Six Sentences and a Fence from the Past

"Uncle Buddy played violin?" Alex asked with a tone of voice that sat on the border between unbelief and an accusation of lying.

"Our friend Buddy is one of the most talented musicians I've ever known.  His parents started him on violin when he was barely two, and when he kept growing so much bigger than the other kids his age, they got him a viola, then a cello, and finally a bass.  He brought all four to college and took master classes in all of them."

"Phew!" Alex exclaimed, and Jonathan burst out laughing, saying, "You should have seen how he would go to a street corner and pretend to be the giant clown with a violin, as if he didn't know what to do with it.  Once people were laughing enough, he'd play it and shock them into silence, and usually earn enough coins and dollars to take us both out for a cheap supper when we were tired of the cafeteria food."

Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Border.

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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World.  Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.

A blast from my past, riding fences with a friend.

Today is:

Acton Fair -- Acton, ME, US (an old fashioned country fair plus midway, stage shows, and a great good time; through Sunday)

Birthday of Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Cobblestone Festival -- Falls City, NE, US (something for everyone; through Sunday)

Festival for Luna -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Festival of Mania -- Ancient Roman Calendar (to placate the Manes, a day when the Mundus, the portal to the afterlife, is open and the dead are free to roam)

Flag Day -- Liberia

Flitting Appreciation Day -- another "holiday" with no particular reason except that someone who enjoys flitting around wanted to celebrate it

Gangara Fire Festival -- Atago Shrine, Ikeda City, Japan

Hotter 'n H*ll Hundred Bike Race -- Wichita Falls, TX, US (four days of challenging events and inspiring activities as cyclists of all ages compete in the largest sanctioned century ride in the US, in the Texas summer heat)

Independence Day -- Ukraine(1991)

International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preference, Lifestyle, and Dress Code -- sponsored by the Romanian Humanist Association and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation

International Strange Music Day -- as declared by strange musician and composer Patrick Grant

Knife Day -- internet generated, but how would we cook without them?  today remember how much you do each day with a good kitchen knife.

National Peach Pie Day

National Waffle Day -- Cornelius Swarthout patented the first waffle iron in the US on this day in 1869, so it is sometimes noted as National Waffle Iron Day 

Pluto Demotion Day -- the complaints since 2006 have been heard, and Pluto was repromoted!

Prairie Village Jamboree -- Prairie Village, Madison, SD, US (keeping the old prairie life heritage alive for new generations; through Sunday)

St. Bartholomew's Day (Patron of bookbinders, butchers, cobblers, Florentine cheese merchants, Florentine salt merchants, leather workers,plasterers, shoemakers, tanners, trappers, whiteners; Armenia; Borgo Tossignano, Italy; Boves, Italy; Carpineto dell Nora, Italy; Civitella in Val di Chiana, Italy; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Gambatesa, Italy; Gharghur, Malta; Lipari, Sicily, Italy; Maastricht, Netherlands; Magalang, Philippines; Plzen, Czech Republic; Potosí, Bolivia; Salzano, Italy; Trino, Italy; against nervous diseases, neurological diseases, and twitching) related observance

     Schaferlauf -- Markgroeningen, Germany (Festival to honor St. Bartholomew, Patron of Herdsmen, on this day or the weekend after; includes traditional barefoot race by children of active shepherds and water carrying contests; also now has a music festival)

     Wayzgoose -- a traditional day for master printers to throw an end-of-summer party for his workmen

St. Owen of Rouen's Day (Patron of the deaf; against deafness)

Vesuvius Day -- anniversary of 79CE eruption which destroyed Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum

Waratambar -- New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea (a native thanksgiving)

Watermelon Festival -- Winterville, NC, US (sticky fun; through Saturday)

William Wilberforce Day -- Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, OH, US (birth anniversary of founder, in 1759)

Zucchini Festival -- Obetz, OH, US (family fun and zucchini; through Sunday)

Birthday's Today:

Rupert Grint, 1988

Chad Michael Murray, 1981

Marlee Matlin, 1965

Reggie Miller, 1965

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1962

Craig Kilborn, 1962

Steve Guttenberg, 1958

Stephen Fry, 1957

Oscar Hijuelos, 1951

Michael Richards, 1950

Gregory Bruce Jarvis, 1944

Mason Williams, 1938

Yasser Arafat, 1929

Hal Smith, 1916

Jorge Luis Borges, 1899

Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, 1890

Daniel Gooch, 1816

William Wilberforce, 1759

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Facts of Life"(TV), 1979

Today in History:

