Valentine's Day

14 February 2010--Week 7 of 2010: 45 days this year…320 remain

Happy Valentine’s Day

» Quote Times Two «

"Show affection, it will probably meet with pleasant response." ~unknown

“Love wholeheartedly, be surprised, give thanks and praise - then you will discover the fullness of your life.” David Steindl-Rast (born 1926); Catholic Theologian

» Free Ramblings «

I recorded the Opening Ceremonies and caught up on them this morning. My next two weeks will be busy experiencing the Olympics on TV. The Ceremonies, as always, were phenomenal. Now that I have a big screen and HDTV, they were probably better than being there. The committee handled the Luge death very well. Very sad. The indigenous people were very well represented in the opening program. The leaders of the four First Nations welcomed the athletes in their native languages. Then they danced during the parade of athletes. The program had lots of Indigenous tales, and surprisingly some fiddle music with dancers in what looked very Celtic. Seeing Steve Nash, of the Suns, help light the main torch was great. Knowing that his mother is Welsh and that he plays here in AZ made it even better.

The Olympics always gives many a chance to forget about the world’s troubles for the 16 days of the competition and watch athletes from around the world compete in their sport. Watching the youth of these countries compete, celebrate, and show friendship to other countries gives me hope that the world will be a better place. I like the Winter Olympics because they are smaller than the summer games, and there is more time to learn about the athletes. The athletes seem to be getting younger and younger every four years…or maybe, just maybe, I’m getting older. It is nice to see the US Team win medals, but it is also nice to see other nations win. A guy from the Netherlands won a gold in speed skating today and climbed up into the crowd over several barriers to hug his family then ran back down to the track. The Swiss guy who won the first gold of this Olympics—in ski jump—was trying so hard to be calm during the interview…he couldn’t pull it off.

It was cold last night, down to 9°, but today melted a lot of snow…we made it to 51° on my deck. So nice to start seeing some ground again.

»* Winter Olympics* «

The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.

This is Canada’s third Olympics and this torch run was the longest in Olympic History. Over 12,000 carried the torch across Canada in 105 days.

»Side Show Stories—«

MIDWAY, Utah - A Utah ice sculptor said his massive outdoor ice castle has grown to include 18 towers, each of which measures 30 to 35 feet high. Brent Christiansen said he uses 20 sprinkler heads to expand the structure by 10-12 tons of ice each day on the golf course of the Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway, Utah, and he plans to continue expanding the project through the end of February, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Christiansen said the resort allows him to keep the $2 entrance fee visitors must pay to enter the castle and he and his wife were given a room at the hotel for the season. The self-taught sculptor said the main tower of the structure is expected to reach three to four stories high by the time of its completion.

»Random Fact: Valentines Day«

The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them.

It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance in 1381 when he wrote a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. He associated the occasion with the St. Valentine's feast day.

Valentine's Day stems from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

» Puzzle «

Word Boxes are like miniature crossword puzzles, except that each word is filled in across AND down the grid. That is, the answer to 1 across is the same word as the answer to 1 down; 2 across is the same as 2 down; etc. Can you solve these Word Boxes? To solve: draw a square that has four X four sections.

1 matter unit

2 lion handler's task

3 warning sign

4 fix

» 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 ☼

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: 7-14

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

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.

Alzheimers and Dementia Awareness Week: 14-21

Love a Mench Week: 14-21

National Condom Week: 14-21

National Engineers Week: 14-20

National Pancake Week: 14-20

☼ 14 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼

Western World: Valentine's Day

Ferris Wheel Day

National Heart to Heart Day

Daytona 500

Ferris Wheel Day

Library Lovers Day: 14

National Have A Heart Day

National Condom Day

(World) Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

League of Women Voters Day

National Women's Heart Day

National Call In Single Day

Race Relations Day

National Donor Day

Quirky Alone Day

AZ: Admission Day 1912—48th state

Oregon: Admission Day 1859—33rd state

☼14 February Observances—by country ☼

Bulgaria : Viticulturists' Day/Trifon Zarezan, cult of Dionysus

China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Tiger (2010/4708)

Denmark : Gaekkebrev/Fjörtende Februar-gift exchanges by school kids

Iraq: 'Communist Martyrs Day' celebrated by Iraqi Communist Party

Mexico : Day of National Mourning (Vincent Guerrero-1831)

☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1929…Sir Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin after leaving a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, he noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria.

☼ Born on this day ☼

     » The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

--

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Jack Benny [Benjamin Kubelski], in 1894, "Oh! Rochester!"

Don Everly, 73, singer, musician, with brother Phil (The Everly Brothers)

Michael C. Hall, 39, actor (“Six Feet Under,” “Dexter”)

Sherman Hemsley, 72, actor (“The Jeffersons,” “Amen”)

Florence Henderson, 76, actress/singer (Carol-Brady Bunch)

Gregory Hines, in 1945, actor/dancer

Terry Jones, 68, (Wales) actor, director (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus”)

Garrett Morris, 73, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”)

Edward Platt, in 1916, actor (Chief-Get Smart)

Lisa Marie Presley, 42, singer

Thelma Ritter, in 1905, actress

Pauly Shore, 40, comedian, actor

     »Athletes

Drew Bledsoe, 38, NFL quarterback (Patriots)

Woody (Wayne) Hayes, in 1913, College Football Hall of Fame (Ohio State)

Jim Kelly, 50, NFL quarterback (Bills)

Steve McNair, 37, NFL quarterback (Oilers)

(Alicia) Jo Jo Starbuck, 59, twice Olympic ice skater

     »Business, Education, Politics

Carl Bernstein, 66, Washington Post investigative reporter (Watergate)

Hugh Downs, 89, TV journalist, Game Show Host

Jimmy Hoffa, in 1913, Teamsters leader who disappeared in 1975

Bob Jamieson, 67, broadcast journalist

Anna Howard Shaw, in 1847, US, suffragette

     »Science/Religion

George Washington Gale Ferris, in 1859, engineer/inventor (Ferris Wheel)

Porpoise, in 1940, 1st born in captivity in US (Marineland, Florida)

☼Today’s Obits ☼

James Cook, in 1779, British explorer, murdered by natives in fracas with Hawaiians @ 51

William Blackstone, in 1780, English lawyer, @ 56

William Tecumseh Sherman, in 1891, Union Civil War General (captured Atlanta), @ 71

Patricia Highsmith, in 1995, writer, @74

☼What happened on this day? ☼

     » The Arts

1962…1st lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducts White House tour on TV

1967…Aretha Franklin records "Respect"

»Athletics

--

»Business, Education, Politics

1776…The first Spanish arrive at what eventually becomes Needles, California.

1778…"Stars & Stripes" arrives in foreign port for 1st time (France)

1849…The first photograph of a U.S. President, James Polk , was taken by Matthew Brady in New York City.

1873…Congress creates the office of Indian Inspector. The initial three inspectors are appointed by the President for four year terms. They inspect the operations of Indian Officers in the field.

1889…1st trainload of fruit (oranges) leaves Los Angeles for the east

1903…US Dept of Commerce & Labor established

1920…League of Women Voters forms in Chicago

1924…IBM Corporation founded by Thomas Watson

1929…St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago IL, 7 gangsters killed

1939…The German Reich launches the battleship Bismarck

1949 1st session of Knesset opens in Jerusalem

1989…African National Congress (ANC) opens office in Amsterdam

1989…Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a ( FATWA ) death sentence on British writer Salman Rushdie

     »Science/Religion

1349…2,000 Jews burned at the stake in Strasbourg France

1872…1st state bird refuge authorized (Lake Merritt CA)

1894…Venus is both a morning star & evening star

» Number One Songs in…

1949…A Little Bird Told Me - Evelyn Knight

1957…Too Much - Elvis Presley

1965…You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers

1973…Crocodile Rock - Elton John

1981…Celebration - Kool & The Gang

» ANSWERS to puzzle «

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