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Category Archives: History

Explore The History Of Xbox, And Your Own, With This Interactive 3D Museum – GameSpot

Posted: November 23, 2021 at 4:13 pm

Microsoft is celebrating 20 years of Xbox in 2021, and there's a good chance that you've been part of that journey for part of those two decades. To reminisce, a new Xbox Museum site is live with 3D interactivity, and it also offers a look back at your own history with the console family.

Once you're at the Xbox Museum page, you can sign in by clicking on the trophy in the middle, at which point you'll get some statistics about how many Achievements you've received and which systems you've played. But click on it again after you go back to the home page and you'll be sent into a 3D space with an avatar you can control around a huge room. If you share your link, you can even let other people join your room.

Clicking on any of the consoles will give you similar rooms filled with avatars running around as they explore past Xbox history. As you go through the first room, you'll see how the original Xbox came to fruition, and a separate Halo museum even has details on the game's development and the original Halo: The Fall of Reach novel--which you should definitely read because it's great.

The museum isn't a sugar-coated view of the Xbox brand, either, with the Xbox One section calling out the system's high price and initial online-only and Kinect requirements. As things improved, of course, the little stories you can see get more positive, and the Xbox Series X|S section ends with a teaser of cloud gaming and the upcoming six-part documentary series. You can actually exit through a virtual gift shop, too.

The museum arrives just a few weeks before Halo Infinite is due to launch. It's shaping up to be an enormous title for not just Xbox Series X|S, but also Xbox One and PC. You can check out our thoughts on the multiplayer and read our campaign preview now.

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Explore The History Of Xbox, And Your Own, With This Interactive 3D Museum - GameSpot

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Jim Valentino Creates "Warts And All" History Of Image Comics – Bleeding Cool News

Posted: at 4:13 pm

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We mentioned this last week in Image Comics February 2022 solicits and solicitations, that Jim Valentino was creating an Official Image Comics timeline one-shot.

Image Comics archivist and co-founder Jim Valentino details the company's history (warts and all!) in the single most comprehensive chronology of the company ever publishedThe Official Image Timeline. The one-shot will hit shelves in February 2022, just in time for Image Comics' 30th anniversary.

Well, there certainly have been a few warts here and there over the years, how honest will they be? And how topical? Will the issues of unionisation, that Jim Valentino once supported, come up? Expect a lot of the studio infighting, poaching, walking, votes, and ejections to be in there. But what about the accusations of racism, sexism, transphobia and the like? How did Robert Kirkman really get the founder gig? What was the founders' response when Image Comics twisted on the whims of Eric Stephenson away from the superhero base they began with, and how has he survived in the position so long? What were the issues David Brothers talked about as to why he left? What happened when Bendis pulled his comics to Marvel, then DC and did they say no before he took them back to Dark Horse? What was the internal reaction to the Howard Chaykin cover, the James Robinson content, the return of John Upchurch, the Warren Ellis imprint plans indeed all the recently planned creator imprints? And how did the recent shutdowns affect everything?

"I've worked diligently on thisTimelinefor the past year, trying to stay as true to the facts as possible, regardless where they lead," said Valentino. "While I sincerely hope that fans, new and old, will enjoy this illustrated journey through the last 30 yearsI also hope that this Timeline will put to rest, once and for all, the misinformation and misunderstandings of what Image is and what it has strived to be."

Or might it just kick over the can one more time?

Featuring rarely seen covers, photos, milestones, and behind-the-scenes events from the company's Marvel-ous beginnings to the present, The Official Image Timeline is the chronicle all future histories will be judged against. This special one-shot will also feature an introduction by current Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson and include a chronicle of historic Image accolades.

And, ooh look, there are statues.

The Official Image Timeline will be printed in a 64-page prestige format, at comic book shops on Wednesday, the 2nd of February.

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Jim Valentino Creates "Warts And All" History Of Image Comics - Bleeding Cool News

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SMITH: The interest history of the Georgia-Georgia Tech football rivalry – Gwinnettdailypost.com

Posted: at 4:13 pm

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IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

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SMITH: The interest history of the Georgia-Georgia Tech football rivalry - Gwinnettdailypost.com

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Largest research project in Baylor history to study human flourishing around the world – Baylor University

Posted: at 4:13 pm

When Dr. Byron Johnson first suggested the idea that is now the Global Flourishing Study, responses from potential collaborators ranged from a pie in the sky to crazy. Now, its being called a dream come true and the largest initiative of its kind ever to study human flourishing.

The Global Flourishing Study is off and running, a massive research project that aims to uncover what its means to live well and to thrivearound the world. A partnership between Baylor, Harvard University, Gallup, and the Center for Open Science, the study is being led by Dr. Byron Johnson, distinguished professor of the social sciences and director of Baylors Institute for Studies of Religion. And while the dollar amount is certainly eye-popping with $43.4 million in grants from a variety of sources, its the largest funded research project in Baylor history its impact will be even more impressive.

Over the next five years, the Global Flourishing Study will survey 240,000+ people across 22 nations worldwide about a variety of factors related to human flourishing, such as close relationships, mental and physical health, material stability and more. Further, it will apply scientific research methods to study the impact of faith on human flourishing across a variety of global religions.

[MEDIA: Watch the launch of theGlobal Flourishing Study || Listen to Dr. Byron Johnsons recent appearance on the Baylor Connections podcast]

Theres another aspect of the study that particularly excites researchers: its longitudinal. That means researchers will survey the same people repeatedly throughout the life of the study. Gallup, a partner on the project, describes a longitudinal approach as the holy grail scientists get causal data, not just correlational data. Most surveys of this magnitude survey different people each year because of the cost and efforts involved in surveying a representative sample repeatedly. The funding applied to this project amplifies the value scientists see in this approach. Johnson says the data will impact not only higher education, but has the potential to shape public policy, healthcare, religious organizations and more.

Baylor is a natural fit for the project, since Human Flourishing, Leadership and Ethics is one of five signature academic initiatives of Illuminate, the strategic plan guiding Baylor towards preeminence as a Christian research university.

In some ways, I see this as Baylors gift to the world, to look at human flourishing, Johnson says. This is a gift that keeps on giving. Its a topic thats overwhelmingly important. If we can help figure out what makes people flourish or what hinders them from flourishing, maybe well become more thoughtful as a society. Thats where this gets really exciting. Theres no better place than Baylor to lead a project that will can touch so many different aspects of our lives.

Sic em, Dr. Johnson and the Global Flourishing Study!

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Largest research project in Baylor history to study human flourishing around the world - Baylor University

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Review: Noir suspense and Detroit history converge in ‘Paradise Blue’ – Los Angeles Times

Posted: at 4:13 pm

Paradise Blue, one of the three plays in Dominique Morisseaus Detroit Project series chronicling the generational struggles of the Black community in her native city, takes place in a jazz joint on a downtown strip known as Paradise Valley.

The year is 1949, a little more than a decade before the neighborhood known as Black Bottom was demolished in a redevelopment program that ran a highway through an area that was a vibrant hub of Black-owned businesses.

Detroits incoming mayor, Albert Cobo, has promised to rid the city of urban blight. The characters who work at Paradise Club and live upstairs in the rooming house cant help feeling that a target has been placed on their backs.

Under the direction of Stori Ayers, an actor with a long collaborative history with the playwright, this production of Paradise Blue (at the Geffen Playhouse through Dec. 12) makes a compelling case for a play that proudly parades in vintage genre clothing. Reviews were mixed for the New York premiere in 2018, but this ensemble cast drama is well served by the character-centered nature of Ayers staging.

Sociopolitical context is crucial in The Detroit Project plays. For Skeleton Crew, which had a production at the Geffen in 2018 and is opening on Broadway in January, the focus is on the faltering auto industry as the 2008 Great Recession kicks into gear. In the background of Detroit 67" is the riot that brought clashes between Black residents and the police in the plays title year.

Paradise Blue is set in an era when misguided policies of urban renewal led to the erasure of predominantly Black neighborhoods. This social history, while crucial to the plot, sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of dramatic narratives. Story drowns out all other concerns. But its hard not to become absorbed in the motivations and maneuverings of the plays fully drawn characters, whose future hinges on the fate of a club that, despite its lost luster, is still something of a local landmark.

Blue (Wendell B. Franklin), the trumpeter who owns Paradise Club, knows the city is willing to pay a pretty penny for his property. Hes devoted to the music he regularly performs with a couple of other musicians who board there, Corn (John Earl Jelks) and P-Sam (Alani iLongwe). But hes considering selling the place, which belonged to his father and carries some violent family memories that Blue fears may be derailing his artistic dreams.

Pumpkin (Shayna Small), Blues girlfriend, cooks and cleans and calls herself a go-along gal. Happy to finally have a home, shes content to look after the men at Paradise Club. But an unspoken longing in her finds expression in the poems of Harlem Renaissance writer Georgia Douglas Johnson. Reciting this verse to anyone who will listen refreshes Pumpkins persevering spirit.

Into this world sashays Silver (Tyla Abercrumbie), a widow wrapped in noir mystery. She has money, a mind of her own and, if the rumors are true, a murderous history. Once she unpacks her lingerie and jazz records upstairs, the equilibrium of Paradise Club will never be the same again. (Edward E. Haynes Jr.'s set, enlivened by Alan C. Edwards moody lighting, lays out this world with clever economy.)

Paradise Blue, which tries to juggle an impossible number of plots, owes a clear debt to August Wilsons 10-play cycle. The gentrification drama evokes aspects of Jitney while the artistic tensions of the band members recall the squabbling musicians of Ma Raineys Black Bottom.

Theres a touch of Fences in the way Blue is oppressed by the memory of his brutal father. But perhaps the play that looms largest is Joe Turners Come and Gone. Its not just the setup of a mysterious newcomer disturbing the order of a makeshift family but also the profound desire of the characters to find their song or music, as Corn, whos coaching an inexperienced Pumpkin to sing, describes this spiritual quest.

With Silvers seductive languor and quick, calculating eye the play may also jog a few memories of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire. Pumpkin, as domestically grounded as Stella, is both fascinated and appalled by Silver, whos as dangerous as Blanche DuBois to the stability Pumpkin has tenuously found with a man every bit as volatile as Stanley Kowalski.

About Silver, Corn exclaims, Shes got some kinda walk on her, aint she? Abercrumbie, curvaceously accentuated in Wendell C. Carmichaels striking costumes, knows how to cast a spell with a strut. Blue senses shes trouble, but Corn, a widower, is hypnotized by this woman, who awakens the dormant lover in him. (Jelks, a seasoned veteran who was in Lynn Nottages Sweat in New York and at the Mark Taper Forum, brings Corns transformation to life in all its touching humor.)

Morisseau is extremely skillful in creating a fertile theatrical landscape in which the actors can lay down roots. The shifts in character relationships occur with a naturalness that allows not just the performers to make discoveries but also the audience.

Special attention is paid to the connection between the women, which unfolds as much in glances as in words. Behavioral details speak volumes throughout. It takes some time to learn the cause of Pumpkins painful wrists, but the way she rubs them reveals a good deal about her life with bad-tempered Blue. Silvers twinges of disappointment whenever Pumpkin rejects her help give us a sense of the sadness that Corn detected in her when he first admired her walk.

The delicacy of the acting manages for the most part to withstand the melodramatic pressures that are placed on the characters. A gunshot that goes off at the start of the play is traced backward in a plot that might have more in common with films from the period in which the play is set than with contemporary drama.

The battle at the heart of Paradise Blue is for control of Paradise Club, which is a home for Pumpkin, a stake in the ground for Silver, a place of artistic freedom for P-Sam, a community for conciliatory Corn and a burdensome legacy for Blue. At the same time, its a bulwark of Black culture and enterprise in a neighborhood thats imperiled by the joint forces of politics and money.

As in Skeleton Crew, Morisseau recognizes that for her characters work isnt just a paycheck but an identity. One of the most stirring moments in the play is when P-Sam, hearing that Blue has decided to go ahead and sell the club, erupts in a defiant dignity: You might be the one to own it, but you aint the one to make it. We all make this Paradise.

This sentiment is more powerful than what follows. The ending, though perhaps true to the style of noir, feels more like a bold gesture than a convincing inevitability.

The strained final note shouldnt detract too much from a drama that is otherwise so richly observed and inhabited. Under Ayers direction, this Geffen production conjures to the stage a living narrative full of personal truth and sweeping history.

'Paradise Blue'

Where: Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Dec. 12.

Tickets: $39-$129

Contact: (310) 208-2028 or geffenplayhouse.org

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes, including one intermission

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Review: Noir suspense and Detroit history converge in 'Paradise Blue' - Los Angeles Times

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Eyewitness to History: First Thanksgiving painting and the local artist who created it – PAHomePage.com

Posted: November 19, 2021 at 6:12 pm

HONESDALE, WAYNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) She was raised in Wayne County. She has been called the female Norman Rockwell. Even those who are art aficionados may know her work, but often not her name, Jennie Brownscombe.

If something happened prior to modern photography, what is the image in our mind? The image in our mind is usually paintings or drawings and all. So thats why The First Thanksgiving kind of resonates with at least us Americans.

Brownscombe was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania in 1850, to a farm family. Her father was a farmer. Her mother encouraged her when she was young, maybe that did it. She had maybe an inborn talent, said Sally Talaga, Wayne County Historical Society Museum Collections Volunteer.

So she taught a couple of terms here (Honesdale High School). Taught school, and with that money was able to go to New York City to the Cooper Union, said Talaga.

Brownscombe was able to establish her ancestry back to the pilgrims.

There are several First Thanksgivings, one is in Plymouth Hall, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is a certain orientation, with a table here, and so forth. And theres another one where it is flipped, meaning its not a mirrored image.

Brownscombe painted her entire life. Shes very, prolific, Eyewitness news saw sketches and some entries she made into the Wayne County Fair when shes a youngster.

Not many people recognize her name, Jennie Brownscombe, but many of us recognize her images. One of those images is The First Thanksgiving, because it was used in elementary history textbooks for a number of years.

She would frequently, during her life, come back here to Honesdale and Wayne County. There was a local funeral in 1936 for her. She was a member, and her mother remained a member of the Central United Methodist Church on 11th street.

In her time 1850 to 1936, she was able to make a living through her art.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth was painted in 1914 and now is part of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth Massachusetts.

Brownscombe final resting place is Glen Dyberry Cemetery in Honesdale.

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House Passes the Largest Expenditure on Climate in U.S. History – The New York Times

Posted: at 5:45 pm

WASHINGTON The United States took a major step toward fighting climate change Friday with passage through the House of Representatives of a $2.2 trillion spending bill that includes the largest expenditures ever made by the federal government to slow global warming.

The legislation provides $555 billion for programs that could significantly curb the fossil fuel emissions that have been heating the atmosphere, fueling deadly and record-breaking wildfires, floods, heat waves and drought. However, the bill faces an uncertain path through the Senate and negotiations between the two chambers may change its form.

On its own, the legislation isnt enough to fulfill President Bidens pledge that the United States will cut its emissions by half from 2005 levels by the end of this decade. But it goes well beyond any other climate policy that has come before it, in the United States and in most other countries.

It features tax incentives to cut the costs to consumers and manufacturers of electric vehicles, electric heat pumps, solar panels, wind farms and other equipment designed to power the economy without pollution.

The science is clear, we only have a brief window left before us to raise our ambitions and to raise to meet the task thats rapidly narrowing, said Mr. Biden at a global climate summit earlier this month. But ladies and gentlemen, within the growing catastrophe, I believe theres an incredible opportunity. Not just for the United States, but for all of us. Were standing at an inflection point in world history, we have the ability to invest in ourselves and build an equitable clean energy future.

Environmental groups said the legislation would begin to address a climate crisis that is no longer a distant threat.

Its here now, said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice. And we need bold action from our government to deploy the clean technologies and natural solutions that will carry every community, including those that have too long borne the brunt of pollution and climate catastrophe, into a safe and vibrant future.

But the fossil fuel industry said the policies would punish American firms while helping foreign competitors.

Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore drilling companies, called the legislation a gift to higher emitting producers like Russia and China that wield their energy resources as a geopolitical tool.

The House passed the bill by a vote of 220 to 213, with one Democrat joining every Republican in opposition. Its passage follows Mr. Bidens signing on Monday of a separate $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that included about $50 billion to help fortify communities against the impacts from global warming. Last week in Glasgow, the United States joined about 200 countries in an agreement to intensify efforts to keep average global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with preindustrial levels. Past that threshold, scientists have warned, the risk of deadly heat waves, destructive storms, water scarcity and ecosystem collapse grows immensely. The world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius.

This bill makes it happen for us in terms of preserving the planet, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Its a health issue: clean air, clean water for our children. Its a jobs issue: making America pre-eminent in good-paying green jobs. Its also a national security issue, because competition for habitat and, and resources resulting from drought and, you know, all of the challenge of natural disasters springing from the climate crisis. And, it is a moral issue, if you believe as I do that this is Gods creation and we have a moral obligation to be good stewards.

Historically, the United States is the country that has pumped the most carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is currently the second biggest polluting country, behind China. A major scientific report issued in August concluded that countries must immediately shift away from burning fossil fuels to avoid a harrowing future.

Republicans assailed the climate provisions. This includes payoffs for electric vehicle owners, said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It includes higher taxes on American energy and higher prices for consumers.

In an eight-hour attack on the bill on the House floor, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican Leader, said, Every moment you heat your home in the winter or cool it in the summer, you will pay more. That alone is enough reason to defeat the bill defeat the bill!

Climate change is the single largest spending category of the new legislation, which also encapsulates the rest of Mr. Bidens broader domestic agenda. One-quarter of the bill $555 billion to be spent over the next decade is devoted to pulling the American economy away from its 150-year-old reliance on fossil fuels and toward clean energy sources.

By comparison, the largest amount previously spent by the federal government to combat climate change was about $80 billion, in the 2009 economic stimulus package signed into law by former President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama also put in place the nations first major climate change regulations, but they were later weakened or erased by the Trump administration.

Once enacted, the new legislation could prevent emissions of about one billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, according to an analysis by Rhodium Group, an independent research organization. Thats the equivalent of taking roughly all the cars in the United States off the road for one year. But it would bring the country only about halfway to Mr. Bidens goal, the analysis found.

With passage of this bill, Biden will have made an outstanding accomplishment which can get the U.S. part of the way there, said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.

The centerpiece of the new climate legislation is $320 billion in tax incentives for producers and buyers of wind, solar and nuclear power. Buyers of electric vehicles would receive up to $12,500 in tax credits, depending on what portion of the vehicle parts were made in America and whether they were built by union workers.

The legislation provides funds to create charging stations for electric vehicles and update the electric grid to accommodate transmission of wind and solar power, as well as money for climate-friendly farming and forestry programs.

The bill would ban new oil and gas leases off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and off the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and repeal the fossil fuel leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, while authorizing wind farms in federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Gulf of Mexico. It would increase the royalties paid by oil companies that drill on federal lands, while reinstating a tax on imported petroleum products. It would also create a fee on leaks of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that frequently escapes from oil and gas wells.

And it includes a suite of programs designed to help low income and minority communities that are disproportionately harmed by environmental problems, from $15 billion to finance clean energy projects to $2.83 billion to plant trees in poor neighborhoods that can be 10 degrees hotter than leafier sections of a city.

Analysts agreed that of all the climate provisions, the tax credits would be the most impactful in terms of lowering emissions.

This is a fundamental shift in tax policy, said Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and the chief author of the tax provisions. What makes this landmark legislation is that, for the first time, you would have, in the tax arena, a clear statement that the bigger your carbon reduction, the bigger your tax incentives.

Most of the incentives are 10-year extensions of existing tax credits. In the past, those credits have expired after one to five years, and they often lapse before they are renewed.

Some of them had a shelf life barely longer than a carton of eggs, Mr. Wyden said. Extending them for a decade, he added provides certainty and predictability to the clean energy producers.

The decision by Democratic leaders to use the tax code as their primary weapon to fight climate change was determined by both political necessity and economic research.

With Republicans unanimously opposed to the broader spending bill, Democrats are pushing the measure through Congress under a special process known as reconciliation, which would enable Democrats to pass the legislation in the Senate on a simple majority vote, without any Republican support.

To meet the rules of reconciliation, any new climate program needed to take the form of a budget or tax policy.

Economists say the most effective way to cut emissions is to tax them, essentially driving up costs for polluters. Another way, though less efficient, is to create incentives for using less-polluting sources of energy, essentially a reward for choosing wind, solar or nuclear energy.

Democrats had hoped to combine both methods in a carrot-and-stick approach: penalties for burning fossil fuels and incentives for clean energy.

In writing the legislation, Democrats abandoned what experts said would be one of the most powerful tools to cut emissions: a program that would have rewarded utilities that drew an increasing share of electricity from clean energy sources, and penalized those that did not.

That plan hit a roadblock in the form of Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, whose home state is a major producer of coal and gas, and whose vote is essential to passage of the legislation in the Senate. Mr. Manchins state produces coal and natural gas and he has personal financial ties to the coal industry. He has forcefully objected to any program that would hurt fossil fuels.

Mr. Manchin has opposed other climate provisions in the legislation, including the fee on methane, and the tax incentives for purchasing union-made electric vehicles.

Environmental activists are focused on Mr. Manchin ahead of the Senate negotiations. This month, about 100 people gathered outside the houseboat where Mr. Manchin stays when in Washington. As the senator exited the adjacent yacht club, demonstrators trailed him to his car, chanting, We want to live! We want to live!

The fight is definitely not over, said Audrey Lin, a 20-year-old protester from Watertown, Mass. Were definitely going to be keeping up the pressure on Manchin and Biden and making sure the Democratic Party delivers the promises that we elected them on.

Lisa Friedman contributed reporting.

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House Passes the Largest Expenditure on Climate in U.S. History - The New York Times

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Research Team Probes History with Cutting-Edge Tech – Bethel University News

Posted: at 5:45 pm

Zach Haala 23 and Professor of History Charlie Goldberg noticed an anomaly in their data. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the two had tracked the presence of smiles over nearly 80 years and thousands of Bethel photographs. As expected, smiles grew more prevalent in the photos over time, matching cultural shifts after World War II. But then in the 1960s, the number of smiles decreased. At first, they were stumped. Then Haala noticed thats when the yearbooks started featuring more sports photos. Its a good example of how data spits stuff out, but data needs to be interpreted, Goldberg says. In the 1960s, male athletes rarely smiled in photos, and large teams like mens football and basketball affected the research results. To Goldberg, it shows the promise of using AI to explore history and also raises questions. What do we then do with this stuff? How do we interpret it and use it to tell a human storywhich is what historians do? Goldberg asks.

Those are the kinds of questions Goldberg and Haala explored in the research project, "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Data Points? AI-driven Machine Learning in Digital Humanities Analyses." They were one of the 2021-22 student-faculty teams to receive an Edgren Scholarship to support their research.

To some, history may feel a long way from artificial intelligence and programming. But Goldberg also directs Bethels digital humanities program, which explores cutting-edge, forward-looking methods to apply to history, literature, and philosophy. While teaching Advanced Digital Humanities last year, Goldberg got the idea to use AI to study history. The class explores advances in AI technology and how its often a double-edged swordit yields many opportunities with data and research, but it also leads to things like deepfakesor fake photos or video created using AI, often depicting world leaders or celebrities. Goldberg wanted to go deeper. As a historian, he uses datausually text or photosto look for patterns. He was interested in using AI to isolate the same patterns historians explore but on a larger scale, and wanted to see how well AI could recognize the same patterns in photos that historians look for. He knew he needed a student who was highly skilled at coding and programmingand who was also willing to dive into the deep end and take risks. Enter Haala, who is triple majoring in computer science: software project management, software engineering, and digital humanitiesand he had taken Advanced Digital Humanities.

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An Archive Traces the History of Anti-Semitism Across Europe – Hyperallergic

Posted: at 5:45 pm

Card game The Game of Old Maid with anti-Semitic playing cards, c. 1920 ( German Historical Museum)

TheGerman Historical Museumin Berlin announced the acquisition of an archive of some 15,000 objects and ephemera related to the history of anti-Semitism, ranging from anti-Semitic postcards and playing cards to concentration camp currency and food ration cards. Amassed over the course of three decades by the late German civil engineer Wolfgang Haney, who lost family in the Holocaust, the items chart the development of anti-Semitism in Europe since the late 19th century. They have been acquired for their significance as a historical record; as an educational bulwark against present-day anti-Semitism, which ison the rise in Germany; and to keep the items from dispersing throughout the free market, where potential buyers may well have anti-Semitic motives not to mention little interest in connecting personal or looted objects with their rightful owners.

The acquisition was supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, the Federal Minister for Education and Research, and the State Cultural Foundation. The Haney Collection contains historically unique testimonies that show National Socialists oppression and crimes against humanity and the gradual escalation of the racist terror system, said Monika Grtters, Germanys Culture Minister, in a statement. The collection is such a valuable bundle for research into antisemitism, which is currently challenging us again.

Haney, who was born in Berlin to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, witnessed the ascent of the Nazi party as a child and experienced its devastating effects. He was forced to leave high school, and in 1943, a bombing destroyed his familys home. Much of his extended family perished after being sent to Lodz and then Auschwitz. His mother evaded deportation by hiding in the woods outside of Berlin, while Haney who was spared deportation due to his fathers connections aided her. After the war, Haney went on to become a municipal civil engineer in his birth city. He had been a numismatist from a young age, but it wasnt until his retirement, in 1991, that he turned to an unusual new collecting category: anti-Semitic material.

Haney spoke about his motivation for collecting these painful items withWiden the Circle,an anti-prejudice nonprofit that honored him with the Obermayer German Jewish History Award for Distinguished Service. I must do it I must do something to remember all the people who died in our family, Haney recalled thinking. The Germans must say what they have done to the Jews.

