Jan 1

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Jan 1, 2019 Week: 01  \ Day: 1

86004 Today: H 24° \ L 8° \ Average Sky Cover: 99% 

Wind:   1mph\Gusts:  9mph Visibility: 10 mi

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

Jan Averages: 43°\11°

Today’s Quote

Be at war with your vices,

at peace with your neighbors,

and let every new year find you a better man.

Benjamin Franklin

Random Tidbits

First; the subtle difference between sparkling wine and champagne. There is none. The only difference is that authentic 'champagne' comes from the Champagne region of France. But as far as alcohol content, production, etc... it's the exact same stuff.

***

Here's the important part. Do you want a champagne that is more dry or sweet? That all depends on your preference, of course. But after you've polished off a few dozen bottles and you know what you like... this is a list of the common names you will find on Champagne labels, from driest to sweetest:

*Extra Brut, Brut Sauvage, Ultra Brut, Brut Integral, Brut Zero *Brut *Extra Dry, Extra Sec *Sec *Demi-Sec *Doux

Brut is the most popular style, and often, the best grapes are reserved for Bruts.

More Observances This Month

Adopt A Rescued Bird Month Link

Bath Safety Month

Be Kind to Food Servers Month

Birth Defects Month Link

Black Diamond Month Link

Book Blitz Month

California Dried Plum Digestive Month Link

Carnival Season 1/6-3/5

Celebration of Life Month

Cervical Health Awareness Month Link

Children Impacted By Parent's Cancer Month

Clap 4 Health Month

Observances This Week

           

1-7

Diet Resolution Week

New Year's Resolutions Week

Silent Record Week

Observances for Today

           

Copyright Law Day

Commitment Day

Ellis Island Day

Euro Day

First Foot Day

Global Family Day

Mummer's Parade

National Black Eyed Pea Day

National Bloody Mary Day

New Year’s Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day

Polar Bear Plunge Day or Swim Day 

Public Domain Day 

Rose Bowl Game

Tournament of Roses Parade Day

World Day of Peace

Z Day

My Rambling Thoughts

Woke up to heavy snow. About 6” expected by tonight, cleaning the earth so the new year will bring peace, happiness and joy to all. Very glad I don’t have anywhere to go today as roads are icy under the blanket of snow.

Broncos and Cards ended bad seasons yesterday. Guess they will be looking for new coaches and maybe some new players.

My hope for 2019 is that the people of Yemen and Syria and Ukraine and all the other war zones find peace this year.

I also hope that everyone gets to travel this year. It is a great way to see the world in a different light, meet great people, and learn about other cultures and yourself.

Today begins a new 365-page book. Make it a good one.

Today’s Significant Historical Events

400’s

404 Last gladiator competitions in Rome

600’s

630 Prophet Muhammad sets out with his army towards Mecca, capturing it bloodlessly

1500’s

1583 1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders

1600’s

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

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

1800’s

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), making it the only state ever founded by former slaves and without slavery

1818 Official reopening of the White House

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

1846 Yucatan declares independence from Mexico

1852 1st US public bath opens in New York City

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

1874 New York City annexes the Bronx

1880 Building of Panama Canal begins

1886 1st Tournament of Roses (Pasadena California)

1893 Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar

1896 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays

1898 Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY

1898 Lightship replaces whistling buoy at mouth of San Francisco Bay

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

1900’s

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

1922 Coal miners in the Transvaal, South Africa, embark on a strike in response to a wage cut, which quickly escalated into a large-scale revolt against the government, known as the Rand Rebellion.

1934 Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison

1946 Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god

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

1959 Cuban Dictator Fulgencio Batista flees Cuba for the Dominican Republic

1965 International Cooperation Year begins

1972 International Book Year begins

1974 World Population Year begins

1975 International Women's Year begins

1979 US & China (Peoples Republic) begin diplomatic relations

1980 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins

1981 International Year for the Disabled begins

1983 World Communications Year begins

1985 International Youth Year begins

1986 International Peace Year begins

1988 Year of the Reader begins

1994 International Year of Family

2000’s

2002 Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.

2018 California becomes largest US state to legalise cannabis for recreational use

Birthdays Today

@-  indicates age at death

1735 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)@83

1752 Betsy Ross [Elizabeth Griscom],

American seamstress widely credited with making the first American flag, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1836)@84

1895 J. Edgar Hoover,

first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1972)@77

1909 Barry Goldwater,

(Sen-R-Az, 1953-65, 69- )/Presidential candidate (R) 1964)@89

1919 J[erome] D[avid] Salinger,

American novelist (Catcher in the Rye), born in NYC, New York (d. 2010)@91

1930 Ty Hardin [Orison Hungerford Jr.],

American actor (Riptide, Bronco), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)@87

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77- Country Joe McDonald,

California, rock guitarist/vocalist (& the Fish)

75- Omar al-Bashir,

Sudanese politician and 7th President of Sudan (1989-present), born in Hosh Bannaga, Sudan

63- Christine Lagarde,

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

Historical Obits Today

@-  indicates age at death

@29-1953 Hank Williams,

American country singer (Cold Cold Heart)

@83-1972 Maurice A Chevalier,

French actor and singer (Can Can, Gigi)

@43-1982 Victor Buono,

actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis)

@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’

@86-1994 Cesar Romero,

American actor (Batman, Ocean's 11)

@92-1998 Helen Wills Moody,

American tennis player (19 Grand Slam titles)

@80-2005 Shirley Chisholm,

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

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

American pop singer

@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)