Let Peace Begin With Me

Sunday morning, police officers in the area were starting their day as they often did, going to the convenience store just about a block from headquarters.  There had been protests held in this spot just days before, with people blocking the highway frequently, but that had mostly settled down.

As they bought their coffee and breakfast sandwiches around 8:40am, someone spotted a man carrying a rifle behind the beauty supply store about one building over from the convenience store.  A moment later, shots rang out, and by 8:44 the calls were coming in:  Shots fired, officers down!

More shots were fired, and the suspect was seen to have crossed behind the convenience store and was lurking behind the car wash next to the store.  As EMS arrived around 8:48am, officers engaged the suspect and he died at the scene.

About 8:50am, the person in charge of our church's building maintenance called police headquarters to find out if the officer we usually pay to come watch our property on Sunday morning was going to be available.  He was told about the shootings, and asked to please get people to start praying.

He told two of our prayer team, who came up to the prayer room where i was sitting, and we did start praying right away.  The news still hadn't hit the internet news sites yet.

When the news did start to roll in, there were rumors swirling everywhere.  Some debated the number killed or wounded.  Some said there were two more gunmen who had gotten away and the police and sheriff's deputies were looking for them.

In the midst of a morning of searing pain, our pastor delivered this sermon, prepared several days before:

http://subsplash.com/fpcbr/v/7a626de

(If you don't have quite enough time to listen to the whole thing, i recommend you read the transcript on the same page, it's worth it.)

At our evening prayer service, we remembered the families of the officers killed and prayed for the wounded.  One of those killed, Officer Montrell Jackson, had on his Facebook page an open invitation to anyone who needed prayer or help to come to him.  We prayed that the people of our church wouldn't be afraid to reach out as our pastor and Pastor White have challenged us.

As #1 Son was driving around town earlier on that day, making food deliveries for the restaurant where he works, he heard a siren and knew a police car was coming through.  He and every other car stopped to see where it was coming from and make sure they stayed out of the way.  Every car but one, that is.

The one was driven by a young woman who not only did not stop, she had the audacity to pull out in front of the officer as he tried to get through an intersection, and she pulled in front of him and stopped him on purpose and flipped him off!  Everyone else who saw it was slack-jawed, and then they watched in satisfaction as she continued glaring at the officer so long she didn't see the car stopped in front of her.  As much as i feel sorry for the guy she rear-ended, everyone who has heard the story has marveled at how quickly she did reap what she had sown.

People in this area are rallying to support our police forces and the sheriff's deputies.  We need to rally to reach across to each other throughout this whole area.  We can't let it tear us apart.

What some people mean for evil we have to turn into good.  It's the only way.



Today is:

Back-to-Front Yad -- Fairy Calendar

Bloomer Day -- anniversary of the opening day of the first US women's rights convention in 1848*

Festival of Honos -- Ancient Roman Calendar (personification of morality and honor)

Full Buck Moon a/k/a Full Thunder Moon or Full Hay Moon; related observances
     Adhi-Esala Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Waso Full Moon / Dhamma Cakka Day -- Myanmar

Kokura Gion Taiko -- Yasaka Shrine, Fukuoka City, Japan (shrine festival that incorporates a taiko drumming competition with up to 100 teams; through the 21st)

Liberation Day -- Nicaragua

Martyr's Day -- Myanmar

National Daiquiri Day

Snake River Stampede -- Nampa, ID (the 100th year of one of the top 15 professional rodeo events in the nation; through Saturday)

Stick Out Your Tongue Day -- internet generated, do it just because it's fun

St. Justa's Day (Patron of potters; Seville, Spain)

Triple Play Day -- the first Major League unassisted triple play was made by Neal Ball on this day in 1909

*Amelia Bloomer's birth anniversary on May 27 is also called "Bloomer Day"


Anniversaries Today:

Frank Sinatra marries Mia Farrow, 1966
Isis marries Osiris (year unknown, ask the ancient Egyptians!)
Adonis marries Aphrodite (year unknown, ask the ancient Greeks!)


