2-11-11

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1990 Nelson Mandela (political prisoner-27 years) freed in South Africa

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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I still haven’t figured out why I couldn’t post my blog yesterday. Hopefully today will go better. I have made a few changes in how I post, and maybe that will help…or maybe the blogger server will just start working again. If not I will get really serious tomorrow about fixing it. I know a little bit and was able to figure out there was a problem before I even tried to post…but just kept hoping that it would heal itself.

We had our weekly lunch today. A slice of pizza and great minestrone soup was really good. The restaurant advertises that everything is organic, the service is great. An old-er gentleman was eating in the table next to us. When his cell phone rang, he got up, walked outside and came back in when he was finished. It was a little windy and chilly outside but he did it anyway. I wanted to tip him. Few things are more annoying than a phone call when eating. It is just that kind of restaurant—good food, good wait staff, and polite customers. Cheryl has lost 65 pounds and feeling better. Everything is kicking in and she is off insulin again. She was able to enjoy most of her soup and even a couple bites of pizza. That is so good for her. Mary and Cheryl both shared some cute grandkid stories.

Hot damn, AZ is back in the news. Big news, Jon Kyl announced that he will not run for Senate in 2012. He is the second highest ranking Republican in the US Senate. He has always been too conservative for my liking, but doubt if little will change in AZ as there are many conservatives waiting in line. Then our Governor filed a counter-suit against the Federal government. This suit is retaliation for the Federal suit against SB1070—our horrific anti-immigration bill. She says that no tax-payer dollars are being used in the suit. Of course, there is time being spent by many who are State employees. So we stay in the news and seldom in a good way.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
--  Tomato ketchup can make your copper gleam better than an expensive polish. Simply mix ketchup and water in equal parts. Apply it to your copper with a soft cloth and wipe off.
--  An ordinary coffee filter can make your windows sparkle better than a cloth or paper town. After you have cleaned your windows in your usual way simply wipe the window with a coffee filter. Cloth or paper towels with leave lint streaks on the glass, while a coffee filter will absorb left over moisture and will leave nothing but shine.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION… Opera
--The term “opera” comes from the Latin opus, or “work.” The term “soap opera” was first recorded in 1939 as a derogatory term for daytime radio shows that were sponsored by soap manufacturers.
--During the seventeenth century, women were not allowed to sing onstage, not even in a chorus. Castrated males, or castrati, would sing the soprano/mezzo/alto parts. The first of the great castrati was Baldassare Ferri (1610-1680).
--When Charles Gounod’s (1818-1893) opera Faust wasn’t selling tickets, the producer gave away tickets for the first three performances to people out of town and declared the performances were sold out. Wondering what all the fuss was about, the public began buying tickets, and Faust became a hit.

PUZZLE: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire […answers at bottom…]
1. Twinkle, twinkle, little ____ , How I wonder what you are.
Diamond      shell       tooth      star
2. When something unexpected happens you might say, 'that's the way the cookie' what?
cries     tastes       crumbles       tangos
3. Finish the ad slogan from the commercial in which Mean Joe Greene gives his football jersey to a kid: 'Have a coke and a ______.'
smile     smoke      hotdog        grimmace
4. Who wrote, 'Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit?’
Paul Theroux     Henry David Thoreau      F. Scott Fitzgerald       John Muir
5. The HMV logo features Nipper the dog and the phrase 'his master's ______'
fibula      pillow      larynx      voice
6. What is Madonna's record label?
Gaucho     Maverick       Pampas       Cowgirl
7. Where would you find spotted dick?
in a brewery     in the ocean       on a dessert menu       on the body
8. According to a turn-of-the-century US Department of Agriculture report, how much would food, clothing, shelter and other necessities cost for a child born in Y2K through 17 years of age?
$1,000,000     $630,125        $165,630       $516,360
9. Einstein said, 'God does not play _____.'
by the rules     poker      dice      backgammon
10. What former president wrote the children's book, 'The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer?'
Gerald Ford      Jimmy Carter       George Bush       Ronald Reagan
11. What is the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere?
Titania       Triton        Umbriel       Titan
12. What is a solecism?
ungrammatical usage or breach of good manners      two eclipses of the sun in one month
floor plan of a Christian church        witty remark or dirty trick
13. The term 'Uncle Sam' originated with a real person who was a supplier and inspector of military rations during what war?
Korean War      Civil War        War of 1812        World War I
14. In what Shakespeare play do you find the line, 'All the world's a stage...'?
Twelfth Night      Much Ado About Nothing       As You Like It        A Midsummer Night's Dream

15. Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the U.S., was editor, along with her sister, of the magazine 'Woodhull and Claflins Weekly' in the late 1800s. They were the first to publish an English translation of what?
Communist Manifesto      Ulysses        Lolita        Mein Kampf
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM… MINNEAPOLIS, MN
— A nurse who was supposed to sedate a patient before surgery instead took most of the painkillers for herself and told the patient to "man up" — giving him such a small dose of medication that he was writhing in pain on the operating table, according to criminal charges.
Sarah May Casareto, 33, was charged Wednesday with one count of theft of a controlled substance, a felony. She allegedly told officers she was addicted to pain medications.
According to the complaint, a man, identified only by his initials, went to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis on Nov. 8 to have kidney stones surgically removed. Part of the procedure involves inserting a tube into the patient's back and down into the kidney.
Before the surgery, a doctor told the patient he wouldn't feel pain. Patients are normally heavily sedated or asleep during the procedure.
But Casareto, a nurse anesthetist, allegedly told the man "you're gonna have to man up here and take some of the pain because we can't give you a lot of medication," the complaint said.
During surgery, the patient told doctors he was experiencing the worst pain, describing the feeling as "very long needles going through my skin and down into my kidney," the complaint said. The patient said he could feel someone holding him down, and heard one person ask about using restraints.
Meanwhile, hospital staff told police Casareto was distracted and disoriented, kept falling asleep, and was gesturing and talking loudly. One hospital technician told police the patient was screaming and moaning, and Casareto told him to "go to your beach . . . go to your happy place," the complaint said.
After the procedure, the technician found two syringes, with labels missing, in Casareto's pocket. A review of medial documents showed the patient only received about one-third of the Fentanyl he was supposed to get, while some of the drug was missing, the complaint said.
Hospital officials later found four empty syringes in Casareto's pocket and asked her to take a drug test. She refused, and resigned, the complaint said. Casareto did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press. Abbott Northwestern spokeswoman Gloria O'Connell said she couldn't discuss current or former employees.
"Any time there is a suspicious situation, we investigate it," she said "We have policies and procedures in place to protect the safety of our patients, which is our primary concern."
A LITTLE LAUGH…
When she got flowers from her husband on Valentine's Day, my daughter's friend quickly opened the card. All it said was "No." What did that mean?
She called her husband, who said, "I didn't attach any message. The florist asked if I had a message and I said, 'No.'"
Top 10 Famous People Who Didn’t Actually Exist…
Thanks to urban legends, pranks, and the use of pseudonyms, there have been a number of people who managed to get famous without having to go through the hassle of actually existing. Some were used for shady marketing purposes, others served as tools for building hoaxes, and one was even responsible for encouraging early medieval expeditions into Asia. In each case, the air of mystery that surrounded them only helped to build up their false celebrity. Here are the top ten famous people who didn’t actually exist:
10. Masal Bugoluv
It seems that every few years, rumors arise about mysterious athletes in obscure countries whose talents are guaranteed to change the future of sports. One of the most recent examples concerned Masal Bugoluv, a supposed 16-year-old soccer prodigy from the small eastern European country of Moldova. News of the phenom first broke on soccer blogs and forums, where Bugoluv was described as a surgical striker who already played for the Moldovan national team. Soon enough, the mainstream soccer media—known the world over for their tendency to play fast and loose with the facts—had picked up on the story. The popular website Goal.com posted news about the player, and in early January of 2009, even the Times of London was on board, listing Bugoluv as “Moldova’s finest” and linking him with a possible move to the famous English club Arsenal. But the more the rumors about “Massi” began to heat up, they more they became suspect. After some background checking and research, a soccer blogger named Neil McDonnell was able to prove the truth: Masal Bugoluv didn’t exist. In fact, the whole media whirlwind was all a hoax allegedly perpetrated by an Irishman who was fed up with the glut of fake information circulated during soccer’s transfer season. In order to test just how unreliable media outlets were, he’d decided to invent his own player. With the help of fake Wikipedia articles, blog posts, and falsified reports from the Associated Press, he created a cult following for what turned out to be the greatest soccer player who never was.

