5-9-11

TODAY’s “Geez”: 1913 - 17th amendment provides for election of senators by popular vote

Free Rambling Thoughts…

OK, I get it, Red Flag Warning. While it was sunny most of the day, one couldn’t enjoy the outside with the strong winds. I had to bring in all my deck decorations before they got destroyed. This kind of day is no fun, for sure. Tomorrow will be the same. No rain, just friggin’ wind and another Red Flag day. For those who don’t know about Red Flag Days it means low humidity, high winds, and a good chance for wildfire if anyone is careless.

It’s Mother’s Day and I hope everyone with Mothers was able to connect. I connected with my brother and for some reason, both of us have had our mom on our mind more than usual for Mother’s Day. We both miss her and my dad very much. Laura surprised her mom by flying into Chicago this morning. Very nice.

I am getting frustrated with posting on this site. Every so often, I do the blog and it won’t post, or will only post one sentence. I use three different browsers every day: AOL, IE9, and Chrome. When I upgraded to IE9, the blog just freezes up, so I moved to AOL. AOL is so out of touch with innovation, one still can’t simply zoom in like on Chrome or IE9. After trying AOL twice last night, and once this morning, I finally tried Chrome and it worked. The problem with Chrome is that my calendar and phone are synced to my gmail account..as required by Android. My blog uses a ymail account address, and Blogspot won’t accept gamil work as my default for the blog. That means that I have to sign in and out to post. I spent some time today looking for a new site to post on, but haven’t had any luck yet. Change is difficult.

I am officially tired to the bin Laden ‘event’ as it is now being called. The man was crazy and headed many many evil events. I am not sorry that he is dead. However, I also remember the photos on 9-11 and 9-12 that showed followers of bin Laden oversees cheering and celebrating the fall of the towers. I was appalled and angry by those photos. Then a week ago, when the news hit the American airways, people in our country were seen cheering and celebrating throughout the US. I’m sure those images were seen around the world. I get the eye for an eye mentality, that doesn’t make it right. I’m sure the followers were just as angry and as appalled when they saw our country celebrating. Obama did not come out of the White House to address the cheering crowds, and when he went to Ground Zero he laid a wreath and the entire process was done in silence. Obama gets it. It’s too bad more Americans don’t follow his lead.

Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of psot)

In 1998 who did Vanity Fair describe as "simply the world's biggest heart throb?"

Who first gave Buster Keaton the nickname Buster?

Arnold Bax said one should try everything once except incest and what?

What was Jean Harlow's first film?

Where did Bob Dylan first play in public?

Who did Joe Louis beat when he first became world champion.

How old was little Mo when she first won Wimbledon?

Which American said, "Boy George is all England needs; another Queen who can't dress?"

How did poet and critic John Berryman meet his death?

Wish singer wrote the novel Amy The Dancing Bear?

What do k.d. Lang's initials stand for?

Which Soviet was swapped for Gary Powers who was shot down over the USSR?

Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

Hmmmmm…

>Percentage change in the average value of an American home since 2006: -25

>Percentage change between 1929 and 1933: -25.9

The First Time…

Jean François "Blondin" Gravelet 1859 --- 1st person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

Jules Leotard 1859 --- world's 1st flying trapeze circus act. Performed at the Cirque Napoleon in Paris, without safety nets.

William Carney 1863 --- 1st African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor (on July 18,1863 at Fort Wagner, S.C.)

Rebecca Lee Crumpler 1864 --- 1st African American woman to receive an M.D. degree in the US. She graduated from the New England Female Medical College.

Somewhat Useless Information…

***A bubble, like a balloon, is a very thin skin surrounding a volume of air. The rubber skin of the balloon is elastic and stretches when inflated.

*** If you blow a bubble and close the opening by flipping the wand over, the tension in the bubble skin tries to shrink the bubble into a shape with the smallest possible surface area for the volume of air it contains.

*** Since bubbles always try to minimize surface area, two bubbles will merge to share a common wall. If the bubbles are the same size as the bubbles to the left, this wall will be flat. If the bubbles are different sized, the smaller bubble, which always has a higher internal pressure, will bulge into the larger bubble.

*** If you ever try to blow bubbles with just pure water, it won't work. The surface tension in plain water is just too strong for bubbles to last for any length of time. One other problem with pure water bubbles is evaporation: the surface quickly becomes thin, causing them to pop.

*** When two waves of light combine, the waves can meet each other crest-to-crest, adding up and reinforcing the effect of each other, or they can meet crest-to-trough, cancelling each other out so that they have no effect. When they meet crest-to-trough, for every "up" vibration in one wave, there is a corresponding "down" vibration in the other wave. This combination of equal ups and downs causes complete cancellation or interference. Interference is responsible for the color of bubbles.

*** If you let a bubble hang from a bubble wand for awhile, the interference colors begin forming horizontal stripes - because the bubble film is thicker at the bottom than at the top, forming a wedge shape. As the bubble drains, the wedge of bubble solution gets thinner and thinner.

Yeah, It Really Happened…

RENSSELAER, N.Y. - Police in New York state said a man who wrongly believed there was a warrant for his arrest jumped from a car, ran across train tracks and jumped into a river. Rensselaer police said a vehicle was pulled over on East Street for a possible traffic violation and a 21-year-old passenger, whose name was not released, ran from the car, ran across tracks near an Amtrak station and jumped into the Hudson River, the Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union reported Thursday. Police said the man, who was pulled from the water about 250 feet downstream, erroneously believed there was a warrant for his arrest. "He just took a swim for no reason at all," Deputy Police Chief James Frankoski said. The man, who was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for examination, may face charges of trespassing and resisting arrest, police said.

Guffaw…or at least smile…

The first day at my new health club I asked the girl at the front desk, "I like to exercise after work. What are your hours?"

"Our club is open 24/7," she told me excitedly, "Monday through Saturday."

Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

This Sony Gem

Daybook Information

…Happening This Week:

6-12 National Nurses Day and Week

7-15National Tourism Week:

8-14

National Hospital Week * National Nursing Home Week * Reading is Fun Week * Salute to Moms 35+ Week

9-15

National Return To Work Week * National Women's Health Week * National Etiquette Week * National Stuttering Awareness Week * Universal Family Week

«TODAY IS

Accountant's Day or Accounting Day

Armed Forces Military-Amateur Crossband Communications: SSB voice tests and copying the Secretary of Defense message via digital modes. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and short wave listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills and to receive recognition from the Secretary of Defense and/or the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise

Lost Sock Memorial Day

Mothers At The Wall Day

Romania: Independence Day (1877)

Russia: Victory Day (WWII and defeat of Nazis)

Israel: Yom Ha'Atzma'ut ( Independence Day)

Today’s Events:

… IN ARTS

1946 - 1st variety show on TV "NBC's Hour Glass," premieres

1961 - FCC Chairman Newton N Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland"

1992 - Final episode of "Golden Girls" airs on NBC-TV

… IN ATHLETICS

1958 - Botvinnik recaptures world chess championship

1984 - White Sox & Brewers play 8:06, game, longest timed baseball game

… IN BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC) between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh. It is the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail.

1754 - 1st newspaper cartoon in America-divided snake "Join or Die"

1868 - The city of Reno, Nevada, is founded

1874 - The first horse-drawn bus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, plying two routes

1887 - Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London

1925 - Cornerstone for Hebrew University, Jerusalem laid 1927 - Canberra replaces Melbourne as the capital of Australia

1932 - Piccadilly Circus, 1st lit by electricity

… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1735 - The first debate on "The Walking Purchase" takes place in Pennsbury. Thomas Penn and James Logan meet with Delaware Chiefs, including Nutimus and Tedyuscung.

… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1502 - Columbus left Spain on his 4th & final trip to New World

1671 - Col Thomas Blood attempts to steal Crown Jewels

1936 - Italy takes Addis Abba, annexing Absynnia (Ethiopia)

1994- South Africa's newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country's first black president

… IN SCIENCE & RELIGION

1899 - Lawn mower patented

1939 - Catholic church beatified the 1st Native American, Kateri Tekakwitha

1960 - US is 1st country to use the birth control pill legally

1965 - Luna 5 launched (USSR) 1st attempt to soft land on Moon (fails)

… IN US POLITICS

1862 - US Naval Academy relocated from Annapolis MD to Newport, RI

1914 - Pres Wilson proclaims Mother's Day

1945 - World War II: Hermann Göring is captured by the United States Arm

1970 - 100,000s demonstrate against Vietnam War

1977 - Patty Hearst let out of jail

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

1860 - James Matthew Barrie, Scottish novelist (Margaret Ogilvy, Peter Pan)

