3-23-11 Wednesday

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1925 Tennessee becomes 1st state to outlaw teaching theory of evolution 

­­______________________________________________________

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

The snow is gone. The sun is shining. The wind is gone. A nice spring day. I ran some errands, and didn’t have to have the heater in the car heat on at all.

On Friday we have our next discussion group. This time it is on the changes in Germany. Our moderator is a German-Canadian citizen who lives here in Flagstaff. It should be quite a good discussion. Tomorrow I’ll catch up on the reading assignments.

Back when I had my first throat surgery, the doctor suggested I get a humidifier for my bedroom. Flagstaff is a very dry climate—thus the ‘high desert’ moniker. I have been looking around for one but hadn’t found one that I liked. Today, I found one and will try it out tonight. Maybe it will help. I used to go to bed around 10:30 and get up about 6:30. I would get up once during the night on several nights a week, but not every night. I would wake up, stumble to the bathroom, and back to bed and fall right back to sleep. Since my surgery I wake up around 3am every night, take care of any business, which now includes taking my thyroid pill, and then have a hard time getting back to sleep. Even if I don’t take the pill, I have trouble getting back to sleep. I’m usually up by 7. I sure would be nice to be able to fall right back to sleep, and not wake up every single night. Time will tell.

My brother and his wife were in WI this weekend for a family cousin’s wedding. I looks like a great time was had by all from the pics that Laura’s little sister posted on FB. We texted each other when he got back to Miami and he agreed that it was a good time. The Italian family can sometimes have some drama, but not this time. My brother is busy and happy with his new employment.

If I had to live his lifestyle, I too would still be working, in order to ‘keep up’. In order to ‘keep up’ with the design business one must travel on your own dime, eat at high end restaurants, be seen at high end parties, and schmooze with other designers who are doing the same thing. I have met their business friends and they are all in the same boat. Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing the right thing is the lifestyle. I really enjoy it when we are together. I meet lots of really nice and interesting people who have mostly liberal thoughts, are active in world changing causes and enjoying it. I just wouldn’t want to do it all the time. They do kick back and enjoy themselves at times, but even that has to be scheduled and re-scheduled several times before it happens.  One of their friends, from Denver is a good example. We have all known each other since high school. She was a high school teacher, then a high school principal. On the side she got into real estate and home decorating. She retired from her principalship about four years ago—just like me. She continues her real estate business and her home decorating shop. The shop is actually three rooms of her beautiful house in an older section of Denver. It is an amazing shop, with really nice high end decor. She spends her time between running the shop—which is open only three days a week and her various charities that take her around the world. She is really happy and sees no way she can fully retire as the shop is what allows her to do her charities. Good for her.

______________________________________________________
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
>Murphy's oil (diluted) is also a great bird cage cleaner. It will dissolve all the bird droppings fairly quickly and there is no need for scrubbing so your bird cage finish lasts and lasts. Also, there are very few (if any) ingredients that are harmful to your bird than other cleaners.
>Save those plastic bags your newspaper comes in for a rainy day. They make great umbrella covers. Shove a bag in your purse or pocket before you leave the house. When you enter a car or building, take out the bag and slip your wet umbrella inside.
>I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared.  Fill a 4-ounce spray bottle and use it whenever I saw mosquitoes. And voila! It works at a picnic around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby.
>To clean up vomit was discovered by my husband Don when he was the only one in the family not sick and decorating the carpet.  He just threw a generous amount of kitty litter on it, let it dry completely, and vacuumed it up. Clean, no smell and no hard work.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

The popular beaded necklaces associated with Mardi Gras came into play in the 1880s when one of the Krewes dressed up a member as Santa Claus and had him toss out glass beads. It was such a hit that by 1900, beaded necklaces had become the Mardi Gras throw. Somewhere along the way, the glass beads got replaced by cheap plastic and aluminum beads.
***
The first Mardi Gras parade was staged in the United States in 1837. Supposedly there was just one float, which brought great joy to the people of New Orleans. Today, the city begins its cascade of parades the Friday before Ash Wednesday. The parades feature hundreds of different floats from the city's many parishes, each of which is sponsored by a
different Krewes, or club.
***
The tradition of Krewes tossing out handouts to parade onlookers dates back to Renaissance Europe, where lords and ladies would hurl mead and ale at revelers. Some historians believe the tradition has even more ancient
roots. Pagan peasants would toss grains at their fields in the springtime, as a show of gratitude to the deities for allowing them to survive the bitter winters.

PUZZLE:   Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]

1.   Paul Robeson the singer of 'Old Man River' was also a professional?
2.   What was the most played song on US radio, in the 20th century?
3.   Who composed the ballets 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'The Nutcracker'?
4.   Mstislav Rostropovich was a maestro on which instrument?
5.   The song 'How to Handle a Woman' comes from which musical?
6.   Who's band was The Quarrymen?
7.   What composer wrote the Pomp and Circumstance marches?
8.   What was the Rolling Stones first no. 1 hit?
9.   Vincent Furnier is better known as which famous singer?
10.       Which classical composer wrote the piece 'Hungarian Rhapsody'?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

GILBERT, Ariz. — Police say a bride was arrested at her own wedding reception near Phoenix after she kicked a police officer.
Police spokesman Hugh White said Monday that officers had to restrain 28-year-old Angela Davito around 9:30 p.m. Saturday after she became disorderly at the suburban Gilbert home where her reception was held.
Officers responding to a call found a large brawl in the backyard of the home and told everyone to stop fighting. But the commotion continued, and police officers pepper-sprayed the crowd. White says people then got angry and aggressive toward the officers and that Davito charged a partygoer.
He says Davito then kicked an officer and was arrested on charges of assault and obstructing governmental operations. It's unclear whether she has an attorney.

A LITTLE LAUGH: Headlines continue--spelling

"Boxer Pups AKC, 1M, 1F, Bread for Health and Temperament." (e-mail)

"[Paris Hilton] was probably going through cocaine withdrawls." Is she from the South? (Sunnyvale, Calif.)

"Our lunch menu [includes] a variety of hot entrees and tempting deserts." Presumably also hot. (Upper Saint Clair, Pa.)

"Vincent was a brawny Swiss ex-patriot." (San Jose, Calif.)

 "...those who acquaint shopping with charity." (Simsbury, Conn.)

Top 10 In The World:

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Roger Bannister breaks the four minute mile

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫ 2010 Inductee: The Stooges (Iggy Pop)

I never understood Punk Rock, but guess others did!
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
♪… I wanna be your dog
♪… The Passenger
______________________________________________________
DAYBOOK INFORMATION
►THIS WEEK◄
20-26►  American Chocolate Week  ♣  Consider Christianity Week  ♣  National Agriculture Week  ♣  National Animal Poison Prevention Week  ♣  National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  ♣  National Poison Prevention Week  ♣  Act Happy Week  ♣
21-27► Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Week  ♣  Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination  ♣   World Folk Tales & Fables Week  ♣  ‘Wellderly’ Week   (for elderly who don’t act their age)  ♣  Yo-Yo and Skill Toys Week  ♣

►TODAY IS◄

Kick Butts Day (stop smoking campaign)
National Chip and Dip Day
National Organize Your Home Office Day
National Puppy Day
Near Miss Day (since 1989 when an asteroid missed earth by 500,000 miles)
OK Day (to learn the history and myth of the term ‘OK’)
World Meteorological Day
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Bolivia: Day of the Sea (for battle with Chile in 1879 over a port)
Bolivia : Memorial Day
Laos : Armed Forces Day
Lithuania : Independence Day (1918)
Pakistan : Republic Day (1956)
Sudan: Independence Day (1956) 
US:Liberty Day (5^th graders around the country learn about the constitution)

■…AUTHORS/COMPOSERS/ARTISTS

1904 H. Beam Piper, American science fiction author
Jim Trelease, 70, American educator and children's literature author (Read-Aloud Handbook)
Gary Whitehead, 46, American poet
■…ATHLETES
Dr. Roger Bannister, 82, distance runner, broke the four-minute-mile record in 1954
Jason Kidd, 38, basketball (Mavericks, Suns, Nets)
Moses Eugene Malone, 57, Hall of Fame basketball (76ers, Bucks, Spurs, Rockets, Hawks)
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1876 Sir Muirhead Bone Glasgow Scotland, etcher/engraver of architecture 
Kenneth Cole, 57, American fashion designer
Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira ), 33, gossip columnist, blogger
■…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS)
Louie Anderson, 58, comedian, actor (“Life with Louie”)
1904 Joan Crawford (Lucille Fay LeSueur) Academy Award-winning actress
1857 Fannie Farmer actress (namesake of a candy company) 
Chaka Khan (Yvette Marie Stevens), 58, singer
1912 John Payne actor (Dodsworth, Razor's Edge) 
■…POLITICIANS
1823 Schuyler Colfax 17th Vice President (1869-73) 
1887 Felix Felixovitch Yussupov Russian prince/murderer of Rasputin 
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1769 William Smith geologist (Strata Identified by Organized Fossils) 
1900 Erich Fromm German psychologist (Sane Society) 
1912 Wernher von Braun scientist: developer of WWII German V-2 rocket, head of U.S. Army missile team; technological leader of American space program

Today’s Obits:

1983 Dr Barney Clark 1st artificial heart recipient, dies after 112 days @ 62 
1964 Peter Lorre actor, stroke @ 59 

Today’s Events:

■…ARTS
1743 George Frideric Händel's oratorio "Messiah" premieres in London 
1891 1st jazz concert was held at Carnegie Hall 
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS
1973 Concentration, the longest-running game show in television history, starring Hugh Downs, left the air after 15 years on NBC
1985 We Are the World, by USA for Africa, a group of 46 pop stars, entered the music charts for the first time at number 21.
■…ATHLETICS
1972 Evil Knievel breaks 93 bones after successfully clearing 35 cars 
1993 New York Knicks & Phoenix Suns get into a major brawl 
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1839 1st recorded use of "OK" [oll korrect] (Boston's Morning Post) 
1857 Elisha Otis' 1st elevator installed (488 Broadway, NYC) 
1880 Flour rolling mill patented (John Stevens of Wisconsin) 
1912 Dixie Cup invented 
■…INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1730 Sir Alexander Cuming holds a conference with 300 Cherokee Chiefs. Using threats and gifts, Cuming will get the Cherokees to agree to acknowledge King George II of England as their sovereign.
1889 President Harrison opens Oklahoma for white colonization 
■…POLITICS (International)
1708 English pretender to the throne James III lands at Firth of Forth 
1976 International Bill of Rights goes into effect (35 nations ratify) 
■…POLITICS (US)
1775 Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death" 
1806 Lewis & Clark reach Pacific coast 
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1066 18th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet 
1840 Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype) 
1966 1st official meeting after 400 years of Catholic & Anglican Church 
1889 President Harrison says part of Oklahoma will be opened to the public.
_____________________________________________________
ANSWERS:
Quiz
1     Paul Robeson the singer of 'Old Man River' was also a professional?
Lawyer
2     What was the most played song on US radio, in the 20th century?
You've Lost That Loving Feeling
3 Who composed the ballets 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'The Nutcracker'?
Tchaikovsky
4 Mstislav Rostropovich was a maestro on which instrument?
Cello
5 The song 'How to Handle a Woman' comes from which musical?
Camelot
6 Who's band was The Quarrymen?
John Lennon
7 What composer wrote the Pomp and Circumstance marches?
Edward Elgar
8 What was the Rolling Stones first no. 1 hit?
It’s All Over Now
9 Vincent Furnier is better known as which famous singer?
Alice Cooper
10 Which classical composer wrote the piece 'Hungarian Rhapsody'?
Franz Liszt 
Close Up Picture
Fishing Net

_______________AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW_________________