4/2/13

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Flagstaff Almanac:  Week: 14/ Day: 92   Today: H 59°…L 29°

Averages: H  54° L 26° Records: H 74°(2011)…L 2°(1970)

Wind: ave:   27mph; Gusts:  38mph  Ave. humidity:  51%

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1st Easter egg roll held on White House lawn…1877

3 day National Conference on Indian Water Rights is convened today in D.C….1975

Cairo-Capetown railway opens…1905

Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for kidnapped son…1932

London prison for debtors closed…1884

Riots between Moslems & Hindus in Calcutta…1926

US President Johnson ends civil war in Ala, Ark, Fla, Ga, Miss, La, NC, SC, Tn & Va…1866

Velcro was 1st put on the market…1978 

                       

♪  ♪   Happy Birthday To: ♪. ♪   

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

 Returns tomorrow

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A typical spring day here in Flag…nice temperatures and damning wind. So glad I live in Flag, and not out on the Rez…at least Flag’s wind is not full of sand. We started out with clear blue sky, followed by lots of puffy clouds, followed by lots of wispy clouds.

 

I saw an interesting poll on line today. Fox News was voted the most trusted and least trusted news organization in this country. That sure explains a lot. I was happy to see that NPR was the next most trusted organization.

 

So the April Fools pranks were interesting this year. My three favorites for this year: The You Tube announcement that it was shutting down as planned. They claimed it was a 8 year experiment to find the best video, and now they will shut down and review all the posted videos and in 8 years they will announce the best video. The Google announcement was well done on Google smell, where you can now find a picture, click on the newly added beta version smell button to smell what is in the picture. Finally was a local one where a popular liquor store downtown known for its imported beer was raided as they were running a ‘speak easy’ in the old tunnels under their store. They were ‘found out’ when a case of imported beer in the tunnels exploded from over fermentation and blew poker chips into the streets of Flagstaff. Oh, and one more, Sharon Osborne, Ozzy’s wife, announced on The Talk that at 60 she was pregnant. After lots of hugs from her co-hosts, about 15 minutes later she announced it was an April Fool prank. Gotta love watching TV and listening to news today, wondering if a story is true or a prank. In these crazy times, sometimes it is really hard to recognize a good prank.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

When you behead a word, you remove the first letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, longer word first. Example: Begin -> Sour, acidic Answer: The words are Start and Tart.

1. A trip through the air -> Illumination; not heavy 2. Travelling through the air -> Not telling the truth 3. True statement -> Part of a play; something done 4. Straightforward; blunt -> Position in a hierarchy 5. Cord for igniting an explosive -> To employ; exploit 6. An example of a number -> Belonging to us 7. To put in as much as possible -> Unwell; sick 8. High body temperature -> At any time; at all times

****

Hint if needed

The shorter words start with these letters:

1. L

2. L

3. A

4. R

5. U

6. O

7. I

8. E

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Emmylou Harris & Willie Nelson : Pancho & Lefty
• BUDDY RICH IMPOSSIBLE DRUM SOLO

Origins of Phrases

As Easy as Pie

Meaning

Very easy.

Origin

There are many similes in English that have the form 'as X as Y'. These almost always highlight some property - X, and give an example of something that is well known to display that property - Y; for example, 'as white as snow', 'as dead as a dodo' and, risking a group slander action from our noble friends, 'as drunk as a lord'.

How though are pies thought to be easy? They aren't especially easy to make; I know, I've tried it. The easiness comes with the eating - at least, that was the view in 19th century America, where this phrase was coined. There are various mid 19th century US citations that, whilst not using 'as easy as pie' verbatim, do point to 'pie' being used to denote pleasantry and ease. 'Pie' in this sense is archetypally American, as American as apple pie in fact. The usage first comes in the phrase 'as nice as pie', as found here in Which: Right or Left? in 1855:

"For nearly a week afterwards, the domestics observed significantly to each other, that Miss Isabella was as 'nice as pie!'"

Mark Twain frequently used just 'pie' to mean pleasant or accommodating: In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884,

"You're always as polite as pie to them."

"So he took him to his own house, and dressed him up clean and nice,... and was just old pie to him, so to speak."

Pie was also used at that time for something that was easy to accomplish; for example, in The US magazine Sporting Life, May 1886:

"As for stealing second and third, it's like eating pie."

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Value of bribes reported through Bribr, a Russian anticorruption app released last Sept: $1,577,127

Picture of the Day: Rainforest Primates

Unusual Fact of the Day

Pringles chips are named after a street in Finneytown, a tiny Cincinnati suburb

Joke-of-the-day

"How was your game, dear?" asked Jack's wife Tracy. 

"Well, I was hitting pretty well, but my eyesight's gotten so bad I couldn't see where the ball went," he answered. 

"But you're 75 years old, Jack!" admonished his wife, "Why don't you take my brother Scott along?" 

"But he's 85 and doesn't play golf anymore," protested Jack. 

