Mar 19

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1644 - 200 members of Peking imperial family/court commit suicide

1748 - English Naturalization Act passes granting Jews right to colonize US

1822 - Boston, Mass incorporated as a city

1883 - Jan Matzeliger invents 1st machine to manufacture entire shoes

1917 - US Supreme Court upheld 8-hr work day for railroad employees

1942 - FDR orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty

1975 - Penn is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports

1979 - House of Reps begins live TV broadcasts via C-SPAN

1993 - Supreme Court Justice Byron R White announced plans to retire

2004 - 3-19 Shooting Incident: Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

The weatherman was correct…lots of snow. Woke up to a foot, and it’s been snowing most of the day…must be up to about 18” here. We sure need the moisture, but wish it hadn’t come all at once. Well most will melt by June. Highways into and out of Flag have been closed on and off since last night. All schools will be closed tomorrow, adding another day to their spring break. Most city stuff is closed tomorrow too. I have to laugh a little as some in this town think we should be a ski destination. Real ski destinations don’t shut down with a foot and a half of snow. They make sure everyone can get to the mountain, if it is safe, they keep restaurants, and entertainment venues open. They keep the streets and sidewalks open so people can spend their hard earned money at the local businesses. Not my problem as I just enjoy watching the snow fall, the birds feed, and the trees load up with snow.

My Colorado blue spruce is really weighed down and is a much narrower tree than usual…it’s really beautiful and will do fine..it’s from Colorado after all. I had planned to get a haircut sometime this weekend or on Monday…Guess those plans are shot all to hell. I’ll be a little shaggy until my hair cutter returns to work next weekend. 

The home show is this coming weekend…and surprise…it’s free all weekend. That’s one way to get people to come back...good business plan. Friday has always been free for old-er folks, but now everyone can join in. Can’t wait to get there.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

You are given three four-letter words. Think of three letters that can precede each of them to complete familiar seven-letter words. For example, given "each," "rove" and "lode," the answer would be "imp" for "impeach," "improve" and "implode."

1.      Riot, grin, lice:

2.      Gain, rack, rage:

3.      Mite, race, mini:

4.      Roof, lace, tile:

5.      Verb, pane, fuse:

6.      Soon, arch, eyed:

7.      Loon, last, dish:

8.      Dual, nite, sped:

9.      Rice, size, able:

10.   Loin, suit, pose:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—

Found on You Tube         

The Big 5 | Animals

Harper’s Index         

Number of ‘designer vagina’ operations piad for by the British National Health Service last year: 2,000

Joke-of-the-day

A man goes to the police station wanting to speak to the burglar who broke into his house the night before. ‘You’ll get your chance in court,’ says the desk sergeant.
‘No, no, no! says the man. ‘I want to know how he got into the house without waking my wife. I’ve been trying to do that for years!’

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

Gram for gram, it costs about 10 times as much to properly dispose of laboratory chemicals than it did to buy them in the first place.

Somewhat Useless Information   

Psycho is the first movie to show a woman (Janet Leigh) in just a bra and slip. 

Not long before filming began, Colin Clive broke a leg in a horse riding accident. Consequently, most of Dr. Frankenstein's scenes were shot with him sitting.

 The Blob was originally going to be called The Glob. The name was changed when it was discovered that cartoonist Walt Kelly had already used that title. 

The mask in Scream is based on an Edvard Munch painting entitled "The Scream." 

Some theatergoers watching The Blair Witch Project experienced nausea from the handheld camera movements and actually had to leave to vomit. In some Toronto theatres, ushers asked patrons who where prone to motion sickness to sit in the aisle seat and to try not to "throw up on other people."

