23 Aug

 

 
Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 35 Day 235 \ Ave. Sky Cover 10% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 80° \50° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 6mph  Air Quality Fair
Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 29mi \ Nearest Lightning 55mi
Aug Averages for Flagstaff: 79° \ 50° (9days of moisture)

 

Today’s Quote 

Weekly Observations

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

18-24 Minority Enterprise Development Week

18-9/6   Ride Sober or Get Pulled Over Link

21-27  Brake Safety Week Link

22-26  National Safe at Home Week

22-28   National Composites Week Link

23-9/1   World Water Week Link

Daily Observations

Day For The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition
Ride The Wind Day Link (Hang Gliding)
Spongecake Day
The Festival of Vulcan (The Vulcanalia, no longer celebrated)
Valentino Day

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice summer day.

I headed over to the mall for a much-needed pedicure. Happy to see that the lady who has done them for years has returned. She did a great job. My feet feel a whole lot younger. Another lady came in as I was finishing up and she too was happy to see the pedi-lady back.

I watched the Cards play last night. They are starting out just like the Broncos…1 win, 1 loss. Hoping for a better season by both teams.

I’m still trying to learn how to put my new Nissan into N. The only time I need to do that is when I’m getting a car wash at a ride-thru place. The shift knob doesn’t have an N, there is a button to push that moves it to N but it only works sometimes. Crazy. I’ll be very embarrassed if I must go to the dealership. ‘Excuse me, I’ve been a licensed driver over 50 years, but I can’t find Neutral on this vehicle.’ I’m sure the laughter will stop after about 10 minutes.

I have never understood ‘dark money’ in politics. One can donate to a PAC or SuperPAC and their name will not be released. That means we don’t know who is involved in politics. Recently, a new group led by conservative lawyers received $1.6billion anonymous donation. Marble Freedom Trust is that non-profit. It is led by the co-chair of The Federalist Society. In a democracy everyone is allowed to spend their money however they choose. I still believe that all political contributions need to be made available to the general public, so we know who is helping politicians. Why should it remain a secret?

Favorite Memes

One Hit Wonders

"Mississippi Queen," Mountain (1970)

Leslie West was one of the great rock guitarists of all time, and he made a name for himself with Mountain. Most notably, obviously, through the group's only real hit. This hard-charging, guitar-fueled classic track peaked at No. 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and remains a classic rock staple. The band put out eight albums from 1970-2007, but none of its singles achieved the success as this one. And, yes, that's a cowbell that can be heard.

Historical Events

79 – Mount Vesuvius, the volcano erupted and buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash on the feast day of Vulcan.

1305 – Sir William Wallace was executed for high treason at Smithfield in London.

1948 – World Council of Churches was formed.

1965 – The Sound of Music was released, starring Julie Andrews

1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.

1973 – A bank robbery went wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turned into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, leading to the term “Stockholm syndrome”.

1991 – The World Wide Web was available to the public.

2006 – Pluto was demoted from full planet status to “dwarf planet”.

2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia’s last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia were discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Birthdays Today

91 – Barbara Eden, American actress
@83 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1996)
” The way I look at a musical, you are commenting on the human condition no matter what you do. A musical may be light and frivolous, but by its very nature, it makes some kind of social comment.”
– Gene Kelly
73 – Shelley Long, American actress
73 – Rick Springfield, Australian-American singer-songwriter, actor
” I don’t know any musician, successful or otherwise, that got in it to make money. Or a writer, for that matter. You get into it because you love it.”
– Rick Springfield
@68 – Tex Williams, American singer-songwriter (d. 1985; cancer)
52 – Jay Mohr, American actor, screenwriter
” People are more interested in someone who goes on stage and tells the truth.”
– Jay Mohr
46 – Scott Caan, actor
@41 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (d. 2020; helicopter crash)
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”
– Kobe Bryant
@32 – Keith Moon, English drummer, The Who (d. 1978; OD)
32 – Seth Curry, NBA star
@23 – River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993; OD)