Wondering about Biloxi, Mississippi

The history of Biloxi, Mississippi, spans more than 300 years.

The first permanent settlement in French Louisiana was founded at Fort Maurepas, now in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and referred to as Old Biloxi, in 1699 under the direction of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, with Louisiana separated from Spanish Florida at the Perdido River near Pensacola (founded 1559 & again 1698).

The name of Biloxi in French was "Bilocci" (with "fort Maurepas"),^[4] and the name was sometimes translated into English as "Fort Bilocci" on maps updated circa year 1710/1725.^[5][6]

In 1720, the administrative capital of French Louisiana was moved to Biloxi(Presently Ocean Springs) (or Bilocci) from Mobile (or Mobille). French Louisiana (part of New France) was known in French as La Louisiane in colonial times, but in modern times is called "La Louisiane française" to distinguish from the modern state of Louisiana (also "Louisiane" in French).^[4]

Due to fears of tides and hurricanes in the 1700s, the capital of French Louisiana was later moved by colonial governor Bienville, in 1723, from Biloxi to a new inland harbor town named La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), built for the purpose in 1718-1720.

In 1763, France had to cede French Louisiana east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans, to Great Britain. At that same time, the king Louis XV of France sold Louisiana west of the Mississippi, including New Orleans, to Spain.

Katie Couric on 'marrying young'

"Hi, everyone.

Should a girl go from picking out a prom dress...to picking a wedding dress?

More of them are. According to one poll, 84% of those between the ages of 17 and 23 say that they either support... or are, themselves, seriously considering... getting married young.

And they aren't just TALKING about it.

One Washington think-tank found that the number of married teenagers in the U.S. surged by almost 50% during the 1990's... leading to more divorce, more school drop-outs, and more domestic violence. Experts say a renewed sense of cultural conservatism is behind some of these young marriages, with young people wanting more traditional lives than their rebellious baby boomer parents.

Everyone needs to make their own choices. But marriage is a BIG decision. You really need to know YOURSELF before you can be a good partner.

It's hard enough when to fill that role when you're 47-- let alone when you're 17.

That's a page from my notebook."

An America I've never known

from kottke.org:

"Photos of that postcard America, which even though it's vanishing, probably none of us have known.

 May 30, 2008, by Cliff Kuang"

Bras Cause Urgency

From Kottke.org:

(May 30, 2008, by Cliff Kuang)

Lots of people bemoan the sexism of bikini drenched beer ads and overtly sexual marketing. Turns out, the marketers might just be rationally exploiting a fact of the male brain:

A recent study shows that men who watched sexy videos or handled lingerie sought immediate gratification--even when they were making decisions about money, soda, and candy.

Authors Bram Van den Bergh, Siegfried DeWitte, and Luk Warlop (KULeuven, Belgium) found that the desire for immediate rewards increased in men who touched bras, looked at pictures of beautiful women, or watched video clips of young women in bikinis running through a park.

"It seems that sexual appetite causes a greater urgency to consume anything rewarding," the authors suggest. Thus, the activation of sexual desire appears to spill over into other brain systems involved in reward-seeking behaviors, even the cognitive desire for money.