Ewan McGregor Not a Fan of Fans of 'Star Wars'

Looks like Ewan McGregor might not be such a fan of some of his fans from Star Wars!





Ewan McGregor has some unkind words for 'Star Wars' 'fans'  By Jonathon Dornbush on Oct 24, 2014:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/10/24/ewan-mcgregor-star-wars-fans-trainspotting-sequel/

These Are The Most Googled Halloween Costumes In Each State The Huffington Post | By Kevin Short

Well, another Halloween is about to pass into the books.

I just came back from taking my son trick or treating and, I must say, it was a pleasant surprise to see just how many kids there were out there trick or treating. It was not as huge as when I was a kid, but it was the most that I have seen since then, probably. It was refreshing to see, because personally, I think it is a nice tradition.

In any case, my son had tons of candy. I have him a plastic pumpkin to carry it all in, and it went from being empty, to being filled almost to the brim!

Hopefully, these are pleasant memories that he will cherish a long time from now. I know I will.

He did remember trick or treating two or three years ago, when there was snow on the ground (I think it was 2011). That was the one and only snow storm that we got that year, and it came on October 29th. A year later on that date, Hurricane Sandy hit and, for all intents and purposes, Halloween was cancelled.

But we went last year, and here again this year. At some point, it dawned on me that there may be a couple of years or so left of this tradition of taking him trick or treating, before he is too big for it. That saddened me a bit, but I'm trying not to think about it, and enjoyed the day today.

In any case, I thought one more blog entry on Halloween would be good. The first is actually about the night before, which I always knew as "goosey night", but which almost everyone else knows as something else, apparently. This link is for what that night before Halloween is called around the United States and Canada.


What's The Night Before Halloween Called? It Depends On Where You Live by Mark Strauss, October 29, 2014:

http://io9.com/whats-the-night-before-halloween-called-it-depends-on-1652219297





Then, finally, here is a map of the most popular Halloween costumes by state, which was pretty interesting:



These Are The Most Googled Halloween Costumes In Each State of  By Kevin Short The Huffington Post, October 27, 2014:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/27/halloween-costumes-googled-most-popular_n_6050592.html

How Would Sweden's 30-Hour Work Week Work in the US?

Now, this was a very interesting article!

I remember when France attempted to reduce the workweek to 30 hours, and it did not actually work all that well.

In Sweden, however, the have made it work. It really is remarkable, how effectively those Scandinavian countries seem to lead the way in these kinds of things!

In any case, yes, it apparently is working fairly well in Sweden, and so the question is asked, as always: would it work in the United States?

But truth be told, I do not see it ever being attempted in the United States - at least not in my lifetime. Everyone wants to be rich, everyone thinks that they are going to be rich, somehow. Everyone thinks that luxuries for themselves, and tons of luxuries for the privileged few, are more important than taking care of the needs of the many. Those are the priorities in the United States today, in the present climate, unfortunately. So, the point is pretty well moot before it ever even gets off the ground.

Still, an interesting article, and if you want to take a look for yourself, just click on the link below:




COULD SWEDEN’S SIX-HOUR WORKDAY WORK IN AMERICA? by Lisa Wirthman

http://www.mid-marketpulse.com/swedens-six-hour-workday-could-change-how-we-view-productivity/#^eyJocmVmIjoiaHR0cDovL3d3dy5zbGF0ZS5jb20vYmxvZ3MveHhfZmFjdG9yLzIwMTQvMTAvMjkvY2F0Y2FsbGluZ192aWRlb19ob2xsYWJhY2tfc19sb29rX2F0X3N0cmVldF9oYXJhc3NtZW50X2luX255Y19lZGl0ZWRfb3V0Lmh0bWwiLCJhZFVuaXQiOnsic2VydmVyIjoiZGZwIiwiaWQiOiIvOTE4OTgwOTgvc2xhdGUucG9sYXIiLCJzaXplIjoiNXg1IiwidGFyZ2V0cyI6e319LCJsYWJlbCI6IlN0b3J5IFJhaWwgMiIsInNlbGVjdG9yIjoiI3JyLXJlc3VsdHMgLml0ZW06ZXEoNikiLCJjcmVhdGl2ZSI6IjJlMmM3ZWE5NDBiYTQ5NDI5NmJjYTE3ZTg1MDhlOTlkIiwiZXhwZXJpZW5jZVR5cGUiOiJpbmJvdW5kIn0%3D

Stephen King Speaks Out on Religion & Belief in God

Stephen King is an excellent author, and one of my personal favorites.

