Ellen DeGeneres is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer and producer. She starred in the popular sitcom Ellen (1994-98), and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003. Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s, culminating in a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. DeGeneres starred in several feature films during the 1990s and provided the voice of Dory in Finding Nemo (2003). During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterward, her character also came out to a therapist played by Oprah Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues. DeGeneres was born on January 26, 1958.
Steve Prefontaine – No. 955
Steve Prefontaine, nicknamed “Pre,” was an American middle- and long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born on January 25, 1951, in the coastal logging town of Coos Bay, Oregon. Prefontaine once held the American record in seven different distance track events, from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters. He was recognizable for his mustache and his long locks of hair that parted as he ran. Following his collegiate career at the University of Oregon, Prefontaine was preparing for the 1976 Summer Olympics. He died on May 30, 1975, at the age of 24, in an automobile accident near Hendricks Park in Eugene, Oregon.
Hypatia – No. 954
Hypatia, often called Hypatia of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and philosopher in Egypt, then a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was the head of the Neoplatonic school at Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy. According to contemporary sources, Hypatia was murdered by a Christian mob after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in Alexandria: the governor Orestes and the Bishop of Alexandria. For some historians, Hypatia’s death symbolized the end of Classical antiquity. She was born born c. AD 350-370 and died in 415.
Eartha Kitt – No. 953
Eartha Kitt was an American actress, singer, cabaret star, dancer, stand-up comedian, activist and voice artist. She’s known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of “C’est Si Bon” and the enduring Christmas novelty smash “Santa Baby.” In 1967, she starred as Catwoman in the third and final season of the television series Batman. Orson Welles once called her the “most exciting woman in the world.” Kitt began her career in 1943 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway production of the musical Carib Song. In the early 1950s, she had six U.S. Top 30 hits, including “Uska Dara” and “I Want to be Evil.” In 1968, her career in America suffered after she made anti-war statements at an LBJ White House luncheon. Kitt was born on January 17, 1927 and died on December 25, 2008.
Alexander Hamilton – No. 951
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father of the United States, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation’s financial system, the founder of the Federalist Party, the father of the United States Coast Guard and the founder of The New York Post. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was the primary author of the economic policies of the George Washington administration. Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 (or 1757) in the British West Indies in the Caribbean. He died on July 12, 1804, following a famous pistol duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, his political rival, in which he was mortally wounded.
Note: Since the beginning of the American Civil War, Hamilton has been depicted on more denominations of U.S. currency than anyone else. He has appeared on the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $1,000. His portrait has continued to appear on U.S. postage and currency, and most notably appears on the modern $10 bill.
George Washington Carver – No. 950
George Washington Carver was an American botanist and inventor. He is known for his agricultural advances and for the promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, that would help sustain poor farmers. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a “Black Leonardo.” Carver was born into slavery in Missouri in the early 1860s. He died on January 5, 1943 and was buried next to longtime colleague Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee University.
Michael Stipe – No. 949
Michael Stipe is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film producer, music video director and visual artist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band R.E.M. from their formation in 1980 until their dissolution in 2011. The band was pivotal in the development of the alternative rock genre. R.E.M. released 15 studio albums, including Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), as well as numerous live albums and compilation albums. Stipe was in charge of R.E.M.’s visual image, often selecting album artwork and directing many of the band’s music videos. Outside the music industry, he runs his own film production companies, C-Hundred (C-00) and Single Cell Pictures. Stipe is also noted for his social and political activism. He was born on January 4, 1960.
Jizō Bodhisattva – No. 948
Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva, or “saint,” primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. In Japanese culture, where Ksitigarbha is known as Jizō or Ojizō-sama, he is the guardian of children in limbo. Jizō is also the patron deity of children, expectant mothers, travelers and aborted/miscarried fetuses. Jizō statues are a common sight in Japan, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Ksitigarbha means “womb of the earth” and this deity is known for his vow to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six realms between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya, as well as his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is therefore often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, or savior of hell’s torments.
Jizō Bodhisattva is one of two garden sculptures in our backyard. Jizō, which I purchased as a gift for my wife, is a 15.5″ figure made of volcanic stone with an antique brown finish. My two-year-old daughter refers to the dense Jizō statue as “the heavy baby.” The other sculpture, Saint Francis of Assisi, is a 20″ white stone/resin sculpture that was in the yard when we bought our house. Alongside these two sculptures is our 10″ plastic garden gnome of many travels, Dingledodger VonFefferhedge. Together they preside over our backyard cat cemetery, which includes the recently deceased The King. Happy New Year!
The Groke (Moomin) – No. 952
The Groke is a character in the Moomin series of books authored by Swedish-speaking Finn Tove Jansson, appearing in four of the nine novels. She appears as a ghost-like, hill-shaped body with two cold staring eyes and a wide row of white shiny teeth. Wherever she stands, the ground below her freezes and plants and grass die. She leaves a trace of ice and snow when she walks the ground. Anything that she touches will freeze. On one occasion, she froze a campfire by sitting down on it. She seeks friendship and warmth, but she is declined by everyone and everything, leaving her in her cold cavern on top of the Lonely Mountains.
The 1990 Japanese-European anime television series Moomin is one of the few shows we sometimes let our two-year-old watch. Our daughter is obsessed with the Groke. She often says, “The Groke is too scary. See her?” She feels the exact same way about the big blue elephant from the Super Simple Songs animation of “Hickory Dickory Dock.” Ditto for Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster. On that note, other shows/movies we’ve recently let her watch are various Rankin/Bass holiday movies, Charlie Brown holiday shows and (probably more than anything else) the animated 1982 short The Snowman, including the special David Bowie introduction. David Bowie, who died two days ago, is one of the few musicians my daughter knows by name. Sad times that Bowie has departed Earth.