Today, March 15th
RUTH BADER GINSBURG TURNS 87. Appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in August 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the first Jewish female justice and the second female justice. But to her legions of fans, she’s much more.
Calling Trump “a faker” when he was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, she has continued to be a vocal critic of the President—pledging to wait out his term before retiring at age 90. Most recently, she slammed Mitch McConnell and others who displayed bias in Trump’s impeachment case, noting, “if that were a judge, they would be disqualified from sitting on the case."
I found the book, Notorious RBG—with its annotated dissents and rare archival photos—a great snapshot of Ginsberg’s career. Perfectly capturing the cult-like affection that journalists Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (like millions of others) feel towards her, it’s welcome proof that “social consciousness” transcends generational divides.
For a taste of Ginsburg’s pioneering thinking, read my post, “Her Golden Moment.”
CHATROOMS MADE THEIR DEBUT ON THIS DAY IN 1971. It was Cold War fears that first spurred the Pentagon’s attempts to link computers across its various offices. By 1969, The Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (aka ARPANET) had essentially given birth to the Internet—having developed the protocols behind networking, file sharing and (in 1971) e-mailing. The “mailing lists” that immediately followed served as virtual discussion groups—with SF-LOVERS (dedicated to science fiction fans) being one of the first.
The podcast’s “Mark & John” episode offers a mind-boggling glimpse of chat rooms in their infancy.
The Nixon administration launched EMISARI that same year, linking 10 speakers in a real-time online chat known as the party line. And in 1980 CompuServe made online chat services available to the public.
Gaming, video, and virtual reality have taken chat rooms far beyond simply chat, making it hard to imagine the intoxicating effect the simple novelty must have had on early 80’s users. For a glimpse into that mysterious terrain, I highly recommend the Casefile podcast episode, “ Mark and John” It had me—more than once—exclaiming out loud “This can’t be true!” I hope you’ll share your reaction in “comments.”
BROADWAY REMAINS “CLOSED.” Traditionally, Sunday matinees attract the largest audiences—second only to Saturday matinees (and both rank highest with suburbanites). But Broadway’s 41 theaters are dark for the third day in an unprecedented month-long shutdown. While New York was struck by a similar pandemic a century ago (when the Spanish flu of 1918 killed millions) the show did in fact go on. And the post-9/11 shutdown lasted a mere 48 hours—as city officials and performers were eager to assert the city’s resilience.
While face masks were equally ubiquitous during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, Broadway’s theaters remained open.
“With no such thing as social distancing for actors,” notes Actors Equity’s president, today’s performers were starting to feel scared to work. Fears that made Governor Cuomo’s decree a blessing in disguise—as the shows’ insurance policies only kick in when closings are government-mandated. Now, the theater community—which Tony-nominated actor Brandon Uranowitz says has always prided itself as “a salve in traumatic moments”—may be the one in need of healing. Shows already suffering from weak ticket sales may not reopen come April 12th; while some of the 16 shows in previews may never open at all.
Noting the financial stress many performers and backstage workers will be feeling, Uranowitz suggests theater-lovers consider donating the money from refunded tickets to The Actor’s Fund. While its offices are closed temporarily, it has transitioned to phone/online services for those seeking Emergency Financial Assistance. The show must go on, indeed.