He seems to have a penchant for being in the center of controversy outside of his books, however, although I am not entirely sure why.

His recent remarks that have stirred controversy are about religion. He essentially said that while he himself is not particularly religious, and finds religion dangerous, he nevertheless chooses to believe in God.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he elaborates quite a bit on his own Methodist background, and how he had always harbored doubts. Once he reached a certain age, he had had enough, and wanted nothing to do with religion anymore afterwards.

A lot of people, however, are apparently quite critical of these recent remarks, and probably from both sides of the argument.

Perhaps that is actually proving his point.

In any case, here is the link, so you can read about this more for yourself:




Stephen King: ‘Religion is a dangerous tool … but I choose to believe God exists’ by Alison Flood, Oct 29, 2014:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/29/stephen-king-religion-dangerous-god-exists

Video Link for Temple of the Dog Reunion

It did not work for me when I tried it, but hopefully, it will work for you guys out there!

This is, apparently, some video from the recent reunion of Temple of the Dog during the Bridge Show Benefit in California. The last time that the group had reunited was for the release of the film "twenty" back in September of 2011.

Pretty cool stuff!


TEMPLE OF THE DOG Reunion At NEIL YOUNG's 'Bridge School Benefit'; Video Available -October 26, 2014:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/temple-of-the-dog-reunion-at-neil-youngs-bridge-school-benefit-video-available/

Sports Update for October 31, 2014

NFL

On the Thursday Night Football game, the New Orleans Saints dominated the hosting Carolina Panthers, 28-10, to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Of course, that is probably the worst division in the league this season, and it surely is right now, the way all four teams combined have been playing.

Still, the Saints have been playing much better, following a dismal 1-4 start that seemed to have placed them in a hole that they might not be able to dig themselves out of.

Mark Ingram, son of the former Super Bowl XXV champion, rushed for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries. Drew Brees completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 297 yards and 1 touchdown, although he was also intercepted once, and sacked 4 times!

Cam Newton, in a losing effort for the Panthers, had a horrible day, completing 10 of 28 passes for 151 yards and 1 interception, although he was effective on the ground, running 7 times for
43 yards and a touchdown - the only one the Panthers scored all day.

The Panthers had been in the lead in the NFC South all season heading into this game. But the Saints, who started off 1-3, have now reversed that and won three of their last four games to even their record at 4-4. They have now won two games in a row, and own a game and a half lead over the Panthers, and a two game lead now over the Atlanta Falcons.




CFL

The season is winding down. None of the games have been on local television as of late that I have noticed. Still, having seen a couple of games now, that was enough to get me intrigued in the league, and what's going on in it.

The Calgary Stampeders are in the playoffs, with a 14-2 record, and only two games left to play. They have pretty much been the best team all season, and nothing so far has really interfered with that.

However, now with the elimination round, there is always danger, since your regular season record is erased, and the new season - the postseason - is really all that matters for the championship (unlike in European sports, where the season champion is the team that was the most solid all around performance that season).

Still, Calgary looks great so far, and it is difficult to envision the Gray Cup being played without them this season. They look like they should earn it.

However, it is not all good news for the Stampeders at the moment. John Forzani, a former great player for the franchise, is on life support after suffering a heart attack in California. We all wish him well!

One thing that I found while doing some research for the CFL was a new addition that should prove entertaining and informative for anyone interested in the league: a new power ratings article that will evidently be a regular feature from this point onwards! Very cool, and you can find the link below:


CFL Super Power Rankings: The perils of the division crossover playoff game By Ian Denomme of 55 Yard Line, October 30, 2014:

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/cfl-super-power-rankings--the-perils-of-the-division-crossover-playoff-game-153736833.html



MLB

Yes, the Giants continue their even year dominance. They won the World Series in 2010, then again in 2012, and now, they have also won the 2014 World Series, their third title in a span of five seasons. They are the budding dynasty in baseball, and look to solidify this status within the next couple of seasons. They certainly would be regarded as a dynasty if they manage to win another World Series, and would be seriously tough to beat as the team of the decade (remember, 2010 does not technically count as this decade).

