Happy birthday, composer Franz Schubert

It is the birthday of Austrian compositor Franz Schubert (1797), who wrote more than 600 symphonies, operas, songs, chamber music, and piano solos, though he lived to be only 31 years old. Here is a wonderful collection called The Best of Schubert. It is a little over two hours long. We let it play and continued with work. Very enjoyable. Be aware, however, there are several commercials throughout. Oh, well, still enjoyable.

Happy birthday, organizer Saul Alinsky

It is the birthday of political organizer Saul Alinsky (1909), whose book Rules for Radicals (1971) served as a guide for organizing low-income communities and empowering them to seek change for their economic and political gain. Alinsky first worked with labor organizations, then with black communities around the country.

 In his book, he laid out 13 rules designed for the have-nots to take power from the haves. The rules:

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have."
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people.”
3.“Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.”
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.”
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.”
8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.”
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.”
10. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition."
11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.”
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.”
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

Though his initial efforts were somewhat left-leaning politically, he is said to have influenced activists on both the left and right.

Happy birthday, pamphleteer Thomas Paine

It is the birthday of American activist Thomas Paine (1737), whose pamphlet Common Sense (1776) inspired American colonists to take up arms against Great Britain. Scholars say it became the first American bestseller. As a percentage of population, more people had read Common Sense than watch the Super Bowl today. Paine also wrote The American Crisis (1776), which begins "These are the times that try men's souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country …" George Washington had it read to his soldiers. While living in England, Paine wrote The Rights of Man (1791), a defense of the French Revolution. That got him kicked out of England. Later, while imprisoned in France, he wrote The Age of Reason (1794), a treatise on theism and criticism of the church. When he returned to America, he discovered that his religious views had ruined his reputation. He died at age 72, abandoned by his friends and ridiculed by the public.

Happy birthday, typographer John Baskerville

It is the birthday of English printer John Baskerville (1706), who is best remembered for his enduring typeface, which is named for him. Scholars say Baskerville was an attempt to improve on the old-style typefaces of William Caslon, and represents a transition between them and more modern fonts, such as Bodoni and Didot. It is marked by more thick and thin strokes, and a refined simplicity. (Note the graceful swash of the Q). Baskerville’s first published book was a collection of works by the Roman poet Virgil in 1757. The following year Baskerville became printer of Cambridge University Press. He printed more than 50 classics in his lifetime, including his best known work, a folio Bible (1763). Benjamin Franklin was a huge fan and brought the typeface to America, where it was used to print many early government documents. Baskerville (the typeface) fell out of favor in printing circles for awhile but was revived in 1917. A related font, Mrs Eaves, was produced in 1996, and is named for Baskerville’s wife.