≈Week 19 of 2010: 127 days this year… 238 days remain≈
≈ Something To Think About
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
--Henry David Thoreau
≈ Random Fact
More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1933 ►Prohibition ends, Utah becomes 38th state to ratify 21st Amendment
≈ Free Ramblings
I had an interesting day. While over at the Marketplace to pick up a birthday gift for a friend, I looked out toward Tuba. All I could see was smoke. The store clerk said the fire was about 30 miles from Flagstaff, on Highway 89. That is the highway that connects Flagstaff to the Rez. After doing some checking, the fire was not threatening any buildings but the 50mph gusts were not good in controlling the fire. The fire is human caused.
Later in the day I got an email from a former BIA-er who will be driving a friend’s military son’s car from Florida to California. He will be coming through Flag and after almost thirty years, we will hook up for lunch sometime in July. Wes was an early mentor to the importance of ESL on Navajo.
Finally, I got an email from another BIA-er who sent an article about poor politics in the Bureau where the new head of Haskell is a Native female with a masters in social work, chosen over several male Natives with doctorates in Education. Politics!?!. While I realize that paper should not be the only reason for selection, this does seem too political. Anyway, the sender was a female Native who worked hard to keep funding flowing into the BIA Federal projects for almost 30 years. She had more than her share of ‘details’ and ‘reassignments’ during her career. Most, if not all came when she told higher ups they were on the wrong path. As soon as these people left or were removed, she was back to her old position. I sent her a quick reply telling her how much I appreciated her no nonsense approach. She replied saying that she had no idea that people understood her that well. Made her day…made my day.
I have been a fan of Google Earth since its launch several years ago. I always use it before my overseas trips. I can get aerial and street views of places we are going to visit. Today a news story showed a beaver dam that was found by a scientist using Google Earth. The beaver dam is in Canada. It is larger in length than Hoover Dam. It was noted that it is in a very isolated area and until now has not been reported by any humans. Wow. Anyone with a computer can see the aerial view of this dam—up close.
We got to 68° today. The 30mph steady winds and the 50+mph gusts were an annoyance to city dwellers and horrific for people near the fire. It didn’t drop our temperature at all. Running a few errands was not difficult, but certainly made me wish I could park a little closer to the stores. I don’t like having to hug my purchases close to my body as I work my way to a car.
My townhouse does not have a storm door. This is the first time I have lived anywhere that doesn’t have one. I called the landlord soon after I moved in to see if I could get one. They would not get one, and if I bought one, it had to be approved, stay when I moved out and would not be deducted from my rent. This didn't seem like something I wanted to do. A couple of weeks ago I saw a portable magnetic screen in a catalogue for about $20. It came yesterday. It works very well. I can have the front door open and not have to worry about bugs flying in. It only takes about 3 minutes to put up and another 3 to take down. Hardly high tech. Not going to keep out any human intruders, but will allow the door to be open and adds one more area to let fresh breeze in during our warm late summer days.
≈ A Quick Smile…
An applicant was being interviewed for admission to a prominent medical school.
"Tell me," inquired the interviewer, "where do you expect to be five years from now?"
"Well, let's see," replied the student. "It's Wednesday afternoon. I guess I'll be on the golf course by now."
≈ Puzzle
The number next to the acronym helps solve what the acronym means... e.g. 365 DIAY = 365 days in a year, and 366 DIALY = 366 days in a leap year.
1. 1 W o a U
2. 100 D C a w W B
3. 360 D i a C
≈ Side Show Stories
OLOFSTROM, Sweden - A Swedish teenager who missed school for three years because of his computer addiction has been placed in state custody, officials said. The 16-year-old from southern Sweden allegedly threatened suicide if he were to be moved from his home and his hours on his computer reduced, The Local reported Tuesday. Vaxjo administrative court said it was invoking the Involuntary Treatment Act because the boy has missed school since the spring of 2007 and was at significant risk of damage to his health. The court ordered a psychological evaluation to establish how the boy could be helped to handle every-day life. The boy's behavior had become increasingly disruptive, said a social worker in Olofstrom assigned to support the boy's parents in raising him. The teen had resisted home schooling but expressed an interest in completing school in order to become a computer programmer, authorities said.
