Slop Artiste (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections, and Sunday Selfie

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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

Grandma got cake for her birthday, as she loves sweets, but it was a gift from a friend as Grandpa doesn't cook much beyond a special shrimp dish he makes and i've not had time to bake in years.

As i left yesterday after cleaning, she was asking for a piece, it looked delicious.

Clothile done be decoratin' de birfday cake she jes' done make fo' Grand-mère Boudreaux an' Aline ax, "Mère, you dec'rate de cakes so purty, but since Grand-mère be Père's Mère, what 'bout you let him make de cake fo' her?"

An' Clothile say, "Mais, if'n I lets Boudreaux dec'rate de cake it be's goin' look like de Picasso!"

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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.  Our friend River is hosting, and other participants often include Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and WiseWebWoman.  

From the place where we have one of our ladies' meetings, front porches where it would be nice to sit and watch the world go by as people used to do.

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This week, Jack wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.  

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Today is Mother's Day!  At least, it is in many countries, which are listed in the next section.  I pray all mothers and motherly persons have a blessed and beautiful day.

Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge. 

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Today is:

Clean up Your Room Day -- one of those holidays that no one knows how it got started, but it's a good idea, especially if your house is decorated by teens in "Recently Ransacked" style!

Constitution Day -- Federated States of Micronesia

Golden Spike Day -- finishing the first US Transcontinental Railroad in 1869

Hanswijk Procession -- Mechelen, Belgium (since the year 1272, the Sunday before Ascension Thursday, the town celebrates Our Lady of Hanswijk, in thanks for the ending of plague and war)

Infant Mortality Awareness Day -- as so many of us celebrate mothers today, let's remember those who have lost children

Mother Ocean Day -- celebrate the wonders of the ocean, wherever you happen to be; day originally proposed by the South Florida Kayak Fishing Club

Mother's Day -- Belize; El Salvador; Guatemala; Mexico (always May 10 in these countries)

Mother's Day -- Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belgium; Bermuda; Bonaire; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei; Canada; Cambodia; Chile; China(People's Republic of China); Colombia; Croatia; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominica; Ecuador; Estonia; Ethiopia; Fiji; Finland; Germany; Ghana; Gold Coast; Greece; Grenada; Guyana; Honduras; Hong Kong; Iceland; India; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Kurdistan; Latvia; Liberia; Liechtenstein; Macao; Malaysia; Malta; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Zealand; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Puerto Rico; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Singapore; Sint Maarten; Slovakia; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Switzerland; Taiwan; Tanganyika; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turkey; Uganda; Ukraine; United States; Uruguay; Vietnam; Venezuela; Zambia; Zimbabwe                 

National Shrimp Day

Resistance and Liberation Day -- Lebanon

Root Canal Awareness Week begins -- originally sponsored by the American Association of Endodontists   

State Flag and State Emblem Day -- Belarus

St. Cathal's Day (Patron of blind people, drought relief, epileptics, paralyzed people; Taranto, Italy; against blindness, drought, epilepsy, hernias, paralysis, plagues, storms)

St. Father Damien of Moloka'i's Day (Patron of lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS; Hawaii)

St. Job the Patriarch's Day (Patron against depression and ulcers)

Trust Your Intuition Day -- practice, and you'll get better at it

World Lupus Day   

Birthdays Today:

Kenan Thompson, 1978

Amanda Borden, 1977

Jason Brooks, 1966

Paul "Bono" Hewson, 1960

Phil and Steve Mahre, 1957

Donovan, 1946

Dave Mason, 1946

Marie-France Pisier, 1944

Judith Jamison, 1943

Gary Owens, 1936

Barbara Taylor Bradford, 1933

Pat Summerall, 1930

Ara Raoul Parseghian, 1923

Nancy Walker, 1922

T. Berry Brazelton, 1918

"Mother" Maybelle Carter, 1909

David O. Selznick, 1902

Fred Astaire, 1899

Max Steiner, 1888

Karl Barth, 1868

George Ross, 1730

Emperor Fushimi of Japan, 1265

Emperor Claudius, 213

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Twister(Film), 1996

"The Rest of the Story"(Radio), 1976

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major(Shostakovich Op. 102), 1957

