Wednesday 3-31

31 March 2010~~Week 14 of 2010: 90 days this year…275 remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs

Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead

Learn young, learn fair; learn old, learn more.

‡ Free Ramblings  

Tax time is not my favorite time of year. It’s not even on my list of favorite things. I am not against paying my fair share. I, like many other Americans worked very hard for my money. When it comes to the tax code I am lost. My tax guy enjoys it. Good for him. He has done my taxes for years. I am still in negotiations with Colorado on why, as a non-resident, they want to collect tax on my total income. Yes, I do have an investment in CO and that investment pays tax to CO before I get any money and they file a tax report on the behalf of all the investors. Now the state of PA has sent me a tax bill. The bill is for 2006. I owned nothing in PA in 2006. I didn’t file a PA state tax form in 2006. They claim to have a tax form, but I know it isn’t mine. Today, as I started turned in my 2009 taxes, we spent an hour plus on the phone with these two bureaucratic offices. This is crazy. Every state in our great union is broke, or very close to it. I know that the leaders in each state have met with their bean counters and told them get as much money as they can. I also figure they send the bills, hoping that the receiver will just write a check and pay it. Three forms have been sent to CO since January to clear it up, and each bureaucrat has said that the form they request will fix the problem. It never does, so now we work on form number four. PA says I have to send them a letter requesting a copy of the form they say I sent to them. They don’t have a fax number, and only do business through the US Mail. Crazy. Really crazy.

Our promised high winds arrived today. The landscaping company came early this morning to do some spring clean-up. They did some work, but didn’t tackle my section, as we still have three foot high snow banks. Guess they will be back in July when the snow is all melted. We made it to 58° but the 35mph wind and the 45mph gusts made it a lot cooler. Now the weather guy says to expect another windy day tomorrow with snow starting in the evening. We are told to expect 2-4” in this storm. It will be gone by Easter.

‡ A Quick Smile  

Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?"

"98," she replied, "Two years older than me."

"So, you're 96," the undertaker commented.

She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it?"

‡ Random Fact  

Giant pandas have lived in the bamboo forests of China for millions years and have been honored by the Chinese for a very long time. Because the giant panda is considered a national treasure in China, it is protected by law so that it does not become extinct. The Chinese call giant pandas "large bear-cats." Giant pandas are also called panda bears and bamboo bears.

‡ Puzzle  

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 It nor I peony, is far I wound.

2 Dyad hen dell to taxes.

3 To onto otters at yon could hale teem no undo yon.

‡ Side Show Stories  

MALMO, Sweden - The warden of a Swedish jail said a prisoner received an official warning for using flatulence to express his discontent about his situation. Anders Eriksson, warden of the Kirseberg prison in Malmo, said guards filed numerous complaints against the 21-year-old prisoner, whose name was not reported, alleging "a series of concerted attacks" in the form of constant wind-breaking, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported. "I have worked within the prisons and probation service since 1986 and I have never experienced a situation where behavior of this sort has led to punishment," Eriksson said in an interview with Sweden's Metro newspaper. Authorities said the prisoner offered an explanation for his behavior. "I had an upset stomach while I was playing cards but did not want to fart there. So I went over to the guards instead," he was quoted as saying. The prisoner was issued an official warning and could face punishment for any future attacks of intentional flatulence, Eriksson said.

‡ Calendar Information  

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

28-4/3

Root Canal Awareness Week

• 30 March Observances—US/UN/World •

Bunsen Burner Day

National Clams On The Half Shell Day

National "She's Funny That Way" Day

California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah, and Wisconsin: César Chávez Day

•30 March Observances—by country •

Virgin Islands: Transfer Day (1917: Denmark signs over to US )

Malta : Republic Day/National Day (1974)

‡Number One Songs in…

1946 ►Personality - Johnny Mercer

1954 ►Answer Me, My Love - Nat ‘King’ Cole

1962 ►Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares

1970 ►Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

1978 ►Stayin’ Alive - Bee Gees

1986 ►R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. - John Cougar Mellencamp

•What Happened on this Day •

In The Arts

1909 ►Gustav Mahler conducts New York Philharmonic for his 1st time

1943 ►Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" opens on Broadway: original title: “Away We Go”

1945 ►Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie" premieres in New York NY

In Athletics

1906 ►The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for amateur sports in the United States.

1995 ►1st game at Coors Stadium Colorado (replacement Rockies beat Yankees 4-1)

In Business or Education

1880 ►The first electric street lights ever installed by a municipality were turned on in beautiful Wabash, IN

1889 ►300 meter Eiffel Tower officially opens (commemorates French Revolution)

1963 ►Los Angeles ends streetcar service after 90 years

In Politics

1831 ►Québec & Montréal incorporated

1870 ►Thomas P Mundy became 1st black to vote in US (Perth Amboy NJ)

1877 ►In Arizona, parts of the White Mountain - San Carlos Reservation will be restored to public domain.

1918 ►1st daylight savings time in US goes into effect

1944 ►Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars

1948 ►Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe

1949 ►Newfoundland and Labrador entered the Canadian confederation as the 10th province
1953 ►Department of Health, Education & Welfare established

1954 ►US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs CO, established

1968 ►LBJ announces he will not seek re-election

1971 ►William L Calley Jr sentenced to life for My Lai Massacre

1980 ►President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry

In Science/Religion

1146 ►Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1959 ►Dalai Lama fled China & was granted political asylum in India

• Born on this day •

Artists and Composers

Liz Claiborne, 1929, Brussels Belgium, fashion designer

René Descartes, 1596, French philosopher

Franz Joseph Haydn, 1732, Austrian composer

John Jakes, 78, author (North and South, the Kent Family Chronicles)

Andrew Lang, 1844, Scottish author (The Blue Fairy Book)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Herb Alpert, 75, musician (Tijuana Brass)

Richard Chamberlain, 75, actor (“Dr. Kildare,” Shogun)

Lefty (William Orville) Frizzell, 1928, Country Music Hall of Famer

Shirley Jones, 76, actress (Oscar for Elmer Gantry; The Music Man, Oklahoma!, “The Partridge Family”)

Gabe Kaplan, 64, actor (“Welcome Back, Kotter”)

Edward Francis (Ed) Marinaro, 60, actor (“Hill Street Blues,” “Sisters”), former football player

Ewan McGregor, Crieff, Scotland, 39, actor (Miss Potter, The Island, Moulin Rouge, Trainspotting, Star Wars films)

Henry Morgan (Henry Lerner Von Ost), 1915, comedian/TV panelist (I've Got a Secret)

Rhea Perlman, 62, actress (“Cheers,” Carpool)

Christopher Ronald Walken, 67, actor (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can, The Deer Hunter)

Angus Young, 54, Glasgow Scotland, rock guitarist (AC/DC-Highway to Hell)

Athletes

Gordon (Gordie) Howe, 82, Hall of Fame hockey player

Jack Johnson, 1878, 1st black heavyweight boxing champion

James Earl (Jimmy) Johnson, 72, Hall of Fame football player

Business, Education Leaders

Cesar Estrada Chavez, 1927, Yuma AZ, farm labor leader (United Farm Workers)

Political Leaders

Barney Frank, 70, (Representative-MA)

(Albert Arnold) Al Gore, 62, 45th vice president of the US

Arthur Griffith, 1872, Irish journalist, founder of Sinn Féin

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Sir Dugald Clerk, 1854, Scottish inventor (2-stroke motorcycle engine)

Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, 1811, German chemist (Bunsen Burner)

•Today’s Obits •

Edwin Alberian, 1997, TV celebrity (Clarabell), @ 76

Charlotte Brontë, 1855, English author (Jane Eyre), TB @ 38

John C. Calhoun, 1850, 7th VP, TB @ 68

John Donne, 1631, Metaphysical poet, cancer(?) @ 59

O'Kelly Isley, 1986, singer (Isley Brothers), heart attack @ 48

Brandon Lee, 1993, actor (Crow)/son of Bruce Lee, accidentally shot @ 28

Lillian "Miss" Miller, 1990, audience member (Merv Griffin, Tonight Show), @ 93

Knute Rockne, 1931, football player/coach, plane crash @ 43

Selena [Quintanilla Perez], 1995, Mexican Grammy winning singer, killed by a fan @ 24

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1 It nor I peony, is far I wound : In for a penny, in for a pound.

