Twinkle On

"Twinkies are coming back!"  #2 Son came running in, dancing with joy and yelling in jubilation.

For a guy who wants to be a chef, he sure does have odd tastes sometimes.

When will they be back out? i asked as he nearly stomped on my toe with his steel-toed boots.

"Next month!  It's going to be Awesome!"

There is no way, in writing, to capture how he half sings and half yells that last word when he is truly excited about something.

Okay, okay, it's awesome, now quit dancing around in here, you're going to stomp on my foot and that would ruin my day, i said, pretending to scold.  He can see through the pretending, though, and grinned at me as he grabbed a banana and a glass of water.

"Well, would you be looking for them for me when you go to the store?" he asked.  "I can't wait!"

All right, i'll look, i said, then got online to see if there is a time when they should make an appearance.  Mid-month, it seems, and no longer brought to stores by company employed distributors so they should be able to reach an even wider market.  Great.

Twinkle on, little bundles of sugar and preservatives; it seems everyone is right about your indestructibility. 


Today is

Araw ng Maynila -- Philippines (Manila Day)

Bannockburn Day -- Scotland (decisive battle of the first Scottish War of Independence, led by Robert Bruce)

Burning of the Lamps in Egypt at Sais -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar, a celebration of Isis and Neith (date approximate)

Calcio Fiorentino -- Florence, Italy (reviving 16th century style football in period costumes, through the 28th)

Carabobo Day -- Venezuela (battle commemoration)

Celebration of the Senses -- Wellcat Holidays urges you to enjoy all five (six?) of your senses today

Countryman's Day -- Peru (one of Peru's three Fiestas Patrias Peruanas)

Day of the Caboclo -- Amazonas State, Brazil

Discovery Day -- NL, Canada

Eastern Music Festival --  Guilford College, Greensboro, NC, US (an acclaimed festival and school, with world-class guest artists; through July 28)

Feast of Rahmat (Mercy) -- Baha'i

Flying Saucer Day -- anniversary of Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting, while flying near Mt. Rainier, of 9 metallic, circular objects he could not identify

Fors Fortuna -- Ancient Roman Calendar (rites and festival for the goddess of good luck and fortune)

Imam Mahdi's Birthday -- Iran

International Fairy Day -- day for collectors, believers, and artists to share their love for the little folk

Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon -- Wimbledon, England (through July 7)

Lost Handkerchief Day -- Fairy Calendar

Museum Comes to Life Day -- another fun and funny day someone came up with

National Creamy Pralines Day

Oregon Bach Festival -- University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, US (international gathering of musicians, master classes and performances, and family events so even the youngest music fans can fall in love with the works of J.S. Bach; through July 14)

Please Take My Children To Work Day -- sponsored by mamasaid.net; a tongue-in-cheek way to request that you give a full- or part-time stay-at-home mom a break today!

Solmanudor -- Icelandic calendar, Sun Month, with the midnight sun dominating the time of year

St. John the Baptist's Nativity Day and related Midsummer celebrations (Patron of baptism, bird dealers, converts, children with convulsions, epileptics, farriers, French Canadians, lambs, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors; against convulsions, epilepsy, hail and hailstorms, and spasms; Patron of over 60 cities and countries around the globe)
    Inti Raymi -- Peru (Incan Sun Festival)
    Jaanipaev -- Estonia
    Jani -- Latvia
    Jónsmessa -- Iceland (feast of St. John the Baptist, considered a magical night when cows can speak, seals take on human form, finding magical stones and herbs is propitious, and rolling naked in the dew is healing.)
    Macau Day -- China (celebrating the defeat of Dutch invasion forces in 1622 and paying homage to St. John as the port's Patron Saint)
    Midsummer Day -- England
    National Holiday -- Quebec, Canada (Sant Jean-Baptiste)
    Saint John the Baptist Day -- Andorra
    Saint Jonas Festival or Jonines -- Lithuania
    San Juan -- CT and GA, Spain
    Surinal -- North Korea
    Zuni Buffalo, Corn, and Comanche Dances -- Zuni Native Americans (for fertility of land and people; Vespers is also observed, as San Juan is their Patron Saint)

Swim a Lap Day -- just for fun!

Swing a Kid Day -- if swimming isn't right for you

Whit Monday -- Orthodox Christiands on the Julian Calendar


Anniversaries Today:

Eton College is founded by Henry VI, 1441


Birthdays Today:

Sherry Stringfield, 1967
Joe Penny, 1956
Mick Fleetwood, 1947
Jeff Beck, 1944
Michele Lee, 1942
Phil Harris, 1904
Jack Dempsey, 1895
Roy O. Disney, 1893
Ambrose Bierce, 1842
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813


Today in History:

Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place, 972
A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion, 1374
John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland; the first European
exploration of the region since the Vikings, 1497
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines, 1571
Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1604
The colony of New Jersey is founded, 1664
Kingston, Jamaica is founded, 1692
The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London, England, 1717
The first republican constitution in France is adopted, 1793
The decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain, the Battle of Carabobo takes place, 1821
First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français, 1880
The first exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opens, 1901
Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to get a million dollar contract, 1916
The first airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto begins, 1918
Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram, the third prime minister, 1939
The Soviet Union makes overland travel between the West with West Berlin impossible, 1948
The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government, 1963
Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud completes his first mission, becoming the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a Payload Specialist, 1985
John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history, 2010