TODAY’s “Geez”: 1969 - Monty Python comedy troupe forms
Free Rambling Thoughts…
No Red Flag day here. Temps were in the 40’s, and there was more rain and snow on and off throughout the day. I was able to run some errands between the storms so it was a good day. One of the errands was to get the oil changed. I put so few miles on my vehicle; I let it go longer than I should have. NO damage, but will do better next time.
The many people who live along the Mississippi are sure having problems. It is one thing to have 48’ floods, but the worst part seems to be the amount of time it will take for the water to recede. The one time I saw the Mississippi it was a very wide and slow river. I didn’t see the rapids I was used to in many western and southwestern rivers. It may be six weeks before that water soaks in or works its way back to the river. Homes and businesses are gone and casinos with much cash are now sitting under water. And then there are the snakes. Enuf said.
Obama is certainly not going to just sit back…today he made a policy speech in El Paso. Just as summer is on the horizon, Immigration is being brought back to the forefront. I can only wish him luck. I live in AZ. Our governor and our legislature ain’t gonna listen to one of them those DC-ers unless that person decided to forcibly remove all illegal immigrants and then build a fence to the sky and to the center of the earth to keep them fer-i-ers out of AZ. Obama is trying to reform the law as a way to help the economy. Sounds good to me. What a mess and going to get messier. Go for It, Mr. President.
Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of psot)
Whose sports-based novels of the 90s include Comeback and To the Hilt?
Aunt Agatha and Bingo Little are featured in the escapades of which man about town?
Which writer of horrific happenings was himself involved in a road accident while out walking in 1999?
In which decade was The Lord Of The Rings first published?
Whose best-selling books include When You Look Like Your Passport Photo It's Time To Go Home?
Who penned the airport lounge best seller titled Airport?
Which novelist with an English place last name wrote White Fang?
Who wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?
Georges Simenon created which character known by one name?
What type of Jungle animal was Shere Khan?
David John Cornell wrote spy stories under which name?
In 1917, which Joseph endowed an annual literary prize.
Who wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)
Hmmmmm…
~percentage of the fuel used to power Amtrak’s ‘Heartland Flyer’ that comes from rendered beef fat: 20
~Portion of all calories consumed by US children that are nutritionally empty: 2/5
The First Time…
Lucy Hobbs Taylor 1867 --- 1st woman in the US to become a certified dentist. She graduated from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery.
Ebenezer D. Bassett 1869 ---1st African American U.S. diplomat, minister-resident to Haiti.
Arabella Mansfield 1869 --- 1st woman lawyer. A year later, Ada H. Kepley, of Illinois, graduates from the Union College of Law in Chicago. She is the first woman lawyer to graduate from a law school.
Jefferson Long 1870 --- 1st African American elected to U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia.
Somewhat Useless Information…
***Julia Ward Howe wrote the Battle Hymm of the Republic and was a staunch fighter for women's rights. She staged anunusual protest for peace in Boston, by celebrating a special day for mothers. Julia wanted to call attention to the need for peace by pointing out mothers who were left alone in the world without their sons and husbands after the bloody Franco-Prussian War.
*** In 1914, the US Congress passed legislation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.
*** The Ancient Greeks celebrated Mother's Day in springs, similar to our tradition today. They used to honor Rhea, "mother of the gods," with honey-cakes and fine drinks and flowers at dawn.
***The carnation is the special flower for Mother’s Day. Tradition calls for wearing a red one if one's mother is alive, and white if she has died.
*** There are more phone calls made on Mother’s Day than on any other day of the year. An AT&T survey estimated that 122.5 million phone calls to Mom are made on Mother's Day.
*** Chinese family names are often formed (begin) with a sign that means "mother". It's a nice way of honoring their moms long past.
Yeah, It Really Happened…
LONDON — Several thousand bees that were part a multi-million pound neuroscience research project have been stolen from a British university.
Police in the Scottish region of Tayside were appealing for information on Tuesday after four bee hives containing several thousand British black bees were stolen from a medical school in the city of Dundee.
"This theft will undoubtedly hamper our research," said Dr Chris Connolly, the lead researcher on the Dundee project, who reported the bees missing on Sunday.
In a statement he described the bees as "very unique" and said they should be easy to identify if they are sold on.
The hives are a part of a 2 million pound ($3.3 million) project at the Center for Neurosciences at the Dundee University's medical school which is investigating the potential effect of pesticides on bee learning and health.
Police said there were keen to trace a white van and two men that were seen in the area at around 0900 GMT on May 8.
Connolly said he thought the bees may have been stolen for breeding, or for selling on to specialist bee-keepers.
"Clearly whoever did this knows what they were doing and how to handle bees," he said.
