Tuesday 4-13

13 April 2010~~Week 16 of 2010: 103 days this year…262 days remain

‡ Something To Think About 

We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers. -- Seneca, Roman statesman & philosopher

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1957 ►Due to lack of funds, Saturday mail delivery in the US is temporarily halted

‡ Free Ramblings   

I decided this morning that it was time for a haircut. Not my favorite activity. I went back to the place I got it last time, since my regular lady still isn’t back on the grid. It’s Monday. Who could want a haircut? Well, as it turns out, a lot of people. I got there ten minutes after they opened. One cutter, a husband and wife getting their hair cut. I signed in. About 20 minutes later another cutter arrived. By that time there were three other people waiting after me. One cutter was near the waiting area. All she did was talk about how great PHX is, and how she hates Flagstaff. Sure didn’t want her cutting my hair. Never get someone who hates anything to cut your hair, that’s my mantra. I did get the other cutter. Turns out, she hates Flagstaff too. She is only here because her finance is going to NAU. She was much more into talkin about her fiancé, so Flagstaff hatred only came up once, and I quickly changed the subject. She actually gave me a good haircut, solved my ‘bushiness’ problem, yet kept it long enough to comb.

So sad that both cutters hated our little town. It gave them a job, money, a chance for one to be with her fiancé. Since the couple had come to Flagstaff from Cornville, I did not appreciate this bad mouthing of Flagstaff. The other cutter was talking about how the city of Flagstaff is suing Westcor, the owners of the mall for $87 million She was suggesting that if Westcor lost, our only mall would be closed, thus making our community even less pleasurable. The fact is that Westcor is suing the city for $4 million. I don’t really like Westcor, as they are in the shopping mall business for one reason only—the bottom line. They built a mall expansion and worked with chain store owners to beat the cities Dark Sky ordinance. They lost that battle. They raised the rent so high at the mall that our only locally owned movie theater had to close. I don’t go to the mall that often anymore, but every time I go there are new empty storefronts and new stores that probably won’t last. One Kiosk that has survived for a couple of years is a massage station. It is run by Asians and always had at least one person getting a quick shopping massage. Now I see they have moved into an empty store. It has a corner entrance and is hard to see. If they didn’t have a huge price sign on an easel, just outside the door, many would miss the store. I don’t give them much hope for survival. The hair place is a national mall-chain franchise, and I’m sure that the owner is in Phoenix, so any complaints will fall on deaf ears. I will give them one more chance, but if I hear anymore badmouthing from the cutters, I will notify the owner, and quit getting my haircut there.

Tiger learned this weekend that he is a very good golfer who needs to stay on the links a little more. I watched the final round on and off. Mickelson played very well and deserved the jacket. Tiger finished in fourth place. He had wanted and expected to win. Several of the sports casters just couldn’t say that Tiger took fourth. They repeated over and over that Mickelson won and Tiger was three players behind that.

The weatherman said we would have wind today. He was right. Most of last night and all day today we had 45mph gusts with steady 30mph wind. The wind did help me realize I needed a haircut, so all was not lost. We did climb to 58° so I was wearing short sleeves and a light jacket. The wind made it feel about 10° less. The run from the parking place to the mall entrance and back was a little chilly, but not impossible.

‡ A Quick Smile…   

"I wanted to be a Boy Scout, but I had all the wrong traits. They were looking for kids who were trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Whereas I tended to be devious, fickle, obstructive, hostile, impolite, mean, defiant, glum, extravagant, dirty, and sacrilegious." --George Carlin

‡ Random Fact   

The Aztecs of Mexico taught the Spanish how to make red dye by crushing insects called cochineals. Deep red looks bold, while pale red—pink—looks gentle. In the U.S., pink is now associated with girls, though before the 1920s it was considered a boy's color.

‡ 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. exactly correct; to make correct

2. a physician in training; confine to prescribed area

3. behavior; to lead

‡ Side Show Stories   

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Sheriff's deputies in Florida said a 19-year-old woman who asked for a ride home was arrested after opening a can of malt liquor in the back of the patrol car. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said Tasha Lee Cantrell, 19, asked Deputy Mitchell Landis for a ride to her Fort Walton Beach home after her friend was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence, TheSmokingGun.com reported. The police report said Landis heard Cantrell "open a can of some sort" while in the back of his cruiser. "As I looked at my in-car video, I observed Cantrell drinking out of an unknown can," Landis wrote. Landis wrote he stopped the car and Cantrell attempted to hide the can between her legs. He identified the can as containing Steel Reserve, a malt liquor with high alcohol content. Cantrell was arrested and charged with misdemeanor underage drinking.

‡ 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

• 13 April Observances—US/UN/World •

Blame Somebody Else Day

International Moment of Laughter Day

Tax Freedom Day

Thomas Jefferson Day

Alabama, Oklahoma : Thomas Jefferson's Birthday

Maryland : John Hanson Day (birthday of President under Articles of Confederation: served for one year)

US : Huguenot Day (1598, the signing of the Edict of Nantes where French government promoted peace between Catholics and Protestants)

• 13 April Observances—by country •Cambodia, Laos, Thailand: Songkan: Three day New Year Celebration

Thailand : Songkran Day-honors monks

•Number One Songs in…

1951 ►The Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow

1959 ►(Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I - Elvis Presley

1967 ►Somethin’ Stupid - Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra

1975 ►(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song- B.J. Thomas

1983 ►Billy Jean - Michael Jackson

• 13 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1742 ►George Frideric Händel's "Messiah" performed for 1st time (Dublin)

1964 ►Sidney Poitier becomes 1st black man to win Oscar for best actor: Lilies in the Field

In Athletics

1972 ►The first strike in the history of major-league baseball ended.

In Business or Education

1796 ►1st elephant arrives in US from Bengal India

1860 ►1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento CA

1902 ►JC Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer WY

1920 ►1st woman US Civil Service Commissioner, Helen Hamilton appointed

1943 ►FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial

1946 ►Congress will create the Indian Claims Commission today. The commission is established to hear and decide claims made by Indians based on land losses from treaties.

