4-18-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1968 - London Bridge is sold to U.S. oil company to be erected in Arizona

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

As expected we had a very good discussion group last night. The actual questions was “are we safer now than we were before 9/11?” We watched a video with Malou Innocent of the CATO Institute. She reminded us that the incident was aimed at the Twin Towers to tear down our economic system. The three wars we are in are doing a lot to help destroy the economic system. Another point was the personal privacy we have had to give up since 9/11. It is true that other attacks have been stopped before costing American lives. She used the term ‘Black Swan Event’ which is an event that is a surprise, has a major impact, and after its first recording the event is rationalized as if it could have been expected. The last part certainly explains the TSA evolvement. After the video we also discussed the issues of ‘War—what is it good for’. Historically it has been good for the economy with every state making war parts which makes jobs for many local communities. Since WWII the Military has made sure that there is some war business in as many communities as possible, making it hard or impossible to cut Defense spending that will cost national politicians their jobs if they stop funding. Most voters will not keep a politician who has hurt the local economy. During WWII Sweden and Canada were providing the metals needed for the Nazis to build their tanks. At the end of the war, Germany was still building tanks. While the liberals in our group are not happy about wars, it is going to be very difficult to stop our military society. Obama has not moved fast enough to get us out of two of our wars, and has gotten us involved in another. The final answer, are we safer? The video polled a variety of people in Reno, Nevada on a college campus and 67% of those polled said ‘no’. It is up to each of us to decide.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

>Pre-treat stains with a bar of soap! Forget those fancy spots-busters: just rub a fresh stain with a damp bar of soap, then toss the garment in the hamper. Come laundry day, it'll emerge from the wash good as new!

>Not sure when your lawn needs to be watered? Try pushing a screwdriver into the soil. If you have to push hard to penetrate 6 inches then your lawn is need of water.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

>Scientists now think that the Moon was formed when a Mars-sized object crashed into our planet about 4.5 billion years ago. The collision was so large that a huge spray of material was ejected into space. The orbiting ring of debris gathered itself into a sphere, and formed the Moon.

>In about 50 billion years from now, the Moon will stop moving away from us. It will settle into a stable orbit, taking about 47 days to go around the Earth (it takes 27.3 days today). At that point, the Earth and the Moon will be tidally locked to each other. It will look like the Moon is always in the same spot in the sky.

>From our perspective here on Earth, the Moon and the Sun look approximately the same size in the sky. Of course, the Sun is much much bigger than the Moon. The Sun happens to be 400 times larger than the Moon, but it’s also 400 times further away.

PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1. What was a Royal Navy frigate accused of throwing during the Cod War of 1973?

2. In 1891, what did Whitcome Judson invent for fastening shoes?

3. Khons was the Egyptian god of what?

4. What product was introduced as a cure for urinary problems?

5. John Glenn the first American to orbit earth was in which branch of the military?

6. What was Bumper Harris' (who had a wooden leg) job on the London Underground?

7. In 1760, what means of personal transport was invented?

8. The Mau Mau were terrorists in which country during the late 50's early 60's?

9. Who said 'I'm never through with a girl till I've had her three ways'?

10. Who was the first man to fly across the English Channel?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

>The last public execution in America was the hanging of a 22-year-old black man named Rainey Bethea. He was executed at Owensboro, KY, in 1936 after being convicted of killing a 70-year-old white women. Twenty thousand people showed

up to witness the execution.

>The last person hanged in the U.S. for being a pirate was Capt. Nathaniel Gordon, in New York City on March 8, 1862. Gordon had been smuggling slaves into the US.

>The last person to be burned at the stake was Phoebe Harrius. Harrius was convicted of coining false money and was burned at the stake in front of Newgate Prison in England in 1786.

>The last public execution by guillotine was on June 17, 1939. Eugen Weidman was executed before a large crowd in Versailles, France. The last nonpublic use of the guillotine in France, at Baumetes Prison, in Marsailles, was the execution of convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant, on September 10, 1977.

>During WWII Private Eddie Slovik was tried by court-martial and sentenced to death for desertion. He was shot by his own unit, the 28th Infantry Division, in a small town in northeast France.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

A young woman sat in her stalled car, waiting for help. Finally, two men walked up to her. "I'm out of gas," she purred. "Could you push me to the gas station?"

The men readily put their muscles to the car and rolled it several blocks. After a while, one looked up, exhausted, to see that they had just passed a gas station.

"We just passed a station! How come you didn't turn in?" he yelled.

"Oh, I never go there," the girl shouted back. "They don't have full service."

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Kon Tiki Footage

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

2005 Inductee: U2: Bono (vocals; born May 10, 1960), The Edge (guitar; born August 8, 1961), Adam Clayton (bass; born March 13, 1960), Larry Mullen Jr. (drums; born October 31, 1961) MORE INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪…WAR

♪…Where the Streets Have No Name

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«THIS WEEK

17-23

Christian Holy Week

Cleaning For A Reason Week

Coin Week

Consumer Awareness Week

Fibroid Awareness Week

Fish Fry Week

National Crime Victims Rights Week

National Karaoke Week

National Paperboard Packaging Week

National Park Week

National Pet ID Week:

Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week

Turnoff Week

«TODAY IS

Adult Autism Day

Passover

Pet Owners

Independence Day

International Amateur Radio Day

National Stress Awareness Day

National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day

International Jugglers Day

<> <> <> <>

US: Mass. and Maine Patriot's Day

Zimbabwe: Independence Day (1980)

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

Leopold Stokowski 1882 – 1977 English-born American conductor

…ATHLETES

Derrick Brooks, NFL linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, turns 38

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

--

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

America Ferrera, American Actress turns 27

Melissa Joan Hart, born in Sayville, New York, actress, Clarissa, Sabrina turns 35

Jane Leeves, born in London, actress, Murphy Brown, Daphne Moon-Fraiser turns 50

Conan O'Brien, American Entertainer, turns 48

…POLITICIANS

Lucrezia Borgia 1480 – 1519 Italian Renaissance noblewoman of the Borgia family

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

George H. Hitchings 1905 – 1998 American Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist (1988)

Today’s Obits:

1955 - Albert Einstein, German U.S. physicist, dies at 76

1976 - Percy Julian, holder of more than 138 chemical patents, dies at 78

1853 - William King, U.S. Vice President, dies a month after his inauguration at 67 of TB

2002 - Thor Heyerdahl, anthropologist/adventurer, Kon-Tiki, dies at 87

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

1924 - 1st crossword puzzle book published (Simon and Schuster)

1983 - Alice Walker wins Pulitzer Prize for "The Color Purple"

… ATHLETICS

1995 - Quarterback Joe Montana announces his retirement from football

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1853 - 1st train in Asia (Bombay to Tanna, 36 km)

1868 - San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed

1921 - Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Springs CO

1925 - World's fair opens in Chicago

1950 - 1st transatlantic jet passenger trip

1955 - 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed

1968 - London Bridge is sold to U.S. oil company to be erected in Arizona

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1644 - Forces under 99 year old Opechancanough, a leader of the Powhatan Confederacy, attacks the English along the Pamunkey and York rivers, 22 years after his first attack at Jamestown. His followers will kill almost 400 Virginia colonists.

… International POLITICS

1599 - Valencia arch duke Albrecht of Austrian marries Isabella of Spain

1902 - Denmark is 1st country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals

1949 - Republic of Ireland withdraws from British Commonwealth

1956 - Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco (civil ceremony)

1982 - Canada Constitution Act replaces British North America Act

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

1909 - Joan of Arc declared a saint

… US POLITICS

1775 - Paul Revere rides from Charleston to Lexington

1942 - "Stars and Stripes" paper for U.S. Armed Forces starts

ANSWERS:

Quiz

1. What was a Royal Navy frigate accused of throwing during the Cod War of 1973?

Carrots at Icelandic gunboat

2. In 1891, what did Whitcome Judson invent for fastening shoes?

Zip Fastener

3. Khons was the Egyptian god of what?

The Moon

4. What product was introduced as a cure for urinatary problems?

Pepsi

5. John Glenn the first American to orbit earth was in which branch of the military?

US Marine Corps

6. What was Bumper Harris' (who had a wooden leg) job on the London Underground?

To ride new escalators to prove they were safe.

7. In 1760, what means of personal transport was invented?

Roller Skates

8. The Mau Mau were terrorists in which country during the late 50's early 60's?

Kenya

9. Who said 'I'm never through with a girl till I've had her three ways'?

John F. Kennedy

10. Who was the first man to fly across the English Channel?

Louis Bleriot

Close Up Picture

  zig zag fabric tape

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

4-16-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1986 - To dispel rumors he's dead, Moammar Gadhafi appears on TV

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I picked up my taxes and President Obama and Gov. Brewer will be sending me a check, when they get around to it. I can wait.

Our discussion group meets tomorrow night. We all were tired of talking about money, so we are going off the schedule and talking about various international issues. Should be an interesting discussion. I haven’t picked my topic, but I have tomorrow to set it up.

Because of the late hour that I get back tomorrow, and an early dinner with a couple of the participants, I will not be posting a blog tomorrow.

AZ is back in the WTF headlines, again. The house and senate of the state passed a ‘prove you are native born if you want to be on our ballot’ bill. To be fair, all the candidates have to produce a ‘full length’ birth certificate that has physician’s or midwife’s signatures. If the candidate can’t do that, they can provide two other ‘proofs’. One of them is a ‘circumcision certificate’. Wait, I thought that only some 3rd world countries did female circumcision. Female circumcision is not done here, let alone with a certificate. Male circumcision isn’t done on every American male due to cultural and/or religious concerns. I thought the constitution left such matters to the Feds. As one article stated “there’s a reason AZ is seen as the meth capital of democracy”.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

A perfect use for those little hotel soaps is to deodorize your luggage. Once back home, unwrap one and toss in your suitcase before storing. (Wrap in mesh first) The mini bars will deodorize your luggage and keep it smelling fresh for your next trip!

***

To remove salty residue from terra-cotta pots, scrub with a mixture of 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol and 1/4 cup water. The vinegar removes the salt, and the rubbing alcohol sanitizes them.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

If just 25 percent of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 billion bags a year.

***

About 1 percent of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.

PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1. Where was or is the original 'Penthouse'?

2. What planet in our system is not named after a god?

3. The Titanic had a sister ship, what was its name?

4. What do deciduous trees do?

5. What was Fonzie's favorite magazine?

6. What is a Sam Browne?

7. In 1845, Boston, it was illegal to do what without a doctor’s note?

8. What do stags tails, pickled worms, gallstones and tomatoes have in common?

9. What is Muckle Flugga?

10. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

A stamp that was supposed to show the Statue of Liberty actually features a replica outside a Las Vegas casino, The New York Times reported Friday.

The United States Postal Service admitted the mistake but said it planned to stick with its Lady Liberty "Forever" stamp.

"We still love the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway," Roy Betts, a post office spokesman, told the Times.

However, he added the Post Office regretted the error and was "re-examining our processes to prevent this situation from happening in the future."

The Times said the image was taken from a photography service, but a "super-fan" of the statue spotted subtle differences and contacted Linn's Stamp News, which first ran the story.

The differences include the hair, more sharply defined eyes and a small patch.

Some people were delighted.

