And don’t brine for more than 24 hours, or it will be too salty: Greetings, travelers, and welcome to the Friday before Thanksgiving, slightly less famous than the Friday after Thanksgiving, though still the doorway to another well-earned weekend.
Before we wrap up the workweek and get to that lovely weekending, one last reminder that Innovate Long Island is going cold turkey for Thanksgiving week. We’ll be back at you Nov. 29 with a fresh newsletter, new podcasts and more. (Remember: Citrus makes the brine).
Lincoln log: Yes, that’s an actual photo of the Gettysburg Address — and yes, that slightly off-center dude, above the blur of soldiers, looking down, that’s Abraham Lincoln.
Speech! Speech! It’s Nov. 19 out there, well known in these parts as Equal Opportunity Day, a commemoration of President Abraham Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address (more below).
Campy humor: Today is also National Camp Day, an annual salute to summer camps that seems oddly misplaced on Nov. 19, but maybe it’s registration season or something.
That’s not nearly as odd as National Blow Bagpipes Day, which celebrates the sounds of the Scottish Highlands right here in the USA and encourages us all to blow for it, on our readily available bagpipes.
Hymn a few bars: Doubt she played the old melody pipe, but American abolitionist Julia Ward Howe did write the lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on this date in 1861.
The hymn – which downplays the whole “separation of church and state” thing, referencing God’s “terrible swift sword” and “fiery gospel” and unabashed support of American interests – marches on at memorial services and nationalistic events.
Keeping (four) score: Speaking of well-written patriotic prose, Lincoln delivered his aforementioned Gettysburg Address on a Pennsylvania battlefield on Nov. 19, 1863, short and sweet.
Pencil pusher: Also writing things down was Philadelphia inventor Frederick Blaisdell, who patented the paper pencil on this date in 1895, pull-string and all.
Pop-prietary information: Hotshot Kellogg’s toasted Post.
Popped in the nose: Pulling a fast one 56 years ago today was the Kellogg Co., which released its uber-popular Pop Tarts – beating rival Post Cereals, which actually invented the things, to the punch.
According to the story, Post announced its “Country Squares” breakfast pastries before it was ready to mass-produce, and Kellogg’s pounced.
Mere bag of shells: And marking what was at the time the second-largest corporate takeover in American history, the United States Steel Corp. acquired Marathon Oil for a then-staggering $6.3 billion on Nov. 19, 1981. (The deal has since been dwarfed, many times over).
That happened fast: Twentieth U.S. President James Garfield (1831-1881) – the only sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives ever elected president, and the victim of an assassin’s bullet just six months into his term – would be 190 years old today.
Quid pro quo, Clarice: It’s your birthday, Jodie Foster … celebrate with a nice chianti?
Also born on Nov. 19 were American archeologist and politician Hiram Bingham III (1875-1956), who discovered Machu Picchu and served in the U.S. Senate; Ukrainian linguist and ethnographer Yuri Knorozov (1922-1999), a Soviet-era scientist who deciphered Mayan hieroglyphs; British geophysicist Stanley Runcorn (1922-1995), who shifted understanding of plate tectonics; American television and radio talk-show host Larry King (1933-2021), who collected numerous Peabody, Emmy and Cable ACE awards; and retired American astronaut Eileen Collins (born 1956), the first woman to pilot – and later command – a U.S. space shuttle.
A Starling is born: And take a bow, Alicia Christian “Jodie” Foster! The American actress, producer and director – a frequent Oscar- and Golden Globe-winner known best for bold roles in “Taxi Driver,” “The Accused,” “Silence of the Lambs” and other influential megahits – turns 59 today.
Wish the Hollywood standout well at editor@innovateli.com, where we appreciate it when you make Contact – especially when you include news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement for Long Island and beyond. Farmingdale State’s commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares graduates to be exemplary citizens, equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. The college solves the regional “brain drain” with 96 percent of FSC graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. Farmingdale State students rise to the challenge and are the emerging leaders of tomorrow. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Bird feed: The Bethpage Turkey Drive is an annual hit with the Island Harvest Food Bank.
Soup’s on: With Thanksgiving less than a week away, today’s a big day for Island Harvest Food Bank, which is launching its annual Bethpage Turvey Drive.
