The Hartford, Connecticut Circus Fire

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is June 1st, 2010, I’m Royce, and I’m here to discuss the Hartford, Connecticut Circus Fire of July 1944.

The Hartford Circus Fire was one of the most disastrous fires in American history that occurred on July 6th, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut. This fire erupted during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was attended by approximately 6,800 people.

“The ‘big top’ was not waterproof, so if the days were rainy, the circus could not go on. But a common waterproofing method used during this time was coating paraffin (dissolved into 6,000 gallons of kerosene) onto the big top. This prevented the water from damaging the ‘big top’ but initially made the tent into a giant candle, which would obviously burn intensely.” Said an anonymous informer.

What started the fire? Sources aren’t 100% sure. Most historians believe and agree on that it was an unknown cigarette smoker who had flicked their cigarette butt on the ground, near the Southwest side of tent. The bandleader of the circus claimed to have seen the fire start first, and ordered the band to play “Stars and Stripes Forever”, which signal to the other circus workers that there was danger.

Claims say that the fire sprung up to the very top of the tent faster than cheetahs could run. So, naturally, with the paraffin coating the ‘big top’, the entire tent caught fire within minutes. Of the 6,800 people who attended the circus, 169 died and over 800 were injured.

One of the more known victims was a little girl known as Little Miss 1565, because that was the number that marked her body in the makeshift morgue that was set up after the fire. Her body was very well preserved, even from being a victim of the fire. Her identity would remain unknown until this day, even after many attempts to try and discover who this girl was. There has been many claims to who she was, but all of these claims seeming to fall short of something.

“The Hartford Circus Fire would eventually lead to the revolution of safety in circuses. Instead of having just one entrance for 6,800 people, they would have emergency exits in case that something like this would ever happen again. Instead of 6,800 people being in the ‘big top’ at the same time, they would limit the amount of people allowed inside. And most importantly, they would learn not to coat the tent with paraffin when there will be works of fire being done within the tent. They learned many lessons that day, and unfortunately, at the cost of many lives.” Says Rochester, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

A good book for more information regarding the Hartford Circus Fire is the book, World’s Afire, written by Paul Janeczko. It accounts the the fire from different points of view, written in the form of poetry.

“Janeczko’s World’s Afire is an incredible book. It is addicting from the very start, and you won’t want to put it down.” Says Melanie, another writer at the Modern Typewriter.

What do you think about the Hartford Circus Fire? Could they have prevented it? What other improvements can be done to prevent this for the future? Feel free to leave a comment to express your opinion!

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Circus Picture Taken From:

http://www.yourememberthat.com/files/73014ef924e1c80d.jpg

Book Picture Taken From:

http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/516230-M.jpg

 

Ukrainian Sand Animations

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is February 1st, 2010, I’m Royce, and I’m here to talk about the 2009 winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent.

Her name is Kseniya Simonova, and she does sand animations. You’re probably wondering – sand animations? Yes, she tells stories through sand artwork. You don’t believe us? Well watch the video below and prepare to be amazed. The video below is taken from YouTube.

“After I watched the video the first time, I was completely speechless. She has such an amazing talent of sand animation, and she will go very far in life with it.” Says Karina, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“My initial reaction was that’s impossible, no one can do that. But I was so wrong, this girl can do it. Her talent is phenomenal.” Says Cody, another writer.

Are you amazed? Do you think this girl has a God-given talent? What do you think? Feel free to post your comment expressing your opinions!

Isn’t she talented? I sure did think so. Until next time, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

Sherlock Holmes…Nothing Escapes Him

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog (mostly monthly lately sorry about that folks!) to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is January 31st, 2010, I’m Royce, and I’m here to talk about the fantastic new movie, Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. is back but not as Iron Man, but as the clever character Sherlock Holmes, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s series about a witty detective in nineteenth century England. When England is plagued by mysterious sacrificial killings, Sherlock Holmes must discover the truth – a man of the name Lord Blackwood is behind them. Lord Blackwood has England fearing him and his acclaimed ‘sorcery powers’. Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson (Jude Law) find and stop Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) right before he commits yet another sacrificial killing. He is sentenced to death and completely puzzles all of England once he supposedly rises from the grave. Holmes and Watson must find and stop Blackwood before he terrorizes England, all while Holmes faces a battle of his own – a beautiful yet sly girl known as Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), who was the only person to fool Holmes twice.

“Sherlock Holmes was absolutely incredible. This mystery about Lord Blackwood is amazing. It shows you every little detail, but doesn’t show you at the same time. Once you see it, you’ll understand.” Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter says.

“This movie reminded me what good movies are. I was fooled until now.” Rochester, another writer says.

Along with amazing viewers everywhere, it has also won many nominations and awards including:

• Art Directors Guild – Nominated for Excellence in Production Design Award
• Broadcast Critics Association – Nominated for Critic’s Choice Award
• Costume Designer’s Guild – Nominated for CDG Award
• Golden Globes – Won a a Golden Globe for Best Performance By An Actor in A Motion Picture
• Motion Picture Editors – Nominated for Golden Reel Award

Below is the Sherlock Holmes trailer, taken from YouTube.

“Once I saw the trailer, I knew I had to see the movie. And once I saw the movie, I hoped there’d be a sequel.” Says an anonymous reader of the Modern Typewriter.

“This is the type of movie that grabs you straight away and keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting more and more.” Says another anonymous reader.

If you have seen Sherlock Holmes, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Feel free to comment to post your opinions!

I hoped you enjoyed learning a little about the new movie, Sherlock Holmes, in theaters now. Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT

 

A Songbird’s Lullaby

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is June 20th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about the newly written book, but not yet published, A Songbird’s Lullaby, written by one of our own writers, Rochester.

“I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve been interested in a few topics to write about, WWII, the Titanic, the Civil War, and the Vietnam War. But I became thouroughly interested in WWII and what occurred during the years or the war. I began to research it more and more, and soon, I gathered enough information to put it all together in a book. So, I’m looking at either write a historical fiction book about topics I haven’t already researched and have no idea what it was like, or write about WWII and its soldiers. I chose WWII and its soldiers. So I’ve written a book named A Songbird’s Lullaby.“ Says Rochester, an author and a writer at the Modern Typewriter. 

We decided to write a summary paragraph about the book right here on the Modern Typewriter. We’ll soon be creating a page where Rochester himself can post excerpts from the book, information on chapters, and even links to research pages. Below is a summary of his new book.

Spencer Shaw is no ordinary twenty-year-old. He is an American soldier for the United States Army during World War Two. He gets deployed to Europe to participate in Operation Overlord, or known more commonly as D-Day. His adventures throughout the year skyrocket with danger, intrigue, and allegiance. Never before has Corporal Spencer Shaw been tested in such an environment. Death is all over, and is seen so much that the soldiers are immune to seeing it. They used to squirm and feel sorry for the victim, now they show nothing. They’re immune to it. Spencer Shaw soons discovers that it it going to be a difficult fight for survival the day he lands on Normandy beaches, on June 6th, 1944. Not only a difficult fight for him, but also the lives of his men. He has to make it out of the war alive, and in the process lose a few men to save hundreds.

“Once I read this book, I was completely hooked on it. I read it a long way back when there was only about fourteen pages or so, and I wanted to keep going, but I couldn’t because there was nothing else to read after I read until the last page he had written. But now there’s over one hundred pages so far, so I can read all the way up to there.” says Torrie, another writer.

The book is currently unfinished, but it is continually being written everyday. Rochester hopes to soon find a publisher to go with and soon publish his book after editing.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

D-Day’s 65th Anniversary

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is June 6th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to talk about the 65th Anniversary of D-Day, the largest amphibious assault in history.

June 6th, 1944, the sky is dark, gray, and solemn. You’re sitting in a LCVP with your comrades. You are headed to Normandy beach, France to invade and recapture the country from German forces during World War II. Paratroopers already landed in the night before, and your job is to follow them. Your LCVP boat reaches the shore, and you see what is happening – soldiers storming the beaches, and many of them getting shot and killed. Your job is to reach the beach and hold. The fight for survival begins.

“This is one of the greatest victories to celebrate in all of history. Each year that goes by, we need to celebrate the victory, but yet we need to remember the price we had to pay for this victory, over 10,000 lives lost.” Melanie, a writer at the Modern Typewriter said.

“This is the day that changed the world. This was the beginning of the end for the Nazis during World War II. Other battles contributed, but this is the major battle that started the end. Without this battle, the war might still have been going on today.” says Cody, another writer.

D-Day was a major amphibious assault that occurred on June 6th, 1944. Allied forces crossed the English Channel over to the Normandy Beaches with thousands of soldiers to invade and recapture France, which had fallen to the Germans. Their aim was to succeed and begin to work inland toward the German capital, Berlin so they could defeat Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and end the war in Europe.

Adolf Hitler was the Nazi leader of Germany during World War II. He was a racist man, and believed Jews, blacks, Homosexuals, Gypsies, and others to be inferior. He blamed Germany’s defeat in World War I on the Jews of Germany, and insisted something be done to rid Europe of them. He set up places called ghettos to send the Jews and keep them isolated from the rest of the world. Soon, the ghettos got overwhelmingly filled with people. Hitler then devised up a plan called ‘The Final Solution’. It consisted of sending the Jews to concentration camps to be gassed to death. If you were able to work and were healthy, then you were told to work. If you didn’t work yourself to death like the Nazis practically ordered, then you probably starved with the little food that they gave you.

“D-Day should be a national holiday. This is the day that began the end of the war. This should be a day of national remembrance and celebration.” Rochester, another writer said.

The National WWII Musum, formerly the National D-Day Museum, is hosting events throughout today celebrating and commemorating the Anniversary of D-Day.

“The National WWII Museum is in New Orleans, Louisiana. I thought that was a very peculiar place to put a museum dedicated to WWII. Once I researched it more, I realized that the National WWII Museum when it was the National D-Day Museum was placed there because of that is where the Higgins’ Boat was invented. The Higgins’ Boat was the type of boat that was used during the invasion of D-Day. They’re also called LCVP’s.” Said anonymous.

“I’ve visited Washington D.C. and I went to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum there. It was very interesting to actually see some of the things there. There was a railcar used to transport up to one hundred people to concentration and death camps. It was unbelievably small. The Nazis were absolutely atrocious. But anyway, once I visited that museum, I researched more for more museums about WWII. I found the National WWII Museum. I was excited to find such a dedicated museum. And now, I cannot wait to go and visit this museum, because it looks really cool and I’ve heard the artifacts on display are incredible.” says Karina, another writer.

This post is dedicated to all who Allied soldiers died on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. You are forever in our memory as the ones who saved the world and ended the war.

We hope everyone has a wonderful day of celebration and remembrance. Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Picture Retrieved From: http://tinyurl.com/3x4u2x

 

The Pearl Harbor Project

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is June 4th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to introduce a website created for our Social Studies class at school.

We are given the choice of any topic in Asian/ANOA history/culture/geography/or weather and climate. We created a website called the Pearl Harbor Project, and as you guess by the title, it is about the Pearl Harbor attack, by Japanese forces.

“I did the researching for the project.” Cody says, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“I did the graphics.” Melanie says, another writer.

We haven’t turned our project in yet, the due date is Friday, June 5th, 2009. Wish us luck!

www.thepearlharborproject.webs.com

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

Last Titanic Survivor Dies at 97

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is June 3rd, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to announce that Milvina Dean, the last Titanic suvivor, died on May 31st, 2009, living for 97 years.

Recently, Milvina Dean was living in a care home near Ashurst, in the Southern English county of Hampshire. There had been news earlier in the year that she had been selling her Titanic memorabilia to pay for her nursing dues.