≈ Calendar Information
• Observance Weeks in May•
1-7
Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week
2-8
Be Kind To Animals Week
National Correctional Officer's Week
Children's Mental Health Week
Drinking Water Week
Flexible Work Arrangement Week
Kids Win Week
3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week
Intimate Apparel Market Week
Work At Home Moms Week
6-12
National Nurses Day and Week
• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Child Care Provider Day
International Tuba Day
National Roast Leg of Lamb Day
No Pants Day
Paste Up Day: for those who do the Paste Up for magazines, newspapers, newsletters, etc.
Tuba Day--the musical instrument...not the Rez town.
World Asthma Day
• Today’s Observances—by country •
China : Ching Ming - families gather at graves of ancestors
Haiti : World Health Day (1948)
Malaysia: Hari Hol: to pay tribute to departed sultans and royals
Russia: Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov
Yugoslavia : Republic Day (1963)
• Today’s Number One Songs in…
For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.
1946 ►Prisoner of Love; Perry Como
1956 ►Heartbreak Hotel; Elvis Presley
1966 ►Monday, Monday; The Mamas & the Papas
1976 ►Welcome Back (Theme from Welcome Back, Kotter; John Sebastian
• Today’s Happenings•
In The Arts
1941 ►Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded "Chattanooga Choo Choo."
In Athletics
1986 ►Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.( 7 highest peaks in the world)
In Business or Education
1902 ►Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms
In Politics
1429 ►Joan of Arc ends the Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning, wounded, to lead the final charge. The victory marks a turning point in the Hundred Years' War.
1789 ►The first Presidential Inaugural Ball was held in New York City.
1798 ►Territory of Mississippi is organized
1851 ►Yesterday, the Cherokee Nation opened a seminary (high school) for men. Today they open a seminary for females, north of Park Hill on the Cherokee Reservation in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). Some of the required courses include: algebra, arithmetic, botany, geography, grammar, Latin and vocal music.
1915 ►A German torpedo sinks the British Ocean liner Lusitania
1921 ►Over 5000 people have already starved to death in Ireland in 1921 and it is feared many more will follow
1973 ►According to the FBI, at 10:19 A.M. this morning, the occupation of Wounded Knee ended. The occupation started on February 27, 1973.
1977 ►Consumer Product Safety Commission bans the flame-retardant chemical "TRIS"
In Science/ Religion
1987 ►National Museum of Female Physicians opens in Washington DC
• Today’s Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Francis Ford Coppola, 71, film maker (Godfather, Apocalypse Now, American Graffiti)
Robert Browning, 1812, poet
Percy Faith, 1908, conductor (Summer Place)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840, composer Marche Slave, 1812 Overture, Swan Lake, Nutcracker Suite, Romeo and Juliet
William Wordsworth, 1770, England, poet laureate (The Prelude)
Athletes
Walter Camp, 1859, Connecticut, father of American football (Yale)
Johnny Unitas, 1933, Pro Football Hall of Famer: Colts, Chargers quarterback
Entertainers
Jackie Chan, 56, martial art actor
Gary (Frank James) Cooper, 1901, Academy Award-winning actor
Totie Fields (Sophie Feldman), 1930, entertainer, comedienne
David Frost, 71, Tenderdon England, TV host (That Was the Week That Was)
James Garner [Scott Bumgarner], 82, actor (Rockford Files, Bret Maverick)
Gabby (George Francis) Hayes, 1885, actor: sidekick of both Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers
Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan], 1915, singer
Janis Ian (Janis Eddy Fink), 59, Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer
Wayne Rogers, 77, actor (TV-MASH)
Tim Russert, 1950, TV host, moderator
Ravi Shankar, 90, Benares India, sitar player
Business, Education Leaders
W K Kellogg, 1860, cereal magnate
Walter Winchell, 1897, newscaster/columnist
Political Leaders
Eva (Evita) Peron, 1919, Argentina’s spiritual leader and wife of Argentina’s President
Scientists /Religious Leaders
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 1890 ,environmentalist (1st Lady of Everglades)
Francis C Lowell, 1775, founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill
• Today’s Obits •
El Greco Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), 1614, Spanish painter (View of Toledo) @ 73
Kurt Cobain, 1994, grunge rocker (Nirvana), suicide @ 27
≈ ANSWERS to puzzle
1. 1 W o a U = 1 Wheel on a Unicycle
2. 100 D C a w W B = 100 Degrees Celsius at which Water Boils
3. 360 D i a C = 360 Degrees in a Circle
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