Today in History:

The Roman armies under Titus open a full-scale assault on Jerusalem, 70

Vienna's church orders all Jews to wear a distinctive garb, 1267

Scottish nobles recognize authority of English king Edward I, 1291

Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves on a voyage to the New World, 1497

Christopher Columbus "discovers" the Cayman Islands, 1503

Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland, 1534

Scottish Protestants under John Knox uprise against queen-mother Mary, 1559

England forcefully annexes Jamaica from Spain, 1655

Benjamin Franklin first tests the lightning rod, 1752

Louis XVI becomes King of France, 1774

The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America, 1801

New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels, 1837

In India, the first war of Independence begins, 1857

The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point, Utah) with the golden spike, 1869

Romania  declares itself independent from Turkey, 1877

The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883, 1893

The first Mother's Day is observed, 1908

J. Edgar Hoover is appointed Director of the FBI, 1924

First successful launch of a V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground, 1946

Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts, 1954

The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth, 1960

The Federated States of Micronesia  becomes self-governing, 1979

François Mitterrand becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French 5th republic, 1981

Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president, 1994

Deadliest day on the mountain: a rogue storm on Everest claims 8 lives, including experienced climbers, 1996

The Maeslantkering, a storm surge barrier in the Netherlands that is one of the world's largest moving structures, is opened by Queen Beatrix, 1997

Solicitor General Elena Kagan is the youngest Justice and third woman nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States, 2010

Microsoft announces plans to purchase Skype, 2011

An Indian fertility clinic announces that a 70 year old woman has successfully gave birth to a baby boy, 2016

The United States Geological Survey releases a report saying that some glaciers in Montana have receded by 85% in the last 50 years, 2017

Mahathir Mohamad is sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, the world's oldest leader at 92, 2018

Taxi service Uber becomes a publicly traded company, 2019

Prince Charles delivers the Queen's Speech at the state opening of the UK parliament for the first time, 2022

Human genomic studies take a leap forward with the publication of the first of 47 DNA profiles from people in all areas of the world as an attempt to capture the entirety of human genetic variation, 2023

A Soviet-era failed Venus probe, the Kosmos 482, re-enters Earth's atmosphere and  crash-lands into the Indian Ocean, 2025

Resting Easy (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections, and Sunday Selfie

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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.

Grandma and i got to talking about funerals again yesterday (it does come up once in so often) and she reiterated she doesn't want to be cremated, as for so long it was against the rules in the Roman Catholic Church.  I reminded her she preplanned and pre-payed for hers, so they will just do as she said.

"You know you have to take underwear and shoes and socks to the funeral home, right?" she said.  "We had to do that when P died."

Of course, i told her, you've already said you have to be buried with your undies on because your mama taught you a lady never goes anywhere without good undergarments.

She laughed, "Yes, I did tell you that.  And about them not standing around saying how good I look, I won't look good, I'll look dead!"

Yes, Grandma, i remember.

Boudreaux an' Clothile done be talkin' 'bout plannin' dey funerals, jes' in case ('cause dey don' plan to go nowhere soon), an' Boudreaux say, "We really don' know nothin' 'bout death, do we?"

An' Clothile say, "What you mean?"

An' Boudreaux say, "Mais, what fo' we give de corpse a pillow!"

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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.  Our friend River is hosting, and other participants often include Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and WiseWebWoman.  

The azaleas are almost done, but not quite, and the bees are still enjoying them.

The lilies are up, too, and other flowers, most of which i cannot name.

Then there was this guy, enjoying a plant whose name i don't know in front of Grandma and Grandpa's house.

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This week, Jack wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.  

This is his, "Don't hate me because I'm ready for swimsuit season" selfie.

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Today is:

As Young As You Feel Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which encourages you to stop acting your chronological age and go act peppy!

Banned in Boston Day -- see history for 1630 for explanation of why today

Care Sunday / Carling Sunday -- England, 5th Sunday of Lent (possibly from the Old Saxon "carles", or husbandman)

Coq Au Vin Day

Día de la Abolición de la Esclavitud (Emancipation Day) -- Puerto Rico

International Goof-off Day -- sponsored by Monica A. Dufour and A.C. Vierow, who think everyone needs a special day each year to goof off.

International Day of the Seal -- drawing attention to a disappearing species

Laser Day -- the first patent on a laser was granted this day in 1960 to Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes

National Bavarian Crepes Day

National Sing-Out Day -- begun by an anonymous person who must love singing; and yes, i promise, i won't sing where anyone has to listen to me

St. Darerca's Day (reportedly the sister of St. Patrick; Patron of Valentia Island, Ireland)

World Day for Water -- UN

Anniversary Today:

The Tuskegee Airmen are activated, 1941

Birthdays Today:

James T. Kirk, 2233

Cristen Powell, 1979

Reese Witherspoon, 1976

Elvis Stojko, 1972

Matthew Modine, 1959

Stephanie Mills, 1957

Lena Olin, 1955

Bob Costas, 1952

Andrew Lloyd Webber, 1948

James Patterson, 1947

George Benson, 1943

Bruno Ganz, 1941

Marvin Yagoda, 1938

M. Emmet Walsh, 1935

J.P. McCarthy, 1933

William Shatner, 1931

Pat Robertson, 1930

Stephen Sondheim, 1930

Allen Neuharth, 1924

Marcel Marceau, 1923

Karl Malden, 1912

Louis L'Amour, 1908

Chico Marx, 1887

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Conversations with My Father"(Play), 1992

"Brighton Beach Memoirs"(Play), 1983

"All You Need is Cash"(TV movie), 1978

"I Can Get It For You Wholesale"(Musical), 1962

"Mr. Wonderful"(Musical), 1956

"This Year of Grace"(Musical), 1928

"El maleficio de la mariposa/The Butterfly's Evil Spell"(Play), 1920

Today in History:

Hugo de Groot escapes imprisonment in Loevenstein Castle in a book case, 1621

The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags, 1621

Algonquian Indians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony's population, 1622

Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables, 1630

Joseph Priestly invents carbonated water (seltzer), 1733

The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Stamp Act, which introduced a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies, 1765

The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current place in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand, 1784

The three protecting powers (Britain, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece, 1829

Cornstarch is patented by Orlando Jones, 1841

Slavery is abolished in Puerto Rico, 1873

The Edmunds Act adopted by US to suppress polygamy in the territories (especially aimed at the Mormons), 1882

August and Louis Lumiere privately screen the first "motion picture" ever made, of workers leaving their factory three days earlier, 1895

World's first airline, St Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line, begins, 1914

The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt, 1945

Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser, 1960

Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1978

The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips, 1993

Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space, 1995

The Comet Hale-Bopp has its closest approach to earth, 1997

Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest women's World Figure Skating Champion, 1997

ETA, the armed Basque separatist group, declares a permanent ceasefire, 2006

Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska began erupting after a prolonged period of unrest, 2009

The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" between Hawaii and California has 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic and increasing rapidly according to new research, 2018

The journal Science publishes the first major announcement of the discovery of the Qingjiang biota, a 518-million-year-old fossil site near the Danshui River in China that is one of the most well preserved and diverse sites of the early Cambrian explosion ever found, 2019

The world's largest painting, "The Journey of Humanity" by British artist Sacha Jafri, sells in Dubai for $62m to raise funds for children's charities, 2021

New research conducted at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam finds microplastics in human blood for the first time, 2022

The American Library Association says 2022 had the highest number of calls to censor library books in the US in over 20 years, 2023

A new DNA analysis of composer Ludwig von Beethoven's hair reveals he probably died of hepatitis B and cirrhosis of the liver, 2023

British runner Jasmin Paris is the first woman and 20th person to complete one of the world's hardest ultramarathons - the Barkley Marathons, 2024