Elizabeth Gladys Dean was merely nine weeks old when her and her family boarded the Titanic in 1912. Her family were immigrating to Kansas for her father to open a tobacconists shop.

“I was really sad to discover that she passed away. I had always admired her for being known as the last survivor. She was a world figure to everyone.” Melanie, a writer at the Modern Typewriter said.

Milvina was born on February 12th, 1912 and was the youngest passenger on board of the Titanic of just nine weeks.

“I was shocked, yet not shocked. She was aging to 97, she wouldn’t live much longer, but I had hoped she would.” says Cody, another writer.

Elizabeth Gladys Dean died on May 31st, 2009. She will be remembered throughout history as the last survivor of the Titanic.

We apologize for not posting a post in the past two months. We are terribly sorry.

Remember, I’m Royce and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Picture Retrieved From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1925000/images/_1928026_millvina150.jpg

 

Idol History Has Been Made

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is April 16th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I am here to talk about last night’s episode of the number one show in America, American Idol.

For those of you who didn’t see the results show for the Top 7, it really was a shocker. Idol history has been made, ladies and gentlemen.

The bottom three were Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds, and Matt Giraud.

“I have to say that these were the three that I thought would be in the bottom three. I hate to say it, but it’s true.” Says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“I thought that Anoop was really good on Tuesday night. I was completely astonished that he was in the bottom three.” Says Melanie, another writer.

After Anoop was sent back to the couch by Ryan Seacrest, it was down to the final two: Lil Rounds and Matt Giraud.

Then, Miley Cyrus performed her hit single, The Climb.

“I love Miley Cyrus, but I have to say that her performance was ‘absolutely terrible’ as Simon Cowell would say. It was pitchy, she moved her arms like she was begging for food, and she anunciated the words too much. I was very disappointed with this performance.” Says Karina, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“That was probably the worst performance Miley Cyrus has done in her life. I felt like walking out of the room.” Says Alex, another writer.

After the commercial break, it came back to the final two…

The person with the lowest amount of votes was Matt Giraud. Lil Rounds was sent back to the couch.

As Matt sang for his dream, the judges discussed if they would save him.

“Personally, I wanted him gone, I voted for Danny Gokey.” Says Jaycee, another writer.

After he finished the song, the judges announced that they would save him, he would be back again for another week. This put him in tears.

But for every good news, there will be bad news. Simon Cowell announced that next week, two people will be eliminated, and that the genre of music will be Disco.

“I was on the edge of my couch, hoping that Matt would stay, and once I heard he would, I fell backwards celebrating!” Says Victoria, another writer.

“Next week is Disco week. I can bet you that Adam Lambert is going to probably rock on that. I have a feeling.” Cody says.

Stay tuned, America, we will post updates whenever someone goes home on American Idol.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Videos Taken From YouTube videos.

 

The Last Hunt

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is March 28th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to talk to you about the hunt for the last surviving Nazis from World War Two.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7857753.stm

Holocaust. In The Dictionary, it means to wipe out an entire race with destruction or fire.

Genocide. This word in the Dictionary means to systematically exterminate an entire racial, national, political, or cultural group.

How do these two words connect? Well, in the years of 1939-1945 there was a war between the Allies, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and the Axis Powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. It was mainly fought in Europe most of the years, by soldiers on foot. This war was the goriest in recorded history. Over 70 million lives were taken just in this war. And the worst part was that most of the lives lost were civilians. In total, 47,661,800 civilian lives were lost.

The main contributor to the cause of these many civilian deaths was a man named Adolf Hitler, Nazi leader of Germany. He was a racist, he believed that the ‘Superior Race’ was from Nordic ancestry with blonde hair and blue eyes. He hated almost anyone that was different, he could not stand it. Mainly, he hated Jews. He thought they were filthy, nasty, and were the devil’s workers. So what did he do? He would go into towns and round all their Jewish population and put them in a part of the town just for them, called a ghetto. By ghettoizing cities and towns across Europe, he could keep the Jews exactly where he wanted them and keep an eye on them. This also kept them separate from Hitler’s ‘Superior Race’.