CLOSEUP PICTURE…
Can you identify this close up picture
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
¤…THIS WEEK…¤
6-12 ► Dump Your Significant Jerk Week ♥ Freelance Writers Appreciation Week ♥ International Coaching Week ♥ Jell-O Week
7-11 ► International Networking Week ♥ Just Say No to PowerPoint Week ♥ National Green Week ♥ National School Counseling Week
7-14 ► Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week ♥ Publicity for Profit Week ♥ Risk Awareness Week ♥ Love Makes the World Go Round; But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week ♥ World Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week
10-16 ► Celebration of Love Week ♥ Children of Alcoholics Week
¤…TODAY IS…¤
Be Electrific Day      ♥     Day Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day    ♥     National Inventors Day
National Shut-in Visitation Day      ♥     Pro Sports Wives Day       ♥     Satisfied Staying Single Day
White Shirt Day: 1948 as a way to honor the men and women who participated in the 1937 Sitdown Strike
Cameroon: Youth Day
Japan : Empire Day Japan : Foundation Day (660 BC)-accession of Emperor Jimmu
Liberia : Armed Forces Day
US: Florida : Gasparilla Carnival-remembrance of pirates
Vatican City: Independence Anniversary (since 1929 Lateran Pacts that established Vatican City as independent of Italy)
Today’s Births

