Feline Friday and Friendly Fill-Ins

Two link-ups today for the price of one!

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!

We're just hanging around, come pet us!

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts! 

My fill-ins for the statements are underlined.

1. The best brand of dishwashing detergent is the old formula of Dawn dish detergent, before they watered it down.

2. I refuse to buy most name brands unless there is a sale or a coupon.

3. I am inspired by people who stand up and fight for justice.

4. Whenever people are mean to each other, I get very sad and wonder what horrible thing happened to them to make them that way.

Today is:

Antiques on the Bay -- St. Ignace, MI, US (annual show for antique and classic cars at least 25 years old or older; through tomorrow)

Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival -- Avon, OH, US (everything wacky and wonderful about duct tape is celebrated in the Duct Tape Capital of the World, home of the Duck brand of duct tape; through Sunday)

Bake Your Own Bread Day -- it's really not that hard

Birthday of Cheng Huang -- Taiwan (the gods that are city guardians are celebrated with a procession of actors on stilts doing dragon and lion dances on this 13th day of the fifth moon)

Blues on the Fox -- Aurora, IL, US (celebration of the historical blues recordings made in Aurora, with blues musicians from around the country performing; through tomorrow)

Bunker Hill Day -- Suffolk County, MA, US (actual date)

Dia del Padre -- El Salvador; Guatemala (Father's Day)

Dulcimer Days -- Coshocton, Ohio, US (enjoy the restored 19th Century Roscoe Village and the charming music of dulcimers; through Sunday)

Eat All of Your Vegetables Day / Fresh Veggies Day -- yes, i have this listed yesterday, too; internet sites disagree about the actual date, and you need your veggies today, too! 

Fulton County Historical Power Show -- Rochester, IN (featuring tractors, engines, antique power equipment, and food, music, and fun; through Sunday)

Goettafest -- MainStrasse Village, Covington, KY, US (a celebration of goetta, a favorite regional food, plus entertainment, and arts and crafts; through Sunday)

Guan Sheng Di Jun Dan -- Taoism (Heavenly Sage Guan Di's Birthday [god of war])

Independence Day/National Day -- Iceland

International Violin Day -- Stravinsky's birth anniversary

Midnight Sun Festival -- Nome, AK, US (celebration of the solstice, when there is almost continual daylight, with a parade, raft race, folk fest, and more; through tomorrow)
     Polar Bear Swim -- Nome, AK, US (since 1975, as soon as they can break through the ice! the intrepid swimmers gather on the shore of the frigid Bering Sea to swim; if they can't break through the ice yet, it may be rescheduled; part of the midnight sun festival)

National Apple Struedel Day

National Flip Flop Day -- sponsored by Tropical Cafe Smoothie to raise funds for its national charity partner, Camp Sunshine 

Okinawa Day -- Japan/US (remembrance of signing the treaty, in 1971, to return Okinawa to Japan)

Old Time Music Ozark Heritage Festival -- West Plains, MO, US (celebrating the unique culture and old time music of the Ozark Highlands; through tomorrow)

Pirate Radio Day -- no actual pirate (i.e., unlicensed) radio stations will admit to declaring this a holiday, but what do you expect?

Soviet Occupation Day -- Latvia

St. Botulph of Ikanhoe's Day (Patron of agricultural and farm workers, sailors, travelers; Bossal, England; Boston, England; Boston, MA, US; Botesdale, England; Botolph Bridge, Huntingdonshire, Englad; Botolph's Bridge, Kent, Englad; Botolph, Sussex, England)

St. Herve's Day (Patron of the blind; against eye diseases and problems)

Toadstool-Squatting begins -- Fairy Calendar (Leprechauns)

Vice President's Remembrance Day -- not officially, just a day to see how many vice presidents you remember

Vikingespil Frederikssund (Viking Festival) -- Frederikssund, Denmark (the most famous Viking cultural event in Denmark, with two weeks of plays based on Danish Viking legends and a three day festival this weekend, as well as two markets and a Viking camp recreation)

Work @ Home Fathers' Day -- special kudos to the dads who work from home by telecommuting, or care for house and kids while the wife works outside the home, sponsored by Jeff Zbar 

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought -- UN


Anniversaries Today

Orpheus marries the nymph Eurydice, Ancient Greek traditional date


Birthdays Today:

Mark Walker, 1999
Lee Ryan, 1983
Venus Williams, 1980
Will Forte, 1970
Dan Jansen, 1965
Greg Kinnear, 1963
Thomas Haden Church, 1960
Mark Linn-Baker, 1953
Joe Piscopo, 1951
Barry Manilow, 1946
Art Bell, 1945
Newt Gingrich, 1943
Gene De Paul, 1919
John Richard Hersey, 1914
Ralph Bellamy, 1904
Sammy Fain, 1902
M.C. Escher, 1898
Igor Stravinsky, 1882
William Hooper, 1742
John Wesley, 1703


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Oh! Calcutta!"(Revue), 1969
"Barney Google and Snuffy Smith"(Comic strip), 1919


Today in History:

Vlad III the Impaler (a/k/a Vlad Dracul or Count Dracula) attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia, 1462
Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, 1565
Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England, 1579
Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth; her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal, 1631
The Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775
In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands, 1839
1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory, 1876
The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, 1885
The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT, 1901
 "Barney Google" cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premieres, 1919
Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic, 1944
The Wooden Roller Coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, Canada opens; it is still open today, 1958
The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress, 1961
Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel, 1972
With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct, 1987
The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all South Africans at birth, 1991
Australian scientists report that they have "teleported" a laser beam, breaking it up and reconstructing it in another location, 2002
The first condemnation of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people is issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council, 2011