"Everyone thought the post office was honoring just one great American institution when in reality they were honoring two — the Statue of Liberty and Las Vegas," said Gordon Absher, spokesman for MGM Resorts International, which owns the New York-New York casino in Vegas. The fake statue stands in a fake New York Harbor. Others were less than pleased.

"It simply means the post office is doing a stupid thing," Edward Koch, former mayor of the real New York, told the Times.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

A woman goes into a sporting goods store to buy a rifle.

"It's for my husband," she tells the clerk.

"Did he tell you what gauge to get?" asked the clerk.

"Are you kidding?" she says. "He doesn't even know that I'm going to shoot him!"

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’:

Charlie Chaplin-The Lion’s Cage

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

2005 Inductee: If Percy Sledge had only recorded “When a Man Loves a Woman,” one of the greatest of all soul songs, he would have earned his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No less an authority than Jerry Wexler has called it “a transcendent moment….a holy love hymn.” Released on Atlantic in 1966, “When a Man Loves a Woman” topped the R&B and pop charts for multiple weeks and raised the bar for soul balladeering for all time. Yet Sledge’s career didn’t end with that momentous first single. Over the years he racked up a dozen hits at Atlantic, including “Warm and Tender Love,” “It Tears Me Up,” “Out of Left Field” and “Take Time to Know Her.”MORE INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪…When a Man Loves a Woman

♪…Warm and Tender Love

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«THIS WEEK

10-16

Consider Christianity Week

Health Information Privacy and Security Week

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

National Environmental Week

National Inspirational News Week

National Library Week

National Volunteer Week

Pan American Week

Passion Week

Week of The Young Child

11-17

National Personal Training Week

14-17

Fiddler's Frolic

National & Global Youth Service Days

«TODAY IS

Auctioneers Day

Husband Appreciation Day

National Stress Awareness Day

National Eggs Benedict Day

Record Store Day

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

Sir Kingsley Amis 1922 - 1995 English novelist, poet and critic

Anatole France 1844 - 1924 French writer; won the Nobel Prize for Literature(1921)

Henry Mancini 1924 - 1994 American composer

J D Salinger 1919-2010 American author

John M. Synge 1871 - 1909 Irish poetic dramatist

…ATHLETES

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, [Lew Alcindor], NBA center (Mil Bucks, LA Lakers) turns 64

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

--

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Sir Charlie Chaplin 4/16/1889 - 12/25/1977 English-born American motion- picture actor and director

Jon Cryer, actor (Pretty in Pink, Superman IV) turn 46

Grandmaster Flash, Rapper, turns 53

Peter Ustinov 1921 - 2004, London, actor (Death on Nile, Logan's Run, Billy Budd)

…POLITICIANS

Ernest Hollings, Former U.S. senator, D-S.C., turns 89

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

Wilbur Wright 1867 - 1912 American inventor and aviation pioneer

Today’s Obits:

1879 - St Bernadette,(saw Virgin Mary at Lourdes), dies of TB at 35

1825 - John Henry Fuseli, painter/art writer (Tracks in the Snow), dies at 84

1828 - Francisco Goya y Lucientes, Spanish painter/cartoonist, dies at 82

1991 - David Lean, director (28 academy awards), dies of pneumonia at 83

1994 - Ralph Waldo Ellison, U.S. writer (Invisible Man), dies at 80

1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French Scientist, dies of TB at 53

2002 - Robert Urich, actor, Spenser for Hire, dies of cancer at 55

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

1935 - 1st radio broadcast of "Fibber McGee & Molly"

1979 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Sam Shepard for "Buried child"

1984 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Mary Oliver for "American Primitive"

… ATHLETICS

1992 - NY Rangers win team record 50th game

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1956 - 1st solar powered radios go on sale

1962 - Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News

2007 - Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, shoots 32 people to death and injures 23 others before committing suicide.

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1528 - Panfilo de Narvaez sights Indian houses near Tampa Bay, Florida. He will anchor his boats in the area, today. Seeing Narvaez, the Indians will abandon their village. Narvaez hold Spanish royal title to the land between the Rio de las Palmas, and the cape of Florida.

1550 - Charles V orders a stop to Indian land conquests.

… International POLITICS

1705 - Queen Anne of England knights Isaac Newton at Trinity College

1746 - Battle at Culloden: Troops of George II of Great Britain defeat Charles Stuart

1917 - Lenin returns to Russia to start Bolshevik Revolution

1972 - 2 giants pandas arrive in US, from China

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

1178 BC - A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War

… US POLITICS

1862 - US Confederate Congress calls up all white males (18-35 years)

1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.

1900 - US Post Office issues 1st books of postage stamps

ANSWERS:

Quiz

1. Where was or is the original 'Penthouse'?

In a Real Tennis Court

2. What planet in our system is not named after a god?

Earth

3. The Titanic had a sister ship, what was its name?

The Olympic

4. What do deciduous trees do?

Lose their leaves in Winter

5. What was Fonzie's favorite magazine?

Hot Rod

6. What is a Sam Browne?

Military belt

7. In 1845, Boston, it was illegal to do what without a doctor’s note?

Bathe

8. What do stags tails, pickled worms, gallstones and tomatoes have in common?

Once thought to be Aphrodisiacs

9. What is Muckle Flugga?

Rock and Lighthouse on Uist

10. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?

