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Today’s “Geez”
1864 - Colorado
militia kills 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians [Sand Creek Massacre]
1910 - The
first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest
Sirrine
1948 - 1st opera to
be televised, "Othello," broadcast from the Met (NYC)
1948 - KOB TV
channel 4 in Albuquerque, NM (NBC) begins broadcasting
1965 - Dale Cummings
does 14,118 consecutive sit-ups
1967 - Robert
McNamara elected president of World Bank
1994 - Seoul,
Korea, celebrated the 600th anniversary of its founding
♪♪ Happy Birthday To:♪♪
Free Rambling Thoughts
A beautiful day, but rain
and/or snow in the forecast for Thursday through Saturday. OK, it is December
and I’m ready for some snow. I ran some errands this morning after a nice
conversation with Bob and Laurie in Loveland. They had a great Turkey day using
Laurie’s new kitchen. Very nice. Laurie’s son, Chris, graduated last spring
from college and has gotten the travel bug. Right now he is in Hawaii for about
two months. He works about three months, saves his money, then travels for a
couple of months…then back to work to earn more money for travel. Good gig if
you can get it. He spent two months in Europe this summer.
I got some pics from
Milt, who was on our trip to Ethiopia. Very nice. I’ll add a few of them to my
movie.
Not a lot got done
today, but tomorrow will be different. I’ve got to start finding some Christmas
presents for family and friends. As I ran my errands I am starting to get in
the mood for Christmas, so that is good.
NPR Sunday Puzzle…(answers
at the end of post)
You will be given the name of a famous person
without the first and last letters of their first and last names. Find the
missing letters to add onto the name. For example, if you are given "err
row," the answer would be "Jerry Brown."
lady nigh:
all truther:
live ton:
arlo rand:
oh dam:
mine:
Wuzzles…What concept or
phrase do these suggest?
Rules of Thumb
Easy shortcuts to make
an ‘educated’ guess
- The internal temperature of the earth increases with depth. In most places, the temperature increases about 16 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet.
Hmmmmm
- Portion of Americans who think the death of Bsama bin Laden will make it easier to ‘win the globalwar on terror”: 2/5
Somewhat Useless Information
- The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621. Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter.
- The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians.
- All thirteen colonies did not, however, celebrate Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.
- In the mid-1800s, the poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday.
- During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, discussed the subject with Hale. In 1863 he gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.
- In 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Following much controversy, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains.
Yeah, It Really Happened
MANSFIELD, Ohio - An
Ohio dentist said he is aiming to prevent cavities by buying back Halloween
candy from trick-or-treaters at $1 per pound. Dr. Craig Callen said kids can
bring their candy to his Mansfield office and receive $1 per pound, with a
5-pound limit, and free toothbrushes in exchange for their trick-or-treating
loot, the Mansfield News Journal reported Monday.
Callen said he will
distribute as much as $1,000 and children who return candy will be entered in a
drawing for two bikes. "Visiting your dentist twice a year and brushing
your teeth are great preventive measures, but doing away with excess sweets
would really give your teeth a healthy boost," Callen said. "Kids can
have the fun of trick-or-treating, and now their piggy banks will benefit as
well." "Plus they get a nice new toothbrush and a goody bag of gifts
(limit one per child while supply lasts)," he said.
Guffaw…or at least smile
While walking down the
street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul
arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. ‘Welcome to heaven,'
says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom
see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do
with you.
‘No problem, just let me
in,' says the man.
‘Well, I'd like to, but
I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell
and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity. ‘Really, I've
made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the senator.
‘I’m sorry, but we have
our rules. ‘And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes
down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of
a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it
are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is
very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and
reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of
the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar
and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice
guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good
time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty
farewell and waves while the elevator raises...The elevator goes up, up, up and
the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
‘Now it's time to visit
heaven. ‘So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls
moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time
and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
‘Well, then, you've
spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.
‘The senator reflects
for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean
heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell. ‘
So St. Peter escorts him
to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the
elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and
garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and
putting it in bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him
and puts his arm around his shoulder.
'I don't understand,'
stammers the senator. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and
clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a
great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look
miserable. What happened? ‘
The devil looks at him,
smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning....Today you voted.'
Searchin’ “You Tube” I found
Daybook Information
…Happening This Week:
--
Today Is
- Electronic Greetings Day
- International Day of Solidarity with The Palestinian People [since 1978]
- Square Dance Day
~*~
Today’s Events
Arts
1825 - 1st
Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC)
1926 - W Somerset
Maughams "Constant Wife," premieres in NYC
Athletes
1934 - Chic
Bears beat Detroit (19-16) in 1st NFL game broadcast nationally
1987 - Joe Montana
of 49ers completes NFL record 22 consecutive passes
Business
1915 - Fire
destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California
1933 - 1st
state liquor stores authorized (Pennsylvania)
1953 - American
Airlines begins 1st regular commercial NY-LA air service
1972 - Nolan
Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful
video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, CA
1995 - CNN/fn, the
financial network by Turner Enterprises, launched
Education
1870 - Compulsory
education proclaimed in England
Indigenous People
1813 - A battle is
fought between Upper Town "Red Stick" Creeks, and the American forces
in the village of Autossee, in modern Macon County, Alabama. The Red Stick
Creeks suffer 200 fatalities, while the Americans post only eleven dead. The
village and its supplies are burned. The villages of Tallassee and Little
Tallassee are also destroyed.
1847 - Indians
kill Marcus & Narcissa Whitman, 11 settle in Walla Walla OR
1872 - The
Modoc War begins with the Battle of Lost River
Politics [International]
1596 - King
Philip II devalues Spanish currency
1745 - Bonnie
Prince Charlies army moves into Manchester & occupy Carlisle
1781 - The British
crew of the slave ship Zong murders 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea
in order to claim insurance
1893 - Ziqiang
Institute, today known as Wuhan University, is founded by Zhang Zhidong,
governor of Hubei and Hunan Provinces in late Qing Dynasty of China after his
memorial to the throne is approved by the Qing Government
1932 - USSR &
France sign no attack treaty
Politics [US]
1887 - US
receives rights to Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii
1942 - US
rations coffee
1961 - Freedom
Riders attacked by white mob at bus station in Miss
Religion
1349 - Jews of
Augsburg Germany massacred
1950 - National
Council of Church of Christ in US forms
1964 - Roman
Catholic Church in US replaces Latin with English
Science
1775 - Sir
James Jay invents invisible ink
1877 - Thomas
Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph
2007 - A 7.4
magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique. This affected
the Eastern Caribbean as far north as Puerto Rico and as south as Trinidad
Today’s Birthdays
Artists: [Authors, Composers]
1832 - Louisa
May Alcott, author (Little Women)
1918 - Madeleine
L'Engle, [Franklin], US, sci-fi author (A Wrinkle in Time)
David Reuben, author
(Everything You Wanted to Know about Sex) is 78
Athletes
Pedro A Martinez, pitcher
(NY Mets) is 43
Vin[ce] Scully,
sportscaster (NBC Baseball Game of the Week) is 84
Entertainers [Actors, Singers…]
Don Cheadle, actor is 47
Kim Delaney, actress
(All My Children, Tour of Duty, NYPD Blue) is 50
Diane Ladd, actress
(Wild Angels, Wild at Heart) is 79
1896 - Rod(erique)
La Rocque (La Tour), western actor (Beau Bandit)
Howie Mandel, comedian
(Dr Wayne Fiscus-St Elsewhere) is 56
Garry Shandling,
comedian is 62
Entrepreneurs & Educators
1923 - Frank
Reynolds, news anchor (ABC Evening News)
Political Figures
Jacques Chirac, French
politician is 79
1908 - Adam
Clayton Powell Jr, (Rep-D-NY)/minister
1928 - Paul Simon,
American politician
1895 - William V S
Tubman, (Whig), 17th Liberian president (1943-70)
Scientists & Theologians
--
Today’s Obits
1991 - Ralph
Bellamy, actor (Rosemary's Baby, His Girl Friday), dies at 87
1980 - Dorothy
Day, author (Stump the Authors), dies at 83
1954 - Enrico
Fermi, Italian/US nuclear physicist, dies of stomach cancer at 53
1646 - Laurentius
Paulinus Gothus, Swedish theologian and astronomer (b. 1565)
1986 - Cary
Grant, actor (Charades), dies at 82
1872 - Horace
Greeley, US founder/publisher (NY Tribune), dies at 61
2001 - George
Harrison, English singer, guitarist and songwriter dies of lung cancer at 58
1992 - Emilio Pucci,
Italian fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy), dies at 78
1999 - Gene
Rayburn, American game show host dies at 82
2007 - Roger Bonham
Smith, Former chairman and CEO of General Motors dies at 82
1981 - Natalie
Wood, actress (West Side Story), drowns at 43
1997 - Coleman
Young, 1st black mayor of a major city, dies at 79
Answers
NPR Sunday Puzzle
lady nigh: Gladys Knight
all truther: Sally Struthers
live ton: Oliver Stone
arlo rand: Marlon Brando
oh dam: John Adams
mine: Eminem
Wuzzle
Growing happiness
The top of the class
Drifts apart
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] the dates may not be totally accurate.
§ AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW §