Mar 17, ST. Patrick's Day

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

432 - St Patrick, a bishop, is carried off to Ireland as a slave

1753 - 1st official St Patrick's Day

1756 - St Patrick's Day 1st celebrated in NYC at Crown & Thistle Tavern

1762 - 1st St Patrick's Day parade in NYC 1836 - Texas abolishes slavery

1973 - St Patrick Day marchers carry 14 coffins commemorating Bloody Sunday

1991 - Irish Lesbians & Gays march in St Patrick Day parade

1995 - Sinn-Fein leader Gerry Adams visits White House

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.  I hope everyone enjoys their day, wear some green, and have a wee bit of fun and a whole lot of luck. 

Now we are getting more info on the soldier who killed the innocents in Afghanistan. The number of soldiers with PTSD is frightening. The violence from these injured soldiers to their families and friends is even more frightening. NPR ran a story today that posed an interesting question about our military: should we return to a draft? Since we have a volunteer military, all members are required to do many tours over years. In a draft, the members would do much less. After Viet Nam we got rid of the draft. I don’t want it back. The draft certainly played a role in ending that war. Many believe that without a draft, the American population doesn’t get as upset about war because all the combatants have volunteered. I know many families who have kids who have volunteered and they see it as a patriotic duty to protect our country. For many it gives the volunteer a chance for a better life after their service. I get that, but listening to the number of PTSD and TBI soldiers, this many not be as true as it was when our leaders didn’t have us in perpetual war. A debate is certainly on the horizon. 

Today was really nice. We could have up to 20” of snow by Sunday afternoon. Some clouds came in this afternoon so we’ll see what they bring. The last few predictions have been off by quite a bit, so I’m hoping that we get lots of rain before a small amount of snow falls. The weather service says this will be the strongest storm of this winter. Hmmm

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

The challenge is a game of categories. The word is beach. Each clue is a category, and for each category, the goal is to name something in it starting with each of the letters in beach.

1.      Countries of Central and South America:

2.      Things to eat or drink at breakfast:

3.      US Presidents:

4.      Symbols on a computer keyboard, other than letters and number:

5.      Red ____ (compound word or two word phrase):

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Ireland

Found on You Tube         

Lord of the dance, composed by Ronan Hardiman 

Irish song flute music 

Ceili Irish Music - The Kilkenny's 

There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama 

Traditional Irish Folk Song - Dennis Leary 

Danny Boy Ireland

Harper’s Index         

Amount that Rick Perry has received in federal farm subsidies: $72,687

Joke-of-the-day

What did the tired chess player do?He took the knight off

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guessIf you spot another airplane and it is above the horizon, it is above you. If it is below the horizon, it is below you. If the other airplane is at the same level as the horizon, it is at your altitude. If an approaching airplane appears motionless, it is on a collision course with you.

Somewhat Useless Information    

Irish soda bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda rather than yeast as a leavening agent. 

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. 

The Celts had an oral culture, where religion, legend and history were passed from one generation to the next by way of stories and songs. After being conquered by the English, and forbidden to speak their own language, the Irish, like other oppressed peoples, turned to music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage and history. 

The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule. 

Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century. Irish immigrants living on New York City's Lower East Side substituted corned beef for their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money. They learned about the cheaper alternative from their Jewish neighbors. 

Leprechauns had nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day until 1959 when Walt Disney released a film called Darby O'Gill  the Little People. This film introduced America to a very different sort of leprechaun than the cranky little man of Irish folklore. This cheerful, friendly leprechaun is a purely American invention, but has quickly evolved into an easily recognizable symbol of both St. Patrick's Day and Ireland in general.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

MCALLEN, Texas — A Texas teenager charged in the stabbing of his 14-year-old friend said a Ouija board told him to carry out the attack, police said on Friday.The 15-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing his friend with a 4-inch knife on Feb. 29 in a wooded area behind a high school in Weslaco, a small town along the U.S.-Mexico border at the southern tip of Texas.

The victim was treated in intensive care for three days for a severe laceration to his intestine, Weslaco police spokesman J.P. Rodriguez said.The alleged assailant, whose name was not made public, has no history of mental problems or criminal behavior,

Rodriguez said."I'm not making excuses for the kid, but I think sometimes it's harder for them to separate reality from fiction," the police spokesman said. "This is kind of bizarre."After stabbing him, the boy took his friend to a nearby auto repair shop so the owner could call an ambulance, Rodriguez said.

A third boy said that he witnessed the stabbing, and that his knife-wielding friend told the victim to say he fell on the blade, according to police.Marketed by Hasbro, the Ouija board has a flat surface marked with letters, numbers and symbols. It is used in a séance game that is said to help players communicate with the dead.Rodriguez called the case "a little eerie" but said investigators believe the boy used the Ouija board to rationalize the attack.

"He actually believed what the Ouija board advised him, that the friend was the cause of his problems," Rodriguez said. "That's kind of the incredible part."

 Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

11-17

Girl Scout Week

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

National Agriculture Week

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

16-18

American Crossword Puzzle Weekend

Sherlock Holmes Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

Campfire Girls Day/Camp Fire USA/Founder's Day

Corn Dog Day

International Astrology Day

International Sports Car Racing Day

National Quilting Day

St. Patrick's Day

Submarine Day

Ireland: National Day

US: MA: Evacuation Day: departure of British army on March 17, 1776; celebrated in Greater Boston since 1901

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

45 BC - In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda

> 

1100’s

1190 - Crusades complete massacre of Jews of York England

> 

1500’s

1521 - Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippines

> 

1700’s

1775: The "Sycamore Shoals" Treaty: the Transylvania Company, headed by North Carolina Judge Richard Henderson, will purchase most of western and central Kentucky, and north central Tennessee from the Cherokee

1800’s

1845 - Bristol man, Henry Jones, patents self-rising flour

1845 - Rubber band patented by Stephen Perry of London

1854: Kickapoo have determined that 2 men of their tribe, Thunder (Piawataka), and Polecat (Chekaquah), killed Colonel Jesse Stem on February 12, 1854. Thunder is captured by the Kickapoo. While they are taking him to a nearby fort, a fight breaks out, and Thunder is killed

1854 - 1st park land purchased by a US city, Worcester, Mass

1868 - Postage stamp canceling machine patent issued

1876 - 1st record high jump over 6' (Marshall Jones Brooks)

1894 - US & China sign treaty preventing Chinese laborers from entering US

1900’s

1901 - A showing of seventy-one Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.

1905 - Eleanor Roosevelt marries FDR in NY

1906 - Pres Theodore Roosevelt uses term "muckrake"

1919 - Dutch steel workers strike for 8 hr day & minimum wages

1929 - General Motors acquires German auto manufacturer Adam Opel

1950 - Element 98 (Californium) announced

1960 - Eisenhower forms anti-Castro-exile army under the CIA

1963 - Elizabeth Ann Seton of NY beatified 

1965 - Beatles announce their film is named "8 Arms to Hold on to You" (Help)

1966 - US sub locates missing H-bomb in Mediterranean

1969 - Golda Meir becomes Israel's 4th PM

1973 - Queen Elizabeth II opens new London Bridge

1997 - CNN begins Spanish broadcasts

2000’s

2000 - The 800+ deaths of members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God is considered to be a mass murder and suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult.

2004 - Unrest in Kosovo results in more than 22 killed, 200 wounded, and the destruction of 35 Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.

2008 - New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute. David Paterson becomes acting New York State governor.

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 60’s

Patrick Duffy, actor (Bobby-Dallas, Man from Atlantis) is 63

Kurt Russell, actor (Thing, Overboard, Mean Seasons) will be 61

John Sebastian, singer (Loving Spoonful, Welcome Back Kotter, Woodstock ) is 68

In their 50’s

Danny Ainge, NBA coach (Phoenix Suns) is 53

Paul Overstreet, country singer (Daddy's Come Around ) is 57

Gary Sinise, (Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, TV serieses) will be 57

In their 40’s

Rob Lowe, actor (St Elmo's Fire, Hotel NH, Class) will be 48

Remembered for being born on this day

Pierce Butler, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1866

Thomas Chalmers, 1st moderator (Free Church of Scotland 1843-47) in 1780

Nat "King" Cole, singer (Unforgettable, Mona Lisa) in 1919

Shemp Howard, comedian (3 Stooges, Bank Dick) in 1895

James Benson Irwin, Col USAF/astronaut (Apollo 15) in 1930

James IV, king of Scotland (1488-1513) in 1473

Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader in 1725

Rudolf Nureyev, Russia, ballet dancer/choreographer (Kirov) in 1938

Roger Brooke Taney, 5th Chief Justice (Dred Scott dec) in 1777

Stephen Samuel Wise, US, pres of Zionist Org of America in 1874

Today’s Obits                                                           

Fred Allen, comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show), dies of heart attack at 61 in 1956

Gilbert Burnet, Scottish Bishop of Salisbury in 1715

Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer dies at 93 in 2006

Helen Hayes, actress (Airport), dies of congestive heart failure at 92 in 1993

St Patrick, patron St of Ireland, dies in Saul (according to legend) in 461

Terry Stafford, American singer (Suspicion )dies of liver failure at 55 in 1996

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

 Beware, Piper, A web

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Other answers are certainly possible

1.      Countries of Central and South America:

a.       Bolivia , Ecuador , Argentina, Columbia , Honduras

2.      Things to eat or drink at breakfast:

a.      Bacon , Eggs , Apple juice, Cereal , Ham

3.      US Presidents:

a.      Buchanan , Eisenhower , Adams, Clinton , Harding

4.      Symbols on a computer keyboard, other than letters and number:

a.      Backspace , End , Alt, Comma , Hyphen

5.      Red ____ (compound word or two word phrase:

a.      Blooded , Eye , Army, Coats , Head

• Wuzzle
• Well balanced
• Look before you leap
• Broken engagement

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] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺

Mar 16

FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1802 - Law signed to establish US Milt Academy (West Point, NY)

1802 - US army Corps of Engineers established (2nd time)

1869 - Hiram R Revels makes 1st official speech by a black in the Senate

1881 - Barnum & Bailey Circus debuts

1934 - Congress passes Migratory Bird Conservation Act

1938 - Temple defeats Colorado to win 1st NIT

1950 - 1st annual National Book Awards

1968 - My Lai massacre occurs (Vietnam War); 450 die

1978 - US Senate accepts Panama Canal treaty

1991 - Members of Irish Gay & Lesbian Organization march in NYC parade

1995 - Mississippi House of Representatives formally abolishes slavery & ratifies 13th Amendment

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A great lunch with the retirement group. Mary spent last week with her grandkids. Lots of places for kids in Phoenix area. Their favorite: the zoo. Lots of fun for all concerned. Cheryl is ready to leave tomorrow for California to meet up with her son and his family, then on to Hawaii for a week +. They have rented a condo on the main island and will be relaxing by the ocean, and I’m sure, seeing lots of tourist stuff. Next week Mary and I will be going to the Home Show at the famous Dome on the NAU campus. It is returning there after an unsuccessful run at the old K-Mart while the Dome was being remodeled.

 Only in AZ…a bi-partisan bill to stop bullying in public schools was killed after a non-elected female lobbyist convinced enough that a bill was part of a ‘secret agenda’ of the LBGT to infiltrate the school system to promote their radical views. Really?!? So sad. As one principal said, ‘sometimes people know nothing about schools and still influence school policy.’  The bill had been backed by many school officials.  Then there’s the bill about our own ‘state volunteer militia’ to stop illegals at the border. It has moved to the floor for a vote, even after every county sheriff except one said it was a very bad idea. Surprise, that sheriff is the ‘other sheriff’—the one who is not on the border and has his own problems with law suits about his affair with a boyfriend. As I said…only in AZ.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Three of the most common consonants of the English language are R, S and T. Every answer today is a word, name or phrase that contains each of the letters R, S and T exactly once, along with any number of vowels. For example, if the clue is "short-winded," the answer would be, "terse." Note: The R, S and T can appear in any order.

5 letters:

1.      a fixed look:

2.      Unit of a mall:

3.      The trunk of the body:

4.      Where a chicken sits overnight:

5.      A stringed musical instrument of India:

6 letters:

6.      Stitch made after surgery:

7.      Sign of the zodiac after Aries:

8.      A sound system:

9.      Holiday at end of Lent:

10.   Expulsion:

7 letters:

11.   Vienna is its capital:

12.   Very very funny:

2 word phrase

13.   Ventilates: 

8 letters—2 words:

14.   A path across the ocean:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Ireland

Found on You Tube         

Returns tomorrow

Harper’s Index         

Date on which Florida began requiring potential welfare recipients to pass a drug test before receiving benefits: 7/1/2011

Percentage who have failed the test: 2.5

Joke-of-the-day

Recently on a routine police patrol parked outside a local neighborhood bar the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his own car which he fell into. He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a dry night), flicked the hazard flasher on and off, tooted the horn, and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as more patrons left in their vehicles. At last he pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive slowly down the street.The police officer, having patiently waited all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a breathalyzer test. To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence of the man having consumed alcohol at all!Dumbfounded, the officer said, "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the Police Station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.""I doubt it," said the man, "Tonight, I'm the designated decoy."

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

To get a thirty degree angle on a knife blade (good for many kinds of work) grind it so that the breadth of the exposed diagonal cutting-edge is twice the thickness of the blade.

Somewhat Useless Information    

Ska, Jamaican is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.In 1995, punk band Rancid released the ska single "Time Bomb" which reached #8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, becoming the first major American ska hit of the 1990s. Over the next few years, a string of notable ska and ska-influenced singles became hits on mainstream radio, including "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt, "Sell Out" by Reel Big Fish and "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, all of whom would reach platinum status with each of their respective albums.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida fortune-teller has drawn a 15-month prison sentence for her part in a fraud scheme that tricked victims out of more than $2 million. Olivia Evans, 22, of Hollywood, Fla., was handed a sentence of one year and three months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $402,700, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Evans' two sisters are already serving prison terms along with their mother. Her sentencing was delayed so she could give birth to her second child. She pleaded guilty in September to federal charges of mail and wire fraud. Evans' attorney, Richard Merlino, asked for leniency, saying she was adopted into the Romany gypsy culture and did not choose that way of life. "At the age of 5, she was taught by her adoptive mother the art of psychic mysticism," Merlino told the court.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

11-17

Girl Scout Week

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

National Agriculture Week

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

16-18

American Crossword Puzzle Weekend

Sherlock Holmes Weekend

Today Is                                                                      

Curlew Day Traditional arrival date for the long-billed curlew at the Umatilla (Oregon) National Wildlife Refuge

Everything You Do Is Right Day

Freedom of Information Day

Goddard Day 1926. Commemorates first liquid-fuel-powered rocket flight launched by Robert Hutchings Goddard 

Lips Appreciation Day

St. Urho's Day Finnish folklore hero

Well-Elderly  or Wellderly Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king

> 

1100’s

1190 - Crusades begin massacre of Jews of York England Jews of York commit mass suicide rather than submit to baptism

> 

1300’s

1345 - Holy spirit glides above fire: "the miracle of Amsterdam" (legend)

> 

1600’s

1621 - Native American chief Samoset visits colony of Plymouth Mass

> 

1800’s

1830 - After some "politicking", Greenwood le Flore is elected as Chief of the Choctaw Nation, during a "rump" council, today. Previously, there were 3 regional Chiefs. Le Flore is in favor of selling the Choctaw lands, and moving to Indian Territory.

1861 - Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union

1861 - Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy

1867 - First publication of an article by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery, in The Lancet

1871 - 1st fertilizer law enacted

1882 - US Senate ratifies treaty establishing the Red Cross

1900’s

1912 - Mrs William Howard Taft plants 1st cherry tree in Wash DC

1915 - Federal Trade Commission organizes

1930 - USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) floated out to become a natl shrine

1955 - President Eisenhower upheld the use of atomic weapons in case of war

1968 - Robert F Kennedy announces presidential campaign

1977 - US president Carter pleads for Palestinian homeland

1985 - Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson taken hostage in Beirut

1994 - Tonya Harding pleads guilty to felony attack on Nancy Kerrigan

1998 - Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust

2000’s

2005 - Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control

2006 - The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Jerry Lewis, comedian and fund raiser is 86

> 

In their 70’s

Bernardo Bertolucci, Parma Italy, director (Last Tango in Paris) is 71

Chuck Woolery, TV game show host (Love Connection) is 71

In their 60’s

Erik Estrada, actor (Chips) is 63

In their 50’s

Nancy Wilson, rock guitarist (Heart-Never, What about Love) is 58

Remembered for being born on this day

Contessa Marie Madeleine La Fayette, novelist in 1634

James Madison, (D-R), 4th US president (1809-17) in 1751

Mike Mansfield, (Sen-D-Mont) majority whip in 1903

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, US ambassador to UN/(Sen-D-NY, 1977- ) in 1927

Patricia Nixon, [Thelma Catherine], Ely Nevada, 1st lady (1968-74) in 1912

Georg Simon Ohm, physicist (discovered Ohm's Law) in 1787

James E Smith, became father at 100 with woman 64 years younger in 1849

Henny Youngman, London England, comedian (Take my wife please) in 1906

Today’s Obits                                                           

Nathaniel Bowditch, astronomer/navigation expert, dies of stomach cancer at 64 in 1838

Thomas E Dewey, US president candidate (R 1944, 48), dies of heart attack at 68 in 1971

Arthur Godfrey, TV host (Arthur Godrey Show), dies at 79 in 1983

Lord Lovat, [Shimi], Scottish landowner, dies at 83 in 1995

Sergeant Stubby, decorated World War I dog dies at 10 in 1926

T-Bone Walker, blues guitarist (Funky Town, Well Done), dies of stroke at 64 in 1975

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

5 letters:

1.      a fixed look:

a.      stare

2.      Unit of a mall:

a.      store

3.      The trunk of the body:

a.      torso

4.      Where a chicken sits overnight:

a.      roost

5.      A stringed musical instrument of India:

a.      sitar

6 letters:

6.      Stitch made after surgery:

a.      suture

7.      Sign of the zodiac after Aries:

a.      Taurus

8.      A sound system:

a.      stereo

9.      Holiday at end of Lent:

a.      Easter

10.   Expulsion:

a.      ouster

7 letters:

11.   Vienna is it’s capital:

a.      Austria

12.   Very very funny:

a.      riotous

2 word phrase

13.   Ventilates:

a.      airs out

8 letters—2 words:

14.   A path across the ocean:

a.      sea route

Wuzzle

Mixed emotions

Eating leftover food

Smokestack

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] the dates may not be totally accurate.

☺    And That Is All for Now  ☺