Birthdays Today:

Stephen Anthony Lawrence, 1990
Jared Padalecki, 1982
Topher Grace, 1978
Angela Griffin, 1976
Clea Lewis, 1965
Anthony Edwards, 1962
Campbell Scott, 1962
Brian May, 1947
Ilie Nastase, 1946
Vikki Carr, 1941
Arthur Rankin, Jr., 1924
George McGovern, 1922
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, 1921
Eve Merriam, 1916
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, 1904 (last direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln)
Max Fleischer, 1883
Charles Horace Mayo, 1865
Lizzie Borden, 1860
Edgar Degas, 1834
Samuel Colt, 1814


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"That's All Right"(Elvis' first single release), 1954


Today in History

A dragon more than 100 metres long was found dead on Yehwang Mountain in Henan province and was seen as a bad omen for Emperor Huan, who ignored it and died at age 35 (three years later); Xiang Kai, who had warned him of the omen, was released from the prison the emperor had placed him in, and lionised as a hero, BCE164
Moslem forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeated the Visigoths led by their king Roderic, 711
A hailstorm brings down the ceilings of the Papal Palace, Rome, 1500
Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days, 1553
Five women are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692
Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England, 1701
Australia's first recorded use of gaslight was commenced in a Sydney shop, 1826
The British Medical Association was founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary, 1832
The two day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York; "bloomers," named after developer Amelia Bloomer, are worn at this very early feminist convention, 1848
A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town, 1912
Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention, 1963
The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua, 1979
The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published, 1983
President Clinton announces his idea for a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in regards to gays in the US military, 1993
A Tel Aviv judges orders safe deposit boxes that contain manuscripts of Franz Kafka to be opened, 2010
A Pontifical Commission is established by Pope Francise to investigate current accounting practices and implement new strategies for greater fiscal transparency and fiscal responsibility among all Vatican office, 2013

All the news my brain can remember right now.

As opposed to all the news that's fit to print, because there might be more that i just happen to have forgotten.

Anyway.

We finally, thanks to Grandpa, found a contractor to fix the house where Little Girl had her Oops and ran the vehicle into the house.  That's the good news.

The rest of the news is not so good, in that he has figured out the damage is much more extensive than we first thought, and the cost is probably going to more than double.  Thus i have to contact the insurance agency and tell them their adjustor missed a whole side wall being bowed out and knocked off the anchor bolts.  We will see where that leads.

Next up, we have news about #2 Son.  He will probably be finished with those last two classes within the next couple of weeks, and be given his diploma.  He will be thrilled beyond measure to know he's done with algebr.  Once he goes to culinary school, he won't have to take that again.  They require some math for the Associates in Culinary Arts degree, but it's not so rigorous.

Bigger Girl will again be working at the uni's reproductive biology research station this summer.  They can't wait, as she not only helps them with some of the animal work, she takes over the sterilization room and the liquid nitrogen room work.  She will also be taking a math course at the junior college so that she can go straight into some of her sciences in the fall.

#1 Son no longer needs to find a second job.  His current employer told him they only wanted part time workers, so he began searching for a second part time job.  Then they started working him so much that he was getting overtime.  They seem to like the fact that he can expedite, serve, and be a dishwasher.  Everyone else only does one thing or another.

Little Girl has passed all of her EOC (End of Course) tests, and post tests, and is going to be exempt from finals.  In fact, tomorrow may be her last day, as she really has no more work to do.  School doesn't officially get out until the end of next week, but they let students leave early who've passed everything just to make it easier for teachers to concentrate on the kids who need more time.

As for me, i'm working again today.  While i am technically a janitor/housekeeper, and part time delivery driver, today i am a laundress.  The lady whose house i cleaned last week didn't have a washing machine for about 3 weeks, and the only way to catch back up is to get all the backlog together and go to a laundromat, which is the plan for the day.

Young Jacob has been conscripted to help Miss Lizzie with the flat tire situation.  Bigger Girl and he got her back to her car, got the tire off, and she and Bigger Girl will be getting a new tire put on that rim.  Then Young Jacob will put it back on the car this evening after work.  That will be one more crisis taken off the list.

That's all the news my brain can think of right now.



Today is:

Aoi Matsuri -- Kyoto, Japan (Hollyhock Festival, a pageant reproducing ancient imperial processions)

Brown Bag-It Thursday -- it's cheaper and healthier

Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee -- Calaveras Fairgrounds, Angel's Camp, CA, US (the "Super Bowl" of frog jumping contests; through Sunday)
     Frog Jumping Day -- for those of us who don't live in Calaveras County, you can still celebrate Mark Twain's famous story and go play with a frog

Cold Sophie's Day (5th Ice Saint; according to Nordic legend, this day may be very cold, but there will be no more frosts after this)

Flip Your Mattress Day -- because it's a good thing to do

Hyperemisis Gravidarum Awareness Day -- bringing attention to morning sickness that becomes life-threatening

Ides of May -- Ancient Roman Calendar; related observances
     Feast of Maia and Vesta
     Mercuralia -- festival for Mercury
     Sacrifice day to the Tiber River

Independence Day -- Paraguay(1811)

International Conscientious Objectors' Day

International Day of Families -- UN

International MPS Awareness Day -- here for details about these inherited diseases

