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Almanac: Week: 50 \ Day: 345
December
Averages: 44°\17°
86004 Today: H 48°\L 25°
Ave. humidity: 95% Average Sky Cover: 85%
Fog most of the am, then clear
sky then overcast in pm
Wind ave: 4mph\Gusts: 16mph
Ave. High: 43° Record
High: 68° (1950)
Ave. Low: 17° Record
Low: -11° (1961)
Holiday Observances
Today:
Admission Day (Indiana-1816-19th)
National Day (Burkina Faso-[Upper Volta]-1958-self-governing colony of France)
¤ ¤
International
Mountain Day- to raise awareness about the
relevance of mountain forests and the role they play within a green
economy
National Noodle Ring Day
UNICEF
Birthday -1946
Observances This
Week:
7-13
National Hand Washing Awareness
Week
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays
Week
Computer Science Education Week
10-17
Human
Rights Week
• • • • • • •
Quote of
the Day
Historical
Highlights for Today
1282 - Llywelyn ab Gruffydd/Llywelyn the Last, last
native Prince of Wales, killed at Cilmeri
1620 - 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
1620 - Myles Standish and a group of 18
settlers are attacked by 30 Native Americans, which became known as the
"First Encounter"
1833 - Captain Page,
and almost 700 Choctaw, reach their destination at Fort Towson, in eastern
Indian Territory
1844 - 1st dental use of nitrous oxide, Hartford, Ct
1882 - Boston's Bijou Theatre, 1st American
playhouse lit exclusively by electricity, 1st performance, Gilbert & Sullivan's
"Iolanthe"
1888 - French Panama Canal Company fails
1902 - The US signs a treaty with Cuba allowing for
a 20 percent reduction of tariff rates on imported Cuban products
1906 - US president Teddy Roosevelt attacks abuses
in the Congo
1909 - Colored moving pictures demonstrated at
Madison Square Garden, NYC
1913 - "Mona Lisa", stolen from the
Louvre Museum in 1911, recovered
1928 - Buenos Aires police thwart an attempt on
Pres-elect Herbert Hoover
1936 - Edward VIII announces in a radio broadcast
that he is abdicating the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson
1941 - Japanese attack Wake Island (only failed WW
II-landing)
1946 - Hank Williams begins to record on
Sterling label
1961 - JFK provides US miltary helicopters
& crews to South Vietnam
1964 - Che Guevara speaks at the United
Nations General Assembly in NYC
1967 - People's front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) established
1968 - Northern Ireland PM sacks Home Affairs
Minister
1971 - The Libertarian Party of the United States
is formed
1986 - South Africa censors press
2001 - The People's Republic of China joins the
World Trade Organization
2012 - British physicist, Stephen Hawking,
wins the $3 million Fundamental Physics Prize, the most lucrative academic
prize in the world
• • • • • • •
♫
Birthdays Today: ♫
How many can you identify? Answers below in Birthday’s Today
My
Rambling Thoughts
Everything is good. Got my vehicle back at 6pm last night with a
new battery. Headed out early on errands. Target had what I wanted on my Christmas
list, then off to Barnes for some books as presents, then my weekly stop at Sam’s
Club. All this took about 3-1/2 hours but was very fruitful.
The news is so depressing. It is no wonder people are turned off
to politicians. When even John McCain says the US was involved in the torture
of suspected terrorists, it is no wonder so many in the Middle East hate us and
our policies. My dad was in WWII and while he didn’t talk about it ever, I do
recall a conversation about how the ‘Japs’ would torture American soldiers. He
was recalling stories he heard while in the Pacific theater. He never saw any
of the torture he was talking about, but believed every word that he had heard
from others. I am sure he would be so ashamed of the US military if he knew
what was done 2 generations later. He also believed that no American soldier would
tell the truth during torture, they were all trained with a cover story that
gave plausible, but incorrect information. I get that the country was scared
after 9/11 and that the military and the CIA wanted information quickly. But to
call torture by another name, ‘enhanced interrogation’ does not allow it to
happen. And moreover, is the current story that the CIA and certain select
committees made the decision to not tell the Commander in Chief or Colin
Powell, for fear they would stop it needs more investigation. How dare anyone
in a position of power make such a decision? None of CIA are elected by the
people, and the elected officials who kept this from the President were not
doing their sworn oath of office. All involved need to stand up and face the
music. Of course, there is always the possibility that they are now protecting
the former President by not admitting that Bush knew what was going on all
along.
• • • • • • •
Brain
Teasers
(answers at the end of post)
Your
task here is to change one letter in each of the following words, in order to
find eight (8) words with a common theme.
Stark
Curfew
Petrol
Oil
Raffle
Strike
Thrash
Swat
Found on
You Tube with some relevance to today
OK Then…
• • • • • • •
Paraphernalia
4 the Brain:
December
Holiday Facts
*Christmas-Christian
¤ Mistletoe (Viscum album) is from the Anglo-Saxon word misteltan,
which means “little dung twig” because the plant spreads though bird droppings.
¤ Ancient peoples, such as the Druids, considered mistletoe sacred
because it remains green and bears fruit during the winter when all other
plants appear to die. Druids would cut the plant with golden sickles and never
let it touch the ground. They thought it had the power to cure infertility and
nervous diseases and to ward off evil.
*Hanukkah-Jewish
The
Dreidel
Long a favorite Hanukkah toy, the dreidel once had a serious
purpose. When the Syrians forbid study of the Torah, Jews who studied in secret
kept spinning tops "sivivons, or dreidels" on hand. This way, if they
were found studying, they could quickly pretend that they had only been
playing.
Outside of Israel, a dreidel has the Hebrew letters
"nun," "gimel," "hay," and "shin" on
its four sides. These letters stand for "Nes gadol haya sham," which
means, "A great miracle happened there," referring to Israel. An
Israeli dreidel has the letter "pay" rather than "shin."
This stands for "poh," meaning "here"a great miracle
happened here."
The Hebrew letters also represent Yiddish words that
tell how to play the dreidel game. Each player starts with the same amount of
candies, chocolate coins (gelt), or other tokens, and puts one in a pot.
Players take turns spinning the dreidel, waiting to see which letter lands face
up. Nun is for "nisht," do nothing. Gimel is for "gants,"
take the whole pot. Hay is for "halb," take half. Shin is for
"shtel," add to the pot. The game ends when a single player wins all
the tokens.
*Kwanza-African-American
The
Principles
Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah) or supporting one another. To build businesses
and places of work especially to support others in the community
*12 Days of Christmas
9 Ladies
Dancing
The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4)
patience, 5) kindness,
6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9)
self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Flagstaff,
AZ History…
50 YEARS
AGO
Ponderosa Paper Products new 62,000-square-foot building is
expected to employ about 250 men many from former employees of the Arizona Pulp
and Paper Co. that closed 5 years ago. The company is busy rejuvenating the old
equipment and putting all in working order.
Flagstaff’s
Iconic 50…
B-24
Bomber Crash Site
In the early morning hours of September 15, 1944, a U.S. Army Air
Force B-24 Bomber on a night training mission crashed into the San Francisco
Peaks, killing all eight crewmen. This memorial is dedicated to those young
American Airmen.
The Bomber still sits on the slopes of Humphreys Peak. From the Humphreys Trail
Parking lot if you look up the mountain you will see a rock flow and just above
that, there is a small rocky clearing in the trees at about 11,000 feet. This
is where they crashed, right in this clearing. From the Parking lot you can
look up there and see the sun glimmering off of the pieces of the plane.
Many have sought out this wreckage and have failed to find it. Looking for it
is almost like finding a pin in a haystack, but it's not impossible to find.
Here is a description to find it, but you must keep your eyes open, as with
directions it's still hard to find. To find it, take the Humphreys trail about
7 switchbacks up. Once you get to the rock field cross over it and take it till
it ends. From here it's not real clear how to find it. You want to keep heading
up the mountain while heading north. If you go to far north, not north enough
or angle too steep you will miss it. Keep your eyes open for the propellers of
the plane. Once you find pieces of it head straight up and you will enter a
clearing in the trees and there it is. This site is breathtaking seeing how the
plane tumbled up the mountain. It created gashes in the mountain changing the
landscape of the mountainside.
Harper’s
Index…
Percentage of US Republicans who say they could not live on the
minimum wage: 69
Who support raising it: 37
Rules of
Thumb…
FIXING
A CAR
If a car that was
working stops or won't start, the problem probably is simple to fix.
Catastrophic failures of major parts are rare. The apparent frequency of major
breakdowns is due to unscrupulous or lazy repair shops that don't look for the
simple solutions, and the publicity surrounding auto racing, where catastrophic
failure is more common.
Unusual
Fact of the Day…
Winona
Ryder was cast to play Michael Corleone's daughter in Godfather III.
When she dropped out, Sofia Coppola got the part.
• • • • • • •
Joke-of-the-day
By the time the soldier pulled into the little
town, every hotel room was taken. "You've got to have a room
somewhere", he pleaded with a proprietor. "Well, I do have a double
room with one occupant, but he is an Air Force guy" admitted the manager,
and he might be glad to split the cost. But to tell you the truth, he snores so
loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past. I'm not sure
it'd be worth it to you.
"No problem." the tired Army guy assured him, "I'll take
it." The next morning the soldier came down to breakfasts bright-eyed and
bushy tailed.
"How'd you sleep?" asked the
manager.
"Never better", said the soldier.
The manager was impressed. "No problem
with the other guy snoring all night long?"
"No, I shut him up in no time",
explained the soldier.
"How'd you manage that?" asked the proprietor.
