Jan 1

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Jan 1, 2018 Week: 01\ Day: 1

86004 Today: H 61° \ L 18° \ Average Sky Cover: 80% 

Wind ave.:   6mph\Gusts:  15mph Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 61°[1981]   Record Low: -21°[1919]

Jan Averages: 50°\23°

Jan Records: H: 66° (1971) L: -30° (1937)

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Today’s Quote 

Harper’s Index

Percentage change between 2016 and 2017 in the arrests of US immigrants with criminal convictions: +18%

Of immigrants without criminal convictions: +156%

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Observances This Week

1-8

Diet Resolution Week 

National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week

New Year's Resolutions Week

Silent Record Week

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Observances for Today

Copyright Law Day

Commitment Day Link

Divorce Monday Link 

Ellis Island Day

Euro Day

First Foot Day Link

Global Family Day Link

Mummer's Parade

National Hangover Day

New Year's Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day

Polar Bear Plunge or Swim Day Link (Cony Island NY & Vancouver, BC)

Public Domain Day  Link

Rose Bowl Game

Tournament of Roses Parade Day

World Day of Peace Link

Z Day

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UN International Years: A good reminder of the UN at work.

2018

No designation

2017

International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development  

2016

International Year of Pulses 

2015

International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies  

International Year of Soils 

2014

International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 

International Year of Small Island Developing States 

International Year of Crystallography 

International Year of Family Farming 

2013

International Year of Water Cooperation 

International Year of Quinoa 

2012

International Year of Cooperatives  

International Year of Sustainable Energy for All  

2011

International Year for People of African Descent  

International Year of Chemistry  

International Year of Forests  

International Year of Youth 

2010

International Year of Youth (12 August 2010 — 11 August 2011)  

International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures  

International Year of Biodiversity  

International Year of the Seafarer

2009

International Year of Reconciliation  

International Year of Natural Fibres  

International Year of Human Rights Learning  

International Year of Astronomy  

Year of the Gorilla [UNEP and UNESCO]

2008

International Year of Planet Earth  

International Year of Languages  

International Year of Sanitation  

International Year of the Potato  

2007-2008

International Polar Year (WMO)  

2006

International Year of Deserts and Desertification  

2005

International Year of Microcredit  

International Year for Sport and Physical Education  

International Year of Physics  

2004

International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition  

International Year of Rice  

2003

Year of Kyrgyz Statehood  

International Year of Freshwater  

United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage  

International Year of Mountains  

International Year of Ecotourism  

2001

United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations  

International Year of Volunteers  

International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance   

2000

International Year of Thanksgiving  

International Year for the Culture of Peace  

1999

International Year of Older Persons  

1998

International Year of the Ocean  

1996

International Year for the Eradication of Poverty  

1995

United Nations Year for Tolerance  

World Year of Peoples’ Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War  

1994

International Year of the Family 

International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal  

1993

International Year for the World's Indigenous People  

1992

International Space Year 

1990

International Literacy Year 

1987

International Year of Shelter for The Homeless  

1986

International Year of Peace  

1985

Year of the United Nations 

International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace  

1983

World Communications Year; Development of Communication Infrastructures  

1982

International Year of Mobilization for Sanctions Against South Africa  

1981

International Year for Disabled Persons  

1979

International Year of The Child  

1978/79

International Anti-Apartheid Year  

1975

International Women's Year  

1974

World Population Year   

1971

International Year for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Prejudice  

1970

International Education Year  

1968

International Year for Human Rights   

1967

International Tourist Year   

1965

International Co-operation Year 

1961

International Health and Medical Research Year  

1959/1960

World Refugee Year

Today’s Significant US Historical Events

Today’s Significant International Historical Events 

400’s                                            

404 Last gladiator competition in Rome

600’s                                            

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

1600’s                                          

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

1610 German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610 1651 Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland

1673 Regular mail delivery begins between NY & Boston

1700’s                                          

1758 The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature establish the "starting point" for standardized species names across the animal kingdom, based on the binomial nomenclature by Carolus Linnaeus 10th edition of Systema Naturae

1772 First traveler's cheques go on sale in London, can be used in 90 European cities

1785 "Daily Universal Register" (Times of London) publishes 1st issue

1797 Albany replaces New York City as capital of New York

1800’s                                          

1801 The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

1803 Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.

1804 Haiti gains independence from France (National Day)

1808 Congress prohibits importation of slaves

1818 Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is published anonymously by the small London publishing house of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones

1840 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, NYC

1846 Yucatan declares independence from Mexico

1847 Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment

1854 Lincoln University, a black college, chartered (Oxford, Pennsylvania)

1858 Canada begins using decimal currency system

1861 President-elect of the United States Abraham Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful (US Civil War)

1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in US confederate states

1874 New York City annexes the Bronx

1886 1st Tournament of Roses (Pasadena California)

1890 Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government

1898 Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY

1899 Cuba liberated from Spanish rule by the US, American occupation continues till 1902

1900’s                                          

1902 1st Rose Bowl: Michigan beats Stanford 49-0

1903 In Delhi, a great durbar, or formal reception, marks the coronation of King Edward VII as Emperor of India; the British release some 16,000 prisoners in honor of the occasion

1907 US President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day

1908 1st time, ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square

1912 Sun Yat-sen forms the Republic of China

1917 T. E. Lawrence joins the forces of the Arabian sheik Feisal al Husayn, beginning his adventures that will lead him to Damascus by October, 1918

1928 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio

1935 1st Sugar Bowl: Tulane beats Temple, 20-14

1935 1st Orange Bowl: Bucknell beats Miami (FL), 26-0

1950 Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China

1958 European Economic Community, better known as the European Common Market starts operation

1960 Johnny Cash plays first of many free concerts behind bars

1962 United States Navy SEALs established.

1966 Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100

1983 'New age music' radio program "Hearts of Space" makes its national syndication debut on U.S. National Public Radio

1985 The Internet's Domain Name System is created.

1999 The Euro currency is introduced.

2000’s                                          

2017 Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres becomes United Nations Secretary General, replacing South Korean Ban Ki-moon

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My Rambling Thoughts

Planning a quiet evening at home for the new year to arrive. I called city hall and informed them I would not be attending the annual pinecone drop downtown. They were understandingly upset, but said the pinecone drop would go on as planned. I expected as much.

Looking forward to 2018. One good thing is that I don’t have to spend the first week of the new year teaching kids to use the right year on their papers. Another good thing, I don’t write many checks—1 or 2 a year—so I don’t have to change the 7 to an 8.

I spent a little time cleaning out my bedroom closet. Amazing how many things I have saved over the years, expecting to use them again, and just leaving them on the shelf.  Guess Big Brothers & Sisters will be happy to accept the good stuff.

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Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@91- E. M. Forster,

English writer and novelist (Howards End, Passage to India),

born in Marylebone, Middlesex

born in Marylebone, Middlesex

(d. 1970)

@91- J[erome] D[avid] Salinger,

American novelist (Catcher in the Rye),

born in NYC, New York

(d. 2010)

@90- Xavier Cugat,

Spanish American bandleader (married Abbe Lane, Charo),

born in Girona, Catalonia

(d. 1990)

80’s

@89- Barry Goldwater,

(Sen-R-Az, 1953-65, 69- )/Presidential candidate (R) 1964)

(d. 1998)

@87- Ty Hardin,

American actor (Riptide, Bronco),

born in NYC,

(d. 2017)

@84- Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom],

American seamstress widely credited with making the first American flag,

born in Philadelphia

(d. 1836)

@83- Dana Andrews,

American actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura),

born in Covington County, Mississippi

(d. 1992)

@83- Paul Revere,

American silversmith and patriot who alerted the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord,

born in Boston, Massachusetts

(d. 1818)

70’s

@77- J. Edgar Hoover,

first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72),

born in Washington, D.C.

heart attack (d. 1972)

76- Country Joe McDonald, California, rock guitarist/vocalist (& the Fish)

@71- Rocky Graziano,

US boxer (Middleweight champ) and entertainer (Pantomime Quiz, Miami Undercover),

born in New York City

heart failure (d. 1990)

60’s

65- Gary Johnson,

American businessman, politician, Libertarian Party nominee for President 2016,

born in Minot, North Dakota

62- Christine Lagarde,

French lawyer and politician, 1st female head of the IMF, born in Paris

50’s

@51- John Smith,

explorer; early settler

(d. 1631)

40’s

49- Morris Chestnut,

actor (Boyz N the Hood)

42- Chai Jing,

Chinese broadcaster, author and documentary maker (Under the Dome),

born in Linfen, Shanxi Province

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Historical Obits Today

90’s

@92-1998 Helen Wills Moody,

American tennis player (31 Grand Slams)

80’s

@86-2001 Ray Walston,

American actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees)

@86-1994 Cesar Romero,

American actor (Batman, Ocean's 11)

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

American pop singer

@85-1992 Grace Hopper,

American computer scientist and US Navy admiral who invented the first compiler for a universal computer programming language and is credited with coining the phrase 'debugging’

@82-2015 Mario Cuomo,

American Democratic Party politician and the 52nd Governor of New York (1983-95)

@82-2015 Donna Douglas,

American actress (Elly May Clampett-The Beverly Hillbillies)

@80-2005 Shirley Chisholm,

1st African American Congresswoman (Rep-D-NY) and presidential candidate

40’s

@43-1982 Victor Buono,

actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis),

heart attack

20’s

@29-1953 Hank Williams,

country singer (Cold Cold Heart),

hemorrhages

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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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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…☼☼☼☼

Dec 31

FYI: Any blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

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Dec 31, 2017 Week: 51\ Day: 365

86004 Today: H 62° \ L 23°  

Average Sky Cover: 20% 

Wind ave.:   9mph\Gusts:  20mph

Visibility: 10 mi

Record High: 62°[1945]   Record Low: -16°[1911]

Dec Averages: 50°\23°

Dec Records: H: 68° (1950) L: -23° (1990)

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Quote of the Day

The limits of the possible can only be defined

by going beyond them into the impossible.

  Arthur C. Clarke

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Observances Today

First Nights

Global Champagne Day  Link 

Leap Second Time Adjustment Day

Look On The Bright Side Day Link

Make Up Your Mind Day

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve Banished Words List

New Year's Dishonor List

Universal Hour of Peace Day

Unlucky Day

World Healing Day  Link  

World Peace Meditation Day

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Observances This Week

25-31: It's About Time Week

26-1/1: Kwanzaa

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Today’s Significant US Historical Events

Today’s Significant International Historical Events 

1400’s                                 

1492 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily

1500’s                                 

1564 Willem van Orange demands freedom of conscience/religion

1600’s                                 

1600 British East India Company chartered

1687 1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope

1695 A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax.

1700’s                                 

1744 English astronomer James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's nutation motion (wobble)

1775 Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold

1776 Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors

1781 Bank of North America, 1st US bank opens

1800’s                                 

1831 Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City

1841 Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons

1857 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada

1862 Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sank off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

1879 Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US)

1890 Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot

1897 Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898)

1900’s                                 

1904 First New Year's Eve celebration held in Times Square (then Longacre Square), in New York City

1907 For 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the New Year

1911 Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize

1921 Last San Francisco firehorses retired

1945 Ratification of United Nations Charter completed

1946 US President Harry Truman officially proclaims end of WW II

1955 The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year.

1958 Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista tells his Cabinet he is fleeing the country

1963 Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir played music together for the 1st time

1970 Congress authorizes Eisenhower dollar coin 1977 Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado

1981 CNN Headline News debuts

1984 US leaves UNESCO

1994 This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively.

1997 Microsoft buys Hotmail email service for $400 million and re-launches it as MSN Hotmail

1999 Control of Panama Canal reverts to Panama

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My Rambling Thoughts

Ahhh…the last day of 2017. It has been a good year for me personally with the highlight being a great trip to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. I had no major health problems, no serious problems of any kind. I’m now looking forward to a great 2018.

While everything was good for me, the country has not had such good fortune. Here’s hoping that the politicians remember why they were elected and start working together to help all the people of this great country. That includes all elected officials at the local, state, and national level. I am hoping that all those in power learn quickly that using fear in no way to use their power. I am hoping that they all realize that education of our children is essential for the future of all of us and needs proper funding. I am hoping that empathy and compassion returns to every level of government and to every household in the country. I am hoping that no family has to suffer the loss of a life through gun violence. Here’s hoping for a great 2018 for all in our country.  

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Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

90’s

@96- Simon Wiesenthal,

Polish/Austrian Nazi hunter (Wiesenthal Center)

(d. 2005)

80’s

@84- Henri Matisse,

French impressionist painter (Odalisque),

born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, France

(d. 1954)

82- Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,

King of Saudi Arabia (2015-present),

born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

80- Anthony Hopkins,

Welsh actor (Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty),

born in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales

70’s

@78- George Marshall,

US Secretary of State (1947-49) who authored the Marshall Plan (Nobel 1953),

born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania

(d. 1959)

@78- Rex Allen,

American actor, singer, and songwriter  

auto crash (d. 1999)

@77- Odetta [Odetta Holmes],

American folk singer (Sanctuary), actress and civil rights activist,

born in Birmingham,

heart disease (d. 2008)

74- Ben Kingsley,

English actor (Gandhi, Betrayal),

born in Scarborough, England

71- Diane von Furstenberg,

Belgian-born American fashion designer (wrap dress),

born in Brussels

60’s

@67- [Bonnie Prince] Charles Edward Stuart,

English pretender to throne (Jacobite rebellion),

born in Rome stroke

(d. 1788)

@66- Charles Cornwallis,

1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general and colonial administrator (leading British general in the American War of Independence),

born in London

fever, (d. 1805)

@65- Jacques Cartier,

French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France,

born in St. Malo, Brittany typhus

(d. 1557)

@63- Donna Summer,

singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio),

born in Boston,

lung cancer (d. 2012)

50’s

59- Bebe Neuwirth,

American actress (Lilith in Cheers, Damn Yankees),

born in Princeton

58- Val Kilmer,

actor (Top Secret, Top Gun, Willow),

born in Los Angeles

@57- Pat Brady [Robert Ellsworth O'Brady],

American actor (The Roy Rodgers Show, Man from Music Mountain),

born in Toledo, Ohio

(d. 1972)

@56- Rosalind Cash,

American actress (Omega Man, Wrong is Right),

born in Atlantic City

cancer (d. 1995)

@53- John Denver,

American country singer (Rocky Mt High, "thank god he's a country boy"),

born in Roswell, NM

plane crash (d. 1997)

52- Nicholas Sparks,

novelist (The Notebook)

40’s

40- Donald Trump, Jr.

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Historical Obits Today

80’s

@88±-1980 Raoul Walsh,

US director (High Sierra)

@82-2015 Wayne Rogers,

American actor (M*A*S*H, House Calls)

@82-2000 José Greco,

Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer

70’s

@75-1966 Chief Nipo Strongheart,

Yakima actor (Pony Soldier)

@74-2015 Beth Howland,

American actress (Vera - Alice, Company),

lung cancer

60’s

@68-2013 James Avery,

American actor (Fresh Prince),

complications from surgery

@65-2015 Natalie Cole,

American vocalist (Pink Cadillac, Miss You Like Crazy),

heart failure

@64-1997 Floyd Cramer,

American Hall of Fame pianist (Nashville Sound),

 cancer

50’s

@58-1877 JD Gustave Courbet,

French painter (Baigneuses),

liver disease from alcohol

40’s

@45-1985 Rick Nelson,

singer/actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet),

plane crash

30’s

@38-1972 Roberto Clemente,

slugger (Pitts Pirate),

plane crash

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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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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…☼☼☼☼