Tuesday

2 February 2010--Week 5 of 2010: 33 days this year…332 remain

» Quote Times Two « 

"Share your happiness with others today." ~unknown

“Love never says: I have done enough!” ~Saint Marie-Eugenie de Jesus; Catholic Sister

» Free Ramblings «

It’s Groundhog day. Some might know the groundhog as a woodchuck. What are the origins of this celebration? Germans say it has to do with ‘Candlemas’ (when baby Jesus was taken to Temple), and that the groundhog awakens and comes out of his winter home to predict spring’s arrival. In Scotland it is said to come from this poem:

As the light grows longer/The cold grows stronger/If Candlemas be fair and bright/Winter will have another flight/If Candlemas be cloud and snow/Winter will be gone and not come again/A farmer should on Candlemas day/Have half his corn and half his hay/On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop/You can be sure of a good pea crop

Another origin comes from the problems when part of the world was using the Julian calendar and part was using the Gregorian calendar which treated the first day of spring differently. Groundhog Day is about six weeks before the vernal equinox. Hibernation seems to be the key to knowing when Spring will arrive. Some European legends talk of the groundhog, others the badger, and some even have the bear announcing the arrival of spring. The most renowned groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. However, other groundhogs of note include General Beauregard Lee, Staten Island Chuck, Jimmy and Wiarton Willie. Phil is in the news today, because PETA has sent a letter to the City Council asking them to use a robot, instead of Phil. Groundhog Day has become a media event, and hopefully tourist dollars, for many areas that have actual groundhogs living nearby. While many groups claim an accuracy of this ground squirrel rodent, actual statistics show about 39% accuracy. So this morning, the people of the world, tired of winter will turn their cameras on a groundhog to give them relief. Neither the groundhog nor any of its species relatives live in Arizona, and that is where I want to know when spring will arrive. So I guess I will just have to wait and see. If it snows after the equinox, it will be called a spring snowstorm and then I will know that no matter what happened on Feb. 2, we had six more weeks of winter.

Our retirement group got together today to share our massive snowstorm stories. We all had stories that topped each other. The winner was probably Mary’s story about putting on her snow shoes, going into her back yard to clear the snow off the roof of her shed. While standing on top of the snow, thanks to the snow shoes, she didn’t have to reach very high to clear off the shed’s roof, until she turned to get a better angle. One, and only one of her snow shoes did not remain flat during the turn, and the show shoe and her foot went down to the ground through about 3½ feet of snow. The snow shoe stayed on. Turns out it isn’t that easy to pull a big, wide, flat snow shoe back up to the top of the snow.

»* Winter Olympics* «

The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.

Did you know…

The Olympic motto is Citius—Altius—Fortius, which is Latin for "faster, higher, stronger." The intended meaning is that one's focus should be on bettering one's achievements, rather than on coming in first. The motto was proposed by the father of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who got it from a speech given by a friend of his, Henri Didon, a Dominican priest and principal of an academy that used sports as part of its educational program.

»Side Show Stories—«

TARANTO, Italy - Police in an Italian city said a 4-year-old boy who considered himself too old for his pacifiers called authorities to surrender the baby toys. Taranto police said the boy called the emergency line a few days before his birthday and explained that he thought the police should have his old pacifiers, ANSA reported. "I'm old enough now so you can have my dummies," the boy told the operator. Police said two officers visited the boy's birthday party and traded him a souvenir hat in exchange for his four old pacifiers.

»Random Fact«

Only two in one thousand diamonds are considered truly colorless.

» Puzzle «

A list of words is given. To solve the puzzle, think of a single word that goes with each to form a compound word or word pair that functions as a compound word. For example, if the given words are volley, field, and bearing, the the answer would be ball, because the word ball can be added to each of the other words to form volleyball, ball field, and ball bearing. Answers are at the end of blog.

1. gum, kick, tear

2. house, star, street

3. cart, fifth, chair

» Calendar Information «

☼ February’s Month Long Observances ☼

Birthstone: Amethyst …Flower: Violet and Primrose

Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month^AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month^American Heart Month^Bake for Family Fun Month^Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month^Grapefruit Month^International Boost Self-Esteem Month^International Expect Success Month^Jobs in Golf Month^Library Lovers Month^Marijuana Awareness Month^National African American History Month^National Bird Feeding Month^National Black History Month^National Care About Your Indoor Air Month^National Cherry Month^National Condom Month^National Children's Dental Health Month^National Laugh-Friendly Month^National Mend A Broken Heart Month^National Parent Leadership Month^National Pet Dental Health Month^National Senior Independence Month^National Time Management Month^Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month^Pull Your Sofa Off The Wall Month^Relationship Wellness Month^Responsible Pet Owner's Month^Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month^Spiritual Teachers Month^Spunky Old Broads Month^ Sweet Potato Month^Wise Health Care Consumer Month^ Youth Leadership Month^

☼ Observance Weeks in February ☼

Children's Authors & Illustrators Week: 1-7

National Patient Recognition Week: 1-7

National School Counseling Week: 1-5

Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend: 1-7

Women's Heart Week: 1-7

International Networking Week: 1-5

Intimate Apparel Market Week: 1-4

International Hoof Care Week: 2-5

☼ 2 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼

Candelmas

Groundhog Day

Sled Dog Day

African American Coaches Day

World Wetlands Day

☼2 February Observances—by country ☼

Scotland: Imbolic—quarter day

Tenerife (Spain): Day of the Virgin of Candelaria (Saint Patron of the Canary Islands)

☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1887… A US law is passed which will prohibit the use of Indian languages in schools

☼ Born on this day ☼

   » The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

James (Lafayette) Dickey, in 1923, poet: The Firebombing; novelist: Deliverance

James Joyce, in 1882 (Ireland), novelist/poet (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnigan's Wake)

Ayn Rand in 1905, writer (Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead)

James Stephens, in 1882, Irish poet (Crock of Gold)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

[Clyde] Skip Batten, 76, rocker (Byrds-Turn Turn Turn)

Christie Brinkley, 57, model

Charles Correll, in 1890, creator with Freeman Gosden of: Amos ’n’ Andy; voice of Andy (Brown) on radio

Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett, in 1947, actress (Charlie's Angels, Burning Bed)

Pebbles Flintstone, in 1963, fictional character on "The Flintstones"

Ina Garten, 62, chef, cookbook author, television celebrity (“The Barefoot Contessa)

Stan Getz, in 1927, jazz tenor saxophonist

Gale Gordon, (Charles Aldrich), in 1906, actor: The Lucy Show

Holly Hunter, 52, actress

Frank Lloyd, in 1888 (Scotland)), actor/director (Mutiny on Bounty, Oliver Twist)

Graham Nash, 68, musician, singer

Tom Smothers, 73, comedian, folksinger (“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”)

Elaine Stritch, 85, singer, actress (Company, Elaine Stritch at Liberty)

   »Athletes

Lance Brown, 32, NFL defensive back (Cardinals)

   »Business, Education, Politics

Solomon R Guggenheim, 1861, philanthropist (died aboard the Titanic)

Liz Smith, 87, journalist, author

   »Science/Religion

John Glover, in 1817, English chemist (sulfuric acid)

Dr An Wang in 1920, founder (Wang Labs, Wang Computers)

☼Today’s Obits ☼

Gene Kelly, in 1996, actor/dancer (Singing in the Rain), @ 83

Boris Karloff [Pratt], in 1969, British actor (Frankenstein), @ 81

Bert Parks [Jacobson], in 1992, TV host (Miss America Pageant), @ 77 a

Bertrand Russell, in 1970, philosopher, British MP, @ 97

John L Sullivan in 1918, heavyweight boxing champion, overindulgence @ 59

☼What happened on this day? ☼

   » The Arts

1863…Samuel Langhorne Clemens decided to use a pseudonym for the first time on this very day. Now he is better remembered by the name, Mark Twain.

1950…1st broadcast of "What's My Line" on CBS-TV

   »Athletics

1970..Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points

   »Business, Education, Politics

1536…Pedro de Mendoza finds the Argentine city of Buenos Aires

1653…New Amsterdam becomes a city (later New York NY)

1848…Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War; US acquires Texas, California, New Mexico & Arizona for $15 million

1852…1st British public men's toilet opens (Fleet St London)

1882…Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven CT

1901…Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization

1916…German zeppelins drop close to 400 bombs over the West Midlands the crew of a British fishing trawler later comes across the crashed remains of one of the giant airships floating in the North Sea.
1923…Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed, Dayton OH

1924…International Ski Federation (FIS) founded

1925…Sears opens it's first retail store in the Merchandise building
1931…1st use of a rocket to deliver mail (Austria)

1935…Lie detector 1st used in court (Portage WI)

1937…The White House roof was leaking, and that further rain and snow was expected to fall. Believe it or not, while this was going on Congress was still debating whether or not to spend $400 to fix it.
1964…Following the success of the Barbie doll for girls Hasbro launch G.I. Joe an action figure for boys.
1971…Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote to become dictator of Uganda

1972…The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed by crowds throwing fire bombs as retaliation over the shooting dead of 13 people in Londonderry.
1986…Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India .

   »Science/Religion

1802…1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25¢)

1962…8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years

» Number One Songs in…

1945…Don’t Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters

1953…Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como

1961…Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles

1969…Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells

1977…Car Wash - Rose Royce

» ANSWERS to puzzle «

1. DROP: gumdrop, drop kick, teardrop

2. LIGHT: lighthouse, starlight, street light

3. WHEEL: cartwheel, fifth wheel, wheelchair