May 17


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

Todays  Historical  Highlights
1536: Anne Boleyn’s 4 "lovers" executed
1620: 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
1629: According to a deed, Sagamore Indians, including Passaconaway, sell a piece of land in what becomes Middlesex County, Massachusetts
1845: Rubber band patents
1875: 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75
1883: Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st Wild West show premieres in Omaha
1926: Chiang Kai-shek is made supreme war lord in Canton
1944: General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th
1932: Congress changes name "Porto Rico" (Italian) to "Puerto Rico" (Spanish)
1971: Washington State bans sex discrimination

Happy Birthday To:  

 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
We had a great lunch at my favorite Mexican place in Flagstaff. Mary and Cheryl both have doctor’s appointments tomorrow. We are all enjoying the really great weather we’ve been having.

Central AZ mountains are ablaze from 4 huge lightning caused fires. Our humidity has been below 10% for the past week. The winds are not helping at all. A big weather change—more wind with no rise in humidity—is expected tomorrow thru most of the weekend. It is wonderful to live in a forest, except during fire season. So difficult for those who are evacuated and may return to their areas to find nothing but ashes.

The low humidity has been playing havoc with me too. I have to slather up twice a day with a special cream to avoid dry itchy skin. I have also had to turn on my bedroom humidifier every night for the past week. To all those from outside AZ who believe that AZ is a dry heat…let me tell you, that is correct but dry heat is not that pleasant either. We are not hot here in Flag, but we have been dry and everyone is complaining of dry skin…especially arms and legs. Luckily the cream I use is better than the tons of creams and lotions out on the market, and it doesn’t take that much. Until the humidity rises some, I considering giving up my daily hot shower…but things are that bad yet.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every answer is a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase in which the first part has a long I vowel sound and the second part has a long O sound. Both parts have just one syllable. For example, given "a small pink flower growing in a field," the answer would be "wild rose."
1.      The fruit of an evergreen tree:
2.     Sign on a semi-trailer carrying a house down a highway:
3.     Sound you hear when picking up a telephone receiver:
4.     Set of safety specifications for a building:
5.     Half a round of golf:
6.     Something a circus performer walks on:
7.     Browned bread that is not wheat, rye or pumpernickel:
8.     A small emergency vessel at sea:
9.     A swimming style where the feet do a scissors kick:
10.  Like some of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tales:
11.    What the pyramids of Egypt are made of:
12.   Area a pitcher aims for:
13.   Complete this: There is no place ___ ___ :

Riddle of the day
A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, and I'm the torment of man.
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Factor by which a person experiencing long-term unemployment is more likely to report first instance of mental illness: 3
Found on You Tube 
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
A widower who never paid any attention to his wife while she was alive now found himself missing her desperately. He went to a psychic to see if he could contact his late wife. The psychic went into a trance. A strange breeze wafted through the darkened room, and suddenly, the man heard the unmistakable voice of his dearly departed wife. "Honey!" he cried. "Is that you?" "Yes, my husband."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes, my husband."
"Happier than you were with me?"
"Yes, my husband."
"Then Heaven must be an amazing place!"
"I'm not in Heaven, dear."

Yeah, It Really Happened
SEOUL -- Lego officials in South Korea announced the crown prince of Denmark placed the final brick on the world's largest Lego tower, measuring 104 feet, 8 inches tall. Lego Korea said the tower, which was built in Seoul during the weekend by 4,000 young contest winners (with lots of time on their hands), was planned to mark the 80th anniversary of the Lego group. The final brick defeated the previous world record of 103 feet, 8 inches, which was set in France.            
Somewhat Useless Information   
Clouds are made up of many millions of miniscule water droplets which are formed when moist warm air rises up into the sky and is then cooled down. If the cloud is very cold it means that it is made up of ice crystals. It takes somewhere between a few minutes and 1 hour for a cloud to be created.
In 1803 a classification of clouds was made up by Luke Howard (born 1772, died 1864) who used Latin words to describe their characteristics: Cirrus - tufts or whisps, Stratus - a layer, Nimbus - rain bearing, Cumulus - a heap or pile.

Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
10-16
Universal Family Week
12-19 
National Tourism Week
National Nursing Home Week
Reading is Fun Week
Salute to Moms 35+ Week
National Return To Work Week
National Women's Health Week
American Craft Beer Week
National Bike to Work Week
National Etiquette Week
National Hospital Week
15-21
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
National Educational Bosses' Week
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Police Week
National Transportation Week
World Trade Week

Today Is                                                                      
Pack Rat Day
World Hypertension Day
World Information Society Day
World Telecommunications Day

Norway: Syttende Mai (Constitution Day—1814) translation: May 17

Todays Other Events                                                             
Before 1000CE
218: 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
à
1500’s
1590: Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland
1600’s
1673: Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joilet begin their expedition from the "Straights of Michilimackinac." Eventually, they explore much of the Mississippi River
1700’s
1733: England passes Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions
1800’s
1804: Lewis & Clark begin exploration of Louisiana Purchase
1814: Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian
1881: Revised version of New Testament
1884: Alaska becomes a US territory
1900’s
1904: Maurice Ravel's  "Shéhérazade," premieres in Paris
1909: White firemen on Georgia RR strike to protest hiring blacks
1915: National Baptist Convention chartered
1916: British Summer Time (Daylight Savings), 1st introduced
1928: 9th modern Olympic games opens in Amsterdam
1946: Pres Harry Truman seizes control of nation's railroads to delay a strike
1949: British government recognizes Republic of Ireland
1954: Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
1959: Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
1961: Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
1970: Thor Heyerdahl crosses Atlantic on reed raft Ra
1973: Stevie Wonder releases "You are the Sunshine of My Love"
1973: US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle Colorado
1979: 12°F (-11°C), on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii (state record)
1980: Major race riot in Miami Florida: 16 killed, 300 injured
1984: Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
1989: Nelson Mandela receives a BA from University of South Africa
2000’s
2004: Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage
2006: The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to be an artificial reef
2007: Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953

Todays Birthdays                                                           
Remembered for being born on this day
Archibald Cox, special prosecutor (Watergate) in 1912
Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturer in 1868
Dennis Hopper, actor (True Grit, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider) in 1936
Edward Jenner, England, physician, discovered vaccination in 1749
Maureen O'Sullivan, Boyle Ireland, actress (Tarzan, Pride & Prejudice) in 1911
Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate in 1682
à
In their 70’s
Taj Mahal (Henry Saint Clair Fredericks,) Blues singer/songwriter (Real Thing) is 70
à
In their 50’s
Craig Ferguson, Glasgow, Scottish actor, writer and comedian is 50
Sugar Ray [Charles] Leonard, Rocky Mount North Carolina, boxer (Olympics-gold-76) is 56
Jim Nantz, American broadcaster (CBS)is  53
Bill Paxton,  actor (Brain Dead, True Lies; TV: Big Love) is 57
Bob Saget, comedian (Full House, America's Funniest Home Video)is 56
à
In their 30’s
Tony Parker, French-American basketball player (Spurs)is 30
Under 30 years old
Derek Hough, American dancer and singer (DWTS)is 27

Todays Obits                                                           
Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi), painter (Birth of Venus), dies in 1510 at about 65
John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States dies in 1875 of cirrhosis at 54
Frank Gorshin, American actor dies in 2005 of emphysema at 72
John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States in 1829 at 83
Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player dies of cancer in 2011 at 74
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1st US woman free balloon pilot, dies in 1981 at 86
Lawrence Welk, conductor/accordionist (Lawrence Welk Show), dies of pneumonia in 1992 at 89

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
RAIN
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.      The fruit of an evergreen tree: pine cone
2.     Sign on a semi-trailer carrying a house down a highway: wide load
3.     Sound you hear when picking up a telephone receiver: dial tone
4.     Set of safety specifications for a building: fire code
5.     Half a round of golf: nine hole
6.     Something a circus performer walks on: tight rope
7.     Browned bread that is not wheat, rye or pumpernickel: white toast
8.     A small emergency vessel at sea: life boat
9.     A swimming style where the feet do a scissors kick: side stoke
10.  Like some of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tales: twice told
11.    What the pyramids of Egypt are made of: limestone
12.   Area a pitcher aims for: strike zone
13.   Complete this: There is no place ___ ___ : like home

Anagrams

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 

May 16


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

Todays  Historical  Highlights
1763: Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer James Boswell in London
1770Marie Antoinette (14) marries future King Louis XVI (15) of France
1817Mississippi River steamboat service begins
1836Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia
1860::18] Chicago: Republican convention selects Abraham Lincoln candidate
1866: Congress authorizes nickel 5 cent piece (replaces silver half-dime)
1868: By one vote, Senate fails to impeach President Andrew Johnson
1891George A Hormel & Co introduce Spam
1910US Bureau of Mines forms
1920Joan of Arc (Jean D'arc) canonized a saint
1939: Food stamps are 1st issued
1956Egypt recognizes People's Republic of China
1985Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year
2005: Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote

Happy Birthday To:  

 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
I learned quite a bit today about Wells Fargo Bank. I have had an account with them since my days in Tuba. I didn’t keep much money in the account and only used it for cash I needed during the week as there was no ATM for Chase in Tuba. When I was on a detail, I used it more to keep my records straight. I then used it for travel. I noticed a few months ago that I was paying an $8 fee/month. I knew I had really dropped the balance of the linked savings account for my trips. So today I stopped by to find out what total balance I needed for no fees. Well it seems WF changed my account to make it a non-free checking account. They said that they sent me an email, but I guess I didn’t read the ‘fine print’. I told them that I wanted a free account or I would close both accounts. After way too many questions I got it. Then I found out that my mom’s name was never removed from the account, even though I took a death certificate in. The guy says that she is marked ‘deceased’ on the account, but without scanning in death certificate, it would still be possible for someone to steal her identity and use that account. He played with the phone, used a bunch of numerical verbal codes and finally said I had to bring in the death certificate AGAIN. A nice guy but a total bureaucrat with no power. Interestingly, his trainee, who had to sit though all this, was from Shonto. I knew his mom, an aide who became a teacher, and we had a good conversation. I let the trainee know something too. An elderly Navajo grandpa was at the other desk, trying to get information. He spoke some English, but was having trouble. He kept saying that his grandson was in the truck outside. Neither of the two people helping him went out to get the grandson. They just kept stumbling through and getting nowhere. I told the trainee that it was too bad that the bank didn’t have a translator to help the customer. As I was leaving, the young lady, another trainee, went outside and got the grandson…who was in his thirties.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Given anagrams plus an extra letter that must be unscrambled to name a river. For example, given "roil" plus E, the answer would be "Loire," the river in France.
Goal + v:
Heir + n:
Goon + c:
Bite + r:
Agnes + g:
Haste + m:
Grits + i:
Gnome + k:
Unbag + i:
Preheats + U:

Riddle of the day
There are four brothers in this world that were all born together. The first runs and never wearies. The second eats and is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never good.
Anagram: unscramblenumbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     
Harper’s Index         
Portions of the Veterans Health Administration’s budget devoted to veterans with mental-health or addiction problems: 1/3
Found on You Tube 
  Monty Python – Spam      
Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day
Officer to driver going the wrong way up a one way street. "And where do you think you are going?" Driver: - "I'm not sure, but I must be late as everyone else is coming back."
Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
Returns tomorrow
Yeah, It Really Happened
STOCKHOLM, N.Y. (AP) --Authorities say a northern New York man had his friend shoot him in the leg with a rifle because he wanted to know what it feels like to be shot.State police in St. Lawrence County say the shooting occurred around 5 p.m. Sunday in the rural town of Stockholm when 25-year-old Shawn Mossow of neighboring Norfolk relented to his friend's repeated requests and shot him once in the right leg with a .22-caliber rifle.The 24-year-old man from Norfolk is expected to make a full recovery. Police haven't released his name.Mossow was charged with reckless endangerment. He's being held in the county jail on $10,000 bail. It could be immediately determined if he had a lawyer.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny.
  • Whales and dolphins can literally fall half asleep. Their brain hemispheres alternate sleeping, so the animals can continue to surface and breathe.
  • Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.
  • The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
  • The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July 3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
  • The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world, grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially 30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.


Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
10-16
Universal Family Week
12-19 
National Tourism Week
National Nursing Home Week
Reading is Fun Week
Salute to Moms 35+ Week
National Return To Work Week
National Women's Health Week
American Craft Beer Week
National Bike to Work Week
National Etiquette Week
National Hospital Week
15-21
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
National Educational Bosses' Week
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Police Week
National Transportation Week
World Trade Week
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week

Today Is                                                                      
Biographer's Day
National Employee Health & Fitness Day
National Sea Monkey Day
Turn Beauty Inside Out Day
Wear Purple for Peace Day

Todays Other Events                                                             
1500’s
1568Mary Queen of Scotland flees to England
1600’s
16062,000 foreigners murdered in Russia
1700’s
1760: Creek warrior Chief Hobbythacco (Handsome Fellow) has often supported the English, but, at the outbreak of the Cherokee war, he decides to support the Cherokees. He leads an attack on a group of English traders in Georgia. Thirteen of the traders are killed during the fighting. Creek Chief "The Mortar" also participates in the fighting.
1792Denmark abolishes slave trade
1800’s
1864: Last battles at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia (6,666 casualties)
1875Quake in Venezuela & Colombia kills 16,000
1879Antonin Dvorák's "Slavic Dancing," premieres
1881World's 1st electric tram goes into service in Lichterfelder (near Berlin)
1894Fire in Boston destroys baseball stadium & 170 other buildings
1900’s
1903: George Wyman makes 1st motorcycle trip across the US
1927: Supreme Court ruled bootleggers must pay income tax
1941: Germans made their last major air attack on Britain (Birmingham)
19441st of 180,000+ Hungarian Jews reach Auschwitz
1946Musical  "Annie Get Your Gun," starring Ethel Merman premieres in NYC
1951The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines
1956: Kraft Theater presents an act from "Profiles in Courage"
1965: The Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand
1966Beach Boys' "Pets Sounds" is released
19711st class postage now costs 8 cents (was 6 cents)
1975: Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1981:  "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes hits #1 for next 9 weeks
1986"Top Gun," premieres 1986Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from dead on Dallas
1988Surgeon Gen C Everett Koop reports nicotine as addictive as heroin
1991: Queen Elizabeth becomes 1st British monarch to address US congress
2000’s
2003: In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks
2007: Alex Salmond is elected First Minister of Scotland. He is the first Scottish National Party leader to be elected as First Minister after winning a historic victory at the Scottish general election on the 3rd May
2011: Space shuttle Endeavour launches for its final commission in space

Todays Birthdays                                                           
Remembered for being born on this day
Philip Danforth Armour, founder (Armour Foods) in 1832
Ernest Watson Burgess, US sociologist (ecological school) in 1886
Henry Fonda, Grand Is Nebraska, actor (Mr Roberts, On Golden Pond ) in 1905
Billy Martin, baseball 2nd baseman/manager (NY Yankees, Oakland A's) in 1928
Levi Parsons Morton, (R) 22nd US VP (1889-93) in 1824
Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, educator/founder (US kindergarten) in 1804
William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State, bought Alaska at 2 ¢/acre in 1801
Studs Terkel, NYC, author/host (Stud's Place, Working) in 1912
Robert Tisdall, Ireland, 400m hurdler (Olympic-gold-1932) in 1907
In their 50’s
Pierce Brosnan, County Meath Ireland, actor (Remington Steele , Golden Eye) is 59
Debra Winger, Columbus Oh, actress (Officer & Gentleman) is 57
In their 40’s
David Boreanaz, actor (Bones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is 41
Tracey Gold, NYC, actress (Carol-Growing Pains, Incredible Sunday)is 43
Janet Jackson, Gary Indiana, singer, Michael's sister (Control) is 46
John Salley, NBA star (Detroit Pistons is 48
In their 30’s
Tori Spelling, actress is 39
Under 30 years old
Megan Fox, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, American actress (Transformers) and model is 26


Todays Obits                                                           
Lean Bear (Awoninahku), Cheyenne chief, murdered in 1864 at about 50
Bodacious the Bull, Famous rodeo bull dies of infected foot in 2000 at 12
Sammy Davis Jr, singer (Candy Man)/actor (Golden Boy), dies of throat cancer in 1990 at 64
Jim Henson, puppeteer (Sesame Street, Muppet Show), dies of septic shock in 1990 at 53
Andy Kaufman, comedian (Latka-Taxi), dies of cancer in 1984 at 35
Levi P. Morton, United States Vice President under Benjamin Harrison dies in 1920 at 96
Mugg, an Arosaguntacook Indian Chief, dies  in 1677 in Black Point, Maine. At the outset of King Philip's war, Mugg attempted to arrange a peace treaty with the British. Instead they jail him for a short time, and gain a bitter enemy. He destroys much of Black Point, Maine in a raid on October 12, 1676. Later he captures a few ships and stages a brief naval war before his death
Eliot Ness, American federal agent dies of heart attack in 1957 at 54

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day
Water, fire, earth, wind
NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.      Goal + v: Volga
2.     Heir + n: Rhine
3.     Goon + c: Congo
4.     Bite + r: Tiber
5.     Agnes + g: Ganges
6.     Haste + m: Thames
7.     Grits + i: Tigris
8.     Gnome + k: Mekong
9.     Unbag + i: Ubangi
10.  Preheats + u: Euphrates

Anagrams

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 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.