≈Week 19 of 2010: days this year… days remain≈
≈ Something To Think About
The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason: terror and force.
~Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf
≈ Random Fact
Bluebirds cannot see the color blue.
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1940 ►Nylon stockings from DuPont ( Nylon invented in 1935 by Wallace Carothers ) went on general sale for the first time in the United States. In today’s money they cost $29.50 per pair
≈ Free Ramblings
Living in AZ these days is not easy. Our great state has over 20 federally recognized tribal reservations. According to 2000 census figures, 30% of our population is of Hispanic origin, 5% of our population is Native American. About 44% of AZ population is non-white. One would think that Ethnic Studies would be part of our children’s education. Members of any ethnic group need to have the knowledge and legitimacy of what their ancestors brought to our state. Non-members of any ethnic group need to learn that our great state was built by people from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and ‘colors’. Well, if one lives in AZ, one would be thinking incorrectly. This week our non-elected governor signed a bill that will change the teaching of ethnic studies in our public schools. Children will no longer be taught any studies that put any other culture in a bad light. I guess they will be learning that the Native tribes welcomed the non-Natives with open arms and gladly moved to reservations, giving up their homeland. Mexicans must have celebrated when they too lost their land in several wars. Natives rejoiced when the Buffalo soldiers helped them give up their land. Natives cheered when store owners throughout the state put up signs that stated ‘No Indians Allowed’. Natives celebrated when they were allowed to vote for the first time in 1924—four years after women were allowed to vote. AZ has been ranked in the bottom 10 states for educational funding; AZ has been ranked in the bottom 10 states in test scores. While this bill has not yet reached the national news like the immigration bill did, this bill is potentially more harmful to our state. Children will not be allowed to do any critical thinking regarding AZ history. Sadly, every culture group in our state has done things that put them in bad light. That’s why we used to teach children to be critical thinkers. This is so much worse than the southern states that teach their children about the ‘War of Northern Aggression’.
It was fairly cloudy today. The wind kept our high of 60° feel a little cooler. I hung around home most of the day. It was little more than a nice relaxing day.
≈ A Quick Smile…
I requested identification from a department-store customer who had just written a personal check for her purchase.
After fumbling through her purse, she presented me with what she said was the only thing that bore both her name and address.
It was a notice of insufficient funds from her bank.
≈ Puzzle
Decode this well known nursery rhyme:
A small number of child laborers were attempting to traverse a more elevated position in a vain attempt to procure a quarter of a rundlet of a hydrogen and oxygen compound. Half their number experienced an uncontrollable descent that resulted in severe damage to the pate. And soon it came to pass that the rest of the labor force followed suit, but with far less serious consequences.
≈ Side Show Stories
DUBAI - It's the ultimate hole-in-the-wall — a money machine that dispenses pure gold. "The reason we chose Emirates Palace is because it really fits with the surroundings here," said German entrepreneur Thomas Geissler, creator of the "Gold to Go" brand and chief executive of Ex Oriente Lux. The exterior of the machine is coated with a thin layer of gold and offers customers 320 items to choose from, ranging from gold bars that can weigh up to 10 grams, to customized gold coins.
Through a computer system, the ATM gold machine updates the gold price every 10 minutes to match international markets. "On the first night we had a lot of demand," he said. "One customer even bought one item of every product we have."
Geissler's timing is spot-on, as investors flock to gold as a safe haven from economic turbulence.
≈ Calendar Information
• Observance Weeks in May•
8-16
National Tourism Week
10-16
National Etiquette Week ↔ Salvation Army Week ↔ Universal Family Week
Children's Book Week ↔ National Stuttering Awareness Week
13-16
Grand Prix de Monaco
• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •
Armed Forces Day
International Day of Families
National Chocolate Chip Day
National Pizza Party Day
National Safety Dose Day
Nylon Stockings Day
Peace Officer Memorial Da
Preakness Stakes
Straw Hat Day
• Today’s Observances—by country •
Austria : Independence Day (from Allies in 1955)
Mexico & South Korea: Teacher's Day
Paraguay: Independence Day, from Spain in 1811
Slovenia: Day of Slovenian Army
• 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.
1948 ►Nature Boy; King Cole
1958 ►All I Have to Do Is Dream; The Everly Brothers
1968 ►Tighten Up; Archie Bell & the Drells
1978 ►With a Little Luck; Paul McCartney & Wings
1988 ►Anything for You; Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
• Today’s Happenings•
In The Arts
1963 ►Peter, Paul & Mary win their 1st Grammy (If I Had a Hammer)
In Athletics
1970 ►South-Africa excluded from Olympic play
1989 ►US Basketball League cancels its summer schedule
In Business or Education
1602 ►Cape Cod discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold
1905 ►Las Vegas NV founded on 110 acres of Nevada
1981 ►The 20,000,000th Volkswagen Beetle came off the production line at the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico.
2008 ►California's Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same Sex marriages and has said the "right to form a family relationship" applied to all Californians regardless of sexuality.
In Politics
1862 ►The U.S. Department of Agriculture was established by President Abraham Lincoln
1869 ►National Woman Suffrage Association forms
1933 ►1st voice amplification system to be used in US Senate
1970 ►South-Africa excluded from Olympic play
In Science/ Religion
1918 ►The first flights for the new U.S. airmail service begins between Washington, Philadelphia and New York.
• Today’s Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Lyman Frank Baum, 1856, children's book author (Wizard of Oz) born in Chittenango NY Katherine Anne Porter, 1890, novelist (Ship of Fools) born in Indian Creek, TX
Athletes
George Howard Brett, 57, Hall of Fame baseball player, executive, born Glen Dale, WV Emmitt Smith, 41, former football player, born Pensacola, FL
Rick Waits, 58, baseball pitcher (Rangers, Indians, Twins) born in Atlanta, GA
Entertainers
Anna Maria Alberghetti, 74, singer, actress (Cinderfella, Carnival), born Pesaro, Italy
Eddy (Richard Edward) Arnold, 1918, ‘The Tennessee Plowboy’ born in Henderson,TN
Joseph Cotton, 1905, actor born in Petersburg VA
Lee Horsley, 55, actor (“Nero Wolfe,” “Matt Houston”), born Muleshoe, TN
Lainie Kazan, 68, singer, actress, born New York, NY
Trini Lopez, 73, actor, singer (Marriage on the Rocks, The Dirty Dozen), born Dallas, TX
Nipo T Strongheart, 1891, Yakima Indian actor (Pony Soldier) and author of Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 , born in Yakima WA
Business, Education Persons
Roger Ailes, 70, American businessman, Pres. Of Fox News
Political Persons
Madeleine Albright, 73, former US Secretary of State, born Prague, Czechoslovakia
Richard Joseph Daley, 1902, ‘The Boss’: politician: former mayor of Chicago born in Chicago, IL
Scientists /Religious Persons
Ilja [Elias] Metsjnikov, 1845, zoologist/bacteriologist (Nobel 1908) born in Karkhov, Ukraine
• Today’s Obits •
Theodore H White, 1986, US journalist (Making of President, Pulitzer), stroke @ 71
Emily Dickinson, 1886, American poet, Bright’s Disease @ 56
June Carter Cash, 2003, American musician and singer, heart disease @ 74
Jerry Falwell, 2007, TV Evangelist, cardiac arrest @ 74
≈ ANSWERS to puzzle
Jack and Jill / Went up the hill / To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down/ And broke his Crown/ And Jill came tumbling after..
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