"Well, he was already in bed, snoring away, when I walked into the room,
so I gave him a kiss on the cheek" explained the soldier. “Then, I
whispered in his ear 'Good night beautiful', and he sat up all night watching
me."
Yep, It
Really Happened
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UPI) - An Alabama church announced it will start
holding services at a Buffalo Wild Wings to reach potential parishioners who
"wouldn't go to a church."
The Rev. Wesley Savage, minister of young adults for Riverchase
United Methodist Church in Birmingham, said the church is planning to begin
holding Sunday morning services at a local Buffalo Wild Wings in the hopes of
attracting worshipers who might be intimidated by the church setting.
"We believe there's a population that would attend a service
there that wouldn't go to a church," Savage told AL.com. "We hope
it's going to be a more inviting atmosphere."
The services have been dubbed "The Stream" and they are
being billed in signs posted by the church as "Wings. Prayer.
Sports." However, Savage said the restaurant will be preparing to open
during the 45-minute services, so no beer will be served during worship.
"I've had that question come up," Savage said.
"We're going to encourage people to stay for lunch, stay for sports. This
is part of the partnership. We'll help them with their business because they're
helping us."
Somewhat
Useless Information
¤
What is the difference between "e.g." and "i.e."?
The abbreviation e.g. stands for the Latin exempli gratia, or "for the
sake of example." It means exactly that; a series of examples. The
abbreviation i.e. stands for id est, or "that is," and explains the
subject you have mentioned.
¤
What is the difference between et al and et cetera?
The Latin phrase et al, short for et alia (and other things) and et alii (and
other people), is more specific than et cetera (and the rest). Only et al can
refer to people.
¤
In colonial times and into the early decades of the 19th century, most teachers
were men. From the 1820s to 1830s, as more public schools (called Common
Schools) were built and more men were siphoned off by more prestigious
professions, women began to take over the schoolroom. The feminization of
teaching not only change how society perceived women, but how women perceived
themselves.
A University of Pennsylvania study found that 33 percent of teachers leave
within the first three years of beginning their careers and 46 percent leave
within the first five. The numbers have been increasing since the late 1980s.
The most common reason a person leaves teaching is the low salary.
¤
Researchers note a teacher should be compared to those of other high stress
jobs, such as air-traffic controllers, firefighters, or pilots.
¤ Teachers have an equal turnover rate to police officers and less than child
care workers, secretaries, and paralegals. Teaching has a higher turnover rate
than nursing and a far higher turnover than "traditionally respected
professions" such as law, engineering, architecture, and academia.
• • • • • • •
Today’s
Events through History
1719 - 1st recorded display of Aurora Borealis in
north American colonies (New England)
1730 - Voltaire's "Brutus" premieres in
Paris
1872 - 1st black US governor took office, Pinckney
Benton Stewart Pinchback (La)
1901 - Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian electrical
inventor, sends the first transatlantic radio signal
1961 - Elvis Presley's "Blue Hawaii"
album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 20 wks
• • • • • • •
Birthday’s
Today
Rita
Moreno, [Rosita Dolores AlverÃo], singer, dancer actress (West Side
Story) is 83
David
Gates, rock vocalist (Bread-Baby I'm A Want You) is 74
Donna
Mills, actress (Knots Landing, Incident) is 74
Teri Garr, actress
(Mr. Mom, Young Frankenstein) is 67
Lynda Day
George, actress (Casey-Mission Impossible) is 70
Nikki
Sixx, American musician (Mötley Crüe) is 55
Mo'Nique,
comedian/actress is 47
Rider
Strong, actor, writer and director (Boy Meets World) is 35
Remembered
for being born today
David
Brewster, Scotland, physicist/inventor (kaleidoscope) [1781-1868]
Robert
Koch, German bacteriologist (TB, cholera, Nobel 1905) [1843-1910]
Max Born,
Germany, physicist (Nobel 1954) [1882-1970]
Carlo
Ponti, Italian producer (Doctor Zhivago) [1912-2007]
Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn, writer (Nobel 1970), [1918-2008]
Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’
Thornton, blues singer (Ball & Chain) [1926-1984]
Ferdinand
A. Porsche, car designer (Porsche 911), [1935-2012]
• • • • • • •
Historical
Obits Today
Ravi
Shankar, Indian musician, 2012, @92
Bettie
Page, American Playboy pin-up model, 2008, @85
Robert Q
Lewis, US comic/TV panel member, emphysema, 1991, @71
Maurice
"Mac" McDonald,
American fast-food pioneer, 1971, @69
Kamehameha
V, Hawaii’s last king. internal abscess, 1872, @42
Sam Cooke, musician
('A Change is Gonna Come') shot, 1964, @33
• • • • • • •
Brain Teasers Answers
The common theme: they are all birds.
Stork
Curlew
Petrel
Owl
Yaffle-European Green Woodpecker
Shrike
Thrush
Swan
• • • • • • •
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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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…§