Unforgiven

Close Up Picture

Tricycle

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

4-15-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1957 - Congress gives Post Office $41M; restoring Saturday mail delivery

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

We had our lunch today. Cheryl is leaving tomorrow for Cal-eye-4 n-eye-Aye to celebrate three grandkids birthdays. She won’t be there for any really birthdays, but they are all within a few weeks of each other. Mary had some great stories about one of her classmates from elementary school. Neither Cheryl nor I could even think of any people we went to elementary school that we still are in touch with. Interesting stuff. Then she talked about her born-again sister-in-law. Years ago Mary’s father would go to mass everyday and always say grace at dinner. New sister-in-law was banned from gatherings when she told the father she was so sad that he wasn’t a Christian. That was years ago and as good people, they let her come back into the family. At a recent reunion she wouldn’t let her kids play with the cousins because they weren’t Christian….they were all Catholic. Then the best story, the oldest son, who has been a surfer most of his life and a pastor his adult life, has finally found his calling. He is a trainer in some ‘church’ that sends missionaries overseas to convert people to Christianity. Wait for it…they go to Israel. There message is that heaven is only for Christians with a big sign that says No Jews Allowed Beyond the Pearly Gates. Scary, very scary. The head of this ‘church’ is 85 and has told this 40 something guy that he will be responsible for carrying on the mission when the old guy dies. That should be very interesting, since the old guy has many many relatives who are probably expecting some of the millions.

I think I’m picking up my taxes tomorrow. My accountant has called me almost daily for a week, letting me know he hasn’t left the state. The first call was the day after I dropped of the very organized pile. He let me know he had gone through the pile and everything was there. Every call after that said he was working with my financial advisor as something was missing. Actually he is talking to the Rebecca, the office manager, and I’m sure she is sick of his calls. As soon as I get the results, sign and send them off, I’ll stop by her office with some flowers. The accountant is a real bean counter—which I like, and a little ‘geek-y’ which can become a real pain. He really likes putting in numbers, checking and rechecking ways to save me money, and the closer the deadline gets, he is better at getting it done. One year I was headed out of the country two weeks after I took the pile in. I told him that I was leaving in 10 days and they were ready on the 9th day at 10pm. I told him my plane left at 9am the next day and he came into the office at 7am so I could sign. He is a good guy…just a little odd. Since I’m retired, it is now just a yearly game. LATWTTB—laughing all the way to the bank.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Feeling overheated? Drink some hot tea---really! To compensate for the hot temperature of the liquid, your body becomes cooler-that's why people living in warm climates like India and Southeast Asia drink so much of it!

***

Keep raccoons and other rodents away from your trash cans by sprinkling a few tablespoons of Epsom salts around the trash bins. Animals don't like the taste of the salt, but don't worry they won't be harmed by digesting some.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

In the U.S., lettuce is the second most popular fresh vegetable and Americans eat about 30 pounds of lettuce every year.

***

Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air.

***

In 1970, consumption of broccoli was only a half a pound per person. Today, the average person eats 4.5 pounds a year.

PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1. Name the Hotel in Arthur Haley's novel and film of same name?

2. Pat Reid is famous for writing what book?

3. Two birds, Hugin and Munin, sit on Odin's shoulders. What kind of birds are they?

4. Who wrote 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched'?

5. Who did Orpheus go to rescue in the underworld?

6. Grace Metalious wrote which famous novel (and TV show)?

7. Carlo Collodi created which famous children's character?

8. Alfred White became a famous author using what name?

9. What were Cinderella's slippers originally made from?

10. Inspector Bucket appears in which Dickens novel?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — A pharmacist in southeastern Mississippi says some drug store burglar got a surprise when they broke into his business to steal the pain medication Lortab — the pills had been replaced with beans.

Pharmacist Mac Clark works at Fred's Drug Store in Pascagoula and told WLOX TV the store has broken into several times in the past six months, and each time the burglars got Lortab. He decided he needed a decoy. He put kidney beans in a large Lortab bottle. Around 6 a.m. Wednesday, the burglars came back. The only thing stolen was the Lortab bottle filled with beans.

Investigators believe the burglar cut him or herself during the break-in because they found a trail of blood leading away from the building.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

One day a mother took her 6-year-old son with her to visit a friend at work. Everyone there knew her, and she was offered a cup of coffee. That day, as one of the employees went to make more coffee, her son followed her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making your mom's favorite drink," she answered.

Imagine the woman's shock when she heard her son say, "Wow! You know how to make beer?"

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Bessie Smith sings

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

2005 Inductee: The Pretenders were one of the seminal bands of the second British Invasion, rising out of London in 1979 with a forceful, self-titled first album. Their melodic but hard-charging sound suggested a union of punk and New Wave approaches. Moreover, being older and more seasoned than their punk peers, they drew inspiration from bands of the first British Invasion, including the Kinks and the Who, as well American soul music. MORE INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪…Brass in Pocket

♪…Don’t Get Me Wrong

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«THIS WEEK

10-16

Consider Christianity Week

Health Information Privacy and Security Week

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

National Environmental Week

National Inspirational News Week

National Library Week

National Volunteer Week

Pan American Week

Passion Week

Week of The Young Child

11-17

National Personal Training Week

14-17

Fiddler's Frolic

National & Global Youth Service Days

«TODAY IS

Global Youth Service Day

McDonald's Day

National ‘That Sucks’ Day

Rubber Eraser Day

Take a Wild Guess Day

§ § § §

North Korea: Arirang Festival, held to commemorate Kim Il-sung's birth

US: Major League Baseball: Jackie Robinson Day

Todays Births

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italy, painter/sculptor/scientist/visionary

1843 - Henry James, American/British author (Turn of the Screw, Bostonians)

1741 - Charles Willson Peale, US, port painter/inventor (George Washington)

…ATHLETES

Mike Quinn, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers turns 37

Dara Torres, born in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. Olympic swimmer, Olympics gold 84 turns 44

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1916 - Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman

1866 - Butch Cassidy, [Robert Parker], US desperado (Wild Bunch Passage)

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Country Joe McDonald, Rock singer, musician (Country Joe and the Fish), turns 69

