Random

Some thoughts that run through Bigger Girl's head and right into my ears, as she eats breakfast and surfs the web:

"Hey, mom, did you know they now have humane bullfights in Costa Rica?"

Humane meaning they don't kill the bull?

"Exactly.  One person will get the bull to chase him, and another will run up behind him and slap him on the butt to get him mad.  Basically, you can do anything you want to annoy the bull, but you cannot hurt the bull.  And if the bull kills you, well, you signed a waiver!  I found pictures of them online in their costumes."

Interesting.

"Speaking of costumes, there's this guy who's a former drug dealer who's now a Christian, and he goes around dressed as Jesus to spread the Gospel."

That's probably an interesting conversation starter.  And a bit of an odd way to spread your religion.

"Well, I figure it's a better way to spread your religion than blowing up buildings!"

Yes, i concur.  Or shooting up newspapers.

"Agreed.  And here's a guy in Great Britain who quit his office job to take a job as a zombie!"

Imagine that, a professional zombie.

"Yes, he is.  He works at a place where people pay to pretend they are getting chased by zombies."

He was probably an actor at heart the whole time he was at his desk.

"Probably.  Oh, and here are the winners of the Beard and Mustache championships last year!"

Interesting.  Again.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up with so many of them doing the Victorian villain style."

Guess it's popular about now..

"Must be.  Speaking of popular, my friend Callie is almost as popular for working on cars now as my friend Dragon is for working on computers!  And they don't care how they get paid.  Dragon once fixed a computer for a police officer and he asked what she wanted for pay, and she said a soda and a candy bar, so he gave her two sodas and two candy bars!

"But Callie is going to fix Miss Lizzie's car, and get paid in clothing.  After all, Miss Lizzie has a whole pile of clothes she can't wear and can alter to fit someone else, and Callie doesn't mind getting paid with good clothes that are altered to fit, as long as Miss Lizzie pays for the parts."

How is Miss Lizzie doing that?

"Her grandfather is sending her the money.  He and her aunt try to at least keep her car running for her.  Also, next week, her dog needs a rabies shot."

So i will call and make an appointment.  As i've said, i will help her keep her internet and make sure her dog is cared for.

"Thanks, mom.  The dog is the reason she stays clean and sober, and the internet keeps her connected to the outside world since she has so little gas even when her car is running.

"Oh, it's getting late, and I promised Josie I'd go get her stuff from MallMart.  Someone has to go buy stuff for her because she's been banned for life."

Banned from MallMart?

"Yes.  She isn't supposed to go in any of them, ever.  She's lived a rough life, mom.  Five years ago, when she was still working collecting money for a drug dealer, she never thought she'd be where she is today, living in an apartment with friends and in management at a fast food restaurant.  She's so thankful she now has a legitimate job and good place to stay, she doesn't ever want to go back to that life.  She won't tell us what she did to get banned from MallMart, but she is sorry and never wants to do those things again.  The only thing she will say is to never trust a straight guy who wears blue lipstick!"

Um, i'll try to remember that.




Today is:

Apple Wassailing Day -- Carhampton, England (ancient tradition to bless the trees, waking the tree spirits and scaring away bad spirits)

Augusta Futurity -- Augusta, GA, US (the top cutting horses and riders in the world to compete for purse and awards; through Saturday)

Bald Eagle Appreciation Days -- Keokuk, IA, US (through tomorrow)

Blessing of the Animals -- Hispanic Christian (in association with St. Anthony's Day)

Ditch Your New Years Resolutions Day -- no info on origin, but probably someone who gave up; will you?

Felicitas -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring the goddess of good luck)

Festival of Janus -- Ancient Roman Calendar (main festival for the god of beginnings, endings, and doorways)

Hot Heads Chili Day -- no clue what this one means, but i guess we can have chili for dinner

Kid Inventors' Day -- celebrating how inventive kids are; on the birth anniversary of Ben Franklin, who invented swim fins at age 12

Learn to Ski Day -- always the 3rd Saturday of January, and you go right ahead

Liberation Day -- Poland (liberation from the Nazis in 1945)

Make Your All-Time Top Ten Favorite TV Characters List -- because nothing says you can't make your own top ten lists

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Patras Carnival -- Patras, Greece (the town crier announces the opening ceremony, with festivities through Clean Monday)

Patrice Lumumba -- Democratic Republic of the Congo (Heroes' Day)

Polar Bear Festival/Polar Bear Jump -- Seward, AK, US (lots of fun, if you want to freeze!)

Popeye Day -- The Sailor Man debut in the comics this date in 1929

Professional Boxer's Day -- Ali's birth anniversary

Santos Tour Down Under -- Adelaide, Australia (a world class cycling event; through the 25th)

Sight-Saving Sabbath Weekend -- to alert synagoge and church members to the importance of regular eye exams

St. Anthony the Great's Day (a/k/a Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Patriarch of the Abbots; Patron of amputees, animals/domestic animals, basket weavers, brush makers, butchers, cemetery workers/grave diggers, epileptics, hermits, monks, relief from pestilence, swine/hogs, swineherds; Hospitaliers; Burgio, Sicily, Italy; Canas, Brazil; Castrofilippo, Agrigento, Italy; Fivizzano, Italy; Fontainemore, Italy; Mook, Netherlands; Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy; against eczema, epilepsy, ergotism, erysipelas, pestilence, Saint Anthony's Fire, skin diseases and rashes) related observance
     Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral -- Church of San Antonio, Mexico City, Mexico (where this saint is San Antonio Abad)

Uzhavar Thirunal -- TN, India (Farmer's Day portion of the Pongal celebrations)

Zirgu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (Day of the Horses)


Anniversaries Today:

George Burns marries Gracie Allen, 1926
Octavian marries Livia Drusilla, BC38


Birthdays Today:

Kid Rock, 1971
Naveen Andrews, 1969
Michelle Obama, 1964
Jim Carrey, 1962
Susanna Hoffs, 1959
Anthony Glise, 1956
Andy Kaufman, 1949
Muhammad Ali, 1942
Maury Povich, 1939
Shari Lewis, 1934
James Earl Jones, 1931
Don Zimmer, 1931
Vidal Sassoon, 1928
Eartha Kitt, 1927
Betty White, 1922
Al Capone, 1899
Nevil Shute, 1899
Robert Maynard Hutchins, 1899
Mack Sennett, 1884
David Lloyd George, 1863
Anton Chekhov, 1860
Anne Bronte, 1820
Benjamin Franklin, 1706


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Frontline"(TV), 1983
"The Goldbergs"(TV), 1949
"Popeye the Sailor Man"(Comic character created by Elzie Segar, in the Thimble Theatre comic strip), 1929
"The Cherry Orchard"(Chekhov Play), 1904
"The Rivals"(Sheridan Play), 1775


Today in History:

Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon, 1377
Cesare Borgia returns in triumph to Rome from Romagna, 1501
Giovanni da Verrazzano begins his voyage to find a passage to China, 1524
The Edict of St Germain recognizes Huguenots in France, 1562
England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War, 1648
An avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switzerland, kills 53, 1718
Capt James Cook becomes the first to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33' S), 1773
The first cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873), 1871
Queen Liliuokalani is deposed, the Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a republic, 1893
Sir Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen, 1912
The first fully automatic photographic film developing machine patented, 1928
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, is arrested by secret police in Hungary, 1945
The United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting, 1946
The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs, 1949
The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts, 1950
The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, makes its maiden voyage, 1955
A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares incident, 1966
Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V, 1991
The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union, 1996
Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people, 2002
Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, which resulting in at least 200 deaths, 2010