1960 ►France becomes the 4th nuclear nation exploding an A-Bomb in Sahara

1961 ►UN General Assembly condemns South Africa for apartheid

1992 ►Nelson Mandela announces he will seek divorce from Winnie

In Politics

1883 ►Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism

In Science/ Religion

1986 ►Pope John Paul II met Rome's Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff at Rome synagogue

• 13 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Samuel Beckett, 1906, Irish playwright (Waiting for Godot/Nobel 1969)

Garry Kasparov, 47, International Grandmaster chess player, born Baku, Azerbaijan

Eudora Welty, 1909, Jackson MS, novelist (Optimist's Daughter-Pulitzer 1973)

Athletes

Davis Love III, 46, golfer

Entertainers

Don [James Yarmy] Adams, 1926, New York NY, actor/comedian (Maxwell Smart-Get Smart)

Tony Dow, 65, actor (“Leave It to Beaver”)

Rick Schroder, 40, actor (“Silver Spoons,” “NYPD Blue”)

Paul Sorvino, 71, actor (“Law & Order”)

Lyle Waggoner, 75, actor (“The Carol Burnett Show,” “Wonder Woman”)

Business, Education Leaders

Alfred Moser Butts, 1899, game inventor (Scrabble)

Philippe de Rothschild, 1902, Paris France, manager (Bordeaux Vineyard)

Frank W Woolworth, 1852, 5¢ & 10¢ King (Woolworths)

Political Leaders

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, 77, Northern Cheyenne, 1964 Judo Olympian (Rep and Senator-CO)

Thomas Jefferson, 1743, Shadwell VA, 3rd US President (1801-09)

Madalyn Murray O’Hair, 1919, author, founded American Atheists, ended public school prayer

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Michael Stuart Brown, 69, American geneticist, Nobel laureate

• 13 April Obits •

George Wald, 1997, scientist (Nobel Prize, vitamin A in retina), @ 80

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1. Perfect PERfekt- exactly correct; perFEKT- to make correct

2. Intern INtern- a physician in training; inTERN- confine to prescribed area

3. Conduct KONduckt- behavior; kunDUCKT- to lead

  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡   

Monday 4-12

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

  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡     

Sunday 4-11

11 April 2010~~Week 16 of 2010: 101 days this year…264 days remain

‡ Something To Think About 

"The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power." --Gerry Spence, trial lawyer

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1970 ►NASA launched ill-fated Apollo 13 , America's third manned moon-landing mission, from Cape Kennedy, Florida today. John Swigert, one of the astronauts was a family friend.

‡ Free Ramblings   

I spent most of the day in Prescott today. The local Pipe Band, Southwest Skye Pipes and Drum, was celebrating Tartan Day at the Prescott Library. Weather was good, good teaching about the pipes, and also great Pipe music. Everyone there had a great time. Lots of the audience members, young and old, really got into the music. There were the big pipes we all know, and the small pipes which many had never heard. We were in a grassy area right next to the library that was a perfect venue for the pipes—outdoors and arranged so that the speakers could be heard without amplification. As we all know, the big pipes never need amplification, but the smaller pipes are really indoor pipes. The small pipes piper walked or marched around the crowd so everyone could hear their more delicate sound. This was a great way to spend a beautiful day. I also got a little sun burn, as I forgot my SPF—it’s been so long since I needed it.

I can’t believe the story of the Russian adoptee that was sent back alone by his homeland alone on a plane. First of all I agree with the Russian government threatening to stop all adoptions of their children to Americans while this is sorted out. Raising a child from a different culture is difficult at best, unless you just want the child to be ‘your culture’. Then it is easy until the child reaches the age of reason. It is not a good idea to take this route. I just can’t believe, in this day and age, there are adults who see adoption as an experiment. I was adopted and know many adopted children. A family friend had adopted a baby. When the boy became a criminal at about 18, his adopted family claimed he was just a ‘bad seed’. ‘Hogwash’ was my parent’s belief, and the parents were no longer family friends. By this time the family had moved to another state, and while my parents tried to stay in contact with the boy, it just didn’t happen. He was, I believe, more devastated by his adoptee family’s reaction than by his petty crime. A child is a child and should never be seen as a commodity. In today’s world in the US, there are many services available to parents who are having problems with their child. No one can just put a 7 year old on a plane with a note and send them back to the adoption agency across town, let alone across the ocean. I hope that the woman responsible for this inhumane act is punished to the full extent of the law. There is no difference between an adopted child and a birth child. Even if this boy was as bad as the woman says, she should never have an expectation that she isn’t responsible for raising this child and finding him a way for him to live a good life. No child gets to pick the parent. When a parent picks a child, they have the same responsibility as any parent—to provide for the child. One last tirade, in this day and age of broken homes, the Airline has said it is not unusual for a child to fly internationally alone. The child is dropped at the gate by a responsible adult, the child is watched over by the flight crew, and picked up by a responsible adult at the end of the flight. That also is very frightening.

Flagstaff had good weather too. I left about 8:30 this morning and already had my office window open. I forgot to close it, and when I got home, the office was still a nice temperature and since the door was closed, I know the furnace didn’t run all day. Spring can be so nice. Flag made it to 62°, while Prescott mad e it to 70°.

‡ A Quick Smile…   

A preacher of the old school was describing the events of Judgement Day and, of course, he used Biblical phraseology whenever he could.

"Oh, my friends," he intoned, "imagine the suffering of the sinners as they find themselves cast into the outer darkness, removed from the presence of the Lord and given to eternal flames. My friends, at such a time there will be weeping, wailing and a great gnashing of teeth!"

At this point, one of the elders of the congregation interrupted to say, "But Reverend, what if one of those hopeless sinners has no teeth?"

The preacher crashed his fist on the pulpit, "My friends, the Lord is not put out by details. Rest assured... teeth will be provided!"

‡ Random Fact   

A one ounce milk chocolate bar has 6 mg of caffeine.

‡ New 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. to change, a person's feelings or emotion

2. the next choice, switch back and forth

3. to consider resulting from, a characteristic of someone

‡ Side Show Stories   

Honolulu Advertiser: Sabrina Medina filed a lawsuit against the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort in Hawaii in January, claiming that an employee had caused her husband's death. The late Humberto Murillo had swiped two 12-packs of beer from a store at the resort, but the manager pursued and confronted him. Murillo started punching, and bystanders came to the manager's aid, restrained Murillo and held him down. Murillo, who was bipolar and had marijuana in his system, passed out and asphyxiated.

‡ Calendar Information

• Observance Weeks in April•

5-11

National Networking Week

National Women's Nutrition Week

11-17

National Environmental Week

National Library Week

National Personal Training Week

Pan American Week

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Week

Week of The Young Child

• 11 April Observances—US/UN/World •

Barbershop Quartet Day

Eight-Track Tape Day

International "Louie Louie" Day: remember the controvery over the lyrics?

World Parkinson's Disease Day

• 11 April Observances—by country •

Costa Rica : Juan Santamaria Day/Battle of Rivas Commemoration (1856)

Czechoslovakia : Resistance Movement Day (1945)

Liberia : Fast & Prayer Day

•Number One Songs in…

1949 ►Red Roses for a Blue Lady - Vaughn Monroe

1957 ►Little Darlin’ - The Diamonds

1965 ►Game of Love - Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

1973 ►The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Vicki Lawrence

1981 ►You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma - David Frizzell & Shelly West

• 11 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1936 ►Barbershop quartets across the country breathe a sigh of relief when the SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America) is created.

In Athletics

1940 ►Andrew Ponzi of New York set a world’s record in a New York pocket billiards tournament. Ponzi ran 127 balls straight. No relation to the Ponzi scheme.

In Business or Education

1876 ►Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks is organized

1961 ►Bob Dylan made his professional singing debut in Greenwich Village. He sang Blowin’ in the Wind.

1992 ►Euro-Disney opens near Paris France

In Politics

1689 ►William III & Mary II crowned as joint rulers of Britain

1865 ►Lincoln urges a spirit of generous conciliation during reconstruction

1898 ►President William McKinley asks for Spanish-American War declaration

1945 ►Allies liberate 1st Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald, Germany

1951 ►President Harry Truman fires General Douglas McArthur

1968 ►President Lyndon Johnson signs 1968 Civil Rights Act

1968 ►The American Indian Civil Rights Act is passed.

1977 ►Ireland sets fishing zone at 50 mile

In Science/ Religion

1906 ►Einstein introduces his Theory of Relativity

1965 ►40 tornadoes strike US midwest killing 272 & injuring 5,000

2006 ►Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country had succeeded in enriching uranium on a small scale for the first time

• 11 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Ellen Goodman, 62, Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist

John Milius, 1944, writer (Red Dawn, 1941, Big Wednesday)

Athletes

Bret William Saberhagen, 46, former baseball player

Entertainers

Joel Grey, 78, actor

Louise Lasser, 71, actress (“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”)

Meshach Taylor, 63, actor (“Designing Women”)

Business, Education Leaders

Lillie P. Bliss, 1864, founder [with 2 other women] of New York City’s Museum of Modern Art

Oleg Cassini, 1913, Paris France, fashion designer

Political Leaders

Dean G Acheson, 1893, statesman/US Secretary of State (1949-53)

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Percy Julian, 1899, scientist: developer of synthetic progesterone, inexpensive production method to produce cortisone, a drug to treat glaucoma, chemical foam to smother oil fires

• 11 April Obits •

James A Bailey, 1906, circus showman (Barnum & Bailey), bacterial infection @ 58

James Brown, 1992, actor (Rip-Adventures of Rin Tin Tin), @ 72

SS Van Dine [William Huntingdon Wright], 1939, detective writer, heart attack @ 50

