Awww Monday: Soooo Tired

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!

Some Mondays you just want to stay in bed:

Some Mondays are like that!

Today is:

Bonifacio Day -- Philippines
Cider Monday -- celebrating the drink of the season, hot, spiced apple cider

Cities for Life Day -- commemorates the abolition of the death penalty in many countries

Clear Up The Clutter Day -- internet generated, and what!?! in one day!

Computer Security Day -- International (sponsored by The Association for Computer Security Day; often held by some organizations/companies on another day of the week if it falls on a weekend) 

Cyber Monday -- another excuse to buy stuff, the traditional beginning of the online shopping season

Feast of Hecate, Goddess of the Crossroads -- Ancient Roman Calendar (also revered by the Greeks, Egyptians, and came from the Carians of the Bronze Age)

Ham and Roast Beef Night -- internet generated, but a good idea for a make your own sandwich dinner

Independence Day -- Barbados(1966); Yemen(1967)

National Day -- Benin

Magal de Touba -- Senegal (commemoration of the departure into exile of Ahmadou Bamba to Gabon, a Sufi religious festival)

National Meth Awareness Day

National Mousse Day 

Perpetual Youth Day -- Dick Clark's birth anniversary

Provincial Anniversary Day -- Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Westland, New Zealand

Regina Mundi Day -- South Africa

Saint Andrew the Apostle's Day (Patron of anglers/fishermen, fish dealers/fish mongers, maidens, old maids/spinsters, single lay women, singers, women who wish to become mothers; Spanish armed forces; Achaia; Greece; Russia; Scotland; Amalfi, Italy; Antey-Saint-Andre, Italy; Berchtesgaden, Germany; Burgundy, France; Cartosio, Italy; Confienti, Italy; Constantinople, Turkey; Encinasola, Huelva, Spain; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Grongnardo, Italy; Lampertheim, Germany; Luqa, Malta; Patras, Greece; Plymouth, England; Samolaco, Italy; San Andreas, California; Victoria, British Columbia; against gout, sore throats) related observances:
     Argyle Day
     National Day -- Scotland
     Sfantul Andrei -- Romania

Stay Home Because You're Well Day -- sponsored by the Wellness Permission League -- if you get in trouble with the boss, make sure they will take the fall!

Throw Out Your Leftovers Day -- if you've had it since Thanksgiving, and haven't frozen it or eaten it yet, get rid of it

Whisp and Thread Fair -- Fairy Calendar


Anniversaries Today:

Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz, 1940


Birthdays Today:

Elisha Cuthbert, 1982
Clay Aiken, 1978
Jessalyn Gilsig, 1971
Sandra Oh, 1970
Amy Ryan, 1969
Ben Stiller, 1965
Bo Jackson, 1962
Colin Mochrie, 1957
Billy Idol, 1955
Shuggie Otis, 1953
Mandy Patinkin, 1952
David Mamet, 1947
Noel Paul Stookey, 1937
Ridley Scott, 1937
Abbie Hoffman, 1936
G. Gordon Liddy, 1930
Dick Clark, 1929
Joan Ganz Cooney, 1929
Robert Guillaume, 1927
Richard Crenna, 1926
Shirley Chisholm, 1924
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 1923
Gordon Parks, 1912
Winston Churchill, 1874
L(ucy) M(aude) Montgomery, 1874 (Anne of Green Gables)
Mark Twain, 1835
Oliver Winchester, 1810
Jonathan Swift, 1667
Philip Sydney, 1554


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Thriller"(Michael Jackson Album), 1982
"The Wall"(Pink Floyd album), 1979
Brian's Song(TV movie), 1971
"Bwana Devil"(Film, first 3-D movie), 1952
The Joy of Cooking(Publication date), 1931
"Le Cid"(Opera), 1885


Today in History:

Amsterdam bans assembly of heretics, 1523
Death count by plague in Venice is officially set at 16,000, 1630
Beijing earthquake causes 100,000+ deaths, 1731
Britain signs agreement recognizing US independence, 1782
Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgates a penal reform making his country the first state to abolish the death penalty. November 30 is therefore commemorated by 300 cities around the world as Cities for Life Day, 1786
Spain cedes her claims to Louisiana Territory to France, 1803
First ground is broken at Allenburg for the building of the original Welland Canal, 1824
First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, 5 years to the day from the ground breaking, 1829
Work begins on the first US underwater highway tunnel, in Chicago, 1866
The first international soccer football game is held, in Glasgow; Scotland-England 0-0, 1872
The first commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo, NY, 1886
A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles, 1900
American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor, 1902
Pike Place Market is dedicated in Seattle, Washington, 1907
The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park London destroyed by fire, 1936
Baseball's Negro National League disbands, two years after major league baseball integrated, 1948
In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space, 1954
Exxon and Mobil sign a $73.7 billion USD agreement to merge, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest company, 1998
Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah finally loses, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television's biggest game show winnings, 2004
John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York, 2005
The first human face transplant takes place in France, 2005
Enzo di Fabrizio, physics professor at Magna Graecia University in Catanzaro, Italy, successfully takes the first photograph of DNA, 2012

Silly Sunday: Call it what it is!

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!

On Thanksgiving Day, once the Macy Parade is over and Santa has officially ushered in the holiday season (at least in my estimation), it's time to watch the dog show.

While i'm not sure which one they play on Thanksgiving Day, it's one of the big, official AKC ones and we love looking at the dogs and seeing if we can remember which breed is which and who can call out the breed name first.  (Yes, we are easily entertained.)

When the Komondor came up, Bigger Girl said, "Mom, can we have one, please?  It could run around the house and dust mop all the floors!"

Komondor, sometimes called a dust mop dog!

We all laughed, of course, although i do like the look of those dogs.  Once when a family was on tour down here, their youngest son fell in love with the look of the local breed, the Catahoula Cur (sometimes called Catahoula Leopard Dog).

Catahoula Cur, with the typical ice blue eyes. (Hard to tell in this photo, i know.)

Because his family had been talking about getting a dog anyway, they decided to at least ask their tour guide, Boudreaux, if he knew of any reputable breeders.  Of course, "Boudreaux know ever'body!" as he himself would say, so he took them to his friend, a breeder named Hebert (pronounced a-bear).

As luck would have it, there were pups which were going to be ready to go to new homes just a couple of weeks after the family got home, so they paid a deposit and discussed arrangements to get the pup Hebert helped them pick transported to them when the time came.

 

When they were leaving, the breeder asked the young man what he was going to name his new friend.  The boy said that he wasn't sure, and Boudreaux slyly say, "How 'bout you call it Hebert?"

The boy, who had been confused by Boudreaux's accent during all of their tours, looked at him with a dazed expression and said, "Don't you think I should call it a dog?"

Today is:

Dita e Clirimit -- Albania (Liberation Day)

Electronic Greetings Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Fairy Flute Fantasy -- Fairy Calendar

Festival of Saturnia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (for the Sons of Saturn; Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto)

First Sunday of Advent -- Christian (start of the Liturgical Year in the Western Church) related observances
     Lighting the Candle of Hope
     Midwinter Horn Blowing -- rural Netherlands (folkloric custom announcing the birth of Jesus, celebrated through Epiphany)

Handel's Messiah Sing-Along -- East Room of the Nixon Library, Yorba Linda, CA, US (two seatings available for this beautiful and enjoyable event, singing along with a master choir and orchestra)

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People -- UN

Magal de Touba -- Touba, Senegal (Muslim pilgrimage to honor the memory of Sheikh Amadou Bamba; through tomorrow)

National Chocolates Day -- yes, another one

National Lemon Creme Pie Day

National Unity Day -- Vanuatu

St. Andrew's Eve -- in many traditions, a night to fortell the future, especially whom you will marry

St. Saturnius of Toulouse's Day (Patron of Toulouse, France)

Square Dance Day -- internet generated, and fun to do, but here's some information about square dancing

Tori No Ichi -- Japan (the third "rooster day" of November, so called because it is held on the three days of the rooster this month, in which to wish good luck and prosperity at temple and shrine ceremonies around the country, and celebrate with a fair)

William Tubman's Birthday -- Liberia (it's longest serving President)

Anniversaries Today:

Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin, 1916


Birthdays Today:

Jon Knight, 1968
Don Cheadle, 1964
Andrew McCarthy, 1962
Kim Delaney, 1961
Cathy Moriarty, 1960
Jeff Fahey, 1956
Howie Mandel, 1955
Joel Coen, 1954
Garry Shandling, 1949
Petra Kelly, 1947
Chuck Mangione, 1940
Peter Bergman, 1939
John Mayall, 1933
Jacques Rene Chirac, 1932
Diane Ladd, 1932
Vin Scully, 1927
Madeline L'Engle, 1918
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 1908
C.S. Lewis, 1898
Busby Berkeley, 1895
Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1876
Louisa May Alcott, 1832
Wendell Phillips, 1811
Christian Doppler, 1803
Charles Thomson, 1729


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Tatort"(TV), 1970
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"(Beatles single release), 1963
"Bells Are Ringing"(Musical), 1956
"Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"(TV), 1948
"Gay Divorce"(Musical), 1932


Today in History:

Jews of Augsburg, Germany, are massacred, 1349 (Sometimes, it seems, the more things change...)
King Philip II devalues Spanish currency, 1596 (See above...)
Sir James Jay invents invisible ink, 1775
San Jose, California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, 1777
Dessalines & Christophe declare St Domingue (Haiti) independent, 1803
First Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC), 1825
Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph, 1877
The first motorcycle race ever is held in Surrey, England; the distance was one mile and the winner was Charles Jarrot in a time of 2 minutes, 8 seconds, 1897
The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine. 1910
Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California, 1915
Howard Carter opens the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the public, 1922
Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole, 1929
The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome is performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, 1944
The United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine, 1947
Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space, orbits earth twice, and is successfully recovered after splashdown, 1961
Canadian Space Agency launches the satellite Alouette 2, 1965
Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, 1972
The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution stating that Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, 1983
The Czechoslovakian Parliament votes to end Communist rule, 1989
The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by the following January 15, 1990
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique, 2007
Pablo Picasso's electrician reveals 271 previously unknown works he claims were gifts from the artist, 2010
NASA announces its space probe MESSENGER has almost certainly found water ice buried beneath the surface of the north pole of Mercury, 2012

By any other non-prescription name...

Every few years, my youngest brother, the kids' Uncle J, ends up with his birthday being on the same day as Thanksgiving.

It happened this year, so we had an extra reason to celebrate.

He had already celebrated, though.  The night before, his friends had taken him out for the evening.  As he described it later, it started as table service at one place, which means a whole bottle for the table and at that point just him and one friend, and ended up being several friends and shots with the band, and anyway, for these people, there's no such thing as enough.

Despite his pleas to his friends that he couldn't show up at Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving hung over, we could certainly tell he wasn't at his best.

A few minutes after arriving, he said, "I wish Ms. Sheryl was here!  When I'd get like this, she'd give me Anaprox and it always helped.  It was fast, too!"

"Anaprox?" Grandpa had overheard.  "That's nothing but naproxen, and I have some."

 

"Anaprox is naproxen?" Uncle J said incredulously.

"It's the same medicine, just prescription strength," Grandpa said.

"So a prescription dose would be four?" Uncle J asked.

"Yes, but you take two first, and if it doesn't help, a bit later you take two more," the always cautious Grandpa noted, at which Uncle J flashed the rest of us a look that said he would down four of the suckers faster than you could say "I drank too much last night!"

"Oh, Anaprox!  This is wonderful!  Just give me ten minutes and I'll be a new man!" Uncle J said after Grandpa left the room.

Indeed he was, and i think he had a happy birthday.  Although i still think of him as our turkey born on Turkey Day, especially for going out with those friends.  He's known them since they were all young teens, and they are now nearer 50 than 40, and they may have families and jobs and responsibilities, but they really haven't changed much.

Happy Birthday, Uncle J.  Remember your friends don't mean any harm, but they might do some anyway.

Today is:

Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha -- Baha'i

Banquet for Monkeys / Monkey Buffet Festival -- Khmer Ruins of Lop Buri, Thailand (about 3,000 monkeys are served lunch while humans get to watch; some describe it as a riot but without the police) 

ClauWau: Santa Claus World Championship -- Samnaun, Switzerland (Santa Claus aspirants compete in in such things as the chimney climb with toys, a geography bee, and the sledge race with timed gift giving to be crowned the world champion Santa)

Decorate Your Dog Day -- supposedly to get him/her into the holiday spirit; but please, don't

Feast of the Holy Sovereigns -- Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii (in honor of King Kamehama IV and Queen Emma, the founders of the Anglican Church of Hawaii

Flag Day -- Kosovo

Guadalajara International Book Fair -- Guadalajara, Mexico (through Dec. 6)

