Friday

5 February 2010--Week 5 of 2010: 36 days this year…329 remain

» Quote Times Two «

"People will buy anything that`s one to a customer." ~Sinclair Lewis; writer

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne; writer

» Free Ramblings «

Ninety one year old Nelson Mandela was at a celebration today. He was celebrating his release from prison twenty years ago. Even his ex showed up. What a man.

James Ray, the sweat lodge guy, was arrested yesterday. Today he had to walk from the Yavapai jail to the courthouse. Not a long walk but made harder as he was shackled at the ankles and on his wrists—for the media, I’m sure. He is being held on a $5million bond on three manslaughter counts. While he charged $15K or more to attend his workshop, he claims he can’t make that bail, which is actually only about ½ million if he shows up for trial. Looks like the self-professed guru of positive thinking didn’t work out well for him. His web site promises “mentoring individuals to create wealth in all areas of their lives: financially, relationally, mentally, physically and spiritually.”

A couple of days ago I talked about JD Hayworth running against McCain. Now it seems that John really is concerned. Several news articles today say that John’s “Don’t Ask” stance is more for the conservatives in AZ than his leadership ability. He doesn’t want JD to have ammunition in the upcoming Republican primary. Politics sure sucks sometimes.

The dusting of snow never arrived. It was a fairly good day today. The 42° helped melt more snow; however it will still be a long time until we see grass, dirt, or any small bushes. It used to be….that after a snow fall; it only took a couple of days to melt all the snow, ice, and leftovers of the storm. Those days seem to be gone. This slow melt is probably very good for the forest, the water table, and Flagstaff in general. So we will enjoy the now dirty snow as long as it lasts.

»* Winter Olympics* «

The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.

Did you know…

The Olympic Anthem was written for the first modern Games in 1896, composed by Spyros Samaras to lyrics written by Kostis Palamas. Each subsequent Olympics through 1956 had its own musical composition, played as the Olympic flag was raised during the Opening Ceremony. From the 1960 Games onward, the Samaras/Palamas work has been the official anthem played at every Olympics. It is usually sung in the hosting country’s official language.

»Side Show Stories—«

LONDON, Ontario - A Canadian man was sentenced to two years in prison for three home burglaries in London, Ontario, in which he left DNA behind each time. Kevin St. Germain, 43, was convicted of the 2006 and 2009 burglaries in which a total of $72,000 worth of loot was taken, the London Free Press reported Thursday. He was sentenced Wednesday after court heard an empty soda can with two straws in it was found at one break-in site, which yielded his DNA. At another site, an open bottle of peach juice had St. Germain's fingerprints on it, and at the third site, a cigarette butt that had his DNA on it, the report said. His fingerprints and DNA were on file based on burglary convictions in 2000, the newspaper said. None of the stolen items were recovered.

»Random Fact«

When Scott Paper Company first started manufacturing toilet paper they did not put their name on the product because of embarrassment.

» Puzzle «

A list of words is given. To solve the puzzle, think of a single word that goes with each to form a compound word or word pair that functions as a compound word. For example, if the given words are volley, field, and bearing, the answer would be ball, because the word ball can be added to each of the other words to form volleyball, ball field, and ball bearing. Answers are at the end of blog.

1 oil, rattle, eyes

2 rocket, night, lark

3 neck, snapping, dove

*note: tomorrow will have a new puzzle format

» Calendar Information «

☼ February’s Month Long Observances ☼

Birthstone: Amethyst …Flower: Violet and Primrose

Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month^AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month^American Heart Month^Bake for Family Fun Month^Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month^Grapefruit Month^International Boost Self-Esteem Month^International Expect Success Month^Jobs in Golf Month^Library Lovers Month^Marijuana Awareness Month^National African American History Month^National Bird Feeding Month^National Black History Month^National Care About Your Indoor Air Month^National Cherry Month^National Condom Month^National Children's Dental Health Month^National Laugh-Friendly Month^National Mend A Broken Heart Month^National Parent Leadership Month^National Pet Dental Health Month^National Senior Independence Month^National Time Management Month^Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month^Pull Your Sofa Off The Wall Month^Relationship Wellness Month^Responsible Pet Owner's Month^Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month^Spiritual Teachers Month^Spunky Old Broads Month^ Sweet Potato Month^Wise Health Care Consumer Month^ Youth Leadership Month^

☼ Observance Weeks in February ☼

Children's Authors & Illustrators Week: 1-7

National Patient Recognition Week: 1-7

National School Counseling Week: 1-5

Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend: 1-7

Women's Heart Week: 1-7

International Networking Week: 1-5

International Hoof Care Week: 2-5

Boy Scout Anniversary Week: 3-9

International Snow Sculpting Week: 3-6

☼ 5 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼

Weatherman's [Weatherperson's] Day

Wear Red Day: Awareness of Women’s Heart Disease

World Nutella Day since 2006 to honor the chocolaty hazelnut spread

Bubble Gum Day: a day for schools to raise money by having students donate money to chew gum.

☼5 February Observances—by country ☼

Finland : Runeberg Day (1804) to honor National Poet

Japan : Japanese Martyrs Day (26 Christians become martyrs-1597)

México : Constitution Day (1857 & 1917)

San Marino : Liberation Day (1739) against Cardinal Alberoni of Spain

Tanzania : Afro Shirazi Party formed in 1964 to oust Arabs from Zanzibar

☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1989…The last Russian troops withdraw from the capital city of Kabul. In 1979 in attempts to destroy Afghan rebels, who had been armed by U.S. hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops are sent to Afghanistan where the fighting is bloody, costly, and ultimately 13,000 Russian soldiers are left dead and over 22,000 wounded. Less than two weeks later, all Soviet troops depart Afghanistan entirely, ending what many observers referred to as Russia's "Vietnam."

☼ Born on this day ☼

     » The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

John Guare, 76, US writer (6º of Separation)

John Watkinson, in 1833, founder of British Chess Magazine (oldest chess magazine)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Red Buttons [Aaron Chwatt], in 1919, comedian/actor

     »Athletes

(Henry Louis) Hank Aaron, 76, baseball player (record 755 home runs, 1957 NL MVP)

Craig Morton, 67, NFL quarterback (Dallas, Denver)

Roger Staubach, 68, NFL quarterback (Cowboys); Heisman Trophy

     »Business, Education, Politics

Robert Peel, in 1788, English statesman, ‘bobbies’ are nicknamed for him

Adlai E Stevenson, in 1900, (Governor-D-IL), presidential candidate (D)

Norton Simon, in 1907, business executive (Simon & Schuster)

     »Science/Religion

John Boyd Dunlop, in 1840 (Scotland), developer (pneumatic rubber tire)

John Jeffries, in 1744, physician and one of America’s first weather forecasters

Arthur Keith, in 1866, Scottish anthropologist

John Lindley, in 1799, English botanist (Elements of Botany)

John Witherspoon, in 1723, clergyman/signed Declaration of Independence

☼Today’s Obits ☼

Thomas Carlyle, in 1881, historian/essayist, @ 85

Robert E Park, in 1944, sociologist (human ecology, marginal man), @ 79

Anthony G de Rothschild, in 1961, British philanthropist, @ 73

Dean Jagger, in 1991, US actor (Mr Novak, Rawhide, Oscar), @ 87

Doug McClure, in 1995, US rodeo rider/actor (Trampas-Virginian), cancer @ 59

☼What happened on this day? ☼

     » The Arts

1870...1st motion picture shown to a theater audience, Philadelphia

1922...DeWitt Wallace and his wife Lila Wallace publish the first Reader's Digest magazine designed to provide abridged articles on a wide variety of subjects, for easy reading

1967..."The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premieres on CBS

     »Athletics

1956...7th Winter Olympics games close at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

1972...Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame

     »Business, Education, Politics

1644...1st US livestock branding law passed, by Connecticut

1778...Articles of Confederation ratified by 1st state, South Carolina

1817...1st US gas company incorporated, Baltimore (coal gas for street lights)

1881...Phoenix AZ incorporates

1917...Congress passes the Immigration Act which required a literacy test for immigrants and barred Asiatic laborers, except for those from countries with special treaties or agreements with the United States, such as the Philippines

1918...1st US pilot to down an enemy airplane, Stephen W Thompson

1931...Maxine Dunlap became the first woman licensed as a glider pilot
1952...The first “Don’t Walk” sign was installed in New York City
1958...Gamel Abdel Nasser nominated 1st President of United Arab Republic

1969...US population reaches 200 million

1988...Arizona House of Representatives vote to impeach Republican Governor Evan Mecham

     »Science/Religion

1631...Rhode Island, founder, Roger Williams arrives in Boston from England

1736...Methodists John & Charles Wesley arrive in Savannah GA

1936...National Wildlife Federation forms

1974...US Mariner 10 returns 1st close-up photos of Venus' cloud structure

» Number One Songs in…

1948…Golden Earrings - Peggy Lee

1956…See You Later, Alligator - Bill Haley & His Comets

1964…I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

1972…American Pie - Don McLean

1980…Do that to Me One More Time - The Captain & Tennille

» ANSWERS to puzzle «

1 SNAKE: snake oil, rattlesnake, snake eyes

2 SKY: skyrocket, night sky, skylark

3 TURTLE: turtleneck, snapping turtle, turtledove