8-23-11

All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

‡     TODAY’s “Geez”:

¬ 1889 - 1st ship-to-shore wireless message received in US (SF) 1975 - Ethiopian junta under Mengistu Haile

¬ 1904 - Automobile tire chain patented

¬ 1939 - John Cobb (Britain) drives 365.85 MPH (593.48 KPH) at Bonneville Flats

¬ 1987 - 15-years old boy hijacks KLM B737, demands $1 billion

¬ 1996 - Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.'

¬ 2005 - Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas, later becomes a category 5 hurricane

‡     Free Rambling Thoughts…

I had a very productive day…and on a Monday no less. It started by running some errands, then I worked on the brochure for the boat. Turns out I actually finished Draft One of it. Things are coming along well…if not just a little slow. Now I just hope that Greg will add some ideas to the entire concept. So hard sometimes to read someone else’s mind.

I had never heard of a ‘J-1’ visa until today. It allows foreigners to come to the US as an exchange visitor—meaning that you can have an educational and cultural visit. Many students come to the US on these exchange programs. Yesterday about 200 J-1 visa visitors protested their work conditions. It seems that they had jobs at a plant that made Hershey candy. They worked for minimum wage, 8 hours a day. The company that hired them, not Hershey, provided them with housing. The problem, the housing was required, was a shabby dormitory with little privacy, and cost them $400/month taken from their paycheck. Their long repetitive work was done with security cameras watching, and if they didn’t work fast enough, they were threatened with being fired. That would then make them ‘illegal’. They complained that they had back pain, hand pain, and a medical student said he could no longer hold a pen to write his name, let alone be the surgeon he dreamed of being. These visitors were on a cultural exchange and left countries where they were college students. They had paid up to $6,000US to get this great cultural experience. Many did not have enough money to return home. This is not the exchange I want foreigners to have of our country. I can only hope that the government gets in gear and stops this type of exploitation.

‡     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)

1.      In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made?

2.      In which decade was Madonna born?

3.      Which initials did rapper Hammer lose?

4.      Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup?

5.      Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing?

6.      In Canada what is the NHL?

7.      Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century?

8.      Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart?

9.      Martina Navratilova has been on the winning side in the Federation Cup for which two countries?

10.   The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900?

11.   Which actor is the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis?

12.   In football, where do the Chargers come from?

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

‡     Hmmmmm…

¬ Chance that a woman undergoing in-vitro fertilization in Israel becomes pregnant: 1 in 5

¬ Chance if she is subjected, before fertilization, to ‘medcal clowning’:  1 in 3

‡     Somewhat Useless Information…

¬ F. Scott Fitzgerald went to Princeton and used the school as the setting for his first novel, This Side of Paradise. He died while eating a Hershey chocolate bar and reading a football article in the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

¬ Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley, wrote the words to "America the Beautiful" after being inspired during a climb to the top of Pikes Peak in 1893.

¬ The first people to witness a striptease were Parisian students who watched a model disrobe at the Bal des Quatre Arts on February 9, 1893. However, she was escorted out and fined 100 francs by a court. The students went crazy and began tearing apart the Latin Quarter - the army had to be called out to calm the riot.

¬ Marcel Duchamp, artist and great chess player, spent his honeymoon contemplating chess problems. One night his bride glued the chess pieces to the board. They were divorced three weeks later.

¬ Cary Grant was expelled from school at the age of 14 for attempting to sneak into the girls' bathroom. He then ran away to join a troupe of traveling acrobats.

¬ When he was president, Calvin Coolidge never turned down an invitation to a social gathering although he never seemed to enjoy himself. When someone finally asked him why he went to the parties, he replied, "Got to eat somewhere."

‡     Yeah, It Really Happened…

Maimi: Local airport officials were on high alert Monday after reports that a suspicious white powder was found on a New York flight that had just arrived at Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport, NBC Miami reports.

But all a hazardous materials team found on the plane was the remnants of a bag of marijuana, officials said.