Frank Langella, Actor, ("Frost/Nixon") turns 73

1894 - Elizabeth Mae "Bessie" Smith, Empress of Blues (over 200 songs)

…POLITICIANS

1922 - Harold Washington, 1st black mayor of Chicago, D, 1983-87

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

1707 - Leonhard Euler, Bassle Sweden, mathematician (Euler's Constant)

1641 - Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician

1829 - Mary Harris Thompson, 1st American woman surgeon

Today’s Obits:

1995 Cleo Brown, pianist, performed on National Public Radio, dies at 91

1975 Richard Conte, actor (Four Just Men, Jean Arthur Show), dies at 65

1990 Greta Garbo, actress (Anna Karenina, Camille), dies at 84

1995 Pol Pot, dictator/mass murderer, dies at 73

1980 Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialist (Nobel 1964), dies in Paris at 74

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

--

… ATHLETICS

1910 - Taft is 1st pres to throw out a 1st ball at a baseball game

1991 - Magic Johnson sets NBA record for career assists with 9,898

1996 - 100th Boston Marathon won by Moses Tanui of Kenya in 2:09:15.9

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1738 - Bottle opener invented

1817 - 1st American school for the deaf opens (Hartford Conn)

1964 - Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens (world's longest)

1983 - Tokyo Disneyland opens

1992 - Billionaire Leona Helmsly is sent to jail for tax evasion

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1777- American settlers in Boonesborough will survive an attack by the Shawnees. The fortifications of the town will prove to be too much for the Indians to surmount. The Shawnees will try again on July 4, 1777.

1879 - Fears of being sent to a reservation, leads Warm Spring Apaches and leader Victorio, captured in February, to escape from Ojo Caliente, and to eventually return to Mexico

. … International POLITICS

1900 - International Exposition opens in Paris

1970 - Libyan leader Gadaffi launches "Green Revolution"

1986 - US air raids Libya, responding to La Belle disco, Berlin bombing

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

1250 - Pope Innoncent III refuses Jews of Cordova Spain to build a synagogue

1784 - 1st balloon flight in Ireland

1923 - Insulin becomes generally available for diabetics

2010 - Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe.

… US POLITICS

1850 - City of San Francisco incorporated

ANSWERS:

Quiz

1. Name the Hotel in Arthur Haley's novel and film of same name?

St. Gregory

2. Pat Reid is famous for writing what book?

The Colditz Story

3. Two birds, Hugin and Munin, sit on Odin's shoulders. What kind of birds are they?

Ravens

4. Who wrote 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched'?

Aesop it's from the 'Milkmaid and Her Pail'.

5. Who did Orpheus go to rescue in the underworld?

Eurydice

6. Grace Metalious wrote which famous novel (and TV show)?

Peyton Place

7. Carlo Collodi created which famous children's character?

Pinocchio

8. Alfred White became a famous author using what name?

James Herriot

9. What were Cinderella's slippers originally made from?

Fur, they change to glass in 1600s

10. Inspector Bucket appears in which Dickens novel?

Bleak House

Close Up Picture

Electric Scissors

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

4-14-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I’ll try adding graphics again…wish I knew why the postings are usually so easy and then for several days they become very difficult and then return to easy. Still don’t know what is going on and don’t like the way the font keeps changing.

Our HMO groundskeepers showed up today and cleaned up the front areas for the entire complex. How nice. 99% of the dried pine needles are gone. And it was all don’t in the early morning before the winds really came forth. They were working at 7am and when I left to run errands about 9 they were still working. The parking lot had been cleaned up, and when I moved my vehicle, there were more pine needles under the car. Then I got back about noon, they looked like they were leaving. I parked so that the pine needles were still very visible and low and behold, they came back and cleaned them up. Very cool.

I’m not sure if it is the fact that spring is giving us more daylight and therefore I have more energy, or if one pill raised my energy, or if it is all psychosomatic. Whatever it is, I did have a lot more energy today. I hope it stays. I sure got a lot done today. Feels good.

Obama gave a very interesting speech today. He was very low key. Yet his points on the budget sounded right on to me. The Republican budget is simply moving money—not making cuts. Cutting the taxes of the very rich will be passed down to the middle and lower class seniors in increased Medicare payments. For one rich guy to save $200K in taxes, it will hit 33 seniors each with a $6K increase in Medicare payments. Hmmm. That sounds fair. The Republican budget also basically ends Medicare as we know it, and will let seniors find their own comprehensive insurance with vouchers. Hello!!!! The insurance companies don’t like to cover sick old people and do whatever they can to make it impossible to get coverage. The for-profit insurance companies want to—duh…-- make a profit. In most cases, young people with no major medical problems make the companies money. It is the older people who develop more and more health problems and therefore more and more costs for insurance companies. So the Republican proposal believes that the private companies will gladly accept seniors with more medical costs that cut into their profit. I’m sure that is gonna happen. I’m sure that there will be lots more talk about seniors, Medicare, etc. Our AZ district Rep in Congress sent out an email today toting how he had voted to cut the budget to the bone and would continue to vote that way because the people in his district elected him to do that. Well, 50% of the voters picked him, 44% of the voters voted Dem and 7% voted Libertarian. Of course way less than half of the registered voters actually voted. The point being, our Representative did not clean up at the election—he did win, but not by a huge margin. His emails are always interesting and his staff is doing a better job of keeping us informed than his predecessor.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

When cleaning your computer or TV screens never spray directly on to the glass. The cleaner may drip down the screen and damage the components. Spray the cleaner onto a soft cloth and then wipe the screen.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

America’s first large pasta factory was built in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1848 by a Frenchman who would spread out his spaghetti strands on the roof to dry in the sunshine.

