Sunday July 25

This is Week 30 of 2010►Day 206 with 159 days left.

It is Day 96 of the BP Mess.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I have not forgotten about the BP mess. I am glad the oil is no longer spilling, but the cleanup has certainly gotten out of the news. The media has such a short attention span, some would say they have attention deficit. Focus on a story until you get bored and then move on to a new set of dramas. The tourists still aren’t coming to the Gulf. The fishing boats are still not fishing. The animals are still in peril. I guess the only way to know what is going on is to be there. The media builds of fear. For the spill, we were told by most news organizations that this was the worst spill in the history of our country—if not the world. Yet, after three months of so much oil spilling, it is hardly an afterthought now. It seems that once they have us scared, we, as humans, adapt somehow. So rather than keeping us informed, the media just finds a new thing to place fear in our minds. This is all very frustrating. I, for one, have not forgotten.

July 29 is the date set for 1070 to become law, and unless a Federal judge steps up, it will go into effect. The state claims that all officers in the state have been trained to prevent ‘racial profiling’. They got a 2 hour dvd training course. Today we learned that many officers are also getting ‘demonstration’ training. The news should local Phoenix cops in riot gear with big rifles, training for what appeared to be combat in Afghanistan. I’m hoping they accidently mixed up the video and story. Side note: I saw a comic on TV this week that was talking about terrorists. He pointed out that many times when the news media is talking about terrorist training camps they usually show the same video clip—terrorists climbing across monkey bars. He’s right. Then he pointed out, this is shown so we will have more fear of the terrorists. A terrorist can be easily spotted here if he is seen practicing on monkey bars. Forget shooting, forget blowing things up, just watch for them on monkey bars. Back to our cop’s training. I am praying that Arizona 2010 is not a repeat of Chicago 1968. Never, many say. But one side of this issue is using scare tactics to make us believe that, like a bad horror film, hoards of humans are coming across the border every night with drugs, guns, and mayhem on their minds. The other side, using statistics from independent, reliable sources say that crime is on the decrease in AZ, more crime is done by non-illegals both by actual number of crimes and by percentage of that group when compared to other groups. It just takes one overreaction in a tense situation to harm innocents. The 100+° temperatures down south makes everyone a little more quick tempered. Fear heightens the fight or flight response. Everything will have to be in place for no overreaction; one small misstep may set off something that no one wants or is prepared for. I can only hope that peace and sanity will prevail.

Flagstaff had a nice day. We climbed to 81° and with only 31% humidity; it was nice to be outside. I only did a short neighborhood walk this morning. It was nice, cool, and enjoyable.

MY QUOTE FOR THE DAY

William Arthur Ward: The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

HOLY MACKEREL:1918►Race riot in Chester Pennsylvania (3 blacks & 2 whites killed) 

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter. There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

***

Peanut butter was first introduced to the USA in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis by C.H. Sumner, who sold $705.11 ($17,000 in 2010 dollars) of the "new treat" at his concession stand.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1

Which word comes next in this sequence: India Victor X-Ray Lima Charlie ==?==

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Paris, France--One enterprising flight attendant has actually been able to make a very good living relieving passengers of their cash and valuables.

French police investigating thefts over several months on flights between France and the Far East picked up the 47-year old attendant identified as Lucie R. She is under suspicion of stealing thousands of Euros in cash, cards and jewelry as passengers slept on long haul flights.

Police launched an investigation in January after about 4,000 Euros ($5,170) was stolen from five passengers. The robber took advantage of sleeping passengers, taking Euros, yen, and Swiss francs as well as watches, jewels, credit cards and even checkbooks!

"Her bank accounts showed an absurd gap between her lifestyle and her declared income," one newspaper quoted a police investigator as saying. Between that and the travelers' checks, blank checks and bank card numbers police found at her home, it seems like she had quite a little cottage industry going.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Some people might object to filling out the part of a company's job application form that asks "Race." Not one guy. He responded, "Only on the interstate."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2

I'm a tool. I'm long or short. I could be used for survival. I'm evil or good, by the way you use me.

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Walter Brennan was a singer too? Click Here to Hear him!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

► Weekly Observances ◄

18-25: Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

………..Captive Nations Week

………..National Independent Retailers Week

► Today’s Observances ◄

Carousel Day or Merry-Go-Round Day

Parents' Day

Thread The Needle Day--Pilgrim game much like "London Bridge"

Costa Rica : Annexation of Guanacaste Day

Luiza, Puerto Rico : Feast of Santiago Apostal (St. James)

Netherlands : Independence Day (since 1581 from Spain)

Puerto Rico : Constitution Day (1952)

Tunisia : Republic Day (1957)

► Hit Songs on this date ◄

Lazybones Ted Lewis in 1933 Hear It!

You'll Never Know Dick Haymes in 1943

I'm Walking Behind You Eddie Fisher in 1953

Surf City Jan & Dean in 1963 Hear It!

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown Jim Croce in 1973

Every Breath You Take The Police in 1983 Hear It!

► Born today ◄

…The Arts

Iman (Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid), 55, model, actress (Star Trek VI), born at Mogadishu, Somalia

+++

Walter Brennan, actor (Real McCoys, At Gun Point) , born in 1894 Swampscott MA

Estelle Getty, actress: Golden Girls, born in 1923 NYC, NY

…Athletics

John Pennel, pole-vaulter: 1st to break 17' barrier [1963] , born in 1940 Memphis, TN

…Business & Education

Midge Decter, 83, journalist, born St. Paul, MN

Flora Adams Darling, founded Daughters of American Revolution, born in 1840 Lancaster, PA

…Politics

Anna Harrison (Symmes), wife of 9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison, born in 1775 Flatbrookville, Walpack Township, NJ (now Morristown)

…Science/Religion

Davidson Black, doctor of anatomy (identified Peking Man) , born in 1884 Toronto, Canada

► Obituaries today ◄

Dr Isaac Halevi Herzog, chief rabbi of Israel (1936-59), @ 71 in 1959

Vincente Minnelli, movie director, @ 76 in 1986

► Events ◄

…The Arts

1965►Folk-rock begins, Dylan uses electricity at Newport Folk Festival

…Athletics

1992►25th Olympic Summer games opens in Barcelona, Spain

…Business & Education

1871►Carrousel patented by Wilhelm Schneider, Davenport, Iowa

1953►NYC transit - 1st use of subway tokens

…Indigenous People

1757►A war party of five dozen Shawnees stages an attack of farms along the James River in Virginia. At one farm they kill a settler and his child. They take his wife, Hannah Dennis prisoner. She is taken to the Shawnee village of Chillicothe. After ingratiating herself to the Shawnees, she is given run of the village. She eventually escapes. Her tale becomes widespread throughout the American colonies.

1834►Crows, led by Rotten Belly begin a siege of Fort McKenzie, on the Missouri River, which ends in about one week.

…Politics (US)

1729►North Carolina becomes royal colony

1775►Maryland issues currency depicting George III trampling Magna Carta

1868►Territory of Wyoming created

1918►Race riot in Chester Pennsylvania (3 blacks & 2 whites killed)

1947►US Department of the Army created

…Politics (outside US)

1603►James VI of Scotland is crowned bringing the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.

1917►Sir Thomas Whyte introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).

1942►Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the Nazis.

1993►Israel launches a massive attack against terrorist forces in Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call Seven-Day War.

2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first woman president.

…Science / Religion

1854► The paper shirt collar was patented by Walter Hunt of New York City. The once-popular collar was very much a part of a clergyman’s wardrobe

1593►France's Protestant King Henri IV converts to Roman Catholic

1978► The first test-tube baby, Louise, was born -- in England.

1984►Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became 1st woman to walk in space

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

…1

Delta: these are the phonetic alphabet versions of the Roman numerals in sequence, 500 = D = Delta.

…2

A weapon

…Photo

A roll top desk

TODAY’S PHOTO SHOT

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