#Sally Wood Nixon

[bleedingcoffee42]

Sally Wood Nixon (Stanhope's Mom, Lewis's Grandma) in the registry for Daughters of the American Revolution with her lineage dating back to the American Revolution.

[winnix85]

Lewis Nixon's grandmother at the Christening of Anderson Cooper's mother. (1924)

[broadwaydivastournament]

Bernadette and Christine: Hey, Old Friends

Yes, yes, once again, Good Fight costars, but Bernadette and Christine go way, way back to 1982 and a little off-Broadway play called Sally and Marsha, written by Sybille Pearson and directed by Lynne Meadow, who remains Artistic Director at MTC to this day.

Bernadette is Sally (no, not Follies Sally just yet), a 30-year-old waif and New York transplant who is your quintessential all-American housewife. Contrast against Christine as Marsha, the tall erudite wise-cracker, cynical and neurotic. Can we say 'typecast?' (Oh, my god, this is just Summer, 1976 with Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht, except set in New York.)

Anyone else getting a fruity vibe from this? You can't convince me they didn't explore each other's bodies during all those long tension-filled talks...

As you'd expect, Sally and Marsha butt heads over their innumerable differences, but eventually realize they're really not so dissimilar deep down as they discuss sex, marriage, children, and everything but the kitchen sink. (Or maybe that too, I don't know. I wasn't seeing shows in 1982. They're wearing aprons, so...)

Bernadette reportedly joined the production four days before rehearsals began after a frantic and unsuccessful search for a Sally to match Christine's Marsha. Christine had read with dozens of actresses who fit the bill, but no dice until Bernadette signed on, having loved the script. This marked Bernadette's return to the stage after an eight-year absence.

The play received mixed reviews for its writing, but general warmth for its actresses. By this point, Bernadette was a two-time Tony nominee, and Christine still a relative newcomer to the New York stage. Coincidentally, they'd both go on to receive Tony nominations in the same 1984 season, Bernadette for Sunday in the Park (Leading Musical), and Christine for The Real Thing (Featured Play). Bernadette would lose to Chita Rivera for The Rink, while Christine would win her first Tony.

And speaking of Sunday in the Park...

Fresh off the middling success of Sally and Marsha, both actresses would join forces with some composer named Steven Sondheim to do the Playwrights Horizons workshop of Sunday in the Park with George in the summer of 1983. The show did not perform the second act until the last three performances, and the entire show was still largely in development.

It starred, as we know, Bernadette Peters as Dot/Marie, and featured Christine Baranski as Blair Daniels/Clarisse (later named Yvonne). Christine did not transfer with the company to Broadway the following year in 1984, having instead chosen to do Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing. Tony Award, so great decision on her part. This was also notably the play where she's Cynthia Nixon's mother, despite not being old enough to do that. Showbusiness, eh?

Oh, and one more thing. Bernadette and Christine were also both Cinderella's Stepmother in separate movie musicals. Bernadette in the 1997 Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston (the superior Cinderella, the only one that matters, the one that made me a lesbian). Christine in the 2014 Into the Woods movie adaptation that we here at BroadwayDivasTournament do not talk about under any circumstances except to say how hot Christine was.

The obvious answer is both, but we here at BroadwayDivasTournament do not allow fence-sitters. Make a choice, dammit. Commit to something.

[forensicated]

Favourite CID Era

S4-6 also includes Don't Like Monday (Tosh's family at the bank) and Ted and Roxanne's first appearance together as officer/snout

Series 7-9 inc Viv's death, Dashers guesting after leaving, Frank disappearing without warning for a mystery job and Harry Haines arriving. Danny Pearce, Jo Morgan and Alan Woods also arrive. Jo is promoted to DS after a few eps. Jack is demoted to DCI and returns as a regular rather than guesting as part of AMIP.

Series 10-13 includes Rod being rather chauvinistic to poor Suzi who becomes CID in this series. Jo returns for a guest period and is about to move back permanently before.. ahem. The Target trilogy are a particular work of art in series 11. Don arrives in series 11 when Deakin is promoted to DI after Sally goes. John Boulton arrives not long after too and finally in series 12 Geoff and Liz arrive and Alan goes and Tom Proctor brings up the rear in S13. There is a lot of Alistair and Suzi fun however as she gently teases him throughout.

Series 14-16 brings Duncan and Kerry Holmes with Tosh leaving through sad real-life happenings and Alistair transferring as does Suzi. Series 15 brings Danny Glaze and Claire Stanton as an undercover CIB agent trying to catch Don. She doesn't expect to fall in love with another CID member, however. Unfortunately, we do lose Liz in 15 but she does pop back a few times. Series 16 is a BIG CID-focused series. Rod jumps before he's pushed and the truth about Don comes out after he and John have a fight. We lose John, Don, Kerry, Claire, Geoff, Deakin, Tom, and Tom. We gain Paul Riley, Kate Spears, Vik Singh, Alex Cullen, and Debbie McAllister. A somewhat unfair exchange. Saving the best until last however for series 16 as Mickey also arrives and is at his cheeky scamp best.

Series 17-18 Near the end of series 16 we got a whole new bunch of CID after a mass exodus due to Don being revealed as a dodgy officer. To give them a chance to bed in properly, there were no cast changes to CID in series 17. The new lot featured heavily, Mickey went undercover as a rentboy for a bit and then as a football hooligan. Debbie's snout was her lover and there was quite hoo hah about him, There's a couple of guest appearances from Liz, one of which is a multi-parter that terrifies Kate Spears, Claire follows Don over to Australia to tr catch him and bring him to justice. In series 18 we lose Vik, Paul, Kate and Alex Cullen but gain Eva, Ken Drummond, Phil Hunter, Sam Nixon and Brandon. Series 18 is also the beginning of the numbered episodes and Paul Marquess...

Series 19-21: we gain Juliet for a short time before Rae gets fed up of the sexualised bisexual obsession for her storylines and we also end up with sexist arse, Rob Thatcher whilst losing Duncan, Danny and it's the first exit of Mickey too post-rape and the death of his mother over to MIT. It's not all bad, we also get Terry, Ramani and Neil. In series 20 we lose Rob when he finishes his vengeance against The Radfords by murdering Irene and being shot by CO19. We also lose Debbie and Brandon and Eva transferred to MIT. We gain Suzie in return, however. Series 21 we lose Ken in an explosion and Jim walks away after losing June and Ken. Gary who has been playing in CID for a little while gets short and transfers to the Manchester police. Jo arrives and Mickey returns from MIT. There's a mysterious newbie when Adi Mateen pretending Zain also arrives when it turns out that he's not the annoying gangster that's been buzzing round Sun Hill but has been undercover!

Series 22-24 - In series 22 we lose Ramani and Suzie, however, we gain Stuart and Kezia. THISISNOTAFAIRSWAP. Ahem. In series 23 we gain Grace and also Max at the very very end, Zain reaches the end of his tenure after being drawn to the dark side with Kristen and Phil transfers out rather suddenly as Scott appears to have jumped very quickly over to EastEnders. Series 24 welcomes Stevie and Banksy and we don't lose anyone!

