Africa 4

Yeah, it's that big. As one guide told us, You ain't braggin when you are draggin'.

~~~ Provocative Quote

"If we were intended to talk more than we hear, we'd have two mouths and only one ear."
Anonymous

~~~Free Ramblings

Elephants are really big. You may think you already knew that, but until you have been in the wild with them, you really don’t. Unless of course you have taken a ride on one. We had to get up early to take our elephant ride—left camp about 6am to get to the elephants about 6:15. The elephants were rescue elephants. It all started at Kampara when one of the reserve guides decided to take care of an orphaned, isolated one. After raising this elephant, it became attached to humans and could not return to the wild. Over the years other elephants were added. They are very social animals and all in the herd take care of others. They currently have about 15 elephants and 20 or so handlers. To prevent bonding by either the handlers or the elephants, handlers all use the exact same commands with the elephants and change elephants regularly. If an elephant bonds with a human, and then the human leaves, the suffer grief—not a good thing. Upon arrival we watched the elephants go through their morning exercises.

After my camel ride in Egypt, I was really wondering how I was going to get up on the huge elephant. Turns out, they you climb up a staircase and just step over to sit up there. Much easier than the camel that kneels down and then gets up. The elephant then walks on a trail, eats trees, drinks water, and walks on the trail. They don’t seem to even know they have riders. The view of the bush while sitting on an elephant is unbelievable. It is a little strange when they step into a watering hole and drink. A novice rider never knows if they are going to drink the water, fill their trunk and spray their back, or decide it is time for a swim. Of course the handler knows that all they are going to do is drink.

Elephants cool themselves through their ears. The back of their ears have huge blood vessels and when the elephants heat up, they flap their ears. The blood is cooled as it pumps through the thin ears. Very efficient.

Elephants have a very easy gait for riding. This is very encouraging, as it is a long way to the ground. As we were riding my elephant was hungry. The trunk twists around the branch of the tree, snap, the branch is in his mouth. Leaves are quickly removed, bark is twisted off, and the branch is tossed away. Of course the elephant gets treats from the handler. Sometimes, when the elephant wants a treat, he will provide the handler with a branch—minus the leaves and most of the bark. I guess they think the handler likes the part of the branch they don’t. Up comes the trunk and branch. It is waved around a little, the handler takes the branch and the trunk sniffs around waiting for a treat.

We had another cold night, down to 17°, but it made it to 50° and there was hardly any breeze, so it was a nice day. I had to run some errands and I enjoyed being outside. I am still acclimating to the weather, but each day is a little easier.

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~~~Random Facts

It takes 3500 calories to make a pound.

The original name of Sesame Street was 123 Avenue B, but that was considered too "New Yorky." Sesame Street airs in over 120 countries. Some simply dub episodes while 25 others have their own version that represent the country culturally through the characters and segments.

~~~Unusual News

* An Alaskan assemblyman authored legislation to punish "public flatulence, crepitation, gaseous emission, and miasmic effluence," with a $100 penalty.

* Firefighters in Thurston, Washington slept through a fire in their own station. A passing police officer noticed the blaze and called in the alarm.

* In 1986, firefighters used wire cutters and pliers to free a San Jose, California woman from a tight pair of designer jeans.

~~~Before They Were Famous

Rosie O'Donnell once worked in the catalog department at Sears.

Ozzy Osbourne once worked in a slaughterhouse.
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~~~November Month Long Observances

Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Adoption Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month



~~~Week of 17 November

National Children’s Book Week

~~~17 NOV Observances

322 days so far this year…43 days remain in 2009
National Educational Support Professionals Day
Mickey Mouse Day—Steamboat will premiered
Push Button Phone Day
YWCA : World Fellowship Day
^Albania Independence Day 1912
^Haiti : Army Day
^Latvia: Independence Day 1918
^Morocco : Independence Day 1956
^Oman : National Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS)

1836 William Schwenck Gilbert composer (Gilbert & Sullivan)
1901 George Gallup public opinion pollster (Gallup Poll)
1908 Imogene Coca comedienne (Your Show of Shows)
1909 Johnny Mercer lyricist (Moon River, That Old Black Magic)
1939 Brenda Vaccaro Brooklyn NY, actress

~ATHLETICS
1869 James E Sullivan founder (Amateur Athletic Union)
1881 Percy Lesueur hockey player/inventor (large goalie glove)
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1926 - Roy (Roy Edward) ‘Squirrel’ Sievers baseball
1948 - Jack Tatum football [safety]: Oakland Raiders: longest fumble return in history: 104 yards

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1931 - Roberto Goizueta businessman: CEO of Coca-Cola

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1789 Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre developed a method of photography
1832 Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskjold Arctic explorer
^
1923 Alan B Shepard Jr Rear Adm USN/astronaut

~~~In Remembrance–
1886 Chester A Arthur (21st President), Bright’s Disease @ 56
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1962 Niels Bohr physicist Nobel Prize in 1922, @ 77
1969 Joseph P Kennedy @ 81
1978 Jim Jones, American cult leader (suicide) @ 47 +931 others

~~~Historical Events on this day
1497 Bartolomeu Dias discovers Cape of Good Hope
1626 - St. Peter’s Basilica was dedicated in Rome by Urban VIII.
1787 1st Unitarian minister in US ordained, Boston
1813: Members of the Hillabi Clan of the Muskogee Creeks have offered to surrender to General Andrew Jackson with Scots trader Robert Grierson acting as intermediary
1865 Mark Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
1883 Standard time zones established by railroads in US & Canada
1894 1st newspaper Sunday color comic section published (NY World)
^
1922: This was the start of Benito Mussolini’s term as the new Italian premier.
1960 Copyright office issues its 10 millionth registration
1964 J Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King as "most notorious liar"
1991: Terry Waite the special envoy of the archbishop of Canterbury, is released by Shiite Muslims after more than four years of captivity.
1997 - The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays begin taking shape with 35 selections apiece in baseball’s expansion draft

~ Holy Mackerel
1307 William Tell shoots apple off his son's head
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Word Ladder Puzzle

Simply substitute one letter at a time on each rung of the ladder to move from the start word to the end word.

Hear

_____

_____

_____

_____

Boom



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HEAR, REAR, REAM, ROAM, ROOM, BOOM

* Note, other answers may be possible

Africa 3

~~~ Provocative Quote

" Thrift is a wonderful virtue - in an ancestor. "
Genealogical taglines saved from defunct Nat’l Genealogical Echo

~~~Free Ramblings

I had another unusual experience while on Safari. At Honeyguide, a tent camp, Greg, our ranger, was cruising down the road. Either he or the tracker spotted a white Rhino. We had already been told that the white rhino will not be white, but grayish. Oh I how love linguistics. Turns out that there are five species of rhinos—two of which are the white rhino and the black rhino. One of their major differences is their mouths. One of the rhinos has a very wide mouth to help it eat and the other has much a smaller mouth to help it eat. One munches on taller grass, the other on shorter grass. When English speakers first saw Ceratotherium simum they noted its wide mouth. Over time, through mispronunciation, the wide mouth rhino became known as the white rhino. Wide/white is close. As people began calling it the White Rhino, they also discovered Diceros bicornis and since there was already a White Rhino, it made some kind of sense to call the new rhino the Black Rhino. The black rhino is also not black, but grayish.

So, back to the unusual experience. Our guides had told us that they each had a favorite of the Big 5. When I saw this first of several rhinos we would see over the next few weeks, I was transfixed on it. Everyone else in the jeep had grabbed their cameras and video recorders. I just sat there, staring at this huge animal. If I didn’t know better, I would still believe that the rhino was staring right into me—not the vehicle, not the other passengers, not the tracker…just at me. I stared so long that I almost didn’t get any pictures. This did not happen with any other of the Big 5. It didn’t happen with any other animals I had seen. We spotted other rhinos and each time, I felt a connection. I understood why the guides had a favorite. An amazing experience.