Kan Phuetchamongkhon -- Thailand (Royal Plowing and Farmers Day) 6th day 4th lunar month

La Corsa del Ceri -- Gubbio, Italy (festival on the eve of the saint day of the city's patron, St. Ubaldo)

Miles City Bucking Horse Sale -- Miles City, MT, US (a celebration worthy of the city that inspired "Lonesome Dove;" through Sunday)

Mother's Day -- Paraguay

National Chocolate Chip Day

National Safety Dose Day -- cannot confirm they sponsor a day any more, but the Safety Dose people still want us to remember that more is not necessarily better when it comes to taking medicines, and to dose them correctly for children

Nylon Stockings Day -- they went on sale at stores around the US this date in 1940

Over the Rainbow Day -- birth anniversary of Lyman Frank Baum

Police Officer/Peace Officer Memorial Day -- US (National Association of Chiefs of Police sponsor the main memorial event at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville, FL, but there may be services where you are also)

Relive Your Past By Listening to the First Music You Ever Bought No Matter What It Was No Excuses Day -- no, i can't find out who started this, or why; maybe we should all take a pass at this one

Sea Monkey Day -- because somebody really loves theirs, and wants you to love them, too

St. Dymphna's Day (Patron of epileptics, family happiness, incest victims, martyrs, mental asylums/hospitals, mental health caregivers and professionals/psychiatrists/therapists, mentally ill people, nervous disorders, neurological disorders, possessed people, princesses, rape victims, runaways, sleepwalkers, those who have lost parents; against sleepwalking, epilepsy, insanity, mental disorders, mental illness)

St. Hallvard's Day (Patron of Oslo; protector of innocence and virtue)

St. Isidore of Madrid's Day (a/k/a Isidore the Farmer; Patron of agricultural workers/farm workers/farmers/field hands/husbandmen/ranchers, day laborers, livestock, rural communities; Angono, Philippines; Asturias, Cebu, Philippines; Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines; Carampa, Peru; Castalla, Spain; Cuz Cuz, Chile; Digos, Philippines; Estepona, Spain; La Celba, Honduras; Leon, Spain; Lima, Peru; Lucban, Philippines; Madrid, Spain; Malaybalay, Philippines, diocese of; Morong, Philippines; Nabas, Philippines; Orotava, Spain; Pulilan, Philippines; Pulupandan, Philippines; Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico; San Isidro, Argentina; Saragossa, Spain; Sariaya, Philippines; Seville, Spain; Tavalera, Philippines; Tayabas, Philippines; United States National Rural Life Conference; against the death of children)
     Carabao Festival -- San Isidro, Pulilan, and Angono, Philippines (second day and main festival; on St. Isidore of Madrid's Day; the farming communities celebrate their beasts of burden and have them blessed)
     Municipal Holiday -- Madrid
     San Isidro Day -- Mexico

St. Sophia of Rome's Day (considered by some to be among the Ice Saints, and invoked for protection against frost)

Straw Hat Day -- just as you don't wear white after Labor Day, you don't wear straw hats before today, the unofficial start of summer and the official start of straw hat season

Teacher's Day -- Mexico; South Korea

Theravadin New Year -- Buddhist (through the 18th; dates can vary locally)

Tuberous Sclerosis Global Awareness Day -- information here


Anniversaries Today:

Mary, Queen of Scots, marries James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, 1567
Airmail service begins between NYC, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, 1918


Birthdays Today:

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 1981
David Krumholtz, 1978
David Charvet, 1972
Sam Trammell, 1971
Emmit Smith, 1969
Giselle Fernandez, 1961
Dan Patrick, 1956
Lee Horsley, 1955
George Brett, 1953
Chazz Palminteri, 1951
Brian Eno, 1948
David Cronenberg, 1943
Lainie Kazan, 1942
Madeleine Albright, 1937
Trini Lopez, 1937
Anna Maria Alberghetti, 1936
Jasper Johns, 1930
Richard Avedon, 1923
Eddy Arnold, 1918
Max Frisch, 1911
James Mason, 1909
Joseph Cotten, 1905
Abraham Zapruder, 1905
Katherine Anne Porter, 1890
Arthur Schnitzler, 1862
Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, 1860
Pierre Curie, 1859
L. Frank Baum, 1856


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Esclarmonde"(Opera), 1889


Today in History:

