Thursday, January 5, 2017

Six Sentence Story: Alternatives



"I'm sorry, but no matter what happens, I'm not going to be killing anyone to get rid of you!" he told the Djinn.

"As I told you the first time we spoke at length, the reason the wishes do not work out in your world is because we Djinn were not meant to be a part of your world as we are now.  In order to send us back to the Creator so we can be put in our proper place, a blood sacrifice is required, along with the right ceremony, in a specific hidden temple in the part of the world you call the Middle East."

"This is starting to sound like the script from a cheesy movie!" he exclaimed.  "I mean, I'd laugh if it weren't such a serious situation."

The Djinn was about to reply when he suddenly interrupted with, "What if I just wished that my grandparents had never found you?"


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


Today is:

American Historical Association Annual Meeting -- Denver, CO, US (131st annual, with over 300 sessions covering a wide range of scholarly topics; this year's theme "The First Hundred Days:  Priorities for a New President" and is through the 8th)

Apple Howling Day -- Henfield, West Sussex (Held at Gill Orchard, always on Epiphany Eve, horn blowing and howling at the trees is said to wake them up and yield a good crop.)

Armenian Christmas Eve -- Armenia (Old Chrismas Day in the West)

Can Opener Day -- one of the earliest forms of can opener was patented this date in 1858 by Ezra Warner of CT, US (tin cans had been around for over 50 years by then, usually opened with a knife or hammer and chisel)

Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (16th annual, celebrating the best in local and national sketch comedy; through the 15th)

Dezome-shiki -- Tokyo, Japan (fire fighters pray for a safe year, have a parade, help raise awareness of fire prevention, and men dressed as firefighters from the Edo period perform acrobatic feats from the tops of ladders to show agility)

Epiphany Fair -- Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy (toys, sweets, and presents among the beautiful Bernini Fountains)

Get on the Computer Day -- obviously dates back to a time when people didn't have to check email daily or get inundated

Guru Goyind Singh Jayanti -- BR, HP, JK, PB, and RJ, India; Sikh celebration

International Consumer Electronics Show -- Las Vegas, NV, US (the world's largest annual trade show for consumers, and the largest annual trade show of any kind in the US; through the 8th)

Joma Shinji Festival -- Kamakura, Japan (ceremony and festival to keep evil spirits away)

Mungday -- Discordianism (festival of St. Hung Mung)

National Bird Day -- US (National Association of Audubon Societies incorporated today in 1905) 

National Whipped Cream Day

Nones of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Festival of Vica Pota (ancient goddess of victory)

Review Your Wrestling Holds Day -- internet generated, and weird

Sinulog -- Cebu City, Philippines (a very colorful ten day festival about the pagan origin of the people, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism; the Grand Parade, highlight of the festival, is on the 15th)

St. Gerlac of Valkenberg's Day (Patron of domestic animals)

St. Simeon Stylites' Day (The original and most maniacal of the "Pillar Saints")

Take the Cake Day -- a day to do something, anything, over the top, just because

Trettondagsafton -- Sweden (Epiphany Eve)

Turn Up the Heat Day -- all over the internet, but no one explains it

Twelfth Day of Christmas -- and thus, Twelfth Night (Although by some reckonings, this is actually only the 11th day of Christmas, and thus Twelfth Night Eve.  Take your pick.)


Anniversaries Today:

George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis, 1759


Birthdays Today:

January Jones, 1978
Bradley Cooper, 1975
Warrick Dunn, 1975
Carrie Ann Inaba, 1968
Pamela Sue Martin, 1953
Diane Keaton, 1946
Charlie Rose, 1942
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, 1938
Umberto Eco, 1932
Alvin Ailey, 1931
Robert Duvall, 1931
Walter Mondale, 1928
George Reeves, 1914
George Dolenz, 1908
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1895
King Camp Gillette, 1855
Edmund Ruffin, 1794
Constanze Mozart, 1762 (wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Pietro Filippo Scarlotti, 1679
Shah Jahal, 1592 (Mughal emperor of India, built the Taj Mahal)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"All My Children"(TV), 1970
"Bozo the Clown"(TV), 1959
"The Member of the Wedding"(Play), 1950
"Pepe LePew"(cartoon character, in "Odor-able Kitty"), 1945

Today in History:

Edward the Confessor dies with no heir, leading to a succession crisis that ends with the Norman Conquest, 1066
Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning, 1527
Pope Clemens VII forbids English king Henry VIII to re-marry, 1531
A petition in Recife, Brazil leads to closing of their 2 synagogues, 1638
Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted the first divorce in the colonies, from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston, Massachusetts, 1643
The first Swedenborgian temple in the US holds its first service, in Baltimore, 1800
The Ohio legislature passes the first laws restricting the movement of free blacks, 1804
Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, just in time for the Alamo, 1836
The US House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the UK, 1846
The first US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University, 1887
An Austrian newspaper makes the first public report on Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of xrays, 1896
The National Association of Audubon Society incorporates, 1905
Colombia recognizes Panama's independence, 1909
The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor, 1914
British premier Lloyd George issues a demand for a unified peace, 1918
Nellie Taylor Ross is sworn in as governor of Wyoming, the first woman governor of a US state, 1925
Mao Tse-tung writes "A Single Spark Can Start A Prairie Fire," 1930
FM radio is demonstrated to the Federal Communications Commission for the first time, 1940
The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper, 1944
Warmest reliably measured temperature in Antarctica of +59°F (+15°C) recorded at Vanda Station, 1974
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered, 2005

10 comments:

  1. Read the six, always enjoy it. Looking at the historical information is fascinating as well. 8 hour work day, thanks Mr. Ford

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  2. Now that's an interesting wish. I'll have to wait and find out what the Djinn says.

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  3. I hadn't thought of that wish. I can't wait to see what the Djinn says either.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  4. It's a smart wish, but trying to fool these spirits never seems to work.

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  5. Wow, what a powerful parting thought for today's episode! I'd never think of that solution. Now I'm wondering if it just might work!

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  6. If this wish comes true, would the whole story have to travel back in time to be rewritten? A very intriguing concept.

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  7. I have a feeling his whole life is going to be different if he makes that wish.

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  8. love those paradox stories... but I'm thinking, 'wait! don't give up so easy, there's so much possible with your own Djinn

    kinda getting into the story, ya know?

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  9. I'm waiting to see where this story is headed. The Djinn has made some interesting statements.

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