Whatever!

Another cloudy day. Not exactly overcast. We had some rain during the night, but the day brought us just a few drops. The weather people keep saying the monsoons are ready to hit…so we just wait. We only made it to 76° today but humidity hit 58%. I guess that is a good sign.

The lack of a Michael Jackson funeral is becoming very weird. He was raised as a JW, and they don’t believe in big funerals. He had studied Islam, and they believe the body should be buried as soon as possible. The family has set several different dates for the memorial service. The latest is thirteen days after his passing. It appears that the family is not following any religion regarding his final rights. Everyone involved seems to be simply hoping for more interviews, more public accolades, and a fear that once he is put in the ground, all of this will stop. I’m sure the tributes will continue for a long time. It is all very sad. It has all become very macabre.

I guess I should be relieved that our non-elected governor is not as bad as the elected Alaskan governor or the elected South Carolina governor. They have sure been in the news. Jan said today that she believes that the 90 elected officials of the legislature will be able to work out a plan she will sign. She just doesn’t get it. It is her own party that is balking at her dreams. They have the majority in both houses. Maybe this will cause a meltdown. Maybe she will realize she wasn’t elected, and probably won’t be elected. Maybe it will rain tomorrow. Maybe someone will donate some $3 billion to fix our state mess. Maybe the recession will be over very soon. One can only dream.

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Random Fact
Before 1941, fingerprints were not accepted as evidence in court.

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…
Week of July 1
Nat’l Unassisted Homebirth Week

July 3—184 days so far this year…181 days remain in 2009

Compliment Your Mirror Day
Stay Out of the Sun Day
Dog Days Begin—according to the Farmer’s Almanac
*Belarus: Independence Day
* US Virgin Islands: Emancipation Day


BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…

1567
Samuel de Champlain explorer (Lake Champlain)
1738
John Singleton Copley Mass, finest colonial American artist
1860
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, feminist and writer
1878
George M. (Michael) Cohan actor, singer, composer: Over There, The Yankee Doodle Boy, Give My Regards to Broadway, You’re a Grand Old Flag, Harrigan;
1883
Franz Kafka Austrian (Czech) Jewish novelist and short-story writer
1906
George Sanders Russia, actor (All About Eve-Academy Award 1950)
1909
Earl L Butz US Secretary of Agriculture
1925
Tony Curtis [Bernard Schwartz] Bronx NY, actor
1943
Geraldo Rivera aka Gerry Rivers, nosey newsman
1962
Tom Cruise Syracuse, actor
1930 - Pete Fountain
clarinetist: New Orleans jazz great
1956
Montel Williams TV talk show host
1957
Laura Branigan singer

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
1608
French explorer Samuel de Champlain establishes the first permanent European settlement in Canada, a trading post along the St. Lawrence River that becomes the city of Québec.
1754
George Washington surrenders to French, Ft Necessity (7 Years' War)
1761
According to some sources, the Northwest Confederacy is created at a council near Detroit. Its members include The Delaware, Miami, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee and the Wyandot.
1775
Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass
1806
Michael Keens exhibits 1st cultivated strawberry
1819
1st savings bank in US (Bank of Savings in NYC) opens its doors
1839
1st state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Mass, with 3 students
1863
Battle of Gettysburg Pa ends, major victory for North
1871
The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduced the first narrow-gauge locomotive
1890
Idaho admitted as 43rd US state
1922
Readers were introduced to Fruit Garden and Home magazine. In two years, the publication would be renamed Better Homes and Gardens.
1930
Veterans Administration created
1934
FDIC pays off 1st insured depositors, Fon du Lac Bank, East Peoria IL
1939
Lou Gehrig day; Gehrig makes "luckiest man" speech
1950
1st time US & North Korean forces clash in the Korean War
1962
After a long and brutal colonial war and a vote by Algerians for independence, French president Charles de Gaulle proclaims the independence of Algeria from France.
1966
Race riots in Omaha Nebraska
1978
Supreme Court rules 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words"
1988
The U.S. Navy cruiser Vincennes shoots down an Iranian passenger jet that it mistakes for a hostile Iranian fighter aircraft in the Persian Gulf.
1998
After many months of negotiations and high court battles Rolls Royce is sold to Volkswagen

Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987

Each of the sentences below has two blanks. The word that goes in the first blank begins with the letters QU—pronounced ‘kw’. Drop the /w/ sound leaving just the /k/ sound at the start and phonemically you’ll get the word that goes in the second blank to complete the sentence.

EX: The sudden California _____ shook the birthday _____ right off the table
Answers: quake / cake

1. A porcupine _____ won’t _____ you, but it sure will hurt.
2. To propagate the royal line, every _____ is _____ to have an heir.
3. Because of the high winds in March, that is _____ a good time to fly a _____.
4. When father caught junior goofing off, he gave him a _____ _____ in the pants.
5. A tricky legal case regarding stolen _____ watches had several _____ tied up.
6. Mother said—and I _____--“Don’t forget your winter _____.”
7. I have no _____ about the prisoner holding the crying baby if he successfully _____ the baby down.
8. Teasing Mr. Spock about his purely logical approach to all matters was a popular _____ of Captain _____.
9. We’d never seen anyone _____ like that _____ who was afraid of bats.
10. Several wrong stitches by the _____ threw the whole comforter out of _____.
*Bonus: ?? any ideas?
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Answers:
1. Quill/ kill
2. Queen / keen
3. Quite / kite
4. Quick / kick
5. Quartz / courts
6. Quote / coat
7. Qualms / calms
8. Quirk / Kirk
9. Quaver / caver
10. Quilter / kilter
*Bonus: ??
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