Apr 23


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

Today’s  Historical  Highlights
1635 - Oldest US public institution, Boston Latin School founded
1789 - President-elect George Washington moves into Franklin House, NY
1945 - Concentration camp Flossenburg liberated
1953 - KTAR (now KPNX) TV channel 12 in Phoenix, AZ (NBC) begins broadcasting
1968 - 1st decimal coins issued in Britain (5 & 10 pence)
1984 - AIDS-virus identified (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
1994 - Libertarian party nominates Howard Stern for Governor of NY
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
Spring has arrived here and is welcomed by all. We even have clouds that look like rain, not snow. Great day to be in Flag.

Our discussion group was very good last night. A new member has been teaching nursing in Liberia for a couple of semesters after retiring from NAU. What a great look she had on democracy. Bottom line, asking the people what they want for better lives works much better and lasts a lot longer than bombing a country into democracy. The current president of Liberia-- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—came to power after ending a long civil war. How? She and a large contingency of women went to a hotel out of the country where the war lords were discussing peace. They surrounded the building and told them no one could come or go until there was peace in their homeland. It worked. She is a Nobel Peace Prize winner. All is not prefect in Liberia, as they have biracial problemsafter being ruled by former US slaves (many who were biracial) for over a century and a half, the many tribes are now wanting more say in the government. Great night of new insights.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every answer is an anagram of a word starting with the letters, A-M. For example, if the clue is "A-M + sue," then the answer would be, "amuse."
1.     AM+ hubs:
2.     AM+ unto:
3.     AM+ styne:
4.     AM+ tee up:
5.     AM+ be nice:
6.     AM+ isobar:
7.     AM+ panders:
8.     AM+ thesauri:

Riddle of the day
Harry went out to dinner with his friends Larry, Barry, and Gary. Harry sat across from Gary. At Gary's right, opposite Barry, sat Larry. When the waiter came for their orders, Larry and Barry ordered steak. Gary chose fish, and Harry (who likes to be difficult) ordered like this: "Unless the man at the left of the man opposite the man who ordered fish is not having what the man across from the man at the right of the man at my left is having, then I'll have what the man across from the man at the right of the man opposite me ordered. Otherwise, bring me the fettucine alfredo." Assuming "right" and "left" is from the viewpoint of the diners, what did Harry order?

Clue: Harry ordered the fettuccine.
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Date on which the Chinese city of Chaohu was ‘cancelled by government decree: 8-22-2011
Found on You Tube 
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
A woman was sitting at a bar enjoying an after-work cocktail with her girlfriends when an exceptionally tall, handsome, extremely sexy young man entered. He was so striking that the woman could not take her eyes away from him. The young man noticed her overly attentive stare & walked directly toward her. Before she could offer her apologies for being so rude for staring, the young man said to her, 'I'll do anything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky, for $100, on one condition.' Flabbergasted, the woman asked what the condition was. The young man replied, 'You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three words.'
The woman considered his proposition for a moment, withdrew from her purse and slowly counted out five $20 bills, which she pressed into the young man's hand along with her address. She looked deeply into his eyes & slowly, meaningfully said, "Clean my house."

Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
When playing ice hockey, a good rule of thumb for forwards entering the offensive zone is: first player to the puck, second player to the net, and third player to the high slot (between the face-off circles in front of the net.)
Yeah, It Really Happened
 PITTSFORD, N.Y. - A New York state man who began working for the U.S. Postal Service when he was 70 is now 92 and the oldest postal worker in a district including eight states. Officials said Charles Cook, of Pittsford, who works as a supervisor at the mail processing center in Henrietta, is the oldest employee in a district including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Delaware, and portions of New York, West Virginia and New Jersey, the Rochester (N.Y.) Courier Democrat reported Thursday.
 "I say, 'If you think I'm going to be replaced and they're going to bring in some greenhorn to do my job, you're crazy,'" Cook said. "I'm going to be here for another 25 years." Cook said he began his career with the Postal Service after a doctor told him when he was 70 he should seek out a job with a lot of physical activity to extend his life.
Somewhat Useless Information   
When you are feeling down
1. If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.
2. The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
3. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
4. The best vitamin for making friends....B1.
5. The 10 commandments are not multiple choices.
6. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
7. Minds are like parachutes...they function only when open.
8. Ideas won't work unless YOU do.
9. One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.
10. One who lacks the courage to start has already finished.

Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
18-23
Cleaning For A Reason Week
Consumer Awareness Week
International Whistlers Week
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week
19-5/4
Kentucky Derby Week
20-29 
National Dance Week
20-22
National & Global Youth Service Days
21-28
Money Smart Week
Administrative Professionals Week
National Crime Victims Rights Week
National Playground Safety Week
Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week
Preservation Week
Sky Awareness Week
Week of The Young Child
(Spring) Astronomy Week
Safe Kids Week

Today Is                                                                      
International Marconi Day
Movie Theatre Day
National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day
Read Me Day
St. George Feast Day
Talk Like Shakespeare Day
World Book & Copyright Day
World Laboratory Animal Day
>< 
Spain: Book Day and Lover's Day
Turkey: Children's Day/ National Sovereignty Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             
1300’s
1348 - 1st English order of knighthood founded (Order of Garter)
>< 
1500’s
1597 - William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance
1600’s
1637 - Wongunk Chief Sequin gave settlers the land on which to establish the village on Wetherfield, north from Saybrook, on the Connecticut River. After he was ordered out of the area, even though he was promised protection as a part of the agreement, he lead an attack on the settlement. With the help of 200 Pequot warriors, Sequin's force killed 9 settlers, and took 2 more hostage.
1700’s
1701- William Penn will sign a treaty of friendship at Philadelphia with representatives of the Susquehanna, Shawnee, Ganawese, and the Iroquois. All parties will agree to act peaceably with each other. The treaty will be known as the "Articles of Agreement".
1800’s
1851 - Canada issues its 1st postage stamps
1900’s
1918 - National Urban League forms
1932 - Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens at Stratford-on-Avon
1939 - 1st performance of Béla Bartok's 2nd Concerto for violin
1959 - 1st heliport in Britain opens in London
1962 - 1st US satellite to reach the moon launched Ranger 4
1969 - LA Laker Jerry West scores 53 points
1969 - Sirhan Sirhan sentenced to death for killing Bobby Kennedy
1985 - Coca-Cola announced it is changing its secret flavor formula New Coke debuts
1989 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays his last game as a Laker
1992 - McDonald's opens its 1st fast-food restaurant in China
1995 - Pres Clinton declares a national day of mourning for Oklahoma City

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 80’s
Shirley Temple, actress (Heidi)/ambassador (UN) will be 84
Estelle Harris, actress (Estelle Castanza-Seinfeld) is 84
In their 70’s
David Birney, Wash DC, actor (Brigette Loves Bernie, St Elsewhere) is 73
Lee Majors, [Harvey Yeary], Mich, TV actor ($6,000,000 Man, Stunt Man) is 73
In their 60’s
Joyce DeWitt, actress (Janet Wood-Three's Company) will be 63
In their 50’s
Valerie Bertinelli, Del, (1 Day at a Time, Sydney); Ms Eddie Van Halen is 52
Jan Hooks, Decatur Georgia, comedienne actress (SNL, Designing Women) is 55
George Lopez, American actor and comedian is 51
Michael Moore, Flint, Michigan, American filmmaker (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, Sicko) is 54
>< 
In their 30’s
Kal Penn, Montclair, New Jersey, American actor (Dr. Lawrence Kutner-House, The Namesake) and civil servant is 35

Remembered for being born on this day
James Buchanan, Cove Gap PA, (Fed/Dem), 15th US president (1857-61) in 1791
Steve Clark, Hillsborough England, rock guitarist (Def Leppard) in 1960
Sandra Dee, [Zuck], Bayonne NJ, actress (Gidget, Imitation of Life) in 1942
Stephen Arnold Douglas, (Little giant), US senator (Lincoln debates) in 1813
Jim Fixx, jogger/writer (Jim Fixx on Running) in 1932
Halston, [R Halston Frowick], fashion designer (1972 Hall of Fame) in 1932
Gordon Hirabayshi, Seattle, Washington, American civil rights activist and WWII internment opponent (Hirabayshi v. United States), in 1918
Roy Orbison, Vernon Tx, rocker (Pretty Woman) in 1936
Max Planck, physicist (Quanta Physics) in 1858
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, Sontsovka, Ukraine, composer (Peter & the Wolf) in 1891
Samuel Wallis, explorer (Wallis Island) in 1728
Herve Villechaize, France, "Da Plane! Da Plane!" ( Fantasy Island) in 1943
Bud Wilkinson, college football coach (Oklahoma) in 1916

Today’s Obits                                                           
Howard Cosell, sportscaster (Monday Night Football), dies in 1995 at 77
Buster Crabbe, 400m US swimmer (Olympics-gold-1932), dies in 1983 of heart failure  at 73
George, knight/saint/patron of England, beheaded in 303 at about 25
Alfred Packer, American Cannibal dies in 1907 of senility at 65
Otto Preminger, dir (Advise & Consent, Anatomy of Murder), dies in 1986  at 80
James Earl Ray, American assassin in 1998 of hepatitis C at 70
William Shakespeare, English author (Hamlet), dies in 1616 at 52
William Tubman, president of Liberia (1944-71), dies in 1971 at 76
William Wordsworth, poet, dies in 1850 at 80
Boris Yeltsin, first President of the Russian Federation in 2007 of heart failure at 76

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
What he essentially said to the waiter was: "If Larry ordered the same thing as Gary, I'll have steak." Since Larry ordered steak and Gary ordered fish, Harry does not get steak.

NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     AM+ hubs:
a.      ambush
2.     AM+ unto:
a.      amount
3.     AM+ styne:
a.      amnesty
4.     AM+ tee up:
a.      amputee
5.     AM+ be nice:
a.      ambiance
6.     AM+ isobar:
a.      ambrosia
7.     AM+ panders:
a.      ampersand
8.     AM+ thesauri:
a.      amateurish

Anagrams


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 

Apr 22


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 
                    Returns tomorrow
Today’s  Historical  Highlights
1864 - US mints 2 cent coin (1st appearance of "In God We Trust")
1884 - Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2 yrs 9 mos)
1889 - Oklahoma land rush officially started; some were "sooner"
1915 - 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WW I
1955 - Congress orders all US coins bear motto "In God We Trust"
1969 - 1st human eye transplant performed
1983 - Stern mag announces major historical find-discovery of 60 volume personal diaries written by Adolph Hitler (turned out to be a hoax)
1992 - Holocaust Museum dedicated in Washington DC

 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
Shortened blog as our Discussion Group meets tonightDemocracy as part of foreign policy. Interesting topic. To what degree does the US encourage other countries to embrace democracy? Foreign AidSanctionsInvasion are on the continuum. How much of each promotes democracy?  Excited to hear some ideas. The pre-reading was very interesting.

It was hard to get ready for the topic today as the weather was fantastic today. I did most of the reading on the back deckwith appropriate patio furniture to keep the HOA happy.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
The letters S-B stand for seat belt. They also stand for some other familiar two word phrases. See if you can get them from the clues.
1.     A piece of furniture that opens up for sleeping:
2.     An annual football showdown:
3.     It slows down cars in a parking lot:
4.     Restaurant feature with lettuce, tomatoes, etc:
5.     Military plane that is hard to detect:
6.     What a very fast plane produces:
7.     Bit of someone’s quote on TV news:
8.     A big yellow transporter of children:
9.     A standard feature of a fair election:
10.  Equipment at the World Cup:
11.  Victor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn:
12.  Bill Clinton’s religious affiliation:
13.  Item of camping equipment:
14.  Portable advertising sign:
15.  Baseball hit designed to advance a runner:
16.  Shade of hair that is reddish yellow:
17.  Hospital on a ship:
18.  God: Supreme

Riddle of the day
I was framed, yet I didn't commit a crime, and the person who framed me committed no crime. How is this possible?
Hint: You can actually frame it !

Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Date of which Walnut Ridge, Arkansas unveiled a sculpture commemorating the Beatles’ 1964 visit there: 9-18-2011
Hours the Beatles spent in the town: 1
Found on You Tube 
  Ansel Adams: Landscape Photography at its Finest      
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
"Do you believe in life after death?" the boss asked one of his employees.
 "Yes, sir," the clerk replied.
"That's good," the boss said. "After you left early yesterday to go to your grandmother's funeral, she stopped in to see you."
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
Amateur photographers typically use flash in dimly-lit areas and no flash in brighly-lit areas. Professional photographers often do the opposite, so the lighting is more uniform across the whole scene.
Yeah, It Really Happened
  JUZCAR, Spain - The mayor of a small Spanish town said the village has seen a dramatic increase in tourism since its homes were painted blue for last year's film "The Smurfs." Mayor David Fernandez Tirado of Juzcar said his village has received about 125,000 visitors since the film came out last summer and residents voted in December 2011 to keep the village blue to spur tourism, The Telegraph, Britain, reported Thursday.
"The number of visits is not going down," Tirado said. "Apart from colder, wintry days, it's been quite the opposite -- it's continuing to spark a lot of interest."
The village was painted blue in 2011 to film scenes for "The Smurfs" and villagers are now holding weekly "Smurf markets" to sell Smurf-related souvenirs and foods. Tirado said the blue color of the village's houses might not be permanent. "We'll see how everything is going in a while," he said.               

Somewhat Useless Information   
A solar flare is an enormous explosion in the solar atmosphere, involving sudden bursts of particle acceleration, plasma heating, and bulk mass motion. It is believed to result from the sudden release of energy stored in the magnetic fields that thread the solar corona in active regions around sunspots.
The largest of solar flares can be equal to billions of one-megaton nuclear bombs!

Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
14-22
National Park Week
Coin Week
Fibroid Awareness Week
National Environmental Education Week
National Karaoke Week
National Volunteer Week
National Pet ID Week
National Paperboard Packaging Week
18-23
Cleaning For A Reason Week
Consumer Awareness Week
International Whistlers Week
Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week
19-5/4
Kentucky Derby Week
20-29 
National Dance Week
20-22
National & Global Youth Service Days
21-28
Money Smart Week
Administrative Professionals Week
National Crime Victims Rights Week
National Playground Safety Week
Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week
Preservation Week
Sky Awareness Week
Week of The Young Child
(Spring) Astronomy Week
Safe Kids Week

Today Is                                                                      
Earth Day
Girl Scout Leaders Day
"In God We Trust Day" Day-1864
National Jelly Bean Day
UN International Mother Earth Day
>< 
Oklahoma Day (1889  commemorates the date when the "Oklahoma Lands" area, which is now the state of Oklahoma, opened for European settlement.)

