Wednesday 4-21

21 April 2010~~Week 17 of 2010: 111 days this year…254 days remain

‡ Something To Think About 

The influence of repetition on crowds is comprehensible when the power is seen which it exercises on the most enlightened minds. This power is due to the fact that the repeated statement is embedded in the long run in those profound regions of our unconscious selves in which the motives of our actions are forged.

~Gustave Le Bon in The Crowd, published in 1897

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1869 ►Donehogawa (Ely Samuel Parker) is appointed as the first Indian to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Donehogawa, a SENECA IROQUOIS, was trained as a lawyer and a civil engineer. Unable to find work in the white world, Donehogawa contacts his old friend Ulysses Grant. Grant makes him an aide, and they work together through much of the Civil War. Because of his excellent penmanship, Donehogawa draws up the surrender papers for Lee to sign at Appomattox. Promoted to Brigadier General, Ely Parker worked to settle many conflicts between whites and Indians. After Grant becomes President, he will be appointed as Indian Commissioner

‡ Free Ramblings   

Arizona is in the National news again…we all await the signing or vetoing of the toughest immigration laws in the country. This new law would require law enforcement to verify citizenship, if the officer feels there is a question of citizenship. Over 30% of Arizonians are of Hispanic or Latino decent. All of those citizens would have to carry proof of citizenship or live in fear of being arrested if stopped by the police. Many communities in the Arizona have stated that their law enforcement responsibilities do not include assuring citizenship. If our non-elected governor decides to sign this archaic bill, all of law enforcement will face hefty fines—up to $5000 if an illegal alien is stopped and not reported to the Feds. Many Natives also live in Arizona, and will probably have to prove citizenship as well. I am aware of the illegal problem in Arizona. This is not the answer. The Phoenix capitol looked like the 1960’s with peaceful demonstrations since last night. Today people chained themselves to the doors and were promptly arrested. Many believe that if the non-elected governor signs the bills, it will spend years in courts. Last week our state joined several others to sue the Feds regarding the Healthcare reform bill. In other legislation today they have given the AZ Secretary of State the responsibility of determining that each Presidential candidate was born in the US, and if the proof doesn’t meet the AZ Secretary of States’ criteria the candidate will not be on our ballot. We here in Arizona like to make our own laws, and don’t really care that much about Federal law. The politicians tell us we are broke, can’t pay for education, can’t pay for state parks, can’t pay for law enforcement…but we seem to have a bottomless pit of money to pay for endless lawsuits for laws that almost everyone knows will not work.

My Blackberry decided to mess up today. I took it to the Verizon store and after 30 minutes, told me to take it home and update the software. That took over 45 minutes and may or may not have fixed the problem I had. It seems to be working OK, but for some reason, I don’t think I fixed the problem. I have a calendar that shows upcoming appointments. I used to list three. Then it listed none. With the software update it is listing only one. When that appointment happens, I will find out if it really works. Technology is so fickle.

We made it to 61° today, but the 30+MPH winds this afternoon kept us feeling a whole lot cooler. The storm is a brewin’. Two or three days of snow is not going to make Flagstaff a nice spring town. The thundersnow is due Thursday.

‡ A Quick Smile…   

The following are some very funny spelling bloopers caught in local newspapers, publications and various emails. See if you can catch the goofs.

"Boxer Pups AKC, 1M, 1F, Bread for Health and Temperament." (e-mail)

"[Paris Hilton] was probably going through cocaine withdrawls." (Sunnyvale, Calif.)

"Our lunch menu [includes] a variety of hot entrees and tempting deserts." (Upper Saint Clair,Pa.)

"Vincent was a brawny Swiss ex-patriot." (San Jose, Calif.)

"...those who acquaint shopping with charity." (Simsbury, Conn.)

‡ Random Fact   

In 1849, the U.S. Department of the Interior is established. Among its duties (which are so diverse that it is nicknamed "the Department of Everything Else") is the management of public parklands. It is now the nation's main conservation agency.

‡ Puzzle   

Heteronyms are words that are spelled identically but have different meanings when pronounced differently. For example: Lead, pronounced LEED, means to guide. However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element.

1. alcoholic drink; a purpose

2. a list; to write down

3. to rip; fluid in eye

‡ Side Show Stories   

SYDNEY - An Australian publisher is reprinting 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with "salt and freshly ground black people."

Penguin Group Australia's head of publishing, Bob Sessions, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but called it nothing more than a "silly mistake."

The "Pasta Bible" recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto was supposed to call for black pepper.

"We're mortified that this has become an issue of any kind and why anyone would be offended, we don't know," he told The Sydney Morning Herald for a story printed Saturday.

"We've said to bookstores that if anyone is small-minded enough to complain about this ... silly mistake, we will happily replace (the book) for them."

The reprint will cost Penguin 20,000 Australian dollars ($18,500), but books already in stores will not be recalled because doing so would be "extremely hard," Sessions said.

‡ Calendar Information   

• Observance Weeks in April•

18-24

Administrative Professionals Week

Cleaning For A Reason Week

Coin Week

National Crime Victims Rights Week

National Volunteer Week

Sky Awareness Week

19-25

Astronomy Week

Consumer Awareness Week

Fish Fry Week

National Inspirational News Week

Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives In The Line of Duty Week

National Paperboard Packaging Week

National Window Safety Week

Turnoff Week

• 21 April Observances—US/UN/World •

Kindergarten Day: birthday of founder—see below

Administrative Professionals Day or Secretary's Day

National Chocolate-covered Cashews Day

Texas : San Jacinto Day (1836) gives Texas independence from Mexico

• 21 April Observances—by country •

Belize, Hong Kong, and others: Queen's Birthday

Brazil : Tiradentes Day/Día de Tiradentes/) Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, the dentist, fought for Brazil’s independence from Portugal. Hanged 4/21/1789)

Brazil: Brasilia Day (1960 became capital of Brazil: Today’s pop: 3.5 million)

Indonesia : Kartini Day (Raden Ajeng Kartini, heroine of women’s rights-born 4/21/1879)

Israel : Deliverance from Egypt

Taiwan : Death of Chiang Kai-shek/Tomb Sweeping Day

•Number One Songs in…

1982 I Love Rock 'n Roll; Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

1972 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face; Roberta Flack

1962 Good Luck Charm; Elvis Presley

1952 Wheel of Fortune; Kay Starr

1942 Moonlight Cocktail; Glenn Miller

1921 O-H-I-O (O-My! O!); Al Jolson

• 21 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1997 ►Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry launched into orbit

In Athletics

1982 ►Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.

In Business or Education

1828 ►Noah Webster publishes 1st American dictionary

1878 ►New York installs 1st firehouse pole

1952 ►BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) begins 1st passenger service with jets (London-Rome route)

In Politics

753BC ►Traditional date of the foundation of Rome

1862 ►Congress establishes US Mint in Denver CO

1983► £1 coin introduced in United Kingdom

1989 ►100,000 students gather at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu Yaobang the deposed reform-minded leader of the Chinese Communist Party and voice their discontent with China's authoritative communist government.

In Science/ Religion

1892 ►1st buffalo born in Golden Gate Park

1948 ►1st Polaroid camera is sold in US

1972 ►John Young & Charles Duke explore Moon (Apollo 16)

• 21 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Charlotte Brontë, 1816, Tornton England, novelist (Jane Eyre)

Elaine May, 78, actress, writer, director

Athletes

Al (Alonza Benjamin) Bumbry (Bumbrey), 63, baseball: Orioles, Padres

Reg (Reginald Stephen "The Ruffian") Fleming, 1936, hockey: NHL: Canadiens, Blackhawks, Bruins, Rangers, Flyers, Sabres )

Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo, 30, football: Cowboys

Entertainers

Tony Danza, 59, actor (“Taxi,” “Who’s the Boss?”)

Charles Grodin, 75, actor (Midnight Run, Beethoven)

Iggy Pop (James Newell Osterberg, Jr), 63, singer,

Anthony Quinn, 1915, Chihuahua México, actor

Business, Education Leaders

Friedrich W A Fröbel, 1782, Germany, educator (founder: kindergarten)

Don Tyson, 80, founder, Tyson Foods

Political Leaders

Elizabeth II [Alexandra Mary Windsor II], 84, queen of England

Scientists /Religious Leaders

John Muir, 1838, US, naturalist (discovered glaciers in High Sierras)

• 21 April Obits •

Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens], 1910, author(Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn), @ 74
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, 1971, dictator of Haiti, used voodoo to kill 30,000, heart disease @ 64

John Maynerd Keynes, 1946, English economist (How to pay for the war?), open bisexual, heart attack @ 62
Gummo [Milton] Marx, 1977, US comic (Marx Brothers), @ 84
"Red Baron" [Manfred von Richtofen], 1918,shot down in WWI @ 25
Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos (Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder), 1996, oddsmaker/sportscaster (CBS), heart attack @ 76
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1. Sake SAHkey- alcoholic drink; SAYK- a purpose

2. Record RECKord- a list; reKORD- to write down

3. Tear TARE- to rip; TEER- fluid in eye

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