Nov 2, 2012

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Flagstaff Almanac:  

Week: 44/ Day:    

Today: High   62°…Low 25°

Records: High   73°(1916)…Low 11°(1943, 1929)

Averages: High  56° Low 27°

Wind: average:   3mph; Gusts:  17mph

Today’s average humidity:  37%

Quote of the Day:

Today’s Historical Highlights:

Presidential Elections

Jimmy Carter (D) defeats Gerald Ford (R) for president—1976

James A Garfield (R) elected president—1880

Warren G Harding elected 29th president—1920

Franklin Pierce elected as president of US—1852

Harry Truman re-elected in an upset over Republican Thomas Dewey—1648

1st US soldiers killed in combat in WW I—1917

First crew arrives at the International Space Station—2000

Montgomery (Br) defeats Rommel (G) (WW II) —1942

Pakistan becomes Islamic republic—1953

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

Free Rambling Thoughts:   

Too many trick or treaters last night to do the blog. The little ones started about 5pm and I was out of candy about 9pm. Nice thing about Flag—when you turn off your porch light, no one comes to the door. On the rez, that never mattered. If there were any lights on in the house, they knocked as late as 11pm. I had fun being costumed out and freaking out some of the very young. One little boy, about 6, just stared at me and didn’t say a word…as he was leaving he told his mom, who was the man with no face? I was on a trip last Halloween, and was glad to be home this year.

Our retirement group went to Cameron for great Navajo Tacos. Actually I had the green chili stew with Fry Bread. For all of us, the fry bread is worth the drive. On the Rez, fry bread is a staple of every Navajo meal. I really miss good fry bread. No matter how hard I try, I can’t duplicate taste. Cheryl pointed out that when she gets all those stupid campaign flyers, simply write: Refused: Return to Sender. Her mail lady told her that the group that sent it then has to pay full postage for the returned mail. Her belief is that if she does this enough times, the flyers will stop. I doubt that, but would make me feel better. Coming over the summit, Flag is again inundated with smoke from another controlled burn. So strange to see it from the mountain.

Watching the videos of the subway damage is frightening for anyone who travels the subways of NY. There sure will be lots of clean up jobs for months to come. Not only is it going to take months to open some of the subway stops, this is going to have to put a real strain on all the other transportation utilities. While the storm was horrific for those in its path, the aftermath is going to be much worse…so much worse. My brother and his wife may have electricity back in their offices this weekend. Now the issue will be how to get to their offices.

Game  Center: (answers at the end of post)

Anagram Sentences:

What are the missing words?

Although he _____ paying higher _____ for airline flights, he thinks the flights will be _____ .

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Unusual Uses for Everyday Things: Baby Oil

• Rub a little onto the part of your body that has latex paint using a cotton ball, shop towel, napkin, or anything else you've got on hand that will absorb the baby oil. Rub in concentric circles from the outside in without applying too much pressure. 

• Use it as massage oil.

• Put some baby oil on a cotton ball. Gently rub it over any eye makeup that you want to remove. 

• Put a few drops into the next bath you draw.

• Use as an after-shave oil after shaving any non-face part of the body. Works best as a layer over the top of some traditional moisturizer to lock in the freshness.

• If your heels are cracked, dry, and unsightly... baby oil and a sock will help.

• Apply some baby oil to soften skin and prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.

Old Saying Explained:

BIG WIG…In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs.

Ok, then?

TV Theme Songs you may remember:

The Courtship of Eddie's Father - "Best Friend" by Harry Nilsson

Read This Headline Carefully!!

Stiff opposition expected to casketless funeral plan

Bumper Stickers:

Bagpiping:

Learn the History of Scottish Bagpipes

Harper’s Index:         

• Cost of staging the 2012 London Olympic Games as estimated by the British Government in 2003: $3,700,000,000
• Cost as currently estimated by the British Government: $14,600,000,000
• As estimated by an independent study: $37,000,000,000

Ruminatoins:

My family is making more of a fuss over my niece graduating kindergarten than they did when I graduated college. Let’s see what kind of job she gets with a diploma made from macaroni art.

Unusual Fact of the Day:

Cats cannot taste sugar. They do not have sweet taste buds

Found on You Tube: 

• Boris Badenov, Master of Disguise

• KD Lang – Hallelujah

Joke-of-the-day:

One Halloween a man was walking down the street and heard a thumping noise behind him. Looking behind him he saw a coffin following him, upright. He was a bit nervous and began walking a little bit faster. The coffin continued, "thumpety thump, thumpety thump". He began running and the coffin kept up and began opening and closing, ""thumpety thump, thumpety thump clap, "thumpety thump, thumpety thump clap". Terrified he ran to his front door, and went inside, slamming the door and locking it. The coffin continued, "thumpety thump, thumpety thump - CRASH" it came right through the door, He ran up the stairs, and right behind him, "thumpety thump, thumpety thump clap, "thumpety thump, thumpety thump clap". He rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door, but the coffin broke through the door - "thumpety thump, thumpety thump crash". Terrified the man grabbed the first thing he could, a bottle of robutusin and threw it - and the coffin stopped!  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

WINNING A DUEL…When dueling with firearms, always aim lower than your opponent's vital area--to pierce the heart, aim at the knees.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

IRVINE, Calif. - A California man's 991.5-pound pumpkin was the top prize winner at the 2012 Pumpkinmania giant pumpkin weigh-off. Stuart Shim, 53, event organizer and financial manager from Rancho Santa Margarita, said John Sach of Whittier brought the heaviest gourd to the Irvine for Sunday's weigh-off, a 991.5-pound pumpkin he dubbed Sally, The Orange County Register reported Monday. Sach, 68, said his secret to pumpkin growing involves "a lot of water and a lot of food." Sach took home a $1,000 grand prize check.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.

• Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

• During the pre-Halloween celebration of Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter. Often Druid priests would throw the bones of cattle into the flames and, hence, "bone fire" became "bonfire."

• Dressing up as ghouls and other spooks originated from the ancient Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits. The Celts believed that disguising themselves this way would allow them to escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.

• Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the same name. Many Halloween customs and games that feature apples (such as bobbing for apples) and nuts date from this time. In fact, in the past, Halloween has been called San-Apple Night and Nutcrack Night.

• Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Month:

Adopt A Senior Pet Month
American National Diabetes Month

American Indian Heritage Month
Aviation History Month

Banana Pudding Lovers Month
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month
Family Stories Month
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
Greens and Plantains Month
Historic Bridge Awareness Month
International Drum (Percussion) Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Military Family Appreciation Month
National Adoption Month
National PPSI AIDS Awareness Month

National Alzheimer's Disease Month

National Family Caregivers Month
National Georgia Pecan Month

National Home Care & Hospice Month
National Impotency Month
National Inspirational Role Models Month

National Life Writing MonthNational Long-term Care Awareness Month

National Marrow Awareness Month

National Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness Appreciation Month
National Native American Heritage Month
National Novel Writing Month
National Peanut Butter Lovers Month

National Pet Cancer Awareness Month

National Pomegranate Month
National Roasting Month
National Scholarship Month
NoSHAVEmber (US - Beard Month or Movember (Australia -Moustache Month)

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
Plum and Pomegranate Month
Prematurity Awareness Month
PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month
Spinach and Squash Month
Sweet Potato Awareness Month
Vegan Month

Happening This Week:

1-4

Give Wildlife a Break Week

1-7

National Fig Week

National Patient Accessibility Week

World Communication Week

2-4 

Sherlock Holmes Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

All Souls Day
Cookie Monster DayDay(s) of the Dead/Dia(s) De Los MuertosNational Deviled Egg Day
National Medical Science Liaison Awareness & Appreciation Day
National Traffic Directors DayPlan Your Epitaph DayPumpkin Chunkin Days
~North Dakota: Admission Day (1889-39^th state)~South Dakota: Admission Day (1889-40^th state)

Today’s Events through History  

"Daily Mirror," British newspaper, begins publishing—1904
12,000 Jews massacred by Chmielnicki hordes in Narol Podlia—1648
1st high-definition TV broadcast service, by BBC in London—1936
2nd Seminole War begins in Osceola—1835
Cheerleading is started at the UofMN with Johnny Campbell leading the      crowd in cheering on the football team—1898
Construction begins on Kingdome, Seattle—1972
Cuban Adjustment Act enters force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the      opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States—1966
Gen Washington bids farewell to his army—1873
KDKA (Pittsburgh) goes on air as 1st commercial radio station—1920
President Reagan signed bill establishing Dr Martin Luther      King Jr holiday—1983
Spanish Broadcasting System buys NY radio station WPAT-FM      for $83.5M—1995
Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to      Jutland, killing more than 1,000—1570 

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 30’s

Nelly, American rapper is 38

In their 50’s

k.d. lang, [Kathy Dawn], Consort Alberta, country singer is 51

In their 70’s

Stefanie Powers [Stefanie Zofya Paul], actress (Girl From UNCLE, Hart to Hart) is 70

Remembered for being born today

Marie Antoinette, Vienna, Queen of France, "let them eat cake" (1755-1793)

Daniel Boone, frontiersman/explorer (US Hall of Fame-1915), (1734- 1820)

Burt Lancaster, NYC, actor (From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry) (1913-1994)

James Knox Polk, NC, 11th Pres (D) (1795-1849)

Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania's ambassador to the Native Americans (1696-1760)

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Leo Baeck, Pres of World Union for Progressive Judaism—1956—at 83

Richard Cushing, US cardinal to Boston—cancer—1970—at 75

David Feinberg, AIDS activist/author—AIDS—1994—at 37

Paul Frees, cartoon voice (Boris Badenov, Disneyland Haunted House Host)

     —heart failure—1986—at 66

Jenny Lind, [Swedish Nightingale], soprano—1887—at 67

Ngo Dinh Diem, president of South Vietnam (1955-63)—assassinated—1963—at 62

Hal Roach, producer (Keystone Kops)—pneumonia—1992—at 100

George Bernard Shaw, Irish author (Pygmalion)—1950—at 94

James Thurber, humorist (The Male Animal)— pneumonia—1961—at 66

Answer: Anagram sentence

Although he fears paying higher fares for airline flights, he thinks the flights will be safer .

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  §