Awww Monday: A Fun Friday

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 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!

This past Friday was busy -- it ended with rEcess!  (That's our program where we take care of special needs kids so their parents can have a night out.)

It's fun to take care of the kids, and i have to admit, spoil them a little.  In fact, i spoiled Petey just a bit more than i should have.  Oh, i have to admit, i did something bad.  He was so hungry, he ate all of his chicken and fries, and many of his brother's fries, and when he was licking the ketchup pack, i tore off the end and taught him to just suck the ketchup right out of the pack straight!

I'll take a ketchup, neat!

Our theme was costume night, and Linda very much enjoyed being a ballerina and getting out of her wheelchair.

Our prettiest ballerina!

Emmy, who gets very sleepy very early, had her very favorite outfit -- her jammies!

Can we believe Emmy is almost 9 already?

A blessed and beautiful Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians!


Today is:

Alex Kivi Day a/k/a Kivi Day -- Finland (The Day of Finnish Literature)

Ana-hachimangu Yabusame -- Toyama Park, Tokyo, Japan (demonstration of the ancient art of horseback archery)

Anti-Columbus Day

Arbor Day -- Poland

Bonza Bottler Day

Cephalopod Awareness Days:  Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day -- celebrating the most intelligent invertebrates in the world; today, celebrate the tentacular species

Columbus Day/Discovery Day/Two Worlds Day/Anti-Columbus Day/Native Americans Day/Pan America Day -- observed, several countries
     American Indian Heritage Day -- AL, US
     Columbus Day (obs.) -- Turks and Caicos Islands; US and Territories
     Dia del Respet a la Diversidad Cultural -- Argentina
     Fraternal Day -- AL, US
     Native Americans' Day -- much of the US formally; almost everywhere informally (a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans)

Commonwealth Culture Day -- Northern Mariana Islands

Curacao Day -- Curacao

Dia del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural -- Argentina

Double Tenth Day/National Day -- China; Taiwan (In remembrance of the revolution against the Imperial Manchu Dynasty.)

Festival for Juno Moneta -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Juno as goddess of money)

Fire Prevention Week begins -- Canada; US (and a great idea everywhere, feel free to join in) 

Fitness Day / Health-Sports Day -- Japan

Independence Day / Deed of Cession Day -- Fiji(1970)

Journee Nationale de la Femme Marocaine -- Morocco (National Women's Day)

Kruger Day -- South Africa

KWP Foundation Day -- North Korea (1945)

Lotu-a-Tamaiti -- Samoa; Tokelau (Day after White Sunday)

Maroons Day -- Suriname (celebration of indigenous peoples)

Moi Day -- Kenya

Naha Tug-of-War Festival -- Okinawa, Japan (tug-of-war involving a 27 ton rope)

National Angel Food Cake Day

National Cake Decorating Day -- some websites say today, some say the 17th

National Handbag Day -- started by www.PurseBlog.com

National Kick-Butt Day -- a day to kick yourself in the rump, jump start yourself to doing something you've been wanting to do and making excuses for not doing; begun by Sylvia Henderson 

National Metric Week -- US (yes, it's no fun to switch; get over it and learn, it's good for your brain!)

Naval Academy Day -- US

Norfolk Island Agricultural Show Day -- Norfolk Island, Australia

St. Francis Borgia's Day (Patron of Portugal; Rota, Marianas; against earthquakes)

St. Paulinus of York's Day (Patron of Rochester, England)

Tag der Volksabstimmung -- Austria (Referendum Day)

Thanksgiving -- Canada (Interfaith)

Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico Friendship Day

War of Independence Anniversary -- Cuba

World Day Against the Death Penalty -- International

World Homeless Day -- no one should be homeless 

World Mental Health Day -- International

World Porridge Day -- celebrating Scotland's traditional national dish 

World Rainforest Week begins -- International 


Anniversaries Today:

Edward M. Kennedy, Jr., marries Katherine Anne "Kiki" Gershman, 1993
Richard Burton marries Elizabeth Taylor, 1975 (second time)
The United States Naval Academy opened with 50 midshipmen and 7 professors, 1845


Birthdays Today:

Adrian Grenier, 1976
Bob Burnquist, 1976
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 1974
Mario Lopez, 1973
Brett Favre, 1969
Daniel Pearl, 1963
Tanya Tucker, 1958
David Lee Roth, 1955
Nora Roberts, 1950
Jessica Harper, 1949
Charles Dance, 1946
Ben Vereen, 1946
Harold Pinter, 1930
Richard Jaeckel, 1926
Thelonious Monk, 1917
Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1924
Helen Hayes, 1900
Giuseppe Verdi, 1813
Henry Cavendish, 1731 (discovered hydrogen)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Upstairs, Downstairs"(TV), 1971
"The Bob Newhart Show"(TV), 1962
"Milk and Honey"(Musical), 1961
"Porgy and Bess"(Folk opera), 1935
"Die Chinesische Mauer/The Great Wall of China"(Play), 1946
The Tuxedo, 1886 (introduced at The Tuxedo Club in New York)


Today in History:

The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to 30,000 in the Carribean, 1780
The first non-Native American settlement is founded in Oklahoma, 1802
William Lassell discovers Neptune's moon Triton, 1846
The first "Dinner Jacket" is worn to the Autumn Ball at Tuxedo Park, NY, 1886
President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal, 1913
Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after the French pull out of the city, 1954
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant, 1957
The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident, 1957
The opening ceremony at The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite, 1964
The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force, 1967
In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group, 1970
Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 1971
After having closed borders for about two hundred years, Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI adds Arabic to the languages in which the weekly Vatican address is broadcast, 2012

Six Sentence Story: Frayed Edges

"Be careful with it, it's rather frayed at the hem," she told her daughter as she gingerly handed the girl the piece of clothing she'd had for over thirty years.

"Did your Nana really make this?" the little girl asked, holding it softly, eyes wide with wonder as she tried to reconcile this dress of sateen and lace with the picture in the hall of the great-grandmother she'd never met.

"Yes, she did," she said, her eyes misty with memory.  "Nana knew I wanted to be a princess and have a princess costume, so she made this for me to wear, when I was just your age, and I even spoke to her on the phone while her sewing machine was going as she was making it -- what a thrill that was to me!"

"And now you are giving it to me to wear to the costume party!" the little girl exclaimed with delight.

"Just as soon as I add some lace to cover the frayed edges, it will be yours," she said with a smile.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Fray

.

Today is:

American Birkebeiner Race -- Cable to Hayward, WI, US (largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon)

Celtic Tree Month Nuin (Ash) begins

Clean Out Your Cubby Holes Day -- internet generated, but if you have any cubby holes, give them a look today, make sure nothing is in there you don't want to see

Cold Day in Hell -- snow fell in the Sahara today in 1979

Day of Spenta Armaiti -- Zoroastrian (goddess of earth and fertility, especially celebrated by women; originally on Esfand 5th, which corresponds to 24 February, but is now celebrated on the 18th for reasons i can't figure out)

Festival of Women -- Persian (traditional, it has been kept even amont those who are no longer Zoroastrian)

Fly-By for Fairies and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Georgia National Rodeo -- Perry, GA (winners here qualify for the National Finals in December; through Saturday)

Independence Day -- Gambia(1965)

Montreal Hunting, Fishing, & Camping Show -- Montreal, Canada (weekend long celebration of the outdoors)

National Battery Day -- probably created by the battery manufacturers, but they won't claim it

National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day

Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Ottawa, ON, Canada (weekend long celebration of all things outdoors)

Pluto Day/Solar System Day -- the planet/planetoid was discovered on this day in 1930, and then considered to "complete" the solar system

Rastraya Prajatantra Dibas -- Nepal (Democracy Day)

Rites of Tacita -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of silence, rites to keep people from speaking out in anger)

Saidai-ji Eyo -- Saidai-ji, Okayama Prefecture, Japan (Spectacular and atmospheric naked festival dating back to the 14th century, in which up to 10,000 loincloth-wearing [and sometimes drunk] men battle for sacred wooden sticks [shingi] tossed into the air by priests.)

Simplot Games -- Holt Arena, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, US (Indoor track and field for the top high school athletes from the US and Canada; through Saturday)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (in France; the remainder of the church celebrates her on 16 April)

St. Fra Angelico's Day (Patron of artists)

Tanigumi Odori -- Tanigumi-mura, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (dance festival)

Thumb Appreciation Day -- your first digit does more than just get mashed when you use a hammer and hit the space bar on your keyboard; take time to appreciate the complexity that is your thumb.



Anniversaries Today:

Tommy Lee marries Pamela Andersn, 1995
Ohio State University is chartered as the first US land-grant college, 1804


Birthdays Today:

Jillian Michaels, 1974
Molly Ringwald, 1968
Dr. Dre, 1965
Matt Dillon, 1964
Vanna White, 1957
John Travolta, 1954
Juice Newton, 1952
John Hughes, 1950
Cybill Shedherd, 1950
Andrea Dromm, 1941
Aldo Ceccato, 1934
Yoko Ono, 1933
Milos Forman, 1932
Toni Morrison, 1931
Gahan Wilson, 1930
George Kennedy, 1925
Helen Gurley Brown, 1922
Bill Cullen, 1920
Jack Palance, 1920
Hans Asperger, 1906
Enzo Ferrari, 1898
George "The Gipper" Gipp, 1895
Wendell Lewis Willkie, 1892
Boris Pasternak, 1890
Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883
Sholem Aleichem, 1859
Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1848
Ernst Mach, 1838
George Peabody, 1795
Count Alessandro Volta, 1745
Uesugi Kenshin, 1530 (Japanese samurai and warlord)
Mary I Tudor, 1516
Saint Jadwiga of Poland, 1374


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Roots: Next Generations"(TV Miniseries), 1979
"Any Wednesday"(Play), 1964
"The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois"(Comic Opera), 1947
Trouw(Publication, Dutch Resistance newspaper), 1943
"Simple Simon"(Musical), 1930
"Cities Service Concerts"(Radio), 1925
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(Publication date), 1885
The Pilgrim's Progress(Publication date), 1678


Today in History:

Origin of the Kali Yuga Epoch ("age of vice" or Dark Age) of the Hindu/Buddhist calendars, BC3102
Jerusalem is taken by Emperor Frederik II, 1229
Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia, begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim regions, 1332
Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) created Prince of Wales, 1503
Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels, 1574
John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published, 1678
Fort Saint Lewis, Texas, is founded by Frenchmen under LaSalle at Matagorda Bay, the basis for France's claim to Texas, 1685
Quakers conduct their first formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1688
The premiere of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, "Samson" takes place in London, 1743
Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, 1797
The Detroit Boat Club (still in existence) forms, 1839
The first continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, lasts until March 11, 1841
The first regular steamboat service to California begins, 1849
A direct telegraph link between Britain and New Zealand is established, 1876
Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is published, 1885
The Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for the first time in 50 years, 1896
Winston Churchill makes his first speech in the British House of Commons, 1901
H. Cecil Booth patents a dust removing suction cleaner, 1901
The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet delivers 6,500 letters to Naini (a distance of about 10K), 1911
The US and Canada begin formal diplomatic relations, with the appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to the US, 1927
The first Academy Awards are announced, 1929
While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, 1930
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California, 1954
The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747, 1977
Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the only time in recorded history, 1979
Dan Jansen skates world record 1000m (1:12.43), 1994
Pope Benedict XVI announces seven new saints - including American saint Kateri Tekakwitha - and appoints 22 new cardinals, 2012

What are you today?

"I'm going to the haunted house as a cute little bunny!" Red-headed Alec said, as he walked into the kitchen with bunny ears and a poofy tail.  "Could you paint some whiskers on me?"

There's a big, scary haunted house downtown each year, every weekend in October, and the young people flock to it as it's never the same two years in a row, but it's always guaranteed to frighten.

"Sure," Bigger Girl answered.  "I'll go get my paints."

What made you decide on a bunny for that haunted house? i asked.

"Oh, I just thought it would be fun," he said.  "They go all out to be terrifying, so now they can have the fun of scaring a bunny!"

"It's a good costume," Bigger Girl said.  "I remember when I used to love dressing up."

And you always wanted to be something unique, i noted.

"What were your favorites?" Red-headed Alec asked.

"Well, one year, I asked mom to wrap me in tin foil and glue the plastic food from the toy kitchen to me and call me 'leftovers,'" she said, laughing.

Then there was the time i cut a hole in the bottom of a laundry basket, used your dad's old ties to hold it on your shoulders like suspenders, and we had clothes draped over it and you called yourself 'dirty laundry'! i smiled.  Then i said, i'm heading out to clean the shelter.

"Have fun!" Bigger Girl called.

Are you going to the haunted house, too, or to work? i asked her.

"To work," she answered.

Have fun, too! i said.

"Mom, you just told me to have fun working at a pizza place!"

Well, you told me to have fun cleaning cat mess!

"Touché!" 

Today is:

Alex Kivi Day a/k/a Kivi Day -- Finland (The Day of Finnish Literature)

Apple Butter Festival -- Berkeley Springs, WV, US (simmering spicy apple butter in copper kettles in the town square, plus lots more; through tomorrow)

Arbor Day -- Poland

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet -- North Wharf, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa (a festival, and Portuguese food, and a blessing tomorrow from the local Catholic Archbishop)

Bonza Bottler Day

Catoctin Colorfest -- Thurmont, MD, US (juried art festival, live music, food, and more; through tomorrow)

Cephalopod Awareness Days:  Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day -- celebrating the most intelligent invertebrates in the world; today, celebrate the tentacular species

Chowder Days/Chowderfest -- Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (a beautiful, and delicious, riverfront festival featuring seven kinds of New England Chowders; through Monday)

Curacao Day -- Curacao

Double Tenth Day/National Day -- China; Taiwan (In remembrance of the revolution against the Imperial Manchu Dynasty.)

Festival for Juno Moneta -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Juno as goddess of money)

Harvest Celebration -- Billings Farm, Woodstock, VT, US ('tis the season, especially for apple cider and lots of pumpkins; through tomorrow)

Independence Day / Deed of Cession Day -- Fiji(1970)

Jack-O-Launch/Punkin Chunkin Colorado -- DeLaney Farm, Aurora, CO, US (with the official Punkin Chunkin Contest, divisions include trebuchet, compressed air cannon, catapult, human power, and youth; a free festival for the whole family)

Journee Nationale de la Femme Marocaine -- Morocco (National Women's Day)

Kruger Day -- South Africa

KWP Foundation Day -- North Korea (1945)

Louisiana Art & Folk Festival -- Columbia, LA, US (celebrating the rich folklore and music arts of Louisiana)

Maroons Day -- Suriname (celebration of indigenous peoples)

Moi Day -- Kenya

Monster Myths by Moonlight -- Milford, KS, US (wear your costume and take a nature walk to learn the truth about such Halloween "monsters" as bats, snakes, spiders, vultures, etc.)

Mountain Glory Festival -- Marion, NC, US (celebrating the mountain heritage)

National Angel Food Cake Day

National Cake Decorating Day -- some websites say today, some say the 17th

National Handbag Day -- started by www.PurseBlog.com

Naval Academy Day -- US

Oyster Festival -- Chincoteague Island, VA, US (oysters served almost every way imaginable, all you can eat!)

Pine Barrens Jamboree -- Waretown, NJ, US (celebration of New Jersey Pinelands, with canoeing, nature walks, music, kids' activities, and more; free!)

Prater's Mill Country Fair -- Dalton, GA, US (a Southern festival of quality artists, craftsmen, music, and food; through tomorrow)

Scenic Drive Festival -- Van Buren County, IA, US (includes flea markets, an arts festival, and historic architecture; through tomorrow)

Sedona Arts Festival -- Sedona, AZ, US (celebration of visual, performing, and culinary arts, with proceeds going to student art programs and scholarships; through tomorrow)

Shaker Village Harvest Festival -- Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, ME, US (with free demonstrations and paid workshops and events)

St. Francis Borgia's Day (Patron of Portugal; Rota, Marianas; against earthquakes)

St. Paulinus of York's Day (Patron of Rochester, England)

Tag der Volksabstimmung -- Austria (Referendum Day)

The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) -- MetraPark, Billings, MT, US (rodeo, trade show, horse clinics, and livestock sales; through Saturday)

Vermont Apple Festival -- Springfield, VT, US (family fun, farm animals, food, farmer's market, crafts, and apples; a true family oriented event held at Riverside Middle School)

War of Independence Anniversary -- Cuba

World Day Against the Death Penalty -- International

World Homeless Day -- no one should be homeless 

World Mental Health Day -- International

World Porridge Day -- celebrating Scotland's traditional national dish 


Anniversaries Today:

Edward M. Kennedy, Jr., marries Katherine Anne "Kiki" Gershman, 1993
Richard Burton marries Elizabeth Taylor, 1975 (second time)
The United States Naval Academy opened with 50 midshipmen and 7 professors, 1845


Birthdays Today:

Adrian Grenier, 1976
Bob Burnquist, 1976
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 1974
Mario Lopez, 1973
Brett Favre, 1969
Daniel Pearl, 1963
Tanya Tucker, 1958
David Lee Roth, 1955
Nora Roberts, 1950
Jessica Harper, 1949
Charles Dance, 1946
Ben Vereen, 1946
Harold Pinter, 1930
Richard Jaeckel, 1926
Thelonious Monk, 1917
Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1924
Helen Hayes, 1900
Giuseppe Verdi, 1813
Henry Cavendish, 1731 (discovered hydrogen)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Upstairs, Downstairs"(TV), 1971
"The Bob Newhart Show"(TV), 1962
"Milk and Honey"(Musical), 1961
"Porgy and Bess"(Folk opera), 1935
"Die Chinesische Mauer/The Great Wall of China"(Play), 1946
The Tuxedo, 1886 (introduced at The Tuxedo Club in New York)


Today in History:

The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000 to 30,000 in the Carribean, 1780
The first non-Native American settlement is founded in Oklahoma, 1802
William Lassell discovers Neptune's moon Triton, 1846
The first "Dinner Jacket" is worn to the Autumn Ball at Tuxedo Park, NY, 1886
President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal, 1913
Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after the French pull out of the city, 1954
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant, 1957
The Windscale fire in Cumbria, U.K. is the world's first major nuclear accident, 1957
The opening ceremony at The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite, 1964
The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force, 1967
In Montreal, Quebec, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group, 1970
Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 1971
After having closed borders for about two hundred years, Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI adds Arabic to the languages in which the weekly Vatican address is broadcast, 2012

What do you want to be?

Note:  If Suldog sent you, you are probably looking for Thanksgiving Comes First.  You are also more than welcome to read today's meanderings while you are here.



"Mom, I've decided what I'm going to do at school on Hallowe'en."  Bigger Girl came in with a smile.

What? i asked.  Didn't you tell me that you were going as Janis Joplin this year?

"That's what I'm going as for the party at Will's place, and when I go with Muriel to take her daughter to the zoo.  But when I go to school that day, I'm going to go as a film reference.  I'm going to wear my lacey shirt and my lace gloves, and have this glass bottle on a chain around my neck.  The label will say 'Arsenic.'  Get it?  I'm referencing the film Arsenic and Old Lace!"

Very good, i told her.

"It will be a real party at Will's, too, not just the get togethers he calls parties each weekend.  I'm sorry, but I don't consider those real parties.  A bunch of people sitting around playing video games isn't a party, and I don't care how many snacks you serve!"

"You are going trick or treating at the zoo with Muriel and her daughter?  Take me!  Take me!  I haven't been in so long!"  Little Girl had walked in from school, and she's right, i haven't taken them to trick or treat at the zoo since they got past the age limit.

"Okay, you can come," Bigger Girl said.  "Have you decided what you are going to be?"

"Yes.  I'm going to wear my suit and tie, with a sign around my neck that says, 'Closed.'  I'm going as the US Government!"

This is how i pay for my warped sense of humor, i guess, by having kids as crazy as i am.


Today is:

A Family Hallowe'en -- Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock, VT, US (a great time for all)

American Beer Day

Big Bang Day -- London, England

Boxer Shorts Day -- ???????

Cernova Tragedy Day -- Slovakia

Cranky Co-Worker's Day -- because we all have occasional bad days; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Daylight Saving Time ends -- Albania; Andorra; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovena; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland (some areas); Holy See; Hungary; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Kosovo; Latvia; Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Mali; Mexico (most areas); Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukraine; Western Sahara

Feast of Osiris in Abydos -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Good Bear Day -- on Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, celebrating the stuffed toy created in his honor

Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade -- Long Beach, CA, US (dress up your dog and have a howling good time)

Independence Day -- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(1979); Turkmenistan(1991)

Mother-in-Law Day -- a day to honor good Mothers-in-Law for their contributions to their families and for enduring all the bad jokes; if you have a lousy one, go listen to Ernie K-Doe's song

National Potato Day

Navy Day -- US (on T.R.'s birth anniversary)

Presidential Election Day -- Georgia

Radio Day -- US (US Commerce Dept. issued the first broadcasting license this date in 1920)

Reformation Day/Reformation Sunday -- Protestant Christian (obs.)

St. Frumentius' Day (Patron of Abyssinia; Ethiopia)

Sylvia Plath Day

Tunch Puddling -- Fairy Calendar (a contest of throwing twigs in a pond -- awards are for artistically thrown twigs and throwing style, among other things)

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage -- International

World Occupational Therapy Day -- thank those hard working OT's


Anniversary Today:

The NYC Subway begins operation, 1904


Birthdays Today:

Jayne Kennedy, 1951
Carrie Snodgrass, 1946
John Cleese, 1939
Ruby Dee, 1924
Roy Lichtenstein, 1923
Bette Babray, 1920
Dylan Thomas, 1914
Emily Post, 1872
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858
Niccolo Paganini, 1782
Captain James Cook, 1728
Erasmus, 1466


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Walt Disney/Wonderful World of Color/Wonderful World of Disney, 1954 (the show had several different names over the years, but even when it switched stations, it was still the same show)


Today in History:

Constantine the Great is said to have received his Vision of the Cross, 312
Founding of the city of Amsterdam, 1275
Founding of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1682
US Navy forms, 1775
Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be exterminated, 1838
R.H. Macy & Co. opens its first store, on 6th Ave. in NYC, 1858
Boss Tweed is arrested, 1871
The first underground New York City Subway line opens, 1904
The first published reference to "jazz" appears, in Variety, 1916
Chuhei Numbu of Japan sets the long jump record at 26' 2 1/2", 1931
"You Bet Your Life," with Groucho Marx, premiers on ABC radio, 1947*
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force, 1954
Mauritania and Mongolia join the United Nations, 1961
The British government suddenly deregulates financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operate in the country, in an event now referred to as the Big Bang, 1986
The U.S. prison population tops 1 million for the first time in American history, 1994
Gliese 229B is the first Substellar Mass Object to be unquestionably identified, 1994
Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown, 1997
The Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years, 2004
The SSETI Express micro-satellite is successfully launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, 2005


*(Ultimate result of this a few years later is, of course, the funniest line ever on tv, when a man with 8 kids admitted to Mr. Marx that he did indeed love his wife, and Groucho countered with, "I love my cigar, too, but I take it out of my mouth sometimes!")