Groundbreaking chess-playing computer

IBM was more than happy to introduce their chess-playing computer, Deep Blue.  It was the first piece of artificial intelligence to win a chess game and match against the reigning world champion, Gary Kasparov.

The first match on February 10, 1986 – Deep Blue beat Kasparov in game one.  However, Kasparov then won two and drew three thereby beating Deep Blue 4 -2  IBM then upgraded Deep Blue and a rematch on May 6 ended with a winning game six, giving Deep Blue the match.

Kasparov accused IBM of cheating and demanded a rematch.  IBM refused and promptly retired Deep Blue

The “high heel” of Italy’s boot

While the spellings vary, Apulia or Puglia is the region in southern Italy forming the “heel” of the boot.  It is known for its whitewashed hill towns and sunny weather.  The towns of Alberobello and the Itria Valley are home to stone huts with conical roofs (called trulli).  The town of Lecce is known as the “Florence of the South” because of its many examples of baroque architecture.

“The Death of _____” (1793 David painting)

In one of the most famous images of the French Revolution, Jacques-Louis David depicted the murder of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday.  Known as “The Death of Marat“, David depicted Marat as a victim, drawing on paintings of Christian martyrs.  It was hugely popular during the Reign of Terror with several copies being ordered by the leaders of the time.

However, after Robespierre’s overthrow  and execution, its popularity waned.  David, himself was also prosecuted for his role in the Terror as a member of the Comite de Surete General.  Today the original hangs in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels where David lived in exile until his death.

Richard who won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer

While I knew Richard Rodgers had talent and had won more than one award, the number that he actually was awarded is staggering. Born in New York, as a child his family moved to Upper Manhattan, and he actually grew up only a few blocks from both Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart who would later collaborate with him.

It was while studying at Columbia University that he met Lorenz Hart. The two worked in New York until the Depression when they moved west to Hollywood, working for MGM on several movies. It was during this time that “Blue Moon” was released. After the Depression, the two returned to New York where shows such as Jumbo, On Your Toes and Pal Joey were produced.

After Lorenz Hart died in 1943, Rodgers partnered with Oscar Hammerstein II. Their collaboration, Oklahoma! was ground-breaking in musical theatre as it was the first to include complex storylines and the first where songs were incorporate into the story rather than simply being diversions. The two were enormously successful with subsequent projects, with Forbes stating that they were the second-most successful dead entertainers in history.

So what were a few of the awards given to Rodgers:

1. Pulitzer Prize in Drama for South Pacific and for Oklahoma!
2. Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song for “It Might As Well Be Spring” from State Fair
3. Emmy for Winston Churchill the Valiant Years
4. Tony for Best Musical – Sound of Music and South Pacific
5. Tony for Best Original Score – No Strings, South Pacific
6. Grammy for Best Show Album for Sound of Music

In addition to all of these, he was one of the first recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Constellation visible in Melbourne and Sydney

Orientation

The orientation and position of the cross in the sky are constantly changing. It appears to rotate around a point in space known as the South Celestial Pole (it is in fact the earth that is rotating). During the night the orientation of the constellation changes in a regular manner from upright, to lying sideways, to upside-down. Both its position and orientation change over the course of a year. At midnight on 1 April it is upright and high in the sky, but three months later it is lying on its side in the south-west. It will be found upside-down and low in the sky at midnight on 1 October, and at midnight on 1 January it will be lying on its side in the south-east.

Finding south

There is no bright pole star in the southern hemisphere sky that can be used to locate due south in the same way that Polaris indicates north in the northern hemisphere. Instead, there are various ways of locating south by the Southern Cross.

First use the Southern Cross to locate the South Celestial Pole, then drop a vertical line from the South Celestial Pole to the horizon – this marks due south.

First Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1948

Omar Nelson “Brad” Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was a United States Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army. From the Normandy landings through the end of the war in Europe, Bradley had command of all U.S. ground forces invading Germany from the west; he ultimately commanded forty-three divisions and 1.3 million men, the largest body of American soldiers ever to serve under a U.S. field commander. After the war, Bradley headed the Veterans Administration and became Chief of Staff of the United States Army. In 1949, he was appointed the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the following year oversaw the policy-making for the Korean War, before retiring from active service in 1953.

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Maine college town

If you have done crosswords with any regularity, this one should come to you automatically. The University of Maine, is located in Orono, a small town of just over 8,000 people. Interesting facts about it: it is the only land grant university in the United States that is situated on an island in the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers. Its campus was designed by Olmsted who also designed New York's Central Park. It was also the first university in the nation to have a woman chair a major department.

Of particular note – it is one of the few college campuses whose student government is incorporated. They are an actual 501(c) corporation with its own legislative and executive branch. They pass resolutions and help organize speakers and other events. Its student paper, The Maine Campus, is also incorporated.

Wisconsin v. ________ (landmark 1972 Supreme Court case on religious freedom)

Don't you just hate it when a clue says “landmark” or “famous” or “well-known” and you don't know? That was the case in this clue. Chalk up another one for the New York Times crossword in teaching me some more history and law in this case. The landmark case was Wisconsin v. Yoder, and it involved those rabble-rousing Amish folks – I kid you not. The issue came down to the Amish desire to not educate their children beyond the 8th grade vs the state's compulsory education laws.

Three Amish students declined to continue their eductation at New Glarus high school in New Glarus, Wisconsin. The three families were represented by Jonas Yoder when the case went to trial. At the initial case, the three were found guilty and fined five dollars each. The Wisconsin Supreme Court found in the Yoder's favor, at which time, Wisconsin appealed to the Supreme Court.

Since the Amish favor non-confrontation, a Lutheran minister, William C. Lindholm, represented them at the Supreme Court. The Amish argument against compulsory education of their children was that they felt further knowledge put their own salvation in danger. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Amish, with William O. Douglas offering the only partial dissent.

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