Ø TODAY’s “Geez”:
· 1848 - Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo
· 1923 - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics form
· 1942 - Anne Frank's family goes into hiding in After House, Amsterdam
· 1949 - Freak heat wave sent central coast of Portugal to 158°F for 2 minutes
· 1988 - North Sea oil platform Piper Alpha explodes, 166 die
Ø Free Rambling Thoughts…
Our much welcomed monsoons continue. Today it got very warm before the rain arrived. When it got here, things cooled off quickly. We had two nice storms, neither was a hard rain, and both lasted about 30 minutes +. So nice to live in Flagstaff. I have a little sunburn from yesterday. I put on SPF50 before going to the parade. I should have added some when I went to the party. Yesterday was good prep for my river trip. Now I know they mean it when they say, reapply every two hours. And I will. I’m also picking up some aloe vera gel for the trip.
I seem to be in the minority regarding the Casey Anthony trial. I accept the jury decision that there was enough reasonable doubt to not convict her. Her family appears to be so dysfunctional she need to be put in serious mental rehab, along with her mother and father. I once sat on a Grand Jury for 90 days. We only met once a week, so it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. We didn’t deal with reasonable doubt…all we heard from was the prosecution. It was an eye-opening experience for sure. I have never sat on a jury that determines guilt or not guilt. I do understand that the prosecution must provide evidence that shows guilt without reasonable doubt. So far this year, eleven children have drowned in family pools in AZ. None of the adults have been charged with anything. As far as I know, no one in AZ has found a drowned child, buried the child, and claimed kidnapping. This FL trial only became national news when people like Nancy Grace and Fox put it on the news every day. Those pundits could say anything they wanted; they would only show clips that fit their scenario. They were not in the courtroom, nor were they sworn in as jurors. All the people who are screaming about a miscarriage of justice need to remember that, no matter what they have heard or read, they didn’t sit in that courtroom every day and certainly didn’t hear everything. The lesson here is realize that what you see and hear in the ‘news’ always has an agenda these days.
Another oil spill. This one is on the Yellowstone River in Montana/Wyoming. I spent some time fishing on that river in my youth. It is really beautiful country. So sad for the wildlife. And again, the big oil company really has no idea what to do. The governor of MT happens to be a soil scientist. He has been asking for months if the high run off from Rockies is going to affect these pipelines that are underneath rivers in MT. He says that he was given assurances from the oil company bureaucrats that the company was ready for all scenarios. They were wrong and the Governor had warned them. When will we ever learn?
Be sure and catch the video on Pat Paulsen’s Birthday listing: His Editorials!
Ø Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)
1. In which state are the Catskill Mountains?
2. The Horseshoe Falls are part of which famous Falls?
3. Which city is the home of jazz?
4. In which state is the Sun Studio famous for its Elvis recordings?
5. Which Gulf lies to the south of Florida?
6. What day in November is Veterans Day?
7. Which Mile Island is home to a nuclear power plant?
8. Which Island is the smallest state of the Union?
9. Which President had a summer retreat at Kennebunkport?
10. Which state takes its name from Alayeska, "great land of the west"?
11. What is Hawaii's largest city?
12. In which city is Santa Monica Bay?
13. Which city has an area called Haight-Ashbury?
Ø Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)
Ø Hmmmmm…
· Chances that a Chinese criminal prosecution will result in a guilty verdict: 9 in 10
Ø Somewhat Useless Information…
· Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. It is not clear who actually designed it, but the experts at the Betsy Ross House suggest it was Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
· The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
· June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
· The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for "Uncle Sam". This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing the United States government.
Ø Yeah, It Really Happened…
Miami- A Florida Keys man was nearly stabbed in his sleep and had his nipple bitten by his girlfriend after she got mad at an ill-timed blonde comment, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
Patricia Shrader, 51, was arrested and charged with domestic violence and battery for the early morning incident that carried over from a Fourth of July celebration.
According to an arrest report, Shrader and her fiancé, Kerwyn Mearns, were drinking at a pool hall in Marathon when Mearns made a comment about his woman's new hairdo.
Shrader had recently added blonde highlights in her hair, and Mearns made a joke to a friend stating, "You're such a blonde," the arrest report stated.
The comment set Shrader off and she bit her beau on the right nipple without warning, deputies said. The blonde dispute didn't end there, and the argument continued when the couple got home.
As Mearns lay in the bed, Shrader went on the offensive again and stabbed the bed twice with a kitchen knife with an eight-inch blade, deputies said. The stab marks in the bed were "near the resting area of a person's head," the report stated.
Mearns told deputies he was never in fear of his life during the episode.
Ø Guffaw…or at least smile…
A lawyer was cross-examining the doctor about whether or not he had checked the pulse of the deceased before he signed the death certificate.
"No," the doctor said. "I did not check his pulse."
"And did you listen for a heartbeat?" asked the lawyer.
"No I did not," the doctor said. "So," said the lawyer, "when you signed the death certificate, you had not taken steps to make sure he was dead."
The doctor said, "Well, let me put it this way. The man's brain was in a jar on my desk but, for all I know, he could be out practicing law somewhere."
Ø Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…
Ned Beatty at the Hamptons Film Festival
Ø Daybook Information…
…Happening This Week:
· 1-4 International Chicken Wing Week
· 1-7 National Unassisted Homebirth Week
· 3-9 Be Nice To New Jersey Week
· 4-10 Freedom Week
Nude Recreation Weekend
Ø TODAY IS
· National Fried Chicken Day
· Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day
· Comoros: Independence Day (1975 from France: archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa)
· Lithuania: Day of Statehood (1253: first and only king coroneted)
· Malawi: Republic Day (1964 from Britain: landlocked country in southeast Africa)
·
Ø Today’s Events:
… IN ARTS
1928 - 1st all-talking motion picture shown in NY (Lights of NY)
1957 - Beatle John Lennon 1st meets Paul McCartney
… IN ATHLETICS
1920 - Yankees score 14 in 5th inning & beat Washington Senators, 17-0
1962 - Mantle hits his 3rd & 4th consecutive homer
… IN BUSINESS
1858 - Lyman Blake patents shoe manufacturing machine
1944 - 170 die in a fire at Ringling Bros Circus in Hartford Conn
… IN EDUCATION
▬
… FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1825 - The Cheyenne sign a "friendship" treaty (7 stat. 255) with the United States at the mouth of the Tongue River—a tributary of the Yellowstone River in Montana
… IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
1483 - England's King Richard III crowned
1560 - England/Scotland signs Treaty of Edinburgh
1652 - Fire on Dutch Dam (Amsterdam's city hall burns)
1917 - T E Lawrence captures Port of Agaba from Turkey
1945 - Nicaragua becomes 1st nation to formally accept UN Charter
… IN RELIGION
▬
… IN SCIENCE
1484 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
1885 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests an anti-rabies vaccine
… IN US POLITICS
1775 - Congress issues "Declaration of the Causes & Necessity of Taking up Arms," listing grievances but denying intent to be independent
1785 - Congress resolves US currency named "dollar" & adopts decimal coinage
1945 - Pres Truman signs executive order establishing Medal of Freedom
1970 - California passes 1st "no fault" divorce law
1983 - Supreme Court rules retirement plans can't pay women less
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS
1925 - Merv Griffin, TV host (Merv Griffin Show) game show creator
…ATHLETES
Fred Dryer, NFL- (NY Giants, LA Rams)/actor (Hunter) turns 65
Benita Fitzgerald-Brown, 100m hurdler (Olympic-gold-1984) turns 50
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Allyce Beasley actor turns 57
Ned Beatty, actor (Deliverance, Repossed, Network) turns 74
1918 - Sebastian Cabot, London, actor (Mr French-Family Affair, Time Machine)
50 Cent, American rapper turns 36
Shelley Hack actor turns 59
Burt Ward actor turns 66
Tamera and Tia Mowry, twin actress (Sisters) turn 33
Della Reese, singer/actress/minister (Della Reese Show, Touched by an Angel) turns 79
Sylvester Stallone, actor/director (Rocky, Rambo, Cobra) turns 65
… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS
▬
…POLITICIANS
George Walker Bush Jr, 43rd President of the United States (2001-09) and 46th Governor of Texas (1995-2000) turns 65
1747 - John Paul Jones, naval hero ("I have not yet begun to fight")
1923 - Nancy Davis Reagan, [Anne Francis Robbins], 1st Lady (1981-89) turns 88
…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS
1785 - William J Hooker, English botanist/director (Kew Gardens)
1896 - Thomas W McKnew, president (National Geographic Society)
Ø Today’s Obits:
1973 - Joe E Brown, comedian, dies after long illness at 80
2003 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor dies at 95
1962 - William [Harrison] Faulkner, US writer (Nobel 1949), dies of heart attack at 64
2009 - Robert McNamara, United States Secretary of Defense dies at 93
1535 - Thomas More, philosopher (Utopia), executed for treason at 57
Ø ANSWERS:
Ø Trivia Quiz
1. In which state are the Catskill Mountains?
a. New York
2. The Horseshoe Falls are part of which famous Falls?
a. Niagara
3. Which city is the home of jazz?
a. New Orleans
4. In which state is the Sun Studio famous for its Elvis recordings?
a. Tennessee
5. Which Gulf lies to the south of Florida?
a. Mexico
6. What day in November is Veterans Day?
a. 11th
7. Which Mile Island is home to a nuclear power plant?
a. Three Mile Island
8. Which Island is the smallest state of the Union?
a. Rhode Island
9. Which President had a summer retreat at Kennebunkport?
a. George Bush
10. Which state takes its name from Alayeska, "great land of the west"?
a. Alaska
11. What is Hawaii's largest city?
a. Honolulu
12. In which city is Santa Monica Bay?
a. Los Angeles
13. Which city has an area called Haight-Ashbury?
a. San Francisco
Ø Close Up Picture
Ø …AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
