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Up Close: Girard Perregaux Neo Tourbillon With Three Bridges Skeleton
A modern take on an iconic tourbillon.
Lavender Chang
Girard-Perregaux,
Girard-Perregaux's Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges is possibly one of the most iconic tourbillons ever created. Its symmetrical, linear movement layout is unique, as is its tourbillon cage. In fact, in horological scholar Reinhard Meis' definitive book on the subject, Das Tourbillon, the Perregaux tourbillon cage is considered unique in itself, sitting alongside the works of Guinand, Lange, Pellaton and Golay.
Now, over 150 years after it was first conceived by Constant Girard himself, the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges has been reimagined. Four years ago, Girard-Perregaux unveiled the Neo Tourbillon, replacing the flat, arrow-shaped gold bridges with arched supports made of titanium.
And at SIHH earlier this year, the movement was skeletonised, giving it a stylised, architectural style. Though it's the same size as the earlier versions of the watch, the Neo Tourbillon With Three Bridges Skeleton looks lighter, which gives rise to the sensation it is physical lighter, though it is probably not, at least by any tangible degree.
As is typical for a Tourbillon with Three Bridges, the cal. cal. 9400-0011 is laid out in a linear fashion, with the barrel, gear train and tourbillon arranged vertically from 12 to six o'clock, with the most important bits held in place by three black-coated titanium bridges.
Aesthetically, the symmetrical architecture of the Tourbillon with Three Bridges movement lends itself well to skeletonsiation. The result of open-working is a visual intricacy that is immediately impressive, drawing one's focus to the eponymous bridges perhaps more than ever. It's helped in no small part by the contrast of the black coated bridges against the rhodium and ruthenium treated components.
Despite the "Three Bridges" label, the Neo Tourbillon skeleton boasts five bridges, with two more on the back of the movement for the bottom pivot of the tourbillon and centre wheel, essentially taking the place of a solid base plate.
Like the three bridges on the front, the two bridges on the back are also arched and black-coated. Above the middle bridge sits the skeletonised barrel ratchet winding wheel with lyre-shaped spokes that are taken from the top half of the trademark Girard-Perregaux tourbillon carriage. And the winding wheel that's just beside the ratchet wheel has been open-worked to reveal the grande sonnerie style winding click below.
Although the movement has an obvious modern aesthetic, its decoration is still finely executed, though it has to be said the dark movement finish hides a lot of the tinier details.
Every component is finished as it should be, right down to the details like chamfered slots on screw heads and bevelled edges on the spokes of wheels, even the tips of the lyre on the barrel ratchet wheel. The movement finishing is neat, consistent, and no doubt done by hand, but it is not as artisanal – and inconsistent – as the earliest Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges that had a finishing almost comparable to the work of an independent watchmaker.
Having a 60-hour power reserve on a single barrel, the cal. 9400-0011 movement is self-winding in a compact and clever manner. Using the same mechanism Girard-Perregaux debuted with its automatic tourbillon over a decade ago, it employs a white gold micro-rotor positioned co-axial with the barrel, basically sitting right over the mainspring.
The distinctive Perregaux tourbillon carriage is made up of 80 parts, and like the arched bridges is made most of titanium. So it clocks in at a flyweight 0.25 grams, despite being a largish 14.44mm in diameter, boosting the efficiency of the movement since less energy is required to turn the cage.
Like all traditional tourbillons, it a full rotation every 60 seconds, and also serves as small seconds thanks to a blued steel pointer in the cage.
The Neo Bridge skeleton is also fairly legible, thanks to the brushed white gold hands that stand out against the dark finish of the movement.
All of the details on the front are exhibited under the expansive, convex sapphire crystal that sits on the case band, which has no bezel. A feature found on the original Neo Tourbillon, the domed crystal gives the watch a distinct airiness despite its size.
Like the original, the skeleton version has a titanium case that's 45mm in diameter. Though large, wearability is helped by the short lugs as well as lightness thanks to the case metal.
However, Neo Tourbillon skeleton is an imperceptible 1.4mm thicker, standing 15.85mm high, because of the reworked cal. 9400-0011 inside. Not only has the movement been open-worked, the bridges on the back have been arched, just like those on the front, raising the height of the calibre.
A domed, "box-type" sapphire crystal has been installed on the back to accommodate the new calibre. On the wrist the watch feels identical, as the height of the caseband remains the same.
The Girard-Perregaux Neo Tourbillon With Three Bridges Skeleton (ref. GP 09400-0011) is priced at SFr140,000 or S$204,900.
SIHH 2018: Introducing the Girard-Perregaux Neo Tourbillon Skeleton
The modernist Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges gets the open-worked treatment.
Up Close With The Iconic Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon With Three Gold Bridges
Baselworld 2013: Girard Perregaux Bi-Axial Tourbillon DLC Titanium
Introducing the Crepas Hydrographer 1942m by OceanicTime
A remake of the Longines Hydrographic Survey watch.
Crepas,
OceanicTime, a blog specialising in dive watches and Spanish microbrand Crepas have come together to reproduce one of the most unusual and interesting military issue dive watches – the gargantuan Hydrographic Survey watch produced by Longines for the British Royal Navy in the 1940s.
With a 51mm case made of sterling silver – complete with a canteen-style crown cover attached with a chain – the Hydrographic Survey watch was made for the commando frogmen of the Royal Navy, essentially the British equivalent of Italy's Decima Flottiglia MAS, the unit best known for wearing Panerai watches. Only a handful are known to exist today, explaining why they are almost never seen.
Made by Crepas to mark the 10th anniversary of OceanicTime, the Hydrographer 1942m is a more wearable Hydrographic Survey watch. Rated to 1942m, the case is 45mm and 15mm high. It's made of stainless steel, and available in either a brushed, sandblasted or mirror-polished finish. Another option is the crown, which can be on the right or left of the case.
The case is fitted with a unidirectional rotating bezel that has two notches on opposite edges, just like the original, while the crown is oversized and functional, a nod to the original canteen crown. And the sapphire crystal is a thick sapphire 5.5mm high, and sits above the bezel; the case height of 15mm does not include the crystal.
Unusually, the helium escape valve is in the centre of the screw-down case back that's been engraved with the British military "Broad arrow" symbol as well as "HS", just like the original.
The dial is matte black and based on the original, but with wider hour markers and slightly redesigned hands.
And the movement is an ETA 2892-A2 that has been modified to remove the date function. Not only is the date mechanism removed, but the keyless works have been modified to remove the date setting position when pulling out the crown.
The first 100 Hydrographer 1942m watches are priced at €699, and the price will rise for €850 for subsequent watches. Prices do not include taxes.
The Hydrographer 1942m is available direct from Crepas.
Introducing Luxglove, a Marketplace for Watches and Collectibles
Having just made its debut on the Apple App Store, Luxglove is an online marketplace for pre-owned or vintage items, primarily watches, focused on South-East Asia.
Introducing the Döttling Guardian, bulletproof portable watch case


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End Of The World singer Fukase gets acting debut in movie starring Masaki Suda
Lim Yian Lu
Japanese band Sekai No Owari performing at MTV World Stage Malaysia 2015 in Malaysia. (Photo: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)
It was announced in early December that Japanese band End Of The World's Satoshi Fukase will be acting alongside Masaki Suda in a movie titled Character. This marks singer-songwriter Fukase's first acting performance.
Opening in Japan cinemas next June, the movie pits Suda as Keigo Yamashiro, an aspiring manga artist, against Fukase as Morozumi, a murderer. Yamashiro visits a family to do sketching, but instead witnesses the criminal who killed the family. Yet, Yamashiro lies to the police that he did not see the murderer. He begins drawing a suspense manga titled 34 with the murderer as the villain. The manga becomes a hit, but cases similar to incidents in his manga starts happening in real life. One day, Morozumi appears in front of Yamashiro.
─未熟な漫画家
#菅田将暉
◢◤CHARA Ↄ TER◢◤
美しき異常者─
#Fukase (SEKAI NO OWARI)
二人の共作、
それは連続殺人事件
完全オリジナルストーリーで描く
"誰も見たことのない"
体験型ダークエンターテインメイント誕生⚠
映画『#キャラクター』#2021年6月公開 pic.twitter.com/FtFnXacjDg
— 東宝映画情報【公式】 (@toho_movie) December 7, 2020
Regarding his acting debut, Fukase said, "When I received the offer, I was honestly very worried whether I could do this or if I would cause inconvenience. But since I had more than one year's time to prepare, I had a really enjoyable time amidst moderate tension when the filming started. When I finished all my scenes, I almost burst into tears."
Suda also commented, "I heard it was Fukase's first movie, but it totally didn't feel like it. Rather, he had so many things I could learn from. Fukase was very cool and beautiful. I'm sure you'll be surprised. I'm looking forward to the finished production."
End Of The World, otherwise known as Sekai No Owari, is best known for their unique musical style that covers a wide range of genres, including electro-pop, jazz, rock and classical music. Spearheading the band as the lead vocalist and songwriter is none other than Fukase, who has a distinctive voice.
