Five Bullets 9.2.22
This week: Battle of Brooklyn, Robert Caro, Penguins & more
Happy Friday everyone! Welcome back to Circles In Space, where each Friday I share five interesting things. This week’s topics:
Saturday August 27th was the 246th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn, when General George Washington's 10,000 Continental Army troops faced off against 30,000 British in the largest battle of the American Revolution. Greenwood Cemetery and the Old Stone House, key points of fighting during the battle, held events to celebrate the anniversary, with living historians giving demonstrations, telling stories and reminding New Yorkers of this important moment in American history. Check out my blog post for some more info.
Yesterday I visited the New York Historical Society. Among the exhibits was Turn Every Page a retrospective of journalist/writer Robert Caro's career. Starting as an investigative reporter at Newsday in the 1960's, Caro later became an acclaimed and Pulitzer Prize winning political biographer, writing The Power Broker, chronicling Robert Moses's wealth of power in New York City, and The Years of Lyndon Johnson series. The exhibit offered a glimpse into Caro's writing process from start to finish, including his handwritten notes, outlines, drafts, and manuscripts. Also on displaye were Caro's tools of the trade: steno and legal pads with sprawling notes, exhaustive documentation of interviews and of course, his beloved Smith Corona Electra 210 typewriter.
The Brooklyn Bushwicks were a semi-professional baseball team which played at Dexter Park in Woodhaven, Queens from 1913-1951. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson played exhibition games at Dexter Park with the Bushwicks. For more on the Bushwicks, check out Thomas Barthel's book. (I'm from Queens, currently living in Bushwick, and only just learned about this team!)
Singer Jill Scott stars in the 2008 HBO series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on Alexander McCall Smith's novel series. Set in Botswana, Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott) opens her detective agency and investigates cases of all kinds, from kidnapping to missing dogs. Jill Scott's compelling portrayal of Precious's love of Africa and her home country of Botswana hooked me on this series.
I learned that penguins can regulate the temperature in their feet! This process of circulating warm blood to colder areas such as their feet is called rete mirabile. Penguins also keep their outer plumage colder than the air temperature, which allows for some heat to be absorbed through thermal convection, while the plumage also insulates their bodies.
Got something to share? Leave me a comment!
That's all for this week! As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Until next time,
KW
Interesting posts, great information in those links about the Battle of Brooklyn. Also, it's really cool that all those baseball legends played in Queens! I would like to read the Power Broker too.