11/29/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 48 / Day: 333   

Today: L 19°…H 48°… Ave. humidity: 76%

Wind: ave:   9mph; Gusts:  11mph  

Average Low: 19° Record Low:  -8° (1905)

Average High: 47° Record High:  68° (1949)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

"Kukla, Fran, & Ollie" debuted on NBC…1948

1st Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC)…1825

1st opera to be televised, "Othello," broadcast from the Met (NYC)…1948

1st US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued…1910

Antioch in modern day Syria struck by Earthquake, about 250,000 die…526

Bonnie Prince Charlie's army moves into Manchester & occupies Carlisle…1745

Compulsory education proclaimed in England…1870

East 182nd Street in Bronx is paved & opened…1901

John Hopkins hospital performs 1st open heart surgery…1944

KOB TV channel 4 in Albuquerque, NM (NBC) begins broadcasting…1948

LBJ sets up Warren Comm to investigate assassination of JFK…1963

National Council of Church of Christ in US forms…1950

Pres Ford requires states to provide free education for handicapped…1975

Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado militia kills about 150 peaceful Cheyenne and 

     Arapaho Indians including Cheyenne chief One-Eye…1864

Seoul, Korea, celebrated the 600th anniversary of its founding…1994

Sir James Jay invents invisible ink…1775

US receives rights to Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii…1887

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

How many can you identify? Answers in Today’s Birthdays

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

What a really nice Turkey Day with friends. Martha always has an eclectic group at her log cabin in the forest. Great food, interesting people, and beautiful scenery. My pumpkin pie and blueberry pie were both hits. This year the conversation was mostly about the homeless in Flagstaff as two of the guests had connections to the local Emergency Shelter. While there were no solutions, we certainly understand the issues with the shelter a whole lot better now. Who should they serve…the mentally ill, the alcoholics, those who choose to be homeless to save money? And of course the biggest question—is it an organization that spends its money wisely? I found the most interesting part of the conversation dealing with who is a client and who is a worker. The line seems to very, very blurred. I guess time will tell how the town deals with the homeless.

 

Even though the topic was a little dark, everyone seemed to have a great time and for sure there was great food.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

An elderly pool attendant is starting to get sick of having to open the swimming pool every Monday, so he decides that the pool will remain closed on Mondays from now on. Being of reasonably limited English, he makes up a sign which he hangs from the front gate. What's special about his sign?

NOW NO SWIMS ON MON

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• George Harrison-My Sweet Lord (Studio Version)

• Cary Grant receiving an Honorary Oscar

• Madeleine L'Engle: Infinite Questions

• Chuck Mangione Quartet - Land Of Make Believe

• West Side Story 1961 - "I feel pretty"

Very Strange Laws…Kansas

• Rabbits may not be shot from motorboats.

• Pedestrians crossing the highways at night must wear tail lights.

• No one may catch fish with his bare hands.

• The state game rule prohibits the use of mules to hunt ducks.

• If two trains meet on the same track, neither shall proceed until the other has passed.

• Derby--It is illegal to urinate on the side of a building. \ Hitting a vending machine that stole your money is illegal. \ Persons may not “screech” their tires while driving. \ Riding an animal down any road is against the law.

• Dodge City--It is illegal to spit on a sidewalk.   

• Lawrence--All cars entering the city limits must first sound their horn to warn the horses of their arrival. \ No one may wear a bee in their hat.

• Russell-- Musical car horns are banned.

• Salina--It is against the law to leave your car running unattended.

• Topeka-- It is illegal to drive one’s car through a parade. \ Many cities have laws to force citizens to keep their yards in decent shape. \No one may sing the alphabet on the streets at night. \ Spitting on sidewalks is expressing forbidden.

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Amount Verizon charges the government to tap a phone line for a month: $775

• Amount Facebook charges the government for access to user profiles: $0

Unusual Fact of the Day

Only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "K." It's New York. Likewise, only one U.S. state's name ends with the letter "G": Wyoming.

Joke-of-the-day

A family went to a hospital, where one of their relatives would be having a brain transplant. One of the relatives asked, "What will the cost of a new brain be?"

The doctor replied, "A female brain costs $25,000 and a male brain costs $50,000."

The men smirked, but one of the females asked, "Why is that, doctor?"

"Well," the doctor replied,” the female brain is less because it has been used."  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

KEEPING A FRIEND

Never loan a friend more than you can afford to give away.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

KOLKATA, India - The head of India's largest household said election days are a trial for the family of 209, which includes 98 voting-eligible adults. The head of the household, identified as Ziona, 69, said he has 39 wives, 41 sons, 46 daughters, 22 grandsons, 26 granddaughters and seven great-grandchildren all living under the same roof in Mizoram, making it complicated, but not impossible, for the 98 eligible voters to cast their ballots in the state's elections, Gulf News reported Monday. "All the eligible voters of the family have voted. Both the Congress and the opposition have been wooing us, considering addressing our family as a small political rally," Ziona said Monday. "Voting day is a challenge for us since our daily work is affected. Also our mothers and wives cannot do the daily chores," said Ziona, whose oldest wife is 73.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The Pilgrim's thanksgiving feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 1. It lasted three days and included 50 surviving pilgrims and approximately 90 Wampanoag Indians, including Chief Massasoit. Their menu differed from modern Thanksgiving dinners and included berries, shellfish, boiled pumpkin, and deer.

• Held every year on the island of Alcatraz since 1975, "Unthanksgiving Day" commemorates the survival of Native Americans following the arrival and settlement of Europeans in the Americas.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

24-30: Better Conversation Week / Church-State Separation Week / National Bible Week / National Family Week  /National Game & Puzzle Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Black Friday

·        Buy Nothing Day

·        Electronic Greetings Day

·        Flossing Day

·        International Day of Solidarity With The Palestinian

·        Maize Day

·        National Day of Listening

·        National Native American Heritage Day

·        Sinkie Day (Some call it "The Sink Day" when you eat over the sink all the Thanksgiving leftovers.)

·        You're Welcomegiving Day

Today’s Events through History  

1st motorcycle race (Surrey England)…1897

Cole Porter’s musical "Gay Divorcee" premieres in NYC…1932

Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph…1877

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Vin[ce] Scully, sportscaster (NBC Baseball Game of the Week) is 86

Diane Ladd, actress (Wild Angels, Wild at Heart) is 81

Chuck Mangione, jazz hornist (Chasing the Clouds Away) is 73

Garry Shandling, comedian (Garry Shandling, Larry Sanders Show) is 64

Howie Mandel, Toronto Canada, comedian is 58

Kim Delaney, actress (All My Children, NYPD Blue) is 52

Don Cheadle, actor (Boogie Nights) is 49

Remembered for being born today

Christian Doppler, Salzburg, Austria, physicist (Doppler effect) [1803-1853]

Louisa May Alcott, author (Little Women) [1832-1888]

C. S. Lewis [Clive Staples], Belfast, sci-fi author (Silver Chair) [1898-1963]

Adam Clayton Powell Jr, (Rep-D-NY)/minister [1908-1972]

Frank Reynolds,  news anchor (ABC Evening News) [1923-1983]

Madeleine L'Engle, [Franklin], US, sci-fi author (Wrinkle in Time) [1918-2007]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Ralph Bellamy, actor (Rosemary's Baby, His Girl Friday)...1991…@87

Cary Grant, actor (Charades)…1986…@82

Howard Pyle, (Gov-R-Az, 1951-55)…1987…@81

Gene Rayburn, game show host (Match Game)…1999…@81

Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy)…1992…@78

Giacomo Puccini, Ital composer (Mme Butterfly)…heart attack…1924…@65

Horace Greeley, US founder/publisher (NY Tribune)…mental illness…1872…@61

George Harrison, Beatle…cancer…2001…@57

Tom Terrell, musicologist, NPR reviewer, deejay…cancer…2007…@57

Natalie Wood, actress (West Side Story)…drowns…1981…@43 

Brain Teasers

If you spin the sign upside down it will still read the same thing as it did.

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  §