But soon, as you can imagine, the ghettos started to fill up, very fast too. So Hitler devised up yet another plan, creating Concentration Camps, work and death camps where the workers would do hard labor all day, be fed only small portions of what they were supposed to be fed, and were worked to death. Many notorious death camps are: Treblinka, Aushwitz, Sobibor, Majdanek, Chelmno, and Belzec.

At the hand of the Nazi’s, very few survived what was known in history as “The Holocaust” or “haShoah” in Hebrew. People that Hitler killed were considered detrimental to the German society. Jews, Soviet POW’s, Ethnic Poles, Romani, Disabled, Free Masons, Homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were all victims of mass murder.

Of course Hitler couldn’t do all this alone. He had a mass Army of what were called Nazis. Nazis operated the death and labor camps.

So, the BBC News says that a hunt for the last few Nazis is on. Seeing how the biological clock for them is ticking, they are getting old and lots of them already have gotten away and have died of old age.

“Hitler was no doubt the greatest monster in human history. This is why we need to find the Nazis and arrest them for their war crimes.” says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“We can’t just let the people who were responsible for the deaths of over 70 million people. We can’t just let them free.”

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT

Picture Taken From: http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/1568/tnaziflagsn9.gif

 

Land Redistribution in Zimbabwe

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is February 5th, 2009, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about a program in Zimbabwe with land redistribution.

A new program in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa is literally taking farmland from some white citizens to give it to impoverished blacks in the country. And if the white family who owns the plot of land refuses to give up the land, the government is threatening them with death or a sentence to jail.

“For one thing, I understand the main point of this, the main idea is good, it has a good intention, but this is basically just stealing land from other people. It is morally wrong to do. If  I was a person whose land was just taken away, I would be completely outraged! Just hearing about this makes me infuriated!” says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

We recently came across a news article on a family who was victimized by this unfairly played game. A man name Wally and his wife Helen were white citizens living in Zimbabwe. The police came to their 13,000 acre property demanding to see them. They met and the police ordered to take their farm for the program, and if they refused, they could either be jailed or killed, it was their choice.

“I feel the greatest sympathy for this couple, because they were in their fifties, and they are having to start their life all over again.” says Melanie, another writer.

The couple, Wally and Helen, had to immediately pack their belongings and leave. The new family that would be living in their house would be able to take anything they wanted.

Helen remembers asking if the new black woman if she would want a clay vase that their daughter had made in school. The woman said yes and Helen turned and smashed it on the floor.

“The general intention of the land redistribution idea is good, but you can’t just take something that is someone else’s. That is considered stealing.” says Rochester, another writer.

The couple, Wally and Helen have relocated to North Carolina, in the United States. Wally found a job with hogs, but when news that the business was having trouble, the employer said it was alright if Wally started searching for more work. So Wally did. He found a job at a farm overlooking cattle. His benefits would include a nice home right on the grazing field, free of rent. His wife and himself live there currently.

Before, the family that had taken over Wally and Helen’s farm had kidnapped their son and held him for ransom. They completely depleted Wally’s bank account.

“This is a huge issue! Somehow, we can’t just let the President of Zimbabwe steal away property and give it to someone else. That is completely terrible! And what kind of world has it come to when a family holds a son for ransom? Shouldn’t the police get involved? Where were they during all this? Oh right, they were stealing more property.” says Jaycee, another writer.

The American dollar can go a long way in Zimbabwe, since the inflation is so bad. Wally and Helen thought about taking their dollars to Zimbabwe to retire, since just a thousand dollars would take you far in Zimbabwe, but they figured America is where they belong right now.

So, what do you think on the land redistribution program in Zimbabwe? Do you think it is good? Bad? Why? Leave us a comment to express your opinion!

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

News Article:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/v-print/story/1260755.html

Picture Taken From: http://www.sybergnosis.com/Portals/1/newsletterpictures/ZimAfrica.jpg