Monday 6-1

»Week 22 of 2010: 152 days this year… 213 days remain≈

» June Trivia  

June is named after Roman Goddess ‘Juno’, wife of Jupiter; the summer equinox will happen this month, the pearl, the moonstone, and the alexandrite are the birthstones (longevity), the rose or honeysuckle are this month’s flowers.

» Some things To Think About  

In these divine pleasures permitted to me of walks in the June night under moon and stars, I can put my life as a fact before me and stand aloof from its honor and shame.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.

- Al Bernstein

» Random Wedding Facts    

~The Old English word for the wedding ceremony was ‘bridelope’, which literally met “bridal run.” The word “wed” derives from the Proto-Indo European base ‘wadh’, meaning to pledge or redeem.

~Before the 1500s, couples in Europe were free to marry themselves. It wasn’t until 1564 when the Council of Trent declared marriage was a sacrament that weddings became the province of priests and churches.

¤ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1868 ►After the "long walk" to the Bosque Redondo Reservation in New Mexico, General Sherman visited the NAVAJO. They again asked to go back to their old lands. They promised the keep the peace and the old treaties. Sherman talked with them, and he listened to them. With a new treaty in hand, Sherman says he will let them go, if they sign, and obey, the new treaty. The NAVAJOs agree, even though they will lose some of their land as a part of the new agreement. On this date, Barboncito, Armijo, Delgadito, Herrero Grande, Manuelito, and others sign the new treaty.

» Free Ramblings    

I’ve had a busy holiday weekend. Sunday was a BBQ with some of our discussion group and a few new people. I expected a few hours, but it quickly turned into almost 6 hours of good conversation, good food, and a little wine. I met the Episcopalian Chaplin from NAU. She is new to Flagstaff, only been here since August. So refreshing to meet someone who is religious and open minded. Another couple is in real estate here in Flagstaff. Again a surprising degree of open-mindedness. I do know that every profession/calling has open minded people. I don’t meet a lot of clergy or real estate people here in Flagstaff, and only read their column or when they are in a news story. That is hardly a good sampling. So we are able to discuss politics, education, travel, and religion and have lots of input from everyone. The hostess repeated a workshop she recently attended in CA, sort of. The workshop was at a winery and each table blended wine, then all the participants did a blind taste and selected the ‘best blended wine’ for their pallet. The winner got a $1000 bottle of wine. We were able to hear about how it was done, then enjoyed tasting several winery blended wines. Must say they were much different, and I now think better, than a merlot or other single wine type.

Today I decided to wash my upstairs windows. I am not a DIY type guy. I spent many hours learning about egress from buildings and Federal requirements for egress. When I first washed the windows after a few months of living here, I tried to figure out how the sliding window came out of the track for emergency exit. All the Federal buildings that have sliding windows have a trip latch on the window. Pull that trip latch and the window easily comes out of the track and can be brought inside. I decided way back then that these windows didn’t meet those specs. But, alas yesterday, one of my neighbors in another building was moving out. They popped out both the sliding window and the stationary one and started lowering things out the new open space. So, this morning, knowing that the window does come out, I played around a little and figured it out. For the first time in almost four years, I have really clean second story windows, and it was even easy to do. I feel so dumb that I didn’t spend a little more time years ago to figure it out. Live and Learn.

Last night it was pointed out that Flag has gone from winter to wind to summer and completely leaving out spring. Today we were a wonderful 75° with blue sky and no wind. I am pretty sure this is going to continue and this week I can start putting some color in my planters. I already have a plan and need to pick up a couple more planters and potting soil, but that should be easy—Home Depot is just down the street.

» Puzzle 1  

A spoonerism is a pair of words that can have the initial sounds switched to form new words. For example, "churning bear" is a spoonerism for "burning chair" (note that the pairs do not have to be spelled the same - only sound the same). From the definitions below, can you figure out these 5 spoonerism pairs?

1. Thumper's cellphone...mis-named nerve.

2. Where to buy a mallard...jammed portal.

3. Grizzly relative...two pin-lovers.

4. Sad iguana...Merlin slam-dunking.

5. Wasp accelerates...Half a six-pack.

» A Quick Smile…    

"For sale," read the ad in our hospital's weekly newsletter, "sleeveless wedding gown, white, size 8, veil included. Worn once, by mistake."

» Side Show Stories    

LONGVIEW, WA - A Washington state man who heard someone stealing his truck from outside his home said he followed the sound of the muffler to pursue the thieves. Alex Hansen, 27, said he heard the 1996 Toyota T-100 starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday outside of his Longview home and quickly gave chase, The (Longview) Daily News reported. "I grabbed my girlfriend's keys. My truck's loud enough I could hear where it was going," Hansen said. He said he spotted the Toyota traveling together with another vehicle. "I caught up about the time they got to Alabama Ave," he said. "I chased them 8 minutes or so down alleyways and streets... He just locked the truck up, jumped out and took off running."

Hansen described the suspect who exited the truck as a white man with a black hoodie, shorts and a backwards cap. He said the culprits took tools, a camera, his wallet and other valuables from the vehicle.

» Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I?

» Something you might enjoy…  

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

June is International Surf Music Month. See if you remember this: Click HERE!

» Calendar Information    

¤ June Monthly Observances

~Medical: Cancer From The Sun Month * Celibacy Awareness Month * Child Vision Awareness Month * Dairy Alternative Month * Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Awareness Month * International Childhood Cancer Campaign Month * National Aphasia Awareness Month * Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism Month * Professional Wellness Month * Rebuild Your Life Month * Vision Research Month * World Infertility Month

~Outdoors: Fireworks Safety Month * Great Outdoors Month * International Surf Music Month * Lane Courtesy Month * Perennial Gardening Month * National Rivers Month * National Rose Month * National Safety Month * Skyscraper Month * Sports America Kids Month * Student Safety Month * Women's Golf Month * World Cup (soccer) Month (Games in South Africa)

~Foods: Dairy Month * National Candy Month * National Ice Tea Month * National Soul Food Month * National Steakhouse Month

~Social Awareness: Gay & Lesbian Pride Month * National GLBT (Gay,Lesbian,Bisexual & Transgender) Awareness Month * National GLBT Book Month

~Misc: Effective Communications Month * Entrepreneurs "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month * International Men's Month * Turkey Lovers Month * National Accordion Awareness Month * National Bathroom Reading Month * National Smile Month * Potty Training Awareness Month

¤ Today’s Number One Songs in…  

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1938: Cathedral in the Pines; Shep Fields

1948: Nature Boy; King Cole

1958: All I Have to Do Is Dream; The Everly Brothers

1968: Mrs. Robinson; Simon & Garfunkel

1978: Too Much, Too Little, Too Late; Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams

1988: One More Try; George Michael

¤ Observance Weeks in June  

thru 5th Black Singles Parent Week

¤ Today’s Observances—US/UN/World    

Dare Day * Heimlich Maneuver Day * National Go Barefoot Day * Say Something Nice Day * Stand For Children Day * Kentucky-1792, Tennessee-1796 : Statehood Day * Philadelphia: Elfreth's Alley Day-celebrates oldest US street

