7/22/13

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Almanac: Flagstaff:  Week: 30/ Day: 203   Today: H 72°…L 57°

Wind: ave:   4mph; Gusts:  16mph  Ave. humidity:  70%

* Average Low Average High Record Low Record High

            51°                 82°              38° (1995)    92° (1996)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

-128.6°F (-89.2°C) recorded, Vostok, Antarctica (world record)…1983

500 US scientists pledge to boycott Pentagon germ-warfare research…1988

5th Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden closes…1912

City of Albany, NY chartered…1686

Cleveland, Ohio, founded by Gen Moses Cleveland…1796

Cuba nationalizes all US owned sugar factories…1960

Gasoline rationing using coupons begins…1942

Jimi Hendrix quits as opening act of the Monkees' tour…1967

Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful," in Colorado…1893

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

A wet Sunday…nice…kept the temperatures cool, kept the forest wet, played havoc on outdoor activities as it rained, stopped, rained again all day long.

 

I was glad to see that there was no ‘breaking news’ today, so all the regular Sunday shows were on. This is the first time in weeks that I have been able to see Fareed. I am getting real tired of all the talk about the need for a nationwide talk on ‘race’ in this country. While I agree that most Americans really don’t understand other cultures that live in their community, it is time for real talk and more importantly, real action. I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day about a friend she had who did volunteer work with Alaskan tribes. Every summer for three summers this lady has gone to an isolated village to volunteer in a clinic. She has to bring her own food, bedding, anything else she needs. The first summer she spent there she was invited to one community dinner. The next summer it was one dance and two community dinners. This last visit she was invited to all the villages events. It took a lot of time for the locals to learn about her, how she would treat the villagers, and if she was just a flash in the pan or a dedicated volunteer. Any of us who have worked with natives certainly understand that. So many outsiders come and go to never return, the locals learn not to share things with them. Also some come and never respect the local’s customs. Many wealthy people, no matter their color, have no idea what it is like to be concerned about choosing a bargain over a full priced item. Many poor people, no matter their color, have no idea why anyone would pay such a huge price for a piece of art. Our country has a real class culture that is becoming more distant with each passing year. The only solution I see at this time is to ‘walk a mile in my shoes.’ We have seen lots of politicians change their view when a discriminatory law suddenly impacts their lives. I was struck in college by a book called ‘Black Like Me’ where a white man colored his skin much darker and wrote about how he was treated. It’s time for that book to return with a modern update.

 

The ACLU is taking our city to court on a law about ‘begging’. The law prohibits begging of any kind within city limits. The city believes that by stopping panhandling they are preventing street people from getting money which is spent on alcohol which leads to petty crimes which many times lead to bigger crimes, so they ‘head it off’ by arresting panhandlers. I lived on the Rez and I must say that one of the most frustrating things was that when you went to the grocery store or gas station it was a rare visit that I wasn’t asked for spare change by several people I didn’t know. I also usually saw a few former students doing the same thing. I will say the former students only asked if they were really buzzed. It has been nice to be in Flagstaff where this NEVER happens. The current law is not stopping street drinking, not stopping fights, and not stopping petty crimes…at least according to the stats. The issue with the Flagstaff law is Freedom of Speech. People in need have a right to ask for help, and people who don’t want to help have a right to say no. While this is easier said than done, the city policy is wrong. The local cops recently arrested a 70 year old Hopi grandma for panhandling. The ACLU picked up her case and has started the legal action. Time will tell how the courts will see this case.  

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Each of the clues below describes a name of a candy. Can you name that candy? Example: Earth's neighbor = Mars.

1. Quiet giggles from the back of the room 2. Infant child of The Sultan of Swat (2) 3. Cow juice / cowboy clothes (2) 4. Baby chick chirps 5. Male parental unit that plays guitar (2)

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• "One of These Nights" Don Henley

• Alex Trebek Has Gone Insane

• David Spade Stand Up

Hmmmm…Dismissals - Occupational Puns

A writer could be described. A journalist could be depressed. A botanist could be deflowered.

Ok, then?

Harper’s Index    

Portion of all North American Internet traffic accounted for my videos streamed from Netflix: 1/4

Picture of the Day: Africa’s Big 5

     Lion, African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Leopard, and Rhinoceros

Unusual Fact of the Day

In 2003, the European Union came up with a novel solution for lowering soaring unemployment levels in Italy’s Campania region. With a grant of 1 million euros, the EU opened First Tel School, a program designed to train students to become game show hostesses. Unfortunately, fewer than 100 spots were made available to the 1,200 Vanna White wannabes who applied.

Joke-of-the-day

Joe, a college student, was taking a course in ornithology, the study of birds. The night before the biggest test of the semester, Joe spent all night studying. He had the textbook nearly memorized. He knew his class notes backward and forward. Joe was ready.

The morning of the test, Joe entered the auditorium and took a seat in the front row. On the table in the front was a row of ten stuffed birds. Each bird had a sack covering its body, and only the legs were showing. When class started, the professor announced that the students were to identify each bird by looking at its legs and give its common name, species, habitat, mating habits, etc.

Joe looked at each of the birds' legs. They all looked the same to him. He started to get angry. He had stayed up all night studying for this test and now he had to identify birds by their LEGS? The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got.

Finally he reached his boiling point. He stood up, marched up to the professor's desk, crumpled up his exam paper and threw it on the desk. "What a ridiculous test!" he told the prof. "How could anyone tell the difference between these birds by looking at their legs? This exam is the biggest rip-off I've ever seen!"

With that, Joe turned and stormed toward the exit. The professor was a bit shocked, and it took him a moment to regain his composure. Then, just as Joe was about to walk out the door, the prof shouted out, "Wait a minute, young man, what's your name?"

Joe turned around, pulled up his pant legs and hollered, "You tell me, prof! You tell me!"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

TIPPING THE HOTEL MAID

 Leave about a dollar a night at the end of your stay on the dresser or desk for the housekeeping staff. Leave more at an expensive hotel (over $100/night) or if they provided extra service. Leave lots more if you're leaving a mess.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

IMMOKALEE, Fla. - Authorities in Florida said an intoxicated woman who crashed a sport-utility vehicle into a tree was allegedly trying to hit her ex-boyfriend. Collier County Sheriff's deputies said investigators responded to a call from the Immokalee neighborhood around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday and saw Veronica Doctor, 45, walking away from the driver's side of the vehicle and appearing to have trouble balancing, WINK-TV, Fort Myers, Fla., reported Thursday. Deputies said Doctor smelled strongly of alcohol and refused to speak to them. A friend in the passenger's seat of the black GMC SUV told deputies Doctor had driven to her ex-boyfriend's house, where the former couple argued. The ex-boyfriend was contacted and told deputies Doctor started driving in circles in his front yard when he refused to answer the door around 2 a.m. and he went out to confront her about being drunk. The man said he attempted to walk away at the end of the argument and she chased him with the vehicle. He said Doctor struck the tree while attempting to run him down. Doctor's blood alcohol content was measured at .259 at a local hospital, well over the legal limit of .08. Doctor was charged with aggravated assault and driving under the influence.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet them on your way down. - - -Wilson Mizner

• Be nice to your children, for they will choose your rest home. - - -Phyllis Diller

• Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed. - - -Bruce Springsteen

• Be sure to wear a good cologne, a nice aftershave lotion, and a strong underarm deodorant. And it might be a good idea to wear some clothes, too.- - -George Burns

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

19-24

National Scrabble Week

21-27
National Parenting Gifted Children Week
Captive Nations Week
National Independent Retailers Week
National Zoo Keeper Week
World Lumberjack Championships

Today Is                                                                      

·        Casual Pi Day: 22/7 is an approximate way to express Pi

·        National Penuche Fudge Day

·        Pied Piper Day: 1376

·        Rat-catchers Day: Pied Piper of Hamelin according to Robert Browning

·        Spooners (Spoonerism) Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st VP to preside over cabinet meeting-R Nixon…1955

Alexander Mackenzie reaches Pacific Ocean; first Euro-American to complete transcontinental crossing of Canada…1793

English defeat Scots at Battle of Falkirk…1298

Greg LeMond of US wins his 3rd Tour de France…1990

Israel assassinates Salah Shahade, Commander-in-Chief of Hamas's military arm…2002

Sonny Liston KOs Floyd Patterson in 1 for heavyweight boxing title…1963

US enacts a law for the formal regulation of trade with Indians titled "An Act providing 

     for Holding a Treaty or Treaties to Establish Peace with Certain Indian Tribes."…1790 

Wiley Post completes 1st round-the-world solo flight…1933

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

Robert J Dole, Sen-R Kansas/presidential candidate is 90

In their 80’s

Orson Bean, actor/comedian (To Tell the Truth) is 85

In their 70’s

George Clinton, rocker (Parliament-Funkadelic) is 72

Kay Bailey Hutchison, Senator-Texas is 70

Alex Trebek, TV game host (High Rollers, Jeopardy) is 73

In their 60’s

Albert Brooks, comedian (Broadcast News, Lost in America) is 66

Danny Glover, actor (Lethal Weapon, Operation Dumbo Drop) is 67

Don Henley, rock drummer/vocalist (Eagles-Desparado) is 66

In their 50’s

Willem Dafoe, actor (Platoon, Roadhouse 66, Mississippi Burning) is 58

Rob Estes, TV actor is 50

In their 40’s

David Spade, comedian (SNL, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep) is 49

John Leguizamo, Bogotá, Colombia, actor (Mambo Mouth, Whispers in the Dark) is 49

Under 30

Selena Gomez, Disney actress is 21

Remembered for being born today

Friedrich W Bessel, German astronomer (star parallax, Bessel Function) [1784-1846]

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mom of JFK, RFK & Ted, [1890-1995]

Emma Lazarus, poet ("New Colossus" - on the base of Statue of Liberty) [1847-1887]

Amy Vanderbilt, authority on etiquette (Complete Book of Etiquette)  [1908-1974]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Marie Francois Xavier Bichat, a founder of histology…falling down stairs…1802…at 30

John Dillinger, bank robber…shot by FBI…1934…at 33

Estelle Getty, actress (Golden Girls)…2008…at 84

Qusay Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein…killed by US 101^st airborne…2003…at 37  

Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein…killed by US 101^st airborne…2003…at 39

Carl Sandburg, poet (Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Years)…1967…at 89

Answer: Brain Teasers

1. Snickers (or Chuckles) 2. Baby Ruth 3. Milk Duds 4. Peeps 5. Pop Rocks

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  §