Louis Osman, 1996, artist/goldsmith/craftsman, @ 82

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle   

1. Affect: to change, a person's feelings or emotion

2. Alternate: the next choice, switch back and forth

3. Attribute: to consider resulting from, a characteristic of someone

‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

Saturday 4-10

10 April 2010~~Week 15 of 2010: 100 days this year…265 days remain
‡ Scottish Proverbs
Double drinks are good for drouth (thirst).
What may be done at any time will be done at no time.
• Holy Mackerel:  On this day in 1981 ►The Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Bobby Sands continued his hunger strike and died less than a month later on 5 May 1981.
‡ Free Ramblings
Spring is actually here. It was so nice outside most of the day I couldn’t stay inside. We were at 65° and it wasn’t until late afternoon that the wind cooled things off a little. Every day it is getting harder and harder not to get some spring color for my planters. I know it is way too early and that any purchases will become victims of our next snow. I know that the two small snow piles in my front area will, all too soon, be joined by some more snow. I realize that our controversial ski area is closing this week, a sure sign that snow is on the way out. I also remember, not too many years ago, when the ski area re-opened in late April after a huge spring snow storm. A friend in Phoenix was discussing her tomato plants. Seems she planted them a few months ago and now they are filled with tomatoes. Her only concern is that they won’t ripen before the Phoenix heat shrivels them. It is amazing what a few hundred miles and a few thousand feet in elevation can create.
The new hassle of living in Arizona: A 30 year old white guy walks into a Wal-Mart in a Phoenix suburb. He has a loaded semi-automatic pistol strapped to his waist. All legal—we are an open-carry state. He goes to the electronics department and looks around and talks to the associate. During the conversation he un-holsters his weapon. He and his weapon then move to the magazine section. He finds a mag he wants, holsters his pistol and goes to the check out. The manager has been called and is observing him. There is a line, he is bored. He pulls out the gun again and plays with it. Somehow he drops his magazine and reaches down to get it, but first he re-holsters his weapon. Except, somehow, the weapon fires a shot into the ceiling. Luckily no one was hurt. He was detained and arrested and now faces numerous charges. Somehow nothing he did was arrestable until the gun fired. The staff and management of Wal-Mart couldn’t ask him to put it away. They couldn’t ask him to stop ‘messing’ with it. It was no different than playing around with a set of keys. No different, except that his toy would easily kill or maim several innocent people. Somehow the new open carry law doesn’t make me feel any safer.
‡ A Quick Smile…
Although desperate to find work, I passed up a job I found on an employment website. It was for a wastewater plant operator. Among the job requirements: "Must be able to swim."
‡ Random Fact
There is more real lemon juice in Lemon Pledge furniture polish than in Country Time Lemonade.
‡ Puzzle 
State Mottos: Name the state with this motto
1. Industry
2. Labor omnia vincit, Labor conquers all things
3. Forward
4. Sic semper tyrannis, Thus always to tyrants
5. Agriculture and commerce
‡ Side Show Stories 
WWMT-TV (Grand Rapids: It wasn't pretty, but sheriff's deputies in Montcalm County, Mich., got their man on March 3. Mark McCuaig, in court on an earlier charge, became unruly and escaped from two different sets of officers (despite a Tasering). Another court officer tried to stop him outside, but McCuaig got loose (despite being maced). He locked himself inside a van, but officers surrounded it, broke a window, and Tasered him again, yet couldn't stop McCuaig from driving off. After a high-speed chase, state troopers disabled his tires with "stop sticks" but couldn't apprehend him before he reached his home, where he barricaded himself. Officers surrounded the house, and four of them (plus a police dog) entered, but McCuaig escaped and got into another vehicle. Finally, after another chase, he was forced off the road, Tasered a third time, and subdued.
‡ Calendar Information 
• Observance Weeks in April•
4-10
Hate Week: taken from George Orwell’s 1984
Hilo, HI. Hula Festival: Cultural event honoring King David Kalakaua, culminates with the world’s largest hula competition
National Blue Ribbon Week: to raise awareness of the annual 3.2 million abused children
National Public Health Week
National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week
National Week of the Ocean: to raise awareness of the ocean’s role on our planet
5-10
Explore Your Career Options
5-11
National Networking Week
National Women's Nutrition Week
• 10 April Observances—US/UN/World •
Baby Massage Day
Every Day is Earth Day
National Love Our Children Day
National Sibling Day
• 10 April Observances—by country •
--
•Number One Songs in…
1948 ►I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover - The Art Moonie Orchestra
1956 ►Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
1964 ►Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
1972 ►A Horse with No Name – America
1980 ►Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
• 10 April Happenings•
In The Arts
1953 ►"House of Wax", 1st 3-D movie is released (New York NY)
1974 ►Magicians Penn & Teller 1st meet
In Athletics
1971 ►US table tennis team arrives in People's Republic of China
In Business or Education
1825 ►1st hotel in Hawaii opens
1849 ►Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt (New York NY); sold rights for $100
1970 ►Officially resigning from The Beatles, Paul McCartney disbanded the most influential rock group in history
1991 ►Last automat (coin operated cafeteria) closes (3rd & 42nd St, New York NY)
In Politics
1790 ►Robert Gray is 1st American to circumnavigate the Earth
1790 ►US Patent system is established
1866 ►American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) forms
1871 ►APACHEs raid the San Xavier mission, south of Tucson, and steal livestock.
1960 ►Senate passes landmark Civil Rights Bill
1998 ►After many years of violence in Ireland the Peace Accord ( called the Good Friday Agreement )
In Science/ Religion
1912 ►Titanic sets sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York
1930 ►Synthetic rubber 1st produced
1936 ►200" mirror blank arrives in Pasadena
1955 ►Dr Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine
1963 ►Nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Thresher and her crew of 129 was lost at sea
• 10 April Births •
Artists, Writers, and Composers
Paul Edward Theroux, 69, author (The Mosquito Coast, Millroy the Magician)
Athletes
John Earl Madden, 74, sportscaster, former football coach
Joe “ Dandy” Don Meredith, 72, former sportscaster, actor and football player
Entertainers
Chuck (Kevin Joseph) Connors, 1921, actor: The Rifleman
Harry Morgan (Harry Bratsburg), 95, actor (Emmy for “M*A*S*H”; “Dragnet”)
Steven Seagal, 59, actor, producer (Hard to Kill, On Deadly Ground)
Omar Sharif, 78, actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago), born Michael Shalhoub at Alexandria, Egypt
Sheb Wooley, 1921, singer, songwriter: The Purple People Eater, Hee Haw theme
Business, Education Leaders
Bernard Gimbel, 1885, merchant: Gimbels Department Stores
Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, 1794, opened Japan
Joseph Pulitzer, 1847, publisher, annual prizes for literature, drama, music and journalism
Political Leaders
Dolores Huerta, 80, cofounder, with Cesar Chavez, of the United Farm Workers Union
James I, 1512, king of Scotland (1513-42)
Hugo Grotius, 1583, Holland, jurist, father of international law
Frances Perkins, 1880, 1st woman to hold cabinet-level position (Labor)
Scientists /Religious Leaders
William Booth, 1829, founder (Salvation Army)
• 9 April Obits •
Emiliano Zapata, 1919, Mexican leader, murdered @ 39
Chuck Willis, 1958, rocker, The Stroll, peritinitis @ 30
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle 
1. Utah: Industry
2. Oklahoma: Labor omnia vincit, Labor conquers all things
3. Wisconsin: Forward
4. Virginia: Sic semper tyrannis, Thus always to tyrants
5. Tennessee: Agriculture and commerce
  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡  

Fri 4-9

9 April 2010~~Week 15 of 2010: 99 days this year…266 days remain
‡ Scottish Proverbs 

Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion.

A day to come seems longer than a year that's gone.

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1927 ►Mae West is Arrested during her starring role in the play "sex" which she wrote, produced, directed and starred in on Broadway. She was prosecuted on morals charges and sentenced to 10 days in jail for public obscenity.

‡ Free Ramblings   

I really enjoy Mexican Food, so today our retirement group went to a local place with a salsa bar. I ate the some of the two hottest salsas while waiting for my order. About two hours later I realized that the while they were not that hot at the time, they were hot. I’m still suffering. But the food and conversation was worth every bit of the stomach distress. Mary’s daughter and baby grandson spent Easter with Mary and her son and daughter in Phoenix. This was the first time the three little ones had spent any real time together. She brought some great pictures. I helped Mary upload some pictures to her Facebook page after lunch. Cheryl is jumping through the necessary hoops to get some surgery so she won’t have to use as much insulin. Her son and his family had a great Easter. So cool that the kids are bilingual. The middle boy was in school for two weeks before the Head Start staff learned he spoke English. They talked to him in Spanish, he answered. One day Dad picked him up and of course was speaking English to his dad. The Head Start staff was amazed. They hadn’t heard any English from him, so assumed he only spoke Spanish. They found out he was just as good in English as he was in Spanish.

