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Dec 31, 2018
Week: 01 \ Day: 365
86004 Today: H 38° \ L 5° \ Average Sky Cover: 5%
Wind: 3mph\Gusts:
7mph Visibility: 10 mi
Record High: 62°[1945]
Record Low: -16°[1911]
Dec Averages: 43°\17°
Today’s
Quote
They invented hugs to let people know
you love them without saying anything.
Bil Keane
Random
Tidbits
Today, sushi restaurants in the US generate
$2 billion in annual revenue.
***
Sushi chefs have one of the most difficult
training of all professional chefs. They must know how to prepare raw seafood,
know which fish contain harmful parasites, and know how to eliminate parasites.
They must also know about biochemical changes that happen after seafood is
slaughtered.
***
A sushi chef traditionally could work in a
restaurant
only after training for 10 years. However,
modern
sushi chiefs can start working after just 2
years of training.
Observances
This Week
14-1/5/19
Christmas Bird Count Week Link
25-31
It's About Time Week
26-1/1/19
Kwanzaa
Observances
for Today
First Nights
National Champagne Day
National Vinegar Day
Leap Second Time Adjustment Day
Look On The Bright Side Day
Make Up Your Mind Day
New Year's Eve Banished Words List
New Year's Dishonor List
No Interruptions Day
Universal Hour of Peace Day
World Healing Day
World
Peace Meditation Day
My
Rambling Thoughts
HAPPY
NEW YEAR TO ALL. May 2019 be even better than 2018.
I
made an appointment yesterday to get a much-needed haircut. The appointment was
at 12:30. She called to say she was running late. Finally got the haircut at
1:25. Tuned out the dealership was supposed to pick up her vehicle at 11:30 but
never showed, so she had to drive it to work with a bent tire rim. It was all
good as she is a very good stylist.
2018
is coming to an end. It has been a good year. My trip to the Amazon was
certainly the highlight. I saw such amazing places, traveled with such great
people, and even with the broken wrist, all in all, I had a great trip.
A
week with my brother and all was another highlight.
I
am officially numbed with anything political. I can’t believe that Congress is
on a paid vacation while Government workers are furloughed and not being
paid. Some are even working, knowing the
paycheck will be very, very late. I am hoping that 2019 brings us some
statesmen/stateswomen to DC who are there FOR the people, instead of looking at
the next election. I’m hoping our government leaders develop some empathy for
the immigrants, especially the children.
I
am also looking forward to the 17-day Trans-Siberian Rail trip in June/July.
New
Year’s Eve will be at home. These cold temps are too much to watch the Pinecone
drop in downtown Flagstaff.
Today’s
Significant Historical Events
100’s
192
Roman Emperor Commodus survives poisoning attempt by his mistress only to be
strangled in the bath in assassination plot
1600’s
1695
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their
windows to avoid the tax.
1800’s
1857
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada
1862
President Abraham Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union
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
1911
Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize
1921
Last San Francisco firehorses retired
1935
Charles Darrow patents Monopoly
1945
Ratification of United Nations Charter completed
1955
The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over
$1 billion USD in a year.
1984
US leaves UNESCO
1988
"The Fog Bowl", a heavy, dense fog rolls over Soldier Field in
Chicago during second quarter of the Bears vs Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff
Game, cuts visibility to 15-20 yards (Bears win 20-12)
1995
Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip
after 10 years, believing he had achieved all he could in the medium
1997
Microsoft buys Hotmail email service for $400 million and re-launches it as MSN
Hotmail
2000’s
2015
US law enforcement kills 1,134 in 2015, young black men 9x more likely to be
victims
2017
Ban on ivory trade in China comes into effect
Birthdays
Today
1491
Jacques Cartier,
French
explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France, born in St. Malo, Brittany
(d. 1557)@65
1720
[Bonnie Prince] Charles Edward Stuart,
English
pretender to throne (Jacobite rebellion), born in Rome (d. 1788)@67
1869
Henri Matisse,
French
impressionist painter (Odalisque), born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, France (d.
1954)@84
1880
George Marshall,
US
Secretary of State (1947-49) who authored the Marshall Plan (Nobel 1953), born
in Uniontown, Pennsylvania (d. 1959)@78
1914
Pat Brady [Robert Ellsworth O'Brady],
American
actor (The Roy Rodgers Show, Man from Music Mountain), born in Toledo, Ohio (d.
1972)@57
1930
Odetta [Odetta Holmes],
American
folk singer (Sanctuary), actress and civil rights activist, born in Birmingham,
Alabama (d. 2008)@77
1943
John Denver,
American
country singer (Rocky Mt High, "thank god he's a country boy"), born
in Roswell, New Mexico (d. 1997)@53
1948
Donna Summer,
American
singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d.
2012)@63
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83-
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
King
of Saudi Arabia (2015-present), born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
81-
Anthony Hopkins,
Welsh
actor (Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty), born in Port Talbot, Glamorgan,
Wales
78-
Tim Considine,
American
actor (Mike-My 3 Sons), born in Los Angeles, California
75-
Ben Kingsley,
English
actor (Gandhi, Betrayal), born in Scarborough, England
72-
Diane von Furstenberg,
Belgian-born
American fashion designer (wrap dress), born in Brussels
60-
Bebe Neuwirth,
American
actress (Lilith in Cheers, Damn Yankees), born in Princeton, New Jersey
60-
Val Kilmer,
American
actor (Top Secret, Top Gun, Willow), born in Los Angeles, California
41-
Donald Trump Jr.,
American
businessman and son of Donald Trump and Ivana Trump, born in NYC, New York
Historical
Obits Today
1972
Roberto Clemente,
slugger
(Pitts Pirate), dies in a plane crash @ 38
1985
Rick Nelson,
singer/actor
(The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), dies in plane crash @ 45
1997
Floyd Cramer,
American
Hall of Fame pianist (Nashville Sound), dies of cancer @ 64
2015
Wayne Rogers,
American
actor (M*A*S*H, House Calls), dies @ 82
2015
Natalie Cole,
American
vocalist (Pink Cadillac, Miss You Like Crazy), dies @ 65
2015
Beth Howland,
American
actress (Vera - Alice, Company), dies @74
