Friday

♣ 5 March 2010--Week 9 of 2010: 65 days this year…301 remain ♣
» Two Quotes to think about…Today «
"If you wish to succeed, consult three old people."
~Chinese Proverb
Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. ”
~Kenyan Proverb
» Free Ramblings «
As a career educator, my ears are tuned to stories involving education issues. I get that. I’m sure I tune in to news stories on education more than many people not in education. 1. Today, teachers in Phoenix and Tucson held rallies to stop the budget cuts in Arizona education. Several thousand teachers and parents rallied to wake up our legislature, which seems to believe that a free education for K-12 means that state money doesn’t have to be used. “March 4 Education” is sponsored by the AEA (Arizona Education Assoc) and made all the AZ nightly news programs. Nothing was said about a Flagstaff rally. Maybe Flagstaff teachers just can’t get it together to rally, maybe the weather stopped the rally, or maybe Flagstaff just doesn’t have a rally mentality? Whatever the reason, we are in just as much trouble as the rest of the state. 2. While we have been reading about school closures here in Flagstaff since November, it turns out the current school board is not any better than the previous boards that got us into this mess. Previous boards built schools and expanded schools when the population wasn’t growing that fast. Now our board just talks and talks. They even sent out letters to almost all parents telling them of possible closures. Turns out the state law clearly states that a couple of things have to be stated in that letter for the state mandated notification clock to start. First the letter has to give the names of the schools that are being closed and have to state why the schools are being closed. Since the board hasn’t decided which schools will actually close and don’t have a clear plan as to why they are closing the board now has to restart the notification calendar to parents. 3. Oh, the vague letter came from the interim Superintendent, who was just selected by the board to be the new ‘really’ superintendent. It isn’t a final hiring until they work out her salary and benefits package. I get that education has become a business…but at some point there has to be accountability to the students, the parents and the community.

I never thought I would see a losing vice presidential candidate doing a stand-up routine. Sara did just that on the Tonight show the other night. Some of her jokes were funny, some very lame. Then the news came out today that the reason she was in California was to meet with TV types to do a reality show about living in Alaska. Politics

Those who know me know that I hate the wind. So today was not a god day for me. The wind started early and continued most of the day. The weatherman says that we had 50mph gusts. Since I live at the bottom of Mt Elden there is a corridor for wind, especially on windy days. So while the rest of the city may have been having gusts, here we had a steady wind of at least 40mph. I did get out this morning and ran some errands, then just hunkered down inside. Early this evening, the clouds came in. In about 15 minutes we went from few big clouds to completely overcast. As soon as it was grey, the snow started falling. The wind stopped, and the near white out conditions hit just as workers were heading home. Then after about 30 minutes, the wind picked up again, and the snow just swirls around before finally hitting the ground and quickly melting. This storm will be short lived, and out of here by tomorrow—making way for the weekend storm that should drop about 4” of the white stuff. In between these two storms, more wind.
»Random Fact: «
Bagels are formed from an eggless dough (flour, yeast, water and oil) into a donut shape, then dropped in rapidly boiling water.
»Side Show Stories—«
NEW YORK - A New York realty group is suing the owners of a floor at the Gramercy Park Hotel for installing an "ugly" Ikea kitchen at the property. The Paramount Realty Group said retail mogul Jon Asgeir Johannesson and his wife, designer Ingibjorg Palmadottir, agreed to rent out the 16th floor of the Gramercy Park Hotel for $312,000 last year, but the "ugly" kitchen has been an embarrassment for the renting tenant, the New York Daily News reported Thursday. "Defendants willfully installed what (Jon Asgeir Johannesson) defined as an 'ugly' kitchen," the suit states. "The kitchen installed is manufactured by Ikea, which is generally known to offer low-budget furniture." "The kitchen has also been a source of embarrassment for Plaintiff and the subject of remarks by guests," Paramount said in the suit. The lawsuit is seeking $52,000 in damages.
§ 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 5 X 5 sections.
1 bad place to leave someone in (HINT: L - - - -)
2 useful (HINT: - T - - -)
3 unwavering (HINT: - - G - -)
4 hold on (HINT: - - - N -)
5 yard delimiter (HINT: - - - - E)
§ Calendar Information §
• March’s Month Long Observances •
BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)
National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month
• Observance Weeks in March•
1-5: Newspaper in Education Week
1-7: National Cheerleading Week
     • National Ghostwriters Week
     • National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week
     • National Procrastination Week
     • Return The Borrowed Books Week
     • Universal Human Beings Week
     • Yo-Yo and Skill Toys Week
• 4 March Observances—US/UN/World •
Multiple Personalities Day
Nametag Day
Boston MA : Boston Massacre Day (1770)
•4 March Observances—by country •
China: Learn from Lei Feng Day (Since 1963): pop-icon as selfless, modest soldier for Communism
Cornwall: Saint Piran's Day: Patron Saint..for tin miners
§ Number One Songs in…
1944 •Mairzy Doats - The Merry Macs
1960 •The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
1968 •Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
1976 •Theme from S.W.A.T. - Rhythm Heritage
1984 •Jump - Van Halen
• Holy Mackerel: 1831: Today the Supreme Court decided the case of the CHEROKEE Nation v. Georgia. The court decided that the CHEROKEEs are not a "foreign state", and therefore the court has no jurisdiction in the dispute. However, the court does decide that the CHEROKEEs are a distinct political society capable of governing itself, and managing its own affairs.
• Born on this day •
     …The Arts
Authors, Artists and Composers
Lady Isabella Gregory, 1852, (Ireland), writer/playwright (Golden Apple)
James Merritt Ives, 1824, lithographer (Currier & Ives)
Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV
Kevin Connolly, 36, actor (“Entourage”)
Samantha Eggar, 71, actress (“Samantha and the King,” The Collector)
Rex (Reginald Carey) Harrison, 1908, Academy Award-winning actor: My Fair Lady
Penn Jillette, 55, magician
Paul Sand (Sanchez), 66, actor (“St. Elsewhere”; Tony Award for Story Theatre)
Dean Stockwell, 74, actor (The Boy with Green Hair, “Quantum Leap”)
Marsha Warfield, 56, actress (“Night Court,” “Empty Nest”)
Michael Warren, 64, actor (Bobby Hill-Hill Street Blues)
     …Athletes
Brian Grant, 38, NBA forward (Trailblazers, Kings)
Michael Irvin, 44, NFL wide receiver (Cowboys)
Reggie Williams, 46, NBA forward/guard (Nuggets)
     …Business, Education
Charles Goodnight, 1836,American cattle rancher
David Koch, 1940, American businessman—oil and natural gas
     …Politics
David II Bruce, 1324, king of Scotland (1331..71)
     …Science/Religion
Emmett J Culligan, 1893, founder of water treatment organization
Elisha Harris, 1824, US physician/found American Public Health Association
Leontine Kelly, 90, 1st black female bishop (Methodist)
Gerardus Mercator, 1512, (Belgium), geographer/mapmaker
Joel Osteen, 43, American religious figure
William Oughtred, 1574, (England), mathematician/inventor (slide rule)
John van der Heyden, 1637, Dutch painter/inventor (fire extinguisher)
•Today’s Obits •
Alessandro Volta, 1827, Italian physicist (made 1st battery), @ 82
Josef V Stalin, 1953, soviet leader responsible for 11 million murders, @ 73
Patsy Cline, 1963, country singer (Crazy, I Fall To Pieces), plane crash @ 30
William Powell, 1984, actor: “Thin Man” movies, @ 91
Jay Silverheels (Harold J. Smith), 1980, Canadian Mohawk actor (Tonto-Lone Ranger), stroke @ 60
John Belushi, 1982, comedian (Sat Night Live), drug overdose @ 33
•What Happened on this Day •
     …The Arts
1956 •"King Kong" 1st televised
     …Athletics
1922 •Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee broke all existing records for women’s trap shooting.
1982 •Gaylord Perry (with 297 wins) signs with Mariners
     …Business, Education
1845 •Congress appropriates $30,000 to ship camels to western US
1963 •The Hula-Hoop, first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is patented by the company's co-founder, Arthur "Spud" Melin.
1994 •Largest milkshake (1,955 gallons of chocolate-Nelspruit South Africa)
     …Politics
1623 •1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia
1836 •Mexico attacks Alamo
1891 •The city of Phoenix offers a $200 bounty for dead Indians.
1923 •Montana & Nevada become 1st states to enact old age pension laws
1960 •Elvis Presley completes his two-year stint is discharged from the US Army.
1946 •Winston Churchill delivered his famous Iron Curtain Speech at Fulton, MO, “From tettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
1970 •3 SDS Weathermen terrorist group bomb 18 West 11th St in New York NY
…Science/Religion
1960 •The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis originates when Alister Hardy publicly announces his idea that ape-human divergence may have been due to a coastal phase.
2001 •In Mecca, 35 Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
§ANSWERS to puzzle §
LURCH
UTILE
RIGID
CLING
HEDGE
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