Monday

Week 2 of 2010: 11 days so far this year…354 days remain

►Provocative Quote

"No great scoundrel is ever uninteresting."

~Murray Kempton

►Free Ramblings

The very unpredictable Cardinals beat the Packers today. The Cards had lost to the Pack twice this year. The team is so unpredictable they may be in the Super Bowl, again. They belong in Arizona, they only play well when it is a ‘do or die’ situation, much like our non-elected governor, and sadly the elected state legislature. The Cards blew a chance for the division title, but knew they would be a wild card, so no big deal. Our state is still in a budget crisis, but no big deal, just close more government run offices and parks and sell the buildings to others. No big deal, they still get paid. I guess when the legislature and the governor don’t get paid, then they will get busy and find a solution. Yep, the Cardinals want those playoff paychecks so they will keep winning.

For almost two years the media has avoided discussing the underlying issues of Race in this country. Much of the conservative media has found fault with our President, and the liberal media acts like his background doesn’t matter. I fear that is all about to end. It is coming out that many power brokers in our Nation’s capital had lots to say about Obama before he was elected. Some is coming out in a new book. So sad. Listening to the apologies to our Commander and Chief seem so empty. The comments are hardly out of context, misunderstood, or a poor choice of words. They are racist, plain and simple. I am sure that if Mrs. Clinton had been elected, these same ‘leaders’ would now be in the news for comments they made about her during her campaign. Overall, our country voted for change. We got a good start, but the need for change is far from over. Closeted bigots need to lose their power and our country needs to move forward.

Everything East of Kansas seems to be suffering with the cold. A big storm that was expected to reach the City [NYC] this weekend, but never made it. While I sometimes complain about our cold or snow, it ain’t nuttin’ compared to what many have to deal with day after day, every winter. It sure makes Flagstaff very tolerable. Our snow and cold comes and goes, our cold weather comes and goes. We don’t have to wait for April or May for any warm days. The warm days we get happen all the time and we seldom drop into the negative degrees, even at night. A couple of friends in different parts of Florida are freakin’ out. Temperatures are dropping below 32° and few people have warm clothes and some don’t have furnaces. Flag keeps looking really good. Our low of 14° and high of 39° worked for me…I have warm clothes…I have heat…I know it’s winter…I know it’s expected.

►Quotes from Values.com—LIVE LIFE

“The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live.”

~Ayn Rand: Writer, Philosopher

►Side Show Stories

PORT ORANGE, Fla. - A 91-year-old man who crashed his car into a popular Florida restaurant proceeded to sit down and order breakfast near his vehicle, authorities said.

Tonya Gilardi, a spokeswoman for Port Orange Fire, said Charles Pierce was not injured when he crashed his car into the Biscuits 'N' Gravy restaurant Monday morning but another customer was treated for minor injuries at Halifax Health Medical Center in Port Orange, the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal reported. "A firefighter told me he sat down and ordered breakfast right after the crash," Gilardi said of Pierce. "He sat close to where the crash occurred so he could keep an eye on his car." Port Orange Assistant Police Chief Wayne Miller said Pierce was attempting to park Monday at the restaurant when he pressed the accelerator "one too many times" and the vehicle slammed through the glass window of the cafe.

Miller said Pierce was issued a citation for careless driving.

►Random Fact

Cheeses made in Europe didn’t require as much salt because of cooler conditions, thus paving the way for beneficial microbes and molds to form and give aged cheeses their robust flavors.

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Ancient Greeks and Romans were the first to turn cheese making into a fine art. Larger Roman houses even had a special kitchen, called a careale, just for making cheese. After developing new techniques for smoking and adding other flavors into cheeses, the Romans spread this knowledge slowly through their empire.

§ Interesting Statistics

*Note: I realize that statistics can be made to say just about anything.

~Spam: only 1 in every 12,414,000 spam e-mail is answered.

~About 6.5 million US Adults believe the media did not adequately cover Michael Jackson’s death.

§ January Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Garnet …Flower: Carnation

Book Blitz Month * Bath Safety Month * Birth Defects Month * California Dried Plum Digestive Month * Celebration of Life Month * Cervical Cancer Screening Month * Financial Wellness Month * High Tech Month * International Creativity Month * International Quality of Life Month * International Wayfinding Month * International Wealth Mentality Month * National Be On-Purpose Month * National Bird Feeding Month * National Clean Up Your Computer Month * National Get Organized Month * National Glaucoma Awareness Month * National Hot Tea Month * National Mail Order Gardening Month * National Mentoring Month * National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month * National Poverty in America Awareness Month * National Radon Action Month * National Skating Month * National Soup Month * National Volunteer Blood Donor Month * Oatmeal Month * Rising Star Month * Self-help Group Awareness Month * Senior Women’s Travel Month * Shape Up US Month * Thyroid Awareness Month

§ Observance Weeks in January

Universal Letter Writing Week: 8-14

Cuckoo Dancing Week: 11-17 [honoring Laurel and Hardy]

§ 11 January Observances—US/UN/World

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day

Puerto Rico : Eugenio Maria de Hostos Day [writer and educator, worked for Independence]

►11 January Observances—by country

Bangladesh: Independence Day [formerly East Pakistan—1972]

Chad : Independence Day [from France-1960]

Morocco: Independence Resistance Day [from France in 1956]

Nepal: Unity Day-- Honors King Prithvinarayan Shah (1723-1775) who unified the country

► Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1569…1st recorded lottery in England is drawn at St Paul's Cathedral 

►Who was born on this day?

     ~ The Arts

Mary J Blige in 1971 - singer

Naomi [Diana Ellen] Judd in 1946 - singer

Francesco Parmigianino in 1503 - Italian artist (Madonna with the Long Neck)

Lionel Stander in 1908 - actor (Max-Hart to Hart)

Grant Tinker in 1926 - broadcasting executive (NBC-TV)

     ~Athletics

‘Gentle’ Ben Crenshaw in 1952 - golf champion

Chris Ford in 1948 - basketball: Pistons Celtics [1973-1982] coach: Celtics Bucks Clippers

Rod Jones in 1974 - NFL guard (Bengals)

     ~Business, Education, Politics

Frederick Boland in 1904 - Irish diplomat/President (UN General Assembly)

Ezra Cornell in 1807 - founder (Western Union Telegraph, Cornell University)

Alexander Hamilton in 1757 (West Indies) - 1st US Secretary of Treasury ($10 face)

Aldo Leopold in 1887 - founder (Wilderness Society)

Alice Paul in 1885 - ERA advocate/founder (National Woman's Party)

Rosenkowitz sextuplets in 1974 (Cape Town South Africa)- 1st known to survive infancy

     ~Science/Religion

Albert Hofmann Switzerland in 1906 - chemist (discovered LSD)

►Who Died on this day?

Gregory (Pappy) Boyington in 1988 ace WWII pilot, @ 75

John Bradley in 1994 raised US flag at Iwo Jima, @ 70

Francis Scott Key in 1843 composer (Star Spangled Banner), @ 63

Sheldon Leonard in 1997 producer/director (Dick Van Dyke), @ 89

Helen Foster Snow in 1997 writer, @89

Jack Soo in 1979 actor (Nick Yemana-Barney Miller), @ 63

►What happened on this day?

1672…Isaac Newton is elected a member of Royal Society

1759…1st American life insurance company incorporated, Philadelphia

1770…The first shipment of rhubarb was sent to the United States from London.

1787…Titania & Oberon, moons of Uranus, discovered by William Herschel

1805…Michigan Territory is organized

1813…1st pineapples planted in Hawaii

1873…1st livestock market newspaper published, Drover's Journal, Chicago

1878…Milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time, -- by one Alexander Campbell, in New York.

1879…Zulu war against British colonial rule in South Africa begins

1892…Hawaiian Historical Society founded

1902…Popular Mechanics magazine was published for the first time

1922…Insulin 1st used to treat diabetes (Leonard Thompson, 14, of Canada)

1935…Amelia Earhart flies non-stop from Honolulu HI to Oakland CA

1962…Mandela leaves South Africa, travels to Ethiopia, Algeria & England

1962…The B52 H, a new U.S. superbomber, pulled into an airbase located near Madrid, Spain. This particular bomber had just finished a 12, 519-mile flight.

1963…1st discotheque opens, The Whiskey-a-go-go in Los Angeles CA

►Rhyme & Reason Puzzle
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. a more orderly diner (6,5):
2. anticipate destiny (5,4):
3. facsimile of an old car (6,4):
4. liberate a trio (4,5):
5. for a card shark, it's up the sleeve (3,5):
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ANSWERS
1. a more orderly diner (6,5): neater eater
2. anticipate destiny (5,4): await fate
3. facsimile of an old car (6,4): jalopy copy
4. liberate a trio (4,5): free three
5. for a card shark, it's up the sleeve (3,5): ace place