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is sentenced to death, 1536
Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod, 1602
Johannes Kepler confirms his discovery of the third law of planetary motion, 1618
James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun, 1718
The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France, 1756
Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted flights, 1793
George III survives two assassination attempts in one day, 1800
Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1817
Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse, 1836
Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand (The King and I), 1851
Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, 1858
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association, 1869
Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded, 1905
The United States Supreme Court  declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up, 1911
The Winnipeg General Strike begins; by 11:00 a.m., almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, Manitoba had walked off the job, 1919
In an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed, 1932
The Moscow Metro is opened to public, 1935
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3, 1958
Mercury-Atlas 9 astronaut L. Gordon Cooper becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, 1963
President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals, 1970
Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time, 1990
Edith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister, 1991
California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage, 2008
Jessica Watson, age 17, becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo, 2010
U.S. scientists develop a device that can generate electricity from genetically-engineered viruses; these piezoelectric materials are a step toward the development of personal power generators, 2012

And in other news...

Kida the Mosquito, the asthmatic Siamese who is always buzzing around, has another sinus infection, and is back on an antibiotic.

We have 19 kittens, and four of them have ringworm, so we are quarantined.  None of them can go up for adoption until they are all clear.  The will be treated 3 times a day, even those that have no ringworm, to make sure it goes away and doesn't spread.

#1 Son is finally feeling better, although he still sounds stuffy and his voice is scratchy.  He has gotten some time off so that he and #2 Son can go back up to Kansas to get the remainder of his property out of storage.

Bigger Girl has been pondering the question, "What if it turns out G-d is an alien from another planet who just wanted to see what would happen if he set a bunch of naked apes loose on a planet?" and is writing reviews of art films for a website.  She is currently working on one about art films that are so bad they should never have been made.  "Mom, I have to warn people away from these!" she says.

Little Girl has gotten her first set of grades from school, and is making all As and Bs.  She and a friend are having a reading contest, and she has decided she loves riding the bus home (i take her to school in the morning so she won't have to get out there so awfully early).

Speaking of early, why does school now start at 7am?  When i was very young, it was 9am, and by the time i was in high school, it was 8am.  It's been creeping earlier and earlier, and it certainly doesn't take the teenage biological clock into account.  They can barely remember to breathe at that time of the morning!

Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, actually turned down some leftovers yesterday.  Will wonders never cease?

Sweetie is in the busy season at work -- football season.  He will be "busy from can to can't."

Also, it's amazing to me how, no matter where the university ranks in academics among other schools around the nation, the alumni only donate money if the football team is winning.

And that's about all the news from kitten central right now.


Today is:

Blessed Father Jacques Leval Day -- Mauritius (physician turned priest who lived among and ministered to the poorest of the poor in Mauritius; people of all faiths make a pilgrimage to his tomb today)

Bonza Bottler Day

Chrysanthemum Day or Kiku no Sekku -- Japan

Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence -- Slovakia

Festivity of Our Lady of Aranzazu -- Oñati, Basque

Ganesha Chaturthi -- Hindu (festival to honor the god of prosperity, prudence, and success, Ganesha; local customs and dates can vary, as can official government holiday status)

Independence Day -- Tajikistan

Karasu-zumo -- Kamigamo-jinja Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (a distinctive local festival where the Shinto priests imitate crows)

Liberation Ceremony -- Petange, Luxembourg

Milk-Bathing Festival -- Fairy Calendar

National Boss/Employee Exchange Day -- US (or anyone else who wants to foster understanding between bosses and employees)

National Day -- North Korea

National Sports Day -- Indonesia

National Steak Au Poivre Day

Peddler's Village Scarecrow Competition -- Lahaska, PA (through Oct. 27th, with the big Scarecrow Festival this month on the 21st and 22nd)

Pendleton Round-Up -- Pendleton, OR, US (traditional rodeo with the participation of local Native American tribes; through Saturday)

Pennsylvania RV & Camping Show -- Hershey, PA, US (the largest RV and Camper show in the world, with the first to days for industry only; through Sunday)

St. Giles Fair -- Oxford, England (dates back to 17th century; through tomorrow)

St. Peter Claver's Day (Patron of African missions, inter-racial justice, race relations; Colombia; Lake Charles, LA; Shreveport, LA; Witbank, South Africa; against slavery)

Synaxis of Ss. Joachim and Anna -- Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches

Teddy Bear Day -- internet generated, but since it's so much fun to have one, celebrate your old friend

Wakes Monday -- Abbots Bromely, England; related festival
     Abbots Bromley Horn Dance -- Abbots Bromley, UK (a/k/a Antler Dance or Ceremony of the Deermen; uses deer horns from the 11th Century, and a traditional dance, tune, and circuit around the neighboring farms, and includes a fair)

Wienerschnitzel Day

Wonderful Weirdos Day -- we all have a few in our lives, they remind us to be true to ourselves, so thank them today; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays


Anniversaries Today:

California becomes the 31th US State, 1850


Birthdays Today:

Adam Sandler, 1966
Hugh Grant, 1960
Angela Cartwright, 1952
Michael Keaton, 1951
Billy Preston, 1946
Otis Redding, 1941
Cliff Robertson, 1925
James Hilton, 1900
Colonel Harland Sanders, 1890
Alf Landon, 1887
Leo Tolstoy, 1828
William Bligh, 1754


Today in History:

William I, The Conqueror, dies in a horse riding accident, 1087
The New England colonies declare war on the Wampanoag Tribe, 1675
The first steam engine arrives in the US colonies, 1753
The first recorded black to graduate from a US college, Alexander Lucius Twilight, receives a BA from Middlebury College, 1817
Charles Durant, the first US aeronaut, flies a balloon from Castle Garden, NYC to Perth Amboy, NJ, 1830
The first plate glass photograph is taken by John Herschel, 1839
California becomes the 31st state and the territories of New Mexico and Utah are created, 1850
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is finalized, 1886
Orville Wright makes the first one hour plane flight, 1908
J. Verdrines becomes the first person to fly at over 100mph, 1912
First actual case of a computer bug being found: a moth lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University, 1947
Hurricane Betsy makes its second landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, becoming the first hurricane to do over $1billion in actual unadjusted damages, 1965
The four-day Attica Prison riot begins, 1971
The Palestine Liberation Organization officially recognizes Israel as a legitimate state, 1993
At exactly 01:46:40 UTC, the Unix billenium is reached, marking the beginning of the use of 10-digit Unix timestamps, 2001

Important?

So, there's strife in the Middle East, not the usual undercurrent or bit of a boil-over, but people fleeing chemical weapons attacks and Israel calling up reserves and passing out gas masks to citizens.  And when i go to Yahoo! to sign in and check email the first thing up on the site that passes for "news" is about a Hollywood couple and whether they are on again or off again.

Really.  So i checked a few other sites, and only a couple of them have the Syria crisis as the first thing you see.

What's important?  Jiminy Crickets, i know i'm not the sharpest tack in the package, but even i can say that the fact that this could degenerate into attacks that provoke more attacks and end up as a major war is a bit higher in importance than who is boinking whom in Hollywood, or even than the "news" that passes for headlines in the local area.

Are we so calloused, or are we just so focused on being entertained?  Either way, i don't like the implications of the answers.

Please don't misunderstand and think i am saying we need to be serious all of the time.  There is a time and place for local highlights, for interesting or odd happenings that aren't so deadly serious, and even for entertainment.  But what passes for news now is so often not the important things.

While i cannot read the news all of the time, it would make me sick and upset and a nervous wreck, i do check the headlines and read a few things at least once a day.  Because i don't watch TV at all, i get most of my news by reading, either a newspaper or online, or hearing it on the radio.  Maybe i'm getting the whole thing wrong, but most of what seems to make up the news is fluff or simply not that important.

Somebody correct me if i'm wrong, please.  News doesn't look like news any more, a lot of the time, but like entertainment.  When i don't need to be entertained, but informed, it bothers me.


Today is

According to Hoyle Day -- death anniversary of Edmond Hoyle

Be Kind to Humankind Week:  Thoughtful Thursday

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

Blue Hill Fair -- Blue Hill, ME, US (beautiful "down to earth" country fair; through Labor Day)

Chop Suey Day

Day of Loose Talk -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Patron of baptism, bird dealers, converts, convulsive children, cutters, epileptics, farmers, French Canadians, lambs, monastic life, motorways, printers, tailors; over 70 cities and countries around the world; against convulsions, epilepsy, hail and hailstorms, spasms)
     Head Day -- Iceland (a weather omen day; whatever today's weather, it will stay the same for at least 3 weeks)

International Day Against Nuclear Testing -- UN

International

Judgment Day -- according to "The Terminator"

Lemon Juice Day

Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival and Fair -- Morgan City, LA, US (celebrating the importance of the shrimping and petroleum industries in Louisiana, it includes one of the most unique children's villages among such events and a Blessing of the Fleet; through Labor Day)

More Herbs, Less Salt Day

Runic Half-Month Rad begins (Motion)

Slovak National Uprising Anniversary -- Slovakia


Special Notation:

Labor Day, shmabor day!
What a dumb day!
You hire some jerk,
Then send him away,
To celebrate work,
By playing all day!

Garfield the Cat

While i may not agree with his assessment of the importance of Labor Day, Garfield is right in that this weekend has become a time for play, as evidenced by the following celebrations that always occur on this weekend around the US*:

Benton Neighbor Day -- Benton, MO
Britt Draft Horse Show -- Britt, IA
Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival -- Seattle, WA
Cal Farley's Boys Ranch Rodeo -- Boys Ranch, TX
Central City Rock 'n' Roll Cruise-in & Concert -- Central City, KY
Cleveland National Air Show -- Cleveland, OH
Clothesline Fair -- Prairie Grove, AR
Colombia River Cross Channel Swim -- Hood River, OR
Colorado Balloon Classic -- Colorado Springs, CO
Commonwheel Labor Day Weekend ARts and Crafts Festival -- Manitou Springs, CO
Daniel Boone Pioneer Days -- Winchester, KY
Eastern Idaho State Fair -- Blackfoot, ID
Fort Bridger Rendezvous -- Fort Bridger, WY
Great Bathtub Race -- Nome, AK
Great Grove Bed Race -- Coconut Grove, FL
Harvest Wine Celebration -- Livermore, CA
Hog Capital of the World Festival -- Kewanee, IL
Hoisington Celebration -- Hoisington, KS
Hopkinton State Fair -- Contoocook, NH,
Iroquois Arts Festival -- Howes Cave, NY
Johnson City Field Days -- Johnson City, NY
Jubilee Days Festival -- Zion, IL
Lifelight Outdoor Music Festival -- Worthing, SD
Mackinac Bridge Walk -- St. Ignace, MI
National Championship Chuckwagon Races -- Clinton, AR
National Hard Crab Derby and Fair -- Crisfield, MD
National Sweetcorn Festival -- Hoopeston, IL
Oatmeal Festival -- Bertram/Oatmeal, TX
Odyssey - A Greek Festival -- Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, Orange, CT
Old Threshers Reunion -- Mount Pleasant, IA
On the Waterfront -- Rockford, IL
Oregon Trail Rodeo -- Hastings, NE
Payson Golden Onion Days -- Payson, UT
Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts Colonial Festival -- Greensburg, PA
Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival -- Independence, MO
Scandinavian Fest -- Budd Lake, NJ
Sta-Bil Nationals Championship Lawn Mower Race -- Delaware, OH
Snake River Duck Race -- Nome, AK
Taste of Colorado -- Denver, CO
Taste of Madison -- Madison, WI
Totah Festival -- Farmington, NM
Waikiki Roughwater Swim -- Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, HI
West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival -- Clarksburg, WV
Westfest Czech Heritage Festival -- West, TX
Wisconsin State Cow-Chip Throw -- Prairie du Sac, WI
Woodstock Fair -- Woodstock, CT
World Championship Barbecue Goat Cook-Off and Arts & Crafts Fair -- Brady, TX

*Some of these celebrations begin today, some tomorrow, some on Saturday, and all run through the Monday Labor Day Holiday.




Birthdays Today

Michael Jackson, 1958
Elliot Gould, 1938
John McCain, 1936
Richard Attenborough, 1923
Charlie "Bird" Parker, 1920
Isabel Sanford, 1917
Ingrid Bergman, 1915
Preston Sturges, 1898
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1809
John Locke, 1632


Today in History

Era of Diocletian (Martyrs), the last major time of persecution for the early Christian churches, begins with Gen. Gaius Aurelius V Diocletianus Jovius becoming emperor of Rome, 284
Japan mints its first copper coins, 708
The last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, is executed by order of Francisco Pizarro, 1533
The first Indian "reservation" is formed by the New Jersey Legislature, 1758
Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction, 1831
The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire, 1833
Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War, 1842
The first motorcycle is patented in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler, 1885
The chef of a visiting Chinese Ambassador invents "chop suey" in NYC, 1896
The Goodyear tire company is founded, 1898
The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers, 1907
Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California, 1911
The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, 1949
Speedy Gonzales makes his debut, 1953
The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, 1966
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party, 1991
Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast, 2005

No Matter What The News Says

There is deep unrest in the country of Egypt, in case you haven't seen any news reports lately.  The initial unrest led to a new government that was promising, it seemed, to be the same old thing.  That was overturned, and the people who liked that status quo are upset.

The violence escalates, the people who want to push their agendas on everyone else in the country continue to stir up strife and turmoil.

That's not the whole story.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims provide free banquets in the streets for the poor so they can break their fast.  The banquets can also serve those who are working and can't make it home to break their fast.  They call these "the banquets of the Merciful G-d."

While Christian churches are often targeted in that country, one Christian church decided to step into the middle of the protests in Tahrir Square and undertook to make a banquet for 200 of the fasting Muslim protesters each Friday and Saturday during Ramadan.

They decided to call it "The united banquet of Love for Egyptians," and church members donated and prepared and served all of it themselves.

The original plan was to serve 200 people each of those nights, but it was so well received, it swelled to many more as Muslims expressed gratitude and received it so well.

The Muslims expressed to the Christians that they hope for a new Egypt where "equality is granted to   
all sects, affiliations, and religions in Egypt."

Yes, many Christians suffer in Muslim countries.  Yes, many Muslims who aren't of the correct branch of that faith suffer, too. Yes, many Muslims are fanatical, and don't want to grant freedom to anyone who disagrees, and want everyone to be forced to agree with them.

After reading what the pastor of that one Christian church wrote about reaching out and being so well received, i want to think that many, many more Muslims simply want freedom to worship as they choose, and for everyone else in their countries to have the exact same thing.  They want peace, and understanding, and a better future without fighting.

Next time you hear about extremism among any group, remember that not every member of that group feels that way, or is an extremist.

No matter what the news says.



Today is:

#2 Pencil Day -- internet generated, but since a pencil can draw a line 35 miles long, write under water, in zero gravity, or upside down, what's not to celebrate!

Antique Marine Engine Exposition -- Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (annual exposition of pre-WWII marine engines and models; through tomorrow)

Battle of Blue Licks Celebration -- Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, Mount Olivet, KY, US (to commemorate the Revolutionary War Battle of Blue Licks with living history demonstrations, arts, crafts, games, reenactments and more; through tomorrow)

Bike Van Buren -- Van Buren County, IA, US (a leisurely two-day bike tour of villages, landmarks and landscapes)

Day of Rituals in the Temples of Ra, Horus, and Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Drink Coffee at the Office from A Sippy Cup Day -- begun by someone with a sense of humor, who wants you to see how long it takes people to notice

Festival of Diana -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Independence Day -- Indonesia(1945)

India Independence Day Parade -- Devon Avenue, Rogers Park, Chicago, IL, US (yes, a Celebration of Indian and American Democracy; anything for a party, even another country's Independence Day, right?)

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference -- Singapore; through the 23rd

International Geocaching Day

International Homeless Animals Day® -- International Society for Animal Right

Leadville Trail 100 Ultramarathon -- Leadville, CO, US (race 100 of the toughest miles in the country through the Rocky Mountains beginning at 4am; you have 30 hours to complete the course to the ghost town of Winfield and back)

Meaning of "Is" Day -- thank you, Clinton!

Minnesota Renaissance Festival -- Shakopee, MN, US (one of the countries largest and finest; weekends through the end of September)

Mt. Hagan Cultural Show -- Mt. Hagan, Papua New Guinea (one of the biggest cultural shows in Papua New Guinea; through tomorrow)

National Honey Bee Day -- US (this year's theme is Beekeeping: Ask Me How To Get Started)

National Medical Dosimetrists' Day -- US (medical radiation safety experts)

National Thrift Shop/Thrift Store Day -- no history on it, probably started by a thrift store having a summer sale; still a good idea

National Vanilla Custard Day

Odin's Ordeal begins -- based on the Ancient Norse legend, Modern Odinists and some Asatru practice silence for nine days, through the 25th

Portunalia -- Roman Empire (honoring the god of locks, keys, ports, and harbors)

Prekmurje Union Day -- Slovenia (celebrates the Slovenes in Prekmurje being Incorporated into the Mother Nation)

Sandcastle and Sculpture Day -- Nantucket, MA, US

San Martin Day -- Argentina (death anniversary of General Jose de San Martin, liberator of Argentina, chile, and Peru)

St. Hyacinth's Day (Patron of Camalaniugan, Philippines; Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto, Philippines; Kradow, Poland; Lithuania; Poland; against drowning)

The World's Greatest Carrot Festival -- Bradford, Ontario, Canada (unleash your inner Bugs Bunny! through tomorrow)

Woodward Dream Cruise Day 2013 -- Detroit, MI, US (what began in 1995 as a fundraiser for a soccer field has grown into the largest one-day classic car show in the world)


Birthdays Today:

Sean Penn, 1960
Robert DeNiro, 1943
Maureen O'Hara, 1920
Mae West, 1892
charles I, last emperor of Austria-Hungary, 1887
Samuel Goldwyn, 1882
Davy Crockett, 1786


Today in History:

The Peace of Bergerac gives political rights to the Huguenots, 1577
John White returns to Roanoke, Virginia, to find no trace of the colonists he had left there 3 years earlier, 1590
Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont begins its first trip up the Hudson River, 1807
Solymon Merrick patents the wrench, 1835
The first bank in Hawaii opens, 1858
Patent granted for an electric self starter for automobiles, 1891
Pike Place Market, the longest continuously-running public farmers market in the US, opens in Seattle, 1907
Fantasmagorie by Émile Cohl, the first animated cartoon, is shown in Paris, 1908
First meeting of Narcotics Anonymous in Southern California, 1953
Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 1959 Yellowstone earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana, 1958
East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall, 1962
Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage, 1969
Venera 7 launched. It will later become the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet (Venus), 1970
Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine, 1978
The first Compact Discs are released to the public in Germany, 1982
The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts, 2005

And in other news

Well, to others, it might not be news, but i'm searching for another title and coming up empty.

