Okay, who cut the cheese?

Literally, not figuratively.

Little Girl came to me and said, "This makes me exceedingly angry!"  Then she held out this:

Sharp cheddar, as found in the fridge.

"Really!" she exclaimed.  "Who does this!  Look at this!"  She then held it sideways for my inspection.

It has certainly been creatively deconstructed.

As we both laughed over how sometimes boys are unfathomable, she grated what was left for some quesadillas.

It can certainly make you wonder how they are going to survive on their own, if they don't even know how to cut cheese straight.


Today is:

Army Day -- Armenia

Data Privacy Day -- International

Festival of the Lenaia to Dionysus -- Ancient Greek Calendar, end January through early February

Fun At Work Day -- inject laughter and fun into your workplace (if you dare); some sites have this as a national or international day, and dates given vary, but my warning stands if you decide to celebrate this at all

Jackhammer Day -- US (the pneumatic jackhammer was patented this day in 1894 by Charles Brady King of Detroit, MI)

National Blueberry Pancake Day

National Kazoo Day -- because anyone can play one!

National Spieling Day -- internet generated, and whatever your area of expertise, spiel about it today

Rinkydinks Annual Snowball Fight -- Fairy Calendar

Runic Half-month Elhaz (elk) commences

St. Charlemagne's Day (Patron of the University of Paris)

St. Thomas Aquinas's Day (Patron of academics, apologists, book sellers, chastity, colleges, learning, pencil makers, philosophers, publishers, scholars, schools, students, theologians, universities; Aquino, Italy; Belcastro, Italy; Falerna, Italy; University of Vigo; all Catholic academies, schools, and universities; against lightning, storms)

Telephone Exchange Day -- US (the first telephone exchange was set up in New Haven, CT with 22 subscribers on this day in 1878)

US Nationals Snow Sculpting Competition and Championships -- Lake Geneve, WI, US (through Feb. 7)


Anniversary Today:

Adoption of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782


Birthdays Today:

Elijah Wood, 1981
Nick Carter, 1980
Joey Fatone, Jr. 1977
Kathryn Morris, 1969
Sarah McLachlan, 1968
Harley Jane Kozak, 1957
Nicolas Sarkozy, 1955
Rick Warren, 1954
John Beck, 1943
Susan Howard, 1943
Alan Alda, 1936
Susan Sontag, 1933
Claes Oldenburg, 1929
Jackson Pollack, 1912
Robert Stroud, 1890 (The Birdman of Alcatraz)
Arthur Rubenstein, 1887
Auguste Piccard, 1884
Jean Felix Piccard, 1884
Colette, 1873
Jose' Marti, 1853
Henry Morton Stanley, 1841
Alexander Mackenzie, 1822
Peter the Great of Russia, 1775
St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Fantasy Island"(TV), 1978
"Barnaby Jones"(TV), 1973
"Symphony No. 1/Jeremiah"(Bernstein), 1944


Today in History:

The Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted by Pope Gregory VIII, 1077
The first Crusaders begins siege of Hosn-el-Akrad Syria, 1099
Pope Alexander VI gives his son Cesare Borgia as hostage to Charles VIII of France, 1495
Edward VI, age nine, succeeds his father Henry VIII as king of England, 1547
By the Edict of Orleans, the persecution of French Huguenots is suspended, 1561
Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland, 1573
Sir Thomas Warner found the first British colony in the Caribbean, on St. Kitts, 1624
The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in the Senate decree (it was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917), 1724
Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity, 1754
London's Pall Mall is the first street lit by gaslight, 1807
Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom, 1813
The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway, 1855
In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick, 1887
Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding in an automobile. He is fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h), 1896
The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie, 1902
An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard, 1915
The first Jewish  US Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, appointed by Wilson, 1916
A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honor the unknown dead of World War I, 1921
The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence, 1933
The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today, 1958
The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament, 1965
Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region, 1984
Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief, 1985
Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board, 1986
Hundreds of thousands of protesters filled up the Egyptian's streets in demonstrations referred to as "Friday of Anger" against the Mubarak regime, 2011

On My Toes

Ms. P's daughter did come home that first night, to sleep and ask me to wash some of her clothes.  Since i had washed a lot already, i asked her to bring her stuff to her room.  In typical teen fashion, all she did was grab what she wanted and leave the rest on the couch where i put the laundry when i fold it!

When i woke them Thursday morning, Youngest Boy really didn't want to get up.  He shouted and kicked and pitched a fit, and i thought i was going to have to take all the bedclothes off the bed to keep him from getting back in.  By the time he came downstairs for breakfast, he was much calmer, but he explained that no one is allowed to wake him up, it makes him mad.  In return, i explained that he was going to get waked up, because he was going to school, Boss' orders.

They had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, as they had asked for that the night before, and daughter caught her ride when i piled the boys in the car to get them to their schools.

We talked a bit about Jalopy, and her funny noises, and Eldest Boy decided he likes her, she is cool and sounds like she's going to fall apart.  How much you want to bed he grows up to fix old cars?

After dropping them off at their respective schools i went to the store for apple juice, as they had finished off a whole gallon the day before.  While there The Big Boss called and told me to get back to the house because someone was coming over to pick something up.

When i got there, a strange car was in the drive, and a man at the door.  It wasn't the person picking up whatever it was.  Instead, this was someone in a uniform, but an unmarked car, and he was looking for Ms. P to serve her some papers.  It made me very nervous that he wanted to know where the kids were, and when she would be back, and whose cars were in the drive, and etc.  It made me wonder if the STBX was up to something, especially as he was going to be getting the kids from school that day.

The rest of the day i spent puttering around the house, getting crumbs out of the toaster (and a quarter of a waffle! it was a wonder the thing hadn't caught fire!), remaking beds, doing the hand laundry, and tidying the places you forget you have when you don't get into them very often.

After Middle Boy's football practice, STBX dropped them off, and i asked what they wanted for dinner.  They couldn't agree, but wanted to go out, so i piled them back in the car and we drove up the road to where there are enough food places to please even the pickiest eaters.

Eldest Boy and Middle Boy wanted to go to the Greek place, and Youngest Boy announced, as i pulled in, "I'm about to get mad!  I don't want to eat here, I don't like anything here!"  As i explained that he didn't have to get angry, i'd get the older boys a meal here and him something somewhere else, he calmed right down and asked for Popeye's.  That's exactly what we did.  First we went in the Greek place, got the bigger boys what they wanted and they sat to eat, and i walked Youngest Boy to the chicken place next door, where he told them he wanted a large beans and rice!  He got chicken and a biscuit and the very smart worker at Popeye's gave him 3 small beans and rice containers.  We went back to where the bigger boys were.

Youngest Boy wouldn't eat his meal at the Greek restaurant with the rest of us, so we didn't linger.  They were fascinated by the vegan stuffed grape leaves i was having.  They thought i was nuts enough eating seaweed, but now grape leaves?  They only became more convinced when i told them about picking the grape leaves with my grandmother as a child, and watching her stuff them with meat and rice and cook them.

My Jalopy is an endless source of entertainment, too.  They love having to shut the doors hard or kick them to get them to close properly, as they aren't allowed to do such things to the other cars they ride around in.  Again, a beater car does have its advantages, at least in the eyes of a young boy.

At home for baths they pulled the usual boy shenanigans, with Middle Boy insisting on running around the house in his birthday suit, Youngest Boy eating two of those three containers of beans and rice, plus his chicken, and Eldest Boy goading them in any way he could.  It was such a fun and exhausting reminder of my own when they were all below the teen years.

By the time all of us went to bed, i think we were all more than ready.  Eldest Boy didn't want to sleep in his room, i believe they all miss their mom, so they snuggled together in the large bottom bunk, like three peas in a pod.