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

ELKHART, Ind. - An Indiana woman said she found what she believes to be a feather in one of the chicken McNuggets she purchased from McDonald's. Raquel House said she bought the four-piece McNuggets Tuesday from the McDonald's on Cassopolis Street in Elkhart and she discovered the feather-like object when she took a bite from the second nugget, WBND-TV, South Bend, reported Thursday. "I started to feel like there was hair in my mouth, and that's when I saw that there was white hair on my tongue; and I looked at my food, and there was feathers coming off the nugget," House said. She said the incident has left her feeling nauseous. "I was really upset, I mean, now I've kind of calmed down but to me this is just being a responsible citizen in our community and that's just letting people know what's going on," House said. Harry Smith, owner of the McDonald's franchise in Elkhart, said Tuesday the matter is being investigated. "We take matters regarding food safety and quality very seriously and caution anyone from jumping to conclusions. Upon learning about this claim, we immediately began the process of collecting the facts. Our customer's health and safety is paramount," he said.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

18-24

National Animal Poison Prevention Week

National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week

19-25

Act Happy Week

American Chocolate Week

Wellderly Week (Well Elderly)

Today Is                                                                      

Let's Laugh Day

National Chocolate Caramel Day

National Quilting Day

Operation Iraqi Freedom Day (2003)

Perigean Spring Tides

Poultry Day

Purim (Jewish - begins at sundown)

Swallows Return to San Juan Capistrano Day

Iran: National Day of Oil

US: Florida: Save the Florida Panther Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1200’s

1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China

> 

1500’s

1571 - Spanish troops occupy Manila 1628 - Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen

1600’s

1687 - Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men

1700’s

1775 - 4 people buried by avalanche for 37 days, 3 survive (Italy)

1800’s

1831 - 1st US bank robbery (City Bank, NY/$245,000)

1840: The Southern Cheyenne hold several white prisoners. They request a meeting to discuss peace, and to trade prisoners. Today, 65 Comanche, including Muguara, and 11 other Chiefs, bring 1 prisoner, Matilda Lockhart, to the San Antonio council house. They tell the white representatives, Hugh McCloud (Adjutant General of the Texas Army), William Cooke, and William Fisher, that each prisoner must be released through an additional meeting. Lockhart was mutilated, while in Comanche hands, and this incenses the whites. Armed men surround the Indians, and tell them they will be hostages until all white prisoners are released. A fight erupts, and 7 whites, and 33 Comanche, including all of the Chiefs, are killed. The other Comanche are captured, but the story gets back to their tribe.

1895 - Los Angeles Railway established to provide streetcar service

1900’s

1915 - Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time)

1925 - Angelo G Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) becomes a bishop

1928 - "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)

1938 - Toronto Maple Leafs score 8 goals in 5 minutes

1949 - 1st museum devoted exclusively to atomic energy, Oak Ridge, Tn

1956 - Biggest NBA margin of victory - Minn Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75

1958 - Britain's 1st planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London

1968 - Howard University students seize administration building

1969 - Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention

1978 - 50,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against neutron bomb

1984 - John J O'Connor named 8th archbishop of NY

1985 - "Spin Magazine" begins publishing

1987 - Bonnie Blair skates ladies world record 500 m (39.43 sec)

1988 - 2 British soldiers lynched in Belfast North Ireland

1994 - Largest omelet (1,383sq ft) made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama Japan

1996 - Winnie Mandela divorces Nelson after 38 years of marriage

2000’s

2001 - The Bank of Japan issued a monetary policy known as quantitative easing, which stimulated the Japanese economy after the burst of the dot-com bubble.

2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

2008 - GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye was briefly observed

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Ursula Andress, actor (She, Sensuous Nurse) will be 76

In their 60’s

Glenn Close, actor (The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction) is 65

Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist, Nobel laureate (Antarctic ozone hole) is 69

