12-30-11


FYI: Blue text is a link… click on any blue text for more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights
  • 1731 - 1st US music concert (Peter Pelham's great room in Boston)
  • 1809 - Wearing masks at balls forbidden in Boston
  • 1875 – Austria:  Andrassy Note calls for Christian-Muslim religious freedoms
  • 1924 - Edwin Hubble announces existence of other galactic systems
  • 1940 - California's 1st freeway, (Arroyo Seco Parkway), opens
  • 1973 - 1st picture of a comet from space (Comet Kohoutek-Skylab)
  • 1993 - Vatican recognizes Israel

 Happy Birthday To:                      
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
My day started off a little strange…while I was putting away Christmas stuff, I slipped in the downstairs bathroom. Didn’t get hurt, but broke the toilet tank. Water everywhere even though I turned it off fairly quickly. Can’t get if fixed until Monday, but not a problem, I have another bathroom upstairs. I feel really stupid.

I did get all the Christmas stuff put away for another year. Then I downloaded my Christmas pics and made a little video. Click here to see it.

Another very warm December day…still not complaining, just mentioning. So nice to be able to be outside for a while. First time in a long time that I have been able to fill the bird feeders in bare feet. They are munching down of the ‘premium’ seed and the suet. It’s so warm, I may have to clean off the patio so I can enjoy it.

Lifestyle  Substance  (any answers at the end of post)
NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every answer is a word or phrase in which the first syllable is E-U. For example, give the clue "Holy Communion," the answer would be "Eucharist."
1.     River through Iraq:
2.     Writer Welty:
3.     Game with 32 cards:
4.     Oregon city that is a boy’s name:
5.     Kennedy who married Sargent Shiver:
6.     Koalas eat its leaves:
7.     Father of Geometry:
8.     Speech in a funeral:
9.     Man in charge of a harem:
10.  Extreme happiness:
11.  Mercy Killing:
12.  Pleasing to the ear:
13.  Number 1 or number 2 fo a bathroom activity:
14.  Muse of Music:
15.  The furies in Greek myth:
16.  A cry after a discovery:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?
   
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
  • Don't choose a camel that trembles while sitting. This means its front legs are bad.

Harpers Index         
  • Amount spent of lobbying in 2000: $1,600,000,000

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
STOCKTON, Calif. - Rescuers in California said an 18-year-old was pulled from his family's chimney after he got stuck while trying to sneak in after curfew. Art Ray, an operator chief for the Stockton Fire Department, said
George Herrera, 18, became lodged in the chimney while attempting the unorthodox, Santa Claus-style entry into the Stockton home after breaking curfew Thursday morning, The Record, Stockton, reported Monday. Firefighters arrived about 10:15 a.m. and the teenager was freed within minutes, Ray said. Ray said the teenager, who nearly made it to the bottom of the chimney, had been trapped for about 90 minutes. "We're not specifically trained to rescue people from chimneys, but we are trained to pull people from confined spaces," he said. "We were able to get him out in about 15 minutes."
 Joke-of-the-day
Shut Up and Trouble were walking down a path. Trouble got lost. So, Shut Up went to the police officer. The police officer asked, "What's your name?"He answered, "Shut Up."He asked again "What's your name?""Shut Up."The police officer asked, "Are you looking for trouble?!" "Yeah, I lost him down a path about two miles ago."
Old-er people in the News
An 88-year-old man is set to star in his first ballet show after taking up dance at the age of 79. Grandfather to 11, John Lowe, of Witchford, Cambs, UK took up dancing having watched his daughter Alison become a professional dancer.The retired teacher said: "It's a wonderful thing to do and I can't understand why more men don't do it." Mr Lowe is due to appear with the Lantern Dance Theatre Company, in Ely, on Sunday evening.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • Mount Everest (8,848 meters) is part of the Himalayas, which covers 75% of Nepal.
  • Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to climb Mount Everest in 1953.
  • Note: I met Sir Edmund, in Wheat Ridge. He was visiting our Scout leader in about 1963.

Found on You Tube          

Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
25-31
It's About Time Week 
26-1/1
Kwanzaa
30th: Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Today Is                                                                       
  • Falling Needles Family Fest Day
  • Festival  Of Enormous Changes At The Last Minute
  • National Bicarbonate Of Soda Day
  • Relaxation Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             
Before 1000CE
987 - French King Hugo Capet crowns his son Robert the compassionate king

1400’s
1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield

1700’s
1703 - Tokyo hit by Earthquake; about 37,000 die

1800’s
1817 - 1st coffee planted in Hawaii (Kona)
1835 - After gold discovery in GA, Cherokees forced to move across Mississippi River
1847 - During the Cayuse War, Col. Gilliam and 160 men are attacked by some Indians near Wailatpu. The Indians lose 20 warriors, and lots of supplies.
1854 - Pennsylvania Rock Oil Co, 1st in US, incorporated in NYC
1861 - US, banks stops payments in gold 1873 - American Metrological Society forms (NYC) weights, measures & money
1879 - Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance,"  premieres

1900’s
1903 - Electric arc lamp sets fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago leaving 602 dead in one of the deadliest blazes in American history
1903 - American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans
1906 - Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy
1907 - Abraham Mills' commission declares Abner Doubleday invented baseball
1911 - Sun Yat-sen elected 1st pres of Republic of China
1917 - -32°F (-36°C) in Mountain City, Tennessee (state record): -37°F (-38°C) in Lewisburg, WV (state record)
1933 - -50°F (-46°C) in Bloomfield, Vermont (state record)
1936 - United Auto Workers stage 1st sit-down strike, at Fisher Body Plant
1950 - Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia become Independent states in France Union
1953 - The first ever NTSC color television sets go on sale for about USD at $1,175 [2010US$9,467] each from RCA
1954 - 1st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston)
1963 - "Let's Make A Deal," debuts on NBC-TV
1965 - Ferdinand Marcos inaugurated as president of the Philippines
1972 - Pres Nixon halts bombing of North Vietnam & announces peace talks
1977 - Carter holds 1st news conference by US pres in Eastern Europe (Warsaw)
1978 - Ohio State dismisses Woody Hayes as its football coach
1980 - "Wonderful World of Disney," last performance on NBC-TV
1987 - Premier Mugabe elected president of Zimbabwe
1988 - Mercedes-Benz pays $20.2-M [US2010- $36,742,239] fine failed to meet '86 government fuel standard
1995 - The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of -27.2°C [-17°F] was recorded at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands

2000’s
2006 - Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
Under 30 years old
LeBron James, American basketball player is 27

In their 30’s
Jason Behr, actor will be 38
Tyrese, American singer and actor is 33
Tiger Woods, golfer is 36

In their 40’s
Henry Cho, Korean-American comedian is 49
Heidi Fleiss, American madam is 46

In their 50’s
Matt Lauer, TV host (Today Show) is 54
Ben Johnson, 100m runner (Olympic-gold-1988-disqualified) is 50
Meredith Viera will be 58

In their 60’s
Davy Jones, singer (Monkees-I’m a Believer) is 66
Michael Nesmith, rocker (Monkees-Last Train to Clarksville ) is 69

In their 70’s
Sandy Koufax, Dodger pitcher (Cy Young '63, '65, '66, perfect-1967) is 76
Mel Renfro, American football player-Cowboys- is 70
Paul Stookey, singer/musician (Peter, Paul, & Mary) (Wedding Song) is 74

Remembered for being born on this day
Skeeter Davis, [Mary Penick], , singer (End of World) in 1931
Bo Diddley, [Ellas Bates], Miss, rock `n' roll pioneer (Hey,Bo Diddley) in 1928
Asa Griggs Candler, developed Coca-Cola in 1851
Simon Guggenheim, philanthropist (died aboard Titanic) in 1867
Rudyard Kipling, Bombay, author (Jungle Book, Gunga Din-Nobel 1907) in 1865
Jack Lord, American actor [Stoney Burke, Hawaii 50] in 1920
Jeanette Nolan, actress (Richard Boone Show, Virginian) in 1911
Bert Parks, [Jacobson], TV host (Miss America) in 1914
Del Shannon, [Charles Westover], rocker (Runaway) American singer in 1934
Al Smith, American politician in 1873
Titus, 10th Roman emperor (79-81), conqueror of Jerusalem in 39CE

Today’s Obits                                                           
   Massa, oldest gorilla on record dies at 54 [life expectancy: wild—35/captivity—50] in 1984
   Ling-Ling, 1st panda China gave US, dies of heart failure at 23 [life expectancy: wild—14/captivity—20] in 1992

Sonny Liston, World heavyweight boxing champion found dead at about 38 of heroin OD/heart failure in 1970
Richard Rodgers, composer (Rogers & Hammerstein), dies at 77
Artie Shaw, American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader at 94 in 2004
Answers                                                                                                                                            
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     River through Iraq: Euphrates
2.     Writer Welty: Eudora
3.     Game with 32 cards: euchre
4.     Oregon city that is a boy’s name: Eugene
5.     Kennedy who married Sargent Shiver: Eunice
6.     Koalas eat its leaves: eucalyptus
7.     Father of Geometry: Euclid
8.     Speech in a funeral: Eulogy
9.     Man in charge of a harem: Eunuch
10.  Extreme happiness: Euphoria
11.  Mercy Killing: euthanasia
12.  Pleasing to the ear: euphonious
13.  Number 1 or number 2 fo a bathroom activity: Euphemism
14.  Muse of Music: Euterpe
15.  The furies in Greek myth: Eumenides
16.  A cry after a discovery: Eureka

Wuzzle
  • Chance meeting
  • Dual citizenship
  • Toupees


Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.
    And That Is All for Now 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.