Today is:

Chicago International Children's Film Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (the largest annual festival of films for children ages 2-18 in the world; through Nov. 2)

Election Day -- Botswana

Feast of Good & Plenty (the candies)

Food Day -- US (inspiring people to change their diets and our food policies)

Hijra -- Islam (Islamic New Year Begins at the viewing of the new moon crescent, so exact time/date varies by location)

Independence Day -- Zambia(1964)

Jain New Year

Lilith's Day -- Ancient Mesopotamian Calendar (Lilith, legendary first wife of Adam, mother of the giants; date approximate)

Maladay -- Discordianism

National Bologna Day

Peniamina Gospel Day -- Niue (celebration of the conversion of the islanders to Christianity)

Provincial Anniversary Day -- Hawke's Bay, NZ

Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddler's Festival -- Rehoboth Beach/Dewey Beach, DE, US (parade, costume contest, Sea Witch Hunt, horse show on the beach, and more; through Sunday)

Share a Pop Tart With Someone You Love Day -- internet generated, and how much do you want to bet the Kellog company may have had a hand in it (or at least they highly approve)?

St. Anthony Claret's Day (Patron of weavers; Catholic press; Claretians; Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

St. Crispin's Eve Celebration -- Tenby, Wales

St. Raphael the Archangel's Day (traditional date; Patron of health inspectors, druggists, happy meetings, leaving home, travelers; against blindness)

Suez Victory Day -- Egypt

Take Back Your Time Day -- Canada; U.S. (anniversary of the day in the US that the Fair Labor Standards Act went into effect, specifying a 40-hour work week as the standard, in 1938)

United Nations Day
     Disarmament Week begins
     World Development Information Day

World Origami Days -- held each year from today, the birth anniversary of Lillian Oppenheimer, founder of the first origami societies in Britain and the US, until Nov. 11, which is Origami Day in Japan; a couple of good sites are http://origamiusa.org/wod and http://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/event/index.php?eID=31502


Birthdays Today:

Monica, 1980
Kevin Kline, 1947
F. Murray Abraham, 1939
Bill Wyman, 1936
David Nelson, 1936
J. P. "Big Bopper" Richardson, 1930
Y. A. Tittle, 1926
Moss Hart, 1904
Melvin Purvis, 1903
Alexandra David-Neel, 1868 (first female foreigner to explore Tibet)
Belva A. Bennett Lockwood, 1838
Sarah Joseph Hale, 1788 (author of "Mary had a little lamb")
Antony van Leeuwenhoek, 1632
Domitian, Roman Emperor, 51


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Dancing at Lughnasa"(Play), 1991
"Voices for Today"(Britten Op. 75), 1965
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"(Single release), 1908
"Zibeunerbaron/The Gypsy Baron"(Strauss Opera), 1885
The first Transcontinental Telegram is sent, 1861


Today in History:

Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated, 1260
The Treaty of Westphalia ends the 30 Years War, recognized the independence of Switzerland, and marks the end of the Holy Roman Empire, 1648
Felix Mendelssohn, age 9, performs his first public concert in Berlin, 1818
The match is patented, by A. Phillips, 1836
The first US transcontinental telegram is sent, from San Francisco to Washington, DC, ending the need for the Pony Express after only 2 years, 1861
Levi P. Morton, US ambassador to France, drives the first rivet for the Statue of Liberty, 1881
Dr. Robert Koch discovers the germ that causes tuberculosis, 1882
Anna Taylor becomes the first woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, 1901
The first NYC subway opens, 1904
Harry Houdini's last performance, 1926
The Hershey Company is incorporated, 1927
"Black Thursday", the start of the stock market crash, Dow Jones down 12.8%, 1929
Al Capone is sentenced for tax evasion, 1931
The George Washington Bridge, connecting NY to NJ, opens, 1931
US forbids child labor in factories, 1938
The United Nations Charter is signed by the first member nations, 1945
Eisenhower pledges US support to South Vietnam, 1954
Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union, 1980
Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission, 1998
The Concorde makes its last commercial flight, 2003
Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act, 2006
"Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices, 2008
The Northern Lights become visible over much of North America due to a coronal mass ejection, 2011

Silly Sunday: Youthful Exuberance

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  It's the place to come for weekly laughs, and it's easy to do.  Laugh and Link Up! and join the fun.

