20 April 2010~~Week 17 of 2010: 110 days this year… 255 days remain
‡ Something To Think About
The secret of joy in work is contained in one word–excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.
~Pearl S. Buck
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1606: ►According to the first charter of Virginia, issued today, part of the colonists goals are to civilize the natives. "...and may in time bring the infidels and savages, living in those parts, to human civility."
‡ Free Ramblings
I am so tired of fear tactics to get my vote. The latest has to do with a temporary 1% sales tax in AZ. For several weeks we have heard that if we don’t pass the tax our schools and emergency services will be cut deeply. Today we find out that a failure to pass the tax will probably shift state prison and state court costs to each county. Hmmm. This one percent tax certainly seems to be a panacea for all our financial troubles. The magic pill will return us to the panacea of yesteryear. I fear our non-elected governor is living on a different planet. I remember many years ago when residents of AZ were asked to allow the lottery. We were told that the lottery would support our schools so we would never have to worry about financing schools. (We are 46th in school funding this year.) Well, that sure didn’t happen. The genius legislators moved the education money to other places. I’m sure they will do it again. AZ is not yet out of the recession; building is still at a standstill and we have the third highest foreclosure rate in the US. Just tonight a home in Mesa, finished just as the recession hit was expected to sell for $5mil upon completion. It is now in foreclosure; no one has ever lived in it, and at auction is expected to bring in maybe, just maybe $2 million. Big item sales are flat. Tourism is down. Yet this magical 1% tax is going to solve our problems. Yeah, right.
MSNBC ran a very interesting documentary tonight—The McVeigh Tapes. It’s been 15 years since his bombing. Two hours of various McVeigh videos and interviews of people who were there. Amazing. A Gulf War, bronze star veteran who killed Iraqi citizens, came home and lost it. He believed the Army taught him that it is appropriate to kill innocent civilians for a higher cause. He killed 168 in OK city. Militias led him to believe that the government was going to take all of our guns. Survivalists let him to believe only those prepared would be around after the government took over. He was executed still believing he was a martyr who was saving the people of the country.
We had another great day. We made it to 68°. We did have some high clouds, but nothing to interrupt the day’s great weather. The weatherman says a big change is just around the corner. Wednesday we can expect ‘Thudersnow’. OK, that will be a little freaky. We have been told to expect ‘minor accumulation’ of 1”-2” between Wednesday and Friday. Winter just doesn’t seem ready to leave us.
‡ A Quick Smile…
The following are some very funny spelling bloopers caught in local newspapers, publications and various emails. See if you can catch the goofs.]
1. "...an autopsy to determine if the elderly man lost courteousness for medical reasons." (Trenton, N.J.)
2. "[An NBA coach] will take charge of a young team still in the throws of a roster overhaul." (Vernon, Conn.)
3. "'It's pretty exciting,' according to his material grandmother." (Potsdam, N.Y.)
4. "The MCCC fight team won 21 out of 32 awards and brought home nine metals." (Trenton, N.J.)
5. "McNabb...exasperated the injury attempting to chase down Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams." (Trenton, N.J.)
‡ Random Fact
Pittsburgh Pirates—The franchise was called the Innocents until 1891 when it signed second baseman Lou Bierbauer. His old club, the Philadelphia Athletics, and its fans weren't at all happy about the way Bierbauer was "obtained" and dubbed his new club the Pirates because they "pirated" the star player away from them.
‡ Puzzle
Heteronyms are words that are spelled identically but have different meanings when pronounced differently. For example: Lead, pronounced LEED, means to guide. However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element. NOTE: As an ESL teacher I know how hard it is for second language learners to understand this part of the English language.
1. to change one's belief; one whose belief was changed
2. to lower one's head or the front of a ship; used to shoot arrows
3. performs; more than one female deer
‡ Side Show Stories
A British man kayaked, pedaled, walked, swam and skated to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe by human muscle alone.
Jason Lewis, 40, shunned motor and sail to travel 45,505 miles in a quest that ended last week when he pulled his pedal boat across the Meridian line at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
The epic journey took him 13 years, two months, 23 days and 11 hours. He left on an expected 3.5 year journey in 1994.
Lewis capsized in two oceans, was chased by a crocodile in Australia, had two bouts of malaria, surgery for two hernias and nearly died of blood poisoning 1,300 miles off Hawaii.
He also suffered acute altitude sickness in the Himalayas, broke both legs when he was hit by a car in Colorado and was arrested as a spy in Egypt.
"It's been a big, long journey. It's good to be back," a thin, leathered and weeping Lewis said simply as he crossed the finish line.
‡ Calendar Information
• Observance Weeks in April•
18-24
Administrative Professionals Week
Cleaning For A Reason Week
Coin Week
National Crime Victims Rights Week
National Volunteer Week
Sky Awareness Week
19-25
Astronomy Week
Consumer Awareness Week
Fish Fry Week
National Inspirational News Week
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week
National Paperboard Packaging Week
National Window Safety Week
Turnoff Week
• 20 April Observances—US/UN/World •
Look Alike Day: also called Copy Cat Day—change your hair, dress like someone you want to be
• 20 April Observances—by country •
420: National Pot Smokers Day (Began @ high school in San Rafael, CA in 1971 when counter culture students would gather @ 4:20pm each day to smoke a joint near the campus statue of Louis Pasteur), now celebrate in France, New Zealand, Ontario, British Columbia)
•Number One Songs in…
1941 ►Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy); Jimmy Dorsey
1951 ►How High the Moon; Les Paul & Mary Ford
1961 ►Runaway; Del Shannon
1971 ►Joy to the World; Three Dog Night
1981 ►Kiss on My List; Daryl Hall & John Oates
1991 ►You're in Love; Wilson Phillips
• 20 April Happenings•
In The Arts
1841 ►1st detective story (Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue") published
1935 ►"You're Hit Parade" begins broadcasting (becomes #1 quickly)
In Athletics
1920 ►7th modern Olympic games open in Antwerp Belgium
1949 ►Willie Shoemaker won his first race as a jockey
In Business or Education
1898 ►US Assay Office in Deadwood SD opens
1999 ►Deadliest school shooting in US history at Columbine High School, Littleton CO, 13 killed, 23 wounded
1906 ►Firefighters finally end the spread of flames in San Francisco after the earthquake two days earlier on April 18th
In Politics
1770 ►Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales
1914 ►33 killed by soldiers during mine strike in Ludlow CO
1965 ►People's Republic China offers North Vietnam military aid
1971 ►US Supreme Court upholds use of busing to achieve racial desegregation
1974 ►The continuing violence between the two para-military organizations in Northern Ireland claims its 1,000th victim
In Science/ Religion
1902 ►Marie & Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium
1940 ►1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia PA
• 20 April Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Sebastian Faulks, 57, British novelist, journalist
Athletes
Donald Arthur (Don) Mattingly, 49, former baseball player
Entertainers
Carmen Electra, 37, actress
Nina Foch, 86, actress
Jessica Lange, 61, actress (Oscars for Tootsie and Blue Skies)
Joey Lawrence, 34, actor
Harold Lloyd, 1893, comedian, actor: For Heaven’s Sake
Shemar Moore, 40, actor (“Criminal Minds”)
Ryan O’Neal, 69, actor
George Takei, 70, actor (Sulu-Star Trek)
Johnny Tillotson, 71, singer: Poetry In Motion
Business, Education Leaders
David Chalmers, 44, Australian philosopher
Political Leaders
Adolf Hitler, 1889, Braunau Austria, dictator of Nazi Germany
Louis-Napoleon [Napoleon III], 1808, emperor of France
Scientists /Religious Leaders
Charles Gordon Curtis, 1860, US attorney/inventor (Curtis Turbine)
• 20 April Obits •
George Clinton, 1812, 4th US Vice President, 1st Vice President to die in office, @ 73
Benny [Alfred Hawthorn] Hill, 1992, British comedian, heart attack @ 67
Pontiac, 1769, Chief to Ottawa, murdered @ 49 Benny [Alfred Hawthorn] Hill, 1992, British comedian, heart attack @ 67
Don[ald] Siegel, 1991, US director (Coogan's Bluff/Dirty Harry), @ 78
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle
1. Convert conVERT- to change one's belief; CONvert- one whose belief was changed
2. Bow BAU- to lower one's head or the front of a ship; BOH- used to shoot arrows
3. Does DUZ- performs; DOZE- more than one female deer
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