¤ Today’s Observances—by country

Canada: National Day Against Homophobia (since 2005 when PM Trudeau repealed all ‘anti-gay’ clauses from the Criminal Code of Canada)

Cambodia: National Tree Planting Day

People’s Republic of China, Mongolia : Children's Festival Day

Kenya : Madaraka Day, since 1963 for internal self-rule

Palau: President's Day

Samoa: Independence Day (1962 from New Zealand)

Thailand: Visakha Puja: the Buddha was born, and 35 years later awoke to the unexcelled right self-awakening, and another 45 years later passed away into total nibbana

Vancouver: Fei Fei Day: for Hong Kong comedienne Lydia “ Fei-fei” Sum since 2008

Western Samoa: National Day

¤ Today’s Births

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Nelson Riddle musical conductor, born in 1921 Oradell NJ

John W Van Duren playwright (I Remember Mama), born in 1901 New York City, NY

Athletes

Justine Henin, 28, tennis player, born Liege, Belgium

Entertainers

Pat Boone, 76, singer, actor (State Fair), author, born Jacksonville, FL

Ronnie Dunn, 57, country singer: duo: Brooks & Dunn, born in Coleman, Texas

Morgan Freeman, 73, stage and film actor (Oscar for Million Dollar Baby; The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy), born Memphis, TN

Andy Griffith, 84, actor (“Matlock,” “The Andy Griffith Show”), born Mount Airy, NC

Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Baker Mortenson) actress: Gentleman Prefer Blondes, The Seven-Year Itch, Some Like It Hot, Bus Stop, The Asphalt Jungle, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, The Misfits, Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay!; famous centerfold:Playboy [1952], born in 1926 Los Angeles, CA

Ron Wood, 63, musician (guitarist with the Rolling Stones), born London, England

Edward Woodward, 80, actor, singer (“The Equalizer,” Wicker Man, Breaker Morant), born Croydon, England

Business, Education Persons

Dilia Elena Díaz Cisneros, 85, founder of Public schools throughout Venezuela, born in El Hatillo town of theMiranda state, Veneauela

Political Persons

Tony Snow, News Anchor, Former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, born in 1955 Berea, Kentucky

Scientists /Religious Persons

James Hadley Billington, 81, Librarian of Congress, born Bryn Mawr, PA

Brigham Young religious leader (Mormon church)/polygamist, blacksmith, born in 1801 Whitingham, Vermont

Sadi Nicolas Léonard Carnot physicist: pioneer in thermodynamics: discovered the 2nd law of thermodynamics, born in 1796 Paris, France

Frank Whittle inventor (jet engine), born in 1907 Earlsdon, Coventry, England

¤ Today’s Happenings

In The Arts

1938 ►Superman Comics launched

1959 ►Celebrating a solid year at the top of the album charts was Johnny’s Greatest Hits (Johnny Mathis) on Columbia Records. The LP stayed for several more years at or near the top of the album charts. It became the all-time album leader at 490 weeks.

In Athletics

1984 ►Weightlifter Alexander Gunyashev of USSR snatches a record 211 kg (464.2 lbs)

In Business or Education

1495 ►1st written record of Scotch Whiskey appears in Exchequer Rolls of Scotland. Friar John Cor is the distiller

1949 ►1st magazine on microfilm offered to subscribers (Newsweek), $15/yr

1980 ►Ted Turner's Cable News Network begins broadcasting (CNN)

1990 ►The Cowboy Channel on cable TV begins transmitting

In Politics

1808 ►1st US land-grant university founded-Ohio Univ, Athens, Ohio

1813 ►Capt John Lawrence utters Navy motto "Don't give up the ship", his final order after being shot

1855 ►US adventurer Wm Walker conquers Nicaragua, reestablishes slavery

1866 ►Renegade Irish Fenians invade Fort Erie Ontario from US

1877 ►US troops authorized to pursue bandits into Mexico

1966 ►2,400 persons attend White House Conference on Civil Rights

In Science/ Religion

1638 ►1st earthquake recorded in US, at Plymouth, Mass

1869 Voting Machine patented by Thomas Edison

1888 ►California gets its 1st seismograph

1985 ►500 'Hippy' travellers clash with police on their way to the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in Wiltshire for an illegal festival, the police set up a roadblock seven miles from Stonehenge. The day is known as "The Battle of the Beanfield" and was the first major test of an English Heritage ban on midsummer festivals at Stonehenge.

¤ Today’s Obits    

Helen Keller blind & deaf, @ 87 in 1968

Richard Greene actor (Adv of Robin Hood), cardiac arrest @ 67 in 1985

Rashid Karami Lebanon, 10 time PM of Lebanon, assassinated @ 65 in 1987

» ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

1. Bunny phone...funny bone.

2. Duck store...stuck door.

3. Polar bear...bowler pair.

4. Weeping lizard...leaping wizard.

5. Bee throttles...three bottles.

» ANSWERS to Brain Food  

An onion

» PIC of the Day   NEW

I have always been fascinated with ‘sky’ pictures. While traveling I always try to take pictures of clouds, sunrise, sunset, panoramas with mostly sky. These pics are not mine, but it’s nice to learn that others are also fascinated by the sky. During the month of June I’ll be doing ‘sun rays’.

Three Great Sun Ray Pics: Click HERE!

   «»«»«»«»«»«»«»  

Mon 5-31 Memorial Day

Take a moment or two today to remember all the brave men and women who gave their lives for our country.

Click Here for Memorial Day Song with photos!

Click Here for Amazing Grace with military photos!

Sun 5-30

≈Week 22 of 2010: 150 days this year…215 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.

~Albert Einstein

≈ Random Sports Facts    

Denver Nuggets — This name was chosen by team officials to pay tribute to the 19th century mining boom in Colorado.

Detroit Pistons — Fred Zollner, who owned a piston-making plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., was the team's first owner. The Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons were renamed the Pistons when they moved to Detroit in 1957.

Indiana Pacers — Chosen by investors, the name is said to reflect the area's rich harness racing history and the pace car at the country's most famous auto race-the Indianapolis 500.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1650 ►An ordinance is passed against the making of counterfeit, or "fake," wampum by the Directors of the Council of the New Netherlands. European manufacturers are producing the fakes, which are being used to pay Indians.

≈ Free Ramblings    

Sadly, the BP mud-into-the-hole plan was abandoned today. BP is flying by the seat of its collective pants. I find it so hard to believe that BP is so poorly prepared and that they are doing such a terrible spin operation. For two days they have been telling us that the plume coming from the well is mostly mud. The CEO of BP made a statement today about how they are now using aerial photographs—some from planes and some from US satellites—to find the tiny (his word) plumes of surface oil. Some of these plumes are 3 miles wide by 10 miles long and several hundred feet deep. Agreed these would be hard to find in the vast Gulf, but any spin guy would know not use the word ‘tiny’. The animals that run into these plumes would not see them as tiny. When these plumes hit the marsh land or the beaches, they will not be seen as tiny. On the LA coast, a team is building a barrier to keep the oil off the beach. It is basically a huge soft rubber pipe filled with water. They are used during hurricanes. They are building a seven mile barrier. It takes a team 24 hours for them to put in a one mile section of this pipe. I wonder if BP sees this as a tiny effort of protection.

It is certainly the Memorial Day weekend. All one has to do is attempt to drive down Rt 66. Starting yesterday afternoon and continuing today, the road is loaded with campers, huge RV’s, and the like. I stopped for gas at my local station. They have two islands with about 10 pumps. All pumps were busy and there was a line to get in. The gas was the same price as always, and the place across the street was just as busy. I guess that is a good sign of the times. People are traveling. I had to pick up some dessert for my BBQ tomorrow afternoon at Safeway. Big mistake…parking lot filled, all registers open and three baskets in each line. I remember those days when I worked in a grocery store. No matter how fast you check people out, more just keep coming. Good for business, hard on employees. As usual I was able to observe one of my pet peeves. Most customers unload their groceries onto the belt, then move down to the register and watch the machine make its little beeps. When the harried cashier tells the customer the final total, the customer reaches into her purse/his wallet and tried to decide if they are using cash/credit/debit or whatever. They then find the correct card and swipe it. Then the cashier leads them through the multitude of screens to pay. I’m retired and have lots of time, if needed. I just wish these people would be a little more prepared.

I really enjoy music, and music of most genres. While I am doing this blog, a visitor has arrived in the parking lot. A twenty something girl parks and gets out of her car in high heels. When she opens the door to the car there is a booming of rap music coming from inside the small vehicle. She chooses not to full close the door, knowing that the entire complex likes good music. She goes to her destination and about 5 minutes later comes back out to get something from the car. Again she doesn’t fully close the door and returns to her friends. Another 10 minutes and she returns and leaves. She then drives off, smiling, knowing that she has provided all of us all with a nice musical interlude while she conducted her business. The strange thing about our little encounter, when she closed the door to the vehicle, the music could not be heard. There was none of the infamous bass shaking the vehicle and sharing that bass with all within a 100 yard radius. How did she do dat?

We had some breeze today, and we made it to 75°. A nice day to spend outside. I took a lengthy walk and found a couple of houses that were having garage sales. Not anything I needed or wanted, but interesting none the less. Certainly nothing I was going to carry on my walk and nothing I would drive to get. A couple of TC people stopped by this afternoon. Good to see them. I have a few friends in TC who are really friends, and not just job acquaintances. We are able to talk about things that have little or nothing to do with our work days. That is always cool. Schools on the rez are out, weather has really warmed up. Could summer really be here? I’m still holding out for another snow storm. Each day of 70°+ weather is making that less and less probable.

≈ A Quick Smile…    

Since he runs a pawnshop, I decided to ask a friend of mine to appraise my grandfather's violin. "Old fiddles aren't worth much, I'm afraid," he explained.

"What makes it a fiddle and not a violin?" I asked.

"If you're buying it from me, it's a violin. If I'm buying it from you, it's a fiddle."

≈ Puzzle 1    

What do these 6 sets of words have in common?
1. Man true, hairy

2. Son nick, yard rich

3. Son will, row wood

4. Grant, us list you

5. More fill, lard mill

6. Ding hard, wren war

≈ Side Show Stories    

PITTSBURGH - A nun who serves as principal of a Pittsburgh school said she stopped a thief with a single sentence: "You need to give me what you have."

Sister Lynn Rettinger, principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School in the Shadyside neighborhood, said preschool teacher Donna Caligiuri called to her at about 2:05 p.m. Tuesday and said a man had taken a wallet out of a purse in an unlocked car, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday. Rettinger, who was wearing white slacks and a blue jacket with her Sisters of Charity pin, said she walked out the front door and spoke to the man from the top of the steps. "I said to him, 'You need to give me what you have.' That's what I say to children if I know they have something they shouldn't. I say, 'You need to give me what's in your pocket,'" Rettinger said. "He gave it to me, and then he apologized," she said. She said the man walked away calmly. "He didn't even run," she said.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I?

≈ Calendar Information    

• Observance Weeks in May•

25-31

Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories

26-30

International Whistler's Week

5/27–6/6

Largest annual festival of literature takes place: Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.

5/30-6/5

Black Single Parents Week

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

Hug Your Cat Day: And yes your cat knows it

Loomis Day: Pays tribute to the inventor of wireless telegraphy, Mahlom Loomis, a Washington DC dentist, who received his patent for wire-free telegraphing on May 30, 1872

My Bucket's Got A Hole In It Day: Not be to confused with the Dear Liza song. To Hear Hank Sr’s version Click HERE!

Lincoln City IN : Nancy Hanks Lincoln (Abe’s mother) Memorial Day

• Today’s Observances—by country •

Anguilla (Caribbean Islands): Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967.

Canary Islands: Canary Islands Day

Trinidad and Tobago: (East) Indian Arrival Day

Channel Is, England, N Ireland, Wales: Spring Holiday
Croatia: Parliament Day
Nicaragua: Mother's Day
Puerto Rico: Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (1972: 17 Puerto Rican’s killed by Japanese Terrorists (hired by PFLP) in Lod Airport, Tel Aviv

US: The REAL Memorial Day (Decoration Day) (1868)

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1947 ►Heartaches; Ted Weems

1957 ►Love Letters in the Sand; Pat Boone

1967 ►Respect; Aretha Franklin

1977 ►Sir Duke; Stevie Wonder

1987 ►With or Without You; U2

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1783 ►The Pennsylvania Evening Post, first published by Benjamin Towne in Philadelphia, PA this day, was the first daily paper in the U.S.

1933 ►Sally Rand made a name for herself as she introduced her exotic and erotic fan dance to audiences at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition.

In Athletics

1967 ►Robert "Evel" Knievel's motorcycle jumps 16 automobiles

In Business or Education

1848 ►William G Young patents ice cream freezer

1889 ►The brassiere is invented

In Politics

1842 ►John Francis attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria

1848 ►México ratifies treaty giving US; New Mexico, California & parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona & Colorado in return for $15 million

1896 ►1st car accident occurs, Henry Wells hit a bicyclist (NYC)

1908 ►1st federal workmen's compensation law approved

1922 ►Lincoln Memorial dedicated

1967 ►Biafra proclaims its independence from Nigeria

In Science/ Religion

1539 ►Spanish explorer Fernando de Soto discovers Florida

1959 ►World's 1st hovercraft (SR-N1) tested at Cowes England

1975 ►European Space Agency (ESA) forms

1980 ►1st papal visit to France since 1814

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Alfred Austin, poet laureate of England (Garden), born in 1835 Leeds England

Peter Carl Fabergé, goldsmith/jeweler/egg maker, born in 1846 Saint Petersburg, Russia

Trey Parker, 38, director, creator (“South Park”), born Auburn, AL

Athletes

Manny Ramirez (Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida), 38, baseball player(Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers) born Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Gale Eugene Sayers, 67, Hall of Fame football player( Bears), born Wichita, KS

Entertainers

Mel[vin Jerome] Blanc, voice (Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd & Porky Pig), born in 1908 San Francisco CA

Benny Goodman, clarinetist/bandleader (King of Swing), born in 1909 Chicago IL

Howard Hawks producer, director: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Monkey Business, Hatari, Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo, Sergeant York, A Song is Born, The Thing, born in 1896 Goshen, Indiana

Wynonna Judd, 46, singer, born Ashland, KY

Meredith MacRae actress, born in 1944 Houston, TX

Michael J. Pollard, 71, actor (Bonnie and Clyde, “Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills”), born Passaic, NJ

Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker, 83, actor (The Dirty Dozen, “Cheyenne”), born Hartford, IL

Business, Education Persons

Christine Jorgensen pioneer transsexual, born in 1926 Bronx, NY

Political Persons

Peter the Great (Piotr Alekseevich Romanov) Peter I: Russian Czar, born in 1672 Moscow, Russia

Scientists /Religious Persons

Dr Joseph W Kennedy scientist (1 of 4 discoverers of plutonium), born in 1916 Nacogdoches, TX

• Today’s Obits •

Joan of Arc burned as a witch by the English at Rouen, in 1431 @ 19

Christopher Marlowe British dramatist (Tamburlaine the Great), murdered in 1593 @ 29

Peter Paul Rubens Flemish painter, in 1640 gout @ 62

Alexander Pope English poet (Eloisa to Abelard), in 1744 @ 56

Claude Rains actor (Invisible Man), in 1967 @ 77

Audie Murphy WWII hero/actor (Sierra), in 1971 plane crash @ 46

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

All are Presidents
1. Harry Tru-man

2. Rich-ard Nix-on

3. Wood-row Wil-son

4. U-lyss-es Grant

5. Mil-lard Fill-more

6. War-ren Har-ding

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

A hole

≈ Something you might enjoy…  

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

Here’s Pat Boones #1 song from 1957: Click HERE!

And since I oops’ed and didn’t post any links yesterday—Here is Areatha’s Repect. Click HERE!

   ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈  

Sat 5-29

≈Week 21 of 2010: 149 days this year… 216 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center."

~Kurt Vonnegut, author

≈ Random June Bride Facts    

§ Early Roman brides carried a bunch of herbs, such as garlic and rosemary, under their veils to symbolize fidelity and fertility and to ward off evil. These herbs served as a precursor to the modern bridal bouquet.

§ In many cultures, the groom historically often kidnapped the bride, and the groom’s friends would help him, leading to the modern-day groomsmen. At the alter, the groom always stood on the bride’s right side so his right hand—or his sword hand—would be free to fight/defend a jealous rival.

§ A bride is traditionally carried over the threshold either to symbolize her reluctance to leave her father’s home or because evil spirits hovered over the threshold of a house—so she was lifted over the entrance to protect her from the spirits.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1912 ►15 young women fired by Curtis Publishing for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break

≈ Free Ramblings    

It was another very windy day, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend. I spent some time learning, rather than being blown away.

What I read, really almost blew me away. Everyone knows about AZ and the immigration problem and building THE FENCE. Today I discovered the fence is going to do more than stop the people. It turns out that there are three herds of Big Horn Sheep that live in the area. They migrate yearly, just like all other Big Horn Sheep. Problem: they cross the border without papers. The fence will stop them from migrating and that is expected to lead to inbreeding that will eventually destroy all three herds. A few years back, there was a problem when I-17, the interstate from Flagstaff to Phoenix happened to go though areas where elk lived. After many many accidents where vehicles lost along with the elk, the wise government built a series of under the highway crossing areas. It has greatly reduced the damage to the elk population. The other threatened migraters are the pygmy owl. They don’t have papers either. These little owls do fly, but only about 10-15 feet above the ground, and only for short distances of a few hundred yards. They can’t fly over the fence, and soon won’t be able to get to their nesting areas. Both these animals are part of the ecosystem, and their demise will lead to many more problems. I am not happy that criminals are coming across our border. Someone must be able to find a way to keep the criminals out and let the animals migrate. Some may say that stopping the criminals is more important than destroying migration patterns. If the animals can’t adapt, that is their problem. In many ways, our government has learned little over the last 200+ years.

To further that thought, this is day 39 of the Gulf Oil Spill. I also listened to BP, The Prez, the local politicians, the local people on various news channels today. It appears to me that the oil companies really never considered a disaster. The oil guys are trying to be really good ‘spinners’ on what is happening. They simply don’t have a silver bullet, or a wooden cross, or contact with Superman. They don’t now, or ever had a real disaster plan. As a Federal employee and a school administrator I am quite familiar with disaster plans. I am very aware that there has to be a strong infrastructure if any plan is expected to work. We had plans for fires, takeovers, snipers, bombings, lock downs, disease and infection outbreaks, bomb scares, loss of electricity, loss of water, loss of communication and every other possible problem. Many times these plans were very elaborate and all were written down. During my acting days, part of my responsibility was to inform the new principal of all these plans. More than once I felt a little stupid having to go through the location and reason for the plans. However, each time I did, I felt that it was important to show the newbie that our most important mission was to protect the students and staff. The school plans were far from perfect, but they did provide for the safety of the students and the staff. I just don’t get why the private sector doesn’t have the same mission.

It was warm today, making it to 75°. We were also under a high wind advisory since late last night. The 50mph winds made it miserable outside. It also prevented me from opening windows most of the day. I could have opened them, but I would have had a nice wind tunnel effect through the whole residence. The wind is scheduled to stop after sunset. Yeah, I’ve heard that before and it is usually wrong.

≈ A Quick Smile…

Q: Where can men over the age of 60 find younger, sexy women who are interested in them? A: Try a bookstore under fiction.

Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly wrinkles? A: Take off your glasses.

≈ Puzzle 1    

Two men went deep into the Dutch Forest: one, a small, meek man; the other, a monster.

They walked for days, until, out of food, they got desperate. The monster murdered the meek man, and ate him for dinner!

He left no remains, whatsoever, and was seen by no one. On his return to civilisation he told no one.

Who was the murdering, canniballistic monster?

≈ Side Show Stories    

Livingston, La. (AP) --Two women have been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle crystal methamphetamine inside a Bible to a Walker man jailed in the Livingston Parish Detention Center. Sheriff's deputies told The Advocate that a 28-year-old woman allegedly delivered a Bible containing methamphetamine to the detention center on May 12. They said a 35-year-old woman allegedly gave the drug-containing Bible to the jailed man.

The intended recipient, a 30-year-old man, has been in jail since October on a variety of drug-related arrests.

The jailed man was booked with entering contraband into a penal institution, and the 35-year-old woman was booked with being a principal to entering contraband into a penal institution.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

I am mother and father, but never birth or nurse. I'm rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?

≈ Calendar Information    

• Observance Weeks in May•

22-29

Cover the Uninsured Week

National Safe Boating Week

25-31

Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories

26-30

International Whistler's Week

May 27–June 6

Largest annual festival of literature takes place: Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day (ARMAD)

International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

International Jazz Day

Julia Pierpont Day: founder in 1866 of “Decoration Day”, now “Memorial Day”

Rhode Island : Ratification Day (1790-last of original 13 to do so)

Wisconsin : Admission Day (1848)

• Today’s Observances—by country •

England: Oak Apple Day/Nettle Day (1660)

Nepal: Republic Day (since 2008)

Nigeria: Democracy Day (since 1999 with election of 1st election of civilian Head of State)

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1936 ►The Glory of Love; Benny Goodman

1946 ►The Gypsy; The Ink Spots

1956 ►Heartbreak Hotel; Elvis Presley

1966 ►When a Man Loves a Woman; Percy Sledge

1976 ►Love Hangover; Diana Ross

1986 ►Greatest Love of All; Whitney Housto

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1942 ►Bing Crosby records "White Christmas"

In Athletics

1922 ►US Supreme Court rules organized baseball is a sport and not a business and thus not subject to antitrust laws

1980 ►Larry Bird beats out Magic Johnson for NBA rookie of year

In Business or Education

1968 ►The ( TILA ) Truth In Lending Act passes into law with regulations designed to protect consumers in credit transactions requiring clear disclosure of key terms of the lending arrangement and all costs. It is part of the "Consumer Credit Protection Act".

