the buzz log
Columbus Day: A Working Holiday?
Fire up the barbecue. Get the mall-walking shoes on. About 517 years have passed since Christopher Columbus stumbled onto North America, and it's time to remember that with a three-day weekend.
Well, for some of us. While national government offices can be depended upon to celebrate a federal holiday, Columbus Day isn't a day off for all Americans. Some schools will stay open, and local bureaucrats will still shuffle paperwork...but the department store sales soldier on.
How a Holiday Is Made
Looking back, the formal recognition of Columbus Day is relatively recent. New York City threw the first recorded Columbus party in 1792, but it took New Yorkers 74 years for another big celebration. Then, Colorado scooted in to become the first state to have a Columbus Day (1905). President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided the Depression could use a new holiday, and made Oct. 12 a federal one in 1937. Under President Richard M. Nixon, Columbus Day got moved to the second Monday in October.
Columbus Controversy
According to the Wall Street Journal, 22 states don't observe the holiday. Why the disparity? Well, among other reasons, a strong contingent feels that the Genoese navigator's sailing the ocean blue in 1492 introduced a dark period of colonization. Protesters and academics have argued for years that the existing American population, plus earlier evidence of Viking houseguests, make the notion of "discovery" misleading.
These impassioned arguments around Columbus go back decades before any holiday: Efforts to make the Italian navigator a candidate for sainthood inspired a tart New York Times editorial that said Columbus got his "fleets at public expense, on the condition that he remove himself and his tediousness as far as possible toward the unknown west."
Floating Holiday
Some states have long just "observed" the holiday, but leave local government offices open. Others use the date to revere the native population who existed long before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailed in. According to a Wikipedia round-up, South Dakota declares October 12 as Indigenous People's Day. Hawaii celebrates the more general Discoverers' Day, which actually refers to the Aloha State's Polynesian founders (although the bureaucrats firmly emphasize "this day is not and shall not be construed to be a state holiday").
Tennessee, though, wins for creative calendaring: The Wall Street Journal points out that the state bumped Columbus Day to after Thanksgiving to create a four-day weekend. Indeed, the explorer's day leads in "holiday swapping"—work on that October date, get another day off later in the holiday season.
A Teachable Era
In a way, not having a day off encourages more attention and open discussion around the man, which academics encourage. Searches on Yahoo! for "christopher columbus," "pictures of christopher columbus," "christopher columbus biography," and "christopher columbus ships" are all up—as are queries for the usual conquistadors like Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Francisco Pizarro, and Marco Polo.
They're not all from schoolkids either (though they do make up more than third of "columbus" searches). Incidentally, of all regions checking out "christopher columbus" online, the one fittingly leading the nation's lookups: Columbia, South Carolina. The state capitol may have his namesake, but it'll be working that day.
Filed under: Holidays, History, Exploration
The Reconstruction at Ground Zero
Eight years later, Ground Zero remains a construction zone.
The plans for the former site of the World Trade Center, brought down hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001, have taken time and much input along the way to unfold. The Freedom Tower's frame—just emerging above street level now—and the transit hub won't be finished in time for the 10th anniversary, two years away. Negotiations for three office towers planned for the east have entered arbitration, and the wrangling means no firm date at all.
When the Skyline Will Change
The majority of New Yorkers, though, remain skeptical, given the "snail's pace" of reconstruction, and families of 9/11 victims have declared the slow-going "outrageous."
Still, formal tributes to America's tragedies have historically taken a long time. The Oklahoma City National Memorial's dedication took five years, but the USS Arizona Memorial's formal commemoration of World War II vets emerged 20 years after Pearl Harbor.
For its part, the Port Authority, which oversees much of the reconstruction, asserts a "new spirit" of progress: The Record details what's planned on the site, including these deadlines:
- Memorial (2011)
- Vehicle security center (early 2012)
- Museum (early 2013)
- 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower (mid 2013)
- Transportation hub the size of Grand Central Station (late 2013)
Makeshift Tributes
As people await the grand vision to rise in lower Manhattan, Ground Zero tributes do exist in one form or another. Across the street from the construction site, a foundation has set up shop—literally—to show videos and sell souvenirs to fund-raise for the museum. Online there's Project Rebirth, which is tracking the rebuilding using lapsed photography. And while few can visit Hangar 17 at JFK, the NYT hosts a panorama of its contents...and the pieces of Ground Zero await a permanent home.
Below, a quick timeline of Ground Zero construction thus far.
Ground Zero Construction Timeline
- 2001: NYC employees clear makeshift tributes of flowers, pictures, and candles. The first memorial service for victims' families is held Oct. 28.
- 2002: Shrine artifacts from Ground Zero and throughout New York form a New York Historical Society exhibit. Ideas begin to float about how to mark the site, including a memorial tomb. That summer, six possible site designs are unveiled to the public, but about 4,000 gather at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to ask for something "bolder." The process starts over again.
- 2003: Memorial or not, visitors pay homage at the crater. The contest comes down to two visions, and Daniel Libeskind's soaring glass spire is chosen. Another competition, this time for the World Trade Center memorial design, comes up with the reflecting pool. That winning design undergoes tinkering for months.
- 2005: Some politicians and 9/11 families protest the International Freedom Center, and a mediator has to be called in. On the fourth anniversary, other 9/11 relatives bemoan stalled progress.
