Google Doodles

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Maria Tallchief.



In honor of Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., today’s video Doodle—created in partnership with Native American guest artists Lydia Cheshewalla, Chris Pappan, and Yatika Starr Fields— celebrates Maria Tallchief, member of the Osage Nation who was America’s first, major prima ballerina. Not only a trailblazer for Native American dancers, Tallchief is widely considered one of the country’s most influential ballerinas of all time. On this day in 2007, a bronze sculpture of Tallchief and four other Native American ballerinas was unveiled in Oklahoma at the Tulsa Historical Society in a piece titled “The Five Moons” by artist Gary Henson.

Maria Tallchief was born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief on January 24, 1925 in the town of Fairfax on the Osage Indian Reservation in northern Oklahoma. She began her ballet training at the age of three and continued to do so upon the family's relocation to Beverly Hills in 1933. Determined to become a dancer, she moved to New York after high school and joined the esteemed Russian troupe Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo that same year.

In 1944, Tallchief first worked with the now-legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Her virtuosic skill and electric energy proved a perfect match for Balanchine’s demanding works. After she became the first American to dance with the Paris Opera Ballet, Tallchief returned to New York and joined the Ballet Society, which was co-founded by Balanchine and soon renamed the New York City Ballet. Her prodigious talent was recognized when she was named the company’s first-ever prima ballerina.

Over the course of 18 years with the company, Tallchief starred in acclaimed productions such as “The Firebird” (1949), “Swan Lake” (1951), and “The Nutcracker” (1954)—all of which are depicted in today’s Doodle. In her iconic role as the Sugar Plum Fairy, she helped elevate “The Nutcracker” from relative obscurity into one of ballet’s most popular, long-running productions.

Following Tallchief’s retirement from dancing in 1965, she went on to serve as the artistic director of the Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet and the founder and artistic director of the Chicago City Ballet.

For her enduring impact on American ballet, Tallchief was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1996, received the National Medal for the Arts in 1999, and was posthumously inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame in 2018.

Here’s to a groundbreaking artist who forever raised the bar of American ballet.

[Gopher Gary]

It's not listed on the Doodle website, but today Google has a small leaf falling down the page. It lands on a link which states, Carbon neutral since 2007, and links to this page: https://sustainability.google/commitments/?utm_source=googlehpfooter&utm_medium=housepromos&utm_campaign=bottom-footer&utm_content=

[Gopher Gary]

I keep thinking it's a bug on my screen.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Benoit Mandelbrot's 96th Birthday.



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 96th birthday of Polish-born, French and American mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, widely known as the “father of fractal geometry.” Mandelbrot’s pioneering research was instrumental in introducing the world to the powerful concept of fractals–irregular yet infinitely repeating mathematical shapes found throughout nature and our everyday lives.

Mandelbrot was born on this day in 1924 in Warsaw, Poland to parents of Lithuanian-Jewish heritage. From being a local chess champion to a student of his father’s map collection, at a young age Mandelbrot was exposed to mathematics and geometry in everyday life. In 1936 the family emigrated to France, and Mandelbrot went on to pursue his education in both Paris and the United States, culminating in a doctorate in 1952.

In 1958 Mandelbrot began working at the Watson Research Center at IBM in New York, where his study of peculiar repetitions in signal noise formed an early inspiration for his groundbreaking work. An early pioneer of the use of computers for research, he later used a basic computerized typewriter to develop an algorithm that modeled landforms found in nature. In 1975, he coined the now-famous term “fractal geometry” to describe these mathematical phenomena; with the release of his book “The Fractal Geometry of Nature” in 1982, Mandelbrot’s work reached the world, forever altering the field of applied mathematics.

Mandelbrot went on to receive countless awards for his work, including the Wolf Foundation Prize for Physics in 1993.

Happy birthday to Benoit Mandelbrot, a man whose curiosity helped to expand the way we see the world around us.

[odeon]

I keep thinking it's a bug on my screen.

There was a fake virus of sorts for the Amiga computer in the late 80s where a robot would walk in, grab the mouse pointer and walk off with it. Hilarious.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Mariachi




Today’s video Doodle celebrates a quintessential element of Mexico’s rich cultural heritage: the musical genre of Mariachi. Mariachi is typically characterized by a small group of musicians dressed in traditional clothing who perform a wide repertoire of Mexican songs on mostly stringed instruments (the term Mariachi can refer to either the music or the musicians themselves). During a session held the week of November 22, 2011 UNESCO inscribed Mariachi on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Mariachi tradition was born in west-central Mexico around the turn of the 19th century, though its exact origins remain unknown. At first, the genre was strictly instrumental, composed of the sounds of stringed instruments, and eventually vocals and the trumpet were added to the mix. In modern times, Mariachi music has been combined with elements of diverse genres from jazz to reggae. Singers often add in their best grito to express the emotion of the vibrant music! No matter the variation, Mariachi remains a strong representation of Mexican history and culture.

Today’s video Doodle features a Mariachi serenade of the classic song, Cielito Lindo. More than just music, Cielito Lindo (which roughly translates from Spanish as “lovely sweet one”) is a symbol of Mexican pride and community.The Mariachi band is depicted playing the staple instruments of the musical genre—including the guitarrón (a six-string bass), vihuela (a five-string guitar), violin, trumpet, and harp—and wearing traditional trajes de charro (charro suits).

¡Que viva el Mariachi!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Thanksgiving 2020.



On the last Thursday of November each year, many Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by expressing gratitude and sharing a moment and meal together.

Though this year will look a bit different for folks around the country, today’s Doodle—and the furry and feathered friends in it—recognizes the spirit of this special holiday: a time for everyone to reflect on their blessings, appreciate loved ones both near and far, and embrace new traditions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is December Holidays (Day 1).

[odeon]

It's not a holiday, ffs.

The real reason to celebrate - for the Northern hemisphere - is that the dark will slowly give way to a lighter future, at least for the next six months. Quoting Melania, fuck Christmas things.

[Gopher Gary]

It's not a holiday, ffs.

The real reason to celebrate - for the Northern hemisphere - is that the dark will slowly give way to a lighter future, at least for the next six months. Quoting Melania, fuck Christmas things.

Only 27 more december holiday doodles to go. 

[odeon]

It's not a holiday, ffs.

The real reason to celebrate - for the Northern hemisphere - is that the dark will slowly give way to a lighter future, at least for the next six months. Quoting Melania, fuck Christmas things.

Only 27 more december holiday doodles to go. 

Fuck off.

[Gopher Gary]

  I just realized I got it wrong, and today is day 1 so I fixed it. That means 2-30 might just mean the same doodle showing all month. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

[Gopher Gary]

Okay, so it looks like they'll be showing this same one all month.

December Holidays (Days 2 - 30)

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Sir W. Arthur Lewis.



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Manchester-based guest artist Camilla Ru, celebrates St. Lucian economist, professor, and author Sir W. Arthur Lewis, considered one of the pioneers in the field of modern development economics. A trailblazer not only in his research, he was also the first Black faculty member at the London School of Economics, first Black person to hold a chair in a British university (at Manchester University), and the first Black instructor to receive full professorship at Princeton University. On this day in 1979, Lewis was jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his pioneering work to model the economic forces that impact developing countries.

William Arthur Lewis was born on January 23, 1915, in Castries on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, at the time a British colony. Despite facing challenges with racial discrimination, in 1932 he won a government scholarship and set out to study at the London School of Economics, where he eventually earned a doctorate in industrial economics. Lewis quickly ascended the ranks of academia and by 33 was a full professor—one of the highest distinctions of a tenured professor.

Lewis shifted his focus to world economic history and economic development and in 1954 published his foundational article “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour.” Among many valuable accomplishments, Lewis contributed influential work to the United Nations and shared his expertise as an adviser to governments in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. He also helped establish and served as the first president of the Caribbean Development Bank.

In honor of his lifelong achievements, the British government knighted Lewis in 1963.

 

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Remembering Sudan, the Last Male Northern White Rhino.



Today’s Doodle remembers the last surviving male northern white rhinoceros, Sudan, who was known as an affectionate “gentle giant.” On this day in 2009, Sudan and three other northern white rhinos arrived at their new home in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. Sudan, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 45 (the equivalent of 90 in human years), serves as a cherished symbol of ongoing rhino conservation efforts and a stark reminder of the danger of extinction that so many species face today. 

Sudan was born in Shambe, in what is today, South Sudan in 1973 and is believed to be the last northern white rhino born in the wild. In 1976, he was taken to Dvůr Králové Zoo in then Czechoslovakia, where he grew to be 6 feet tall and a whopping 5,000 lbs (roughly the weight of a midsize car) and fathered two daughters.

In 2009, after the northern white rhino was declared extinct in the wild, four rhinos including Sudan, his daughter Najin, and his granddaughter Fatu were transferred back to their native African habitat. Conservationists hoped that the natural Kenyan environment of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy would encourage breeding among the rhinos, but within several years, veterinarians came to the conclusion that natural reproduction would most likely not be possible.

Yet there is still hope, as scientists work to develop in vitro fertilization techniques to save the subspecies from the brink of extinction. For now, Sudan’s legacy rests with Najin and Fatu, the world’s final two northern white rhinoceros.