Memorial Day 2013/ 5-27


FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!
Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 22/ Day: 147   Today: H 71°L 39°
Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  27mph  Ave. humidity:  27%
*Averages: H  71° L 37° Records: H 87°(1951)L 19°(1916)


Quote of the Day



Today’s Historical Highlights
1st black light is sold…1961
Afghanistan gains sovereignty After 84 years of British control…1921
Bubonic Plague breaks out in SF…1907
Chinese Communists force Dalai Lama to surrender his army to Beijing…1951
Christopher Reeve is paralyzed after falling from his horse…1995
Golden Gate Bridge, SF, dedicated…1937
John Hinckley attempts suicide by overdosing on Tylenol…1981
Mormon Temple in Nauvoo Illinois destroyed by tornado…1850
Pres Kennedy announces US goal to reach Moon…1961
Richard Drew invents masking tape…1930
St Petersburg (Leningrad) founded by Peter the Great…1703
Virginia has its first significant battle between Indians and European settlers…1607
 Today’s Birthdays:    
How many can you identify?…answers in Today’s Birthdays


My Free Rambling Thoughts   
Windy, windy, and more windy…really!!! Blue sky with any clouds quickly blown away.
 
Thanks to all who gave all that we are free. Remember those who lost their lives fighting for our country. My parents always called it Decoration Day.
 
A little more on the Canadian Cruise: We were in Montreal on Victoria Day…or National Patriot’s Day in Quebec. The day marks the birthday of Queen Victoria…who was the monarch when Canada became a country. It was on Sunday, so we went to the Basilica de Montreal for services. The only English during the service was ‘Welcome visitors, no photography during the service’ and ‘We ask that those who have not received the Holy Eucharist should honor our traditions and beliefs and remain in their pews.’ Everything else was in French. It was an important service with several rows of military personnel and many vets in special seating. I was surprised that most of the service people did not take communion. I’d been told by a practicing Catholic in our group that the service is about an hour. Turned out to be over 90 minutes. It was high church with incense, beautiful choir, and a huge pipe organ playing many hymns. There was much less active participation by the congregation than I expected. Basically it was a few Amens, and a couple of rhetorical answers. The Bishop was there and during his sermon he seemed be trying to convert everyone. We also did the passing of the peace with the locals in front of us and behind us. After the service, on the street in front of the Cathedral the military performed some rifle drills, dignitaries laid four huge bouquets at a statue honoring fallen heroes. Some group of colonial dressed soldiers also did some gun salutes with muskets. It was really quite impressive. Then Bob and I walked a few blocks to Chinatown for lunch. It is a three or four block area with lots of stores, restaurants, and open markets. We ended up at Viet Nam hole in the wall restaurant that had great Lo Mein with shrimp dumplings and fortune cookies in French and English. Our young waitress’ first language was French, then Vietnamese, and finally English. I should not her English was very good. After wandering around Chinatown we walked the fifteen or so blocks back to the hotel. We saw three beautiful parks, an amazing mixture of old and new architecture, and lots of people and cars. Montreal is quite the cosmopolitan city with most women, young and older, wearing high heels and skirts or dresses. Quebec city also had great architecture, lots of parks and people dressed up when out walking. Both cities also had lots of bike trails and lots of runners with trails nicely divided for runners and bikers.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

Hmmmm
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
Ok, then?


Harper’s Index    
Percentage of children living in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture who have typhoid abnormalities: 40
Picture of the Day: Recent Canadian Cruise...more at Fortress


Unusual Fact of the Day
One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding rocks at Racetrack Playa (a playa is a dry lake bed). These rocks can be found on the floor of the playa with long trails behind them. Somehow these rocks slide across the playa on their own, cutting a furrow into the sediment as they move. Nobody knows how they move!
Joke-of-the-day
Q. What do you call a bug with manners? A. A lady bug  
Rules of Thumb:   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
CHECKING YOUR PULSE
The normal resting pulse rate for humans is about equal to the external temperatures they find most comfortable measured in degrees Fahrenheit - 68 to 72.    
Yeah, It Really Happened
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A "court" comprised of students at a Florida school found the Wicked Witch of the West "not guilty by reason of insanity" on an attempted murder charge. Mark Haynes, a seventh grade literature teacher at St. Anthony Catholic School in Fort Lauderdale, said his students played the roles of the defendant, victims, witnesses, prosecutors and defense lawyers, while students from other classes at the pre-K through eighth grade school served as jurors and spectators, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday. Haynes said the trial Thursday was the result of two months of preparation as part of a lesson using the plot of "Oz the Great and Powerful." The role of the judge was filled by Tim Donnelly, a prosecutor with the Broward State Attorney's Office. The jury deliberated for 10 minutes and found the witch not guilty by reason of insanity. Haynes said the lesson helped the students apply lessons from literature to real life. "I'm not necessarily trying to cultivate lawyers or actors," he said. "I'm trying to cultivate thinkers and artists."  
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The scientific name for kissing is philematology.
  • Kissing stimulates 29 muscles and chemicals causing relaxation.
  • The average person burns 26 calories in a one-minute kiss.
  • The average person spends two weeks of his/her life kissing.
  • In 1562, kissing was banned in Naples, Italy, under punishment of death. The law lasted for approximately one day before the local nobleman was forced to rescind it because so many in his own palace were violating the law. 
  • In Russia, the highest sign of recognition was a kiss from the Tsar.


Calendar Information        
Happening This Week:
·        25-31
  •         Black Single Parents Week
  •         Hurricane Preparedness Week


Today Is                                                                      
·        Cellophane Tape Day
·        Memorial Day
·        National Wig Out Day
·        Prayer for Peace Memorial Day
·        World Body Painting Arts Festival

Today’s Events through History  
British inventor Birt Acres patents film camera/projector…1895
Habeaus Corpus Act (no false arrest & imprisonment) passes in UK…1679
International Criminal Tribunal indicts Slobodan Milošević for war crimes and 
      crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo…1999
Marv Albert pleads innocent to charges of sexual assault…1997
Oregon Country publication "The Spectator" has an article by its editor, George L. Curry. 
     He blames much of the problems with the local Indians on their use of alcohol. 
     He asks for better enforcement of the laws prohibiting the sale of "intoxicants" 
     to Indians…1847
US forbid racial discrimination in war industry…1943

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 90’s
Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State (1973-77)/Nobel Peace Prize (1973) is 90
Christopher Lee, London England, actor (Hound of Baskervilles) is 91
Herman Wouk, novelist (Caine Mutiny, Winds of War) is 97

In their 70’s
Louis Gossett Jr, Bkln NY, actor (Officer & Gentleman, Deep) is 77
Lee Meriwether, Miss America (Time Tunnel, Barnaby Jones) is 78

In their 40’s
Todd Bridges, actor (Diff'rent Strokes, Fish) is 48
Glenn Ross, Northern Irish strongman and powerlifter is 42

In their 30’s
Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality is 38

Remembered for being born today
Francis Beaufort, admiral/hydrographer (Beaufort wind force scale) [1774-1857]s
Ibn Khaldun, Tunis, Arab historian/sociologist (Muqaddimah) [1332-1406]
"Wild Bill" Hickok, [James Butler], cowboy/scout [1837-1876]
Hubert Humphrey, (Sen-D-Minn) 38th VP (1965-69), 1968 Pres candidate [1911-1978]
[Herman] Junior Parker, Arkansas, blues vocalist/songwriter (Mystery Train) [1932-1971]
Vincent Price, actor (House on Haunted Hill, Fly, Laura) [1911-1993]
Sam Snead, Hot Springs VA, PGA golfer (PGA-1963, 65, 67, 70, 72, 73) [1912-2002]
Cornelius Vanderbilt, millionaire (B & O railroad) [1794-1877]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           
Jean Caulvin, [John Calvin], priest/church reformer…broken blood vessel…1564…at 54
Jeff Conaway, American actor…OD…2011…at 60
Jawaharial Nehru, Independent India's 1st PM…heart attack…1964…at 74
Ropert L Ripley, cartoonist (Believe It or Not)…heart attack…1949…at 55
Gil Scott-Heron, American poet, musician and author… pneumonia [HIV]…2011…at 62
Hh
Ed Yost, American inventor [modern hot air balloon]…2007…at 87

Answer: Brain Teasers
He waits until night time and then goes through the first door.
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.