12-16-11


FYI: Blue text is a link… click on any blue text for more information!

Todays Geez
  • 1617 - Spanish viceroy Hernando Arias de Saavedra founds provinces Rio de la Plata (Argentina)/Guaira (Paraguay)
  • 1631 - Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
  • 1811 - The New Madrid earthquake takes place today on the Mississippi River. Many tribes will tell tales of this event for generations
  • 1773 - Boston Tea Party
  • 1905 - "Variety," covering all phases of show business, 1st published
  • 1915 - Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
  • 1944 - Battle of Bulge begins in Belgium
  • 1949 - Sukarno becomes president Indonesia
  • 1953 - 1st White House Press Conference (Pres Eisenhower & 161 reporters)
  • 1970 - 1st successful landing on Venus (USSR)
  • 1973 - O J Simpson becomes 1st NFLer to rush 2,000 yard in a season
  • 1978 - Ronald Reagan denounces Pres Jimmy Carter's recognition of China PR

♪♪ Happy Birthday To:♪♪                        
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
So many times a news story will inform us with good news and bad news all at once. It happened a lot today:
Iraq war ended: 4500 American soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 50,000 Iraqi combatants died in the 8 year war.
Navajos have the most speakers of any Native Tribe in the US: One in two Navajos does not know basic Navajo
Dept of Justice issued a report on Sheriff Joe that calls for many changes in the practices to stop some of the worst discrimination seen by one expert or legal action will follow: Sheriff Joe called the report a blatant political ploy by Obama and says our President wants a sign on the border that says “Welcome to Your Country.”
In this season, I wish we could just get good news.

It was a nice day with the next storm, a much smaller one, rolling in about sunset. We shouldn’t get a lot of moisture, and that won’t hit until Saturday evening. Our retirement group may have lunch tomorrow, but the weather will determine that.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (answers at the end of post)
Every answer is a simile, in the form "___ as a ___." You are given a rhyme for the first and last words. For example, given "dead as a street," the answer would be "red as a beet."
1.     Snappy as a tram:
2.     Green as a thistle:
3.     Queer as a smell:
4.     White as a tether:
5.     Frail as a host:
6.     Mute as a glutton:
7.     Dry as a box:
8.     Lit as a griddle:
9.     Mental as a ram:
10.  Bright as a thumb:
11.  Lazy as a coon:
12.  Sweet as a fin:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?
   
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
  • A road must carry traffic of at least 400 cars per day for a reflective centerline to be a cost-effective improvement.

Hmmmmm           
  • Date on which US studnt-loan debt was expected to reach $1,000,000,000, 000 ($1 Trillion): 12/1/11

Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Macaroni and Cheese is the #1 cheese recipe in America. In any given twelve-week period, approximately one-third of the population of the U.S. will eat mac and cheese at least once.
  • The average American ate 30 lbs of cheese in the year 2000, up from 11 lbs in 1970.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - Police in Utah said a man who had taken a substance destroyed the inside of his father's home because he was convinced his girlfriend was trapped in the walls.
West Valley City police said the man, who had apparently overdosed on a substance, called for help Saturday afternoon and told officers he had heard his girlfriend calling from help from behind the walls of the home, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday.
Police said they found the man had destroyed the interior of the home, which belongs to his father, who was out of town at the time of the incident. Investigators said they found the girlfriend was vacationing in Texas and was unaware of the incident.

A Laff or at least smile     
Q: What's the definition of mixed emotions?
A: When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your brand new car.

Found on YouTube          

Daybook Information        
Happening This Week:
10-17
Human Rights Week 
15-29
Halcyon Days 
16-24
Posadas  [is Spanish for "lodging", or "accommodation"; it is said in plural because it is celebrated more than one day in that period. The nine day novena represents the nine months of pregnancy: a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain, now celebrated chiefly in Mexico, Guatemala and parts of the Southwestern United States[, beginning December 16th and ending December 24th, on evenings (about 8 or 10 PM)]



Today Is                                                                       
  • Barbie and Barney Backlash Day: the one day each year when mom and dad can tell the kids that Barbie and Barney don’t exist
  • National Chocolate-covered Anything Day
  • National Re-Gifting Day
  • Stupid Toy Day
  • Zionism Day : ‘Zionist triumph’ of 1948 Palestine partition plan
  • Underdog Day


  • Bahrain: National Day [اليوم الوطني ] Accession Day for the late Amir Sh. Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa]
  • Bangladesh: Victory Day [ বিজয় দিবস Bijôe Dibôsh] 1971, Pakistani Army surrendered to the Indo-Bangladeshi High Command in Dhaka, ending the 9 month-long Bangladesh Liberation War
  • Kazakhstan: Independence Day (1991 from USSR)
  • South Africa: Reconciliation Day (1994 after the end of apartheid)

Today’s Events                                                              
Arts
1913 - Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
1962 - David Lean's  "Lawrence of Arabia" premieres
1971 - Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released
Athletes
1930 - Golfer Bobby Jones wins James E Sullivan Award
1940 - Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago
1962 - NY Giant YA Title sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with 6 touchdowns vs Dallas (41-31)
1979 - QB Roger Staubach's  last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys
Business
1835 - Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC
1908 - 1st credit union in US forms (Manchester NH)
Education
--
Indigenous People
1834 - Signed at Pottwatamie Mills, Indiana, a treaty ceding 2 parcels of land for $700 [2010 US $15,087.63] and the canceling of some outstanding debts by the Potawatomi and William Marshall.
Politics [International]
1653 - Oliver Cromwell sworn in as English Lord Protector
1689 - English Parliament adopts Bill of Rights after Glorious Revolution
1838 - Boers beat Zulu chieftain Dingaan in South Africa
1850 -  The Charlotte-Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, NZ
1991 - UN reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25 (13 abstain) vote
Politics [US]
1864 - Battle of Nashville ends after 4400 causalities
1912 - 1st US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20 cent parcel post, issued
1950 - Truman proclaims state of emergency against "Communist imperialism"
1976 – Gov’t halts swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis
1988 - Political cult leader Lyndon LaRouche convicted of tax, mail fraud
Religion
1890 - Negro Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Jackson, TN
Science
1707 - Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan
1811 - Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri, causing widespread damage 
1897 - 1st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated
1920 - 8.6 earthquake destroys 15,000 square miles and kills over 180,000 in Kansu China

Today’s Birthdays                                                            
Artists: [Authors, Composers]
1775 - Jane Austen, English novelist (Pride and Prejudice)
Steven Bochco, prod (Hill St Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, NYPD Blue) is 68
1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy)
1899 - Noel Coward, English playwright (In Which We Serve-1942 Acad Award)
1928 - Philip K[indred] Dick, sci-fi author (Hugo-1963, Blade Runner)
1863 - George Santayana, Spanish philosopher/poet/humanist (Last Puritan)
Athletes
William "The Refrigerator" Perry, NFL defensive back (Chicago Bears) is 49
Clifford Robinson, NBA center (Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers) is 45
Entertainers [Actors, Singers…]
Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Far Pavillions) is 64
Benjamin Bratt, actor is 48
Sam Robards. Actor is 50
Liv Ullmann, actor is 72
Entrepreneurs & Educators
Lesley Stahl, newscaster/correspondent (CBS) is 70
Political Figures
1485 - Catherine of Aragon, Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII
Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center is 75
Scientists & Theologians
1901 - Margaret Mead, anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa)

Today’s Obits                                                           
1858 - Richard Bright, British Dr (Bright's disease/nephritis), dies of heart disease at 69
2007 - Dan Fogelberg, American singer/songwriter (Run For The Roses) dies of prostate cancer at 56
2009 - Roy E. Disney, American businessman dies at 79
1859 - Wilhelm Grimm, writer, dies at 73
1965 - William Somerset Maugham, English author (Razor's Edge), dies at 91
1687 - William Petty, English scientist and philosopher dies at 64
1916 - Grigori Rasputin, a powerful Russian monk, murdered
1980 - Harland "Colonel" Sanders, founder Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies at 90
1921 - Charles Camille Saint-Saens, (The Carnival of the Animals)French composer, dies at 86
2003 - Gary Stewart, American musician and songwriter (She's Acting Single),suicide at 58
1989 - Lee Van Cleef, US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly), dies at 64
Answers                                                                                                                                            
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     Snappy as a tram: happy as a clam
2.     Green as a thistle: clean as a whistle
3.     Queer as a smell: clear as a bell
4.     White as a tether: light as a feather
5.     Frail as a host: pale as a ghost
6.     Mute as a glutton: cute as a button
7.     Dry as a box: sly as a fox
8.     Lit as a griddle: fit as a fiddle
9.     Mental as a ram: gentle as a lamb
10.  Bright as a thumb: tight as a drum
11.  Lazy as a coon: crazy as a loon
12.  Sweet as a fin: neat as a pin

Wuzzle
  • Leniency
  • Balanced diets
  • Absentee ballot

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] the dates may not be totally accurate.
§     And That Is All For Now     §

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Total Pageviews

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
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.