Series 25-26 - I ummed and ahhed about making the last series a stand-alone selection on its own because it's a reboot but given it's only essentially half a year long and that the character changes happen in series 25 I put the two together. So, in this series we lose Jack as DCI because he becomes Superintendent. However we don't gain a new DCI, Neil just remains DI and does both jobs. Jo gets promoted but moves to uniform. Sam, Stuart and Kezia go (Could not have taken Sam being promoted to DCI!) and no one else leaves (other than Will) from CID until the very end. We have Mickey undercover as a homeless man, Max's drug problem and Mickey and Terry confronting him. Grace and Neil get together but Neil's son is diagnosed with cancer and so much more. Finally the entire station works together to nail the rapists of poor Jasmine (Respect 1-2)!

(Yep you guessed it, I meant to post this in the sierra-Oscar comm but got distracted.)

[collecting-stories]

Has any one wrote a One Chicago and ER cross over fanfiction story? I would like to read one if there is

Talk about ER look at the stars through out the fifteen series of it !!!!!!

Ewan Mc Gregor, Kat Dennings, Kirsten Dunst, Sally Field, Octavia Spencer, Angela Bassett George Clooney, Linda Cardellini, David Schwimmer, John Stamos, William H Macy, Ming Na Wen, Ving Rhames, Rosemary Clooney, Kristin Davis, Abraham Benrubi, Jared Padalecki, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Piper Laurie, Mary Mara, Lucy Liu, Red Buttons, Scottie Pippen, John Aylward, Alex Kingston, Glenne Headley, Maria Bello, Jorja Fox, Omar Epps, Harry Lennix, Jami Gertz, Lisa Nicole Carson, Clancy Brown, Chad Lowe, Gedde Watanabe, George Eads, Mariska Hargitay, Taraji P Henson, Mickey Rooney, Eva Mendes, Kellie Martin, Julianna Margulies, Mare Winningham, Cress Williams, Keiko Agena, Xander Berkeley, Julie Bowen, Jessica Capshaw, Mike Doyle, Teri Garr, Djimon Hounsou, Marlee Matlin, Eric Christian Olsen, Holland Taylor, Erik Palladino, Alan Alda, Erica Gimpel, Troy Evans, Martha Plimpton, Gabrielle Union, Shia Le Beouf, Anton Yelchin, Mitch Pileggi, Dakota Fanning, Liza Weil, Maura Tierney, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mark Valley, Nancy Kwan, Judy Parfitt, Wentworth Miller, Alan Dale, Chris Sarandon, James Cromwell, Jim Belushi, Eric Stonestreet, Josh Peck, Sherry Stringfeld, Noah Wyle, Eriq La Salle, Mekhi Phifer, Julie Delpy, Mary McDonnell, Michael Gross, Lisa Vidal, Khandi Alexander, Kal Penn, Christina Hendricks, Kim Raver, Don Cheadle, Leslie Bibb, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Pine, Josh Radnor, Crispin Bonham Carter, Aaron Paul, Eli Wallach, Lake Bell, Josh Hutcherson, Ed Asner, Jerry Trainor, Zac Efron, Bob Newhart, J K Simmons, Jessica Chastain, Rocky Carroll, Leland Orser, Donal Logue, Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, Cynthia Nixon, Josh Gad, John Leguizamo, Corey Stoll, Kristen Johnson, Ernie Hudson, Eamonn Walker, Serena Williams, Stana Katic, James Woods, Stanley Tucci, Amy Aquino, Busy Phillips, Joe Manganiello, Estelle Harris, Garret Dillahut, Lois Smith, Forest Whitaker, Parminder Nagra, Mae Whitman, Peter Fonda, Steve Buscemi, Thandiwe Newton, Rooney Mara, Ariel Winter, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Alexis Bledel & Chadwick Boseman,

I’m not sure but yeah, I have watched all 15 seasons of ER.

[naturecoaster]

Hiking the Withlacoochee Bay Trail on the Nature Coast

“Let’s take a hike,” my sister said. We sipped a morning cup of coffee at Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters, a cozy wooden coffee house in historic downtown Crystal River on Florida’s Nature Coast. She and her husband were visiting from Florida's west coast. They never miss the opportunity to explore local hiking trails and byways. “I’ve always wanted to see what was at the end of the barge canal,” I confessed. The barge canal was only a few miles north on US-19. The Cross Florida Barge Canal The Cross Florida Barge Canal, proposed in the 1930’s and eventually funded in the 1960’s, was a public works project that would have cut a shipping channel across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic. Richard Nixon stopped the project in 1971 due to public backlash led by local Florida environmentalist Marjorie Harris Carr. The boulders dug from the barge canal sit along the waterway on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White Kids (and Fish) on the Cross Florida Barge Canal For me, the area of the Florida Barge Canal in Crystal River held many memories. My daughter practiced riding her pink princess bicycle along the smooth paved trail while my husband and son fished from a covered pavilion along the canal. I kept up with her at a fast walk, almost run, until we were swarmed by a cloud of pesky yellow flies. We raced back to the truck cab, away from the biting bugs. I’d vowed we would return one day and bike the 5-mile trail - when it was cooler and less buggy. Secret fishing spots and scenic water views await the adventurous on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Image by Sally White. We often fished on the banks of the canal and would bring my mother-in-law out for the afternoons, setting up camp chairs and breaking out a picnic lunch. We’d watch the crabs climb through the shallows to devour discarded bait shrimp, fighting with other crabs for their take of the bounty. It was the place to picnic, practice casting with the kids and relax under the Florida sun. But with all those memories, I had somehow never made it to the end of that paved trail. Withlacoochee Bay Trail entrance by the parking area by the bridge. Photo by Sally White. The Withlacoochee Bay Trail The Withlacoochee Bay Trail begins at Felburn Park Trailhead, under the south side of the barge canal bridge on US-19 in Crystal River. The multi-use paved trail stretches 5-miles. The first half of the trail parallels the barge canal, and the second part runs through the woods and alongside the salt marshes around Richardson’s Creek and all the way on a peninsula shaped piece of land to the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the Florida State Park system, the trail welcomes cyclists, hikers, and even in-line skaters. Two adjacent equestrian trails in Dixon Hammock offer horseback riders the opportunity to explore wild Florida. This multi-use 5-mile paved trail is a fee-free area managed by the Florida State Park system Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White. We drove from Felburn Park down the gravel access road. The road took us past 4 parking lots along the way to the final West End Parking Area, 3.98 miles down the road from the trailhead. Paddling from the Withlacoochee Bay Trail Three kayakers were unloading their gear from a truck when we arrived. They pulled their brightly colored vessels down to the rough kayak launch among the oysters onto Richardson’s Creek to the left. In the distance, small islands rose from the tidal waters and steam flowed from the decommissioned power plant on the skyline. The paddle launch site onto Richardon's Creek is near the West End Parking Lot on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White Above the launch area, a wooden observation platform cast a dark shadow over the oysters protruding from the mud below. At low tide, paddlers must take care not to get stranded in the thick mud and sharp oyster beds. And those small islands? They are actually all part of a single island, Everett Island, owned by the park and cut by shallow waters. The path beside the observation platform led to the exposed oysters and thick mud. Low tide on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White. Hiking the Last Leg of the Withlacoochee Bay Trail A pair of cyclists pedaled past as we headed down the paved path of the last leg of the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. From the West End Parking Area, it would be a 1.1-mile round-trip hike. The wide, paved path cut through the maritime hammock. This area of the trail snuggled closer to the Richardson Creek side of the peninsula. The foliage between the cypress trees thinned out, giving us a view of the blue glistening waters. The hiking path led us through a maritime hammock with views of Richard's Creek on the left. Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White. The Trail’s End We walked and talked over the half mile until we reached an observation platform at the trail’s end. The covered deck overlooked the point where the Cross Florida Barge Canal, John’s Creek, and Trout Creek converged with Richardson’s Creek to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a scenic meeting of waterways. Boaters anchored at the headwaters of Trout Creek with their lines cast, hoping to catch ‘the big one’. Farther away, small islands shimmered under the blue skies and bright sun. My sister and I took the worn trail alongside the observation deck, past the stands of sawgrass and limestone rocks to the mud by the water’s edge. Low tide in the Gulf of Mexico. We watched as a blue heron swooped across the canal to land on the rocks on the opposite side, fishing for its own ‘catch of the day.’ Part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, visitors can expect to see wading birds like herons, egrets & ibis here. Some even spot eagles, osprey and hawks hunting for fish, along with pelicans, cormorants and anhinga birds. Part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, visitors may spot wading birds, eagles, hawks and other feathered friends along the trail and waterways. Photo by Pat Manfredo. A group of cyclists rode up, dismounting their bikes to explore the trail’s end, and signaling a silent changing of the guard. My sister and I deviated from the paved path on our return, choosing to take the grassy service road that ran alongside the barge canal instead. With water views, secret fishing spots and a lone cactus, it made for a scenic change. Along the Marjorie Harris Carr Greenway Cross Florida Greenway Our grass trail rejoined the main path at the West End Parking Lot. There, an angler tried his luck at the fishing pavilion on the barge canal while a group of tourists from up north drank in the magical views of Florida’s Nature Coast from the Richardson Creek observation deck. The Withlacoochee Bay Trail is part of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, a 110-mile linear green space which stretches from Central Florida to the Gulf of Mexico to the St. John’s River. Cactus with a view on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail. Photo by Sally White Things to Know Before You Go to Hike the Withlacoochee Bay Trail: - The Withlacoochee Bay Trail is open from 8 AM to sunset 365 days a year. - Located at 1020 N. Suncoast Boulevard (US-19), Crystal River, FL 34428. - Contact number: 352.758.1000 - There is no entry fee. - Pets are allowed but must be on a leash. - There is a compost toilet at parking lot #3, a mere 2.38 miles away from the trailhead. Read the full article

[searchingforacircuitbreaker]

The Nixons of Nixon, New Jersey and the Ryers of San Francisco (Ryer Island is named in their honor) aka Lewis Nixon’s family 

1. Lewis Nixon I, husband of  Sally Lewis Wood Nixon (Nix’s grandfather)   2.  Blanche Ryer, wife of Fletcher Ferris Ryer (Nix’s grandmother)

3. Stanhope Wood Nixon (Nix’s father) 4. Doris Fletcher Ryer Nixon (Nix’s mother)

5. Lewis Nixon III 6. Blanche Ryer Nixon (Nix’s sister)

[noloveforned]

we're back! the first show of the new year is airing on wlur at 4pm this afternoon!

no love for ned had the distinction of being the last original program to air on wlur in 2020 (see below) and the first to air in 2021! we're sticking with our fall theme for at least another week (or so) because i just don't feel done yet.

we wrapped up 2020 as we have the past few years with a best of show that spins the dial back twenty years and squeezes it all into a tight three hours! for those that dig these retrospectives, you can also find previous shows spotlighting 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1995.

no love for ned on wlur – december 18th, 2020 from 4-7pm

artist // track // album // label bettie serveert // unsound // private suit // hidden agenda the new pornographers // mass romantic // mass romantic // mint the glands // swim // the glands // bar/none lambchop // up with people // nixon // merge belle and sebastian // women's realm // fold your hands child you walk like a peasant // matador the cannanes and steward // clean forgot // communicating at an unknown rate // chapter music the lucksmiths // t-shirt weather // t-shirt weather ep // matinée the essex green // chester // the essex green ep // elephant six aden // matinee idol // hey nineteen // teenbeat life without buildings // the leanover // any other city // rough trade elliott smith // happiness // figure eight // dreamworks aimee mann // nothing is good enough // bachelor number two (or, the last remains of the dodo) // superego richard davies // stars // barbarians // kindercore super xx man // stroll on through new orleans // volume iv // peek-a-boo herman düne // the right path lays open before me // they go to the woods // shrimper l'altra // little chair // music of a sinking occasion // aesthetics songs: ohia // being in love // the lioness // secretly canadian crooked fingers // crowned in chrome // crooked fingers // warm bonfire madigan // scraps // saddle the bridge // kill rock stars kings of convenience // i don't know what i can save you from // kings of convenience // kindercore julie doiron and the wooden stars // gone gone // julie doiron and the wooden stars // tree slumber party // who do i care? // slumber party // kill rock stars from bubblegum to sky // hello hello hi // me and amy and the two french boys // eenie meenie dressy bessy // super star everything // the california ep // kindercore the parcels // jessica pancakes // have a go with the parcels // brentwood estates mathlete // an afternoon emergency // telstar parthenon // plastique barcelona // bugs // zero-one-infinity // march holland // mil // neoprene so tight ep // darla mark robinson // putting up good numbers // tiger banana // teenbeat the arrogants // lovesick // your simple beauty // shelflife the rock*a*teens // car and driver // sweet bird of youth // merge sleater-kinney // you're no rock n' roll fun // all hands on the bad one // kill rock stars freeheat // the two of us // don't worry, be happy ep // hall of records elf power // the naughty villain // the winter is coming // sugar free chicago bass // my pow // double bubble ep // nooo the go-betweens // going blind // the friends of rachel worth // jetset summer hymns // beginning to see // voice brother and sister // misra cat power // (i can't get no) satisfaction // the covers record // matador mojave 3 // return to sender // excuses for travellers // 4ad doleful lions // my summer with ghosts // song cyclops, volume one // parasol kind of like spitting // dostoyevsky gets mugged outside a donut shop in jersey // old moon in the arms of the new // hush guided by voices // a crick uphill // hold on hope ep // tvt the mendoza line // baby, i know what you're thinking // we're all in this alone // bar/none jai agnish // suprised eyes // automata // blue bunny the 6ths featuring sally timms // give me back my dreams // hyacinths and thistles // merge morphine // the night // the night // dreamworks her space holiday // the doctor and the dj // home is where you hang yourself // tiger style yo la tengo // our way to fall // and then nothing turned itself inside-out // matador

[tabloidtoc]

Time, April 29/May 6

Cover: The 100 Most Influential People -- Dwayne Johnson

Cover: Taylor Swift

Cover: Gayle King

Cover: Sandra Oh

Cover: Nancy Pelosi 

Page 9: Contents 

Page 10: Contents 

Page 14: From the Editor 

Page 18: Behind the Scenes 

Page 20: The 100 most influential people in the world 

Page 22: Points of Origin -- Where this year’s Time 100 were born 

Page 25: Pioneers -- Sandra Oh

Page 26: Sandra Oh by Shonda Rhimes, Barbara Rae-Venter by Paul Holes

Page 27: Fred Swaniker by Mo Ibrahim 

Page 28: Ninja by Juju Smith-Schuster, Chrissy Teigen by Eric Ripert 

Page 29: Lynn Nottage by Martha Plimpton 

Page 30: Naomi Osaka by Chris Evert 

Page 32: Aileen Lee by Kirsten Green, Tara Westover by Bill Gates 

Page 36: Massimo Bottura by JR 

Page 38: Jay O’Neal and Emily Comer by Dolores Huerta, He Jiankui by Jennifer Doudna 

Page 40: Marlon James by Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy by Priyanka Chopra 

Page 41: Shep Doeleman by Lisa Randall 

Page 45: Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin by Ayanna Pressley 

Page 46: Hasan Minhaj by Trevor Noah 

Page 47: Adam Bowen and James Monsees by Tom Miller, Samin Nosrat by Alice Waters 

Page 48: Indya Moore by Janet Mock 

Page 50: Motivating factors -- which books, movies, shows, songs and places they turn to for inspiration 

Page 53: Artists -- Dwayne Johnson 

Page 54: Dwayne Johnson by Gal Gadot, Ariana Grande by Troye Sivan 

Page 55: Rami Malek by Robert Downey Jr. 

Page 56: Regina King by Viola Davis 

Page 57: Richard Madden by Kenneth Branagh 

Page 58: Brie Larson by Tessa Thompson, Luchita Hurtado by Hans Ulrich Obrist 

Page 59: Emilia Clarke by Emma Thompson 

Page 60: BTS by Halsey 

Page 65: Mahershala Ali by Octavia Spencer, Chip and Joanna Gaines by Tim Tebow 

Page 66: Glenn Close by Robert Redford, Clare Waight Keller by Julianne Moore 

Page 68: Ozuna by Daddy Yankee 

Page 69: Yalitza Aparicio by Alfonso Cuaron, dream hampton by Tarana Burke 

Page 71: Khalid by Alicia Keys 

Page 72: Motivating factors 

Page 75: Leaders -- Nancy Pelosi 

Page 76: Nancy Pelosi by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mahathir Mohamad by Clare Rewcastle Brown 

Page 77: Donald Trump by Chris Christie 

Page 78: Ren Zhengfei by Charlie Campbell 

Page 79: Jane Goodall by Leonardo DiCaprio, Matteo Salvini by Steve Bannon 

Page 80: Leana Wen by Cynthia Nixon, Xi Jinping by Jon Huntsman 

Page 81: Robert Mueller by Sally Yates 

Page 82: Abiy Ahmed by Feyisa Lilesa, Cyril Ramaphosa by Vivienne Walt 

Page 83: Jacinda Ardern by Sadiq Khan 

Page 84: Zhang Yiming by Kai-Fu Lee, Benjamin Netanyahu by David French 

Page 86: Imran Khan by Ahmed Rashid 

Page 87: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by Jorge Ramos, Mitch McConnell by John Boehner

Page 88: Juan Guaido by Juan Manuel Santos 

Page 90: Pope Francis by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, Hoesung Lee by Ban Ki-Moon

Page 91: Brett Kavanaugh by Mitch McConnell 

Page 92: Jair Bolsonaro by Ian Bremmer, Greta Thunberg by Emma Gonzalez

Page 93: Zhang Kejian by Scott Kelly 

Page 94: William Barr by Rod Rosenstein, Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed by Ryan Bohl 

Page 95: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by Elizabeth Warren 

Page 102: Motivating factors 

Page 105: Titans -- Mohamed Salah 

Page 106: Mohamed Salah by John Oliver, Jeanne Gang by Anna Deavere Smith 

Page 107: Pat McGrath by Beverly Johnson 

Page 108: Gayle King by Ava DuVernay 

Page 109: Ryan Murphy by Jessica Lange 

Page 110: Jennifer Hyman by Diane Von Furstenberg, Mark Zuckerberg by Sean Parker 

Page 111: Jerome Powell by Janet Yellen 

Page 112: LeBron James by Warren Buffett 

Page 114: Vera Jourova by Margrethe Vestager, Alex Morgan by Mia Hamm

Page 115: Mukesh Ambani by Anand Mahindra 

Page 116: Tiger Woods by Justin Timberlake, Marillyn Hewson by Penny Pritzker 

Page 117: Bob Iger by Michael R. Bloomberg 

Page 118: Motivating factors 

Page 121: Icons -- Taylor Swift 

Page 122: Taylor Swift by Shawn Mendes, Loujain al-Hathloul by Sarah Leah Whitson 

Page 123: Pierpaolo Piccioli by Frances McDormand 

Page 124: Spike Lee by Jordan Peele, Grainne Griffin and Ailbhe Smyth and Orla O’Connor by Ruth Negga 

Page 125: Desmond Meade by Stacey Abrams

Page 126: Christine Blasey Ford by Kamala Harris 

Page 128: David Hockney by Edwin Becker 

Page 130: Caster Semenya by Edwin Moses, Mirian G. by Kumail Nanjiani 

Page 131: Maria Ressa by Madeleine Albright 

Page 132: Lady Gaga by Celine Dion 

Page 134: Radhya Almutawakel by Bernie Sanders 

Page 135: Michelle Obama by Beyonce Knowles-Carter 

Back Cover: Simon Baker for Longines 

[bleedingcoffee42]

I'm trying to track down Mary Nixon, Grandpa Lewis Nixon's wife #2. The one who was Joel P Nixon's Mom, JOEL being the name of Lewis's Father. Ballsy to name your kid this when you're still married to husband #1, was my first thought, but then there is Lewis Nixon I who named everything Nixon and it didn't make sense he wouldn't name his first born something unique. Stanhope? Where did that come from? There is a Stanhope, NJ? No...he's Stanhope WOOD Nixon who is probably named after Sally Wood Nixon's brother who died young.

And you all have already probably come to this conclusion at some point but here I am finally arriving at the station. In other news when I was looking at deeds in order to find Nixon's cottage in Monmouth Beach. I found Lewis and Mary's address listed as 16 East 79th Street Manhattan in the county record books in 1938.

which happens to be the same house Sally Wood Nixon died in the previous year.

I am putting this here because I don't remember what I was even looking for when I started this.

Oh! It's because Mary listed 738 High Street, Newark, NJ as her address when selling the Monmouth Beach house and I have found several people who lived at this house that were most definitely not her. Which seems suspicious because she was sole beneficiary of Nixon's estate and didn't file the will with probate for ten years, and they had places in Manhattan and Girl, why are you in Newark?

