Guess who has a new nephew? IT IS ME. And here he is:





Details to follow. Congrats to Andy and Charity!

Because maystone demanded it!

When you see this, post your favorite poem.

From The Mathnawi, book III:

If you pretend to be Hallaj,
And with that fake burning
Set fire to your friends,
Don’t think that you’re a lover.

You’re crazy and numb,
You’re drinking our blood,
And you have no experience
Of the nearness.

Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273)

This just in: the baby has a name!

BENJAMIN DANIEL "IKEY" HEATON

Benjamin and Daniel are the names of my brother's and sister-in-law's respective fathers. As for Ikey, I can't really explain that. He was frequently referred to as Ikey in utero, but where that name came from I couldn't say. In any event, naming a child one thing and calling it something entirely different is something of a family tradition (viz., Mary Elizabeth is Libby and Margaret Elaine is Molly). Also, one of their cats is also named Benjamin.

Ten victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire:

1. Dinah Greenberg, 18, asphyxiation/burns
2. Josephine Carlisi, 31, multiple injuries/burns
3. Julia Rosen, 35, multiple injuries
4. Essie Bernstein, 19, asphyxiation/burns
5. Michela "Mechi" Marciano, 20 or 25, skull fractured and body badly burned
6. Ethel Schneider, 30, asphyxiation/burns
7. Becky Ostrowsky, 20, multiple injuries and burns
8. Nettie Lefkowitz, 23, asphyxiation/burns
9. Ida Kenowitz, 18, asphyxiation and body charred
10. Yetta Fichtenhultz, 18, burns

Earlier today I finished Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, a history of the fire that was, until September 11, 2001, the deadliest workplace disaster in New York City. Author David Von Drehle makes a good case for the truth of his subtitle; the fire (which killed 148 people, the vast majority of whom were women or children) led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards, helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, and profoundly changed the nature of the Democratic Party in not just in New York but also, thanks to the influence of such reform-minded politicians like Al Smith, Robert Walker, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, across the nation.