2 Dyad hen dell to taxes: Dead men tell no tales.

3 To onto otters at yon could hale teem no undo yon: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

† † † † † † † † †

Tuesday 3-30

30 March 2010~~Week 14 of 2010: 89 days this year…276 remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs

A misty morning may become a clear day.

From saving comes having.

‡ Free Ramblings  

Our non-elected Governor is upset with our elected Attorney General. The long serving Attorney General has told her that a lawsuit against the Health Care bill will be a waste of Arizona money. Even though our state is broke, the governor called another special session today to bypass the AG and have the state add its name to the lawsuit of other states. These legislators only make $24K for their regular work with a daily stipend. Any special sessions are paid separately. This is their 8th special session since the governor took office. These people don’t work for free. Yeah, I know, it’s a full moon and strange things always happen.

I understand that the 2010 census is very important. I have never had a problem with being counted. In the 2000 census the Navajo Nation really pushed the importance of the filling out the form. I did that, and then had an actual census taker come to my house with a whole bunch of questions, like how many bathrooms I had and how many vehicles I had. That survey took almost an hour. The one question on every census form is “What is your race?” It has been there since the first census in 1790. This decade I am becoming aware of how difficult this question is for many to answer. Our nation has always been a salad bowl. Most Federal Funding is based on some kind of ‘race’ in some form or another. Our country has been obsessed with it since our beginnings. I heard an NPR story about a guy who has a Puerto Rican mother and an Iranian father. He doesn’t know how to answer, and on the 2000 census he was told to answer ‘white’ because Iranians are considered ‘white’ somewhere. Race is defined in the dictionary as “a group of persons related by common descent or heredity”. With the number of bi- or multi-racial persons living here, it seems that the census bureau should find a better way to ask the question, so they get good answers. They will use this data to tell us what part of the population is in each race in each city, town, county, state, etc. If one has a grandparent who is a full-blooded Native American, you are considered American Indian. In many parts of the US, if you have an African American in your heritage, you are considered that race. It is certainly time for our nation to develop a successful way to determine one’s ethnic background or to change the laws that provide funding to various groups based on the census criteria. And why is a person with a British mother and an Irish father simply counted as ‘white’? Strange pigeon-holing here?

We had another lunch today, at a new Greek Restaurant. Great food. (I had a huge Gyro and a salad on the side and it cost only $5. Can’t beat that. Great conversation. Cheryl’s trip to find her family history was semi-successful. She got back into the early 1700’s but her relative never put his parent’s names on any documents. So her next move is to do the DNA thing. She will be using her uncle’s (father’s brother) DNA since male DNA can provide more information on the paternal side of her family. Martha did this a couple of years ago and learned a lot. I am still amazed at the number of locals eat lunch at restaurants. We usually arrive at our chosen destination about 11:30 and have no problem getting a good table or booth. When we leave about 1:00, the restaurant usually has people waiting to be seated. For so many years, the only time I went out for lunch was when I was at a conference, and I always figured that the large crowds were because of the conference. Turns out, many people eat out lunch every day. I am glad this occurs, as Flagstaff has a number of nice lunch spots and they need the business.

We had a nice day today…high was 65° and it was fairly clear. The weatherman is preparing us for lots of wind and snow soon. The wind gusts will be above 50mph, the expected snow level and expected depth are still unknown. Our altitude varies so much in this area we are always aware of snow level…the altitude where it will snow. Within five miles the depths of snow can vary quite a bit—one high area can get 12” and a lower area nearby can get only a trace.

‡ A Quick Smile  

Maury ran a small commercial real estate company. One day, back in the eighties, he sold his interest in one of his projects for 3 million dollars.

The only problem was that the guy who bought him out was a big shot in his very small hometown in Pennsylvania, and he wanted Maury to use the local bank branch.

So Maury goes in to the bank and tells the teller he'd like to open a few accounts. The teller goes through the list of gifts you can get for your initial deposit. $300 gets you a toaster, $600 for a television, etc. The teller then asks him how much he would like to deposit. Without saying a word, Maury hands her the cashier's check.

The teller turns bright red, and runs to get her manager. The manager escorts him into her office, where they sit down.

"Sir, welcome to our town. We're thrilled to have you as a customer. What can I get you?"

To which Maury replied, "I'll take 10,000 toasters."

‡ Random Fact  

~In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one Marshmallow Peep. Today, it takes six minutes.

~The first Peeps were squeezed one at a time out of a pastry tube and the eyes were painted on by hand. Now, machines create 3,500 Peeps' eyes per minute.

~Just Born's Bethlehem, Pa., factory makes more than 1 billion Peeps a year -- that's 4 million Peeps a day.

‡ Puzzle  

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 If as dot oven mill she far lazy sines.

2 Won't try omer spiller mink.

3 Ale than flitters in cot goad.

‡ Side Show Stories  

MALMO, Sweden - The warden of a Swedish jail said a prisoner received an official warning for using flatulence to express his discontent about his situation. Anders Eriksson, warden of the Kirseberg prison in Malmo, said guards filed numerous complaints against the 21-year-old prisoner, whose name was not reported, alleging "a series of concerted attacks" in the form of constant wind-breaking, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported. "I have worked within the prisons and probation service since 1986 and I have never experienced a situation where behavior of this sort has led to punishment," Eriksson said in an interview with Sweden's Metro newspaper. Authorities said the prisoner offered an explanation for his behavior. "I had an upset stomach while I was playing cards but did not want to fart there. So I went over to the guards instead," he was quoted as saying. The prisoner was issued an official warning and could face punishment for any future attacks of intentional flatulence, Eriksson said.

‡ Calendar Information  

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

28-4/3

Root Canal Awareness Week

• 30 March Observances—US/UN/World •

I Am In Control Day

Doctors Day

Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day

Pencil Day: 1st patented

•30 March Observances—by country •

Palestine: Land Day: since 1976 when Palestinians united to not accept Israel land plan

Trinidad and Tobago: Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day: since 1951 which allowed them to practice their religion, had been banned since 1917. Very similar practices to American Shakers

‡Number One Songs in…

1945 ►Accentuate the Positive - Johnny Mercer

1953 ►Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como

1961 ►Dedicated to the One I Love - The Shirelles

1969 ►Time of the Season - The Zombies

1974 ►Sunshine on My Shoulders—John Denver

1977 ►Dancing Queen - Abba

1985 ►We are the World - USA for Africa

•What Happened on this Day •

In The Arts

1778 ►Playwright Voltaire crowned with laurel wreath

1923 ►The Audubon Ballroom in New York City was the scene of the first dance marathon.

1964 ►Jeopardy, developed by Merv Griffin, premiered.

1966 ►Barbra Streisand stars on "Color Me Barbra" special on CBS

In Athletics

1889 ►John T Reid opens 1st US golf course (Yonkers NY)

In Business or Education

1909 ►The Queensboro Bridge also known as the 59th Street Bridge, linking the New York boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, opened.

1998 ►The German car maker BMW buys Rolls-Royce cars for $570 million

In Politics

1802: The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, determining commerce between Natives and Non-natives passed

1822 ►Congress combined East & West Florida into Florida Territory

1867 ►US purchases Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2¢ an acre-Seward's Folly)

1948 ►Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin ordered all road and rail access to Berlin, Germany blocked.

1981 ►President Reagan shot & wounded by John W Hinckley Jr

In Science/Religion

1842 ►Ether was used as an anaesthetic for 1st time by Dr Crawford Long

1932 ►Amelia Earhart is 1st woman to fly solo cross the Atlantic

1950 ►Phototransistor invention announced, Murray Hill NJ

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1987 ►Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers sold for $39.85 million

• Born on this day •

Artists and Composers

Francisco Jose de Goya, 1746, Fuendetodos Spain, painter/etcher

Vincent van Gogh, 1853, Zundert Netherlands, artist

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

John Astin, 80, actor (“The Addams Family”; stage: The Three Penny Opera), director

Warren Beatty, 72, actor (Bonnie and Clyde), director (Reds, Dick Tracy), producer

Tracy Chapman, 46, singer (“Fast Car”)

Eric Clapton, 65, singer, songwriter, guitarist, Ripley, England

Robbie Coltrane (Anthony Robert McMillan), 60, actor Rutherglen, Scotland, (GoldenEye, the Harry Potter films)

Celine Dion, 42, singer, Charlemagne, QC, Canada

Jason Dohring, 28, actor (“Veronica Mars,” Black Cadillac)

Richard Dysart, 81, actor (“LA Law”)

M.C. Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell) , 47, rapper

Norah Jones, 31, singer

Frankie Laine [Frank Paul LoVecchio], 1913, singer

Peter Marshall (Pierre La Cock), 83, television host, actor

Ray McAnally, 1926, Buncrana County Donegal Ireland, actor (My Left Foot)

Paul Reiser, 53, actor (Diner, “Mad About You”)

Athletes

Lomas Brown, 47, NFL tackle (Lions, Cardinals)

Jerry Lucas, 70, Basketball Hall of Famer

Secreteriat, 1970, race horse, triple crown (1973)

Business, Education Leaders

Sir John Hawkins, 1719, England, wrote 1st history of music

Political Leaders

McGeorge Bundy, 1919, president of the Ford Foundation; Special Assistant for National Security Affairs under U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Sergey Ilyushin, 1894, Russian aerospace engineer (d. 1977)

Eddie Jordan, 1948, Former owner/ designer of Jordan Grand Prix

•Today’s Obits •

James F Cagney, 1986, actor (Public Enemy, Angels With Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy), @ 86

George (Beau) Brummell Dandy, 1840, fashion guru, stroke @ 61

Mahatma Gandhi, 1948, assassinated in New Delhi @ 79

Betsy Perk [Christina E], 1906, journalist/writer/feminist, @ 73

HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 2002, @ 101

Dewitt Wallace, 1981, US founder (Reader's Digest), @ 91

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1 If as dot oven mill she far lazy sines: It is not over till the fat lady sings.

2 Won't try omer spiller mink: Don't cry over spilled milk.

3 Ale than flitters in cot goad: All that glitters is not gold.

† † † † † † † † †

Monday 3-28

29 March 2010~~Week 14 of 2010: 88 days this year…277 remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs

He that teaches himself has a fool for a master.

A liar shou'd hae a good memory.

‡ Free Ramblings  

For those of you not living in Arizona, we are not like Phoenix. I heard on the news that our capital will reach 90° sometime this week. Flagstaff should hit 65° just before our next snow storm comes in on Thursday. I’m certainly not complaining in any way. I like the four seasons I grew up with—spring, summer, fall and winter. I am not looking to find a place that has the seasons—hot, hotter, and hotter than Hell. Yes, I am tired of all the snow, but know that we have several storms still a-waitin’ to keep us on our toes. Flag made it to a warm 58° with little wind.

My next door neighbor is moving out. She and her two boys—one in high school, one in elementary school, are headed out. Someone new should be moving in a week or so. They have been decent neighbors. No loud parties, friendly conversation with the lady, and nice. I must say, I won’t miss the seven year old, who really liked to crawl around my trees and bushes, stare in the window, and on occasion bring his little friends for a loud game of ‘it’. They are moving to a standalone house which will be much better for the two kids. This complex is not a place to raise kids. The ad for this place says a ‘mature treed commons area’. That sounds so inviting, but alas, the commons area does have mature trees. They don’t mention that there is no grass and is basically very hard dirt. Part of the area is a natural drainage with two unprotected culverts—hardly kid friendly from a safety point, but very kid friendly for adventurous children. In my four years here, I have never seen any water in the drainage area. It did have nice rocks along the sides, but the snow this winter and the several sledding/bike trails have pretty much messed that up. Maybe our HOA will do something about that when spring or summer finally arrives. If I had my way, the commons area would get some playground equipment, and some small short natural vegetation, but that costs money—something realtors probably don’t want to do. Who knows who will be moving in. For some reason, neighbors seem to come and go quite frequently.

‡ A quick smile  

My grandmother told me how she ended up marrying Grandpa. She was in her 20s, and the man she was dating left for war. "We were in love," she recalled, "and wrote to each other every week. It was during that time that I discovered how wonderful your grandfather was."

"Did you marry Grandpa when he came home from the war?" I asked.

"Oh, I didn't marry the man who wrote the letters. Your grandfather was the mailman."

‡ Random Fact  

The most expensive swimsuit in the world is a bikini that is worth $30 million dollars. Designed by Susan Rosen and Steinmetz Diamonds, the bikini is made with more than 150 carats of D flawless diamonds which are all set in platinum.

‡ Puzzle  

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 I pool ant has honey ale boon panted.

2 Paste net wart pot.

3 So thing owl heard by tree.

‡ Side Show Stories

An "exercise" at a middle school in Worcestershire, UK began when pupils heard that there was a gun in the school. Five minutes later the alarm bell sounded and more than 300 were sent outside and saw three teachers running across the field.

They saw a "gunman" in the distance and heard what sounded like gunfire before seeing one of the teachers fall to the ground. Colleagues appeared to attempt to resuscitate him.

It was all part of a big role-playing scenario designed to teach the children about forensic science, but by the time teachers got the kids all back in the school's auditorium to explain everything, many of them were already frightened, crying and some even getting sick in the bathrooms.

‡ Calendar Information  

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

28-4/3

Root Canal Awareness Week

• 27 March Observances—US/UN/World •

Knights of Columbus Founders Day

National Mom & Pop Business Owner's Day

Passover

Smoke and Mirrors Day

Texas Loves The Children Day

Delaware : Delaware Swedish Colonial Day (1638)

•27 March Observances—by country •

Central African Republic : Death of President Boganda Day (1959)

Chile: Day of the Young Combatant, celebrated with civil disorder by leftists and anarchists.

Madagascar : Commemoration Day/Memorial Day (1947)

Taiwan : Youth Day/Martyr's Day

Vietnam : Veterans' Day (1973)

‡Number One Songs in…

1952 ►Please, Mr. Sun - Johnnie Ray

1960 ►The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith

1968 ►(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding

1976 ►Til the Rivers All Run Dry - Don Williams

1984 ►Footloose - Kenny Loggins

•What Happened on this Day •

In The Arts

1827 ►20,000 attend Ludwig von Beethovens burial in Vienna

1932 ►Comedian Jack Benny appeared on radio for the first time

In Athletics

1994 ►Coach Jimmy Johnson quits Dallas Cowboys

In Business or Education

1886 ►Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, Georgia.

In Politics

1638 ►1st permanent white settlement in Delaware (Swedish Lutherans)

1798 ►Republic of Switzerland forms

1852 ►Ohio makes it illegal for children under 18 & women to work more than 10 hours a day

1943 ►Meat, butter & cheese rationed in US during WWII

1951 ►Julius & Ethel Rosenberg convicted of espionage

1973 ►Last US troops leave Vietnam, 9 years after Tonkin Gulf Resolution

In Science/Religion

1848 ►For the first time in recorded history, Niagara Falls stopped flowing. An ice jam in the Niagara river above the rim of the falls caused the water to stop.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1797 ►The MOHAWK treaty is signed at Albany today by 5 Indians, including Joseph Brandt. All of their lands in New York are ceded for $1000.

• Born on this day •

Artists and Composers

Howard Lindsay, 1889, playwright: A Woman’s World

John Joseph McLaughlin, 83, editor, columnist, television host

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Pearl Bailey, 1918, singer

Bud Cort, 60, actor (Harold and Maude, Brewster McCloud)

Eric Idle, 67, actor (“Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” “Suddenly Susan”), author

Nancy Kwan, 71, (Hong Kong), actress (Flower Drum Song)

Christopher Lambert, 53, actor (Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes)

Lucy Lawless, 42, actress (“Xena”), (Auckland, New Zealand)

Elle Macpherson, 46, (Sydney, Australia) model, actress (Sirens)

Ruby Murray, 1935, Irish pop singer (Softly Softly)

Athletes

Earl Christian Campbell, 55, Hall of Fame football player

Jennifer Capriati, 34, tennis player

Walt "Clyde" Frazier, 65, NBA guard (New York Knicks)

Man O'War, 1917, racehorse

Kurt Thomas, 54, former gymnast

Cy [Denton True] Young, 1867, winningest pitcher

Business, Education Leaders

Billy Carter, 1937, brother of President Carter Billy Beer

Edwin Drake, 1819, drilled 1st productive US oil well

Sam Walton, 1918, billionaire CEO (Wal-Mart)

Political Leaders

John Major, 67, former British prime minister

Eugene J McCarthy, 1916,Senator-MN, Presidential candidate 1968)

John Tyler, 1790, 10th US President

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Isaac Mayer Wise, 1819, rabbi, founded American Hebrew Congregations

•Today’s Obits •

John Jacob Astor, 1848, chartered American Fur Company, @ 84
Lee Atwater, 1991, political strategist (R), brain tumor @ 40

Robert F Scott,1912, British pole explorer (Antarctica), froze on expedition @ 44
Charles Villiers Stanford, 1924, Irish composer/writer, @ 71
Charles Wesley, 1788, hymn writer ("Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (Lyrics)), @ 81
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1 I pool ant has honey ale boon panted: A fool and his money are soon parted.

2 Paste net wart pot: Waste not want not.

3 So thing owl heard by tree: To thine own heart be true.

† † † † † † † † † 

Sunday 3-28

28 March 2010~~Week 14 of 2010: 87 days this year…278 remain
‡ Scottish Proverbs
A bird in the hand is worth ten fleein'.
He's as welcome as water in a holed ship.
‡ Free Ramblings
This is one of the windiest days we have had in quite a spell. Who knew all that wind was stored up someplace, just a waitin’ for today. The winds were a steady 30mph with gust up to 50 mph. Yesterday we had a couple of breaks, but not today. It seems like every time I opened my door to do something outside, the wind was blowing harder. This wind storm of cold air is not bringing any moisture with it and should be gone by tomorrow. Our high of 46° felt a whole lot colder.
A few years back a Navajo golfer was big in the PGA. Notah Begay III is still playing and not doing too badly. He had a little bump when he became famous to the general public, but has shown that he has gone past that.[ Last night a Tuba friend stopped by to watch the bball games before heading back to Tuba. His cable company doesn’t offer HD and even though he has a plasma TV, he isn’t getting the full value without HD. He was reminded of that as we watched the two games.] In our discussion he asked me if I had heard of Rickie Fowler. I had not. Turn out this 20 year old is an up and coming pro golfer. He is multiracial and grew up in California. Rickie made a mark at the recent Phoenix golf tourney and is being watched now by many. Then today I got three emails from Tuba people about him, each with a different news article or website to learn about him. Then tonight, he showed up on the Navajo Times Facebook page. While he hasn’t spent a lot of time on the Rez, he is Navajo and Navajos are proud of his accomplishments. That is good.
Sadly, Facebook also told us of the passing of Marshall Plummer. He was a Navajo politician and educator who was the first Vice President of the Navajo Nation. He was only 62, and will be missed by many. So very sad when a leader is lost.
‡ A quick smile
Military cost-cutting has hit everything, including toilet paper. Only the cheapest graces our latrines. So when a couple of boxes filled with the good stuff -- two-ply tissue! -- fell in our laps, it was like manna from heaven.
But the next morning, our behinds were brought down to earth. It was all a mistake. The boxes had been intended for the officers club. "I should have known," grumbled the supply sergeant.
"Our officers demand everything in duplicate!"
‡ Random Fact:
The brightly colored poison dart frog of Central and South America has enough poison to kill about 10 people or 20,000 mice. These frogs are only about ½” long.
‡Puzzle  
In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?
1 Earls so red, earls no rose.
2 Beauts in oily shin beep.
3 Ill word end so plan takes pack I pull toy.
‡ Side Show Stories
London: a five-year-old kindergartener who climbed a tree in his school yard and refused to come down. Due to the school's strict health and safety policy the teachers were prohibited from helping him down.
Instead, staff followed guidelines and retreated inside the school building to "observe from a distance" so the child would not get "distracted and fall".
It took 45 minutes before a passer-by noticed the child in the tree and helped him down. And for her trouble the head teacher of the school reported her to the police for trespassing.
‡ Calendar Information
• March’s Month Long Observances •
BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)
National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month
• Observance Weeks in March•
22-28
World Folk Tales & Fables Week
• 27 March Observances—US/UN/World •
Something On A Stick Day
Weed Appreciation Day
•27 March Observances—by country •
China: Serfs Emancipation Day (since 1959 to celebrate freeing serfs in Tibet-which sees this as a day of tragedy)
Christians: Palm Sunday: Beginning of Holy Week
Czech Republic and Slovakia : Teachers' Day
Europe: Summer Daylight Savings Time begins
Libya : Evacuation Day
Number One Songs in…
1951 ►Mockingbird Hill -Patti Page
1959 ►Venus - Frankie Avalon
1967 ►Happy Together - The Turtles
1975 ►My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli
1983 ►Billy Jean - Michael Jackson
•What Happened on this Day •
In The Arts
1794 ►Louvre opens to the public (although officially opened since August)
1920 ►Actor Douglas Fairbanks marries actress Mary Pickford
In Athletics
1972 ►Wilt Chamberlain plays his last pro basketball game
In Business or Education
1797 ►Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patents a washing machine
1866 ►1st ambulance goes into service
1881 ►P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
In Politics
1845 ►Mexico drops diplomatic relations with US
In Science/Religion
1885 ►US Salvation Army officially organized
1922 ►1st microfilm device introduced
1979 ►Radiation is released at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1930 ►Two of Turkey's largest cities change their names ( Constantinople and Angora ). The City of Constantinople is changed to Istanbul The City of Angora is changed to Ankara
• Born on this day •
Artists and Composers
Raphael, 1483, Urbino Italy, painter
Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV
Dirk Bogarde (Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde), 1921, actor
Conchata Ferrell, 67, actress (“Two and a Half Men”, “LA Law”),
Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta), 24, musician
Ken Howard, 66, actor (“Crossing Jordan,” “The White Shadow”)
Brian Jones [Lewis B Hopkin], 1942, pop guitarist (Rolling Stones)
Reba McEntire, 56, singer, actress (“Reba”)
Julia Stiles, 29, actress (The Prince & Me, The Bourne Identity, Save the Last Dance, O)
Vince Vaughn, 40, actor (Wedding Crashers, Old School, Swingers)
Dianne Wiest, 62, actress (Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway; “Law & Order”)
Athletes
Rick Barry, 66, ABA/NBA forward (New York Nets, Golden State Warriors)
Bart Wayne Conner, 52, gymnast (Olympics-2 gold-1984)
K C Jones, 36, NFL center (Denver Broncos-Superbowl XXXII)
Jerry Sloan, 68, basketball coach
Business, Education Leaders
August A. Busch Jr., 1899, beer magnate
Political Leaders
Ingrid, 1910, Queen Mother of Denmark
Francisco A G de Miranda, 1750, Venezuelan freedom fighter
Edmund Sixtus Muskie, 1914, (Senator-ME), US Secretary of State
Scientists /Religious Leaders
Marlin Perkins, 1905, TV host (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom)
•Today’s Obits •
Jan van der Heyden, 1712, Dutch inventor (street lantern), @ 75
Jonathan Edwards, 1758, US theologist (Great Awakening), reaction to smallpox vaccine @ 54
Dwight D Eisenhower, 1969, 34th President/General (WWII), @ 78
Emmett Kelly, 1979, circus clown (Weary Willy), dies at 80
Jesse Owens, 1980, (Olympics-gold-36), lung cancer in Tucson AZ @ 66. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously on this day in 1990
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk) , 1953, Olympic Athlete, heart attack @ 65
‡ANSWERS to puzzle
1 Earls so red, earls no rose►Early to bed, early to rise.
2 Beauts in oily shin beep►Beauty is only skin deep.
3 Ill word end so plan takes pack I pull toy►All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
† † † † † † † † †

