TODAY’s “Geez”: 1866 - US Treasury Dept authorizes nickel
Free Rambling Thoughts…
It was a red flag day today, meaning that only my downstairs windows got washed. When the wind stops….positive thinking… then I will do the upstairs’ windows. The only thing good about today’s wind is that it was always from one direction. So there was ‘swirling’. Usually our parking lot is fairly empty on a weekend, but not today. Many just stayed home, as there was no place to go around here that wasn’t really windy.
I don’t know a lot about Pakistan. I do know that several motels in Flag are run by Pakistanis. The Pakistanis I have known were Hindus. They have been nice to me when stayed at the hotels when I was working. They all had children who were ESL students; they all celebrated Hindu holidays and always told me about their various celebrations. Their food was very spicy, and good. Curry was certainly used a lot. They had all come to the US, some with several generations, for a better life. Now that the US has determined that the government is not that friendly to us, I figured it was time to learn more than the fact that the country was formed after WWII and that India is their enemy. So I learned that Pakistan comes from the indigenous word for “pure”. It’s full name is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. About 97% of the country is Islam—with the Sunni is the vast majority, the Shi’a are about 20% of the Muslims, Hindus are about 1.6% of the population, Christians are about 1.6% and Sikhs make up about 0.001%. In 2009 the literacy rate for males was about 70%; for females about 45%. It is the sixth most populous country in the world and the second largest Muslim country. By 2030 it is expected to have the world’s largest Muslim population, pushing Indonesia to second. So much more to learn…
Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of psot)
Boris Karloff starred as which monster in one of the first horror movies?
Arnold Schwarzenegger married the niece of which US president?
Which actress, born Ruth Elizabeth Davis, was the first female president of the academy of motion Picture Arts & Sciences?
In which city did Steve McQueen take part in the car chase in Bullitt?
Which screen great was Lauren Bacall married to at the time of his death?
Who found fame as Alfie?
In which country was Cary Grant born as Archie Leach?
Which dancing duo's first film together was called Flying Down to Rio?
Rebel Without A Cause made a star of which actor whose life was cut short in a car accident?
In which movie did Alex Guinness first appear as Ben Obi Wan Kenobi?
What was the name of Michael Douglas's father?
Which Jack won an Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)
Hmmmmm…
>Median income in NY-14, the country’s wealthiest congressional district: $60,099
>Median income of NY-16, the country’s poorest: $17,995
The First Time…
1890 --- 1st woman elected to full membership in the American Institute of Architects: Louise Blanchard Bethune
1890 --- 1st criminal to be executed by electrocution (in Auburn Prison, Auburn, N.Y., Aug. 6): William Kemmler
1891 --- Architect of 10 story Wainwright Building, the 1st skyscraper: Louis Henry Sullivan
1892 --- 1st (and only) US President to win election to nonconsecutive terms. He defeated Benjamin Harrison: Grover Cleveland
Somewhat Useless Information…
+++In prehistoric China tea was probably used as a relish and as a medicine. Tea was first brewed as a medicine around 2700 B.C. in the western mountains of China. Tea was likely seen as healthy in part because it was made with boiled water, which is safer to drink in an area of contaminated water.
+++Tea drinking, and commercial cultivation, spread during the T'ang Dynasty, 618–907, especially after a Buddhist monk, Lu Yu, wrote a book on the virtues of tea, Ch'a Ching. Tea gradually became one of the seven basic necessities of Chinese life. (The others are fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
++A Japanese Buddhist priest, Saicho, is credited with introducing tea to Japan, when he returned from a visit to China in 805. In Japan tea drinking was considered medicinal, and became closely associated with Zen Buddhism.
++Dutch explorers became acquainted with tea in the 1590s and were soon importing tea to Europe. In 1657 the British East India Company held the first public sale of tea in England, while that same year Thomas Garraway began offering tea at his London coffee house.
++In 1662 tea received a big boost in England when the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, married King Charles II and introduced tea drinking to the British court.
++The British fell in love with tea, and with the sugar that went in it. In 1665, less than 88 tons of sugar was imported to Great Britain. By 1700, it had increased to 10,000 tons of sugar. In 1768 the East India Company imported 10 million pounds of tea to Britain.
Yeah, It Really Happened…
NEW YORK - New York City is resorting to images of skeletons to scare drivers into obeying its 30 mph speed limit. The city Transportation Department announced Thursday it will put up speed boards -- the radar-equipped signs that tell drivers their speed -- this summer that will flash LED skeletons when they spot cars going over the limit, The New York Times reported. The skeleton is a bony incarnation of the pedestrian stick figure that flashes on crosswalk lights. A "That's Why It's 30" campaign on bus shelter ads and television spots already uses skeletons to warn that speeding endangers pedestrians. Mayor Michael Bloomberg likened the signs to cigarette packs overseas that sport skulls and crossbones to warn of cancer. "Unless you make it graphic, people don't get the message," he said.
Guffaw…or at least smile…
The stockbroker received notice from the IRS that he was being audited. He showed up at the appointed time and place with all his financial records, and then sat for what seemed like hours as the accountant pored over them.
Finally the IRS agent looked up and commented, “You must have been a tremendous fan of Sir Arthur Doyle”
“Why would you say that?” wondered the broker.