Holodomor Remembrance Day -- international commemoration of the Death By Hunger Genocide in Ukraine

Independence Day -- Albania(1912); East Timor(1975); Mauritania(1960)

Independencia de Panama de Espana -- Panama(Independence from Spain Day, 1821)

International Aura Awareness Day -- to increase the awareness of the human energy body, or aura 
 
Lantern Light Tours begin -- Mystic Seaport, CT, US (walking tour of performances showing Christmas past, on various dates through the month)

Light of the World Christmas Pageant -- Minden, DE, US (pageant and lighting up the downtown square; also tomorrow and next Sunday)

Make Your Own Head Day -- meaning an art project model or drawing, in any medium; have fun with this one!

Mungabareena Ngan-Girra Festival -- Albury area, NSW, Australia (formerly called the Bogong Moth Festival, now an indigenous cultural showcase)

National French Toast Day

Red Planet Day -- on the anniversary of the 1964 liftoff of Mariner 4, the first successful mission to Mars

Republic Day -- Chad; Republic of the Congo

Royal Society Day -- one of the world's oldest scientific academies, established this day in 1660

Runic Half Month of Is begins (stasis)

Small Business Saturday -- encouraging everyone to patronize local businesses for your holiday shopping

St. Catherine Laboure's Day -- promulgator of the Miraculous Medal

St. Stephen the Younger's Day` (Patron of coin collectors, numismatists, smelters)

Swine Time Festival --  Climax, Georgia, US (Come on out and join the fun, the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Contests & Events include best dressed pig, corn shucking, hog calling, eating chitterlings, pig racing, syrup making, baby crawling and the greased pig chase!)

Territorial Christmas Celebrations -- Guthrie, OK, US (old time fun this weekend and through Dec. 19)



Birthdays Today:

Ryan Kwanten, 1976
Anna Nicole Smith, 1967
Jon Stewart, 1962
Judd Nelson, 1959
S. Epatha Merkerson, 1952
Ed Harris, 1950
Alexander Godunov, 1949
Paul Shaffer, 1949
Joe Dante, 1946
Randy Newman, 1943
Berry Gordy, Jr., 1929
Claude Lévi-Strauss, 1908
Charles H. Alston, 1907
Brooks Atkinson, 1894
William Blake, 1757
Jean Baptiste Lully, 1632
John Bunyan, 1628


Debuting/Prem'iering Today:
 
"Look Homeward, Angel"(Play), 1957
"The Grand Ole Opry"(Radio), 1925
Skywriting(as an advertising medium), 1922*



Today in History:

Skanderbeg and his forces liberate Kruja in Middle Albania and raise the Albanian flag, 1443
Ferdinand Magellan and his men become the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, 1520
The Times in London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer, signaling the beginning of the availability of newspapers to a mass audience, 1814
Ka Lahui: Hawaiian Independence Day - The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation, 1843
Women vote in a national election for the first time in the New Zealand general election, 1893
US-born Lady Astor becomes the first female member of British Parliament, 1919
Capt Cyril Turner of the RAF gives 1st skywriting exhibition in NYC; Turner spelled out "Hello USA. Call Vanderbilt 7200." 47,000 called, 1922 
The first Polaroid Camera is sold, 1948
Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community, 1958
The first pulsar star is discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish, 1968
Norway votes against joining the European Union, 1994
Wikileaks releases 250,000 classified documents and sensitive national security information sent by U.S. embassies, 2010


*The ad men said it wouldn't work, but John Savage demonstrated it by skywriting "Hello USA call Vanderbilt 7200" over New York City and generating over 47,000 calls to that number!

Feline Friday: "Celebrities"

Feline Friday is hosted by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

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 Steve'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!

The shelter now has two "famous" celebrities:

Jake and Elwood, The Blues Brothers!

Today is:

Anniversary of Cerro de Pasco -- Peru (founding of the city and its silver mine)

Ashi Vanguhi -- Ancient Persian Calendar/Zoroastrian (celebration of Ashi Vanguhi, or Holy Blessing; date approximate, but always two days after a full moon around this time of year)

Bargle Day -- Fairy Calendar (a fairy day with no human equivalent)

Belsnickel Craft Show -- Boyertown, PA, US (through tomorrow)

Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day -- US, and i will observe the latter

Buy Nothing Day -- UK (Shop Less, Live More)

Christmas Candlelight Tour -- My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Bardstown, KY, US (Christmas as it was in the 1800s; Fridays and Saturdays the first three weekends after Thanksgiving)

Christmas Traditions Celebration -- St. Charles, MO, US (the fun includes authentically costumed Santas from around the world; through Christmas Eve)

Electric Guitar Day -- birth anniversary of Jimi Hendrix

Family Day -- Nevada, US

Feast of Ullr and Skadi -- Asatru/Norse Pagan (celebrating craftsmen)

Freckle Pride Day -- show your spots, you are beautiful!

Fur-Free Friday -- sponsored by The National Humane Education Society, with lots of other animal organizations joining in and trying to make it a world-wide movement

Get the Giggles and Give One Away Day -- internet generated, and great if your a preteen girl

Gettysburg Holiday Festival -- Gettysburg, PA, US (fun holiday events weekends through the New Year's Eve Bash)

JuleFest -- Elk Horn, IA, US (a true Danish Christmas festival; through Sunday)

Khoiak Ceremonies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (ceremonies surrounding the stories of the death of Osiris, date approximate)

Lancashire Day -- Lancashire, England (celebrating their first elected representative in Parliament in 1295)

Maaverar Naal -- Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka (Tamil Heroes' Day)

National Bavarian Cream Pie Day

National Day of Listening -- US (sponsored by StoryCorps, encouraging sharing family stories during the holidays; learn how to interview and record those special stories here) 

National Day of Thanksgiving -- Turks and Caicos Islands

National Flossing Day -- US, but a great idea everywhere; help spread peace of mouth! 

Native American Heritage Day -- US; related observance
     Maize Day -- US; celebrating the First Nations of the Americas and the role maize/corn played in their cultures

Pie in the Face Day -- internet generated, and supposed to be a virtual one, so no mess to clean

Pins and Needles Day -- celebrating the 1937 opening of the Pins and Needles Music Revue

Plan Your Dagwood Sandwich Day -- admit you've always wanted to, so build one with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Rally of the Tall Pines -- Bancroft, ON, Canada (an event on the Canadian Rally Car Race Circuit; through the tomorrow)

Plan Your Dagwood Sandwich Day -- admit you've always wanted to, so build one with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Rally of the Tall Pines -- Bancroft, ON, Canada (an event on the Canadian Rally Car Race Circuit; through the tomorrow)

Sinkie Day -- sponsored by SINKIE, The International Association Of People Who Dine Over The Kitchen Sink, which urges you to combine your Christmas shopping with enjoying a quick meal of Thanksgiving leftovers and become a SINKIE convert!

St. Virgilius of Salzburg's Day (Patron of Salzburg, Austria; Slovenes)

St. James Intercisus' Day (Patron of lost vocations, torture victims)

Tree Lighting at Anchorage -- Anchorage, AK, US (Santa and 9 real reindeer help celebrate the annual lighting of the holiday tree, with free cocoa and cookies for all)

Urs Festival of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai -- Sindh, Pakistan (the grand three day festival of Sindh, celebrating this famous Sundhi Sufi scholar, mystic, and saint)
     14th Safar each year translate Islamic to Gregorian

You're Welcomegiving Day -- US, the day after Thanksgiving, started by Richard Ankli to give everyone a reason for a 4-day weekend



Anniversaries Today:

William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway, 1582


Birthdays Today:

Jaleel White, 1976
Samantha Harris, 1973
Brooke Langton, 1970
Robin Givens, 1964
Fisher Stevens, 1963
Caroline Kennedy, 1957
Rick Rockwell, 1956
Kathryn Bigelow, 1951
Jimi Hendrix, 1942
Eddie Rabbit, 1941
Bruce Lee, 1940
Gail Henion Sheehy, 1937
Alexander Dubcek, 1921
"Buffalo" Bob Smith, 1917
Chick Hearn, 1916
James Agee, 1909
L. Sprague de Camp, 1907
Forrest Shaklee, 1894
Chaim Weizmann, 1874
Charles A. Beard, 1874
Bat Masterson, 1853
Robert R. Livingston, 1746 (O.S. date)
Anders Celcius, 1701
Emperor Xiaozong of China, 1127


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Magical Mystery Tour"(Beatles album release), 1967
"Never Too Late"(Play), 1962
"The Dinah Shore Show"(TV), 1951


Today in History:

The first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as "The Model Parliament", 1295
The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703
The Portuguese Royal Family leaves Lisbon to escape from Napoleonic troops, 1807
Adoption of Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, 1815
NY Times dubs baseball "The National Game", 1870
Alfred Nobel establishes the Nobel Prize, 1895
In New York City, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held, 1924
The Soviet space program's Mars 2 orbiter releases a descent module; it crashes, but still becomes the first man-made object to be on Mars, 1971
The left-wing Labour Party takes control of the New Zealand government with leader Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history, 1999
A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet, 2001
The Canadian House of Commons endorses Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motion to declare Quebec a nation within a unified Canada, 2006
Icelanders vote for their own constitution after using a modified Danish constitution for 66 years, 2010
The Nissan Leaf self-driving car completes its first test in Japan, on the Sagami Expressway, 2013

Six Sentence Story: Aged

"Honey, could you help me lift the turkey out of the oven?"

Many years ago, she never would have made that request, but at recent family gatherings, it had become the norm, and he had to help her get other things, too.

Finally, this year, after we had been suggesting it for a long time, she agreed that enough was enough; they had both aged beyond where any kind of cooking for a large gathering was fun in any sense of the word.

She placed a huge order with a local market for turkey and two kinds of stuffing and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and gravy and more, and all she did herself was the family version of mac and cheese and a creamed corn that everyone loves, those two she could handle.

We are at the same house with Grandma and Grandpa and all the siblings and cousins, and although much of the meal is from a store, it doesn't matter.

The love is the same, and none of us will ever grow too old for that.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Aged.

Today is:

Constitution Day of the Republic of Abkhazia -- Abkhazia

Daytona Turkey Run -- Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, US (collector car show, swap meet, and craft sale; through Sunday)

Day of the Covenant -- Baha'i

Day of the Tan-Wallopers -- Fairy Calendar

Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia -- Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg, VA, US (exploring the 17th- and 18th-century culinary practices of Virginia; through Saturday)

Good Grief Day -- birth anniversary of Charles Schultz

Independence Day -- Mongolia(1924)

National Cake Day

National Family History Day -- US (a call from the Department of Health and Human Services to get info about your family, especially health history, while everyone is together for the holidays)

Sojourner Truth Day -- died this day in 1883

St. John Berchmans' Day (Patron of alter servers, Oblate novices, young people)

Thanksgiving Day -- Interfaith, US and Territories
     National Day of Mourning -- Native Americans 

Turkey-Free Thanksgiving -- sponsored by the Vegetarian Awareness Network



Anniversaries Today:

Founding of Sigma Alpha Mu in the City College of New York, by 8 Jewish young men, 1909
The first official Thanksgiving in the US, by presidential proclamation, 1789
Founding of the University of Notre Dame, 1842
Founding of Kappa Alpha Society, the oldest surviving US college fraternity, 1825


Birthdays Today:

Natasha Bedingfield, 1981
Shannon Dunn, 1972
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, 1966
Dale Jarrett, 1956
Tina Turner, 1939
Rich Little, 1938
Robert Goulet, 1933
Charles Schultz, 1922
Eugene Ionesco, 1912
Eric Sevareid, 1912
Lefty Gomez, 1908
Mary Edwards Walker, 1832
Sarah Moore Grimke, 1792
John Harvard, 1607
Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan, 1288


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Anarchy in the UK"(Sex Pistols single release), 1977
"The Price is Right"(TV), 1956
"Twenty Questions"(TV), 1949
Casablanca(Film), 1942
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland(Publication date), 1865


Today in History:

The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian", later "Caesar Augustus"), Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony is formed, BC43
Vlad III Dracula (Vlad the Impaler)defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time, 1476
The first lion exhibited in the US makes his debut in Boston, 1716
Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui, 1778
The Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of the United States established, 1784
The first national US Thanksgiving is celebrated, 1789
The first streetcar railway in the US begins operation in NYC, fare 12 cents, 1832
The refrigerated railway car is patented by J.B. Sutherland of Detroit, Michigan, 1867
The first photograph of a meteor is taken, 1885
The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams, 1917
King Tut's tomb is opened by English archaeologist Howard Carter, 1922
Four young lads from Liverpool have their first recording session under the interesting name "The Beatles", 1962
Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Republic of Ireland's parliament, 1998
Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England, 2003
A male Po'ouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of Avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct, 2004
NASA launches the Mars Science Laboratory, its largest rover ever, 2011