Saturday 3-27

♣ 27 March 2010~~Week 12 of 2010: 86 days this year…279 remain ♣
♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣
Scottish Proverbs
Never draw your dirk when a blow will do it.
A turn well done is soon done.
♣ Free Ramblings ♣
I have been retired too long. I can’t read a calendar anymore. While I knew the home show was coming to Flagstaff on the 26th, I still thought it was next week. Anyway, luckily for me, Mary called and reminded me it started today. Our local paper made a deal with whomever it is that puts it on, so the if you got there between 10am and 11am, you get in free. Even though I am not a home owner, I do enjoy seeing the stuff that is out there, and of course, I enjoy the snake oil salesmen with their products that you can’t live without. Of course you have lived without them all you life and never missed them. Last year a friend got her glasses cleaned at one of those places, and said it really was the best cleaner she ever had. So this year I got some. They also cleaned my ring and glasses before I bought any. I have a diamond and turquoise ring that I have had for almost two years and never had cleaned. Wow…amazing how that diamond shines now. There was also a local guy who makes cooking sauces. He popped some popcorn with the jalapeno olive oil…talk about hot and delicious. He also had some honey mustard dressing/dip/ whatever that was also very good. He got some of my hard earned money too. I passed on the cell phone hook, because I carry my BB in a case, in my pocket, but it was very cool. I didn’t get any of the pots and pans that magically seal in the steam while cooking. I also passed on entering any of the many free drawings, knowing well that I would not win and my mailbox would be filled within days. The Home Show really is a lot of fun.
The Home Show provided a nice respite from the very cold wind today. The ol thermometer said we got to 46° but the 30mph wind and the 50mph gusts made it feel much, much colder. It spit snow about 6am, again about 10am, and the wind just blew and blew. This wind had to becoming from the Arctic Circle somewhere and coming directly toward to us.
♣Random Fact: ♣
The opposite sides of a dice cube always add up to seven.
♣Side Show Stories—♣
Later this year, manufacturer Organovo, of San Diego, will begin shipping its $200,000 ink-jet-type printers that create living organs for patients needing transplants. The 3-D "bioprinter" works by spraying extracted microscopic cells on top of each other, in pass after pass. On the bioprinter's equivalent of a sheet of paper, and under laboratory conditions, the cells fuse together and grow for weeks until an organ substantial enough for research use is created (and ultimately, substantial enough for human transplants). The bioprinter is faster than growing such organs from scratch, which scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have been doing for several years. [The Economist, 2-18-10]
♣ A quick smile ♣
A man pacing back and forth glanced at his watch and yelled upstairs to his wife, "Honey, are you ready yet?"
Shouting back, the woman replies, "For crying out loud, Ed, I've been telling you for the last half hour...I'll be ready in a minute!"
♣ Puzzle ♣
In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?
1 Earls so red, earls no rose
2 Beauts in oily shin beep
3 Won't pit oft pill gomorrow whet yon tan go toddy.
♣ Calendar Information ♣
• March’s Month Long Observances •
BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)
National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month
• Observance Weeks in March•
19-27
National Bubble (blowers) Week
21-27
•Consider Christianity Week •Passion Week •Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination
22-28
World Folk Tales & Fables Week
• 27 March Observances—US/UN/World •
Celebrate Exchange Day
Earth Hour
Education and Sharing Day
Quirky Country Music Song
Titles Day
Viagra Day
National "Joe" Day
World Theatre Day
•27 March Observances—by country •
Burma : Resistance Day
♣ Number One Songs in…
1950 ►Chatanoogie Shoe Shine Boy - Red Foley
1958 ►Tequila - The Champs
1966 ►The Ballad of the Green Berets - SSgt Barry Sadler
1974 ►Mockingbird - Carly Simon & James Taylor
1982 ►I Love Rock ’N Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
• Born on this day •
…The Arts
Artists and Composers
Nathaniel Currier, 1813, lithographer (Currier & Ives)
Patty Smith Hill, 1868, author/songwriter (Happy Birthday To You)
Anthony Lewis, 1927, newspaper columnist (New York Times)/author (Gideon's Trumpet)
Budd Schulberg, 1914, novelist (On the Waterfront)
Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV
Mariah Carey, 40, singer, born Long Island, NY
Fergie, 35, singer, musician (The Black-Eyed Peas)
David Janssen (David Harold Meyer), 1931, actor: The Fugitive
Quentin Tarantino, 47, actor, director (Pulp Fiction)
Gloria Swanson (Gloria May Josephine Svensson), 1899, actress
Snooky Lanson (Roy Landman), 1914, - singer: By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Sarah Vaughan, 1924, ‘The Divine One’: jazz singer
…Athletes
William Caleb (Cale) Yarborough, 70, former auto racer(Won Daytona 500 4 times)
…Business, Education
Sir Henry Royce, 1863, automobile founder (Rolls-Royce)
…Politics
Baron Haussmann, 1809, French civic planner
…Science/Religion
John E. Sulston, 68, .British chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (human genome sequencing projects)
Fr. Stanley Rother, 1935, Roman Catholic Priest, Martyr and Missionary to Guatemala
•Today’s Obits •
1625 James I Stuart king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dysentery @ 58
1850 Wilhelm Bear German banker/astronomer (Moon Map), @ 53
1968 Yuri Gagarin 1st man to orbit Earth, & Seryogin, plane crash @ 34
1986 Cass Canfield US publisher, @ 88
1992 James E Webb head of NASA (1961-68), @ 84
♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣
1 Earls so red, earls no rose: Early to bed, early to rise.
2 Beauts in oily shin beep: Beauty is only skin deep.
3 Won't pit oft pill gomorrow whet yon tan go toddy: Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Friday 3-26

♣ 26 March 2010~~Week 12 of 2010: 85 days this year…2801 remain ♣

♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣

Scottish Proverbs

Better bend than break.

To marry is to halve your rights and double your duties.

