Take a Better Look (Cajun Joke) and A Few Hours in the Country (Sunday Selections)

(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.)

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Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.

Sweetie recently had to re-qualify for his life insurance.  They balked at his blood pressure, which is totally normal as long as no one is taking it. 

He picked a new primary physician (he hasn't had one in years) and went in.  Sure enough, the doctor was able to show that his blood pressure is totally normal when you stay away from him with the cuff.  A true and certified white coat hypertensive person, which is a rare thing.

Boudreaux done be sellin' de life insurance on de side to make him de extra money.  

He be tryin' sell a policy to Gaston, an' Gaston say, "Boudreaux, I don' know 'bout dis.  I allus done t'ink dat if'n I go, my wife can jes' remarry an' get someone else take care 'o her."

Well Boudreaux done convince Gaston when he say, "Gaston, did you done look at you wife lately?"

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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  It is now hosted by Elephant's Child.     

The other day, i happened to be out in the country.  There was a pond, a nice picnic area, and plenty of geese.

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Today is:

Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim -- Istanbul, Turkey (over 1,000 swimmers take the opportunity to swim from one continent to the other, crossing the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe)

Codman Estate Antique Auto Show -- Codman Estate, Lincoln, MA, US (a day to appreciate antique and classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and fire engines)

Coldest Day Ever -- the lowest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89.2 *C (-128.6 *F; 184.0 *K) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on this day in 1983

Dornach Commemoration Day -- Dornach Battlefield and nearby city of Solothurn, Switzerland (victory in 1499 which ended the Swabian War)

Fast of Shiva Asar B'Tammuz (Tzom Tammuz) -- Judaism (a day of fasting and mourning the destruction of the tablets by Moses, the disruption of Temple services in 423BCE, and the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem right before the Temple was destroyed in 70AD; as a minor fast it begins today at dawn and ends at nightfall)

Feast of Damo -- Ancient Greek Calendar (keeper of secrets of philosophy; daughter of Greek sages, Pythagoras and Theano, date approximate)

Galla Bayramy -- Turkmenistan (celebration of the wheat harvest)

Hemingway Birthday Celebration -- Hemingway Museum, Oak Park, IL, US

Independence Day / National Day -- Belgium(1830)

Kazanskaya -- Russia (Feast of Our Lady of Kazan)

Lake Superior Day -- info at the Lake Superior Forum 

Lakota Sun Dance -- Lakota Native Americans (festival of the sun god Wi, with offerings to Maka (mother earth) and Haokah (father sky), both aspects of Creator Tukaskanskan; dating approximate, as outsiders are usually no longer allowed at these multi-day ceremonies)

Liberation Day -- Guam (1944; from Japan)

Lucaria -- Ancient Roman Calendar ("Feast of Clearings", with prayers said as land was cleared for planting)

Luxembourg Beer Festival -- Diekirch, Luxembourg

National Ice Cream Day -- by US Presidential proclamation on the 3rd Sunday of July each year; at this time of year, the trick is to eat it fast enough that it doesn't melt, but not so fast that you get a brain freeze!

National Junk Food Day

No Pet Store Puppies Day -- ASPCA sponsored this day in previous years, and while i can't find a confirmation of another campaign, you can still Take The Pledge to not shop at any pet store that sells puppies, because they are almost certainly from puppy mills 

Racial Harmony Day -- Singapore

Ragbrai / Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa(TM) -- Iowa, US (the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world; through the 27th)

Sapporo Summer Festival -- Odori Park, Sapporo, Japan (through Aug. 20, the park becomes a beer garden)

Schoelcher Day -- French West Indies; Martinique (Schoelcher worked for abolition)

St. Lawrence of Brindisi's Day (Patron of Brindisi, Italy)

St. Praxedes' Day (Patron of single laywomen)

Touch Hammer's Birthday Bargain Day -- Fairy Calendar

Tug-Of-War Tournament Day -- if you have a problem with someone today, solve it with an old fashioned tug-of-war!

Birthdays Today

Hatty Jones, 1988

Josh Hartnett, 1978

Justin Bartha, 1978

Lance Guest, 1960

Matt Mulhern, 1960

Jon Lovitz, 1957

Michael Connelly, 1956

Robin Williams, 1951

Garry Trudeau, 1949

Cat Stevens, 1948

Kenneth Starr, 1946

Tony Scott, 1944

Edward Herrmann, 1943

Janet Reno, 1938

Norman Jewison, 1926

Don Knotts, 1924

Kay Starr, 1922

Isaac Stern, 1920

Marshall McLuhan, 1911

Ernest Hemingway, 1899

John Joseph "Johnny" Evers, 1881

Today in History

Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, BCE 356

A tsunami devastates the city of Alexandria, Egypt, 365

The first landing of French troops on the coast during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight, 1545

Twenty-four-year-old Scottish physician and explorer Mungo Park became the first European to see the Niger River, the third longest river in Africa, 1796

In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first true western showdown, 1865

At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West, 1873

Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land, driving a 15-liter Gobron-Brille in Ostend, Belgium, 1904

In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100, 1925

Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission, 1969

After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed, 1970

The world's lowest temperature is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at -82.9*C (-129*F), 1983

The fully restored USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides") celebrates her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years, 1997

NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135, 2011