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buries Pompeii and Herculaneum, 15,000 die, 79

The Visigoths under Aleric begin to pillage Rome, 410

King John of England, a/k/a Humpty Dumpty for having to issue the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angoileme, 1200

Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague, 1349

The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed, 1456

The first English convoy lands at Surat, India, 1608

Calcutta, India is founded, 1690

British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings, 1814

Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle, 1831

The Panic of 1857 begins, touching off one of the most severe economic crises in US history (Which just goes to show you, the more things change, the more they stay the same), 1857

Cornelius Swarthout patents the waffle iron, 1869

The Wolseley Expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River 

Rebellion, 1870

Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel, 1875

Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera, 1891

Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal, 1909

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly non-stop across the North American continent, 1932

The treaty creating NATO goes into effect, 1949

France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power, 1968

Voyager 2 (launched 1977) reaches Neptune, 1989

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1991

The first RFID human implantation is tested in the UK, 1998

Argon fluorohydride, the first Argon compound ever known, is discovered at the University of Helsinki, 2000

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet, 2006

The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech is commemorated in the U.S., 2013

J for Joyful, a Wordless Wednesday Post

Joyful children at the Palm Sunday Picnic!

 Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.



Today is:

Big Wind Day -- anniversary of the strongest natural wind ever recorded on the earth's surfact, at Mount Washington, NH, US; the wind gusts reached 231 mph

D.E.A.R. Day (a/k/a Drop Everything And Read) -- sponsored by the ALA, on Bevery Cleary's birth anniversary

Eat All Your Snacks Before the Movie Even Starts Day  -- with all the ads before the movie, doesn't that happen anyway?

Festival of Cerealia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (seven day public and private festival for Ceres)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

Halifax Day -- North Carolina, US (anniversary of the resolution adopted authorizing voting for independence in 1776)

International Day for Street Children

National Bookmobile Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

National Licorice Day

Sinhala & Tamil New Year's Eve -- Sri Lanka

St. Sabas' Day (Patron of Lectors, torture victims)

St. Zeno's Day (Patron of anglers, children learning to speak, children learning to walk, fishermen, newborn babies; city and diocese of Verona, Italy)

Thank Your School Librarian Day -- US, on the Wednesday of National Library Week

Thingyan -- Myanmar (Burmese Water Festival; part of the New Year celebrations)

Walk on Your Wild Side Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, a day in which to do something no one would expect from you

Yuri's Night -- International (Commemoration of first human in space, Yuri Gagarin)
     Cosmonaut's Day -- Russia
     International Day of Human Space Flight -- UN


Birthdays Today:

Saoirse Ronan, 1994
Riley Smith, 1982
Claire Danes, 1979
Sarah Jane Morris, 1977
Nicholas Brendon, 1971
Shannen Doherty, 1971
Nick Hexum, 1970
Art Alexakis, 1962
vince Gill, 1957
Andy Garcia, 1956
David Cassidy, 1950
Tom Clancy, 1947
Dan Lauria, 1947
David Letterman, 1947
Ed O'Neill, 1946
Herbie Hancock, 1940
Dennis Banks, 1937
Tiny Tim, 1930
Ann Miller, 1923
Beverly Cleary, 1916
Henry Clay, 1777
Lyman Hall, 1724
Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, BC599


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"21 Jump Street"(TV), 1987
"Your Hit Parade"(Radio), 1935
Madame Bovary(Publication date), 1857
"Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath"(Weber opera), 1826
The Tatler(Journal, first edition), 1709 Note:  this original version of a publication with the name lasted only two years


Today in History:

Constantinople falls to the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire, 1204
The formal inquest of Galileo by the Inquisition begins, 1633
The first edition of Tatler Magazine is published in London, 1709
The American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 1861
George C Blickensderfer patents a portable typewriter, 1892
Pierre Prier makes the first nonstop flight from London to Paris, in 3h 56m, 1911
Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England, 1937
The strongest surface wind gust ever measured, 231 mph, at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1943
The Salk vaccine is declared safe and effective, 1955
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space, 1961
Samuel Doe takes over Liberia in a coup d'etat, ending 130 years of peaceful and democratic presidential successions, 1980
The first launch of a space shuttle, the Colombia, 1981
The Euro Disney Resort officially opens (now Disneyland Paris), 1992
Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam, 1994
Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwe Dollar as their currency, 2009
Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Japan raises the crisis level to 7, equal to the disaster in Chernoby, 2011

Channeling the inner Garfield

As Garfield the Cat once noted, there's no good reason to get out of bed today.

