21 Mar

21 March 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 12 Day 80 \ Ave. Sky Cover 90% \ Visibility 8 miles Flagstaff Today 45° \31°  Wind 6mph \ Gusts 11mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Extreme Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 136mi
Mar. Averages for Flagstaff: 51° \ 23° \6 Days of moisture
Rain/Snow

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

  22-4/8
  Lent
  19-4/16
  National Cherry Blossom Festival Link  
 19-25
  American Chocolate Week Link
  National Agriculture Week
  National Animal Poison Prevention Week Link  Link
  National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  Link   Link
  National Poison Prevention Week Link
  National Protocol Officer's Week
  World Folktales & Fables Week
  20-26
  Act Happy Week
  International Teach Music Week
  National Fix A Leak Week  Link
  National Fragrance Week Link
  Shakespeare Week Link
  Wellderly Week
  21-27
  International Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

Daily Observations

3-D Day Link 
Common Courtesy Day
Day of Forests
French Bread Day Gallo Wine Day

International Color Day  Link
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day of Forests and The Tree Link
International Day of Nowruz Link
Memory Day
National Agriculture Day Link
National Common Courtesy Day
National Day of Action On Syringe Exchange Link
National Fragrance Day Link 
National Healthy Fats Day
National Renewable Energy Day
National Single Parent Day Link 
Naw-Ruz or NNoruz (Persian New Year)
Teenager Day
Twitter Day
WE Day Link
UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
World Down Syndrome Day Link
World Poetry Day  Link  
World Puppetry Day Link
World Social Work Day Link

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

First day of spring brings rain, then snow, then rain to our little mountain town.

My maternal grandmother, Kathryn Beatrice Huffman Webster was born today in 1897. She was a pre-insulin diabetic. She passed at age 60. She is still missed.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is this year’s Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It was on Showtime last night. It is a very ‘deep’ sci-fi film.  Well worth a watch. Following the story line was a bit difficult, but some good lessons in the film.

Putin and Xi-Jinping are meeting in Moscow. It appears China has the upper hand in this relationship. It is certainly one that the West needs to watch.

Stanford University made the news last week when an invited conservative guest was heckled by the audience, he asked for Administrative assistance with the crowd. The administrator didn’t take sides and didn’t really condemn the heckling. Now it is a news story over Freedom of Speech. When I was in college, the University of Colorado held ‘World Affairs Week’ in the spring of every semester. Various well-known speakers were invited. During my 4 years there I heard some great speakers. One who was invited one year was S. I. Hayakawa, the President of San Francisco State U.  Besides being a well-known linguist, he was very conservative and had problems with student protests at his college. The auditorium was filled. The Black Student Alliance (BSA) had taken the first few rows. They had signs and certainly heckled the speaker. When he took the stage, his first words were ‘Why are these jungle bunnies in the first row’. This led to jeers and chants from the entire auditorium. The University cops came out on the stage. An administrator came out and reminded the audience that under the first amendment he should be allowed to speak. Then went on to say that as an invited guest, the University expected him to be allowed to speak without interruption. After a few minutes, everyone calmed down and he gave his speech. Times have certainly changed.

In November the citizens passed, by a 70%-30%, a proposition that said large doners had to be identified in contributions to various contributions to politicians and/or PAC’s. Today ‘Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group filed a Federal lawsuit saying the proposition has a ‘chilling effect’ on ‘Free Speech’ and is therefore unconstitutional. Give me a break!

Enjoy…

Facts…

George Washington never knew dinosaurs existed. 

More Slang origins…

Bummer

When things aren't going your way and you're a little sad about it, that's a bummer. It comes from the phrase "bum rap," which means to be treated unfairly. A bummer is never deserved.

Beauty in our 50 states…

28. Massachusetts

Topographically, Massachusetts is the crossroads of New England. Its neighbors to the south are comparatively nondescript, and its neighbors to the north are far more rugged (both in geography and the boot-leather character of their citizens). Still, Massachusetts has its draws—the Cape Cod National Seashore has long attracted artists for the quality of its sunsets, and the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley showcase some of the nation's best fall foliage. But Massachusetts also has Middlesex County, which, contrary to its name, is actually pretty low in sexiness.

Historical Events

1913 – 20,000 homes were destroyed, and over 360 people were killed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
1965 – 3,000 civil rights demonstrators participated in the walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.

Birthdays Today

@83 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
@82 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, screenwriter (d. 2004)
77 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
“Real courage is knowing what faces you and knowing how to face it.”– Timothy Dalton
@72 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978; auto accident)
“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it-every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”– John D. Rockefeller III
@70 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter (d. 2019; cancer)
@65 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer, musician (d. 1750)
@65 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director, producer (d. 1932)
“Half of the great comedians I’ve had in my shows and that I paid a lot of money to and who made my customers shriek were not only not funny to me, but I couldn’t understand why they were funny to anybody.”– Florenz Ziegfeld
65 – Gary Oldman, English actor
61 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
61 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress and talk show host
61 – Mark Waid, American comic book author
“In the long run, the quality of your work is all that matters. That is your only resumé. Be professional. Make sure your editor or publisher can always reach you. Do what’s asked of you if your conscience can bear it.”– Mark Waid
@56 – James Coco, American character actor (d. 1987; heart attack)
“When a man forgets himself, he usually does something everybody else remembers.”– James Coco
23 – Jace Norman, American actor