»Week 24 of 2010: 166 days this year…199 days remain:
Day 57 of the BP oil spill≈
» Something To Think About
Happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
--Helen Keller
» Random Fact
Butterflies taste with their feet.
¤ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1920 ►A mob of 5,000 people lynched three African-American men in Duluth, Minnesota
» Free Ramblings
I was out and about for most of the day. Redwing, the artist, called and said he had just finished the mural and wanted me to see it. It is amazing. He will be sealing it tomorrow during the cool morning hours. A great piece of art. I was there about two hours and there were lots of interruptions from tourists who really liked it. Quite an accomplishment for the artist and for the city.
After our visit, I started looking for a new digital camera. I want one with more zoom and a panoramic mode. I don’t want a tiny one, but I don’t want a full size one either. Everywhere I have looked has some of what I want, none, so far, have everything I want. I had a film Minolta with a couple of lenses. It was great, but much too bulky to take on an adventure. My current digital does still have a viewfinder along with a screen. I always have used a viewfinder. Today’s small cameras no longer have a viewfinder. The screens, they claim, have been improved enough that they work well in sunlight. My current digital uses AA batteries, which I have liked, because they are easy to replace on the go. Well that is not easy to find either, now they all have rechargeable batteries. Good for the environment, not so much for travel. That means you have to always have a back-up charged. A real pain when traveling. I sure hope I will find the one I want somewhere.
My brother and his wife went to Mexico last Thursday for a three day visit to renew their Visas. They planned to fly out Sunday. Saturday night, after a lobster dinner at a friend’s house, he had a stomach pain. About 4am, with no sleep, and in internet search, they decided to go to the ER. After a few sonograms, blood tests, and other stuff, it was determined that his appendix must come out. Sunday morning the doctor did laparoscopic. He has a couple of pin holes and went back to their place this afternoon. He can’t fly out until Thursday, but is doing fine. The airline won’t give them a break, so the trip home is costing $2K more than the original round trip. The airline only gave them a break by not charging them the $150 rebooking fee. What a racket.
I must have fallen asleep during all of the US Constitution classes when I was in school. More embarrassing than that, is that over the weekend, I ended up watching part of one Glenn Beck show. On top of that, I learned something. Prior to the 17th amendment, passed in 1913, all the US Senators were selected by the state legislature, not the populous (Art 3 of the US Constitution). I don’t agree with anything that Beck said about this fact—something about just another destruction of democracy and a move to socialism, communism, or Nazism—I must admit I can’t follow his thought process. However; I always knew the founding fathers did not have complete trust in the general populous. I knew that is why the Senate was set up with 2 per state, no matter the size of the state. It just didn’t stick in my brain that the legislature used to select the Senators. What I don’t understand is why we changed it. Living in AZ I certainly don’t want our current legislature picking our Senators, but it makes some sense for other, more sane places. With the recent Supreme Court decision that a corporation is an individual and with all the millions spent by people, and now corporations, wanting to be Senators, maybe everyone would be better off if the legislature sent the Senator to Washington. I certainly need to do some research on why, in 1913, it was decided to change the system. My first quick research found that the Tea Party Movement is backing the repeal of the 17th Amendment, claiming that it took power away from the states. Hmmm. More research is certainly needed. Wanting to go back to the good ol’ days—in this case, prior to 1913--is always frightening, as our memories of the good ol’ days are probably not very accurate. We tend to remember the good, and block out the bad. Back in 1913, neither women nor Native Americans could vote and many Blacks couldn’t either.
It was a great day to be outside. I was at the mural for two hours and the weather was great. We made it to 72° and with just a breeze, I could leave the windows open, have a slight breeze keep the house nice. When I turned on the computer this afternoon I was greeted with a Red Flag warning—low humidity, erratic winds, dry conditions lead to greater possibility of wildfires. This one is in effect until tomorrow night. Sure hope people are careful in the forest.
» Puzzle 1
Can you figure out the rule used to develop the list? Once you do, have fun creating your own list!
mount, right, left, roll, mote, lick, lass, over, rate, aunt, rill, arch, oral, ever, pine, rice, tip, each, team, rash, sage, ouch, edge, ray, earn, any
Hint: There are 26 clues.
» A Quick Smile…
Staring at an empty cage, a zoo visitor asks, "Where are all the monkeys?"
"It's mating season," the keeper replies. "They're inside."
"Do you think they'd come out for peanuts?"
"Probably not," answers the keeper.
"Why not?" persists the visitor.
"Would you?"
» Side Show Stories
Yuma, AZ --An Arizona man who bluntly expressed his displeasure about being called to jury duty has landed himself in legal hot water. Timothy Michael Jones was ordered to appear Tuesday in court to explain why he sent back a jury questionnaire with obscenities written in black marker.
He failed to show and Yuma County Superior Court Judge Andrew Gould issued a bench warrant. Jones now faces a charge of indirect criminal contempt, which carries possible penalties of six months in jail and a fine of up to $300.
Court records show Jones was sent a jury summons last month telling him he had been randomly selected as a prospective juror along with the questionnaire.
» Puzzle 2: Brain Food
My life can be measured in hours; I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick; fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe.
What am I?
» Something you might enjoy…
In 2005, YouTube changed the internet forever. It is now available in 22 languages. Check out this one…
Butterflies Click Here!
» Calendar Information
¤ Today’s Number One Songs in…
For anyone interested, all these songs are available on iTunes.
"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies." ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
1943: Taking a Chance on Love; Benny Goodman
1953: The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart); Percy Faith
1963: Sukiyaki; Kyu Sakamoto Click Here!
1973: My Love; Paul McCartney & Wings
1983: Flashdance ... What a Feeling; Irene Cara
¤ Observance Weeks in June
10-17: Superman Week and Nursing Assistants Week
13-19: National Flag Week
14-20: Men's Health Week and Universal Father's Week and Meet A Mate Week
¤ Today’s Observances—US/UN/World
Native American Citizenship Day
Nature Photography Day
Arkansas : Admission Day (1836)
Idaho : Pioneer Day (1910)
Oregon : Treaty Day (1846)
¤ Today’s Observances—by country
Denmark : Flag Day/Valdemar Day (1219: Victory over Estonia)
Korea : Farmer's Day-day to transplant rice seeds
Azerbaijan: National Salvation Day
¤ Today’s Births
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Edvard Grieg, 1843, composer: Peer Gynt Suite
Xaveria Hollander [DeVries], 67, call girl, madame, author (Happy Hooker), born in Surabaya Indonesia
Athletes
Wade Boggs, 58, Nebraska, Red Sox 3rd baseman, born in Omaha, Nebraska
Justin Leonard, 38, golfer, born Dallas, TX
Entertainers
Courteney Cox Arquette, 46, actress (“Friends,” Scream), born Birmingham, AL
Jim Belushi, 56, actor (“Saturday Night Live,” “According to Jim”), born Chicago, IL
Neil Patrick Harris, 37, actor (“Doogie Howser, MD,” “How I Met Your Mother,” Clara’s Heart), born Albuquerque, NM
Helen Hunt, 47, actress (Then She Found Me, Cast Away, Oscar for As Good as It Gets ; “Mad About You”), born Los Angeles, CA
Waylon Jennings, 1937, singer of innumerable country songs (Ramblin' Man), born in Littlefield, Texas Click Here!
Harry (Edward) Nilsson III, 1941, singer: Everybody’s Talkin born in Brooklyn, NY
Jim Varney, 1946, "Hey Vern", actor (Ernest Goes to Jail), born in Lexington KY
Business, Education Persons
Daniel Vosovic, 29, American fashion designer, born in Grand Rapids, MI
Political Persons
Edward, 1330, the black prince, prince of Wales, born in Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire, England
Mario Cuomo, 78, politician: governor: state of New York, born in Queens, NY
Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, 1767, 1st lady, Andrew Jackson, born in Chatham, Virginia
Morris K Udall, 1922, Representative-AZ, born in St. Johns, AZ
Scientists /Religious Persons
Erik H Erikson, 1902, psychologist (Existentionalist), born in Frankfurt, Germany
¤ Today’s Happenings
In The Arts
1985 ►Rembrandt's painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
In Athletics
1909 ►Benjamin Shibe patented the cork-center baseball
1938 ►John Vander Meer of Cincinnati became the first pitcher in the major leagues to toss two, consecutive, no-hit, no-run games.
In Business or Education
1844 ►Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber
1992 ►The US Vice President Dan Quayle instructed a Trenton, N.J., elementary school student to spell ( US Spelling ) potato as ( UK Spelling ) "potatoe" during a spelling bee
2002 ►The accounting firm Arthur Andersen is convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to its audit of Enron.
In Politics
1215 ►King John signs Magna Carta
1864 ►Arlington National Cemetery is established
1871 ►Phoebe Couzins is 1st woman graduate of a US collegiate law school
1877 ►Henry O Flipper becomes 1st black graduate at West Point
1989 ►Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth
1996 ►The IRA detonates a massive bomb outside the Arndale shopping centre at lunch time injuring 200
In Science/ Religion
1869 ►Celluloid patented by John Wesley Hyatt, Albany, NY
1934 ►Great Smokey Mountains National Park dedicated
1991 ►Long-dormant Mount Pinatubo erupted with a vengeance in the Philippines
¤ Today’s Obits
Victor French actor (Highway to Heaven), cancer @ 54 in 1989
James Knox Polk the 11th US Pres, dies cholera @ 54 in 1849
» ANSWERS to Puzzle 1
Each 3 to 5 letter word, when preceded by sequential letters of the alphabet, will form new words:
amount, bright, cleft, droll, emote, flick, glass, hover, irate, jaunt, krill, larch, moral, never, opine, price, q-tip, reach, steam, trash, usage, vouch, wedge, x-ray, yearn, zany
» ANSWERS to Brain Food
A candle
» PIC of the Day
I have always been fascinated with ‘sky’ pictures. While traveling I always try to take pictures of clouds, sunrise, sunset, panoramas with mostly sky. These pics are not mine, but it’s nice to learn that others are also fascinated by the sky. During the month of June I’ll be doing ‘sun rays’.
20 minutes after sunset in Albany Missouri Click Here!
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