Today’s Other Events                                                             
1000’s
1056 - Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
1100’s
1145 - 19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
>< 
1500’s
1526 - 1st slave revolt occurs in SC
>< 
1700’s
1793 - Pres Washington attends opening of Rickett's, 1st circus in US
1800’s
1823 - R J Tyers patents roller skates
1839 - General Alexander Macomb, the new military commander in Florida, meets with several Seminole Chiefs, including Chitto and Halek Tustenuggee. The council agrees that the Seminole can remain in Florida if they stay near Lake Okechobee.
1876 - Tchaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
1877 - Two Moons, Hump, and 300 other Indians surrender to Col. Nelson Miles. Most of the rest of Crazy Horse's followers will surrender on May 6, 1877 at the Red Cloud, and Spotted Tail agencies.
1898 - US President McKinley orders blockade of Cuban harbors
1900’s
1914 - Babe Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
1914 - Mexico ends diplomatic relations with US
1954 - USSR joins UNESCO
1964 - Tanganyika & Zanzibar form republic Tanzania
1967 - Martial Law goes into effect in Greece
1970 - 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve natural resources
1976 - Barbara Walters becomes 1st female nightly network news anchor
1981 - Almost 1 million West German metal workers in strike
1981 - Largest US bank robbery (Tucson Ariz), more than $3.3 million stolen
1991 - Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panama, kills 95
1994 - In Denmark the largest lollipop, weighing 3,011 pounds, made
2000’s
2000 - In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida
2006 - 243 people are injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal after Nepali security forces open fire on protesters against King Gyanendra
2006 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 80’s
Charlotte Rae, Milwaukee WI, actress (Edna-Facts of Life) is 86
In their 70’s
Jack Nicholson, actor (One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, Shining) is 75
>< 
In their 50’s
Ryan Stiles, Seattle Wash, actor (Lewis-Drew Carey Show) is 53
In their 40’s
Sherri Shepherd, American comedian (The View) and actress is 45

Remembered for being born on this day
Eddie Albert, [Heimberger], Rock Island Il, actor (Oliver-Green Acres) in 1906
Henry Fielding, England, novelist (Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones) in 1707
Steve Fossett, American adventurer in 1944
Immanuel Kant, Konigsberg Germ, philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason) in 1724
Hal March, SF California, actor/TV host ($64,000 Question, Outrage) in 1920
J[ulius] Robert Oppenheimer, NY, head of Manhattan (A-bomb) Project in 1904
Aaron Spelling, American television producer

Today’s Obits                                                           
Ansel Adams, US photographer, in 1984 at 82
Erma Bombeck, humorist (Grass is Greener), in 1996, complications of kidney transplant  at 69
Cesar Chavez, US farm worker (United Farm Workers), in 1993 of natural causes at 66
Jane Froman, singer (Jane Froman's USA Canteen), in 1980  of cardiac arrest at 72
Will Geer, actor (Grandpa Walton-Waltons), in 1978 of repertory failure at 75
Richard Nixon, 37th President (1969-75), in 1994 of a stroke at 81
Frederick Henry Royce, motorcar pioneer in 1933 at 70
2004 - Pat Tillman, American football player and U.S. Army Ranger (killed by friendly fire) in 2004 at 27

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
I am a picture, and I was put in a picture frame.

NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     A piece of furniture that opens up for sleeping:
a.      sofa bed
2.     An annual football showdown:
a.      Super Bowl
3.     It slows down cars in a parking lot:
a.      speed bump
4.     Restaurant feature with lettuce, tomatoes, etc:
a.      salad bar
5.     Military plane that is hard to detect:
a.      stealth bomber
6.     What a very fast plane produces:
a.      sonic boom
7.     Bit of someone’s quote on TV news:
a.      sound bite
8.     A big yellow transporter of children:
a.      school bus
9.     A standard feature of a fair election:
a.      secret ballot
10.  Equipment at the World Cup:
a.      soccer ball
11.  Victor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn:
a.      Sitting Bull
12.  Bill Clinton’s religious affiliation:
a.      Southern Baptist
13.  Item of camping equipment:
a.      sleeping bag
14.  Portable advertising sign:
a.      sandwich board
15.  Baseball hit designed to advance a runner:
a.      sacrifice bunt
16.  Shade of hair that is reddish yellow:
a.      strawberry blonde
17.  Hospital on a ship:
a.      sick bay
18.  God:
a.      Supreme Being
Anagrams


Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.
    And That Is All for Now 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.