♣ Free Ramblings ♣

Civility: civilized conduct; especially : COURTESY, POLITENESS; a polite act or expression. Today we read more about the idiots that live in this country. Members of Congress receiving death threats, finding broken windows at their home offices, their names on Sarah Palin’s web site—marked with the crosshairs of a rifle. We read and heard uninformed citizens who called their representatives with outrageous claims of losing their doctor’s care, with foul language, with veiled and not so veiled threats against those who voted for health care. For me, this is yet another NCLB failure. While our public schools have been so busy testing student’s reading and math abilities, the teaching of Social Studies, Civics, and History have been put on the back burner. In many elementary schools, where students are getting the fundamentals, these areas are not being tested, so they are not being taught with the vigor they deserve. We have always been able to state our opinions, argue with those who disagree, and get our ideas out there. We elect people go to DC. While the process is flawed it has worked. When the vote is finally taken, those who win usually celebrate, those who lose usually find a way to live with the change or find a way to try and change the law. Violence against our Congress members should never be part of the process—especially after the law is passed. It is time to bring civility back to this country. It’s time for a national campaign to educate the populous of the workings of our government. I am really tired of the lack of education so many people exhibit.

How cool…new quarters. When the mint started making the State Quarters, AZ was one of the last states to have one issued. For those who forgot, the quarters were issued in the order the state was admitted to the union. Now the mint is going to issue quarters of the National Parks. Grand Canyon, in AZ, is one of the oldest National Parks, so it will be one of the first coins issued. It is a good thing that our non-elected Governor and the AZ state legislature has nothing to do with the running of Grand Canyon, or they would probably close the park too.

A very windy day in our town. We got to 55° which would have been nice, had it not been for the 40mph gusts. High winds are expected through tomorrow. Not my idea of great weather.

♣Random Fact: ♣

The average iceberg weighs 20,000,000 tons

♣Side Show Stories—♣

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Police in Illinois said a woman arrested after an altercation with a taxi driver called 911 from jail to say she was "trapped" in the facility. Cmdr. Mike Anders of the Naperville police said Carly Houston, 29, of Chicago, was arrested early Sunday morning after her taxi driver asked her for specific directions to her intended destination and she allegedly "yelled, screamed, cursed and extended (both) middle fingers at the cab driver and threatened bodily harm" against him, the Naperville (Ill.) Sun reported Tuesday. The driver pulled over at a BP gas station, where witnesses were "alarmed and disturbed" by the passenger's behavior, Anders said. Houston was arrested after police arrived and she refused to pay the taxi fare.

However, Anders said Houston incurred further charges at the police station when she used an allowed phone call to dial 911 and report she was “trapped inside the detention facility." She was charged with misdemeanor charges of making a false 911 report, theft of labor or services, criminal trespass to land and disorderly conduct.

♣ A quick smile ♣

The young man ahead of my father at the flower shop was taking an unusually long time to place his order.

When the clerk asked how she could help, he explained that his girlfriend was turning 19 and he couldn't decide whether to give her a dozen roses or 19 roses -- one for each year of her life.

The woman put aside her business judgment and advised, "She may be your 19-year-old girlfriend now, but someday she could be your 50-year-old wife."

The young man bought a dozen roses.

♣ Puzzle ♣

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 Calf I load if wetter that so break

2 Loot befort yon heap

3 Binds if I heather frock totether.

♣ Calendar Information ♣

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

19-27

National Bubble (blowers) Week

21-27

•Consider Christianity Week •Passion Week •Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

22-28

World Folk Tales & Fables Week

• 26 March Observances—US/UN/World •

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

Spinach Festival Day

Legal Assistants Day

Hawaii : Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianole Day-birth of only royalty to be elected to serve in US Congress

•26 March Observances—by country •

Bangladesh : Independence Day (1971 from Pakistan)

Hampshire, England : Tichborne Dole (since 1150: to give flour to poor)

Lesotho, Spain : Arbor Day/Fiesta del Arbol (1895)

Nova Scotia Canada: Purple Day: since 2008 for awareness of epilepsy

Taiwan : Birthday of Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy: Daoism

♣ Number One Songs in…

1949►Cruising Down the River - The Blue Barron Orchestra

1957►Young Love - Tab Hunter

1965►Eight Days a Week - The Beatles

1973►Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) - Deodato

1981►The Best of Times - Styx

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1997 ►The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead in a California mansion so that their souls could take a ride on a spaceship that they believed was hiding behind the Comet Hale-Bopp ( Haleys Comet )

• Born on this day •

…The Arts

Artists and Composers

Robert Frost, 1874, poet (Mending Wall, Road Not Taken)

Erica Jong, 68, author, poet (Fear of Flying, Becoming Light)

Betty MacDonald [Anne E Campbell Bard], 1908, US writer (Egg & I)

Tennessee (Thomas Lanier) Williams, 1911, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Mort Abrahams, 1916, producer (Dr Doolittle, Planet Of Apes)

Alan Arkin, 76, actor (Catch-22, Little Miss Sunshine), director (Little Murders)

James Caan, 70, actor (Thief, The Godfather, Mickey Blue Eyes)

Kenny Chesney, 42, country singer

Johnny Crawford, 64, actor (Mark-The Rifleman)

Leeza Gibbons, 53, television hostess (“Extra”)

Jennifer Grey, 50, actress (Dirty Dancing)

T.R. Knight, 37, actor (“Grey’s Anatomy”)

Keira Knightley, 25, actress (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean)

Vicki Lawrence, 61, singer, actress (“The Carol Burnett Show,” “Mama’s Family”)

Joe Loco (Jose Esteves Jr.), 1921,jazz musician, arranger: credited with introducing the mambo [Tenderly: 1951] and cha-cha-cha [1953] to the US

Leonard Nimoy, 79, actor (“Star Trek”), director (Three Men and a Baby), writer

Sandra Day O’Connor, 80, former Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court

Teddy Pendergrass, 1950, singer

Diana Ross, 66, singer, actress (Lady Sings the Blues, The Wiz)

Martin Short, 60, actor (The Three Amigos, Inner Space), comedian (“SCTV Network 90,” “Saturday Night Live”)

…Athletes

Marcus Allen, 50, former football player, sportscaster

…Business, Education

Duncan Hines, 1880, restaurant guide writer, cake mixes

…Politics

Nancy Pelosi, 70, Speaker of the US House of Representatives (CA)

William C. Westmoreland ,1914, U.S. Army General

Bob Woodward, 67, investigative reporter: Washington Post

…Science/Religion

Nathaniel Bowditch, 1773, mathematician/astronomer/polyglot/author (Marine Sextant)

George Smith, 1840, (England), assyriologist (cuneiform (script))

•Today’s Obits •

John Winthrop, 1649, Puritan & 1st Governor of MA)@ 62

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1827, German composer (Appassionata), liver failure—possible lead poisoning@ 56

Sarah Bernhardt [Henriette-Rosine Bernard], 1923, actress @ 77

Marjorie Colton, 1962, inventor of wax paper, @ 64

B[runo] Traven, 1969, writer (Sierra Madre), @ 87

Edmund S Muskie, 1996, Vice Presidential candidate/(Governor- ME), @ 81

•What Happened on this Day •

…The Arts

1955 ►"Ballad of Davy Crockett" becomes the #1 record in US

…Athletics

1979 ►Padres & Giants announce plans to play exhibition series in Tokyo but Giant players reject it

1995 ►24th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Nanci Bowen

…Business, Education.

1885 ►Eastman Film Co manufactures 1st commercial motion picture film

…Politics

1147 ►Jewish community in Cologne fast to commemorate anti-Jewish violence

1780 ►1st British Sunday newspaper appears (British Gazette & Sunday Monitor)

1804 ►Congress orders removal of Indians east of Mississippi to Louisiana

1910 ►US forbid immigration to criminals, anarchists, paupers & the sick

1916 ►Birdman of Alcatraz receives solitary

1951 ►USAF flag approved

1979 ►Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin ended 30 years of bitter warfare by signing the first peace treaty between an Arab nation and the Jewish state

1982 ►Groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

1999 ►Dr. Jack Kevorkian, was found guilty of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to a terminally ill man and airing it on the television program "60 Minutes."

