Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!
FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Maggie, the hostess for the Christmas Cookie Open House really put out a spread. There must have been two dozen kinds of cookies. Talk about a sugar high. There were lots of people there and it was a very enjoyable afternoon. I met many of their neighbors who have had one hell of a summer with the fire and the flooding. Every house I drove by still has sandbags around their property and most have sandbags, ready for use around their front doors. Everyone of them, in separate conversations said that they had no idea that this could happen. Neither did the builders, or the insurance companies, or the county, or the forest service. Everyone dropped the ball for these poor people. Everyone was in good cheer, despite the flooding, and looking forward to a great new year.
Our congress is still not ready to deal with the immigration issue. The Dream Act failed. None of those who voted against it seem to have any idea what will work—they just seem to know that any idea proposed won’t work. ‘Ship them home’—against that. ‘Path to citizenship’—against that. ‘Make them all legal’—against that. ‘Close the border’—for that but don’t have a plan on how to do that. I am not looking forward to another year of no solutions with the immigration issue. McCain was right when he said yesterday was a sad day. It’s too bad his sadness was not about the immigration issue.
While the country is still suffering from high unemployment, it appears that things are on the mend. I believe that Obama had a lot to do with the positive change. I believe that those who oppose him are not really looking at the problems, only looking for re-election or high ratings for their ‘news’ shows. The idea that Faux news has given its on-air people certain phrases to use and certain phrases not to use when discussing just about every news item, is so 1984—the Orwell book, not that year.
HOLY MACKEREL: 1820 Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50 ($15.15 in 2010$)
∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(SuperJeopardy Answers) from 1990 CLASSICAL LITERATURE
∞The people Aeneas led to Italy to found Rome were the losers in this war
∞The Elder wrote natural history & the Younger, his nephew & adopted son, was known for his books of letters
∞Philosopher who was grossly caricatured in Aristophanes' "The Clouds"
∞This first Greek historian attempted to write a history of the world up to his own time
∞This Roman poet fought for Brutus before settling down to write his epodes & odes
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
∞During the bloody thirty-eight-year reign of Henry VIII, an estimated 57,000 to 72,000 English subjects lost their heads.
∞After victory in battle, Vikings drank blood of vanquished enemies from human skulls, hence the Scandinavian toast, "Skol!"
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM: PURCELL, OK
An Oklahoma volunteer group said a skunk got into its storage facility and sprayed nearly 800 presents collected for children in low-income families. Peggy Christian with McClain County Operation Christmas said volunteers have been attempting to salvage as many of the smelly gifts as possible before the planned delivery run Friday, KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, reported. "The ones laying out, they have been sprayed with Febreeze many, many times," Christian said. Christian said the volunteer group, which handed out 786 gifts in 2009, is accepting donations before 5 p.m. Thursday at the Purcell Multi-Purpose Center and after 5 p.m. at the Purcell Police Department. Christian told KOTV, Tulsa, Okla., support has been pouring in from the community since the incident with the skunk. "I've already had a lot of phone calls. People here locally that have called and said 'What can we do to help?'" she said.
A LITTLE LAUGH
A man goes into a restaurant, sits down at a table and an attractive young waitress comes for his order. He gives her a smile and says, "I want a quickie."
She turns red in the face and ahems, "Sir, I don't know what kind of restaurant you're used to eating in, but I can assure you you're not going to get a quickie here!"
"How disappointing," the man replied. "Could you ask the chef to make an exception?"
"He doesn't have anything to do with it!" says the waitress indignantly.
"Hmmm," do you know anywhere around here where I could get a quickie?"
"I'm SURE I don't know," answers the waitress loudly.
A patron from the next table leans over and taps the man on the shoulder, "I think it's pronounced QUICHE."
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
A break from traditional carols
David Letterman- Top Ten Christmas Carols 2009
DAYBOOK INFORMATION
♦ THIS WEEK ♦
14-28: Halcyon Days: The seven days where there are no winter storms
16-24: Posadas:
17-23: Saturnalia
19-25: Gluten-free Baking Week
♦ TODAY IS… ♦
Cathode-Ray Tube Day: used as older TV’s picture tube
Games Day
International Human Solidarity Day
Mudd Day: Dr. Samuel Mudd treated John Wilkes Booth and spent 4 years in jail for it.
♫ Academy Awards Best Original Song ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
1985 "Say You, Say Me" — White Nights
1986 "Take My Breath Away" — Top Gun
1987 "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" — Dirty Dancing
1988 "Let the River Run" — Working Girl
♦Today’s Births♦
ARTS
1895 - Susanne Langer philosopher; author: Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art
1926 - David Levine caricaturist: New York Review of Books; “Probably the greatest American caricaturist.” -- The New York Times
► ◄ Actors
1924 Charlie Callas comedian/actor (High Anxiety, Hysterical)
John Hillerman, 78, Emmy Award-winning actor: Magnum P.I. [1986-1987]
ATHLETICS
Royal Ivey, 29, basketball (Hawks, Bucks, 76ers)
David Wright, 28, baseball (Mets)
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1868 Harvey S Firestone Industrialist, where the rubber meets the road
William Julius Wilson, 75, sociologist, educator, writer (When Work Disappears)
POLITICS
1813 Samuel Jordan Kirkwood (Governor-IA)/US Secretary of Interior (1881-82)
Mahathir bin Mohamed, 85, Malaysia’s prime minister [May 15, 1983-Sep 29, 1994]
1720 Charles Edward Stuart [Bonnie Prince Charlie/Young Pretender]
SCIENCE & RELIGION
Uri Geller, 64, psychic, clairvoyant
1805 Thomas Graham father of colloid chemistry
1833 Dr Samuel A Mudd convicted of giving medical aid to John Wilkes Booth
♦Today’s Obituaries♦
Richard J Daley Chicago mayor @ 74 in 1976
Bobby Darin singer (Mack the Knife), heart failure @ 37 in 1973
Roy O Disney Brother of Walt, cerebral hemorrhage @ 78 in 1971
John Galle Flemish engraver/printer, @ 76 in 1676
James Hilton English author (Lost Horizon), liver cancer @ 54 in 1954
Max Robinson 1st black network (ABC) TV anchor, AIDS @ 49 in 1988
Dean Rusk US Secretary of State (1961-69), @ 85 in 1994
Sacagawea (Tsakakawias) Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark @ 24 in 1812 or @ 96 in 1884 note: a very interesting history of Sacagawea
Carl Sagan scientist (Contact), pneumonia / cancer @ 62 in 1996
John Steinbeck author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel 1962), heart disease @ 66 in 1968
♦Today’s Events♦
ARTS
1920 Bob Hope becomes an American citizen
ATHLETICS
1940 Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Athletics for $42,000
1957 Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army for National Service
BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1790 1st successful US cotton mill to spin yarn (Pawtucket RI)
1928 1st international dogsled mail leaves Minot ME for Montréal, Québec
1945 Rationing of auto tires ends in US
1988 Animal rights terrorists fire-bomb Harrod's department store, London
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1803 New Orleans and tribal land becomes part of the United States (Louisiana Purchase).
POLITICS (US)
1669 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery
1850 Hawaiian post office established
1860 South Carolina votes 169-0 for Ordinance of Secession, 1st state to secede
1919 US House of Representatives restricts immigration
Immigration from a specific nation was limited to three percent of that nation’s population living
in the United States, as reported in the 1910 Federal Census.
1989 US troops invade Panamá & oust Manuel Noriega, but don't catch him
POLITICS (International)
1192 Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna
1606 Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown VA via Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery
1699 Peter the Great ordered Russian New Year changed-Sept 1 to Jan 1
1942 1st Japanese bombing of Calcutta
1963 Berlin Wall opens for 1st time to West Berliners
1963 Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins
SCIENCE & RELIGION
1879 Tom Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park
1880 New York's Broadway lit by electricity, becomes known as "Great White Way"
1900 Giacobini discovers a comet (will be 1st comet visited by spacecraft)
ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
∞The people Aeneas led to Italy to found Rome were the losers in this war
What was the Trojan War?
∞The Elder wrote natural history & the Younger, his nephew & adopted son, was known for his books of letters
Who was Pliny?
∞Philosopher who was grossly caricatured in Aristophanes' "The Clouds"
Who was Socrates?
∞This first Greek historian attempted to write a history of the world up to his own time
Who was Herodotus?
∞This Roman poet fought for Brutus before settling down to write his epodes & odes
Who was Horace?