***

Our bodies convert Beta-Carotene into Vitamin A which is important for good eyesight, helps your body fight infection, and keeps your skin and hair healthy.

***

The darker green varieties of lettuce are more nutritional than the light green varieties.

PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1. Who steals the Pink Panther in the original film?

2. If you were in Lou Grant's office what city are you in?

3. Who played the part of the scarecrow in the movie 'The Wiz'?

4. James H. Pierce was the last silent film actor to play which role?

5. On M*A*S*H what is Radar's favorite drink?

6. What movie cast featured James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasance?

7. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?

8. What star had a job as an aircraft factory inspector?

9. Who started life as 'Dippy Dawg'?

10. Roy Scherer Jr became famous using what name?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

LOS ANGELES — A Chinese man was accused Tuesday of creating a fake U.S. Army unit and selling immigrants on the idea that joining the squad was a path to citizenship, authorities said.

Yupeng Deng, 51, allegedly gave his "recruits" military uniforms, had them parade in a Los Angeles suburb and took them to the decommissioned USS Midway aircraft carrier, which is a museum in San Diego.

Deng charged more than 100 fellow Chinese nationals between $300 and $450 to join the fake Army unit, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.

He called his bogus squad the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve unit, or MSFR for short, and gave himself the lofty title of "supreme commander," prosecutors said.

As well as telling recruits that belonging to the unit was a path to U.S. citizenship, Deng urged them to pay him cash for higher military rank, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly provided them with fake documents and phony military identification cards.

Deng, a resident of the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, was arrested Tuesday by sheriff's deputies. He was charged with theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal.

Deng faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday and was being held on $500,000 bail. Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, declined to comment on how Deng was caught. "All the details and evidence will come out in a preliminary hearing," she said.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

A fellow and his wife living in Houston, Texas, where the people are all patriots, were blessed with the birth of twins, two identical girls. These twins were born on the 4th of July, and the father, being patriotic, said to his wife, "We will name them Liberty and Justice, after the pledge of alligence".

His wife said, "Are you nuts? You can't have girls going through life with names like Liberty and Justice. We are going to name them regular girl's names like Mary or Jane".

Well, the argument went on for about a month, when a compromise was reached. They would each name one of the girls. The man chose Liberty and the wife picked Elizabeth.

As the girls grew, they were so identical, they kept pulling tricks on people who couldn't tell them apart.

Finally, when they were about 18, a young man took interest in them. He would take one out on a date but he was never sure which one he was with.

He decided he would marry at least one of them, but he wasn't sure which one he would marry.

He went to the girls father and explained his quandry. "I love your daughters and want to marry one of them, but I can't tell them apart, so I will leave it up to you... Give me Liberty or give me Beth."

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Silent Spring Part One

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

2006 Inductee: The O’Jays: The O’Jays were at the forefront of Seventies soul music. Racking up a lengthy string of modern R&B classics, including “Back Stabbers,” “Love Train,” “For the Love of Money,” “I Love Music” and “Use Ta Be My Girl,” they helped put the “Philly Soul” sound (so named for Philadelphia-based producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff) on the map. In fact, the O’Jays were the backbone of Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International label, which released some of the greatest and most influential Seventies records.  MORE INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪…Love Train

♪…Back Stabbers

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«THIS WEEK

10-16

Consider Christianity Week

Health Information Privacy and Security Week

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

National Environmental Week

National Inspirational News Week

National Library Week

National Volunteer Week

Pan American Week

Passion Week

Week of The Young Child

11-17

National Personal Training Week

14-17

Fiddler's Frolic

National & Global Youth Service Days

«TODAY IS

Children with Alopecia Day

International Moment of Laughter Day

National D.A.R.E. Day

National Pecan Day

Pan American Day

§ § § §

Honduras: Dia De Las Americas ()

India: Vaisakhi (Ancient Harvest Festival marking new Solar Year)

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

Arnold Toynbee 4/14/1889 - 10/22/1975 English historian; wrote 12-volume "Study of History"

…ATHLETES

Brad Ausmus, Baseball player, turns 42

Greg Maddux, Baseball player, turns 45

Pete Rose, Baseball player, turns 70

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Anne Sullivan Macy 4/14/1866 - 10/20/1936 American teacher of Helen Keller

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Ritchie Blackmore, Rock musician (Deep Purple), turns 66

Julie Christie, Actress, turns 71

Brad Garrett, Actor ("'til Death," "Everybody Loves Raymond"), turns 51

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), turns 34

Loretta Lynn, Country singer, turns 76

…POLITICIANS

Francois Duvalier 4/14/1907 - 4/21/1971 Haitian president (1957-1971)

John Paul Stevens, 91, Supreme Court Justice

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

1904 Reinout W van Bemmelen, Dutch geologist

1629 Christian Huygens, Holland, astronomer, discovered Saturn's rings

Today’s Obits:

1964 - Rachel L Carson, US biologist/author (Silent spring), heart attack at 56

1759 - Georg Friedrich Handel, organist/composer (Watermusic), dies at 74

2007 - Don Ho, American musician dies at 77

1995 - Burl Ives, folk singer/actor (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 85

1975 - Fredric March, actor (Inherit the Wind), dies at 77

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

1841 - Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," published

1939 - John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" published

1961 - 1st live television broadcast from Soviet Union

… ATHLETICS

2002 - Tiger Woods becomes the third golfer to win The Masters in two consecutive years

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1775 - 1st abolitionist society in US organizes in Phila

1894 - 1st public showing of Edison's kinetoscope (moving pictures)

1927 - The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1528 - Panfilo de Narvaez, with 4 or 5 ships, and approximately 400-500 men, including Cabeza de Vaca, sight land, on the western coast of Florida. This will be the first significant exploration of Florida.

1614 - John Rolfe marries Pocahontas.

… International POLITICS

1814 - Napoleon abdicated and was banished to Elba

1980 - 1st Cubans of the Mariel boatlift sail to Florida

1988 - U.S.S.R., U.S., Pakistan and Afghanistan sign Afghanistan treaty

1989 - 1,100,000,000th Chinese born

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

1611 - Word "telescope" is 1st used (Prince Federico Cesi)

1958 - Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere

1986 - Desmond Tutu elected Anglican archbishop of Capetown

1994 - Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender after completion of his Seven Seals manuscript

2010 - Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull begins erupting from the top crater in the centre of the glacier

… US POLITICS

1818 - US Medical Corp forms

1865 - US Secret Service created to fight counterfeiting

1865 - President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater

ANSWERS:

Quiz

1. Who steals the Pink Panther in the original film?

The Phantom

2. If you were in Lou Grant's office what city are you in?

Los Angeles

3. Who played the part of the scarecrow in the movie 'The Wiz'?

Michael Jackson

4. James H. Pierce was the last silent film actor to play which role?

Tarzan

5. On M*A*S*H what is Radar's favorite drink?

Grape Nehi

6. What movie cast featured James Garner, Richard Attenbourough, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasance?

The Great Escape

7. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?

Unforgiven

8. What star had a job as an aircraft factory inspector?

Marilyn Monroe

9. Who started life as 'Dippy Dawg'?

Goofy

10. Roy Scherer Jr became famous using what name?

Rock Hudson

Close Up Picture

Grater

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

4-13-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1970 - Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst.

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Can’t figure out what happened yesterday with the post…the site was acting strange on three different browsers. So today will again have no graphics.

Yesterday’s Free Thoughts

A really nice day today—after a weekend of snow. Had to be outside for much of the day.

It sure looks like we will all be tightening our belts even more. Austerity is becoming the buzz word from DC. Not for the super rich, but for everyone else. The middle class that the previous generation worked so hard to be in is rapidly disappearing. Those of us who don’t go into debt, pay our credit cards in full every month, and work to keep our nest egg intact are attacked on every side: higher insurance costs, larger deductibles, basically no interest on money kept in banks and credit unions, higher gas prices, higher food costs, higher education costs, no COLA’s, and the list goes on and on. Of course in order to meet these rising costs, the rich get their bonuses, their huge retirement golden parachutes, their huge raises in salary, and the list goes on and on. This is a tough economic time.

Today’s Free Thoughts

I had a good visit with my ENT today. Everything is fine, just keep taking the meds and come back in 6 months. He keeps telling me I have a great attitude…it’s like his other patients must be real nasty. Anyway, today he was joking with me and said, “I’ll bet if I told you that I had to cut off your arm, you would say ‘Great, now I don’t have to carry it around all the time.’” I guess it was funnier if you were there.

I know a few ladies who are more than a little upset about some recent comments on Faux News. Faux News claimed that women can get all the services of Planned Parenthood, except abortion at the local Walgreens. The news team specifically mentioned PAP smears and breast exams. Obviously Walgreens doesn’t offer those two. The sad part is that there are so many people who believe the Faux News garbage. Just like they believe Jon Kyl and his 90% statement, and they never hear the ‘retraction’.

I ran some errands today. When I was in Tuba I had a ‘gazing ball’ and stand in my garden. The stand made the trip to Flag, but somehow the ball didn’t make it. I’ve kinda been keeping an eye out for one since I got here. I wasn’t going to pay a fortune since they are made of glass and sit outside. They don’t do well in the elements, so when it rains and during the winter it has to be brought inside. In Tuba I had to bring it in whenever I watered the garden. Anyway, Marshall’s had a nice one for $12. I got it, and it looks real nice on my patio. Spring is really gotta get here for more than just a few days at a time.

While I was on the Rez I picked up quite a few framed prints and a couple of originals. I have had them in my living room in Tuba and then here. I finally decided that they need to find a better place. So this week I moved them to the hallway on the first floor and the staircase. I am happy with their new location and now I’m looking for some photos or wall hangings for the living room. My days on the rez were very important to me but I can’t move past them when they are the main décor of my house. I can still enjoy them in their new locations.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

* To slice meat into thin strips, as for Chinese dishes, partially freeze and it will slice easily.

* A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast. The bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast more quickly.

* A fork should never be stuck in meat while frying or grilling as it punctures the meat and lets the juices out. Use tongs.

* Juicier burgers: add one stiffly beaten egg white to each pound of hamburger. You could also make patties with one tablespoon of cottage cheese in the center.

* Dip your fingers in water to prevent raw meatballs or hamburgers from sticking to your hands.

* To help stop meatloaf from sticking to the pan, put one or two strips of bacon in the pan before the meatloaf.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

Ducks are precocial, which means that ducklings are covered with down and able to walk and leave the nest just a few hours after hatching.

***

Male ducks have an eclipse plumage similar to females that they wear after the breeding season for about a month as their new feathers grow. During that month, they are completely flightless and more vulnerable to predators.

***

A duck's bill is specialized to help it forage in mud and to strain food from the water. A hard nail at the tip of the bill helps with foraging, and a comb-like structure on the sides of the bill strains small insects and crustaceans from water.

PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1. 'I Get Around' was a hit for which group?

2. John Richie became famous under what name?

3. In which city was the first public opera house opened?

4. In the song Waltzing Matilda - What is a Jumbuck?

5. What is the bass Xylophone called?

6. Vladamere Ashkenazy plays what musical instrument?

7. What is the name of the metal discs set in a tambourine's rim?

8. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was the first US group to do what in 1977?

9. Who wrote the music for 'Showboat'?

10. Who received the first ever Gold Disc?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — A Brevard County man blasted away with an assault rifle at a SWAT robot while wearing nothing but his birthday suit.

