Wednesday

09 shopping days remain until Christmas

350 days so far this year…15 days remain in 2009

***Provocative Quote***

"When forced to choose between two evils, try the new one." ~unknown

***Free Ramblings***

The countdown has begun. It’s 9 shopping days and only 7 days until I leave for a Christmas celebration in Chicago. I met a Rez friend for lunch. We caught up on tribal politics. Today the Navajos were all over the local news. First, a judge returned Chairman Shirley back to his office. Navajos are also voting today to decide if the 88 member Council will become only 24. It seems to me, clearly a non-Navajo, that if the 24 council members passes, the entire culture of the Navajo will be changed forever. The Navajos consolidated many years ago, and when Inscription House and Navajo Mountain merged, many lost a voice. Chapter Houses are the center of Rez politics. If the chapter doesn’t have a delegate in Window Rock, who will speak for the local people? The only consolidation I know about for sure is that Gap, Cameron, Leupp and Tohani Lake will have one delegate. Sounds to me like President Shirley looked at District One in Arizona to make such a plan. The delegate will be responsible for representing communities about 100 miles apart as the crow flies. Hmmm. I’m glad it is not my business and not my choice.

We had a warm day—38° with only a tiny breeze. Lots of snow melted today. There is still lots to go. The 8-10 foot high piles, at the malls and Big Boxes, will take weeks more to melt. At my place, our piles are only about four feet high and are melting quite well. Since it is only dropping to about 28° each night, it doesn’t take so long for the sun to do its job. We still have snow on the roofs of each building, which melts, runs down onto the sidewalks and makes a nice skating rink by about 4pm. Hard to keep ahead of it.

Today is certainly an interesting day in South Africa as well. Dec. 16 was observed as the “Day of the Vow” or “Day of the Covenant” or “Dingaan Day” from 1838 to 1994. Earlier in 1838 Dingaan The Vulture was a Zulu leader. The Voortrekkers, Dutch pioneers (Boers), wanted to get away from the Brits and asked Dingaan for land. He wanted cattle back from a rival tribe. The Voortrekkers got the cattle back. During the victory party with the Zulus, Dingaan killed all of the Voortrekkers at the celebration. On Dec. 16 the Boers retaliated, killing about 3000 of the 12000 Zulus. From that time on, the Afrikaners considered this a Day of Thanksgiving. The Vow or Covenant was made by the Boers before that battle. That vow said they would if God allowed them to defeat the Zulu, they would build a church and that they and all their descendants would keep the day as a Holy Sabbath. One hundred and fifty six years later the name was changed, in 1994, to “Day of Reconciliation” and now represents the end of Apartheid. Interestingly December 16, 1961 is the day that the African National Congress (ANC) formed its armed wing: ‘Umkhonto we Sizwe’ (‘Spear of the Nation’).

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± Quotes from Values.com—Sacrifice

“Only he can understand what a farm is, what a country is, who shall have sacrificed part of himself to his farm or country, fought to save it, struggled to make it beautiful. Only then will the love of farm or country fill his heart.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Aviator, Writer: The Little Prince)

± Unusual Wizard of Oz Trivia…

- Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Coroner of Munchkinland, was, at one time, the shortest licensed pilot in the U.S. During WWII, he volunteered for military service and was turned down. He was accepted as a volunteer instructor in the Civil Air Patrol.

-The name for Oz was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."