Now, I will admit that I was pulling for the Kansas City Royals, a team that had not won the World Series, or even a playoff game, since 1985, when they last won it all. This was a team that came from out of nowhere to suddenly get hot at the right time, and took this momentum all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. They were very close to winning it all, and giving the small market teams a boost in the process, I think.

But, alas, it was not meant to be. Hopefully, they can return to the big dance in the near future, and maybe, hopefully win it this time!





MLS

Yet more bad news for sports in Kansas City, as their defending champions, Sporting Kansas City, were ousted from this season's playoffs by the Red Bulls, who advance to the next round, while the Sporting KC now goes home.

The Red Bulls came from 1-0 down with two goals in the final 13 minutes of play. Both goals were scored by Bradley Wright-Phillips. The first of those goals was set up by 37-year-old Frenchman Thierry Henri, a former World Cup champion (1998 France) and elite player in Europe and the world. Henri will soon be retiring.

The Red Bulls can earn a place in the championship game now if they win their next playoff series.

A History of Halloween

Three years ago, this corner of the Northeast got hit with a freak snowstorm. It measured maybe a foot and half, which would normally be quite a substantial storm in it's own right. But since most of the leaves were still on the trees, they got weighted down more than usual, and many of them simply could not stand up to the storm. There were downed trees everywhere, which meant downed telephone poles and wires, as well. The roads were a mess, and many people lost quite a bit of power. I saw it, and unfortunately, had to drive through it, too. It was one of the worst storms that I've seen and had to endure, as a result. That came two days before Halloween, which was surprisingly early for such a snow storm.

But it was nothing compared to what happened last year, also two days before Halloween. That was when Hurricane Sandy hit. Tragedy was everywhere. People died, others lost everything. Life seemed to come to a stop for a short while. And almost nobody noticed when Halloween was officially cancelled. Hardly anyone was surprised, for that matter.

As the date neared on this year's calendar, people were half expecting something else. Some other disaster. But this year, we were spared.

So, I will take my son trick or treating later today. But it seems that this is a dying tradition.

When I was young, kids used to look forward to this holiday for a very long time! We talked about what we wanted to be this Halloween, and we loved getting all dressed up. We looked forward to trick or treating, and feeling the weight of our bags begin to increase. It was well earned, we felt!

For whatever the reason, this tradition of trick or treating for Halloween seems to be going out the window. It used to be a strong tradition that all the kids engaged in, and it would go on to the late hours. There were tons of kids, and running out of candy was a serious worry.

Now, we are lucky if we have more kids than fingers on both hands. It has grown scarce, and it seems to be the case everywhere you go, with everyone you ask.

Apparently, trick or treating is on it's way out, even though getting costumes and dressing up is hotter than ever, and a more profitable business than ever before! I heard somewhere that Halloween is only behind Christmas as the holiday that people tend to spend the most money on.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to do a blog on the history of this holiday, since I did not get a chance to do it (although I planned to) last year.

Here's a little something about the night before Halloween. In my area, we used to call it "Goosey Night", although I understand it is more often referred to as "Devil's Night" or "Mischief Night". This is when local punks throw eggs at cars and homes, or do their best to coat cars, homes, and trees with toilet paper, among other practical jokes. This, like trick or treating, seems to be dying off in recent years. Either that, or I am really not noticing these things anymore.

"It's a Jersey thing: N.J. may be the only state to call tonight 'mischief night'" by Alex Napoliello/NJ.com, published on October 30, 2013:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/its_a_jersey_thing_nj_only_state_to_call_tonight_mischief_night.html?fb_action_ids=10201500253725888&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A165797540294225%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A%22s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like%22%7D

A PBS link to the history of specific, Halloween-themed foods can be found by clicking on this link:

http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/halloween-a-foodie-history/

One page that I found fascinating, with specifics on the background history of certain popular Halloween traditions, can be found by clicking on the following link:

 http://www.halloweenishere.com/history.html

The following page, "Halloween History", can be viewed at: http://www.halloweenhistory.org/

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.  The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows' Evening also known as Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve.

Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth    century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as of Australia and New Zealand.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"). 
The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.

The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.

Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.

Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters.

The history of Halloween has evolved.  The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. The most significant growth and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the "trick" element. In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal "tricks" and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.

In Ohio, Iowa, and Massachusetts, the night designated for Trick-or-treating is often referred to as Beggars Night.

Part of the history of Halloween  is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of "souling," when poor folk would    go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas."

Yet there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in America, and trick-or-treating may have developed in America independent of any Irish or British antecedent. There is little primary Halloween history documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in Ireland, the UK, or America before 1900. The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, near the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street guising (see below) on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Another isolated reference appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. Ruth Edna Kelley, in her 1919 history of the holiday, The Book of Hallowe'en, makes no mention of such a custom in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America." It does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the earliest known uses in print of the term "trick or treat" appearing in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939. Thus, although a quarter million Scots-Irish immigrated to America between 1717 and 1770, the Irish Potato Famine brought almost a million immigrants in 1845-1849, and British and Irish immigration to America peaked in the 1880s, ritualized begging on Halloween was virtually unknown in America until generations later.

Trick-or-treating spread from the western United States eastward, stalled by sugar rationing that began in April 1942 during World War II and did not end until June 1947. Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's Activities, and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948. The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat, Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show, and UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-treating on the prairie. Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from vandalism, nothing in the historical record supports this theory. To the contrary, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger. Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read "American Boys Don't Beg."

On This Day in History - October 31 Martin Luther's 95 Theses Published

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Oct 31, 1517: Martin Luther posts 95 theses    

On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.  

In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the papal practice of asking payment—called "indulgences"—for the forgiveness of sins. At the time, a Dominican priest named Johann Tetzel, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X, was in the midst of a major fundraising campaign in Germany to finance the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to purchase them. When they returned, they showed the pardons they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins.  

Luther's frustration with this practice led him to write the 95 Theses, which were quickly snapped up, translated from Latin into German and distributed widely. A copy made its way to Rome, and efforts began to convince Luther to change his tune. He refused to keep silent, however, and in 1521 Pope Leo X formally excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. That same year, Luther again refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany, who issued the famous Edict of Worms declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic and giving permission for anyone to kill him without consequence. Protected by Prince Frederick, Luther began working on a German translation of the Bible, a task that took 10 years to complete.  

The term "Protestant" first appeared in 1529, when Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of princes and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. They became known to their opponents as Protestants; gradually this name came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even those outside Germany. By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.     

Oct 31, 1963: Ed Sullivan witnesses Beatlemania firsthand, paving the way for the British Invasion

In the autumn of 1963, Beatlemania was a raging epidemic in Britain, and it was rapidly spreading across the European continent. But in the United States, where the likes of Bobby Vinton and Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs sat atop the pop charts, John, Paul, George and Ringo could have walked through Grand Central Terminal completely unnoticed. It wasn't Grand Central that the Beatles were trying to walk through on this day in 1963, however—it was Heathrow Airport, London, where they'd just returned from a hugely successful tour of Sweden. Also at Heathrow that particular day, after a talent-scouting tour of Europe, was the American television impresario Ed Sullivan. The pandemonium that Sullivan witnessed as he attempted to catch his flight to New York would play a pivotal role in making the British Invasion possible.  

It wasn't for lack of trying that the Beatles were still unknown in the United States. Their manager Brian Epstein had tried and failed repeatedly to convince Capitol Records, the American arm of their British label EMI, to release the singles that had already taken Europe by storm. Convinced that the Merseybeat sound wouldn't translate across the Atlantic, Capitol declined to release "Please Please Me," "From Me to You" and "She Loves You," allowing all three to be released on the minor American labels Vee-Jay and Swan and to languish on the pop charts without any promotion. Desperate to crack the American market, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a song explicitly tailored to the American market and recorded it just two weeks before their fateful indirect encounter with Ed Sullivan. That song was "I Want to Hold Your Hand."  

Ed Sullivan had his staff make inquiries about the Beatles following his return to the United States, and Brian Epstein arranged to travel to New York to open negotiations. And in what surely must rank as one of the greatest one-two punches in the history of professional talent-management, Epstein convinced The Ed Sullivan Show to have the Beatles as headliners for three appearances rather than as a one-time, mid-show novelty act, and he then leveraged that contract into an agreement by Capitol Records to release "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the United States and back it with a $40,000 promotional campaign.  

