22 Mar

 

22 March 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 12 Day 81 \ Ave. Sky Cover 95% \ Visibility 1 mile Flagstaff Today 43° \22°  Wind 1mph \ Gusts 3mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 410mi
Mar. Averages for Flagstaff: 51° \ 23° \6 Days of moisture
Snowing

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

     22-4/8
     Lent
     19-4/16
     National Cherry Blossom Festival Link  
    19-25
      American Chocolate Week Link
      National Agriculture Week
      National Animal Poison Prevention Week Link  Link
      National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  Link   Link
      National Poison Prevention Week Link
       National Protocol Officer's Week
      World Folktales & Fables Week
      20-26
      Act Happy Week
       International Teach Music Week
       National Fix A Leak Week  Link
       National Fragrance Week Link
       Shakespeare Week Link
        Wellderly Week
      21-27
      International Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against

            Racism & Discrimination
      22-4/20
      Ramadan

Daily Observations

  39 And Holding Day  Link  

  American Diabetes Alert Day
As Young As You Feel Day
Bavarian Crepes Day
Goof Off Day
International Balloon Animal Day
International Day of The Seal
National Goof-off Day
Ramadan-4/20
Talk Like William Shatner Day
Tuskegee Airmen Day
World Day for Water (aka World Water Day)  Link
World Day of Metta

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Hard to believe it is spring…very wet snow falling. Sidewalks and roads are slushy mess. It’s too warm for snow to stick right now.

Tomorrow, I take my tax stuff in. Hoping for the best.

Simon Atebe is always at the White House press conferences. He represents ‘Today’s News Africa’. He is Nigerian and claims to never be called on. First, the headquarters for his organization are in Washington DC. That seems a tad bit odd. Second, I worked with several Nigerians when I was in Tuba. While they did their work well, they always came off to others as ‘brusque’ during conversations or when doing presentations.  I think it is time for the press corps to learn a little about Nigerian social conventions.

Trump has been the only one claiming he will be arrested today. No one know where he got his information. Don’t panic, just let the system work.  

Enjoy…

Facts…

The world's largest wild camel population is in Australia, not in the Middle East or the Sahara Desert. 

More Slang origins…

What's your bag?

We're not talking about luggage. Your bag symbolizes your problems, the mysterious annoyance that's making you so obviously upset.

Beauty in our 50 states…

27. Arkansas

The southeast half of the state isn't much to behold unless you're into swamps, pastures, rice fields, and the same fungible pine forests you'll find in Mississippi and Georgia. Heading north, though, you find hills that conceal caves, creeks, and gullies, and which every so often will reveal a flat slab where you can slouch and soak in a sunset (or, perhaps, soak in a hot spring). The Buffalo River, the first designated national river in the country, remains one of the rare undammed American rivers of any consequence. And the Ouachita Mountains in the southwest amble endlessly, pocked with springs and towns just big enough to support a gas station where you can outfit yourself for a few days of floating or camping.

Historical Events

1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquian Indians killed 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony’s population.
1945 – The Arab League was founded in Cairo, Egypt.
1993 – Intel Corporation shipped the first Pentium chips

Birthdays Today

@97 – Karl Malden (Mladen George Sekulovich), American actor (d. 2009)
93 – Pat Robertson, minister, broadcaster, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network
92 – William Shatner, Canadian actor
“Why does the lizard stick his tongue out? The lizard sticks its tongue out because that’s the way its listening and looking and tasting its environment. It’s its means of appreciating what’s in front of it.”– William Shatner
@91 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer (d. 2021)
@84 – Marcel Marceau, French mime and actor (d. 2007)
”   “ – Marcel Marceau
@80 – Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (d. 2000)
@74 – Chico Marx, American actor, Marx Brother (d. 1961; arteriosclerosis)
“Right now I’d do anything for money. I’d kill somebody for money. I’d kill you for money. Ha haha. Ah, no. You’re my friend. I’d kill you for nothing.– Chico Marx, in The Cocoanuts
76 – James Patterson, American author
75 – Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer
“Nobody seems to think it’s a good idea to mention mistakes, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the mistakes you’ve made in life because it’s really through those that you learn things. I’ve made hundreds.”– Andrew Lloyd Webber
66 – Stephanie Mills, American actress
64 – Matthew Modine, American actor
@61 – Ross Martin, American actor (d. 1981; cancer)
47 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress
“I believe ambition is not a dirty word. It’s just believing in yourself and your abilities. Imagine this: What would happen if we were all brave enough to be a little bit more ambitious? I think the world would change.”– Reese Witherspoon
40 – Constance Wu, actor
34 – Tyler Oakley, American internet celebrity

 
 

21 Mar

21 March 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 12 Day 80 \ Ave. Sky Cover 90% \ Visibility 8 miles Flagstaff Today 45° \31°  Wind 6mph \ Gusts 11mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Extreme Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 136mi
Mar. Averages for Flagstaff: 51° \ 23° \6 Days of moisture
Rain/Snow