At around 9 a.m., the crew on Spirit Airlines Flight 705 called authorities to report that they had discovered a "suspicious item" onboard, said Greg Meyer, spokesman for the airport.

The flight was arriving from New York, and passengers were cleared off the plane as a HAZMAT team investigated.

Instead of a dangerous material, officials found weed, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.

Not surprisingly, none of the passengers claimed the marijuana, so no one was arrested, she said.

Spirit Airlines said all passengers continued on to their connecting flights as scheduled.

‡     Guffaw…or at least smile…

Man: Is this seat empty?

Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.

~*~

A man died and his wife phoned the newspaper to place an obituary. She called the obituary department and said, "This is what I want to print: Bernie is dead." The man at the newspaper said, "But for $25 you are allowed to print six words." The woman answered, "OK. Then print: Bernie is dead. Toyota for sale."

‡     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

Barbara Eden discusses her favorite "I Dream of Jeannie" episodes

‡     Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

19-28: Little League Baseball World Series

22-26: National Safe at Home Week

‡     TODAY IS

¬ Day For The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition

¬ National Spongecake Day

¬ Ride the Wind Day

¬ Valentino Day

‡     Today’s Events:

·        IN ARTS

1919 - "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip premieres in Chicago Tribune

1995 - Larry Hagman receives a liver transplant

·        IN ATHLETICS

1992 - Dennis Eckersley, who previously set record for most consecutive saves (40), is 1st pitcher to record 40 saves in 4 different seasons

·        IN BUSINESS

1617 - 1st one-way streets open (London)

·        IN EDUCATION

1838 - Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) 1st graduating class

·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1732 -The beginning of a peace conference held in Philadelphia with the local Indians. Attending the meeting are several Iroquois Chiefs, including Onondaga Chief Shikellamy

1876 - "Treaty 6 Between Her Majesty The Queen and The Plain and Wood Cree Indians and Other Tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River with Adhesions" is signed in Canada

·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1305 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot, is executed for high treason by Edward I of England

1541 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada

1944 - Romania liberated from Nazi occupation 

1975 - Communists take over Laos

·        IN RELIGION

1555 - Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands

1796 - African Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated

·        IN SCIENCE

  79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire

1924 - Mars' closest approach to Earth since 10th century

1960 - World's largest frog (3.3 kg) caught (Equatorial Guinea) (7.25 lbs)

·        IN US POLITICS

1850 - 1st national women's rights convention convenes in Worcester Mass

·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

1849 - William Ernest Henley, British poet, critic, and editor): 1875 poem "Invictus" :

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

·        ATHLETES

Sonny Jurgensen, NFL quarterback (Wash Redskins)/sportscaster turns 77

1911 - Elizabeth "Betty" Robinson, US 100m sprinter (Olympic-gold-1928)

Rik Smits, NBA center (Indiana Pacers) turns 45

·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Barbara Eden, actor turns 77

1912 - Gene Kelly, dancer/actor (An American in Paris, Going My Way)

Shelley Long, actor turns 62

Lee Majors, actor ($6,000,000 Man, The Fall Guy) turns 71

Vera Miles, actor turns 81

Jay Mohr, actor, comedian turns 41

1947 - Keith Moon, English rock drummer (Who-I'm A Boy )

1900 - Malvina Reynolds, American folk singer/songwriter: Little Boxes

Mark Russell, political satirist /pianist (Real People) turns 79

Rick Springfield, Australia, (General Hospital, Jessie's Girl) turns 62

1917 - Tex Williams, American singer

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1852 - Arnold Toynbee, English economist and social reformer

·        POLITICIANS

1754 - Louis XVI, Versailles, king of France (1774-93) eventually guillotined

Queen Noor, American born Queen of Jordan turns 60

·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

--

‡     Today’s Obits:

1977 - Sebastian Cabot, actor (Giles French-Family Affair), dies after stroke at 59

1962 - Hoot Gibson, silent screen cowboy actor (Last Outlaw), dies of cancer at 70

1960 - Oscar Hammerstein II, Broadway librettist, dies of stomach cancer at 65

1723 - Increase Mather, New England Puritan minister dies at 84

2005 - Brock Peters, Afro-American actor dies at 78

1926 - Rudolph Valentino, silent movie idol (Sheik), dies of peritonitis at 31

1305 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot, hanged, disemboweled & beheaded

‡     ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made?

 60s

In which decade was Madonna born?

 50s

Which initials did rapper Hammer lose?

 M C: for being a Master of Ceremony at clubs..given name: Chelvathev Chelvasekaram

Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup?

 Great Britain

Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing?

 Andy Gibb

In Canada what is the NHL?

 National Hockey League

Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century?

 20s

Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart?

 Kiki Dee

Martina Navratilova has been on the winning side in the Federation Cup for which two countries?

 Czechoslovakia & USA

The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900?

 Yellow

Which actor was the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis?

 Tony Curtis

In football, where do the Chargers come from?

San Diego

Close Up Picture

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.

‡     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW     ‡

8-22-11

All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

‡     TODAY’s “Geez”:

¬  565 - St Columba reported seeing monster in Loch Ness

¬ 1762 - 1st female (Ann Franklin) US newspaper editor, Newport RI, Mercury

¬ 1864 - International Red Cross forms

¬ 1848 - The United States annexes New Mexico

¬ 1944 - Hitler orders Paris to be destroyed 

¬ 1975 - McNichols Sports Arena in Denver opens

¬ 2007 - The Storm botnet, a botnet created by the Storm Worm, sends out a record 57 million e-mails in one day

‡     Free Rambling Thoughts…

Alas, another day of morning sunshine, afternoon clouds, and no moisture. I don’t know how they measure wind gusts…as there has been nothing that even resembles a breeze where I live. And if there is any wind in AZ, we have some of it off Mt. Elden.

I had my angioedema last night. What a pain. Took the pills early in the event, so didn’t have much swelling, but couldn’t sleep most of the night as the other part of this swelling is excess saliva. It was cleared up when I got up at 8am—really late for me, but I needed my rest. We all have our burdens, as this one is not as bad as many others burdens. The only problem is that it is my burden.

Tripoli seems to be on the verge of falling in Libya. Basically, all I know about Tripoli is the Marine Corps Hymm…’to the shores of Tripoli’. Now I know a little more…The US Marines were there during the Barbary War in the early 1800s. Tripoli was founded in the seventh century BC. It has been a sea port since then. Its sister cities include Bogotá, Algiers, Beirut, Izmir (Turkey), Madrid, Sarajevo, and Dubai. The city (pop: 1.1mil) is the commercial capital for the country ( pop: 6.4 mil). The news out of the country seems that a new government will take over soon. I’m paying attention to all news in Northern Africa as my Ethiopia trip is coming soon. I got an email today that part of our trip will be in Southern Ethiopia, the poorest part of the country. The Northern part usually accepts US$ and US credit cards, the southern part, not so much. We will also be visiting numerous tribal villages. I can hardly wait.

Late last week I saw a headline on AOL “Photographer refused to take pictures of Ugly People”. In today’s world, it turned out to be a great headline. The photographer’s PA business is taking high school senior pictures. She looked up some of the senior’s Facebook pages. She discovered that some of the seniors had posted very mean and hurtful comments about others in their class. Many of those posts were beyond typical high school posts. They were demeaning and full of hate. So she notified the parents of those with inappropriate comments and told them she would not be taking their child’s senior picture and told them why.  “If you are ugly on the inside, I’m sorry but I won’t take your photos to make you look pretty on the outside … I simply don’t want to photograph ugly people.” She says that some parents have apologized for their child’s posts and say they had no idea it was happening. The photographer says she hasn’t gotten any bad publicity for her decision. In these troubled economic times, she stood for what she believed.

