This is Week 40 of 2010►Day 276 with 89 days left.
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
The first indigenous people we visited live in the mountains outside Taipei. The Thao/Nagan live at Sun Moon Lake. This is the largest lake in Taiwan and the East side of the lake represents the sun, the West side the moon. There are only 281 Thao/Ngan left. They speak their own language and Chinese. They arrived at Sun Moon Lake after chasing a deer. An elder was visited by a fairy in a dream and was told that his people should remain at the lake. The Elders still follow the traditional way, but the young working in Taipei, about a 2 hour drive away. The Chinese Government has opened a lodge near the lake. It was built by the tribe and only tribal members can work there. The lodge and the individual cabins surround a huge grassy area that was filled with metallic blue butterflies. Elders use colorful tattoos on the face which are earned by doing something good for the tribe—usually weaving expertise for women and hunting for men. The tattoos are a single color band (usually red or blue) across the forehead and another around the chin. The wider the bands, the more important the person. In 1999 an earthquake destroyed about 80% of the indigenous homes.
We visited Marble Canyon. Unlike Marble Canyon in AZ, this area was white marble. The drive was on very windy roads but well worth the danger. We were able to walk along the road that before a recent earthquake had been the only way through the canyon, so we had to turn around. We had to wear hard hats and could only go into the area about 100m. A worker was cleaning up around a boulder that had fallen about an hour before we arrived. The VW Bug sized boulder would have made our hard hats useless. There were lots of Chinese families out there taking pictures standing near the damaged area. It is quite an attraction, with guards handing out hard hats. There is also a bridge that Chiang Kai-shek (traditional Chinese: 蔣中正 / 蔣介石; simplified Chinese: 蒋中正 / 蒋介石; pinyin: Jiǎng Jièshí) had built after praying there about his recently departed mother.
Our visit to the WuLai Aboriginal Tribe (Atayal—genuine people) included a “Laminite Generation” or ‘Up with People” type program. We joined in a traditional round dance up on the stage. This area is famous for its hot springs. The word WuLai means poisonous as the early hunters thought the hot water coming from the ground was dangerous and not fit for bathing. Andy told us he was returning there as soon as our tour was over. This is a much larger tribe (91,000). They have a nice and very expensive resort with hot springs that run into the river. We took a ‘train’ ride down from the village after the program and the mandatory walk through the gift shop.
Flag…H—75°; L—42°; RH—70%; and only no breeze—many in Flag thought today was ‘muggy’ as the clouds came in but the only rain were a few sprinkles, just enough to dirty the windshield. I really didn’t notice, since no sweat was dripping off me or anybody else. Muggy is very relative.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
No matter how good a squirrel is jumping, sometimes it will fall
(meaning of proverb: no one is perfect,sometimes he makes a mistake)
HOLY MACKEREL: 1922 1st facsimile photo send over city telephone lines, Washington, DC
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION
Egyptians once trained baboons to do certain things like wait on tables and pluck weeds.
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers--TV
$100- They got married in the final episode of "Happy Days"
$200-Editor Billie Newman & Joe Rossi worked for
$300 She shot J.R.
$400-Played WJM's man-hunting "happy homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens
$500Marketing began in 1984 on a line of nurse wear from this TV medical show
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM
AUSTIN, Texas - Guinness World Records officials said accomplishments recorded in the 2011 edition, out Thursday, include a Texas dog's 4.5-inch tongue. Guinness officials said Puggy, a 10-year-old Pekingese, made it into the record book with a tongue nearly as long as his body, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Becky Stanford, Puggy's current owner, said the canine was abandoned by its original owners. "People who meet Puggy for the first time do a lot of double takes; they are in total disbelief and are amused by his unique appearance," Stanford said.
"It means a great deal to us that he has accomplished what he has. From being a stray dog, being dumped, to being a Guinness World Record Holder is just phenomenal. I just can't believe it." Other new records in the 2011 edition of the book include world's largest collection of "Smurfs" memorabilia, belonging to Stephen Parkes, 44, of Nottingham, England, and the world's smallest cow, a Rishworth, England, bovine measuring 33 inches from hind to foot.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A Sunday school teacher was teaching her class about the difference between right and wrong. "All right children, let's take another example," she said. "If I were to get into a man's pocket and take his billfold with all his money, what would I be?"
Little Johnny raises his hand, and with a confident smile he blurts out, "You'd be his wife!"
GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle
Imagine you were in a sinking boat with sharks and crocodiles around you. How would you survive?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
Video of 2008 earthquake in Taipei. Taipei 101 footage of the damper system at work. Amazing.
GREY MATTER PICTURE
This is a close up of what object?
SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION
¤ Weekly Observances ¤
1-3: Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend
1-7: Universal Children's Week
2-9: No Salt Week
3-9: National Newspaper Week ^ National Work From Home Week ^ Fire Prevention Week ^ Mental Illness Awareness Week ^ Mystery Series Week ^ National Carry A Tune Week ^ Nuclear Medicine Week
4-10: Customer Service Week ^ Financial Planning Week ^ Spinning & Weaving Week ^ World Space Week
5-10:Great Books Week
6-12: Physicians Assistant Week
8-12: Kids' Goal Setting Week
8-10: New York Comic Con Week
10-16: Build Your Business with Business Cards Week ^ Emergency Nurses Week ^ Home-based Business Week ^ National Chestnut Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Metric Week ^ Take Your Medicine Americans Week ^ World Rainforest Week
11-17: Fall Astronomy Week ^ National School Lunch Week
17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week
18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week
24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week
27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week
¤ Today’s Observances ¤
Alternative Fuel Day
Blessing of the Fishing Fleet
Country Inn, Bed and Breakfast Day
Intergeneration Day
World Communion Day
Barbados : United Nations Day/Clerks' Holiday
Germany: Day of German Unity (1990)
Honduras : Moraz n Day/Soldier's Day
Iraq : Independence Day (1932)
South Korea: National Foundation Day or Gaecheonjeol (2233BC)
Massachusetts: Grandparents Day
¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤
1901 ... Uncle Josh's Huskin' Bee Dance / Cal Stewart / Click Here to Hear!
1911 ... Alexander's Ragtime Band / Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan / Click Here to Hear!
1921 ... Song of India / Paul Whiteman
1931 ... When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain / Kate Smith
1941…Piano Concerto in B Flat / Freddy Martin / Click Here to Hear!
1951…Because of You / Tony Bennett
1961…Hit the Road Jack / Ray Charles
1971…Maggie May/ Reason to Believe / Rod Stewart
1981…Endless Love / Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
¤ Today’s Births ¤
╬ THE ARTS
Lindsey Buckingham, 63, singer, songwriter (with Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”), born Palo Alto, CA
Chubby Checker, 69, musician, singer (“The Twist”), born Ernest Evans at Philadelphia, PA
Jay Irving (Irving Joel Rafsky), cartoonist (Draw Me a Laugh) in 1900 NYC
Gore Vidal, 86, writer/playwright (Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln) in West Point, NY
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Clive Owen, 46, actor (Children of Men, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Closer, Sin City), born Keresley, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
╬ ATHLETICS
Fred Couples, 51, golfer, born Seattle, WA
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Roy (Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn), 66, illusionist: Siegfried & Roy in Nordenham, Germany
╬ POLITICS
Li Tzu-ch'eng, Chinese revolutionary, dethroned last Ming emperor in 1605 Mizhi, Shaanxi province, China
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
William Crawford Gorgas, US, Surgeon-Gen, help cure yellow fever in 1854 Toulminville, AL
James Herriot (James Alfred Wight), veterinarian, author: All Creatures Great and Small in 1916 Sunderland, County Durham, England
Sir Patrick Manson, "Father of tropical medicine" in 1844 Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤
Stefano Casiraghi, Princess Caroline of Monaco husband, boating accident @ 30 in 1990
Generoso Pope Jr, National Enquirer owner, heart attack @ 61 in 1988
Myles Standish, Plymouth Colony leader, @ 72 in 1656
¤ Today’s Events ¤
╬ THE ARTS
1952 1st video recording on magnetic tape, LA, Ca
1955 "Captain Kangaroo" premieres, Good Morning, Captain! 1955 "Mickey Mouse Club" premieres
1961 "Mr Ed" premieres
╬ ATHLETICS
1920 NFL (then American Pro Football Association) plays 1st games
1970 Baseball umpires call their 1st strike
╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1893 The motor-driven vacuum cleaner was patented by J.S. Thurman of St. Louis, MO. Remember his advertising slogan? “You can be sure if it’s Thurman!”
1906 One of the nation’s pioneer retailers, W.T. Grant, opened a 25-cent department store on this day in Lynn, MA
╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1763 As a part of "Pontiac's War," Indians will ambush a force of 5 dozen rangers in western Virginia. Fifteen of the soldiers will be killed in the fighting. After tracking the Indians, a force of 150 Virginia militia and volunteers, led by Charles Lewis, will find them on the South Fork of the Potomac River. The Europeans will kill 21 of the Indians without suffering a single loss.
╬ POLITICS (US)
1863 Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day
1913 Federal Income Tax signed into law (at 1%)
1974 Watergate trial begins
1995 O.J. Simpson acquitted of the June 12, 1994 stabbing deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter, Ronald Goldman. Simpson smiled and nodded toward the jury, saying “Thank you, thank you.”
╬ POLITICS (International)
1968 Military coup overthrows Pres Fernando Bela£nde Terry in Peru
╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1430 Jews are expelled from Eger Bohemia
1947 1st telescope lens 200" (508 cm) in diameter completed
GREY MATTER ANSWERS
↔ 1
$100- They got married in the final episode of "Happy Days": Who are Joanie and Chochi?
$200-Editor Billie Newman & Joe Rossi worked for: Who was Lou Grant?
$300 She shot J.R.: Who was Mary Crosby?
$400-Played WJM's man-hunting "happy homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens: Who is Betty White?
$500-Marketing began in 1984 on a line of nurse wear from this TV medical show: What is Trapper John, MD
↔ 2
Quit imagining.
↔ PICTURE
Handle on a safe
TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS
Returns soon!!!
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