Compiled by Peter Y. Chou, WisdomPortal.com

101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding
150 albums and a creative lifetime of around
30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "Sound of Magnificence", a puffy cloud logo & sepia-toned photo of the orchestra.
The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan. Orchestra is composed of 128 to 141 players. Of these, there are 30 first violins, 26 second violins, 20 violas, 18 cellos and 7 string basses. The rest may be woodwinds, brass or percussion. Performances include Broadway musical scores, mood music, travel impressions, standard popular songs from films scores and classics. In the 24 years of their existence, 101 Strings sold over 50,000,000 records worldwide.

102

Lord of Arimnium, marble, porphyry, serpentine,
Whose men, Sigismundo's, came with more than an hundred
two wheeled ox carts and deported, for the beautifying
Ezra Pound (1885-1972), The Cantos (I-XVI), (1925);
The Cantos (1-95), New Directions, NY, 1956, p. 36
Commentary on Canto IX

103

Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic
flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another
in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the
aircraft was in flight over Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed
by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in
what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed
in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities.
In 2001, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, was jailed for life after
being found guilty in connection with the bombing. In 2003, Gaddafi accepted
responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the families of the victims. (Photo Source: en.wikipedia.org)

105

Shooting star: Curry makes 105 straight 3s post-practice
(Stephen Curry made 105 straight 3-pointers from the
same baseline spot to finish practice Saturday leading
into Golden State's game Sunday game at Chicago.)
(By Janie McCauley, Yahoo News, 12-26-2020)

108

108 Mala Beads Prayer Necklace:
A mala is a string of beads used traditionally
to count mantra (prayer) while meditating.
Mala beads are also worn as a necklace or
bracelet to accompany meditation practice
or for spiritual growth. "Mala" from Sanskrit means "garland", just as "rosary" in Latin
means "garland of roses". "Bead" is from
Anglo-Saxon term "bede" meaning "prayer".
According to yoga, there are 108 sacred sites in India, 108 ancient Vedic texts, and 108 sacred life force points in he body. (Photo Source: etsy.com)

108 Upanishads: This book is a thoroughly researched primer on the 108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that form a
part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu texts. These Upanishads
contain the most crystallized bits of wisdom gleaned from
Hinduism. Roshen Dalal explains the concepts at the core of
each Upanishad clearly and lucidly. Moreover, her vast, diverse
philosophical and theological readings add priceless scholarly
context to this comprehensive and fascinating volume.
(Photo Source: amazon.com)

108 Images is the title of a book by Allen Ginsberg
Published by Umberto Allemandi, Turin, Italy, for
for Fred Hoffman Fine Art, Santa Monica, California, 1995.
The exhibit of Ginsberg's photos was curated by Nicolò Asta,
June 8-September 15, 1995, in Giudecca, Venice.
(Stanford Library: PS3513.I74.Z47.1995)

109

"The whole number of stones now visible, amounts to one hundred and nine."
(Edgar A. Poe, Stonehenge, The Giant's Dance
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine & American Monthly Review, June 1840)

110

Alex Shibicky scored 110 goals and 91 assists in the NHL
for the New York Rangers over 8 seasons, winning the 1940 Stanley cup.
He died on July 9, 2005 in South Surrey, British Columbia, at age 91.
(NY Times, July 22, 2005)

111

The Pop artist James Rosenquist's F-111 (1965) hangs in
New York's MOMA's sixth-floor temporary-exhibition gallery in Queens.
(NY Times, Oct. 3, 2004)

118

Long Island is located in Southeast New York in the Northeast part of the United States, beginning at New York Harbor approximately 0.35 miles from Manhattan Island & extending eastward into the Atlantic Ocean. Long Island is 118 miles long, going eastward from NY Harbor to Montauk Point, with a maximum north-to-south distance
of 23 miles between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic coast. Longest island in contiguous U.S.

119

"Overdue book, Maxwell's Electricity returned to
Massachusetts New Bedford Library 119 years later"
(By Steve LeBlanc, AP, Mercury News, 7-10-2023, A2)
(On Feb. 14, 1904, someone curious about the emerging possibilities of a key force of nature checked out James Clerk Maxwell's "An Elementary Treatise on Electricity" from New Bedford Free Public Library. It would take 119 years and the sharp eyes of a librarian in West Virginia before the scientific text finally found its way back to the Massachusetts library. Stewart Plein, curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, was sorting through a recent donation of books. He found the 1881 Maxwell treatise in extremely good condition, and noticed it was from the New Bedford library and, had not been stamped "Withdrawn", and sent the book back. The New Bedford library has a 5-cent-per-day late fee. At that rate, someone returning a book overdue by 119 years would face a hefty fee of more than $2,100. The good news is the library's late fee limit maxes out at $2.)

122

122 snowflakes counted by Mooch the cat
in Patrick McDonell's comics strip Mutts
(Mercury News, January 11, 2022)

LIVERMORE: Shine a light: The East Bay
bulb that's been burning for 122 years
Celebrating its 122nd anniversary, the Centennial Bulb in Livermore is the world's longest burning light bulb. Bulb is located at Fire Station #6 on 4550 East Ave. The bulb, a hand-blown bulb with carbon filament, was created by Shelby Electric Co. in 1900. It was donated to Livermore Fire Department by Dennis Bernal, owner of Livermore Power & Water Co., in 1901. Bulb's wattage began at
60 watts and it now burns at about 4 watts.
(By Martha Brennan, Mercury News,
January 11, 2023, B1-B2)

123

1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3 4
1 2 3

1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3 4
1 2 3

1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3

1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3 4
1 2 3

Robert Lax (1915-2000), "1 2 3" (1962)
New Poems 1962/1985, Coracle Press, London, p. 14

125

Number of drinking fountains in Central Park = 125
About Central Park

"Jitterbug Days" by Kevin Baker is an article on 125th Street Harlem in Manhattan.
(NY Times, 1-22-2006)

127

Beethoven's manuscript, from the Scherzo of the String Quartet in E flat (Op. 127)
was sold Sotheby's auction on Dec. 5, 2003 for $2.03 million.

130

C-130 Hercules is a military transport aircraft and one of the few
planes that has remained in continuous production for 50 years.
(Willis M. Hawkins, principal designer)

The Castle of the Xunantunich Mayan ruins outside San Ignacio,
Belize, in 2002. The ruins rise 130 feet above a main plaza.
(NY Times, 9-6-2005)

There are 130 short numbered poems in On a Deserted Shore
by Kathleen Raine (1908-2003),
published by The Dolmen Press, London, 1973
A prologue poem "The faint stars said" is dated 7 Sept. 1969
and epilogue poem "Suddenly the trees looked strangely beautiful:
are unnumbered in this volume of poetry.

140

Largest Flying American Flag
is 140 feet by 70 feet,
heavy (340 pounds) and it flies
from a 400 feet tall pole over
the headquarters of Acuity Insurance
in Sheboygen, Wisconsin. On June 2, 2020,
giant thunderstorm tore the flag in half.
Stripe is 5 ft across & star is 3 ft across.
(Parade Magazine, July 10, 2022, p. 14)

148

San Francisco Hidden Garden Steps
The Hidden Garden Steps project has
created and installed a public art space,
a 148-step mosaic tile staircase which is
the extension of 16th Avenue between
Kirkham and Lawton streets. Artists,
Aileen Barr & Colette Crutcher, are
responsible for the first ceramic-tiled
stairway. (Mercury News, 5-10-2021)

150

Time for distraction. I'll count to 150. Count to 150 by threes.
I'll start at 150 and work back by threes and fours:
147, 143, 136, 133, 129, 126, 122, 119. Tedium. I'll return
to the search, cross-legged, silencing the mind. Do I have legs?
My body has: I can cross & uncross them. I cross them now
and sit with— is it mine?— my spine erect.
I sit with spine erect & stare, not fiercely, into the dark.
I am searching again, as I always am, as I always do.
One way as good as another.

Robert Lax (1915-2000), "Time for distraction" (1982)
33 Poems, (Ed. Thomas Kellein), New Directions, NY, 1988, p. 187

157

The FDA warned against eating fresh bagged spinach after an outbreak of E. coli
in eight states killed one person and sickened at least 49. They found a virulent
strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, which produces a toxin that can lead
to bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and, in rare cases, death.
(NY Times, Sept. 15, 2006)

162

Isaac Bruce of the Los Angeles Rams ranks third in NFL Super Bowl single game
receiving with 6 receptions and 162 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV (2000).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

165

165 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA was the former office building
of high-tech start-up companies: Logitech, PayPal, Danger, and Google.
(The Right Place, San Jose Mercury News, 8-5-2004)

166

John Riggins of the Washington Redskins ranks third in NFL Super Bowl
single game rushing with 166 yards in Super Bowl XVII (1983).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

168

Sidd Finch a New York Mets phenom fired baseballs at 168 miles an hour
in a George Plimpton 14-page exposé for Sports Illustrated (April 1, 1985).
(NY Times, April 1, 2005)

173

"Mott Street Blues" by Richard Morgan is a story about condo development
at 173 East Broadway in Chinatown and escalating real estate prices.
(NY Times, Jan. 22, 2006)

189

the first goodbye
the second goodbye
the third goodbye
the fourth goodbye
the fifth goodbye
the sixth goodbye
the seventh goodbye
the eighth goodbye
the ninth goodbye
the tenth goodbye
the eleventh goodbye
the twelfth goodbye
the hundred & twenty-first goodbye
the hundred & forty-fourth goodbye
the hundred & eighty-ninth goodbye
goodbye
goodbye
goodbye

Robert Lax (1915-2000), "the first goodbye" (1960)
33 Poems, (Ed. Thomas Kellein), New Directions, NY, 1988, p. 61

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. SETI Institute was founded in 1984. Its mission is "to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe." The address of SETI Institute is 189 Bernado Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043.

191

Marcus Allen of the Los Angeles Raiders ranks second in NFL Super Bowl
single game rushing with 191 yards in Super Bowl XVIII (1984).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

193

Ricky Sanders of the Washington Redskins ranks second in NFL Super Bowl
single game receiving with 9 receptions and 193 yards in Super Bowl XXII (1988).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

195

The four chapters or books (padas) of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra
consist of a total of 195 aphorisms (circa 200 B.C.)

200

The average strawberry has 200 seeds
(Source: California Strawberry Commission)
Trivia on the back of the cereal box
Quaker Instant Oatmeal Strawberry-Banana

204

Timmy Smith of Washington Redskins ranks first in NFL Super Bowl
single game rushing with 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII (1988).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

205

Boom Overture Airliner is a proposed Mach 1.7, 55-passenger
supersonic airliner with 4888
miles of range. It is planned to
be introduced in 2029 by Boom Technology. It will be under
construction in 2022, and rollout in 2025. The 205-foot-long aircraft can climb to the edge of space at 60,000 feet. A 12-hour, 45-minute flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, South Korea, would be six hours, 45 minutes. Can carry 65-88 passengers in business class. (By Kurt Snibbe, Mercury News, 8-15-2021, B15)

210

The 210th Day is a short fiction by Soseki Natsume (1867-1916)
translated by Sammy Il. Tsunematsu, Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2002, 90 pp.
The Japanese edition Nihyaku Toka was published in 1906.
It's a story of Kei and Roku climbing the rumbling Mount Aso
as it threatens to erupt. They encounter a storm on the 210th day
(the lunar calendar day traditionally associated with typhoons).

215

Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers ranks first in NFL Super Bowl single game
receiving with 11 receptions and 215 yards in Super Bowl XXIII (1989).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

221

221 Syllables at Rocky Mountain Dharma Center
is a poem by Allen Ginsberg composed of 13 haikus
of 17 syllables each. Haiku #4, #7, #11 of poem:

Moonless thunder— yellow dandelions flash in fields of rainy grass.

A dandelion seed floats above the marsh grass with the mosquitos.

In the half-light of dawn a few birds warble under the Pleiades.

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997),
White Shroud: Poems 1980-1985,
"221 Syllables at Rocky Mountain Dharma Center"
Harper& Row, New York, 1986, p. 41

222

"ROYALTY: Biggest Theories on Why the Queen's
Coffin Moved toWestminister Hall at Exactly 2:22 pm"
(On September 14, 2022, at 2:22 pm. GMT, 10 pallbearers who were
past & present members of the military carried Queen Elizabeth II's
body from Buckingham Palace. They placed the coffin, draped by
Royal Standard with diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown sitting
atop it, into a horse-drawn gun carriage for 38-minute procession to Westminster
Hall where the queen's body will lie in state for four days until her funeral,
Daily Mail: Time was chosen in honor of the queen's father, George VI. After his
death in 1952, Sebastopol bell at Windsor Castle chimed 56 times for each of years
of the king's life, from 1:27 pm ending at exactly 2:22 pm. Royal biographer Robert
Lacey said the simple reason of ensuring procession arrives at Westminster Hall
at 3 pm is likely to be behind timing. Christ died on the Cross at 3 pm.)
(By Andrew Amelinckx, Grunge, UK, 9-14-2022)

227

The Theravada School of Buddhism has 227 vinaya rules on monastic discipline.
(Lineages and History of Buddhism; Code of Discipline)

237

San Jose had a 237-foot electric light tower arched over Market & Santa Clara Street. It was built in 1881 proposed by J.J. Owen, publisher of the San Jose Mercury. It collapsed in a storm in December 1915. Gustave Eiffel paid a visit to San Jose in the 1880s and was inspired by the city's downtown 237-foot light tower to create his 984-foot Eiffel Tower in Paris that bears his name. (Mercury News, July 31,2017; Mercury News, Feb. 24, 2019)

250

Adwaitya, an Aldabran tortoise died Wednesday (March 22, 2006) at the Calcutta zoo. He is believed to have been about 250 years old, born in the same year as Mozart (1756) nearly 80 years older than the next-oldest animal, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise in Australia. NY Times, March 28, 2006)

252

252 feet and 7 inches: Epic paper airplane throw in Asia shatters Guinness World Record (Used Conqueror CX22 100GSM, one of stiffest & highest quality papers in the world. Previous record of 226 feet, 10 inches, by Joe Ayoob on Feb. 26, 2012.)
(By Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 5-25-2022)

252

San Jose Communications Hill Stairs
Communications Hill is a neighborhood located
in the San Juan Bautista Hills of San Jose, CA.
The 252 step staircase offers stunning views
of San Jose. It leads to top of Communications Hill,
named for the 114-foot decommissioned microwave tower at its peak. Architect Daniel Solomon designed the stairs utilizing inspiration from better known Telegraph Hill, which leads visitors up 400 steps
to SF's Coit Tower. (Mercury News, 5-10-2021)

254

Bob Beamon wore uniform number 254 when he set the world's long jump
record of 29 feet 2.5 inches at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
He shattered the world record by an unbelievable 21.75 inches.

262

The Maximum Capacity
of this room
is 262 people

— Robert Lax (1915-2000), "The Maximum Capacity" (1960)
33 Poems, (Ed. Thomas Kellein), New Directions, NY, 1988, p. 59

268

Stephen Curry shot 0-of-8 from behind the arc in Warriors’ 118-114 win over Portland Sunday night (12-17-2023). The last time Curry had a game without a made 3-pointer in the regular season was on November 8, 2018, when he went 0-of-4 from behind the arc in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He then went 268 games while making at least one bucket from

the 3-point line, which was the longest such streak in NBA history. With Curry’s streak broken, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard is now the active leader with 101 games with a made 3-pointer. Cameron Johnson is next-closest with 50 games.

276

Custard's Last Stand At Battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, in Montana. The Lakota & Sioux tribes defeated U.S. 7th Calvary's force of 700, killing 276 men & General Armstrong Custer. Card #45 Scoop (1954)

299

A young supernova was recently detected in Arp 299,
a colliding galaxy pair 140 million light-years away.
NASA (NY Times, June 3, 2003)

300

Roger Clemens 300 Poster reprinted from the June 15, 2003 issue
of The New York Times celebrating Clemens' 300th victory.

John Elway threw for 300 touchdowns and 51,475 yards
in his 16-year career with the Denver Broncos

306

"The View From Room 306" is an OP-ED article by David Brooks on visiting
Room 306 of Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee where Martin Luther King, Jr.
was shot on the second floor balcony on April 4, 1968. (NY Times, April 4, 2008)

311

New York City adopts a 311 hot line for public complaints.

317

Kiev's 11th century monastery, The Holy Assumption Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is the oldes in Old Rus and Ukraine. Its domes and Great Bell Tower is just under
317 feet high. (NY Times, April 3, 2005)

343

Michelangelo painted 343 figures on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508-1512).
(Sistine Chapel Ceiling, wikipedia.org)

350

Greg Maddux gets 350th career win as San Diego Padres beat Colorado Rockies 3-2. Maddux is the ninth MLB pitcher to win 350 games. The 42-year-old Maddux (3-3) improved to 350-217 in 23rd seasons. Maddux threw only 68 pitches in 6 innings, with one strikeout and no walks. Maddux won four NL Cy Young Awards, one World Series championship and a record 17 Gold Glove Awards.
(Associated Press, May 11, 2008)

357

THREE, FIVE, SEVEN WORDS

The autumn wind is light,
The autumn moon is bright;
Fallen leaves gather but then disperse,
A cold crow roosts but again he stirs;
I think of you, and wo 357

Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers ranks third in NFL Super Bowl
single game passing with 357 yards in Super Bowl XXIII (1989).
Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles ranks third in NFL Super Bowl
single game passing with 357 yards in Super Bowl XXXIX (2005).
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923

365

Kurt Warner of the Los Angeles Rams ranks second in NFL Super Bowl
single game passing with 365 yards in Super Bowl XXXVI (2002).
[1st: Kurt Warner, Los Angeles Rams, 414 yards, Super Bowl XXXIV (2000)]
World Almanac & Book of Facts 2006, p. 923