My brother is back from Vietnam, and happy to be back. He enjoyed his time there but had to work 6 days a week. Laura is on a plane back from her MT Glamping. All is good for both of them.

‡     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)

1.      Which Heart was reinstituted as an honor in 1932?

2.      Which Tom starred in Three Men and a Little Lady?

3.      Singer Nat King Cole was also very talented on which musical instrument?

4.      What is the postal abbreviation for Montana?

5.      In which state was boardsailing or windsurfing invented?

6.      Robbie Coltrane and Whoopi Goldberg have played in films where their characters disguise themselves as what?

7.      Which famous Briton did Linda Eastman marry?

8.      Which spectral hound of the moors first appeared in a classic 1902 detective story?

9.      In football, what position is LB.

10.   Which country hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics?

11.   Which controversial American sportsman had the first names Orenthal James?

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

‡     Hmmmmm…

¬ Average minutes more exercise per week that a heavey drinker gets than a non-drinker: 21

‡     Somewhat Useless Information…

¬ Until the Vietnam War, the number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Civil War (approximately 620,000 casualties) surpassed all other wars combined.

¬ The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 and ended on July 27, 1953. Although the primary combatants were North and South Korea, the Korean War also became a sort of war of political philosophies as the United States and the People's Republic of China/Soviet Union joined the fighting in an effort to promote their particular forms of government on the Korean peninsula. 

¬ The last execution in the Tower of London took place during World War II when Josef Jakobs, a German soldier, was captured while parachuting into England. 

¬ Winston Churchill was prominently involved in both World War I and World War II. Churchill filled several prominent positions during World War I including Minister of Munitions and First Lord of the Admiralty, as well as serving on the War Council. 

¬ The Battle of Actium, a naval confrontation between Mark Antony and Octavian, took place on September 2, 31 BC. In perhaps the best remembered battle of the Roman Civil War and is often said to mark the beginning of the Roman Empire.

‡     Yeah, It Really Happened…

LINCOLN, Neb. - A Nebraska sheriff said inmates at his county jail have been caring for two cats he adopted to help the men feel "a lot more at ease." Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer said jail inmates have recently been volunteering at a local animal shelter and their work inspired him to adopt a pair of cats for the prisoners to take care of, KNOP-TV, North Platte, Neb., reported Thursday.

"I asked myself, 'I wonder how those would work out in the jail,' as far as helping the guys pass time and make them feel a lot more at ease and less destructive to our facility. So, we adopted a couple of them and brought them back here," Kramer said. "We got their mug shots and put them in a couple of cells where we thought they would be better received. We gave the inmates a list of cat rules for caring for the cat such as cleaning their litter box. But they are waiting in line to take care of the cat," he said. "The studies show that it will help with relieving stress and give them something to do, something to occupy their time," the sheriff said.

‡     Guffaw…or at least smile…

A duck walked into a bakery one day and asked for a pork chop.

The baker said, "We aren't a butcher; we don't sell meat here."

So the duck left.

The following day the duck went back and asked again.

This time the Baker said, "No, if you come here again I will nail your feet to the floor."

The following day the duck returned and asked, "Have you any nails?"

The baker replied, "No." And the duck said, "Well, I'll have two pork chops then."

~*~

The judge warned the witness, “Do you understand that you have sworn to tell the truth?” “I do.”

“Do you understand what will happen if you are not truthful?”

“Sure,” said the witness. “My side will win.”