…Science/Religion

1830 ►The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.

1845 ►Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster, precursor of band aid

1872 ►Thomas J Martin patents fire extinguisher

1953 ►Dr Jonas Salk announces new vaccine to prevent polio

1973 ►A Native American mass will be held in New York City at Saint John the Divine Cathedral. Almost 4,000 people will attend.

♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣

1 Calf I load if wetter that so break: Half a loaf is better than no bread.

2 Loot befort yon heap: Look before you leap.

3 Binds if I heather frock totether: Birds of a feather flock together.

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Thursday 3-25

♣ 24 March 2010~~Week 12 of 2010: 84 days this year…281 remain ♣

♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣

Scottish Proverbs

A fool may earn money, but it takes a wise man to keep it.

Be slow in choosing a friend but slower in changing him.

♣ Free Ramblings ♣

Mark you calendar—Sat. Mar 27 8:30p. That is Earth Hour. This is an annual event from WWF (World Wildlife Fund—now World Wide Fund for Nature). Across the globe governments and citizens are asked to turn off their lights for one hour. This occurs on local time, wherever you are. What a simple idea, that has been around for a couple of years. I will be joining an expected one billion people spending an hour in the dark.

Only in Arizona. How surprising. The great leadership in Phoenix has put millions of Federal dollars in jeopardy when the budget cut funding to KidsCare. This is the AZ state program that offers health insurance to children who don’t have health insurance and whose parents make too much money for AHCCCS. By not funding this program anymore, the state may lose much more. KidsCare costs the state $18 billion dollars but brings in $56 million in matching Federal Funds. Not only that, this could put all Federal Medicaid at risk. Penny wise and Pound foolish. Not only does KidsCare helps 39,000 children in Arizona, it is tied to a lot more Federal Funding. Now it’s gone. This could only happen in AZ. If nothing else, we have cute acronyms.

Another beautiful spring day in Flag. We made it to 55°, no wind, and a really blue sky. Most of Flag has lost all of its winter snow. Those of us with a Northern Exposure still look like winter, but every day it gets smaller and smaller. I know that this will not last much longer, but it sure is nice while it does.

♣Random Fact: ♣

A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court

♣Side Show Stories—♣

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Colorado wildlife officials said no one was injured or sprayed when an officer freed a skunk from an empty peanut butter jar. State Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton said a homeowner called authorities about 10 a.m. Saturday to report the skunk was wandering around the resident's yard with its head apparently stuck in a jar, The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel reported Monday. Hampton said the officer used a noose affixed to the end of a 6-foot pole to grip the jar and guide the animal away from the yard. The officer spent about 10 minutes removing the container from the animal's head, Hampton said. The skunk "took off and ran toward a television guy," he said. "Only the media around there were at risk, and nobody was injured or sprayed." Hampton said the skunk likely became stuck while digging through some trash.

♣ A quick smile ♣

On a spring break trip to Italy, my friends and I were standing just inside St. Peter's Basilica, the second largest church in the world. The tour guide explained, "This church is so large that no man on earth could hit a baseball from one end to the other, not Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, or even Mark McGuire."

My group stared in silence at the beautiful marble sculptures, intricate paintings, and glorious mosaics all around the enormous building. Then one girl interrupted the silence with an astonished question: "You mean, they actually let them hit baseballs in here?"

♣ Puzzle ♣

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 So nets if goof mews.

2 Take hat white she sin whines.

3 Won't budge I took my ids covet.

♣ Calendar Information ♣

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

19-27

National Bubble (blowers) Week

21-27

•Consider Christianity Week •Passion Week •Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

22-28

World Folk Tales & Fables Week

• 23 March Observances—US/UN/World •

International Day of Remembrance of The Victims of Slavery and The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Letting Go of Stuff Day

Old New Year's Day

National Day of Celebration of Greek & American Democracy

Pecan Day

Maryland : Maryland Day (1634)

Waffle Day

•23 March Observances—by country •

Belarus: Freedom Day (1918 from Germany)

England : New Year's Day 1155-1752 (Gregorian Calendar)

Greece : Independence Day (1821 from Turks)

Slovenia: Mother's Day

♣ Number One Songs in…

1948►I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra

1956►Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley

1964►She Loves You - The Beatles

1972►A Horse with No Name - America

1980►Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1916► Ishi ("the last of his tribe") dies @ 56, When asked his name he replied "I have none, because there were no people to name me," meaning that no tribal ceremony had been performed. Last member of the Yahi, in turn the last surviving group of the Yana people of California.

• Born on this day •

…The Arts

Artists and Composers

John Gutzon Borglum, 1867,sculptor: Mt. Rushmore National Memorial

Sir Elton John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight), 63, musician, singer, songwriter

(Mary) Flannery O’Connor, 1925, writer: A Good Man is Hard to Find

Arturo Toscanini, 1867, 68 years in musical career: conductor

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Hoyt Axton, 1938, actor, singer, musician, songwriter: Greenback Dollar

Anita Bryant, 70, singer, former Miss America, homophobe

Andy Clyde, 1892, (Scotland) actor (George-Real McCoys, Cully-Lassie)

Marcia Cross, 48, actress ( “Desperate Housewives”)

Aretha Franklin, 68, singer (“Respect,”)

Paul Michael Glaser, 67, actor (“Starsky and Hutch”), director (Butterflies Are Free)

Mary Gross, 57, comedienne, actress (“Saturday Night Live”)

Sarah Jessica Parker, 45, actress ( “Sex and the City”)

Gloria Steinem, 76, feminist; publisher: Ms.

…Athletes

Howard Cosell (Cohen), 1918, TV sports commentator

Avery Johnson, 45, basketball coach (Mavericks), former player (Supersonics, Nuggets, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors, Mavericks)

Dutch (Emil) Leonard, 1909, pitcher (Red Sox, 1.01 ERA 1914)

…Business, Education

Eileen Ford, 88, model agency executive

…Politics

Howard Pyle, 1906, (Governor-Republican-AZ, 1951-55)

…Science/Religion

James Lovell, 82, astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13)

John Winebrenner, 1797, clergyman, founded Church of God

•Today’s Obits •

Max F Eastman, 1969, US critic/essayist (Love & Revolution), @ 86

Nancy Walker, 1992, actress (Ida Morgenstern-Rhoda), cancer @t 69

Warren E Burger, 1995, chief justice of US (1969-86), @ 88

•What Happened on this Day •

…The Arts

1939 ►Billboard Magazine introduced the ( country music ) hillbilly music chart. The term country music did not begin to be used until the 1940's

1960 ►DH Lawrence' "Lady Chatterley's Lover" ruled not obscene (New York NY)

…Athletics

1896 ►Modern Olympics begin in Athens Greece

1916 ►Women are allowed to attend a boxing match

1980 ►Boycott of the Moscow Olympics. Although many governments pressurised their Olympic Atheletes only 16 countries did not compete including The United States, Japan, West Germany, China, Canada and 9 others.

…Business, Education.

1668 ►1st horse race in America takes place

1807 ►1st railway passenger service began in England

1882 ►1st demonstration of pancake making (Department store in New York NY)

…Politics

1957 ►France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg sign the treaty in Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC)

1961 ►Elvis Presley performed his first post-Army appearance, a benefit for planning and building the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii

1965 ►25,000 civil rights supporters march from Selma to Montgomery

1975 ►King Faisal is fatally wounded by his nephew Prince Faisal Ibu Musaed when he fires 3 shots directly at the king during a royal audience. Prince Faisal bin Musaed was later found guilty of the murder of his uncle and was beheaded in public in the capital Riyadh.