○ AUTHORS/COMPOSERS
1802 Lydia Maria Child author/abolitionist (Juvenile Miscellany)
1657 Bernard Fontenelle French scientist/writer (Plurality of Worlds)
1917 Sidney Sheldon author: Bloodline, The Doomsday Conspiracy, The Other Side of Midnight
○ ATHLETES
1909 Max Baer [The Livermore Larruper] heavyweight boxing champion (1934-35)/actor (The Prizefighter and the Lady)
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Paul Bocuse, 85, chef
○ ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS/…)
Jennifer Aniston, 42, actress (“Friends,” The Good Girl)
Brandy, 32, singer, actress (“Cinderella,” “Moesha”)
Sheryl Crow, 49, singer, musician
1921 Eva Gabor Budapest Hungary, actress (Lisa-Green Acres, Gigi)
Taylor Lautner, 19, actor (Twilight)
Tina Louise, 77, actress (“Gilligan’s Island,” The Stepford Wives)
Sergio Mendes, 70, musician, bandleader
1922 Leslie Nielsen (Regina Sask), actor (Forbidden Planet, Naked Gun)
1940 Bobby "Boris" Pickett rocker (Monster Mash)
Burt Reynolds, 75, actor (Hooper, Deliverance, Cannonball Run, “Evening Shade”)
○ POLITICIANS
1921 Lloyd Bentsen (Senator-D-TX) (1988 Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee)
Sarah Palin, 47, 2008 vice-presidential candidate, former Governor of Alaska
1833 Melville Weston Fuller 8th chief justice
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1847 Thomas Alva Edison Milan OH, lit up your life (held 1200 patents)
1908 Vivian [Ernest] Fuchs geologist/explorer (British Antarctic Survey)
1821 Auguste Édouard Mariette French Egyptologist, (dug out Sphinx 12/16/42)
1800 William Henry Fox Talbot photographic pioneer
Today’s Obits
1976 Lee J Cobb actor (12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront), heart attack @ 64
1994 William Conrad actor (Cannon), heart attack @ 73
1650 René Descartes philosopher "I think therefore I am", pneumonia @ 53
1868 Léon Foucault discovered 1st physical proof of Earth's rotation MS @ 48
1554 Lady Jane Grey deposed Queen of England, beheaded after 9 day rule @ 17
1961 Patrice Lumumba 1st premier Congo, murdered @ 34
1899 George Morgan 1st English motorist to die in an motor accident
1997 Don Porter actor (Gidget), @ 84
1996 Bob Shaw science fiction writer, cancer @ 64
Today’s Events…
○ ARTS
1942 "Archie" comic book debuts
1960 Jack Paar walks off his TV show
○ ATHLETICS
1878 1st US bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, forms
1968 Peggy Fleming wins Olympics figure skating gold medal, Grenoble, France
1990 James "Buster" Douglas KOs Mike Tyson to win heavyweight boxing crown
○ BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1809 Robert Fulton patents the steamboat
1878 1st weekly Weather report published in UK
1958 Ruth Carol Taylor is 1st African-American woman hired as flight attendant
1987 British Airways begins trading stocks
○ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1715 The Tuscarora (Coree) Indians led by Tom Blount, sign a peace treaty with the English settlers in North Carolina.
1861 In Arizona, Lieutenant George Bascom has discovered the bodies of the six hostages that had been held by Cochise. The bodies are buried. Today, three of Cochise's relatives that Bascom held hostage, and 3Coyotero Apache prisoners are hung over the graves of the white hostages.
1978 The "longest walk" takes place to protest Indian treatment.
○ POLITICS (International)
1943 General Eisenhower selected to command the allied armies in Europe
1978 China lifts a ban on Aristotle, Shakespeare, & Dickens
○ POLITICS (US)
1861 US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state
1895 Georgetown became part of Washington DC
1953 President Eisenhower refuses clemency appeal for Rosenberg couple
1963 CIA Domestic Operations Division created
1993 Janet Reno selected by Clinton as US Attorney General
○ SCIENCE & RELIGION
1837 American Physiological Society organizes in Boston
1858 1st apparition of Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes France
1970 Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit
1989 The Rev. Barbara C. Harris, 55, of Boston, was consecrated as the first female bishop in the 450-year history of the Anglican Church.
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ANSWERS
Millionaire ANSWERS…
1. Twinkle, twinkle, little ____ , How I wonder what you are. star
2. When something unexpected happens you might say, 'that's the way the cookie' what? crumbles
3. Finish the ad slogan from the commercial in which Mean Joe Greene gives his football jersey to a kid: 'Have a coke and a ______.' smile
4. Who wrote, 'Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit?'
Henry David Thoreau
5. The HMV logo features Nipper the dog and the phrase 'his master's ______' voice
6. What is Madonna's record label? Maverick
7. Where would you find spotted dick? on a dessert menu (Spotted dick is an English boiled pudding made with flour, butter and currants or raisins which give it 'spots'. Delicious with English custard.
8. According to a turn-of-the-century US Department of Agriculture report, how much would food,) clothing, shelter and other necessities cost for a child born in Y2K through 17 years of age? $165,630
9. Einstein said, 'God does not play _____.' dice
10. What former president wrote the children's book, 'The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer?'
Jimmy Carter (and illustrated by his daughter Amy)
11. What is the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere? Titan
12. What is a solecism? ungrammatical usage or breach of good manners
13. The term 'Uncle Sam' originated with a real person who was a supplier and inspector of military rations during what war? War of 1812
14. In what Shakespeare play do you find the line, 'All the world's a stage...'? As You Like It
15. Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the U.S., was editor, along with her sister, of the magazine 'Woodhull and Claflins Weekly' in the late 1800s. They were the first to publish an English translation of what? Communist Manifesto
Picture….
Ms Pac Man
« AND THAT’S 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.