27 Dec

 

27 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 53 Day 361 \ Ave. Sky Cover 30% \ Visibility 23 miles Flagstaff Today 54° \24° 
Wind 6mph \ Gusts 12mph  Air Quality: Moderate3\ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 556mi \ Nearest Lightning 1870mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine with high clouds

Today’s Quote

Weekly Observations

Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
It's About Time Week: 25-31
Kwanzaa: 26-1/1

Daily Observations

Howdy Doody Day
International Day for Epidemic Preparedness
Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
National Fruitcake Day
Radio City Music Hall Day
Visit The Zoo Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday. I had a great day. Talked to my brother, had a meal with friends with great conversation. Now is the time to look forward to begin planning what 2023 will bring.

A nice memory: As I was growing up, my mother would always head very early to the Denver Dry Goods on the day after Christmas. She would buy her Christmas cards for the next year, wrapping paper, and a few ‘new’ decorations as everything was ½ price. After I was grown, I always took her out to that until she decided she was ‘too old’ to hit the crowds. Then for a few more years, I still did it and brought the stuff to her. It is a great memory.

Last week Lisa Ling did a great piece on Interracial marriage.   She showed how such marriages still bring violence from those opposed. She also talked to Bahai followers believe that interracial marriage will bring peace as more and more people realize we are all the same.

It was not a good week for my football teams. Broncos were blown away by the Rams. The Cards also lost, due to bad plays. I did get to watch both debacles on my TV.

China had decided that during this season of peace, the best they can do is have military exercises very near Taiwan. They are just reminding the Taiwanese that China has the control over their lives. I feel sorry for the Taiwanese, as my visit a few years ago found the country to be beautiful with very caring people.

Favorite Memes…Winter Wonderland!

Facts…

Abraham Lincoln Was the Only President to Receive a Patent

Lincoln Was the First President to Have a Beard

Lincoln Was the First U.S. President to Appear on a Coin

Lincoln Helped Establish Thanksgiving as a National Holiday

The Gettysburg Address Was Less Than 275 Words Long

Lincoln’s Views on Slavery Were Complicated and Evolving 

Slang Origins

1947: Party pooper

Meaning: someone who refuses to join in during a fun event

A creation of college students, the origins of “party pooper” are unclear. While it could have something to do with the bathroom, “to poop” also can mean “to tire or exhaust.” The verb “to pooh-pooh,” which is a way to disagree with something, might also be connected to the “party pooper.” No matter where it comes from, it’s not a trait most people want to have.

Mysteries…

WAS CAESARION TRULY CAESAR'S SON?

In 47 B.C., Cleopatra VII gave birth to a son named Caesarion whom she claimed was the son of Julius Caesar. Cleopatra named Caesarion as co-ruler of Egypt in 44 B.C., and surviving art depicts mother and son as co-rulers.

However, whether the child was truly Caesar’s son is uncertain. Caesar never acknowledged the child as his own. One of Caesar’s friends, Gaius Oppius, even wrote a pamphlet denying that Caesarion was Caesar’s son. Cleopatra VII killed herself after she and Mark Antony were defeated by Octavian in 30 B.C. and Caesarion was killed not long after that.

With no remains of Julius Caesar or Caesarion surviving, it is unlikely that scholars will ever be able to determine, with certainty, whether Caesar was truly Caesarion’s father.

Historical Events

1927 – Kern and Hammerstein’s musical play Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.
1945 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded with an agreement by 29 nations.
1947 – The Howdy Doody TV show premiered on NBC. It was the first popular children’s television show.

Birthdays Today

@90 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress (d. 1992)
“There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich.”
– Marlene Dietrich
83 – John Amos, American actor
“It was an ongoing struggle to say no, I don’t want to be a part of the perpetuation of this stereotype.”– John Amos
@72 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist, invented Pasteurization (d. 1895, stroke)
“I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and thinner.”– Louis Pasteur 

@75 – Cokie Roberts [Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts], journalist (d.2019; breast cancer)
78 – Mick Jones, English guitarist, and songwriter
@58 – Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, and astronomer (d. 1630)
51 – Savannah Guthrie, American television journalist
@46 – Chyna [Joan Marie Laurer], American professional wrestler, actress (d. 2016; OD)
34 – Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter
29 – Olivia Cooke, English actress

