Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Sweetie’s Lunatic Fringe (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 




Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


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Words for Wednesday is a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourages us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.  This month, the prompts are being posted by River at Drifting Through Life.      


1. petrichor
2. sunlit
3. squinted
4. comfortable
5. disrupted
6. phones

and/or:

1. personal space
2. copper
3. granite
4. quarry
5. squat
6. parched



“Ah, by the scent of PETRICHOR I assume that we have had some precipitation,” the professor said as he stepped out of the hole in the mountain in which the archaeological expedition was digging.

One of the local assistants SQUINTED up at the professor from his position, a SQUAT over one of the many trays of dirt through which they sifted looking for treasure.  At least, the assistants were supposed to be looking for what the professor and his staff considered treasure, evidence of how people lived here when it was an active GRANITE QUARRY centuries before.

The assistants were more interested in earning money, COPPER coin of the realm, and did not much care what they found so long as they were rewarded for finding it.  “You sure talk fancy, professor,” he said.  “But yeah, it rained and it was about time, we are PARCHED.”

At the sound of an approaching vehicle that bounced up and down as much as it made progress forward, both turned and watched as Helzer, the graduate assistant and lowest man on the academic totem pole out here, got out of what looked like the least COMFORTABLE truck on the planet and walked over.

“Did you get through to the university?” the professor asked.

“No,” Helzer said.  “PHONES are not working in town right now.  The area has been DISRUPTED by violence, and they think the lines are cut.”

The professor came closer, preferring to invade a graduate assistant’s PERSONAL SPACE than to be overheard by the locals.  “Should we try to evacuate quietly?  Are we in danger?”

Helzer looked at the SUNLIT ridge above them, took a deep breath, and chose not to mince his words.

“Sir, from what I saw in town, it’s already too late.”


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Today is:

Car Keys and Small Change Day -- ???

Dia de Andalucia -- Andalucia, Spain

DNA Day -- day in 1953 when Watson and Crick determined the double helix structure of DNA

Februalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (purification of Rome performed by citizens making sacrifices to the dead)

Floral Design Day -- a day to acknowledge this art form, sponsored by Rittners Floral School     

Inconvenience Yourself™ Day -- enrich your life by looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world, even if it inconveniences you   

Kalevala Day -- Finland (Finnish Culture Day)

Musikahan sa Tagum Festival -- Tagum City, Phillipines (This "Marching Showband Capital of the Philippines" stages the areas signature festival which celebrates the Filipino excellence in musical composition, performance, and production, and giving young people more opportunities to excel in learning the music industry and Filipino musical culture; through Mar. 5)

National Chocolate Souffle' Day

National Science Day -- India

National Tooth Fairy Day - and/or August 22, depending on whom you ask

Nylon Day -- the first aliphatic polyamides were produced on this day in 1935

Peace Memorial Day -- Taiwan

Public Sleeping Day -- this one even has a wikiHow page   

Purim -- Judaism (begins at sundown)

Rare Disease Day -- International     

Read Me Day -- local and national celebrities, with community volunteers, are encouraged to visit classrooms this week and read to children; the original idea included wearing t-shirts with writing on them and encourage the children to read the shirts, thus "read me" 

St. Hedwig of Poland's Day (Patron of queens)

St. Romanus' Day (Patron of the mentally ill; against drowning, insanity)

Teacher's Day -- Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen

Teal Ribbon Day -- Australia (wear a teal ribbon, raise awareness of ovarian cancer)   


Anniversaries Today:

University of Pittsburgh is chartered, 1787


Birthdays Today (followed by Feb. 29 Birthdays)

Ali Larter, 1976
Robert Sean Leonard, 1969
John Tuturro, 1957
Gilbert Gottfried, 1955
Bernadette, Peters, 1948
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, 1945
Brian Jones, 1942
Mario Andretti, 1940
Tommy Tune, 1939
Gavin MacLeod, 1930
Frank Gehry, 1929
Svetiana Allilueva, 1926
Charles Durning, 1923
Zero Mostel, 1915
Earl Scheib, 1907
Milton Caniff, 1907
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, 1906
Vincente Minnelli, 1903
Linus Pauling, 1901
Ben Heckt, 1894
Charles Blondin, 1824
John Tenniel, 1820
Mary Lyon, 1797
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533


Antonio Sabato, Jr., 1972
Tony Robbins, 1960
Gretchen Christopher, 1940
Jack Lousma, 1936
Dinah Shore, 1916
Jimmy Dorsey, 1904
William Wellman, 1896
Herman Hollerith, 1860


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"On Golden Pond"(Play), 1979
"La Reine de Saba"(Opera), 1862
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling(Publication date), 1749


Today in History:

Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China, BC202
The first edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" is published, 1749
John Wesley charters the Methodist Church, 1784
The first commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) is chartered, 1827
Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec), 1838
Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor, 1849
The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire, 1870
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone, 1885
The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched, 1893
Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force, 1897
Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain, 1922
DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon, 1935
Basketball is televised for the first time, 1940
In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives, 1947
James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2), 1953
The first-ever color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public, 1954
The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué, 1972
Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum, 1980
GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way, 1997
First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace, 1998
Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947, 2004
Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft, 2007
Egypt annunces the discovery of a granite head from a statue of King Tut's grandfather, Amenhotep III, 2010

Historic Events for February 29:

The Romans create the first Leap Year by adding a day to their calendar, BC46
The Scottish Parliament makes it illegal for a man to refuse to marry a woman who proposes on Leap Day, the only day women could propose; his penalty for refusing would be to give her a kiss, some gold, and a pair of gloves (to hide the fact that she didn't have a wedding ring), 1288
Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies, 1504
February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Old style, 1712
The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations, 1796
St. Petersburg, Florida, is incorporated, 1892
In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old, 1916
Baby Snooks, played by Fanny Brice, debuts on the radio program The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air, 1936
For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award, 1940
In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, because of the war, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco, 1940
An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country, 1960
The Family Circus comic strip debuts, 1960
In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds), 1964
Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract, 1972
Gordie Howe of the then Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal, 1980
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces he will retire as soon as the Liberals can elect another leader, 1984
South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town, 1988
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup, 2004

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Dr. D's Adventures (Random Tuesday)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.)



Stacy Uncorked

Time for a Random Tuesday post, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.  

Oh, dear.  Where to start?

Last week i didn't have much to write about.  This week, well, Dr. D happened.  She can get into more trouble in a week than most people do in a lifetime.

Yesterday i put in 10 hours with her, and we still never did get to the sheets.  Her laundry is done and the dishes are clean, though.

The morning started with a call from the library telling her she had books overdue.  When we headed out to run errands, we stopped at the library and i went upstairs to give the people at the reference desk a thank you note from her.  (She writes thank you notes to everyone, including sending them to her doctor and dentist when she makes a payment.  It's probably the reason they let her come back.)

While up there, i asked about her overdue books.  The nice gentleman was able to tell me that yes, she had them overdue, but he could not renew them.  Back downstairs to the circulation desk i went. 

The circulation desk could not help me because the nice man at the reference desk hadn't gotten out of her account, and they can only open your account from one computer at a time.  Back upstairs to ask them to please get out of her account, back downstairs to find out that all of the books have been re-checked out the maximum number of times and she has to bring them in.

We got her new-to-her truck registered, and she had me put the license tag on with a beat up penny she found in the parking lot as a screwdriver.  It worked.  When it came time to put the steering wheel knob she got when we stopped at the auto parts store on, though, i am glad it came with the allen key.

After errands to doctor and dentist and lawyer (she gave her lawyer a change jar that counts your change for you; when i dropped it off, he said it was just what he'd always wanted, but then, he knows Dr. D) and the bookstore that is also a local publisher (where i dropped off a TENS unit and a plastic piggy bank -- they now know when they see me that whatever it is, it's from Dr. D, and they know to expect the unexpected), we took some stuff to her storage unit.

Her house is a storage unit in itself, as it never got finished being rebuilt after the fire because she got busy with the lawsuit, and it's a long story that's not over yet because she is talking about taking over the business herself.  If she decides to do it, the woman who earned a doctorate in economics, taught behind the Iron Curtain, and  managed to get on the last train out of an area where the Chernobyl fallout was heading after the accident will see it through, even if she is nearly 80.

We only ever found two of the overdue books, and we found the WWII book she'd been looking for in the bathtub, along with Cicero and Marcus Aurelius.  Why in the tub?  Because that's where she'd put the pillows until she could put the new pillow slips on, and the books were on the bed by the pillows and next to the cancelled checks and unopened mail.  (Yes, her house is seriously cluttered.  It's okay, we managed to find the three phones somehow, although we still don't know where the new package of checks ended up.  We can't call them, after all.)

While i was in the dollar store getting cat litter, she mentioned wanting to go into a thrift store "just to look around," but i managed to talk her off of that ledge.

Working there is an adventure, and this week i will be cat sitting again.  Josephine the Persian doesn't mind me so much, but C Trois the Himalayan is very shy.  Dr. D is going back to her doctors in Houston, and then will stop at the family property in the country (a plantation -- she's got some stories, i tell you).

In other news, Little Girl tried her hand at my home made banana pudding recipe.  She found out just how much work it is, but i think it turned out perfectly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ***********************************


Today is:

Aspirin Day -- Bayer received its US patent for the medicine on this day in 1900

Day of Selene -- Ancient Greek Calendar (goddess of the moon, date approximate)

Equirria -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Cavalry Horse Festival)

Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows/Gabriel Possenti (Patron of clerics, students, young people; Abruzzi, Italy; Catholic Action)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Houston, TX, US (since 1932, great rodeo action and top-name entertainment; through Mar. 18)

Independence Day -- Dominican Republic(1844)

Majuba Day -- South Africa (celebration of the Boers victory at Majuba Hill)

National Kahlua Day

National Strawberry Day -- no, i don't know why this isn't in June, when the berries are best; maybe the person who put it here had too much Kahlua

No Brainer Day - this day is for me! created by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, "America's Premier Eventologist"

Polar Bear Day -- as declared by Polar Bears International

Read Five Pages in the Dictionary Day -- internet generated, and am i the only one who likes the idea?

Runic Half Month Tyr commences (cosmic pillar)

Single-Tasking Day -- encouraging you to do one thing at a time, and not feel guilty; begun by Theresa Gabriel, who claims multitasking is inefficient and hurts your brain! she suggests it be on the 4th Tuesday of the month, although other sites list other dates

Spay Day USA -- sponsored by the HSUS; Sit! Stay! Spay! Good Owner! 

St. Galmier of Lyon's Day (Patron of locksmiths)

The Hop -- Fairy Calendar

Threepenny Day -- Eton College, England (By the last will of two Provosts in the 16th century, each boy receives a threepenny piece on this day -- enough to buy half a sheep back then.)

World Spay Day -- don't let your pets litter!   


Anniversary Today:

African Burial Ground National Monument is established, 2006



Birthdays Today:

Josh Groban, 1981
Chelsea Clinton, 1980
Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas, 1971
Grant Show, 1963
Adam Baldwin, 1962
Michael Bolton, 1953
Alan Guth, 1947
Mary Fran, 1943
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, 1942
Howard Hesseman, 1940
Ralph Nadar, 1934
Elizabeth Taylor, 1932
Joanne Woodward, 1930
Ariel Sharon, 1928
John Connally, 1917
James Thomas Farrell, 1904
John Steinbeck, 1902
Gene Sarazen, 1902
Marian Anderson, 1897
David Sarnoff, 1891
Hugo La Fayette Black, 1886
Alice Hamilton, 1869
Ellen Terry, 1847
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807
Constantine I, 272


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What Makes Sammy Run?"(Musical), 1964
Road to Utopia(Film), 1946


Today in History:

The first Russian Embassy arrives in London, 1557
The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland, 1560
Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci, 1626
Jews are expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I, 1670
The Pacific island of New Britain is discovered, 1700
Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire, 1812
The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti, 1844
Composer Robert Schumann is saved from a suicide attempt in Rhine, 1854
Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland, 1861
The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships, 1870
Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first African American woman to earn a law degree, from Howard University, 1872
Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway, 1912
Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14, 1940
The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over, 1964
The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1973
People magazine is published for the first time, 1974
U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated", 1991
A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, 2002
The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years, 2007
Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, 2010
Wikileaks begins releasing 5 million emails from Stratfor, a private intelligence company, 2012
At Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his farewell address, 2013

Monday, February 26, 2018

Stay! (Awww Monday) and Sparks!

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 


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's 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!

Lulu didn’t want us to leave Grandma’s house on Saturday:

No, you can’t leave, I’m in front of the door!




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McGuffy's Reader

The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world.  Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!

“I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!” ~ McGuffy Ann Morris

My "Spark" for the day





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Today is:

Ayyám-i-Há -- Baha'i (intercalary days, devoted to service and gift giving; through Mar. 1)

Dance of the Known Places -- Fairy Calendar

Fairtrade Fortnight begins -- UK (a chance to get involved in making sure farmers in developing countries have fair wages and good working conditions)  

For Pete's Sake Day -- Wellcat Holidays asks us, who is Pete, and why do things for his sake?  think about that as you celebrate this today

Intercalary Days -- Baha'i (through Mar. 1)

Levi Strauss Day -- his birth anniversary

Liberation Day -- Kuwait

National Heroes' Day -- Paraguay

National Personal Chef Day -- heaven knows we all have one of those; some websites list it today, some on July 16

National Pistachio Day

Rooks Nesting Day -- Olde England (12 days after Candlemas on the Julian Calendar)

St. Alexander's Day (Patriarch of Alexandria)

St. Isabella of France's Day (Patron of the sick)

Tell a Fairy Tale Day -- shouldn't this have been two days ago, on Wilhelm Grimm's birth anniversary?

The Man In Black Day -- Johnny Cash's birth anniversary

Thriller Day -- Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" hit #1 today, and stayed there for 37 weeks


Anniversaries Today:

Grand Teton National Park is established, 1929
Grand Canyon National Park is established, 1919


Birthdays Today:

Marshall Faulk, 1973
Erykah Badu, 1972
Mark Dacascos, 1964
Michael Bolton, 1953
Johnny Cash, 1932
Fats Domino, 1928
Betty Hutton, 1921
Tony Randall, 1920
Jackie Gleason, 1916
Margaret Leighton, 1922
Tex Avery, 1908
Madeleine Carroll, 1906
Jean Vercors, 1902
William Frawley, 1887
Herbert Henry Dow, 1866
John Harvey Kellog, 1852
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, 1846
Levi Strauss, 1829
Honore Daumier, 1808
Victor Hugo, 1802


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Jerome Robbins' Broadway"(Musical), 1989
"Deathtrap"(Play), 1978


Today in History:

Origin of the Epoch of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era, BC747
An earthquake in Lisbon leaves 20,000-30,000 dead, 1531
Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down, 1794
The Bank of England issues its first banknotes, 1797
Vice-admiral William Bligh ends the siege of Fort Amsterdam, Willemstad, 1804
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba, 1815
In New York City a demonstration of the first pneumatic subway opens to the public, 1870
HMS Britannic, sister ship to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, 1914
The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York, 1917
Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom, 1935
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb, 1952
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952
National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation, 1970
Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations, 1980
The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections, 1990
On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, 1991
In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand, 1993
The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses, 1995
Mount Hekla in Iceland erupts, 2000
Republic of Macedonia President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2004
After winning a Liberal Party of British Columbia ballot, Canadian politician Christy Clark becomes the second woman to be Premier of British Columbia, 2011
Scientists in Illinois announce they've developed wirelessly rechargeable, stretchable batteries that can power a new generation of flexible electronics, 2013
NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope has discovered 715 planets in other solar systems, bringing the instrument's new-planet tally to 961, 2014