Oct 24, 2012

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Flagstaff Almanac:  

Week: 43/ Day:    

Today: High 60°…Low 42°

Records: High 76°(2003)…Low 10°(1906)

Averages: High 60° Low 29°

Wind: average:   18mph; Gusts:  36mph

Today’s average humidity:  70%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical  Highlights:

13th NYC Marathon won by Alberto Salazar in 2:09:29—1982

1st woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel (Anna Taylor) —1901

24 Jews are burned at stake in Mecklenburg Germany—1492

Cuban missile crisis, the US blockade of Cuba begins—1962

Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam—1954

Italy invades Ethiopia—1935

John Lennon sues US government to admit FBI is tapping his phone—1973

Langston Hughes' "Mulatto," premieres in NYC—1933

Nylon stockings go on sale for 1st time (Wilmington Delaware) —1939

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Cool and windy all day…so I did laundry.

 

The debate was 90 minutes that probably changed no one’s mind. Today I heard ‘undecided’s on the news. Really…undecided…do they live in a vacuum somewhere? We hear the same rhetoric from both candidates every day. I have to say I am surprised by some of my FB ‘friends’ when they post. I really thought that most of my ‘friends’ were left of middle. Not true. Guess it goes to show that is really a close election. I spent so many years as a Federal Bureaucrat, and therefore under the Hatch Act, I seldom, even today, post anything about my views elections on FB. I was even surprised when a current Federal employee I know posted that he was for Obama all the way. Not sure what the Hatch Act says about social media, guess I have been retired too long. The most important thing is to VOTE. I still believe that democracy only works when the populous votes.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Anagram Sentences:

What are the missing words? 4 letter anagrams

The organization ____ one of its officers because he ____ up the ____ too quickly.

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Guinness World Records:

In two minutes Gunther Wahl (Germany) extracted 2 litres (3.52 pt) of milk from a cow on the set of Guinness World Records: Die GroBten Weltrekorde in Germany, on 20 December 2008.

Ok, then?

Commercial Jingles you may remember:

Budweiser Song

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop; Find Weapons

Do you know what this word means?

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

Borborygmus

Campaign Buttons:

Flash Mobs:

Singing Flash Mob Overwhelms Soldier

Harper’s Index:         

• Length in days of the sentence Russian blogger Alexei Navalny served for leading an opposition rally last year: 15
• Percentage of Russians who say they do not use the Internet: 45

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Talk about bad advice: In 1557, European doctors recommended smoking to combat bad breath and cancer.

Found on You Tube: 

• Baseball "Take Me Out to The Ball Game" (1908)

• Gene Roddenberry Interview

Joke-of-the-day:

A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW.

"Officer, look what they've done to my Beemer!" he whined.

"You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!" retorted the officer, "You're so worried about your stupid BMW, that you didn't even notice that your left arm was ripped off!"

"Oh my god", replied the lawyer, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was, "Where's my Rolex!"

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

MEASURING AN INFANT…The circumference of a normal infant's head should equal the distance from the crown of the head to the rump.   

Yeah, It Really Happened

ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Pole dancers might be athletic and artistic but their performancesdon't qualify for tax-exempt status under New York law, a state court ruled on Tuesday.The owners of Nite Moves, an exotic dance club near Albany, New York, had sought to have pole dancing and private lap dances qualified as tax exempt since revenue collected from "dramatic or musical arts performances" is not taxable under state law.

But the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, decided against the club in a 4-3 ruling handed down on Tuesday.

"Surely it was not irrational ... to conclude that a club presenting performances by women gyrating on a pole to music, however artistic or athletic their practice moves are, was also not a qualifying performance entitled to exempt status," the majority wrote in an unsigned memorandum.

Nite Moves was trying to fend off a $125,000 tax bill on admission fees, beverage sales and income from private dances between 2002 and 2005. The owners argued that exotic dance qualifies for the tax exemption because it is difficult to perform and requires practice and choreography.

In dissent, Judge Robert Smith said that deciding the artistic merits of different dance forms "is not the function of a tax collector."

"The people who paid these admission charges paid to see women dancing. It does not matter if the dance was artistic or crude, boring or erotic," Smith wrote. "Under New York's Tax Law, a dance is a dance."

Andrew McCullough, who argued for Nite Moves, said on Tuesday that he is considering appealing the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. "We're very unhappy and looking at whatever options we have," he said.

Geoffrey Gloak, a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation & Finance, said, "We're pleased with this decision, because it gives similar businesses clear guidance on the issue of sales tax when it comes to live exotic dance establishments."

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Town laws in the U.S. Midwest in the 1880s were passed prohibiting the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday. In Illinois, ingenious soda fountain owners got around the law by omitting the carbonated water and serving just the scoop of ice cream and the syrup. They called this a "Sunday Soda." Later the name was shortened to "sunday" and eventually just "sundae."
• The Massachusetts Law School of 1647 required that towns with 50 or more families establish schools or pay a fine of 5 British pounds. Several schools were opened as a result of this law. Although the schools were not the first supported by the public, the law forcing their creation was an important milestone in public education.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

17-24

Food & Drug Interactions and Awareness Week

21-27

Bullying Bystanders Unite Week
Kids Care Week
National Character Counts Week
National Chemistry Week
National Forest Products Week
National Friends of Libraries Week
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week National Massage Therapy Week
National Respiratory Care Week  National Save For Retirement Week
National School Bus Safety Week Pastoral Care Week
Red Ribbon Week
YWCA Week without Violence 2

24-30

Disarmament Week
International Magic Week
Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week
Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week
World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

National Bologna Day Food Day United Nations Day (1947-Charter)UN World Development Information Day~New Zealand: Labor Day~Zambia: Independence Day (1964 from UK)

Today’s Events through History  

12th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:27:14

18th Olympic games close at Tokyo, Japan—1964

1st transcontinental telegram sent ending Pony Express—1861

"Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experienced the 

     worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices—2008

7th NYC Marathon won by Bill Rodgers in 2:10:10—1976

Billy Murray hits the charts with "Take Me Outto the Ball Game"—1908

Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of 

     France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site —1260

Chickasaw Natchez Trace Treaty: A treaty will be endorsed today with the Chickasawat 

     Chickasaw Bluffs. United States will get the right to make a road from the Mero 

     District in Tennessee, to Natchez in Mississippi, for a payment of $700 in goods. Seventeen Indians will sign the treaty—1801

Felix Mendelssohn, 9, performs his 1st public concert (Berlin) —1818

First International Day of Climate Action, organized with 350.org, a global campaign 

     to address a claimed global warming crisis—2009

Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion—1931

Harry Houdini's last performance, which was at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit—1926

KOOL (now KTSP) TV channel 10 in Phoenix, AZ (CBS) begins broadcasting—1953

Mob in LA hangs 18 Chinese—1871

Nancy Walker creates Ida Morgenstein role on Mary Tyler Moore Show—1970

Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending 

     the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC—2002

Series of forest fires $30 million of timber (New England States) —1947

Switzerland's independence recognized—1648

U.S. representatives attempt to hold a treaty conference with the Creek. Few Indians 

     will attend the meeting—1785

USSR lends Egypt 400 million rubles to build Aswan Dam—1958

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 50’s

 B.D. Wong, actor [Law and Order]is 52

In their 60’s

 Kevin Kline, actor (Sophie's Choice, Big Chill) is 65

In their 80’s

George H Crumb, Charleston WV, composer (Pulitzer 1968-Echoes of Time) is 83

Remembered for being born today

Jerry Edmonton, Canada, rock drummer (Steppenwolf) (1946-1993)

Moss Hart, Bronx NY, playwright (You Can't Take it With You, Act 1) (1904-1961)

Bob Kane, American cartoonist: DC comics (1915-1998)

David Nelson, NYC, actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet) (1936-2011)

Big Bopper, [JP Richardson], Sabine Pass Tx, vocalist (Chantiily Lace) (1930-1959)

David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (1378-1402)

Antony van Leeuwenhoek, Holland, naturalist (Philosophical Transactions) (1632-1723)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Arthur Axmann, head of Hitler Youths in (1940-45)—1996—at 83

Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress—1821—at 81

George Cadbury, British chocolate and cocoa manufacturer—1922—at 83

Christian Dior, French designer (New Look)—numerous stories, none 

     confirmed—1957—at 52

Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist—2005—at 93

Louis Renault, French automobile manufacturer— mistreated in Fresnes 

     Prison—1944—at 67

Jackie Robinson, 1st black baseball player (Bkln Dodgers)heart 

     attack—1972—at 53

Gene Roddenberry, creator (Star Trek)—cardiac arrest—1991—at 70

Jane Seymour, 3rd wife of Henry VIII—feber—1537—at 28

Daniel Webster, lawyer/speaker/minister of Foreign affairs—

     fall/ cirrhosis—1852—at 70

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Do you know what this word means?

a rumbling or gurgling sound caused by the movement of gas in the intestines

Anagram sentence

The organization sued one of its officers because he used up the dues too quickly.

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  §