6-29-11

Ø  TODAY’s “Geez”:

·        1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed after 83-day filibuster in Senate

·        1975 - 8.10" (20.57 cm) of rainfall, Litchville No Dakota (state 24-hr rec)

Ø  Free Rambling Thoughts…

A hot day in Flag, but only a ‘fire warning’ and not a red flag day. We even had some clouds throughout the day. Can the monsoons be far behind? Yeah, afraid so, there was only 11% humidity.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with Social Security. As I have said before, I worked from 16 years old on. I paid into Social Security before I went to work for the Feds. I didn’t work outside the government when I was a year round employee, but when that all changed, and I was furloughed during the summer, I worked for NAU and Uof Phoenix when I was on furlough, or on weekends when I was not being paid by the government. More than once I took Leave Without Pay for a couple of hours on Friday so I could get to the class. I have a good pension from the government, but I was forced to pay into the SS system when I worked outside the government. I certainly have the necessary quarters for my SS money, although it was never going to be that much. According to the paperwork I get from SS every year, I should get about $350/month at 62, $450 waiting until 66 and $600 waiting until I am 70. Now I find out that my SS check will be decreased by about 40% because I am a Civil Service Retiree. This is happening because of a law that passed in 2005. The two systems are not financially connected. I will get more info tomorrow and the lady who set up my appointment said she realized that people get angry, but will give me an explanation of why. I feel a little guilty taking it, since I know the system is going broke, and many people need that money more than I do. I remember back to when I was first furloughed during the summer. As a furloughed employee I was eligible for Unemployment. I didn’t want to take it. My very fiscally conservative father sat me down and said that I had paid into it and I should take it. I found out that it got me through that summer, but when income tax came around, all that money for 12 weeks did not have taxes taken out, so I had to pay taxes at the other end. It bumped me up to a new tax category and was not worth the hassle. So it seems that the SS pot of gold at retirement does have drawbacks. My next issue will be when I reach 65 and become a Medicare person. I’m sure that too will have problems.

Ø  Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post) TV Cop Shows

1.      Who played an FBI agent in Twin Peaks before moving to The X Files?

2.      In which country was Prisoner: Cell Block H set?

3.      Which show featured private eye Jim Rockford?

4.      Who was Cagney's female colleague?

5.      How was Ken Hutchinson known is the 70s series with David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser?

6.      Which day of the week was the last name of Dragnet's Joe?

7.      Which unmarried female detective was created by Agatha Christie?

8.      In The A Team which member was known only by his initial?

9.      Which spicy first name did Police Woman Anderson have in the series?

10.   The outdoor scenes of Hill Street Blues were filmed in which city?

11.   Who called people Pussycat?

12.   What was the name of the series about the wife of Colombo?

13.   After success with The Streets of San Francisco Karl Malden made ads for which credit card?

Ø  Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

Ø  Hmmmmm…

·        In Oklahoma, date the legislature approved a referendum to ban judges from using Shari’ah law in their decisions: 5/24/10 (Muslims are 0.81% of the state’s population)

Ø  Somewhat Useless Information…

·        Soviet cosmonauts were issued pieces of ginseng to take along on missions into space as a preventative against possible ailments.

·        Both Native Americans and early colonists used ginseng for a variety of medical purposes. Colonists ground it into tea to help digestion, for example.

Ø  Yeah, It Really Happened…

Miami, FL Several people were fishing over the weekend just off Florida's Atlantic coast when they pulled up a 23-foot-long squid.

They say they were fishing about 12 miles offshore from Port Salerno when they saw the squid, WPTV reported.

"We pulled up... thought it was something to fish on, a pallet or something like that. We looked at it, all three of us were like 'holy mackerel,' " Robert Benz told WPTV.

The squid’s body is about 11 feet long, and its tentacles were so long, it barely fit into the 23-foot-long boat.

“Nobody believes a fisherman," said Benz. "It didn't seem it had been dead long, the tentacles were still moving and it was sticking to you when we got it in.