 

24 Dec

 

 24 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 52 Day 358 \ Ave. Sky Cover 10% \ Visibility 10 miles Flagstaff Today 49° \24° 
Wind 2mph \ Gusts 2mph  Air Quality: Low\ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 350mi \ Nearest Lightning 1535mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
Posadas: 16-24
Chanukah: 18-26
Gluten-free Baking Week: 18-24  Link 

Daily Observations

Christmas Eve

Last Minute Shopper’s Day

National Egg Nog Day Link

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

Sun is shining. Not too cold. I am lucky to be in the only part of the country that is not suffering from the winter cold and winter weather.

I got my car washed and waxed this morning. Glad it is clean.

Our town has to drain a pond dedicated to a local environmentalist. This year’s fires sent too much ash and debris into the water supply for the lake. The pond has lost all of its stocked fish and many plants. It will take time, but the water will be drained, the debris removed and then refilled in the early summer. Then they will restock the pond. There is no word on how the will effect the wild birds that inhabit the area.

This will be my last post until a day or two after Christmas.  I will be busy celebrating with friends here in Flag and in Tuba.

I hope everyone has a joyful time this weekend.

Favorite Memes

If…

•          I used to be a watchmaker. I loved the job because I made my own hours. 

Slang Origins

1946: Fubar

Meaning: completely messed up, destroyed, ruined

“Fubar” is an acronym thought to have been used by the military in WWII. It gained popularity in the years after the war and is now often used in computer programming and software development. Because the original acronym contained an expletive, some have shifted the meaning behind the letters to “fouled beyond all recognition.”

Mysteries…

WHO KILLED JFK?

This is probably the biggest mystery in American history that will never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald (although some speculate that he wasn't the only one shooting). On Nov. 24, 1963, before Oswald could stand trial, Oswald was fatally shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Ruby died of lung cancer on Jan. 3, 1967.

The most widely accepted explanation is that Oswald killed JFK on his own and Ruby killed Oswald, on his own volition. Ruby's stated motivation was to spare Jacqueline Kennedy "the discomfiture of [Oswald] coming back to trial." However, there are still a significant number of professional historians, along with many amateurs, who do not agree with this explanation and since JFK's death, numerous alternative explanations have been brought forward by historians and amateurs. Given that significant new evidence is unlikely to appear, a firm consensus will probably never be reached.

Historical Events

1814 – Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
1818 – The first performance of Silent Night took place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria
1851 – The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burned, destroying 35,000 books, about 2/3 of the library’s collection.
1945 – Five of the nine Sodder children become missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, mysteriously burned down.

Birthdays Today

81 – Anthony Fauci, Doctor
@81 – Fritz Leiber, American fantasy, science fiction author (d. 1992)
“A scientist ought to have a healthy disregard for coincidences.”– Fritz Leiber
@70 – Howard Hughes, American businessman, engineer, and pilot (d. 1976; kidney failure)
@70 – Lemmy Kimister, English rock singer-songwriter, bass player (d. 2015; cancer)
@69 – Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer, found 37 comets (d. 1831)
@67 – Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
@66 – Clarence Gilyard, actor [Matlock; Walker, Texas Ranger] (d. 2015; long illness)
@58 – Christopher ‘Kit’ Carson, American general, and frontiersman (d. 1868; aneurysm)
@55 – Kate Spade, American fashion designer, co-founder of Kate Spade New York (d. 2018)
51 – Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
@49 – John, King of England, Magna Carta (d. 1216; dysentary)
49 – Stephenie Meyer, American author
“I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.”– Stephenie Meyer
48 – Ryan Seacrest, American radio host, and television personality
“Failure? Scared to death of it.”– Ryan Seacrest
45 – Michael Raymond-James, American actor

 

23 Dec

 

23 December 2022

Daily Almanac for Flagstaff
Week 52 Day 357 \ Ave. Sky Cover a% \ Visibility 25 miles Flagstaff Today 51° \23° 
Wind 5mph \ Gusts 9mph  Air Quality: \ Moderate Risk of fire \ Nearest active fire 332mi \ Nearest Lightning 1561mi
Dec Averages for Flagstaff: 43° \ 17° `
Sunshine

