1-12-13

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Flagstaff Almanac:

Week: 02 / Day: 012   

Today: L 21°…H 54°… Ave. humidity: 44%

Wind: ave:   10mph; Gusts:  16mph  

Average Low: 16° Record Low:  -20° (1963)

Average High: 43° Record High:  59° (2002)

Quote of the Day

Today’s Historical Highlights

1773 - 1st US public museum established (Charlestown SC)

1864 - NAVAJOs have been ordered to move to the Bosque Redondo Reservation 

          in NM. Many who decide not to go move to the Canyon de Chelly. Kit Carson

          has been directed to force the NAVAJOs to move or to be killed as "hostiles". 

1879 - British Zulu War begins: Lt-General Chelmsford invades Zululand

1896 - 1st X-ray photo in US (Dr Henry Smith, Davidson NC)

1915 - House of Reps rejects proposal to give women right to vote

1948 - Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast

1966 - "Batman" with Adam West & Burt Ward premieres on ABC TV

1971 - "All in the Family" premieres on CBS featuring 1st toilet flush on TV

2010 - Earthquake occurs in Haiti killing 230,000 and destroying the majority of the

            capital Port-au-Prince

♫  Today’s Birthdays: ♫   

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

My Free Rambling Thoughts   

A nice productive Saturday. Even spent some time taking a short walk. Good way to spend a Saturday in the middle of the winter. 

Must have been a very slow news day as each time I switched on the news it was just rehash of things I already had heard. Yep, Christi screwed up, it was cold from the polar vortex, the Olympics are coming and terrorists may be involved, pot is still legal in CO for recreational use, and the sun is still up there.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

All answers end in sting and the whole word is obtained in the clues below.
eg: A sting that cures fatigue  answer: reSTING

1. A sting that cures hunger 2. A sting that cleans your room 3. A sting that makes you laugh 4. A sting that cooks your meat 5. A sting that spoils your tools 6. A sting that holds your attention 7. A sting that some observe in Lent 8. A sting that cooks are always using 9. A sting that browns your bread

Lifestyle  Substance:     

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today

• All In The Family Christmas-Jesus

• Batman TV Show Theme Song

• Bee Gees - Suddenly (Maurice Gibb on lead)

• Ernie Kovacs as Percy Dovetonsils

• Glenn Yarbrough Performs "Baby The Rain Must Fall"

• IRA HAYES

• TEX RITTER - Hillbilly Heaven

NEW! Actual Complaints…

These are actual complaints received from dissatisfied customers by Thomas Cook Vacations (based on a Thomas Cook/ABTA survey):

"I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."

Suggested New State Mottos:

Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism

Something to Ponder in your free time…

• Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light" ?

• Doesn't 'expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

NEW  Auction Prices

The violin that played as the Titanic sank. The violin that purportedly played during the final hours of the sinking of the Titanic went up for auction this year. Thought to have belonged to the ship's bandmaster Wallace Hartley, the fiddle sold for a cool $1.7 million.

OK Then…

Harper’s Index 

• Percentage of requests by Poles for asylum in the United States that were granted last year: 30

• Percentage of requests by Salvadorans: 3

• Percentage of requests by Nicaraguans: 14

Unusual Fact of the Day

Blue eyes are the result of an ancient genetic mutation.

Joke-of-the-day

Before going to Europe on business, a man drives his Rolls-Royce to a downtown New York City bank and asks for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer, taken aback, requests collateral. "Well then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce," the man says.

The loan officer promptly has the car driven into the bank's underground parking for safe keeping and gives the man the $5,000. Two weeks later, the man walks through the bank's doors and asks to settle up his loan and get his car back. "That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest," the loan officer says.

The man writes out a check and starts to walk away.

"Wait, sir," the loan officer says. "You are a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow $5,000?"

The man smiles, "Where else could I find a safer place to park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and pay only $15.40?"  

Rules of Thumb:   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

TEACHING SPELLING

When announcing spelling words for average senior-high-school students, pronounce them at the rate of 1 word every 12 seconds. Difficult words can be recalled and written in that period of time if the student knows them. And this interval is short enough that students won't get bored by the easy words.    

Yeah, It Really Happened

A naked Australian man who became stuck in a washing machine as part of an ill-planned practical joke was freed from the appliance with the help of some olive oil.

The 20-year-old man, identified only as "Laurence," said he was on his way to take a shower when he decided to climb into the top-loader to have a bit of fun. The fun quickly evaporated, however, when he realized he couldn't budge.

He called out to his friend for help, who rang the police. They responded to the scene, along with firefighters, paramedics and a search and rescue squad.

"He was very well wedged in there and we were concerned for his health and well-being," police Sgt. Michelle De Araugo said. "It was just a game gone wrong. It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed."

Rescuers tried in vain to pull Laurence from the machine. But when it became clear he was seriously stuck, they grabbed a bottle of his favorite olive oil to help lubricate his escape.

"I was quite disappointed they used my good olive oil," Laurence said. "As soon as the washing machine went on its side, it was a bit like a birthing."

• Somewhat Useless Information   

• The Holodomor, also known as the “Terror-Famine in Ukraine” and “Famine-Genocide in Ukraine”, was a man-made catastrophic famine in the Ukrainian SSR and adjacent Cossack territories in 1932 and 1933. During those years, millions of Ukrainians and Cossacks died of starvation, however, estimations vary. According to the Soviet archives deaths in Ukraine in 1932–1933 are numbered a minimum of 1.8 million (2.7 including birth losses).

•  
Wasabi, known as the ‘Asian superfood’, has several health benefits and it is only in the last decade that these health benefits have been investigated in the West. Some of them are (according to wasabi.org): Kills harmful food born bacteria Reduces blood pressure Kills cancer cells Improves bone strength Improves liver function Detoxifies the body of free radicals Improves gut actions Naturally Anti-Viral, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Bacterial Stimulates the body’s natural immune system

• ‘Casablanca’ is a romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942, which was set during the WWII starring Humphrey Bogart,  Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. It is said that the difference between Bergman’s and Bogart’s height caused some problems during the shooting, as Bergman was 5 cm taller than Bogart. Due to the height difference it is said that Curtiz had Bogart stand on blocks or sit on cushions in their scenes together!

Calendar Information        

Happening This Week:

8-14

Universal Letter Writing Week  
11-17

Cuckoo Dancing Week

Today Is                                                                      

·        Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania-1964)

Today’s Events through History  

1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asis founded in California

1812 - 1st cargo arrives in New Orleans by steam, from Natchez

1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

1933 - US Congress recognize independence Philippines

1975 - Chrysler Corp offers 1st car rebates

1995 - Murder trial against OJ Simpson, begins in LA

2013 - Beijing’s level of air pollution is declared to be at levels that are hazardous to 

         human health

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Glenn Yarborough, singer (Limeliters-Honey & Wine, Jubilee) is 84

Kirstie Alley, actress (Star Trek II, Cheers-Rebecca, Kirstie) is 63

Rush Limbaugh, right wing radio personality is 63

Ricky Van Shelton, country musician is 62

Howard Stern, "Radio's Bad Boy" is 60

Dominique Wilkins, NBA forward (Atlanta Hawks) is 54

Remembered for being born today

1729 - Edmund Burke, British author (Philosophy & Inquiry) 

1876 - Jack London (born John Griffith Chaney), writer/socialist (Call of the Wild)

1906 - Tex Ritter, Texas, country singer (5 Star Jubilee, Wayward Wind)

1923 - Ira Hayes, Pima Marine @ Iwo Jima

1926 - Ray Price, country singer (Good Times)

1944 - Joe Frazier, HW boxer (Olympic-gold-1964)/champ

Today’s Historical Obits                                                           

George Price, cartoonist (New Yorker) in 1995 @93

Beulah Bondi, actress (It's a Wonderful Life) in 1981 @91

Agatha Christie, mystery writer (10 Little Indians) in 1976 @85

Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State in 2002 @84

Hiram Walker, American distiller in 1899 @82

Maurice Gibb, British singer, songwriter (Bee Gees) heart attack 2003 @53

John Horsley, British archaeologist of apoplexy in 1732 @47  

Ernie Kovacs, comedian (Ernie Kovacs Show)in auto crash in 1962 @42

Brain Teasers

1. feasting 2. dusting 3. jesting 4. roasting 5. rusting 6. interesting 7. fasting 8. tasting 9. toasting

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  §