1911 The first old-age home for pioneers opened in Prescott, Arizona. [Centenial Celebration]
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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
A strange weather day—snowing hard at 8am, sun shining by 9am, more snow while the sun was shining, clear sky, overcast sky again, then mostly cloudy. We really need the moisture and today kept the streets, sidewalks, and other areas damp, we need much more. Hopefully February will be a much wetter month.
Every day the Egyptian news gets much more confusing. Many are now saying that Obama’s speech in Cairo, back in June, may be part of the reason for this internal situation. He talked to all the people of the Middle East about democracy, peace, individual rights, and government suppression. It might have fueled some of the idealistic to make a move. The people have lived under ‘Emergency Law’ for almost 30 years. More than a generation knows nothing else. There are over 30,000 Egyptians in prison as political prisoners and another 17,000 detained—sometimes for years. Mubarak says that it is necessary to stop the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ from taking over. I am one of those who know basically nothing about the Muslim Brotherhood. When I first heard the name a few years ago, I assumed it was an English translation of Al-Qaida or some other radical terrorists. Not the case. It has been around since the 1930’s and started with the widening of the Suez Canal. It is against colonization. It condemned the 9/11 attacks. Trying to learn more is difficult. Are they saying one thing when they have a different agenda? It is hard to figure out where they stand. The US has allowed the Egyptian government to run a dictatorship for over half a century. We have continued to pour money into the country with the hope that the leadership will keep the Suez Canal open, not attack the Israeli borders, and play nice in the Middle East sandbox. The US has turned a blind eye to the ‘Emergency Law’ and the horrific poverty in Egypt. As a tourist I remember seeing the military everywhere, the tourist police everywhere, our body guard writing down our license number on our taxi, the private police looking under our bus with mirrors whenever we pulled in to our hotel, and the metal detectors going off whenever we entered a museum or hotel with the staff just ignoring them and moving us on. Our tour operator said it was all for show—that Egyptians love Americans and want us to know that we are ‘important’ people and that is how all ‘important’ people in Egypt are welcomed. I believed him and got used to be treated as ‘important’. Now that this situation has erupted, I feel that it was really just ‘Emergency Law’ that ‘kept an eye on us’. As I look back on that trip—especially when we went to the ‘non-tourist’ destinations, I feel like an ignorant person who really had no idea what was really happening. We were simply spending tourist dollars and the government wanted to be sure that is all we were doing. Egypt was a great experience, seeing the history was amazing, learning so much. However; I never felt really comfortable. I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t fearful. I just wasn’t comfortable—and now I am beginning to understand why. So glad I took the trip.
History will tell future generations if the US was in the background of the Egyptian turmoil. I now fear that we are involved in a very difficult tightrope walk and that the US was there building the tightrope and encouraging many to walk it.
I am healing quite well, I guess. All of the SteriStrips have fallen off. I continue to keep the wound well lubricated. It is still a long hard knot across my throat. I hope that will soon disappear too. I’m still wearing all my shirts fully buttoned, or high neck sweaters. I’m sure glad I did this in the winter, as if it was summer, I would look even dork-ier.
AZ news stations are all in a huff over NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s call out today. He said that many of the illegal guns used in crimes in NYC are coming from places like AZ with gun laws that allow bad guys to buy lots of guns. The basic trend of stories is ‘how dare the mayor say that’. Well he did and I fear he is right. The mayor sent undercover buyers to gun shows in AZ. They paid cash, told the sellers they couldn’t pass background checks and were sold guns. Now politicians and news readers who were not at the gun shows are questioning if this even happened. The joy of living in AZ.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
◘ Alcohol-based mouthwash was first developed as an antiseptic for surgery, so next time you get a small cut, dab the area with a mouthwash soaked cotton ball!
◘ After shampooing, pour a capful of alcohol-based mouthwash onto your scalp, leave on for 5 minutes, then rinse and condition. The mouthwash kills the fungus that can cause dandruff.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
◘ More than 25 million vertebrate animals are used in testing in the United States each year — including monkeys, chimpanzees, beagles and other dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, birds, farm animals, and still other sentient beings. After the experiments conclude, essentially all of the animals who have survived the research are killed.
◘ The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion.
◘ Approximately 43.6 million Americans were living in poverty in 2009.
◘ In 2008 2,260 tons of gold was produced globally and around 26 tons of diamonds.
¤… PUZZLE: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire …answers at bottom…
1. Which of the following best describes ice?
Slimy Cold Electrical Deranged
2. According to a common phrase, 'there is no place like' what?
Home A candy store Heaven Armageddon!
3. Where would you most likely apply deodorant?
Underarm Hair Feet Tongue
4. Which is not a type of soda?
7Up He-Gon Pepsi Sprite
5. Which company makes Playstation game consoles?
Sega Sony Squaresoft Nintendo
6. In the board game 'Battleship', how many hits does it take to sink a Battleship?
4 5 3 6
7. Where was the city of Calcutta located?
India Iraq Indonesia Russia
8. How many verses are in 'The Star-Spangled Banner'?
5 3 4 2
9. Which Broadway musical has characters named Electra and Cassandra?
The Phantom of the Opera Cats Miss Saigon Beauty and the Beast
10. In what year did music group The Smashing Pumpkins first break up?
2000 1998 1999 2001
11. The Kamehameha dynasty once ruled over which place?
Hawaii China Japan Ivory Coast
12. Which 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle' wore the color blue?
Donatello Raphael Michaelangelo Leonardo
13. Which modern-day sport was developed by American Indians to train for war?
Rugby Luge Jai Alai Lacrosse
14. According to Greek mythology, which of the following was not one of the several rivers connected to the underworld?
Lethe Lynceus Styx Phlegethon
15. Approximately how many miles away from the Earth is the heavenly body known as Luna?
176,000 416,000 239,000 303,000
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM… JOHANNESBURG
— South Africa's governing party has pronounced: eating sushi off the body of a model in a bikini is politically incorrect.
A Monday statement from African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe is unequivocal: "This act is anti-ANC and anti-revolutionary. This act is defamatory, insensitive and undermining of woman's integrity."
The fish-on-flesh question has raged in South African media in recent months following reports of the practice at parties of wealthy businessmen and socialites. Earlier Monday, Johannesburg newspapers reported the head of the ANC's powerful youth league had attended such a party over the weekend.
Mantashe adds: "The ANC is not into nightclubs or partying, but it is a revolutionary movement."
A LITTLE LAUGH…
Scene: A conversation between two of my friends.
Friend #1: Are you visiting us tomorrow? Do you need directions?
Friend #2: I'm all set. I have the address, a GPS, and a GPS override.
Friend #1: What's a GPS override?
Friend #2: My wife.
Top 10 Historical Finds…
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient, mostly Hebrew manuscripts that were found at several sites on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Some 825 to 870 different scrolls have been found in 11 caves from 1947 to 1956. Most of the texts are biblical and include fragments of every book of the Old Testament except the book of Esther as well as the earliest known Book of Isaiah and never before seen psalms attributed to King David and Joshua. Some non biblical texts were found as well, and are commentaries on the Old Testament, rule books of the community, war conduct, hymn compositions and benedictions to name a few. The Scrolls are believed to be the library of a Jewish Sect, written by the Essenes and hidden in the caves around the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 AD).
Importance: The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is widely considered the greatest manuscript find of all time. The scrolls predate the next oldest Old Testament manuscript by 1000 years and prove that Christianity was rooted in Judaism. They also give us a clear insight into Jewish life at the time.
¤…CLOSEUP PICTURE
Can you identify this close up picture
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
♫ Rock Anthems ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
¤…FEBRUARY…¤ [Gemstone= Amethyst Flower= Iris or Violets]
Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month ♥ AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month ♥ American Heart Month ♥ Avocado and Banana Month ♥ Bake for Family Fun Month ♥ Beans (Dried and Fresh) Month ♥ Exotic Vegetables and Star Fruit Month ♥ February is Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month ♥ From Africa to Virginia Month ♥ Grapefruit Month ♥ International Boost Self-Esteem Month ♥ International Expect Success Month ♥ International Hoof-care Month ♥ Jobs in Golf Month ♥ Library Lovers Month ♥ Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month ♥ Marijuana Awareness Month ♥ National African American History Month ♥ National Bird Feeding Month ♥ National Black History Month♥ National Care About Your Indoor Air Month ♥ National Cherry Month ♥ National Condom Month ♥ National Children's Dental Health Month ♥ National Laugh-Friendly Month ♥ National Mend A Broken Heart Month ♥ National Parent Leadership Month ♥ National Pet Dental Health Month ♥ National Time Management Month ♥ National Weddings Month ♥ Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month ♥ Pull Your Sofa Off The Wall Month ♥ Relationship Wellness Month ♥ Responsible Pet Owner's Month ♥ Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month ♥ Spunky Old Broads Month ♥ Sweet Potato Month ♥ Wise Health Care Consumer Month ♥ Worldwide Renaissance of the Heart Month
¤…THIS WEEK…¤
24-Feb 4
Clean Out Your Inbox Week
30- Feb 5
Catholic Schools Week ♥ Meat Week ♥ Intimate Apparel Week
1-7
Children's Authors & Illustrators Week ♥ National Patient Recognition Week ♥ Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend ♥ Women's Heart Week
¤…TODAY IS…¤
African American Coaches Day ♥ Freedom Day* ♥ G.I. Joe Day ♥ Hula in The Coola Day ♥ Robinson Crusoe Day ♥ Spunky Old Broads Day ♥ Working Naked Day ♥ Celtic Calendar: Imbolc (also Imbolg or Oimelc), or St Brigid’s Day (Scots Gaelic Là Fhèill Brìghde, Irish Lá Fhéile Bríde, the feast day of St. Brigid), marking the beginning of Spring.
Malaysia: Federal Territory Holiday (1974) (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
Mauritius: Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery (1836: this is the 175th anniversary)
Nicaragua: Air Force Day
* Freedom Day The purpose of this holiday is to promote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom. President Harry Truman signed and the bill "National Freedom Day" in 1948.
Today’s Births
○ AUTHORS / COMPOSERS
1859 Victor August Herbert Irish composer (Babes in Toyland)
1902 Langston Hughes poet/translator (The Weary Blues)
1904 S.J. Perelman (Sidney/Simeon Joseph Perelman) humorist, writer, Academy Award-winning screenwriter: Around the World in 80 Days [1956]
1897 Denise Robins (aka Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Julia Kane) British romance novelist
1918 Muriel Spark Scottish novelist (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)
○ ATHLETES
1915 Sir Stanley Matthews 1st British soccer player to be knighted
Rachael Scdoris, 26, American dog musher
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
--
○ ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS/…)
Big Boi (Antwan Patton), 36, singer, musician (Outkast),
Don Everly, 74, singer, musician, with brother Phil
1901 Clark Gable actor (Gone With the Wind)
1895 John Ford (Sean Aloysius O’Feeney) director (Stagecoach, Air Mail, Quiet Man)
Sherman Hemsley, 73, actor (“The Jeffersons,” “Amen”)
1952 Rick James [James Johnson], rock/soul/funk vocalist (Super Freak)
Terry Jones, 69, actor, director (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus”)
Garrett Morris, 74, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”)
Lisa Marie Presley, 43, singer
Bob Shane, 77, vocalist (Kingston Trio-Scarlet Ribbons)
Pauly Shore, 41, comedian, actor
○ POLITICIANS
1552 Sir Edward Coke English jurist/politician (defended common law)
1931 Boris Yeltsin President of Russia [1991-1999]
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1763 Thomas Campbell founder (Church of Disciples in America)
1833 Henry McNeal Turner black Methodist bishop
¤…Today’s Obituaries…¤
1869 Frederik W Conrad hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer, dies at 68
1966 Hedda Hopper [Elda Furry], US gossip columnist, double pneumonia @75
1966 Buster Keaton [Joseph Francis], US comic (General), lung cancer @ 69
1991 James G MacDonald cartoon voice (Mickey Mouse), @ 84
¤…Today’s Events…¤
○ ARTS
1709 British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on a desert island (Fernandez Island) for 5 years, his story is the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe"
1862 The Battle Hymn of the Republic was first published in Atlantic Monthly. The lyric was the work of Julia Ward Howe
1935 1st "March of Time" newsreel premieres at the Capitol
1953 "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite premieres on CBS television
○ ATHLETICS
1929 1st clean & jerk of 400 lbs (182 kg), Charles Rigoulet, 402½ lbs
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1884 1st volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, published
1892 Mrs William Astor invites 400 guests to a grand ball at her mansion thus beginning the use of the "400" to describe the socially elite
1898 1st auto insurance policy in US issued, by Travelers Insurance Company
1920 1st commercial armored car introduced (St Paul MN)
1949 RCA releases 1st single record ever (45 rpm)
1972 1st scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced ($395)
○ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1839 Cherokee Chief John Ross, and 228 other Cherokees arrive today in Little Rock, en route to the Indian Territory, as part of their forced emigration. Quatie Martin Ross, Chief Ross' wife, will die today. She will be buried in Little Rock.
1917 By Executive Order, today, the Papago (Tohono O'odham) Indian Reservation in established in Arizona. The act will be amended on February 21, 1931, and on October 28, 1932
○ POLITICS (US)
1790 Supreme Court convenes for the 1st time (New York NY)
1978 Harriet Tubman is 1st black woman honored on a US postage stamp
○ POLITICS (International)
1587 English queen Elizabeth I signs Mary Stuart's death sentence
1789 Chinese troops driven out of Vietnam capital Thang Long
1902 China's empress Tzu-hsi forbids binding woman's feet
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1814 Volcano Mayon, @ Luzon Philippines erupts killing 1,200
1840 Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, 1st in US, incorporated
1788 Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patented the steamboat.
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ANSWERS
¤…Millionaire ANSWERS…¤
1. Which of the following best describes ice? Cold
2. According to a common phrase, 'there is no place like' what? Home
3. Where would you most likely apply deodorant? Underarm
4. Which is not a type of soda? He-Gon
5. Which company makes Playstation game consoles? Sony
6. In the board game 'Battleship', how many hits does it take to sink a Battleship? 4
7. Where was the city of Calcutta located? India
8. How many verses are in 'The Star-Spangled Banner'? 4
9. Which Broadway musical has characters named Electra and Cassandra? Cats
10. In what year did music group The Smashing Pumpkins first break up? 2000
11. The Kamehameha dynasty once ruled over which place? Hawaii
12. Which 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle' wore the color blue? Leonardo
13. Which modern-day sport was developed by American Indians to train for war? Lacrosse
14. According to Greek mythology, which of the following was not one of the several rivers connected to the underworld? Lynceus
15. Approximately how many miles away from the Earth is the heavenly body known as Luna? 239,000
¤…Close up Picture…¤
Gingerbread House
« AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW »
