≈Week 19 of 2010: 125 days this year… 240 days remain≈
≈ Something To Think About
The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way.
--Henry David Thoreau
≈ Random Fact
What is called a "French kiss" in the English speaking world is known as an "English kiss" in France.
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1945 ►A Japanese balloon bomb explodes at Mitchell Recreation Area on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children. This is the only recorded instants of deaths caused by Japanese Bombs on the American mainland in World War II.
≈ Free Ramblings
I learned something interesting today. I bought a Tom-Tom GPS locator to help me find my way around. It was time to update the maps. So I go on line, update the maps—at a small charge—and it takes about an hour to do this. Tom-Tom updates its maps every quarter. My computer is not slow, but the tiny, tiny little GPS ‘computer’ is very slow in accepting info. About 30 minutes after I had bought the new maps, I get an email from my bank checking that I had made the purchase. I called the vank, rather than responding to the email, since I don’t trust those kind of emails. Turns out that Tom-Tom is not an American company. They are based in the UK. Hmmm. The UK is making maps for us to travel in the US. I sure hope they remain our friends. Some disgruntled UKer could change my map and send me into a lake somewhere. I guess if they were made in the US some disgruntled citizen could to the same thing. Scary.
Another interesting thing I discovered today is that the Flagstaff City Council Meetings stream live. Guess they have been doing this for some time. Cool. Tonight they are talking about SB 1070. I didn’t want to sit downtown, in a crowded room, so I’m listening to the discussion as I do this entry. I am interested because last week the council held a meeting to discuss what action to take against the crazy bill. Then the council got an email suggesting that they should be all be tried and hung as traitors I want to know what their response will be. While I am waiting, I heard on the news that the Phoenix Suns have changed their uniform for the play-offs. From today on their uniforms will no longer say “SUNS” on the back, but will now say “LOS SUNS”. No matter what people read or hear, there are many, many residents in AZ who are not in favor of SB 1070. The City Council and community have been talking about SB 1070 for over 3 ½ hours. The overwhelming majority have been for the injunction. I must say, Mayor Sara runs a tight ship during these meetings. I have heard several new reasons that 1070 is wrong. A Hopi artist reminded the council and participants that the Hopi and the Mexicans—through the Aztecs--are brothers and sisters. One younger speaker from Forest Highlands—a gated community—admitted he was not a resident of Flagstaff but wanted the council to accept state law and provide the town with safety by not filing any paperwork against 1070. Most of the pro injunction people as proud of the rich cultural heritage of Flagstaff and want it continue. A vote seems to be a few hours away, so tomorrow I’ll let you know how it all turned out.
We had a great weather day today. We broke 70° today. We had blue sky. We had little wind. It was a short sleeve day for sure. Our retirement group returned to the local Greek restaurant today. Great meal, great conversation. Cheryl, while living in Williams, has really gotten the planting bug. Last year she built a cinder block planter in her back yard. It was so successful, she is building another one this year. These planters are a lot of work to build, but seem to be well worth the time and expense. Mary is staying busy with her grandkids and also preparing for spring. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to hold out. I want to plant. But alas, I know that more cold weather and more snow is going to come, so for now, I will listen to these spring plans, but will still wait a while.
≈ A Quick Smile…
Another man and I share a locker at work. Noticing that it needed a new combination lock, my partner said he would pick one up on his way to work the next day. It occurred to me later that I might not see him in the morning. How would I find out the combination? I needn't have worried.
When I arrived at work I found that he had used the locker before me and had left a note reading: "To find the first number subtract 142 from your high score the last time we went bowling. The second number is 16 less than that. To find the third number, subtract 1.87 from the amount you owe me."
≈ Puzzle
The number next to the acronym helps solve what the acronym means... e.g. 365 DIAY = 365 days in a year, and 366 DIALY = 366 days in a leap year.
1. 57H V
2. 2 4 6 8 W D W A
3. 93000000 M E D f t S
≈ Side Show Stories
LOS ANGELES: A standup comedian,Sunda Croonquist, whose shtick for years has been to describe her life as a half-black, half-Swedish woman who marries into a Jewish family, was sued two years ago after her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law said her jokes were holding them up to public ridicule.
In a 21-page ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper of New Jersey concluded that the examples they cited — including one in which Croonquist says her sister-in-law's voice sounds like a cat in heat — fell under the category of protected speech. Many of the jokes, Cooper said, were clearly statements of opinion and not fact and therefore protected by the FirstAmendment. The cat-in-heat joke, the judge said, quoting from a previous court decision, was "colorful, figurative rhetoric that reasonable minds would not take to be factual."
The suit was filed in New Jersey because two of the plaintiffs, Croonquist's brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Neil and Shelley Edelman, live there. Croonquist lives in BeverlyHills and her mother-in-law, Ruth Zafrin, lives in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
Sunda’s husband represented her in court. After the judge ruled in favor of the comedienne she said: "He's excited that I won, but he's not happy about the legal fees that his firm had to incur," she said.
≈ Calendar Information
• Observance Weeks in May•
1-7
Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week
2-8
Be Kind To Animals Week
National Correctional Officer's Week
Children's Mental Health Week
Drinking Water Week
Flexible Work Arrangement Week
Kids Win Week
3-9
Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week
Intimate Apparel Market Week
Work At Home Moms Week
• Today’s Observances—US/UN/World •
National Hoagie Day
Cartoonists Day
Childhood Stroke Awareness Day
Cinco de Mayo
International Midwives' Day
Totally Chipotle Day
Occupational Safety & Health Professional's Day
Great American Grump Out
• Today’s Observances—by country •
Albania: Martyrs' Day
Denmark: Liberation Day
Ethiopia: Patriots' Victory Day
Japan: Children's Day
Kyrgyzstan: Constitution Day
The Netherlands: Liberation Day
Palau: Senior Citizens Day
Romania: Men's Day or Ziua Bărbatului
South Korea: Children's Day
Thailand: Coronation Day, commemorates the coronation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950.
• Today’s Number One Songs in…
For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.
1944 ►I Love You; Bing Crosby
1954 ►Wanted; Perry Como
1964 ►Hello, Dolly!; Louis Armstrong
1974 ►The Loco-Motion; Grand Funk
1984 ►Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now); Phil Collins
• Today’s Happenings•
In The Arts
1926 ► Pulitzer Prize refused by Sinclair Lewis (Arrowsmith)
1947 ►Pulitzer prize awarded to Robert Penn Warren (All the King's Men)
1952 ►Pulitzer prize awarded to Herman Wouk (Caine Mutiny)
1958 ►Pulitzer prize awarded to James Agee for (Death in the Family)
In Athletics
1912 ►5th modern Olympic games opens in Stockholm Sweden
1922 ►Construction begins on Yankee Stadium (Bronx)
In Business or Education
1809 ►Mary Kies is 1st woman issued a US patent (weaving straw and silk for thread)
1921 ►Chanel introduced "Chanel Number 5" to some of her friends. Initially, it was given to preferred clients for free at her boutique.
In Politics
1494 ►Christopher Columbus 1st sights Jamaica on his 2nd voyage to the New World
1763 ►Near Fort Detroit, Ottawa Chief Pontiac addresses a group of Huron, Ottawa, and Potawatomi warriors. He asks them to join him in his fight against the British.
1862 ►The Mexican army defeated French troops at the city of Puebla.
1864 ►The Battle of the Wilderness was the first major encounter between opposing troops under Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.
1912 ►Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda begins publishing
1942 ►US begins rationing sugar during WWII
In Science/ Religion
1847 ►The American Medical Association was organized in Philadelphia, PA.
2000 ►conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn & Moon
• Today’s Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Karl Marx, 1818, philosopher (Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital)
Athletes
Charles Bender, 1883, only American Indian in baseball's Hall of Fame (Ojibwa)
Entertainers
Eric Burdon, 70, Walker-on-Tyne England, rock singer (Animals-House of Rising Sun)
Pat Carroll, 83, actress
Ann B Davis, 84, actress (Bob Cummings Show, Brady Bunch)
Rex [Reginald Carey] Harrison, 1908, Lancashire England, actor (My Fair Lady, Doctor Doolittle, Cleopatra)
Will Hutchins, 78, actor (Sugarfoot, Hey Landlord)
Michael Murphy, 72, actor
Michael Palin, 67, Sheffield Yorkshire England, comedian (Monty Python)
Tyrone Power, 1913, actor
Tammy Wynette, 1942, country singer (Stand by your Man)
Business, Education Leaders
Nelly Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman), 1867, journalist, writing about taboo subjects of her time: divorce, poverty, capital punishment, insanity; women’s rights advocate
John Batterson Stetson, 1830, American hat manufacturer
Political Leaders
Georgios Papadopoulos, 1919, Greek dictator
Scientists /Religious Leaders
Phillip Edmund Clinton Manson-Bahr, 1911, specialist in tropical medicine
• Today’s Obits •
Napoleon I Bonaparte, 1821, emperor France, stomach cancer on St Helena @ 52
Charles R Gallas, 1956, lexicographer (French Dictionary), @ 88
≈ ANSWERS to puzzle
1. 57H V = 57 Heinz Varieties
2. 2 4 6 8 W D W A = 2 4 6 8 Who Do We Appreciate
3. 93000000 M E D f t S = 93000000 Miles Earth’s Distance from the Sun
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
