Pennsylvania trip, October 9-12 where a patchwork quilt of autumn colors covered the mountains
After a family mini-reunion in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, we drove to West Chester to visit a Quaker (Friends) Meetinghouse. Quakers are not always silent--I know because I once directed choirs for them using a pump organ in an octagonal schoolhouse.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/road_less_trvled/2523426796/
Today, Birmingham Friends is still active, has meetings Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings and Thursday evenings, and has Sacred Harp singing twice a month.
http://www.birminghamfriends.org/
Then, we went to our high school (John Bartram) reunion. I remembered that the school was across from a GE factory, and was built to be used as a bomb shelter. A search gave me the following history: On February 5th, 1939, John Bartram High School located at the intersection of 67th Street and Elmwood Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, opened its doors for the first time and welcomed 1,700 students into its newly constructed halls and classrooms. The art-deco building was designed for 2,750 students but frequently held 3,200 or more. It was one of the first Philadelphia high schools named after a prominent individual rather than a geographic region of the city. On December 4, 1986, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bartram_High_School
http://nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/PA/Philadelphia/state.html

In 2000, a united financial services industry persuaded Congress to allow a vast, unregulated market in derivatives, which are contracts in which investors essentially bet on the future price of a stock, commodity, mortgage-backed security or other thing of value. Derivatives—so named because their value derives from something else—also are known as hedges, swaps and futures. The bill barring most regulation of derivative trading was inserted into an 11,000-page budget measure that became law as the nation was focused on the disputed 2000 presidential election. It was sponsored by Republican Sens. Phil Gramm of Texas and Richard Lugar of Indiana—with support from Democrats, the Clinton administration and then-Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. Few opposed it. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who helped negotiate the bill for Democrats, says he put aside his qualms because Wall Street and Greenspan were adamant that less regulation would help the stock market. "All of the Wall Street crowd, all of the investment firms, the Morgan Stanleys, the Goldman Sachs … that steamroller just rolled over anything," he says. Wall Street promised to police itself "and Congress bought it."
A bill barring derivatives from being regulated as futures contracts passed the House in October 2000, by a vote of 377-4. But Gramm, chairman of the banking committee, was not satisfied. Gramm told USA TODAY at the time he wanted language making clear that banking products could not be regulated by the commodities agency. After the fall election, leaders of both parties cut a deal and in December 2000 inserted it in the budget bill. "The work of this Congress will be seen as a watershed, where we turned away from the outmoded, Depression-era approach to financial regulation," Gramm said then.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-10-12-congress-meltdown_N.htm

The $700 billion firm From six firms asked to consider the job, Treasury picked Simpson Thacher as its lead legal advisor on the $700 billion bailout plan, Neel Kashkari — the man with the $700 billion wallet — said in a speech this morning. Here’s a WSJ story on Kashkari’s outline of Treasury’s rescue plan. WSJ Law Blog October 13, 2008

October 14 is the birthday of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, born in London in 1644. He was the son of an admiral, and even after he became a Quaker, he continued to wear splendid clothes and to carry his sword to Friends meetings.
The Writer’s Almanac

It started in the 19th century—Edison’s union of film and sound
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edmrrg.html

Classics from the silver screen—an index of classical and opera music in feature films
http://home2.pacific.net.sg/~bchee/movies.html

In Toledo
“PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” (1925)
Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 7:30p.m.
Just in time for Halloween… the Phantom returns to the Lois M. Nelson Theatre of the Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Boulevard. Come and enjoy “the music of the night” in its original form. This favorite silent feature film will be fully accompanied by guest organist George Krejci on the mighty 7 rank Link-Bennett theatre pipe organ.
Admission $10.00
Call 419/244-2787 in advance for V.I.P. admission tickets $30.00 Includes reserved seating in the best seats in the house and a catered reception with George Krejci in the opulent Gerber Parlors.