Awww Monday: Awe Monday?

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

This kitten knows something is just around the corner:

It's very close, I can feel it!

And this one can't believe it's here so soon!

What do you mean, August is over and September's almost here!

Neither can i, it just doesn't seem possible!

Today is:

Araw ng mga Bayahi -- Philippines (National Heroes' Day)

August / Summer Bank Holiday -- UK

Be Kind to Humankind Week:  Motorist Consideration Monday

Day of Solidarity and Freedom -- Poland (Anniversary of the 1980 August Agreement)

Eat Outside Day -- as long as you won't pass out from the heat

Eleusinia Games -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate; 3 days of games with grain as prizes)

Festal Day -- Order of the Eastern Star

Invent A New Sandwich Day -- spread around the internet like good mayo; go ahead, have fun with this

Independence Day -- Kyrgyzstan(1991); Malaysia (Hari Kebangsaan/Freedom Day, 1957); Trinidad & Tobago(1962)

International Day of Blogs and Bloggers -- www.blogday.org

International Overdose Awareness Day -- prevention and remembrance 

Liberation Day -- Hong Kong (from Japan in 1945; no longer an official holiday, but still acknowledged by many)

Limba Noastra -- Moldova (Day of Our Language)

Love Litigating Lawyers Day -- yes, G-d tells us to love everybody, even litigation attorneys but He never said doing it would be easy; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

National Old-Time Country, Folk, and Bluegrass Music Festival -- LeMars, IA, US (largest and oldest festival devoted to rural music, arts, and crafts; through Sunday)

National Trail Mix Day

Ould Lammas Fair -- Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Ireland (claims to be Ireland's oldest festival; through tomorrow)

St. Raymond Nonnatus' Day (Patron of babies, childbirth, children, expectant mothers, falsely accused people, infants, midwives, newborn babies, obstetricians, and pregnant women; Baltoa, Dominican Republic; against fever)

Umhlanga -- Swaziland (Reed Dance Public Holiday and final day, culmination of the Reed Dance Celebration begun last week and sponsored by the Royal Family)

     A sad note about this year's festival.  About 38 girls and young women who were to participate were killed in a massive collision while traveling to the area, and 20 more were seriously injured.  They were riding in the back of a large open bed truck when another vehicle struck it.  King Mswati III was quoted as saying "We all have heard about the dark cloud that has befallen the imbali [Swati for "flower", which is what the girl dancers are called]," and he has promised the families of those injured or killed will be compensated and the accident fully investigated.  Prayers for those affected will be much appreciated.

Birthdays Today:

Jeff Hardy, 1977
Chris Tucker, 1972
Debbie Gibson, 1970
Glenn Tilbrook, 1957
Edwin Corley Moses, 1955
Richard Gere, 1949
Itzhak Perlman, 1945
Van Morrison, 1945
Jack Thompson, 1940
Marva Collins, 1936
Frank Robinson, 1935
James Coburn, 1928
Buddy Hackett, 1924
G.D. Spradlin, 1920
Alan Jay Lerner, 1918
William Saroyan, 1908
William Shawn, 1907
Arthur Godfrey, 1903
Maria Montessori, 1870


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Alice"(TV), 1976
"The Great Gildersleeve"(Radio), 1941
"The Threepenny Opera/Die Dreigroschenoper"(Play), 1928


Today in History:

Traditional date upon which Ayonwentah (Haiwatha) and Deganawidah (The Great Peacemaker) assist the Iroquois tribes in establishing the Confederation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy, or League of Five Nations), 1142
Lewis and Clark begin their expedition, 1803
A nuts and bolts machine is patented by Micah Rugg, 1842
The first professional football game is played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 1895
Edison patents the Kinetograph, 1897
Mrs. Adolph Landenburg, a horse rider, debuts the split skirt, 1902
Debut of Foghorn Leghorn, 1946
Solidarity Labor Union forms in Poland, 1980
Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris, 1997
Stolen on August 22, 2004, Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police, 2006
In Sudan, the People's Liberation Army announces it will demobilize its child soldiers by the end of the year, 2010

Silly Sunday: Two's no better than one!

