FYI July 14, 2020

On This Day

1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
The Fête de la Fédération (Festival of the Federation) was a massive holiday festival held throughout France in 1790 in honour of the French Revolution. It is the precursor of the Bastille Day which is celebrated every year in France on 14 July, celebrating the Revolution itself, as well as National Unity.

It commemorated the revolution and events of 1789 which had culminated in a new form of national government, a constitutional monarchy led by a representative Assembly.

The inaugural fête of 1790 was set for July 14th, so it would also coincide with the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille although that is not what was itself celebrated. At this relatively calm stage of the Revolution, many people considered the country’s period of political struggle to be over. This thinking was encouraged by counter-revolutionary monarchiens, and the first fête was designed with a role for King Louis XVI that would respect and maintain his royal status. The occasion passed peacefully and provided a powerful, but illusory, image of celebrating national unity after the divisive events of 1789–1790.

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Born On This Day

1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (d. 1926)
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist[2] who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia.[3] Along with T. E. Lawrence, Bell helped support the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan as well as in Iraq.

She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, using her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. During her lifetime she was highly esteemed and trusted by British officials and exerted an immense amount of power. She has been described as “one of the few representatives of His Majesty’s Government remembered by the Arabs with anything resembling affection”.[4]

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FYI

By Abid Rahman, Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter: Grant Imahara, Host of ‘MythBusters’ and ‘White Rabbit Project,’ Dies at 49

 
 
 
 
By James Griffiths, CNN: Two weeks after it imposed a security law on Hong Kong, China says 600,000 people may have broken it
 
 
 
 

By Dale Markowitz Applied AI Engineer, Cloud AI Google: 30 years of family videos in an AI archive
 
 
 
 

By Mindy Weisberger – Senior Writer, Live Science: ‘Geyser’ aurora and ‘cosmic bat’ nebula shortlisted for astronomy photo prize
 
 
 
 

By Sophie Lewis, CBS News: Stunning video from the International Space Station shows comet Neowise soaring past Earth
 
 
 
 

By Stephanie Donovan, Beyond Bylines: Blog Profiles: Self-Care Blogs
 
 
 
 
Carol at Make a Living Writing: Break into copywriting: 7 things you need to know

 
 
 
 
Jim Butcher: Happy Book Day and Virtual Tour Launch!
 
 
 
 
Gastro Obscura: Have your classical painting and eat it, too; Soup Nazis; Taco Bell of the Ball and more ->
 
 
 
 

Ideas

By Jadem52: Pocket Sized Pottery Wheel

 
 
 
 

Recipes

Betty Crocker Kitchens: 13 Cheese-Loaded Slow-Cooker Faves

 
 
CutterLight: And for Dessert… a Blueberry Cloud

 
 
By Sheela Prakash, The Kitchn: I Tried This Retro Hack for 1-Ingredient Sorbet and Couldn’t Believe the Results