2023

Flagstaff Almanac

Week 34 Day 223 Ave. Sky Cover 75%\ Visibility  15mi. Flagstaff Today  78° \ 57a° 
Wind  6mph \ Gusts  11mph  Nearest active fire: 16miles Risk of fire: Moderate Nearest Lightning:  271mi
Air Quality: Moderate   Moisture Days this month: 6 days Cloudy 
August Averages: Temps 79° \ 50° Moisture 9 Days   

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

16-9/4
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Link
18-24
Minority Enterprise Development Week
20-26
Brake Safety Week Link
World Water Week Link
World Princess Week Link 
21-25
21-25
National Safe at Home Week
21-27
National Composites Week Link

Daily Observations

Brazilian Blow-out Day Link Internat’l Day of Remembrance and Tribute To The Victims of Terrorism Internet Self-care Day  National Spumoni Day Link Poet's Day Senior Citizen's Day Spumoni Day

Today’s Thoughts

Cloudy from Hurricane Hilary. No measurable moisture yesterday. Looks like there might be some later today. Our little mountain town is on the border of getting lots of moisture. It is cooler today, so that is nice.

Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time. Bravo!

Yesterday in pre-season play, Broncos lost to 49er’s, Cards lost to Chiefs. Not a great day for my teams.

Enjoy

 

Unique National Treasures for the US …

A Prairie Home Companion

Chris Thile, the 36-year-old host of A Prairie Home Companion, says that 2.6 million weekly listeners—himself included—think of the long-running public radio show made famous by Garrison Keillor as an American treasure.

“It’s a place for us to take our cares and woes and hold them out at arm’s length for examination and even celebration,” he says of the 43-year-old show. “It brings us together and makes us feel more alive.”

Thile, a Grammy-winning mandolin virtuoso who made a splash with the trio Nickel Creek and the band Punch Brothers before taking the helm at APHC last year, says the show’s purpose is to mirror the American experience and to help people find common ground.

“What I hope the show does—this is what it did for me—is to offer the opportunity to connect with the country at large every Saturday,” he says.

Random Trivia…

14 years before the infamous Titanic sank, author Morgan Robertson wrote the novella Futility. It was about the large unsinkable ship "Titan" hitting an iceberg in the Northern Atlantic. What’s even weirder is the Titanic and the fictional Titan did not have enough lifeboats for the thousands of passengers on board—coincidence?

Historic Events

• 1911 – The Mona Lisa was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee. It was returned to the Louvre on January 4, 1914. Peruggia served six months in prison for the crime.
• 1939 – 5 young African-Americans were denied library cards at the Alexandria, VA Library and arrested after sitting down and reading books. The civil disobedience was one of the earliest in the American Civil Rights Movement.
• 1961 – Motown released what would be its first #1 hit, Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes.
• 1986 – The Lake Nyos, Cameroon disaster resulted in the deaths of 1800 people when a volcano suddenly burst with a wave of carbon dioxide.

Birthdays with some quotes

@85 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer, and inventor, created gas-powered lighting (d. 1839)
@82 – Blossom Rock, American actress (d. 1978)
@79 – William James ‘Count’ Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984; cancer)
“Learn to deal with the valleys and the hills will take care of themselves.”
” If you play a tune and a person don’t tap their feet, don’t play the tune.”
@63 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999; heart disease)
“It is said that good things come to those who wait. I believe that good things come to those who work.”
@81 – Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2020)
” I’ve always said music should make you laugh, make you cry or make you think.”
82 – Jackie DeShannon (Sharon Lee Myers), American singer-songwriter
@74 – Hugh Wilson, American actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2018; lung cancer)
67 – Kim Cattrall, English-Canadian actress
@57 – Stephen Hillenburg, marine biologist, animator, SpongeBob Squarepants (d. 2018; ALS)
56 – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
44 – Kelis Rogers, American singer-songwriter
” As a child, I’d help my mum cook, and it was ridiculous – she had the correct gadget or utensil for everything. ‘Stop! Don’t use that, I have exactly the right utensil.’ After I left home, I survived on cup-a-meals and never saw myself as being like her. Now I’ve become her.”
36 – Usain Bolt, runner
35 – Kacey Musgraves, American singer-songwriter
34 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress 