Another quick linguistic story. At another camp our tracker was a Zulu. He had intermediate English skills but was more than willing to practice them. We had just seen some elephants. I asked me for the Zulu word for elephant. It was several syllables long, and while I tried to repeat it, it was not to be. He did smile when I tried, and gave a little laugh. I’m sure I said something very dirty. My next question was “What does it mean?” He gave me a strange look and simply said ‘elephant’. Dumb tourist—asks me how to say elephant in my language, I say it, tourist says dirty word, and is so stupid he asks me what my word means. Luckily, our guide spoke fluent Zulu and told me it means ‘big animal.’ I told him I was expecting something more descriptive—long nose or something. He said nope, just ‘big animal’. I then asked him to explain our conversation to the tracker, he did and everyone got a good laugh. I did ask the guide what I had said, and his only comment was ‘you don’t want to know.’ It’s all about perception.

It is still hard for me to adjust to the winter temps we are having in Flagstaff. Last night we went down to about 18°, as we have every night since I got back. We rose to a sweltering 46° but the 13mph winds made it feel much colder. I also picked up my mail today. What a pile I had to go though. One might begin to think that Christmas is just around the corner.
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~~~Random Facts
No piece of normal-size paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

~~~Unusual News
PROCTOR, Minn. - Police in Minnesota said a motorized La-Z-Boy lounge chair involved in a drunken driving incident has garnered bids of $40,000 on eBay. Proctor, Minn., police said bids for chair, which was seized from Dennis Anderson after he allegedly crashed while intoxicated, reached $43,300 Monday, the Minneapolis City Pages reported Monday. An autographed photo of Anderson, which was put on eBay by his family to help pay his legal fees, reached bids of a comparatively cheap $305 Monday.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Before becoming an actress, Kim Novak was a fashion model, elevator operator, sales clerk, dental assistant and spokesperson for an appliance company.

Before becoming famous, Conan O'Brien graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a degree in U.S. History.

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~~~November Month Long Observances
Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Adoption Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month

~~~Week of 17 November
National Children’s Book Week

~~~17 NOV Observances
321 days so far this year…47 days remain in 2009
Homemade Bread Day
^International Students' Day: Commemorates the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague.
^Czech Republic and Slovakia – Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day: Commemorates the beginning of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
^Greece: Polytechneio (Πολυτεχνείο) – Commemorates the 1973 student protests against the junta of the colonels.
^Zaire: Army Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS)
1901 Lee Strasberg director/instructs actors
1919 Hershy Kay Philadelphia PA, composer/arranger (Olympic Hymn)
1925 - Rock Hudson (Roy Harold Scherer Jr.) actor
1938 Gordon Lightfoot Ontario Canada, folksinger
1942 Martin Scorsese Queens, director
1944 Danny De Vito Neptune NJ, actor
1944 - Lorne Michaels Emmy Award-winning write

~ATHLETICS
1930 Bob Mathias Tulare CA, decathalete
1944 - Tom ‘Terrific’ (George Thomas) Seaver Baseball Hall of Famer
1945 - Elvin Hayes Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘The Big E’

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1878 Grace Abbott Grand Island NB, social worker (US Children Bureau)
1887 - Field Marshal Bernard (Law) ‘Monty’ Montgomery British Army commander
1948 – Howard Dean, American politician

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1790 August Ferdinand Mobius mathematician, inventor (Mobius strip)
1799 Titian Ramsey Peale US, artist/naturalist (American Ornithology)

~~~In Remembrance–
1720 John RAckman (Calico Jack), English pirate, hanged @39
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1917 Auguste Rodin sculptor @ 77
1986 Alan Hewitt actor (Det Brennan-My Favorite Martian), @ 71
1988 Sheilah Graham gossip columnist @ 84
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2006 Bo Schembechler, American football coach @ 77

~~~Historical Events on this day

1558 Elizabeth I ascends English throne upon death of Queen Mary
1869 Suez Canal opens (Egypt)
1894 Daily Racing Form founded
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1913 Panama Canal opens
1962 President Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport
1973: In a televised appearance President Richard Nixon told the nation today, “I am not a crook.”
1993 US Congress votes for NAFTA
2000 : Kmart Holdings corporation announced its intention to purchase Sears

~ Holy Mackerel
1853 Street signs authorized at San Francisco intersections

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Quiz
Place these countries in order by population—largest to smallest

Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian State
Panama
Papua New Guinea
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Pakistan 176,242,949 (growth rate: 1.9%)
Papua New Guinea 6,057,263 (growth rate: 2.0%)
Palestinian State Total:4,018,332 [West Bank: 2,535,927, Gaza Strip: 1,482,405     (growth rate: West Bank: 3.0%, Gaza Strip: 3.7%)]
Panama 3,360,474 (growth rate: 1.5%)
Palau 20,796 (growth rate: 0.4%)

Africa 2

~~~ Provocative Quote

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela



~~~Free Ramblings

I barely made my connection from Phoenix to Flagstaff via a shuttle bus. Luckily for me, it was raining and snowing on I-17 and the shuttle was about 15 minutes late. As I started wheeling my two bags to the shuttle, the attendant taking to the bus asked if I needed any help. I said no, I had just gotten back from South Africa and was getting pretty good at traversing the airports. Turns out one of the other passengers was a young college age girl who was born and raised in Johannesburg. She was Afrikaans who came to the US about 8 years ago. We spoke for a few minutes on the way to the shuttle and in the shuttle. According to her, the political system had led to her family’s leaving. She couldn’t imagine why I would want to visit there or any of the other countries around South Africa. She truly believed that all the ‘good’ South Africans had left and that the ‘new’ government had ruined her homeland. It was sad to hear this articulate young woman (who was born during Apartheid and left soon after it ended) was unable to accept the changes.

A safari is so amazing. For a total of 9 days we got up every morning about 5am and in the jeep by 5:30. The morning drive lasted until about 10am. We always stopped about half way though for hot coffee. On rainy days we needed it. We then came back to camp and had a great breakfast. About 4pm we headed out again and returned soon after dark—about 7:30pm. Two of the three camps/lodges had an open Toyota or land cruiser with a driver and a tracker. The other lodge, in Chobe National Park, only had a driver. Some of the vehicles had no roof, some had a canvas roof. We were told to stay in the vehicle at all times, not to stick out our arms or legs, not to stand up, and to remain quiet. Each guide told us that the animals were used to the vehicle noise and the vehicle shape and knew that it would not harm them. Most of the time, the animals were within 10 yards of the vehicle. On several occasions they were within five feet of the vehicle. The drivers were correct; we only had one young male elephant spend any time checking us out. All the others just ignored us. We could watch them as long as we wanted to. On one of our morning trips we came upon another vehicle with a flat tire. They were watching a herd of impala. Our driver parked to help. She quietly exited the vehicle and walked along side our vehicle. As soon as her profile broke the jeep profile, the impala were off and running. On another occasion, a vehicle got stuck while coming out of the small river bed canyon. We had been watching a leopard from about 20 feet as it slept. Our vehicle had to be maneuvered so that our driver could get out of the vehicle and lock the hubs on the other vehicle. To block the leopard’s line of sight he pulled in so that we were only about 10 feet from the leopard. It was dusk, then dark. The trackers kept the spotlight on the leopard while our driver worked his way around. Within 15 minutes he had locked the hubs, attached a steel rope to the stuck jeep and pulled it out. We almost missed dinner that night, but the adventure would have been worth missing one dinner. Watching a pro in action made us feel safe—after the ordeal ended. During the ordeal, not so much.

At two of the camps we were lucky enough to see all the Big Five, up close and personal. The big five are the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the giraffe, and the Cape Buffalo. At all of the camps we also saw dozens of zebra, impalas, kudus, warthogs, waterbucks, dik-diks, steenboks, springbok, baboons, monkeys, and wildebeest. I am not a birder, but we did see and hear many of them too. We saw the ground birds and the tree birds. There were a variety of hornbills, a variety of eagles, vultures, heron, weaver, and guinea fowl.

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~~~Random Facts

The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

~~~Unusual News

LARGO, Fla. - Police in Florida said they arrested a man who called 911 and falsely reported a man was "smashing potatoes" over a woman's head. Largo police said Robert Turley, 51, called 911 three times Tuesday night, first saying a man armed with a knife was chasing a woman and then about 45 minutes later claiming the man was "smashing potatoes" over the woman's head, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Thursday. The man called a third time to claim the man was punching the woman in the face. Police found Turley, who was allegedly intoxicated, hiding in his neighbor's yard, and he admitted to making up the story because he was angry with his roommates, a man and a woman, the report said. He was charged with false report of a crime and taken to the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $250 bail. Turley has been arrested 12 times since 1991 and has served jail time for crimes including possession of drug paraphernalia, the newspaper said.

~~~Before They Were Famous

In Willie Nelson's younger days he was a door to door salesman

Jack Nicholson has worked in a toy store and as a lifeguard.

Before Chuck Norris became a famous martial artist and actor, he worked as an Air Policeman in the US Air Force.

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~~~November Month Long Observances

Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Adoption Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month



~~~Week of 16 November

American Education Week

~~~16 NOV Observances

320 days so far this year…48 days remain in 2009

International Day of Tolerance

Oklahoma Admission Day (1907)

^Iceland Dagur íslenskrar tungu (Icelandic Language Day)



~~~Births on this day

Oops..15 Nov, 1940 Martha Shideler, author and newsletter editor

~ The ARTS)

1889 – George S. Kaufman, American playwright
1908 Burgess Meredith Cleveland Ohio, actor
1928 Clu Gulager Holdenville OK, actor (Virginian)
1935 Elizabeth Drew journalist (Politics & Money: The Road to Corruption)
1953 Griff Rhys Jones British humorist/actor (Morons From Outer Space)
1967 Lisa Bonet San Francisco CA, actress (Cosby Show)

~ATHLETICS

1964 – Dwight Gooden, American baseball player (NY Mets)
1978 – Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION

42 -BC- Tiberius Cesar 2nd Roman emperor
1643 – Jean Chardin, French explorer
1888 Clinton Golden Pennsylvania founder (United Steelworkers of America)

~SCIENCE/RELIGION

1841 – Jules Violle, French physicist

~~~In Remembrance–

1960 Clark Gable dies after heart attack @ 59
2006 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate @ 94

~~~Historical Events on this day

1676 1st colonial prison organized, Nantucket, Massachusetts
1811 According to some sources, Tecumseh predicts a "light across the sky" tonight. It is supposed to have appeared, as predicted.
1894 6,000 Armenians massacred by Turks in Kurdistan
1914 Federal Reserve System formally opens
1925 American Association for the Advancement of Atheism formed in NY
1945 – UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization] is founded.
1958 - Six inches of snow fell on Tucson, Arizona
1959 : The last Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway.
1988 Benazir Bhutto wins 1st free Pakistani elections in 11 years

~ Holy Mackerel
1976 Rick Barry (San Francisco), ends then longest NBA free throw streak of 60

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Quiz

Place these countries in order by population—largest to smallest

Namibia
Nauru [Pacific Island]
Nepal
Netherlands
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Nepal 28,563,377 (growth rate: 1.2%)

Netherlands 16,715,999 (growth rate: 0.4%)

Namibia 2,108,665 (growth rate: 0.9%)

Nauru [Pacific Island] 14,019 (growth rate: 1.7%)

Africa 1

~~~ Provocative Quote

“If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.“

“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.“

Nelson Mandela

~~~Free Ramblings

I have a friend who has traveled and had some unusual experiences. She has told me about them, and I found them interesting. When I was on Robben Island, standing in Nelson Mandela's cell, I had an unusual experience.

As I was standing in the prison, I could feel myself getting angry and sad at the same time. I am not the kind of person who does that. I suddenly realized that, even though I lived through the Civil Rights changes here during the 60’s, I never really understood what was happening. While I could easily talk the talk, I never had to walk the walk. My two minute or less cell time makes it hard for me to forgive. I will never understand how one group of human beings can possibly oppress another group of human beings. Knowing that it happened, seeing that it happened, standing in that cell, I don’t know how anyone could forgive. Nelson Mandela has changed the world. He opened eyes and hearts. He always has worked to ensure freedom for all. Amazing.

Robben Island has allowed many to see and hear and feel the Apartheid times. After a short boat ride to the island we were greeted by a man who had worked on Robben Island during Mandela’s imprisonment. He told stories of what happened to the many prisoners who had been placed there. He told how the many nations of the world worked to end apartheid. Scotland began a boycott of South Africa’s fruit in 1959. The AAM—anti-apartheid movement—continued until the end of apartheid. In 1973 the United Nations stated that the South African Apartheid was a crime against humanity. The US never signed that document. Reagan even supported the white government. In 1986, after the ANC had started using a violent approach to end apartheid, our congress passed an Anti-apartheid bill that called for the end to the violence by the ANC and said the US would work to find a peaceful resolution to end South African Apartheid. Apartheid did not end until 1994.

After touring the island, we entered the prison. We were greeted by another former Robben Island resident. He had been a political prisoner. Now he did tours of the place he had lived because he believed in freedom. While his stories were horrifying, he, like Mandela, had forgiven. His fight for freedom had taken him to prison, then freedom came and now he was free to tell his story, the story of apartheid, the story of reconciliation.

On June 26, 1876 the US Calvary suffered one of its greatest defeats in Montana. While in Elementary school I learned about Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. I was working in Pine Ridge South Dakota one June 26th many years later. On that day, Lakota Tribal Offices were closed. This was the annual Victory Day Holiday. It’s all about perception. Now I realize that the Lakota had no Nelson Mandela, had no Martin Luther King, had no Gandhi, had no one that stood out to lead them to reconciliation, to lead them to forgiveness. I also realize the conquerors didn’t have a chance to hear that message either. So the anger, frustration, and fear continue.

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~~~Random Facts

In Oblong, Illinois, it's punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.

~~~Unusual News

SALT LAKE CITY – A Salt Lake City man victimized by one

burglar set a trap that helped nab a suspect in an attempted break-in, police say. Police Lt. Craig Gleason said the unidentified homeowner, who lost jewelry and a laptop during a previous burglary, created a makeshift alarm device that alerted him a would-be burglar was attempting to enter his home Tuesday, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Thursday. Gleason said hearing the alarm, the homeowner chased a 50-year-old suspect and, thanks to the help of three other men, captured him. Gleason said in addition to his homemade alarm system, the homeowner also used information from police officers to lure in the unidentified suspect. “As it turns out, in the course of investigating the first burglary, the officers kind of mentioned to the homeowner that if you leave all your newspapers in the driveway and mail in the mailbox, that can make you a target for burglars,” he told the Tribune.

“This homeowner, instead of removing the papers and mail, left the stuff there — specifically with the intent of luring the burglar back in.”

~~~Before They Were Famous

Megan Mullally (Karen on Will and Grace) said that she used to teach ballet to young kids.

Bill Murray sold chestnuts outside of a grocery store.

Myers started his career on a Canadian kids show - "Range Ryder and the Calgary Kid."

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~~~November Month Long Observances

Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month ~ American Diabetes Month ~ American Indian Heritage Month ~ Lung Cancer Awareness Month ~ Military Family Appreciation Month ~ National Homeless Youth Awareness Month ~ National Inspirational Role Models Month ~ National Novel Writing Month ~ Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month ~ Transgender Awareness Month ~ Vegan Month

~~~Week of 14 November

World Kindness Week

~~~14 NOV Observances

319 days so far this year…49 days remain in 2009

America Recycles Day
I Love to Write Day
National Bundt Pan Day
World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims
^Brazil: Republic Day 1889
^Japan: 7-3-5 Festival Day—Rights of Passage Day
^Palestine: Independence Day since 1988

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS)
1887 Georgia O’Keefe artist

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1905 Mantovani Venice Italy, orchestra leader
1919 Joseph A. Wapner judge, actor: The People’s Court
1928 C.W. McCall (William Fries) singer, songwriter: Convoy
1929 Edward Asner Emmy Award-winning actor
1932 Petula Clark Grammy Award-winning singer:Downtown
1937 Yaphet Kotto NYC, actor
1957 Kevin Eubanks musician: guitar: bandleader: The Tonight Show

~ATHLETICS
1951 Bo Matthews football: Univ. of Colorado, San Diego Chargers, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1891 W. Averell Harriman U.S. diplomat
1891 Erwin Rommel ‘The Desert Fox’: WWII German field marshal

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1397 Nicholas V pope (1447-55); ended schism, founded Vatican Library
1738 Sir William Herschel astronomer (discovered Uranus)
1815 John Banvard NYC, painted world's largest painting (3 mile canvas)
1882 Felix Frankfurter Vienna Austria, US supreme court justice (1939-62)

~~~In Remembrance–

1954 Lionel Barrymore, American actor @ 76
1958 Tyrone Power actor, heart attack @ 44
1978 Margaret Mead anthropologist, @ 76

~~~Historical Events on this day
1791 1st Catholic college in US, Georgetown, opens
1806 Explorer Zebulon Pike sights Pikes Peak
1884 Colonization of Africa organized at international conference in Berlin

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1932 Walt Disney Art School created
1939 Social Security Administration approves 1st unemployment check
1940 A 35-mile well-populated area of Greece (Ioannina) had been seized by Italian fascists
1986 The first case of BSE or "mad cow disease" is found in cattle in England .
1993 The Maastricht Treaty formally starts, establishing the European Union (EU).

~ Holy Mackerel
1660 1st kosher butcher (Asser Levy) licensed in NYC (New Amsterdam)

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Adventure Ends

Like everything in life, my Adventure in Southern Africa has come to an end. Thankfully I have a lifetime of memories. I would be remiss if I didn't thank HLO Tours in Lake Mary, Florida and if I didn't let everyone know that Hamdy Nossair, President of HLO Tours is a great tour operator. He worked very hard planning the trip, and kept busy during the trip so that everyone of us would have that lifetime of memories. He and Ellie Leinaweaver of Focus Travel Club had to have worked for many months to create such a great trip. This adventure was my second with Hamdy and my third with Ellie and the group. As many of you know, I used to do Southern California tours for the eighth graders at several Bureau Schools. I know how much work our 5 day tours were. Planning a 21 day trip on another continent is beyond most of my comprehension. Hamdy and Ellie are both perfectionists and work very hard to make sure that we have amazingly memorable trips in Africa any beyond. They both work long hours during the trip and ensuring that we never have to wonder what to do. We do have plenty of free time and are given great suggestions of safe places to go.

Many of my next blogs will be dealing with what I saw, and what I learned. I will try to keep them interesting and will include some pictures. Other pictures and videos will be posted on other sites. Going through all those pictures and videos will be quite a job. My hope is that after I recover from the jet lag some miracle will occur and I will find a way to make the presentations of pictures and videos into some sembalace of some kind of global order. I will try to keep the presentations at about 5 minutes or less so that no one will get bored. I will not be doing Day one, Day two... presentations. Firstly because I am not that good with that format, and secondly because the trip was so much more than that. The miracle I am hoping for worked for both Scotland and Egypt. Egypt easily fit into 3 basic presentations: Ancient Egypt, Mordern Egypt, and The Nile. I am sure an organizational miracle will work for Southern Africa as well.

My first overall observance has to do with PERCEPTION. That is "immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment." I was able to visit Cape Town, Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum, and Victoria Falls. In South Africa there are whites, colored, and blacks. And Apartheid found a very destructive means of separating these groups. Coloreds might be mixed race, they might be Indian or Pakistani, they might be Chinese. Whites might be light skinned Europeans, they might be Japanese. Blacks might be from one of many tribes--who were grouped togheter much like the US did with our 'American Indians'. If that wasn't hard enough to understand, there were also the Afrikaans. Some Apartheid started in the late 1920's and didn't end until the 1990's. On his release from Robben Island Prison, Nelson Mandella told the people of South Africa to move on from Apartheid and live with Reconciliation. In less than 20 years the voice of many white South Africans have had to change from calling Mandella and the ANC (African National Congress) Terrorists to Heroes. Blacks and Coloreds have moved from Freedom Fighters to Heroes. It is all about preception. When the Dutch, French, Brits arrived in the area they renamed everything. Mosi-oa-tunya (The Smoke that Thuders) was renamed Victoria Falls by a Scotsman. After his death an island was changed from 'The place of rest and shade' became Livingstone Island. Like so many who have invaded or colonized, the native language was ignored. It's all about perception.
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Other regular features will return tomorrow. I'm just too lazy to do it tonight.

I do hope everyone honored our Vets on Wednesday. While going through customs in DC, I was shocked to learn that our soldiers have to stand in the same lines as the rest of us to re-enter the US. One soldier just behind us in the customs line was coming home on emergency leave--his brother-in-law had been killed in Arizona. He was held up one day because no flights could leave Afghanistan. He was on is third tour over there. In that same line were at least 10 other camoed out military. It seems that our 30 minute wait was OK for me, as a returning tourist . It seemed to me that military personnel should have a shorter line. None of them were complaining, but it seems to me they should get at least that perk. It was nice to see how many returning American citizens did take time to thank the military personnel while they stood in line. Our flight from DC to Denver had three soldiers and a college basketball team. The stewardess was talking to the coach because the crew wanted to recognize the team over the PA system when we landed. I asked her to also thank the soldiers. She did both. It was nice.

Last Blog...for a while

~~~Free Ramblings
LAST BLOG UNTIL MID NOVEMBER.

I got my final packing done. I got all my bills paid. I am overly ready to hit the friendly skies. I’ll be flying to Denver tomorrow, and then our group takes off Friday morning for South Africa. Adventure awaits.

Notifying my banks so that my debit and credit cards would work was easy with one bank and a real pain with the other. Something was wrong with the Wells Fargo computer and the lady had to call me back to let me know that my card was tagged to accept out of country charges. It’s always a little scary to do this and scary not to do this. To do it, if I lose my cards, the bank won’t worry about charges on the card until I call them. If I don’t call them, they will just refuse the purchase. Hard to tell which to do.

The wind really died down today. My deck is covered with dry pine needles. My front area is covered with dry pine needles. The home owner’s assoc will take care of the front, but I will have to deal with the deck when I get back. I’m sure there will be at least one snow while I am gone, so it will be quite a mess. I just didn’t want to take time today to deal with it.

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~~~Random Facts
On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens
every year.

"Go" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

The guy featured in the NBA logo is former Laker, Jerry West.

~~~Unusual News
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland – Swiss police said an Italian man set a record for traffic violations in their country by racking up 15 moving violations in the space of 11 minutes.
Police in St. Gallen said the 47-year-old’s spree of road violations began when he drove past police while speeding 100 mph in a 60 mph zone during the weekend, the Daily Mail reported. Officers said the ensuing offenses include driving too close to other cars, driving too close to the curb, weaving across the white dividing line, failing to stop for police sirens, barreling through red lights, speeding through a construction zone and driving on a hard shoulder of a roadway. The driver was finally stopped at a roadblock and issued additional violations including driving under the influence of drugs, failing to drive with due care and attention and using a mobile telephone at the wheel.
“This character will be getting his driving license back around the time Haley’s Comet makes its next appearance,” a St. Gallen police spokesman said.
Note: The comet should be back July 28, 2061.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Before beginning his musical career, Johnny Mathis was a star high jumper at San Francisco State College and was invited to try out for the 1956 US Olympic Team.

Matthew McConaughey spent a year in Australia after high school shoveling chicken manure.

As a teenager, Ed McMahon worked as a bingo caller and carnival barker. He also sold gadgets on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, most notably the Morris metric vegetable slicer.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 24 Oct
Disarmament Week
Give Wildlife A Break Week
Peace, Friendship, and Good Will Week

~~~22 OCT Observances
295 days so far this year…70 days remain in 2009
Wombat Day
• India, Mauritius, Singapore : Deepavali Day-- 'Lead us from the unreal to the Real; from darkness to Light; from death to Immortality.'
• Japan : Jidai Matsuri/Festival of the Eras (1895)
• Puerto Rico : Veterans Day
• Vatican City : National Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS)
1811__Franz Liszt Raiding, Hungary, romantic composer/virtuoso pianist
1845__Sarah Bernhardt France, silent film actress

1903__Curly Howard (Jerome Lester Horwitz) comedian: The Three Stooges
1919__Doris Lessing novelist (Golden Notebook)
1920__Timothy Leary Harvard prof, LSD taker
1930__Dory Previn songwriter: Come Saturday Morning
1938__Christopher Lloyd Stamford Ct, actor (Taxi, Back to the Future)
1942__Annette Funicello Utica NY, actress (Mickey Mouse Club and Beach movies)
1943__Catherine Deneuve [Dorleac], actress
1952__Jeff Goldblum actor

~ATHLETICS
1925__Slater Martin Basketball Hall of Famer

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1701 – Maria Amaliaof Austria Holy Roman Empire Empress
1734 – Daniel Boone American pioneer and hunter
1939 – Joaquim Chissano President of Mozambique

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1896__Charles Glenn King biochemist (discovered vitamin C)

~~~In Remembrance–
1883__Thomas Mayne Reid Irish-American novelist died of acute melancholia @ 65
1906__Paul Cezanne French painter @ 67 of pneumonia
1918__Myrtle Gonzalez American silent film (78) actress @ 73
1934__Pretty Boy (Charles Arthur) Floyd American gangster shot by FBI @ 30
1973__Pablo Casals Catalan cellist and conductor @ 97

~~~Historical Events on this day
1746__Princeton University (NJ) received its charter
1804__Lewis & Clark visit a Sioux war party today.
1836__Sam Houston inaugurated as 1st elected pres of Republic of Texas
1883__Original Metropolitan Opera House (NYC) grand opening (Faust)

1914__Congress pass the Revenue Act mandating the first tax on incomes over $3,000—that’s $63,060 in 2009.
1928__Pres Hoover speaks of "American system of rugged individualism"
1938__1st Xerox copy made by inventor Chester Carlson
1939__The first televised pro football game was telecast Brooklyn beat Philadelphia, 23-14
1978__Karol Józef Wojtyła first non-Italian Pope since Adrian VI (1522-1523), the first Polish Pope, and the youngest Pope since Pius IX (1846-1878) becomes Pope John Paul II
1979__Walt Disney World's 100-millionth guest
1981__The first French TGV / high-speed train service(200 mph) begins
1986__The pressure on the South African government to dismantle its apartheid policies continues to mount as more American companies withdraw from doing business in South Africa
~ Holy Mackerel
1998__The Lion population in Krugar National Park are facing the biggest threat—TB--to their existence since they were nearly hunted to extinction by man.
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Jeopardy Categories Quiz
(These answers all relate to artists or authors who tried to depict life in a truthful manner)
1. A French painter of the mid-19th Century, this artist was known for such starkly realistic works such as The Stonebreakers which depicted two laborers, one too old for the job, another too young.
2. An American photographer who made sensitive portraits of migrant workers and dust bowl refugees, she is known for "Migrant Mother."
3. This 19th century Russian playwright is known for such works as The Cherry Orchard and The Three Sisters. His style emphasizes internal drama rather than plot.
4. This Depression-Era singer and songwriter is well known for his songs such as "This Land is Your Land," and his autobiography Bound for Glory. He had a great influence on many contemporary musicians, including Bob Dylan.
5. Critics called this playwright's A Doll's House (1879) "an open drain" because of its frank treatment of socially unaccepted topics.
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Answers:
1. Who is Gustave Courbet?
2. Who is Dorothea Lange?
3. What is Anton Chekhov'?
4. Who is Woody Guthrie?
5. Who is Henrik Johan Ibsen?

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Wednesday

~~~Free Ramblings
I’m getting lots done for my trip. I had lunch with a friend and she will let me leave my vehicle at her house, take me to the shuttle to Phoenix and pick me up when I get back. That is good. I had planned to leave my vehicle at my house, but didn’t really like that. While I speak to my neighbors whenever I see them, I don’t know them very well. I really didn’t want to tell them I would be gone and yet, if my vehicle remained parked for that long, they might get concerned. I am ‘the old guy’ in our section of homes. This way, with my vehicle gone, they will know I’m gone and not be concerned. This would have been the first time I had left my vehicle in the parking lot, and I’m glad I don’t have to do that.

So I’m set. Tickets to Phoenix—check. Tickets to Denver—check. Motel in Denver with free shuttle—check. Tickets to Dulles and Johannesburg—check. Passport—check. Cash and credit cards—check. iPod loaded with Dan Brown’s latest and some good music—check. Luggage packed—almost.

This exciting trip will have me missing Halloween for the first time. As a little kid, I was always out trick or treating. I have some great memories. When I moved to AZ, I always had candy ready for kids. Yeah, even in isolated Shonto there was door to door trick or treating. A few neighborhood kids would go through the neighborhood. The little dorm kids—all 400+ of them (up to about 4th grade) would make masks and come through the neighborhoods with their dorm aides. For many years in Tuba, parents from all of Tuba would drop their kids off at the first BIA compound street, and pick them up after they had wandered through all the neighborhoods. Here in Flagstaff, we have a decent turnout. I always get a little irked with some neighbors. I first noticed it in Tuba, and it is the same here in Flagstaff. Some neighbors will close their curtains, turn off their lights and ignore the trick or treaters. I understand that some people leave their home and go out for the evening. That’s cool. But to just sit in the dark…I don’t get it. I’ve heard lots of reasons for this bizarre behavior but they all seem more like excuses. I guess it is because I used to have such a great time, I want this generation to have the same great memories. This year I won’t be able to participate. I hope the kids understand.

Tomorrow will be my last blog until I get back. I know that many people somehow find the time to add to their blogs while they are traveling. I just haven’t figured out how to find the time. I do try to see as much as possible, and only use the room to sleep. I do find time to check my email once in a while, just to let people I am still alive and kicking.

Well the weatherman sure hit it today. He said it would be windy…it was. We had gusts to about 40 with a steady 10-15mph wind. That breeze was a cool one too. We only made it to 53° today, but it sure felt colder than that—maybe it was the 65% humidity along with the biting wind. It will be cool here the rest of the week. I have no idea what it will be like when I get back, but I expect it to be much cooler. Actually I expect to come home to find snow on the ground.
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~~~Random Facts
A blue whale's aorta (the main blood vessel) is large enough for a human to crawl through.

In Pakistan, goats are often sacrificed to improve the performance of the stock market.

~~~Unusual News
WESTON, Fla. – The Florida man who holds the world record for largest collection of model cars, 7,000, said he broke his own record by growing the collection to 12,000. Sergio Goldvarg, 53, said Guinness World Records informed him this month that it is replacing his old record, certified in 2005, with a new record reflecting his current 12,000 total, which he reached in May with the addition of a model Formula One Ferrari featured in the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Thursday. “In my house, I have a museum of the history of cars,” Goldvarg said. Gregg Hutchings, editor of Model Cars Magazine, hailed Goldvarg’s achievement. “Twelve-thousand is a pretty good number,” he said. “Hopefully it re-sparks the interest that everybody had when they were younger for model cars.”

~~~Before They Were Famous
Ralph Macchio, the Karate Kid, began his career in the 70's doing commercials for Bubble Yum and Dr. Pepper.

Madonna worked at a Dunkin' Donuts restaurant at one time.

Barry Manilow was fired from a job at a brewery, when he reportedly left the truck door open & spilled the beer all over the road.

Steve Martin was a performer at two amusement parks: Disneyland (in the Magic Shop on Main Street, USA) and Knott's Berry Farm.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 17 Oct
Food & Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week
Teen Read Week
Nat’l Chemistry Week
Nat’l Character Counts Week
Nat’l Forest Products Week
Nat’l School Bus Safety Week

~~~21 OCT Observances
294 days so far this year…71 days remain in 2009
Internat’l Stuttering Awareness Day
Internat’l Credit Union Day
• British Empire: Trafalgar Day — celebrated in the 19th and early 20th Century
• Honduras : Army Day (1956)
• Hong Kong : Kite Flying Festival
• Laos : Full Moon Holiday
• Republic of China: Overseas Chinese Day
• Somalia/Sudan : Revolution Day (1964)
• United Kingdom: Apple Day

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1772__Samuel Taylor Coleridge England, poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
1917__Dizzy Gillespie trumpeter, a creator of modern jazz
1921__Malcolm Arnold Northampton England, composer (Bridge over River Kwai)
1925__Joyce Randolph actress (Trixie-Honeymooners)
1940__Manfred Mann (Michael Lubowitz) rocker "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"
1956__Carrie Fisher actress (Star Wars-Princess Lelia)

~ATHLETICS
1928__Edward "Whitey" Ford hall of fame pitcher (NY Yankees)
1959__George Bell Dom Rep, outfielder (Blue Jays)

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1922 – Liliane de Bettencourt heir to L'Oreal
1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu 9th Prime Minister of Israel

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1833__Alfred Bernhard Nobel Stockholm, created dynamite & Peace Prizes
1950__Ronald E. McNair physicist, astronaut: mission specialist aboard the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle

~~~In Remembrance–
1765__Giovanni Paolo Pannini Italian painter and architect @ 74
1805__Horatio Nelson British admiral- from injuries at Trafalgar
@ 47
1831__Nat Turner & 19 associates, led slave rebellion-hung @ 31
1969__Jack Kerouac American novelist- of cirrhosis @ 47
1992__Jim Garrison American attorney @ 71

~~~Historical Events on this day
2137 -BC__1st recorded total eclipse of the sun China
1520__Magellan entered the strait which bears his name
1879__Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb

1944__HMAS Australia is attacked by the first kamikaze
1945__Women in France allowed to vote for 1st time
1950__Chinese forces occupy Tibet
1959__Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens (NYC)
1976__American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature
1997__Elton John’s tribute to Princess Diana, Candle in the Wind was declared by The Guinness Book of Records to be the biggest-selling single record of all time. In 37 days, the single reached 31.8 million copies sold, eclipsing the previous record held by Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. The Crosby song sold an estimated 30 million copies worldwide -- in 55 years.

~ Holy Mackerel
1918__Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 wpm for 1 min

1989__1st black owners (Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe) to own a major sports team, purchasing Denver Nuggets for $65m
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Jeopardy Categories Quiz
(these are things you should know…maybe)
1. In 1987, Wilma Mankiller became the first modern female chief of this Native American Nation, whose name can mean "The Real People," "Cave Dwellers," or "People of Fire."
2. This American poet explored new freedoms of language, structure, and subject matter in his collection Leaves of Grass.
3. This is the name given to the path of the forced removal of the Cherokee by the U.S. government from their homelands in the southeastern woodlands to western reservations after the discovery of gold on their lands in the 1830's.
4. This author whose novel The Bell Jar (1962) was released just before her suicide is most famous for her confessional poetry.
5. This poet-singer and cultural icon energized a generation with such songs as "The Times They Are A-Changin'," and has greatly influenced a-thinkin', a-writin', and music since the early 1960's.
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Answers:
1. Who are the Cherokee?
2. Who is Walt Whitman?
3. What is the Trail of Tears?
4. Who is Sylvia Plath?
5. Who is Robert Allen Zimmerman—Bob Dylan?

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Tuesday

~~~Free Ramblings
Here I am at T-4—I leave on the 22nd—and I did get a lot done for the trip. I got both my still camera and my video camera ready. I had to clean up the camera stick from Egypt. That was easy. Then I tried to erase the stuff off my video camera. It is one of those with a 30 gig hard drive. Well I finally gave up and went to the manual. Turns out you can only delete data from the camera from the camera. That means you can’t do it from the computer. I had about 10 short 3 minute or less movies on there. I followed the instructions and it took 45 minutes to delete those files. I did get a little nervous as it asked me three different times if I really wanted to do that. But everything seems to be working fine. And I will have a clean hard drive for my Safaris. Cool.

Tomorrow I will lay out all my stuff. Then on Wednesday I’ll actually pack it. It needs to sit out for a day, so I can study it. Don’t want to forget anything. I will also measure my second bag to be sure it can be a carry on. I have several sizes of suitcases and some make the measurement, some don’t. Amazing how organized I sound. I just wish I felt organized. I’m hoping I don’t forget anything I really need. I also don’t want to take anything I don’t need. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

On my trip to Egypt, I returned to find out I had missed out on most of the Susan Boyle story. Luckily, thanks to the internet I was able to catch up on that story fairly quickly. I wonder if I will miss any big news while I am gone this time.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. We hit a rather balmy 71° and it only dropped to 43°. The nice breeze picked up to a quite a bit this afternoon, to about 35mph. Earlier in the day there was a small fire just north of The Peaks. It was contained to 100 acres. The wind made even that more difficult. It seems it was from an unattended campfire on private land. There are currently 4 fires within 75 miles of Flagstaff. This dry weather needs to end.
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~~~Random Facts
The launching mechanism of a carrier ship that helps planes to take off could throw a pickup truck over a mile

The higher the income, the more likely an American man will cheat on his wife.

~~~Unusual News
WESSON, Miss. – A Mississippi high school student says she is fighting to get her picture in the yearbook after officials rejected it because she wore a tuxedo. Ceara Sturgis of Wesson, a senior at Wesson Attendance Center, said officials rejected her senior portrait because she chose to wear a tuxedo for the picture instead of traditional feminine clothing, WLBT-TV, Jackson, Miss., reported Thursday.
“It makes me feel I’m not important enough. Like just because I’m wearing a tux I can’t be in my senior yearbook. It’s like I never even went there. That’s my yearbook. This is my senior year and I’m not gonna be able to be in there because I’m wearing a tux. I don’t think it matters what we’re wearing” said Sturgis, who is openly gay. A Copiah County School District spokeswoman said yearbook photo decisions are left up to the principal. Principal Ronald Greer declined to comment. Sturgis’ mother, Veronica Rodriguez, said she has hired an attorney to help get her daughter’s picture in the yearbook.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Eva Longoria can be seen in a 2000 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. Her acting career didn't start until after she had graduated from college with a degree in Kinesiology.

In the 90s, Jennifer Lopez was a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson.

Patty Lovelace was a waitress at Alston Bridges Barbeque restaurant in Shelby, NC before making it big in Nashville.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 17 Oct
Food & Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week
Teen Read Week
Nat’l Chemistry Week
Nat’l Character Counts Week
Nat’l Forest Products Week
Nat’l School Bus Safety Week

~~~20 OCT Observances
293 days so far this year…72 days remain in 2009
National Support your Chamber of Commerce Day*
• Bahá'í Faith – Holy Day – Birth of the Báb [1819 Mirza Ali Mohammad]
• Buddhist-Laos: End of Buddhist Fast

*Not to be too political but the Chamber seems to loosing paying members due to its stance on environmental issues.

