12-20-11


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Todays Geez
  • 1st Japanese bombing of Calcutta : 1942 
  • Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom : 1955 
  • Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state: 1974 
  • "Harvey," starring James Stewart, premieres in NY:  1950 
  • Louisiana Purchase formally transferred from France to US for $27M: 1803 
  • Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna: 1192 

♪♪ Happy Birthday To:♪♪                        
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
Countdown to Chicago has started. I leave on the 21st…at 10pm. I keep thinking I leave on Thursday cause that’s when I get into Chicago, and I am crossing either the prime meridian or the International Dateline. Oh well. Picked up my last few stocking stuffers. Tomorrow I’ll deal with figuring out the packing situation.

Just saw a crappy story on the news. I discovered Simply Orange about 9 months ago—not from concentrate, fresh orange juice. Then last week I saw an article that said Minute Maid Fresh OJ won a taste test over Simply Orange. They are both more expensive than OJ that is made from concentrate, but the taste is much better. Now, sadly, I know why. It’s true that it isn’t made from concentrate, but they squeeze the oranges, and put them in million gallon vats—sometimes for months. Then just before they package it, they add ‘orange essence’ from new oranges to give it the fresh taste. Since they are adding orange to orange, the brilliant FDA says it’s still fresh OJ, not from concentrate. Seems a little odd to me and really dis-tasteful. Guess it’s time to get out the juicer, where I know the juice is fresh.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (answers at the end of post)
Every answer is a seven-letter word in which the middle five letters are the letters in the word "inset" in some order. For example, given the first letter F and the last letter S with the clue "what physical exercise promotes," the answer would be "fitness."
1.     DT--tooth doctor:
2.     UL--fork knife, spoon:
3.     JG--making jokes:
4.     DD--stretch as the stomach:
5.     AR--more on edge:
6.     DY--fate :
7.     DY--compactness:
8.     WS--a person who may give testimony:
9.     MR--a large or important church:
10.  [2 words] WD--limit of one’s sanity:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?
   
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
  • Avoid setting type columns to lines less than 35 characters long. Shorter lines cause sentences to be so broken they are hard to understand.

Hmmmmm           
  • Chances that a retiree reports spending more savings than planned to meet basic expenses last year: 1 in 3

Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Mint was no doubt one of the earliest herbs discovered. It has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 1000 BC and has been part of the Chinese pharmacopoeia even longer.
  • The early Romans believed eating mint would increase intelligence. The scent of mint was supposed to stop a person from losing his temper and royal ambassadors carried mint sprigs in their pockets. It was also used to sweeten the often rank smell of medieval halls.
  • One drum of oil (weighing about 400 pounds) can be used to flavor approximately five million sticks of chewing gum or 400,000 tubes of toothpaste.
  • The United States produces more than 70% of the world's supply of peppermint and spearmint.
  • Recent research conducted at the University of Cincinnati has shown that sniffing mint improves concentration; several Japanese companies now pipe small amounts through their air conditioning systems to invigorate workers and improve productivity.
  • The genus Mentha is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean basin. Mint or Mintha, is named after the Greek nymph Minthes, who was turned into a mint plant by Proserpine, the jealous wife of Pluto, for casting covetous eyes on the philandering god of the underworld.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
BBC-UK "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, made a very tasty pâté ..." That's far from the traditional version of the song, but the prospect of turning Dasher or Dancer into a snack had animal-rights activists in the U.K. seeing red. The group Vegetarians International Voice for Animals launched a campaign against upscale department store Harvey Nichols for selling cans of reindeer pâté.
VIVA's website urges supporters to "politely complain" to the store, claiming that the process of harvesting the venison is traumatic to the animals. Admittedly, the packaging of the pâté seems designed to tweak delicate sensibilities, claiming the product is a "farm-raised relative of Rudolph" and "an indulgent Christmas treat." The pâté includes cognac and spices as well as its signature ingredients, ground meat and fat.
In a statement, the retailer defended the its choice to stock reindeer pâté, saying, "reindeer is growing in popularity in the U.K. … The reindeer we stock is farmed in Sweden and complies to EU legislation."
At £15 for 190 grams (around $23 for 6.7 ounces), it's a pricey snack. Even so, adventurous eaters are probably out of luck; it's listed as unavailable on Amazon.com and on the website of manufacturer Edible. It's also no longer available at Harvey Nichols stores or online — not because the retailer yanked it from its inventory at activists' request, according to a spokeswoman, but because the publicity led to a spike in sales.
"[O]ur online stock has sold out due to the publicity and demand we've received," spokeswoman Constance Cooper said via email. "It's a seasonal product and stocks are limited so we will not be restocking prior to Christmas." Until next year, foodies with a taste for the wild side will have to content themselves with Harvey Nichols' other edible oddities like green curry crickets or toasted ants.

A Laff or at least smile     
Two buddies are fishing, but they haven’t caught anything all day. Then, another fisherman walks by with a huge load of fish. They ask him "excuse me, but where did you get all those fish?"
 The other fisherman replies,” If you just go down the stream until the water isn't salty, there are a ton of hungry fish."
They thank him and go on their way. 15 minutes later, one fisherman says to the other "fill the bucket up with water and see if the water is salty."
He dips the bucket in the stream and drinks some. "Nope. Still salty." 30 minutes later, he asks him to check again.
"Nope, still salty." One our later they check again. "Nope. Still salty."
 "This isn't good," the fisherman finally says. "We have been walking for almost two hours and the water is still salty!"
 "I know," says the other. "And the bucket is almost empty!"

Found on YouTube          

Daybook Information        
Happening This Week:
15-29
Halcyon Days 
16-24
Posadas 
17-23
Saturnalia 
18-24 
Christmas Bird Count Week 
Gluten-free Baking Week: 
Today Is                                                                       
  • Cathode-Ray Tube Day: used in early TV’s and computer monitors
  • Games Day: first and foremost a celebration of the Games Workshop hobby—with multimedia
  • Hanukkah: Festival of Lights—Jewish; begins at sundown and continues for 8 days
  • International Human Solidarity Day
  • Mudd Day: Dr. Mudd helped JW Booth hide

Today’s Events                                                              
Arts
Ian Anderson & Glenn Cornick form rock group Jethro Tull [ Bungle in the Jungle]: 1967
Phileas Fogg completes around world trip, according to Verne: 1892 
"Graduate", starring Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft, premieres: 1967 
Bob Hope became an American citizen:  1920
Peter, Paul & Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" reaches #1: 1969 
Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army for National Service: 1957 
Neil Simons "Sunshine Boys," premieres in NYC: 1972 
Athletics
NBC broadcasts NY Jets' 24-17 win over Dolphins without audio: 1980 
Nancy Lopez/Miller Barber wins LPGA Mazda Golf Championship: 1987
Business
1st successful US cotton mill to spin yarn (Pawtucket, RI) : 1790 
1st international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine for Montreal, Quebec : 1928 
Animal rights terrorists fire-bomb Harrod's dept store, London : 1988 
Education
--
Indigenous People
Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark, dies at 24 in 1812 [oral Shoshone history is that she died at 96 in 1884]
Politics [International]
England declares war on Netherlands : 1780 
14 republics form Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (USSR) : 1922 
World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China : 1941
Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins: 1963
NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia: 1995
The first same sex civil partnerships in Scotland are celebrated: 2005
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days: 2007 
Politics [US]
Virginia Company settlers leave London to establish Jamestown VA: 1606 
1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery : 1669 
US House of Representatives restricts immigration: 1919
US troops invade Panama & oust Manuel Noriega, but don't catch him: 1989
Religion
Missouri imposes a $1[US2010$:15.39]bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50: 1820 
1st state anti-lynching statue approved, in Georgia: 1893 
Science
Pneumatic automobile tire patented, Syracuse, NY : 1892

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Artists: [Authors, Composers]
David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist in 1917 
Sidney Hook, anticommunist philosopher (Paradoxes of Freedom) in 1902
Athletes
Tim Hauck, NFL safety (Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks) is 45
Entertainers [Actors, Singers…]
Robert Colomby, rock drummer (Blood Sweat & Tears-And When I Die) is 67
Uri Geller, Israel, psychic (bends forks) is 65
Jonah Hill, actor is 28
Larry Willis, rock keyboardist (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 71
Entrepreneurs & Educators
Harvey S Firestone, Industrialist, where the rubber meets the road in1868 
Political Figures
Charles Edward Stuart, [Bonnie Prince Charlie/Young Pretender] in 1720 
Scientists & Theologians
Samuel A Mudd, doctor, convicted of giving medical aid to JW Booth in 1833 
Today’s Obits                                                           
Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at 81 in 1997
Bobby Darin, singer (Mack the Knife), dies of heart failure at 37 in 1973
Richard J Daley, (Mayor-D-Chicago), dies at 74 in 1976
James Hilton, English author (Lost Horizon), dies of liver cancer at 54 in 1954
Steve Landesberg, American actor and comedian [Dietrich--Barney Miller], dies at 74 in 2010
Max Robinson, 1st black network (ABC) TV anchor, dies of AIDS at 49 in 1988
Artur Rubinstein, pianist (Chopin - Heroic Polonaise Op. 53), dies in Geneva at 95 in 1982
Dean Rusk, US Sect of State (1961-69), dies at 85 in 1994
Carl Sagan, scientist (Contact), dies of pneumonia at 62 in 1996

Answers                                                                                                                                            
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     DT--tooth doctor: Dentist
2.     UL--fork knife, spoon: utensil
3.     JG--making jokes jesting
4.     DD--stretch as the stomach: distend
5.     AR--more on edge: antsier
6.     DY--fate :destiny
7.     DY--compactness: density
8.     WS--a person who may give testimony: witness
9.     MR--a large or important church: minster
10.  WD--limit of one’s sanity: wit’s end

  • Wuzzle
  • An error in judgment
  • Tripoli
  • Stereotyped


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     §

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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.