Between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., contributors are invited to a drive-through, no-contact donation site in the parking lot of Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s Bethpage headquarters, where Island Harvest will accept donations of cash, frozen turkeys and nonperishable food items (pasta, rice, cereal, juice boxes and shelf-stable milk all rate high, hold the glass). The 13th annual food drive continues at Bethpage branches through Dec. 31 (online donations also welcomed) and will help provide holiday-season meals for 300,000-plus food-insecure Long Islanders through a distribution network of more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens and Island-based feeding programs.
Since its 2009 launch, Island Harvest’s volunteer-driven Turkey Drive has collected and distributed more than 168,000 pounds of food, including 40,000 turkeys, all gracing Long Island holiday tables. “We’re able to provide a traditional holiday-style meal … to thousands of local families who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner. “Bethpage Federal Credit Union is a longtime and year-round partner in our mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island, and we are grateful for their caring and support.”
Nursing them through it: With “retiring faculty” slowly sapping the national supply of qualified nurse educators, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is circling back to a Long Island-based nurse-training program.
A one-year, $423,000 grant from the HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration is headed to Adelphi University’s College of Nursing and Public Health, where a nursing PhD program trains doctoral students interested in careers as nurse faculty members. The grant money is essentially loaned out to cover the tuition expenses of qualifying PhD candidates, with the HRSA forgiving up to 85 percent of the loan – plus interest – when post-grads are hired as nursing faculty members.
The one-year grant, targeting the 2021-22 academic year, is not new; the HRSA has supported nursing students at the Garden City-based university for more than a decade. But it’s more important than ever, according to Adelphi nursing PhD Program Director Patricia Donohue-Porter. “This year, the award will enable 28 students to continue to progress over the three years of intense coursework,” noted Donohue-Porter, also a professor in the program. “The award continues to reflect the high quality and rigor of our PhD program.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Modern architecture: Backed by the IDC Foundation, New York Tech has redesigned its approach to design fabrication with new labs, new faculty and new degree programs.
On the bright side: The latest Marcum-Hofstra CEO Survey is filled with rising costs, supply-chain disruptions and inflation worries – but it’s not completely devoid of hope.
What a cast: Big names are lining up for Season 2 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, just four episodes in and already rich with frontline innovation perspective. Look who’s talking.
ICYMI
Altering reality for the physically challenged, altering travel plans for Islanders fans.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From California: Yorba Linda-based videocall visionary Onscreen lights up SilverSCREEN, designed to help seniors make and receive videocalls through the TV.
From Colorado: Boulder-based speech-recognition software spearhead nVoq teams with California-based AI ace Suki to translate physicians’ “specialized medical vocabulary.”
From Texas: La Porte-based clean-gen guru NET Power breaks through with zero-emission, supercritical electric grid test.
ON THE MOVE
Sitwat Saleem
+ Sitwat Saleem has joined Ronkonkoma-based Campolo, Middleton & McCormick as a legal assistant. She was previously a personal injury legal assistant in the Hauppauge-based Law Office of Joseph Fruchter.
+ Jolee Sullivan has joined Ronkonkoma-based Campolo, Middleton & McCormick as marketing coordinator. She was previously a staff writer and editor in the Uniondale office of New Jersey-based Marquis’ Who’s Who.
+ Joshua Kern has been named director of imaging services at Port Jefferson-based Mather Hospital. He was previously director of imaging services at Northwell Imaging Great South Bay and Northwell Imaging at the Imbert Cancer Center in Bay Shore.
+ Joseph Fennessy has joined Rockville Centre-based Molloy College’s Board of Trustees. He is co-chairman of the Mount Sinai South Nassau Board of Directors and previously served as COO/Northeast Region for Deloitte.
+ Alyson Terwilliger, CPA, has been promoted to principal at Brightwaters-based Sheehan & Company.
+ Bohemia-based Cerini & Associates has announced three new hires: Justin Guttman has joined as a senior accountant, Alexa Cassara has joined as a senior auditor and Nicole VanAllen has joined the audit staff.
BELOW THE FOLD
Epic comeback: Guillaume d’Orange lives to fight another day.
Read it: How scholars rediscovered an epic 12th Century poem thought lost forever.
Write it: Behold, the entire English language’s very worst sentence ever.
Book it: A guide to the 2021 National Book Award’s must-read finalists and winners.
Between the lines: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where applied learning, inclusiveness and other details both big and small make all the difference. Check them out.
