Big, Brave Red (Feline Friday) and Friendly Fill-Ins

(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.) 

***********************************

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

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

Somebody is getting bolder:

He's playing a lot more, too.

***********************************

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 the new cohost of the Fill-Ins, Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. 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. My neighbors_____________________.

2. The last thing I purchased online was __________________.

3. I have never _________.

4. Anything is possible if _________.

My neighbors are great people, all of them.  Yes, i know my neighbors, and not just next door.

The last thing i purchased online was a used book, The Gratitude Diaries.

I have never made it a habit to say "never".  My saying is that "i hope suchandsuch does not ever happen", or "i pray i will never have to do thusandso", but i try very hard to not use the word never.  A long time ago, i figured out that as soon as i say i have never done something or i have never had to do something, or worse, i would never do something, a few minutes later i am doing that very thing!

Anything is possible if you have enough bread.  Let me explain.  Years ago, there were philosophers, and they generally didn't make a very good living at it, so they turned to comedy.  They can spout their philosophy and make a living because now their profundity is also funny.  One of the greatest of these philosopher/comedians was Jonathan Winters.  His best philosophic/comedic line was (edited for language) "Life is a crap sandwich.  If you have enough bread, you don't have to taste the crap!"

***********************************

Today is:

Arrival of the Swiss at the Port-Noir -- Switzerland

Beypazari Havuç Güveç --  Turkey (weekend festival celebrating a traditional carrot dish)

Buffalo Days Celebration (with Buffalo Chip Throw) -- Luverne, MN, US (parade, arts in the park, and the throwing contest; through Sunday)

Centralia Anchor Festival -- City Square, Centralia, MO, US (anchor driving, archery shoot, tractor show, carnival, crafts, softball and more; through Sunday)

Derby Festival begins -- Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, England (today is Surrey Ladies Day, with Derby Day tomorrow)

Dia da Crianca -- Cape Verde (Youth Day)

Dia de la Marina -- Mexico (Day of the Navy)

Early Bird Day -- an internet derived day that reminds us the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese

Famadihana -- Madagascar (from now until November, various areas celebrate the Malagasay culture's "turning the bones," a fascinating reburial of the dead ceremony)

Farmington Country Days -- Farmington, MO, US (fun for the family, celebrated the old country way; through Sunday)

Feast of St. Justin Martyr (a/k/a Justin the Philosopher; Patron of apologists, lecturers, orators, philosophers, speakers)

Festival of Non-Linearity -- another one you find on the internet, no meaning or rhyme to it, but if you like to think in non-linear ways, enjoy today!

Festival of the Oak Nymph -- Celtic/Pagan (around this time of year, the Celts took a day to honor all hamadryads, the female nature spirits who inhabit oak trees)

Flip a Coin Day -- as noted by The Ultimate Holiday Site, which claims Julius Caesar invented it (doubtful, but the Romans did toss coins)

Gawai Dayak -- Sarawak, Malaysia (harvest festival begins today)  

Global Day of Parents -- UN

Go Barefoot Day -- originally sponsored by Soles4Souls, which recycles shoes to those who have none; while i cannot find if they are sponsoring a day or week this year, it's a good reminder not to let your old shoes end up in a landfill  

Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival -- Little Chute, WI, US (celebrate with other Cheeseheads; through Sunday)

Hari Lahir Pancasila -- Indonesia (Pancasila Day)

Harvard Milk Days Festival -- Harvard, IL, US (parade, carnival, food, fireworks, petting zoo, and more, all as a salute to hard working dairy farmers, and this year's theme is "Believe in the Future"; through Sunday)

Heimlich Maneuver Day -- Dr. Heimlich first published his suggestion for aiding choking victims with "subdiaphragmatic pressure" on this day in 1974

Helen Keller Day -- sponsored by the Lions Clubs

Hen-Peeler's Holiday -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day/National Day -- Samoa

International Children's Day

International Horseradish Festival -- Collinsville, IL, US (lots of fun in the "Horseradish Capital of the World"; through Sunday)

Kalends of June -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances:

    Day Sacred to Tempestas (goddess of storms)

    Festival for Juno Moneta (Juno as goddess of money)

    Festival of Carna (goddess of health and vitality, and also of doors and locks, which were to be repaired today)

Labour Day / Sir Randol Fawkes Day -- Bahamas

Madaraka Day -- Kenya (National Day or self-rule/responsibility day)

Mike the Headless Chicken Festival -- Fruita, CO, US (it all started with a chicken that kept trying to eat even after the farmer lopped off his head to prep him for the stew pot; Mike's indomitable spirit and will to live is a legend here and the basis of a two day festival celebrating the fact that you can live a normal life even after you have lost your mind!)

Mint Julip Day -- Oxford University, England (the drink was introduced there this day in 1845, and they liked it so well, they dedicated a day to it!)

Mothers' and Children's Day -- Mongolia

National Donut Day -- US (successor to the original Donut Day begun by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during WWI and as a fundraiser in Chicago, and it is still used as a fundraiser there for Salvation Army projects; look for a doughnut shop to give out freebies near you)

National Hazelnut Cake Day

National Leave the Office Earlier Day -- sponsored by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro, who urges people to maximize productivity so they can leave the office earlier every day     

National Tree Planting Day -- Cambodia

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

Oscar the Grouch Day -- according to the Sesame Workshop, today is his birthday

President's Day -- Palau

Route 66 Summerfest -- Rolla, MO, US (citywide kick off to summer, celebrating the famous roadway with a Route 66 cruise, Miss Route 66 Pageant, drummers competition, street dance, movie under the stars and much more! through Sunday)

Say Something Nice Day -- as declared by the mayor of a town in South Carolina who is tired of all the negative talk all the time

Shirone Takogassen -- along the Nakanokuchi river bank in Shirone, Japan (kite flying and kite fighting; through the 5th)

South Carolina Festival of Flowers -- Greenwood, SC, US (thirty-six events, something for everyone; through Sunday)

Stand for Children Day -- stand.org founded by a rally this day in 1996, seeking to ensure all children graduate from high school

St. Theobald Roggeri's Day (Patron of church cleaners, cobblers, porters, shoemakers; against fever and sterility)

Summer Farm Toy Show -- National Farm Toy Museum, Dyersville, IA, US (farm toys, parade, tractor rides, and more; through tomorrow)

Summer Library Book club Season begins -- anywhere that school is out, check your local library for a summer book club for children or adults; you never know what world you will discover when you read

Superman Day -- publication of the first Superman comic was this day in 1938

Telluride Balloon Festival -- Telluride, CO, US (volunteer to help with the festival and you may get a free balloon ride! through Sunday)

Victory Day -- Tunisia (anniversary of the Adoption of the Constitution of Tunisia in 1959)

Yobuko Otsunahiki -- Higashi Matsuura, Saga prefecture, Japan (two day Big Tug-of-War Festival, with one team representing the land and the other the sea; victory for the land means good crops, for the sea means good catches)

Anniversaries Today:

Charlie Chaplin marries Paulette Goddard, 1934

Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio, is founded as the first US land-grant university, 1808

Tennessee becomes the 16th US state, 1796

Kentucky becomes the 15th US state, 1792

Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen Consort of England, 1533

Birthdays Today:

Justine Henin, 1982

Alanis Morissette, 1974

Heidi Klum, 1973

Mark Curry, 1964

Lisa Hartman Black, 1956

Ron Wood, 1947

Jonathan Pryce, 1947

Frederica von Stade, 1945

Robert Powell, 1944

Rene Auberjonois, 1940

Cleavon Little, 1939

Morgan Freeman, 1937

Colleen McCullough, 1937

Pat Boone, 1934

Edward Woodward, 1930

James Hadley Billington, 1929

Bob Monkhouse, 1928

Andy Griffith, 1926

Marilyn Monroe, 1926

Nelson Riddle, 1921

Brigham Young, 1801

Jacques Marquette (Père Marquette), 1637

Debuting/Premiering Today:

FX(TV channel), 1994

Gremlins(Film), 1984

Cable News Network/CNN(TV network), 1980

"Live and Let Die"(Song release), 1973

"The Prisoner"(TV), 1968

"Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"(Album release), 1967

Today in History:

Hugh Capet is elected King of France, 987

Beijing, then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols  under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Beijing, 1215

Friar John Cor records the first known batch of scotch whisky, 1495

Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England, 1533

Mary Dyer is hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1660

The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars, 1794

U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom, 1812

James Lawrence, the mortally-wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, gives his final order: "Don't give up the ship!" 1813

James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole, 1831

American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua, 1855

Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed allowing the Navajos to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico, 1868

Thomas Edison receives a patent for his electric voting machine, 1869

Napoleon Eugene, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879

The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine to count census returns, 1890

Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court, 1916

The First Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires, 1929

Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months, 1958

New Zealand's first official television broadcast commences at 7.30pm from Auckland, 1960

Kenya gains internal self-rule (Madaraka Day), 1963

The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine, 1974

The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power, 1979

The Warsaw Pact officially dissolves, 1991

Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupts for the first time in 600 years, 1991

Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil, Killing all 228 passengers and crew, 2009

General Motors files for chapter 11 bankruptcy, 2009

Russia enacts a country-wide smoking ban, effecting most public places, 2013