Friday Fun with Facts and Figures

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay.

Even those that do not consider themselves to be “math people” can get excited by statistics and data. They check the standings to see where their favorite sports team falls in the hierarchy of those eligible for the playoffs or scour the box scores to see how many points their fantasy team players garnered for them. When it comes to facts and figures, though, the United States Census Bureau reigns supreme. The Bureau’s raison d’etre is to gather information and synthesize that information into data points that provide a glimpse of who we, as Americans, are.

Despite its early temporary iteration in the 1790s, authorized under various Census Acts and Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, the current Census Bureau as a permanent office did not take shape until 1902 with An Act to Provide for a Permanent Census Office. The Census Office originally operated within and under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, but oversight was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903. The Bureau continues today under the Department of Commerce.

The stated mission of the Bureau is “to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy.” To accomplish its mission, the Bureau conducts not only a decennial census but also other surveys, such as the American Community Survey, the Census of Governments, and the Economic Census. The data gathered from these surveys are important tools in determining how to distribute Congressional seats; planning where community services are needed; providing necessary funding to local, state, and tribal governments; and providing Age Search information for genealogical purposes.

Census.gov, the Bureau’s website, is the hub for all sorts of facts and figures compiled by the Bureau as the result of all of its surveys and censuses. Visitors to the site have access to data, news, and updates about various demographic-related topics, such as age and sex, education, families and living arrangements, income and poverty, and race. There is an interesting feature, America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers, that more fully discusses and explains some of the data collected. A recent article talked about the declining marriage and divorce rate in the United States and how the numbers in individual states compared to the national figure. New to the website is a COVID-19 Interactive Data Hub and Other Resources where users can find community resilience estimates, business formation statistics, demographic and economic analyses, and COVID-19 impact planning reports for each individual state and its counties. On the landing page, there is also a USA and World Population Clock that keeps track of population changes based on short-term projections. Under the About Us tab, there is a link to History. There, users can find information about the history of the agency as well as information about its programs. Of particular interest is the Through the Decades tab where users are treated to pop culture and fast facts for each decade in which the census was taken as well as an index of questions asked in that census period.

Amid the pandemic, it’s easy to forget that 2020 was a census year. If you are interested in checking out data and statistics about our nation, visit Census.gov. Through its data-collection efforts, the Bureau helps to put a face on those statistics and shows that our country is so much more than just numbers.

Seasons Greetings!

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus

‘Tis the season to tell all we meet (though those numbers are of course relatively low this year due to Covid) Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings! But which holidays do we mean? What is the season, exactly? A law librarian by day, your humble blog author is dusting off her Religion degree to present this brief and fun overview.

The Winter Solstice and its general timeframe has been seen across cultures, space, and time as an excellent moment to mark the birth or rebirth of God or the gods. In our American society, Christmas is the most obvious and omnipresent modern example. However, particularly here in Houston, the United States’ 7th most diverse city, a wide variety of celebrations take place.

Our readers may be most familiar with Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. The holiday spans eight days and nights, and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple when Jerusalem was retaken during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire circa 160 BCE. Prior to that time, Judaism had been made illegal, and the Temple had been defiled. It appeared there was not enough purified oil to burn in order to properly cleanse the space, but miraculously the small amount found lasted for 8 days of continuous burning. This year, it lasts from December 10th through 18th.

Hindus celebrate Pancha Ganapati, a family festival of giving that spans five days and centers on Lord Ganesha, the god of new beginnings and deva of wisdom. Each day is marked by its own color and discipline, as adherents spend the five days exchanging gifts; presenting offerings for Ganesha’s five-faced form Lord Panchamukha; and nurturing five realms of their lives: family, friends, associates, culture and religion. The festival runs from December 21 through 25.

In Iran and adjacent territories, the very old holiday of Yaldā Night is still observed, albeit in a much more casual and contemporary manner than in ancient times. Extended family units gather to share specific foods, engage in general revelry, and stay up past midnight as a nod to an old Zoroastrian belief that one must stay awake and vigilant against evil spirits on the longest night of the year. Iran does not follow the Gregorian Calendar, but the holiday generally correlates to December 20 or 21st.

Many Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day, which marks the day Siddhartha came to enlightenment after several days of meditation beneath a bodhi tree. Reflecting the many differences among Buddhist sects around the world, this holiday goes by multiple names, and is celebrated or acknowledged in quite a wide variety of ways on different winter days, though frequently in December.

Whatever you celebrate or observe this winter holiday season, we hope it brings you happiness, and a sense of connectedness in these unusual times. Stay warm!

National Adoption Day

Tomorrow is National Adoption Day, so today we will be sharing some resources.

As we see in the library speaking with our patrons, families may seek out the legal benefits of adoption for a wide variety of reasons. There are also multiple types of adoptions in Texas, including Adult Adoption.

It is possible to find great, high quality free information about adoptions in Texas. As with so many family law issues, TexasLawHelp.org can provide pro se litigants with a wealth of details about the laws surrounding adoption in the Lone Star State.

Families thinking of adopting a child currently in foster care can start at the searchable database maintained by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

At the moment, fill-in-the-blank forms are not available to start an adoption. Pro se litigants hoping to handle an adoption themselves must rely on templates designed for attorneys. We are happy to provide a variety of templates covering multiple aspects of adoptions in Texas, though many patrons are left feeling overwhelmed by a process that even attorneys can find daunting.

For families looking to complete an adoption with an attorney, their local city or county bar association is likely to be able to provide referrals in their area. Some families also find referrals through word-of-mouth on social media groups for similarly situated families.

Local referral services for Houston and Harris County:

• The Houston Lawyer Referral Service

• The Harris County Bar Referral Service

Texas-wide:

• Texas State Bar Referral Service

Saxophones and Jazz

Don’t play the saxophone. Let it play you.  – Charlie Parker

Perhaps the greatest saxophonist of his time, Charlie Parker, who would have turned 100 on August 29, left a lasting mark on American jazz during his short life. Credited with the development of a new style of music known as bebop, Parker revolutionized American jazz with his complex harmonies and rhythms. Of course, none of Parker’s virtuosity would have sparkled were it not for the invention of the saxophone. First patented in 1846 in Paris by Belgian-French musical instrument maker Adolphe-Joseph Sax, the saxophone, a single reed instrument noted for its flexibility and penetrating sound, became a favorite of the masters of jazz improvisation. If Oscar Wilde was correct in his assessment that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” then Sax should have indeed been pleased that his invention gained such popularity. Unfortunately, Sax spent decades embroiled in lawsuits defending against creators of reproductions before his patent expired in 1866, losing many profits along the way.

Those patent lawsuits were not the last time that the saxophone, or more specifically, the music in which it was so prominently featured, became the subject of legal disputes. Lawsuits involving jazz music and dancing typically focused on their characterization as public nuisances. A court in California even based its determination on “the effect that jazz music ha[d] on the health and comfort of residents.” Jazz was also the source of marital discord, prompting a music-loving wife to seek a divorce from her husband. As one would expect, copyright also played a role in some of the litigation surrounding jazz. The characteristic improvisations of jazz presented some unique challenges for the musical style in gaining copyright protection. The style was not viewed as particularly original and deemed to be more derivative, and therefore not entitled to such security.

From a societal standpoint, jazz was no stranger to the discrimination and racism that was so prevalent during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and beyond. Despite their appeal and popularity among Blacks and whites alike, jazz musicians faced discrimination from those outside the jazz community. From the required, but revocable, cabaret cards in New York City to the prohibition on becoming members of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), African-American musicians and composers were prevented from performing in clubs, deprived of copyright protection for their original works, and divested of well-deserved royalties. It’s no wonder then that jazz was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.

America was not the only place where jazz flourished. In Europe, in the years leading up to and during World War II, jazz managed to survive boycotts of all things from “enemy” nations, bans on dancing, and life within the German concentration camps. In fact, jazz music boosted the morale of both prisoners and soldiers, served as camouflage for illegal meetings among prisoners, offered the possibility of avoiding the gas chamber to those in the camps, and acted as a means of propaganda and distraction for the government.

Jazz has a rich and colorful history, one that would not have existed were it not for the invention of the saxophone. So, on this National Saxophone Day, we commemorate not only the birth of Adolphe-Joseph Sax, the inventor the saxophone, but also those great jazz musicians who made that instrument sing and the masses dance.

Further Reading and Listening

Tell Tchaikovsky the News: Trade Dress Rights in Musical Instruments - Robert M. Kunstadt and Ilana Maggioni, 94 Trademark Reporter 1271 (2004) (available remotely through HeinOnline)

Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law: The Story of Jazz and Intellectual Property - Aleksey Nikolsky

Saxophone History Timeline - Steve Stusek

The Soul of the Saxophone - Library of Congress

Jazz Research at the Library of Congress

The Law Police Used to Discriminate Against Musicians of Color - Jazz Night in America - NPR

Songs of the Civil Rights Movement - NPR

I Voted!

This “Future Voter” visited the polls in New Orleans in the 2016 presidential election. Vote early!

As we posted on Monday, early voting has begun in Harris County. It continues through October 30, allowing all registered voters plenty of time to make their voices heard!

As we conclude one full week of record activity at the polls, social media abounds with photos of proud friends, family, and famous folks who have already cast their ballots in the 2020 elections. No Instagram pic of a satisfied voter is complete without an “I Voted” sticker and a few words to rally all followers. Tack on an #ivoted hashtag, and the 21st century voting ritual is complete!

The Texas “I Voted” sticker is simple and no-frills — not big, bold, or bombastic as one might expect from the typically titanic Lone Star State. (Alaska, by contrast, which is geographically larger than Texas — and proud of it!— just revealed its 13 new “I Voted” stickers for 2020, which celebrate women and highlight native languages. Even Alaskans who vote from home can download digital stickers to proclaim their voting pride.) Instead, for a state as unique as Texas, our voting stickers are rather plain. However, the clean, classic design of our ballot badges still conveys the outsize honor we feel in being part of the democratic process. No one struts, swaggers, and swells with pride like a Texan!

Voters in other parts of the nation celebrate their visits to the polls in much more colorful and creative ways. Many of the stickers reflect the flavor, culture, and people of the regions they represent, highlighting features that make each state, city, county, or borough unique. Samples of our favorites are shown here, and links to even more stand-out stickers can been seen in the list below. Which is your favorite?

From Left to Right: New York City, Nashville, Louisiana

• The ‘I Voted’ Stickers You’re Wearing — From All 50 States (2018) — CNN

• Most Creative and Original ‘I Voted’ Stickers — U.S. Election Assistance Commission

• Download your Digital ‘I Voted’ Sticker — When We All Vote

• Why the ‘I Voted’ Sticker Matters (2012) — The Atlantic

• Houston Restaurants Offer Specials, Freebies to Folks Who Vote — Houstonia

• An ‘I Voted’ Sticker Can Get You Free Stuff, But It Shouldn’t (2016) — The New York Times