Guffaw…or at least smile…
My wife and I were having a very hypothetical discussion: In the unlikely event that Hollywood made a movie based on our lives, we wondered what stars would play us.
"Who would you pick to portray you?" she asked me.
I thought about it for a minute, then answered, "George Clooney."
"In that case," she said, "I'll play myself."
Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…
Daybook Information
…Happening This Week:
6-12 National Nurses Day and Week
7-15National Tourism Week:
8-14
National Hospital Week * National Nursing Home Week * Reading is Fun Week * Salute to Moms 35+ Week
9-15
National Return To Work Week * National Women's Health Week * National Etiquette Week * National Stuttering Awareness Week * Universal Family Week
«TODAY IS
Donate A Day's Wages To Charity
Eat What You Want Day
National Night Shift Workers Day
National School Nurse Day
National Third Shift Workers Day
Receptionists Day
US: Minnesota: Admission Day (1838 became 32nd state)
Today’s Events:
… IN ARTS
1812 - Waltz introduced into English ballrooms. Most observers consider it disgusting & immoral
1924 - Pulitzer Prize awarded to Robert Frost (New Hampshire)
1927 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences forms
1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published
1974 - "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield hits #7
… IN ATHLETICS
1980 - Pete Rose, 39, steals second, third, & home in one inning for Phillies
… IN BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1751 - 1st US hospital founded (Pennsylvania Hospital)
1752 - 1st US fire insurance policy issued (Philadelphia)
1904 - Andrew Carnegie donates $1.5M to build a peace palace
1947 - BF Goodrich announced the development of tubeless tire (Akron Ohio)
1951 - Jay Forrester patents computer core memory
… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1854 - In an effort to end the fighting in the "Walker War" of southern Utah, Paiute Chief Walkara and Utah Governor Brigham Young meet in Juab County, Utah. The meeting would end the onging fighting; however, they would flare up again later.
1974 - The Acting Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs has authorized an election for amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin. The amendments are voted in.
… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
330 - Constantinople (Byzantium) becomes capital of Roman Empire
… IN SCIENCE & RELIGION
1310 - Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics
1816 - American Bible Society forms (NY)
1910 - Montana's Glacier National Park forms
1916 - Einstein's Theory of General Relativity presented
1965 - Bangladesh windstorm kills 17,000
… IN US POLITICS
1792 - Columbia River discovered & named by US Capt Robert Gray
…ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
1888 - Irving Berlin, [Isadore Balin], composer (White Xmas)
1904 - Salvador Dali, surrealist artist (Crucifixion)
1894 - Martha Graham American dancer, teacher and choreographer
1901 - Mari Sandoz, author (Cheyenne Autumn)
…ATHLETES
Matt Leinart, Football player, turns 28
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Eric Burdon, Rock singer (The Animals), turns 70
Martha Quinn, Former MTV VJ, turns 52
Mort Sahl, comedian/political satirist/beatnik (Big Party) tunrs 84
1912 - Phil Silvers, comedian (Sgt Bilko)
… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
1799 - John Lowell, American philanthropist
…POLITICIANS
--
…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
1811 - Chang & Eng Bunker, Chinese Siamese twin
Today’s Obits:
1973 - Lex Barker, American actor(Tarzan) dies of heart attack at 54
2002 - Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster dies at 97
1963 - Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel laureate dies at 75
2007 - Bernard Gordon, blacklisted American author dies at 89
1981 - Bob Marley, reggae singer, dies of brain & lung cancer at 36
1992 - Elizabeth McDonald, inventor (Spic & Span), dies at 98
2006 - Floyd Patterson, American boxer dies of Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer at 71
2008 - Dottie Rambo, American gospel singer (We Shall Behold Him) dies of bus accident injuries at 74
ANSWERS:
Trivia Quiz
Whose sports-based novels of the 90s include Comeback and To the Hilt?
Dick Francis
Aunt Agatha and Bingo Little are featured in the escapades of which man about town?
Bertie Wooster
Which writer of horrific happenings was himself involved in a road accident while out walking in 1999?
Stephen King
In which decade was The Lord Of The Rings first published?
1950s
Whose best-selling books include When You Look Like Your Passport Photo It's Time To Go Home?
Erma Bombeck
Who penned the airport lounge best seller titled Airport?
Arthur Hailey
Which novelist with an English place last name wrote White Fang?
Jack London
Who wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?
Maya Angelou
Georges Simenon created which character known by one name?
Maigret
What type of Jungle animal was Shere Khan?
Tiger [Kipling’s Jungle Book]
David John Cornell wrote spy stories under which name?
John Le Carre
In 1917, which Joseph endowed an annual literary prize.
Pulitzer
Who wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Edward Albee
Close Up Picture--Ice Crystals
…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