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, LBJ's daughter is 68

Sirhan Sirhan, Palestinian-born assassin is 68

In their 50’s

Bruce Willis, actor (Moonlighting, Die Hard) is 57

Remembered for being born on this day

Tige Andrews, American actor (Capt Adam Greer-Mod Squad) in 1920

J Jay Berwanger, 1st Heisman Trophy winner (1935) in 1914

William Jennings Bryan, "The Great Commoner" orator/statesman in 1860

Wyatt Earp, sheriff (OK Corral) in 1848

Adolf Eichmann, Ruhr Germany, Nazi Gestapo officer in 1906

Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden in 1488

Roy Roberts, actor (Petticoat Junction, Lucy Show) in 1900

Aleksei M Romanov, 1st Romanov tsar of Russia in 1629

Earl Warren, (Gov-R-Ca)/14th supreme court chief justice (1953-69) in 1891

William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist, myrmecologist, pioneer in ethology in 1865

Today’s Obits                                                           

King Alexander III of Scotland dies after fall from horse at 45 in 1286

Edgar Rice Burroughs, sci-fi author (Tarzan of the Apes), dies at 74 in 1950

John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, Scottish royalist dies at 81 in 1717

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author and inventor dies at 91 in 2008

Luther Ingram, American soul singer and songwriter dies of heart failure at 70 in 2007

Charles K. Johnson, President of the Flat Earth Society dies at 77 in 2001

Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle, Fren explorer (Louisiana), killed at 43 in 1687

Anne Klien, fashion designer, dies of breast cancer at 50 in 1974

Jeff Ward, drummer (9 Inch Nails), commits suicide at 30 in 1993

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Riot, grin, lice:

a.      Cha: chariot, chagrin, chalice

2.      Gain, rack, rage: bar:

a.      bargain, barrack, barrgage

3.      Mite, race, mini: ter:

a.      termite, terrace, miniter

4.      Roof, lace, tile: rep:

a.      reproof, replace, reptile

5.      Verb, pane, fuse: pro:

a.      proverb, propane, profuse

6.      Soon, arch, eyed: mon:

a.      monsoon, monarch, moneyed

7.      Loon, last, dish: bal:

a.      balloon, ballast, baldish

8.      Dual, nite, sped: gra:

a.      gradual, granite, grasped

9.      Rice, size, able: cap:

a.      caprice, capsize, capable

10.   Loin, suit, pose: pur:

a.      purloin, pursuit, purpose

Wuzzle

• Apple turnover
• Once around the clock
• Rising inflation

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] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺

Mar 18

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1325 - According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date. The event is depicted on the Mexican coat of arms.

1818 - Congress approves 1st pensions for government service

1850 - Henry Wells & William Fargo forms American Express in Buffalo

1881 - Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth opens (Madison Square Garden)

1919 - Order of DeMolay forms in Kansas City

1931 - 1st electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick)

1959 - President Dwight D Eisenhower signs Hawaii statehood bill

1970 - -25) US Postal begins strike Mail service paralyzed by 1st major postal strike

1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

The promised win really arrived. The University and two community colleges have cancelled classes for Monday in expectation of the big storm.  Knowing Flagstaff, this seems a little premature. I guess since this is the end of spring break for them, they figure by closing early, some students will not return during the storm…well, in case they don’t know it…many of the students attend from out of state and those who live in state along with staff have gone to Mexico or someplace out of state for break…and in today’s wonderful world of travel…reservations can’t be changed or cost and arm and a leg to do it.
 

For St. Patrick’s Day I had Corned Beef and Cabbage with soda bread…very nice. I was going to forego it this year, but when I got up I had a hankering for it, so off to the store. Glad I did.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

The theme today is "cow." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with "C-O" and the second word starts with "W." For example, if the clue is "person who can fix a hard drive in 10 minutes," the answer would be, "computer whiz."

1.      Former conflict between Communist countries and the west:

2.      Volumes that all the plays and poems of Shakespeare for example:

3.      Person who works for Letterman or Jon Stewart:

4.      Music genre for Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks:

5.      Woman who serves drinks before dinner:

6.      A term made up of two or more parts—like highway or football:

7.      A gun carried in one’s pocket for example:

8.      Vehicle that carried people across the west:

9.      Edgar Allen Poe poem with The ___:

10.   A hard hat wearer:

11.   The FTC for example:

12.   Brand of non dairy dessert topping:

13.   Material for electrical circuits:

14.   A person who takes a prize for a competition:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—

Found on You Tube         

Jacques de Molay

Harper’s Index         

Percentage increase in the sales of luxury goods within the US in the past year: 7.3

Joke-of-the-day

Yesterday scientists revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones.To prove their theory, the scientists fed 100 men 12 pints of beer and observed that 100% of them gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became emotional, and couldn’t drive.No further testing is planned.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

A pineapple is ripe if you can easily pull a stem leaf out.

Somewhat Useless Information   

Dana Plato, who would later become famous for the role of Kimberley Drummond on "Diff'rent Strokes," was originally offered the role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist. Due to its shoestring budget, the prop department for Halloween(1978) had to use the cheapest mask that they could find in the costume store: a William Shatner mask, from The Devil's Rain(1975). They later spray-painted the face white, teased out the hair, and reshaped the eyeholes. The book that Jack writes in The Shining contains only the one sentence ("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy") repeated over and over. Director Stanley Kubrick had each page individually typed.
When Halloween was being written, the original title was The Babysitter Murders.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

SANDWHICH, MA - A Cape Cod urologist is offering a free pizza to men who are seeking vasectomies in March, officials said. The Urology Associates of Cape Cod is running TV commercials offering a free pizza with a vasectomy, the Cape Cod (MA) Times reported Thursday. March Madness is also tied into the deal as a way of enticing men to undergo the procedure, which requires men to sit on the couch and rest for a few days. The ads feature an attractive woman playing with a basketball and a voice over that asks: "Hey guys! Want to watch the college basketball tournament guilt-free?" Then, the free pizza with a vasectomy offer is presented. "You know you've been thinking about a vasectomy, anyway. Now's the time to get it done," the voice over says. Urology Associates of Cape Cod administrator Evan Cohen said March is the busiest time of year for vasectomies for his practice, with perhaps 45 to 60 being performed. He said he hopes the pizza promotion -- a free one-topping pizza from Surf's Up Pizza and Seafood in Sandwich -- drums up some extra business. "It does actually come with one topping. Maybe you can put some meatballs on it," joked Cohen.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

16-18

American Crossword Puzzle Weekend

Sherlock Holmes Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

Awkward Moments Day

Forgive Mom and Dad Day

Goddess of Fertility Day

National Biodiesel Day

Supreme Sacrifice Day recognizes the ultimate sacrifice made by some for the good of others

Aruba: Flag Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Caligula emperor

> 

1200’s

1229 - German emperor Frederick II crowns himself king of Jerusalem

1300’s

1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake

> 

1600’s

1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia

> 

1800’s

1813 - David Melville, Newport, RI, patents apparatus for making coal gas

1834 - Six farm laborers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union

1865 - Congress of Confederate States of American adjourns for last time

1870 - 1st US National Wildlife Preserve (Lake Meritt in Oakland California)

1871 - Indians make several sorties on a government wagon trail, near Fort Dodge, in southwestern Kansas. Three citizens are killed, while 5 Indians are wounded in the fighting.

1877 - More Indians visit Col.Nelson Miles, the see if he will negotiate on surrender terms. Miles informs the large group of Chiefs, his terms have not changed, with the exception that they can surrender at an alternative agency than originally stated. Miles also informs them he will wait no longer for a reply. If the Indians do not surrender soon, his troops will be deployed against them soon. Little Hawk, Crazy Horse's uncle agrees to bring the Indians into Miles' camp or one of the agencies. Nine important Indians remain with Miles as hostages, as a sign of good faith.

1892 - Lord Stanley presents silver challenge cup for hockey (Stanley Cup)

1895 - 200 blacks leave Savannah, Ga for Liberia

1899 - Phoebe, a moon of Saturn is discovered by Pickering

1900’s

1902 - Enrico Caruso becomes 1st well-known performer to make a record

1909 - Einar Dessau of Denmark makes 1st ham broadcast

1922 - Mohandas K Gandhi sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment

1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City

1942 - 2 black players, Jackie Robinson & Nate Moreland, request a tryout with the Chicago White Sox, they are allowed to work out

1944 - Nazi Germany occupies Hungary

1948 - Philips begin experimental TV broadcasting

1952 - 1st plastic lens for cataract patients fitted (Phila)

1958 - Dodgers announces mascot/clown Emmett Kelly will not perform in 1958

1963 - Supreme Court's Miranda Decision; defendants must have lawyers

1974 - Most Arab oil producing nations end embargo against US

1977 - US restricts citizens from visiting Cuba, Vietnam, N Korea & Cambodia

1982 - Singer Teddy Pendergrass' spinal cord severed in a car accident

1992 - Leona Helmsley sentence to 4 years for tax evasion

2000’s

2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.

2003 - British Sign Language is recognized as an official British language.

2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband.

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

F[rederik] W[illem] de Klerk, president South Africa (1989-94) is 80

In their 70’s

Charley Pride, country singer (Sweet Country) is 74

In their 60’s

Kevin Dobson, actor (Kojak, Knots Landing, Shannon) is 69

John Hartman, rock drummer (Doobie Brothers) is 62

Michael Reagan, talk show host, Ronald's son is 66

> 

In their 40’s

Bonnie Blair, speed skater (Oly-5 gold/brz-88, 92, 94) is 48

Dane Cook, comedian and actor is 40

Queen Latifah, rap singer/actress is 42

Vanessa Williams, American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model and actress is 49

Remembered for being born on this day

Edgar Cayce, American psychic (d. 1945) in 1877

Chiang Ching-huo, son of Chinese pres Chiang Kai-shek/pres (1978-88) in 1910

Grover Cleveland, [Stephen], 22nd/24th Pres (1885-89, 93-97) in 1837

[Arthur] Neville Chamberlain, British PM (C, 1937-40) in 1869

William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1828

Peter Graves, actor (James Phelps-Mission Impossible) in 1925

William H. Johnson, African-American artist of the Harlem Renaissance in 1901

Wilfred Owen, English anti-war poet (Anthem for Doomed Youth) in 1893

Wilson Pickett, R&B singer (Funky Broadway) in 1941

George Plimpton, sports writer (Paper Lion) in 1927

John Updike, poet/novelist (Rabbit Run) in 1932

Today’s Obits                                                           

Bill Beutel, American journalist dies at 76 in 2006

John Chapman, [Johnny Appleseed], American pioneer agronomist dies suddenly at 70 in 1845

William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer dies at 86 in 1947

Farouk I, last King of Egypt (1936-52), dies of obesity at 45 in 1965

Fess Parker, American actor dies at 86 in 2010

John Phillips, American musician (The Mamas and the Papas) dies of heart failure at 65 in 2001

Robert Walpole, 1st English premier (1722-42), dies at 68 in 1745

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Former conflict between Communist countries and the west:

a.      cold war

2.      Volumes that all the plays and poems of Shakespeare for example:

a.      complete (collective)works

3.      Person who works for Letterman or Jon Stewart:

a.      comedy writer

4.      Music genre for Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks:

a.      country western

5.      Woman who serves drinks before dinner:

a.      cocktail waitress

6.      A term made up of two or more parts—like highway or football:

a.      compound word

7.      A gun carried in one’s pocket for example:

a.      concealed weapon

8.      Vehicle that carried people across the west:

a.      Conestoga wagon, covered wagon

9.      Edgar Allen Poe poem with The ___:

a.      Conqueror Worm

10.   A hard hat wearer:

a.      construction worker

11.   The FTC for example:

a.      consumer watchdog

12.   Brand of non dairy dessert topping:

a.      Cool Whip

13.   Material for electrical circuits:

a.      copper wire

14.   A person who takes a prize for a competition:

a.      contest winner

Wuzzle

Mutiny on the high seas

Upright piano

Quick adlibs

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] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