Holy Ordinance

Legend has it that seventeen hundred and four years ago today, on December 4th 306, the Great Martyr Barbara was…well…martyred. Now every year on December 4th the “hollloween-like” festival of Eid il-Burbara is conducted to celebrate her martyrdom. Yea! Festival festival!

Saint Barbara is the patron saint of artillerymen, and her blessing is used to create holy ordinance.

She was tortured and abused. She was protected and abandoned. She engaged in anti-pagan remodeling, and was eventually beheaded by her own father. All in all a short unhappy blessed life.

He father was struck by lightning shortly after chopping off Barb’s head; hence the connection with artillery. Several Caribbean voodoo-like groups interpreted the story of Saint Barbara as a mistranslation of activities performed by the lightning god Shango. Shango sounds pretty tough though; I just can’t picture Shango letting himself get tortured for simply adding an extra window to a bath-house.

Unfortunately there are no historical records associated with any of it. So, on Valentine’s day 1969, Pope Paul VI had her removed from the official Roman Catholic calendar when he issued a motu proprio called "Mysterii Paschalis". This pretty much striped her of much of her official saintlyness.

Jamaican Smiles

Thirty four years ago today, on December 3rd 1976, a group of armed gunmen broke into the home of Bob Marley and shot him twice (as well as wounding his wife and manager) before escaping. Marley had been scheduled to play the free “Smile Jamaica” concert in just two days, on the 5th of December.

Jamaica was in the throws of a sputtering civil war centered around the presidential candidacies of Edward Seaga and Michael Manley. Manley was up for re-election and had proclaimed a state of emergency in January of 1976. In June 500 people were arrested in one fell swoop, and accused of trying to overthrow the government. Many of those arrested were prominent members of Edward Seaga’s party. Violence skirmishes and authoritarian reprisals continued long after Manley was re-elected on December 15th.

Marley insisted on going on with the “Smile Jamaica” concert; agreeing to only play one song. Once he got up in front of the crowd of 80,000 he played an entire 90 minute set. The setlist was:

1. War/ No More Trouble/ Get Up Stand Up
2. Crazy Baldhead/ Positive Vibration
3. Smile Jamaica
4. Rat Race
5. TrenchTown Rock
6. Keep on Moving
7. Want More
8. Them Belly Full
9. Jah Live
10. Rastaman Chant
11. Rebel Music
12. So Jah Seh

When asked why he ignored his wounds and played the full set Marley replied: "The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?"

EF Phone Home

Sixty eight years ago today, on December 2nd 1942, a group of uber-nerds and dignitaries watched as George Weil slowly removed a metal stick from a pile of black bricks. They were all assembled in the unused space underneath a squash court at the University of Chicago. Enrico Fermi, who had won a nobel prize just four years earlier, watched a set of instruments intently. When he was satisfied with what he saw Enrico nodded to Arthur Compton who waited by the phone.

Arthur rang James Conant who was back on the east coast. Using the manual switchboards of the day this could have taken several minutes.

When he finally got James on the phone Arthur said: “The Italian navigator has landed in the New World.”

James replied: “How were the natives?”

Arthur then said: “Everyone landed safe and happy”, and hung up.

Ever since that phonecall humans have known that nuclear weapons are possible.