3-17-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 076   / Week: 12  

Today: L 37°…H 58°… Ave. humidity: 42%

     Wind: ave:   11mph; Gusts:  39mph  

     Average Low: 23° Record Low:  3° (1991)

    Average High: 50° Record High:  73° (2007)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

45BC - In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus

  432 - St Patrick, a bishop, is carried off to Ireland as a slave

1753 - 1st official St Patrick's Day

1756 - St Patrick's Day 1st celebrated in NYC at Crown & Thistle Tavern

1762 - 1st St Patrick's Day parade in NYC

1836 - Texas abolishes slavery

1926 - Spain & Brazil prevent Germany joining League of Nations

1959 - Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India

1969 - Golda Meir becomes Israel's 4th PM

2008 - New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after a scandal 

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Clear cloudless blue sky, a tad windy, but a nice day.

 

Our discussion group went very well last night. Interesting questions about the US role in ensuring that

Turkey moves toward the west. Our presenter provided a brief history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire up to WWI, which is where the articles we read began. Turkey sure has strategic importance to the region and one that has to be watched very closely. Will be interesting to now have a new area of the world to watch on the news…or actually search out on the internet. Two of our group are busy in Liberia, where the wife is teaching nursing classes. This is an annual thing for them. Another is our group left this morning for a 15 day cruise from Florida through the Panama Canal to Sand Diego. That too sounds like fun. We are really quite the group of interesting people. The guy in our group who is a former ‘spy’ made an interesting confession. At our last meeting he made a rather broad statement about life expectancy in W. VA, because of the coal mining diseases there. I went home and checked the statement, and he was wrong…way wrong. Last night, out of the blue, he said that he had made an erroneous statement and needed to clean the air. He corrected it with some actual stats about a couple of counties that do have lower life expectancy. I was glad to hear that and now am kinda paranoid, wondering if he noticed my look when he made the statement or if he somehow read my blog or my mind…he is a former spy after all.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Eagle-eye Ixolite, the world famous dart player, was at an exhibition match and was showing off to the audience.
"I can throw a dart and it will hit the board anywhere I want!" he cried. "Where on the board shall I put my next dart?" he asked the crowd.
A small boy came up to Eagle-Eye and passed him a slip of paper. Eagle-eye, who liked a rebus, took one look at the note, threw his head back and laughed, then threw the dart. Where did it land?

 This is what was on the note:  Perfume Bottle R.I.P.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Come Back to God by H H Pope Shenouda III

• HELEN HAYES TRIBUTE

• Paul Overstreet - Daddy's Come Around

• Rudolf Nureyev Solo Debut on American TV

• Saint Patrick's Day Song for Children

Remembering TV’s great shows

"Battlestar Galactica"--The 21st-century reboot alchemized the '70s cheese-a-palooza into a startlingly up-to-date allegory for modern warfare. So say we all.

Bizarre Facts about World’s Dictators

The Canadian Fuhrer Saga

A dictator often rises to success from a unique combination of circumstances and ambition. While Adrien Arcand never succeeded in taking over a country, his bizarre involvements in politics as “Canada’s Furher” before and during World War II put him in a class of his own. After the Great Depression, Canadian economic struggles led to interest in Fascism. Prime Minister MacKenzie King expressed a positive response upon meeting Hitler himself. Montreal journalist Adrien Arcand took the opportunity to declare himself the leader of Canada’s “National Unity” Facist party, which became a notable part of the political scene.Utilizing the expected Nazi symbols and vocal anti-Semitic views, Arcand organized Nazi rallies in Canada and garnered the support of a surprisingly large contingent of citizens bearing the Swastika combined with Maple Leaves as he proclaimed himself “The Canadian Fuhrer.” When World War II ensued, Arcand was arrested by Canadian forces for his organization of Nazi events and efforts to entrench Nazism in Canadian politics. His destructive efforts in his bid to bring a dictatorship to what is officially known as the “True North Strong and Free” were eerily effective and might have seen more “success” had he not been stopped. After his postwar release, Arcand did not give up on his Fascist initiatives, although interest was—not surprisingly—very limited.

Misconceptions of Medieval Figures

Robin Hood May Have Been A Common Bandit

Robin Hood’s identity has become murkier with each retelling of the famous outlaw’s exploits. Sometimes he’s a noble, sometimes an archer of fortune, and Disney even made him a fox. Whatever the details, Robin Hood is consistently portrayed as an outlaw who robs the rich and gives to the poor, hiding out in Sherwood Forest with his band of Merry Men. The first known literary reference to Robin Hood was in 1377. Some scholars suspect the literary Robin Hood was probably inspired by a real person. The tantalizing truth is that there were plenty of Robin Hoods in 13th-century England. They crop up all over the legal records as epithets for criminals who wore, well, robes and hoods. The “real” Robin Hood may have been nothing more than a common peasant bandit, looking to make some quick cash. A plausible Robin Hood can be found in Roger Godberd, a yeoman peasant who robbed travelers and poached deer, along with a band of outlaws. He was even arrested by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Another possibility is William Wallace, Scotland’s famous guardian, who fought against the English during the First Scottish War of Independence in the late 13th century. Wallace and Robin Hood share many attributes. Wallace was an outlaw in English law, had a love interest named Marion, was none too friendly with the local sheriff, and hid in Selkirk Forest with a group of warriors. Wallace’s seal even features a longbow. However, it’s not likely that such a strong icon for Scottish nationalism could so quickly become ingrained in English popular culture.The real identity of Robin Hood—if he has one—may forever remain a mystery. Allegedly, Robin Hood’s grave can be found in Kirklees Park. The grave of his famous companion, Little John, is supposedly in Derbyshire.

OK Then…

Harper’s Index 

Portion of US Jews with Christmas trees in ther homes: 1/3

Unusual Fact of the Day

Nearly $40 billion in U.S. coins are currently in circulation.

Joke-of-the-day

A guy took his girl friend to her first Longhorn football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied,

"Especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents."

Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I saw them flip a coin and one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: get the quarterback. Get the quarterback! It’s only 25 cents!

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

LISTENING TO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

"Stairway to Heaven" lasts exactly as long as it takes to smoke a regular Marlboro (box not soft pack.)    

Yeah, It Really Happened

LONDON - British intelligence officers in World War I suspected two cats and a dog of carrying messages from the Germans across British lines, documents revealed. The National Archive published documents online Thursday revealing officers from the 36th brigade of the 12th Division spotted the animals repeatedly crossing British lines in July 1915 and suspected they have been used by the Germans to pass messages across the lines, the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. "Two cats and a dog are under suspicion, as they have been in the habit of crossing our trenches at night; steps are being taken to trap them if possible," the officers wrote in their report. The documents published Thursday did not reveal whether the animals were ever captured or whether any further evidence was found indicating they were German agents.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The Cerebrum, also called the forebrain, is responsible for our language, memory, movement and all. As you’re reading this and trying to understand it, you’re using your Cerebrum.

• Each carbon nucleus (containing six protons and six neutrons) is made up from three nuclei of helium.

• It was not until 1926 that Pneumatic tyres surpassed solid tyres in numbers used on vehicles.

• The normal energy used by our brain is 0.1 calories per minute, and could go up to 1.5 during activities such as puzzle-solving.

• The diamond is the mineral as found in nature. There is no known material of greater hardness on Earth, so in order to carve a diamond would have to use another diamond.

• The moon is a planet just like the earth, only it is even deader.

• The pistol of a flower is its only protections against insects.

• Blood flows down one leg and up the other.

• Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down on them and makes them perspire.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:
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
17-23

Act Happy Week
Flood Awareness Week
Wellderly Week
Wildlife Week
World Folktales & Fables Week

Today Is                                                                       

·        Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

·        Campfire Girls Day

·        National Irish Coffee Day

·        St. Patrick's Day

·        Well-Elderly or Wellderly Day

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·        National Day (Ireland-since 1903)

Today’s Events through History  

1901 - A showing of 71 van Gogh paintings, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.

1963 - Elizabeth Ann Seton of NY beatified (canonized in 1975)

2000 -  800+ deaths of Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God is considered to be a mass murder and suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult.

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Patrick Duffy, Townsend Mont, actor (Bobby-Dallas) is 65

Kurt Russell, actor (Thing, Overboard, Mean Seasons) is 63

Gary Sinise, actor (Apollo 13, Forrest Gump) is 59

Paul Overstreet, country singer (Daddy's Come Around) is 59

Rob Lowe, actor (St Elmo's Fire, Hotel NH, Class) is 50

Remembered for being born today

1676 - Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (d. 1732)

1725 - Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader

1919 - Nat "King" Cole, singer (Unforgettable, Mona Lisa)

1938 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russia, ballet dancer/choreographer (Kirov)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer, 2006, @93

Helen Hayes, actress (Airport), 1993, @92

Pope Shenouda III, Egyptian Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church 2012, @88

Chaleo Yoovidhya, Thai co-creator of Red Bull, 2012, @88

Grace Stafford Lantz, cartoon voice (Woody Woodpecker), 1992, @87

St Patrick, patron St of Ireland, 461, @74ish

Fred Allen, comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show), heart attack, 1956, @61

Brain Teasers

It landed in the bullseye. The Rebus was: Dead Center or Dead Scenter.

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  §