Thomas Edison’s first wife, Mary Stilwell, died of “congestion of the brain”. That’s a phrase that shouldn’t have gone out of style.
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Detroit Post and Tribune (1882): The First Electric Christmas Tree Lights
A former girlfriend told me that Martin Luther invented decorating Christmas trees. She was a good Luthern, but I was skeptical. She also told me that Martin Luther invented bowling. Who’s to say?
That wasn’t the flex that she intended, because putting tiny candles on dry pine trees, inside the house, has a Russian roulette feel to it.
The First Electric Christmas Tree Lights
from the Detroit Post and Tribune (1882)
Johnson’s glowing Christmas tree was visible through his home’s windows, and caused a stream of people to pass by his house, intrigued by this new use of electricity.
[It was described in an article by William Augustus Croffut, a Michigan newspaper reporter.]
“Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree, presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect. It was brilliantly lighted with many colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six times a minute on a little pine box. There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and about equally divided between white, red and blue. As the tree turned, the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white and blue, all evening.
I need not tell you that the scintillating evergreen was a pretty sight – one can hardly imagine anything prettier. The ceiling was crossed obliquely with two wires on which hung 28 more of the tiny lights; and all the lights and the fantastic tree itself with its starry fruit were kept going by the slight electric current brought from the main office on a filmy wire. The tree was kept revolving by a little hidden crank below the floor which was turned by electricity. It was a superb exhibition.”
Sparky is sleeping like a little baby Jesus.
For Christmas Eve, we went down to Aunt Joanne’s Fun House. Poor fella, he didn’t get to goof around very much. Sparky spent the whole time working the crowd.
This year’s meme is, “It’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls off Nakatomi Plaza”, so no need to rehash why Die Hard is a great Christmas movie. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a Christmas movie that gets overlooked.
Winter can be bleak and dreary, especially when the snow is old and the sky is overcast. Nature is shades of gray. That can bring a fella down.
It doesn’t bring me down, I’ve got a beagle, but as part of my Continuous Improvement Plan, I added automatic color.
I watched Train Dreams last night, and don’t want to describe it because I’m likely to mess it up.
Guardian: Revealed: how big businesses are rolling back public support for Pride
The Guardian analyzed the number of times that ‘Pride’ was mentioned in a social media post by major American and UK companies. The results are hard to believe.
Sparky is very conscientious, but when we are blanketed with snow, he practices festival pooping. When the snow melts, it’s a mine field. The snow is gone, but it’s 22o and sunny. Cleaning up his debris is as easy as picking up golf balls at a driving range.
Sparky is baffled by my actions. To him, every frozen turd is a friend he hasn’t met yet.
Epstein files are being released. Bill Clinton is in several photos. In this photo, he is described as being nearly naked.
Not fair. Clinton is in a hot tub and wearing trunks. Even if the redacted person is a precocious teenager, he isn’t doing anything. If this is as incriminating as his photos get, then he was remarkably restrained.