- 2006: A search for a contractor to start the work finally begins, although some families of the dead sue to stop concrete from being poured over "sacred ground." Just as progress seems to happen (an impromptu steel cross created after the WTC collapse is approved), the mayor declares memorial costs too high. Fortunately, other projects proceed quickly.
- 2008: After getting angry reactions that a memorial wouldn't make a 10th anniversary deadline, the Port Authority vowed the waterfalls would make the date.
- 2009: A jumbo column juts out above street level. Delays aside, progress is now visible: Newsday documents the change in a photo gallery.
Filed under: 9/11, History, Architecture
The Sad Story Behind Labor Day
For most of us, Labor Day means backyard barbecues, weekend sales, and a last carefree day before school starts. But the laid-back holiday has some seriously sad history, including chaos, riots, and even death. Let us explain.
A tragic tale
Back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, workers were expected to put in 12-hour days, seven days a week (yes, including kids). Already sounds awful, right? It gets worse. In Pullman, Illinois, a company town that employed and housed workers to build posh railway cars, times had gotten tough. In response, George Pullman cut jobs and wages. It was 1893. Thousands of workers walked off their jobs in protest, demanding higher salaries and lower rents. Other unions joined, refusing to work the Pullman cars, turning the small-town fracas into a national fury.
With mail cars backing up, and riots worrying train execs, President Grover Cleveland stepped in. He declared the strike illegal and sent 12,000 troops to break the strike. Cue brutal protests and bloodshed. The strike was broken, but so was the spirit of the workers. To reach out to the labor movement, Congress rushed the national holiday into law. The bad will resulted in Cleveland losing re-election. But the day off for hot dogs endures.
When is it?
Labor Day falls on the first Monday of September. This year, that would be Monday, September 7. According to the Department of Labor, Congress passed an act in 1894 making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.
So, working stiffs everywhere, say it now, with feeling: Happy Labor Day.
Lost in Woodstock
Welcome back to the Age of Aquarius.
The 1969 music fair of Woodstock, New York, lasted only three days, but its aura as a musical turning point, a generational uprising, and a countercultural shift has persisted for 40 years. With its ruby anniversary this week—though no official 2009 fair—the event is inducing extended flashbacks and commercial hysteria. Below, just some of the buzz Woodstock still delivers.
What's This Love City?
It's not just AARP card-holders in a Woodstock haze. Searches into the "woodstock" phenomena (up 354% to make the top 2,500 terms on Yahoo!) come from kids, as well as adults trying to recapture the love fest. Older folks have been twice as likely to reminisce about "woodstock 1969." What the kids are looking up: What's this faded breed called "hippies"?
Talkin' About My Generation Gap
Woodstock gave '60s America more than Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin at their peak. It defined what the Mercury News calls the "moment when youth culture crystallized in the 1960s." The festival is also inspiring surveys about today's social gaps. Good news, according to the Pew report: There's not much of a gap between the old and young, and rock leads musical tastes. Bad news: Race and class struggles continue.
Selling Woodstock Boogie
Counterculture quickly translated into consumer culture, and that hasn't changed. The 40-year psychedelic flashback has so far hashed out a documentary, rockumentary, an Ang Lee movie, the festival producer's memoir, a $600 limited-edition book set, and a six-CD box set for $79.98. (Yes, CDs, and your parents would've lucky to have them.)
Purple Haze of Memories
No shortage of mindtrips about the event. For a shot at collective consciousness, the 400,000-some attendees (and wannabes) can piece together that "singular moment" through Woodstock site's cozy social networking and WikiStock.
More unreliable memories can rely upon Woodstock producer Mike Lang's recollection via a book excerpt from Rolling Stone, or on two opposing "I Was There" perspectives: NYT's reflection on the festival's "muddy grace" and Newsweek's dour take on the "massive, teeming, squalid mess." An interesting read: a July 23, 1969 Boston Phoenix article, which asked, "Can a Pop festival, in its first year, find happiness and success as a 'three-day festival of peace and music'?"
Dance to the Music
Above and beyond all was the music. The Brisbane Times' "Where Are They Now" checks up on the acts' current careers, and the Los Angeles Times covers the brotherhood that continues among the surviving brethren. Below, the artists who still put out celestial vibes 40 years later.
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. The Who
3. Santana
4. Grateful Dead
5. Janis Joplin
6. Creedence Clearwater Revival
7. Sweetwater
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
9. Joe Cocker
10. Joan Baez
11. The Band
12. Jefferson Airplane
13. Arlo Guthrie
14. Richie Havens
15. Ravi Shankar
Declaration of Independence: A Good Read
The Declaration of Independence has made a comeback.
Not that the founding statement of breaking from the Mother Country ever went out of fashion. However, dramatic readings of the 1,337-word document have returned, just like in the late 1700s.
The History Channel website gives a detailed overview of how the declaration came to be written, first from Richard Henry Lee's resolution to cut ties to the British Crown, to Thomas Jefferson hunkering over his handmade portable desk, to the arguments over changes and cuts—among them, criticism over the "execrable commerce" of the slave trade.
Incidentally, the National Archives in England just announced unearthing another original copy of the historical document. A researcher came across the find months ago, and by accident, but the Brits conveniently timed the news for the American holiday. As if they could hog all the attention.
The U.S. government archives has electronic copies, for people who want to do their own readings from the almost-real thing. For those who prefer being read to, NPR continues its tradition—now going on 21 years—of airing a reading by its newscasters, accessible here.
Filed under: Holidays, History, Reading, Fourth of July
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| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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