Month: March 2024

We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, Music, People, Politics

There have been numerous terrible ideas throughout the history of our planet, and unfortunately, many of them have originated from this account. Despite this, we will carry on the tradition and introduce the latest addition to the family of bad ideas, which is Some Geek Told Me.

Last month, I ranted on about my love for We Didn’t Start the Fire, by Billy Joel. In that hot mess of literary foolishness, I explained that I was going to cover all of the historical references in the song; or at least try to, but also relate them to contemporary time. I’ll do this by producing one blog per month. Maybe.

The aim is to cover the 119 references from 1948-1989, so how long will this take me? You tell me and we’ll both know. The lyrics will be in bold and italics because we’re really fancy on this account!

Right, I’m not here to shag spiders, so without too much fanfare, let’s crack on and do this!

Credit: CBS

1948

Harry Truman:

Harry S. Truman was the Vice-President of the United States of America from January-April 1945, then became President after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman is a divisive figure in US and world history, much like Elon Musk or George W. Bush.

On one hand, he helped steer the United States through to the end of the Second World War; authorised the Berlin Airlift; recognised the State of Israel; won re-election in 1948; and promoted civil rights. On the other hand, Truman deployed troops into the Korean War and authorised the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In saying that, George W. Bush would be the modern version of Truman.

Portrait of Harry S. Truman.
Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Doris Day:

Born Doris Mary Kappelhoff, Doris Day was a major entertainment star in the United States. She was already a successful singer before she turned to acting. Over the years, she became a huge attraction to the television and movie industry.

Billy Joel mentioned her in the song, became her first feature film, Romance on the High Seas, was released in 1948. If you’re still unsure about her impact on pop culture, just think of Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, or Rihanna.

Doris Day in Romance on the High Seas (1948). Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

1949

Red China:

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War came to a close after causing the deaths of millions of people. Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, succeeded in defeating the government led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang. As a result, the People’s Republic of China was established.

The Kuomintang, also known as Nationalists, fled mainland China to Taiwan, where they settled and took control. The geo-politics of 2024 concerning China and Taiwan, have their origins in the end of the Chinese Civil War.

The Chinese Civil War, 1949.
(Source: diverse-travel.com)

Johnnie Ray:

Johnnie Ray, a singer, songwriter, and pianist, was born in Oregon, USA. He was widely recognised as the Father of Rock and Roll due to his significant contributions to the genre. During the late 1940s and 1950s, he was one of the most famous singers in the world.

His music and dance moves reinvented the method singers could perform, and paved the way for others to follow him; notably Elvis Presley. When Ray signed to Okeh Records, music was going to be changed forever. For contemporary equivalents, the best people I can think of would be Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Credit: Johnnieray.com

South Pacific:

Not only is it the name of my location, but South Pacific was a Broadway musical, that opened in 1949. The musical was based on the World War Two book, Tales of the South Pacific, and the musical also inspired the 1958 film.

South Pacific is famous; at least to me, for mainly two reasons. The Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein production became one of the best musicals of all time since it was extremely financially and critically successful.

The other reason was that the musical was progressive for its time, as it tackled racism and prejudice. This was important because the United States was still in its segregation phase. If South Pacific opened in 2024, and not in 1949, you can bet your Black Lives Matter flag, that the musical would be labelled as woke. Very, very woke.

Original poster of South Pacific Credit: Majestic Theatre

Walter Winchell:

We’re going back to another US icon in the form of Walter Winchell. Winchell was primarily a radio news commentator and newspaper columnist, through the 1930’s-1950’s. His notoriety is that he had outspoken views on a variety of subjects, which included attacking the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan; as well as denouncing communism.

This led Winchell to join the “McCarthyism” movement, in spreading misinformation about the Second Red Scare, supporting the idea that communists had infiltrated the US Government; in addition to destroying people’s careers and reputations.

If you’re having trouble understanding what I’m talking about with Winchell, just picture Alex Jones from InfoWars and you’re there.

Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc

Joe DiMaggio:

Born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio was a famous US baseball player. He held multiple batting records and mainly played for the New York Yankees, during the 1940s-1950s. In the world of team sports, DiMaggio would have been Michael Jordan or Lionel Messi. DiMaggio was a star and hero to millions of people.

In 1949, DiMaggio signed a contract with the Yankees worth $100,000. This was a record-breaking contract for a professional sportsman at the time and helped to usher in a new wave of extremely well-paid players.

Credit: Associated Press archives

And with that, we have covered 1948-1949, in the form of a US President, a singer/actor, a civil war, another singer, a musical, a gossip columnist, and a baseball player.

My We Didn’t Start the Fire project is going to take some time, but we’ll get there. Eventually.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat a raw lemon, and I’ll see you next week, because we’re going to check in with my wife and her television shows. It’s going to be riveting.

100 Days of Chaos

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Politics

Allow me to take a momentary pause from my typical geek-related content to discuss the current status of the Coalition of Chaos in New Zealand. It has been well over 100 days since the ex-Air New Zealand CEO was elected to lead the country by 38.08% of the voting population. Furthermore, 8.64% of voters supported a party that believes National is not hardcore enough, while 6.08% voted for a party that’s notorious for its frequent changes in allegiances.

To my non-New Zealand followers and subscribers, this blog may be awkward and unrelatable, so I’m very sorry. Please give it a chance, because you probably know of similar politicians in your country.

As for my New Zealand followers and subscribers, I’m a box of birds, and we’re going to have a chin wag about some ginormous eggs.

After the 2023 New Zealand General Election, the parties of National, ACT, and NZ First formed an alliance, centred on a conservative coalition. They go by many names, like the Government, Lupesey, The Three-Headed Taniwha, the enemy of Maori, and my favourite, the Coalition of Chaos.

It’s been over 100 days since the Coalition of Chaos took the steering wheel of the 52nd-largest national economy in the world. In that time, they have been quite busy, because they have been dropping some brain-melting quotes.

In honour of the first 100 days of the Coalition of Chaos, may I present some awful quotes, from their finest members.

Credit: Newshub

The Honourable Chris Bishop MP: Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Housing.

10th March 2024

When asked by a reporter about the government and Bishop’s accountability towards environmental damage in New Zealand because of new fast-tracked energy projects legislation, Bishop replied:

“Ultimately, the public will be able to judge the performance of the Government in late 2026.”

{Bishop means that the next New Zealand General Election is in late 2026, so that’s when the Government can face accountability, but not before that time}

In the same interview, when asked on whether fast-tracked consents incentivised lobbying, Bishop said:

“But you know, lobbying is not illegal and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

{Bishop is a former tobacco lobbyist for Phillip Morris, now known as Altria. This tobacco company is one of world’s largest producers and promoters of cigarettes, tobacco, and related products}

The Honourable David Seymour MP: Leader of ACT New Zealand Party, Minister for Regulation, Associate Minister of Education, Associate Minister of Finance, and Associate Minister of Health.

9th March 2024

Seymour made a post on X concerning the Hurricanes Poua rugby team’s haka, that criticised the government.

“More time practicing, less time on politics.”

{Seymour is a free speech advocate and opposes hate speech laws}

The Right Honourable Winston Peters MP: Leader of New Zealand First Party, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Racing.

24th November 2023

At the press conference discussing the coalition agreement, Peters was pressed by reporters about the length of time it took for negotiations to happen. Peters responded by saying:

“Please don’t be mathematical morons…”

{Peters had a fragile relationship with the New Zealand Media}

17th March 2024

During his State of the Nation speech, Peters talked about co-governance.

“Some people’s DNA made them, sadly, according to these people and condoned by their cultural fellow travellers, their DNA made them somehow better than others. I’ve seen that sort of philosophy before. I saw it in Nazi Germany. We all did. We’ve seen it elsewhere around the world in the horrors of history.”

{Peters was born in April 1945, so he was still a baby when the Second World War was being fought. Also his comparison of Nazi Germany to co-governance in New Zealand has been criticised by Holocaust survivors}

The Right Honourable Christopher Luxon MP: Leader of the National Party, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Minister for National Security and Intelligence.

18th December 2023

When speaking to reporters about scrapping the bonuses civil servants were receiving for being fluent in Te Reo Maori, Luxon said:

“In the real world outside of Wellington and outside the bubble of MPs, people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves.”

{The irony is that Luxon used taxpayers money to pay for his Te Reo lessons. Luxon is the second wealthiest person to become Prime Minister of New Zealand, valued at over $21 million}

18th February 2024

During his State of the Nation speech, Luxon said:

“A justice system which had a deliberate strategy to empty New Zealand’s prisons, even as violent crime soared.

{Luxon was implying that Labour had a policy of releasing all of the prisoners in New Zealand. This was not true}

20th February 2024

On X, Luxon said:

“The days of taxpayers being treated like a bottomless ATM are over.“

{Just over a week later, Luxon was at the centre of the accommodation supplement scandal, where he was claiming the supplement of $1,000 per week, to live in his mortgage free apartment in Wellington}

I can’t forget to include Luxon’s 1st March interview about his accommodation supplement, where he repeated several times: “I’m entitled.”

I do realise Simeon Brown, Nicola Willis, and Brooke van Velden have said some awful quotes as well, but they are light-weights compared to Bishop, Seymour, Peters, and Luxon.

So, let’s look forward to the next 100 days of chaos, though my Spider-Sense is telling me that we need to buckle up because they’re probably going to be worse.

Did I miss any cringe-worthy or clueless quotes from the Coalition of Chaos? As always, please let me know. That’s it for another week because I’m off to watch Last Week Tonight for my weekly 30-minute lecture.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; read a banned book; and praise Putin, since he won six more years. What a shock. I’ll see you next week because we’re going to revisit We Didn’t Start the Fire. Good times.

Where would we be without Akira Toriyama?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, People, Television

I had a completely different blog lined up for this week, but after the media announcement on Friday, I changed my mind and wrote this instead. Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga creator, died on 1st March from an acute subdural hematoma, aged 68 years old.

Toriyama had created and worked on many different projects and video games over the years, like Dr. Slump, the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. However, his most famous creation was Dragon Ball, which showcased his talents to Japan and the world.

 So what’s the point of this blog?

I’m crying about the death of a man I had never met.

Akira Toriyama. Credit: Dragon Ball Wiki

It won’t come as a shock, but I’m a fan of Dragon Ball because I’m a fan of Toriyama’s work. His art was outrageous, explosive, and detailed, whether it was manga or anime. It was unreal. I mentioned this before, but I loved the way he drew ears, for some strange reason. You could see a character and judging by their ears, you could tell whether they belonged to Toriyama or not.

As for his vehicles, they were so well designed, that you could see yourself driving one of them, whether they travelled by air, land, or sea. They were so good!

The plots were just as fantastic. People will talk about his art, but Toriyama was an amazing storyteller. His characters went on huge quests, and fought powerful foes, but also went through massive personal growth, so his characters were always evolving.

I’m sad about his passing for many reasons. Even not personally, Toriyama introduced me to manga, anime, and other parts of Japanese culture. For a geek living in New Zealand, his characters and art were extraordinary. My love of manga and anime can be traced back to him.

It’s been astonishing to see the outpouring of tributes to Toriyama from fans around the world. He was beloved by so many people. It made me think of all of the hundreds of artists, writers, singers, actors, directors, scientists, athletes, and anybody else, whose work has indirectly shaped our lives. They’re in the background of our subconscious.

It’s not until one of them dies, that you reflect and realise how influential they were to you and your life. That’s how I feel about Toriyama. His influence on pop culture has changed the world; the word Saiyan, is now part of the world’s lexicon, regardless of language or culture.

I read how many different manga and anime creators have come out and cited Toriyama as their source of inspiration. I find this amazing because even Toriyama was inspired to pursue a career in illustration. I find the creation and history of entertainment, similar to the history of science, where all creators are standing on the shoulders of giants. And make no mistake, Toriyama was a giant.

Imagine if Toriyama was never inspired to draw and create? It’s in the realms of possibility that maybe someone down the road would have drawn characters with energy beams, have awesome names for attack styles, teleportation, explosive fights, cities being destroyed, and badass vehicles.

But where would we be without Toriyama and powering/levelling-up sequences? Think about it. We would be lost in the abyss. For me, the powering/levelling-up sequences in Dragon Ball represented the brilliance and glorious scope of Toriyama’s skills.

I don’t know what Toriyama’s legacy will be for the world, but I feel it will be eternal. As for me, the biggest praise I can give Toriyama is that when UMC1 and UMC2 are ready, I’ll be showing them Dragon Ball. I can’t wait to sit down with them both, and let them experience the crazy and beautiful nature of Toriyama’s work; along with practising their own Kamehameha waves.

Like I said before, I can never thank Toriyama enough for his work, so all I can do is let the next generation live it and breathe it. Right, I need to control my crying, so that’s it for this week. What’s your favourite art drawn by Akira Toriyama? Please let me know. 

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; go read some manga, and I’ll see you next week because we’re going to check in on the Coalition of Chaos.

Tour of the Solar System: The Galilean moons

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, Science

Welcome back to the most basic and cost-effective Tour of the Solar System you will ever see! It’s cheap and nasty, but it won’t make you visit the doctor. We’ve been on this tour for over a year now, so if you’re just joining us, here are the previous stops:

1.) Meet the Family

2.) The Sun

3.) Planets vs. Dwarf planets

4.) Mercury

5.) Venus

6.) Earth

7.) The Moon

8.) Mars

9.) The Asteroid Belt

10.) Ceres

11.) Jupiter

Because you’re observant, you would have noticed the title of this blog, but let’s clear some things up first. The Galilean moons are not a cosmic STI, nor are they a new punk band from Berlin.

Jupiter has 95 officially recognised moons, but for this work of literary incompetency, I’m only going to be discussing four of them; Io, Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, the Galilean moons. If you remember from our last tour stop, I briefly mentioned them; and for me, briefly means five paragraphs. They’re gorgeous too!

