Oct 2, 2012

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Flagstaff Almanac:  

Week: 40/ Day:    Today: High   75°…Low 44°

Records: High 85°(1980)…Low 20°(2009) Averages: High  68°…Low 36°

Wind: average:   3mph;  Gusts:  14mph    Today’s average humidity:  44%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s  Historical  Highlights:

2002 - The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks

1991 - Steffi Graf becomes the youngest woman to win 500 pro tennis matches

1988 - 24th Olympic games close at Seoul, Korea

1980 - Larry Holmes TKOs Muhammad Ali in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

1968 - Mexico City police fire on protesting students, 300-500 killed

1916 - San Diego Zoo founded

1895 - 1st cartoon comic strip is printed in a newspaper

1870 - Italy annexes Rome & Papal States; Rome made Italian capital

1789 - George Washington transmits the proposed Constitutional amendments 

           (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

No clouds, no wind, fairly nice temperature…fall in Flagstaff is fantastic.

I got an interesting call from an artist friend on the Rez. He has a 50-something friend who is single and lives on a ranch with his mom, taking care of cattle and sheep. Over the internet machine this guy has met an African lady who wants to come to America. They have been exchanging emails for several months. She wants to come here and help out his family as a maid or housekeeper and may offer a long term relationship with the guy. She has a visa and only needs a mere $1000 to get to the ranch.  My friend didn’t know what country or what town, just that it was in Africa. He wondered, since I have actually been to Africa, what I thought. I said I would be very wary as many in Africa see the US as a very rich country and since she can’t get $1000 to get here, I wouldn’t send the money. The friend is smitten and is getting a loan, on his tractor, to send the money. I also mentioned that the Rez is, like much of Africa, a 3^rd world area. To many in Africa, $1000 in hand is like $100,000 to a middle class American. Of course it could be a very innocent thing, but sounded fishy to me.

The first debate is Wednesday, and I’ll be watching…or at least listening. Both candidates are ‘practicing’ and ‘preparing’. One thing each is doing is watching previous debates of other candidates so see what works and doesn’t work on TV. Since the Kennedy/Nixon debate they have all learned to shave and not sweat; from other debates they have learned to have some zingers, not look at their watch, and not to sigh. Great. Sounds like too much ‘celebrity’ and not enough ‘solutions’.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

What is the rhyming answer?

Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)

points blame on the choir (7,7)

Rebus:

Can you figure out what this means?

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Dedication: Guinness World Records:

Jake Lonsway of Bay City, Michigan, USA, created the largest ball of cling film, which measured 351 cm (138 in) in circumference and weighed 127.7 kg (281 lb 8 oz), as of 14 June 2007.

Ok, then?

Commercial Jingles you may remember:

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz … Starting in the early 1960s and continuing through the 1980s, Alka-Seltzer used this famous jingle in dozens of commercials

Read This Sign Carefully!!

On a maternity room door, "Push, Push, Push."

Do you know what this word means?

What is this not so common name of a common object?

 necrophilia

Iconic Photographs:

Great Melodies:

Symphony #5…Ludwig van Beethoven

Specifically, the opening two measures, of only four notes. The rhythm is precisely that of the letter V in Morse Code, and for that reason, it was a signal used by the Allies in WWII (what’s the German word for irony?). Everyone in the civilized world has heard it, probably more than once. The story of how Beethoven came up with it is legendary and most likely not true. He was trying to begin his 5th symphony but couldn’t think of a theme to start it. There was a knock at the door in the same rhythm as the theme and the rest is history. Why is this doubtful? Beethoven was almost 100% deaf by the time he started his 5th symphony, and wouldn’t have heard a knock at the door.

Harper’s Index:         

 Returns tomorrow

Unusual Fact of the Day:

 Simon Bolivar is the only person in the world to have two sovereign nations named after him: Bolivia and Venezuela (the country's full name is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela).

Found on You Tube: 

Tribute To Chris LeDoux - Silence On The Line

Joke-of-the-day:

 All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture", and their other announcements a bit more entertaining.

Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

1. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for

your comfort, and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

2. On landing the stewardess said, "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out off this airplane."

3. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Washington National, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

4. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

5. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

SELLING REAL ESTATE…Rental property should sell for about 100 times its monthly rental income.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

GOTHENBURG, Sweden - Swedish authorities said an international arrest warrant has been issued for a man who had a friend pose as him to avoid a prison term. Police said the 37-year-old Gothenburg man was sentenced to one year in prison in January 2008 after being convicted of charges including copyright infringement, breaking Swedish medical laws and handling smuggled goods, the Swedish news agency TT reported Thursday. However, the man was not held in remand in between being sentenced and the start of his prison term, and police said during that time he convinced a friend to serve the sentence for him. Investigators said the convict took out a driver's license bearing his own name and the picture of his friend to carry out the identity swap. Police said the other man had served the majority of the sentence by the time the ruse was discovered. The man was set free. "We were the victims of advanced con," said Ulf Jonson of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. Police said an international arrest warrant has been issued for the convict, who is believed to have fled to the Philippines.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• While most believe that "The Purple People Eater" is a purple creature that eats people, the novelty hit song's lyrics reveal a different story. In them, the rock 'n' roll monster reveals that he enjoys "eatin' purple people." Fans are divided on the issue.

• George Washington first offered the Badge for Military Merit, better known as the Purple Heart. It was originally a heart-shaped cloth patch attached to the uniform. In 1932, to commemorate the bicentennial of Washington's birth, the award was reintroduced as a medal presented to U.S. military personnel injured during combat.

• The author of Harold and the Purple Crayon felt that his name might be too difficult for youngsters to pronounce properly, so David Leisk published the popular children's book under the pen name Crockett Johnson.

• Those who disliked the Barney the Dinosaur character came up with all sorts of hateful nicknames for the character, perhaps the most bizarre of which was "The Purple Antichrist."

• Where are the "purple mountain majesties" referred to in the patriotic song "America, the Beautiful?" Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics in 1893 when she viewed her surroundings from the summit of Pike's Peak.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

1-7Customer Service Week
Financial Planning Week
National Newspaper Week
Spinning & Weaving Week
Universal Children's Week
World Dairy Expo

Today Is                                                                      

Country Inn, Bed-and-Breakfast DayGuardian Angels Day
Intergeneration Day: meeting of the family generations
International Day of Non-violence
Name Your Car Day
National Custodial Workers Day
Phileas Fogg's Wager Day
Techie's Day  World Farm Animals Day
~Guinea: Independence Day (1958 from France)

Today’s Events through History  

2000’s

2009 - Rio de Janeiro is elected the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics and 

            Paralympics

2005 - NFL plays first regular season game outside United States when the Arizona

           Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 in Mexico City, Mexico

2001 - The NATO backs US military strikes, following 9/11.

1900’s

1990 - US Senate votes 90-9 to confirm David Souter to Supreme Court

1984 - 3 cosmonauts return after a record 237 days in orbit

1982 - Bomb attack in Teheran, kills 60, injures 700

1972 - Danish population votes for European Common Market membership

1961 - "Ben Casey" premieres on NBC-TV

1959 - Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" premieres on CBS-TV

1956 - 1st atomic power clock exhibited-NYC

1955 - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" premieres

1950 - 1st strip of Charlie Brown, "Li'l Folks," later "Peanuts" in 9 papers

1942 - 1st self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction demonstrated, Chicago

1936 - 1st alcohol power plant forms, Atchison, Kansas

1910 - 1st 2 aircraft collision (Milan Italy)

1800’s

 1889 - In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great 

             silver boom of the American Old West

1871 - Brigham Young, Mormon leader, arrest for bigamy

1861 - Former VP John C Breckinridge flees Kentucky

1600’s

1685 - An agreement is reached today for the DELEWARE Indians to cede 

            some lands to Pennsylvania

1656 - US colony Connecticut passes law against Quakers

1608 - Prototype of modern reflecting telescope completed by Jan Lippershey

1500’s

1535 - Jacques Cartier discovers Mount Royal (Montreal)

1200’s

1263 - The battle of Largs fought between Norwegians and Scots.

1100’s

1187 - Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 40’s

Kelly Ripa, TV talk show host will be 42

In their 50’s

Lorraine Bracco, actor: Dr. Jennifer Melfi on Sopranos is 57

In their 60’s

Don McLean, New Rochelle NY, singer/songwriter (American Pie, Vincent) is 67

Annie Leibovitz, Waterbury, Connecticut, photgrapher (Rolling Stones) is 63

Sting, [Gordon Sumner], rock vocalist (Police-Roxanne)/actor (Dune) is 61

In their 70’s

Rex Reed, Fort Worth Tx, movie critic/actor (Myra Breckinridge) is 74

Remembered for being born today

Bud Abbott, Asbury Pk NJ, comedian (Abbott & Costello) b. 1895

Johnnie Cochran, attorney (OJ Simpson defense attorney) b. 1936

Mahatma Gandhi [Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi],pacifist and spiritual leader b. 1869

Cordell Hull, US Sec of State (1933-44), lowered tariffs (Nobel 1945) b. 1871

Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscape architect b. 1871

Chris LeDoux, Biloxi Miss, country singer (Ridin' for a Fall) b. 1948

Groucho Marx, [Julius], NYC, comedian (Marx Bros, You Bet Your Life) b. 1890

George Emmett McFarland, Dallas, act (Spanky-Our Gang/Little Rascals) b. 1928

Jack Parsons, American rocket scientist, author, and occultist b. 1914

Bernarr Rainbow, historian of music education, organist, and choir master b. 1914

King Richard III, of England b. 1452

Nat Turner, Virginia, leader of major slave rebellion b. 1800

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Paul Hartman, actor (Bert-Petticoat Junction)—heart attack—1973—at 84

Rock Hudson, actor (MacMillian & Wife)—AIDS—1985—at 59

Harriet Nelson, actress (Ozzie & Harriet)—heart failure—1994—at 85

Paavo "Flying Finn" Nurmi, 6 Olympic gold medals, broke 22 Olympic records

      —1973—at 76

Henry Ringling North, circus owner (Ringling Bros Circus)—1993—at 73

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Do you know what this word means?

Sexual attraction to corpses (from the Greek nekros = a dead body, a corpse)

What is the rhyming answer?

 Fingers singers

Rebus

For once in my life

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  §