Last night was to be spent babysitting.

Then the whole day was shanghaied.  The lady whose house i clean needed someone to take the two youngest kids, so i went over.

The two youngest boys are 7 and 9.  When i ran errands with them, they got a huge kick out of Jalopy, my old van.  They had to shut the doors hard, which they aren't allowed to do with their own vehicles.  When they didn't shut the door hard enough, i would go to that side of the car and kick it to get it to close, which had them thrilled to see me kicking the van.  They'd never had an experience like that riding in the nicer vehicles their parents always have.

During dinner, they kept leaning toward each other and giggling and laughing.  When i asked what was going on, the younger said, "He's farting!" and they both laughed like they'd never heard anything funnier in their lives.

In fact the older was passing gas, "So hard it's lifting me out of the chair!" he said, bringing on more laughter.

 Their youthful enjoyment of bodily functions and giggling like mad ended up in a joke telling session, kid style.

What do you call a dinosaur that doesn't take baths?
Stink-o-saurus!

Why do fish live in salt water?
Because pepper makes them sneeze!

What do cows read with their breakfast?
The Mooospaper!

What did the toast wear to bed?
His pa-JAM-as!

What did one eye say to the other?
Don't look now, but something between us smells!

Why won't cannibals eat clowns?
Because they taste funny!

These kids know a lot of silly jokes, which reminds me of young Tee Boudreaux and his youthful exuberance.

Tee was just at the age where boys become interested in girls, a little older than these two.  He got a crush on his teacher, Ms. Melancon.

One day, after school, he got up the courage to go and tell Ms. Melancon how he felt, and he asked her to marry him.

"Oh, Tee," Ms. Melancon said, "that is so sweet of you!  But you are so young and you are my student, so I couldn't think of marrying you.  After all, at your young age you wouldn't want to be having children of your own!"

"Oh, dat won't be no problem, Ms. Melancon!" Tee said,  "I'd be careful!"





Today is:

Armilustrium -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of Mars)

Bettara-Ichi -- Ebisu Shrine, Tokyo, Japan (Pickle Market Fair, enjoy the pickled radishes, a specialty; through tomorrow)

Constitution Day -- Niue

Deepawali/Deepavali/Diwali/Divali(Festival of Lights) -- Hindu; Jain; Sikh (for the next five days; local dating customs and government holidays for this Lunar New Year/Festival of Lights can vary)
     Kag Tihar/Kag Puja -- Day of the Crows (day one of the festival)

Dita e Lumturimit te Nene Terezes -- Albania (Mother Teresa Day)

Evaluate Your Life Day -- a day to make sure your life is heading where you want, and course correct if it isn't; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Greasy Spoon Day -- internet generated, a day to go revel in the love of your favorite greasy spoon diner

International Human Rights Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands

National Seafood Bisque Day

Pastoral Care Week begins -- honoring all clergy who provide spiritual help and care, they need recognition and care themselves; this year's theme is "Spiritual Well-Being"

Respiratory Care Week begins -- recognizing the respiratory care profession and promoting awareness of lung health issues

Samora Machel Day -- Mozambique

Seeking of King Look Under Your Mattress -- Fairy Calendar

St. Frideswide's Day (Patron of Oxford and the University of Oxford)

St. Rene Goupil's Day (Patron of anesthetists, anesthesiologists)

Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day

Yabusame Festival -- Koyama, Japan (horseback archery, samurai costumes and dragons, oh, my!)


Birthdays Today:

Jason Reitman, 1977
Ty Pennington, 1965
Evander Holyfield, 1962
Jeannie C. Riley, 1945
John Lithgow, 1945
Patricia Ireland, 1945
Simon Ward, 1941
Michael Gambon, 1940
Peter Max, 1937
Robert Reed, 1932
John Le Carre, 1931
Jack Anderson, 1922
Auguste Lumiere, 1862
Annie S. Peck, 1850
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, 1748
Thomas Browne, 1605 (O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Rothschilds"(Musical), 1970
"The Miracle Worker"(Play), 1959
"I Remember Mama"(Play), 1944
"Pomp and Circumstance Marches"(Elgar Op. 39), 1901
"Tannhauser und der Sangerkrieg auf Wartburg/Tannhauser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg"(Wagner opera), 1845



Today in History:

Battle of Zama, Scipio Africanus and his Roman legions defeat Hannibal Barca and the invading Carthagian army, BC202
King Gauseric and his Vandals take the city of Carthage, 439
The Thirteen Years' War ends with the Treaty of Thorn, 1466
Martin Luther becomes a doctor of theology, 1512
The first general court is held in Boston, 1630
Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown at 2PM, end of the US Revolutionary War, 1781
Napoleon begins his retreat from Moscow, 1812
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to receive a medical degree, 1849
The first 4 blacks are elected to the US House of Representatives, 1870
The USPS first used an automobile to collect and deliver mail, 1914
Streptomycin, the first antibiotic which could treat tuberculosis, is isolated at Rutgers University, 1943
Black Monday - the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 22%, 508 points, 1987
Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II, 2003
Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity, 2005
Hurricane Wilma becomes the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum pressure of 882 mb, 2005
Naheed Nenshi becomes the first Muslim in Canada to be elected mayor, in Calgary, 2010

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Tall Teens

This is how you know you have tall teenagers in the house, both your own, and their friends:

No way my five foot short self could reach that without a stepstool.

It takes those teen boys, close to or right at 6 feet tall, to reach up there.  It also takes them to think of putting a cup up there in the first place!



Today is:

American Quilter's Society Quilt Exposition -- Grand Rapids, MI, US (their largest show; through Saturday)

Bad Hair Day -- birth anniversary of Don King

Birth of the White Buffalo -- Lakota Native American rituals honoring the birth of the White Buffalo in 1994, signaling the return of the White Buffalo Woman (manifestation of the Star Goddess Wohpe), who gave them the sacred peace pipe

Boil Over Thursday -- Fairy Calendar (sometimes on Thursday, most often not)

Corn Palace Festival -- Mitchell, SD, US (harvest celebration and redecoration of the world's only Corn Palace; through Sunday)

Dial the Phone Day -- the first rotary dial phone patent was applied for by A. E. Keith, John Erickson, and Charles Erickson on this day in 1896

Feast of Asma -- Baha'i

Independence From USSR Day -- Estonia

Lemonade Day

Moon's Birthday -- Aztec Calendar (according to some websites, but i haven't confirmed it; if you want something to celebrate, this is as good as anything else)

National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day

National Medical Dosimetrist's Day -- American Association of Medical Dosimetrists

National Radio Day -- on the day WWJ(AM) radio first signed on in Detroit in 1920, one of the earliest news broadcast stations

Revolution Day -- Western Sahara

Revolution of the King and People -- Morocco

St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Day (Patron of bees and beekeepers, candle makers, wax refiners; Burgundy, France; Cistercians; Gibralter; Queens College, Cambridge, England; Speyer Cathedral)

Stop and Smell Your Dog Day -- and, depending on the results, maybe even Give Your Dog a Bath Day

St. Stephen's Festival --  Budapest, Hungary (National Day for all of Hungary)

Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration -- Shelbyville, TN, US (an 11-day festival celebrating the world famous Tennessee Walking Horse and crowning this year's World Grand Champion)

Thoth orders the healing of the Eye of Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Virtual Worlds Day -- internet generated, as well it should be

World Mosquito Day -- commemorates the day Dr. Ronald Ross discovered the link between mosquitoes and malaria in 1897


Birthdays Today:

Amy Adams, 1975
Tara Dakides, 1975
Jan Allen, 1956
Theresa Saldana, 1955
Al Roker, 1954
Robert Plant, 1948
Connie Chung, 1946
Don King, 1931
Jim Reeves, 1924
Jacqueline Susann, 1921
Eero Saarinen, 1910
Edgar Albert Guest, 1881
H.P. Lovecraft, 1880
Eliel Saarinen, 1873
Benjamin Harrison, 1833
Bernardo O'Higgins, 1776


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"1812 Overture"(Tchaikovsky Op. 49), 1882


Today in History:

Hungary is established as a kingdom by Stephen I, 1000
The Dutch bring the first African slaves to the colony of Jamestown, VA, 1619
The Spanish establish the presidio that will be the town of Tuscon, Arizona, 1775
The Lewis and Clark "Corps of Discovery", exploring the Louisiana Purchase, suffers its only death when sergeant Charles Floyd dies, apparently from acute appendicitis 1804
Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuts in Moscow, 1882
Rotary Dial telephone is patented, 1896
The Big Blowup, a huge fire in the Northwestern US, burns 3 million acres, 1910
Adolphe Pegoud makes the first parachute jump from an airplane, 1913
Stainless steel is first cast, 1913
WJM,8Mk, Detroit, becomes the first commercial radio station to start daily broadcasting, 1920
UK becomes the first to use radar, 1940
Plutonium's weight determined, 1942
Launch of Voyager 2, 1977
George and Joy Adamson, the Born Free conservationists, are gunned down by poachers, 1989
The Oslo Peace Accords are signed in Norway, 1993
The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec may not secede from Canada without federal government approval, 1998
As part of ongoing political reforms, the government of Myanmar announces it will end media censorship, 2012

Figures

"Hey mom, guess what!"  Little Girl ran in with a big smile.

What? i asked.

"It takes 1,332 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop!" she said triumphantly, holding up a lolly pop stick that had, until recently, held said Pop.

Very good! i told her.  You are wiser than even Mr. Owl in the old commercials.  And you have solved one of the mysteries of the universe.

We both smiled, and she sat at the bar to do her math homework.  "Now if only I could solve the mystery of what X stands for in algebra!" she laughed.

Well, i'm not sure anyone is ever going to get that one once and for all, i said.  That X moves around in the equations so much, it's a hard character to pin down.  You'll get it, though, i added, and i can help, i was good at algebra.

"Figuring out X is easy compared to figuring out guys," Bigger Girl said, coming in from time with a group of friends.

That one, i cannot help with.

A happy and blessed Independence Day to all who celebrate!


Today is

Apache Maidens' Puberty Rites -- Mescalero Apache Reservation, NM, US

American Independence Day Celebration -- Rebild Park, Aalborg, Denmark (yes, really, every year except during the two World Wars, they have celebrated American Independence Day here; as a way of thanking the country that has accepted over 300,000 Danish immigrants, and to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the countries)

Baal Fire Day -- Whalton, Northumberland, UK (a bonfire, Anglo-Saxon "bael", with traditional morris dancing -- originally a Moorish dance; on old Midsummer's Eve)

Buffalo Bill Day -- he staged his first Wild West show on July 4, 1883

Bullion's Day -- Anglican tradition, the translation of the relics of St. Martin of Bullion; rain today means rain for the next 20 days, according to the legends

Calithumpian Parade -- Biwabik, MN, US (clowns, hilarity and patriotism reign together as the 1,000 citizens of Biwabik put on a show for more than 15,000 guests)

Day of Pax -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Filipino-American Friendship Day -- Philippines; U.S.

Garibaldi Day -- Italy

Grand Teton Music Festival -- Teton Village, WY, US (a summer celebration of classical music with the world's finest artists and in the spectacular setting of Jackson Hole, Wyoming; through Aug. 17)

Independence Day -- US and Territories(1776)

Independence from Meat Day -- don't be a slave to tradition! sponsored by Vegetarian Awareness Network

Jumping on the Mattress Night -- Fairy Calendar

Liberation Day -- Rwanda

National Barbecue Spareribs Day

National Country Music Day -- US

Old Midsummer Eve -- by the Julian Calendar

Ommegang Pageant -- Grand-Palace, Brussels, Belgium (recreation of the medieval entertainment at the court of Charles V)

Ottawa Blues Fest -- Ottawa, Canada (12 days of fabulous music)

Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri -- Shounan City, Kanagawa Prefecture (one of Japan's largest Tanabata festivals; through Sunday)

Sidewalk Egg Frying Day -- you can do this anywhere that it's hot enough, but for the real deal, plan to go to the Solar Egg Frying Contest, held annually on July 4 on old Route 66 in Oatman, Arizona, US, where the rule is you must use solar heat only

St. Elizabeth of Portugal's Day (Patron of brides, charitable societies, charity workers, charities, difficult marriages, falsely accused people, peace, queens, tertiaries, victims of adultery, victims of jealousy, victims of unfaithfulness, widows; invoked in time of war; Coimbra, Portugal)

St. Ulrich's Day (Patron of peaceful deaths, pregnant women, weavers; Augsburg, Germany; Creazzo, Italy; against birth complications, dizziness, faintness, fever, frenzy, mice, moles, vertigo)

Stone Skipping Tournament -- Windermere Pointe Beach, Mackinac Island, Michigan, US (open to all, come skip some stones and have a blast!)

Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival -- Greensburg, PA, US (multicultural celebration of food, fine arts, handicrafts, and music from many nations; through Sunday)

White Cloud's Birthday and Tatanka (Bison) Festival -- National Buffalo Museum, Jamestown, ND, US (annual 4 day celebration of bison and their role in American history, on the birthday of White Cloud, the true albino bison born this day in 1996)

World's Greatest Lizard Races -- Chaparral Park, Lovington, NM, US (cheer the lizards and iguanas as they race down a 16 foot ramp, and yes, trophies will be awarded!)


Anniversaries Today

Tuskegee Institute opens, 1881



Birthdays Today

Koko, 1971 (gorilla who speaks sign language)
Geraldo Rivera, 1943
George Steinbrenner, 1930
Gina Lollobrigida, 1927
Neil Simon, 1927
Eva Marie Saint, 1924
Ann Landers, 1918
Abigail Van Buren, 1918
Mitch Miller, 1911
Gloria Stuart, 1910
George Murphy, 1902
Rube Goldberg, 1883
Louis B. Mayer, 1882
George M. Cohan, 1878
Calvin Coolidge, 1872
Stephen Foster, 1826
Hiram Walker, 1816
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804


Today in History

A supernova is observed by the Chinese, the Arabs and possibly Amerindians near the star Tauri; for several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day, and its remnants form the Crab Nebula, 1054
Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye, 1534
The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (Quebec, Canada), 1634
City of Providence, Rhode Island forms, 1636
The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, 1776
The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, opens, 1802
The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American public, 1803
Construction of the Erie Canal begins in Rome, New York, 1817
The world's first long-distance railway, the Grand Junction Railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool, 1837
The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end, 1840
Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, 1845
The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, titled Leaves of Grass, is published, 1855
Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell and her sisters a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, 1862*
The Anglo-Zulu war ends, 1879
The people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States, 1886
The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia, 1886
Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4, 1892
The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole, 1894
Dorothy Levitt was reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a 'motor race', 1903
African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States, 1910
First flight of the Lockheed Vega, 1927
Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball, 1939
After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States, 1946
The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe, 1950
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law, 1966
NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars, 1997
The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1, 2005
The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks, 2009