Photo-Finish Friday: Lone Wolf

 The freehand painting of a Wolf that Little Girl put on Bigger Girl's bedroom wall:

Photo-Finish Friday is the brainchild of Leah at The Goat's Lunch Pail.



Today is:

Americana Indian and Western Art Show -- Yuma, AZ, US (Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Western art, rugs, and jewelry; through Sunday)

A Room of One's Own Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, for all of those who just want a space to call their own; on the birth anniversary of Virginia Woolf

Around the World in 72 Days -- this date in 1890, Nellie Bly broke the fictional Phileas Fogg's record and went around the world in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds

Big Rock Day -- discovery of the Cullinan diamond (3,106 carets) this day in 1905

Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo -- Rapid City, SD, US (everything you could want in such an event, including the stockman banquet and ball; through Feb. 3)

Conversion of St. Paul -- Christian
     Observe the Weather Day -- a beautiful St. Paul's Conversion day means a prosperous year, precipitation means an expensive year, clouds mean much loss of livestock, and wind means war looms in the year ahead

Dinagyang -- Iloilo, Philippines (huge religious and cultural festival; through the weekend)

Dydd Santes Dwynwen -- Wales (For St. Dwynwen, Patron of lovers, especially Welsh lovers, and sick animals; the Welsh Valentines Day)

Eagles Etcetera Festival -- Bismark, AR, US (bald eagles in the wild, birds of prey demonstrations, and lots of outdoor fun; through Sunday)

Feriae Sementivae -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a Feast of Spring, asking protection for seeds sown in the fall, and those to be sown in spring)

Festival of Constructive Energy -- another internet generated day with no explanations

Fun At Work Day -- inject laughter and fun into your workplace (if you dare)

G. F. Betico Croes Day -- Aruba

January 25 Revolution Day -- Egypt

Luanda City Day -- Angola

Macintosh Computer Day -- debuted this day in 1984

National Irish Coffee Day

National Preschool Fitness Day -- get them loving moving early (last Fri)

National Voters' Day -- India

Old Disting -- Norse Calendar (date approximate; a market day held at the same time as a sacrifice to the female powers.)

Oregon Truffle Festival -- Eugene, OR, US (celebrating the high-end culinary delight that is the lowly truffle, with seminars, cooking demos, and more; through Sunday)

Porri Month begins -- Traditional Icelandic Calendar (the name means Middle of Winter, and personifies him as Old Man Winter; often the harshest month, so greet him kindly, to soften his heart and hasten spring)
     Bondadagur (Husband's Day) -- first day of Porri (various traditions honoring the man of the house; these days, women often give the men flowers)

Robert Burns' Night -- Scotland; Newfoundland (celebrated with a Burns' Supper and reciting poetry)
     Dinner Party Day -- for Bobby Burns, of course

St. Ananias of Damascus' Day (Saint who baptized St. Paul)

Tu B'Shvat -- Judaism ("New Year of the Trees", begins at sunset)

Winter-een-mas -- a holiday for gamers, begun by Tim Buckley; through the 31st


Anniversaries Today:

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, 1533 (secret wedding)
Moscow University is established, to coincide with St. Tatiana's Day, 1755


Birthdays Today:

Alicia Keys, 1981
China Kantner, 1971
Etta James, 1938
Corazon Aquino, 1933
Dean Jones, 1931
Edwin Newman, 1919
Virginia Woolf, 1882
William Somerset Maugham, 1874
Robert Burns, 1759


Today in History:

Founding of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1554
Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1573
The Treaty of Utrecht marks the beginning of the Dutch Republic, 1579
Eliakam Spooner of Vermont patents the first seeding machine in the US, 1799
The first US engineering college opens, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Troy, NY, 1825
Sojourner Truth addresses the First Black Women's Rights Convention, in Akron, Ohio, 1851
Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is first played, at the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia, 1858
The soda fountain is patented by Gustavus Dows, 1870
Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company, 1881
Bilu, a Russian Zionist organization, forms, 1882
Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's time around world by 8 days (72 days), 1890
The first US transcontinental telephone call is made when Alexander Graham Bell in NY calls Thomas Watson in SF, 1915
The League of Nations is founded, 1919
The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games, 1924
The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago (in 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until Sept. 18, 2009), 1937
At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented, 1949
The Clementine space probe launches, 1994
Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile, 1995
During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country, 1998
Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star, 2006