Not on Monday the Thirteenth!

Except that i need to help #1 Son get to work after he drops off his car to be fixed, and i have to get the ironing done.

Then there's the fact that, while they did mostly keep up with the dishes and litter boxes while i was gone, there's a lot that didn't get done around here, and i can't put it off as i have to go to work tomorrow.

While my body will be up and doing the work, my heart will be here:

Riding at Dayeanu's place.

At this time, i would like to say Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians!  May each of you have a blessed and beautiful celebration with family and friends.



Today is:

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

Anti-Columbus Day

Assassination of the Hero of the Nation Day/Prince Rwagasore Day -- Burundi (Commemorates the assassination of Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961.)

Clean the Crumbs Out of the Broiler Oven Day -- keep it working longer, and prevent a potential fire

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

Dia del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural -- Argentina

Fitness Day / Health-Sports Day -- Japan

Fontinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (garlanding of fountains)

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction -- UN (this year the focus is on taking into account the needs of older persons during times of disaster)

International Skeptics Day -- while there are skeptic organizations around the globe, there's no documentation of this being celebrated internationally; maybe the creator of the day wanted us to be skeptical about it?

John Peel Day -- UK (in honor of his last broadcast)

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

Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day -- find information about this disease herehttp://mbcn.org/

Modern Mythology Day -- internet generated, go look up a few modern myths on truthorfiction.net or snopes.com and have a good laugh

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 Police Day -- Thailand (Wan Tamruat)

National Yorkshire Pudding Day

Navy Establishment Day -- US

Norfolk Island Agricultural Show Day -- Norfolk Island, Australia

Runic Half-month Wyn (joy) begins

St. Colman's Day (Patron of horned cattle, horses, and those who are to be hanged; Austria; against death by hanging and plague; a blessing of horses and cattle is still held at Melk on this day)

St. Edward the Confessor's Day (Patron of kings, those in difficult marriages, separated spouses; the English Royal Family)

Thanksgiving -- Canada (Interfaith)

Train Your Brain Day -- spread around the internet by no one knows whom, but today is a good day to commit to doing what you can to keep your brain young

Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico Friendship Day

World Rainforest Week begins -- International


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga. Tech), 1885
Cornerstone of the White House laid, 1792
US Navy is authorized by the Continental Congress, 1775


Birthdays Today:

Ashanti, 1980
Sacha Baron Cohen, 1971
Nancy Kerrigan, 1969
Kate Walsh, 1967
Kelly Preston, 1962
Jerry Rice, 1962
Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers, 1961
Marie Osmond, 1959
Chris Carter, 1957
Sammy Hagar, 1947
Pamela Tiffin, 1942
Paul Simon, 1941
Melinda Dillon, 1939
Nan Mouskouri, 1934
Jesse Leroy Brown, 1926
Lenny Bruce, 1925
Margaret Thatcher, 1925
Nipsey Russell, 1924
Yves Montand, 1921
Cornel Wilde, 1915
L. L. Bean, 1872
Rudolf Virchow, 1821
Mary Hays "Molly Pitcher" McCauley, 1754


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"(Play), 1962
"Kukla, Fran and Ollie"(TV), 1947


Today in History:

Nero becomes emperor, 54
The Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania, 409
Rabbi Issac Abarbanel begins his exegesis on the Torah, 1483
Jonathan Swift publishes the last of Drapier's letters, 1724
Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy, 1773
First publication of the "Old Farmer's Almanac", 1792
George Washington lays the cornerstone of the "Executive Mansion" (White House), 1792
Founding of B'nai B'rith, 1843
The first arial photo taken in the US, from a balloon over Boston, 1860
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda & friends agree to use Hebrew exclusively in their conversations, which begins the revival of it as an active and growing language, 1881
Greenwich, in London, England, is established as Universal Time meridian of longitude, 1884
Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13–14, 1892
Ankara replaces Istanbul as the capital of Turkey, 1923
Premier of "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie", 1947
Fiji joins the United Nations, 1970
The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C, 1976
Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois, 1983
End of the Lebanese Civil War, 1990
The 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Copiapó, Chile comes to an end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue, 2010
In China, 23 elder members of the Communist Party of China call for ending the country's restrictions on free speech, 2010

Of Horses and Humor

"Well, mom, i've found out just how used to their living conditions our horses are."  Bigger Girl had just gotten in from work.