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1889__Margaret Dumont actress-Marx Brothers' foil

1905__Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay) author: mystery series
1913__Grandpa (Louis Marshall) Jones Country Music Hall of Famer: Hee Haw
1928__Dr. Joyce Brothers psycholgist
1932__William Christopher actor (Father Mulcahy-M*A*S*H)
1934__Martin Landau actor (Mission Impossible)
1936__Bobby Seale political activist: cofounder: Black Panthers
1953__Tom Petty singer (Heartbreakers)

~ATHLETICS
1931__Mickey Charles Mantle NY Yankee, home run slugger
1953__Keith Hernandez NY Met 1st baseman (9 golden gloves)

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1856__James Mann lawyer; U.S. Congressman: authored the Mann Act aka the White Slave Traffic Act
1859__John Dewey philosopher, educational theorist/writer
1925__Art Buchwald Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist
1946__Connie Chung news anchor
1951__Richard Frazier brother extraordinaire and CFO

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1632__Sir Christopher Wren England, astronomer/great architect

~~~In Remembrance–
1935__Arthur Henderson Scottish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize founded Labour Party in Great Britain @ 72
1936__Anne Sullivan American teacher to Helen Keller @ 70
1964__Herbert Hoover 31st President of the US @ 90
1990__Joel McCrea, American actor @ 85
1994__Burt Lancaster, American actor @ 81
2006__Jane Wyatt American actress @ 96

~~~Historical Events on this day
1803__US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
1818__49th parallel established as the border between US & Canada

1944__30 blocks of Cleveland OH burn after a liquid gas factory explodes
1962__With Halloween just around the corner, Bobby “Boris” Picket and the Crypt Kickers reached the top of the charts this day (for two weeks) with The Monster Mash
1973__President Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibold Cox and abolished the Watergate prosecution force. He also accepted the resignation of Attorney General Elliot L Richardson and fired all his deputies.
1973__OPEC oil embargo begins
1990__Antiwar protest marches begin in 20 US cities (US-Iraq)

~ Holy Mackerel
1947__The House Un American Activities Committee began investigating alleged Communist activities involving Hollywood entertainers.
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Jeopardy Categories Quiz
(these are all artists whose works express a vision of reality beyond that of the visible world)
1. He is a Spanish surrealist painter whose most famous work, Persistence of Memory, is known for its dreamlike images of insects and melting clocks.
2. One of the most famous Pop Artists, this painter helped make the musical group Velvet Underground and other members of his studio "The Factory" famous.
3. This Irish writer explored shifts in consciousness in his monumental novel Ulysses.
4. This English novelist used stream-of-consciousness in such works as Mrs. Dalloway and A Room of One's Own.
5. This British rock group gained fame with such psychadelic-influenced albums as Dark Side of the Moon, and incorporated light and laser spectacles into their live performances.
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Answers:
1. Who is Salvador Dali? The painting is also known as Melting Clocks
2. Who is Andy Warhol?
3. What is James Joyce?
4. Who is Virginia Woolf?
5. Who is Pink Floyd?

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Monday

~~~Free Ramblings
A really nice day here in Flagstaff. The Cardinals played a good game against an evenly matched team. Neither team is havin’ a good season, but saw some good football. The Broncos play tomorrow night, so I will get to see them.

It is amazing to me what lengths people will go to for their 15 minutes. The Balloon Boy hoax is the latest to get caught. The kids that were involved will be messed up for years, if not their whole lives. I really wish there was someone to blame, but it is such an overwhelming mess. The Cable channels that put families’ lives on TV are to blame. The people who watch the shows are to blame. The companies that advertise on these programs are to blame. There have been so many children ruined when they became ‘child stars’. I know that many were not ruined and became happy, successful adults. From my view, way too many of these kids got two chances at their 15 minutes—first as child stars and again when they hit bottom. I don’t have any answers, just questions as to why or how a parent would allow this to be done.

The other 15 minutes story in the news that is bothering me is the Sedona Tragedy. Three people died. In this case, the people who participated and paid big bucks, were not looking for their 15 minutes, they were just looking for seeing the world in a new way. The leader wanted his 15 minutes. Now that the three deaths have been ruled homicide, we will all see this plays out. My concern is that many more will be hurt through no fault of their own. Many Native tribes do a sweat. Of course the news media picked up on that, and thankfully one Native reminded everyone that there is always a danger when one tries to imitate something that is not fully understood. I have heard this before, when so many used to go to a Sun Dance at Big Mountain. Many traditional Navajos declined to participate because the Sun Dance is not a tradition of the Dine’. The New Age people are another group that will probably be hurt. I must admit I don’t understand their beliefs, but the New Age people I have met, though a very small number, do not seem to be looking for their 15 minutes. They are just looking for answers to questions we all have at some time in our lives. Some have turned “new age” into a business, for sure. From my point of view, they are not the true believers. Maybe I’m just naive.
I’m glad Flagstaff is staying warm this fall. We hit 75° today and only dropped to 42° last night. This kind of weather will make the 80’s and 90’s in Africa a little more bearable. I can’t imagine leaving Flagstaff if the highs here were in the 40’s and ending up in really hot weather in Africa. I’m sure the return in mid November will provide me with enough cold temperatures.

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~~~Random Facts
Sound at the right vibration can bore holes through a solid object.
The sun is 330,330 times larger than the earth.

~~~Unusual Oklahoma Laws
Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.

Oklahoma will not tolerate anyone taking a bite out of another’s hamburger.

It is illegal to have the hind legs of farm animals in your boots.

People who make “ugly faces” at dogs may be fined and/or jailed.

Cars must be tethered outside of public buildings.

Oral sex is a misdemeanor and is punishable by one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Anyone arrested for soliciting a hooker must have their name and picture shown on television.

Fish may not be contained in fishbowls while on a public bus.

Tissues are not to be found in the back of one’s car.

It is illegal for the owner of a bar to allow anyone inside to pretend to have sex with a buffalo.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Rush Limbaugh was a shoe shiner at one point.
Lucy Liu was an aerobics instructor at one point.
The only non-entertainment job LL Cool J had as a kid was a brief stint as a paper boy.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 17 Oct
Food & Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week
Teen Read Week
Nat’l Chemistry Week
Nat’l Character Counts Week
Nat’l Forest Products Week
Nat’l School Bus Safety Week


~~~19 OCT Observances
292 days so far this year…73 days remain in 2009

Evaluate Your Life Day
 Albania – Mother Teresa Day.
 Brazil – Independence Day of State of Piauí
 Niue – Constitution Day in honor of the country's independence (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) 1974.
 Mauritania : Independence Day from France(1960) East coast of Africa

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1931__John Le Carré, pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell spy novelist
1932__Robert Reed actor (Mike-Brady Bunch)
1937__Peter Max (Finkelstein) pop artist: psychedelic best-selling poster
1945__John Lithgow actor 3rd Rock from the Sun
1945__Jeannie C. Riley (Stephenson) singer: Harper Valley P.T.A.

~ATHLETICS
1850__Annie Peck mountain climber Matterhorn
1949__Lynn Dickey football: Green Bay Packers
1962__Evander Hollyfield Heavyweight boxing champ

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1748__Martha Jefferson (Wayles) 1st lady
1784__John McLoughlin Hudson's Bay Co pioneer in Oregon Country
1885__Charles Merrill stock company mogul: founded Merrill-Lynch
1922__Jack Anderson columnist
1945__Patricia Ireland social activist: president of NOW
1967__Amy Carter Pres Carter's daughter

~SCIENCE/RELIGION
1680 – John Abernethy Irish Protestant minister
1720 – John Woolman American Quaker preacher and abolitionist

~~~In Remembrance–
1745__Jonathan Swift Irish author @ 78
1950__Edna St. Vincent Millay American poet @ 58 from a fall
1978__Gig Young actor-- kills his bride of 3 weeks & then commits suicide @ 64
1994__Martha Raye American comedian and actress @78

~~~Historical Events on this day
1781__Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown at 2 PM; Revolutionary War ends
1818__CHICKASAW treaty: cede their claims to lands in Tennessee. (7 stat.192)
1849__Elizabeth Blackwell became 1st woman in US to receive medical degree
1870__1st (4) blacks elected to House of Reps
1933__Basketball was introduced to the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
1960__The US Places an embargo on exports to Cuba.
1988__Britain bans broadcast interviews with IRA members
1988__S African anti-apartheid leader Sisulu wins $100,000 Human Rights prize
1988__A bill passed by the senate limits the number of ads that can be shown during children's TV programs.

~ Holy Mackerel
1951__Pres Harry S Truman formally ends state of war with Germany
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Jeopardy Categories Quiz
(these writers or composers can be found at the movies)
1. This nineteenth century German Romantic composer's tempestuous life was depicted in the film, Immortal beloved.
2. This Elizabethan playwright's tragedy about star-crossed lovers became a feature film released in 1997, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
3. Victorian author whose classic novel, Great Expectations has been reset in contemporary Florida in a current release of the same title starring Ethan Hawke and Gweneth Paltrow.
4. This author, whose novel The Color Purple was made into a movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, has also published several volumes of poetry.
5. Austrian child prodigy and composer whose last years were dramatized in the Broadway play and feature film, Amadeus.
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Answers:
1. Who is Ludwig von Beethoven?
2. Who Is Alexandre Dumas?
3. What is Charles Dickens?
4. Who is Alice Walker?
5. Who is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

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Sunday

~~~Free Ramblings
It’s Fair Weekend in Tuba. While I attended and helped students and staffs participate in every fair while I was working, I must say I don’t miss the traffic. I do miss the parade, the food booths, seeing lots of families I taught, and the Ye’ Bi Cheii. I may go back up there next year, but was glad to just talk to friends up there and find out that everything was going well and of course, traffic is worse than ever.

Our fall weather stays warm. We hit 75° today and it dropped to 35° last night. There was very little breeze. It was nice one of my neighbors, as today was one of their girl’s birthdays. They had a nice party out by the trees across the parking lot. The most fun was watching the little ones attempt to break the piñata. Each relative had a role in the breaking. Mom helped the little one with the stick get close without getting hit herself. A pre-teenage brother got his first change to be the one who swings the piñata from the rope. This was really a rite of passage, as the dad stood off to the side, giving up that role for the first time. Aunties and older children were busy trying to keep the screaming little ones away from the stick. As the kids reached a frenzy, a young man appeared from almost nowhere and busted the piñata as everyone dove for the candy. A great day for a birthday party.
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~~~Random Facts
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue
Fidgeting can burn about 350 calories a day.
Texas is the only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.

~~~Unusual News Story
ALAMO HEIGHTS, Texas – A Texas museum dedicated to a retired plumber’s artwork — decorated toilet seats —has been named the Wackiest Attraction in America by a popular Web site. TripAdvisor.com bestowed that designation on the Toilet Seat Museum, in the garage of Alamo Heights artist and retired plumber Barney Smith. The museum features 900 hand-carved, painted and decorated toilet seats for the viewing pleasure of the public,KSAT-TV, San Antonio, Texas, reported Thursday. Smith has toilet seats decorated as tributes to celebrities, famous historical scenes and even lids with relics attached from the space shuttle Challenger explosion and Nazi concentration camps.

~~~Before They Were Famous
Grammy Award-winning John Legend said he used to clean musical instruments & work at Sears.
In the 1970s, Jay Leno got his show biz start with a two-word part in an episode of the detective show Holmes & Yoyo.
David Letterman was a stock boy at Atlas grocery store in Indianapolis. He also was a weatherman on the local news in Indianapolis.
Olympic medalist Carl Lewis once worked at McDonald's.
Jerry Lewis was once a bell boy.
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~~~October Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Opal Birth flower: calendula
Adopt A Shelter Animal Month ~ Apple Month ~ Celebrate the Bilingual Child Month ~ Domestic Violence Awareness Month ~ Emotional Intelligence Month ~ Gay & Lesbian History Month ~ Halloween Safety Month ~ Month of Free Thought ~ Nat’l Arts and Humanities Month ~ Nat’l Book Month ~ Nat’l Cyber Safety Awareness Month ~ Nat’l Popcorn Poppin’ Month ~ Nat’l Sarcastic Awareness Month ~ Photographer Appreciation Month ~ Squirrel Awareness Month ~ Vegetarian Month

~~~Week of 17 Oct
Food & Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week
Teen Read Week
Nat’l Chemistry Week
Nat’l Character Counts Week
Nat’l Forest Products Week
Nat’l School Bus Safety Week


~~~18 OCT Observances
291 days so far this year…74 days remain in 2009
World Menopause Day
Nat’l Chocolate Cupcake Day
Alaska—Alaska Day (1867 switched from Russia to US flag)

~~~Births on this day
~ The ARTS
1877__Florence Dahl Walrath humanitarian, founded Cradle society

1915__Victor Sen Yung SF Calif, actor (Bonanza)
1922__Little Orphan Annie comic strip character
1926__Chuck Berry St Louis, rocker
1926__George C Scott Wise Va, actor
1934__Inger Stevens Stockholm Sweden, actress (Katy-Farmer's Daughter)
1947__Laura Nyro Bronx, singer/songwriter
1948__Ntozake Shange (Paulette Williams) poet, playwright
1951__Pam Dawber Detroit, actress (Mindy-Mork & Mindy)
1961__Wynton Marsalis New Orleans La, jazz trumpeter

~ATHLETICS
1939__Mike Ditka Pro & College Football Hall of Famer
1956__Martina Navratilova Prague Czech, tennis
1958__Thomas Hearns Heavyweight Boxing Champ

~POLITICS/BUSINESS/EDUCATION
1919__Pierre Elliot Trudeau (L) 15th Canadian PM
1927__Katherine Fanning Chicago, editor (Christian Science Monitor)
1935__John B Coleman Boston, hotel magnate (Ritz Carlton)
1939__Lee Harvey Oswald JFK assassin

~~~In Remembrance–
1541__Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland @ 52 stoke
1911__Alfred Binet, French psychologist IQ test @ 54
1931__Thomas Edison, American inventor @ 84
1982__Bess Truman former 1st lady @ 97

~~~Historical Events on this day
1648__1st US labor organization forms (Boston Shoemakers)
1767__The Mason-Dixon Line is established.
1898__American troops raise the U.S. flag over Puerto Rico.

1922__British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) established
1954__Texas Instruments sells first commercially successful transistor radio, the Regency TR-1
1967__Walt Disney's "Jungle Book" is released
1968__Circus Circus opens in Las Vegas

~ Holy Mackerel
1776__In a NY bar decorated with bird tail, customer orders "cock tail"
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Jeopardy Categories Quiz
(these answers all relate to the idea of water)
1. This American architect is known for the House of Falling Water .
2. La Mer or The Sea is an impressionistic composition by this 19th Century French musician.
3. This film by Elia Kazan starred Eva Marie Saint and Marlon Brando, who "Coulda been a contenda."
4. This composer of The Messiah is also known for his collection Water Music.
5. This Renaissance painter is known for his painting of Venus arising from the sea.
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1. Answers:
2. Who is Frank Lloyd Wright?
3. Who Is Claude Debussy?
4. What is “On the Waterfront”?
5. Who is Georg Frideric Handel?
6. Who is Sandro Botticelli?

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