Two Centuries of a Spooky Classic

 This year marks the bicentennial of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, originally published on March 15, 1820 as part of his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.  Longtime readers of this blog will know that reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is an annual Halloween tradition for me.  I have long maintained that the tale (not a legend about a place that wasn't called Sleepy Hollow) is the original 'Scooby Doo' episode- a slightly spooky comedic story about a a creepy presence which may or may not be a ghost.  Irving's Ichabod Crane, so different from the real man, is pretty much Shaggy, a tall beanpole with a boundless appetite and a tendency toward credulity.

Sadly, this pandemic year put the kibosh on the Sleepy Hollow Literary Festival, which was supposed to be a celebration of the 'Legend's' bicentennial.  The festival was supposed to involve a consortium of Irving scholars presenting panel discussions and lectures on the 'Legend'.  I had been hoping to attend some of the festivities before work, but that was not to be.

I was able to attend a brief lecture about the inspirations and antecedents of the 'Legend' by local storyteller and Friend of the Bastard Jonathan Kruk, who in non-plague years would recite The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at The Old Dutch Church with organ accompaniment by my Great and Good Friend Jim Keyes.  Much of Mr Kruk's lecture, held outside on the grounds of Washington Irving's home Sunnyside, was based on his book Legends and Lore of Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson Valley.  

Irving wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow while living in England, trying to keep his family's import/export business afloat, and not having a very good time of it (the United States was in the midst of a 'buy American' phase, with patriotic Americans bolstering homegrown industry).  Disheartened, Irving met with Sir Walter Scott, a fan of his youthful writings, and received encouragement to continue his writing career.   In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Irving fused fact, fiction, and fable into a wonderful composite.

The figure of a headless specter is common throughout Northern Europe, with the Dullahan being a particularly vivid type specimen, by which I mean archetype specimen.  Apparently, the Dutch Americans also had a tradition of muffling themselves in cloaks and scaring unwanted individuals out of town in the colonial era.  In the journal of American revolutionary general William Heath, there is an account of a Hessian mercenary decapitated by a cannon ball: "A shot from the American cannon at this place took off the head of a Hessian artillery-man. They also left one of the artillery horses dead on the field. What other loss they sustained was not known."   

This compares well with Irving's account of the decapitated Hessian: "It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War..."

 I have long maintained that much of the appeal of the 'Legend' is due to its sparse plot... at its heart, it's the story of a man who goes to a party and gets chased by what he thinks is a headless horseman.  There is a lot of scope for adding one's own spin on the tale- good-natured rowdy vs pseudo-intellectual, rural vs urban, Dutch vs English.  Even more significantly is Irving's genius at description, with his portrayal of Ichabod Crane being a masterpiece of comedic writing:

In this by-place of nature there abode, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, a native of Connecticut, who "tarried" in Sleepy Hollow for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. He was tall and exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, and feet that might have served for shovels. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weathercock perched upon his spindle neck, to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding along on a windy day, with his clothes bagging and fluttering about him, one might have mistaken him for some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield. 

It's odd that a lot of modern adaptations insist on making Crane sexy. 

For me,a lot of the appeal of the story is that it is local, indeed hyper local.  The route of the 'Legend', on Route 9, is one I have driven many times.  Again, Irving's genius at description comes into play in his depiction of the Pocantico River valley that he dubbed Sleepy Hollow:

In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of Saint Nicholas, there lies a small market town which is generally known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given by the good housewives of the adjacent country from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days. Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley among high hills which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook murmurs through it and, with the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks the uniform tranquillity. 

It's the attention to detail that most adaptations tend to lose, those little flourishes which conjure up an image that remains to this day, say when you hear a woodpecker earning its keep at Kingsland Point Park.

There are some nice background pieces about the 'Legend', such as this History Channel essay or this CBS news item.  Again, the appeal of the 'Legend', a factor in its two centuries of popularity, is that it is endlessly adaptable- it was a brilliant synthesis by Washington Irving that has spawned a myriad of different interpretations in a chain of creation.  It's an appropriate genesis for American fiction, both comic and scary.

I'll include one recent adaptation, an animated short by David Hyde Costello and narrated by poet Malik Work, which is a current stand-in for a shadow puppet show present annually in non-plague years at Irving's Sunnyside, which was cancelled this year due to the impossibility of social distancing between the two puppeteers involved in the show:

 

 

I figure I'll end this post here... I've got some reading to do.