± Random Fact

75% of Honda vehicles purchased in the U.S. are manufactured in North America

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§ December Month Long Observances
Birthstone: Blue Topaz…Flower of the Month: Narcissus
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month + Hi Neighbor Month + National Write A Business Plan Month + National Tie Month + Rising Star Month + Safe Toys and Gifts Month + Spiritual Literacy Month + Stress Free Family Holiday Month + Universal Human Rights Month + Read A New Book Month+ World Aids Month
§ Week of 12 December
Chanukah (Hanukkah) Week 12th-19th
Gluten-free Baking Week (week 12th -18th )
Halcyon Days—week Dec 14th -28th
§ 16 December Observances
Barbie and Barney Backlash Day—Day to tell kids that Barbie and Barney don’t exist.
National Chocolate-covered Anything Day—Chocolate Lovers Rejoice
-Bangladesh : Victory Day (Pakistan surrendered--1971)
-Bahrain – National Day (from UK—1971)
-Kazakhstan – Independence Day (from USSR—1991)
-México : Posadas Days—Dec 16-24—celebrating the journey of Mary and Joseph
-Namibia: Day of the Covenant—see South Africa
-Nepál : Constitution Day (1962)
-Philippines – First day of Misa de Gallo—Dec 16-24—early morning mass (Rooster Mass) (4am) to honor Mary and birth of Jesus
-South Africa : various names—see Free Ramblings above
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§ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1944…The Battle of the Bulge began at Ardennes, Belgium. Over 19,000 American soldiers killed
§ BIRTHS ON THIS DAY
~ The Arts
Jane Austen in 1775: author (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility)
Ludwig van Beethoven in 1770: Bonn Germany, composer (Ode to Joy and others)
Steven Bochco in 1943: TV producer (cop shows)
Benjamin Bratt in 1963: actor
Arthur C. Clarke in 1917: science fiction writer (2001: A Space Odyssey)
Sir Noel (Peirce) Coward in 1899: actor director, composer, playwright
Philip K[indred] Dick in 1928: sci-fi author (Blade Runner)
Peter [Malcolm] Dickinson in 1927 in Zambia: sci-fi and children’s books author
George Santayana in 1863 in Spain: philosopher/poet/humanist
Liv Ullman in 1939 in Tokyo: actress
~Athletics
Tom Brookshier in 1931: football-(Eagles) sportscaster-CBS
William "The Refrigerator" Perry in 1962: football-(Bears)
~Business / Education / Politics
Catherine of Aragon in 1485: Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII
Lesley Stahl in 1941: White House correspondent & 60 minutes(CBS)
~Science/Religion
Bruce Ames in 1928: biochemist-cancer research
Margaret Mead in 1901: anthropologist
§ In Remembrance~
Dan Fogelberg American singer/songwriter (of cancer) @ 56
Wilhelm Grimm writer (Grimm's Fairy Tales) @ 73
W. Somerset Maugham English writer @ 91
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin Russian monk (murdered) @ 45
Charles Camille Saint-Saens French composer (Carnival of the Animals), @ 86
Harland "Colonel" Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken, @ 90
Lee Van Cleef US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly), @ 64
§ Historical Events on this day
1653…Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland & Ireland 1773…Big tea party in Boston harbor
1811…The New Madrid earthquake on the Mississippi River. Many tribes will tell tales of this event for generations.
1835…Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York NY
1893…Anton Dvorak's "New World Symphony" premieres
1901…Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, printed for the first time, complete with Potter’s watercolor illustrations.
1912…1st US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20¢ parcel post, issued
1915…Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1951…NBC-TV debuted Dragnet
1953…1st White House Press Conference (President Eisenhower & 161 reporters)
1953…Charles E Yeager flies over 1,650 mph (first man to fly at nearly two and one-half times the speed of sound)
1970…1st successful landing on Venus (USSR)
1976…Government halts swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis
1997…President Clinton and Mexican President Zedillo combat illegal immigration and drug smuggling along the 2,000 mile border between Mexico and the United States.
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§ Rhyme & Reason
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)

1. elfin abbey (5,9)
2. sample the gluey substance with your tongue (5,5)
3. Am I prepared? Am I prepared? Am I prepared? (5,5)
4. Lassie's testimony (4,5)
5. policemans' ball (3,3)

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ANSWERS
1. elfin abbey (5,9) fairy monastery
2. sample the gluey substance with your tongue (5,5) taste paste
3. Am I prepared? Am I prepared? Am I prepared? (5,5) scout doubt
4. Lassie's testimony (4,5) woof proof
5. policemans' ball (3,3) cop hop