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

  22-4/8
  Lent
  19-4/16
  National Cherry Blossom Festival Link  
 19-25
  American Chocolate Week Link
  National Agriculture Week
  National Animal Poison Prevention Week Link  Link
  National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  Link   Link
  National Poison Prevention Week Link
  National Protocol Officer's Week
  World Folktales & Fables Week
  20-26
  Act Happy Week
  International Teach Music Week
  National Fix A Leak Week  Link
  National Fragrance Week Link
  Shakespeare Week Link
  Wellderly Week
  21-27
  International Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination

Daily Observations

3-D Day Link 
Common Courtesy Day
Day of Forests
French Bread Day Gallo Wine Day

International Color Day  Link
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day of Forests and The Tree Link
International Day of Nowruz Link
Memory Day
National Agriculture Day Link
National Common Courtesy Day
National Day of Action On Syringe Exchange Link
National Fragrance Day Link 
National Healthy Fats Day
National Renewable Energy Day
National Single Parent Day Link 
Naw-Ruz or NNoruz (Persian New Year)
Teenager Day
Twitter Day
WE Day Link
UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
World Down Syndrome Day Link
World Poetry Day  Link  
World Puppetry Day Link
World Social Work Day Link

 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

First day of spring brings rain, then snow, then rain to our little mountain town.

My maternal grandmother, Kathryn Beatrice Huffman Webster was born today in 1897. She was a pre-insulin diabetic. She passed at age 60. She is still missed.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is this year’s Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It was on Showtime last night. It is a very ‘deep’ sci-fi film.  Well worth a watch. Following the story line was a bit difficult, but some good lessons in the film.

Putin and Xi-Jinping are meeting in Moscow. It appears China has the upper hand in this relationship. It is certainly one that the West needs to watch.

Stanford University made the news last week when an invited conservative guest was heckled by the audience, he asked for Administrative assistance with the crowd. The administrator didn’t take sides and didn’t really condemn the heckling. Now it is a news story over Freedom of Speech. When I was in college, the University of Colorado held ‘World Affairs Week’ in the spring of every semester. Various well-known speakers were invited. During my 4 years there I heard some great speakers. One who was invited one year was S. I. Hayakawa, the President of San Francisco State U.  Besides being a well-known linguist, he was very conservative and had problems with student protests at his college. The auditorium was filled. The Black Student Alliance (BSA) had taken the first few rows. They had signs and certainly heckled the speaker. When he took the stage, his first words were ‘Why are these jungle bunnies in the first row’. This led to jeers and chants from the entire auditorium. The University cops came out on the stage. An administrator came out and reminded the audience that under the first amendment he should be allowed to speak. Then went on to say that as an invited guest, the University expected him to be allowed to speak without interruption. After a few minutes, everyone calmed down and he gave his speech. Times have certainly changed.

In November the citizens passed, by a 70%-30%, a proposition that said large doners had to be identified in contributions to various contributions to politicians and/or PAC’s. Today ‘Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group filed a Federal lawsuit saying the proposition has a ‘chilling effect’ on ‘Free Speech’ and is therefore unconstitutional. Give me a break!

Enjoy…

Facts…

George Washington never knew dinosaurs existed. 

More Slang origins…

Bummer

When things aren't going your way and you're a little sad about it, that's a bummer. It comes from the phrase "bum rap," which means to be treated unfairly. A bummer is never deserved.

Beauty in our 50 states…

28. Massachusetts

Topographically, Massachusetts is the crossroads of New England. Its neighbors to the south are comparatively nondescript, and its neighbors to the north are far more rugged (both in geography and the boot-leather character of their citizens). Still, Massachusetts has its draws—the Cape Cod National Seashore has long attracted artists for the quality of its sunsets, and the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley showcase some of the nation's best fall foliage. But Massachusetts also has Middlesex County, which, contrary to its name, is actually pretty low in sexiness.

Historical Events

1913 – 20,000 homes were destroyed, and over 360 people were killed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
1965 – 3,000 civil rights demonstrators participated in the walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.

Birthdays Today

@83 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
@82 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, screenwriter (d. 2004)
77 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
“Real courage is knowing what faces you and knowing how to face it.”– Timothy Dalton
@72 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978; auto accident)
“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it-every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”– John D. Rockefeller III
@70 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter (d. 2019; cancer)
@65 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer, musician (d. 1750)
@65 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director, producer (d. 1932)
“Half of the great comedians I’ve had in my shows and that I paid a lot of money to and who made my customers shriek were not only not funny to me, but I couldn’t understand why they were funny to anybody.”– Florenz Ziegfeld
65 – Gary Oldman, English actor
61 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
61 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress and talk show host
61 – Mark Waid, American comic book author
“In the long run, the quality of your work is all that matters. That is your only resumé. Be professional. Make sure your editor or publisher can always reach you. Do what’s asked of you if your conscience can bear it.”– Mark Waid
@56 – James Coco, American character actor (d. 1987; heart attack)
“When a man forgets himself, he usually does something everybody else remembers.”– James Coco
23 – Jace Norman, American actor

 

  

20 March

 

20 March 2023

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 12 Day 79 \ Ave. Sky Cover 60% \ Visibility 15 miles Flagstaff Today 58° \25°  Wind 7mph \ Gusts 13mph 
Air Quality: Fair \Very Low Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 249mi \ Nearest Lightning 1733mi
Mar. Averages for Flagstaff: 51° \ 23° \6 Days of moisture
Mostly cloudy

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

  22-4/8
  Lent
 19-4/16
  National Cherry Blossom Festival Link  
19-25
  American Chocolate Week Link
  National Agriculture Week
  National Animal Poison Prevention Week Link  Link
  National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  Link   Link
  National Poison Prevention Week Link
  National Protocol Officer's Week
  World Folktales & Fables Week
20-26
  Act Happy Week
  International Teach Music Week
  National Fix A Leak Week  Link
  National Fragrance Week Link
  Shakespeare Week Link
  Wellderly Week

Daily Observations

  Alien Abduction Day
Bed-in For Peace Day (Beatles - John and Yoko)
Day of Happiness
Earth Day
Great American Meat Out Day Link
International Astrology Day
International Day of Happiness Link  Link
French Language Day Link
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Link
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
Proposal Day Snowman Burning Day
Ravioli Day
Spring (Vernal Equinox) 5:24 pm EDT
Well-Elderly or Wellderly Day
World Flour Day Link
World Frog Day Link
Won't You Be My Neighbor Day
World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People Link
World Sparrow Day  Link
World Storytelling Day Link 

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Getting ready to have my taxes done. Getting paperwork together.  

Welcome spring! It’s been a long winter and I’m ready for warmer weather with no snow. I’m sure our town will be a little more snow, but hoping for the best.

I’m starting to follow the French opposition to raising the retirement age. After 36 years in the Federal Civil Service, I was able to retire at 59 with a decent pension. Workers need to be able to be in a pension program that allows them to work hard, earn money to live on, and be able to retire so they can enjoy their life. My dad’s career as an accountant at  meat packing companies, always paid into a decent pension. In his career he worked for at least 4 different meat packers and was able to collect a pension from each one. He and my mom had a great retirement, and my mom was taken care of the rest of her long life after he passed. It is possible today too. Instead of having the profit be the bottom line, employees should be at the top of the list.

I’m tired of the ‘will he or won’t he be arrested?’ news coverage. Our justice system still works, no matter what the answer to the question.

Enjoy…

Facts…

Platypuses look funny and cute, but they can poison you with a spur on their feet. 

More Slang origins…

Far out

If something is far out or "out of sight," it's meant as a compliment. You approve of it. But only in the figurative sense.

Beauty in our 50 states…

29. Maryland

It's hard to say anything necessarily bad about Maryland since it's got all the aspects of scenery you look for in a state. The mountainous west is almost an extension of West Virginia with dramatic green hills and blooming fall colors. Along the Atlantic beaches and the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, the state has 600 miles of coastline—almost double what Texas has on the Gulf of Mexico—while the pastoral farmland and vineyards along the eastern shore in Talbot County rounds out the idyll.

Historical Events

1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroyed 349 buildings, but no reported deaths.
1916 – Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity was published in Annalen der Physik.
1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosted the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first US showing.
Typically the March equinox falls on this date when both day and night are of equal length.

Birthdays Today

@103 – Vera Lynn, English singer, actress (d. 2020)
@98 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, screenwriter (d. 2020)
“Writing is the basis of all, because creating something that didn’t even exist before is like taking an empty canvass. It is a wonderful thing to make something out of nothing. You’ve got an empty page, you’ve got an idea, and then you start typing and that is the most thrilling thing of all. And then if it becomes a movie or something else that’s a plus, but the original writing of it is what’s very exciting.”– Carl Reiner
@91 – Hal Linden (Harold Lipshitz), American actor
@76 – Edgar Buchanan, American character actor (d. 1979; stroke)
75 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
@74 – Fred Rogers, American children’s television host (d. 2003; cancer)
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”– Fred Rogers
@71 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, actor (d. 2008; emphysema)
@69 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor, bandleader (d. 1975; liver cancer)
@66 – Jack Barry, American game show host, producer (d. 1984)
66 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
“I believe in destiny. But I also believe that you can’t just sit back and let destiny happen. A lot of times, an opportunity might fall into your lap, but you have to be ready for that opportunity. You can’t sit there waiting on it. A lot of times you are going to have to get out there and make it happen.”– Spike Lee
65 – Holly Hunter, American actress
“In some ways, it would be nice to stay younger, but I feel pretty happy about growing older… Personally, I don’t have a lot of the regular hand-ups with getting older that some people do. I’ve never tried to disguise my age. People find out anyway.”– Holly Hunter
@61 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996; aneurysm)