Luck of the Irish

"Mom, did you know there are people who now claim they believe in hobbits, just like they believe in the other legendary little people?" Bigger Girl remarked.

Really? i noted.

"Yes.  It was on a discussion board about legendary creatures, and someone asked about dwarfs.  I mean, really, isn't the Snow White story kind of creepy?  Like how did all those old men know each other, and why did they all live together in one house?  What were they planning?  And why aren't there ever any dwarf women in any of the stories?  I mean, did all dwarfs know each other automatically, like some weird fraternity?"

Actually, i've never really heard the legend of how the dwarfs came to be, but all the legends about them have them as the miners and metal workers, and they all knew each other and were skilled in the work they did.  They would make the armor and chain mail, and fabulous swords.  They are among the little folk, so it doesn't do to ask too many questions.

"Yes, I guess so.  Also, I was reading in one of their discussions where one person was asking about the differences between hobbits, dwarfs and leprechauns!" 

And what is the difference? i asked.

"That's simple," Sweetie answered, coming into the room.  "Leprechauns all eat cereal that has magic horseshoe marshmallows in it!"

"Oooo, so it's magically delicious!" Bigger Girl answered as we all laughed.

They better hope there's no leprechauns around here.  From what i gather, those shillelaghs of theirs are wicked, and they use them well!



Today is:

Anniversary Day -- Tristan da Cunha

Assumption Eve -- France; Holy See

Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival -- Bucyrus, OH, US (food and fun celebration of German heritage; through Saturday)

Day of Peace between Horus and Set -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Faradda di li candareri (Descent of the Candlesticks) -- Sassari, Sardinia (beginning of the celebration of the Assumption)

Festival for Fortuna Equestris -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Independence Day -- Pakistan(1947)

International Nagging Day -- ignore this one if you have any sense, the founder was smart enough to leave no trace

Jersey Battle of Flowers -- Jersey, Channel Islands, UK (two days of floats and family fun)

Kentucky State Fair and World Championship Horse Show -- Louisville, KY, US (if you love horses, it's the place to be since 1904; through the 24th)

La Torta dei Fieschi -- Lavagna, Italy (this city on the Italian Riviera comes to life with dance and music every year to commemorate the wedding, on this day in 1230, of Bianca de Bianchi and Count Opizzo Fiechi, as he had invited everyone in town to share the 30ft. high cake he had made for the occasion)

Liberty Tree Day -- Massachusetts, US

Little League Baseball® 2014 World Series -- South Williamsport, PA, US (through the 24th)

Mantoro Lantern Lighting -- Kasuga Taisha, Japan (through tomorrow; 3,000 lanterns light the shrine, and the main hall is open for visitors, with Bugaku and Kagura performed in the apple garden)

Milwaukee Irish Fest -- Milwaukee, WI, US (the world's largest Irish music and cultural event outside of the Emerald Isle; through Sunday)

National Creamsicle Day

National Financial Awareness Day -- can't find the history on who started this for which country, but it's wise to become financially literate no matter where you live

National Navajo Code Talkers Day -- Navajo Nation; US

Oued Ed-Dahab Day -- Morocco; Western Sahara (celebrating the recovery of this area from Spanish occupation in 1979)

Pramuka Day -- Indonesia (Scouting Day)

St. Maximillian Kolbe's Day (Patron of families, imprisoned people, journalists, political prisoners, prisoners, recovering drug addicts, the pro-life movement; against drug addictions)

St. Werenfrid's Day (Patron of vegetable gardeners; Arnheim, Netherlands; Elst, Netherlands; Westervoort, Netherlands; against gout and stiff joints)

Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival -- Sun Prairie, WI, US (family fun with a carnival, midget auto races, parade, food, entertainment, and lots of hot, buttered sweet corn; through Sunday)

Wiffle Ball Day -- the wiffle ball was introduced this day in 1953



Anniversaries Today:

Jackie Mason marries Jyll Rosenfeld, 1991
V-J Day, 1945


Birthdays Today:

Tim Tebow, 1987
Terin Humphrey, 1986
Mila Kunis, 1983
Spencer Pratt, 1983
Jay Manuel, 1972
Catherine Bell, 1968
Halle Berry, 1966
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, 1959
Marcia Gay Harden, 1959
Gary Larson, 1950
Danielle, Steel, 1947
Antonio Fargas, 1946
Susan Saint James, 1946
Steve Martin, 1945
Lynne Cheney, 1941
David Crosby, 1941
Arthur Betz Laffer, 1940
Alice Ghostley, 1926
Buddy Greco, 1926
Russell Baker, 1925
John Ringling North, 1903
Ernest Everett Just, 1883
Ernest Lawrence Thayer, 1863
Doc Holiday, 1851
H.C. Oersted, 1777
Emperor Hanazono of Japan, 1297


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Front Page"(Play), 1928


Today in History

The young Emperor Antoku and three sacred treasures are taken by Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan, fleeing to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan, 1183
Kublai Khan's invading fleet disappears in a a typhoon near Japan, 1281
Three years after Gutenberg, the oldest known exactly dated printed book is published, 1457
Queen Elizabeth I refuses sovereignty of the Netherlands, 1585
Great Britain annexes Tristan da Cunha (remotest occupied island), 1816
Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida to Oklahoma, 1842
Oregon Territory created, 1848
Magazine "Field and Stream" begins publication, 1873
Construction of Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, is completed, 1880
Japan issues its first patent, for rust-proof paint, 1885
A recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan's The Lost Chord, one of the first recordings of music ever made, is played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London, 1888
France begins requiring motor vehicle registration, 1893
The first claimed powered flight, by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21, 1901
Mt. Rushmore project first proposed, 1925
United States Social Security Act passes, creating a government pension system for the retired, 1935
British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland, 1969
Longest game in softball history begins, as The Gager's Diner team takes on the Bend'n Elbow Tavern; the game was played to raise money for a new softball field in Monticello, NY, went to 365 innings over two days, and the Gagers won 491-467, 1976
Lech Walesa leads strikes at the Gdansk, Poland shipyards, 1980
Widescale power blackout in the northeast United States and Canada, 2003
More than 2,000 people found in Poland's largest mass grave during World War II are reburied in a military cemetery, 2009
As a sponsored event of the IOC, the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games, first ever Youth Olympics for athletes age 14-18, officially starts in Singapore, 2010
North and South Korea agree to reopen the jointly-operated Kaesong Industrial Region, 2013