Today’s Quote

 

Weekly Observations

Andisop (Meteorological Fiddling): 5-24   Link
Christmas Bird Count Week: 14-1/5 Link 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Halcyon Days: 14-28 
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 15 - 1/1/23  Link 
Posadas: 16-24
Saturnalia: 17-23
Chanukah: 18-26
Gluten-free Baking Week: 18-24  Link 
Cookie Exchange Week: 19-23  

Daily Observations

Festivus
Family Roots Day Link
Human Light Celebration
Metric Conversion Day
National Roots Day
National Pfeffernüsse Day (This spice delicacy is believed to have originated in Germany, but it is also very popular in Denmark and the Netherlands.)

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

A nice day. I stopped at the car wash after shopping. Line was too long. I’ll try later.

Zelensky met with Biden, then gave a speech to Congress. His speech certainly was playing to the crowd. It is now not a surprise as to how he got elected. Quite the orator. I don’t know much about him, so I’ll hold off on my opinion until I know more.

The Cpap was supposed to arrive around 2pm yesterday. He called and said it would be about 5pm. He showed up and checked my oxygen maker machine. All good. A new filter replaced the dirty one.

The cold wave we had here has moved out…now 2/3 of the states are getting it. I’m sure glad I don’t have to travel by plane. Airports are already a mess. Flights around the states are either delayed or out-right cancelled.

If you are traveling over the holiday, stay safe. Show your Christmas spirit while traveling.

Favorite Memes

If…

•          I went to the paint store to get thinner. It didn’t work. 

Slang Origins

1945: Cool cat

Meaning: an interesting or fashionable person

Another product of jazz slang, the concept of a “cool cat” combined two concepts from African American slang. “Cool,” a term with a complicated history, had been recorded in the community as early as the 19th century. The term “cat” had also been used to refer to a man, but by 1930, referred specifically to jazz devotees before combining in the ‘40s to create the slang term we know today.

Mysteries…

WHERE IS CLEOPATRA'S TOMB?

Ancient writers claim that Cleopatra VII and her lover, Mark Antony, were buried together in a tomb after their deaths in 30 B.C. The writer Plutarch (A.D. 45-120) wrote that the tomb was located near a temple of Isis, an Egyptian goddess, and was a "lofty and beautiful" monument containing treasures made of gold, silver, emeralds, pearls, ebony and ivory.

The location of the tomb remains a mystery. In 2010, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former antiquities minister, conducted excavations at a site near Alexandria now called Taposiris Magna, which contains a number of tombs dating to the era when Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt. While many interesting archaeological discoveries were made, Cleopatra VII's tomb was not among them Hawass reported in a series of news releases. Archaeologists have noted that even if Cleopatra's tomb does survive to this day, it may be heavily plundered and unidentifiable.

Historical Events

1913 – The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.
1947 – The transistor was demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York topped out at 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world.
1975 – The US Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act. It was authorized in 1866.

Birthdays Today

89 – Akihito, Emperor of Japan
@83 – John Jay, American politician, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (d. 1829)
“Too many in your state [Pennsylvania], as in this [New York], love pure democracy dearly. They seem not to consider that pure democracy, like pure rum, easily produces intoxication, and with it a thousand mad pranks and fooleries.”– John Jay
78 – Wesley Clark, American general
“The final frontier is perhaps the most difficult, but it’s also the most important – and that’s the frontier of the human spirit. For too long, people have allowed differences on the surface; differences of color, ethnicity, and gender – to tear apart the common bonds they share. And the human spirit suffers as a result. Imagine a world in which we saw beyond the lines that divide us, and celebrated our differences, instead of hiding from them. Imagine a world in which we finally recognized that, fundamentally, we are all the same. And imagine if we allowed that new understanding to build relations between people and between nations.”– Wesley Clark
76 – Susan Lucci, American actress
“You know what my greatest personal stumbling block is? My shyness.”– Susan Lucci
70 – William Kristol, American journalist, publisher, political pundit
58 – Eddie Vedder, American singer-songwriter
@51 – C.J. Walker, first female American millionaire (d. 1919; hyper-tension)
@38 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
@38 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saints (d. 1844; shot escaping jail)
34 – Mallory Hagan, Miss America 2013