…The End for today…

 

Aug 20

 

2023

Flagstaff Almanac

Week 34 Day 231  Ave. Sky Cover 60%\ Visibility  23mi. Flagstaff Today  76° \ 57° 

Wind  7mph \ Gusts  15mph  Nearest active fire: 16miles Risk of fire: Moderate Nearest Lightning:  324mi

Air Quality:      Moisture Days this month: 7 days Mostly cloudy 

August Averages: Temps 79° \ 50° Moisture 9 Days   

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

14-20
US Amateur Golf Week
16-9/4
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Link
18-24
Minority Enterprise Development Week
20-26
Brake Safety Week Link
World Water Week Link
World Princess Week Link 

Daily Observations

Bacon Lovers Day Chocolate Pecan Pie Day International Day of Medical Transporters Link

Lemonade Day National Accessible Air Travel Day Link National Radio Day  Link World Mosquito Day  Link

Today’s Thoughts

Cloudy today, hoping for some monsoon later.

Cleaned my bedroom and bathroom this morning. That’s enough work for today.

There is getting to lotws of sword rattling in Europe. Belarus says it would use nuclear weapons in case there is ‘aggression.’ Calm down everybody.

Enjoy

 

Statue of Liberty …

10. Suffragettes protested the unveiling of the statue.

When it was unveiled in October 1886, women’s rights groups lamented that an enormous female figure would stand in New York harbor representing liberty, when most American women had no liberty to vote.

Only two women attended the actual unveiling on what is now known as Liberty Island: Bartholdi’s wife, and the 13-year-old daughter of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who had designed the Suez Canal. The wives of the American Committee members were forced to watch the proceedings from a navy vessel off the island. Suffragettes chartered a boat to circle the island during the unveiling. They blasted protest speeches, but those could not be heard over the din of steam whistles and cannon blasts in the harbor.

Random Trivia…

King Henry VIII of England had servants who were called "Grooms of Stool," whose job was to wipe his bottom after he went to the bathroom. During his reign, he had all of those four such people knighted.

Historic Events

• 1920 – The first(?) commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), began operating in Detroit.
• 1920 – The National Football League was organized as the American Professional Football Conference in Canton, Ohio.
• 1986 – In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill shot and killed14 of his co-workers, injured 6 more, and then committed suicide. It was the initial example of “going postal”.

Birthdays with some quotes

92 – Don King, American boxing promoter
” If you want to sell a steak, you can’t just have the sizzle, you gotta have sauce.”
88 – Ron Paul, American politician, and physician
77 – Connie Chung, American journalist
75 – Robert Plant, English singer-songwriter
69 – Al Roker, American news anchor, and television personality
“No, I’ve never thought that I was gay. And that’s not something you think. It’s something you know.”@67 – Benjamin Harrison, American politician, 23rd President of the United States (d. 1901)
@65 – Isaac Hayes, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2008; stroke)
” I don’t sit back and count up what I’ve done. There’s just always something else to do. There’s always a challenge ahead.”
61 – James Marsters, American actor
58 – KRS-One (Lawrence "Kris" Parker), American rapper and producer
” Educate yourself make your world view bigger, visualize wealth, and put yourself in the picture.”
@38 – Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Lance Abbott), American guitarist, songwriter (d. 2004; murdered)
53 – Fred Durst, American singer-songwriter
49 – Misha Collins, American actor
” Don’t pressure yourself. Don’t worry about what others think you should do or what the societal “norm” is. Do what moves you and makes you smile and the good will follow.
@46 – H.P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, novelist (d. 1937; suicide)
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
@40 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964; private plane crash)
40 – Andrew Garfield, American-English actor
31 – Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress
“Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you happy. That’s my life motto.”
 

…The End for today…

 

Aug 19

 

2023

Flagstaff Almanac

Week 33 Day231  Ave. Sky Cover 50%\ Visibility  20mi. Flagstaff Today  78° \ 55° 
Wind  2mph \ Gusts  5mph  Nearest active fire: 16miles Risk of fire: Low Nearest Lightning:  145mi
Air Quality: Moderate   Moisture Days this month: 6 days Clouds
August Averages: Temps 79° \ 50° Moisture 9 Days   

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

13-19
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week: Link  Link 
National Resurrect Romance Week:
Weird Contest Week:
National Aviation Week
14-20
National Resurrect Romance Week:
Weird Contest Week:
National Aviation Week
14-20
US Amateur Golf Week
15-19
Numismatic Week (World's Fair of Money)
16-9/4
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Link

Daily Observations

Aviation Day "Black Cow" Root Beer Float Day  Chef Appreciation Day   Clear The Shelters Day  Clear The Shelters Day Link  Coco Chanel Day International Geocaching Day International Homeless Animals Day  International Bow (Hair) Day  Coco Chanel Day International Geocaching Day International Homeless Animals Day  International Bow (Hair) Day Link

International Orangutan Day   Link National Honey Bee Day Link  Popsicle Day  Popsicle Day Link Potato Day Soft Ice Cream Day Talk Like Jar-Jar Binks Day  Link World Humanitarian Day Link  World Photo Day World Photo Day Link

Today’s Thoughts

 A nice monsoon last night.  More expected today.

I need a haircut and my barber now starts work at 1pm. Messes with my schedule, but really like the barber.

A scam has hit our mountain town. Housing is tight here. Scammers are renting properties through the internet. They post pics and address and rental cost. They ask for a deposit and first month’s rent. People pay over the internet. All communication stops. Sad.

A new study shows that the mysterious whale deaths on the east coast may be due to the wind turbine farms that are being built in the ocean. The sonar used to build the base for the turbine and messing with whales hearing. This prevents them from finding food, to be separated from the pod…especially young whales, or heading into land to get away from the sonar sound. Sad.

Enjoy

 

Statue of Liberty …

9. Thomas Edison once had plans to make the statue talk.

When Edison introduced the phonograph to the public in 1878, he told the newspapers that he was designing a “monster disc” for the interior of the Statue of Liberty that would allow the statue to deliver speeches that could be heard up to the northern part of Manhattan and across the bay. Thankfully, no one pursued that strange promise, which would have led to the odd experience of walking in New York and suddenly hearing the Statue of Liberty “talking.”

Random Trivia…

Roman Catholics in Bavaria founded a secret society in 1740 called the Order of the Pug. New members had to wear dog collars and scratch at the door to get in. This para-Masonic society was reportedly active until 1902!

Historic Events

• 1812 – American frigate USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides”.
• 1893 – Frank Wisner invented the Root Beer Float.
• 1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton, Ohio.

Birthdays with some quotes

89 – Renée Richards, American tennis player, and ophthalmologist
@87 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded the Chanel Company (d. 1971)
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
83 – Jill St. John, American actress
@80 – Ginger Baker, English drummer, and songwriter (d. 2019)
“A really good band with a bad drummer is not a good band. A really bad band with a good drummer sounds better.”
@80 – Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
77 – Bill Clinton, American lawyer, 42nd President of the United States
” We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.”
@76 – Orville Wright, American engineer, and pilot, co-founded the Wright Company (d. 1948)
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.”
76 – Gerald McRaney, American actor
@73 – Fred Thompson, American actor, and politician (d. 2015; lymphoma)
71 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor, and director
@70 – Malcolm Forbes, American publisher and politician (d. 1990; heart attack)
@70 – Gene Roddenberry, American screenwriter, producer, Star Trek (d. 1991; heart issues)
70 – Mary Matalin, American political consultant
@68 – Ogden Nash, American poet (d. 1971; Chron’s disease)
“Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.”
67 – Adam Arkin, American actor
@64 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, invented the Television (d. 1971)
“There’s nothing on it worthwhile, and we’re not going to watch it in this household, and I don’t want it in your intellectual diet.” regarding television
60 – John Stamos, American actor
58 – Kyra Sedgwick, American actress
57 – Lee Ann Womack, American singer-songwriter
@41 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (d. 2011)
54 – Matthew Perry, American actor
35 – Veronica Roth, American author

…The End for today…

 

Apr 15

 

2023

Flagstaff Almanac

Week 33 Day 230 Ave. Sky Cover 70%\ Visibility  22mi. Flagstaff Today  78° \ 53° 
Wind  4mph \ Gusts  8mph  Nearest active fire: 16miles Risk of fire: Extreme Nearest Lightning:  6mi
Air Quality: Moderate   Moisture Days this month: 6 days Sunshine 
August Averages: Temps 79° \ 50° Moisture 9 Days   