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!  

1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

It's been one of those weeks.  It started with a bang on Monday with plumbing and A/C stuff and the run continued through Tuesday's need for the generator guy to be here over 6 hours trying to piece together what was wrong, and then Wednesday morning the shelter was a wreck and i made mistakes in the paperwork and had to find the Wite-Out.  Thursday was an 11 hour work day, and Friday wasn't much shorter, although i had a break between stints.

There have been a couple of times, driving to get somewhere quickly because i only had a certain amount of time to get errands done, that i have been sorely tempted more than once to lose my religion, especially with the people around here who stop at green lights.  (Yes, they do.)

Boudreaux has had these kinds of things happen to him, too.

 

Thibodeaux fin' Boudreaux settin' out on de porch swing wit' dat boude [angry] look dat say sumpin' be wrong.  So he ax, "Boudreaux, what for you be lookin' like dis?"

An' Boudreaux he say, "Mais!  It done been a day!  Firs' my truck done broke down, den dat saleau [sloppy, dirty older man] at de garage done make a pass at my Clothile when we go pick de truck up, an' Clothile won' let me beat him up!

"If dat not bad 'nuff, dis evenin' done did it!  I done drop a cas' iron skillet full de etouffe on my big toe!  An' when I try to relieve myself by sayin' sumpin', Clothile make a potain [ruckus] an' tell me not to say dat in fron' de boy!  So I tell her 'Beck moi tchew!' [kiss my posterior] an' she say 'tuat t'en grosse beuche!' [shut your mouth], an' so I come out here to sit.

"Mais, I tell you, some days so much happen dere jes' don' be 'nuff cuss words to say it even in two languages!"

Today is:

Be Kind to Humankind Week: Sacrifice Our Wants For others Needs Sunday

Burning Man 2015 -- Black Rock Desert, NV, US (through Sept. 7; a radical way to celebrate the arts through desert survival and building a 50-foot statue to be burned.) 

Chatter Champion Announced -- Fairy Calendar

Constitution Day -- Kazakhstan

Day of Satisfying the Hearts of the Ennead (Nine Major Gods) -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Charisteria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a day to give thanks)

Frankenstein Day -- in honor of Mary Shelley (Interesting, when juxtaposed to what we are supposed to celebrate in Louisiana.)

Gai Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (cow festival, celebrated in remembrance of all people who have died in the previous year; one of Nepal's most popular festivals with tourists)

Huey P. Long Day -- Louisiana, US

International Day of the Disappeared -- Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of Detained-Disappeared

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances -- UN

International Whale Shark Day -- WiseOceans has more information 

National Holistic Pet Day -- celebrating the growing interest in natural/holistic medicine for animals

National Toasted Marshmallow Day

Pony Express Festival -- Hollenberg Pony Express Station, Hanover, KS, US (reenacting life in the 1860's, including a real Pony Express ride)

Popular Consultation Day -- East Timor

Santa Rosa de Lima -- Peru

St. Fiacre's Day (Patron of box makers, cab drivers, costermongers, florists, gardeners, hosiers, pewterers, taxi drivers, tile makers; against barrenness, fistula, haemorrhoids, piles, sterility, syphilis, venereal disease)

Talk Intelligently Day -- holiday thought up by someone tired of non-intelligent conversations (maybe with co-workers?)

Victory Day -- North Cyprus; Turkey
     Turkey's Hellespont Swim -- one of the world's busiest shipping lanes is closed so that over 300 participants can swim the Hellespont from Europe to Asia, a Victory Day commemoration of winning the Turkish War of Independence in 1922 against the Greeks


Anniversary Today:

Roman Polanski marries Emmanuelle Seigner, 1989


Birthdays Today:

Cameron Diaz, 1972
Michael Michele, 1966
Michael Chiklis, 1963
David Paymer, 1954
Timothy Bottoms, 1951
Lewis Black, 1948
Peggy Lipton, 1947
Frank "Tug" McGraw, 1944
Jean-Claude Killy, 1943
Elizabeth Ashley, 1939
Warren Buffett, 1930
Kitty Wells, 1919
Ted Williams, 1918
Fred MacMurray, 1908
Roy Wilkins, 1901
Shirley Booth, 1898
Huey P. Long, 1893
Claire Straith, M.D., 1891
Ernest Rutherford, 1871
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 1797


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Anna Lucasta"(Play), 1944


Today in History:

European leaders, in an attempt to end war "for all time", outlaw the crossbow, 1146
One of the largest naval battles in history, during the last decade of the ailing, Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty, begins between the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders, 1363
Capture of the entire Dutch fleet by British forces under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell, 1799
Founding of Melbourne, Australian, 1835
Founding of Houston, Texas, 1836
Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner, 1901
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in south Louisiana, the longest bridge over water (continuous, not aggregate) that is not also a viaduct, opens, 1956
The Hotline between the leaders of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union goes into operation, 1963
Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1967
Guion Bluford becomes the first African American astronaut in space, 1983
NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces, 1995
A commercial expedition to raise part of the sunken British luxury liner Titanic ended in failure, 1996
Harley-Davidson celebrates its 100th anniversary in Milwaukee with a parade of 10,000 motorcycles, 2003
India and Pakistan agree to release hundreds of fishermen and other civilians in each other's jails as part of their ongoing attempts to negotiate peace between their nations, 2005
Sumatra's Sinaburg volcano continues to erupt, two people are killed and 21,000 are evacuated from the vicinity, 2010
In Chile, 33 miners trapped half a mile beneath the surface make contact with their families for the first time in three weeks since the incidentally, 2010

Just as "They" said.

Last night, i finally saw it.

It's a good thing for our pocketbooks, i must admit, but with our state budget in a shambles, it's not good for the overall economy of our state.

Yes, it's kind of been expected for a while now.  Although, really, every time it happens, most of us probably figure it's the last time and it won't happen again.

Then it does.  The "mysterious they" are quoted on the news, telling us it will happen, and the "mysterious they" try to predict about when, but it's never a sure thing.

A few years ago, the "mysterious they" predicted a horror scenario that didn't happen. The whole thing struck me as funny when everyone celebrated that it didn't, because if the "mysterious they" hadn't made such a dire prediction, then what really did happen would have been considered awful.

What am i meandering on about this time?  This:

Gasoline at "only" $1.999, thus under $2/gallon!

The "mysterious they" is probably the gas industry watchers, such as AAA and consumer groups, but sometimes i wonder about them.

A few years ago, the mysterious they had everyone up in arms about how "gas prices are going to go to $5/gallon before the end of summer!"  There was panic, there were cries of woe, and there was a massive, collective sigh of relief when the prices "only" went to around $3.50.

The whole time i was watching this play out, i figured we were being played for saps and wondered if the "mysterious they" and the whole petroleum industry weren't laughing in their sleeves at us.  After all, if the "mysterious they" hadn't started a panic at the thought of $5/gallon, wouldn't we have been really ticked off when it went up as high as it did?

Yes, i think we would have.  As it was, we, the collective we, acted grateful.

Since then, i listen with more suspicion than i ever had before when the "mysterious they" are quoted.

Meanwhile, though, i'm out talking to a potential new client today, and i'm going to treat the Jalopy to something she hasn't had in a while -- more than half a tank of gas.  For a minivan, she has an enormous tank, and half a tank is usually about all i can get her. 

Today is

According to Hoyle Day -- death anniversary of Edmond Hoyle

Be Kind to Humankind Week: Speak Kind Words Saturday

Birthday of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Chop Suey Day

Day of Loose Talk -- Fairy Calendar
 
Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Patron of baptism, bird dealers, converts, convulsive children, cutters, epileptics, farmers, French Canadians, lambs, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors; over 70 cities and countries around the world; against convulsions, epilepsy, hail and hailstorms, spasms)
     Head Day -- Iceland (a weather omen day; whatever today's weather, it will stay the same for at least 3 weeks)

Full Sturgeon Moon a/k/a Full Red Moon, Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon
     Native Wild Rice Harvest -- Northern Cree, Ojibwa, and Algonkian Native Americans (celebrated during the August full moon; if there are two full moons, it is during the second)
     Nikini Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka (begins at sundown)
     Wahgaung Full Moon -- Myanmar 

Hotter 'n H*ll Hundred Bike Race -- Wichita Falls, TX, US (cyclists of all ages in the largest sanctioned century ride in the US, in the Texas summer heat)

Individual Rights Day -- on the birth anniversary of John Locke, the first philosopher to argue that a human being has basic rights based on his status as a sovereign human being, and that people are not slaves of their government, but their human rights should be protected by government

International Bat Night -- through tomorrow, go enjoy these wonderful creatures; www.eurobats.org or www.batcon.org

International Day Against Nuclear Testing -- UN

Judgment Day -- according to "The Terminator"

Koenji Awa Odori Festival -- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan (thousands dance in the streets, through tomorrow)

Lemon Juice Day

More Herbs, Less Salt Day

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day -- US (by presidential proclamation in 1991)

Notting Hill Carnival -- Notting Hill, London, UK (through Monday, the 2nd largest street festival in the world)

Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival -- Pittsburgh, PA, US (relive the days of yore, watch artisans practice the olde crafts, and have a high good time; weekends through September)

Raksha Bandhan -- GJ, RJ, UK, & UP, India; Nepal (the Hindu festival that celebrates the the love and duty between brothers and sisters)

Runic Half-Month Rad begins (Motion)

Schemitzun(Green Corn Pow Wow) -- Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (through tomorrow, Pow Wow and presentations of Native heritage to all)

Sheep Market Fair -- Ho, Denmark (annual sheep market and family fair; through Sunday)

Slovak National Uprising Anniversary -- Slovakia

Usuki Stone Buddhas Fire Festival -- Usuki, Japan (torchlight at twilight lights the regions mysterious Buddha statues; includes a beach party!)


Birthdays Today

Lea Michele, 1986
Rebecca De Mornay, 1962
Mark Morris, 1956
Michael Jackson, 1958
`Richard Gere, 1949
Robin Leach, 1941
William Friedkin, 1939
Elliot Gould, 1938
John McCain, 1936
Richard Attenborough, 1923
Charlie "Bird" Parker, 1920
Isabel Sanford, 1917
Ingrid Bergman, 1915
Preston Sturges, 1898
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1809
John Locke, 1632


Today in History

Era of Diocletian (Martyrs), the last major time of persecution for the early Christian churches, begins with Gen. Gaius Aurelius V Diocletianus Jovius becoming emperor of Rome, 284
Japan mints its first copper coins, 708
The last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, is executed by order of Francisco Pizarro, 1533
The first Indian "reservation" is formed by the New Jersey Legislature, 1758
Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction, 1831
The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire, 1833
Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War, 1842
The first motorcycle is patented in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler, 1885
The chef of a visiting Chinese Ambassador invents "chop suey" in NYC, 1896
The Goodyear tire company is founded, 1898
The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers, 1907
Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California, 1911
The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, 1949
Speedy Gonzales makes his debut, 1953
The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in SanFrancisco, 1966
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party, 1991
Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast, 2005
Sumatra's Sinabung volcano erupts for the first time in 400 years, killing one and causing Indonesia to evacuate thousands of people, 2010
London holds the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 2012
Austrian researchers announce they successfully grew 'cerebral organoids' or mini-brains, containing several distinct regions of the brain; the mini-brains will help scientists understand how brains develop, and what causes schizophrenia and autism, 2013

Feline Friday: Little Ole Me?

Feline Friday was created by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.  It's hosted this week by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is..

1) post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute)
2) go to Sandee's page, linked above, then on the menu bar click on the Feline Friday tab to get the code
3) paste the code under your cat picture
4) add your name and link

That’s all there is to it! Be sure to check back every so often and visit all the Feline Friday bloggers. Also, please leave a nice comment on their blogs. Nasty comments will be deleted!

Some of the shelter kittens get a little mischievous.  Anything they can reach through the bars of the kitten cage is fair game and will be chewed within an inch of its existence by some kittens.

Anything is fair game, including the paperwork on top of the cage.

Someone left a note wanting to know where Sasha's paperwork is; i'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

Who, me?  Eat my paperwork?  Sweet little me wouldn't do that!

Today is

Be Kind to Humankind Week:  Forgive Your Foe Friday

Birthday of Nephthys -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Chung Yuan Festival -- China (Festival of Hungry Ghosts; according to legend, during this 7th lunar month the souls of the dead are released from Purgatory to wander the Earth, and so today is the day to appease those spirits with joss stick burning, prayers and food, "ghost money", and other offerings; dates of this vary in other countries)

Crackers Over the Keyboard Day -- internet generated: are we supposed to go crackers over our keyboard, or tempt fate by eating crackers over our keyboard?

Daffodil Day -- Australia (the Cancer Council's big fundraiser) 

Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Festival for Sol -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Fiesta La Ballona -- Culver City, CA, US (a tradition since 1951; through Sunday)

Mariamoba -- Georgia (Assumption of the Virgin, celebrated based on the Julian Calendar followed by many Orthodox Churches)

National Cheese Sacrifice Day (Now you know why you purchased the cheese for the sacrifice! To let it age properly before the actual sacrifice. Still doesn't answer why we sacrifice it, anyway, or to whom.)

National Cherry Turnover Day

National Bow Tie Day -- US, as per Bow Tie Aficionado  (may i suggest bow tie pasta for dinner?)

Onam -- Kerala, India (start of a Hindu harvest festival observed by Malayali Hindus celebrating the legendary King Maveli)

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day -- Wellcat Holidays suggests this to pep yourself up as you wait for things to come up on the screen

Radio Commercials Day -- the first paid radio commercial was broadcast over WEAF of New York on this day in 1921

St. Augustine of Hippo's Day (Patron of brewers, printers, theologians; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Carpineto Romano, Italy; Ida, Philippines; Isleta Indian Pueblo; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Ponte Nizza, Italy; Saint Augustine, Florida; Superior, Wisconsin; Tucson, Arizona; Valletta, Malta; against sore eyes)

St. Hermes of Rome's Day (Patron of Acquapendente, Italy; Forte dei Marmi, Lucca, Italy)

Subway Day -- this date in 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca opened what became the first Subway Sandwich Shop


Birthdays Today

LeAnn Rimes, 1982
Jack Black, 1969
Jason Priestley, 1969
Shania Twain, 1965
Emma Samms, 1960
Scott Hamilton, 1958
Daniel Stern, 1957
Rick Rossovich, 1957
David Soul, 1946
Lou Piniella, 1943
Paul Martin, 1938
Donald O'Connor, 1925
Ben Gazzara, 1930
Roger Tory Peterson, 1908
Charles Boyer, 1899
Leo Tolstoy, 1828
Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774
Johann von Goethe, 1749


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Lohengrin"(Opera), 1850


Today in History

The Third Crusade begins with the seige of Acre, 1189
6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused of being the cause of the plague, 1349
St. Augustine, FL, founded, making it the oldest continuously occupied European city and port in the US, 1565
Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay, 1609
William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn, 1789
The first steam locomotive in the US, the "Tom Thumb", runs from Baltimore to Ellicotts Mill, 1830
The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published, 1845
The United States takes possession of the, at this point unoccupied, Midway Atoll, 1867
Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola", 1898
James E. Casey begins the United Parcel Service in Seattle, WA, 1907
WEAF in NYC airs the very first radio commercial, for Queensboro Realty, at a cost of $100 for ten minutes, 1922
Toyota Motors becomes an independent company, 1937
Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first tv show and ad, 1953
Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes, 1961
Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech; Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie are murdered in their Manhattan flat, prompting the events that would lead to the passing of the Miranda Rights, 1963
The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men; these will soon be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS, 1981
Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province, 1990
Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce, 1996
An electric blackout leaves 500,000 + without power and shuts down 60% of London's Underground, 2003
Hurricane Katrina begins to make landfall on the Gulf of Mexico, 2005
Lakhdar Brahimi, UN Special Envoy to Syria, says international law states that any action in response to Syria's use of chemical weapons must be decided by the UN Security Council, 2013