Happy Labor Day!

On September 5, 1882, the Knights of Labor organized the first parade honoring New York’s workers. Two years later, they voted to make it an annual event. Over the next ten years some thirty states across the US followed New York’s lead and declared a day to honor laborers with parades, fairs, barbecues and picnics. In 1894, an act of Congress finally declared the first Monday of September to be a federal holiday — Labor Day — dedicated to America’s work force. Halfway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, Labor Day signals an end to summer and the beginning of the new school year. In 1907, labor leader and UAW chief Walter Reuther was born. Happy Labor Day!

How do you stop a monopoly?

In a competitive environment, monopoly CANNOT be stopped. It is the process of competition by which the driving force of the market sector breathes. One may enter the monopoly of a given sector to compete in monopoly, but in order to stop monopolistic competition or halt it to a substantial degree one must declare itself in pure monopoly. This may only occur when all other companies have exited the market due to the extreme barriers to entry, such as a lack of profit making for any company besides the company in pure monopoly.

Space-time continuum

Single entity that relates space and time in a four-dimensional structure, postulated by Albert Einstein in his theories of relativity. In the Newtonian universe it was supposed that there was no connection between space and time. Space was thought to be a flat, three-dimensional arrangement of all possible point locations, which could be expressed by Cartesian coordinates; time was viewed as an independent one-dimensional concept. Einstein showed that a complete description of relative motion requires equations that include time as well as the three spatial dimensions.

Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin with his
‘The Creation of Man’
Being repeatedly rejected by the school of your dreams needn’t always be a setback. Auguste Rodin made three unsuccessful attempts to get into École des Beaux-Arts, continuing to work on his craft in spite of the rebuffs. His first major work, the Age of Bronze, was both hailed and condemned for its authenticity. The bronze statue of a man raising his arms toward his head was so lifelike that many of Rodin’s critics accused him of casting a mold of the model. Eventually, Rodin’s work drew great acclaim, and he was commissioned to create the door for a proposed Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Called the Gates of Hell, some of Rodin’s most famous pieces — e.g., The Thinker and The Kiss — were created for it. Auguste Rodin was born on November 12 th of 1840.

Randy Newman

Talk about making the most out of a bad thing… Randy Newman had the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (16), when he finally took home his first statuette in 2002 for the song, “If I Didn’t Have You,” from Monsters, Inc. So, how did he thank the members of the Academy? He said, “I want to thank first of all the music branch for giving me so many chances to be humiliated over the years.” (That record has been broken, by the way, by sound re-recording mixer Kevin O’Connell, who has 20 Academy Award nominations and no wins).

What is the value of a Joe DiMaggio autographed baseball dated 1937?

A Joe DiMaggio single-signed baseball is worth between $400.-$600. Value is based on average prices of recently closed auctions. Prices may vary based on condition, and the type of authenticity that accompanies the baseball. Signatures that have not been properly authenticated could sell at half the market value or less. Add for inscriptions.

What is the Irish legend of the pumpkin?

The “Jack-O-Lantern” comes from an Irish legend. A mean old drunk named “Stingy Jack” loved to play tricks on everyone. He even tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and then proceded to cover the truck with crosses, so the devil could not climb back down. He made the Devil promise that he wouldn’t take his soul when he died.

When Jack finally did die, he went to the pearly gates, and was, of course, denied admittance.

Bill Russell is one of the great names in basketball

“Bill Russell is one of the great names in basketball, an all-American… the only athlete to ever win an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a professional championship all in the same year—1956…But Bill Russell had this one problem: He threw up before every game.” ~ Dr. John Eliot from Overachievement