8-23-11


All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

     TODAY’s “Geez”:
¬ 1889 - 1st ship-to-shore wireless message received in US (SF) 1975 - Ethiopian junta under Mengistu Haile
¬ 1904 - Automobile tire chain patented
¬ 1939 - John Cobb (Britain) drives 365.85 MPH (593.48 KPH) at Bonneville Flats
¬ 1987 - 15-years old boy hijacks KLM B737, demands $1 billion
¬ 1996 - Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.'
¬ 2005 - Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas, later becomes a category 5 hurricane

     Free Rambling Thoughts…
I had a very productive day…and on a Monday no less. It started by running some errands, then I worked on the brochure for the boat. Turns out I actually finished Draft One of it. Things are coming along well…if not just a little slow. Now I just hope that Greg will add some ideas to the entire concept. So hard sometimes to read someone else’s mind.

I had never heard of a ‘J-1’ visa until today. It allows foreigners to come to the US as an exchange visitor—meaning that you can have an educational and cultural visit. Many students come to the US on these exchange programs. Yesterday about 200 J-1 visa visitors protested their work conditions. It seems that they had jobs at a plant that made Hershey candy. They worked for minimum wage, 8 hours a day. The company that hired them, not Hershey, provided them with housing. The problem, the housing was required, was a shabby dormitory with little privacy, and cost them $400/month taken from their paycheck. Their long repetitive work was done with security cameras watching, and if they didn’t work fast enough, they were threatened with being fired. That would then make them ‘illegal’. They complained that they had back pain, hand pain, and a medical student said he could no longer hold a pen to write his name, let alone be the surgeon he dreamed of being. These visitors were on a cultural exchange and left countries where they were college students. They had paid up to $6,000US to get this great cultural experience. Many did not have enough money to return home. This is not the exchange I want foreigners to have of our country. I can only hope that the government gets in gear and stops this type of exploitation.

     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)
1.      In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made?
2.      In which decade was Madonna born?
3.      Which initials did rapper Hammer lose?
4.      Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup?
5.      Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing?
6.      In Canada what is the NHL?
7.      Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century?
8.      Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart?
9.      Martina Navratilova has been on the winning side in the Federation Cup for which two countries?
10.   The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900?
11.   Which actor is the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis?
12.   In football, where do the Chargers come from?

     Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

     Hmmmmm…
¬ Chance that a woman undergoing in-vitro fertilization in Israel becomes pregnant: 1 in 5
¬ Chance if she is subjected, before fertilization, to ‘medcal clowning’:  1 in 3

     Somewhat Useless Information…
¬ F. Scott Fitzgerald went to Princeton and used the school as the setting for his first novel, This Side of Paradise. He died while eating a Hershey chocolate bar and reading a football article in the Princeton Alumni Weekly.
¬ Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley, wrote the words to "America the Beautiful" after being inspired during a climb to the top of Pikes Peak in 1893.
¬ The first people to witness a striptease were Parisian students who watched a model disrobe at the Bal des Quatre Arts on February 9, 1893. However, she was escorted out and fined 100 francs by a court. The students went crazy and began tearing apart the Latin Quarter - the army had to be called out to calm the riot.
¬ Marcel Duchamp, artist and great chess player, spent his honeymoon contemplating chess problems. One night his bride glued the chess pieces to the board. They were divorced three weeks later.
¬ Cary Grant was expelled from school at the age of 14 for attempting to sneak into the girls' bathroom. He then ran away to join a troupe of traveling acrobats.
¬ When he was president, Calvin Coolidge never turned down an invitation to a social gathering although he never seemed to enjoy himself. When someone finally asked him why he went to the parties, he replied, "Got to eat somewhere."

     Yeah, It Really Happened…
Maimi: Local airport officials were on high alert Monday after reports that a suspicious white powder was found on a New York flight that had just arrived at Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport, NBC Miami reports.
But all a hazardous materials team found on the plane was the remnants of a bag of marijuana, officials said.
At around 9 a.m., the crew on Spirit Airlines Flight 705 called authorities to report that they had discovered a "suspicious item" onboard, said Greg Meyer, spokesman for the airport.
The flight was arriving from New York, and passengers were cleared off the plane as a HAZMAT team investigated.
Instead of a dangerous material, officials found weed, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.
Not surprisingly, none of the passengers claimed the marijuana, so no one was arrested, she said.
Spirit Airlines said all passengers continued on to their connecting flights as scheduled.

