7-20-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 201 / Week: 30 
July Averages: 81° \ 51°
Today: Average Sky Cover: 95%
    H 77° L 55° Ave. humidity: 34%
    Wind: ave:   3mph; Gusts:  18mph 
    Average High: 82° Record High:  91° (1939)
    Average Low: 51° Record Low:  42° (1940)
        
Quote of the Day
 
Historical Highlights for Today
1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold of the war.
1749 - Earl of Chesterfield says "Idleness is only refuge of weak minds"
1858 - Fee 1st charged to see a baseball game (50 cents) (NY beats Bkln 22-18)
1878 - 1st telephone introduced in Hawaii
1881 - Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull, surrenders to US federal troops
1921 - Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson became the 1st woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.
1926 - Methodist Church votes to allow women to become priests.
1944 - US President FDR nominated for an unprecedented 4th term
1944 - Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt
1953 - United Nations votes to make UNICEF a permanent agency.
1969 - 1st men on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. from Apollo 11
1984 - Vanessa Williams is asked to resign as Miss America
1989 - Burma government puts author Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest
1994 - OJ Simpson offers $500,000 reward for evidence of ex-wife's klller
  Birthdays Today:   
How many can you identify? Answers in Birthday’s Today below
My Rambling Thoughts   
Overcast but no rain. Cool for a summer day. NICE!
Even though we have been having monsoon almost every day, the fire danger continues to plague the area. Right now there are 3 small forest fires in the Flag area, all started by lightning. All are small and being allowed to burn. I can see the smoke from 2 of them from my place. Two of the fires were reported having 2 foot flames. Spent most of the day at home, after a walk.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
Four brothers make this royal band,
Mixed and handed out from stacks,
Three with sword and one with axe,
A strong force when held by one hand.
What does this refer to?
Hint--Better than a cramped dwelling.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
OK Then…
Harper’s Index 
Portion of Republicans who favor raising the federal minimum wage: 1/2
Unusual Fact of the Day
The title of the Paul Simon song "Mother and Child Reunion" came from a chicken-and-egg dish that appeared on a Chinese restaurant menu in NYC.
**NEW** Popular Native Languages…
Navajo
Navajo is far and away the most commonly spoken Native language in the U.S. with nearly 170,000 speakers, or almost 10 times as many speakers as each of the two languages with the next highest numbers: Yupik and Sioux. Navajo, closely related to Apache, is in the Athabaskan language family, which includes 44 languages spoken in the U.S. and Canada.
The Navajo Nation has started several bilingual language immersion schools for youngsters, two radio stations on the reservation broadcast in Navajo and English and the Navajo vocabulary has been expanded to accommodate modern technological terms. Diné College, Navajo Technical University, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, the Arizona and New Mexico state universities and several community colleges teach the Navajo language. The Super Bowl was broadcast in Navajo in 1996 and in 2013 the movie Star Wars was translated into Navajo.
Interesting facts about Islam…
In the five daily prayers, Muslims face the Kaaba in Mecca, Arabia. It is a cube-shaped stone structure that was originally built by Prophet Adam and later rebuilt by Prophet Abraham. Muslims believe that the Kaaba was the first house of worship on Earth dedicated to the worship of one god. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba. It serves as a central focal point for Muslims around the world, unifying them in worship and symbolizing their common belief, spiritual focus and direction. Interestingly, the inside of the Kaaba is empty.
**NEW** Big Lies…
Columbus NEVER landed in the Upper 48—Ever
Every year across the country countless elementary school students recite: “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” and many perform a play about him discovering Indians in America. The thing is Columbus never landed in what would become the United States, he actually landed in the Caribbean.
People Facts…
Women who play video games tend to have more sex and be happier with their relationships than those who don’t.
Historical Facts…
Leonardo Da Vinci loved animals so much that he used to buy caged animals at the market just to set them free.
Retro Native Humor…
A Dine' guy is sitting in a bus stop with two old Anglo men. The first Anglo guy says, "Hey Herb, where you going for vacation this year?" Herb tells him, "I'm going to Montana to fish this year". The first guy looks at him and exclaims, "What you want to go there fer? They ain't nothin but a bunch of damned Indians up there." Herb then says, "Well, where you goin?" The first guy says, "I'm going to Arizona and soak up some sun!" Herb looks at him and yells, "You moron, there's nothing but a bunch of Indians in Arizona!" Then the little Dine' guy speaks up and comments, "Why don't you both just go to hell! There's no Indians there."
Common Phrase Origins…
Give the Cold Shoulder
Meaning: A rude way of telling someone he isn’t welcome
History: Although giving someone the cold shoulder today is considered rude, it was actually regarded as a polite gesture in medieval England. After a feast, the host would let his guests know it was time to leave by giving them a cold piece of meat from the shoulder of beef, mutton, or pork.
Joke-of-the-day
A guy was walking along the street when he saw a crowd of people running towards him. He stopped one of the runners and asked: “What’s happening?” The runner replied breathlessly: “A lion has escaped from the zoo.” “Oh my, which way is it heading?” “Well you don’t think we are chasing it, do you?” 
Rules of Thumb:   
TIMING A GIG
If your musical engagement is less than two hours long, you will spend as much time setting up and taking down equipment as you will playing music.
Yeah, It Really Happened
TACOMA, Wash. (UPI) - What's wrong with a grown man liking stuffed animals? Maybe nothing -- provided they are his. Washington police officers found a man crammed into a giant box of stuffed animals when they responded to a burglary alarm at a Tacoma thrift store. According to Pierce County Superior Court documents, officers responded to the St. Vincent De Paul thrift store and found Michael Howell hiding inside a box of stuffed animals in the yard outside the store. The 29-year-old reportedly told officers that he had smoked meth and then jumped in the box after he got spooked by the burglar alarm. "I came here for clothes and food, bro," Howell told police, KOMO reported. Howell was charged with burglary and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Somewhat Useless Information   
You might have observed the brightest meteor shower of the year, the Perseids, that peak every year around August 10-15. Here are some things that you might not know.
~As with all meteor showers, that are available all year round, they are active for around 15 days. It is just most visible at a particular night.
~The debris that are about to fall on earth from the Perseids are over 1,000 tons. However this will be dust and ashes, not affecting our environment at all.
~They have been observed for more than 2.000 years. In the middle ages, the catholic church thought it was the tears of Saint Lawrence, that died in August 10th.
~During each peak, at any point of earth (that is, any point that has no sunlight) you can see 1-2 meteors per minute.
Check Your Calendar
Observances This Week:
15-21
Rabbit Week; National Baby Food Week; National Ventriloquism Week 
18-25
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week
20-26
Everybody Deserves A Massage Week; National Parenting Gifted Children Week; Captive Nations Week; National Independent Retailers Week; National Zoo Keeper Week
Today Is  
Celebration of The Horse Day 
Lake Superior Day  
Moon Day-1st human landing on the moon
Space Exploration Day  

National Lollipop Day 

National Ice Cream Day 
World Jump Day 
/\
Independence Day (Colombia-1810-from Spain)
                                                         
Today’s Events through History  
1964 - 1st surfin' record to go #1-Jan & Dean's "Surf City"
1968 - Iron Butterfly's "In-a-gadda-da-vida"--1st heavy metal song to hit charts
Birthday’s Today                                                        
Diana Rigg, actress (Emma Peel-Avengers, Hospital) is 76
Carlos Santana, Mexico, rock guitarist (Santana-Black Magic Woman) is 67
Donna Dixon, actress and wife of actor Dan Aykroyd is 57
Josh Holloway, American actor is 45
Sandra Oh, Korean Canadian actress (Grey’s Anatomy) is 43
Julianne Hough, American ballroom dancer (DWTS) is 26
Remembered for being born today
Alexander the Great, Macedonian king and military leader-(356 BC-323 BC) 
Gregor Mendel, monk/geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity)-(1822-1884) 
Max Liebermann, German impressionist painter-(1847-1935)
Edmund Hillary, Mountaineer(1st to scale Everest w/Tenzing Norgay)-(1919-2008)
Natalie Wood, [Natasha Gurdin], SF, (Gypsy, Rebel Without a Cause)-(1938-1981)
Historical Obits Today                                                           
Guglielmo Marconi, Italian engineer(radio, Nobel 1909), heart attack, 1937,@63
Jim [James] Fixx, jogger/writer (Jim Fixx on Running), heart attack, 1984, @52
Pancho Villa, [Doroteo Arango], Mexican rebel, murdered, 1923, @45
Bruce Lee, [Lee Yuen Kam], actor (Enter the Dragon), stroke, 1973, @32
Brain Teasers                                         
The kings in a deck of cards!
The hint refers to the last line in the riddle, because four kings, or four of a kind, beats a full house, or cramped dwelling.
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.