Cinco de Mayo


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Todays  Historical  Highlights
Pulitzer Prizes awarded today
1926 - Sinclair Lewis refuses his Pulitzer Prize (Arrowsmith)
1947 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Robert Penn Warren (All the King's Men)
1952 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Herman Wouk (Caine Mutiny)
1969 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Norman Mailer (Armies of the Night)
1975 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Michael Shaara (Killer Angels)
à
1847: American Medical Association organized (Philadelphia)
1865: 1st US train robbery (North Bend Ohio)
1877: Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles
1920: US Pres Wilson makes Communist Labor Party illegal
1925: John T Scopes arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee
1925: Afrikaans is established as an official language in South Africa
1961: Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7)

 Free Rambling Thoughts   
A great day in Flagstaff…sunny all day. I ran lots of errands this morning. I went to the cable company to get my necessary box to watch TV after June 12. Turns out I only needed one box for my old TV…the others are flat screens and will work just fine. Then I found out I could get a cable box for my office TV which lets me have all my channels for $5 a month. I wasn’t going to pay more, but alas, they gave me a new rate that was $15/month cheaper, so I got the box and am saving $10/month. Not bad. And HDTV in the office sure is nice. Too make it even better, I now have a guide listing of shows available, so no more looking on the computer to see what’s on.

Strange news from all the news organizations the last few days. Information from bin Laden raid say that he had plans to kill a number of US officials. Well, duh…first, we were at war with him; second, we were out to kill all their leaders. I even remember a deck of cards with all their pictures. I’m just surprised this is news. War, not matter who is involved includes plans to kill as many as possible…the US is not exempt from this..

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Complete a familiar three-word phrase that takes the form "blank of blank." You are given the first word and must guess the last. The answer begins with the letter A. For example, given "law," the answer is "averages," as in "law of averages."
1.      Coat: of
2.     Bard: of
3.     Africa: ___ of Africa
4.     Joan: of
5.     Plan: of
6.     Voice: of
7.     Rock: of
8.     Seal: of
9.     Court: of
10.  Power: of
11.    Lawrence: of
12.   Article: of
13.   Age: of
14.   Timon: of
15.   Center: of
16.   Round: of

Riddle of the day
I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody.
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Date on which Obama said that donations from lobbyists ‘don’t contribute to the public interest’: 8/4/2007Minimum amount Obama 2012 campaign has so far accepted from bundlers connected to lobbyists: $2,800,000
Found on You Tube 
 Gandhi Speech      
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
A couple is dressed and ready to go out for the evening. They phone for a cab, turn on a night light, cover their pet parakeet and put the cat out in the back yard.
 The taxi arrives, and they open the front door to leave. Suddenly the cat they put out scoots back into the house. They don't want the cat shut in there because she always tries to eat the bird. The wife goes out to the taxi while the husband goes back in. The cat runs upstairs, with the man in hot pursuit.
 The wife doesn't want the driver to know the house will be empty. She explains to the taxi driver that her husband will be out soon. "He's just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother."
 A few minutes later the husband gets into the cab.
 "Sorry I took so long," he says, as they drive away. "Stupid hag was hiding under the bed. Had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! Then I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked. I hauled her fat butt downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!
 The cab driver hit a parked car.
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
Returns tomorrow
Yeah, It Really Happened
NEW YORK:  After being pulled over for speeding, a motorcyclist clocked traveling at speeds up to 170 miles per hour on the New York State Thruway reportedly was anything but remorseful. When told how fast he was going, he allegedly told troopers on Wednesday his bike could easily top 190 miles per hour, the troopers said.
Nikkolaus McCarthy, 25, was first spotted by a state trooper heading south on the Thruway just before 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the village of Ravena, N.Y., according to the New York State Police. The trooper noted his speed at the time -- 166 mph -- as well as the license plate number of his Suzuki motorcycle as it slowed down in traffic.
But after McCarthy sped up again, the trooper didn't follow him, instead giving out a description over the air. McCarthy was clocked by other troopers at other
locations going between 150 and 170 mph.
Twenty minutes and 50 miles later, in New Paltz, N.Y., troopers were able to stop McCarthy when he slowed down in traffic. After being pulled over, McCarthy told the troopers he was low on gas; when he was advised of his speed, he told them his motorcycle could go over 190 mph, WHEC reported.
McCarthy was arrested and charged with fleeing police, reckless driving, speeding and operating out of class because he didn't have a motorcycle license. He's being held on $20,000 bail in the Albany County Correctional Facility.             

Somewhat Useless Information   
One of the four areas of taste on our tongue is salt, which has been used as a food preservative since pre-refrigeration days. Scientists have also determined that the human body requires at least three grams of salt per day for things like proper temperature regulation, so we've developed a certain craving for salt as a matter of evolution.
Black pepper is indigenous to India but found its way to Rome in the first century B.C.E. Prior to that time, much of the available food was on the bland side, so a sprinkle of pepper gave otherwise plain fare a new zest. A heavier dose of pepper helped to camouflage the taste of spoiled food, which was a common problem in warm climates.
Ketchup originated in Asia as a pickled fish sauce called "ke-tsiap" and was comprised of anchovies, mushrooms, walnuts, and kidney beans. When British seamen brought the stuff home with them, they Anglicized the name first to "catchup" and then "ketchup." When the recipe made its way across the Atlantic in the late 1700s, New Englanders added tomatoes to the mix.
Mustard gas doesn't contain any mustard; the weapon is made up of chemicals that give it a mustardy smell and a brownish-yellow color, which is how it got its name.
When Best Foods bought the Hellman's brand in 1932, the latter already had solid name recognition in the eastern states. As a result, today the company's mayonnaise west of the Rockies is labeled Best Foods, while east of that area, it's still known as Hellman's.
Edmund McIlhenny originally packaged his famous Tabasco Hot Pepper Sauce in old cologne bottles capped with sprinkler-type fittings. The sauce was so hot (for that time) that he wanted to make sure folks sprinkled small amounts of it on their food, rather than pouring it on.

Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
1-7
Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week
Update Your References Week

Today Is                                                                      
Armed Forces Day Military-Amateur Crossband Communications Day
Bladder Cancer Awareness Day
Cartoonists Day
Childhood Stroke Awareness Day
Cinco de Mayo
In 1861 the liberal Mexican Benito Juárez (1806-1872) became president of a country in financial ruin, and he was forced to default on his debts to European governments. In response, France, Britain and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, ruled by Napoleon III (1808-1873), decided to use the opportunity to carve a dependent empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.
Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza's success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement. Six years later—thanks in part to military support and political pressure from the United States, which was finally in a position to aid its besieged neighbor after the end of the Civil War—France withdrew. The same year, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico by Napoleon in 1864, was captured and executed by Juárez's forces. Puebla de Los Angeles was renamed for General Zaragoza, who died of typhoid fever months after his historic triumph there.
Many people outside Mexico mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla. That event is commemorated on September 16, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s famous “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”), a call to arms that amounted to a declaration of war against the Spanish colonial government in 1810.
Free Comic Book Day
International Midwives' Day
Join Hands Day
Kentucky Derby
National Hoagie Day
National Homebrew Day
National Scrapbooking Day
Totally Chipotle Day

Liberation Day (Netherlands: 1945 from Nazi’s by Canada and others)
Patriots Victory Day (Ethiopia: 1941 from Italians)

Todays Other Events                                                             
1200’s
1260: Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire
à
1400’s
1430: Jews are expelled from Speyer Germany
à
1700’s
1763: Near Fort Detroit, Ottawa Chief Pontiac addresses a group of Huron, Ottawa, and Potawatomi warriors. He asks them to join him in his fight against the British.
1780: 2nd oldest learned society in US (American Academy of Arts & Sciences) forms (Boston)
1800’s
1800: William Augusta Bowles is an adventurer in the southeastern part of the United States. With Creek and Cherokee supporters, he proclaims a new nation, Muscogee, out of lands claimed by Spain along the Gulf coast, with himself as "Director-General". Bowles declares war on Spain, and begins a campaign against their outposts in his "nation." Some sources list this as happening on April 5, 1800.
1809: Mary Kies is 1st woman issued a US patent (weaving straw)
1816: American Bible Society organized (NY)
1891: Music Hall (Carnegie Hall) opens in NY, Tchaikovsky as guest conductor
1900’s
1904: Cy Young of Boston pitches perfect game against Phila A's (3-0)
1922: Construction begins on Yankee Stadium (Bronx)
1936: Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa
1944: Gandhi freed from prison
1958: KNME TV channel 5 in Albuquerque, NM (PBS) begins broadcasting
1962: West Side Story soundtrack album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album
1987: Congress begins Iran-Contra hearings
1997: "Married With Children" final episode on Fox TV
2000’s
2000: Conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn & Moon
2006: The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)

Todays Birthdays                                                           
In their 80’s
Ann B Davis, Schenectady NY, American actress (Bob Cummings Show,  Alice-Brady Bunch) is 86
Pat Carroll, Shrevport La, comedienne/actress (Make Room for Daddy) is 85
Will Hutchins, actor (Sugarfoot, Hey Landlord) is 82
à
In their 60’s
Michael Palin, England, comedian (Monty Python, Fish Called Wanda) is 69
In their 50’s
John Greg Adams, Scottsdale AZ, PGA golfer (1982 Hall of Fame-2nd) is 58
à
Under 30 years old
Adele (Laurie Blue Adkins), English singer is 24
Chris Brown, American singer is 23
Remembered for being born on this day
James Beard, US, culinary expert/author (Delights & Prejudices) in 1903
Charles Bender (Ojibwa), only American Indian in baseball's Hall of Fame in 1883
Nellie Bly[Elizabeth Cochran Seaman], American journalist and writer in 1865
Phil Gordon, Meridian Miss, singer/actor (Jasper-Bev Hillbillies) in 1916
Rex Harrison, [Reginald Carey], England, actor (My Fair Lady, Cleopatra) in 1908
Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher in 1813
Karl Marx, Trier, Prussia, philosopher (Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital) in 1818
Tyrone Power, Cleve, actor (Mark of Zorro, Alexander's Ragtime Band)in 1914
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Poland, author (Quo Vadis, Nobel 1905) in 1846
Tammy Wynette [Virginia Pugh], Redbay Alabama, country singer (Stand by Your Man), in 1942

Todays Obits                                                           

Napoleon I Bonaparte, emperor France (1799-1815), dies in 1821 of stomach cancer at 81
Samuel Cooper, English miniature painter in 1672 at 63
Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize dies in 1959 at 81
Bobby Sands, IRA activist/terrorist dies in the 66th day of his hunger strike in 1981 at 27

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
Pencil lead
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.      Coat: of arms
2.     Bard: of Avon
3.     Africa: horn (Horn of Africa)
4.     Joan: of arc
5.     Plan: of attack
6.     Voice: of America
7.     Rock: of Ages
8.     Seal: of approval
9.     Court: of appeals
10.  Power: of attorney
11.    Lawrence: of Arabia
12.   Article: of apparel
13.   Age: of Aquarius
14.   Timon: of Athens
15.   Center: of attention
16.   Round: of applause
Anagrams

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 Is All for Now 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.