Good morning, Whitewater.

Our year ends on a day of mostly sunny and windy skies, with a high of twenty. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:31 PM, for 9h 05m 43s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 78.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1946, Pres. Truman formally proclaims America’s role in the Second World War ended:

Washington, Dec. 31–President Truman in a surprise proclamation terminated formally the period of hostilities in World War II as of noon today.

The action was announced by the President personally at a suddenly called news conference this forenoon at which he said:

“The time has come when such a declaration can properly be made, and it is in the public interest to make it.”

At the same time he emphasized that the states of emergency that were proclaimed by the late President Roosevelt in 1939 and 1941 and the state of war itself, which presumably will run until peace treatise [sic] have been terminated. They would require action by Congress, he pointed out.

The state of hostilities, a term covering the period of actual fighting and one used in defining the duration of many war-time statues, alone was involved in the President’s proclamation, but this served to terminate immediately eighteen emergency laws and scheduled for expiration six months from now or later provisions of thirty-three other statutes.

On this day in 1967, the Packers win the Ice Bowl:

1967 – Green Bay Packers Triumph in “Ice Bowl”
On this date the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys played in what many consider to be the greatest game in NFL history – The Ice Bowl. With the thermometer dipping to a shocking 13 below zero and a wind chill of minus 46, Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown from the 1-yard line with 13 seconds remaining, sealing a record third straight championship for the Packers, their fifth in seven years. Green Bay defeated Dallas, 21-17, to win the NFL Championship. [Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame]

Google-a-Day presents a question on science and industry:

Who founded the company named for the man who invented vulcanized rubber?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be sunny with a high of seventeen. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:30 PM for 9h 05m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 69.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Planning Commission is scheduled to meet briefly tonight at 5:15 PM.

On this day in 1916, Rasputin is murdered in Russia:

Grigory Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, is murdered by Russian nobles eager to end his sway over the royal family.

Rasputin won the favor of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra through his ability to stop the bleeding of their hemophiliac son, Alexei. Although the Siberian-born peasant was widely criticized for his lechery and drunkenness, he exerted a powerful influence on the ruling family of Russia. He particularly influenced the czarina, and when Nicholas departed to lead Russian forces in World War I, Rasputin effectively ruled Russia through her.

In the early hours of December 30, 1916, a group of nobles lured Rasputin to Yusupovsky Palace, where they attempted to poison him. Seemingly unaffected by the large doses of poison placed in his wine and food, he was finally shot at close range and collapsed. A minute later he rose, beat one of his assailants, and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, where he was shot again. Rasputin, still alive, was then bound and tossed into a freezing river. A few months later, the imperial regime was overthrown by the Russian Revolution.

Sixty-two years after Rasputin’s death, the European disco group Boney M. records a song about Rasputin for their album, Nightflight to Venus. The song’s lyrics are historically inaccurate, and often simply odd, but it’s a strangely catchy tune nonetheless.

Hard not to smile at a song that ventures the lyrics, “Ra, ra, Rasputin, Russia’s greatest love machine…” You’ve been forewarned:

On this day in 1922, our state sees an example of how Prohibition leads to violence:

1922 – Authorities Confiscate Illegal Alcohol
On this date authorities in Madison confiscated 1,200 gallons of “mash” and fifteen gallons of moonshine from the home of a suspected bootlegger. As the illegal liquor trade flourished in Madison’s Greenbush neighborhood during Prohibition, two rival gangs, one on Regent Street and the other located on Milton Street, fought to gain control until the “Rum War” erupted among these factions in 1923. [Source: Bishops to Bootleggers: A Biographical Guide to Resurrection Cemetery, p.189]

Google-a-Day asks a science question:

Who presented Tonga’s royal family with the animal that, when he died, was believed to be one of the longest-living animals on record?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Just a few days left in 2014, and the last week of the year begins with a mix of clouds and sun, and a high of twenty-five. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:29 PM, for 9h 04m 20s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 58.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1845, Texas becomes a state:

After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin settled along the Brazos River. The Americans soon outnumbered the resident Mexicans, and by the 1830s attempts by the Mexican government to regulate these semi-autonomous American communities led to rebellion. In March 1836, in the midst of armed conflict with the Mexican government, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

The Texas volunteers initially suffered defeat against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna–the Alamo fell and Sam Houston’s troops were forced into an eastward retreat. However, in late April, Houston’s troops surprised a Mexican force at San Jacinto, and Santa Anna was captured, bringing an end to Mexico’s efforts to subdue Texas.

The citizens of the independent Republic of Texas elected Sam Houston president but also endorsed the entrance of Texas into the Union. The likelihood of Texas joining the Union as a slave state delayed any formal action by the U.S. Congress for more than a decade. In 1844, Congress finally agreed to annex the territory of Texas. On December 29, 1845, Texas entered the United States as a slave state, broadening the irrepressible differences in the United States over the issue of slavery and setting off the Mexican-American War.

Today is Gen. Billy Mitchell’s birthday:

On this date [in 1879] aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell was born in Nice, France. Mitchell grew up in Milwaukee and attended Racine College.

During World War I, Mitchell was the first American airman to fly over enemy lines. He also led many air attacks in France and Germany. Upon return to the U.S., he advocated the creation of a separate Air Force. Much to the dislike of A.T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and other contemporaries, Mitchell asserted that the airplane had rendered the battleship obsolete, and attention should be shifted to developing military air power.

Mitchell’s out-spokenness resulted in his being court martialed for insubordination. He was sentenced to five years suspension of rank without pay. General Douglas MacArthur — an old Milwaukee friend — was a judge in Mitchell’s case and voted against his court martial.

Mitchell’s ideas for developing military air power were not implemented until long after his death. In 1946 Congress created a medal in his honor, the General “Billy” Mitchell Award. Milwaukee’s airport, General Mitchell International Airport, is named after him. [Source: American Airpower Biography]

Google-a-Day asks a question about architecture:

What is the most famous design in Rome by the architect credited with introducing High Renaissance style to the city?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Today will be sunny with a high of thirty-three. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:28 PM for 9h 03m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked if readers thought that an Italian circus’s attempt to pass off Chow Chow dogs as pandas seemed convincing. Over 93% of readers said no, you must be kidding.

On this day in 1895, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean Lumière screen the first commercial films:

The Lumières held their first private screening of projected motion pictures in 1895.[7] Their first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895, at Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris.[8] This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory).[9] Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds.

The world’s first film poster, for 1895’s L’Arroseur arrosé
It is believed their first film was actually recorded that same year (1895)[10] with Léon Bouly’s cinématographe device, which was patented the previous year. The cinématographe — a three-in-one device that could record, develop, and project motion pictures — was further developed by the Lumières.

The public debut at the Grand Café came a few months later and consisted of the following ten short films (in order of presentation):[11]

La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon (literally, “the exit from the Lumière factory in Lyon”, or, under its more common English title, Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory), 46 seconds
Le Jardinier (l’Arroseur Arrosé) (“The Gardener”, or “The Sprinkler Sprinkled”), 49 seconds
Le Débarquement du Congrès de Photographie à Lyon (“the disembarkment of the Congress of Photographers in Lyon”), 48 seconds
La Voltige (“Horse Trick Riders”), 46 seconds
La Pêche aux poissons rouges (“fishing for goldfish”), 42 seconds
Les Forgerons (“Blacksmiths”), 49 seconds
Repas de bébé (“Baby’s Breakfast” (lit. “baby’s meal”)), 41 seconds
Le Saut à la couverture (“Jumping Onto the Blanket”), 41 seconds
La Places des Cordeliers à Lyon (“Cordeliers Square in Lyon”—a street scene), 44 seconds
La Mer (Baignade en mer) (“the sea [bathing in the sea]”), 38 seconds

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday will be mild, with a high of forty-five. Sunrise is 7:24 AM and sunset 4:27 PM, for 9h 03m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

In case you’ll one day have the need to turn a baseball park into a hockey rink, here’s a video to show you how its done:

On this day in 1979, the Soviets seize Afghanistan:

Washington, Dec. 27–President Hafizullah Amin of Afghanistan was ousted from power and executed today in a coup reportedly supported by Soviet troops.

The Afghan radio announced in a broadcast monitored here that Mr. Amin had been sentenced to death at a revolutionary trial for “crimes against the state” and that the sentence had been carried out.

The broadcast said that Babrak Karmal, a former Deputy Prime Minister who had been living in exile in Eastern Europe, was the new President and Secretary General of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

Mr. Amin was the third Afghan President to be toppled in the last 20 months. All three were slain.

The Afghan broadcast was the first authoritative word received in Washington that tended to confirm earlier reports from Teheran and Moscow about the political change in Kabul.

On this day in 1831, Wisconsin governor and solider Lucius Fairchild is born:

On this date Lucius Fairchild was born in Kent, Ohio. Soldier, diplomat, and Wisconsin Governor, Fairchild arrived in Madison with his family in 1846. After a trip to California in search of gold, Fairchild returned to Madison and studied law. He was a soldier in the “Iron Brigade” and lost an arm at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He was elected as a Republican to the post of secretary of state and in 1865 was elected governor. He served for three terms. As governor and as a private citizen, Fairchild was active in promoting soldiers’ aid.