8-11-11

All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

‡     TODAY’s “Geez”:

¬ 3114 BC - The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Colombian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins

¬ 1885 - $100,000 raised in US for pedestal for Statue of Liberty

¬ 1965 - 6 day insurrection starts in Watts section of Los Angeles

¬ 1968 - Satchel Paige, 62, & needing 158 days on a major league payroll to qualify for a pension, is signed by Braves

¬ 1984 - 101,799 fans at soccer match Brazil vs France

¬ 1984 - Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owens' 1936 feat, wins 4 Olympic track golds

¬ 1988 - Al-Qaeda formed

‡     Free Rambling Thoughts…

A nice quiet day here in Flag. A little rain this afternoon cooled us down. So nice to have this great little town to live in.

Of course like any small town, we have our problems. A video was posted on FB by several people that shows the arrest of several demonstrators in downtown Flagstaff. There was a group protesting the destruction of our sacred peaks by using treated waste water to make artificial snow and the clear cutting that is taking place for the pipeline to get the water to that snow making machine. This demonstration took place the day before the one I talked about yesterday. These people appeared to be standing on the sidewalk outside several businesses on the south side of downtown. This area is known for having lots of free thinkers drinking coffee at Macy’s. Something happened, not on the video, that had police throw two protesters to the ground, cuff them and hall them off to our local hoosegow. It sure looks like the po-lice overstepped their duty to protect and serve. Their action makes this a much bigger issue than the peaks. Many are asking, and so far getting no answers, as to who issued the order to arrest the man and the woman. If it was one or two po-lice who did it, without orders to do so, why is their identity being kept quiet and why haven’t the po-lice announced that they are investigating the incident? Why hasn’t the news media questioned this seemingly unnecessary action? I fear that it is because our nice little town is racist. The protest had a lot of Young Natives and some non-Natives whom many would describe as ‘hippie-type’. The founding fathers gave us Freedom of Speech and the Freedom to practice our Religion.  Navajo, Hopi and many tribes have been going to the peaks for centuries to pray and find harmony. They don’t destroy the animals, the vegetation, or the peaks. They are simply praying and trying to find answers to the ways of the world. Many of those who attend a church building to pray and find answers would be horrified if nonmembers started throwing any water or man-made snow inside the building so that the nonmembers would make money. According to the bible, Jesus did a lot of his teaching outside, on mountains, in valleys, wherever people gathered. It is time for the entire community—the Federal and city government, the religious community, the John Q Publics, and everyone else to stand up and protect the Natives Sacred Land. No one should be involved in desecrating any religious place and no one should be arrested for peacefully demonstrating when it happens.

First they came for the communists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

 Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

 Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

 Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. 

~Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

I had seen some news on Rick Perry’s prayer meeting in Texas but didn’t pay much attention. Tonight I learned more than I ever wanted to know. The New Apostolic Reformation Movement is big and getting bigger. It is not like any evangelical movement I have read about. Somehow they see themselves the anointed ones to prepare the world for the rapture. That is much different than many who are preparing for the rapture. I’ll be doing some more research on this movement.

‡     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)

1.      Sam Ermolenko was a world champion in which sport?

2.      How old would Janis Joplin have been had she lived to the end of the 20th century?

3.      In the 80s Afghanistan was occupied by troops from which country?

4.      Which Texan city lies opposite Ciudad Juarez?

5.      In which state is Bucknell University?

6.      Junior Braithwaite was the original lead singer with which group?

7.      The Aga Khan is renowned as a breeder of which animals?

8.      Spiro Agnew was Vice President to which US President?

9.      Who wrote the best seller Shogun?

10.   Alfonso Bonilla Aragon international airport is in which country?

11.   Where was Mary Jo Kopechne found drowned?

12.   Why were Hope and Crosby "like Webster's Dictionary?"

13.   In which branch of the arts is Suzanne Farrell famous?

14.   Indiana's centenary of joining the Union was in which year?

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

‡     Hmmmmm…

¬ Rank of Communist China among the ‘greenest’ regimes in history, based on total atmospheric carbon reduction: 1

‡     Somewhat Useless Information…

¬ Last year Treasury printed more $100 bills than dollar bills for the first time. There are now more than seven billion pictures of Benjamin Franklin in circulation

¬ Thanks to technological advances, the average dollar bill now circulates for 40 months, up from 18 months two decades ago, according to Federal Reserve estimates.

¬ There was only one president that was a preacher -- James Garfield

¬ President Lincoln owned only one home during his lifetime -- in Springfield, Ill.

¬ Malcolm X's father was murdered, and his mother was committed to a mental hospital by the time he was 13.

¬ Malcolm considered his surname 'Little' a slave name and so then changed it to 'X', which represents his lost tribal name.

‡     Yeah, It Really Happened…

BARROWFORD, England - A British man who was struck by lightning said he credits a chance encounter with a metal sink with saving his life.

Kevin Holden, 61, of Barrowford, England, said he went outside in the rain to retrieve his golf umbrella and a blue flash threw him about 4 feet into the air while he was re-entering the house, The Sun reported Monday. Holden said he grabbed a stainless steel sink to steady himself and saw an arc of electricity shoot from his thumb to the basin.

"It was a brilliant flash of light. I could only think that I had been struck by lightning," Holden said. "I was lucky. I had a pair of trainers on but if I had bare feet it could have been very different.

"When paramedics came they were looking for an entry point and an exit wound but they said the lightning must have passed around my body. It must have traveled to earth down the sink," he said.

"I was lucky. I felt like I had hangover, my head was ringing."

‡     Guffaw…or at least smile…

Joe, a college student, was taking a course in ornithology, the study of birds. The night before the biggest test of the semester, Joe spent all night studying. He had the textbook nearly memorized. He knew his class notes backward and forward. Joe was ready.

The morning of the test, Joe entered the auditorium and took a seat in the front row. On the table in the front was a row of ten stuffed birds. Each bird had a sack covering its body, and only the legs were showing. When class started, the professor announced that the students were to identify each bird by looking at its legs and give its common name, species, habitat, mating habits, etc.

Joe looked at each of the birds' legs. They all looked the same to him. He started to get angry. He had stayed up all night studying for this test and now he had to identify birds by their LEGS? The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got.

Finally he reached his boiling point. He stood up, marched up to the professor's desk, crumpled up his exam paper and threw it on the desk. "What a ridiculous test!" he told the prof. "How could anyone tell the difference between these birds by looking at their legs? This exam is the biggest rip-off I've ever seen!"

With that, Joe turned and stormed toward the exit. The professor was a bit shocked, and it took him a moment to regain his composure. Then, just as Joe was about to walk out the door, the prof shouted out, "Wait a minute, young man, what's your name?"

Joe turned around, pulled up his pant legs and hollered, "You tell me, prof! You tell me!"

‡     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

MALCOLM X: OUR HISTORY WAS DESTROYED BY SLAVERY

‡     Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

7-13: International Clown Week / National Farmers' Market Week / Assistance Dog Week /

Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week / Knights of Columbus Family Week

8-14: Exercise With Your Child Week / Sturgis Rally

10-16: Elvis Week   

‡     TODAY IS

¬ Ingersoll Day: the birthday of Robert Green Ingersoll, to celebrate the life and works of one of the most popular freethinkers in US history.  

¬ Presidential Joke Day

¬ Son and Daughter Day

~*~

¬ Chad: Independence Day (1960 from France)

¬ Zimbabwe: Heroes' Day

‡     Today’s Events:

·        IN ARTS

1962 - Beach Boys release  "Surfin' Safari"

1963 - Kingston Trio are mystery guest on "What's My Line?"

·        IN ATHLETICS

1929 - Babe Ruth becomes 1st to hit 500 homers 

1948 - Summer Olympics opens in London

·        IN BUSINESS

1866 - World's 1st roller rink opens (Newport RI)

1874 - Harry S Parmelee patents sprinkler head

·        IN EDUCATION

1924 - 1st newsreel pictures of presidential candidates were taken

·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1802 - Tecumseh has predicted an earthquake. It happen and becomes known as the "New Madrid Earthquake."

·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1786 - Captain Francis Light establishes the British colony of Penang in Malaysia

1863 - Cambodia becomes French protectorate

1991 - 400,000 demonstrate for democracy in Madagascar, 31 killed

·        IN RELIGION

1978 - Funeral of Pope Paul VI

·        IN SCIENCE

1896 - Harvey Hubbell patents electric light bulb socket with a pull chain

1914 - John Wray patents animation

1951 - 100,000 acres flooded from Mississippi R in Ks, Okla, Mo & Ill

2003 - A heat wave in Paris results in temperatures rising to 112°F (44° C), leaving about 144 people dead.

·        IN US POLITICS

1860 - Nation's 1st successful silver mill (Virginia City, Nev)

1934 - 1st federal prisoners arrive at Alcatraz in SF Bay

·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

1921 - Alex Haley, US writer (Autobiography of Malcolm X, Roots)

1873 - John Rosamond Johnson, co-composer ( Lift Every Voice & Sing )

1892 - Hugh MacDiarmid, Scotland, writer (Scots Unbound)

Marilyn Vos Savant, writer/world's highest IQ (228) turns 65

·        ATHLETES

1778 - Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of turnverein (gymnastics) movement

1900 - Charles William Paddock, 100m runner (Olympic-2 gold-1920)

·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

1924 - Arlene Dahl, actress/TV panelist (Ambush) turns 87

1925 - Mike Douglas, talk show host (Mike Douglas Show)

Hulk Hogan, actor, wrestler turns 58

David Horovitch, English Actor (Miss Marple movies) turns 66

1902 - Lloyd Nolan, actor (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Peyton Place)

Pat McNamara , actor, turns 60

Aaron Miller, NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche) turns 40

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

Steve Wozniak, co-founder (Apple Computers) turns 61

·        POLITICIANS

1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis

·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

--

‡     Today’s Obits:

1919 - Andrew Carnegie, US steel industrialist/philanthropist, dies at 83

1973 - Peggy Castle, actress (Lily Merrill-Lawman), dies of cirrhosis at 46

1994 - Peter Cushing, actor (Star Wars, Dr Who), dies of cancer at 81

1984 - Percy Mayfield, US singer (Hit the Road Jack ), dies of heart attack at 63

1956 - Jackson Pollock, abstract artist, dies in auto accident at 44

2009 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, sister of John F. Kennedy dies at 88

1868 - Thaddeus Stevens, architect of Radical Reconstruction, dies at 76

‡     ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

1.      Sam Ermolenko was a world champion in which sport?

a.      Speedway (dirt bikes).

2.      How old would Janis Joplin have been had she lived to the end of the 20th century?

a.      56

3.      In the 80s Afghanistan was occupied by troops from which country?

a.      USSR—The reason the US did not participate in the Moscow Olympics

4.      Which Texan city lies opposite Ciudad Juarez?

a.      El Paso

5.      In which state is Bucknell University?

a.      Pennsylvania

6.      Junior Braithwaite was the original lead singer with which group?

a.      The Wailers

7.      The Aga Khan is renowned as a breeder of which animals?

a.      Racehorses

8.      Spiro Agnew was Vice President to which US President?

a.      Nixon

9.      Who wrote the best seller Shogun?

a.      James Clavell

10.   Alfonso Bonilla Aragon international airport is in which country?

a.      Colombia

11.   Where was Mary Jo Kopechne found drowned?

a.      Chappaquiddick

12.   Why were Hope and Crosby "like Webster's Dictionary?"

a.      They were Morocco bound

13.   In which branch of the arts is Suzanne Farrell famous?

a.      Ballet

14.   Indiana's centenary of joining the Union was in which year?

a.      1916

Close Up Picture

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.

‡     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW     ‡