Ellie Van Os, Director of Education and Exhibits at the Florida Oceanographic Society, said such a find is not common. "It's foreign to imagine that there's an animal with 8 arms and 2 tentacles that are twice as long as the arms and their mouth is in the middle of their arms ... and big eyes."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission took the squid to a facility in St. Petersburg for a necropsy.

Ø  Guffaw…or at least smile…

A woman who died found herself standing outside the Pearly Gates, being greeted by St. Peter.

She asked him, "Oh, is this place what I really think it is? It's so beautiful.

 Did I really make it to heaven?"

 To which St. Peter replied, "Yes, my dear, these are the Gates to Heaven. But you must do one more thing before you can enter." The woman was very excited, and asked of St. Peter what she must do to pass through the gates. "Spell a word," St. Peter replied. "What word?" she asked.

 "Any word," answered St. Peter. "It's your choice." The woman promptly replied, "Then the word I will spell is love. L-o-v-e."

 St. Peter congratulated her on her good fortune to have made it to Heaven, and asked her if she would mind taking his place at the gates for a few minutes while he went to the bathroom.

 "I'd be honored," she said, "but what should I do if someone comes while you are gone?"

 St. Peter reassured her, and instructed the woman to simply have any newcomers to the Pearly Gates to spell a word as she had done.

 So the woman is left sitting in St. Peter's chair and watching the beautiful angels soaring around her when a man approaches the gates. She realizes it is her loser husband.

 "What happened?" she cried, "Why are you here?"

Her husband stared at her for a moment, then said, "I was so drunk when I left your funeral, I was in an accident. And now I am here? Did I really make it to Heaven?"

 To which the woman replied, "Not yet. You must spell a word first."

 "What word?" he asked.

 The woman responded, "Czechoslovakia."

Ø  Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

Joel Siegel's Interview with George Harrison

Joel Siegel Tribute

Ø  Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

26-7/2

·        National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

·        National Prevention of Eye Injuries Awareness

·        Fish Are Friends, Not Food! Week

Ø  TODAY IS

·        Camera Day

·        Isra Al Mi'Raj (Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad - Islam)

·        Seychelles: Independence Day (1976 from UK: an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean)

Ø  Today’s Events:

…  IN ARTS

▬

…  IN ATHLETICS

1957 - 12th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy Rawls

…  IN BUSINESS

1858 - Great fire in London harbor

1863 - Very 1st First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa

… IN EDUCATION

1926 - Carter Woodson wins Springarn Medal for research of Black history

…  FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1704 - The same force of 50 South Carolinians and 1,000 Creeks which attacked the Mission of San Pedro y San Pable in Patale on June 23rd, attack the Spanish San Damian de Cupahica Mission, near modern day Tallahassee, Florida

1794 - Approximately 2000 Indians, including Chief Little Turtle, and British and French Rangers have surrounded Fort Recovery on the Ohio-Indiana border. Major William McMahon, and 150 soldiers man the fort. When McMahon, and 90 men, not knowing of the force surrounding them, attempt to leave, they are attacked. McMahon returns to the fort. After 2 days of heavy fighting, the Indians will give up the fight, and leave.

…  IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1377 - French invasion fleet lands at Rye England

… IN RELIGION

1755 - 515 prominent Filipinos baptized as Catholic

1969 - 1st Jewish worship service at White House

…  IN SCIENCE

1904 - 2 prehistoric bones found in Weerdingerveen, Drenthe

2008 - Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, gives birth to a daughter.

…  IN US POLITICS

1776 - Virginia state constitution adopted & Patrick Henry made governor

1891 - National Forest Service organized

1949 - US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II

1956 - Federal interstate highway system act signed

1966 - In the Vietnam War, US planes bombed Hanoi & Haiphong for 1st time

2002 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, serves as Acting President for two and a half hours, while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure.

… ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

Robert Evans, director/actor (Love Story, Godfather, Chinatown) turns 81

…ATHLETES

Pepper Johnson, NFL linebacker (NY Giants, Cleve Browns) turns 47

1889 - Willie MacFarlane, Scottish golfer 

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Gary Busey, actor turns 67

1907 - Joan Davis, actress (I Married Joan)

Amanda Donohoe actor turns 49

1901 - Nelson Eddy, baritone (Duets with Jeanette MacDonald)

1943 - Little Eva, American singer ( Locomotion )

Richard Lewis comedian turns 64

… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1803 - John Newton Brown, American publisher 

…POLITICIANS

1941 - Stokeley Carmichael, [Kwame Toure], US, Black Power-activist

Fred Grandy, (Rep-R-Iowa, 1986- )/actor (Love Boat) turns 63

1876 - Nellie Taylor Ross, 1st woman to serve as a gov (Wyoming, 1925-27)

…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

1858 - George Washington Goethals, engineer (built Panama Canal)

1861 - William James Mayo, surgeon/co-founder Mayo clinic in Minnesota

1911 - Klaus E J Fuchs, German/British/German nuclear physicist/spy

Ø  Today’s Obits:

1933 - Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, US actor (Keystone comedies), dies of heart attack at 46

1852 - Henry Clay, the great compromiser, dies at 75

2002 - Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress dies of lung cancer at 74

1978 - Bob Crane, actor (Hogan's Heroes), murdered in Scottsdale, AZ at 59

2003 - Katharine Hepburn, American actress dies at 97

1967 - Jayne Mansfield, actress (Female Jungle), dies in a car crash at 34

2007 - Joel Siegel, American film critic dies of colon cancer at 64

1995 - Lana Turner, actress (Madame X), dies of cancer at 75

Ø  ANSWERS:

Ø  Trivia Quiz

1.      Who played an FBI agent in Twin Peaks before moving to The X Files?

David Duchovny

2.      In which country was Prisoner: Cell Block H set?

Australia

3.      Which show featured private eye Jim Rockford?

The Rockford Files

4.      Who was Cagney's female colleague?

Lacey

5.      How was Ken Hutchinson known is the 70s series with David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser?

Hutch

6.      Which day of the week was the last name of Dragnet's Joe?

Friday

7.      Which unmarried female detective was created by Agatha Christie?

Miss Marple

8.      In The A Team which member was known only by his initial?

Mr. T

9.      Which spicy first name did Police Woman Anderson have in the series?

Pepper

10.   The outdoor scenes of Hill Street Blues were filmed in which city?

Chicago

11.   Who called people Pussycat?

Kojak

12.   What was the name of the series about the wife of Colombo?

Mrs. Columbo

13.   After success with The streets of San Francisco Karl Malden made ads for which credit card?

American Express

Ø  Close Up Picture

Ø  …AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

6-28-11

Ø  TODAY’s “Geez”:

·        1902 - US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million

·        1942 - Dumont TV network begins (WABD NY)

Ø  Free Rambling Thoughts…

Hot, dry, windy. Bad for the forest. Flagstaff is now in Stage 2 fire restrictions…that means that all open grills in public parks will be removed or covered. No open fires in the community including charcoal grills and fire pits. Propane grill still OK if they have an on/off switch on private land only... So far we haven’t had any new fires. Independence Day is right around the corner.

I am not a Michelle Bachmann. She is calling herself the Tea Party Leader. She is from Iowa, a small town called Waterloo. In her announcement today she compared herself to John Wayne, who she said was from Waterloo. He wasn’t. He was from another W town—Winterset.  The John Wayne from Waterloo, her hometown, was John Wayne Gacy—the mass killer. And she wants to be President?

I have always been a big supporter of infrastructure. Without infrastructure, our country can’t operate. I don’t like to travel on roads that have massive construction, but I don’t complain. It is necessary to keep our roadways functioning. Today in the news two things bothered me about infrastructure. First was the temporary closing of Los Alamos National Laboratory in NM. A huge fire is getting too close. Among other things, Los Alamos stores the nation’s plutonium. It also has lots of explosives. And the fire is so close they evacuated the area and closed it. The other disturbing news is from NB where the problem is possible flooding of at least one and possibly two nuclear plants. We all know that water and nuclear plants don’t mix, thanks to Japan. We are being told by people in both places that everything is under control. I sure hope they are right.

Ø  Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post) TV Crime Drama

1.      In which motor town was Robocop set?

2.      Which US cop show was set in Hill Street Station?

3.      Which Jessica was the sleuth in Murder She Wrote?

4.      Which future movie megastar Michael played Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco?

5.      Where was The Untouchables set?

6.      In which city did Jim Rockford operate?

7.      Who played the millionaire police commissioner in McMillan & Wife?

8.      In Miami Vice, what was Crockett's first name?

9.      Which crime series with Telly Savalas was known as The Lion Without  a Mane in Germany?

10.   Which breed of long-eared dog did Columbo have?

11.   Where was the Vice tackled by Crockett and Tubbs?

12.   In Father Dowling Investigates, where did Father Dowling come from?

Ø  Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

Ø  Hmmmmm…

·        Percentage of OK’s population is Muslim: 0.81

Ø  Somewhat Useless Information…

·        All the proceeds earned from James M. Barrie's book Peter Pan were bequeathed to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London.

·        Fagin, the villain in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, was also the name of Dickens' best friend, Bob Fagin.

·        Robert Louis Stevenson said that he had envisioned the entire story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a dream and recorded it the way he saw it.

·        John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, wrote most of his famous books while in jail. He was imprisoned for twelve years for preaching without a license.

·        After completing his book on the French revolution, English historian Thomas Carlyle gave the manuscript to his friend John Stuart Mill to proofread. By mistake Mill's housemaid used the papers to kindle a fire and destroyed the entire manuscript. Undaunted, Carlyle sat down and completely rewrote the book.

·        Alexander Pope published "The Rape of the Lock" at age 24, Browning wrote "Pauline" at age 20, Byron wrote "Childe Harold" when he was 24, and Keats wrote "Endymion" at age 23.

Ø  Yeah, It Really Happened…

DELAWARE, Ohio — A central Ohio woman accused of spraying sheriff's deputies with breast milk is facing charges including disorderly conduct. The Delaware County sheriff's office says deputies responded to a call about a domestic dispute early Saturday, and a man told them his wife was drinking at a wedding and hit him before locking herself in a car.

The sheriff says deputies found the woman in a car and tried to talk with her, but she didn't cooperate. He says when deputies tried to remove her, she said she was a breast-feeding mother, then exposed part of her chest and sprayed them with breast milk.

Authorities say 30-year-old Stephanie Robinette of Westerville faces charges including domestic violence, assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Jail officials didn't know whether she has an attorney.

Ø  Guffaw…or at least smile…

An elderly couple is beginning to notice that neither of them seem to be able to remember things as well as they used to. So, they go to see their doctor, who explains that there is nothing really wrong with, just typical memory loss associated with old age. He suggests that they each get notebooks and write notes to themselves to help remember things. The couple goes home and that evening while watching T.V. the man gets up and heads for the kitchen. His wife asks if he can bring her some ice cream when he returns.

He says he will, and she says he should write it down. "I’m just going to the kitchen, I'll remember."

"Well, I want that with nuts, too."

"O.K. he says ice cream with nuts."

She asks again if he's going to write it down. "No, I'm just going to the kitchen."

"And a Cherry on the top?" He agrees and turns toward the kitchen again and she asks again about writing it down.

Now the old man is angry, "Look, old lady I'm not senile, I can remember ice cream with nuts and a cherry on top."

He goes in the kitchen for 10 minutes and when he returns he sets a plate of bacon and eggs in front of his wife. She looks up and says, "Honey, you forgot my toast."

Ø  Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

Peter Paul Rubens Paintings

Ø  Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

26-7/2

·        National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

·        National Prevention of Eye Injuries Awareness

·        Fish Are Friends, Not Food! Week

Ø  TODAY IS

·        Paul Bunyan Day

·        National Columnists Day

Ø  Today’s Events:

…  IN ARTS

1940 - "Quiz Kids?" premieres on radio

1951 - "Amos 'n' Andy" premieres on CBS TV

…  IN ATHLETICS

1907 - Nationals steal a record 13 bases off catcher Branch Rickey

…  IN BUSINESS

1762 - 1st reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston)

1859 - 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)

1917 - Raggedy Ann doll invented

1918 - 1st flight between Hawaiian Islands

2005 - A final design for Manhattan's Freedom Tower is formally unveiled.

… IN EDUCATION

1770 - Quakers open a school for blacks in Philadelphia

…  FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1878 - Tambiago, the killer of Alex Rhoden on November 23, 1877, which led to the Bannock War, is hanged today at the Idaho Territorial prison.

…  IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1838 - Britain's Queen Victoria crowned in Westminster Abbey

1914 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip , the casus belli of World War I.

1948 - US/British airlift to West-Berlin begins

… IN RELIGION

▬

…  IN SCIENCE

1820 - Tomato is proven non-poisonous

1956 - 1st atomic reactor built for private research operates Chicago Ill

1962 - Thalidomide drug banned in Netherlands

1992 - 2 earthquakes, including 3rd strongest in US (7.4) rock Calif

…  IN US POLITICS

1776 - Charleston, SC repulses British sea attack

1778 - Mary Ludwig Hayes "Molly Pitcher" aids American patriots

1968 - Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking Pentagon Papers

1969 - Stonewall riots begin in New York City

 … ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

1577 - Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish Baroque painter 

1712 - Jean Jacques Rousseau, French composer/social contractor 

1902 - Richard Rodgers, composer (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

…ATHLETES

Rob Dyrdek, skateboarder, actor will be 37

John Elway, NFL quarterback (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32), turns 51

Greg Evans, NFL/WLAF safety (Buffalo Bills, Frankfurt Galaxy), turns 40

…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Kathy Bates, actor , turns 63

1926 - Mel Brooks, comedian/actor/director (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs) , turns 85

Steve Burton, actor,  turns 41

John Cusack, actor , turns 45

Kellie Pickler, actor , turns 25

1946 - Gilda Radner, actress (SNL, Haunted Honeymoon)

… ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1902 - John Dillinger, US bank robber (public enemy #1)

…POLITICIANS

▬

…SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

▬

Ø  Today’s Obits:

2006 - Jim Baen, American science fiction publisher and editor dies after stroke at 63

2004 - Anthony Buckeridge, English author dies at 92

2010 - Robert Byrd, American politician dies at 93

1962 - Mickey Cochrane, baseball hall of fame catcher, dies of lymphatic cancer at 59

2005 - Brenda Howard, American LGBT activist dies at 59

1836 - James Madison, 4th US pres (1809-17), dies in Montpelier Va at 85

2009 - Billy Mays, American television pitchman dies of overdose at 51

2009 - Fred Travalena, American comedian and impressionist dies of lymphoma at 67

Ø  ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

1.      In which motor town was Robocop set?

Detroit

2.      Which US cop show was set in Hill Street Station?

Hill Street Blues

3.      Which Jessica was the sleuth in Murder She Wrote?

Fletcher

4.      Which future movie megastar Michael played Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco?

Douglas

5.      Where was The Untouchables set?

Chicago

6.      In which city did Jim Rockford operate?

Los Angeles

7.      Who played the millionaire police commissioner in McMillan & Wife?

Rock Hudson

8.      In Miami Vice, what was Crockett's first name?

Sonny

9.      Which crime series with Telly Savalas was known as The Lion Without  a Mane in Germany?

Kojak

10.   Which breed of long-eared dog did Columbo have?

Basset hound

11.   Where was the Vice tackled by Crockett and Tubbs?

Miami

12.   In Father Dowling Investigates, where did Father Dowling come from?

Chicago

Ø  Close Up Picture

See and Say Teaching Tool

Ø  …AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW