HOLY MACKEREL: 1699 Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"
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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I got many of my medical questions answered today. No matter what they find, I will be in the hospital from 1-3 days after they slit my throat. I there is no cancer, I’m home and don’t return. If there is cancer, then I return in about 2-3 weeks for the radiation room. This is a relief, as I now know. Don’t know a lot about how the radiation room works, except from Mary and her treatment was four years ago. I am of course hopeful that I won’t have to find out, but if I do, I know that it was caught early, is an easy cancer to stop, and I am ready.
As a linguist, I am amazed at how words carry power. When someone hears they have or might have cancer for the first time, it is scary. It is like you have been singled out for that scarlet letter. You don’t want to tell your friends, your family, your acquaintances, because it’s like you are marked. People look at you differently. People treat you differently. Sometimes they don’t mention it. Sometimes it’s all they mention. But sadly, cancer is such a powerful word; most people don’t know what to do. Those who have had cancer are much easier to talk to as they label themselves and you as a survivor. That happened today. One good friend, with the best of intentions, and no knowledge of cancer said to me today—well, at least you will lose some weight without dieting. I doubt that will happen, even if it is cancer. She just didn’t know what else to say. For her, when she heard it MIGHT be early cancer, she has moved to the worst possible scenario. I just gave a nervous laugh and said, well, losing a few pounds would be good. Her heart was in the right place. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends and I appreciate everything they do for me. I just hate to see their discomfort when that powerful word ‘cancer’ is mentioned.
It looks like Mama Bear Palin may have finally spoken and everyone heard her. Now they realize that she is not ‘presidential’. Like so many other things in this crazy world, I can’t list what the ‘presidential’ list includes, but I recognize those who don’t have it. I did not recognize her ‘blood libel’ reference when I heard it. I did google it when she said it and was shocked by what it meant. It has taken a few days, but many on the right are stepping away from her. This is a time for healing and unification, not a time to point fingers as to why that crazy did what he did. Her reference does more to tear the country apart than bring it together. It has taken much longer than I wish, but many are now seeing her as not being ‘presidential’. She just doesn’t get it.
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∞ JEOPARDY PUZZLE—(Super-Jeopardy Answers) from 1990 SCULPTURE
…answers at bottom…
•Though it sounds cold, the Greeks carved these decorative bands on the sides of buildings
•Using drills & dynamite, Gutzon Borglum began this massive work in 1927
•Modern American sculptor known for his life-size plaster casts of people put in "real" settings
•His reclining figures can be seen at the Tate Gallery, Unesco in Paris & Lincoln Center
•Duke Cosimo I commissioned Cellini to produce the bronze of this man holding Medusa's head
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM-- MOSCOW
A wounded fox shot its would-be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.
The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made its escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region.
"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw," one prosecutor was quoted as saying.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION—
• Christians in China call Santa Claus Dun Che Lao Ren, which means Christmas Old Man.
• Orthodox churches that follow the old Julian calendar will celebrate Christmas on January 7.
• In Mexico, the pastorelas are reenactments of Mary and Joseph's search for an inn.
• In Sweden, the Christmas season begins on December 13, the feast day of St. Lucia. On this day it is traditional for the eldest daughter in every family to wear an evergreen wreath with seven lighted candles on her head.
• The first nativity scene was displayed in Italy in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi.
• The country of Greece is home to the killantzaroi, goblins that appear only during the 12-day period between Christmas and Epiphany
A LITTLE LAUGH
Duck decoys, fishing rods, boots -- outdoor gear of all kinds was piled high in the garage. One day I found my wife staring at the mess. "I hope I die first, so I don't have to get rid of all this," she sighed.
"Look on the bright side," I suggested. "If I go first, you can put an ad in the paper. When all the men come by to check out the stuff, you can pick out a replacement for me."
Still staring at the pile, she said, "Nah. Whoever would want all this stuff wouldn't be my type."
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS—Creepy Crawlies
• The fastest eater amongst mammals is the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata). Research published in February 2005 by Dr Kenneth Catania (USA) at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA, recorded an average ‘handling time’ of 230 milliseconds with the fastest time being 120 milliseconds.
•The largest millipede in the world is a full grown African giant black millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) which is owned by Jim Klinger of Coppell, Texas, USA and measures 38.7 cm (15.2 in) in length, 6.7 cm (2.6 in) in circumference and has 256 legs.
∞CLOSEUP PICTURE
Can you identify this close up picture
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
♫ T V COMMERICALS OF 1950’s♫
Click on Title to see and hear
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
‡…THIS WEEK…‡
8-14 Universal Letter Writing Week:
9-15 Home Office Safety and Security Week • International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week
11-17 Cuckoo Dancing Week:
12-16 National Soccer Coaches of America Week:
‡…TODAY IS…‡
National Dress Up Your Pet Day
Thailand: National Forest Conservation Day
US: Maryland : Ratification Day (1784)
‡…Today’s Births…‡
• AUTHORS
1895 George Richard Samways children's writer
• ATHLETES
Kyle Brady, 39, football (Jets, Jaguars, Patriots)
Shawn Crawford, 33, sprinter (2004 and 2008 Olympics)
• BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1791 Calvin Phillips became shortest known adult male (67cm; 2'2")
1892 Hal Roach early film director/producer (1 Million BC)
• ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS/…)
Jason Bateman, 42, actor (“Arrested Development”)
1906 William Bendix actor: For Love or Money, Babe Ruth Story
Faye Dunaway, 70, actress (Oscar for Network; Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown)
1915 Mark Goodson TV game show producer: Goodson-Todman Productions: What’s My Line, I’ve Got a Secret, Family Feud, The Price is Right
1938 Jack Jones (John Allan Jones) singer: Lollipops and Roses, Wives and Lovers, The Impossible Dream
Andy Rooney, 92, writer, columnist (“60 Minutes)
Shepard Smith, 47, news anchor
Steven Soderbergh, 48, filmmaker (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, Erin Brockovich)
Holland Taylor, 68, actress (“The Practice,” The Truman Show)
Carl Weathers, 63, actor (Rocky, Happy Gilmore)
1924 Guy Williams actor: Lost in Space, Zorro
• POLITICIANS
1741 Benedict Arnold American General in Revolutionary War: turncoat
Julian Bond, 71, legislator, civil rights leader
• SCIENCE & RELIGION
1615 John Biddle English minister (Unitarian)
1875 Albert Schweitzer doctor/humanitarian/organist (Nobel 1952)
‡…Today’s Obituaries…‡
1978 Marie Blake actress: Blossom Rock, Grandmamma, in The Addams Family TV series @ 81
1957 Humphrey Bogart actor (Casablanca, Caine Mutiny), cancer @ 57
1977 Peter Finch actor (Network, Nun's Story, Judith), heart attack @ 60
1742 Edmund Halley genius eclipsed by Newton, @ 86
1984 Ray Kroc founder of MacDonalds/owner San Diego Padres, @ 82
1965 Jeanette MacDonald soprano (When I'm Calling You), heart failure @ 63
1977 Anaïs Nin Cuban/American writer (Delta of Venus), @ 73
1986 Donna Reed actress (Donna Reed Show, Dallas), cancer @ 64
1850 Anthony van Hoboken Dutch merchant/ship owner, @ 93
1944 Mohammed Emin Yurdakul Turkish poet, @ 74
‡…Today’s Events…‡
• ARTS
1690 Clarinet is invented, in Nüremberg, Germany
1954 Marilyn Monroe marries baseball star, New York Yankee, Joe DiMaggio
1960 US Army promoted Elvis Presley to Sergeant
• ATHLETICS
1932 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in US installed, Hialeah
1968 Super Bowl II Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Bart Starr, Green Bay, Quarterback
• BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1813 Gideon Hawley becomes 1st state school superintendent in US (NY)
1914 Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords
• INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1833 Reverend Samuel Worcester is a missionary to the Cherokee Nation in Georgia. The state of Georgia ordered all whites living with Indians to swear allegiance to the state of Georgia. Reverend Worcester refuses to do so
1879 Dull Knife's Cheyenne escapees from Fort Robinson, have fortified a position 20 miles from the fort, in northwestern Nebraska.
• POLITICS (US)
1639 1st Connecticut constitution (Fundamental Orders) adopted in Hartford
1938 National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia formed (NY)
• POLITICS (International)
1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie's army leaves Glasgow
1979 President Carter proposes Martin Luther King's birthday be a holiday
• SCIENCE & RELIGION
1601 Church authorities burn Hebrew books in Rome
1873 "Celluloid" registered as a trademark
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ANSWERS
∞ JEOPARDY
•Though it sounds cold, the Greeks carved these decorative bands on the sides of buildings
What is a ‘frieze’?
•Using drills & dynamite, Gutzon Borglum began this massive work in 1927
What is Mount Rushmore?
•Modern American sculptor known for his life-size plaster casts of people put in "real" settings
Who was (George) Segal?
•His reclining figures can be seen at the Tate Gallery, Unesco in Paris & Lincoln Center
Who is Henry Moore?
•Duke Cosimo I commissioned Cellini to produce the bronze of this man holding Medusa's head
Who was Perceus?
∞ Close up Picture
Women’s High Heel shoes
• AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW •
