8-4-11

All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

‡     TODAY’s “Geez”:

¬ 1693 - Dom Perignon invents champagne

¬ 1914 - US declares neutrality in WW I

¬ 1984 - Carl Lewis wins gold medal in 100-meter dash at LA Summer Olympics

¬ 2010 - California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, was overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger

‡     Free Rambling Thoughts…

A cloudy day with some more monsoon rain. Nice.

I did some running around on this side of town. I did a lot of walking around and while my feet are a little tired, they are much better. I have used ½ the cream and checked today and can get one refill. That will last at least another week, so no call the dermatologist, yet.

Way to save money, Congress. No people to collect the FAA airline tax, no people to construct a better infrastructure for the airports. Billions lost in revenue, more jobs lost, more people on unemployment. This one seems to fall on the Dems who didn’t bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate before recessing for the summer. Idiots believe that the Republican’s union busting amendment in the bill stopped the vote. Yeah, here we are with the highest unemployment in years and now Congress thinks we should increase that number. I traveled through a lot of airports in the US during my work days. Many times they were under construction. It was difficult sometimes to work through some of that construction—especially when in a city I had never visited before. I remember being in New Orleans Airport during construction. Getting my bag to the ground transportation meant crossing several lanes of traffic on 2x4’s with traffic driving all around me. Then there was an airport where we walked on a very narrow sidewalk, with traffic on our left and an eight foot construction fence on our right to get from one terminal to another—about 200 yards. This signs were not always the best, and more than once I got misdirected. However; the airports were better after the construction ended. Everyone in DC is saying that this will not affect air travel safety. And they expect us to believe that? Working ones way through any construction site is not always safe. Being in an airport that needs construction is not that safe either. Call me crazy but I prefer traveling through airports that meet or exceed safety standards—not ones with broken elevators, escalators, baggage systems, etc.

The Tea Party seems to believe that if we don’t have any unions, the world will be better. Sure it will. All that manufacturing currently in China can return and our American workers can work for minimum wage—until that is destroyed—and the US can have sweat shops again. After all there were no minimum wages, unions, or safe working conditions when our country was founded. We don’t need any of it now. And we can pay all our bills by bartering with the chickens we raise in our back yards, milk our own cows, and grow our own food.  Anyone who is unable to or won’t do these things…well they are just in the way and America doesn’t need those people anyway.  Let the children go to work at 10 years old and stop all that wasteful spending on schoolin’ and book learnin’ what only makes them lazy.

‡     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post)

1.      What was dubbed an equal, not a sequel to Four Weddings and a Funeral?

2.      Who was Elwood's brother in The Blues Brothers?

3.      Who was the only British actor to win the Best Actor Oscar in the 80s?

4.      For which film did Katharine Hepburn win the first of her four 20th century Oscars?

5.      Which movie won Best Film in 1981?

6.      How many times was Richard Burton nominated for an Oscar, though he never won?

7.      Who was the first father and son to win acting Oscars for the same film?

8.      How many years after Terminator was Terminator 2 released?

9.      Who directed Eyes Wide Shut?

10.   Which 50s film held the record for the most number of animals in a film?

11.   Which 60s film told of the exploits of Robert Gold and Diana Scott?

12.   In which film does the heroine say, "I am big. It's the pictures that got small?"

13.   Which Oscar-winning actress played the medium Oda Mae Brown in Ghost?

14.   Who was the Working Girl of the title in the film in which Harrison Ford also starred?

15.   What was Crocodile Dundee's real first name?

‡     Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

‡     Hmmmmm…

¬ Portions of Singaporeans who live in public housing: 4/5

‡     Somewhat Useless Information…

¬ The chow is the only dog that has a black tongue. The tongues of all other dogs are pink.

¬ Kangaroo rats never drink water. Like their relatives the pocket mice, they carry their own water source within them, producing fluids from the food they eat and the air they breathe.

¬ A crocodile weighing 120 pounds exerts a force of about 1,540 pounds between its jaws. A human being's jaws exert a force of only 40 to 80 pounds.

¬ A rat can fall from a five-story building without injury.  

Two rats can become the progenitors of 15,000 rats in less than a year.

¬ A full-grown moose may be eight feet high at the shoulder and weigh almost a ton. The male moose sheds its antlers every winter and grows a new set the following summer.

¬ The blue whale weighs as much as thirty elephants and is as long as three Greyhound buses.

‡     Yeah, It Really Happened…

HISINGEN, Sweden - Police in Sweden said a family awoke to the sound of someone taking a long shower and discovered an uninvited guest. Stefan Gustafsson, a police spokesman, said the Hisingen family did not initially think anything was awry when they heard the shower running Sunday morning, but soon discovered it had been running for hours and all family members were accounted for, The Local reported Monday. Gustafsson said the family discovered a man in the shower stall who was fully clothed except for his shoes. He told the family he "needed to wake up," the spokesman said. Officers escorted the man out of the house. Police said he was unable to explain how he got in, and the family decided not to press charges. Gustafsson said the man "was mostly likely under the influence of something. But he wasn't threatening or unpleasant in any way, almost the opposite."

‡     Guffaw…or at least smile…

A man was just waking up from anesthesia after surgery, and his wife was sitting by his side. His eyes fluttered open and he said, “You are beautiful.” Then he fell asleep again. His wife had never heard him say that, so she stayed by his side. A few minutes later, his eyes fluttered open and he said, “You are cute!” The wife was disappointed because instead of “beautiful,” it was now “cute.” She said, “What happened to ‘beautiful’?”

Her husband replied, “The drugs are wearing off!”

‡     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

Nelson Mandela's inaugural address

‡     Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

1-7: Exhibitor Appreciation Week / Psychic Week / National Fraud Awareness Week / Simplify Your Life Week / Single Working Women's Week / World Breastfeeding Week

4-7: Rock for Life Week

‡     TODAY IS

¬ Twins Day Festival

¬ National Chocolate Chip Day

¬ National Underwear Day

¬ U.S. Coast Guard Day: 1790

‡     Today’s Events:

·        IN ARTS

--

·        IN ATHLETICS

1969 - Willie Stargell is 1st to hit a HR outside of Dodger Stadium

1996 - 26th Olympic games close at Atlanta, Georgia 

·        IN BUSINESS

1821 - 1st edition of Saturday Evening Post (publishes until 1969)

1929 - Jones Beach in NY opens

1956 - 1st motorcycle rode over 200 mph (Wilhelm Herz-210 mph/338 kph)

1997 - 185,000 Teamsters union United Parcel Service drivers walk off the job.

·        IN EDUCATION

1855 - John Bartlett publishes "Familiar Quotations"

·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1873 - Whilst protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux (near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed)

·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1942 - German occupier orders all Dutch homing pigeons killed

1962 - Nelson Mandela captured by South African police

·        IN RELIGION

1558 - 1st printing of Zohar (Jewish Kabbalah)

·        IN SCIENCE

1946 - Earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.

2007 - NASA's Phoenix spaceship is launched

·        IN US POLITICS

1830 - Plans for city of Chicago laid out

1948 - 5 day Southern States filibuster succeeds in maintaining America's poll tax

1964 - Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman & James E Chaney, bodies discovered in an earthen Mississippi dam

1974 - Crawford-Butler Act allows Puerto Ricans to elect own governor

1977 - Pres Carter establishes Dept of Energy

·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

1792 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, English romantic poet 

·        ATHLETES

Roger Clemens, pitcher (Red Sox, Blue Jays, Cy Young, MVP) turns 49

1909 - Glenn Cunningham, US middle distance runner (1930's)

Michael Lawrence Marsh, sprinter (Oly-2 gold/silver-92, 96) turns 44

·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

1901 - Louie "Satchmo" Armstrong, New Orleans Louisiana, jazz trumpeter ( Hello Dolly )

Richard Belzer actor turns 67

Daniel Dae Kim, actor turns 43

Cole Sprouse  Disney actor turns 19

Dylan Sprouse Disney actor turns 19

Billy Bob Thornton, actor (Sling Blade) turns 56

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1701 - Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar

Helen Thomas, UPI journalist (Presidential press conferences) turns 91

·        POLITICIANS

1929 - Yasser Arafat, leader (Palestine Liberation Organization)

1900 - Elizabeth, Queen Mother Of England, King George VI's wife

Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney General turns 55

Barack Obama 44^th US President turns 50

1912 - Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat in WW II (saved 10,000s of Jews)

·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

Andrew M Allen, Captain USMC/astronaut (STS 46, 62, 75) turns 56

‡     Today’s Obits:

1875 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish fairy tale writer, dies at 70

1995 - Dick Bartell, baseball player, dies at 87

2007 - Lee Hazlewood, American country singer, songwriter and producer dies at 78

1999 - Victor Mature, American actor dies at 86

1938 - Pearl White, US actress/stunt woman ( Perils of Pauline ), dies of cirrhosis at 49

‡     ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

1.      What was dubbed an equal, not a sequel to Four Weddings and a Funeral?

a.      Notting Hill

2.      Who was Elwood's brother in The Blues Brothers?

a.      Jake

3.      Who was the only British actor to win the Best Actor Oscar in the 80s?

a.      Ben Kingsley

4.      For which film did Katharine Hepburn win the first of her four 20th century Oscars?

a.      Morning Glory for Best Actress

5.      Which movie won Best Film in 1981?

a.      Chariots of Fire

6.      How many times was Richard Burton nominated for an Oscar, though he never won?

a.      Seven: 1952 Best Supporting Actor, My Cousin Rachel (Anthony Quinn)

1953 Best Actor, The Robe (William Holden)

1964 Best Actor, Becket (Rex Harrison)

1965 Best Actor, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Lee Marvin)

1966 Best Actor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Paul Scofield)

1969 Best Actor, Anne of the Thousand Days (John Wayne)

1977 Best Actor, Equus (Richard Dreyfuss)

7.      Who was the first father and son to win acting Oscars for the same film?

a.      Walter [best supporting actor] & John Huston [best director] for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre--1948

8.      How many years after Terminator was Terminator 2 released?

a.      Seven

9.      Who directed Eyes Wide Shut?

a.      Stanley Kubrick

10.   Which 50s film held the record for the most number of animals in a film?

a.      Around the World in 80 Days

11.   Which 60s film told of the exploits of Robert Gold and Diana Scott?

a.      Darling

12.   In which film does the heroine say, "I am big. It's the pictures that got small?"

a.      Sunset Boulevard

13.   Which Oscar-winning actress played the medium Oda Mae Brown in Ghost?

a.      Whoopi Goldberg

14.   Who was the Working Girl of the title in the film in which Harrison Ford also starred?

a.      Melanie Griffith

15.   What was Crocodile Dundee's real first name?

a.      Mick

Close Up Picture

     Door

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.

‡     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW     ‡

8-3-11

All Blue text is a link…be sure and click on it for more information!

‡     TODAY’s “Geez”:

¬ 1921 - 1st aerial crop dusting (Troy Ohio to kill caterpillars)

¬ 1926 - Traffic lights installed on Piccadilly Circus

¬ 1975 - Louisiana Superdome is dedicated

‡     Free Rambling Thoughts…

I ran some more errands today. It was time for Sam’s Club and my monthly bulk purchases.

Well for a single guy, it’s not big bulk, but it is bread to freeze, OJ, and stuff like that. I am addicted to Simply Orange Juice, and Sam’s has the cheapest price.

Our country just moves from crisis to crisis. It is time to say enough already.

I picked up my pictures today. A couple of shots of my finger, but most are good. Then I got a bunch from one of the other people so that was really nice. Tomorrow I’ll be finishing up by blog of the trip…hopefully.

I got my new lease today, and for the third year in a row, no increase. That is nice. Our HOA is getting a little out of control. I got a letter while I was gone that was dated Jul 7 and postmarked on Jul 14 that says we now have a ‘trash spy’ in the neighborhood. That person’s job is to catch people who are putting ‘other than normal daily household trash’ into the trash bins. If one is caught, it’s a ‘$50 or more fine’. The policy went into effect on Jul 7. As a renter, my letter had certain words crossed out and ‘renter’ written in with a pen. When the letter talked about the fine, off in the margin was scribbled ‘to be paid by renter’. It’s hard to believe that this is the age of technology. It is so simple to have the same letter for owners and renters with simple changes that can even be done automatically. I was doing that for my staff years before I retired. I see it as laziness on the part of an HOA that is getting a little too big for its britches. None of us like to see broken furniture sitting beside the bins or thrown inside the bin, filling it. I’ve been here 5 years and never got anything from the HOA about it until today. A nice letter would have done the job…and saved money by having the daily trash spy.

‡     Trivia Quiz…(answers at the end of post) Actors, Actresses, Movies, Films, Hollywood etc.

1.      Who cried during her Oscar acceptance speech for Shakespeare in Love?

2.      Which working hours were a hit for Dolly Parton?

3.      Who won an Oscar for her first film role in Mary Poppins?

4.      What is Goldie Hawn's real name?

5.      Which film classic took its name from Ernest Dowson's Cynara?

6.      What was Melissa Mathison's contribution to E.T.?

7.      Who directed The Day of the Jackal in 1973?

8.      In how many countries did A Few Good Men open simultaneously?

9.      Which actor said of Hollywood, "If you say what you mean in this town, you're an outlaw?"

10.   In which 1990 Robert de Niro film did the director's parents both appear?

11.   In which film did Bacall say to Bogart, "If you want me just whistle?"

12.   In which film did Bette Davis say,  "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night?"

13.   Which plant was Ulma Thurman named after in Batman & Robin?

14.   Which star of Sliding  Doors split with fiancé Brad Pitt in 1997?

‡     Zoom-ed in Picture…Can you Identify what this is? (Answer at end of post)

‡     Hmmmmm…

¬ Percentage of Black Kite Raptors that decorate their nests with white plastic: 82

‡     Somewhat Useless Information…

 ¬ Cinderella's slipper, many scholars believe, was made of fur, not glass. The word verre, or "glass," they claim, was incorrectly substituted in early versions of the story for the word vaire. In medieval French, vaire means "fur."

¬ The word "toast," meaning a proposal of health, originated in Rome, where an actual bit of spiced, burned bread was dropped into wine to improve the drink's flavor, absorb its sediment, and thus make it more healthful.

¬ The act of snapping one's fingers has a name. It is called a "fillip."

¬ To "decimate" does not mean to obliterate or wipe out. It means to destroy one-tenth of something. Originally the word referred to a Roman military tradition in which an entire troop would be punished for disobedience by decimation, that is, by the killing of every tenth man. There are accounts of this form of punishment being used in the English and French armies up to the time of World War I.

¬ A fireplace is called a "mantelpiece" because at one time people hung their coats (or "mantles") over the fireplace to dry them.

¬  Rhubarb is named after the Volga River. In Greek the name of the Volga is Rha, and barb means "uncultivated." Rhubarb is thus a wild plant that grows along the Volga.

‡     Yeah, It Really Happened…

TOPEKA, Kan. - Guinness World Records said a Kansas man who underwent a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy set a record for the world's largest tonsils. The record-keeping organization said one of the tonsils removed from Justin Werner, 21, of Topeka at Excellent Surgery Center in Topeka Jan. 18 measured 2.1 inches long, 1.1 inches wide, and 0.7 inch thick while the other measured 1.9 inches long, 1 inch wide and 0.7 inch thick, the Tokepa Capital Journal reported Monday. The tonsils were respectively 0.8 inches and 0.6 inches longer than the previous record tonsils, which were removed from Justin Dodge of Milwaukee. "I find it more humorous than anything," Werner said of his record, which was made official June 22. Werner said talking, breathing and sleeping have become much easier since having the tonsils removed.

"The day after I got them out, there was no snoring at all," Werner said. "Haven't had a sore throat since."

‡     Guffaw…or at least smile…

A customer sent an order to a distributor for a large amount of goods totaling a great deal of money. The distributor noticed that the previous bill hadn’t been paid, so he asked his collections manager to leave a voice-mail for them saying, “We can’t ship your new order until you pay for the last one.” The next day the collections manager received a collect phone call, “Please cancel the order. We can’t wait that long.”

Bonus:

If you can’t find a lawyer who knows the law, find a lawyer who knows the judge.

‡     Searchin’ “You Tube” I found…

         Lenny Bruce Stand Up

‡     Daybook Information…

…Happening This Week:

1-7: Exhibitor Appreciation Week / Psychic Week / National Fraud Awareness Week / Simplify Your Life Week / Single Working Women's Week / World Breastfeeding Week

‡     TODAY IS

¬ National Watermelon Day

~*~

¬ Niger: Independence Day (1960 from France)

‡     Today’s Events:

·        IN ARTS

1958 - The Billboard Hot 100 is founded

1963 - Allan Sherman releases "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda"

2004 - The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11, 2001 attack

·        IN ATHLETICS

1860 - American Canoe Association founded at Lake George NY

1930 - 2nd time in 1930, Chuck Klein of Phillies hits in 26 straight games

1949 - Basketball Assoc of America & National Basketball League merge to form National Basketball Association

1952 - 15th Olympic games close in Helsinki Finland

1980 - 22nd Olympic games close at Moscow, USSR—US boycott over USSR invasion of Afghanistan

·        IN BUSINESS

1678 - Robert LaSalle builds 1st ship in America, Griffon

1900 - Firestone Tire & Rubber Company founded

1981 - 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike

·        IN EDUCATION

1527 - First known letter was sent from North America by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland

·        FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1492 - Columbus sails for the "New World" from Palos, Spain

1761 - According to some records, a conference regarding land questions and the return of prisoners is held for the next ten days between representatives of the British in Pennsylvania and the Cayuga, Conoy, Delaware, Mahican, Nanticoke, Oneida and Onondaga Indians

·        IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie lands on Eriskay, Hebrides

1797 - Emperor Francis I permits Jews who served in military in "Countries of Bohemian Crown" to marry non Jews

1881 - Boers signs Convention of Pretoria: Transvaal semi-autonomous

1914 - 1st seaworthy ship through Panama Canal

1944 - Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp gases 4,000 gypsies

·        IN RELIGION

1492 - All Jews are expelled from Spain

·        IN SCIENCE

1596 - David Fabricius discovers light variation of Mira (1st variable star)

1955 - Hurricane Connie begins pounding US for 11 days

1970 - Hurricane "Celia" becomes most expensive Gulf storm in history

·        IN US POLITICS

1676 - Nathaniel Bacon publishes "Declaration of People of Virginia"

1882 - Congress passes 1st law restricting immigration

1977 - United States Senate Hearing on MKULTRA

 ·        ARTISTS:  AUTHORS:  COMPOSERS

1923 - Anne Klein, fashion designer 

·        ATHLETES

Rod Beck, pitcher (SF Giants) turns 43

Marcel Dionne, NHL center (LA Kings, NY Rangers) turns 60

·        ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)

Jay North, actor (Dennis the Menace, Maya) turns 59

Martin Sheen actor turns 71

·        ENTREPRENEUR & EDUCATORS

1900 - John T Scopes, Tennessee teacher convicted for teaching evolution

Martha Stewart, business woman turns 70

·        POLITICIANS

Richard D Lamm, (Gov-D-Colo) turns 76

1851 - Isabella Caroline Somerset, temperance leader

1901 - John Stennis, (Sen-D-Miss)

·        SCIENTISTS / THEOLOGISTS

1811 - Elisha Graves Otis, inventor (safe elevator)

‡     Today’s Obits:

1966 - Lenny Bruce, comedian, dies of a morphine overdose at 39

1924 - Joseph Conrad, Polish/British writer (Heart of Darkness), dies of heart attack at 66

1894 - George Inness, US landscape painter (Delaware Water Gap), dies of stroke at 69

1460 - King James II of Scotland dies while besieging Roxburgh Castle when cannon exploded at 30

1983 - Carolyn Jones, actress (Morticia-Addams Family), dies at 54 of cancer

1995 - Ida Lupino, actress/director (Hard Way, High Sierra), dies at 77

‡     ANSWERS:

Trivia Quiz

1.      Who cried during her Oscar acceptance speech for Shakespeare in Love?

a.      Gwyneth Paltrow

2.      Which working hours were a hit for Dolly Parton?

a.      9 to 5

3.      Who won an Oscar for her first film role in Mary Poppins?

a.      Julie Andrews

4.      What is Goldie Hawn's real name?

a.      Goldie Hawn

5.      Which film classic took its name from Ernest Dowson's Cynara?

a.      Gone With The Wind

6.      What was Melissa Mathison's contribution to E.T.?

a.      Scriptwriter

7.      Who directed The Day of the Jackal in 1973?

a.      Fred Zimmerman

8.      In how many countries did A Few Good Men open simultaneously?

a.      51

9.      Which actor said of Hollywood, "If you say what you mean in this town, you're an outlaw?"

a.      Kevin Costner

10.   In which 1990 Robert de Niro film did the director's parents both appear?

a.      Goodfellas

11.   In which film did Bacall say to Bogart,  "If you want me just whistle?"

a.      To Have and To Have Not

12.   In which film did Bette Davis say,  "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night?"

a.      All About Eve

13.   Which plant was Ulma Thurman named after in Batman & Robin?

a.      Ivy

14.   Which star of Sliding  Doors split with fiancé Brad Pitt in 1997?

a.      Gwyneth Paltrow

Close Up Picture

Napkin Holder

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree. All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] may not be totally accurate.

‡     AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW     ‡