Their notable songs include Anti-hero and SOS, which were used in the 2015 Attack On Titan film series. The band also performed in Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa in 2017, and at the F1 Grand Prix in 2018. End Of The World was on Spotify's Tokyo Super Hits Live late last November, together with Arashi.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ingebretsen's Gift Registry
The Best of Grieg (1843-1907)
Orchestral music, chamber music, and piano music featuring works by Norway's most famous composer Edvard Grieg.
1. Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
- Allegro molto moderato
2. Last spring (Våren) from Two Elegiac Pieces,
3. Norwegian Dance No. 2, Op. 35
- Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
4. – Morning
5. – Anitra's Dance
6. – In the Hall of the Mountain King
7. – Arabian Dance
8. – Solveig's Song
Holberg suite, Op. 40
9. – Prelude
10.- Andante
11.Norwegian Bridal Procession, Op. 19, No. 2
Lyric Suite Op. 54
12.- No. 3: Notttorno
13.- No.4: March of the Dwarves
14.Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op. 65, No. 6
15.Hear Wounds (Hjertesar) from Two elegiac Melodies,
16. Sigurd Jorsalfar, Op. 56 – Homage March
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Posted in: Market NewsOlder NewsOp-edPolitics
March 4, 2019 9:24 PM UTC
Surprise, Surprise! Emerging Campaign Finance Scandal Reveals That Self-Righteous AOC Isn't As Clean As She Says
Rookie U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been dragged into an emerging campaign finance scandal that could potentially compromise her carefully crafted reputation as the 'people's candidate,' as well as call her political platform into question just three months after the 2018 midterm elections that saw her…
Author: David Hundeyin @DavidHundeyin
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, pictured above, is at the center of a developing $1 million campaign finance scandal. The Congresswoman rejected the allegation | Source: Politico
Rookie U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been dragged into an emerging campaign finance scandal that could potentially compromise her carefully crafted reputation as the 'people's candidate,' as well as call her political platform into question just three months after the 2018 midterm elections that saw her become the youngest-ever female member of Congress.
At the center of the scandal is her chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti, who is accused of diverting more than $1 million in donations from her supporters into a slush fund controlled by two private companies registered to him, ostensibly for the purpose of obscuring what the money was used to do.
It will be recalled that Ocasio-Cortez has built her budding reputation on the platform of "clean" politics, with the congressional freshman repeatedly emphasizing that her campaign does not accept money from corporate political action committees (PACs), which she has described as "dark money."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has achieved great success by branding herself as "the candidate of the people," could be facing an embarrassing campaign finance scandal
The allegations, which are detailed in a complaint submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Monday, could significantly curtail her burgeoning influence among Democrat ranks on Capitol Hill. This comes at a time when she has become powerful enough to threaten House Democrats from swing districts with primary elections if they do not vote along party lines.
Possible Campaign Finance Law Violations by Democrats
The Washington Examiner reports that between 2016 and 2017, ex-Bernie Sanders campaign organiser Charkrabarti set up two PACs called 'Brand New Congress' and 'Justice Democrats.'
Between them, they raised over $3.3 million predominantly from individual donors across the country to help Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez get into Congress. In that time, the sum of $1,045,000 was apparently paid in several tranches to 'Brand New Campaign LLC' and 'Brand New Congress LLC' – two private companies controlled by AOC's Chief of Staff.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez motioning toward her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti | Source: AP Photo / Mark Lennihan
The payments were apparently made for the purpose of "Strategic Consulting," which is – to say the least – extremely ambiguous, if not outright suspicious. Even more tellingly, while Brand New Campaign LLC is registered in Delaware, there are no Secretary of State records for Brand New Congress LLC, and the time or location of its incorporation remain unknown. This raises the obvious question of what "strategic consulting" work these companies did to earn over $1 million in fees within that time period despite having no recognized activity or personnel apart from Charkrabarti.
Investigators will want to get to the bottom of the matter, not only to establish whether Charkrabarti in fact embezzled or otherwise misused campaign funds, but also to find out what exactly or how much Ocasio-Cortez knew about the arrangement. From her constituents' point of view, as a House member who has nailed her colours to the 'clean campaign finance' mast, it is particularly important to determine whether she was in fact an accomplice to potential violations of campaign finance laws, given her close relationship with Charkrabarti.
Is AOC 'Trying to Conceal Something'?
Speaking about the issue to the Washington Examiner, former FEC lawyer and senior director of the Campaign Legal Center, Adav Noti stated that the only reason anyone would go through the convoluted route of setting up a federal PAC and then routing money through it to a self-controlled private company is to be able to hide where the money really went to.
Commenting on the opaque "consulting" arrangement between the PACs and Charkrabarti's LLCs, he said:
They're either confused or they're trying to conceal something. I can only think of really two likely possibilities for this sort of pattern of disbursements. One is the scam PAC possibility — they're really just paying themselves and they're concealing it by using the LLC. The other is that there's actually another recipient, that the money is going to the LLC and then being disbursed in some other way that they want to conceal.
The story gets worse still. According to a statement from Justice Democrats obtained by the Washington Review, the PAC is unable to explain why exactly it paid Charkrabarti so much money. In other words, more than $1 million of funds gathered from individual donors may have simply disappeared into an unaccountable web of Capitol Hill grift.
Did Charkrabarti use donations from Democrat voters for personal, illegal/unethical or undeclared purposes? Where exactly did all that money go, and who else was in the know? Was his current boss aware of the dodgy arrangement? These are the questions that will remain unanswered for the time being until investigators unravel the mystery.
Red or Blue, Populism is an Act
While it has not been established whether, or how much, Ocasio-Cortez knew about the matter, it is again another reminder that hero-worship of politicians who claim to "fight for the little guy" is generally not a great idea, because their populist rhetoric tends to fall some way short of their practical reality. Just last month, a video of Ocasio-Cortez ripping into America's porous campaign finance regulations during a Congressional hearing was liked and shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media, receiving rapturous applause from everyone from James Corden to Katie Couric.
Just a month later, it may emerge that her own campaign may have run afoul of the very laws she insists are already toothless. If that turns out to be the case, her likely defense will be that she knew nothing, and Charkrabarti will then be fired to save face, after which he will return to New York to contemplate the miseries of living as a million dollar grifter in his expensive Manhattan apartment.
It turns out that populists everywhere really are the same. Whether it is Ocasio-Cortez proclaiming herself the cleanest politician in America and then failing the smell test, or Trump promising to "drain the swamp" and then expanding it, or Hugo Chavez promising free ponies for every Venezuelan and then running the country into the ground, or Muhammadu Buhari promising to "fight corruption" in Nigeria and then spending six months away in a foreign hospital, populists are renowned for two things: hot air and self interest.
Especially self interest.
David Hundeyin @DavidHundeyin
I am a busy Nigerian writer, journalist and writer with an interest in tech and finance. When I'm not contributing to CCN and traveling around Africa, you can catch me contributing to CNN Africa, or in the writers room at 'The Other News', Nigeria's weekly answer to 'The Daily Show' with nearly 2 million viewers. My work on 'The Other News' was featured in the New Yorker Magazine, and that was then cited in the Washington Post so I'm not sure that counts as a feature but I'll definitely mention it too! I have been nominated by the US State Department to take part in the 2019 Edward R. Murrow Program for journalists under the International Visitors Leadership Program. I also like hamsters. You can reach me on Twitter at _David_Hundeyin
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Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis. In: Bissonnette B, Luginbuehl I, Engelhardt T. Bissonnette B, & Luginbuehl I, & Engelhardt T(Eds.),Eds. Bruno Bissonnette, et al.eds. Syndromes: Rapid Recognition and Perioperative Implications, 2e. McGraw-Hill; Accessed January 19, 2021. https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2674&sectionid=220542467
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Bissonnette B, Luginbuehl I, Engelhardt T. Bissonnette B, & Luginbuehl I, & Engelhardt T(Eds.),Eds. Bruno Bissonnette, et al. (2019). Syndromes: Rapid Recognition and Perioperative Implications, 2e. McGraw-Hill. https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2674&sectionid=220542467
"Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis." Syndromes: Rapid Recognition and Perioperative Implications, 2e Bissonnette B, Luginbuehl I, Engelhardt T. Bissonnette B, & Luginbuehl I, & Engelhardt T(Eds.),Eds. Bruno Bissonnette, et al. McGraw-Hill, 2019, https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2674&sectionid=220542467.
In this disorder, the alveoli are filled with periodic acid–Schiff (PAS)-positive proteinaceous material that is chemically-similar to surfactant. Significant respiratory problems leading to severe hypoxemia, recurrent pulmonary infections, and cardiac problems.
Alveolar Lipoproteinosis; Alveolar Phospholipidosis; Pulmonary Alveolar Phospholipoproteinosis.
First described in 1958 by American physicians Samuel H. Rosen. Two forms are recognized: (1) primary or autoimmune and (2) secondary to lung infections, hematologic malignancies, inflammation from mineral dusts such as silica, titanium oxide, aluminum, and insecticides.
Rare. The incidence is estimated at 0.2 per 1,000,000. Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis accounts for approximately 90% of cases, while 4% is secondary. There is a male predominance (3:1) in adults, but not in children. Mortality rates can be as high as 30% in the secondary form, depending on the underlying cause is less than 10% in the primary form.
Autoimmune disease in vast majority of patients. Autosomal recessive mutations in the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) receptor α or β chains also lead to impaired macrophage maturation in the absence of autoimmunity. A congenital form appears to be transmitted in an autosomal recessive way due to a SFTPB or ABCA3 gene mutation located on 2p11.2 and 16p13, respectively. The late-onset form is usually associated with lymphoproliferative disorders or infection (HIV, tuberculosis).
Primary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is caused by defective clearance of surfactant lipoprotein from the alveolar space due to autoantibodies against GM-CSF or defective signaling by the GM-CSF receptor that results in the diminished expression or function of the α or β subunits of the GM-CSF receptor. The distal lung tissue becomes filled with enlarged alveolar macrophages that are able to ingest surfactant but unable to process it. The net result is an imbalance in the homeostasis between production of surfactant and its clearance by alveolar macrophages and the mucociliary elevator. Ultimately, decreased gaseous exchange results in hypoxemic respiratory failure and defects in host defense.
Confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage and/or lung biopsy that shows alveoli filled with PAS-positive proteinaceous material. The bronchoalveolar lavage material looks cloudy or milky and the cytologic examination shows foamy macrophages, reactive pulmonary pneumocytes, and cholesterol crystals. The alveolar architecture and intralobular septae are usually well preserved and the conductive airways unaffected. The congenital form is characterized by absent surfactant protein B. The chest radiograph shows bilateral pulmonary infiltrates (ground-glass aspect) with hilar prominence (bat-wing shape) and progression to fibrosis and a "honeycomb" appearance.
Neonatal-Onset Form: The neonate presents with acute respiratory distress with marked hypoxemia shortly after birth. Initially, the symptoms are indistinguishable from hyaline membrane disease (neonatal respiratory distress syndrome). Slow resolution of the initial illness, pneumonia, or persistence of ...


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Category Archives: History
The Shivering Beggar
By Robert Graves – 1895-1985
Near Clapham village, where fields began,
Saint Edward met a beggar man.
It was Christmas morning, the church bells tolled,
The old man trembled for the fierce cold.
Saint Edward cried, "It is monstrous sin
A beggar to lie in rags so thin!
An old gray-beard and the frost so keen:
I shall give him my fur-lined gaberdine."
He stripped off his gaberdine of scarlet
And wrapped it round the aged varlet,
Who clutched at the folds with a muttered curse,
Quaking and chattering seven times worse.
Said Edward, "Sir, it would seem you freeze
Most bitter at your extremities.
Here are gloves and shoes and stockings also,
That warm upon your way you may go."
The man took stocking and shoe and glove,
Blaspheming Christ our Saviour's love,
Yet seemed to find but little relief,
Shaking and shivering like a leaf.
Said the saint again, "I have no great riches,
Yet take this tunic, take these breeches,
My shirt and my vest, take everything,
And give due thanks to Jesus the King."
The saint stood naked upon the snow
Long miles from where he was lodged at Bowe,
Praying, "O God! my faith, it grows faint!
This would try the temper of any saint.
"Make clean my heart, Almighty, I pray,
And drive these sinful thoughts away.
Make clean my heart if it be Thy will,
This damned old rascal's shivering still!"
He stooped, he touched the beggar man's shoulder;
He asked him did the frost nip colder?
"Frost!" said the beggar, "no, stupid lad!
'Tis the palsy makes me shiver so bad."
About the Poem
The Saint Edward referred to in this poem is Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 – 5 January 1066), one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. As king, Edward developed a reputation for living a simple, pious lifestyle and being generous with the poor. Some reports indicate that he longed for a monastic life and took a vow of celibacy, as he and his wife never had children. He was associated with legends including a story from towards the end of his life. Edward was riding by a church in Essex and an old man asked for alms. As the king had no money to give, he drew a large ring off his finger and gave this to the beggar. A few years later two pilgrims were travelling in the Holy Land and became stranded. They were helped by an old man, and when he knew they came from England, he told them he was St John the Evangelist and asked them to return the ring to Edward telling him that in six months he would join him in heaven. The story is one of fourteen scenes from the king's life – real and legendary – carved on a mid-15th-century stone screen in Westminster Abbey. Also shown are his birth, his coronation, Christ appearing to Edward at Mass, and the dedication of a church, assumed to be the Abbey.
While Edward spent much of his life in exile in France, particularly Normandy, Edward's love for the region of his childhood can be seen in one of his greatest architectural achievements, the building of Westminster Abbey. The story goes that Edward vowed that if he should return safely from exile in Normandy to his kingdom, he would make a pilgrimage to St Peter's, Rome. But once on the throne he found it impossible to leave his subjects, and the Pope released him from his vow on condition that he should found or restore a monastery to St Peter. This led to the building of a new church in the Norman style to replace the Saxon church at Westminster.
The king's piety had greatly endeared him to his people, and he came to be regarded as a saint long before he was officially canonized as Saint and Confessor by Pope Alexander III in 1161. His nickname reflects the traditional image of him as unworldly and pious. Edward's reputation for piety and charity was widespread, and he was viewed with great veneration, even being considered a patron saint of England. In 1139, the prior of Westminster Abbey traveled to Rome to ask the pope to canonize Edward, but the appeal was rejected amid political disputes. Edward was buried in Westminster Abbey, which was completed shortly before his death. His body remains there today, although the abbey is now an Anglican church.
On July 24, 1895, Robert Graves was born in Wimbledon, near London. His father, Alfred Perceval Graves, was a Gaelic scholar and minor Irish poet. His mother, Amalie von Ranke Graves, was a relation of Leopold von Ranke, one of the founding fathers of modern historical studies. One of ten children, Robert was greatly influenced by his mother's puritanical beliefs and his father's love of Celtic poetry and myth. As a young man, he was more interested in boxing and mountain climbing than studying, although poetry later sustained him through a turbulent adolescence. Graves received his early education at a series of six preparatory schools, including King's College School in Wimbledon, Penrallt in Wales, Hillbrow School in Rugby, Rokeby School in Kingston upon Thames and Copthorne in Sussex, from which last in 1909 he won a scholarship to Charterhouse.
Robert Graves was bisexual, having intense romantic relationships with both men and women, though the word he coined for it was "pseudo-homosexual." Graves was raised to be "prudishly innocent, as my mother had planned I should be." His mother, Amy, forbade speaking about sex, save in a "gruesome" context, and all skin "must be covered." At his days in Penrallt, he had "innocent crushes" on boys; one in particular was a boy named Ronny, who "climbed trees, killed pigeons with a catapult and broke all the school rules while never seeming to get caught." At Charterhouse, an all-boys school, it was common for boys to develop "amorous but seldom erotic" relationships, which the headmaster mostly ignored. Graves described boxing with a friend, Raymond Rodakowski, as having a "a lot of sex feeling." And although Graves admitted to loving Raymond, he would dismiss it as "more comradely than amorous." In his fourth year at Charterhouse, Graves met "Dick" (George "Peter" Harcourt Johnstone) with whom he would develop "an even stronger relationship." Johnstone was an object of adoration in Graves's early poems.
In 1913 Graves won a scholarship to continue his studies at St. John's College, Oxford, but in August 1914 he enlisted as a junior officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He fought in the Battle of Loos and was injured in the Somme offensive in 1916. While convalescing, he published his first collection of poetry, Over the Brazier. By 1917, though still an active serviceman, Graves had published three volumes. In 1918, he spent a year in the trenches, where he was again severely wounded.
During the war, Johnstone remained a "solace" to Graves. Despite Graves's own "pure and innocent" view of Johnstone, Graves's cousin Gerald wrote in a letter that Johnstone was: "not at all the innocent fellow I took him for, but as bad as anyone could be". Johnstone remained a subject for Graves's poems despite this. Communication between them ended when Johnstone's mother found their letters and forbade further contact with Graves. Johnstone would later be arrested for attempting to seduce a Canadian soldier, which removed Graves's denial about Johnstone's infidelity, causing Graves to collapse.
In January 1918, at the age of twenty-two, he married eighteen-year-old Nancy Nicholson, with whom he was to have four children. Traumatized by the war, he went to Oxford with his wife and took a position at St. John's College. Graves's early volumes of poetry, like those of his contemporaries, deal with natural beauty and bucolic pleasures, and with the consequences of the First World War. Over the Brazier and Fairies and Fusiliers earned Graves his reputation as an accomplished war poet. After meeting the American poet and theorist Laura Riding in 1926, Graves's poetry underwent a significant transformation.
In 1927, Graves and his first wife separated permanently, and in 1929 he published Goodbye to All That, an autobiography that announced his psychological accommodation with the residual horror of his war experiences. Shortly afterward, he departed to Majorca with Laura Riding. In addition to completing many books of verse while in Majorca, Graves also wrote several volumes of criticism, some in collaboration with Riding. During that period, he evolved his theory of poetry as spiritually cathartic to both the poet and the reader. Although Graves claimed that he wrote novels only to earn money, it was through these that he attained status as a major writer in 1934, with the publication of the historical novel I, Claudius, and its sequel, Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina. (During the 1970's, the BBC adapted the novels into an internationally popular television series.)