“Because you’ve made more brilliant deductions on your last three returns than Sherlock Holmes made in his entire career.”
Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…
Daybook Information
…Happening This Week:
15-21
National Dog Bite Prevention Week * National New Friends, Old Friends Week * National Police Week * National Transportation Week * World Trade Week * EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week * American Craft Beer Week * National Bike to Work Week *
«TODAY IS
Biographer's Day
National Sea Monkey Day
Wear Purple For Peace Day
Canada: Victoria Day: To honor Queen Victoria
Today’s Events:
… IN ARTS
1763 - Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer James Boswell in London
1836 - Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia
1946 - Musical "Annie Get Your Gun," starring Ethel Merman premieres in NYC
… IN ATHLETICS
1914 - American Horseshoe Pitchers Assn organizes in Kansas City
1985 - Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year
… IN BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1894 - Fire in Boston destroys baseball stadium & 170 other buildings
1965 - Spaghetti-O's 1st sold
… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1760 - Creek warrior Chief Hobbythacco (Handsome Fellow) has often supported the English, but, at the outbreak of the Cherokee war, he decides to support the Cherokees. He leads an attack on a group of English traders in Georgia. Thirteen of the traders are killed during the fighting. Creek Chief "The Mortar" also participates in the fighting.
… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1527 - Florence becomes a republic
1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns as English Lord Chancellor
1568 - Mary Queen of Scotland flees to England
1606 - 2,000 foreigners murdered in Russia
1792 - Denmark abolishes slave trade
1991 - Queen Elizabeth becomes 1st British monarch to address US congress
… IN SCIENCE & RELIGION
1911 - Remains of a neanderthal man found in Jersey UK
1920 - Joan of Arc (Jean D'arc) canonized a saint
… IN US POLITICS
1861 - Kentucky proclaims its neutrality
1868 - By one vote, Senate fails to impeach President Andrew Johnson
1910 - US Bureau of Mines forms
1918 - The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government an imprisonable offense
1939 - Food stamps are 1st issued
1988 - US Supreme Court rules trash may be searched without a warrant
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
--
…ATHLETES
1928 - Billy Martin American professional baseball player and manager
Olga Korbut, Gymnast, turns 56
Gabriela Sabatini, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 41
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Pierce Brosnan, Actor, turns 58
1905 - Henry Fonda, actor (Mr Roberts, On Golden Pond)
Megan Fox, Actress, turns 25
1913 - Woody Herman, jazz clarinetist/bandleader/composer (Thundering Herds)
Tori Spelling, Actress ("Beverly Hills 90210"), turns 38
Debra Winger, Actress, turns 56
… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
1832 - Philip Armour American entrepreneur; headed the Armour meatpacking enterprises
1804 - Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, educator/founder (US kindergarten)
Lowell Weicker, Former Connecticut governor and U.S. senator, turns 80
…POLITICIANS
1801 - William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State, bought Alaska at 2 ¢/acre
…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
1831 - David Edward Hughes, inventor (microphone, teleprinter)
Today’s Obits:
1955 - James Agee, US critic/writer (Death in Family), dies of heart attack at 45
583 - Saint Brendan, Irish navigator dies at 99
1864 - Lean Bear, Cheyenne chief, murdered while welcoming US Army
1990 - Sammy Davis Jr, singer/actor (Golden Boy), dies of throat cancer at 64
1985 - Margaret Hamilton, actress (Wicked Witch-Wizard of Oz), dies at 82
1990 - Jim Henson, puppeteer (Sesame Street, Muppet Show), dies of septic shock at 53
1984 - Andy Kaufman, comedian (Latka-Taxi), dies of cancer at 35
1920 - Levi P. Morton, United States Vice President under Benjamin Harrision dies at 96
1677 - Mugg, Arosaguntacook Indian Chief, dies [At the outset of King Philip's war, Mugg attempted to arrange a peace treaty with the British. Instead they jail him for a short time, and gain a bitter enemy. He destroys much of Black Point, Maine in a raid on October 12, 1676]
1957 - Eliot Ness, American federal agent dies of heart attack at 54
1703 - Charles Perrault, author/fairy tale writer, dies at 75
1956 - H. B. Reese, American founder of Reese's dies at 80
1984 - Irwin Shaw, US writer (Rich Man, Poor Man), dies of cancer at 71
ANSWERS:
Trivia Quiz
Boris Karloff starred as which monster in one of the first horror movies?
Frankenstein
Arnold Schwarzenegger married the niece of which US president?
John F. Kennedy
Which actress, born Ruth Elizabeth Davis, was the first female president of the academy of motion Picture Arts & Sciences?
Bette Davis
In which city did Steve McQueen take part in the car chase in Bullitt?
San Francisco
Which screen great was Lauren Bacall married to at the time of his death?
Humphrey Bogart
Who found fame as Alfie?
Michael Caine
In which country was Cary Grant born as Archie Leach?
England
Which dancing duo's first film together was called Flying Down to Rio?
Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers
Rebel Without A Cause made a star of which actor whose life was cut short in a car accident?
James Dean
In which movie did Alex Guinness first appear as Ben Obi Wan Kenobi?
Star Wars
What was the name of Michael Douglas's father?
Kirk
Which Jack won an Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
Nicholson
Close Up Picture
…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