1989 ►Student protesters in Tiananmen Square China construct a replica of the Statue of Liberty

In Politics

1453 ►Constantinople falls to Muhammad II (Turks); ends Byzantine Empire

1630 ►Governor John Winthrop begins "History of New England"

1677 ►Pamunkey, Roanoke, Nottaway and Nansemond Tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy sign a treaty with the English in Virginia.

1765 ►Patrick Henry historic speech against the Stamp Act, answering a cry of "Treason!" with, "If this be treason, make the most of it!"

1876 ►The Interior Department is told to cooperate with the War Department so the military can round up the "hostiles" whenever they may appear on a reservation or an agency.

1916 ►Official flag of President of US adopted

1974 ►Northern Ireland is brought under direct rule from Westminster

In Science/ Religion

1953 ►Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal become the first explorers to reach the top of Mount Everest.

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Közi, 38. Japanese visual kei artist born in Niigata, Japan

Athletes

Francis Thomas (Fay) Vincent, Jr, 72, former commissioner of baseball, born Waterbury, CT

Alfred (Al) Unser, Sr, 71, former auto racer, born Albuquerque, NM

Entertainers

Annette Bening, 52, actress (Being Julia, American Beauty, The Grifters), born Topeka, KS

Paul Ehrlich, 78, population biologist, 1968 book The Population Bomb, born Philadelphia, PA

Melissa Etheridge, 49, singer, guitarist, born Leavenworth, KS

Bob Hope [Leslie Townes], entertainer/comedian, born in 1903 Kent England

Adrian Paul, 51, actor (“Highlander” series), born London, England

Business, Education Persons

Sut Jhally,55, Kenyan-born American educator of media at UMass

Political Persons

Patrick Henry US, patriot "Give me liberty or give me death", born in 1736 Studley, Hanover County, Virginia

John Hinckley Jr, 55, shot & wounded President Reagan in 1981, born in Ardmore, Oklahoma

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Senator, 35th President, born in 1917 Brookline MA

Scientists /Religious Persons

George L Funke botanist (Flower Physiology), born in 1896

• Today’s Obits •

Fanny Brice Ziegfeld Girl (Baby Snooks Show), in 1951 cerebral hemorrhage @ 59

Robert Edward Bob Crane actor (Donna Reed Show, Hogan-Hogan's Heroes), in 1978 murdered in Phx, AZ @ 49

William Schwenck Gilbert England, writer (Gilbert & Sullivan), in 1911 @ 74

Joséphine empress of France, 1st wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1814, pneumonia @ 51

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

Me! I told no one, therefore no one else could know about the incident. Only the murderer could tell the story!

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

A tree

≈ Something you might enjoy…  

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

   ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈  

Fri 5-28

≈Week 21 of 2010: 148 days this year… 217 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

Four little words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals over the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more.

~A. Lou Vickery

≈ Random Sports Facts    

§ Los Angeles Clippers - Determined by a contest in 1984, this team name is said to pay tribute to the great sailing ships that passed through San Diego Bay.

§ Utah Jazz — An ideal name for this NBA franchise when it was set in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz music, in 1974. Five years later the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City and the name went with them.

§ Los Angeles Lakers — Originally based in Minneapolis, Minn., the name was based on the state motto "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." Despite the lack of lakes in Los Angeles, the team kept the name when it relocated in 1960.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1990 ►Longest wheelie (David Robilliard with 5 hours 12 minutes 33 seconds (Channel Islands)

≈ Free Ramblings    

The Flagstaff schools are still in session. They are usually out by now, but there were so many snow days, they have to keep on truckin’. Kids are outside until dark now. They have all the energy of summer, but still have to sit in class. I’m sure the teachers and staff are as ready for summer as the kids.

It was a good day here. We made it to 75° and the breeze of about 10mph was nice. I was able to be on the deck and enjoy the spring weather. I think it is safe to start putting some plants in my planters. I’m sure it will get done during this upcoming long weekend. Not that a long weekend means that much to me, but it still ‘feels’ like a long weekend.

≈ A Quick Smile…    

My daughter Marina worked in my law office while she attended graduate school. One morning a call came in for her. I said she wasn't in yet and offered to take a message. The caller said she'd phone back later.

At 11:00 a.m., the caller tried again, and I reported that Marina had gone to lunch.

The last call came in at 3:30 p.m. "I'm sorry," I said, "she's left for the day. May I take a message?"

"Yes," the caller replied. "How can I get a job with you?"

≈ Puzzle 1    

Take the given words, and by moving a single letter from one word to the other, make a pair of synonyms, or near synonyms. For example, given: Boast - Hip, move the 's' from 'Boast' to 'Hip' creating two synonyms: Boat - Ship.

1. Burn – Bead

                    … HINT: Food

2. Rid – Tripe

                    …HINT: Journey

3. Grove – Rout

                    …HINT: Indentation

4. Charm – Rush

                    …HINT: Damage

5. Cream – Sweep

                    …HINT: Outcry

≈ Side Show Stories    

ALBUQUERQUE - An Albuquerque man said police sent a bomb squad to his house after he discovered an item given to him by a friend years ago was likely an 1800s cannonball.

Kenny Honeycutt said he was describing the object to a friend Friday and was told it sounded like a cannonball from the Civil War era, leading him to call police to ask whether it might be dangerous, KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, reported. "My grandkids come over here and play all the time. I thought, if this thing is dangerous I want to get it out of there," Honeycutt said. "I had used it for a doorstop for a while. I thought I would set it up on the entertainment center." Police said the item was determined to be an explosive device from the 1800s, but there was no gunpowder inside the object so it was not considered dangerous. Honeycutt said he does not know what he will do with the cannonball. "It might be valuable to somebody. Maybe I should put it on the Internet," said Honeycutt.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I?

≈ Calendar Information    

• Observance Weeks in May•

22-29

Cover the Uninsured Week

National Safe Boating Week

25-31

Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories

26-30

International Whistler's Week

May 27–June 6

Largest annual festival of literature takes place: Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

National Hamburger Day

Sierra Club Day

Slugs Return From Capistrano Day

• Today’s Observances—by country •

Azerbaijan and Armenia: Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918.

Ethiopia: Downfall of the Derg Day, a National Day.

Nepal: Republic Day

Philippines: Flag Day

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1945 ►Sentimental Journey; Les Brown

1955 ►Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White; Perez Prado

1965 ►Help Me Rhonda; The Beach Boys

1975 ►Before the Next Teardrop Falls; Freddy Fender

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1953 ►Premier of 1st animated 3-D cartoon in Technicolor-"Melody"

1974 ►Emmy 1st Daytime Award presentation

In Athletics

--

In Business or Education

1742 ►1st indoor swimming pool opens (Goodman's Fields, London)

1961 ►Amnesty International is founded (Nobel Peace Prize 1977)

In Politics

1774 ►1st Continental Congress convenes (Virginia)

1851 ►Sojourner Truth attends Women's Rights Convention

1926 ►US Customs Court created by congress

1968 ►Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democratic primary in Oregon

1972 ►White House "plumbers" break into Democratic National HQ at Watergate

In Science/ Religion

1664 ►1st Baptist Church is organized (Boston)

1892 ►Sierra Club forms by John Muir in San Fransisco, for conservation of nature

1982 ►Pope John Paul II is 1st pope to visit Great Britain

1959 ►Able and Baker were two monkeys who survived a trip into space from a launch at Cape Canaveral, FL.

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Ian Fleming author: creator of Bond ... James Bond, born in 1908 London

Thomas Moore poet, lyricist: The Last Rose of Summer, born in 1779 Dublin, Ireland

Athletes

Kirk Harold Gibson, 53, former baseball player (Tigers, Royals, Dodgers), born Pontiac, MI

Jerry West Basketball Hall of Famer: Olympic gold medalist [1960]; Lakers, born in1938 Cheylan, WVa

Entertainers

Carroll Baker, 79, actress (Baby Doll, Harlow), born Johnstown, PA

Gladys Knight, 66, singer, born Atlanta, GA

John McGeoch, Scottish guitarist (Siouxsie and the Banshees) born in 1955, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland

T-Bone Walker Linden TX, blues guitarist, born in 1910 Linden, Texas

Business, Education Persons

Dionne Quintuplets (Annette (76) Cécile (76), Émilie, Marie, Yvonne), born in 1934 Ontario Canada

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 33, American television panelist (The View), born in Cranston, Rhode Island

Political Persons

Rudolph Giuliani, 66, former mayor of New York City, born Brooklyn, NY

Mark Sanford, 50, Governor of South Carolina (R), born Fort Lauderdale, FL,

Scientists /Religious Persons

Zahi Hawass, 63, Egyptian Egyptologist, born in Damietta, Egypt

Stanley B. Prusiner, 68 American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology born in Des Moines, Iowa

• Today’s Obits •

Anne Bronté novelist in 1849, influenza @ 29

Sidney Greenbaum grammarian, in 1996 heart failure @ 66

Phil[ip Edward] Hartman actor/comedian (NewsRadio, Saturday Night Live), in 1998 shot to death while asleep in his bed by his wife @ 49

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

1. Bun - Bread

2. Ride - Trip

3. Groove - Rut

4. Harm - Crush

5. Scream - Weep

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

A shadow

≈ Something you might enjoy…

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

John Muir, founder of Sierra Club, would be amazed at what it is doing today.

Sierra Club video

   ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈  

Thurs 5-27

≈Week 21 of 2010: 147 days this year… 218 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.

--B.F. Skinner

≈ Random Fact    

Nancy Drew was created by a man, Edward Stratemeyer, who died only two weeks after the series debut in 1930. Carolyn Keene is a pen name for various ghostwriters who have written the books over the years. The first Carolyn Keene was Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1679 ►Habeaus Corpus Act (no false arrest & imprisonment) passes in UK

≈ Free Ramblings    

I am just about ready to say good bye to the place I have get my glasses. Some will remember they messed up my prescription about 6 months ago. At that time I was really upset with the young girl who just kept adjusting them, when I kept telling her there was something wrong. Finally I went to the ophthalmologist and found the lenses were wrong. Yesterday I went in to get a quick adjustment. My glasses were loose. I waited as another young girl finished up with an elderly lady who was buying three pairs of glasses. I sat down and showed the lady what was wrong. She bent the bows, bent the nose pieces and they appeared to be much tighter. This morning, about 10am, I realized that they were pinching my nose and checked and had two big dents in my nose that were getting bright red. I went back and got another young girl. She said the problem was nose pieces that were too small and the fact that wire frames are ‘almost impossible’ to adjust correctly. That is crap, since I have worn wire frames for at least 15 years and never had that problem. The bigger nose pieces had the glasses feel like they were sticking way out on my nose. She said I’d get used to it. I told her that I had prisms in the lenses and I was concerned that they were off a little. She took the glasses back to the guy who makes the glasses. He marked the prism and brought them out. I put them on and he said, “Do they feel like they are sticking out from your face?” When I told him yes, he moved the nose pieces a little and now I have glasses that fit again. I am not happy with having to go back, I am not happy with the incompetence. Mostly, this is the first business that I have dealt with that really makes me feel ‘old’. All the young ladies I have worked with seem to treat me like I am old man who really doesn’t know what he wants, doesn’t really know what is going on, and certainly they don’t want to waste time with me. I’m now keeping my eyes open for a new place to buy my glasses.

I saw a great news piece tonight that hardly makes me feel good, but certainly opened my eyes. It turns out that back in 1979 there was another oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling was being done by the same company that is responsible for this one. This was a oil well drilled by Mexico. The spill began when the blow out failed and the rig caught fire. That spill sent out about ten thousand gallons a day. The company tried to put a cap on the well. That didn’t work. They put out a series of buoys to contain the oil. They sent planes to drop dispersant on the oil. They did all the same procedures that are being done today. It took three months to drill the relief well, just like today. The difference is that the 1979 spill was in 200 feet of water and less oil was being released into the open Gulf. The oil companies claim to have made huge technological advances since 1979 and are now drilling at over 5000 feet of water. The scary part is that their R&D people have not made any technological advances on what to do when everything doesn’t work according to plan. BP is following almost the exact same emergency measures, using the exact same type of technology some 31 years later. Turns out that, at the same time of the 1979 rig fire, the Alaskan Pipeline had to be shut down because of a leak. Today there was an oil leak on the Alaskan Pipe line that cut production down to 20%. Too bad our government never seems to learn from history. For more information, just Google ’1979 gulf oil spill’. Oh, Permex has morphed into Transocean between 1979 and 2010.

Flagstaff had a great weather day. We made it to 70°, there was only a light breeze. The sky remained fairly clear. Spring is here and I am luvin’ it.

≈ A Quick Smile…    

The district attorney was cross-examining the murderess on the witness stand.

"And so after you had poisoned the coffee and your husband sat at the breakfast table partaking of the fatal dosage, didn't you feel any qualms? Didn't you feel the slightest pity for him knowing that he was about to die and was wholly unconscious of it?"

"Yes," she answered. "Come to think of it...there was just a moment when I sort of felt sorry for him."

"And, when was that?"

"When he asked for the second cup."

≈ Puzzle 1    

A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

≈ Side Show Stories    

BEMIDJI, Minn. - A Minnesota couple said their son was born while his mother was behind the wheel of her car en route to the hospital. Amanda McBride, 29, said she left work at about 11:30 p.m. May 18 when she began feeling labor pains and picked up the child's father, Joseph Phillips, 33, on her way to North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, the Bemidji Pioneer reported. McBride said she had to drive the car because Phillips suffers seizures, but the couple said Phillips had to grab the wheel when McBride's water broke mid-drive.

"She yelled at me to grab the wheel," Phillips said. "And then, all of a sudden, I heard this little waaa (cry)." The mother, who has two older sons, said the birth was quick. "The baby just came right out," she said. "I was just sitting on the seat and he just slid out. It really wasn't bad at all."

The family made it to the hospital with McBride and baby still in the driver's seat and Phillips steering from the passenger side. The baby, Joseph Dominick Phillips, was found to be healthy and weighed 8 pounds, doctors said.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it?

≈ Calendar Information    

• Observance Weeks in May•

22-29

Cover the Uninsured Week

National Safe Boating Week

25-31

Week of Solidarity With The People of Non-Self-Governing Territories

26-30

International Whistler's Week

May 27–June 6
Largest annual festival of literature takes place: Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

Body Painting Arts Festival

Cellophane Tape Day

• Today’s Observances—by country •

Afghánistán: Independence Day (1921 from UK)

Bolivia: Mother's Day or Día de la Madre

Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin: Slavery Abolition Day since 1848

Nicaragua: Army Day

Nigeria: Children's Day

Turkey: Freedom & Constitution Day (1960, 1961)

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1924 ►It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'; Wendell Hall

1934 ►Cocktails for Two; Duke Ellington

1944 ►I Love You; Bing Crosby

1954 ►Wanted; Perry Como

1964 ►Love Me Do; The Beatles

1974 ►The Streak; Ray Stevens

1984 ►Let's Hear It for the Boy; Deniece Williams

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1933 ►Walt Disney's "3 Little Pigs" released

1995 ►Actor Christopher Reeve was thrown head first while riding his horse.

In Athletics

---

In Business or Education

1844 ►Samuel F.B. Morse completes 1st telegraph line

1895 ►British inventor Birt Acres patents film camera/projector

1936 ►The Cunard liner RMS Queen Mary leaves Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York

1937 ►Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco, dedicated 1943 ►The Ballpoint pen , is patented in America by Hungarian Laszlo Biro

In Politics

1607 ►Virginia has it's first significant battle between Indians and European settlers.
1703 ►St Petersburg (Leningrad) founded by Peter the Great

1941 ►The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the Atlantic by the Royal Naval ships Dorsetshire and others

 (Click here for pics of sinking w/ Johnny Horton singing)

1985 ►Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997

In Science/ Religion

1850 ►Mormon Temple in Nauvoo IL destroyed by tornado

1930 ►Richard Drew invents masking tape

1961 ►1st black light is sold

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Rachel Louise Carson biologist/ecologist/writer (Silent Spring) , born 1907 Springdale, PA

Isadora Duncan, dancer: revolutionized the concept of dance, born 1878 San Francisco, CA

Herman Wouk, 95, writer (Marjorie Morningstar, The Winds of War), born New York, NY

Athletes

Sam Snead Hot Springs VA, PGA golfer (Masters 1949, 52, 54/PGA-1963, 65, 67, 70, 72, 73) , born 1912 Ashwood, VA

Entertainers

Todd Bridges, 45, actor (“Diff’rent Strokes”), born San Francisco, CA

Louis Gossett, Jr, 74, actor (Emmy for “Roots”; Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman), born Brooklyn, NY

Christopher Lee, 88, actor (The Lord of the Rings films, Dracula, The Mummy), born London, England

Lee Ann Meriwether, 75, actress (“Barnaby Jones,” “Batman”), former Miss America (’55), born Los Angeles, CA

Vincent Price, horror actor, born 1911 St Louis MO

Business, Education Persons

Cornelius Vanderbilt millionaire (B & O railroad), born 1794 Staten Island, New York

Political Persons

Amelia Jenks Bloomer, women’s rights advocate; newspaper publisher: The Lily; social reformer; temperance advocate; led cause for more sensible dress for women: bloomer panties named after her, born 1818 Cortland County, New York

Christopher J. Dodd, 66, US Senator (D, Connecticut), born Willimantic, CT

"Wild Bill" Hickok [James Butler] cowboy/scout, born 1837 Homer, Illinois

Hubert Humphrey, Senator-MN; 38th Vice President, born 1911 Wallace, South Dakota

Henry Kissinger, 87, former Secretary of State, author, born Fuerth, Germany

Scientists /Religious Persons

Karl Bühler, German linguist and psychologist, born 1879 – Meckesheim Germany

• Today’s Obits •

Jean Caulvin [John Calvin] French priest/church reformer, fever @ 54 in 1564

Archibald Campbell Chief of Clan Campbell, beheaded for high treason @ 53 in 1661

Jawaharlal Nehru the founder of modern India and prime minister, @ 74 in 1964

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

He waits until night time and then goes through the first door.

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

Suicide or Coup d'etat

≈ Something you might enjoy…  

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

Here is a plane view of Golden Gate Bridge that opened today in 1937. Click HERE!

   ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈  

Wed 5-26

≈Week 21 of 2010: 146 days this year… 219 days remain≈

≈ Something To Think About  

"Time is the most precious element of human existence. The successful person knows how to put energy into time and how to draw success from time."

~Denis Waitley

≈ Random Facts on recycling    

~Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.

~Since 1978, the weight of a soda bottle has been reduced by 29 percent.

~Around 45% of the paper Americans use each year is recovered for recycling.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1948 ►The National Party of the Dutch Afrikaners headed by Daniel François Malan who had been campaigning on the policy of implementing full scale apartheid came to power and begin the policy of apartheid.

≈ Free Ramblings

We had a great weather day today. Very little wind for a change. I’m going to have to wash my windows pretty soon. The second story windows are the problem. I’ll get to them sometime this week.

I am starting to have a very hard time watching the oil spill. Disaster was used the second week, catastrophe was used the second week. The media has rapidly run out of adjectives to describe this mess. This is week four and the pictures and stories just get worse. BP has let America down. The Federal regulatory Agencies have let the country down. Today, there was a memorial service for those who died on the rig. Relatives talked about how they knew it was dangerous, but it paid really well. That is the same story I heard from relatives of the recent mining disaster. [Reality Check: while the families say their relatives were paid well on the oil drilling rig, it turns out the average salary for a manager of the rig is about $75K, and the workers make about $60K. While the families of the miners say their relatives were well paid, the average salary for a mine worker in West VA is about $68K.] Then I saw the newsman who put on a hazardous waste suit and dove into Gulf. His pictures, from the surface to about 20 feet, were frightening to say the least. He didn’t go any deeper because it was too dangerous—water pressure, not oil. In my little world, in the high desert of AZ, it seems to me that all deep well drilling in the oceans should be halted, until each company can prove that they can handle the worst case scenario. I find it hard to believe that BP is the only deep well driller who doesn’t have worst case scenario plans. What do I know? I live in a desert.

When I was teaching in Tuba, in the late 70’s some of my former students would stop by to say high. I remember one kid who had graduated from high school and got a job at the Kayenta mine—a surface mining operation. He had done well in school but didn’t want to go to college. He like an outside job and didn’t like paperwork. We talked about salary, and at that time he was making more than I did, almost twice as much. He was happy, I was happy. We all have different priorities. Another student visited another time; he was a high up in the air welder. He too was making almost double my salary. He was happy doing what he did. Talk about long term goals with either student was difficult. Asking if they planned to be mining or welding at 50 or 60 was impossible for them to envision. Looking back, it was hard for me to imagine what I would be doing at 50 or 60 too.

We do need to make many work environments safer. I don’t believe that anyone should have a career where the records show that they are really putting their life on the line every day because the company they work for is more interested in profit than safety. Miners and oil drillers are just two careers that could be made much safer, if the owners didn’t need an outrageous profit each year.

What a great weather day. I was able to clean up my deck after way too many days of high winds. I was able to take a nice walk this afternoon. My deck got up to 67° and it was nice. Several neighbors have moved out during this month. The unit next to mine has a new tenant. I haven’t met her yet, but her dad saw me outside and asked me few questions about the unit. She is a 20-something girl. Today she and her boyfriend were outside as I was dumping my trash. The young girl looks like a young professional who might have just graduated from college. The boyfriend is full out Goth. He’s got the tats, the black fingernails, the body jewelry, and the light skin with dyed black hair. I’m sure I’ll get to know them, but I’m sure I looked as strange to them as they looked to me. We spoke about the nice weather, but that was it.

≈ A Quick Smile…    

I was sound asleep when the telephone jarred me awake.

"Hi!" It was my peppy mother-in-law. She proceeded to rattle on about the busy day she had ahead and all the things that awaited her the rest of the week.

"Mom," I interrupted. "It's five in the morning."

"Really? What are you doing up so early?"

≈ Puzzle 1    

When you behead a word, you remove the first letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first.

Example: Begin -> Sour, acidic Answer: The words are Start and Tart.

1. Female parent -> Not one already mentioned; alternate

…Hint—the shorter word starts with O

2. Several; large indefinite number -> One; some indefinite number

…Hint—the shorter word starts with A

3. A story's lesson -> Relating to the mouth; using speech

…Hint—the shorter word starts with O

4. Face disguise -> To request

…Hint—the shorter word starts with A

5. Trough for animal food -> Wrath; strong displeasure

…Hint—the shorter word starts with A

6. Sparse, poor quality -> Showing keen interest

…Hint—the shorter word starts with E

7. Symbolic team figure -> Necktie or scarf with broad ends

…Hint—the shorter word starts with A

8. Anything that belongs to a group -> Glowing wood fragment

…Hint—the shorter word starts with E

≈ Side Show Stories    

New City, N.Y. (AP) --It wasn't quite man-bites-dog, but there were men and there were dogs and there was biting. A sheriff's office said Monday that one man bit another during a fight over a couple of dogs at a park in suburban New York City. Rockland County sheriff's Capt. William Barbera said two dog owners got into it Sunday night. One didn't like the way their pets were playing at a dog park in New City, about 30 miles north of New York.

Barbera said that a third man tried to break up the fight and that one of the combatants bit him on the wrist. He said that no one has been arrested but that the case is still being investigated.

≈ Puzzle 2: Brain Food  

No sooner spoken than broken. What is it?

≈ Calendar Information    

• Observance Weeks in May•

22-29

Cover the Uninsured Week

National Safe Boating Week

25-31

Week of Solidarity with the People of Non-Self-Governing Territories

26-30

International Whistler's Week

• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •

National Senior Health & Fitness Day

• Today’s Observances—by country •

Guyana: Independence Day

Denmark: Crown Prince's Birthday (since 1966)

Georgia: Independence Day, commemorate the day of the First Republic in 1918.

Poland: Mother's Day

• Today’s Number One Songs in…

For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

1943 ►That Old Black Magic; Glenn Miller

1953 ►The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart); Percy Faith

1963 ►It's My Party; Lesley Gore

1973 ►Frankenstein; The Edgar Winter Group

1983 ►Flashdance ... What a Feeling; Irene Cara

• Today’s Happenings•

In The Arts

1897 ►The vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, goes on sale in London bookshops

1913 ►Actors’ Equity Association was organized in New York City.

1969 ►John & Yoko begin their 2nd bed-in (Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montréal)

In Athletics

1977 ►George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City's World Trade Center.

In Business or Education

1957 ►The religious program "The Fourth R" aired for the last time over NBC television. Produced by several different religious organizations, this short-lived series aired on Sunday mornings.

In Politics

1540 ►The "Lady of Cofitachequi" has been taken with the de Soto expedition, against her will. With a large quantity of the pearls that de Soto's men took from her village, she escapes.

1830 ►The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.
1868 ►President Andrew Johnson avoids impeachment by 1 vote

1922 ►Lenin suffers a stroke

1938 ►House Committee on Un-American Activities begins work

1943 ►1st president of a black country to visit US (Edwin Barclay, Liberia)

In Science/ Religion

1805 ►Lewis & Clark 1st see Rocky Mountains

1975 ►Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today outlined a trillion dollar program to save oil consuming nations from being held hostage by the world’s oil producing nations including the increased use of Nuclear Power and funding to find alternative forms of energy. This is in response to the oil producing nations saying a sixth increase in oil prices can be expected later this year

• Today’s Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Miles Davis, jazz trumpeter/pioneered cool jazz , born in 1926 Alton IL

Lenny Kravitz, 46, singer, musician, songwriter, born New York, NY

Athletes

Zola Budd, 44, track star, born in Bloemfontein South Africa

Brent Musburger, 71, sportscaster, born Portland, OR

Entertainers

James Arness, 87, actor (“Gunsmoke,” “How the West Was Won”), born James Aurness at Minneapolis, MN

Al Jolson [Asa Yoelson] jazz singer/silent film actor, born in 1886 Seredžius,Lithuania

Peggy Lee (Norma Delores Egstrom) singer: Fever, born in 1920 Jamestown, North Dakota

Stevie[Stephanie Lynn] Nicks, 62, singer (Fleetwood Mac), songwriter, born Phoenix, AZ

Jay Silverheels (Harold J. Smith) actor (Tonto-Lone Ranger) , born in 1912 Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Philip Michael Thomas, 61, actor (“Miami Vice,” Hair), born Los Angeles, CA

John "Duke" Wayne [Marion Michael Morrison], actor, born in 1907 Winterset IA

Hank Williams, Jr, 61, singer, born Shreveport, LA

Business, Education Persons

--

Political Persons

Mary queen of Great Britain/North Ireland [Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes], born in 1867 Kensington Palace, London

Scientists /Religious Persons

Sally K. Ride, 59, astronaut, first American woman in space, born Los Angeles, CA

• Today’s Obits •

Édouard Michelin, managing partner and co-chief executive of the Michelin Group, drowning @ 43 in 2006

≈ ANSWERS to Puzzle 1    

1. Mother -> Other

2. Many -> Any

3. Moral -> Oral

4. Mask -> Ask

5. Manger -> Anger

6. Meager -> Eager

7. Mascot -> Ascot

8. Member -> Ember

≈ ANSWERS to Brain Food  

Silence or a secret

≈ Something you might enjoy…  

In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…

There are Mac people and there are PC people. Here is a parody of Microsoft. Enjoy.

Click here for parody

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