
Imagine my delight to have the book hit the ground running with our ancestor William the Conqueror's attack on England. After the Battle of Hastings, he didn't target London – he worked his way around by ravaging the countryside. Unlike Normandy, England didn't have essential fortresses and castles. The English had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
By the time he reached London, city leaders were ready to give it up.
Once he had his throne, he needed to rule with an iron fist. Early in his "career" – at around 19 years of age – William had achieved something that had never been done; he centralized control of castles in Normandy.
Well, he didn't have fortresses in England. That had to change.
Between 1066 and 1068, William launched a campaign of territorial acquisition that involved building 78 castles – including the Tower of London. He put Gundulf, his new Bishop of Rochester in charge of building the White Tower of London. Norman masons were employed, some of the stone was imported from Normandy and it took 20 years to build. The medieval fortress was a marvel of its time, with walls 90' tall and 15' deep.
Down the line, the White Tower would receive needed upgrades from other royal ancestors.
William's son, King Henry Beauclerc was unusual in that he was happily married to his beloved Scottish Queen Matilda. During his long absences she dedicated herself to the completion of the royal apartments in the tower.
King John Plantagenet sometimes stayed there and is believed to have introduced exotic animals, especially lions. (The Plantagenet coat of arms was three lions.)
Henry III added two waterfront towers and spent time there. In 1283, he was forced to retreat to the Tower and noticed – with alarm – that it was not as secure as it should have been. He built massive curtain walls on three sides, added nine towers and surrounded it all with a moat 150' wide and 10' deep.
Edward Longshanks, King of England, Hammer of the Scots, built tower lodgings that included two beautiful rooms – a great hall and a private chamber with a real lavatory – the only one in the tower.
Edward II was more queen than king; his people weren't upset because he was gay, they hated that he granted extravagant royal favors to his lover. He wound up spending a lot of time hiding in the tower.
His son Edward III kicked butt; he imprisoned the kings of Scotland and France in the tower, giving them accommodations and amenities suitable to their rank.
That which keeps people out can also keep people in. Several of our Tudor era WYATT ancestors would be imprisoned there. Sir Thomas Wyatt the Poet was sent there twice and made it out alive.
His friend – lover? – his wife's second cousin had a big history with the Tower. Anne Boleyn had her spectacular coronation at the Tower's Great Hall; she was later imprisoned and beheaded there.
The poet's son, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, was equally unfortunate. After the death of Henry VIII's son, Lady Jane Grey was hastily put on the throne. She ruled for less than two weeks before being overthrown by Mary. Young Sir Tom had been part of the movement to put Jane on the throne, but he managed to convince Queen Mary of his loyalty.
Lady Jane was spared for a while. She had two things in her favor. She was Mary's cousin and Mary realized she had been a powerless victim. Mary treated Jane with kindness. Jane was given decent lodging at the tower and allowed to roam the queen's gardens. Mary even gave her a generous allowance. All was well for a time.
Young Thomas and his Protestant friends watched the queen passively until Mary made it clear she intended to marry Felipe of Spain – described on a Wyatt family site as "that other gloomy bigot."
Young Tom despised Spanish influence. He accepted an invitation by Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, to rise up against Mary. Thomas held a meeting at Allington and managed to raise 4,000 men. They marched on London in late January, 1554, but the English people rose in support of Henry's oldest daughter. The rebellion failed and Thomas was imprisoned in the Tower. They tortured him hoping he would give up the goods on Mary's half-sister Elizabeth.
Wyatt's Rebellion caused serious repercussions. Mary knew Jane was innocent, but a queen's gotta do what a queen's gotta do. She needed to make examples of Lady Jane and her husband Guilford Dudley.
On February 12, 1554, Lady Jane's husband was taken from the tower and beheaded in public at Tower Hill. Jane watched in tears as Guilford passed below her window to the tower. That same day Mary had Jane taken to The Tower Green, within the Tower.
This account of her execution – and the photo I used for this blog – is from Wikipedia: "The executioner asked her forgiveness, and she gave it. She pleaded the axeman, 'I pray you dispatch me quickly'. Referring to her head, she asked, 'Will you take it off before I lay me down?' and the axeman answered, 'No, madam'. She then blindfolded herself. Jane had resolved to go to her death with dignity, but once blindfolded, failing to find the block with her hands, began to panic and cried, 'What shall I do? Where is it?' An unknown hand, possibly Feckenham's, then helped her find her way and retain her dignity at the end. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted by Luke: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!"
Mary condemned our ancestor, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, to a traitor's death on April 11, 1554. He used his scaffold speech to exonerate Elizabeth and some say he may have saved her life. In the face of a violent death he said:
"And whereas it is said and whistled abroad that I should accuse my lady Elizabeth's grace and my lord Courtenay; it is not so, good people. For I assure you neither they nor any other now in yonder hold or durance was privy of my rising or commotion before I began. As I have declared no less to the queen's council. And this is most true."
Wyatt's head was severed, his body was quartered and his bowels and genitals burned. His head and body quarters were parboiled and nailed up. His head was placed on a post – and later stolen.
Mary didn't stop at that. She confiscated his estates and titles, causing severe hardships for his widow and children.
Bloody Mary installed Elizabeth in the Tower.
In the years to come, a grateful Queen Elizabeth would not forget Wyatt's loyalty.
OK, NOW HERE'S THE COOL PART.
I thought to myself our history is tied to that tower, so I went on Netflix just poking around to see what they had. (Subscriptions run around $10/month and you have access to many productions that are available for immediate viewing online.)
I have truly enjoyed "The Tower", a U.K. production.
The sections are not very well named, just be patient with it. It talks about MANY of the things I mention here – I put them in italics so you could decide if they might be worth your time.
This British production even goes into the exact location where our relative Anne Boleyn was actually beheaded; apparently the plaques aren't to be trusted.
There is too much to describe in detail. Just enjoy.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Tower/70067615?trkid=2431210