From Today's New York Times

80 Years Ago, They Inherited the Wind
By SAM ROBERTS

William Jennings Bryan died 80 years ago today as he napped in a Tennessee hotel room, just before he was finally to deliver his closing argument in the Scopes case. The trial had actually ended a few days before, after the judge abruptly cut short the testimony, but Bryan, after subjecting himself to a withering interrogation by Clarence Darrow, the nation's leading defense lawyer, was intent on getting the last word.

Last week, the Smithsonian Institution archives announced that Marcel C. LaFollette, a historian, had found more than 60 unpublished photographs taken during the trial, which, as H. L. Mencken wrote, transformed Dayton, Tenn., from an "obscure and happy" town into a "universal joke."

The photos provide what Ellen Alers, an assistant archivist, called a "unique, informal, much more human view that personalizes the case." A sample is online at www.siarchives.si.edu.

John T. Scopes, a 24-year-old high school biology teacher, was the chosen vehicle to challenge the state law that outlawed "any theory that denies the story of the Divine creation of man as taught in the Bible."

After deliberating for eight minutes, the jury found him guilty. He was fined $100. A year later, the State Supreme Court overturned the verdict on a technicality. Scopes, who became a geologist, wrote in 1965 that as a result of the trial, "restrictive legislation on academic freedom is forever a thing of the past." (He died in 1970.) Tennessee repealed the law in 1967, but debate over teaching evolution persists.

Darrow's argument that Bryan disregarded scientific evidence was immortalized in this exchange:

"I do not think about things I don't think about," Bryan said.

"Do you think about the things you do think about?" Darrow asked.

"Well," Bryan replied, "sometimes."

The Libby Ross Foundation

A couple years ago I did a shoot for The Libby Ross Foundation, an organization started by Libby's gorgeous daughter, Lori, to fundraise monies for research and education of breast cancer. I would've thought they'd replace our group photo on their website by now, but we're all still up there. While heart disease is still the number one killer amongst women, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths (just behind lunng cancer) and the cancer that worries women most. Women's cancers include not only breast cancer (which can affect men as well), but ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers. Other health concerns for women include osteoporosis, depression, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis which affects twice as many women as men.

The Libby Ross Foundation holds fundraising events throughout the year including their annual Gala--their largest fundraising event each year. Take part and show your support for this organization--okay, and go check out our group photo on the website!

Movies: March of the Penguins directed by Luc Jacquet - how the crew managed to survive shooting during the Antarctic winter, I will never know but I hold them in great esteem; go see it for the baby penguins
Reading: The Once and Future King by T.H White

All-American Events

Calvin turned two this June and we celebrated with a trip to Central Park Zoo and a picnic on the Great Lawn. Calvin is crazy about matchbox cars--I can see him becoming enthralled with NASCAR racing--and got some cool little items for his obsession. He also got two copies of "Everybody Poops" I guess in case the message wasn't clear reading it the first time, he could read it again... in a different printing of the book. To feed his recent love for spinning, I got him a Sit and Spin (thanks for the idea, Mark) and can't wait to hear how much his parents can't stand the music they have to hear repeatedly from that contraption. Instead of chocolate cake, we got red velvet from Buttercup Bake Shop and he proceeded to drive pinwheels into and out of his cake. The godparents got together and helped Calvin cut the cake. Jess, Raman, me and little Cal drove a plastic knife into the bloody looking tower of goodness.

This weekend, we celebrated another birth--Independence Day for the USA. I did some very American things like hitting balls at the batting cages in New Haven with Esther and Doug and barbecuing as well. Out in rural North Stonington, CT, I got to see the most stupendous display of fireworks along with more barbecuing and sunning. A woman down the street from said events was in a horse buggy pulled by humongous Shires. Upon getting back into the city, I had to volunteer with the cats, but got out in time to walk up along Third Avenue to 29th Street and catch the Macy's Fireworks on the East River between some not-so-tall buildings. Thank you Chinese people for inventing such a fun, loud, and colorful item that the white man eventually used to make weapons. It was a lovely weekend.

Speaking of American past-times, camping is a big one though I read a recent CNN.com article about how camping like the good old days has gone the way of the dinosaur in many cases and "roughing it" is a subjective term. Early in June, I headed out with my fellow rough guides to Fahnestock Park with no electricity and peed in the woods and cooked over an open fire. Okay, I guess having a propane stove isn't exactly roughing it, but we did a pretty good job setting up tents and even walked along part of the Appalachian Trail. At the mid-point of our hike, we had lunch and took some lovely photos. Shenan and I enjoy the shade while Calvin in the background looks over the edge of the trail. We saw a bunch of millipedes along the way and took a couple rowboats out onto the lake there. I also officially had S'mores while camping. The first time I had it, I was watching Starship Troopers with Jano and Betsey in 553 Mayfield on the Stanford campus. Not quite the same.

A week after camping, I gathered a group of lovely and stelegant folks to join me at the Belmont Stakes in seats this time which I somehow got for half price. We came in delightful hats for the occasion. Shenan's matched her outfit perfectly and she only bought the hat that morning. And me with my hat obsession, took out my new hat with a brand new ribbon to contrast my yellow sequined dress.