Friday

12 February 2010--Week 6 of 2010: 41 days this year…322 remain

» Quote Times Two «

"No one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish." ~Frank McKinney ‘Kin’ Hubbard, (1860-1930)-American humorist, cartoonist

“To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.” ~Anne Sophie Swetchine, (1782-1857); Author, Russian Mystic

» Free Ramblings «

For many years, schools across our country celebrated Feb. 12 as Abe Lincoln’s birthday. The silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington along with a Valentine’s heart or two or more decorated bulletin boards. Kids learned trivia about Lincoln—born in a log cabin, freed the slaves, Civil War President, Gettysburg Address, Stove pipe hat, a young girl told him to grow his now famous beard, assassinated. After the Kennedy Assassination students learned of the rather eerie similarities to the two men. Both were elected in a ‘0’ year, both had a running mate names Johnson( Andrew born in 1808, LBJ in 1908), both lost a child while in the White House, both were invested in Civil Rights, both were shot in the back of the head with their wife present, both assassins were known by three names containing 15 letters and were killed before a trial. Lincoln has never been honored with a Federal holiday. Since 1880, Washington’s Birthday has been a Federal Holiday. First it was on Feb 22, his real birthday. Then in 1971the ‘Uniform Monday Holiday Act’ moved the holiday to the 3rd Monday in February. One provision of that act, which never made the final law, changed the name to ‘Presidents’ Day’ to honor Lincoln and Washington. In 1981 retailers began advertising ‘Presidents Day Sales’—without the apostrophe. While it is still officially Washington’s Birthday, many now just call it Presidents Day. Arguments continue if the day honors Washington or Washington and Lincoln or all presidents. Whatever you call it, it’s a day off for many workers.

I certainly hope that teachers continue to use today as a ‘teaching moment’ to teach some history that may not be on ‘The Test’.

Our retirement group had lunch at Olive Garden today. I like their food, but I always get lost as I wind my way through the maze of two or three table cubicles. As usual we arrive about 11:30 to a basically empty restaurant. I was amazed today, because as we left, around 1pm, the place was packed. So was the parking lot. I still have a hard time figuring out how all these people can have such a leisurely lunch on a work day. Since I was always in schools, it was very rare that I went out for lunch. We used to take out our secretaries on Secretary’s Day—which changed to ‘Office Assistant Day’. Both the secretaries and the bosses felt a little strange doing it. Being Tuba, the bosses always went in one vehicle and the secretaries in another. Usually the secretaries sat on one side of the long table, with the bosses on the other side. We all knew how tongues liked to wag in Tuba. I know lots of working people have jobs that let them go out to lunch quite regularly, but for me, it is still a treat.

One can’t have everything when it comes to weather. We finally had a full day of cloudless blue sky. We made it to 42° and there was no wind. Some snow melted, roads were dry, people around town seemed happier. Of course, last night it dropped to 3° so it took quite a while to make that 42°. When I left for lunch, about 11:15, it was only 31° outside and there was still a little ice on my windshield. We can’t have everything concerning weather, but today sure made me a whole lot happier that I live here. I saw a cartoon of a guy looking out his window to a huge pile of snow, singing “I’m dreaming of a White Easter.” I’m sure it will be a hit in Flagstaff.

»* Winter Olympics* «

The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.

Did you know…

Tonight is the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver. Watching this extravaganza always puts me the mood. All the athletes will march into the arena carrying their countries flag. In two weeks they will re-enter en masse—no flags, and walking with ‘new’ friends from lots of different countries. So Cool.

Watching over the Olympics will be this year’s mascots: Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga. Sumi is a guardian spirit who wears the hat of an Orca, flies like the Thunderbird and runs with the strong legs of the black bear. Quatchi is a young sasquatch of the Canadian forest who reminds everyone of the mystery of the natural world. Miga is a mythical sea bear from indigenous stories of an orca whale that becomes a bear and comes on land.

»Side Show Stories—«

DORCHESTER, England - An elderly British couple has been told a cracked Chinese vase they hid in a spare bedroom is worth more than their house and possibly everything else in it. The couple, who want to remain anonymous, received the blue and white lantern vase as a gift half a century ago, The Sun reported. An appraiser for Dukes Auction House in Dorchester spotted it during a routine appraisal at the couple's home in Dorset. Guy Schwinge of Dukes said the vase is expected to bring in 500,000 pounds ($807,000) when it is auctioned. If it was in mint condition, it might fetch twice that, he told the Sun. The vase was made in about 1740 for the Emperor Qianlong, Schwinge said. He said it may have belonged to the family of Florence Nightingale, founder of trained nursing, during the 19th century. Schwinge said the vase "exemplifies the best porcelain of the period." "There is evidence that it had been used as an umbrella stand and it does have a crack in it and has been splashed with paint," he said.

»Random Fact: Valentines Day«

Some conversation hearts classic sayings include "Kiss Me," "Sweet Talk," and "Be Mine." Some mottos are discontinued for awhile and then make reappearance, while others are deleted for good when they become too outdated. Examples of outdated sayings include "Dig Me" and the cheerful "You Are Gay."

» Puzzle «

In each of these puzzles, there are two double blanks. Fill in the blanks with the same pair of letters to complete an English word. For example, use the letter-pair ac in b_ _ckp_ _k to make the word backpack.

1 s _ _ ur _ _ e

2 lo _ _ i _ _

3 _ _ i _ _

*Note New Puzzle tomorrow

» 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 ☼

Dump Your Significant Jerk Week: 6-12—It takes a full week?

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: 7-14

International Coaching Week: 7-13

Jell-O Week: 7-13

Just Say No to Powerpoints Week: 7-13

Publicity for Profit Week: 7-13

Rejection Risk Awareness Week: 7-14—for those who get rejected by someone

Freelance Writers Appreciation Week: 8-13

Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14

World Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week: 8-14

International Flirting Week: 8-14

Celebration of Love Week: 10-16

Children of Alcoholics Week: 10-16

Random Acts of Kindness Week: 12-15—what? Only three days—that is just wrong.

☼ 12 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼

National Plum Pudding Day

Darwin Day

Lincoln's Birthday

National Freedom to Marry Day: since 1999 for same-sex marriage

Red Hand Day (United Nations) since 2002 to end children as soldiers

Safety Pup Day: a mascot to remind children how to be safe in various situations

Booneville Indiana : Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Day (Abe’s Mother)

Georgia : Georgia Day/Oglethorpe Day (1733)—for the founding of Georgia in Savannah

☼12 February Observances—by country ☼

Myanmar (Burma) : Union Day (uniting all of the country:1947)

☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1908…New York to Paris auto race (via Alaska & Siberia) begins in New York NY; George Schuster wins after 88 days behind the wheel

☼ Born on this day ☼

     » The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

Judy Blume, 72, author (Blubber, Superfudge)

Dr Cotton Mather, in 1663, pro-Salem Witch Trials author

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Maud Adams, 65, actress (Killer Force, Octopussy)

Stephen Baldwin, in 1967, actor

Joe Don Baker, 74, actor (Charlie Varrick, Cool Hand Luke)

Josh Brolin, 42, actor (Milk, No Country for Old Men)

Joseph Henry (Joe) Garagiola, 84, sportscaster, former baseball player

Lorne Greene, in 1915, (Ottawa Canada), actor (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica)

Arsenio Hall, 55, comedian, actor (Coming to America), former television talk show host

Joanna Kerns, 57, actress (“Growing Pains”), former gymnast

Ted Mack, in 1904, (Denver CO), TV host (Original Amateur Hour)

Forrest Tucker. in 1919, actor (O'Rourke-F Troop)

     »Athletes

William Felton (Bill) Russell, 76, Hall of Fame basketball player and former coach

     »Business, Education, Politics

John Llewellyn Lewis, in 1880, union leader (United Mine Workers)

Abraham Lincoln, in 1809, 16th President (1861-65)

Arlen Specter, 80, US Senator (D, Pennsylvania), born Wichita, KS, Feb 12, 1930.

John Winthrop, in 1588, English attorney/puritan/1st Governor of Massachusetts

     »Science/Religion

Charles Darwin, in 1809, (England), discovered evolution (Origin of species)

☼Today’s Obits ☼

Tom Landry,in 2000, Hall-of-Fame football coach (Cowboys) to five Super Bowls in 20 consecutive winning seasons, leukemia @76

Sal Mineo, in 1976, actor (Exodus, Rebel Without a Cause), stabbed @ 37

James Cash Penney, in 1971, US founder (J C Penney), @ 95

Sidney Toler, in 1947, actor (Charlie Chan, Dark Alibi), @ 72

Grant Wood, in 1942, US painter (American Gothic), liver cancer @ 49

☼What happened on this day? ☼

     » The Arts

1994…Thieves have stolen one of the world's best known paintings ( Scream by by Edvard Munch circa 1893 ) from a gallery in Oslo.

     »Athletics

1876…Al Spalding opens his sporting good shop

1878…Frederick Thayer patents the catcher's mask (pat # 200,358)

1879…1st artificial ice rink in North America (Madison Square Garden, NYC)

1880 - The National Croquet League was organized in Philadelphia

1994…17th Olympics Winter games open in Lillehammer, Norway

     »Business, Education, Politics

1793…1st US fugitive slave law passed; requires return of escaped slaves

1818…Chile gains independence from Spain

1825…Creek Indian treaty signed; Tribal chiefs agree to turn over all their land in Georgia to the government & migrate wes 1832…Ecuador annexes Galápagos Islands

1909…National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded

1924…Calvin Coolidge became the first U.S. president to deliver an address by radio

1955…President Eisenhower sends 1st US advisors to South Vietnam

1973…As part of the Vietnam cease-fire agreement, the first U.S. prisoners of war were released by North Vietnam

     »Science/Religion

2001…NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.

» Number One Songs in…

1947…For Sentimental Reasons - Nat King Cole

1955…Sincerely - McGuire Sisters

1963…Hey Paula - Paul & Paula

1971…Knock Three Times - Dawn

1979…Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? - Rod Stewart

» ANSWERS to puzzle «

1 saturate

2 longing

3 onion