Culture Watch

The practice goes back to the earliest days of print in the fifteenth century. Artists, printers, booksellers, consumers, and readers all applied color to originally black-and-white images. Before Gutenberg’s innovation of the moveable-type press, both woodblock and engraved prints, single sheets with printed images, were popular in Germany and parts of Central Europe. They were used in various ways, and many people did what we might do with them — hung them on the walls of their home. more »

Editor's Note: I began listening to baseball when I was five years old on the radio ... there was no television at that time. Being an only child, I went to New York Giants baseball games at the Polo Grounds in the borough of The Bronx with my father regularly. We continued to listen to games if we didn't have a seat in the stands. When I moved to San Francisco in the '60s friends said they knew why I was going there ... to follow my team. Now after many years back East, I am again in the Bay Area and watching Opening Day for the SF Giants on television; we'll be attending some games at the newly named Oracle Park this season. Morris “Moe” Berg (1902-1972) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball from 1926-1939. He later became a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. more »

Astronaut Christina Koch had been scheduled to conduct this spacewalk with astronaut Anne McClain, in what would have been the first all-female spacewalk. However, after consulting with McClain and Hague following the first spacewalk, mission managers decided to adjust the assignments, due in part to spacesuit availability on the station. McClain learned during her first spacewalk that a medium-size hard upper torso – essentially the shirt of the spacesuit – fits her best. Because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it.  more »

There is no single source of data on political appointees serving in the executive branch that is publicly available, comprehensive, and timely. Political appointees make or advocate policy for a presidential administration or support those positions. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and two nongovernmental organizations collect, and in some cases, report data on political appointees, but the data are incomplete. For example, the data did not include information on political appointee positions within the Executive Office of the President. The White House Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) maintains data but does not make them publicly available. more »