1916 – William Pene du Bois American author and illustrator of children's books (21 Balloons, Bear Party, Lion

1893 - William Moulton Marston, American psychologist, writer (co-creator, Wonder Woman)

…ATHLETES

Mike D'Antoni New York Knicks head coach turns 60 years old

1928 - Pancho Gonzales American tennis player; U.S. Open single's champion 8 times between 1953 and 1961

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Candice Bergen, Actress ("Murphy Brown"), turns 65

Albert Finney, Actor, turns 75Glenda Jackson, Actress, turns 75

Billy Joel, Rock singer, musician, turns 62

… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1910 - Barbara Woodhouse, dog training expert

Mike Wallace, Broadcast journalist ("60 Minutes"), turns 93

…POLITICIANS

1800 - John Brown American abolitionist; led raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 1859

John Aschroft, Former attorney general, turns 69

…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

1873 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (found King Tutankhamen's tomb)

1837 - Adam Opel, German manufacturer (cycling, motorcars)

Today’s Obits:

1657 - William Bradford, Governor (Plymouth Colony, Mass), dies at 67

1998 - Alice Faye, American actress dies at 83

2010 - Lena Horne, American singer and actress dies at 93

2004 - Alan King, American comedian dies of lung cancer at 77

1968 - Marion Lorne, actress (Aunt Clara-Bewitched), dies at 81

1931 - A[lbert] A[braham] Michelson, US physicist (1907 Nobel), dies at 78

2001 - James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) and producer dies at 82

1914 - C.W. Post, American food manufacturer commits suicide at 60

ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

In 1998 who did Vanity Fair describe as "simply the world's biggest heart throb?"

Leonardo DiCaprio

Who first gave Buster Keaton the nickname Buster?

Houdini

Arnold Bax said one should try everything once except incest and what?

Folk dancing

What was Jean Harlow's first film?

Hell's Angels

Where did Bob Dylan first play in public?

Gaslight Cafe, Greenwich Village

Who did Joe Louis beat when he first became world champion.

James J. Braddock

How old was little Mo when she first won Wimbledon?

Which American said, "Boy George is all England needs; another Queen who can't dress?"

Joan Rivers

How did poet and critic John Berryman meet his death?

Drowned himself

Which singer wrote the novel Amy The Dancing Bear?

Carly Simon

What do k.d. Lang's initials stand for?

Kathryn Dawn

Which Soviet was swapped for Gary Powers who was shot down over the USSR?

Rudolph Abel

Close Up Picture

…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

5-8-11 Mother's Day

TODAY’s GEEZ. : 1958 ~ Pres Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central HS, Little Rock

1958 ~ VP Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed & spat upon by protesters in Peru

MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Never get tired of writing—another beautiful day in Flag. While the wind did pick up in the afternoon, the rest of the day was great. I had planned to work outside, trimming the bush, and finding some outdoor color. Of course, tomorrow is probably going to be another Red Flag day.

This morning about 9am I got a call from my former boss and his wife, inviting me to lunch. We went to El Charro, a local small restaurant. The food was great, as was the conversation. Andy is busy as School Superintendent for Navajo Nation. The tribe is getting closer and closer to ‘state’ status’ from DOE, meaning that federal funding will go through the tribe, instead of AZ or NM or UT for all BIE, Grant and Public schools on the Rez. It’s still a couple of years down the pike, but moving right along. Faith is busy being the Reading Specialist at Jones Ranch. Both are happy and I even told Andy he needs to keep working until it happens. Two years ago I was telling him to retire, but he is so enthusiastic when talking, he just can’t walk away. They enjoyed my Borneo stories.

Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…] New Source!

Who said," I became one of the stately homos of England?"

Who said "An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do?"

How many days after Princess Diana's death was the death of Mother Teresa announced?

Who created the Mars bar?

Who twice lost presidential elections to Dwight Eisenhower in the 50s?

What would Diane Keaton's last name have been if she had used her father's name instead of her mother's?

Who was flying the plane in which the first US airplane fatality occurred?

Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964?

Who was dubbed the Brazilian Bombshell?

Who was the first Briton to win the US Open tennis title?

Who is the wife of Brian Blosil and mom of seven children?

What part of his body did Keith Richards insure of a million pounds?

-CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

Hmmmm…

~Percentage of married men and women, respectively, who believe they control the television: 24, 26

FIRST TIME…

Jim Hyer 1841 ~ 1st recognized boxing (fisticuffs) champion.

Antoinette de Correvont 1843 ~ 1st professional woman photographer. In 1843 she opened a Daguerreotype studio in Munich.

Elizabeth Blackwell 1849 ~ 1st woman to receive medical degree in US. (from the Medical Institution of Geneva, N.Y.)

Antoinette Brown Blackwell 1853 ~ 1st American woman ordained a minister by a recognized denomination (Congregational.)

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

~ In the summer, the amount of water pouring over Niagra Falls each second could fill 13,00 bathtubs.

~ A dairy cow produces about 100,000 glasses of milk in it's lifetime.

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - An Oklahoma city passed an amendment to its exotic animal ordinance to allow a local women to keep her disabled kangaroo if she meets a set of conditions. The Broken Arrow City Council amended the ordinance, which previously did not allow exotic animals in the city, to allow resident Christie Carr to keep Irwin the kangaroo if she meets conditions to be overseen by a review committee made up of veterinarians, exotic animal experts and wildlife sanctuary operators, the Tulsa World reported Thursday. The conditions include obtaining liability insurance, which Carr said has been taken care of by an anonymous donor, and ensuring the animal has a proper enclosure and veterinary care. Carr, a former volunteer at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary in Broken Arrow, said Irwin came home with her after suffering injuries including a broken neck and a brain injury when he ran into a fence post. She said Irwin was initially paralyzed by the injury but can now make a few hops before falling down. Carr welcomed the amendment. "It won't be as easy as it sounds," Carr said of meeting the conditions. "But it's not 'no.'"

A LITTLE LAUGH:

A preacher woke up one Sunday to find it was a fantastic spring day. The sun was warm, and the birds were singing. He decided that instead of going to church, he was going golfing. So he called in sick and headed out to the course.

He was playing very well and having a great time. Then he came to a dreaded par-4 hole. He hit the ball in a decent drive that started to fall well-short of the green.

Something amazing happened, however. A wind came up and blew the ball forward. The ball sailed over water traps and bounced around sand traps.

Finally the ball made it to the green. It rolled past the hole and then gently back around. For a second it teetered on the edge of the hole. Then it fell right in.

The preacher was stunned. He made a hole-in-one on a par-4! He started jumping up and down in excitement.

Up in heaven, an angel was watching this. The angel turned to God and said, "I don't get it. He skips church to go golfing, and you gave him an amazing hole in one."

God replied to the angel with a smile, "Who's he going to tell?"

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’:

MAD MAGAZINE TELEVISION SPECIAL

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫

1987 Inductee: Riley “B.B.” King has been called the “King of the Blues” and “Ambassador of the Blues,” and indeed he’s reigned across the decades as the genre’s most recognizable and influential artist. His half-century of success owes much to his hard work as a touring musician who consistently logged between 200 and 300 shows a year. More INFO

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.

♪…The Thrill Is Gone

♪… LIVE

DAYBOOK INFORMATION

«Happening NOW

2-8

Astronomy Week * Children's Book Week * Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week *

National Wildflower Week * Spring Astronomy Week * Teacher Appreciation Week * Work At Home Moms Week

6-12

National Nurses Day and Week

7-15

National Tourism Week:

8-14

National Hospital Week

National Nursing Home Week

Reading is Fun Week

Salute to Moms 35+ Week

«TODAY IS

Have A Coke Day

Mother's Day

National Miniature Golf Day No Socks Day

No Socks Day

Stay up All Night

Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation For Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War

V-E Day Anniversary

World Red Cross Day

Czech Republic Liberation Day

Slovakia Liberation Day

France Victory Day

Israel Yom Ha'Zikkaron ( Remembrance Day)

Today’s Events:

… ARTS

1823 ~ "Home Sweet Home" 1st sung (London)

1952 ~ Mad Magazine debuts

1978 ~ ABC TV airs "Stars Salute Israel at 30"

… ATHLETICS

1846 ~ 1st major battle of Mexican War fought at Palo Alto Texas

1878 ~ 1st unassisted triple play in organized baseball, by Paul Hines

1909 ~ Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6) Current Record~2:03:59

1967 ~ Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army

1984 ~ USSR announces it will not participate in LA Summer Olympics

… BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1847 ~ Robert Thompson patents rubber tire

1877 ~ 1st Westminster Dog Show held

1886 ~ Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells 1st Coca~Coke (contained cocaine)

1951 ~ Dacron men's suits introduced

1976 ~ The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

1999 ~ Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college

… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1725 ~ In one of the last battles of Lovewell’s or Father Rasle’s War, Pigwacket Indians defeat a British army under Captain John Lovewell at Fryeburg, Maine.

