Jul 19

 

 

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 30 Day 200 \ Ave. Sky Cover 40% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 91° \56° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 7mph  Air Quality Moderate
High Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 9mi \ Nearest Lightning 131mi
Jul Averages for Flagstaff: 82° \ 51° (8 days of moisture)
 

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Thru Sep.5 National Marina Days (From Memorial Day to Labor Day)  Link

1-24 Tour de France  Link

13-19   Hemp History Week Link

15-21 Rabbit Week

17-23   Captive Nations Week Everybody Deserves A Massage Week Link  National Independent Retailers Week Link  National Zoo Keeper Week  Link    International Lace Week Link

18-25 Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week

Daily Observations

Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day
National Daiquiri Day
National Raspberry Cake Day
New Friends Day
(previously) St. Vincent De Paul Day (now celebrated September 27)
Stick Out Your Tongue Day
Flitch Day
Words With Friends Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Another hot day…clouds are coming in to bring more monsoon.

Tony Hillerman wrote a number of good novels about the life of a fictional Navajo cop, Jim Chee. For the most part they were and still read by many Navajo. Years ago, his Novel Dark Winds was filmed around Red Lake, while I was working there. A couple of our students were in the movie. It was never given a theatrical release, but bootlegged copies were sold on the reservation. Now, Dark Winds is a weekly show on AMC+ and AMC. Much of the acting staff and many writers are Native American from other tribes. Many in the indigenous community are praising the show for having real Natives involved. The lead is a Hualapai (pronounced Wal-lah-pie) means "People of the Tall Pines.", playing a Navajo. The biggest complaint about the show from Navajo I know is that the actors are mispronouncing the Navajo they speak. Some complain that scenes with traditional medicine and/or witchcraft, are not accurate. Personally, I enjoy the series. Even I chuckle at some of the Navajo spoken or some scenes that I find not credible. NPR did a very good interview with the writers and actors about the series. They all talked about how great it was to have Natives around the show all the time. They talked about how much they were learning about Navajo. They also talked about how they hope, in the future, that each tribe will have their own life and traditions accurately portrayed in all forms of media. I agree.

Favorite Memes

Trivia

Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.

The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5-6 inches tall and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall. 

Historical Events

·        64 – Great Fire of Rome occurred, destroying half of the city. Contrary to rumors, Nero did not play the fiddle while it burned, but he did blame “the Christians.”
·        1799 – Identified today: The Rosetta Stone, which was found July 19, 1799, is now the most visited object in the British museum.
·        1845 – The last great fire (Great New York City Fire of 1845) to hit Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed 4 firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
·        1848 – Woman’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls
·        1863 – Suffering 1,515 casualties, the Union soldiers were defeated while trying to capture Fort Wagner in South Carolina.
·        1900 – The Paris Métro opened for operation.
·        1909 – Baseball’s first unassisted Triple Play was achieved by shortstop Neal Ball.
·        1952 – The Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were opened in Helsinki, Finland.
·        1969 – Senator Ted Kennedy crashed his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
·        1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
·        1982 – Geraldine Ferraro was nominated as the first female Vice-Presidential candidate.

Birthdays Today

@89 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator, producer (died in 1972)
@83 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
81 – Vikki Carr, American singer, actress
75 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, astrophysicist, guitarist
@66 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, acquitted for the murder (d. 1927’ [pneumonia)
60 – Anthony Edwards, American actor
46 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
40 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
@47 – Samuel Colt, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862; gout)
34 – Shane Dawson, American Youtuber