As a result of the chance encounter at Heathrow on this day in 1963, and of Brian Epstein's subsequent coup in New York, the Beatles would arrive in the United States on February 7, 1964, with a #1 record already to their credit. The historic Ed Sullivan appearances that followed would lead to five more in the next 12 months.

 

Oct 31, 1776: King speaks for first time since independence declared

On this day in 1776, in his first speech before British Parliament since the leaders of the American Revolution came together to sign of the Declaration of Independence that summer, King George III acknowledges that all was not going well for Britain in the war with the United States.  

In his address, the king spoke about the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the revolutionary leaders who signed it, saying, "for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders, whose object has always been dominion and power, that they have now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connection with this country." The king went on to inform Parliament of the successful British victory over General George Washington and the Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, but warned them that, "notwithstanding the fair prospect, it was necessary to prepare for another campaign."  

Despite George III's harsh words, General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, still hoped to convince the Americans to rejoin the British empire in the wake of the colonists' humiliating defeat at the Battle of Long Island. The British could easily have prevented Washington's retreat from Long Island and captured most of the Patriot officer corps, including the commander in chief. However, instead of forcing the former colonies into submission by executing Washington and his officers as traitors, the Howe brothers let them go with the hope of swaying Patriot opinion towards a return to the mother country.  

The Howe brothers' attempts at negotiation failed, and the War for Independence dragged on for another four years, until the formal surrender of the British to the Americans on October 19, 1781, after the Battle of Yorktown.

 

Oct 31, 1887: Chiang Kai-Shek is born

On this day in 1887, in Chekiang province, China, Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of the Nationalist government of China from 1928 to 1949, is born. As a young man training in the Japanese military, Chiang was converted to the ideals of republicanism. Upon returning to China, Chiang fought against the dying Manchu imperial dynasty. He eventually joined forces with Sun Yat-sen's Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang. Both Sun and Chiang became enamored of Soviet communism and even reorganized the Nationalist Party based on a Soviet model. Upon Sun's death, Chinese communists, who had been admitted into the party, came into conflict with strict republicans. It was at this point that Chiang's political shrewdness came to the fore, as he stemmed the influence of the communists in his party while keeping Moscow as an ally—that is, until Chiang led a coup that expelled the communists, feeling that they were too strong a challenge to his own control of the party. Chiang then lead the Nationalists in a march on Peking, eventually forming a new government under his control.  

Unifying the country and keeping it from communist control were now most important to Chiang, even more important than his supposedly treasured social reforms or the invasion of Manchuria by Japan, which he did little to resist. But when full-blown war with Japan broke out in 1937, he was compelled to join forces with his communist enemies in order to repel further Japanese encroachments. China fought alone against the Japanese for four years, until the Allies declared war in 1941. Although the Allies hailed Chiang as the salvation of his nation, depicting him as a David against the Japanese Goliath, he was in fact a shortsighted tyrant who was more interested in maintaining his power base and privileges than fighting Imperial Japan. He resisted the attempts by U.S. Gen. Joseph Stilwell to create a modern Chinese army that would fight under joint Allied-Chinese control. He was more interested in getting hold of Lend-Lease money for his own purposes.  

Upon the Allied defeat of Japan, Chiang returned to his battle against Mao Tse-tung and the communists. In 1949, he lost his nation to communism. Chiang removed himself to Taiwan, where he set up a relatively benign dictatorship—an alternate China. 

 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

445 BC - Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 9:1, NLTse).

802 - Empress Irene of Byzantium driven out

834 - 1st All Hallows Eve (Halloween) observed to honor the saints

1517 - Luther posts 95 theses on Wittenberg church - Protestant Reformation

1541 - Michelangelo Buonarroti finishes painting The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican

1552 - Emperor Karel & Markgraaf Albecht strike siege for Metz

1587 - Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.