Short Runup to Halloween

 Typically, October is a very busy month for me- it is traditionally our major fundraising month on the job. My strategy a strategy for blogging in October, has typically involved setting up post ahead of time. Usually I take the time in October to write about horror fiction or scary movies.  This year, a year of genuine horrors and habitual mask-wearing, what is the point of Halloween?  

More importantly, we have canceled two minor fundraising events and truncated another, I just haven't been as busy as I am in a typical year.  The hectic nights of running around making sure event logistics are adhered to have been replaced by low-key nights playing with the cat and reading horror fact, not horror fiction.

Tomorrow will be weird, overtime has been authorized because people expecting events will show up, so someone has to be on site to ensure that they don't improvise kicks on the premises.  It's fewer hours than a typical October weekend, but a little extra cash will be a nice treat during this tricky year.

Good Thing the Pandemic Is Over

Forget the spike in COVID-19 numbers, never mind the fact that over 230,000 Americans have died, the Trump Administration's Office of Science and Technology Policy released a document enumerating its accomplishments, among which is, and I quote: "ENDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC".

 From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Administration has taken decisive actions to engage scientists and health professionals in academia, industry, and government to understand, treat, and defeat the disease. 

 Currently, COVID-19 is ravaging the Midwest, with cases of the disease rising in counties in which Spready Krueger has held rallies.  It's grotesque enough that the White House is taking credit for ENDING THE PANDEMIC, but the fact that they are doing so while actively spreading the virus is monstrous.

Three Years of Q-nacy

 Three years ago today, the weirdest conspiracy theory I have encountered, which is more like a conspiracy aggregator which can absorb other conspiracy theories, was birthed.  The first prediction was  ambitious. predicting the fall of the right-wing's most hated figure, but not auspicious, having not come to pass in the ensuing three years... oddly enough, the first 'Q Drop' was actually a response to another 'insider anon' on 4chan:

Apparently, it was common for various shitposters to claim inside knowledge about intelligence or law enforcement matters, and would engage in games of one-upsmanship.  Oddly enough, the shitposter who came to be known as 'Q Clearance Patriot' beat out other figures such as 'FBI Anon'.

The QAnon phenomenon had its start on 4chan, but migrated to the even more problematic imageboard 8chan (now rebranded as 8kun after several mass shooters posted manifestos on the imageboard).  The poster(s) known as Q painted themselves into a corner by claiming that no other sites would be used for communiques.  That's a total genius move by a 'team of high ranking military intelligence operatives'.

Most of Q's drops in the first couple of years consisted of cryptic missives written in a mix of jargon and code that functioned as an Alternate Reality Game for believers.  They could decode these 'drops' and compare notes to piece together a narrative, which typically involved the arrest and trial by military tribunal (followed, naturally, by execution) of high-ranking Democrats.

QAnon is really the Unified Field Theory of conspiracies, capable of absorbing other conspiracy theories.  Elites drinking the blood of children to get high and regain their youth?  Check!  Aliens manipulating humanity behind the scenes?  Welcome aboard!  Mole children raised as slaves in underground military bases?  You got it!  JFK Jr faking his death to fight Hillary Clinton?  Yeah, there's a sect for that.  The one thing that unifies the true Q believers is the belief that Donald Trump, the most corrupt person to occupy the White House, and a man credibly accused of being a sexual predator, is humanity's last hope in the war against the sinister cabal that rules the world behind the scenes, employing most of Earth's people as cattle to prey upon.  Yeah, it's pretty much Cult 45, seasoned with more than a touch of antisemitic Blood Libel.  I have to confess that the whole rigmarole fascinates me, but then again, I am a huge fan of Foucault's Pendulum and Illuminatus!

If you're unfamiliar with this conspiracy complex, a good place to familiarize yourself with the basics is the irreverent QAnon Anonymous podcast, and a real thorough debunker of the whole mishegas is Mike Rains, who posts as Poker and Politics (he probably knows the 'comms' better than anyone).

It's been three years since the first prognostication by Q was made, and it still hasn't come true.  Next week, the God Emperor that the Q-loons worship stands a good chance to lose the presidency in a landslide.  I don't think that will end the QAnon phenomenon, most cults survive failed prophecies.  What the movement morphs into remains to be seen, but watching the phenomenon unfold over three years, I have the distinct feeling that I was watching the birth of a new religion in realtime.  Who the hell knows what it'll morph into over the next three years?

Early Voting Foray

 Today, I decided to see if this early voting thing, just implemented in New York State last year, was for me...  I had every intention to get up this morning and hit Eastern Yonkers' early voting site, the Grinton I. Will Library, before the polls opened at noon (they stagger the hours, alternating between 8AM-4PM and Noon-8PM).  I confess, though, that my discipline was sub-par today.  I didn't leave the house until about 4PM, and by the time I arrived at the library, the parking lot was full and there were two lines snaking around the building, one to the right of the entrance and into the parking lot, and one to the left of the entrance and along the sidewalk.  An enterprising entrepreneur had parked a food truck on the street outside the library.

I had thought to vote exactly a week before Election Day to make some sort of statement, but I now believe that voting on Election Day itself might be the soundest move- I've never had to wait more than fifteen minutes to vote at my usual polling place.  That's how it goes in a majority white, majority middle-class neighborhood.  I don't have to start work at 5AM on Election Day, so I can just pop in around 6AM and have plenty of time to get to work.

At any rate, voting against the Asshole-in-Chief is going to be an immense source of satisfaction.

Secret Science Club Zoom Lecture Recap: Eco Restoration Presentation

 Yesterday, I logged in on the latest Secret Science Club Zoom lecture featuring Dr Thomas Crowther of Zurich's Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and director of the Crowtherlab.  Dr Crowther is also involved in the developing RESTOR open data platform.

In his Zoom lecture, Dr Crowther spoke mainly about forest restoration, and its implications in carbon capture.  He began with a video by NASA's Goddard Center depicting a model of a yearly global carbon cycle:

As the plants regrow leaves in the Spring, the atmospheric CO2 levels go down- carbon is sequestered in the biosphere.  While a tree can capture a large amount of carbon in its woody tissue and leaves, most of the carbon it captures is underground, in the microbes, fungi, and minute animals (such as nematodes) that live among the tree's roots.

A lot of what we know about the amount of trees was obtained using satellite imagery, but this is inadequate, as satellites cannot penetrate the forest canopy.  A more accurate number must be obtained by researchers on the ground- the current estimate is that the world is home to three trillion trees, seven times the amount tallied using satellite images.  This information led to the creation of the Trillion Trees project, which identifies optimal sites for reforestation, with the goal of planting... you guessed it... a trillion trees.  Dr Crowther had beautiful maps of the regions which are most promising for reforestation- mainly areas on the margins of existing forests which have been extensively logged.  He also noted that the maps needed to be corrected, with old maps showing trees on the unforested Faroes and omitting trees in Vatican City.

While deforestation is a global problem, it is also a local problem, and local populations must be included in any ecological restoration projects.  The right trees must be planted in the right places, and trees which have agricultural uses are particularly attractive to avoid a 'pay landholder to plant trees which get cut down so the landholder can get paid to plant trees again' model.  

Forests aren't the only important biome, savannahs/grasslands and wetlands/peatlands also sequester a significant amount of carbon dioxide.  The treeless tundra of the north captures a lot of carbon, and the soil biodiversity is even greater than that of tropical forests.  

Dr Crowther accompanied his lecture with outstanding graphics- the maps were extremely informative, the different graphs and video models were beautiful.  When the video becomes available, I will post it.  I actually watched the video at work (I arrived an hour and a half early to watch it, finishing right when I had to punch in), on the edge of a wooded area, under the shade of a black walnut tree.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take good notes under the circumstances, but was able to capture the gist of the lecture in this post.  Again, the video component of the lecture was an integral part, so the recap falls a little flat without it.

The lecture was followed with a Q&A session.  Some bastard in the audience asked about the roles played by invasive species.  Dr Crowther indicated that his lab was preparing a paper on invasives- invasive species are most common in coastal areas near ports.  In marginal areas, such as deserts, invasive species benefit from being ecologically similar to native species.  In more abundant areas, invasive species benefit from being ecologically different, able to exploit novel ecological niches.

At any rate, here is a video of Dr Crowther taking about ecological restoration,

Pour yourself a beverage, and soak in that SCIENCE!

When GOP Prophecy Fails

There's a fine line between hilarity and horror, and that line was crossed and re-crossed when Republican representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana claimed that his wife had predictive powers:

 I don't know what unauthorized foods are, unless Clay keeps kosher, which I doubt.  He could also avoid having his knives seized if he stocks up on thirty or forty plastic knives to hide around the house and yard.  What kind of survivalist nutjob is he, anyway?

 I don't believe in precognition, perhaps because I became familiar with the work of the late, great James Randi early on.  At any rate, there's no way that Mrs Higgins has the gift of premonition... after all, she married a thrice-divorced whackjob like Clay.

Post title taken from the classic essay on the usual fate of eschatological cults- perhaps the only sociology essay mentioned in a Blue Öyster Cult song.