11-29-11


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

Today’s “Geez”
1864 - Colorado militia kills 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians [Sand Creek Massacre]
1910 - The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine
1948 - 1st opera to be televised, "Othello," broadcast from the Met (NYC)
1948 - KOB TV channel 4 in Albuquerque, NM (NBC) begins broadcasting
1965 - Dale Cummings does 14,118 consecutive sit-ups
1967 - Robert McNamara elected president of World Bank
1994 - Seoul, Korea, celebrated the 600th anniversary of its founding

♪♪ Happy Birthday To:♪♪                       
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
A beautiful day, but rain and/or snow in the forecast for Thursday through Saturday. OK, it is December and I’m ready for some snow. I ran some errands this morning after a nice conversation with Bob and Laurie in Loveland. They had a great Turkey day using Laurie’s new kitchen. Very nice. Laurie’s son, Chris, graduated last spring from college and has gotten the travel bug. Right now he is in Hawaii for about two months. He works about three months, saves his money, then travels for a couple of months…then back to work to earn more money for travel. Good gig if you can get it. He spent two months in Europe this summer.

I got some pics from Milt, who was on our trip to Ethiopia. Very nice. I’ll add a few of them to my movie.

Not a lot got done today, but tomorrow will be different. I’ve got to start finding some Christmas presents for family and friends. As I ran my errands I am starting to get in the mood for Christmas, so that is good.

NPR Sunday Puzzle…(answers at the end of post)
You will be given the name of a famous person without the first and last letters of their first and last names. Find the missing letters to add onto the name. For example, if you are given "err row," the answer would be "Jerry Brown."
lady nigh:
all truther:
live ton:
arlo rand:
oh dam:
mine:

Wuzzles…What concept or phrase do these suggest?
   
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
  • The internal temperature of the earth increases with depth. In most places, the temperature increases about 16 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet.

Hmmmmm          
  • Portion of Americans who think the death of Bsama bin Laden will make it easier to ‘win the globalwar on terror”: 2/5

Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621. Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter.
  • The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians.
  • All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.
  • In the mid-1800s, the poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday.
  • During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, discussed the subject with Hale. In 1863 he gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.
  • In 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Following much controversy, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
MANSFIELD, Ohio - An Ohio dentist said he is aiming to prevent cavities by buying back Halloween candy from trick-or-treaters at $1 per pound. Dr. Craig Callen said kids can bring their candy to his Mansfield office and receive $1 per pound, with a 5-pound limit, and free toothbrushes in exchange for their trick-or-treating loot, the Mansfield News Journal reported Monday.
Callen said he will distribute as much as $1,000 and children who return candy will be entered in a drawing for two bikes. "Visiting your dentist twice a year and brushing your teeth are great preventive measures, but doing away with excess sweets would really give your teeth a healthy boost," Callen said. "Kids can have the fun of trick-or-treating, and now their piggy banks will benefit as well." "Plus they get a nice new toothbrush and a goody bag of gifts (limit one per child while supply lasts)," he said.

Guffaw…or at least smile     
While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. ‘Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.
‘No problem, just let me in,' says the man.
‘Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity. ‘Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the senator.
‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules. ‘And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator raises...The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
‘Now it's time to visit heaven. ‘So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
‘Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.
‘The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell. ‘
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.
'I don't understand,' stammers the senator. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? ‘
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning....Today you voted.'

Searchin’ “You Tube” I found        

Daybook Information        
…Happening This Week:
--
Today Is                                                                      
  • Electronic Greetings Day
  • International Day of Solidarity with The Palestinian People [since 1978]
  • Square Dance Day

~*~

Today’s Events                                                             
Arts
1825 - 1st Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC)
1926 - W Somerset Maughams "Constant Wife," premieres in NYC
Athletes
1934 - Chic Bears beat Detroit (19-16) in 1st NFL game broadcast nationally
1987 - Joe Montana of 49ers completes NFL record 22 consecutive passes
Business
1915 - Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California
1933 - 1st state liquor stores authorized (Pennsylvania)
1953 - American Airlines begins 1st regular commercial NY-LA air service
1972 - Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, CA
1995 - CNN/fn, the financial network by Turner Enterprises, launched
Education
1870 - Compulsory education proclaimed in England
Indigenous People
1813 - A battle is fought between Upper Town "Red Stick" Creeks, and the American forces in the village of Autossee, in modern Macon County, Alabama. The Red Stick Creeks suffer 200 fatalities, while the Americans post only eleven dead. The village and its supplies are burned. The villages of Tallassee and Little Tallassee are also destroyed.
1847 - Indians kill Marcus & Narcissa Whitman, 11 settle in Walla Walla OR
1872 - The Modoc War begins with the Battle of Lost River
Politics [International]
1596 - King Philip II devalues Spanish currency
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlies army moves into Manchester & occupy Carlisle
1781 - The British crew of the slave ship Zong murders 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea in order to claim insurance
1893 - Ziqiang Institute, today known as Wuhan University, is founded by Zhang Zhidong, governor of Hubei and Hunan Provinces in late Qing Dynasty of China after his memorial to the throne is approved by the Qing Government
1932 - USSR & France sign no attack treaty
Politics [US]
1887 - US receives rights to Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii
1942 - US rations coffee
1961 - Freedom Riders attacked by white mob at bus station in Miss
Religion
1349 - Jews of Augsburg Germany massacred
1950 - National Council of Church of Christ in US forms
1964 - Roman Catholic Church in US replaces Latin with English
Science
1775 - Sir James Jay invents invisible ink
1877 - Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph
2007 - A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique. This affected the Eastern Caribbean as far north as Puerto Rico and as south as Trinidad

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Artists: [Authors, Composers]
1832 - Louisa May Alcott, author (Little Women)
1918 - Madeleine L'Engle, [Franklin], US, sci-fi author (A Wrinkle in Time)
David Reuben, author (Everything You Wanted to Know about Sex) is 78
Athletes
Pedro A Martinez, pitcher (NY Mets) is 43
Vin[ce] Scully, sportscaster (NBC Baseball Game of the Week) is 84
Entertainers [Actors, Singers…]
Don Cheadle, actor is 47
Kim Delaney, actress (All My Children, Tour of Duty, NYPD Blue) is 50
Diane Ladd, actress (Wild Angels, Wild at Heart) is 79
1896 - Rod(erique) La Rocque (La Tour), western actor (Beau Bandit)
Howie Mandel, comedian (Dr Wayne Fiscus-St Elsewhere) is 56
Chuck Mangione, jazz hornist (Children of Sanchez) is 71
Garry Shandling, comedian is 62
1917 - Merle Travis, American singer (Cannonball Rag)
Entrepreneurs & Educators
1923 - Frank Reynolds, news anchor (ABC Evening News)
Political Figures
Jacques Chirac, French politician is 79
1908 - Adam Clayton Powell Jr, (Rep-D-NY)/minister
1928 - Paul Simon, American politician
1895 - William V S Tubman, (Whig), 17th Liberian president (1943-70)
Scientists & Theologians
--

Today’s Obits                                                           
1991 - Ralph Bellamy, actor (Rosemary's Baby, His Girl Friday), dies at 87
1980 - Dorothy Day, author (Stump the Authors), dies at 83
1954 - Enrico Fermi, Italian/US nuclear physicist, dies of stomach cancer at 53
1646 - Laurentius Paulinus Gothus, Swedish theologian and astronomer (b. 1565)
1986 - Cary Grant, actor (Charades), dies at 82
1872 - Horace Greeley, US founder/publisher (NY Tribune), dies at 61
2001 - George Harrison, English singer, guitarist and songwriter dies of lung cancer at 58
1992 - Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy), dies at 78
1999 - Gene Rayburn, American game show host dies at 82
2007 - Roger Bonham Smith, Former chairman and CEO of General Motors dies at 82
1981 - Natalie Wood, actress (West Side Story), drowns at 43
1997 - Coleman Young, 1st black mayor of a major city, dies at 79
Answers                                                                                                                                            
NPR Sunday Puzzle
lady nigh: Gladys Knight
all truther: Sally Struthers
live ton: Oliver Stone
arlo rand: Marlon Brando
oh dam: John Adams
mine: Eminem

Wuzzle
Growing happiness
The top of the class
Drifts apart

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’S ALL FOR NOW     §

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.