Ø TODAY’s “Geez”:
· 1858 - 1st use of fingerprints as a means of identification is made by
· 1900 - Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
· 1914 - Foxtrot 1st danced at New Amsterdam Roof Garden (NYC, by Harry Fox)
· 1915 - 10,000 blacks march on 5th Ave (NYC) protesting lynchings
· 1933 - 1st singing telegram delivered (to Rudy Vallee), NYC
Ø Free Rambling Thoughts…
I had the most amazing trip down the Grand Canyon. I’ll be adding the trip to my other blog within the next few weeks. I’ll post the link here when it is completed. That blog will include pictures.
In the mean time, here is a little preview. The trip was 13 days down the canyon from Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Point, on the Hualapai Rez, about 20 miles from Peach Springs. We traveled down about 240 miles of the 277 mile canyon. We had 5 inflatable rafts, four for passengers and one for food and tents. We were also able to ride on the historic ‘Sandra’, the last wood boat built by Norm Nevilles in 1947. Greg Rieff, who is Norm’s grandson and Sandra’s son, was one of the rowers. Another rower was Cliff Ghiglieri, son of author Michael—author of several Grand Canyon Books including ‘First through the Grand Canyon’. Another rower was Kate who with her boyfriend build those small dory boats up in Colorado. John was our trip leader and lives in Flag. Aminity and her boyfriend Omar were also rowers. Isaac and Tom were our food and tent carriers for the second half of the trip while Rachel and Clint did the upper half of the trip. Six of us did the whole trip; six did the upper half and then hiked out from Phantom Ranch. We picked up eight at Phantom for the lower half of the trip. The river was running high and the whitewater was outstanding. We had been warned to about high temps, but only had two really hot days. We had been warned about monsoons, but it only rained the last night. It rained from about 4pm until dawn and that was the only night we needed a tent. We had a stop for a hike every day. I took a few, but really don’t like climbing on rocks with undefined trails so did not do all the hikes. Even so I had an amazing trip. The night of the rain, I picked up ‘jungle rot’ on my feet. Soaking in water with grape seed extract relieved much of the pain. Today I headed for the walk-in clinic in Flagstaff for some foot cream and pain pills. It only hurts when I attempt to walk, and should clear up within a week. Right now I have a new appreciation for anyone with pain when walking. I am currently walking as little as possible, and when I do, I walk like a 90 year old—slow, small waddling steps, and mucho pain. I still haven’t shaved, so I’m sure I look like a street person who is looking for great sympathy. I’ll be shaving tonight as the pain has decreased enough that I can stand at the mirror long enough to shave.
I certainly could have taken some electronics on the trip, to use around camp (a digital camera and iPod) but am really glad I went techo-free for the trip. When I left, the news was all about the debt ceiling. When I got back, the news is still all about the debt ceiling. When I left there were lots of politicians in DC with no real statesmen except the President. When I returned, no one has magically become a statesman. I’m sure much more happened without me listening to or reading about it. Glad I missed all daily turmoil.
Minus the jungle rot, I would encourage everyone to consider a river trip down the canyon. The motorized trip is done in six days, the row or dory trips at 13 days. Of course there are shorter day trips, but it takes several days to understand why the Grand Canyon is in fact ‘grand’. Thank you to Teddy Roosevelt for starting the process of protecting this natural wonder in 1906 and to Congress and President Wilson who finally made it the 17th National Park in 1919. The battles to keep the Grand Canyon continue today and will probably never end. Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam certainly made it a different canyon than early explorers and early indigenous people knew, and took away some of the canyon’s magnificence. What we have today is still a very Grand canyon.
Ø Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)
1. Which David headed the cult which staged a 1993 mass suicide in Waco?
2. Who attained the highest altitude for a woman astronaut in 1993?
3. Who won Miss World the first time it was held in India?
4. Who won Taiwan's first democratic Presidential election?
5. Where was the UN Earth summit held in 1992?
6. What number TWA flight exploded shortly after take-off in July 1996?
7. What was the name of the mother of the Iowa septuplets born in 1997?
8. Which Terry was released as hostage in Lebanon on 4 Dec 1991?
9. Where in the USA was there a total eclipse in 1991?
10. What was O J Simpson driving in the famous police chase?
11. What was the name of the rocket that was launched containing Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry's ashes?
12. Who went on trial for the Oklahoma bombing after Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the crime?
Ø Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)
Ø Hmmmmm…
· Inches by which the average width of a seat in the US performing arts theater has increased since 1990: 1
Ø Somewhat Useless Information…
· The first pawn shops emerged in ancient China more than 3,000 years ago.
· Today, there are more than 12,000 pawn shops operating in the United States alone.
· The symbol of the pawnbroker is three spheres suspended from a bar. Some connect this symbol to the Medici Family --legend has it that one of the Medicis working for Emperor Charles the Great killed a giant with three sacks of rocks. The three balls or globes later became part of their family crest, and ultimately, the sign of pawnbroking.
· Saint Nicolas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers; the symbolism of the three balls or spheres associated with pawnbrokers has also been connected with his gift of three bags of coins to the three daughters of a poor man so that they could marry.
· It is estimated that approximately 25 million Americans do not have a bank checking account. Pawn shops serve this population by offering a source of short-term loans.
· More than 70 percent of all items pawned today are reclaimed. The average loan granted for a pawned item is $75.
Ø Yeah, It Really Happened…
San Bernardino, CA-- A man who grew up and lived in a small community in the San Bernardino Mountains of California. One afternoon the man, Allen Kephart, was driving along a mountain road near his home when he allegedly blew a stop sign.
A sheriff's deputy attempted to stop Kephart who ignored the deputy for an entire half mile. We don't know why Kephart didn't stop immediately, perhaps because he was on a winding mountain road, but in less than a mile he pulled safely into a gas station on the side of the road.
It was at that point that the deputy yanked him out of his vehicle and threw him to the ground where his face hit the pavement. Kephart attempted to rise, perhaps because he was dazed, or perhaps to turn onto his back, but the deputy, seeing no other alternative, tasered him.
In short order another deputy arrived and they continued to subdue Kephart with their tasers five times, at least. When the deputies discovered he was unresponsive they took him to the hospital where he died.
He had no police record.
Ø Guffaw…or at least smile…
Three mice are sitting around drinking and boasting about their strengths. The first mouse says "Mouse traps, Ha! I do pushups with the bar". The second mouse pulls a pill from his pocket, swallows it, and says with a grin "D-Con Rat Poison". The third mouse finishes his drink, slams his glass on the table and starts to leave. The first mouse says, "Where do you think you're going?”
"Time to go home and chase the cat”
Bonus
After a lady’s car had leaked motor oil on her cement driveway, she bought a large bag of cat litter to soak it up. It worked so well, that she went back to the store to get another bag to finish the job. The clerk remembered her. Looking thoughtfully at her purchase, he said, “Lady, if that were my cat, I’d put him outside!”
Ø Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…
Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest - Flute Duet / Flute Solo
Ø Daybook Information…
…Happening This Week:
…
Ø TODAY IS
· National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
· Take Your Pants For A Walk Day
· Walk on Stilts Day
· Peru: National Day: Independence from Spain, 1821
Ø Today’s Events:
… IN ARTS
1994 - Last steel beam is placed on Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
… IN ATHLETICS
1928 - 9th Olympic Games open in Amsterdam
1931 - White Sox score 11 in 8th to beat Yankees 14-12
1993 - Mariner Ken Griffey Jr is 3rd to hit HRs in 8 straight games
… IN BUSINESS
1586 - The first potato arrives in Britain
1945 - US Army B-25 crashes into 79th floor of Empire State Bldg, 14 die
1977 - 1st oil through the TransAlaska Pipeline System reach Valdez, Alaska
… IN EDUCATION
--
… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1862 - Fort Bowie is established in the Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, by members of Brigadier General James Charlatan's California volunteers
1872 - Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie and twelve officers 272 enlisted men and twenty Tonkawa scouts begin an extended patrol of the area surrounding the Texas Panhandle.
… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1148 - Crusaders attack Damascus
1540 - English King Henry VIII marries Catharine Howard, his 5th wife
1976 - 8.2 & 7.4 earthquake devastate Tangsha, China (240-750,000 die)
1988 - Winnie Mandella's home in Soweto, South Africa destroyed by arson
2005 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland
… IN RELIGION
--
… IN SCIENCE
1741 - Capt Bering discovers Mount St Elias, Alaska
1851 - Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
… IN US POLITICS
1868 - 14th Amendment ratified, grants citizenship to ex-slaves
1931 - Congress makes "Star-Spangled Banner" our 2nd national anthem
1959 - Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
1965 - LBJ sends 50,000 more soldiers to Vietnam (total of 125,000)
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS
Jim Davis, cartoonist (Garfield) turns 66
1866 - Beatrix Potter, England, children's author (Tale of Peter Rabbit)
…ATHLETES
Vida Blue, major-league pitcher (Cy Young & AL MVP 1971) turns 62
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
1892 - Joe E Brown, comedian
1949 - Peter Doyle, Australian singer (The New Seekers)
Georgia Engel actress turns 63
Sally Struthers actress (Gloria-All in the Family) turns 63
1901 - Rudy Vallee, singer (Vagabond Dreams, My Time Is Your Time)
… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
--
…POLITICIANS
1929 - Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 1st lady
…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
1859 - Balington Booth, founder (Volunteers of America)
Ø Today’s Obits:
1750 - Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (Art of the Fugue), dies at 65
2004 - Francis Crick, English molecular biologist, Nobel laureate dies at 88
2003 - Lady Valerie Goulding, Irish politician and activist dies at 85
1982 - George Kleinsinger, US composer (Tubby the Tuba), dies at 68
1937 - Joseph Lee, father of Playgrounds movement, dies at 75
1985 - Grant Williams, actor (Shrinking Man), dies of toxic poisoning at 54
1994 - Colin Turnbull, anthropologist, dies of AIDS at 69
1794 - Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, Fr revolutionary, guillotined at 36
Ø ANSWERS:
Ø Trivia Quiz
1. Which David headed the cult which staged a 1993 mass suicide in Waco?
a. Koresh
2. Who attained the highest altitude for a woman astronaut in 1993?
a. Kathryn Thornton
3. Who won Miss World the first time it was held in India?
a. Irene Skliva
4. Who won Taiwan's first democratic Presidential election?
a. Lee Teng-Hui
5. Where was the UN Earth summit held in 1992?
a. Rio
6. What number TWA flight exploded shortly after take-off in July 1996?
a. 800
7. What was the name of the mother of the Iowa septuplets born in 1997?
a. Bobbi McCaughey
8. Which Terry was released as hostage in Lebanon on 4 Dec 1991?
a. Anderson
9. Where in the USA was there a total eclipse in 1991?
a. Hawaii
10. What was O J Simpson driving in the famous police chase?
a. Ford Bronco
11. What was the name of the rocket that was launched containing Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry's ashes?
a. Pegasus
12. Who went on trial for the Oklahoma bombing after Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the crime?
a. Terry Nichols
Close Up Picture
Ø …AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
