Typical

 Grandpa came by yesterday to take #2 Son to a university basketball game.

They had been invited by the coach to sit on the floor with the team, and go in the locker room, and lots of fun stuff.  So when #2 Son breezed back into the house with a souvenir autographed picture and other stuff in a nice binder, he was all smiles.

How was it, i asked, even though i didn't need to.

"Great!  We got to sit in the locker room and hear the coach talking to the team, and they played an awesome game.  The coach is so hyperactive it's not even funny!"

"What was your favorite part of the game?" Sweetie asked him.

After thinking for just a moment, he grinned and  responded, "Sitting about 2 feet from the cheerleaders!"

Typical 16-year-boy answer.


Today is:

Assembly Line Workers' Day -- listed on many sites but no particular reason for it to be this day; then again, why not today?

Australian Open -- Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia (part of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments; through the 27th)

Azhirnikhua -- Abdhazia (Day of World Creation)

Cakes and Ale Day -- emblems of the good life, a day to remember the good things we have, and be grateful

Celebration of the 2nd Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Clean Off Your Desk Day -- me and what army? (Note:  some sites put this as always on Jan. 9, some the second Monday of January; either way, my question remains)

Daikoku Matsuri -- Kanda Myojin Shine, Tokyo, Japan (purification ceremony; through tomorrow)

Day of Defenders of the Native Land (Army Day) -- Uzbekistan

Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)

Feast of Divina Pastora -- Barquisimeto, Venezuela (religious procession attended by about 2million people)

Feast of the Ass -- Medieval Christianity (commemorates the Flight Into Egypt)

International Kite Festival -- Jaipur and Ahmedabad, India

Makar Sandranti -- India/Hindu Calendar (part of the sidereal solstice festivals)

National Dress Up Your Pet Day -- do you really dislike your pet this much?

National Forest Conservation Day -- Thailand

National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

Niino no Yukimatsuri -- Izu shrine, Niino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (snow festival with offerings made to bring a good harvest in the coming year; through tomorrow)

North American International Auto Show -- Detroit, MI, US (a showcase for the world's vehicle introductions; through the 27th)

Orthodox New Year -- RS, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Peddler's Village Quilt Competition and Display -- Peddler's Village, Lahaska, PA (handmade quilts of all types, open daily through April 12)

Pongal continues -- Tamil New Year, among the Tamil People (multiple day thanksgiving festival at the end of harvest)
     Tamil Thai Pongal Day -- Sri Lanka
     Maghi Parba/Maghe Sankranti -- Western Nepal

Ratification Day -- US (anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that recognized the independence of the US from England)

Revolution and Youth Day -- Tunisia

Seijin-no-hi -- Japan (Adult's Day, or Coming of Age Day; celebrating all who have reached age 20, full legal adult age, in the past year)

Sidereal Winter Solstice Celebrations -- throughout South and Southeast Asia

St. Felix of Nola's Day (Patron of domestic animals, eyes; Nola, Italy; against eye diseases, false witness, lies, perjury)

St. Sava's Day (Patron of Serbia and all Serbs)

Take a Missionary to Lunch Day -- to honor Albert Schweitzer's birth anniversary



Anniversaries Today:

Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe, 1954


Birthdays Today:

Faye Dunaway, 1941
Jack Jones, 1938
Andy Rooney, 1919
William Bendix, 1906
John dos Passos, 1896
Hal Roach, 1892
Hugh Lofting, 1886
Albert Schweitzer, 1875
Thornton W. Burgess, 1874
Benedict Arnold, 1741


Today in History:

The Knights Templar are formally approved by the Roman Catholic Church, 1129
Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery, 1514
Spain annexes Cuba, 1539
The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut, 1639
Massachusetts holds a day of fasting for wrongly accusing "witches", 1699
Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War, 1783
The US Supreme Court rules that racial separation on trains is unconstitutional, 1878
An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills more than 1000, 1907
Henry Ford introduces the assembly line to the production of the Model-T, 1914
The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight, 1950
The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote issuing authority, is established, 1960
Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city, 1999
The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years, 2004
Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan, 2005