"Freedom has a thousand charms to show, that slaves, however content, will never know." ~Unknown
~~~Free Ramblings
I have been talking to friends here in Flag since my return last week. I have made up a little display bag that I take with me that shows some of the art and trinkets I picked up over there. I am just now beginning to realize how truly fortunate I am to have visited the area. I saw so many animals, in the wild. I had my eyes opened to the horrors of Apartheid. I walked through some amazing history. Each day I spend some time working with my pictures and videos. I am still waiting to figure out how to pull this trip together. On my first blog about Africa, I said a miracle would happen to help me share my adventure. I continue to wait.
Before we went into the bush…
I visited a museum that showed the history of Africa...where all of mankind's civilizatons began.
I visited an Ostrich Farm. They are interesting to watch and their eggs have been made into beautiful art. The use of their feathers in women’s apparel took me back to the heyday of Hollywood, long before I was born. I also tasted some Ostrich and it wasn’t bad. I never did understand the ostrich leather shoes, gloves, wallets, and purses.
I visited the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans merge. The wind was blowing about 50-70mph when we were there. I really had to brace myself when taking a picture. A group of Asian tourists were having a lot of trouble clicking away. None were hurt, but several were blown over or blown down. My life in Boulder, CO and on the rez had taught me how to move around in those winds.
I visited a penguin reserve. It was only a few miles kilometers Cape Point, so was also very windy. The birds came to a beach many years ago and so liked it that they just stayed. I would have chosen a less windy place to live, but then, I’m not a penguin. They had quite a difficult time climbing small sand hills. It could have been the fine sand, or the wind, or a combination of both.
I visited South African Wine Country. I did wine and cheese tasting, I walked to the vineyards; I had an opportunity to learn about the many South African wines. I learned about local cheese that goes with the local wines. The one cheese I will never forget was a soft cheese with curry. I will not forget it because it was the worst cheese I had ever tasted—and I am a big fan of limburger. I did enjoy several of the wines. As one of our group said, “I only like one kind of beer…cold.” I would say, “I only like one kind of wine…wet.”
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~~~Random Facts
Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan God.
Many plastic surgeries in the early Renaissance were performed in barber shops.
~~~Unusual News
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - A Pennsylvania woman was awarded $150,000 in a discrimination suit claiming she had to wear diapers to work due to a lack of toilets. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit against Danella Construction Corp., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., said Lisa Drozdowski, 37, had to wear adult diapers while she was working as a flagger for the company in 2005 because officials refused to provide portable toilets, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Thursday. Drozdowski said her bathroom breaks, which involved walking a quarter mile to her car and driving several minutes to the nearest restroom, often came after she had already urinated on herself.
She said the company stopped giving her work when she complained about the bathroom breaks and was denied a laborers position. The commission and Danella entered into a consent decree filed in a court Wednesday. Danella agreed to pay $150,000 to Drozdowski and four other female employees who claimed they were also discriminated against by the company will split a $50,000 payout.
~~~Before They Were Famous
One of Michelle Pfeiffer's first gigs was a guest appearance on "Fantasy Island."
Regis Philbin's first job was at NBC working as a page. After attending Notre Dame, but before beginning his entertainment career, he served in the US Navy.
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~~~November Month Long Observances
Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Adoption Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month
~~~Week of 20 November
National Farm-City Week--to provide better communication and understanding between Urban and Rural residents
~~~20 NOV Observances
324 days so far this year…41 days remain in 2009
Africa Industrialization Day—since 1989
Cat Days
Name Your PC Day
Rights of the Child Day
Transgender Day of Remembrance
^Argentina – Day of National Sovereignty
^Brazil – Zumbi Day (since 1978)—Day of Black Consciousness ^Mexico : Revolution Day (1910)
^United Kingdom – wedding day of Queen Elizabeth II (1947), & official flag day
^Vietnam – Teacher's Day (since 1982)
~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1900 Chester Gould cartoonist Dick Tracy
1907 Fran Allison actress (Kukla, Fran & Ollie)
1908 Alistair Cooke actor (Masterpiece Theatre)
1920 Gene Tierney Brooklyn, actress
1926 Kaye Ballard actress/comedienne (Kaye-Mothers-in-Law)
1927 Estelle Parsons actress (Rachel Rachel, Bonnie & Clyde)
1929 Dick Clark Mt Vernon NY, American Bandstand / New Year’s Eve
1932 Richard Dawson actor (Hogan's Heroes)
1939 Dick Smothers NYC, comedian (Smother Brothers' Show)
1942 Norman Greenbaum folk singer (Spirit in the Sky)
1956 Bo Derek (Mary Cathleen Collins) actress (10)
~ATHLETICS
1869 Clark Griffith baseball player/manager (NY Yankees)
1956 Mark Gastineau NFL end (NY Jets
1945 - Rick (Robert James) Monday baseball
~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1620 Peregrine White born aboard Mayflower
1917 Robert Byrd (D-Sen-WV) majority leader
1925 Robert Francis Kennedy Brookline MA (D-Sen-NY) AG;assassinated
1942 Joseph R Biden Jr Vice President
~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1602 Otto von Guericke inventor (air pump)
1889 Edwin Hubble astronomer (discoverer of galaxies, red shift)
~~~In Remembrance–
1695 Zumbi, Brazilian runaway slave executed @ 40
1910 Leo Tolstoy Russia, author (Anna Karenina) @ 82
1973 Allan Sherman songwriter ("Camp Granada") emphysema @ 49
1975 Gen Francisco Franco Spain's dictator @ 82
1985 Bill Scott cartoon voice (Mr Peabody, Bullwinkle) @ 65
2006 Robert Altman, American film director @ 81
~~~Historical Events on this day
1637 Peter Minuit & 1st Swedish immigrants to Delaware sail from Sweden
1789 New Jersey becomes 1st state to ratify Bill of Rights
1914 US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports
1959 UN adopts the declaration of children's rights
1962 US lifts blockade of Cuba
1981 Anatoly Karpov, USSR retains world chess championship
1986 UN's WHO announces 1st global effort to combat AIDS
~ Holy Mackerel
1919 1st municipally owned airport in US opens in Tucson, Az
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Countries
Place these countries in order by estimated 2009 population—highest to lowest.
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
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ANSWERS
Libya : 6,310,434 (growth rate: 2.1%)
Lithuania 3,555,179 (growth rate: –0.2%)
Liberia 3,441,790 (growth rate: 2.6%)
Luxembourg 491,775 (growth rate: 1.1%)
Liechtenstein 34,761 (growth rate: 0.7%)
