12/16/13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 51 / Day: 350   

Today: L 21°…H 46°… Ave. humidity: 55%

Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  21mph  

Average Low: 16° Record Low:  -18° (1971)

Average High: 43° Record High:  63° (1958)

Quote of the Day

 

Today’s Historical Highlights

"Variety," covering all phases of show business, 1st published…1905

1st credit union in US forms (Manchester NH)…1908

1st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated…1897

1st successful landing on Venus (USSR)…1970

1st White House Press Conference (Pres Eisenhower & 161 reporters)…1953

Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"…1915

Battle of Bulge begins in Belgium…1944

Boston Tea Party…1773

Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri, causing widespread damage…1811 

Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC…1835

Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan…1707

Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000…1631

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

Lazy Sunday…clear blue sky but a little chilly. Tried to get some cleaning done, semi-successful.

 

Sunday morning news shows shed very little new light on the world situation. Lots of talk about the same old news with no real new insights. Getting ready to head to Chicago.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

What are your answers to the respective questions so that your answers to all the questions are correct?

Question 1 The answer to Question 2 is: A. B B. C C. A Question 2  The first question with correct answer B is: A. Question 3 B. Question 1 C. Question 2 Question 3  The only answer you have not chosen yet is: A. A B. B C. C

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Flashmob Flash Mob - Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy)

• Noël Coward 1970 Tony Awards

• Sir Arthur C Clarke

• Dan Fogelberg - Leader Of The Band (Live - 1991)

• Lee Van Cleef Tribute

Very Strange Laws…Georgia

• All sex toys are banned.

• Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.

• If an organization non registered as “non-profit” fails to register their raffle with the local sheriff, that group risks paying up to $10,000 in fines and spending five years in jail.

• It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroner’s office.

• Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session.

• No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.

• Signs are required to be written in English.

• The term “sadomasochistic abuse” is defined so broadly, that it could possibly be applied to a person handcuffing another in a clown suit.

• While Georgia operates its own lottery, it “protects” its citizens by making it illegal to promote a private lottery.

• Acworth--
  All citizens must own a rake.

• Athens-Clarke County--
  Adult bookstores may not sell alcohol. \ If you want to read your favorite book in public to your friends, do it before 2:45 AM. \ Massage businesses may not sell alcohol on the side. \ It is illegal to sell two beers are once for a single price. For example, a bar can’t run a 2 Bud Lights for $5 special. \ Though being forced to close your business is bad enough, Athens-Clarke County forces one to obtain a license before holding a Going-Out-Of-Business sale. \ Goldfish may not be given away to entice someone to enter a game of bingo. \ Owners of mules may not allow their animal to roam around Athens unsupervised. \ Persons under the age of 16 may not play pinball after 11:00 PM. \ It is illegal for one to make a disturbing sound at a fair. \ On Mondays, it is illegal for one to whistle very loud after 11:00 PM. \ Alabama slingshots may not be used in the city limits. \ No one may bath in Sandy Creek Lake.

• Atlanta--
  Against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole orstreet lamp. \ One man may not be on another man’s back.

• Columbus--
  No one may practice the business of tattooing on Sunday. \ It is illegal to carve your initials on a tree, even if it is on your own property. \ Cussing over the telephone is against the law. \ It is illegal to wear a hat in a movie theater. \ Crosses may be burned on someone else’s property, so long as you have their permission. \ No person may be buried under a sidewalk of a cemetery.  

OK Then…

 

Harper’s Index 

• Percentage change since 2007 in the number of cells in the New York City prison system devoted to solitary confinement: +63

• Portion of the adolescent prisoners in solitary on Riker’s Island who have been diagnosed with a mental illness: 7/10 

Unusual Fact of the Day

Despite what you may have heard about Bastille Day, the storming of the Bastille wasn’t nearly as heroic as it sounds. For one thing, very few guards were stationed around the place. Stranger still, there were only seven inmates inside.

Joke-of-the-day

A Cub Scout troop was half an hour late to its den meeting. The den mother asked them severely, “Why are you so late?”

“Oh,” said one boy, “we were helping an old man cross the street.”

“That’s a nice thing for scouts to do,” said the mother. She paused. “But it shouldn’t make you half an hour late.”

“Well, you see,” said another boy, “he didn’t want to go.”

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

SPOTTING FOOT PROBLEMS

A sneaker sole worn along the outer edge indicates flat feet. A sole worn along the inner edge indicates a high arch.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

ST. LOUIS - A Washington state woman said a 2-inch-long toy gun for a cowboy-themed sock monkey was seized by Transportation Security Administration agents in Missouri. Phyllis May of Redmond said she and her husband were preparing to fly from St. Louis to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when one of her bags was pulled aside by a TSA agent, KING-TV, Seattle, reported Tuesday. May, who has a business selling sock monkey dolls, said the agent took issue with a small replica pistol belonging to "Rooster Monkburn," a cowboy-themed sock monkey named in tribute to the character from "True Grit." "She said 'this is a gun,'" May said. "I said no, it's not a gun it's a prop for my monkey." "She said 'If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn't know if it was real or not,' and I said 'really?'" May said. May said she was eventually allowed to board the plane with the rest of the items in her bag, mostly sewing supplies. "Rooster Monkburn has been disarmed so I'm sure everyone on the plane was safe," she said. "I understand she was doing her job but at some point doesn't common sense prevail?" The TSA issued a statement Monday. "TSA officers are dedicated to keeping the nation's transportation security systems safe and secure for the traveling public. Under longstanding aircraft security policy, and out of an abundance of caution, realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags," the statement read.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Did you know that the voices of the famous cartoon heroes Mickey and Minnie Mouse were married in real life? Wayne Allwine took over the voice acting for Mickey Mouse in 1977 and his wife Russel Taylor began performing for Minnie Mouse in 1986. They got married in 1991 and remained together until Wayne’s death in 2009.

• Gandhi did not say the famous quote ”Be the change you wish to see in the world”, but an unknown person paraphrased the quote out of a Gandhi’s text. 
The passage was: “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. . . . We need not wait to see what others do.”

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

10-17: Human Rights Week
14-28:  Halcyon Days

14-1/5 Christmas Bird Count Week 
15-21: Gluten-free Baking Week
16-24: Posadas

Today Is                                                                      

·        Anniversary - Boston Tea Party

·        Barbie and Barney Backlash Day

·        National Chocolate-covered Anything Day

·        Underdog Day

·        Zionism Day

~~~~~

·        Bahrain-- Independence Day (1971 from UK)

·        Bangladesh: Victory Day (1971 over Pakistan)

·        Kazakhstan--Independence Day (1991 from USSR)

·        South Africa--Reconciliation Day (since 1994)

Today’s Events through History  

1st broadcast of "One Day at a Time" on CBS TV…1975

Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week…1913

Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released…1971

Oliver Cromwell sworn in as English Lord Protector…1653

President Clinton names his Labrador retriever, "Buddy"…1997

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Liv Ullmann, Tokyo, Japan, Norwegian actress and director is 75

Lesley Stahl, newscaster/correspondent (CBS) is 72

Steven Bochco, prod (Hill St Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, NYPD Blue) is 70

William "The Refrigerator" Perry, NFL defensive back (Chicago Bears) is 51

Benjamin Bratt, actor (Det Reynaldo Curtis-Law & Order) is 50

Remembered for being born today

Catherine of Aragon, Madrid, Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII [1485-1536]

Jane Austen, novelist (Pride and Prejudice) [1775-1817]

Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy) [1770-1827]

George Santayana, Spain, philosopher/poet/humanist (Last Puritan) [1863-1952]

Noel Coward, England, playwright (In Which We Serve-1942 Acad Award) [1899-1973]

Margaret Mead, anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa) [1901-1978]

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author (2001, 2010) [1917-2008]

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

Harland Sanders, founder Kentucky Fried Chicken…1980…@90

Roy E. Disney, American businessman…cancer…2009…@79

Lee Van Cleef, US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly)…heart attack…1989…@64

William Petty, English scientist and philosopher…1687…@64

Dan Fogelberg, American singer/songwriter…cancer…2007…@56

George, a goose that lived to 49 years 8 months…1976

Brain Teasers

Question 1: C Question 2: A Question 3: B

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  §