     Guffaw…or at least smile…
Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.
~*~
A man died and his wife phoned the newspaper to place an obituary. She called the obituary department and said, "This is what I want to print: Bernie is dead." The man at the newspaper said, "But for $25 you are allowed to print six words." The woman answered, "OK. Then print: Bernie is dead. Toyota for sale."

     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

     Daybook Information…
…Happening This Week:
19-28: Little League Baseball World Series
22-26: National Safe at Home Week

     TODAY IS
¬ Day For The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition
¬ National Spongecake Day
¬ Ride the Wind Day
¬ Valentino Day

     Today’s Events:
·        IN ARTS
1919 - "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip premieres in Chicago Tribune
1995 - Larry Hagman receives a liver transplant
·        IN ATHLETICS
1992 - Dennis Eckersley, who previously set record for most consecutive saves (40), is 1st pitcher to record 40 saves in 4 different seasons
·        IN BUSINESS
1617 - 1st one-way streets open (London)
·        IN EDUCATION
1838 - Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) 1st graduating class
·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1732 -The beginning of a peace conference held in Philadelphia with the local Indians. Attending the meeting are several Iroquois Chiefs, including Onondaga Chief Shikellamy
1876 - "Treaty 6 Between Her Majesty The Queen and The Plain and Wood Cree Indians and Other Tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River with Adhesions" is signed in Canada
·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1305 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot, is executed for high treason by Edward I of England
1541 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada
1944 - Romania liberated from Nazi occupation 
1975 - Communists take over Laos
·        IN RELIGION
1555 - Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands
1796 - African Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated
·        IN SCIENCE
  79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire
1924 - Mars' closest approach to Earth since 10th century
1960 - World's largest frog (3.3 kg) caught (Equatorial Guinea) (7.25 lbs)
·        IN US POLITICS
1850 - 1st national women's rights convention convenes in Worcester Mass

·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS
1849 - William Ernest Henley, British poet, critic, and editor): 1875 poem "Invictus" :
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
·        ATHLETES
Sonny Jurgensen, NFL quarterback (Wash Redskins)/sportscaster turns 77
1911 - Elizabeth "Betty" Robinson, US 100m sprinter (Olympic-gold-1928)
Rik Smits, NBA center (Indiana Pacers) turns 45
·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Barbara Eden, actor turns 77
1912 - Gene Kelly, dancer/actor (An American in Paris, Going My Way)
Shelley Long, actor turns 62
Lee Majors, actor ($6,000,000 Man, The Fall Guy) turns 71
Vera Miles, actor turns 81
Jay Mohr, actor, comedian turns 41
1947 - Keith Moon, English rock drummer (Who-I'm A Boy )
1900 - Malvina Reynolds, American folk singer/songwriter: Little Boxes
Mark Russell, political satirist /pianist (Real People) turns 79
Rick Springfield, Australia, (General Hospital, Jessie's Girl) turns 62
1917 - Tex Williams, American singer

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
1852 - Arnold Toynbee, English economist and social reformer
·        POLITICIANS
1754 - Louis XVI, Versailles, king of France (1774-93) eventually guillotined
Queen Noor, American born Queen of Jordan turns 60
·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
--

     Today’s Obits:
1977 - Sebastian Cabot, actor (Giles French-Family Affair), dies after stroke at 59
1962 - Hoot Gibson, silent screen cowboy actor (Last Outlaw), dies of cancer at 70
1960 - Oscar Hammerstein II, Broadway librettist, dies of stomach cancer at 65
1723 - Increase Mather, New England Puritan minister dies at 84
2005 - Brock Peters, Afro-American actor dies at 78
1926 - Rudolph Valentino, silent movie idol (Sheik), dies of peritonitis at 31
1305 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot, hanged, disemboweled & beheaded
     ANSWERS:
Trivia Quiz
In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made?
 60s
In which decade was Madonna born?
 50s
Which initials did rapper Hammer lose?
 M C: for being a Master of Ceremony at clubs..given name: Chelvathev Chelvasekaram
Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup?
 Great Britain
Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing?
 Andy Gibb
In Canada what is the NHL?
 National Hockey League
Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century?
 20s
Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart?
 Kiki Dee
Martina Navratilova has been on the winning side in the Federation Cup for which two countries?
 Czechoslovakia & USA
The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900?
 Yellow
Which actor was the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis?
 Tony Curtis
In football, where do the Chargers come from?
San Diego

Close Up Picture

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.
     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW    

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.