My next door neighbor’s house has been vacant for a week and nobody has been over there cleaning up or preparing it for new renters. Hmmm. They must be waiting for the snow in front of the house to melt. We share the largest pile that is still in the neighborhood…8’ X 4’ X 3’. I was surprised that Mary still had more snow in her back yard than I had. They still can’t get to the hot tub without going around the snow, tripling the walk to the hot tub. Hers, like mine, is basically a big block of ice.

We had some great weather today. We made it to 65° and while there was some wind, it wasn’t as cold as it has been. It was nice to be able to stand outside the restaurant while waiting for us to all gather. During the winter we all wait inside.

‡ A Quick Smile…from actual memos 

~ "Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule." (Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)

~ "No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them." (R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

~ Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

~ "We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees." (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

‡ Random Fact   

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team his sophomore year.

‡ Puzzle   

State Mottos: Name the state with this motto

1. Liberty and prosperity

2  Friendship

3. Dum spiro spero Animis opibusque parati, While I breathe, I hope, Ready in soul and resource

4. We Montani semper liberi, Mountaineers are always free

5. Esse quam videri, To be, rather than to seem

‡ Side Show Stories   

BETHEL, Utah - An 8-year-old Utah boy who tried to help his parents by gassing up the car before they woke up crashed the vehicle about 100 yards from home, the family said. Jordan Winters said his parents were sleeping just before 9 a.m. Friday at their Bethel home and he decided to save them time during the day by taking the family's 2003 Dodge Caravan to a nearby gas station for fueling, WLWT-TV, Cincinnati reported Monday. Winters said he never exceeded 10 mph and was traveling about 5 mph when he crashed into a ditch. "I kept on headed toward the ditch, so I had to turn and then I crashed. I almost crashed into the telephone pole," the boy said. James Crouch, Winters' father, said police decided not to take any action. "He wanted to get gas in the van for us, be nice," Crouch said. "He was still in his jammies."

‡ Calendar Information   

• Observance Weeks in April•

4-10

Hate Week: taken from George Orwell’s 1984

Hilo, HI. Hula Festival: Cultural event honoring King David Kalakaua, culminates with the world’s largest hula competition

National Blue Ribbon Week: to raise awareness of the annual 3.2 million abused children

National Public Health Week

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week

National Week of the Ocean: to raise awareness of the ocean’s role on our planet

5-10

Explore Your Career Options

5-11

National Networking Week

National Women's Nutrition Week

• 9 April Observances—US/UN/World •

Name Yourself Day

National Cherish An Antique Day

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day

National Geographic Bee (State Level)

Winston Churchill Day

• 9 April Observances—by country •

Bolivia : National Day (1952)

Canada: Vimy Ridge Day, commemorating the Battle of Vimy Ridge

Finland: Day of the Finnish Language

Latvia : Independence Day (1918)

Tunisia : Martyrs' Day

Philippines : Bataan Day (Day of Valor) (1942)

US, England : Churchill Day (1963)

•Number One Songs in…

1955 ►The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes

1963 ►He’s So Fine - The Chiffons

1971 ►Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) - The Temptations

1979 ►I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

1987 ►Ocean Front Property - George Strait

• 9 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1667 ►1st public art exhibition (Palais Royal, Paris France)

In Athletics

1965 ►Major-league baseball played its first indoor game. President Lyndon B. Johnson attended the opening of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas

1993 ►Colorado Rockies 1st home game & 1st victory, 11-4 over Montréal Expos

In Business or Education

1833 ►1st tax-supported public library (Peterborough NH)

In Politics

1682 ►Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi (Louisiana) for France

1772 ►Whites can now buy Indian land in Indian territories without government approval in New England.

1865 ►Robert E Lee & 26,765 troops, surrender to US Grant at Appomattox

1878 ►1st Lady Lucy Hayes begins egg rolling contest on White House lawn

1884 ►A woman, identified by local missionaries as Sacajawea, dies today in Wyoming. If this is the Sacajawea of the Lewis and Clark expedition, she would be almost 100 years old

1953 ►"TV Guide" publishes 1st issue

2003 ►Iraqis turn on symbols of former leader, pulling down a statue of Saddam Hussein

In Science/Religion

1816 ►African Methodist Episcopal Church organizes (Philadelphia PA)

1914 ►1st full color film shown "The World, The Flesh & the Devil" (London)

1959 ►NASA the National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduces America's first astronauts to the world, to take part in Project Mercury, America's first manned space program:

Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton

• 9 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Paul Krassner, 78, comic strip cartoonist (MAD Magazine)

Frank King, 1883, cartoonist: creator of Gasoline Alley cartoon strip

Carl Perkins, 1932, singer/songwriter (Blue Suede Shoes)

Athletes

Severiano (Seve) Ballesteros, 53, Pedrena, Spain, former golfer

Earl (Curly) Lambeau, 1898, NFL coach (Green Bay Packers)

Jacques Villeneueve, 39, race car driver, born St. Jean d’Iberville, QC, Canada

Entertainers

Ward Bond, 1903, actor (Quiet Man, Fort Apache, Seth-Wagon Train)

Michael Learned, 71, actress (“The Waltons”)

Cynthia Nixon, 44, actress (“Sex and the City,”

Dennis Quaid, 56, actor

Paul Robeson, 1898, singer: Ol’ Man River; actor

Business, Education Leaders

Hugh Hefner, 84, founder of Playboy

Political Leaders

Abraham A Ribicoff, 1910, Senator-CT

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 1806, designer of 1st transatlantic steamer

John Presper Eckert, 1919, co-inventor (1st electronic computer-ENIAC)

Charles Proteus Steinmetz, 1865, Germany, experiment with AC electricity

• 9 April Obits •

Francis Bacon, 1626, Viscount St Albans, statesman, pneumonia @ 65

Brook Benton, 1988, singer – (It’s Just a Matter of Time, Rainy Night in Georgia), bacterial meningitis @ 56.

