May 19


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Todays  Historical  Highlights
1571Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi founded Manila in the Philippines
1793Netherlands captures French island of St Maarten (held until 1795) 1796Game protection law restricts encroachment on Indian hunting grounds
1856Sen Charles Sumner, Mass, spoke out against slavery
1865President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union Cavalry in Georgia
1934: Sherlock Holmes crossword puzzle in "Sat Review of Lit" Males who solved puzzle became members of Baker Street Irregulars
199227th Amendment ratified, prohibits Congress from raising its salary

Happy Birthday To:  

 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
A very windy day. I was out and about this morning and was amazed by the amount of haze in the air. I’m sure it was the smoke for the various fires south of here. At first I thought it was the eclipse came early. The wind has made things worse, and now about 34,000 acres (53sq miles) are burning. This is such a frustrating time of year, every year.

Our wonderful state has 6,482,505 people living here. With that number, how do we find so many ignorant people to elect to public office? Today I was watching National news and learned that our Secretary of State is joining the group mentioned above. According to him, he has sent a letter to the State of Hawaii and asked if they have a long form birth certificate on file for President Obama. It seems, according to him, ONE of his constituents out of the 6.4+ million wrote him a letter to determine if Obama was born in the US. He said he hasn’t heard back yet; but if he does not get a response, he will seriously consider keeping Obama’ name off the Nov. ballot in AZ.  Really?!?  Couldn’t he just have written a letter to that one constituent and told them the issue was solved long ago?

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Given clues for six-letter words, each containing the consecutive letters M-A. Remove the M-A, and the remaining four letters, in order, will spell a word answering the second clue. For example, given "to stay" and "part of a bridle," the answer would be "remain" and "rein."
1.      French city with an annual auto race; part of a telescope:
2.     A sheriff; something to be mowed:
3.     A frequent hamburger topper; dog in Wizard of Oz:
4.     A city in Washington; a fried Mexican dish:
5.     A steamed Mexican dish; a story:
6.     Illness; a proper woman:
7.     A class for expectant mothers; take it easy:

Riddle of the day
What is that which goes with a carriage, comes with a carriage, is of no use to a carriage, and yet the carriage cannot go without it?
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Chances that a US worker is of normal weight and without a chronic health problem: 1 in 7
Found on You Tube
Armed Forces Medley
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
Bubba and Billy were driving down the road while drinking beer when they spotted a roadblock ahead.
"We're gonna get busted," whimpered Billy.
"Don't worry," said Bubba. "We'll just pull over and finish drinkin' these beers, then peel off the label and stick it on our foreheads and then toss the bottles under the seat. Just let me do the talking."
They downed the beer, threw the empties out of sight and put the labels on their foreheads. When they reached the roadblock, the police officer asked, "You boys been drinking?"
"No, sir," said Bubba, pointing at the labels. "Me and Billy are on the patch."
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
If the painted area of a pencil is smaller than the width of your four fingers, the pencil is too small to use comfortably. Throw it out.
Yeah, It Really Happened
Breasts, penises and humping couples...they're all part of snack time at a middle school in Australia. At least they were.
The Australian school official who handed out chocolates shaped like private parts and copulating couples to children resigned.The parents of students at Woodberry Public School in Woodberry, north of Sydney, said they were shocked when they spotted the provocatively shaped candies at a Mother's Day event at the school.
"I had to do a double-take," said Cassandra Lacey, whose two sons attend the school. "Every single chocolate was to do with sex. This was in the school hall, on the school grounds and in school time."
A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said the chocolates were not provided by school officials. "The school says that the gifts were prepared by parents, for parents, and the school had no knowledge of them until some of the mothers complained," he said.So the parents were shocked because the naughty candy was supposed to be for them, not their children. Makes sense. But it was Mother's Day, after all.               
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Work on St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, began in 1506. Construction took over a century, reaching completion in 1612.
  • Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt are the four US presidents whose faces are carved on Mt. Rushmore.
  • There are 403 steps from the foundation to the top of the torch in the Statue of Liberty.
  • The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1630 by Shah Jehan to honor his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.
  • The official name of the St. Louis Gateway Arch is "The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial." The Gateway Arch looks taller than it is wider, but it is exactly 630 feet by 630 feet.
  • The only one of his sculptures that Michelangelo signed was the "The Pieta," completed in 1500.


Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
12-19 
National Tourism Week
National Nursing Home Week
Reading is Fun Week
Salute to Moms 35+ Week
National Return To Work Week
National Women's Health Week
American Craft Beer Week
National Bike to Work Week
National Etiquette Week
National Hospital Week
15-21
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
National Educational Bosses' Week
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Police Week
National Transportation Week
World Trade Week
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week
19-25
National Safe Boating Week

Today Is                                                                       
Artichoke Day
Armed Forces Day
Boys Club Day
Frog Jumping Jubilee Day
May Ray Day to appreciate the warming weather provided courtesy of our sun's rays
Mike, The Headless Chicken Day:  The strange story
National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
O. Henry Pun-off Day
Preakness Stakes

 Youth and Sports Day (Turkey)

Todays Other Events                                                              
1500’s
1568English queen Elizabeth I arrests Scottish queen Mary
1600’s
1649An Act declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years
1700’s
1795: A treaty is signed between the Chippewa and the Canadian government. Second Lieutenant J. Givins represents the crown and several Chippewa Chiefs are present. It is signed at "York, in the Province of Upper Canada" (Penetanguishene, Ontario).
1796: Congress passes "An Act Making Appropriations for Defraying the Expenses Which May Arise in Carrying into Effect a Treaty Made Between the United States and Certain Indian Tribes, Northwest of the River Ohio."
1800’s
1828: U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States
1862Homestead Act becomes law provides cheap land for settlement of West
1884Ringling Brothers circus premieres
18851st mass production of shoes (Jan Matzeliger in Lynn, Massachusetts)
1897Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol
1898Post Office authorizes use of postcards
1900’s
1906: Federated Boys' Club (Boys' Club of America) organizes
1928: 51 frogs enter 1st annual "Frog Jumping Jubilee" (Angel's Camp, Cal)
1930White women win voting rights in South-Africa
1941Germany occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis
1943Berlin is declared "Judenrien" (free of Jews)
1958: South Pacific soundtrack album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 31 weeks
1967US bombs Hanoi
1988: Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia's Medellin drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine into US
1992: VP Dan Quayle attacks Murphy Brown for being a single mother and as a poor example of family values
2000’s
2009: Sri Lanka announces victory in its 27 year war against the terrorist organisation, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Todays Birthdays                                                           
Remembered for being born on this day
Johns Hopkins, philanthropist, founded Johns Hopkins University in 1795
Malcolm X, [Little], [Detroit Red], Omaha NB, founder (Black Muslims) in 1925
Ho Chi Minh, trail blazer/leader of Vietnam in 1890
Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator in 1925
à
In their 70’s
Nancy Kwan (关家蒨, Guān Jiāqiàn), Hong Kong, actress (Flower Drum Song, World of Suzie Wong) is 73
David Hartman, Pawtucket RI, TV personality (Good Morning America) is 77
In their 60’s
Grace Jones  [Mendoza], Spanishtown, Jamaica, singer/actress (Vamp) is 60
à
Under 30 years old
Jessica Fox, actress is 29

Todays Obits                                                           
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England/wife of Henry VIII, beheaded in 1536 at 34
James Boswell, Scottish biographer dies in 1795 at 54
Nathaniel Hawthorne, US, writer (Scarlet Letter), dies in 1864 at 59
Thomas E Lawrence (of Arabia), dies in 1935 in a motorcycle crash at 46
Henry Morgan, TV panalist (To Tell the Truth), dies in 1994 of cancer at 79
Ogden Nash, poet/TV panelist (Masquerade Party), dies in 1971 from Crohn's disease at 68
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, 1st lady (1961-63), dies in 1994 of cancer at 64

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
NOISE
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.      French city with an annual auto race; part of a telescope: LeMans; lens
2.     A sheriff; something to be mowed: lawman; lawn
3.     A frequent hamburger topper; dog in Wizard of Oz: tomato; Toto
4.     A city in Washington; a fried Mexican dish: Tacoma: taco
5.     A steamed Mexican dish; a story: tamale; tale
6.     Illness; a proper woman: malady; lady
7.     A class for expectant mothers; take it easy: Lamaze; laze
Anagrams

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.