Jupiter’s four largest satellites, the Galilean moons, are named after consorts of the Roman god Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Credit: NASA/JPL/DLR

Let’s step into our TARDIS of the mind, and travel back through time to Italy, around late 1609 and early 1610. Telescopes were a new invention, and a certain jack of all trades named Galileo Galilei decided to make his own version.

Not long after this, Galileo used his telescope to peer into the void and reveal things behind the curtain. He made some stunning discoveries and observed things like the Moon’s craters and mountains, the phases of Venus, sunspots, Saturn, and stars within the Milky Way. These discoveries have helped move humanity forward, in our understanding of space and our place in it.

However, Galileo’s biggest contribution to astronomy was the revelation that Jupiter had moons. That doesn’t sound like much, but I promise you, it was a colossal discovery. At the time, one of the main models explaining the nature of the universe was the Geocentric model; also known as the Ptolemaic world system.

Basically, this model suggested that the Earth was at the centre of the universe, and everything including the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets, would be orbiting the Earth. Sounds reasonable, right?

That all changed when Galileo observed something strange, using his new telescope. He noticed what he believed to be some fixed stars near Jupiter, but after weeks of detailed observations, Galileo concluded that these fixed stars were not fixed stars at all, because they were orbiting Jupiter.

Galileo had discovered moons orbiting a planet, just like the Earth and the Moon. This revelation supported the recent Copernican heliocentrism model, explaining that the Sun was at the centre of the universe, and planets like Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and even Earth, revolved around it. The Galilean moons were also confirmed and discovered by Simon Marius, a German astronomer, around the same time.

In 17th-century Europe, this was a major scandal, and even heresy to support such an idea. But as you know, the Copernican heliocentrism model was proven correct. The Sun does not orbit the Earth; the Earth orbits the Sun.

As for the moons, they’re just like a team of rugby players; similar, yet different.

Let’s start with Ganymede, because you know, why not? Not only is Ganymede the largest of the Galilean moons, or the rest of Jupiter’s moons, but it’s also the largest moon in the Solar System. It’s even larger than Mercury.

Ganymede has a diameter of 5,270 km, and orbits Jupiter roughly at 1,070,400 kilometres; which is the third of the Galilean moons in distance from Jupiter. Ganymede also has a magnetic field, possibly due to its liquid iron core, and it takes roughly seven days to orbit Jupiter.

One of the most interesting discoveries about Ganymede is that it has a subsurface ocean. This is exciting because of the possibility of scientists finding life in the ocean. Granted if life exists on Ganymede, it would be in the form of microorganisms, but a win is a win!

Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the largest moon in our Solar System.
Image: NASA

The next largest moon is Callisto, with a diameter of 4,821 km, and an orbital distance from Jupiter of 1,883,000 km. This makes Callisto the furthest of the Galilean moons to orbit Jupiter. Callisto is also one of the most heavily impacted objects in the Solar System, as it is riddled with very extremely old craters.

Because of its location from Jupiter, Callisto takes about 16 days to orbit the planet. Subsurface oceans seem to be the trend with the Galilean moons because Callisto is suspected of having one, but that has not been confirmed. Yet.

Photograph of the Callisto moon captured from NASA Galileo spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/DLR)

Our third-largest Galilean moon is so cool, it only has two letters in its name. Io has a diameter of 3,643 km, which makes it slightly bigger than our Moon at 3,475 km. Io orbits Jupiter at a distance of 421,700 km, which makes it the closest of the Galilean moons to Jupiter. Given its close distance, Io orbits Jupiter in just under two days.

Io can also take the title of having the strongest surface gravity of any moon and the highest density of any moon in the Solar System. Io is also quite odd because it has over 400 active volcanoes, in addition to having over 100 mountains; with several mountains reaching heights that are taller than Mount Everest.

Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system. This high-resolution image of Jupiter’s fifth moon was captured by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft and was published on 18, Dec. 1997. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

Europa is our fourth and final stop on this tour today. Orbiting at a distance of 670,900 km means Europa is the second closest of the Galilean moons to Jupiter, between Io and Ganymede. However, Europa is the smallest of the four, with a diameter of 3,121km.

Considering its close proximity to Jupiter, Europa orbits Jupiter in about 3.5 days, and it also appears to have an extremely smooth surface. In saying that, Europa is covered in dark lines called lineae. These are believed to be caused by interior processes, which has led to the theory that Europa could have a subsurface ocean as well.

Photo of Europa. Credit: Sciquest.org

There’s a lot more to the moons than what we have discussed, but I can’t do everything. Maybe. So, that’s it for today. The next stop on the tour will be a popular one for many people: Saturn. Just remember that the tickets for the tour are non-refundable.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on X and Mastodon because that’s where the cool people are. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat some lemons, and I’ll see you next week.