12 April 2010~~Week 16 of 2010: 102 days this year…263 days remain
‡ Something To Think About
You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher (1803-1882)
• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1861 ►Fort Sumter SC is shelled by Confederacy, starting the Civil War
‡ Free Ramblings
Our little mountain town’s mayor may be in hot water. The local newspaper ran a front page article that continued almost another ½ page about something that happened in July, 2009. I guess news travels slowly to our newspaper. The memo claims that Sara did not act professionally while in DC on taxpayers money. The author of the memo is from a consulting company that Sara had voted not to retain in 2008. The memo paints a picture of a mayor who is a tweet happy young county bumpkiness who never learned proper DC protocols. The election is a little more than a month away. Her opponent has not officially been tied to the release of the memo, but that certainly seems to be a possibility. Joe, the opponent, says he a copy of the memo from a ‘concerned citizen’. This really looks like ‘anything to sell a newspaper’ combined with ‘anything to win an election.’ So far Sara is taking the high road. Hopefully that will keep the campaign about the issues.
I have a couple of friends of Polish descent, like they are second generation Americans. I talked to one today, and his relatives in Poland are devastated by the plane crash. I sounded so much like the mood of America when JFK was assassinated. Disbelief. Concern for the country. Loss of leadership. Tougher times ahead for their country.
I watched a couple of old movies this afternoon. While it was nice outside this morning, the wind picked up enough to take the enjoyment out of being outside. While the movies I watched were good, the commercials drove me crazy. Several in particular were very offensive. I realize that you can’t believe most of this garbage. I thought there was an FCC ruling that these types of commercials had to have a disclaimer, something like ‘results are not typical.’ No, I’m not watching weight loss commercials. I was watching ‘get out of debt’ commercials. None had any disclaimers that I could see. One talked about a cute family that had $23,000 in credit card bills and after using the service, owed only $2100. Another had a guy owing over $35,000 in unpaid taxes but after another service owned less than $1500. Excuse me! With the credit card company’s usury interest fees, I sorta get the final settlement. I’m sure the settlement covered most of the actual purchases. But the tax thing is beyond me. Can it possibly be true that people can avoid paying taxes and when they get caught they can negotiate the tax bill down to a fraction of what is owed? I always thought you just went to debtor’s prison or Federal Prison like Al Capone. Guess not. Or maybe, while they only owed a small amount of the debt, they had a huge new bill from the company that was ‘helping’ them. I’m sure somehow, all this unpaid debt and interest is costing all of us. Next time I want a movie day, I’ll just record them so I can skip the commercials and enjoy the movie.
Flagstaff started out very nice. It was already 53° by 8am and rose to about 65° during the heat of the day. Too bad it got windy this afternoon. Then, when I turned on my computer tonight, I found that there is a high wind advisory through tomorrow night. We should be getting steady wind of about 30mph with gusts to 55mph. How very exciting.
‡ A Quick Smile…
As the woman was instructing the new maid on the great care required in handling certain valuable household objects. She pointed to the dining room and said with great satisfaction, "That table goes back to Louis the Fourteenth."
"Oh, that's nothing," the maid interjected. "My whole living room set goes back to Sears the fifteenth."
‡ Random Fact
Walt Disney, the creator of Mickey Mouse, was afraid of mice
‡ Puzzle
Heteronyms are words that are spelled identically but have different meanings when pronounced differently. For example: Lead, pronounced LEED, means to guide. However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element. Identify the heteronyms below from their definitions
1. from a European country; shine [capitalization doesn't count!]
2. put together; a threshing machine
3. to let someone off; a reason or explanation
‡ Side Show Stories
FORT WORTH, Texas - Officials with a Texas school district said a group of high school cheerleaders was disciplined for giving urine-tainted drinks to teammates. Administrators said at least two girls at Fort Worth's Saginaw High School received in-school suspensions and an unspecified number of their fellow cheerleaders received lesser punishments for serving sodas contaminated with a cheerleader's urine to their teammates during a basketball game late last year, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Thursday. District officials said Principal Ric Canterbury began an investigation after hearing rumors about the incident. They said the girls involved in the prank will be barred from cheerleading events for the remainder of the school year but will be eligible to rejoin the team during the next school year. The father of one of the girls who drank the contaminated soda said the offending cheerleaders should be permanently removed from the team. "They shouldn't be allowed to represent Saginaw," said the parent, who asked not to be named to protect his daughter's anonymity.
‡ Calendar Information
• Observance Weeks in April•
11-17
National Environmental Week
National Library Week
National Personal Training Week
Pan American Week
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Week
Week of The Young Child
12-18
National Crime Victims Rights Week
• 11 April Observances—US/UN/World •
Look Up At The Sky Day
D.E.A.R. Day (aka Drop Everything And Read)
Licorice Day
Walk on Your Wild Side Day
North Carolina : Halifax Independence Day (1776)
• 11 April Observances—by country •
--
•Number One Songs in…
1950 ►Peter Cottontail - Gene Autry
1958 ►Tequila - The Champs
1966 ►The Ballad of the Green Berets - SSgt Barry Sadler
1974 ►Sunshine on My Shoulders - John Denver
1982 ►I Love Rock ’N Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
• 12 April Happenings•
In The Arts
1857 ►Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" published
In Athletics
1877 ►James Alexander Tyng, while playing a baseball game in Lynn, MA, became the first ballplayer to wear a catcher’s mask.
In Business or Education
1892 ►George C Blickensderfer patents portable typewriter
1905 ►The Hippodrome opened in New York City with the gala musical revue
In Politics
1528 ►Panfilo de Narvaez, with 4 or 5 ships, and approximately 400-500 men, including Cabeza de Vaca, sight land, on the western coast of Florida. This will be the first significant exploration of Florida.
1606 ►England adopts the Union Jack as its flag
1614 ►John Rolfe marries Pocahontas.
1654 ►England, Ireland & Scotland unite
1844 ►Texas became a US territory
1938 ►1st US law requiring medical tests for marriage licenses (New York)
1945 ►Harry Truman sworn in as 33rd US President
In Science/ Religion
1204 ►4th Crusade occupies & plunders Constantinople
1799 ►Phineas Pratt patented the comb cutting machine -- a “machine for making combs.”
1934 ►Highest velocity wind ever recorded on Mount Washington NH, 231 mph
1961 ►The Soviet Union successfully launched the first man into space today taking the prize for "The First Man In Space". Yuri Gagarin , a 27-year-old air force major.
• 12 April Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Tom Clancy, 63, author (The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising)
Beverly Cleary, 94, author (Ramona series for children; winner of the Newbery Medal for Dear Mr Henshaw)
Athletes
Terry (Walter) Harmon, 66, baseball: Philadelphia Phillies
Entertainers
David Cassidy, 60, singer (“Cherish”), actor (“The Partridge Family”)
Shannen Doherty, 39, actress (“Beverly Hills 90210”)
Andy Garcia, 54, actor (Ocean’s Eleven, The Untouchables), born Havana, Cuba
Vince Gill, 53, Grammy Award-winning singer
Herbie Hancock, 70, musician
David Letterman, 63, comedian, television talk show host
Ann Miller (Lucille Ann Collier), 1923, actress, dancer: Easter Parade
Ed O’Neill, 64, actor (“Married … With Children,”
Tiny Tim [Herbert Butros Khaury], 1932, singer (Tip Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me)
Billy (Richard) Vaughn,1919, musician, orchestra leader
Business, Education Leaders
Frederick G Melcher, 1879, publisher/editor/founded children book week
Political Leaders
Henry Clay [the Great Compromiser], 1777, US politician
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, 68, President of South Africa
Scientists /Religious Leaders
Benjamin Libet, 1916, American scientist of human consciousness
• 12 April Obits •
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1945, 32nd US President, cerebral hemorrhage @ 63
Philip K Wrigley, 1977, baseball owner (Chicago Cubs), @ 82
Joe Louis [Brown bomber], 1981, US heavyweight champion: integrated PGA golf in 1952, heart attack @ 66
Abbie Hoffman, 1989, yippie peace activist of the 60's, drug overdose for bi-polar disorder @ 52
Sugar Ray Robinson [Walker Smith Jr], 1989, world welterweight champion (1946-51)/5-time middleweight champion, Alzheimers @ 67
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle
1. Polish POElish- from Poland; PAHLish- shine [capitalization doesn't count!]
2. Combine komBYNE- put together; KOMbyne- a threshing machine
3. Excuse EKskyooz- to let someone off; EKskyoos- a reason or explanation
‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡
