TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1926 Mussolini's Irish wife breaks his nose
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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I keep reading “Who will get blamed if the government shuts down?” My answer: All the friggin politicians—congress, executive branch, all of them. I worked for the Feds when it shut down during the Clinton and Reagan administrations. All three shut downs were nothing more than grandstanding. I was working at schools. We got the final call about 11am. Send everyone home at 1pm. Parents assume that their kids get home from school between 3:30 and 4:00pm. Those days the kids would get home at 1:30pm. Not a lot of phones back in those days and most parents spent the day away from their homes—working, sheep herding, shopping, or visiting away from home. What a mess. Then there were the dorm students…a whole new problem. After going home at 1:00, we all returned to work at the next morning. GRANDSTANDING. And for all those bean counters out there, we got paid our full salary as did all the other federal peasants—oops, I mean employees. So the shut down actually cost money as for those four hours—no work was done. Working with or for the Feds is a challenge. I’m sure the Tea Party newbies are still staring at the maze of government. The new budget on the Republican side says that by 2020 the unemployment rate will be 2.8%. Yeah, and there will be no more hurricanes, snow storms, earthquakes, or volcanoes. This shutdown is being led by a small minority who don’t know how to compromise because they are so new. The three previous shut downs lasted one day…then everybody sat down and talked. They all took place in October—the beginning of the fiscal year for the Feds. Look at the calendar…this is APRIL! The government has been operating on continuing resolutions since Oct. 1. An April shutdown is something new, and I fear that a one afternoon shutdown will not be enough for them. So what if the Indian schools shut down, the museums and National Parks are closed for a week or more? Of course the Republicans are not going to stop paying the military or themselves. Government checks may be late. Social Services may not be available. Government research grants may be shut down—can’t help people if no money is coming in, petri dishes need constant observation. I hope the budget is corrected quickly, so we can do this all over for the 2012 budget which starts on Oct 1.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
People use honey to take the sting out of sunburn, and adding a little honey to another medicine cabinet standby, petroleum jelly, creates an unbeatable lip balm.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
The Hoover Dam, built along the Colorado River between 1931 and 1936 reaches 726 feet in height.
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The London Eye in England is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe, standing at a height of 442 feet.
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The tallest wind turbine in the world has rotor tips that reach over 656 feet above the ground.
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The London Eye in England is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe, standing at a height of 442 feet.
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The tallest wind turbine in the world has rotor tips that reach over 656 feet above the ground.
PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]
1. Randolph Crane became famous as which cowboy actor?
2. Captain Jean Luc-Picard kept what kind of fish? And what was it’s name?
3. Lucille Le Sueur became famous as which actress?
4. Who said "Too much of a good thing is wonderful"?
5. In the Flintstones, what was Betty Rubbles maiden name?
6. Which actor was dubbed the 'Muscles from Brussels'?
7. Who did Michael Caine play in the "Ipcress File"?
8. Which actor has been portrayed most on screen by other actors?
9. Alan Stuart Konigsberg is better known as who?
10. Who was the first female monster to appear on film?
2. Captain Jean Luc-Picard kept what kind of fish? And what was it’s name?
3. Lucille Le Sueur became famous as which actress?
4. Who said "Too much of a good thing is wonderful"?
5. In the Flintstones, what was Betty Rubbles maiden name?
6. Which actor was dubbed the 'Muscles from Brussels'?
7. Who did Michael Caine play in the "Ipcress File"?
8. Which actor has been portrayed most on screen by other actors?
9. Alan Stuart Konigsberg is better known as who?
10. Who was the first female monster to appear on film?
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:
Fredrik Hjelnqvist, 45, owner of an aufio shop in Stockholm, demonstrated his system of broadcasting music from his stomach. He swallowed a plastic capsule containing a battery-operated audio set up, then connected an amplifier to a stethoscope and held it against his belly, and began playi8ng recorded music, including the Village People’s YMCA, until the battery died three hours later. Hjelmqvist admitted that the audio quality was poor but still hopes to sell the system for the equivalent of about $17,000.
A LITTLE LAUGH:
Another man and I share a locker at work. Noticing that it needed a new combination lock, my partner said he would pick one up on his way to work the next day. It occurred to me later that I might not see him in the morning. How would I find out the combination? I needn't have worried.
When I arrived at work I found that he had used the locker before me and had left a note reading: "To find the first number, subtract 142 from your high score the last time we went bowling. The second number is 16 less than that. To find the third number ,subtract 1.87 from the amount you owe me."
When I arrived at work I found that he had used the locker before me and had left a note reading: "To find the first number, subtract 142 from your high score the last time we went bowling. The second number is 16 less than that. To find the third number ,subtract 1.87 from the amount you owe me."
CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’:
♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫
2006 Inductee: Black Sabbath: Inductees: Terry “Geezer” Butler (bass; born July 17, 1949), Tony Iommi (guitar; born February 19, 1948), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals; born December 3, 1948), Bill Ward (drums; born May 5, 1948) Black Sabbath is credited with creating heavy metal.
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
«THIS WEEK
1-7
Golden Rule Week
International Pooper-Scooper Week
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
2-7
Laugh at Work Week
Medication Safety Week
2-7
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week
3-9
Explore Your Career Options
Hate Week
The Masters Tournament: Golf
National Networking Week
National Public Health Week
National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week
The Masters Tournament: Golf
National Networking Week
National Public Health Week
National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week
7-10
International Whistler’s Week
«TODAY IS
ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Day
International Beaver Day
International Snailpapers Day
Metric System Day
National Beer Day
No Housework Day
World Health Organization Day
§ § § §
China: Ching Ming - families gather at graves of ancestors
Yugoslavia: Republic Day (1963)
Yugoslavia: Republic Day (1963)
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
Ravi Shankar (Bengali: রবি শংকর), 91, Indian musician and composer
1770 William Wordsworth English poet laureate (The Prelude)
…ATHLETES
Jackie Chan, 57, martial artist, actor
Anthony Drew (Tony) Dorsett, 57, Hall of Fame football player
…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
(William) Hodding Carter III, 76, television and newspaper journalist
1860 W K Kellogg cereal mogul
1897 Walter Winchell newscaster/columnist (Untouchables) born in Harlem
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Francis Ford Coppola, 72, filmmaker
Russell Crowe, 47, actor
Daniel Ellsberg, 80, author
1908 Percy Faith conductor (Summer Place)
David Frost, 72, entertainer
James Garner, 83, actor
1915 Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan] Philadelphia PA, singer (Ain't Nobody's Business)
John Oates, 63, singer
Wayne Rogers, 78, actor
…POLITICIANS
1786 William King 13th U.S. Vice President: 1st VP to have served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate
1786 William King 13th U.S. Vice President: 1st VP to have served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate
…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1506 St Francis Xavier Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, & Japan
Today’s Obits:
1891 P[hineas] T Barnum US circus promoter (Barnum & Bailey), @ 80
1968 Jim Clark former Scottish world driving champion, racing accidnet @ 32
1994 Kurt Cobain grunge rocker (Nirvana), suicide by gun @ 27
1972 "Crazy" Joe Gallo mobster, killed @ 43rd birthday party
1614 El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos ) Spanish painter (View of Toledo), about 73
1961 Marian Jordan radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly), @ 62
1719 Jean-Baptiste de la Salle French priest/theory/saint, @ 67
Today’s Events:
… ARTS
1805 Premiere of Beethoven's "Eroica" (conducted by himself)
1949 Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" opens at Majestic Theater (for 1928 performances)
… ATHLETICS
1864 The first camel race in America was held. Nope -- not in the Mojave Desert; but in Sacramento, California.
… BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1827 English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches
1888 P.F. Collier published a weekly periodical for the first time. Collier’s
1891 Nebraska introduces the 8 hour work day
1902 Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms
… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1830 President Jackson has submitted a bill that would call for the removal of most of the Indians in the southeast to lands west of the Mississippi. In a speech today, Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen, denounces the bill. He asked the Senate when was it ever proclaimed "that the right of discovery contained a superior efficacy to all prior titles?"
… International POLITICS
1953 Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden elected 2nd UN General-Secretary
1954 President Dwight Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China
1983 Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt
… SCIENCE & RELIGION
1923 1st brain tumor operation under local anesthetic performed (Beth Israel Hospital in NYC) by Dr K Winfield Ney
… US POLITICS
1788 1st settlement in Ohio, at Marietta
1798 Territory of Mississippi is organized
1940 1st black to appear on US stamp (Booker T Washington)
1969 Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material
1971 President Richard Nixon orders Lieutenant Calley (My Lai) free
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ANSWERS:
Quiz
1. Randolph Crane became famous as which cowboy actor?
Randolph Scott
2. Captain Jean Luc-Picard kept what kind of fish? And the fish’s name was?
lionfish; Livingston
3. Lucille Le Sueur became famous as which actress?
Joan Crawford
4. Who said "Too much of a good thing is wonderful"?
Mae West
5. In the Flintstones, what was Betty Rubbles maiden name?
Betty Jean McBricker
6. Which actor was dubbed the 'Muscles from Brussels'?
Jean Claude Van Dam
7. Who did Michael Caine play in the "Ipcress File"?
Harry Palmer
8. Which actor has been portrayed most on screen by other actors?
Charlie Chaplain
9. Alan Stuart Konigsberg is better known as who?
Woody Allen
10. Who was the first female monster to appear on film?
Bride of Frankenstein
Close Up Picture
Randolph Scott
2. Captain Jean Luc-Picard kept what kind of fish? And the fish’s name was?
lionfish; Livingston
3. Lucille Le Sueur became famous as which actress?
Joan Crawford
4. Who said "Too much of a good thing is wonderful"?
Mae West
5. In the Flintstones, what was Betty Rubbles maiden name?
Betty Jean McBricker
6. Which actor was dubbed the 'Muscles from Brussels'?
Jean Claude Van Dam
7. Who did Michael Caine play in the "Ipcress File"?
Harry Palmer
8. Which actor has been portrayed most on screen by other actors?
Charlie Chaplain
9. Alan Stuart Konigsberg is better known as who?
Woody Allen
10. Who was the first female monster to appear on film?
Bride of Frankenstein
Close Up Picture
IV bag
________AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW________