1596 - English/French/Dutch delegates sign anti-Spanish "Drievoudig Covenant"

1617 - Laurens Reael resigns as governor-general of East-Indies

1759 - Earthquake in Safed Palestine kills hundred

1793 - Execution of Girondins at Paris, during Reign of Terror

1794 - John Dalton 1st lecture to Manchester Literary/Philosophical Society

1808 - Holland Brigade battle at Durango, Spain

1815 - Sir Humphrey Davy of London patents miner's safety lamp

1837 - Collision of river boat Monmouth & Trement on Miss; 300 die

1846 - Donner party, unable to cross the Donner Pass, construct a winter camp

1863 - The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.

1864 - Nevada admitted as 36th state of the Union

1868 - Standard uniform approved for US postal carriers

Painter MichelangeloPainter Michelangelo 1871 - Founding of Netherland Protestant Union in Dokkum

1876 - Cyclone hits Bengal, about 200,000 die

1876 - A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.

1881 - Metropolitan club plays its last game of its non-league season They win 80 of 151 games (18-43 versus NL teams)

1887 - Rimski-Korsakov's "Capricio Espagñol," premieres in St Petersburg

1888 - John Boyd Dunlop patents pneumatic bicycle tyre

1892 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

1900 - AL pres Ban Johnson writes to NL pres Nick Young seeking peace

1905 - Great revolutionary demonstration for amnesty in St Petersburg

1906 - George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar & Cleopatra," premieres in NYC

1907 - Calgary City Rugby Foot-ball Club's 1st game defeating Strathcona Rugby Foot-ball Club 15-0 at Calgary

1908 - 4th Olympic games ends in London

1913 - 1st US paved coast-to-coast highway, the Lincoln Highway is dedicated

1914 - Great Britain & France declare war on Turkey

1916 - Clare Kummer's "Good Gracious Annabelle," premieres in NYC

Playwright George Bernard ShawPlaywright George Bernard Shaw 1917 - Eugene O'Neill's "In the Zone," premieres in NYC

1917 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"

1918 - Spanish flu-virus kills 21,000 in US in 1 week

1918 - Banat Republic founded

1920 - Romania annexes Bessarabia

1921 - Federation Sportive Feminine Intl forms (1st woman track & field association)

1922 - Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) becomes premier of Italy

1922 - Karel & Josef Capék's "World We Live In," premieres in NYC

1923 - 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins

1924 - World Savings Day was announced in Milano/Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).

1925 - Cossack officer Reza Chan replaces sultan Ahmad Shah in Persia

1932 - Greek government of Venizelos falls

1936 - The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.

1937 - Spanish government moves from Valencia to Barcelona

1938 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.

Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 1939 - 27 U boats sunk this month (135,000 ton)

1940 - 63 U boats sunk this month (325,000 ton)

1940 - Battle of Britain, fought between the RAF and Luftwaffe over the English Channel and southern England, ends

1940 - Deadline for Warsaw Jews to move into Warsaw Ghetto

1941 - 13 U boats sunk this month (62,000 ton)

1941 - Mount Rushmore Monument is completed

1941 - Prior to US in WW II, Germany torpedoes US destroyer Reuben James

1941 - Clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England kills 49

1942 - 94 U boats sunk this month (619,000 ton)

1942 - 9th day of the Battle of El Alamein

1943 - Wash Redskin Sammy Baugh passes for 6 touchdowns vs Bkln (48-10)

1943 - World War II: F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception.

1944 - Chief of staff Kruls names De Quay chairman of Universal Commission

1949 - "Regina" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 86 performances

1949 - Amsterdam Telegraph-director/SS'er Henri Holdert sentenced to 12 years

1949 - WOC (now KWQC) TV channel 6 in Davenport, IA (NBC) 1st broadcast

1950 - Collazo & Torresola attempt to kill Harry Truman in Washington, DC

1951 - Second Chamber accept plan-Schuman

1952 - 1st thermonuclear bomb detonated at Marshall Islands

1953 - TV broadcasting begins in Belgium

1954 - Algerian Revolution against French begins

1954 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Texas Golf Open

1954 - KREM TV channel 2 in Spokane, WA (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting

1955 - Mgr Alfrink appointed archbishop of Utrecht

1956 - Rear Adm GJ Dufek becomes 1st American to land an airplane at South Pole

1956 - Britain & France begin to bomb Egypt to reopen Suez Canal

1956 - Brooklyn, NY ends streetcar service

1957 - "Jamaica" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 558 performances

Ex-soldier, drifter Lee Harvey OswaldEx-soldier, drifter Lee Harvey Oswald 1959 - Lee Harvey Oswald announces in Moscow he will never return to US

1959 - USSR & Egypt sign contracts for building Aswan Dam

1960 - Cyclone hits coast of Gulf of Bengal; about 10,000 die

1961 - Hurricane Hattie, kills 400 in British Honduras

1961 - Federal judge rules that Birmingham, Alabama, laws against integrated playing fields are illegal

1963 - Ed Sullivan witnesses Beatles & their fans at London Airport

1963 - J. Edgar Hoover's last meeting with president John F Kennedy

1963 - Leaking propane gas explodes kills 64 at "Holiday on Ice" (Indiana)

1964 - Barbra Streisand's "People," album goes #1 for 5 weeks

1967 - KIMO TV channel 13 in Anchorage, AK (ABC) begins broadcasting

1967 - Nguyen Van Thieu took oath of office as 1st President of South Vietnam 2nd Rep

1967 - SF's Mike McCormick wins NL Cy Young Award

1968 - Linda Eastman moves to UK permanently

1968 - Milwaukee Bucks win their 1st game beating Detroit 138-118 (6th game)

1968 - President Johnson orders a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam

Vietnamese Politican Nguyen Van ThieuVietnamese Politican Nguyen Van Thieu 1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1969 - George Harrison's "Something" is released in UK

1969 - Race riot in Jacksonville Florida

1971 - "On the Town" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 65 performances

1972 - Gaylord Perry wins AL Cy Young award

1973 - Tom Seaver wins NL Cy Young Award

1974 - Ted Bundy victim Laura Aime disappears in Utah

1974 - Durch Marines end hostage crisis in Scheveningen prison

1975 - Bob Geldof's 1st appearance with Boomtown Rats

1976 - Javed Miandad, 206 v NZ, age 19 yrs 141 days (29 fours 1 six)

1978 - Iranian oil workers go on strike

1978 - People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South) adopts constitution

1979 - Mike Flanagan, wins AL Cy Young Award

1979 - US DC-10 crashes at Mexico-City, 74 killed

1980 - Julian Nott sets world hot-air balloon altitude record (16,806 m)

1980 - Polish government recognizes Solidarity trade union

1980 - Senegal routes troops to Gambia due to Libyan threat

1981 - 1st live radio drama in 25 years (Halloween Story on NBC)

1982 - "Rock 'n Roll!: The 1st..." closes at St James NYC after 9 perfs

264th Pope John Paul II264th Pope John Paul II 1982 - Pope John Paul II becomes 1st pontiff to visit Spain

1983 - Paul McCartney releases "Pipes of Peace" album

1983 - Ron Grant completes a 217 day, 8,316 mile run around Australia

1984 - Howard Goodall/Melvyn Bragg's musical "Hired Man," premieres in London

1984 - Puerto Rican tanker, San Francisco explodes spilling 2 million gallons of oil as ship caught fire

1984 - Indian PM Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh at her home in New Delhi

1985 - Last day in Test cricket for Zaheer Abbas

1987 - 1st jockey to win 9 races in 1 day (Chris Antley at Belmont)

1987 - A pair in Coventry, England ties world record for longest singles tennis match at 80 hrs 21 minutes

1988 - 19°F lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in Oct

1988 - 1st Monday Night NFL game in Indianapolis, Colts beat Denver 55-23

1988 - Journalists demand greater press freedom in Yugoslavia

1989 - AR Gurney's "Love Letters," premieres in NYC

1989 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1989 - Turgat Ozal elected president of Turkey

Musician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartneyMusician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartney 1989 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1990 - Pakistan make 3-0 drubbing of NZ, Waqar Younis 29 series wkts

1991 - Palestinians attend US mideast peace talks in Madrid

1992 - Don Keller makes his 18,000th sky diver

1992 - Roman Catholic church reinstates Galileo Galilei after 359 years

1992 - Horse Racing Breeders' Cup Champs: A P Indy, Fraise, Gilded Time, Liza, Lure, Paseana, Thirty Slews at Gulfstream Park

1993 - "Wonderful Tennessee" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 9 perfs

1993 - 25 people killed during Ghana-Ivory Coast soccer match

1993 - Germany unemployment hits country record of 3.5 million

1993 - Rapper Tupac Shakur charged with aggravated assault

1993 - US wins Nichirei International LPGA Golf Tournament

1994 - American Eagle ATR-72 crash down at Gary, Indiana: 68 killed

1995 - NHL NJ Devils agree to stay in NJ

1996 - The Fokker F100 on TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.

1997 - British au pair Louise Woodward, 19, sentenced to life in death of Matthew Eappen 8½ months (judge changes to time served)

Rapper Tupac ShakurRapper Tupac Shakur 1998 - Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

1999 - Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.

1999 - Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.

2000 - The last Multics machine was shut down.

2000 - A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50

2000 - A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and four crew members

2002 - A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas formally indicted former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.

2003 - A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.

2003 - Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power.

2011 - The world population reaches 7 billion inhabitants according to the United Nations

2012 - The New York stock exchange opens after being closed for two days after Hurricane Sandy

1517 - Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace Church. The event marked the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.   1860 - Juliette Low, the founder off the Girl Scouts, was born.   1864 - Nevada became the 36th state to join the U.S.   1868 - Postmaster General Alexander Williams Randall approved a standard uniform for postal carriers.   1914 - The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) joined the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria).   1922 - Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy.   1926 - Magician Harry Houdini died of gangrene and peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix. His appendix had been damaged twelve days earlier when he had been punched in the stomach by a student unexpectedly. During a lecture Houdini had commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and their ability to withstand hard blows.   1940 - The British air victory in the Battle of Britain prevented Germany from invading Britain.   1941 - Mount Rushmore was declared complete after 14 years of work. At the time the 60-foot busts of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were finished.   1941 - The U.S. Navy destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed by a German submarine near Iceland. The U.S. had not yet entered World War II. More than 100 men were killed.   1952 - The U.S. detonated its first hydrogen bomb.   1954 - The Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) began a revolt against French rule.   1955 - Britain's Princess Margaret announced she would not marry Royal Air Force Captain Peter Townsend.   1956 - Rear Admiral G.J. Dufek became the first person to land an airplane at the South Pole. Dufek also became the first person to set foot on the South Pole.   1959 - Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine from Fort Worth, TX, announced that he would never return to the U.S. At the time he was in Moscow, Russia.   1961 - In the Soviet Union, the body of Joseph Stalin was removed from Lenin's Tomb where it was on public display.   1968 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.   1969 - Wal-Mart Discount City stores were incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   1981 - Antiqua and Barbuda became independent of Great Britain.   1983 - The U.S. Defense Department acknowledged that during the U.S. led invasion of Grenada, that a U.S. Navy plane had mistakenly bombed a civilian hospital.   1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated near her residence by two Sikh security guards. Her son, Rajiv, was sworn in as prime minister.   1992 - In Liberia, it was announced that five American nuns had been killed near Monrovia. Rebels loyal to Charles Taylor were blamed for the murders.   1993 - River Phoenix died at the age of 23 after collapsing outside The Viper Room in Hollywood.   1993 - The play "Wonderful Tennessee" closed after only 9 performances.   1994 - 68 people were killed when an American Eagle ATR-72, plunged into a northern Indiana farm.   1997 - Louise Woodward, British au pair, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen. She was released after her sentence was reduced to manslaughter.   1998 - Iraq announced that it was halting all dealings with U.N. arms inspectors. The inspectors were investigating the country's weapons of mass destruction stemming from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.   1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the coast of Nantucket, MA, killing all 217 people aboard.   1999 - Leaders from the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. The event ended a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.   2001 - Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department reached a tentative agreement to settle the antitrust case against the software company.

1517 Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. 1846 A heavy snowfall trapped the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada mountains. 1864 Nevada became the 36th state. 1941 Work on the Mount Rushmore monument was completed. 1956 Rear Admiral G. J. Dufek became the first person to land an airplane at the South Pole. 1984 Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. 1992 Pope John Paul II admitted that the Roman Catholic Church had erred in convicting Galileo of heresy 350 years earlier.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/oct31.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory