Monday October 4

This is Week 40 of 2010►Day 277 with 88 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

As a linguist, I am always fascinated by other languages. While in Taiwan I found myself asking a lot of questions of Angus regarding Chinese characters and translations. Angus had attended Oxford for his undergraduate work in Business and Tourism. I had grown up calling the island of Formosa. I don’t remember when the maps changed it to Taiwan. I remember when the island government claimed to be the government of mainland China. I remember learning of lots of tension over the two governments. The Chinese people of the island have known the island as the Chinese equivalent of Taiwan. It is also the name of a common tree on the island. Formosa is actually Portuguese for ‘beautiful island’. The Portuguese were the first of a long line of invaders. The list includes the Dutch (early 1600s), the Japanese (late 1500s), and the Chinese (before and after the others). While in Taipei, they had Red Coca Cola. It had the English logo and on the side of the can were Chinese Characters. The four Chinese Characters sounded like “Coke”. There meaning was “OK (good), mouth, OK, and refreshing”. The Coca Cola execs wanted the English sound of “Coke” and were not that concerned about what it meant. Pepsi, also available, didn’t have any Chinese Characters on the label.

While in Taiwan, I really had to listen hard the whole five days. Usually after a day our brains quickly begin to recognize speech differences and most pidgin English becomes much easier to understand. I seem to have been listening just as hard at the end as I was on the first encounter. Andy is a member of Toastmasters and he works very hard to speak English that is understandable. I’m sure that Brits and Aussies found his English much easier to hear. He tried really hard to speak to us and was successful. He taught us some Chinese—greetings, etc. I talked to him in a quiet moment and ask him to try an old ESL trick I learned. In order to get the correct inflections, start at the back of the word and pronounce the last syllable, class repeats then do the last two syllables, class repeats, and so on until the entire word or phrase is said completely. At one point in the tour he tried it, and everyone found it much easier to pronounce the phrase. He thanked me for that trick. At one of the dinners we were celebrating a birthday. He taught the group how to sing “Happy Birthday” in Chinese. The restaurant staff came over with the cake and chimed in with us. Very cool.

Flag…H—72°; L—42°; RH—55%; and with wind gusts of 35mph—a cloudy day with only a couple of sprinkles here, but the Cinder Hills just east of me were covered with hail.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY--Malay Proverb 

If you lost at the end of the route, go back to the beginning of the route

(meaning of proverb: if you make a mistake or get stuck, you should start over)

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States. Each year in the United States, 3 billion pizzas are sold. Americans eat around 350 slices of pizza each second, or 100 acres per day.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers

$100-Italian-American's have made this their equivalent of St. Patrick's Day

$200-Though we "love" his "day", he's been taken off calendar of saints

$300-The eve of All Saints' Day

$400-In colonial Massachusetts, Puritans made this Christian holiday illegal

$500-Several Southern states celebrate his June 3rd birthday instead of Lincoln's

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

MIDDLETOWN, CN - Two alleged burglars in Middletown, Conn., were nabbed after one of them was betrayed by an act of nature that led, naturally, to flushing a toilet, police say. A homeowner was pulling her car into the driveway of her house Wednesday around noon when she heard the sound of a toilet flushing, the Hartford Courant reported.

She pulled out of the driveway to a spot nearby and called police. The woman then followed an alleged intruder in her car, relaying information to police after he emerged from the house and took off on foot, the newspaper said.

Police apprehended Said Oruczadeh, 23, of Middletown carrying $9,905 worth of jewelry and later arrested Derek Mandeville, 21, also of Middletown whom police claim is an accomplice. Both were being held on burglary-related charges, the Courant said.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Noah was told that of all the animals on the ark, only the adders refused to obey God's command and go forth and multiply.

"Well," said Noah. "I'll have to ask the Lord what to do about that." And so he prayed to God and said, "These snakes won't go forth and multiply"

And God said, "Don't worry. Find some the trees and saw them into logs and create a platform sitting upon four legs. Then put the snakes on the platform."

"But how will that help the snakes?" asked Noah.

"Easy," replied God, "Everyone knows even adders can multiply using a log table!"

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

While I saw a lot in Taiwan, there is so much more. I also found the first page of comments very interesting.  Click Here to See

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

1-7: Universal Children's Week

2-9: No Salt Week

3-9: National Newspaper Week ^ National Work From Home Week ^ Fire Prevention Week ^ Mental Illness Awareness Week ^ Mystery Series Week ^ National Carry A Tune Week ^ Nuclear Medicine Week

4-10: Customer Service Week ^ Financial Planning Week ^ Spinning & Weaving Week ^ World Space Week

5-10:Great Books Week

6-12: Physicians Assistant Week

8-12: Kids' Goal Setting Week ^ New York Comic Con Week

10-16: Build Your Business with Business Cards Week ^ Emergency Nurses Week ^ Home-based Business Week ^ National Chestnut Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Metric Week ^ Take Your Medicine Americans Week ^ World Rainforest Week

11-17: Fall Astronomy Week ^ National School Lunch Week

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Ten-Four Day

Child Health Day

Improve Your Office Day

Universal Children's Day (1928)

World Animal Day

World Habitat Day

Lesotho : Independence Day (1966 from Great Britian)

Missouri : Missouri Day

Sweden: Cinnamon Roll Day or kanelbullens dag

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1892 ... Michael Casey Taking the Census / Russell Hunting

1912 ... I Love You Truly / Elsie Baker Click Here to Hear

1922 ... Hot Lips / Paul Whiteman  Click Here to Hear

1932 ... Say It Isn't So / George Olsen

1942… (I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo / Glenn Miller Click Here to Hear

1952… You Belong to Me / Jo Stafford

1962… Sherry / The Four Seasons

1972… Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me / Mac Davis Click Here to Hear

1982…Jack and Diane / John Cougar Click Here to Hear

1992… End of the Road / Boyz II Men

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Sidney Paget, illustrated Sherlock Holmes adventures, in 1860

Frederic Remington, US, artist/sculptor of the American West, in 1861

Anne Rice, 69, novelist (Interview with the Vampire)

Susan Sarandon (Susan Tomaling), 64, actress (Oscar for Dead Man Walking; Thelma and Louise)

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Armand Assante, 61, actor (Belizaire the Cajun, The Mambo Kings, Fatal Instinct)

Abraham Benrubi, 41, actor (“ER,” “Men in Trees”)

Jackie Collins, 69, author (Lucky)

Clifton Davis, 65, singer, actor (“That’s My Mama,” “Amen”), composer Charlton Heston(John Charlton Carter). actor (10 Commandments, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes), gun advocate (NRA), in 1923

Buster (Joseph Frank) Keaton (VI), actor (The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr), in 1895

╬ ATHLETICS

Tony La Russa, Jr, 66, baseball manager and former player

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

--

╬ POLITICS

Richard Cromwell, lord protector of England (1658-59), in 1626

Rutherford B Hayes, 19th pres (1877-81), in 1822

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

--

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Frederic Auguste Bertholdi, French sculptor ("Statue of Liberty"), TB @ 70

Janis Joplin rock singer, overdose @ 27

Leonard C Odell wrote 7,000 Burma Shave poems, @ 83 in 1991

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1881 The player piano was invented by Edward Leveaux of Sussex, England, who received a patent for it this day.

1931 The comic strip Dick Tracy by Chester Gould debuts

1954 Comedienne Spring Byington began the successful network TV series, December Bride

1957 Leave It to Beaver premiered on CBS-TV

╬ ATHLETICS

1895 First U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1648 Peter Stuyvesant establishes Americas 1st volunteer firemen

1883 Orient Express' 1st run, linking Turkey to Europe by rail

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1779 Today, 5 boatloads of ammunition and powder are working their way up the Ohio River. As they reach the Licking River, in Kentucky, Colonel David Rigers sees some Indians on the shore. He sends his four dozen men after the Indians. In wait for Rogers are over 130 DELAWARE, MINGO, SHAWNEE and WYANDOT warriors, led by Mathew Elliot and Simon Girty. All but a few of of the Americans are killed in the ambush. The Indians will lose only 2 men.

1838 Elijah Hicks, and 748 CHEROKEEs will be the second group of CHEROKEEs to leave the Tennessee Cherokee Agency area under their own supervision. They are part of the forced removal of the CHEROKEEs to the Indian Territory. They will arrive on January 4, 1839.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1636 1st code of law for Plymouth Colony

1984 US gov’t closes down due to budget problems

╬ POLITICS (International)

1824 Mexico becomes a republic

1854 Honest Abe Lincoln made his first great political speech while attending the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

1940 Adolph Hitler & Benito Mussolini confer at Brenner Pass in the Alps

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1955 Rev Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul

1957 USSR launches Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

$100-Italian-American's have made this their equivalent of St. Patrick's Day: What was Columbus Day?

$200-Though we "love" his "day", he's been taken off calendar of saints: Who was St. Valentine?

$300-The eve of All Saints' Day: What is Halloween

$400-In colonial Massachusetts, Puritans made this Christian holiday illegal: What is Christmas?

$500-Several Southern states celebrate his June 3rd birthday instead of Lincoln's: Who is Jefferson Davis?

↔ PICTURE

An almond

Sunday October 3

This is Week 40 of 2010►Day 276 with 89 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

The first indigenous people we visited live in the mountains outside Taipei. The Thao/Nagan live at Sun Moon Lake. This is the largest lake in Taiwan and the East side of the lake represents the sun, the West side the moon. There are only 281 Thao/Ngan left. They speak their own language and Chinese. They arrived at Sun Moon Lake after chasing a deer. An elder was visited by a fairy in a dream and was told that his people should remain at the lake. The Elders still follow the traditional way, but the young working in Taipei, about a 2 hour drive away. The Chinese Government has opened a lodge near the lake. It was built by the tribe and only tribal members can work there. The lodge and the individual cabins surround a huge grassy area that was filled with metallic blue butterflies. Elders use colorful tattoos on the face which are earned by doing something good for the tribe—usually weaving expertise for women and hunting for men. The tattoos are a single color band (usually red or blue) across the forehead and another around the chin. The wider the bands, the more important the person. In 1999 an earthquake destroyed about 80% of the indigenous homes.

We visited Marble Canyon. Unlike Marble Canyon in AZ, this area was white marble. The drive was on very windy roads but well worth the danger. We were able to walk along the road that before a recent earthquake had been the only way through the canyon, so we had to turn around. We had to wear hard hats and could only go into the area about 100m. A worker was cleaning up around a boulder that had fallen about an hour before we arrived. The VW Bug sized boulder would have made our hard hats useless. There were lots of Chinese families out there taking pictures standing near the damaged area. It is quite an attraction, with guards handing out hard hats. There is also a bridge that Chiang Kai-shek (traditional Chinese: 蔣中正 / 蔣介石; simplified Chinese: 蒋中正 / 蒋介石; pinyin: Jiǎng Jièshí) had built after praying there about his recently departed mother.

Our visit to the WuLai Aboriginal Tribe (Atayal—genuine people) included a “Laminite Generation” or ‘Up with People” type program. We joined in a traditional round dance up on the stage. This area is famous for its hot springs. The word WuLai means poisonous as the early hunters thought the hot water coming from the ground was dangerous and not fit for bathing. Andy told us he was returning there as soon as our tour was over. This is a much larger tribe (91,000). They have a nice and very expensive resort with hot springs that run into the river. We took a ‘train’ ride down from the village after the program and the mandatory walk through the gift shop.

We watched the changing of the guard at several monuments around Taipei. All were quite impressive. One was indoors while the other two were outside. It was hot and muggy there—33°C (92°F) with about 70+% humidity. The guards were in full dress dark uniforms and didn’t seem to be sweating, unlike this American who was dripping wet head to toe.

I’m slowing getting over my jet lag. Went to bed at 11:00 and was up at 4:00. Today I decided to take a nap to see if I can get back to my regular sleeping pattern. Since I was up so early, I caught up on all my email. Tomorrow I will catch up on my snail mail. I’m still having problems with the day of the week, as the paper arrived this morning about 5am I was expecting the Sunday paper. For the entire trip I seldom knew what day it was or what the date was. I blamed it on crossing the international date line but actually it was not important. It was nice to have no TV on the 9 day river cruise and no US news the entire trip. We did have about an hour each evening to watch BBC or CNN-International. I really didn’t miss the US news as highlights were enough. I did hear about a tornado in NYC. It turned out my brother’s flight from Paris was diverted to Philly so it took them 18 hours to get from Paris back to NYC, including a 2 hour cab ride from Philly at 2am. They should have been home about 11pm, instead of 4am. They both had meetings at 10am so the end of their trip was less than pleasant.

Flag…H—75°; L—42°; RH—70%; and only no breeze—many in Flag thought today was ‘muggy’ as the clouds came in but the only rain were a few sprinkles, just enough to dirty the windshield. I really didn’t notice, since no sweat was dripping off me or anybody else. Muggy is very relative.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

No matter how good a squirrel is jumping, sometimes it will fall

(meaning of proverb: no one is perfect,sometimes he makes a mistake)

HOLY MACKEREL: 1922 1st facsimile photo send over city telephone lines, Washington, DC

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION

Egyptians once trained baboons to do certain things like wait on tables and pluck weeds.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers--TV

$100- They got married in the final episode of "Happy Days"

$200-Editor Billie Newman & Joe Rossi worked for

$300 She shot J.R.

$400-Played WJM's man-hunting "happy homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens

$500Marketing began in 1984 on a line of nurse wear from this TV medical show

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

AUSTIN, Texas - Guinness World Records officials said accomplishments recorded in the 2011 edition, out Thursday, include a Texas dog's 4.5-inch tongue. Guinness officials said Puggy, a 10-year-old Pekingese, made it into the record book with a tongue nearly as long as his body, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Becky Stanford, Puggy's current owner, said the canine was abandoned by its original owners. "People who meet Puggy for the first time do a lot of double takes; they are in total disbelief and are amused by his unique appearance," Stanford said.

"It means a great deal to us that he has accomplished what he has. From being a stray dog, being dumped, to being a Guinness World Record Holder is just phenomenal. I just can't believe it." Other new records in the 2011 edition of the book include world's largest collection of "Smurfs" memorabilia, belonging to Stephen Parkes, 44, of Nottingham, England, and the world's smallest cow, a Rishworth, England, bovine measuring 33 inches from hind to foot.

A LITTLE LAUGH

A Sunday school teacher was teaching her class about the difference between right and wrong. "All right children, let's take another example," she said. "If I were to get into a man's pocket and take his billfold with all his money, what would I be?"

Little Johnny raises his hand, and with a confident smile he blurts out, "You'd be his wife!"

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Imagine you were in a sinking boat with sharks and crocodiles around you. How would you survive?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Video of 2008 earthquake in Taipei. Taipei 101 footage of the damper system at work. Amazing.

Click Here To See!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

1-3: Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend

1-7: Universal Children's Week

2-9: No Salt Week

3-9: National Newspaper Week ^ National Work From Home Week ^ Fire Prevention Week ^ Mental Illness Awareness Week ^ Mystery Series Week ^ National Carry A Tune Week ^ Nuclear Medicine Week

4-10: Customer Service Week ^ Financial Planning Week ^ Spinning & Weaving Week ^ World Space Week

5-10:Great Books Week

6-12: Physicians Assistant Week

8-12: Kids' Goal Setting Week

8-10: New York Comic Con Week

10-16: Build Your Business with Business Cards Week ^ Emergency Nurses Week ^ Home-based Business Week ^ National Chestnut Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Metric Week ^ Take Your Medicine Americans Week ^ World Rainforest Week

11-17: Fall Astronomy Week ^ National School Lunch Week

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Alternative Fuel Day

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet

Country Inn, Bed and Breakfast Day

Intergeneration Day

World Communion Day

Barbados : United Nations Day/Clerks' Holiday

Germany: Day of German Unity (1990)

Honduras : Moraz n Day/Soldier's Day

Iraq : Independence Day (1932)

South Korea: National Foundation Day or Gaecheonjeol (2233BC)

Massachusetts: Grandparents Day

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1901 ... Uncle Josh's Huskin' Bee Dance / Cal Stewart / Click Here to Hear!

1911 ... Alexander's Ragtime Band / Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan / Click Here to Hear!

1921 ... Song of India / Paul Whiteman

1931 ... When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain / Kate Smith

1941…Piano Concerto in B Flat / Freddy Martin / Click Here to Hear!

1951…Because of You / Tony Bennett

1961…Hit the Road Jack / Ray Charles

1971…Maggie May/ Reason to Believe / Rod Stewart

1981…Endless Love / Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Lindsey Buckingham, 63, singer, songwriter (with Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”), born Palo Alto, CA

Chubby Checker, 69, musician, singer (“The Twist”), born Ernest Evans at Philadelphia, PA

Jay Irving (Irving Joel Rafsky), cartoonist (Draw Me a Laugh) in 1900 NYC

Gore Vidal, 86, writer/playwright (Myra Breckinridge, Lincoln) in West Point, NY

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Clive Owen, 46, actor (Children of Men, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Closer, Sin City), born Keresley, Coventry, Warwickshire, England

╬ ATHLETICS

Fred Couples, 51, golfer, born Seattle, WA

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Roy (Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn), 66, illusionist: Siegfried & Roy in Nordenham, Germany

╬ POLITICS

Li Tzu-ch'eng, Chinese revolutionary, dethroned last Ming emperor in 1605 Mizhi, Shaanxi province, China

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

William Crawford Gorgas, US, Surgeon-Gen, help cure yellow fever in 1854 Toulminville, AL

James Herriot (James Alfred Wight), veterinarian, author: All Creatures Great and Small in 1916 Sunderland, County Durham, England

Sir Patrick Manson, "Father of tropical medicine" in 1844 Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Stefano Casiraghi, Princess Caroline of Monaco husband, boating accident @ 30 in 1990

Generoso Pope Jr, National Enquirer owner, heart attack @ 61 in 1988

Myles Standish, Plymouth Colony leader, @ 72 in 1656

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1952 1st video recording on magnetic tape, LA, Ca

1955 "Captain Kangaroo" premieres, Good Morning, Captain! 1955 "Mickey Mouse Club" premieres

1961 "Mr Ed" premieres

╬ ATHLETICS

1920 NFL (then American Pro Football Association) plays 1st games

1970 Baseball umpires call their 1st strike

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1893 The motor-driven vacuum cleaner was patented by J.S. Thurman of St. Louis, MO. Remember his advertising slogan? “You can be sure if it’s Thurman!”

1906 One of the nation’s pioneer retailers, W.T. Grant, opened a 25-cent department store on this day in Lynn, MA

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1763 As a part of "Pontiac's War," Indians will ambush a force of 5 dozen rangers in western Virginia. Fifteen of the soldiers will be killed in the fighting. After tracking the Indians, a force of 150 Virginia militia and volunteers, led by Charles Lewis, will find them on the South Fork of the Potomac River. The Europeans will kill 21 of the Indians without suffering a single loss.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1863 Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day

1913 Federal Income Tax signed into law (at 1%)

1974 Watergate trial begins

1995 O.J. Simpson acquitted of the June 12, 1994 stabbing deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter, Ronald Goldman. Simpson smiled and nodded toward the jury, saying “Thank you, thank you.”

╬ POLITICS (International)

1968 Military coup overthrows Pres Fernando Bela£nde Terry in Peru

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1430 Jews are expelled from Eger Bohemia

1947 1st telescope lens 200" (508 cm) in diameter completed

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

$100- They got married in the final episode of "Happy Days": Who are Joanie and Chochi?

$200-Editor Billie Newman & Joe Rossi worked for: Who was Lou Grant?

$300 She shot J.R.: Who was Mary Crosby?

$400-Played WJM's man-hunting "happy homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens: Who is Betty White?

$500-Marketing began in 1984 on a line of nurse wear from this TV medical show: What is Trapper John, MD

↔ 2

Quit imagining.

↔ PICTURE

Handle on a safe

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Returns soon!!!

<> <> <> <>

Saturday October 2

This is Week 39 of 2010►Day 275 with 90 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

What a great trip to Asia. Before I start recalling the trip, one story about the plane ride back. We were in the air about 17 hours. That’s a long time in a toothpaste tube. We flew from Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia to Taipei, Taiwan. They had to get a new crew and clean the plane. We deplaned, walked through yet another security check right as we got off the plane, into a waiting room, and then back to the plane after a 15 minute wait. There was a young couple with a baby about 9 months old. We made funny faces at the baby, he laughed, mom laughed, dad laughed. Cute babies break all language barriers. Soon after our reboarding, the stewardess passed out our cards to reenter the US. The man indicated in hand signals he didn’t know how to fill it out. The stewardess returned about 45 minutes before we landed to help the family. She tried English and Chinese and he just shook his head no. I pulled out my passport—always the ESL teacher—and he smiled and shook his head no. He did open a white bag he was carrying and pulled out several pages and showed them to the stewardess. She took the paperwork and the card and left. We later learned that the family was refugees from Myanmar and the paperwork was from the Department of State with Hillary’s signature. Sidenote: Our Burmese Purser on the ship that the times are tough in Burma right now. They have an election and all passport offices and visa offices have shut down until after the ‘free’ election, so no foreigners can enter or leave. Many Burmese live off the tourist industry, and the government basically shut that down a few years ago. So the refugees did not speak Chinese or English, another stewardess tried Thai and finally Malay. The dad understood Beginning Malay, so all was well. Just after we landed the 2nd stewardess brought over several jars of baby food and Enfamil. At first dad declined, but she convinced him the baby would need it. I let her know that his was a very kind gesture, she smiled, and said we can always get more. It turned out there were 30 such refugees on the flight. LAX immigration has a special section for refugees to sit…and wait…and wait…and wait. The family was still waiting after we spent our two hours moving through the maze of documentation. Their only luggage was a small backpack the dad carried. I later saw two passengers on my plane from LAX to PHX that were carrying the same bags. This is the America I love.

Our trip started in Taipei. Our tour guide, Andy and the programmer, Angus, was with him. This was the first visit Angus had planned for Americans, so wanted our feedback. Andy has been guiding for years, but few Americans come to Taiwan for a holiday. We were treated very very well. They wanted us to see so many places. During our five days you could count on one hand the number of Anglos we saw. Taipei is a big city—6.75 million—and is always busy. Our first street market (Shilin) was very crowded at 11pm. The market was full of fresh food and inexpensive Dollar Store stuff. I’m sure the entire city population wasn’t at the market when we were there…there had to be a few grandmas that stayed home.

We also visited several Buddhist / Taoist Temples. Angus was willing to share much and as the group wandered the temples I spent time with him, learning a lot. Andy shared much too, but is a Catholic, and seemed to have more book knowledge, whereas Angus was raised Buddhist.

We ate lunch and dinner at local restaurants. The food was good, and not the typical Chinese food of America. All meals are family style, with a huge lazy susan (or as Andy called it—lazy suzy). I should point out that many of the dishes were difficult to translate into English, and most times we were happy to just know if it was beef, chicken, pork, fish, or ‘something else’. All fish dishes, from a variety of fish, were all just translated as ‘fish’. I really liked anything with noodles and was able to add hot chili to every dish. I also became quite adept with chop sticks.

I was surprised to learn about which country sends the most tourists to Taipei; it’s the Chinese, followed by Aussies, and then Brits. I am so happy I am one of the few. I am sure that some of the countryside locals had never seen an American. Taipei was hot and humid—average temp was about 31° (90°F) and humidity was around 78%. I continue to wonder why the US remains the only major country not to switch to Metric. Every country I have visited use Metric, and they did not fall apart. We tried to convert for our bicentennial, but neither Nixon nor Ford could pull it off. As globalization becomes a major force in everyone’s economy, American children are being left behind. They have to do way too many conversions, which leads to errors. I recall a US space flight that had a problem when someone did an incorrect conversion. The guide always announced the temperature for the next day and it was so embarrassing for someone always had to ask for the conversion. With several guides, they didn’t know, and someone with an iPhone had to get on the web for the conversion.

I certainly hope that the anti-immigration people in this country will find out that many people around the world want a way to get to America. I know the illegal thing is different, but I also know that many with loud voices don’t want foreigners.

Flag…H—85°; L—42°; RH—39%; and no breeze—a really nice day.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY: Malay Proverbs

As heavy as it looks, it is heavier to the shoulder that he carries the thing.

(meaning of proverb: as bad as some one's situation may seem, it is always worse for the person involved)

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION-Taipei

Here is a cool video of Taipei 101—the world’s tallest building in 2008. Our visit there was stunning and a marvelous architectural wonder. Click Here to See Taipei 101

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers--Sports

$100-Sport which uses epees, foils & sabres

$200-Name given to annual competition among U.S. amateur boxers

$DD-Number of downs allowed in Canadian football to advance the ball 10 yards

$400-Because of WWII, these 2 NFL teams combined squads in '43 to become the "Stegles"

$500- Ex-Boston Celtics' star who has refused induction into Basketball Hall of Fame

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

BOZEMAN, Mont. — A 31-year-old Three Forks man accused of hitting his pregnant sister in the mouth with a wrench during her wedding reception has pleaded not guilty.

David J. Sicotte appeared in District Court on Wednesday on charges of assault with a weapon, a felony, and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors said he arrived at the reception uninvited Aug. 27, pushed his sister's new mother-in-law to the ground and started fighting with the groom. Witnesses said Sicotte later came at his sister with the wrench.

The bride told police she slapped her intoxicated brother and he responded by hitting her in the mouth with the wrench.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported that Judge John Brown told Sicotte on Wednesday that while he is out on bail he is not allowed to drink alcohol, enter a bar or come within 300 feet of the home where the alleged attack occurred.

A LITTLE LAUGH

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Returns tomorrow

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Returns tomorrow

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

Returns tomorrow

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ OCTOBER Observances ¤

Adopt A Shelter Dog Month §Antidepressant Death Awareness Month § Apple Month

(World) Blindness Awareness Month

Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month § Celiac Disease Awareness Month § Celebrate The Bilingual Child Month § Children's Magazine Month § Christmas Seal Campaign (10/1-12/31) § Church Library Month § Church Safety and Security Month § Class Reunion Month § Co-op Awareness Month § Cut Out Dissection Month

Domestic Violence Awareness Month § Dyslexia Awareness Month

Eat Better, Eat Together Month § Emotional Intelligence Month § Emotional Wellness Month § Employee Ownership Month § Energy Management is a Family Affair-Improve Your Home Month (10/1-3/31/08)

Fair Trade Month Link

Gay & Lesbian History Month § German-American Heritage Month § Global Diversity Awareness Month § Go Hog Wild - Eat Country Ham

Halloween Safety Month § Head Start Awareness Month § Health Literacy Month

International Starman Month § International Strategic Planning Month

Long Term Care Planning Month

Month of Free Thought

National …

Animal Safety and Protection Month § Bake and Decorate Month § Book Month § Breast Cancer Awareness Month § Caramel Month § Chili Month § Chiropractic Month § Crime Prevention Month § Cyber Security Awareness Month § Dental Hygiene Month § Depression Education & Awareness Month § Disability Employment Awareness Month § Domestic Violence Awareness Month § Down Syndrome Month § Ergonomics Month § Family Sexuality Education Month - Let's Talk! § "Gain The Inside Advantage" Month § Go On A Field Trip Month § Kitchen & Bath Month § Liver Awareness Month § Medical Librarian Month § Orthodontic Health Month § Physical Therapy Month § Popcorn Poppin' Month § Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month § Reading Group Month § Roller Skating Month § Sarcastic Awareness Month § Spina Bifida Awareness Month § Window Covering Safety Month § Work and Family Month § Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month

Organize Your Medical Information Month

Photographer Appreciation Month § Polish American Heritage Month § Positive Attitude Month

Raptor Month § Rett Syndrome Awareness Month § Right Brainers Rule! Month

Sausage Month § Self-Promotion Month § Spinach Lovers Month § Squirrel Awareness Month § Stamp Collecting Month

Tackling Hunger Month § Talk About Prescriptions Month

Vegetarian Month

Wishbones for Pets Month (10/15 - 11/30) § Women's Small Business Month § Workplace Politics Awareness Month § World Origami Days

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

1-3: Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend

1-7: Universal Children's Week

2-9: No Salt Week

3-9: National Newspaper Week ^ National Work From Home Week ^ Fire Prevention Week ^ Mental Illness Awareness Week ^ Mystery Series Week ^ National Carry A Tune Week ^ Nuclear Medicine Week

4-10: Customer Service Week ^ Financial Planning Week ^ Spinning & Weaving Week ^ World Space Week

5-10:Great Books Week

6-12: Physicians Assistant Week

8-12: Kids' Goal Setting Week ^ New York Comic Con Week

10-16: Build Your Business with Business Cards Week ^ Emergency Nurses Week ^ Home-based Business Week ^ National Chestnut Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Metric Week ^ Take Your Medicine Americans Week ^ World Rainforest Week

11-17: Fall Astronomy Week ^ National School Lunch Week

17-23: Food and Drug Interaction Education and Awareness Week ^ Getting The World To Beat A Path To Your Door Week ^ International Credit Union Week ^ Teen Read Week ^ National Chemistry Week ^ National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week ^ YWCA Week without Violence ^ National Character Counts Week ^ National Forest Products Week ^ National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week ^ National School Bus Safety Week

18-24: Freedom From Bullies Week ^ Freedom of Speech Week ^ Medical Assistants Recognition Week ^ National Food Bank Week ^ National Infertility Awareness Week ^ National Massage Therapy Week ^ National Businesswomen's Week

24-31: Disarmament Week ^ Give Wildlife a Break Week ^ Pastoral Care Week ^ Peace, Friendship and Good Will Week ^ Prescription Errors Education & Awareness Week ^ International Magic Week ^ National Respiratory Care Week

27-11/3: World Hearing Aid Awareness Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Change A Light Day

Guardian Angels Day

International Day of Non-violence

Inter-American Water Day

Phileas Fogg's Wager Day

National Custodial Workers Day

Techie's Day

World Card Making Day

World Farm Animals Day

*Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1920 ...St. Louis Blues by Marion Harris

1950…Goodnight Irene by Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers

1960…My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own by Connie Francis Click Here to Hear!

1970…Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross Click Here to Hear!

1980…Another One Bites the Dust by Queen Click Here to Hear!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Julie Andrews (Julia Wells), 75, Academy Award-winning actress: Mary Poppins [1964]; The Sound of Music, Victor/Victoria, 10, Hawaii; Emmy Award-winner: Victoria Regina: Hallmark Hall of Fame [1961-62]; My Fair Lady, The Boyfriend

Lorraine Bracco, 55, actress (“The Sopranos,” Goodfellas), born Brooklyn, NY

Julius "Groucho" Marx, comedian (Marx Bros, You Bet Your Life) in 1890, NYC

Bud Abbott, Asbury Pk NJ, comedian (Abbott & Costello)in 1895

Graham Greene, prolific novelist (Brighton Rock) in 1904 London, England 

Vladimir Horowitz, concert pianist Academy Award-winning actor: The Fortune Cookie [1966]; The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men, Dennis the Menace, Kotch, Pete & Tillie, Plaza Suite, The Sunshine Boys, JFK, Fail-Safe  in 1903

Don McLean, 65, singer, songwriter (“American Pie”), born New Rochelle, NY

Kelly Ripa, 40, actress (“Hope & Faith,” “All My Children”), television host (“Live with Regis & Kelly”), born Stratford, NJ

Sting, 59, singer, songwriter, actor (Dune), born Gordon Sumner at London, England

James Whitmore, actor: Give ’Em Hell Harry, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma!, Planet of the Apes, Tora! Tora! Tora! in 1921

Roger Williams (Louis Weertz), 86, pianist: 18 gold/platinum albums

╬ ATHLETICS

--

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

Donna Karan, 62, fashion designer, born Forest Hills, NY

Rex Reed, 71, movie critic, born Fort Worth, TX

╬ POLITICS

Jimmy Carter, 86, 39th U.S. President [1977-1981]; married to Rosalynn Smith [three sons, one daughter]; full name: James Earl Carter

Mohandas K Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), , pacifist in 1869--Porbandar Kathiawad India

William Rehnquist, U.S. Supreme Court Justice [sworn in Jan 7, 1972], Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court [1986-2005] in 1924

Nat Turner Virginia leader of major slave rebellion in 1800

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

--

¤ Obituaries ¤

Aristotle, dies of indigestion @ 62—322-BC

Paul Hartman, actor (Bert-Petticoat Junction), @ 68 in 1973

Rock Hudson, actor (MacMillian & Wife), @ 59 of aids in 1985

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1880 A new director of the United States Marine Corps Band was named. John Philip Sousa became the band’s 17th leader.

1950 The comic strip "Peanuts" 1st appears, in 9 newspapers

1955 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" premiers

1961 "Ben Casey" premieres

1962 “From New York ... heeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!” Ed McMahon introduced the new host of NBC’s Tonight Show for the first time

╬ ATHLETICS

1903 Cy Young played in his (and everyone else’s) first World Series baseball game.

1977 77,691 fans saw world-famous soccer player Pele in the last game of his career -- at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

1983 Carl Yastrezemski's last at bat

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1908 Imagine paying just $825 for a new car! That’s what it cost to buy the new Model T: Not to burst any bubbles, but that is actually $19,400 in 2010 currency

1971 Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida, USA.

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1535 Cartier arrives in the area of what would eventually become Montreal.

1685 According to some sources, an agreement is reached today for the DELEWAREIndians to cede some lands to Pennsylvania.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1919 Pres Woodrow Wilson suffers a stroke

1967 Thurgood Marshall is sworn as 1st black Supreme Court Justice

╬ POLITICS (International)

1187 Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1608 Prototype of modern reflecting telescope completed by Jan Lippershey

1942 1st self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction demonstrated, Chicago

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

$100-Sport which uses epees, foils & sabres: What is Fencing?

$200-Name given to annual competition among U.S. amateur boxers: What is Golden Gloves?

$DD-Number of downs allowed in Canadian football to advance the ball 10 yards: What is 3?

$400-Because of WWII, these 2 NFL teams combined squads in '43 to become the "Stegles": Who are the Stealers and the Eagles?

$500- Ex-Boston Celtics' star who has refused induction into Basketball Hall of Fame: Who was Bill Russell? * he claimed the media and Boston were too racist.

↔ 2

Returns tomorrow

↔ PICTURE

Returns tomorrow

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Taroko Gorge National Park, Taiwan: When Taroko National Park was established on November 28, l986, it was of special significance for the environmental protection movement in Taiwan: it showed that both the public and the government agencies had realized that against the background of the nation's four decades of extraordinary economic success, serious damage was being done to its natural resources.

According to the National Park Act of the Republic of China (passed in l972), parks are established to protect the natural scenery, historic relics and wildlife; to conserve natural resources; and to facilitate scientific research and promote environmental education.

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Wednesday Sept. 8

This is Week 36 of 2010►Day 251 with 114 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I’m packed and ready to go. All that is left is a few last minute things tomorrow morning. Therefore this will be the last blog until I return. They should return on October 1st. This is going to be a great adventure. So much to see, so many things to do. I spoke to my roommate on the trip this afternoon. He too is ready for an adventure. This is his first trip with a really long plane ride. He has done Alaska, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. He is my age, a retired Baptist minister who retired early when his wife got sick. He lost her about two years ago. It should be an exciting trip.

I was shocked tonight when I turned on the computer and found that the canyons just outside Boulder CO are on fire. Forty years ago, I spent a lot of time in those canyons. Back then, the canyons might have had a few very old cabins and a few houses built in the 30’s. Most of the canyon was unfenced uninhabited wilderness. You could pull of the road and find a nice place to eat a lunch, have a campfire, maybe pitch a tent. There were plenty of places to have a beer bust too. From the scenes I saw, Fourmile Canyon is now little more than houses on small plots of land up and down the mountain. These are not the small cabins or houses I was used to seeing. Towns grow and spread and it sure looks like Boulder has done that up through the many canyons below the Flatirons. I sure feel sorry for all those people who have to leave this beautiful part of Colorado. I’m sure the land and the homes came at a premium price, before the housing market crashed. It is hard to rebuild when you paid $500K for your house and now it is appraised at $350K and the bank still wants whole amount. Flagstaff residents are so fortunate that our huge fire this summer didn’t destroy any homes.

I am still hopeful that the Gainesville Center will decide not to burn the Koran’s on Saturday. The only ray of hope is that the leader of the cult has said he heard what General Petraeus had said and that he was praying about it. He said he is waiting for a sign from God to tell him to stop, if that is God’s Will. I certainly hope he gets that sign, real soon. He has given himself a face-saving out and that is better than what was happening just yesterday.

Flag…H—73°; L—46°; RH—43%; and only a breeze of 6mph—which doesn’t tell the story at all. This morning at 6am it was nice outside, a little cloudy, but not a bad walk. Along about 8am the clouds suddenly burst and we had a hard, steady rain for about 45 minutes. There was a little thunder and lightning, but mostly just lots of water. After the rain stopped, the sun came out, and within an hour the streets were again dry. We had some clouds most of the day, but otherwise, it was nice.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Daniel J. Boorstin-The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing."

HOLY MACKEREL: 1892 The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America was written by a former Baptist preacher, Francis Bellamy. It only took Mr. Bellamy three hours to write the original 23 words in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION: Ancient History

▬The first capital of ancient Egypt was Memphis, a city whose name can be roughly translated into English as "White Walls."

▬On his way home from the siege of Miletus, Julius Caesar was captured by pirates and held hostage for about forty days. Caesar insisted that his captors double their ransom demand (he was, after all, an aristocrat) and promised to return and punish them. True to his word, Caesar returned after his release, hunted the pirates down, and had them crucified.

▬Ancient Greek civilization is believed to have originated on the island of Crete. It is unclear when the island was first settled, but there are archeological remains dating as far back as 5000 B.C.

▬Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one remains: the Great Pyramid of Giza.

▬Anaximander, a philosopher from Miletus who lived during the first half of the 6th century B.C., is credited with making the first map of the known world around 540 B.C.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: Starts with ‘Q’

$100-Klugman's coroner

$200-Hugo's hunchback

$300-"To be or not to be"

$400-Oldest city in Canada

$500-Popular name of the Religious Society of Friends

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM—Great, this is where I’m headed

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian was jailed for six months and fined 190,000 ringgit ($61,000) for trying to smuggle dozens of snakes out of the country, a sentence that conservationists said was too light. Anson Wong, already convicted of trafficking in wildlife in the United States in 2001, pleaded guilty last week and will start his sentence on Sept. 13.

Under Malaysian law, Wong could have faced seven years in jail and fines of up to 100,000 ringgit ($32,000) for each snake up to a maximum of a million ringgit ($320,000US) or both.

Wong was detained when in transit from the Malaysian island state of Penang to the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Aug. 26 when staff at Kuala Lumpur airport were alerted to a bag that had broken while on a conveyor belt. They found 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle inside the bag.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Wong had pleaded guilty to a trafficking in the United States in 2001 and was sentenced to 71 months in jail.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization, said the sentence indicated unwillingness by Malaysian courts to get tough with real wildlife criminals and to show the world it was serious about wildlife trafficking.

"This is a tragedy. It clearly tells wildlife traffickers that they have little to fear from Malaysian law," said TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia regional director, William Schaedla.

The prosecuting officer said he would discuss with other government authorities whether to appeal the court's ruling and seek a tougher sentence.

A LITTLE LAUGH

Back in the days of the Roman Empire, the famous Emperor Nero instituted a new game. The players would take those little disks you set your glass on in order to protect the furniture, and see who could get the most distance rolling them across the floor.

They were the first roller coasters. Back in those days, the disks were made of iron, and they would bet on whose disk would roll the farthest.

They called them ferrous wheels.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

A blue man lives in a blue house. A green man lives in a green house. Who lives in a white house?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Quebec City: See It Here!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

1-8: Self-University Week and International Enthusiasm Week

5-11: National Waffle Week AND Suicide Prevention Week AND National Payroll Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

National Date Nut Bread Day

National Pardon Day

International Literacy Day

Peregean Spring Tides

Rosh Hashanah

World Physical Therapy Day

Andorra : National Day )

Lichfield, England : Sheriff's Ride Ceremony (1533)

Malta : Commemoration of Regatta Day/Commemoration of 2 Sieges (1565)

Mauritius : Mid Autumn Festival

North Korea : National Day (Established Govt) (1948)

South Korea : Thanksgiving Day

Uganda : Republic Day (1967)

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1907...I Pagliacci - Vesti La Giubba (On With the Party)…Enrico Caruso Click Here to Hear It!

1927...Russian Lullaby…Roger Wolfe Kahn

1937...So Rare…Guy Lombardo

1947…Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)…Tex Williams

1957…Diana…Paul Anka

1967…Ode to Billie Joe…Bobbie Gentry

1977…Best of My Love…The Emotions

1987…La Bamba…Los Lobos Click Here to Hear It!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

Antonín Leopold Dvořák, composer (New World Symphony) …born 1841…Nelahozeves, Czech

Pink, 31, singer, born Alecia Moore at Doylestown, PA

Jimmie Rodgers, country singer/singing brakeman …born 1897… Mendoza MS

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Sid Caesar, 88, comedian, actor (“Your Show of Shows”), born Yonkers, NY

Patsy Cline (Virginia Petterson Hensley), Country Music Hall of Famer: Crazy, I Fall to Pieces …born 1932…Winchester, PA

Peter Sellers, England, actor (not now, Kato, Bobo, Pink Panther) …born 1925… Portsmouth, England

╬ ATHLETICS

Ken (Kenneth Roth) Forsch, 64, baseball: pitcher: Houston Astros [all-star: 1976], California Angels [all-star: 1981] …born Sacramento, CA

L.C. Greenwood, 64, football: Steelers defensive end: Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV…born Canton, MS

Latrell Sprewell, 40, basketball (Warriors, Knicks, Timberwolves), born Milwaukee, WI

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

--

╬ POLITICS

Lyndon LaRouche, 88, American presidential candidate (1980) …born Rochester, NH

Claude (Denson) Pepper, U.S. Senator from Florida [1936-1950]; member of Congress for fourteen terms; champion of social welfare for the elderly …born 1900.…Dudleyville, AL

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

--

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Bud Collyer. TV emcee (Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth), @ 61 in 1969

Dorothy Danridge. actress, dies @ 41 in Hollywood in 1965

Huey P Long (Sen-La). assassinated at Baton Rouge Capitol building in 1935

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1930 1st appearance of the comic strip "Blondie"

1952 Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man & the Sea" published

1966 "Star Trek" premiers on NBC-TV

╬ ATHLETICS

1972 Jim Ryun (US) & Billy Fordjour (Ghana) collide & fall in qualifying competitions for 1,500m finals, ending Ryan's chances for gold

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1553 City of Lichfield, England established

1930 NYC public schools begin teaching Hebrew

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1535 Cartier reaches Stadacone, where the modern city Quebec is located.

╬ POLITICS (US)

1771 Mission San Gabriel Archangel forms in California

1858 Lincoln makes a speech about when you can fool people

1974 Pres Gerald Ford pardons former Pres R Nixon of all federal crimes

╬ POLITICS (International)

1565 Turkish siege of Malta broken by Maltese & Knights of St John

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1866 James and Jennie Bushnell became the proud parents of sextuplets in Chicago, IL. Three boys and three girls were born. Though two babies died, the surviving four lived long lives. This was the first recorded birth of sextuplets.

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

$100-Klugman's coroner: Who is Quincy?

$200-Hugo's hunchback: Who is Quasimodo?

$300-"To be or not to be": What is the Question?

$400-Oldest city in Canada: What is Quebec?

$500-Popular name of the Religious Society of Friends: Who are the Quakers?

↔ 2

The President!

↔ PICTURE

Frozen soft drink in a bottle

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 24th National Park since date February 26, 1929: Grand Teton is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The park's Jackson Hole valley and reflective piedmont lakes contrast with the tall mountains, which abruptly rise from the glacial sage-covered valley.

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Tuesday, Sept. 7

This is Week 36 of 2010►Day 250 with 115 days left.

FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

I spent the day looking over my pile of stuff that I have to take on my trip. Somehow I misplaced, or lost the electrical converter. After several hours of looking, on and off, I gave up and ran to the store to get another. Probably a good thing, because the little brochure that comes with them clearly states they should not be used on computers. That probably explains what happened to my last battery. I read the info on the old converter and it said the same thing. Yeah, I had the package but lost the converter and the plug I used in South Africa. I also called my roommate, as we have only communicated through e-mail. I left a message, he called back and I missed his call. He gets to LAX about 4pm and I get there about 6pm so we can meet up then. We don’t fly out till midnight and the rest of the group arrives about 9pm from Denver. I also cleaned up my iPod a little and added about five hours of podcasts. As I looked for audio books, they were all 12+ hours. I don’t have that much down time alone and on my last two trips I get home and then listen to the rest of the book. I really enjoyed audio books when I was driving to and from Tuba or when I drove to Denver. I have found that when I sit on a plane, I usually fall asleep so music and short podcasts will work much better. I don’t have to be to the shuttle until 10:30 on Wednesday, so there is plenty of time to do what still has to be done.

Obama hit the campaign trail today. He made an interesting analogy. Our economy is like a car. The previous administration ran it into a ditch. This administration has pulled it out, and that was not easy, the car had some dents and scratches but it still runs. Now the Republicans want the keys back. The Democrats are putting the car in D-rive. The Republicans have stated they want to go back to the Bush era and put the car in R. Interesting analogy. Some Republican was on CNN talking in a panel discussion about the speech. He said the car is in Park, and his party just wants to get it moving again. Clever is better than bashing.

While my brother and his wife are enjoying Paris, it looks like a hurricane may be heading toward their hacienda in Mexico. Hermine is still a tropical storm and isn’t expected to be a big hurricane, but that means little to the people who get pelted. They are about 40 miles from the coast and the hacienda has withstood weather for over 100 years, so it shouldn’t really be a problem, but flooding and sandbags and that stuff will take its toll on those living a little closer to the coast. That area is mostly farms and Mayan villages. I hope everyone gets through it will little permanent damage.

General Petraeus came out today with an interesting statement. There is a church in Florida that is going to have a Koran burning on 9-11 at their church. The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville has a big day planned. This ‘New Testament Church’--a non-denominational charismatic church--has actually called for an International Burn the Koran Day on Sept. 11. The Church leader believes that Islam is demonic and must be destroyed. General Petraeus has told us that if the burning takes place, it will place our troops and our ‘friends’ in Afghanistan in mortal danger. He said that there are already daily protests against the burning in Afghanistan. It is so unnerving that zealots, like the Florida preacher, can frighten everyday Muslims half way across the world. Oh, wait, the Muslim zealots have been doing that for almost a decade, frightening everyday Christians here in the US. I hope the American zealots will soon get the message that their actions are threatening our soldiers, our government, and all Americans. The Federal and State governments are in a tough situation. They can’t just stop the burning, anymore than they can stop the burning of the American Flag or the Bible. The only people who can stop this insanity are the people who started it. I won’t be in the states on 9-11, but I will be in a part of the world where Muslims predominate. Since Ramadan will be ending on or about 9-11 this year, the tensions between the zealots and the ordinary Muslims is already high. The typical end of Ramadan celebrations will not be as public in the US as they have been for decades. If the burnings actually take place, they won’t affect American soil. The outrage will be worldwide. An Imam in Nigeria said a few years ago that when America sneezes, Africa catches the cold. In this case, the Muslim World may catch that cold. Most reliable estimates on religions of the world say there are about 2 billion Christians and 1.5 billion Muslims. That is a lot of people for the Dove World Outreach Center to piss off. I should add that I checked out the web for information on the Dove group. Nowhere could I find any information on the number of people belonging to this church. I did find that the religious community of Gainesville is against the burning, with 25 congregations stating that this event is wrong. The city also denied them a permit to burn books. It is nice to know that not everyone in Gainesville is fanatic, just like it is nice to know that not everyone in AZ is a racist.

Flag…H—81°; L—51°; RH—49%; and only a breeze of 5mph—a really, really nice day.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

Richard Whately: Everyone wishes to have truth on his side, but not everyone wishes to be on the side of truth

HOLY MACKEREL: 1998 Sergey Brin and Larry Page incorporated the Internet search engine company Google

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION on Movies

▬The Blues Brothers once held the record for crashing the most police cars in a movie at approximately 30. The record was eventually broken by Blues Brothers 2000.

▬When the Mother-Ship passes over the Devil's Tower near the end of Spielberg's movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, R2-D2 can be seen hanging from the bottom of the ship.

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 1—Jeopardy Answers: States in Song

$100-It's where I came from with a banjo on my knee

$200-According to Beach Boys' hit, state with the cutest girls in the world

$300-State where you'd find Elvis' rain & Diamond's woman

$400-The alternate lyrics to "I've Been Working On The Railroad"

$500-Patti Page hit that is official song of a southern state

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM

Dallas — The best fried recipes were crowned Monday at the "Big Tex Choice Awards."

This winner of the "most creative" fried food was "Fried Beer." It is actually a beer-filled pretzel pocket, but diners can open the delicious dough and pour a cold one.

"I was lazy. I figured, 'Why should I have to drink and eat when I can just eat?" I wanted a pretzel, I wanted beer and I figured a way to combine them. You know, make something fun out of it," said inventor Mark Zable.

The recipe is only for 21 and over, ID required.

The coveted award for "Best Taste" went to "Texas Fried Frito Pie." The concoction is Texas chili and sharp cheddar cheese encased in Frito chips and then battered and fried. The creator calls it a smooth medley of hot, meaty, crunch, salty, cheesy goodness that transports you back to the golden age of fair food.

Other finalist recipes included: Deep Fried S'mores Pop Tart, Fried Chocolate, Deep Fried Frozen Margarita, Fried Lemonade, Fernies Fried Club Salad and Fried Texas Caviar.

You will be able to taste the recipes at the State Fair of Texas, which runs from Sept. 24 through October.

A LITTLE LAUGH

English professors love to catch the errors students make in their term papers, and they love nothing better than to catch mixed metaphors. The "friends and survivors" of Calvin College English department collected this list of mixed metaphors and posted them on their web site:

"He swept the rug under the carpet."

"She's burning the midnight oil at both ends."

"It was so cold last night I had to throw another blanket on the fire."

"It's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard."

"She's robbing Peter to pay the piper."

"He's up a tree without a paddle."

"Beware my friend...you are skating on hot water."

"Keep your ear to the grindstone."

"Sometimes you've gotta stick your neck out on a limb."

"Some people sail through life on a bed of roses like a knife slicing through butter."

GREY MATTER PUZZLE 2--Riddle

Johnny's mom had 5 kids, January, February, March and April. Who was the fifth kid?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’

Garrison Keillor sings: Click Here to Hear!

GREY MATTER PICTURE

This is a close up of what object?

SOME CALENDAR INFORMATION

¤ Weekly Observances ¤

1-8: Self-University Week and International Enthusiasm Week

5-11: National Waffle Week AND Suicide Prevention Week AND National Payroll Week

¤ Today’s Observances ¤

Neither Rain Nor Snow Day

Google Commemoration Day

Grandma Moses Day Salami Day

Another Look Unlimited Day: devoted annually to lessening the flow to landfills, and is reserved for taking a second look around your house, attic, basement, garage or any storage area where you may find possessions you no longer need.

Australia: National Threatened Species Day

Brazil : Independence Day (1822: Brazil from Portugal)

Mozambique: Victory Day

¤ Hit Songs on this date ¤

1916...America...Columbia Mixed Double Quartet

1926...Bye Bye, Blackbird...Gene Austin Click Here to Hear It!

1936...A Fine Romance...Fred Astaire Click Here to Hear It!

1946...To Each His Own...Freddy Martin

1956...Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel...Elvis Presley

1966...You Can't Hurry Love...The Supremes Hear It Here!

1976... (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty...K.C. & the Sunshine Band Click Here to Hear It!

¤ Today’s Births ¤

╬ THE ARTS

"Janet" Taylor Caldwell, novelist (Melissa) …born 1900…Manchester, England

Arthur Ferrante, 89, pianist (Ferrante and Teicher), composer, born New York, NY

Charles Hardin Buddy Holly, singer (Peggy Sue, That'll Be the Day) …born 1936…Lubbock, TX

Elia Kazan, director (Streetcar Named Desire) …born 1909… Constantinople, Turkey

Garrison Keillor, 68, humorist (Praire Home Companion) …born Anoka, MN

Grandma (Anna Mary Robertson) Moses, primitive painter (Old Oaken Bucket) …born 1860…Greenwich, NY

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Corbin Bernsen, 56, actor (“LA Law,” “Ryan’s Hope,” Major League), born North Hollywood, CA

Susan Blakely, 60, actress (The Way We Were, The Lords of Flatbush, Shampoo), born Frankfurt, Germany

Peter Lawford, actor (Mrs Miniver, The Thin Man) …born 1923…London England

Sir (John) Anthony Quayle, actor: The Bourne Identity, MacKenna’s Gold, QB VII, Anne of a Thousand Days, Lawrence of Arabia, The Guns of Navarone…born 1913… Lancashire,England

Richard Roundtree, 68, actor (Shaft, Q, Once upon a Time When We Were Colored), born New Rochelle, NY

Devon Sawa, 32, actor: Casper, Little Giants…born Vancouver, British Columbia

╬ ATHLETICS

Paul Brown, Pro Football Hall of Famer: football coach: Cleveland Brown…born 1908…Norwalk, IA

Bert Jones, 59, football: Colts: Rams…born Ruston, LA

Joe (Joseph Oden) Rudi, 64, baseball: Athletics, Athletics, Angels, Red Sox…born Modesto, CA

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan Jr., financier…born 1867…Irvington, NY

╬ POLITICS

Queen Elizabeth I, (1558-1603) daughter of Henry VIII…born 1533… Greenwich, England

Thomas Hendricks, 21st vice president of the United States [1885] …born 1819…Fultonham, OH

Daniel Ken Inouye, 86, US Senator (D, Hawaii), born Honolulu, HI

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

Dr Michael E DeBakey (Michel Dabaghi), artificial heart pioneer…born 1908…Lake Charles, LA

Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, geologist (Geographic Survey 1859-86) …born 1829…Westfield, MA

¤ Today’s Obituaries ¤

Spring Byington, actress (Lily Ruskin-December Bride), @ 84 in 1971

Al Kelly, double talk comedian (Ernie Kovacs Show), @ 67 in 1966 See and Hear him Here!

EugŠne Lefebvre, dies test piloting a Wright A aircraft in 1909

Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who), OD @ 32 in 1978

José Clemente Orozco, Mexican painter @ 66 in 1949

¤ Today’s Events ¤

╬ THE ARTS

1963 1st US TV appearance of the Beatles (Big Night Out-ABC)

1996 Rappers Tupac Shakur and Marion ‘Suge’ Knight, were shot after leaving the Tyson/Seldon prizefight

╬ ATHLETICS

1892 James J Corbett kayos John L Sullivan in round 21 at New Orleans

1983 Drury Gallagher sets fastest swim around Manhattan (6h41m35s)

1986 Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins threw his 100th career touchdown pass, in only his 44th pro game, setting an NFL record

╬ BUSINESS & EDUCATION

1880 Geo Ligowsky patents device to throw clay pigeons for trap shooters

1907 Sutro's ornate Cliff House in SF destroyed by fire

1914 New York Post Office Building opens to the public

╬ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1957 An Act of Congress gives the Chilkat Indians mineral rights to their lands near Klukwan. They are one of only a very small number of Alaskans with this provision.

╬ POLITICS (US)

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╬ POLITICS (International)

1940 German Air Force blitz London for 1st of 57 consecutive nights 1986 Desmond Tutu installed to lead south African Anglican Church

╬ SCIENCE & RELIGION

1800 Zion AME Church dedicated (NYC)

1888 Edith Eleanor McLean was the first baby to be placed in an incubator.

1936 Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) begins operation

1986 Desmond Tutu installed to lead South African Anglican Church

GREY MATTER ANSWERS

↔ 1

$100-It's where I came from with a banjo on my knee: What is Alabama?

$200-According to Beach Boys' hit, state with the cutest girls in the world: What is California?

$300-State where you'd find Elvis' rain & Diamond's woman: What is Kentucky?

$400-The alternate lyrics to "I've Been Working On The Railroad": What is The Eyes of Texas?

$500-Patti Page hit that is official song of a southern state: What is the Tennessee Waltz?

↔ 2

Johnny!

↔ PICTURE

Handcuffs

TODAY’S NATIONAL PARK PHOTO SHOTS

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, 23rd National Park since date February 25, 1928: Bryce Canyon is a giant natural amphitheatre along the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The unique area has hundreds of tall hoodoos formed by erosion. The region was originally settled by Native Americans and later by Mormon pioneers.

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