Boy am i in trouble.

At least according to this film from 1954.

It's called "The House in the Middle," and it's a Cold War propaganda film that claims your house will only survive a nuclear blast if it is nicely painted, with a pretty yard, and pristine on the inside.

Those who didn't keep up with the dusting and had more than just a Bible on the coffee table were doomed, and served them right.

Well. As anyone can tell from the moniker i picked for myself (actually, my inner child picked it, but i digress as usual), i'm no pristine housekeeper. We have too many foster kittens, too many kids tracking dirt in and out, and just plain too much going on around here for me to worry about a bit of dust.

To be honest, if the garbage is out, the kitchen clean, the bathrooms nice, the litter boxes scooped twice a day, laundry not more than one load away from finished, and the place mostly swept, that's plenty for me.

That's because the kids do track stuff in, the cats make messes, the dog unstuffs her stuffed animals faster than we can restuff them, and dusting and vacuuming are done, but should be done more often. There are kids' school books on the kitchen table, yesterday's and today's papers on the breakfast bar, and someone dropped shoes and socks in the middle of the floor. Most likely, if i went to look, there would be a cup or plate near the computer, and Miss Lizzie's craft stuff all over the coffee table. So what?

The place looks lived in, but it isn't a hazard. Except that, if there's a nuclear war, i'm doomed, at least according to this.

Hmm, at this point, with surviving a nuclear war meaning you die of radiation poisoning or cancer not long after, i think i'll take my chances.


Today is:

Babin Den -- Bulgaria (Midwives Day, celebrating the tradition of the midwives, called grandmothers, role in helping deliver babies; some sites list this on Jan.8)

Bounty Day -- Pitcairn Island (celebrates the burning of the HMS Bounty in 1790

Clean Out Your Inbox Week begins -- cure your email e-ddiction, get rid of the old stuff clogging up your inbox

Cold, Cold, Cold Day -- coldest temp ever recorded in the US, -79.8°F (-62.11°C), this day in 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, Alaska

Day of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year -- celebrations throughout Asia before and after, some for up to a month; Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist celebrations

National Pie Day

National Handwriting Day -- on the birthday of John Hancock, to encourage the dying art of legible handwriting

National Heroes' Day -- Cayman Islands

National Rhubarb Pie Day

Measure Your Feet Day -- one can only ask...."Why!?!"

Ragwort Dance -- Fairy Calendar (Pixies only)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; plow drivers, see how far you can make those rural mailboxes go!

St. John the Almoner's Day (known for his generosity to the poor, "If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.")


Anniversaries Today:

The founding of Georgetown University, the first US Catholic college, 1789


Birthdays Today:

Princess Caroline of Monaco, 1957
Antonio Villaraigosa, 1953
Rutger Hauer, 1944
Chita Rivera, 1933
Jeanne Moreau, 1928
Ernie Kovacs, 1919
John M. Browning, 1855
Edouard Manet, 1832
John Hancock, 1737


Today in History:

Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga (Hindu Iron Age of the Gods), BC3102
In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops, 971
The first printing of Ramban's Sha'ar ha-Gemul, 1490
The first printing of the Pentateuch, 1492
The second version of Book of Common Prayer becomes mandatory in England, 1552
What is probably the most deadly earthquake in history kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China, 1556
Queen Elizabeth I opens the Royal Exchange in London, 1571
Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales, 1656
Joseph Pease, a Quaker, is admitted to Parliament on his affirmation, 1833
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first female physician in the US, 1849
The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1855
Alesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Alesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless an one person dead, 1904
Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US senator, 1907
Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of the Polish government in exile, 1940
Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time, 1943
The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, 1960
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, 1986
Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10, 2003