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

13-19
Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week: Link  Link 
National Resurrect Romance Week:
Weird Contest Week:
National Aviation Week
14-20
National Resurrect Romance Week:
Weird Contest Week:
National Aviation Week
14-20
US Amateur Golf Week
15-19
Numismatic Week (World's Fair of Money)
16-9/4
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Link
18-24
Minority Enterprise Development Week

Daily Observations

Bad Poetry Day  Link Birth Control Pills Day Fajita Day Ice Cream Pie Day International Pinot Noir Day  Link KMen's Grooming Day  Mail Order Catalog Day Kool-Aid Day Link

National Badge Ribbon Day Nat’l Day of Action Against Bullying & Violence  Link  National Fajita Day Serendipity Day National Fajita Day Serendipity Day

Today’s Thoughts

 Monsoon is staying. The Hurricane on the west coast is bringing lots of moisture to the desert.

I had a nice lunch with Andy and Faith. Turns out Mary has a dental appointment so she and Mike couldn’t make it. Andy and Faith got back this morning after visiting Andy’s brother in Blanding.

The people of Maui continue to clean up after the fires. Sadly, Some residents are being offered low-ball prices for their land by builders. Local government is telling everyone not to sell.

UNREAL: Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, whose only qualifications for public office were his role as a football coach, just disclosed that he recently traded $250,000 in stock futures dealing with wheat, soy, corn and cattle.

So why is this such a big deal?

He just happens to also sit on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

He is literally influencing the agricultural futures he is trading on with legislation he has private information on.

Corruption at its finest. And he is the guy holding the military hostage.

Enjoy

 

Statue of Liberty …

Bartholdi planned for the statue to be covered in gold.

In order to make the statue visible after dark, Bartholdi proposed that Americans raise the money to gild her. However, given how daunting and arduous a task it had been to gather even enough money to place the statue in New York harbor, no one followed through on paying the enormous cost of covering the massive statue in gold.

Hoax proved wrong…

The Profumo affair

In 1963, British Secretary of State for War John Profumo denied having a sexual relationship with would-be model Christine Keeler in what became known as the "Profumo affair."  Keeler was also involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché. Profumo later admitted the liaison and resigned from the government and from Parliament.

Random Trivia…

Vladimir Pravik was one of the first firefighters to reach the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26th, 1986. The radiation was so strong that it changed his eye color from brown to blue. Like the majority of the first responders to the radioactive disaster, Vladimir died 15 days later from severe radiation poisoning.

Historic Events

• 1872 – The first mail-order catalogs were published by Montgomery Ward. In 2000, the retail outlet was closed.
• 1920 – The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution granted women the right to vote.
• 1960 “The Pill” – birth control went on sale.

Birthdays with some quotes

96 – Rosalynn Carter, First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981
@91 – Max Factor, Jr. (Francis Factor), American businessman (d. 1996)
90 – Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, and producer
@85 – Shelley Winters (Shirley Schrift), American actress (d. 2006)
“I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful, and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be an artistic, tasteful, patriotic and progressive religious experience.”
@71 – Marshall Field, American businessman, founded Marshall Field’s (d. 1906; pneumonia)
@38 – Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 1972; plane crash)
” If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this Earth.”
86 – Robert Redford, actor
80 – Martin Mull, American actor, and comedian
” Like a guide dog, paintings help you see.”
71 – Elayne Boosler, American comedic actress
65 – Madeleine Stowe, American actress
61 – Bob Woodruff, American journalist, and author
@57 – Patrick Swayze, American actor, and dancer (d. 2009; pancreatic cancer)
54 – Edward Norton, American actor
45 – Andy Samberg, American actor, and comedian
@35 – Meriwether Lewis, American soldier, explorer (d. 1809; suicide?/murder)
“As I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils, I will believe it a good comfortable road until I am compelled to believe differently.”
30 – Maia Mitchell, Australian actress
@? – Virginia Dare, first child born to English parents in the Americas (d. before age 3) 

…The End for today…