At the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Graves and Riding fled Majorca, eventually settling in America. In 1939, Laura Riding left Graves for the writer Schuyler Jackson; one year later Graves began a relationship with Beryl Hodge that was to last until his death.
After World War II, Graves returned to Majorca, where he lived with Hodge and continued to write. By the 1950s, Graves had won an enormous international reputation as a poet, novelist, literary scholar, and translator. In 1962, W. H. Auden went as far as to assert that Graves was England's "greatest living poet." From 1961 to 1966, Graves returned to England to serve as a professor of poetry at Oxford. In the 1970s his productivity fell off; and the last decade of his life was lost in silence and senility. Robert Graves died in Majorca in 1985, at the age of ninety.
Leave a comment | posted in History, Poetry
The Naked Gunner
You have probably all seen this photograph by Horace Bristol form 1944. It has been widely reproduced and viewed as a symbol of bravery, loyalty, and erotic masculinity. In October 2020, the photo was included in a Sotheby's auction of Classic Photographs. Lot 13, "HORACE BRISTOL | PBY BLISTER GUNNER, RESCUE AT RABAUL" sold for $ 27,720, well over the estimate of $ 8,000-$12,000.
"PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944" is one of the most iconic photos of the Pacific War. But the identity of the "Naked Gunner," as it is popularly known, remains a mystery to this day. The photo was taken by Horace Bristol (1908-1997), a founding photojournalist for the illustrious Life magazine. In 1941, Bristol was recruited to the U.S. Naval Aviation Photographic Unit, as one of six photographers under the command of Captain Edward J. Steichen, documenting World War II in places such as South Africa and Japan. It is not known if the Bristol ever asked the soldier for his name as he captured his image. Sadly, we will never know. Bristol died in 1997, having kept a discreet silence on the bomber's identity if, indeed, he ever knew it.
Bristol ended up being on the plane the gunner was serving on, which was used to rescue people from Japanese-held Rabaul Harbor (New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea) when this photograph was taken. In an article from a December 2002 issue of B&W Magazine he remembers:
"…we got a call to pick up an airman who was down in the Bay.
"The Japanese were shooting at him from the island, and when they saw us, they started shooting at us. The man who was shot down was temporarily blinded, so one of our crew stripped off his clothes and jumped in to bring him aboard. He couldn't have swum very well wearing his boots and clothes.
"As soon as we could, we took off. We weren't waiting around for anybody to put on formal clothes. We were being shot at and wanted to get the hell out of there. The naked man got back into his position at his gun in the blister of the plane."
The fearless airman was deployed as part of a rescue campaign known as Operation Dumbo. Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as seamen in distress. Dumbo aircraft were originally land-based heavy bomber aircraft converted to carry an airborne lifeboat to be dropped in the water near survivors. The name "Dumbo" came from Walt Disney's flying elephant, the main character of the animated film Dumbo, appearing in October 1941. The campaign saved many Americans and their allies from a watery grave.
The PBY Catalina (a waterbomber) for which the naked man was a gunner, was an amphibious aircraft, recognized and celebrated by American aviators and flight crews for its vast range and endurance. According to the PBY Naval Air Museum, Washington website, the 'versatile' aircraft was capable of dropping "torpedoes, depth charges and bombs" while providing defense for their crews from "multiple high-caliber machine guns." The airborne fleet, designed by Isaac Machlin Laddon and manufactured by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, was used all over the world, but particularly in coastal areas, to "patrol for enemy fleets and perform rescues."
You can see more of Bristol's photographs if you go to http://www.horacebristol.com.
3 Comments | posted in History, Photography
Labor Day, in the United States and Canada, is a holiday that falls on the first Monday in September and honors workers and recognizes their contributions to society. In the United States, Peter J. McGuire, a union leader who had founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, is generally given credit for the idea of Labor Day. In 1882 he suggested to the Central Labor Union of New York that there be a celebration honoring American workers. On September 5 some 10,000 workers, under the sponsorship of the Knights of Labor, held a parade in New York City. There was no particular significance to the date, and McGuire said that it was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the Fourth of July holiday and Thanksgiving. In 1884 the Knights of Labor adopted a resolution that the first Monday in September be considered Labor Day.
The idea quickly spread, and by the following year Labor Day celebrations were being held in a number of states. Oregon became the first state, in 1887, to grant legal status to the holiday (although the state initially celebrated it on the first Saturday in June). That same year Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey established the holiday on the first Monday in September, and other states soon followed. In 1894 the Pullman strike in Illinois, as well as a series of unemployed workers' riots on May Day in Cleveland, Ohio, prompted U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland to propose a bill that would make Labor Day a national public holiday. The bill, which was crafted in part to deflect attention from May Day (an unofficial observance rooted in socialist movements), was signed into law in June of that year.
Over the years, particularly as the influence of unions waned, the significance of Labor Day in the United States changed. For many people it became an end-of-summer celebration and a long weekend for family get-togethers. At the same time, it has continued to be celebrated with parades and speeches, as well as political rallies, and the day is sometimes the official kickoff date for national political campaigns.
In Canada the first parades of workers were held in 1872 in Ottawa and Toronto, and later in that year the law making labour unions illegal was repealed. McGuire was invited to speak at the celebration in 1882. In 1894 Parliament officially recognized the holiday in Canada.
Most other countries honor workers on May Day (May 1). The day was a major holiday in communist countries, and it continues to be important where left-wing political parties and labor movements wield influence.
Leave a comment | posted in History
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O Lord God.
It's been quite a while since I used a hymn as my Sunday devotional. During my high school and college years, I was the song leader at the small country church I grew up attending. Half the people at that church were like family to me, and the other half were my family. The song leader I grew up with became unable to lead the singing, so he asked me if I would it. I had taken piano lessons when I was younger, so I had a little musical ability, i.e. I could almost carry a tune. I was never a very good song leader, and I only knew about two dozen or so songs well enough to be able to lead the congregation in singing.
If you don't know, I was raised in the church of Christ (by the way, it is customary to not capitalize "church" in the name of the denomination, though churches of Christ do not believe they are a denomination nor Protestant, but a restoration of the original church). The churches of Christ have no musical instruments, though some of the more liberal ones today do. The churches of Christ believe that if it is not in the bible, then it should not be part of the religious service. So, the inspiration for a capella singing comes from Ephesians 5:19, "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Being a song leader in a church of Christ is not the easiest task. There are no musical instruments to carry the tune. It is completely up to the song leader to do so. All I can say is, that I tried my best. I was never very good at it, and quite honestly, even after doing it for years, I was never comfortable at it. When I went away to graduate school, they found someone else to take over. I was so relieved.
I had a few favorite song: "When the Roll Is Called up Yonder," "Send the Light," "Shall We Gather at the River?," "The Old Rugged Cross," and a few others. "Amazing Grace" was always a favorite of mine. The service always began with two songs sung while seated before the main prayer. Then, we would stand for the third song just before the preacher got up to give his sermon, and I often sang "Amazing Grace" for this song. After the sermon, we would sing the invitational, a call for those who wanted to join the church and be baptized. After the invitational, we served communion. Communion, or the Lord's Supper, is served every Sunday in the church of Christ. After communion, we sang the closing song, my favorite being "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and "Unclouded Day." The latter begins with "O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies," and as long as I could get out the "O" in the right key, this one always went smoothly because someone else would pick it up and keep it going in tune.
By John Newton
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.
"Amazing Grace" is one of the best-loved and most often sung hymns in North America. It expresses John Newton's personal experience of conversion from sin as an act of God's grace. At the end of his life, Newton (1725-1807) said, "There are two things I'll never forget: that I was a great sinner, and that Jesus Christ is a greater Savior!" This hymn is Newton's spiritual autobiography, but the truth it affirms—that we are saved by grace alone—is one that all Christians may confess with joy and gratitude. I, however, believe that it takes faith and good works. James 2:26 says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Now, back to Newton's story.
Newton was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape, he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis's Imitation of Christ.
In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor (customs inspector) in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including "Amazing Grace."
Newton wrote "Amazing Grace" to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns. "Amazing Grace" was published in six stanzas with the heading "1 Chronicles 17:16-17, Faith's review and expectation." After being published, the hymn settled into relative obscurity in England.
In the United States, "Amazing Grace" became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than twenty melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as "New Britain" in a shape note format; this is the version most frequently sung today.
With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
Leave a comment | posted in History, Music, Religion
Two hundred forty-six years ago, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adopted the Declaration of Independence declaring the independence of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step in forming the United States of America. The declaration was signed by fifty-six of America's Founding Fathers, congressional representatives from New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The Declaration began with these now-famous words:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
Our unalienable rights to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" have come under siege from a far-right, conservative minority led by former president Donald Trump, Senator Mitch McConnell, and Representative Kevin McCarthy along with governors in red states such as Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Brian Kemp of Georgia, among others. These men and many who follow them are doing their best to take away the rights of women, LGBTQ+ Americans, and voters around the nation. They are being supported by a conservative majority on the Supreme Court (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Roberts). SCOTUS has been emboldened by their majority to begin curbing the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights themselves: freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. They are eroding the rights of due process to push their own warped agenda. Many of these politicians claim to be doing the will of the Founding Fathers, yet they ignore our unalienable rights to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
I asked a friend last week if she had any plans for the Fourth of July, and she said, "I don't feel like celebrating this country right now." She has a point. A small number of religious zealots don't believe in religious freedom, but they believe they can cram their fanaticism down the throats of all Americans. Teachers in Florida aren't allowed to say gay in the classroom (an oversimplification of the "Don't Say Gay Law" but as the law came into effect a few days ago, that's exactly what is happening). Furthermore, anytime conservatives don't like a news story, they yell, "FAKE NEWS!" and try to suppress the truth, or they just spread their own lies distorting the truth to fit their political agenda. They claim that an insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol was a peaceful assembly while throwing tear gas on people peacefully protesting injustices around the country. The Marshal of the Supreme Court just called for a prohibition on protests in Maryland where many of the Supreme Court justices live. Yet, at the same time, they fight against even the most sensible gun laws in a misguided interpretation of the Second Amendment.
I will remember the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, but I won't be celebrating this country today. We are moving far away from the ideals of the Founding Fathers and moving closer to a time of fear and hatred. I hope that over the next four years leading up to the semiquincentennial (also called Sestercentennial or Quarter Millennial, a.k.a. the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence) that we can get this country back on the right track and secure our unalienable rights to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
D-Day—June 6, 1944
Today is the anniversary of D-Day when British, Canadian and US soldiers – 160,000 of them – landed on the beaches of Normandy in treacherous weather, initiating the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi Germany. While D-Day is not a specific LGBT-related event, there were undoubtedly many hundreds of young gay soldiers killed on those beaches. 160,000 landed, 9,000 killed or wounded. Today we remember them with gratitude.
June is Pride Month and festivals and parades are happening across the world in celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride. But Pride didn't start as a parade, it started as a protest with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and many historians believe that the roots of these LGBT activists can be found in the World War II experiences of gays men and lesbians in the American military.
Despite the threat of persecution, gay and lesbian service members thrived during World War II. As with most young soldiers, many had never left their homes before and the war provided them an opportunity to find community, camaraderie, and, in some cases, first loves. These new friendships gave gay and lesbian GIs refuge from the hostility that surrounded them and allowed for a distinct sub-culture to develop within the military. Service members on every warfront enjoyed drag show entertainment; an entire gay lexicon was developed from the writings of Dorothy Parker; and eventually an underground queer newspaper emerged. The "Myrtle Beach Bitch" or "Myrtle Beach Belle" covertly shared news and stories between bases and units.
Gay male culture flourished in many ways in the military during the Second World War. Homosocial environments and the intimacy caused by life in combat made many in the military practice "don't ask don't tell" before it was even the official military stance. Drag shows were quite popular during the war, like "G.I. Carmen," an all-GI musical stage show produced by the 253rdInfantry Regiment, 63rdDivision of the U.S. Army as a morale booster for Allied troops. There were also queer social networks of gay men.
Thousands of gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women served in the armed forces during World War II. The massive manpower needed during the war created an ambiguous place for gay men and lesbians in military service. And gay men and women, like most groups of Americans, wanted to serve their country. You can read more about LGBTQ+ service members in Allan Bérubé's book Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II.
If anyone is interested, the International Spy Museum is hosting a virtual talk by Samuel Clowes Huneke, author of States of Liberation: Gay Men between Dictatorship and Democracy in Cold War Germany. He will focus on how both Eastern and Western intelligence agencies sought to recruit gay men because they believed that they were naturally more conspiratorial and would thus make better agents. Huneke explores previously untapped German archives to capture this surprising story of espionage and emancipation with its colorful cast of Cold War characters.
You can register for the talk by going to the following link: Berlin Stories: Gay Espionage in Cold War Germany.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Samuel Clowes Huneke is a historian of modern Europe, with a focus on the social and political history of twentieth-century Germany. He is broadly interested in how everyday life intersects with and shapes the relationships between citizens and states. His research foci include the history of gender and sexuality, legal history, and the history of dictatorship and democracy. Dr. Huneke received a B.A. summa cum laude in German and Mathematics from Amherst College, an M.Sc. with Distinction in Applicable Mathematics from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in History from Stanford University.
I will be attending, and it looks/sounds very interesting. (It doesn't hurt that he's rather handsome.)
Memorial Day 🏳🌈🇺🇸
For many of us, Memorial Day weekend is about cookouts, sales, watching fireworks, fellowshipping with family and friends. However, this weekend is supposed to be about honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They gave their lives serving in one of the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. As a military historian and working at a military college, I am very much aware of the sacrifices made every day by military personnel. Historically, LGBTQ+ soldiers have sacrificed even more. For most of the history of the U.S. military, LGBTQ+ soldiers had to be closeted because being "out" wasn't acceptable. Being outed could have cost them their military career. Many LGBTQ+ soldiers kept their mouths shut and their business to themselves to protect themselves from harm and protect the nation.
In 1982, the U.S. military enacted a policy explicitly banning gay men and lesbians from their ranks. Before that, however, same-sex relations were criminalized and cause for discharge. And in the early 1940s, it was classified as a mental illness, disqualifying gay men and lesbians from service. In 1993, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy (DADT) went into effect, allowing closeted LGBTQ+ soldiers to serve in the military. Under the policy, service members would not be asked about their sexual orientation but would be discharged for disclosing it.
Many LGBTQ+ soldiers were outed as gay or lesbian by fellow soldiers and not allowed to serve. Some soldiers were killed by their fellow comrades while on active duty. If you saw the 2003 film Soldier's Girl, you are aware of U.S. Army infantry soldier PFC Barry Winchell who was murdered on July 6, 1999, by a fellow soldier for dating a transgender woman, Calpernia Addams. The murder became a point of reference in the ongoing DADT debate. Eighteen years after DADT was enacted, Congress repealed the policy, allowing openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve in the military.
Another barrier was lifted in 2013 when spousal and family benefits were extended to same-sex married partners in the military. After ending temporarily in 2016, the ban on transgender individuals was again rescinded in 2021, allowing transgender individuals to enlist and serve in the armed forces. It's been a long journey, but LGBTQ+ soldiers have always been part of the American military. In an era before gay marriage or open pride, military men fell in love, formed passionate friendships, and had same-sex encounters. Due to social and official discrimination, most of the stories of these LGBTQ+ soldiers have gone untold. One famous example was Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian military man hired by George Washington to whip the Continental Army into shape during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. He was known for his bravery and the discipline and grit he brought to the American troops. Historians also believe he was gay—and served as an openly gay man in the military when sex between men was punished as a crime.
So, if you have never considered the LGBTQ+ service members who lost their lives to serve a country that didn't respect them, you should. We shouldn't take our freedom for granted. It comes with a price tag, and we all need to remember this. As we celebrate another Memorial Day weekend, please note this isn't just another time to party. Today is a day set aside to remember those who have sacrificed their lives so that we may live and be free, fight against discrimination, and love who we want. These brave, unsung heroes sacrificed the truth of themselves. Let us never forget them.
Be safe, be conscious, be proud, and remember our fallen LGBTQ+ service members who died in times when being "out" wasn't allowed. Thankfully, things seemed to have changed drastically in the U.S. military. LGBTQ+ service members are able to serve openly and without harassment. While acceptance of LGBTQ+ service members is a relatively new development in the military's long history, the Department of Defense is committed to maintaining a strong force that reflects the nation's diversity.
Civil Rights in Jeopardy
A major news story broke Monday night. It is not something I would usually talk about on my blog, but the seriousness of the issue is frightening to me for many reasons. The online news media site, Politico, obtained what it calls a draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down Roe v. Wade. For those of you who may not be in the United States or may not know what the 1973 Supreme Court case is about, Roe v. Wadewas a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. What Politico released is only a draft. The final opinion has not been released, and votes and language can change before opinions are formally released. The opinion in this case is not expected to be published until late June. However, Republicans have been pushing to pack the Court with conservative justices who want to overturn Roe v. Wade for many years, and they finally succeeded under the twice-impeached, previous loser president.
Prior to the Senate confirmation of the very conservative and young Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts had served as a swing vote and attempted to balance the Court between liberal and conservative justices. If this draft is accurate, Roberts voted against overturning Roe v. Wade. Overturning it would be unprecedented (as far as I am aware) in that it would be the first Supreme Court case to overturn a major precedent that granted rights. Most, if not all, overturned decisions have been done so to correct cases where the Supreme Court took away rights, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Brownended racial segregation in schools and overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the Court had ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution if the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal." Other examples exist, but this is by far the most famous. However, with some recent decisions by the Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education is slowly being chipped away. The same is happening regarding the constitutionality of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But I am going down a rabbit hole. The fact is, the Supreme Court for the past seven decades has expanded rights of individuals not taken them away. This is beginning to change under the new make-up of the Court. Overturning Roe v. Wade may be the most dramatic of what may become a series of setbacks for civil rights.
I am not going to debate the rights and wrongs of abortions, but I am going to give a little history lesson on abortions for those who think that abortions have always been illegal in America. (Here, I am speaking of the Americas, including colonial times, not just the United States.) In colonial America, abortion was dealt with in a manner according to English common law. Abortion was typically only frowned upon if anyone even thought of it at all. If abortion was penalized, it occurred after "quickening,"—when a woman felt fetal movement—because it suggested that the fetus had manifested into its separate being. Quickening could vary from woman to woman, and sometimes went as late as four months. And, it was only penalized when it was typically seen as a cover-up for improper sexual relations. Also, abortions were much more common than believed and usually performed by midwives, not doctors. (Midwives were always much safer than doctors for pregnant women.)
States did not begin to draft abortion legislation until the first half of the 19th century; by 1880, every state had an abortion statute. These abortion statutes were not passed because of a belief that the fetus was a living being. Children were not seen as fully humans until they reached adulthood. Most of these early abortion statutes were designed to protect women from medical quacks far from the established centers of American medicine—Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, for example. These early statutes (for the most part) punished only the provider of the abortion, not the woman, and either did not apply to physicians or did not apply if the abortion was necessary to preserve the life of the woman.
Not until late 19th century did Americans—writers, journalists, preachers, and physicians—began to describe abortion with moral absolutism that had never existed before. In the late 19th century, targeting abortions and abortion providers—like midwives and "irregulars"—occurred within the context of the professionalization of the medical field. Doctors attempted to legitimize themselves as professional medical men, and they did so at others' expense largely because women knew having your baby delivered by a midwife was much safer. (Midwives sterilized their hands and equipment, whereas male doctors, and nearly all doctors were male, did not believe in sterilization and did not understand germ theory.) In claiming that pregnancy and childbirth were not natural events, where women and midwives could maintain authority, they argued that pregnancy and childbirth were medical conditions requiring physician intervention.
Abortions were dangerous in the early 20th century, but by the 1920s and 1930s, sterilization of equipment, specialization, and, later, antibiotics, all worked together to decrease mortality. But the laws and the changed view of the morality of abortions had made getting an abortion from anyone, even doctors, illegal. By the 1970s, illegal back-alley abortions were again very dangerous affairs, so when the case of Roe v. Wade came before the courts in 1973, some states were already moving toward allowing abortions so they could be legally and safely obtained.
That was a lot to read, and I hope you are still with me. I mention all this because of a flaw in Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. The conservative justice attached to his draft a 31-page appendix listing laws passed to criminalize abortion during that period. Alito claims "an unbroken tradition of prohibiting abortion on pain of criminal punishment…from the earliest days of the common law until 1973." This is just not true. It is not until the 19th century, 300 years after the first English settlement establishing common law in the Americas, that abortions started to become illegal, and only then to protect a women's health. Abortions are much safer now, which makes citing those laws illegitimate.
What worries me is if the Supreme Court begins overturning precedents that established rights for certain groups of people, especially those despised by Republicans, what is going to be next? Alito's draft misleadingly argues that rights protected by the Constitution but not explicitly mentioned in it—so-called unenumerated rights—must be strongly rooted in U.S. history and tradition. That form of analysis seems at odds with several of the Court's recent decisions, including many of its rulings backing gay rights. Liberal justices seem likely to take issue with Alito's assertion in the draft opinion that overturning Roe would not jeopardize other rights the courts have grounded in privacy such as the right to contraception, to engage in private consensual sexual activity, and to marry someone of the same sex.
Alito explicitly denies that the Court will overturn any other precedents when he says in the opinion, "We emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion." However, how can we believe him? Conservatives in the United States have increasingly made lying a part of their everyday life. Just look at the claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. The only voter fraud that has been found was committed by Republicans and did not change the outcome of the election to re-elect their twice-impeached loser candidate. They also have consistently denied there was an insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, aimed at stopping the certification of Joe Biden's presidency. Therefore, I cannot feel safe that Obergefell v. Hodges which granted the right for same-sex couples to marry or Lawrence v. Texas which struck down sodomy laws in the U.S. are not next on the Supreme Court's chopping block.
I fear with a conservative majority on the Supreme Court and the fascist leanings of the current Republican Party which remains loyal to a lying, idiotic, twice-impeached, orange menace, we are looking at even darker days in the future of the United States and the world. Conservative backlash is not limited to the United States. Authoritarianism is on the rise, and it is not being kept in check by democratic institutions. I encourage all Americans, and people who read this blog in other parts of the world, to back liberal candidates who believe in fundamental human rights and decency. If the Democratic majority in Congress is lost, we are looking at a minimum of two years of intense gridlock; if Republicans win in 2024, we are looking at a wholesale rollback on human rights. Democrats not only need to retain a majority in Congress, but need to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. We must fight, and we must vote for candidates who will protect our rights. If we don't, we are surely doomed to lose many of our civil rights as U.S. citizens. Backlash against LGBTQ+ rights are already infiltrating even liberal and LGBTQ+-friendly states like Vermont. In the last few weeks, a trans woman was murdered in a hate crime in Vermont, someone vandalized the offices of the Pride Center of Vermont, and a pride flag was stolen from a flagpole at Northern Vermont University in Lyndon, Vermont. Since I moved to Vermont, I have rarely faced any type of hate or discrimination, but hate is on the rise everywhere.
With all of this said, I must admit, I also find it disturbing that this draft opinion was leaked to the press. I'm glad it was, but I still find it disturbing. The Supreme Court remains one of Washington's most secretive institutions, priding itself on protecting the confidentiality of its internal deliberations. It is one of the hallmarks of the Supreme Court which allows for deliberation of cases before the Court to happen without intense media scrutiny. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was fond of saying, "At the Supreme Court, those who know don't talk, and those who talk don't know."
And a final word that I couldn't have said better myself to anyone who wants to make one of the stupid, hateful, and misleading arguments made by Republicans:
4 Comments | posted in History, Politics
LGBTQ+ History in Colonial Latin America
Back in graduate school, I took a seminar on Latin American History. My research project for that class was sexuality in colonial Latin America. It has a fascinating history. I remember that I read, Beyond Carnival: Male Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century Brazil which I found infinitely fascinating. So, when I saw that Dr. Cervini's Queer History 101 this week was about "Sexuality and the Colonization of the Americas," I was eager to read it and share it with you.
From Dr. Eric Cervini's Queer History 101
Even in 2022, we are still seeing an alarming rate of LGBTQ+ content being unjustly censored. In China, an episode of Friends was edited so Ross's ex-wife wouldn't be gay. In Hungary, a recent law has banned queer content in schools or kids' television. And right here in the U.S., dozens of state legislatures have attacked teachers' ability to teach queer and trans history. But how far back does this phenomenon of censoring queerness go?
Zeb Tortorici, an Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures at NYU, understands the reality and nuances of this suppression more than most. Tortorici's body of research focuses on the origins, archiving, and censorship of the queer "obscene" in New Spain, which included Mexico and Central America.
"I was directed toward the obscene," Tortorici told me, "through my first book, Sins Against Nature: Sex and Archives in Colonial New Spain, which is about the archiving of sodomy." It was during this research of colonial, same-sex criminal case records that Tortorici noticed the repeat occurrence of the Spanish word obsceno, or obscene. But it struck him as odd. "The word 'obscene' in the cases that I looked at," explained Tortorici, "was particularly grafted upon desires that were less legible than something like sodomy." So what were these "less legible" offenses?
First, Tortorici pointed me to the 1776 case of Manuel de Arroyo from Pachuca, Mexico. "Arroyo asserted that consuming human semen from another man is not a sin," he told me. "The assertion of this heretical thought is what Inquisitors referred to as 'obscene.'" Curiously, the act of oral sex wasn't the obscene offense, but holding the belief was obscene.
Tortorici also cited a second example, the 1803 case of Juana Aguilar from Guatemala. "They were a so-called hermafrodita, or a hermaphrodite. Their body is described as 'obscene' in some records, including medical reports published in the colonial Guatemalan Gazette." Again, the alleged act of Aguilar being a hermaphrodite wasn't necessarily obscene, but the description of their body was obscene.
"Obscenity is produced in conjunction with other forms of alterity," explained Totorici. "It's not simply something that refers to explicit sexuality or sexual desire in the wrong place or in the public sphere." For Arroyo and Aguilar, moralistic and cultural opinions were "grafted" onto them in a means that further marginalized them as individuals. The Inquisition's concept of the "obscene" wasn't solely about being queer; it was a commentary on diversity and how difference itself was anathema to colonial culture. Thus, being different became criminal.
"Sodomy itself was policed in colonial Spanish, Portuguese American, and Spanish Pacific landscapes," noted Tortorici, "but women and men were judged and denounced very differently for the crime." Regardless of the type of court–criminal, secular, ecclesiastical, or inquisitorial–colonial Spanish America, despite an effort to standardize punishments for sodomy, allowed gender biases to influence legal consequences. And, in Tortorici's research, the proof is in how records were kept.
"I spent from 2003 to 2018 in the archives looking for as many cases dealing with the sins against nature as I could, and I was struck by the fact that almost no cases of female sodomy appeared." Indeed, Tortorici found only one unambiguous criminal case from 1732: it was about Josepha de Garfias, a woman from Mexico City who was punished for the crime of sodomy. But as far as details goes, that's it!
"All we have is a one-paragraph summary of Josepha's criminal case, which basically says that she was convicted of the crime of sodomy with other women," said Tortorici. Apart from that, all evidence was burned and no record of punishment was kept. A leniency toward a female, same-sex crime all but proves, as Tortorici puts it, "the topic of sodomy was not the the axis of the case itself."
So, as Tortorici asked me, "What is queer? And what does it mean to think about queerness centuries before the term was ever invented?" As Tortorici suggested, "Maybe what makes something queer is in the ways that it is trying to rupture or challenge identitarian claims and politics." Queer history, in other words, may be much more expansive than you'd think!
For more of Tortorici's fascinating work, check out:
Against Nature: Sodomy and Homosexuality in Colonial Latin America (History Compass, 2012)
Queering Archives: Historical Unravelings, Eds. Kevin P. Murphy, Zeb Tortorici, and Daniel Marshall (Duke University Press, 2014)
Sexuality and the Unnatural in Colonial Latin America (University of California Press, 2016)
Sins Against Nature: Sex and Archives in Colonial New Spain (Duke University Press, 2018)
A few more suggested readings:
Guy, Donna, Sex & Danger in Buenos Aires: Prostitution, Family and Nation in Argentina (University of Nebraska Press, 1991)
Green, James, Beyond Carnival: Male Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century Brazil (University of Chicago Press, 1999)
Bliss, Katherine, Compromised Positions: Prostitution, Public Health, and Gender Politics in Revolutionary Mexico City (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001).
Sigal, Pete, Infamous Desire: Male Homosexuality in Colonial Latin America (University of Chicago Press, 2003)
About Eric Cervini
Dr. Eric Cervini is an award-winning historian of LGBTQ+ politics. His first book, The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America (a fascinating read), was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It also won the Publishing Triangle's Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction, the NYT Editors' Choice, and the "Best Read of 2020" at the Queerties.
Cervini graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College and was a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, where he received his PhD. As an authority on 1960s gay activism, Cervini serves on the Board of Advisors of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of gay American history. His award-winning digital exhibitions have been featured in Harvard's Rudenstine Gallery, and he has presented his research to audiences across America and the United Kingdom.
He lives in Los Angeles with his drag queen boyfriend and their dog, Moo Bear.
Here's a bonus picture of Dr. Cervini, just because…
I think more people would enjoy history if their professors looked like Dr. Cervini. I have such a crush on this man.
When I came out in graduate school, I remember a professor came up to me and said, "Congratulations, I hear you're a fruit." I was horrified, and it was incredibly inappropriate. I do not think he meant it as a derogatory comment, but I was still offended. It's a bit ironic, because this professor was Canadian, and he abhorred being called a Canuck. I'm not sure if Canuck was or is seen as offensive by Canadians, but he certainly was sensitive about it. Why he wasn't sensitive about a slur like "fruit" I'll never know. He was a bit of an insensitive jerk, and we did not miss him when he failed to file for an extension of his green card and was sent back to Canada to straighten it out. He never did come back.
Much like the words queen and queer, "fruit" is a slur that has been hurled against gay men for decades. Over time, gay men have begun to reclaim the "fruit" in the same way that "queen" and "queer" have become an innocuous part of our lexicon, and today use it as a term of endearment rather than a derogatory comment on one's effeminacy and attraction towards other men. This goes to the question of how did "fruit" become a slur for a gay man? What does "fruity" mean for the LGBTQ+ community? What does it mean to be "fruity?" And where did this comparison come from in the first place? Interestingly, the term may have originated from the gay community itself.
Language experts believe that the insult "fruit" has roots in the British cant, or secret language, Polari as a slang word. The slang was born out of the West and East Ends of London in the 19th century (but could date back as far as the 16th century) and was used by social outcasts and outsiders. Polari (from Italian parlare 'to talk') was used by some actors, circus and fairground showmen, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals, sex workers, and the gay subculture. This group also included costermongers, street vendors who sold fruit and vegetables in British towns. Costermongers were looked down upon for their brash behavior, love of gambling, and unusual slang. Like many secret languages, Polari emerged as a way for these outsiders to "protect their identities or actions." Pretty soon, Britain's gay community adopted this code, transforming it into a "vehicle for campery, bitchiness, filthy jokes, and innuendo." The word "fruit" was just one of many slang words gay men would throw at each other to poke fun at their effeminacy. The evolution of this slang was perhaps not unlike that of the American gay lingo that can be traced back to the drag and ballroom culture of the 1980s, where "reading" was, as RuPaul says, fundamental.
But why fruit? The common assumption goes that, like women, fruits are soft and tender. Mayukh Sen, a writer who began writing about food "by accident" when he began working at the blog Food52. His first piece to get significant attention was about fruitcake, titled "How—and Why—Did Fruitcake Become a Slur?". He wrote that, "As someone who's queer and Bengal, I grew up eating fruitcake and really treasuring it. I sit in between these two meanings of the word and explored that whole idea in detail, where I metabolized all of that personal writing very early on in my food writing career." As Sen explains, "A fruit, susceptible to the whims of nature, tends to grow tender and soft. For a man to embody these very traits, a sensitivity to the elements that is typically coded female, goes against the imaginings of masculinity our culture worships."
Sen goes on to say that, when the slur made its way to the US in the 20th century, it became tied to fruitcake – the sticky and much-maligned treat. The phrase "nutty as a fruitcake" was reserved for people who had lost their marbles, had gone off their rocker, or, simply put, were crazy. At the time, homosexuality was considered deviant – a mental illness to be corrected through lobotomies, electroshock treatment, and chemical castration. Thus, fruits became fruitcakes, and the psychiatric institutions where these horrific procedures occurred were called "fruitcake factories." Over time, the words "fruit" and "fruitcake" became less of an inside joke in the gay community and more of a weapon that straight people could use to remind gay people of their otherness. For some older gay men who lived through this era, the term "fruit" is as hurtful and offensive as the term "faggot." Perhaps even worse.
Can we reclaim a slur such as "fruit" like many have for "queer" and "queen?" According to linguistics professor Sally McConnell Ginet, sometimes distance is essential to reclaiming a slur. The young activists in the 1980s who shouted "we're here, we're queer" in AIDS rallies were distant enough from the word that, perhaps, they barely had any experiences with it. The same goes for the word "fruity" today. Navigating the world as a gay person is leaps and bounds different than it was all those decades ago. And while homophobia and transphobia most definitely still exist around the world – and even in our own backyards – there are people, places, and moments that serve as solid reminders that LGBTQ+ people do deserve and have a place in this world.
So, when someone calls you "fruity," what does it mean? It's like most things, all about context. If they're a friend, then perhaps it's a light jab, perhaps a celebration of gayness, perhaps a little bit of both. If they're not an ally, then it's a word that they think should hurt you, but at the end of the day, all it does is say, "you're sensitive, you're effeminate." And really, what's so wrong with that? We should embrace who we are, not what others expect us to be, which is a lesson it took me a long time to realize and one that I sometimes still struggle with.
1 Comment | posted in History


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October 2014 News Wire
By Tim Slavin / News Wire / October 2014 Issue
Interesting stories about computer science, software programming, and technology for the month of September 2014. More stories can be found at the News Wire link at the top of every page of this site.
Epic Makes Unreal Engine 4 Free for Schools
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/epic-admits-mistake-makes-unreal-engine-4-free-for-students/
Learn to code on the Raspberry Pi with Wyliodrin
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2014/09/05/learn-to-code-on-the-raspberry-pi-with-wyliodrin-piday-raspberrypi-raspberry_pi/
1833 Meteor Storm Started Citizen Science
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/30/1833-meteor-storm-started-citizen-science/
The women of ENIAC
http://fortune.com/2014/09/18/walter-isaacson-the-women-of-eniac/
How Memorizing "$19.05" Can Help You Outsmart the MTA
http://iquantny.tumblr.com/post/96700509489/how-memorizing-19-05-can-help-you-outsmart-the-mta
Is Twitter Bad For Language? Statistical Analysis Says No
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/10/twitter-language-book_n_5786556.html
Microsoft Research Shows Off "DeLorean," Its Tech For Building A Lag-Free Cloud Gaming Service
http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/22/microsoft-research-shows-off-delorean-its-tech-for-building-a-lag-free-cloud-gaming-service/
Were Modern Ideas""and the American Revolution""Born on Ships at Sea?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140831-pirates-horatio-nelson-samuel-adams-royal-navy-somalia-ngbooktalk/
What Hackers Know About You
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/what-do-hackers-have-on-you/
How to Behave in School (1595)
http://askthepast.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-to-behave-in-school-1595.html
Japanese Company Plans Space Elevator by 2050
http://www.cnet.com/news/japanese-company-plans-space-elevator-by-2050/
The Population of the Internet, in One Map
http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/9/20/6661175/the-population-of-the-internet-in-one-map
How to Understand Your Computer
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/understand-computer
How Algorithms Make Systems Smart
http://www.wired.com/2014/09/artificial-intelligence-algorithms-2/
Tim Slavin
Tim is an award-winning writer and technologist who enjoys teaching tech to non-technical people. He has many years experience with web sites and applications in business, technical, and creative roles. He and his wife have two kids, now teenagers, who are mad about video games.
Also In The October 2014 Issue
Andrew Mills Talks about Bits & Bytes and How to Design Games
Andrew created Bits & Bytes, a fun card game to teach kids computing skills: logic, problem solving, and critical thinking.
Tim Kropp Talks About Creating Games for Kids
Tim describes how he created his game company, Glide Games, and with his young son created two video games, Elevator Adventures and Subway Adventures.
Lo Shu Magic Squares Puzzle
A 4,000 year old Chinese magic squares puzzle is both fun and a way to learn basic problem solving skills. Plus turtles.
History of Video Games
Can you name the first video game? The first game likely was Tennis for Two in 1958 but it could be Space Wars! in 1962 or other games. It's complicated.
Playing Harvest Moon in Japanese
The story of an English-speaking person learning a little Japanese by playing the latest Harvest Moon game, Connect to a New World, in original Japanese.
Wendy Norman and Skype in the classroom
Wendy Norman, the Director of Social Good at Microsoft, talks about the history and features of the Skype in the classroom service for teachers.
You can use the concepts of game play to turn almost any task or information into a game. Assuming you can define game play.
Maker Faire NY 2014
The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth turned out to be tons of fun for kids and parents, plus a place to wander and find new technology. Links and video.
We need storytelling. Otherwise, life just goes on and on like the number Pi.
October 2014 Learn More Links
Links from the bottom of all the October 2014 articles, collected in one place for you to print, share, or bookmark.
This language lets you modify the Skyrim game to learn game coding plus have fun adding objects and functionality to the game.
Interesting stories about computer science, software programming, and technology for the month of September 2014.
Unity, PyGame, GamePress
Three game creation software tools you can use to create games. Includes a brief description and lots of links to these and other game creation tools.
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You are here: Home / People / John Gastil
John Gastil
McCourtney Institute for Democracy Senior Scholar
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Political Science
John Gastil served as the inaugural director of the McCourtney Institute from 2013-2016. He is now the Institute's Senior Scholar. He is also Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts.
John specializes in political deliberation and group decision making. John's work on the Citizens' Initiative Review has helped evaluate an exciting new form of public deliberation that should improve initiative elections. The Jury and Democracy Project has investigated, and hopefully helped vindicate, the jury system as a valuable civic educational institution. John has assisted with the Cultural Cognition Project in demonstrating the ways in which our deeper values bias how we learn about issues and form opinions. He has authored, co-authored, or edited eight books including Political Communication and Deliberation, The Group in Society, The Jury and Democracy, and Democracy in Motion. John holds a BA in Political Science from Swarthmore College and a Master's and PhD in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


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Create a consistent brand theme
Share on other social platforms
Include a transcript and detailed description
Use creative engagement tactics
Review your analytics
5 Tips for Growing Your New YouTube Channel
Syed Balkhi
business.com Member
YouTube is the second most popular website in the world. Due to its popularity, many marketers and business owners want a prominent account on this social platform.
YouTube is the second most popular website of all time, with over 1.9 billion monthly users. The only site that generates more traffic is Google. It's easy to see why marketers and content creators decide to turn to YouTube when they want to grow their business.
But there's a problem. These same people struggle with growing their channels when they first start out. Over 500 minutes of content is uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds, which creates an environment full of competition and various marketing strategies.
If you're trying to grow your channel but feel overwhelmed, stick around. I am going to share several tips you can start using today to help you grow your channel, increase sales and cultivate an audience of highly engaged leads.
Your YouTube channel should carry a consistent them throughout all of your videos and on your profile. When someone lands on your page, they should recognize your brand if they have spotted your promotions on social media, found your website in the past or heard a friend or family member mention your channel in the past.
Start by making sure the tone and images used in your uploads are consistent. Don't change the appearance of your thumbnails drastically between videos. The first part of growing is building a recognizable brand. You want people to scroll their YouTube feed and know that they are looking at one of your videos, even if they don't stop to read.
It's worth remembering that consumers remember brand logos and catchphrases subconsciously. Not only will you recruit customers that are impressed by your neat and organized channel, but you'll also convince people to come back again based on their recognition of past experiences.
YouTubers stand a better chance of getting recognized if they actively participate in other social media channels. Facebook and Instagram are the most common social media accounts to have, but Twitter and Pinterest can also prove beneficial.
Most content creators use their other social media profiles to announce new videos, engage with their audience and share content from their website. For example, if a business owner operates a YouTube channel that shows off tutorials on how to use their product, they may use other social media channels to recruit subscribers for a free trial.
Your marketing goals will vary based on the size and scope of your business, but you can certainly use social media to connect with your target audience and grow your channel.
As you release new content, post a schedule on social media so your followers across all platforms know when to expect new content. This step adds another layer to your consistency, but you can use your other profiles to build this aspect of your brand image.
There are two main reasons you should always add a transcript and a detailed description of your videos.
First, you're doing a service to your followers. Consumers like the ability to read along, and the hearing impaired cannot enjoy your video without a proper transcript. Take small steps to improve accessibility, and you'll see that a more diverse audience will start following your channel.
The second reason deals with YouTube SEO. You're likely familiar with SEO as it relates to your website, but it turns out that search engine optimization plays a significant role in the success of your YouTube channel.
When someone is looking for a keyword, the title, description, and transcript are all pulled from videos to form the context of your content. If your content aligns with the person's search intent, you're more likely to appear at the top of the results, so they are more likely to watch your content.
Because context plays such a vital role in SEO, the more data you have for the algorithm to look at, the better chance you have of getting your content on display for the correct audience.
Next, let's talk about various engagement tactics you can use to get more people to subscribe. You can take countless approaches to engage your audience. The most common tactic is to encourage your subscribers to join your email list. Let them know that by subscribing to your list, they will get even more exclusive content not aired on YouTube.
You can send out the bonus material and special promotions that apply to your online store. Because emails have a 22.68% open rate across all industries, many marketers prefer to keep in touch with their customers using email marketing.
Additionally, some marketers have found that lead nurturing through email resulted in 50% more sales. If you're a small channel looking to make it big, this could be a big deal for you. If you're not actively using email to talk to your audience, you're missing out on a massive opportunity to promote your new videos and updates.
There are plenty of other ways you can engage with your subscribers without using email. Another common strategy is to host an online contest on your channel. Tell viewers that you are giving away a gift card or product from your store, and encourage them to engage with your brand for a chance to enter.
In many cases, you can simply ask people to share your video, tag their friends or subscribe and comment. All of these actions build engagement on your channel, which will help you spread brand awareness and position yourself as an expert in your industry.
You may be familiar with the value of Google Analytics when you want to review your website data, but are you taking time to review your YouTube analytics? You can learn so much by examining the behavior of people that visit your channel.
For example, if you notice that one of the topics you cover gets more attention than the rest, you can use this information to publish more great content in the future. Use this as an opportunity to figure out what people liked about those videos in the first place. You may have an underlying customer persona trend that you can resolve through your content.
You can also fine-tune your channel as a whole. Look for features that users are not using, and remove them after a period of inactivity for a more organized profile page. Some creators start split testing their different features to see if they can get more engagement by moving things to other parts of their channel. How you split test and evolve your channel, in this case, is up to you.
The last thing you should look at when reviewing your analytics is your link traffic. Some marketers miss out on significant opportunities because they don't pay attention to incoming links. Imagine if over half of your traffic came from Facebook, but you didn't know because you didn't check the links. Now you decide to reel in on some of your social media marketing, including Facebook. You've effectively cut off one of the most significant traffic sources but didn't realize it because you forgot to review your channel analytics.
If you log on to YouTube right now, you'll have no problem finding millions of pieces of content featuring every topic under the sun. You can stick out from the crowd, but you have to take the first step and start growing your YouTube channel.
We have highlighted several helpful tactics you can start using today on your channel. Remember that all good things take time, and your account might not blow up overnight. However, if you're persistent and consistent, you'll have no problem managing a channel with the potential to reach millions of consumers from around the world.
Image Credit: Visivasnc / Getty Images
Hello, I'm Syed Balkhi, a 27 year old award-winning entrepreneur with a strong 8 figure online business. I was recognized as the top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by the United Nations. I was born in Karachi, Pakistan. At age 12, my family immigrated to the United States. Ever since I can remember, I have been extremely competitive which makes me hustle at everything that I do.
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