What happened this time? i asked.

"We had borrowed a stallion from another research area, because the researchers wanted to be using some fresh stock for trying to predict genetic traits, and the plan was to allow them to mate naturally, but the mare wouldn't cooperate.  So we opened the gate, and Badger didn't even need to be led in.  He ran across the field, came in, she moved her tail, they mated, and he turned around and ran right back into his pasture.  It all took less than a couple of minutes.  Those horses are just too much into a routine!"

Sounds like it, although it's obviously one they like, i noted drily.

"Oh, and someone brought a cake!" she continued.

Who?

"We don't know.  It was in the break room, and it sat there all day, totally untouched.  No one I talked to knew who brought it, so we didn't want to touch it, although I really wanted to take one of the Oreos off the top.  Anyway, as the day went by, and everyone walked around it and ignored it, I started thinking 'The cake is a lie!'  You know, like in the movie Portal, where the computer promises cake but it's a lie."

So now you don't know if the Oreos were even there, do you?

"Nope.  But mom, I've decided I want to find the ultimate joke that will end crime and injustice and bring about world peace.  Think about it, World Peace Through Humor!"

Let me know when you find it, i told her.

Meanwhile, a funny sign that might not bring about world peace, but may make you smile.  This past Good Friday, a local Catholic Church had a sign outside that said, "He is Risen!  No Bingo Tonight."


Today is

Birthday of Emperor Haili Selassi I -- Rastafari

Flag Day -- Abkhazia

Gorgeous Grandma Day -- a day to celebrate those who age, date, and mate in style!

Hot Enough For Ya Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays as the only day on which you may utter these words; any other day, and you will get high fived on the back of the head! ;)

Hurricane Supplication Day -- US Virgin Islands

Mayan Sun Festival -- honoring Ahau Kin, the sun god, date approximate

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

Neptunalia and Salcia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (god and goddess of the ocean and wide seas, celebrates Neptune in his role as god of irrigation)

Private Eye Day -- internet generated

Remembrance Day -- Papua New Guinea

Renaissance Day -- Oman (celebrates the accession of Qaboos bin Said Al Said, 14th Sultan of Oman)

Revolution Day -- Egypt

St. Apollinaris' Day (Patron against epilepsy, gout; of Aachen, Germany; Burtscheid, Germany; Düsseldorf, Germany; Ravenna, Italy; Remagen, Germany)

St. Bridget of Sweden's Day (Patron of widows; Europe; Sweden)

St. Phocas the Gardener's Day (Patron of agricultural workers, boatmen, farm workers, farmers, field hands, gardeners, husbandmen, mariners, market-gardeners,sailors, watermen)

Warei Shrine Summer Festival -- Warei Shrine, Uwajima City, Japan (through tomorrow, includes "bull-sumo", a non fatal type of bull fighting, where the bulls try to push each other out of the ring)


Anniversaries Today

Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson, 1986
Coronation of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, 1999


Birthdays Today

Daniel Radcliffe, 1989
Michelle Williams, 1980
Nomar Garciapara, 1973
Marlon Wayans, 1972
Charisma Carpenter, 1970
Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967
Woody Harrelson, 1961
Lamont "ShowBoat" Robinson, 1961
Don Imus, 1940
Don Drysdale, 1936
Bert Convy, 1933
Amalia Rodrigues, 1920
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, 1918
Arthur Treacher, 1894
Haile Selassie I, 1892
Raymond Chandler, 1888


Today in History

William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter, 1829
The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union, 1840
The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded, 1881
The Ford Motor Company sells its first car, 1903
Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film, 1926
Telstar  relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite, 1962
The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling within 4 years, 1982 *
Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba, 1983
Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered, 1995
Cape Verde becomes the 153rd member of the World Trade Organization, 2008

*Don't I wish that had worked!