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Dec 16, 2017 Week: 50 \ Day: 350
86004 Today: H 50° \ L 21°
Average Sky Cover: 5%
Wind ave.: 9mph\Gusts: 12mph
Visibility: 10 mi
Record High: 63°[1958] Record Low: -18°[1971]
Dec Averages: 50°\23°
Dec Records: H: 68° (1950) L: -23° (1990)
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Quote of the Day
Nothing can have value without being an object of utility.
Karl Marx
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Observances Today
Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
National Wreaths Across America Day Link
Zionism Day
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Observances This Week
10-17: Human Rights Week
14-1-5: Christmas Bird Count Link
14-28: Halcyon Days
16-24: Posadas
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Today’s Significant US Historical Events
Today’s Significant International Historical Events
1400’s
1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama is 1st European to sail along Africa's East Coast, names it Natal
1600’s
1631 Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
1700’s
1707 Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.
1773 Boston tea party incident - Sons of Liberty protesters throw tea shipments into Boston harbor in protest against British imposed Tea Act
1800’s
1893 Anton Dvorak's "New World Symphony" premieres
1900’s
1907 As a gesture of the US's new presence as a world power, President Theodore Roosevelt sends the US Battle Fleet on a round-the-world cruise, visiting ports internationally
1913 Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
1924 Hiram Bingham is elected as a Republican to serve in the U.S. Senate forcing him to resign as Governor of Connecticut after serving only one day in office, the shortest term of any Connecticut Governor
1941 Sarawak occupied by Japanese forces
1946 French fashion designer Christian Dior and his backer Marcel Boussac found fashion house Christian Dior
1946 Thailand joins the United Nations
1950 US President Harry Truman proclaims state of emergency against "Communist imperialism"
1951 NBC premiere of "Dragnet" in black and white
1953 1st White House Press Conference (President Eisenhower & 161 reporters)
1962 "Lawrence of Arabia" film directed by David Lean and starring Peter O'Toole, is released in the United States
1967 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points vs Chicago
1971 Bangladesh (East Pakistan) independence from Pakistan is recognized internationally
1973 O.J. Simpson becomes 1st NFLer to rush 2,000 yards in a season
1978 Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of People's Republic of China
1991 Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan
1991 Florida Marlins sign their 1st player, 16-year-old pitcher Clemente Nunez
1995 The official adoption of the name "Euro"
1997 US President Bill Clinton names his Labrador retriever "Buddy"
2000’s
2009 Ben Bernanke, Chair of the US Federal Reserve is named Time's Person of the Year for rescuing the global economy from the Great Recession
2016 5-day pollution red alert declared in Beijing and 21 other Chinese cities, classified by officials as a “meteorological disaster”
2016 US State Department increases reward for information on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to $25 million
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My Rambling Thoughts
Yesterday our retirement group got together for our gift exchange. We met at our favorite European Bistro. Great food, great company, and great gifts. This was our first lunch as a whole group just before Thanksgiving, so we had lots to catch up on. Cheryl heads for CA next Thursday, I head for Chicago next Friday, and Mary heads to Phoenix on Saturday. None of us is quite ready but agreed Christmas will come even if we aren’t ready.
When I got home from lunch, about 4pm, it was almost time for the Broncos to play. So glad I watched the game, as the right team finally had another win.
Our local paper was all about ‘the big storm’ that hit here back in 1967. While I was busy in my Freshman year of college, this town, and the much of the Rez got 84” of snow in a day and a half. When I arrived on the Rez in 1971, as winter approached and snow was falling, the people had great stories about that storm. Two of my favorites: A set of twins was born in a hogan about 15 miles from the school. The local IHS nurse had gone to the home soon after the snow started. Everyone was stuck there. A doctor, 60 miles away was on the radio, giving the nurse instructions. All turned out well, and a helicopter got in the day after the birth to get mom, babies, and nurse to Tuba. The other story is about getting the students from the dorm to the school and back each day. Teachers and aides would dig toward the dorm, dorm aides would dig toward the school. Certain points were more a tunnel than an open path. Dorm aides would send a small group of kids into the tunnel and radio the school as to how may kids were coming. When they all arrived, the school would radio to send more. This process worked for several days until the snow finally started melting. As much as I enjoy a good snowstorm, that would have been too much for me.
Reading stories in the Flag paper show that the town tried its best to keep going but it sure wasn’t easy. Biggest problem in Flag was keeping 84” of snow from crushing home and store roofs. Kids from the BIA dorm (who attended public schools) in Flag were hired by local businesses to keep roofs safe and sidewalks open. People I know from that era said it was hard work but very good money.
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Bizarre News
We've all fallen in love with purchases we have found on the Internet, but this is a little ridiculous.
A woman in the United Kingdom who fell in love with objects as a teenager announced that she plans to marry a chandelier she bought on eBay.
33-year-old Amanda Liberty of Leeds said that she had 24 chandeliers in her home (it is unknown how many cats). Liberty was in an open relationship with all her chandeliers until she found one she calls Lumiere on eBay.
Liberty said that she fell in love with Lumiere at first site. She bought the chandelier and had it shipped to her home.
Liberty loves to cuddle with Lumiere and takes it to bed. The young woman admitted that she still takes her other chandeliers to bed as they aren't jealous of one another. But Liberty plans to marry Lumiere in a public ceremony for her friends and family.
When Liberty was 14-year-old, she fell in love with a drum set. Her first love lasted just a few months. She then fell in love with the Statue of Liberty in New York and legally changed her last name.
She traveled to New York many times to gaze at her lover and filled her house with many Statue of Liberty miniatures. Eventually, Liberty moved on to chandeliers.
But this time it's serious. Liberty recently bought a diamond engagement ring and put it on Lumiere. The only thing that would make this story perfect is if Amanda changes her name once again, but this time to Amanda Chandra Lear.
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Birthdays Today
@- indicates age at death
90’s
@90- Arthur C. Clarke,
English sci-fi author (2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End),
born in Minehead, England
(d. 2008)
70’s
@76- Margaret Mead,
American anthropologist (Coming of Age in Somoa)
born in Philadelphia,
(d. 1978)
76- Lesley Stahl,
newscaster/correspondent (CBS)
@73- Noel Coward,
England, playwright (In Which We Serve-1942 Acad Award)
(d. 1973)
60’s
68- Billy Gibbons,
guitarist (ZZTop)
50’s
@56- Ludwig van Beethoven,
German composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy),
born in Bonn, Germany
(d. 1827)
55- William "The Refrigerator" Perry,
NFL defensive back (Chicago Bears)
54- Benjamin Bratt,
actor (Det Reynaldo Curtis-Law & Order)
@53- Philip K[indred] Dick,
US, sci-fi author (Hugo-1963, Blade Runner),
born in Chicago,
(d. 1982)
@50- Catherine of Aragon,
Spanish princess/1st wife of Henry VIII,
born in Madrid, Spain
(d. 1536)
40’s
48- Lei Jun,
Chinese Businessman and founder of Xiaomi Inc,
born in Xiantao, Hubei
@41- Jane Austen,
English novelist (Pride and Prejudice),
born in Steventon, England
(d. 1817)
30’s
36- Krysten Ritter,
TV actress
20’s
@26- Jimmie Lee Jackson,
American civil rights protester who was shot and killed by an Alabama State Trooper in 1965,
born in Marion, Alabama
(d. 1965)
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Historical Obits Today
90’s
@91-1965 William Somerset Maugham,
English author (Razor's Edge)
@90-1980 Colonel Harland Sanders,
American founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, (Colonel is the highest KY honorary title)
80’s
@87-2013
Ray Price, American singer
@86-1921 Camille Saint-Saens,
French composer (Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso)
@80±-705 Wu Zetian,
Chinese Empress (690-705) - only woman to rule China
70’s
@79-2009 Roy E. Disney,
American businessman,
stomach cancer
@73-1859 Wilhelm Grimm,
writer
60’s
@69-1858 Richard Bright,
British Dr. (Bright's disease/nephritis),
heart disease
@64-1989 Lee Van Cleef,
US actor (Good, Bad & Ugly),
heart attack
50’s
@59-2003 Gary Stewart,
American country singer (She's Actin' Single),
suicide
@56-2007 Dan Fogelberg,
American singer/songwriter,
cancer
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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 contains mistakes and sadly once 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…☼☼☼☼