[winnix85]

Mrs Lewis Nixon (1902) and Mrs Stanhope Nixon (1945)

[malte1mj-blog]

2008 Movie Awards

Best Picture: The Dark Knight Milk Rachel Getting Married WALL-E The Wrestler HONORABLE MENTION: Doubt, The Class, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, Burn After Reading, Wendy and Lucy, Man on Wire, Hunger, Ballast, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Happy-Go-Lucky, Synecdoche New York Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Andrew Stanton, WALL-E Gus Van Sant, Milk HONORABLE MENTION: Laurent Cantet, The Class; Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Burn After Reading; David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Lance Hammer, Ballast; Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York; Kurt Kuenne, Dear Zachary; Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky; James Marsh, Man on Wire; Steve McQueen, Hunger; Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy; John Patrick Shanley, Doubt Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, Hunger Richard Jenkins, The Visitor Ben Kingsley, Elegy Sean Penn, Milk Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler HONORABLE MENTION: Francois Begeaudeau, The Class; Michael Cera, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist; Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man; Colin Farrell, In Bruges; James Franco, Pineapple Express; Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche New York; Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon; Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Michael Pitt, Funny Games; Alejandro Polanco, Chop Shop; Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Micheal J. Smith Sr., Ballast; Anton Yelchin, Charlie Barlett Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long Meryl Streep, Doubt Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy HONORABLE MENTION: Amy Adams, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day; Kate Beckinsale, Nothing But the Truth; Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Scarlett Johansson, Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Nicole Kidman, Australia; Melissa Leo, Frozen River; Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading; Frances McDormand, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day; Tarra Riggs, Ballast; Jess Weixler, Teeth; Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road Best Supporting Actor: James Franco, Milk Bill Irwin, Rachel Getting Married Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading HONORABLE MENTION: Russell Brand, Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Josh Brolin, Milk; Brady Corbet, Funny Games; Liam Cunningham, Hunger; Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight; Ralph Fiennes, In Bruges; Danny McBride, Pineapple Express; Liam McMahon, Hunger; Mos Def, Cadillac Records; Gary Oldman, The Dark Knight; Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire; Haaz Sleiman, The Visitor Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis, Doubt Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married Samantha Morton, Synecdoche, New York Evan Rachel Wood, The Wrestler HONORABLE MENTION: Hiam Abbass, The Visitor; Amy Adams, Doubt; Patricia Clarkson, Elegy; Vera Farmiga, Nothing But the Truth; Ari Graynor, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist; Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Anjelica Huston, Choke; Beyonce Knowles, Cadillac Records; Sophie Okonedo, The Secret Life of Bees; Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire; Tilda Swinton, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler; Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married; Elysa Zylberstein, I’ve Loved You So Long Best Original Screenplay: Burn After Reading - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen Hunger - Steve McQueen & Enda Walsh Milk - Dustin Lance Black Rachel Getting Married - Jenny Lumet WALL-E - Pete Docter, Jim Reardon & Andrew Stanton HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Ballast, Charlie Barlett, Chop Shop, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, I’ve Loved You So Long, Pineapple Express, Synecdoche New York, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Visitor, The Wrestler, Zack and Miri Make a Porno Best Adapted Screenplay: The Class - Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet The Dark Knight - David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan Doubt - John Patrick Shanley Elegy - Nicholas Meyer Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy HONORABLE MENTION: The Counterfeiters, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Iron Man, Let the Right One In, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Speed Racer, Wendy and Lucy Best Ensemble: Burn After Reading The Class The Dark Knight Milk Slumdog Millionaire HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Funny Games, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Rachel Getting Married, Speed Racer, Synecdoche New York, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Zack and Miri Make a Porno Best Limited Performance - Male: Andre Blake, Rachel Getting Married Justin Long, Zack and Miri Make a Porno Denis O'Hare, Milk Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road J.K. Simmons, Burn After Reading HONORABLE MENTION: Alan Alda, Flash of Genius; Michael Caine, The Dark Knight; Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder; Bill Hader, Pineapple Express; David Rasche, Burn After Reading; Victor Rasuk, Stop-Loss; Mark Rendall, Charlie Barlett Best Limited Performance - Female: Patricia Clarkson, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Hope Davis, Synecdoche, New York Karina Fernandez, Happy-Go-Lucky Amy Ryan, Changeling Robin Weigert, Synecdoche, New York HONORABLE MENTION: Heather Burns, Choke; Zoe Kazan, Revolutionary Road; Jennifer Jason Leigh, Synecdoche New York; Lena Olin, The Reader; Amy Sedaris, Snow Angels; Sigourney Weaver, Vantage Point; Dianne Wiest, Synecdoche New York; Kristen Wiig, Ghost Town Breakthrough Performance: Ari Graynor, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Alejandro Polanco, Chop Shop Tarra Riggs, Ballast Micheal J. Smith Sr., Ballast Jess Weixler, Teeth HONORABLE MENTION: David Kross, The Reader; Lina Leandersson, Let the Right One In; Charlie McDermott, Frozen River; Gabe Nevins, Paranoid Park; Esmeralda Ouertani, The Class; Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire; Rachel Regulier, The Class; Brandon Walters, Australia Best Film Editing: The Dark Knight - Lee Smith Hunger - Joe Walker Rachel Getting Married - Tim Squyres Slumdog Millionaire - Chris Dickens The Wrestler - Andrew Weisblum HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Ballast, Burn After Reading, Chop Shop, The Class, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dear Zachary, Doubt. Funny Games, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Let the Right One In, Man on Wire, Milk, Paranoid Park, Pineapple Express, Speed Racer Best Cinematography: Australia - Mandy Walker Ballast - Lol Crawley The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister The Wrestler - Maryse Alberti HONORABLE MENTION: Burn After Reading, Changeling, Chop Shop, Doubt, Elegy, Funny Games, Hunger, Let the Right One In, Milk, Paranoid Park, Rachel Getting Married, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire, Synecdoche New York, Wendy and Lucy Best Original Score: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat The Dark Knight - James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer Milk - Danny Elfman Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman WALL-E - Thomas Newman HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Burn After Reading, Changeling, In Bruges, I’ve Loved You So Long, Kung Fu Panda, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Revolutionary Road, Speed Racer, The Visitor, Waltz with Bashir, The X-Files: I Want to Believe Best Original Song: High School Musical 3: Senior Year - "I Want It All" - Matthew Gerrard & Robbie Nevil Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho" - Gulzar & A.R. Rahman Synecdoche, New York - "Little Person" - Jon Brion & Charlie Kaufman WALL-E - "Down to Earth" - Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman The Wrestler - "The Wrestler" - Bruce Springsteen HONORABLE MENTION: Australia - “By the Boab Tree”; Bolt - “Barking at the Moon”; Cadillac Records - “Once in a Lifetime”; High School Musical 3: Senior Year - “High School Musical”; High School Musical 3: Senior Year - “A Night to Remember”; My Blueberry Nights - “The Story”; Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist - “Ottoman”; Sex and the City - “All Dressed in Love”; Slumdog Millionaire - “O Saya”; Trouble the Water - “Trouble the Water”; Twilight - “I Caught Myself” Best Art Direction: Australia - Beverly Dunn & Catherine Martin Changeling - Gary Fettis & James J. Murakami The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt & Victor J. Zolfo Revolutionary Road - Debra Schutt & Kristi Zea Synecdoche, New York - Mark Friedberg & Lydia Marks HONORABLE MENTION: Burn After Reading, The Counterfeiters, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Iron Man, Milk, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Pineapple Express, Sex and the City, Slumdog Millionaire, Speed Racer, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Best Costume Design: Australia - Catherine Martin The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West Milk - Danny Glicker Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Michael O'Connor Sex and the City - Patricia Field HONORABLE MENTION: Burn After Reading, Cadillac Records, Changeling, The Counterfeiters, The Dark Knight, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Happy-Go-Lucky, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire, Speed Racer, Synecdoche New York, W., The Wrestler Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Dark Knight Frost/Nixon Hunger The Wrestler HONORABLE MENTION: Cadillac Records, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Let the Right One In, Milk, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Saw V, Sex and the City, Slumdog Millionaire, Speed Racer, Synecdoche New York, Tropic Thunder, Twilight, W. Best Sound Mixing: The Dark Knight Iron Man Pineapple Express Speed Racer WALL-E HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Cadillac Records, Cloverfield, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Get Smart, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, The Incredible Hulk, Kung Fu Panda, Let the Right One In, Mamma Mia!, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Slumdog Millionaire, Tropic Thunder, The Wrestler Best Sound Editing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Dark Knight Iron Man Speed Racer WALL-E HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Cloverfield, Get Smart, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, The Incredible Hulk, Kung Fu Panda, Pineapple Express, Saw V, Slumdog Millionaire, Tropic Thunder, The Wrestler, The X-Files: I Want to Believe Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Dark Knight Hellboy II: The Golden Army Iron Man Speed Racer HONORABLE MENTION: Australia, Cloverfield, Eagle Eye, Get Smart, The Incredible Hulk, Tropic Thunder Best Foreign-Language Film: The Class - Laurent Cantet The Counterfeiters - Stefan Ruzowitzky I've Loved You So Long - Philippe Claudel Let the Right One In - Tomas Alfredson Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman HONORABLE MENTION: JCVD Best Documentary: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father - Kurt Kuenne Man on Wire - James Marsh Taxi to the Dark Side - Alex Gibney Trouble the Water - Carl Deal & Tia Lessin Young@Heart - Stephen Walker Honorable Mention: HONORABLE MENTION: Bigger Stronger Fast, Encounters at the End of the World, Religulous, Standard Operating Procedure, Waltz with Bashir Best Animated Film: Bolt - Byron Howard & Chris Williams Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who - Jimmy Hayward & Steve Martino Kung Fu Panda - Mark Osborne & John Stevenson WALL-E - Andrew Stanton Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman Every 2008 Film I've Seen: Ranked

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Maudie

Set in a small fishing town in Nova Scotia, Maudie is quite the quaint little biographical film. Directed by Aisling Walsh, this Canadian production tells the story of Maud Lewis (Sally Hawkins). A slight Canadian woman who developed juvenile rheumatoid arthritis leading to her being written off by her family and others as a "cripple", Maud lived a hard life. But, she always had her painting that gave her a reason to find that simple beauty in life. Being hired as a housemaid for Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) and later becoming his wife, Maud is a simple soul who is spilling over with purity. With her paintings quickly taking off and becoming famous enough to be bought by Vice President Richard Nixon, Maud is no longer seen as a “cripple”, but still must live a life that really took a toll on her in the 67 years that she lived on this Earth. A melodic and silently poetic film, Maudie is a surprisingly strong film that eschews cliché and predictability in favor of honoring the slow and moving harmony of one woman’s rise from obscurity to becoming an inspiration for people everywhere.

Painting birds or trees or the seasons, Maud’s artwork is the type that is largely unassuming. It is subtle and its simply beauty really sneaks up on you. Appearing rather straight-forward on the surface, her paintings of the world around her rightfully become a hit. They may appear simple, but there is an indescribable beauty lying within them that speaks to you, no matter one’s walk of life. Capturing this essence perfectly, Aisling Walsh’s film is one that really sneaks up on you. It is a film devoid of an inciting action, to the point that it leads to thoughts about when the film will begin only to see the end credits pop up on the screen. This may sound like a lukewarm endorsement, but it is truly anything but. In creating this feeling, Walsh captures the simple beauty of her subject’s work. It is not grand or extraordinary. It is not expressionistic or loaded with symbolism. It is a film about life, the flow of life, and living it through all turmoil faced. Maud never stops smiling and neither does the film, showing the slow and simple harmonic flow of her world and life itself. It is in this essence that Maud and the film’s seemingly unassuming approach that they become artistic achievements. By slowing down and watching the world through Maud’s eyes, one can see the entire world captured in a simple image of flowers and her husband chopping wood. It seems innocuous and unimportant, but each moment adds up to one’s entire life experience. Both her artwork and the film bring this to the surface and become oddly moving films in that regard.

Given Maud’s rough life, it is only natural that Maudie would play out as a tearjerker. With a child taken from her at birth by her family and a rough home life with a family that never got she was not a “cripple”, Maud lived a truly harsh life. Though she loved her husband Everett, he is hardly a good man. Prone to fits of anger in which he would occasionally slap Maud or compare her unfavorably to any number of things in his life, Everett is a bad man. Yet, in spite of an attempted rape, she marries him anyways. Why? Well, I guess he was not always a cruel man, but I guess you would have to ask her that question. For her part, Aisling Walsh never sugarcoats Everett’s major shortcomings as a human being painting him as a cruel, juvenile, and intensely jealous man who tore her down to make himself feel better. When she begins to gain fame, things only get worse for her as he feels even more threatened, though now as breadwinner. Yet, Walsh still manages to elicit romance from this film in the simple moments. Whether it is Everett pushing Maud in a wheelbarrow with the sun setting behind them or him rushing her to the hospital at the drop of a hat, the two have an understanding. Very few will accept Maud’s disability. Very few will accept Everett’s aggression. The two, oddly enough, are all the other has and will ever have. Thus, they make it work and, in moments, it hurts but in others, their romance truly sings. By the end of the film, it somewhat settles into this simple beauty that, along with the rest of the picture, plays perfectly into the hands of Walsh.

Able to take Maud’s simple and pure life at face value, Walsh can elicit tears without trying at all. She simply presents her life through her experiences and the tears come naturally. There is never a moment where the film feels manipulative or overly cinematic in expressing its emotions, both of which would have really been felt and hampered the final product. Instead, as in its romance and in its depiction of the world lived in by Maud, Maudie is a film that finds the tears and moving moments in everyday actions. Thus, it is only natural that the film approaches its plotting in a very similar fashion. Any biopic must argue why its subject is notable. If it does not, why am I watching the film? So, this woman paints, but what is the story here? If the film has any inciting action in that regard, it comes when New Yorker Sandra (Kari Matchett), who sounds like a combination of Katharine Hepburn and Cate Blanchett, arrives to tell Maud that Everett forgot to deliver the fish she ordered. Seeing her paintings and postcards, Sandra buys some and then commissions a painting for her to be sent to New York. Getting the ball rolling, she soon sells one to Nixon and then appears on television. Aside from television, however, these moments come with little fanfare. Sandra buying one just seemed second nature. Nixon ordering one seemed so matter-of-fact. The film’s reserved nature in these areas may be a bit problematic, but it perfectly captures Maud’s demeanor and stance towards life. There are some ebbs and flows, but she never gets too high or down. She just loves painting and is pleased that people enjoy her work. There is no intent to sell them and, as a result, no struggle. She is just steady at all times, never has to hustle, and these things just sort of happen to her very naturally. There is, as with the rest of the film, no incredibly cinematic moment where she makes it big. She just does and moves on. It is simple, reserved, and somehow beautiful in a truly uncinematic fashion. It just feels real and authentic.

At the heart of this film, however, is the acting. In the role of Maud’s wife, Ethan Hawke is reliably strong turning in a performance with strong range. Playing her jerk of a husband who turns into her doting supporter by the end, Hawke is tasked with making Everett somehow likable. He, against great odds, does so in spurts. At the very least, he shows him to be a truly nuanced man who refuses to be defined by any one action. Despite his flaws and behavior towards Maud at times, he loves her. While she should not accept any abuse from him as she initially does, he nonetheless becomes quite doting and loving as they grow old with one another and becomes a man truly worthy of Maud in the end. Hawke does a wonderful job capturing this difficult nuance, even if he is entirely outshined by Sally Hawkins. Never exploitative or cruel in her portrayal of Maud, Hawkins plays the role with great empathy and compassion. Adorable and cute with her jest and wit, but committed and impassioned when it comes to her art, Hawkins makes this simple and quaint woman from Nova Scotia feel like so much more. She does not feel like a woman from a small town, but instead she is turned to a towering figure of positivity, warmth, and human kindness. Hawkins’ take on Maud is one that does not require empathy or beg anybody to feel sorry for her. What is there to feel sorry for? She is a true beam of light and Hawkins radiates in the role as this marvelously talented woman who just lived her life without demanding the spotlight. She had very little, but she wanted no more than she was given. How could somebody not love a person who is so pure of heart?

A quaint and reserved biopic, Aisling Walsh’s Maudie may be a bit too much of both for many – and it does hold it back from greatness – but is nonetheless a truly poetic experience. Paced in accordance with the flow of everyday life, Maudie is slow and contemplative with humor and pathos sprinkled thoroughly throughout. Featuring an excellent performance from Sally Hawkins in the leading role, Maudie further establishes Hawkins as a terrific under-the-radar actress who deserves far more recognition than she presently receives. Probably the most well-known film from director Aisling Walsh, Maudie is a film that celebrates the views of its central figure: everything, even the most mundane or cruel, has some hidden beauty just waiting to be unleashed.

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NIXON, Stanhope Wood  

Oil on canvas, 62” x 39.5”. Full-length, dressed in a Scottish costume of red tartan. Location: Private Collection, North Brunswick, New Jersey U.S.A.  Provenance: By family descent.

The sitter was born in Philadelphia on 1 April 1894, studied at Yale University but did not graduate, was arrested for assault in 1914 after which his health collapsed and pleaded not guilty, and married Doris Ryer in 1917 and had two children, Lewis Nixon III and Blanche Nixon. He was vice-president at the time of the 1924 Nixon Nitration Works Disaster of which his father was president.  He was divorced in 1945 and died on 12 January 1958.

Painted in 1902-03. In a letter in the artist’s papers, undated – but in 1903, the sitter’s father, Lewis Nixon, wrote from 10, West 43rd Street, New York, that ‘…I enclose a check for $1500. We are both much pleased with the portrait of Stanhope./ Mrs. Nixon joins me in kind regards…’ The sitter was the offspring of Lewis Nixon’s first marriage to Sally Lewis Wood.

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Against All Odds: Who Got the American Dream?

As a young child in the western suburbs of Chicago in the 1960s, I remember wondering why “colored” people weren’t choosing to live where we lived. If they only lived in my neighborhood, I thought, they could go to my school and they wouldn’t have to go on all those long bus rides I was hearing so much about as my parents watched the news over dinner. We had a nice school, they might have liked it. But my father would say, “People like to stick with their own.”

The riveting new documentary from Bob Herbert Against All Odds reveals the real reason I didn’t have black neighbors. Black people were prohibited by law from moving into my town, and if the law didn’t stop them, the practices of mortgage companies did. And if that didn’t stop them, rioting whites would just burn down their house.

From the excellent summary of the documentary on Moyers & Co., ‘Against All Odds’ Is Required Viewing for White Progressives: 

For example, beginning in the mid-1940s, thousands of whites in Chicago participated in a series of riots to keep single black families out of their neighborhoods. In 1951, when an army veteran attempted to move into a rented apartment with his family of four, they were stopped by a mob of 4,000 people that ransacked their belongings and then burned the entire building down. Similarly, in 1959, when a black family moved into their newly-purchased home, a mob of 5,000 people stoned the house, threw lit torches, and chanted “we want blood.”

I’m embarrassed for the city of my youth, but my dad was probably all for that. We were of German extraction on his side, and he would speak to me about “chauvinism” being good, meaning being proud of your own heritage and wanting to keep it “pure.” His parents had immigrated to the States from near Hamburg between wars. Grandpa had fought for the Kaiser. They brought along their feelings about the Fatherland with them.

Black people in my area had mostly come there as part of the Great Migration, when the Jim Crow environment in the South became so hopeless that millions packed up and left in pursuit of the American Dream. To the Northeast, to the West, and to my neck of the woods, Chicago, they came. But they did not get into my neighborhood. They were consigned to overcrowded housing in the deep city, uncared for and denied all the resources my grade school self had in abundance just a few miles away.

In the early 1970s, politics was heating up. Personally, I hated Nixon (didn’t trust his face) and loved McGovern. That’s the first election I can remember, the one of 1972. Nixon was up for his second term, and the Vietnam and Cambodia escalation was in full swing. My fifth grade project was to be McGovern in a political debate in class, which I won, hands down. Too bad McGovern didn’t. My dad thought I was misguided. “You’ll understand when you have property of your own.”

That’s what it was about to him. Property. Keeping property and upward mobility in the hands of white people and out of the hands of everyone else.

We were upwardly mobile indeed. My dad lived the American Dream—the one reserved for white people. He himself was a laborer, but his father and mother had put enough aside over their years of being immigrants to be able to buy my mom and dad their first house (in a town to the west of the city that was safely free of black people). They then also bought them a second, bigger house in the same town when I was about one, and Dad continued to rent out the first one.

Meanwhile, black people were being denied jobs everywhere but in the public sector or as the servant class. Their schools were substandard, and their housing could barely be called that. Home ownership, even when they could afford it, was kept out of reach. I remember the grownups talking about the Cabrini–Green housing projects. It was hailed as progress, but was really just a warehouse for people no one wanted in the ’burbs.

On our side of the line, all us kids had medical care (dental, optometry especially) from Dad’s union, and those of us who went to college did so with our fancy SLMA loans, called Sallie Mae as just another way to show our affection for this cheap money. My siblings became lawyers, nurses, etc., and I went to the college of my choice where I got a top-notch business education for the whopping price of $5,000 per year.  

Black people? Not so much. Some in their community did very well despite the barriers, got their children through college, started businesses, began to gain economic footholds. But jobs continued to be denied them along with loans. That material wealth would be denied to anyone outright never occurred to me. My dad’s narrative of people being “lazy” or “uneducated” explained the disparity to me.

After all, I figured, the United States is a capitalistic system, of which we were all very proud given that communism had failed and the Berlin Wall was about to fall. For capitalism to work, there must be constant growth. Cutting a huge part of the population off at the knees, denying their ability to grow and be upwardly mobile, would be a drag on the market, wouldn’t it? I took macroeconomics in college. I knew how this must work. So no bank or city worth its salt would artificially keep part of its citizenry down. That’s not capitalism. That’s un-American.

Knowing what I know now about Reagan, his ludicrous “trickle down” theory, and the appalling statements by his advisor Lee Atwater about how to signal racist dog-whistles to white supremacists (“lower taxes!”), I am ashamed I voted for the former movie star. But I did, because he looked good on TV and I believed in capitalism as the best, fairest way to provide opportunity for all.

How did my life go? My situation set me up to stay employed, raise kids, own my own home, start a business, succeed. Sure it was hard work, but it was unencumbered by barriers to entry or egregious laws and practices. All those black people who should have been my neighbors and friends? Never saw them. Lived as though they didn’t exist. The separation remains even in the town I live today, where whites are on one side of a line down the middle, everyone else on the other.  

In Dad’s papers when he died, I found a lovely tract from 1952 called, “Facts the Historians Left Out,” emblazoned with the Confederate flag on the cover. (Did you know that most slaves were “childlike, good-natured, well-behaved”? And they had “food and clothing in plenty”?) There were also letters from a friend of Dad’s in which the two were obviously discussing their hopes to be part of a white supremacist revolution—one letter had the postscript, “Don’t struggle—segregate!”

When Dad died, his estate left me enough to give a boost to my retirement. Dad was a laborer, a union man, and a supervisor, but he never was an office professional in any respect. Even with that, he was able to gain enough wealth that he could give his children a leg up in life by paying for college and then leaving them enough to augment their own retirements. How did he do that? Through real estate. How did he access that? He was white.

That’s it. He was white. He had no other outstanding attributes (although he was a faithful husband and a good provider all our lives). He was a regular guy, with muddy work boots and concrete-dusty hair. Yet the American Dream for him was easily within reach because he could sign those contracts and buy those houses.

To so many others, it was held out of reach. Don’t tell me that if people of color had only worked hard enough back then, they could have achieved the American Dream, too. They could (and did) work themselves to death. But without access to owning real estate, via improving neighborhoods and housing loans at low interest, no population can acquire the wealth they need to be upwardly mobile. They are behind in economic growth because we made sure they would be.

Our choices—our white choices—have been the instrument of keeping them in poverty as a group. Our choices now must be on the side of raising them up.

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Wednesday's Morning Email: Everything You Need To Know About The Comey Fallout

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMEY FALLOUT President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, making him only the second FBI director to be fired in the Bureau’s history. Read the annotated version of the deputy attorney general’s memo dismissing Comey. The New York Times editorial board said Comey was fired because “he could bring down a president,” as Comey was the top official leading the investigation into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election. While comparisons to Watergate and the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre abound, the Nixon library would like to remind you that the former president never fired his FBI director. This is what the FBI plans to do until a replacement is found. Here’s a list of who could be the next FBI director. And this is how front pages across the countryreported the news. [HuffPost]

SUBPOENAS ISSUED IN RUSSIA INVESTIGATION “Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.” [CNN]

REACTIONS ACROSS THE AISLE While Democrats are doubling down on their calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the possibility of Russian collusion, even some Republicans said they were troubled by Trump’s decision to fire Comey. And Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff weighed in on Twitter. [HuffPost]

U.S. WEIGHING BAN OF ELECTRONICS ON FLIGHTS FROM EUROPE Passengers flying from 10 airports in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates already have such a restriction in place. [HuffPost]

U.S. TO SUPPLY ARMS TO SYRIAN KURDS For the battle of Raqqa in the fight against ISIS. [Reuters]

‘HACKERS CAME, BUT THE FRENCH WERE PREPARED’ A tick-tock of how France and Emmanuel Macron’s team handled the hacking at the 11th hour of his campaign. [NYT]

TOKYO’S ‘SUSTAINABLE’ OLYMPICS IS BEING BUILT WITH WOOD FROM RAINFORESTS “The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are using illegally logged tropical wood from indigenous Malaysians’ land to build a billion-dollar wooden sports stadium, human rights activists claimed this week.” [HuffPost]

WHAT’S BREWING

THE FINAL AUDIO OF HUNDREDS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES TRAPPED ON A SINKING BOAT HAS BEEN RELEASED 268 people died in the 2013 sinking off the Italian coast. [HuffPost]

BREAKING DOWN WHY WOMEN FELL SO HARD FOR SALLY YATES “There aren’t a lot of women in power, especially in Washington, and especially not right now. So, when an intelligent, straightforward, strong woman is spotted out in the wild ― i.e., before a nearly all-male Senate subcommittee ― it’s a moment to behold.” [HuffPost]

‘WHEN GETTING HEALTH CARE MEANS HIKING THROUGH A LEOPARD’S HUNTING GROUND’ When faced with a choice of a flesh-eating disease or a trip through leopard hunting ground, which would you choose? [HuffPost]

WE’RE TRANSFIXED BY THESE MASSIVE OVAL STORMS ON THE SURFACE OF JUPITER And scientists are still trying to figure out what it means for the makeup of Jupiter’s surface. [HuffPost]

PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS About former President Barack Obama’s shirt being unbuttoned in his latest appearance. [HuffPost]

THE STAR OF ‘DANCE MOMS’ HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN PRISON After pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud. [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO

Here’s who Twitter wants to nominate to be the next FBI director.

The deadliest form of tuberculosis is snowballing in countries that are already hit hard by the world’s top infectious killer.

The mayor of Seattle has dropped his reelection bid after four men came forward to accuse him of allegedly sexually abusing them as teenagers.

“All the trees will die, and then so will you.”

Turns out it’s very, very, very expensive to ship a KitchenAid to Alaska.

Anderson Cooper had quite the facial expressions over Kellyanne Conway’s latest.

Choosing the right TV for your summer binges.

Of course Kanye is making new music on top of a mountain. This is the guy who named an album “Yeezus.”

Simone Biles had no time for people asking her to smile.

Twitter had a field day after catching Bow Wow in a lie about his private jet. Which should have been easy, considering there’s no way Bow Wow is still paying for that kind of air travel with earnings from 2005’s “Let Me Hold You.”

Why that Microsoft security patch was worse than you thought.

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