Dec 21

 

‘Tis the Season

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

Dec 21, 2020  Week: 52 Day: 356	Local:  H 47°\ L 23°\Average Sky Cover: 5%
Wind:   5mph\Gusts:  7mph	Nearest lightning:  1473mi.; Active fire:  59mi
Moderate Risk of Fire	Visibility:  10mi
Record: 61°[1969]   Record: -6°[1969]	Nov Averages: 44°/\17° (5 days with moisture)

 

Today’s  Quote

Subtlety may deceive you;

integrity never will.

Oliver Cromwell

 

Random Tidbits

Deadly Plant:

Western Water Hemlock

Deemed the most "violently toxic plant that grows in North America" by the USDA, the water hemlock contains the toxin cicutoxin, which wreaks havoc on the central nervous system, causing grand mal seizures--which include loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions--and eventually death, if ingested.

 

A little humor

Q: What do you call a row of rabbits marching backward?  A receding hare line...

 

-I bought a blind-fold recently... but I don't really see myself wearing it

 

True Things

Police in Louisiana are looking for a woman who made a major beer heist at a grocery store. Just ahead of Thanksgiving, security cameras caught a woman rolling a shopping cart loaded to the brim with cases of beer out of a supermarket without paying the tab. Police put the value of the beer at $357 and said the suspect completed her beer run in a late-model Lincoln MKX crossover. Because when you drive a $40,000 SUV it's hard to find cash for beers. Despite the theft, at least one person saw some humor in the situation. "Now I don't condone stealing but that seems like the appropriate amount of alcohol needed to get over this year," said one local. "Somebody's Christmas party is gonna be lit."

 

Observations This Week

Christmas Bird Count Week Link…………………	14-1/5
Halcyon Days……………………………………………..	14-28
Posadas……………………………………………………..	16-24
Saturnalia…Roman Festival for Saturn……….	17-23
It's About Time Week……………………………….	25-31
Kwanzaa…………………………………………………..	26-1/1

 

 

Observations for Today

Ann & Samantha Day Link
Celebrate Short Fiction Day 
Crossword Puzzle Day

Forefather's Day

Don’t Make Your Bed Day

Global Orgasm Day Link 
Humbug Day

International Dalek Remembrance Day Link
Look on the Bright Side Day

Make Music Day in Winter  Link  
National Flashlight Day

National French Fried Shrimp Day

National Homeless Persons' Remembrance Day Link
Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day
Ribbon Candy Day

Short Girl Appreciation Day 
Shorts Day 
World Peace Day/Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice10:59 AM EST
Yalda
Yule

 

My Rambling Thoughts

I texted my brother and made up my mind…finally. I’m wearing masks and gloves and heading to Mexico tomorrow. So, this post will be the last until I return after Christmas. All will be well. The hacienda is in a very small town and I don’t plan on visiting any sites. Sure glad they don’t live in the UK.

A quick reminder to my friends who own one or more yachts…this year you have a tax deduction thanks to Congress and President Trump. To those of you struggling financially because of Covid…Congress is still working on that. Crazy!

I hope you all have a great Holiday, wherever you spend it.

 

Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

Which weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

 

Historical Events

1620 – William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on (what is now known as Plymouth Rock) in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1913 – Arthur Wynne published his “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, in the New York World.

1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney’s first full-length (83 minutes), animated film opened in Los Angeles, CA, at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

1970 – Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley met at the White House. Elvis was there to help the government’s war on drugs.

1975 – Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as Carlos the Jackle, raided an OPEC meeting in Austria. Three people were killed in the attack.

1985 – Pope John Paul II announced the institution of ‘World Youth Day’.

1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 (London to New York) exploded in over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Libya admitted responsibility in 2003. “The Four Tops”, Tennis player Mats Wilander, Actress Kim Cattrall and Punk Rocker Johnny Rotten booked, but missed the flight.

1989 – The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow the government of Manuel Noriega. Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.

1996 – NeXT merged with Apple Computer.

1995 -- The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

2005 - Civil Partnership Act comes into force in the UK, with Elton John and David Furnish one of the first couples to form a same-sex civil union

2017 - UN General Assembly votes 128 to 9 to denounce US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital

 

Birthdays Today

@91 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 2007)

@85 – Joe Paterno, American Penn State football coach (d. 2012)

85 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host

83 – Jane Fonda, American actress

@82 – Paul Winchell, American actor, and ventriloquist (d. 2005)

@76 – Benjamin Disraeli, politician, Prime Minister UK (d. 1881)

72 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor

66 – Chris Evert, American tennis player

65 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress

63 – Ray Romano, actor

54 -- Kiefer Sutherland, actor

@52 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (d. 1993; prostate cancer)

43 – Emmanuel Macron, French politician

@38 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (d. 1998; seizure)

 

Puzzle Answer

Neither, they both weigh one pound.

Enjoy the Holiday