"But he's got perfect eyesight. He would watch the ball for you," Tracy pointed out. 

The next day Jack teed off with Scott looking on. Jack swung and the ball disappeared down the middle of the fairway. "Do you see it?" asked Jack. 

"Yup," Scott answered. 

"Well, where is it?" yelled Jack, peering off into the distance. 

"I forgot."  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

INVITING GUESTS

 If you are giving a party and you live in the suburbs, invite two times the number of people you want to attend. If you live within range of public transportation, invite one and a half times the number of people you want. If you are in the heart of the city, invite one and a quarter times the number of people you want.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

The caretaker of a Pennsylvania mansion is accused of drinking 52 bottles of whiskey appraised at a total $102,400.

Patricia Hill, who purchased the Scottdale mansion in 2012, said caretaker John Saunders, 62, helped her remove and dust off nine cases of Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey that were apparently concealed in the walls of the home by industrialist J.P. Brennan.

"My guess is that Mr. Brennan ordered 10 cases ... pre-Prohibition," Hill said. "I was told by his family that family members used to greet him at the door each day with a shot of whiskey."

Hill said she discovered after Saunders moved out that he had apparently drank 52 of the 108 bottles of the whiskey, which was bottled in 1912 at the West Overton Distilling Co. She said the missing booze was appraised at a total $102,400 by New York auction house Bonhams.

"This whole experience has shocked me," Hill said. "I was shocked when I found them, shocked to find Mr. Saunders drank them, and shocked when I received the appraisal. I had just planned to preserve them."

Saunders was arrested and is now charged with receiving stolen property and theft. However, he wasn't charged with caretaking under the influence.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The Scottish love April Fools' Day. In fact they love it so much, they celebrate it for two days. In Scotland they call it "hunting the gowk" (the cuckoo), and if you are tricked, you are an "April gowk." The second day, called "Taily Day," is devoted to pranks involving the back side of the body. The "butt" of these jokes may often have a "kick me" sign placed on their back.

• Kids in France fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their backs. When the victim discovers the fish, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril!" (April Fish!)

• In Portugal, April Fools' Day is actually celebrated on the Sunday and Monday before Lent. The big trick there? Throwing flour at your friend's face.

• In Poland everyone takes part in April Fools' Day activities, including the media and sometimes public institutions. All serious activities are completely avoided for the day. A favorite joke? Pouring water on people.

• In certain areas of Belgium, children lock out their parents or teachers and only let them in if they promise to give them sweets. 

• Depending on where you live in England, instead of a "fool" you could be called a "noodle," "noddy," "gobby" or "gob."

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

31-4/6

National Week Of The Ocean

1-7

The APAWS Pooper Scooper  Week
Explore Your Career Options
*Golden RuleWeek 
*Laugh at Work Week
*Medication Safety Week

Today Is                                                                      

International Children's Book Day

Karma Tangible Day (giving of your time, of your love, of your talents, of your “extras”)

National Love Your Produce Manager Day

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

World Autism Day

~US: Florida: Pascua Florida Day (discovery of Florida in 1513 by Juan Ponce de León)

Today’s Events through History  

1st motion picture theater opens (LA)…1902

1st successful agricultural journal ("American Farmer") begins…1819

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors," album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 31 weeks…1977

Joseph Dixon begins manufacturing lead pencils…1827

Plans to build Disneyland 1st announced...1954

Pres Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany…1917

TV show "Dallas" premieres on CBS (as a 5 week mini-series)…1978

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 60’s

Emmylou Harris, country singer is 66

Linda Hunt, actress, (NCIS, LA) is 68

In their 40’s

Bill Romanowski, NFL linebacker (Eagles, Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32) is 47

In their 30’s

Adam Rodriguez, actor (NCIS, Miami) is 38

Remembered for being born today

Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, author of 150 fairy tales [1805-1875]

Charlemagne, 1st Holy Roman emperor [742-814]

Walter Chrysler, Wamego, Kansas, founder of car company Chrysler [1875-1940]

Buddy Ebsen, actor (Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones) [1908-2003]

Dabbs Greer, actor (Gunsmoke, Little House on Prairie) [1917-2007]

Alec Guinness, British actor (Bridge on River Kwai) [1914-2000]

Rodney King, black motorist beaten by LA cops, [1965-2012]

Jack Webb, actor (Joe Friday-Dragnet) [1920-1982]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist…1742…at 67

Buddy Rich, drummer/orchestra leader (Away We Go)…heart failure…1987…at 69

Samuel Morse developer of electric telegraph…1872…at 80

Ray Teal, actor (Sheriff Roy Coffee-Bonanza)….1976….at 74

Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła), Polish Roman Catholic Pope…2005…at 84

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Flight -> Light

2. Flying -> Lying

3. Fact -> Act

4. Frank -> Rank

5. Fuse -> Use

6. Four -> Our

7. Fill -> Ill

8. Fever -> Ever

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  §