3-16-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 075   / Week: 12  

Today: L 32°…H 54°… Ave. humidity: 64%

     Wind: ave:   13mph; Gusts:  33mph  

     Average Low: 23° Record Low:  -1° (1969)

    Average High: 50° Record High:  72° (2007)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

1621 - Samoset, an Abenaki is 1^st Native to meet the Pilgrims

1802 - Law signed to establish US Milt Academy (West Point, NY)

1830 - London's re-organized police force (Scotland Yard)

1861 - Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union; returned 1 year later

1867 - 1st publication by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery

1881 - Barnum & Bailey Circus debuts

1941 - National Gallery of Art opens in Wash DC

1950 - 1st annual National Book Awards

1968 - General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Windy, windy…thank goodness I’m not on the Rez at this time of year. The wind is bad enough, but I sure don’t miss that fine grained sand.

 

I didn’t know very much about Turkey…my knowledge was limited to the fact that it was a dividing point between Asia and Europe, Istanbul was once Constantinople, and my college roommate, an Air Force brat went to high school in Izmir. After reading the articles, I am much more informed. It tries to walk a thin line as a Muslim country with a desire to be more European. Lots of regime changes over the past few decades. They were not hit as severely as most of the world during the recent recession. Some want closer ties to the Middle East, others don’t. Tonight should be a great discussion.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

When you curtail a word, you remove the last letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first.
Example: Begin -> Heavenly body Answer: The words are Start and Star.

1. Royal ruler -> Relatives; family 2. Musical composition with words -> Offspring 3. Musically produce words with the voice -> Transgression 4. Having ambitious goals -> Fever and pain medicine 5. Bird limb -> To be victorious 6. Long, sharp tooth -> Enthusiastic follower 7. Depending or building on something -> Container for water 8. Moving up and down (in water) -> A threaded spool for sewing

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Henny Youngman – comedian

• Jerry Lewis in the elevator

• Tammi Terrell "Come On And See Me"

• T-Bone Walker - Call It Stormy Monday

Remembering TV’s great shows

"The Larry Sanders Show"--The '90s references may be dated, but the office politics involving Larry, Artie, Hank and the staff are hysterically timeless.

Bizarre Facts about World’s Dictators

Idi Amin’s White Humiliation Stunt

Idi Amin, the “Butcher of Uganda,” is well-known for brutality and killing. However, his selective wrath against rivals took more surprising turns. In his self-declared position as “president for life,” Idi Amin decided to make a point to the Foreign Ministers of the OAU Countries. He chose four white males who were politically significant residents of Kampala and forced them to bend over and carry him around in a large, throne-like chair during the 1975 meetings.The amusement spread through the primarily black audience like wildfire and the somewhat disturbing incident became one of the more notorious examples of “reverse discrimination.” Amin’s white humiliation stunt may have been one of his less brutal actions, but it certainly carried weight. He explained “Because I wanted to show that we Africans used to carry Europeans but now Europeans are carrying us. We are now the masters. These in front are pure Englishmen.”

Misconceptions of Medieval Figures

Macbeth Was A Just And Protective Ruler

You’re probably most familiar with Macbeth because of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The play follows Macbeth, a proficient Scottish general and thane, who assassinates King Duncan. Macbeth, with guidance from three evil witches and pressure from his wife, takes the throne for himself, robbing Duncan’s son Malcolm of his right to rule. Macbeth proves to be a rather poor leader. A combined popular army of Scottish dissenters and English allies overthrow him and Malcolm is placed on the Scottish throne. Shakespeare’s play was politically relevant in the early 1600s when it was first performed, especially in its commentary on the relationship between England and Scotland. But Shakespeare knew better than to let historical accuracy get in the way of a good story. In reality, King Duncan was an incompetent warmonger who led Scotland into disastrous military campaigns. Did Macbeth kill him? Possibly. Macbeth may have even joined up with Duncan’s Norse opponents against him. In 1040, Macbeth was proclaimed king of Scotland. His Norse allies, led by Thorfinn, were given land in Scotland as well. During his reign, Macbeth tried to repair the damage caused by Duncan. He rebuilt the Scottish countryside and salvaged relationships with other nations. Meanwhile, Malcolm was able to find support in England. Under English law, he had a legitimate claim to the throne as a descendant of Duncan. Macbeth did not. The same rule did not apply in Scotland. Supported by England, Malcolm invaded Scotland and killed Macbeth in 1057, but Scotland resisted Malcom’s kingship. Macbeth’s stepson Lulac and old ally Thornfinn campaigned against him, but their efforts were for naught. Malcolm became King of Scotland in 1058.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Percentage of US Jews who believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people: 40

• Percentage of white US evangelicals who do: 82

Unusual Fact of the Day

Big Ben doesn’t refer to a clock; it's actually the name for the bell inside that famous clock tower.

Joke-of-the-day

Two young idiots were camping out in the forest one night. But the mosquitoes were so fierce that the boys had to hide under their blankets to keep from getting bitten.

The one of the boys saw some lightning bugs. “We may as well give up,” he told his friend. “Now they are coming at us with flashlights.”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

GETTING A CONSULTING JOB

Personal contacts are best for getting consulting jobs. Twenty leads should produce one assignment.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

RYESGADE, Denmark - Nicklas Bendtner of London's Arsenal soccer team is accused of rubbing himself against a taxi in Denmark and calling the driver a "little whore." Bendtner has not played in a game for the Arsenal since Feb. 2, but played for the national team of his native Denmark in last week's game against England. He allegedly was drunk when he and two friends got into a Ryesgade cab, kicked the vehicle's radio loose and took some of the driver's personal belongings, the Guardian in London reported Thursday. When the driver asked the men to return his belongings, Bendtner allegedly became angry and had to be restrained by his friends outside of the vehicle. He allegedly unbuttoned his pants, rubbed himself up against the taxi, whipped the vehicle with his belt and called the driver a "little whore," The driver called police, but it was unclear whether officers spoke to the player. "I've had drunks and alcoholics in my cab in Copenhagen over the last 25 years, but I've never experienced anything like this," the driver told the Danish newspaper BT. A spokeswoman for Bendtner declined to comment on the incident and Arsenal officials said they are looking into the allegations.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The perfect pour of Guinness should take 119.5 seconds and is referred to as a "double pour."

• Africa accounts for 40% of Guinness sales worldwide.

• It would take 14.3 million pints of Guinness to fill the giant glass atrium in the center of the Guinness Storehouse building at the brewery's headquarters in Dublin.

• The ancient Irish Harp symbol was first used as a symbol for Guinness and only later adopted by the Irish government as the official government symbol.

• Sept. 24 is known in Ireland as Arthur's Day. First celebrated in 2009 to celebrate the 250-year anniversary of Guinness, Arthur's Day provides a second "holiday" to enjoy Ireland's favorite beverage.

• Guinness World Records was created by the Guinness Brewery. Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of business for the brewery, became involved in an argument regarding the fastest game bird in Europe. No book was available to provide the answer, and Sir Hugh realized that a book that supplied answers to these types of questions would be popular. The answer to the argument is the grouse!  

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:
1-16

Iditarod Race
11-17

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign
16-22 

American Chocolate Week

Campfire USA Birthday Week
Health Information Professionals Week
National Animal Poison Prevention Week
National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week
Termite Awareness Week
Flood Safety Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                       

·        Curlew Day

·        Freedom of Information Day

·        Goddard Day

·        Lips Appreciation Day

Today’s Events through History  

1802 - US Army Corps of Engineers established (2nd time)

1920 - 1 Acre Park also known as Baby Park in the Bronx renamed Melrose Park

1970 - New English Bible published

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Jerry Lewis, [Joseph Levitch], comedian/fund raiser (MDA) is 88 

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, justice (US Supreme Court) is 82

Bernardo Bertolucci, director (Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor) is 74

Chuck Woolery,  TV game show host (Love Connection) is 73

Jerry Jeff Walker, country singer (Mr Bojangles) is 72

Erik Estrada, actor (CHiPs, Cross & Switchblade, Lightblast) is 65

Flavor Flav (William Jonathan Drayton, Jr), rapper, and reality tv star is 55

Remembered for being born today

1751-1836 - James Madison, 4th US president

1903-2001 - Mike Mansfield, (Sen-D-Mont) majority whip

1906-1998 - Henny Youngman, comedian (Take my wife please)

1912-1193 - Patricia Nixon, [Thelma Catherine], 1st lady

1927-2003 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US ambassador to UN/(Sen-NY)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Clan Fraser of Lovat, soldier/Landowner, 1995, @83

Roy Bean, American jurist, 1903, @78ish

T-Bone Walker, blues guitarist (Funky Town, Well Done), pneumonia, 1975,@64

Tammi Terrell, soul singer (You're All I Need), brain tumor. 1970, @24

Brain Teasers

1. King -> Kin 2. Song -> Son 3. Sing -> Sin 4. Aspiring -> Aspirin 5. Wing -> Win 6. Fang -> Fan 7. Basing -> Basin 8. Bobbing -> Bobbin

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  §