1820 ~ The Mi’kmaq Acadia First Nation reserve of Gold River is established in Nova Scotia. The Shubenacadie First Nation reserve of Indian Brook #14 is also set up.

1973 ~ Sioux AIM holding SD hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrender

… INTERNATINOAL POLITICS

1521 ~ Parliament of Worms installs edict against Marten Luther

1541 ~ Hernando de Soto discovers Mississippi River

1660 ~ English parliament declares Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England

1921 ~ Sweden abolished capital punishment

2007 ~ A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed under the leadership of Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party as First Minister and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin as Deputy First Minister

… SCIENCE & RELIGION

1926 ~ 1st flight over North Pole (Bennett & Byrd)

… US POLITICS

1792 ~ US establishes military draft

1858 ~ John Brown holds antislavery convention

1987 ~ Gary Hart quits democratic presidential race (Donna Rice affair)

… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…

1737 ~ Edward Gibbon, England, historian (Decline & Fall of Roman Empire)

1846 ~ Oscar Hammerstein, German opera/playwright

…ATHLETES

1932 ~ Sonny Liston, American heavyweight boxer

…BUSINESS & EDUCATION

David Attenborough, Environmentalist, turns 85

1786 ~ Thomas Hancock, founded British rubber industry

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Melissa Gilbert, Actress ("Little House on the Prairie"), turns 47

Gary Glitter, Rock singer, turns 67

Enrique Iglesias, Singer, turns 36

Don Rickles, Comedian, turns 85

Toni Tennille, Singer (The Captain and Tennille), turns 71

Alex Van Halen, Rock musician (Van Halen), turns 58

…POLITICIANS

1753 ~ Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, father of Mexican independence

Dennis DeConcini, Former U.S. senator, D-Ariz., turns 74

1884 ~ Harry S Truman, Lamar Missouri, 33rd US President

…SCIENCE & RELIGION

1916 ~ Swami Chinmayananda, Indian spiritualist

Today’s Obits:

2008 - Eddy Arnold, Country music star dies at 90

1773 - Ali Bey Al-Kabir, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt murdered at 45

1999 - Dirk Bogarde, British actor dies at 78

1975 - Avery Brundage, CEO (Intl Olympic Committee, 1952-72), dies at 87

1880 - Gustave Flaubert, French novelist dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 59

1819 - Kamehameha I, King of Hawaii dies at about 61

1873 - John Stuart Mill, great Empiricist philosopher, dies at 66

1994 - Cobina W "Coby" Molenaar, peace activist, dies at 88

1994 - George Peppard, actor (Breakfast at Tiffanys, A-Team), dies of pneumonia /lung cancer at 65

1999 - Dana Plato, American actress dies of OD at 34

ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

Who said," I became one of the stately homos of England?"

Quentin Crisp

Who said "An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do?"

Dylan Tomas

How many days after Princess Diana's death was the death of Mother Teresa announced?

6 days

Who created the Mars bar?

Forrest Mars

Who twice lost presidential elections to Dwight Eisenhower in the 50s?

Adlai Stevenson

What would Diane Keaton's last name have been if she had used her father's name instead of her mother's?

Hall

Who was flying the plane in which the first US airplane fatality occurred?

Orville Wright: Army lieutenant Thomas Selfridge rode along as his passenger, serving as an official observer. A few minutes into the flight at an altitude of about 100 feet (30 m), a propeller split and shattered, sending the aircraft out of control. Selfridge suffered a fractured skull in the crash and died that evening in the nearby Army hospital

Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964?

Martin Luther King

Who was dubbed the Brazilian Bombshell?

Carmen Miranda

Who was the first Briton to win the US Open tennis title?

Fred Perry

Who is the wife of Brian Blosil and mom of seven children?

Marie Osmond

What part of his body did Keith Richards insure of a million pounds?

Third finger, left hand