…Science/Religion

0031 ►1st Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus

1954 ►Radio Corporation of America (RCA) began commercial production of TV sets that were equipped to receive programs in living color

♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣

1 So nets if goof mews: No news is good news.

2 Take hat white she sin whines: Make hay while the sun shines.

3 Won't budge I took my ids covet: Don't judge a book by its cover

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Wednesday 3-24

♣ 24 March 2010~~Week 12 of 2010: 83 days this year…282 remain ♣

♣ Two Quotes to think about…Today ♣

Scottish Proverbs

A good tale never tires in the telling.

A thread will tie an honest man better than a chain a rogue.

♣ Free Ramblings ♣

I had to do laundry today. One would think with a washer and dryer in the house, it would be easy to do laundry every few days. Not for me. I wait until I am out of clothes before I tackle the problem. Today it was six loads. Don’t think I will ever learn to do a little every few days. By doing it all at once I somehow feel as though I have accomplished something. Probably just lazy and a creature of habit. While I was working, Sunday was laundry day. Now that I don’t have to dress for work every day, I just wait until there are no more clothes. It does make for some interesting combinations as the closet and drawers get empty.

Now is my time to get ready for the battle with the taxes. I have finally received all my documents. Now I have to get the other stuff organized. I don’t have a lot of medical bills, thankfully, but it takes time to get all those receipts found and organized. I have always believed that any horizontal space in my office is waiting for a pile of paper, and very pile is awaiting another pile on top of it. When I was working, the end of a quarter or trimester always had me clean up the horizontal areas of my office. Now, no more of that, so tax time has become the time to do it. It is not as bad as it sounds, but certainly a couple three hours of work ahead.

We had some strange weather here today, and I learned a new word. While I was coming home from being out and about there was moisture in the air. Suddenly we had hail or at least I thought it was hail. It was tiny little balls of white. The balls were so small, they just sat on the ground, no bounce, no noise, looked more like Styrofoam. It only lasted a few minutes then there were snowflakes in the air. That also only lasted a few minutes. That was all we got. The student weather guy said that Flagstaff had ‘virga’ today. That means that there is lots of moisture up there in the clouds, but it makes a streak for the ground but evaporates before it makes it. Maybe somebody had that, but we had Styrofoam today. Whatever it was, it didn’t add any moisture to our ground. With all this strange weather we did make it to 52° and while kinda cloudy, it was a nice day.

♣Random Fact: ♣

After eating, a housefly regurgitates its food and then eats it again. Eeeewwwww!

♣Side Show Stories—♣

Pigs Livin' Large: Among the items that celebrity farmer Cathy Gieseker bought with proceeds from the $12 million Ponzi scheme she, in February, was sentenced for perpetrating (prosecutors called her the "Midwest Madoff") was a $900 tanning bed for her "show" pigs. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2-26-10]

♣ A quick smile ♣

"Guess what I heard today?" a man says to his wife.

"What, hon?" she asks.

"I heard the mailman has seduced every woman on our block but one!"

"Huh," his wife says, "I bet it's that stuck-up Phyllis next-door."

♣ Puzzle ♣

In each of these puzzles, a proverb is written with exactly one letter of each word replaced with another. Can you figure out what the original proverb is?

1 Wetter mate that fever.

2 Paint heard newer son pair lads.

3 I switch is dime raves mine.

♣ Calendar Information ♣

• March’s Month Long Observances •

BIRTHSTONE: aquamarine and bloodstone (courage) FLOWER: Narcissus [daffodil, jonquil] (vanity)

National Cheerleading Safety Month • National Clean Up Your IRS Act Month • National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month • National Craft Month • National Ethics Awareness Month •National Eye Donor Month • National Frozen Food Month • National Multiple Sclerosis Education & Awareness Month •National Kidney Month• National Nutrition Month • National Social Work Month • National Umbrella Month • National Women's History Month • Optimism Month • Play The Recorder Month • Poison Prevention Awareness Month • Red Cross Month • Save Your Vision Month • Sing With Your Child Month • Small Press Month •Spiritual Wellness Month • Women's History Month • Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month • Youth Art Month

• Observance Weeks in March•

19-27

National Bubble (blowers) Week

21-27

•Consider Christianity Week •Passion Week •Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

22-28

World Folk Tales & Fables Week

• 23 March Observances—US/UN/World •

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day

World Tuberculosis Day

•23 March Observances—by country •

Argentina: Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (since 1976 bloody coup)

Laos : Army Day

♣ Number One Songs in…

1947►The Anniversary Song - Dinah Shore

1955►The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes

1963►The End of the World - Skeeter Davis

1971►Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1973 ►Pink Floyd the British Progressive rock band release the album "Dark Side of the Moon" which has became the 6th best-selling album of all time with sales exceeding 40 million copies worldwide.

• Born on this day •

…The Arts

Artists and Composers

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 91, “Beat” poet, author (Coney Island of the Mind)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, 1887, actor

Norman Fell (Feld), 1924, actor: Three’s Company

Harry Houdini, 1874, magician: escape artist

Star Jones, 48, television personality

Bob Mackie, 70, costume and fashion designer

(Terence Steven) Steve McQueen, 1930, actor

John Cameron Swayze, 1906, news correspondent, Timex spokesman

…Athletes

Peyton Manning, 34, football player

…Business, Education

Clyde Barrow, 1909, bank robber (of Bonnie & Clyde fame)

Steve Balmer, 54, Microsoft CEO

…Politics

Christine Gregoire, 63, American politician, current governor of Washington

…Science/Religion

Sir Ernest Rutherford, 1871, nuclear scientist

John Wesley Powell, 1834, geologist, explorer: Director of U.S. Geological Survey

•Today’s Obits •

Sam Jaffe, 1984, actor (Dr Zorba-Ben Casey), cancer @ 93
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1882, US poet (Song of Hiawatha), @ 75

Jules Verne, 1905, sci-fi author (Around the World in 80 Days), @ 77

•What Happened on this Day •

…The Arts

1937 ►National Gallery of Art established by Congress

1949 ►Walter & John Huston become 1st father-and-son team to win Oscars (actor & director of "Treasure of Sierra Madre")

1962 ►Mick Jagger & Keith Richards perform as Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys

…Athletics

1988 ►Quarterback Dan Fouts retires

…Business, Education.

1617 ►King James I, of England, decides the Indians of Virginia must be educated. Today he directs the Anglican church to collect funds to build churches and schools.

1898 ►1st automobile sold

1900 ►Work on the New York subway begins on the first section from City Hall to the Bronx

1954 ►Nash Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company merged to form the American Motors Corporation ( AMC )

1978 ►The tanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two off the coast of France during strong winds dumping 220,000 tons of crude oil on the Brittany coast line.

1989 ►The Exxon Valdez, a 987-foot oil tanker, ran aground on a reef and ripped holes in its hull, spilling crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound. The Tanker spilled over 200,000 Barrels of Oil or more than 11 million gallons of crude oil

…Politics

1603 ►Scottish king James VI becomes King James I of England

1629 ►1st game law passed in American colonies, by Virginia

1664 ►Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island

1855 ►Manhattan Kansas founded as New Boston KS

1924 Greece becomes a republic

1952 ►Great demonstrations against apartheid in South-Africa

1958 ►Elvis Presley is inducted as US Army as a private #53310761

…Science/Religion

1832 ►Mormon Joseph Smith beaten, tarred & feathered in Ohio

1930 ►1st religious services telecast in US

♣ANSWERS to puzzle ♣

1 Better late than never.

2 Faint heart never won fair lady.

3 A stitch in time saves nine.

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