8-16-14


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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 228 / Week: 33 
August Averages: 78° \ 50°
Today:
    Average Sky Cover: 60%
    H 75° L 55° Ave. humidity: 67%
    Wind: ave:   6mph; Gusts:  16mph 
    Average High: 80° Record High:  89° (1939)
    Average Low: 49° Record Low:  37° (1968)
           
Quote of the Day
Historical Highlights for Today

1743 - Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton)
1829 - Siamese twins Chang & Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited
1858 - Britain's Queen Victoria telegraphs US President James Buchanan
1894 - Sioux & Onondaga tribes met to urge their people to renounce Christianity & return to their old Indian faith
1896 - Gold first discovered in Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Alaska
1904 - NYC begins building Grand Central Station
1914 - Zapata & Pancho Villa over run Mexico
1924 - 38th US Womens Tennis: Helen Wills Moody beats Molla B Mallory (6-1 6-3)
1934 - US ends occupation of Haiti (been there since 1915)
1936 - 11th Olympic games closes in Berlin
1954 - "Sports Illustrated" magazine begins publishing
1961 - 250,000 West Berliners demonstrate against East Berlin
2008 - Usain Bolt sets a new 100 meter dash world record of 9.69 seconds
2012 - Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, is granted political asylum by Ecuador

  Birthdays Today:   
How many can you identify? Answers in Birthday’s Today below
My Rambling Thoughts   

So the weatherman last night said we were in for a dry weekend, as the monsoon was taking a break. Well, he was a little off. Nice shower this afternoon to keep the green around town. Then a real downpour ensued, forcing the closing of all windows and doors to keep out the rain as it bounced of the sidewalk.
It is really quiet throughout the day here at my place. No kids, no skateboards, no games of tag…until school ends and the kids get back, between 12 and 1 for the littlest ones and 3:30 for the older ones. They don’t usually come outside to play until after 4p…guess they are doing homework. Then the neighborhood comes alive once again until dark.
Lots of stuff has sure come out since the shooting of the young man in MO. Yesterday there was a story that he was the ‘primary suspect’ in a robbery that took a pack of cigars from a convenience store which was quickly debunked saying there is videotape of the theft, but the officer who shot him didn't know about the theft, and then later that the officer saw the cigars in the boy's pocket and thought he might be the thief. Then the new head cop said the boy was basically shot for ‘jaywalking’. The other thing that sure has me wondering is the number of military tanks and vehicles that are being ‘given’ to many local PD’s around the US. HLS gives out grants for local PD’s to buy armored tanks and heavy artillery from DOD. This process basically gives the stuff to towns for free. And it seems that many towns are happy to fill out some paperwork for free stuff. While some towns have citizens who are against this free weaponry, PD’s seem happy to get it. The story goes that these PD’s need to be ready to stop another 9/11. However, the images of a tank with a turret pointed at peaceful protestors in MO certainly paints a much different picture. I’ve seen many photos online of this incident asking people where the picture was taken. Most do not believe it was taken in our heartland.  As was shown in MO, when the cops show excessive force, the peaceful demonstrators do not always stay peaceful. As soon as the State Troopers took over and walked with the protestors, things calmed down immediately. Hopefully a lesson has been learned.

Game  Center (answers at the end of post)

Brain Teasers

Complete the word square by inserting the 9 letters into the grid, to create the same words reading down & across.

D E E L L L O O O

E A C H
A _ _ _
C _ _ _
H _ _ _

Found on You Tube with some relevance to today






OK Then…
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Paraphernalia 4 the Brain :     

**NEW**Africa Facts…
In 2005, in Africa, it was reported that three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl from kidnappers and guarded her for half a day until help came.

Brief History…

The Chinese Invented Gunpowder, but Not Firearms.
It appears the Chinese invented gunpowder while attempting to make an immortality drug back in the 9th Century.  The common myth is that Chinese then used the black powder in fireworks, while it took Europeans to realize the military potential of gunpowder and invent firearms.  In reality, the Chinese quickly grasped the potential of gunpowder used in bombs (grenades) and in launching projectiles, and they made such weapons shortly after gunpowder appeared.  (First written formula appearing in the 11th Century.)  Invading Mongols adapted the technology and their travels and invasions led to the spread of gunpowder and firearms to India, the Middle East, and to Europe.

Common Sayings from the Bible…

Bite the Dust
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. Psalm 72

Computer Facts…

As of 2011, gamers have collectively spent over 6 million years playing World of Warcraft. That's almost as long as the existence of the human species!

Flagstaff, AZ History…

50 YEARS AGO
The water department is tunneling into the saddle between Mount Humphreys and Mount Abineau in an attempt to tap more water. If successful, more tunneling will be done. Jim Beard, City Water Dept.

Harper’s Index

Amount of investment in Malta that will buy a foreigner EU citizenship under a new Maltese law: $1,150,000 

Language Facts…

In Denmark, "Fart-kontrol" means "Speed check".

Rules of Thumb…   

MAKING PUNCH
To make an alcoholic punch, figure one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, 4 weak.

Superstitions…

There are numerous sailors' superstitions, such as: it is considered bad luck for a ship to set sail on a Friday, to bring anything blue aboard, to stick a knife into the deck, to leave a hatch cover upside-down, to say "pig", or to eat walnuts aboard.

Unusual Fact of the Day…

In the 1980s, a beer-drinking goat was elected mayor of Lajitas, TX.

World Heritage Sites…

The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.

Joke-of-the-day

If Kitty Carlisle married Conway Twitty, she'd be Kitty Twitty.
If Yoko Ono married Sonny Bono, she'd be Yoko Ono Bono.
If Dolly Parton married Salvador Dali, she'd be Dolly Dali.
If Oprah Winfrey married Depak Chopra, she'd be Oprah Chopra.
If Olivia Newton-John married Wayne Newton, then divorced him to marry Elton John, she'd be Olivia Newton-John Newton John.
If Sondra Locke married Elliott Ness, then divorced him to marry Herman Munster, she'd become Sondra Locke Ness Munster.
If Bea Arthur married Sting, she'd be Bea Sting.
If Liv Ullman married Judge Lance Ito, then divorced him and married Jerry Mathers, she'd be Liv Ito Beaver.
If Snoop Doggy Dogg married Winnie the Pooh, he'd be Snoop Doggy Dogg Pooh.
How about a baseball marriage? If Boog Powell married Felipe Alou, he'd be Boog Alou.
If Shirley Jones married Tom Ewell, then Johnny Rotten, then Nathan Hale, she'd be Shirley Ewell Rotten Hale.
If Ivana Trump married, in succession, Orson Bean (actor), King Oscar (of Norway), Louis B. Mayer (of MGM), and Norbert Wiener (mathematician), she would then be Ivana Bean Oscar Mayer Wiener.

Yeah, It Really Happened

From the "It seemed like a good idea at the time" file comes this story of a kid with a seriously skewed sense of priorities.
A German teen tried to drain an entire pond with water hoses after dropping his iPhone during a fishing trip.
The unidentified teen was with other members of an angling club and was not allowed by fellow fishermen to dive into the pond, so he returned hours later with an idea to drain the pond: use a pump and two water hoses to direct the water into a nearby toilet.
It didn't work. The toilet wasn't connected to the sewage system, so his efforts ended up flooding a parking lot.
"I knew the phone was probably dead but wanted to get the data card back with the numbers, pictures and videos of my friends," he said.
The teen now has to pay for damage to the toilet and the cleanup.

Somewhat Useless Information   

Neither ‘orange’ in English, nor ‘naranja’ in Spanish or ‘arancia’ in Italian, come from the Latin word for ‘orange’, which was ‘citrus aurentium’. 
Instead they all come from the ancient Sanskrit word ‘narangah’. There is also an interesting story about where the word, ‘narangah’ comes from.
It’s said that it comes from ‘naga ranga’, which literally means ‘poison for elephants’.
++
According to psychologists at Cambridge University, the things that people regret more about are related to family, lifestyle, education and work.
When people were asked to write about their greatests regrets, they referred to the following ones:

I wish I had saved more money when I was earning a good salary.
I wish I had been brave enough to go up to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower when I was in Paris.
I wish I had studied more
I regret not learning the guitar when I was younger
I wish I hadn’t had my hair cut short last month
I regret arguing with my parents yesterday
I wish I hadn’t eaten so much last night
I regret not visiting my grandfather more when he was in hospital
I regret not buying some really cheap shoes in the sales when I first saw them-when I came back an hour later they had gone
I wish I had listened to my sister when she had problems

Check Your Calendar

Observances This Week:

9-16
Gay Games
National Scrabble Week

10-16
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week  
National Resurrect Romance Week 
Elvis Week  

Weird Contest Week 

14-24
Little League Baseball World Series

15-21
National Aviation Week

Today Is  

International Geocaching Day 
International Homeless Animals Day 
National Airborne Day  
National Tell a Joke Day
World Honey Bee Day  
                                                         
Today’s Events through History  

1691 - Yorktown, Virginia founded
1946 - Great Calcutta blood bath - Moslem/Hindu riot (3-4,000 die)
1956 - Adlai E Stevenson nominated as US Democratic presidential candidate
1997 - For only 2nd time Stanley Cup leaves North America (heads to Russia)

Birthday’s Today                                                        

Frank Gifford, halfback (Giants)/ABC sportscaster is 84
Kathie Lee Gifford, hostess (Live with Regis & Kathie Lee) is 61
James Cameron, writer/director (True Lies, Titanic) is 60
Angela Bassett, actress (What's Love Got to Do With It) is 56
Madonna, [Ciccone], singer/actress (Like a Virgin) is 56
Timothy Hutton, actor (Turk 182) is 54

Remembered for being born today

Ethel Barrymore, classic film & stage actress (Pinky, Moonrise) (1879-1959)  
T E Lawrence [Lawrence of Arabia], Wales, soldier/writer (1888-1935)
Menachem Begin, Israeli PM, Nobel 1978, (1913-1992)
Fess Parker, actor (Davy Crockett, Old Yeller) (1924-2010)
Eydie Gorme, [Edithe Gormezano], singer (Bossa Nova), (1926-2013)
Robert Culp, Berkley California, actor (I Spy) (1930-2010)

Historical Obits Today                                                           

William Windom, TV actor, 2012, @88
Stewart Granger, actor (Scaramouche), 1993, @ 80
Bela Lugosi, actor (Dracula), heart attack, 1956, @73
George Babe Ruth, Baseball legend (NY Yankees), cancer, 1948, @53
Margaret Mitchell, US writer (Gone With the Wind), hit by car, 1949, @48
Elvis Presley, musician, cardiac arrhythmia, 1977, @42.
Margaret of Scotland (Dauphine of France), wife of the future King Louis XI, fever, 1445, @20

Brain Teasers                                         

E A C H
A L O E
C O O L
H E L D

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  §

 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.