The suspect's dog was the only onlooker as the robot approached the door at the West Melbourne home on Del Mar Circle.

Authorities said a man with several guns was suicidal and threatening authorities.

"He said he'd shoot anyone he could," said Lt. Bruce Barnett with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

Instead of risking any lives, deputies sent the $65,000 robot into the home. The robot has cameras, which record all of its actions. The video shows the robot searching each room, its electronic eye roving from side to side while officers watch safely from a command post.

As the robot slowly pushes the man's bedroom door open, the man comes out, stark naked, with an AK-47 in hand. The man then starts shooting at the robot.

The camera goes out at first, and then comes back on. The robot came away with bullet holes, frayed wires and broken cables, but no one was hurt.

"It saved a life," said Barnett.

The man was charged with criminal mischief. The robot will be out of commission for a while. It's being sent back to its manufacturer for repairs.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

To help a friend lose weight, I told her that she should switch to lower-fat foods, including skim milk. When she said her family would drink only whole milk, I suggested that she keep their regular container and refill it with skim milk. This worked for quite a while, until her daughter asked one morning whether the milk was okay.

"Sure, it's fine," my friend answered, fearing she had been found out. "Why do you ask?"

The daughter explained, "Well, according to the expiration date, this milk expired six months ago!"

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Yuri Gagarin Video

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

2006 Inductee: Sex Pistols: Rock and roll was never the same after the Sex Pistols. They ignited the punk-rock revolution in Britain, and the reverberations carried to all corners of the rock and roll world. Expressing the cynical, restive mood of youthful Britons, the Sex Pistols restored a sense of danger to rock music. This wasn’t the theatrical danger of Alice Cooper’s onstage guillotine but the very real possibility of injury to the body and a jolt to the senses.  MORE INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪… Anarchy

♪… God Save the Queen

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«THIS WEEK

10-16

Consider Christianity Week

Health Information Privacy and Security Week

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

National Environmental Week

National Inspirational News Week

National Library Week

National Volunteer Week

Pan American Week

Passion Week

Week of The Young Child

11-17

National Personal Training Week

«TODAY IS

Blame Somebody Else Day

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS BIRTHDAYS…

Samuel Beckett 4/13/1906 - 12/22/1989 Irish-born author, critic, and playwright; won the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize-winning poet, turns 72

1931 Jon Stone, co-creator of Sesame Street

1909 Eudora Welty, Jackson Ms, novelist (Optimist's Daughter-Pulitzer 1973)

Lanford Wilson, Playwright, turns 74

…ATHLETES

1963 Gary Kasparov, Chess champion, turns 48

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Eli Terry 4/13/1772 - 2/26/1852 American clockmaker and an innovator in mass production

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

1923 Don Adams, American actor and comedian

Peabo Bryson, R&B singer, turns 60

Jack Casady, Rock musician (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna), turns 67

Ron Perlman, Actor, turns 61

Caroline Rhea, Actress, comedian, turns 47

Ricky Schroder, Actor, turns 41

Paul Sorvino, Actor, turns 72

Lyle Waggoner, Actor, turns 76

Max Weinberg, Rock musician (E Street Band), turns 60

…POLITICIANS

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Former U.S. senator, R-Colo., Northern Cheyenne Tribe, 3rd Native American to serve in Senate, turns 78

1570 Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator

Thomas Jefferson 4/13/1743 - 7/4/1826 President of the United States (1801-1809) and author of the Declaration of Independence

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

Peter Faber 4/13/1506 - 8/1/1546 French Jesuit theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus

Today’s Obits:

1994 - Donald Benjamin Harden, archaeologist, dies at 92

1973 - Alexandre A M Stols, publisher/typographer (Schoone Book), dies at 73

1997 - George Wald, scientist (Nobel Prize, vitamin A in retina), dies at 80

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

1742 - George Frederic Handel's "Messiah" performed for 1st time (Dublin)

1958 - Van Cliburn is the first American to win the Chaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

… ATHLETICS

1954 - Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.

1997 - Tiger Woods, 21, became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament and the first person of African heritage to claim a major golf title.

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1796 - 1st elephant arrives in US from India

1860 - 1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento

1902 - J C Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, WY

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1846 - The 2 Cherokee factions (old settlers and new emigrants) continue to feud over who has legal control of the Cherokee Nation. Based on appeals from the old settlers and the agreement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, President James Polk asks Congress to approve the creation of separate reservations for the two sides. The new emigrants will oppose the proposal. An agreement will be reached by both sides on August 6, 1846.

1946 - Congress will create the Indian Claims Commission today. The commission is established to hear and decide claims made by Indians based on land losses from treaties.

… International POLITICS

1926 - Bicyclists without bicycle-tax-stamp rounded up in Amsterdam

1961 - UN General Assembly condemns South-Africa's apartheid

1992 - Nelson Mandela announces he will seek divorce from Winnie

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

--

… US POLITICS

1943 - FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial

ANSWERS:

Quiz

1. 'I Get Around' was a hit for which group?

Beach Boys

2. John Richie became famous under what name?

Sid Vicious

3. In which city was the first public opera house opened?

Venice

4. In the song Waltzing Matilda - What is a Jumbuck?

Sheep

5. What is the bass Xylophone called?

Marimba

6. Vladamere Ashkenazy plays what musical instrument?

Piano

7. What is the name of the metal discs set in a tambourine's rim?

Jingles

8. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was the first US group to do what in 1977?

Tour USSR

9. Who wrote the music for 'Showboat'?

Jerome Kern

10. Who received the first ever Gold Disc?

Glen Miller for the song the 'Chattanooga Cho Cho'

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW