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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 01 / Day: 1   

Today: L 17°…H 54°… Ave. humidity: 46%

Wind: ave:   mph; Gusts:  mph  

Average Low: 16° Record Low:  -21° (1919)

Average High: 42° Record High:  61° (1981)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

   45 BC - The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time.

404 - Last gladiator competition in Rome

630 - The Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that captures it bloodlessly.

1502 - Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro

1600 - Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March.

1651 - Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland

1805: Lewis & Clark attend a party with the local Indians.

1788 - Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves

1801 - Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain

1818 - Official reopening of the White House

1846 - Yucatan declares independence from Mexico

1874 - New York City annexes the Bronx

1898 - Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY1962 - United States Navy SEALs established.

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

 

My Free Rambling Thoughts  
A really nice day to end 2013. So Sunny, so warm. Couldn’t ask for anything more.  Did some end of the year cleaning, getting everything put away or thrown away. I really can’t believe how much ‘stuff’ one accumulates without even trying. I am always surprised when I finally get pumped to clean up and what I find.   I have a beautiful new Mandela Calendar and have decided to mark each day with a set of rooms to straighten up and clean up…I’ll see how well that works out. Listening to NPR this morning they had a story from Florida where the state has been issuing lots of Public Service Announcements reminding their residents that celebrating by shooting a gun into the air is very dangerous…since the bullets have to come back down to earth and every year at least one person is injured or killed.  Duh…It made me wonder where is the NRA on this issue? It would seem to me that they too should be doing a PSA reminding all gun owners not to be celebrating by shooting off a gun. Are they afraid that such a PSA would be seen by their members of ‘caving to gun control’ or that none of their members would be so irresponsible, it is not their problem? If it is the former, they should be able to come up with something about the dangers. If the later is the problem, they are admitting that there are irresponsible gun owners out there and they don’t want to talk about them. Either way, their inaction says a lot about their mission. I sure hope the New Year brings some sanity to the gun debate.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

In this teaser, you will be given rows, each with three clues. The answer to the second clue of any row will consist of the letters -- usually rearranged -- of the answer to the first clue in that row, minus one letter. The answer to the third clue, likewise, will consist of the letters from the second answer, minus one. If you put each dropped letter into the box following the word from which it was dropped, reading down the two columns of boxes will give a phrase, or two terms that are somehow related.

1. Domestic rodent [_] 2. Lovely suit? [_] 3. Look, intently 4. Booths, chairs, and stools [_] 5. Secret and real-estate [_] 6. Dread 7. Alter orientation [_] 8. Straight [_] 9. Internal covering 10. Dresser compartment [_] 11. Shallow pool's occupant [_] 12. Erode, through use 13. Weakness; lack of vigor [_] 14. Northeastern U.S. state [_] 15. Explosive device 16. Follower; student [_] 17. Joined; bound [_] 18. Drive away, as a feeling 19. French/Swiss river [_] 20. Savior [_] 21. Metal, prior to extraction 22. Get away from [_] 23. Word separator [_] 24. Baseball hats

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• Dubai New Years Eve 2014 Fireworks
  400K fireworks @ 40 venues in Dubai

• Mt Olive NC Pickle Drop

• Remembering J.D. Salinger

• Shirley Chisholm : Greatest Achievement / Strongest Regret

• Bronco Layne Theme - Ty Hardin

Odd Lawsuits…

Leg Cramps Slide

In 2004, Jerome and Judith O'Callaghan sued American Airlines for $100,000 because there wasn't enough leg room on their flight.

• New Years Eve Drops

• McClure, Pennsylvania: A kettle is dropped in honor of McClure Bean Soup Festival

• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: A wrench is dropped

• Memphis, Tennessee: A guitar is dropped

• Mobile, Alabama: A 600-pound electric Moon Pie is dropped 

• Mount Olive, North Carolina: The New Year's Eve Pickle is lowered

• Niagara Falls, New York: A ten-foot Gibson Guitar is dropped

• Passamaquoddy Bay: A red maple leaf is dropped in Eastport, Maine

• Pensacola, Florida: A pelican is dropped

• Plymouth, Wisconsin: Plymouth drops an 80-pound decorated cheese wedge

• Port Clinton, Ohio: A walleye fish named "Captain Wylie Walleye"

• Princess Anne, Maryland: A stuffed muskrat in a top hat and bow tie named Marshall P. Muskrat 

OK Then…

Harper’s Index 

• Bald eagle population of the continental United States in 1979: 9,815

• In 1982: 13,825

Unusual Fact of the Day

Fifty years ago, the average man first married at 23, and the woman at 20. Today, those ages have increased to 27 and 25, respectively.

Joke-of-the-day

A New Yorker was forced to take a day off from work to appear for a minor traffic summons. He grew increasingly restless as he waited hour after endless hour for his case to be heard.

When his name was called late in the afternoon, he stood before the judge, only to hear that court would be adjourned for the rest of the afternoon and he would have to return the next day.

"What for?!?!?" he snapped at the judge.

His honor, equally irked by a tedious day and sharp query, roared out loud: "Twenty dollars contempt of court! That's why!"

Then, noticing the man checking his wallet, the judge relented:

"That's all right. You don't have to pay now."

The young man replied, "I know. But I'm just seeing if I have enough for two more words."  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

FINDING WHERE TO PUT YOUR MOUTH ON A CLARINET

To find the correct place to put your mouth on a clarinet reed, put a piece of paper between the reed and the mouthpiece. Where the paper stops is the correct place for your mouth.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

In Wisconsin a postal carrier said he simply wanted to cheer up a woman on his rounds who seemed "stressed out" so he decided to deliver her mail naked.

He even told her he was going to do it. As a prank, I suppose. But whether she took him seriously or not, there was no doubting his sincerity when he showed up at her office wearing only a smile and his mail bag.

Those wacky letter carriers.

The 52-year-old was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior several days later.  

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The famous dance ‘Samba’ was originated in Brazil during the 70s, being a favorite for competitions throughout the world because of its lively and upbeat rhythm. The word “Samba” has African roots as it comes from the word “Semba,” meaning naval bump, an indication to the intimacy of the dance.

• Between 1971 and 1972 Germany lifted the restriction on haircuts for soldiers and as photos of that period show, soldiers used to have long hair in the army at that time! However, this restriction was active only for one year, as later on the defense minister decided a soldier’s hair could not touch his uniform or collar and that hair could not cover a person’s eyes or ears.

• Did you know that eating meat is crucial for humans’ evolution according to two recent independent studies? What has been demonstrated in these studies, is that meat contributed to human’s big brain and mentally advanced system. It is also said that if gorillas used to eat meat, in the long term they could be mentally as advanced as humans were in primitive times.

• The prime minister of New Zealand appointed an Official Wizard in 1990 and it was the first country of the modern world to have done so. “I have spent the past 40 years of my life in a largely solo attempt to re-enchant the world, making use of my training as an academic sociologist and psychologist”, says the 80 years – old Ian Brackenbury Channell.

• The public broadcasting system of the United Kingdom, BBC, was founded in October of 1922 by John Reith and George Villiers. BBC, which is headquartered at the Broadcasting House in London, is the largest broadcaster in the world numbering 23, 000 employees.

Calendar Information        

Happening This Month:

Apple and Apricots Month 
Artichoke and Asparagus Month 

Bath Safety Month 
Be Kind to Food Servers Month
Birth Defects Month 
Book Blitz Month

California Dried Plum Digestive Month
Carnival Season
Celebration of Life Month
Cervical Health Awareness Month 

Financial Wellness Month

Get A Balanced Life Month
Get Organized Month

International Brain Teaser Month
International Change Your Stars Month
International Child-Centered Divorce Awareness Month
International Creativity Month
International New Years Resolutions Month for Businesses
International Quality of Life Month
International Wayfinding Month
International Wealth Mentality Month

Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month 

National Be On-Purpose Month
National Braille Literacy Month 
National Clean Up Your Computer Month
National Glaucoma Awareness Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Mail Order Gardening Month
National Mentoring Month  
National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month 
National Stalking Awareness Month 
National Polka Music Month 
National Poverty in America Awareness Month
National Radon Action Month
National Skating Month
National Soup Month 
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month 

Oatmeal Month

Rising Star Month 

Self-help Group Awareness Month
Self-Love Month
Shape Up US Month

Teen Driving Awareness Month
Tubers and Dried Fruit Month 
Thyroid Awareness Month 

Worldwide Rising Star Month

Happening This Week:

1-7

New Year's Resolutions Week
Celebration of Life Week
Diet Resolution Week
Silent Record Week
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Copyright Law Day

·        Commitment Day

·        Ellis Island Day 1892

·        Euro Day

·        First Foot Day

·        Global Family Day

·        Mummer's Parade

·        New Years Day Polar Bear Plunge or Swim Day

·        Rose Bowl Game

·        Tournament of Roses Parade Day since 1886

·        Z Day

^^^^^^^^^^

·        Liberation Day

o   Cuba-1959

·        Independence Day

o   Cameroon-1960 from France

o   Haiti-1803 from France

o   Sudan-1956 from UK and Egypt

Today’s Events through History  

1975 - International Women's Year begins

1979 - International Year of the Child begins

1983 - World Communications Year begins

1985 - International Youth Year begins

1986 - International Peace Year begins

1987 - International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins

1988 - Year of the Reader begins

1989 - Year of the Young Reader begins

1992 - International Space Year begins

1994 - International Year of Family

1999 - International Year of Elderly         

2014- International Year of Family Farming

^^^^^

1502 - Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro

1600 - Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March.

1673 - Regular mail delivery begins between NY & Boston

1801 - Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain

1808 - Congress prohibits importation of slaves

1818 - Official reopening of the White House

1842 - 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, NYC

1852 - 1st US public bath opens, in NYC

1863 - Emancipation Proclamation (ending slavery) issued by Lincoln

1934 - Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison

1948 - 1st color newsreel filmed (Pasadena, California)

1948 - Britain nationalizes its railways

1957 - Benjamin Britten's ballet "Prince & the Pauper," premieres in London

1962 - United States Navy SEALs established.


1968 - Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump Caesar's Palace Fountain

st mandatory seat belt law goes into effect (NY)

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Ty Hardin, actor (Riptide, Bronco) is 84

Country Joe McDonald, rock guitarist/vocalist (& the Fish) is 72

Remembered for being born today

1735 - Paul Revere, silversmith/US patriot

1752 - Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom], seamstress widely credited with making the first American flag

1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

1900 - Xavier Cugat, Barcelona Spain, bandleader (married Abbe Lane, Charo)

1909 - Dana Andrews, actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura)

1919 - J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, novelist (Catcher in the Rye)

1919 - Rocky Graziano, boxer (Middleweight champ) and entertainer

Today’s Historical Obits 

1557 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (Canada), typhus @65

1896 - Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor (NYC subway system), pneumonia @69

1972 - Maurice A Chevalier, French actor (Can Can, Gigi), @83

1982 - Victor Buono, TV actor (King Tut-Batman), heart attack @43

1994 - Cesar Romero, US actor (Joker-Batman) @86

2005 - Shirley Chisholm, 1st American black congresswoman/pres candidate @80

2013 - Patti Page [Clara Ann Fowler], American pop singer @ 85

Brain Teasers

1.      hamster [M] 2. hearts [H] 3. stare
4. seating [I] 5. agents [E] 6. angst
7. realign [G] 8. linear [A] 9. liner
10. drawer [R] 11. wader [D] 12. wear
13. anemia [A] 14. Maine [A] 15. mine
16. disciple [I] 17. spliced [C] 18. dispel
19. Rhone [N] 20. hero [H] 21. ore
22. escape [E] 23. space [E] 24. Caps
4. seating [I] 5. agents [E] 6. angst 7. realign [G] 8. linear [A] 9. liner 10. drawer [R] 11. wader [D] 12. wear 13. anemia [A] 14. Maine [A] 15. mine 16. disciple [I] 17. spliced [C] 18. dispel 19. Rhone [N] 20. hero [H] 21. ore 22. escape [E] 23. space [E] 24. Caps"Migraine headache"

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  §