Lorenzo de' Medici, 1492, Florentine statesman, @ 43

Simon Fraser (Lord Lovat), 1747, 12th baron Lovat Jacobite, last man beheaded in England, convicted of treason after Battle of Culledon. Final words: "It is glorious and honorable to die for one's country." @ 80.

Frank Lloyd Wright, 1959, US architect (Guggenheim Museum, New York), @ 89

Tammy Wynette [Virginia Wynette Pugh], 1998, country singer (Stand By Your Man), blot clot @ 55

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle

1. New Jersey: Liberty and prosperity

2. Texas: Friendship

3. South Carolina: Dum spiro spero Animis opibusque parati, While I breathe, I hope, Ready in soul and resource

4. West Virginia: Montani semper liberi, Mountaineers are always free

5. North Carolina: Esse quam videri, To be, rather than to seem

  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡   

Thursday 4-8

8 April 2010~~Week 15 of 2010: 98 days this year…267 days remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs 

He that lives upon hope has a slim diet.

Time and tide will tarry on nae man.

• Holy Mackerel : On this day in 1756 ►Today, Governor Robert Morris will declare war on the DELAWARE and SHAWNEE Indians. As a part of his declaration, he will offer the following bounties: prisoners: men over 12=150 Spanish pieces of eight, women or boys=130; scalps: men=130, women and boys=50. The bounty on scalps will lead to the killing of many innocent Indians who were members of neither tribe. The legislation for this would be called "The Scalp Act".

‡ Free Ramblings   

We are heading into forest cleaning season. That means we will have our fair share of prescribed burns. There is a huge project covering four forests and 2.5 million acres that begins this year. I learned today that these prescribed burns are far from cheap, even when they stay in their prescribed area. Turns out it costs as little as $50/acre if no humans have to prepare the burn and up to $2,000/acre for prep and burn. The forest service says this prevents wildfires, something all of us in forest country fear. One thing I know is that many prescribed burns have gotten away from the forest service in the past few years. That is why they stopped calling them controlled burns and changed the name to prescribed burns. The other thing I know is that whatever you call them; they produce a lot of smoke. Living in a low area as I do, the smoke is drawn to our area. A fire can be fifty or more miles away and that smoke finds us.

Flag was still windy, with winds bringing in cold air from the north. We made it to 48° but the 32mph gusts kept if feeling about 8° cooler all day. I decided that I really didn’t need to go anywhere today so I let others suffer from the cold and windy conditions.

Most of our daily lives are so far removed from things that are happening to make our lives so good. This week we have been reminded, yet again, that flipping on a light, using a computer, watching TV, listening to the radio, or doing anything with cheap electricity is not so cheap. Many just assume that the coal that helps to make all that electricity is just there and cheap. Listening to the miners and their families, listening to the mine owners, listening to the regulators, it becomes clear that Americans want cheap electricity, the miners and their families live in fear every day of something like the WV mine disaster, and that nothing is going to really change. Very sad indeed.

Today is DARE Day. Here is some stuff about DARE you might not know. DARE (Drug Abuse Residence Education) is in thousands of elementary schools throughout the country. It brings police officers into the schools to get students to see ways to avoid peer pressure. It started in 1983 by then LA Police Chief Daryl Gates. He also had the first SWAT team in the US. He was police chief during the Rodney King incident, trial, and subsequent riots. Here are two quotes of Chief Gates: infrequent or casual drug users "ought to be taken out and shot" because "we're in a war" and even casual drug use is "treason." Then there is this: Gates attributed several deaths of people held in his cop approved chokeholds to the theory that "blacks might be more likely to die from chokeholds because their arteries do not open as fast as they do on 'normal people.'” (in his autobiography, Gates explained that he had been misquoted, saying that black people were more predisposed to vascular conditions and therefore less likely to have normally-functioning arteries.) Several studies have shown that the DARE program may actually increase drug use among certain populations. Drug abuse was a real fear in the 1990’s and Rez schools all had DARE programs. I was shocked when police officers brought ‘weed’ into the classrooms for kids to see, touch and smell so they would know what to avoid. They also brought in other drugs for kids to look at. The DARE cops were interesting. Some were good, others not so much. I did agree with the idea that our students needed to see the cops in some role other than arresting their relatives, but DARE was never the answer.

‡ A Quick Smile…from actual memos 

~ "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks." (Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA )

~ "What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter." ( Lykes Lines Shipping)

~ “E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business." (Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

~"This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it." (Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

‡ Random Fact   

North Dakota is the only state in the US that has never had an earthquake.

‡ Puzzle   

State Mottos: Name the state with this motto

1. Deo gratiam habeamus, Let us be grateful to God

2. Freedom and Unity

3. L'étoile du Nord, The star of the North

4. Fatti maschii, parole femine, Manly deeds, womanly words

5. Equal Rights

‡ Side Show Stories   

LOS ANGELES - An 81-year-old woman is suing her ex-husband in Los Angeles for the $50-per-month child support she says he was supposed to start paying in 1950. Rosemary Douglas, 81, said she became pregnant in 1950 and the father, Urban Joseph Grass, 52, to whom she was not married, wanted nothing to do with the baby and was ordered to pay $50 per month in child support. She says she never received the money, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday. "He was ordered to do something. He didn't do it," Douglas said.

"He didn't challenge it, not legally anyway. I'd always thought about this. It was never far from my mind. Finally I decided, why not? Why not try one more time?" A lawyer for Grass, who now lives in Pearland, Texas, said the 82-year-old was unaware of the order until the lawsuit was filed. Attorney Pedram Mansouri said his client attended only one hearing on the subject before shipping to Korea with the Army and never received a child support order. The suit is seeking $57,000 in unpaid child support.

‡ Calendar Information   

• Observance Weeks in April•

1-7

International Pooper-Scooper Week

Laugh at Work Week

Golden Rule Week

Medication Safety Week

Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

4-10

Hate Week: taken from George Orwell’s 1984

Hilo, HI. Hula Festival: Cultural event honoring King David Kalakaua, culminates with the world’s largest hula competition

National Blue Ribbon Week: to raise awareness of the annual 3.2 million abused children

National Public Health Week

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week

National Week of the Ocean: to raise awareness of the ocean’s role on our planet

5-10

Explore Your Career Options

5-11

National Networking Week

National Women's Nutrition Week

• 8 April Observances—US/UN/World •

All Is Ours Day

DABDay - Draw A Bird Day (since 1940’s) the act of drawing a bird brings cheeriness

National D.A.R.E. Day (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

•8 April Observances—by country •

Japan: Buddha's Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, "Flower Festival"

International Day of the Roma: To recognize the Romani people and culture throughout the world

•Number One Songs in…

1946 ►Guitar Polka - Al Dexter

1954 ►Wanted - Perry Como

1962 ►Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares

1970 ►Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

1978 ►Stayin’ Alive - Bee Gees

•8 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1918 ►World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City's financial district.

In Athletics

1974 ►Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's legendary record of 714 homers

1991 ►Oakland A's Stadium becomes 1st outdoor arena to ban smoking

In Business or Education

1766 ►1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain

1869 ►American Museum of Natural History opens (New York NY)

1873 ►Alfred Paraf of New York City patented the first successful oleomargarine.

1879 ►Milk is sold in glass bottles for 1st time

1904 ►Long Acre Square in Manhattan, New York, was renamed Times Square

1971 ►1st legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York)

In Politics

1944 ►Ernest Childers, Creek tribe, gets the Medal of Honor today for heroics in WWII.

1985 ►India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster

1986 ►Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel CA

In Science/Religion

1730 ►1st Jewish congregation in US consecrates synagogue, "Shearith Israel, NYC"

• 8 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Nnedi Okorafor, 36, Nigerian American writer

Clarence Hudson White, 1871, American photographer

Athletes

John J. Havlicek, 70, Hall of Fame basketball player

Sonja Henie, 1912, Oslo Norway, ice skater/actress

Jim (James Augustus) ‘Catfish’ Hunter, 1946.baseball: pitcher: Athletics, Oakland Athletics [Cy Young Award- winner: 1974], Yankee

Entertainers

Patricia Arquette, 42, actress (“Medium”)

Shecky Greene, 85, comedian, actor

Julian Lennon, 47, musician, singer, son of John Lennon

John Schneider, 50, actor (“Dukes of Hazzard”)

Mary Pickford [Gladys Louise Smith], 1893, Toronto Ontario Canada, actress

Business, Education Leaders

Ray (O. Raymond) Knight, 1872, ‘Father of Canadian Rodeo’: conceived, coined, organized first Canadian stampede in 1902

Political Leaders

Kofi Annan, 72, former UN secretary general (1997–2006), Kumasi, Ghana

Elizabeth (Betty) Ford, 92, former First Lady, wife of Gerald Ford

Ponce de León, 1460, San Tervas de Campos Spain, Spanish conqueror/explorer, searched for fountain of youth, found Florida instead

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Gautama Buddha, 0563 –BC

Melvin Calvin, 1911, US chemist (photosynthesis, Nobel 1961)

William Henry Welch, 1850, pathologist, founded John Hopkins

•8 April Obits •

General Omar Bradley, 1981, last 5-star General, @ 88

Denton Cooley, 1969, got 1st fully artificial heart, @ 48
Arthur William Foote, 1937, US organist/composer, @ 84
Henry Ford, 1947, US industrialist (Ford cars), cerebral hemorrhage @ 83
Junius P. Morgan, 1890, philanthropist, @ 76
Laura Nyro, 1997, singer, ovarian cancer @ 49
Elisha G Otis, 1861, US elevator builder (Otis), diphtheria @ 50
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, 1973, artist, @ 92
Jan W Pieneman, 1853, historical painter (Battle at Waterloo), @ 73
Ryan White, 1990, hemophiliac aids sufferer, @18
‡ ANSWERS to puzzle 

1. Kentucky: Deo gratiam habeamus, Let us be grateful to God

2. Vermont: Freedom and Unity

3. Minnesota: L'étoile du Nord, The star of the North

4. Maryland: Fatti maschii, parole femine, Manly deeds, womanly words

5. Wyoming: Equal Rights

  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡  

Wednesday 4-7

7 April 2010~~Week 15 of 2010: 97 days this year…268 days remain

‡ Scottish Proverbs 

Friends are lost by calling often and calling seldom.

Ne'er cast a clout till May be oot. (Don't put aside winter clothing until May be out. But Scottish weather isn't that cold In this context, "May" is the Mayflower or Hawthorn, which blooms well before the end of May).

• Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1864 ►The first camel race in America was held, not in the Mojave Desert; but in Sacramento, California 

‡ Free Ramblings   

My allergy doctor was in a great mood this morning. He readily admits he has no idea why I have my occasional angioedema (swelling on face). Since this started a couple of years ago, I have been taking both Allegra and Singulair every day and then another medicine when the actual swelling starts. Now he says to try dropping the Singulair. I’m up for that. Less pills is always better than more pills. He did say he could run a bunch of blood tests but since my swelling is so unpredictable it would just be a waste of time and money. Good for him.

It was windy in Flag, but not nearly like yesterday. Today our wind gusts were a mere 22mph. We only made it to 44° and the wind dropped that by about 8°. Not a lot of snow melted, and my front bush is slowly starting to stand up again. We are headed for 60° by Friday, if the weather guy can be trusted. That should just about melt the snow that is left in my front area.

So many people are misusing technology. Nothing new there. Faux News ran a series of stories on Acorn last year. They gave the impression that Acorn was involved in helping develop prostitution rings in California. Turns out those stories were an important part of the reason Congress cut all funding to Acorn. This week the Attorney General of CA released the unedited tapes he had subpoenaed so he could prosecute those Acorn employees involved in smuggling underage girls from Mexico to become prostitutes and helping a pimp and his madam get government subsidized housing. The AG’s report now states that the Faux News story was highly edited and in no way showed what had really happened. No charges will be filed against any California Acorn employee AND he found that two of the fired employees had actually gotten good information from the fake prostitute and fake pimp and had called the police with all the information as soon as they left the office. In addition, the Faux News story showed the pimp looking like Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch’s TV show. Oh no he din’t. That look was taken outside the office at another time, and while they were in the office, the pimp was dressed in a pin stripe shirt and slacks, the prostitute was wearing a regular looking blouse and slacks. I hope anyone who watches Faux News realizes that it is exactly that…faux. In another story today, a Phoenix HS was put on lockdown after a cop shot a man wielding a knife in a nearby apartment complex. The Scotsdale cop at the scene didn’t like where the camera man was standing, even though it was legal for him to be standing there. He approached the camera and covered the lens with his hand and pushed the journalist back. Amazing. The female on-air reporter that she and the station have a good relation with the local police and the camera covering officer was probably just tense due to the fact that it was a police involved shooting. The entire shooting and lockdown had occurred a good hour before the incident. Technology gets us to many places, it’s people who stop us.

‡ A Quick Smile …about walking and exercise

~ Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

~ I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

~ The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

~ I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

~ Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

~ I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

~ The advantage of exercising every day is so when I die, they'll say, 'Well, he looks good doesn't he.'

~ If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

~ We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

‡ Random Fact   

40% of all people snoop in your medicine cabinet at a party

‡ Puzzle   

State Mottos: Name the state with this motto

1. The Crossroads of America

2. Qui transtulit sustinet, He who transplanted sustains

3. Excelsior, Ever upward

4. Alis volat propriis, She flies with her own wings

5. Liberty and Independence

‡ Side Show Stories   

Daily Mail: Under the government's Local Housing Authority, Essma Marjam, age 34, unemployed and the mother of six, is entitled to rental assistance for a five-bedroom home, and the only suitable one she could find is in an exclusive London suburb in which her neighbor is Sir Paul McCartney. Luckily, the generous allowance (equivalent of more than $9,000 a month) covers the rent on the nearly $3 million (U.S. equivalent) mansion. (Additionally, according to the Daily Mail, Marjam's non-housing government benefits total the equivalent of about $22,000 a year.)

‡ Calendar Information

• Observance Weeks in April•

1-7

International Pooper-Scooper Week

Laugh at Work Week

Golden Rule Week

Medication Safety Week

Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

4-10

Hate Week: taken from George Orwell’s 1984

Hilo, HI. Hula Festival: Cultural event honoring King David Kalakaua, culminates with the world’s largest hula competition

National Blue Ribbon Week: to raise awareness of the annual 3.2 million abused children

National Public Health Week

National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week

National Week of the Ocean: to raise awareness of the ocean’s role on our planet

5-10

Explore Your Career Options

5-11

National Networking Week

National Women's Nutrition Week

• 7 April Observances—US/UN/World •

No Housework Day

ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Day

International Beaver Day: to bring awareness of the vegetarian rodent that saves wetlands

Metric System Day: for awareness of the system Americans just won’t adopt

National Day of Hope: for awareness to end child abuse

Paraprofessional Appreciation Day

World Health Day: World Health Organization founded in 1948

•7 April Observances—by country •

China : Ching Ming - families gather at graves of ancestors

Rwanda: Commemorates massacres of 1994.

•Number One Songs in…

1945 ►My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)

1953 ►Pretend - Nat King Cole

1961 ►Don’t Worry - Marty Robbins

1969 ►Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In - The 5th Dimension

1977 ►Dancing Queen - Abba

1985 ►We are the World - USA for Africa

•7 April Happenings•

In The Arts

1949 ►Rodgers and Hammerstein debut their hit musical "South Pacific" on Broadway.

In Athletics

1963 ►Jack Nicklaus became the youngest golfer to win the Green Jacket at the MastersTournament @23

In Business or Education

1940 ►1st black to appear on US stamp (Booker T Washington)

In Politics

1712 ►Slave revolt (New York NY)

1830 ►President Jackson has submitted a bill that would call for the removal of most of the Indians in the southeast to lands west of the Mississippi.

1926 ►Mussolini's Irish wife breaks his nose

1954 ►President Dwight Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China

1971 ►President Richard Nixon orders Lieutenant Calley (My Lai) free

In Science/Religion

1827 ►English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches

1983 ►Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt

1994 ►Vatican acknowledges Holocaust (Nazi's killing Jews) for 1st time

• 7 April Births •

Artists, Writers, and Composers

Francis Ford Coppola, 71, filmmaker

Daniel Ellsberg, 79, author

Percy Faith, 1908, Grammy Award-winning orchestra leader, composer

Walter Winchell, 1897, newscaster/columnist

William Wordsworth, 1770, England, poet laureate (The Prelude)

Athletes

Walter Camp, 1859, father of American football (Yale)

Anthony Drew (Tony) Dorsett, 56, Hall of Fame football player

James ‘Buster’ Douglas, 50, boxing champion

Steve Wisniewski, 43, NFL guard (Raiders)

Entertainers

Victoria Adams Beckman, 35, "Posh Spice"

Jackie Chan, 56, martial artist, actor

Russell Crowe, 46, actor

James Garner [Scott Bumgarner], 82, actor

Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan], 1915, singer

John Oates, 61. guitarist/vocalist

(Click Here to see an amazing video)

Wayne Rogers, 77, actor (“M*A*S*H”)

Ravi Shankar, 1920 ,Benares India, sitar player--Beatles

Business, Education Leaders

David Frost, 71, Tenterden, England entertainer, interviewer

W K Kellogg, 1860, cereals

Francis C Lowell, 1775, founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill

Political Leaders

[Edmund G] Jerry Brown Jr, 1938, Governor-CA

(William) Hodding Carter III, 75, television and newspaper journalist

William Rufus DeVane King, 1786, 13th US Vice President

Scientists /Religious Leaders

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 1890, environmentalist (1st Lady of Everglades)

St Francis Xavier, 1506, Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, & Japan

•7 April Obits •

P. T. Barnum, 1891, American circus impresario @ 81

Kurt Cobain, 1994, grunge rocker (Nirvana), suicide @ 27

El Greco, 1614, Spanish painter (View of Toledo) @ 73

‡ ANSWERS to puzzle   

1. Indiana: The Crossroads of America

2. Connecticut: Qui transtulit sustinet, He who transplanted sustains

3. New York: Excelsior, Ever upward

4. Oregon: Alis volat propriis, She flies with her own wings

5. Delaware: Liberty and Independence

  ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