So, how was your movie? i asked.

Sweetie had just seen Godzilla with Brother-in-Law, The Mouth.

"It was big, I liked it.  They spent a lot of time building tension by focusing on the human interaction and the fights were pretty amazing.  Tha monster lizard was tired at the end, that's for sure."

Glad you liked it, i told him.

"Mom, I've read that the original Godzilla movies are really about the collective Japanese consciousness of how they felt after losing the war, and that as they recovered, the monster got friendlier and became their ally in later movies.  Is that true?" Bigger Girl asked.

Well, i've read the same, and it wouldn't surprise me, i told her.

"Good.  My friend Cally wants to go see the new one, and wants me to go.  It figures that my friend the "Kentucky fried soldier" would want to see this one." 

Isn't she the Afghan War vet?

"Yes, and the one who helped me get Miss Lizzie's tire back on the car after Young Jacob had gotten it off the day before.  She's handy to have around!  By the way, how did doing the laundry for that lady go?"

It was a 12 hour day, i answered.  It took $83 in quarters to do over 20 loads, including all of their bedding and mattress pads, then folding it all and getting it back to her house and remaking the beds.

"Wow!" was her response.  "I hope you don't have to do that again!"

No, i won't, she has a new washer and dryer now, i noted.  When i go clean for her each week now i'll just wash the bedding while i'm doing the housework and she will do the other loads the rest of the week.


Today is

All Wright Housewalk -- Oak Park, IL, US (formerly called Wright Plus, The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust’s annual house walk features rare interior tours of privately owned homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries in the historic community of Oak Park)

Armed Forces Day -- US (honoring those currently serving in the US military)

Birthday of the Raja -- Perlis, Malaysia

Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day 2014 -- unless you don't like them, then get to work electing better ones; if you know of a good one, take time today to thank her/him

Constitution Day -- Nauru; Norway; Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Dermott's Annual Crawfish Festival -- Dermott, AR, US (mud bugs aren't just for Cajuns any more! carnival, music, street dances, tons of crawfish and more through tomorrow)

Dea Dia Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of growth)

Dia de las Letras Gallegas -- GA, Spain (Galician Literature Day in Galacia, an autonomous region of Spain)

Do Dah Day -- Rhodes and Caldwell Parks, Birmingham, Alabama (fun while fundraising for local animal charities)

Falling Off a Log Night -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Azamat(Grandeur) -- Baha'i

Grand Spring Festival -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (through tomorrow; includes horseback archery, processions in costume, and more)

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Iris Festival -- Greeneville, Tennessee, US (the community's major festival of the year, featuring artists, craftsmen, merchants, food vendors and entertainers from across the country; through tomorrow)

Lag B'Omer -- Judaism (begins at sunset)

Lewis & Clark Heritage Days -- St. Charles, MO, US (reenacting the 1804 encampment just before their departure, with activities including a parade with drum and fife corps, and even a church service; through tomorrow)

Liberation Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Merry-Go-Round Day -- the first merry-go-round, powered by horses, opened this day in 1620

Morel Mushroom Festival -- Muscoda, WI, US (the "Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin" celebrates the end of the peak morel season in style, with everything including an antique tractor pull, Fireman's Steak Feed, and even a parade; through tomorrow)

National Cherry Cobbler Day

National Learn To Swim Day -- US (with summer just around the corner, remember that drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14, so please, learn to swim and teach your kids!)

National Walnut Day -- declared in 1949 by the Walnut Marketing Board

Navy Day -- Argentina (anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Montevideo in 1814)

Pack Rat Day -- come on out and admit it, you are a pack rat, too!

Pithi Chrat Preah Neanng Korl -- Cambodia (Royal Ploughing Ceremony)

Preakness Stakes-- Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD, US (139th annual; the second jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown)

Rubber Band Day -- patented this day in 1845, and aren't we pack rats glad.

Shunki Reitaisai -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (Grand Festival of Spring, through the 18th)

St. Madron of Cornwall's Day (Patron against pain)

Syttende Mai -- Stoughton, WI, US (celebrating Norwegian heritage; through Sunday)

Tell An Umpire "I Love Your Outfit" Day -- only if he has a sense of humor or you can duck quickly

Watch a Baby Fall Asleep Day -- because few things in the world are as funny and precious

Wisconsin Dells Automotion -- Noah's Ark Waterpark, Wisconsin Dells, WI, US (showcase of more than 1,000 classic cars, music, food, and family fun; through tomorrow)

^*World Hypertension Day -- learn to control your blood pressure

World Neurofibromatosis Day --  there are two good sites on which to learn about this disease, here and here.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day -- UN


Birthdays Today:

Nikki Reed, 1988
Tahj Mowry, 1987
Drew Roy, 1986
Andrea Corr, 1974
Sendhil Ramamurthy, 1974
Mia Hamm, 1972
Jordan Knight, 1970
Trent Reznor, 1965
Craig Ferguson, 1962
Enya, 1961
Sugar Ray Leonard, 1956
Bob Saget, 1956
Bill Paxton, 1955
Debra Winger, 1955
Christian Lacroix, 1950
Dennis Hopper, 1936
Maureen O'Sullivan, 1911
James "Cool Papa" Bell, 1903
Joseph Norman Lockyer, 1836
Edward Jenner, 1749


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Information Please!"(Radio), 1938
"Shéhérazade"(Ravel song cycle), 1904
Comic Cuts(Comic Paper, first publication), 1890
"Cavalleria rusticana/Rustic Chivalry"(Opera), 1890


Today in History:

Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi becomes the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter's surface, 1630
Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal, 1642
Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada), 1672
Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River, 1673
England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions, 1733
The US Continental Congress bans trade with Canada, 1775
The New York Stock Exchange is founded, 1792
John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine, 1803
Napoleon I of France  orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire, 1809
Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian, 1814
Antoine Joseph Sax patents the saxophone, 1846
Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language, 1863
Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby, 1875
Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer, 1902
The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the first-ever televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City, 1939
The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954
Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere  of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure, 1969
Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean, 1970
Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, starting the Internal conflict in Peru, 1980
Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, 1983
After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France, 1995
Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown, 1992
Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997
Massachussetts becomes the first US State to legalize same-sex marriage, 2004
The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef, 2008
Dalia Grybauskaite is elected the first female President of Lithuania, 2009
The brightest lunar meteor impact ever observed is recorded by NASA, 2013