To build his collection, Haney combed antique stores and flea markets throughout Germany, ultimately spending over 1 million (~$1.13 million). Along the way, he wrote several books on the history of the Holocaust and loaned objects from his holdings to exhibitions at a number of German and Polish institutions, as well as the Imperial War Museum in London and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. In 2006, he was awarded the Berlin Order of Merit, the citys highest honor.

In a statement on the museum acquisition, Markus Hilgert, General Secretary of the Kulturstiftung der Lnder, described Haneys collecting efforts as pioneering work in the investigation of crimes committed by National Socialism and the persecution of Jews.

No museum or archive has compiled such objects in a comparable way, Hilgert added.

An essay by Fritz Backhaus, the German Historical Museums Director of Collections, separates Haneys collection into three parts. One segment focuses on the growth ofanti-Semitismaround the Wilhelmine Period, when German mass media was taking off. Bigoted images and sentiments became naturalized as they were insidiously disseminated through low-cost postcards, posters, leaflets, and stamps. A second part features items from the Third Reich, including advertisements for the notorious Nazi propaganda filmJud Sss(1940), photographs taken in Jewish ghettoes, letters and diaries written at concentration camps, and a variety of bureaucratic ephemera such as food ration cards for Jews and special banknotes used at the camps. The third segment consists of items from the years after the war, demonstrating the ongoing presence of anti-Semitism in right-wing extremist groups and considering how the Holocaust has been portrayed, misrepresented, or erased in the media.

Due to legal and ethical questions about the origin of the objects, the German Historical Museum said in a statement that the acquisition will require additional research. Regarding personal documents of Holocaust victims, the museum will collaborate with theArolsen Archives, an international organization founded to trace victims of Nazi persecution that has built a massive archive over the years. The museum will also consult with theClaims Conference, which deals with restitution and compensation for victims of Nazi persecution, to determine next steps with regards to scraps of Torah scrolls, which German soldiers stole from synagogues and used as wrapping paper.

Items from the Haney Collection acquisition will feature in a forthcoming permanent exhibition at the German Historical Museum, which will incorporate object research by the Center for Research on Antisemitism at the Technical University, Berlin.

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An Archive Traces the History of Anti-Semitism Across Europe - Hyperallergic

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Rutgers series history with Penn State – On The Banks

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Rutgers and Penn State have a very long history that dates back all the way to the first world war. Penn State leads the series 29-2 all time. There are too many games to break down all of them, most of them being losses, so I picked out a few that I thought were notable. Lets take a look back.

1918

The first time Rutgers and Penn State met on the gridiron was over a century ago. Led by Hall of Fame head Coach George Sandford and All-American Paul Robeson, the Rutgers Queensmen were a national powerhouse. They traveled to State College on November 9th (Rutgers football loves this date) with a 4-0 record. The Queensmen had not allowed a single point on the year as they had outscored their previous opponents 152-0. The meeting with Penn State was another domination as Rutgers cruised to a 26-3 victory.

1950

The two schools did not meet again until 1950 when the Queensmen once again traveled to State College. Rutgers started the game strong and went into halftime with a 14-6 lead. The two scores came from Jim Monahan (member of the 1950 Rutgers College World Series team) and captain Rob DAmato. The second half was a different story as Penn State roared back. Bob Pollard scored on a 1 yard run and then Tony Orsnini gave Penn State the lead with a 28 yard touchdown run. The Rutgers offense stalled in the second half largely due to a broken collar bone suffered by Monahan. Penn State got their first victory over Rutgers with a score of 18-14. An interesting note is that future head coach Joe Paterno was in his first year as an assistant at Penn State during this season.

1985

From 1982-1995, Rutgers and Penn State met annually. Penn State had high expectations going into 1985 and especially after knocking off No. 7 Maryland in College Park to open the season. Rutgers had quite the season opener themselves as they went into Gainesville, Florida and went toe to toe with No. 5 Florida in a 28-28 tie. The two teams met at Giant Stadium in a late September showdown. The game was a rock fight but Penn State finally broke it open in the 4th quarter when Steve Smith ran for a 63 yard score giving the Nittany Lions a 17-3 lead. Rutgers did not give up as Joe Gagliardi found Bruce Campbell in the back of the end zone with 1:54 left. The onside kick failed and Penn State held on for a 17-10 victory. That same Nittany Lion team lost in the national championship to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl but would go on to win it all the following year by defeating Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

1988

Penn State was a national power that had dominated Rutgers on the field and in recruiting for years. Dick Anderson, a former Paterno assistant, was looking to get his first win over his old boss. The Scarlet Knights opened the game strong as Scott Erney found future First Base coach for the 2021 World Series Champion Braves Eric Young for a 38 yard touchdown. Mike Botti kept the Rutgers offense balanced as he had 18 carries for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rutgers had a surprising 21-10 lead going into the 4th quarter but Penn State was in no way out of it. Starter Tom Bill was knocked out of the game so backup Tony Sacca from Delran, New Jersey was called on to lead the comeback. He orchestrated a 90 yard touchdown drive that cut the lead to 21-16. With only 3 minutes remaining, Sacca led another long Penn State drive all the way down to the Rutgers 3 yard line. They did not gain another yard. The stifling Rutgers defense was able to stuff Penn State on two straight run plays. On third down, Sacca rolled out on a play action fake and saw a wide open Dave Jakob in the end zone but overthrew the ball. On fourth down, Sacca once again scrambled to his right and threw it to the corner but it was too far for Michael Timpson. It was a goal line stand for the ages as Rutgers had finally defeated the mighty Nittany Lions in their own den.

1995

In their final matchup until Rutgers joined the BIG, Penn State steamrolled Rutgers at Giants Stadium 59-34. The game was an offensive showcase for Penn State as quarterback Wally Richardson and running back Curtis Enis torched the Scarlet Knights all night. However, the actual playing is not what is remembered most about this particular game. With the game out of reach and only 1:20 left in the game, backup quarterback Mike McQueary hit a wide open Chris Campbell for a 42 yard touchdown. When the two head coaches met at the center of the field, Rutgers coach Doug Graber had a few choice words for Paterno about that particular play. Paterno became extremely angry by whatever Graber said and was restrained by other members of his staff. Here is a video of the handshake

2014

This game was a build up of many storylines. Rutgers was playing in their first conference game as a member of the BIG. They were finally renewing their series with Penn State and the game would not be played in a half empty Meadowlands. It was in Piscataway in front of a raucous sold out crowd. In the weeks leading up to the game, a lot of different comments were made by players that only fueled the fire. New Jersey native and Penn State running back Bill Belton told reporters that he went to Penn State because he wanted to play big time football. This ruffled a lot of Rutgers players feathers.

The game itself was a slugfest. Rutgers went into halftime with a 10-0 lead after Gary Nova ran one in for a score and the special teams blocked not only a punt but also a field goal. The Rutgers offense was not able to give the knockout punch and it allowed Hackenberg and the Nittany Lions to stay within striking distance despite being dominated by the Rutgers defense. With under 3 minutes in the game, Rutgers held a 10-6 lead and Penn State had the ball on their own 20 yard line. Hackenberg threw a quick pass to Geno Lewis who broke one tackle and bolted down the sideline all the way to the Rutgers 27 yard line. Later on in the drive, Hackenberg threw a dart for a touchdown but it was called back for holding. This put Penn State in a critical 3rd and 12. Hackenberg threw a perfect throw to Geno Lewis who caught the ball in between two Rutgers defenders. Bill Belton got the last laugh and stormed into the end zone from 5 yards out to give Penn State a 13-10 lead. Gary Nova threw his fifth interception of the game on the next drive and the Nittany Lions escaped Piscataway victorious.

2019

Rutgers was in the middle of one of the worst seasons in their history as they traveled to State College for their annual game with Penn State. Led by Johnny Langan at quarterback, the outgunned Scarlet Knights fought valiantly and kept the game in reach deep into the 4th. The 10th ranked Nittany Lions proved to be too much and came away with a 27-6 win. But this game will always be remembered as the day Johnny Langan showed why he is one of the heart and souls of this team. At one point in the game he was seen bleeding from his mouth, yet he continued to be the most physical player on the field.

2020

Last years meeting was one that showed how big the talent gap is between these two teams. From the very start, Penn State dominated the line scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Rutgers offense could not get anything going and Penn State was moving the ball at will. It was 20-0 when Christian Izien got a much needed interception which set up Rutgers in great field position. Vedral found Bo Melton on a 4th and Goal desperation heave that cut the Penn State lead to 20-7. That was the only bright spot of the day for Rutgers as Penn State did not allow a point after that. They left Piscataway with their second win of the year, 23-7.

Rutgers travels to State College this weekend to try and put an end to a 14 game losing streak to Penn State. Some are saying they are catching them at the perfect time. We will have to wait and see.

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