AMERICAN PATRIOT
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AUGUST 4, 2010
PATTON A CONTROVERSIAL AMERICAN HERO
THE EMMY AWARD AMERICA’S PARKS WHERE THE DINOSAURS ROAMED
AMERICAN PATRIOT
4 THE EMMY AWARD “I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY”
6 PATTON A CONTROVERSIAL AMERICAN HERO
8 HARPER LEE’S LEGACY
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AMERICA’S PARKS WHERE THE DINOSAURS ROAMED
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14 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
15 THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN HISTORY
THE EMMY AWARD “I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY”
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Every year the Emmy Award recognizes outstanding work in various areas of television. The Primetime Emmy Award is especially prestigious because it stands as a symbol of recognition of those 15,000 members of the Academy. This year the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will present the 62nd Primetime Emmy Award on the evening of August 29. When Syd Cassyd, the founder of the Academy of Television and Sciences, called together the first meeting in 1946, private TV’s were still a rarity in American homes. However, Cassyd had visionary ideas of the impact TV would one day have on American lifestyle and culture. The group met in L.A. and discussed ideas for the nascent industry’s future. As the popularity of the group and television grew in the 1950’s, Cassyd and the fellow founders of the group instituted an annual awards ceremony as a public relations and image-building opportunity. Initially, Cassyd had hoped the award would be nicknamed the “Ike” after General Dwight D. Eisenhower, but the Television Academy rejected this proposal. Instead, the group named the award the “Immy” after the image-orthicon camera tube, an instrument that was key in developing the television. When the statuette was depicted as a winged woman holding an atom, the name was feminized to “Emmy.” The first Emmy Awards were solely for local L.A. television shows. By the 1950’s, however, the program had expanded to integrate national programming into the mix. In 1955, Ed Sullivan formed an East Coast Television Academy, and in 1957, the L.A. and New York-based Television Academies combined.
EMMY WAS ALMOST IKE
Today, the Academy has over 15,000 members, whom are divided amongst 28 groups of specialized fields. Industry professionals can vote for the categories that involve their field of expertise. The host of the event has been crucial to the success of the event. Some favorite hosts have included: Tim Allen, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, and Bernie Mac. This year’s scheduled host is late night star Jimmy Fallon. CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLING OF NOMINEES FROM SEVERAL CATEGORIES
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PATTON A CONTROVERSIAL AMERICAN HERO George S. Patton Jr. is considered one of the most influential, important and controversial American army officers of all time. Born in San Gabriel CA on November 11, 1885, Patton traveled east to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in World War I as a first officer assigned to the Tank Corps. Stationed in France, he saw battle and earned the Distinguished Service Cross for Heroism — the first of many medals he was to own. 6 AMERICAN PATRIOT
“Better To Fight For Something Than To Live For Nothing.” – GENERAL PATTON His greatest achievement lay ahead, during World War II. Before the U.S. had officially entered the war, Patton himself convinced Congress that America needed a stronger armored striking force. His early work with tanks had made him a staunch advocate of tank warfare. In 1940, Patton was named commanding officer of the new Armored Force. When in 1941 the U.S. sent troops overseas, Patton commanded the only allAmerican force: the Western Task Force. He successfully invaded North Africa with his troops, and then moved on to invade Sicily in 1943 and restored its previous government. Having commanded the Seventh Army until 1944, Patton was sent to take over the Third Army in France. He fought the Germans over a span of 600 miles from France to Belgium, to Luxembourg, all the way to Germany. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment came during the Battle of the Bulge, when Patton anticipated German movements, turned the Third Army abruptly north with logistical brilliance, disengaging from the front line to relieve the surrounded and besieged U.S. troops holding the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne. This repositioning of the Third Army, within twenty-four hours, helped send the
Germans into retreat, and it is still considered one of the great achievements of his or any Army. Ultimately, his troops liberated Buchenwald concentration camp on April 4, 1945. Patton instated a policy that made local Germans tour the camps. Later that year, Patton took over command of the Fifteenth Army that was occupying Germany at the time. He suffered injuries in car accident on December 9 and died 12 days later. He is remembered as one of America’s most heroic, devoted, and successful soldiers. He once said: “Better to fight for something than live for nothing.” Not everyone was so enthralled with General Patton. An infamous incident during which he slapped a soldier recovering from battle fatigue left him spurned by many. Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower removed him from his role in the Normandy Landings. However, he was later reintroduced into heavy combat during which he accomplished his many triumphs. LISTEN TO PATTON’S GREAT SPEECH TO THE THIRD ARMY AMERICAN PATRIOT 7
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HARPER LEE’S LEGACY This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the literary classic: To Kill A Mockingbird. Written by Harper Lee in 1960, To Kill A Mockingbird was an instant American favorite; it remained on the bestseller list for 88 weeks and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1962. The book, which captured the challenges of lingering racism in the South, was only book Harper Lee ever published. Lee grew up in Monroeville AL. Her father was a lawyer who served on the Alabama State Legislature. She was the youngest of four children. Her best friend and schoolmate, Truman Capote, lived right next door. Lee admitted that Capote inspired one of the characters, Dill, best friend of Scout and Jem, in the book. Lee graduated from the University of Alabama in 1949, moved to New York in 1950, and finished writing the famed book in 1959. While Harper Lee took several key plot points from personal experiences, the book addresses many longstanding American issues. The children Scout and Jem wrestle with coming of age in a small town while watching their lawyer-father Atticus Finch handle the racial tensions of the Old South with as much grace and dignity as possible. Although narrated from young Scout’s perspective, the narration is wise and articulate. The most quoted line from the book is still often used today. Atticus tells Scout, “‘you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . .
until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” In 1962, the beloved book was made into a film. Gregory Peck excelled in the role of Atticus Finch as the characters came to life on screen. The movie won three Oscars the year after its release. Lee approved thoroughly of the movie production of her book. Peck even got a chance to meet Lee’s father, who was inspiration for his character, before the filming of the movie. After the movie was released, Lee gave Peck her father’s pocket watch as a gift. Peck and Lee remained good friends, and when Peck’s grandson was born, he was named “Harper” in her honor. Between book and movie, To Kill A Mockingbird had a great impact on American culture. Its legacy remains and most every American schoolchild will come across To Kill A Mockingbird at some point in their school reading career. GREGORY PECK WINNING THE OSCAR FOR HIS ROLE AS ATTICUS FINCH AMERICAN PATRIOT 9
C-COOP THE GREAT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER
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Cynthia Cooper might not have been the tallest woman on the court, but she was certainly the most notable. Cooper has been a high school, college, Olympic, and WNBA basketball star. She is generally conceded to be the best women’s basketball player ever. Among her achievements: three Final Four appearances in college, scoring 44 points in one game, winning gold in three different forms of international play including an Olympics in 1998, and induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. Cooper was born in Chicago IL and grew up in South Central L.A. Her mother raised eight children by herself after Cynthia’s father left the family when she was only 6 years old. At Locke High School, she excelled at basketball and track. She scored an average of 31 points per game, led her team to the California State Championship, and was named Los Angeles Player of the Year. She matriculated to the University of Southern California where she led the Women of Troy to the NCAA tournament all four years. Cooper remains in the eighth position USC’s all time scoring list. In 1987, Cooper went on to play for the USA Women’s American Team and then onto the U.S. Olympic team. Cooper also had a well-rounded international profes-
sional career, during which she played for Spain and Italy. She was awarded the MVP of the European All-Star Team. When Cooper joined the WNBA in 1997, she was an instant star. Playing for the Houston Comets, she earned the WNBA’s MVP award in 1997 and then again in 1998. During 1998, the Women’s Sports Foundation also named her “Sportswoman of the Year.” She played until 2003, and then became a TV sports analyst and, later, head coach at Prairie View A&M University. Cooper is a mother of twins, a son and a daughter and is now the head coach at the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. CLICK HERE FOR SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF HER TERRIFIC PERFORMANCE IN THE 1997 WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
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AMERICA’S PARKS WHERE THE DINOSAURS ROAMED Dinosaur Valley State Park is located in northeastern TX along the Paluxy River. The geologic formations have been dated at over 113 million years old, and in those limestones and sandstones deposits, dinosaur footprints were discovered. Hence the park’s name.
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“Home, home on the range, where the tyrannosauruses and the velociraptor play.”
gists have now devoted much time in the park further excavating and exploring the tracks.
Dinosaur Valley State Park contains some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in the entire world. The tracks can be found in the Paluxy Riverbed; most are 15 to 20 inches long and belong to three-toed theropods. These types of dinosaurs had sharp claws for hunting prey. There are some tracks that are even larger than the theropods. These were made by four-legged, long-necked herbivores. And some of these footprints are over a yard long. The footprints had been buried by dirt and rock over time, and were not discovered until modern times when weathering and erosion have newly exposed these tracks. Paleontolo
Summer is the best season to visit the park because the river typically runs very low and so it is an ideal time for viewing the most dinosaur tracks. There is a sink-hole — the Blue Hole as it is known — located at a deep bend in the Paluxy River where some of the best tracks can be found, visitors have to descend a set of stone steps to the river and cross a series of stepping stones. The park is fun for the whole family. Kids and adults alike will love measuring and comparing the size of their hands and feet to those of a dinosaur. There are 12 miles of fun hikes in the park as well as many serene picnic areas. CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT DINOSAUR STATE PARK AMERICAN PATRIOT 13
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” —
HARPER LEE
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AUTHOR OF TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
THIS WEEK IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
1945. U.S. DROPS THE A-BOMB An American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 140,000 were killed as a result of the blast and the fallout. Following the dropping of a second bomb, on Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and World War II ended. President Truman’s decision to use the bombs to end the war were wildly popular in America at the time, but historians now debate the meaning. AMERICAN PATRIOT 15
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