‡     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

Purple Hearts

‡     Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

19-28: Little League Baseball World Series

22-26: National Safe at Home Week

‡     TODAY IS

¬ Be An Angel Day

¬ National Tooth Fairy Day

¬ Southern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day: A chant to yell if you are tired of winter

‡     Today’s Events:

·        IN ARTS

1911 - Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre (Recovered in 1913)

2004 - A version of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway

·        IN ATHLETICS

1965 - LA Dodger pitcher Juan Marachal hits SF Giant catcher John Roseboro on the head with his bat causing a 14 minute brawl

1989 - Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter 

·        IN BUSINESS

1851 - Gold fields discovered in Australia

1984 - Last Volkswagen Rabbit produced

·        IN EDUCATION

-- 

·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1670 - Hiacoomes preaches his first sermon to his Wampanoag people on Martha's Vineyard

1806 - Pike’s expedition has reached a village of the Little Osage near the forks of the Osage River in modern Missouri. He holds a council here with both the Grand and Little Osage.

1862 - Santee Sioux attack Fort Ridgely, MN

1877 - Nez Perce flee into to Yellowstone National Park

·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1642 - Civil War in England began between Royalists & Parliament

1788 - Sierra Leone, settled by British as a former haven for slaves

1798 - French troops land in Kilcummin harbor, County Mayo, Ireland to aid Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen's Irish Rebellion

1945 - Vietnam conflict begins as Ho Chi Minh leads a successful coup

1952 - The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed

1962 - Failed assassination of President De Gaulle

·        IN RELIGION

1138 - English defeated Scots at Cowton Moor Banners of various saints were carried into battle which led to being called Battle of the Standard

1614 - Trades people under Vincent Fettmilch chase & plunder Jews out of ghetto in Frankfurt

1968 - 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)

·        IN SCIENCE

1926 - Gold discovered in Johannesburg, South Africa

1989 - 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered

·        IN US POLITICS

1902 - Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car

1921 - J Edgar Hoover becomes asst director of FBI

1975 - Assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford

·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

Ray[mond Douglas] Bradbury, sci-fi author (Fahrenheit 451) turns 91

1862 - Claude Debussy, composer (La Mer, Clair de lune)

1827 - Josef Strauss, Austria, composer (Dorfschwalben aus Austria)

·        ATHLETES

Michael Curry, NBA guard (Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks) turns 43

Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox great (1967 AL MVP, Hall of Fame) turns 72

·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Honor Blackman, actor, turns 85

Valerie Harper, (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Valerie) turns 71

1928 - John Lupton, actor (Tom-Broken Arrow)

Cindy Williams, actor ( Laverne and Shirley ) will be 64

Rick Yune, actor turns 40

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

Morton Dean, TV newscaster (CBS, ABC) turns 76

Giada De Laurentiis, Italian/American chef and television host turns 41

·        POLITICIANS

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, White House Chief of Staff turns 61

·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

1915 - James Hillier, Co-inventor of the electron microscope

‡     Today’s Obits:

1922 - Michael Collins, Irish nationalist leader, killed in ambush at 31

1926 - Charles William Elliot, Pres of Harvard (1869-1909), dies at 92

1485 - Richard III, king of England (1483-85), killed in battle at 32

‡     ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

1.      Which Heart was reinstituted as an honor in 1932?

a.      Purple Heart: first issued in the Revolutionary War, then not until after WWI

2.      Which Tom starred in Three Men and a Little Lady?

a.      Selleck—also known for Magnum PI

3.      Singer Nat King Cole was also very talented on which musical instrument?

a.      Piano

4.      What is the postal abbreviation for Montana?

a.      MT

5.      In which state was boardsailing or windsurfing invented?

a.      California

6.      Robbie Coltrane and Whoopi Goldberg have played in films where their characters disguise themselves as what?

a.      Nuns in Sister Act

7.      Which famous Briton did Linda Eastman marry?

a.      Paul McCartney

8.      Which spectral hound of the moors first appeared in a classic 1902 detective story?

a.      Hound Of The Baskervilles

9.      In football, what position is LB.

a.      Linebacker

10.   Which country hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics?

a.      Japan—city of Nagano

11.   Which controversial American sportsman had the first names Orenthal James?

a.      OJ Simpson

Close Up Picture

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.

‡     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW     ‡