14 February 2010--Week 7 of 2010: 45 days this year…320 remain
Happy Valentine’s Day
» Quote Times Two «
"Show affection, it will probably meet with pleasant response." ~unknown
“Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise - then you will discover the fullness of your life.” David Steindl-Rast (born 1926); Catholic Theologian
» Free Ramblings «
I recorded the Opening Ceremonies and caught up on them this morning. My next two weeks will be busy experiencing the Olympics on TV. The Ceremonies, as always, were phenomenal. Now that I have a big screen and HDTV, they were probably better than being there. The committee handled the Luge death very well. Very sad. The indigenous people were very well represented in the opening program. The leaders of the four First Nations welcomed the athletes in their native languages. Then they danced during the parade of athletes. The program had lots of Indigenous tales, and surprisingly some fiddle music with dancers in what looked very Celtic. Seeing Steve Nash, of the Suns, help light the main torch was great. Knowing that his mother is Welsh and that he plays here in AZ made it even better.
The Olympics always gives many a chance to forget about the world’s troubles for the 16 days of the competition and watch athletes from around the world compete in their sport. Watching the youth of these countries compete, celebrate, and show friendship to other countries gives me hope that the world will be a better place. I like the Winter Olympics because they are smaller than the summer games, and there is more time to learn about the athletes. The athletes seem to be getting younger and younger every four years…or maybe, just maybe, I’m getting older. It is nice to see the US Team win medals, but it is also nice to see other nations win. A guy from the Netherlands won a gold in speed skating today and climbed up into the crowd over several barriers to hug his family then ran back down to the track. The Swiss guy who won the first gold of this Olympics—in ski jump—was trying so hard to be calm during the interview…he couldn’t pull it off.
It was cold last night, down to 9°, but today melted a lot of snow…we made it to 51° on my deck. So nice to start seeing some ground again.
»* Winter Olympics* «
The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.
This is Canada’s third Olympics and this torch run was the longest in Olympic History. Over 12,000 carried the torch across Canada in 105 days.
»Side Show Stories—«
MIDWAY, Utah - A Utah ice sculptor said his massive outdoor ice castle has grown to include 18 towers, each of which measures 30 to 35 feet high. Brent Christiansen said he uses 20 sprinkler heads to expand the structure by 10-12 tons of ice each day on the golf course of the Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway, Utah, and he plans to continue expanding the project through the end of February, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Christiansen said the resort allows him to keep the $2 entrance fee visitors must pay to enter the castle and he and his wife were given a room at the hotel for the season. The self-taught sculptor said the main tower of the structure is expected to reach three to four stories high by the time of its completion.
»Random Fact: Valentines Day«
The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them.
It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance in 1381 when he wrote a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. He associated the occasion with the St. Valentine's feast day.
Valentine's Day stems from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.
» Puzzle «
Word Boxes are like miniature crossword puzzles, except that each word is filled in across AND down the grid. That is, the answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? To solve: draw a square that has four X four sections.
1 matter unit
2 lion handler's task
3 warning sign
4 fix
» 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 ☼
Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: 7-14
Rejection Risk Awareness Week: 7-14—for those who get rejected by someone
Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14
World Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week: 8-14
International Flirting Week: 8-14
Celebration of Love Week: 10-16
Children of Alcoholics Week: 10-16
Random Acts of Kindness Week: 12-15—what? Only three days—that is just wrong.
Alzheimers and Dementia Awareness Week: 14-21
Love a Mench Week: 14-21
National Condom Week: 14-21
National Engineers Week: 14-20
National Pancake Week: 14-20
☼ 14 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼
Western World: Valentine's Day
Ferris Wheel Day
National Heart to Heart Day
Daytona 500
Ferris Wheel Day
Library Lovers Day: 14
National Have A Heart Day
National Condom Day
(World) Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day
League of Women Voters Day
National Women's Heart Day
National Call In Single Day
Race Relations Day
National Donor Day
Quirky Alone Day
AZ: Admission Day 1912—48th state
Oregon: Admission Day 1859—33rd state
☼14 February Observances—by country ☼
Bulgaria : Viticulturists' Day/Trifon Zarezan, cult of Dionysus
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Tiger (2010/4708)
Denmark : Gaekkebrev/Fjörtende Februar-gift exchanges by school kids
Iraq: 'Communist Martyrs Day' celebrated by Iraqi Communist Party
Mexico : Day of National Mourning (Vincent Guerrero-1831)
☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1929…Sir Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin after leaving a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, he noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria.
☼ Born on this day ☼
» The Arts
Authors, Artists and Composers
--
Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV
Jack Benny [Benjamin Kubelski], in 1894, "Oh! Rochester!"
Don Everly, 73, singer, musician, with brother Phil (The Everly Brothers)
Michael C. Hall, 39, actor (“Six Feet Under,” “Dexter”)
Sherman Hemsley, 72, actor (“The Jeffersons,” “Amen”)
Florence Henderson, 76, actress/singer (Carol-Brady Bunch)
Gregory Hines, in 1945, actor/dancer
Terry Jones, 68, (Wales) actor, director (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus”)
Garrett Morris, 73, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”)
Edward Platt, in 1916, actor (Chief-Get Smart)
Lisa Marie Presley, 42, singer
Thelma Ritter, in 1905, actress
Pauly Shore, 40, comedian, actor
»Athletes
Drew Bledsoe, 38, NFL quarterback (Patriots)
Woody (Wayne) Hayes, in 1913, College Football Hall of Fame (Ohio State)
Jim Kelly, 50, NFL quarterback (Bills)
Steve McNair, 37, NFL quarterback (Oilers)
(Alicia) Jo Jo Starbuck, 59, twice Olympic ice skater
»Business, Education, Politics
Carl Bernstein, 66, Washington Post investigative reporter (Watergate)
Hugh Downs, 89, TV journalist, Game Show Host
Jimmy Hoffa, in 1913, Teamsters leader who disappeared in 1975
Bob Jamieson, 67, broadcast journalist
Anna Howard Shaw, in 1847, US, suffragette
»Science/Religion
George Washington Gale Ferris, in 1859, engineer/inventor (Ferris Wheel)
Porpoise, in 1940, 1st born in captivity in US (Marineland, Florida)
☼Today’s Obits ☼
James Cook, in 1779, British explorer, murdered by natives in fracas with Hawaiians @ 51
William Blackstone, in 1780, English lawyer, @ 56
William Tecumseh Sherman, in 1891, Union Civil War General (captured Atlanta), @ 71
Patricia Highsmith, in 1995, writer, @74
☼What happened on this day? ☼
» The Arts
1962…1st lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducts White House tour on TV
1967…Aretha Franklin records "Respect"
»Athletics
--
»Business, Education, Politics
1776…The first Spanish arrive at what eventually becomes Needles, California.
1778…"Stars & Stripes" arrives in foreign port for 1st time (France)
1849…The first photograph of a U.S. President, James Polk , was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City.
1873…Congress creates the office of Indian Inspector. The initial three inspectors are appointed by the President for four year terms. They inspect the operations of Indian Officers in the field.
1889…1st trainload of fruit (oranges) leaves Los Angeles for the east
1903…US Dept of Commerce & Labor established
1920…League of Women Voters forms in Chicago
1924…IBM Corporation founded by Thomas Watson
1929…St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago IL, 7 gangsters killed
1939…The German Reich launches the battleship Bismarck
1949 1st session of Knesset opens in Jerusalem
1989…African National Congress (ANC) opens office in Amsterdam
1989…Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a ( FATWA ) death sentence on British writer Salman Rushdie
»Science/Religion
1349…2,000 Jews burned at the stake in Strasbourg France
1872…1st state bird refuge authorized (Lake Merritt CA)
1894…Venus is both a morning star & evening star
» Number One Songs in…
1949…A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight
1957…Too Much - Elvis Presley
1965…You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers
1973…Crocodile Rock - Elton John
1981…Celebration - Kool & The Gang
» ANSWERS to puzzle «
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