Sunday

05 shopping days remain until Christmas
354 days so far this year…11 days remain in 2009
►Provocative Quote
"To criticize the incompetent is easy; it is more difficult, to criticize the competent."
~Unknown
►Free Ramblings
I had a lazy day today. My big excursion was to get a haircut before I head to Chicago. I guess I am just preparing my body for a very busy week.

Flag made it to 40° today, but the 28mph wind gusts made it feel a whole lot colder. No storms around here will hamper my travel, but it looks like NYC is in for a storm. Sure hope it doesn’t mess up my brother and his wife’s travel. It looks like we will all be OK for travel and will have a cold and wet Christmas in Chicago. Forecasts don’t show our departure weather, so guess I will just have to wonder for a few more days.
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± Quotes from Values.com—Helping Others
“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
~Chinese Proverb
± Unusual News…
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. - Police in Tennessee said a horse rider participating in a Christmas parade was arrested when she drunkenly passed out atop the animal. Shelbyville police said they received a report during Saturday night's Christmas parade of an apparently inebriated woman "wearing a red coat who was riding on a white horse" in the parade, but officers could not locate the woman or her mount on the Shelbyville square, the Shelbyville Times-Gazette reported. Investigators said they found Patti Lynn Moore, 46, sleeping on top of her horse outside a North Cannon Boulevard motel about 15 minutes after receiving the report. Moore was arrested and charged with public intoxication. She was released after posting $500 bond.
± Random Fact
Humpty Dumpty was first printed in 1810. At the time, a humpty dumpty was a clumsy person, so the nursery rhyme was meant as a riddle. There is speculation that the nursery rhyme had an underlying meaning – in which Humpty Dumpty represents King Richard III of England and the wall his horse. Others have suggested that it refers to the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey at the hand of King Henry VIII.
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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month
§ Weeks in December
Saturnalia: Roman Festival of Tomfoolery (Dec 17th-23rd)
Halcyon Days (Dec 14th-28th)
§ 20 December Observances
International Human Solidarity Day
Mudd Day—The Physician who treated John Wilkes Booth
-Taiwan: Bank Holiday
-Macao: Macao Special Administrative Region Establishment Day since 1999.
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§ Holy Mackerel: on this day in 1928…Mail delivery by dog sled began -- in Lewiston, Maine.
§ Births On This Day
     ~ The Arts
Robert Colomby in 1944 drummer (Blood Sweat & Tears)
Mohammad Fouad in 1961 Arab singer and actor
Uri Geller in 1946 psychic, clairvoyant, spoon-bender
Maude Gonne in 1865 Irish Freedom Fighter, muse of Wm Butler Yates, feminist, author, actress
John Hillerman in 1932 Emmy Award-winning actor: Magnum P.I
Sidney Hook in 1902 anticommunist pragmatist (Paradoxes of Freedom)
Alan Parsons in 1948 musician/producer/engineer (Alan Parsons Project)
Larry Willis in 1940 rock keyboardist (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
     ~Athletics
Jack Christiansen in 1928 NFL hall of famer (Lions)
Thomas Newberry in 1962 NFL (Steelers)
     ~Business, Education, Politics
Harvey S Firestone in 1868 Industrialist, tires
Nadine Gordimer in 1923 South African anti-apartheid novelist Nobel laureate
Charles Edward Stuart [Bonnie Prince Charlie/Young Pretender] in 1720
Dr Samuel A Mudd in 1833 convicted of giving medical aid to John Wilkes Booth
     ~Science/Religion
David Bohm in 1917 physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist
Jaroslav Heyrovský in 1890 Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
§ In Remembrance
Nicolas Antoine French Protestant pastor converted to Judaism, executed for heresy @ 32
Bobby Darin (Walden Robert Cassotto) singer (Mack the Knife), heart failure @ 37
Richard J Daley Chicago mayor @ 74
John Galle Flemish engraver/printer, @ 76
James Hilton English author (Lost Horizon & Goodbye Mr. Chips) cancer @ 54
Dean Rusk US Secretary of State @ 85
Sacagawea Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark, [historical records say @ 24; oral tradition say @ 96)
Carl Sagan scientist (Contact) MDS & pneumonia @ 62
John Steinbeck author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel 1962) heart failure @ 66
Max Robinson 1st black network (ABC) TV anchor, AIDS @ 49
Artur Rubinstein pianist @ 95

§ Historical Events On This Day
1606…Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown VA
1669…1st jury trial in US (Delaware)
1790…1st successful US cotton mill to spin yarn
1803…New Orleans becomes part of the United States [Louisiana Purchase].
1860…South Carolina votes 169-0 for Ordinance of Secession, 1st state to secede
1880…New York's Broadway lit by electricity, becomes known as "Great White Way"
1893…1st state anti-lynching statute approved, in Georgia
1920…Bob Hope becomes an American citizen
1945…Rationing of auto tires ends in US
1950…"Harvey", starring James Stewart, premieres in New York
1957…Elvis Presley receives his draft notice
1963…The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time. It remained open for the holiday season, but closed again on January 6, 1964. 4,000 people crossed over to visit relatives during this period.
1967…"The Graduate", starring Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft, premieres
1974…Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state
1999…The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to the same benefits and protections in the State of Vermont as wedded couples of the opposite sex.
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§ Rhyme & Reason
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1. sleep-count (7,6)
2. he does the dash December- April only (6,8)
3. Fairy queen's taxi (3,3)
4. shrill bark from a young dog (5,4)
5. street map of Spain's capital (6,4)
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ANSWERS
1. sleep-count (7,6) slumber number
2. he does the dash December- April only (6,8) winter sprinter
3. Fairy queen's taxi (3,3) Mab cab
4. shrill bark from a young dog (5,4) whelp yelp
5. street map of Spain's capital (6,4) Madrid grid