Young Jacob, friend of both #1 and #2 Son and a maintenance worker at the same place where Sweetie works is back on restriction from driving from his epilepsy.  This time, it will be for a year, but only if they get it under control.

He will, therefore, need rides to and from work, which highlights how sad it is that we have such a terrible public transportation system here.

Our cat Hope, the mildly mentally retarded one, is not doing too well.  Most cats with her condition don't live very long lives, and she has been having "digestive difficulties" lately.  While i will spare the gory details, i can tell you that it is no fun having to unplug a plugged up cat.  There is no "purr" in purgative.

Misha is eating dry food, and occasionally licking some formula from a bowl.  Collins is right behind him, attempting to nibble the dry stuff, too.  They aren't too far from being big enough to go up for pre-adoption.  There are four more behind, them -- it was three, and a fourth was found and fit right in.

The dog, Vandy, has gone home.  His visit was enjoyable, but our house is not set up for a dog.  Like most Basenjis, he is mostly mute, very seldom making any noises.  The funniest line heard at our house while he was here was when he did actually bark at a knock at the door and Bigger Girl yelled, "If it's any of those annoying religious people, let's sic the dog on them!"

And that is all i can think of for today, as yesterday was church and i am still chewing on the sermon.  It was the kind i like, it takes days and days to digest, which makes for an interesting week. 


Today is

Aphrodisia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (bathing festival of Aphrodite and Peitho [Persuasion]; through tomorrow)

Asalhka Puja Day -- Buddhism (Buddhist "Lent" begins)

Festival of Boredom and Reverie -- Fairy Calendar

Full Buck Moon a/k/a Full Thunder Moon or Full Hay Moon; related observances
     Esala Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Waso Full Moon / Dhamma Cakka Day -- Myanmar

Hammock Day -- don't know who came up with this one, but at the height of the dog days, it seems appropriate; on some sites listed as Summer Leisure Day

International Childbirth Education Awareness Day -- can't find confirmation on this, but if you're going to have a kid, it's not a bad idea to get educated about what to expect!

King Father's Birthday -- Swaziland

La Guelaguetza a/k/a Los Lunes del Cerro -- Oaxaca, Mexico (folk dance, music and costumes, an extension of the celebrations of the Lady of Carmel, which used to be the feast of Xilonen, goddess of tender corn; now celebrated on two consecutive Mondays)

National Penuche Fudge Day

Pi Approximation Day (22nd day of month 7; 22/7 is the approximation of Pi)

Ratcatcher's Day -- celebrated by the British dating of the Pied Piper story; celebrated June 26 in Hamelin, Germany

Revolution Day -- The Gambia

Soma-Nomaoi Festival -- Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (Wild-Horse Chasing, a four day festival in which a thousand horsemen, clad in ancient armor, compete for possession of three shrine flags, and along the Hibarigahara Plain, men clad in white costumes attempt to catch wild horses)

Spooners Day (Spoonerism -- Named for William Archibald Spooner, English cleric and scholar who once fussed at a student because "You hissed my mystery lesson," told a groom it was "kisstomery to cuss the bride," and once accidentally referred to Queen Victoria as "the queer old Dean.")

St. Mary Magdalene's Day (Patron of apothecaries, contemplative life and contemplatives, converts, druggists, glove makers, hairdressers and hair stylists, penitent sinners, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumeries and perfumers, pharmacists, reformed prostitutes, tanners, women; Anguiano, Spain; Atrani, Salerno, Italy; Casamicciola, Italy; Elantxobe, Spain; Foglizzo, Italy; La Magdaleine, Italy; against sexual temptation)
   Stilt Dance Day -- Anguiano, Spain (a special stilt dance performed on the Feast of the city's patron, St. Mary Magdalen)


Birthdays Today

Madison Pettis, 1998
Selena Gomez, 1992
Daniel Jones, 1973
Rufus Wainwright, 1973
Shawn Michaels, 1965
David Spade, 1964
Willem Dafoe, 1955
Alan Menken, 1949
Albert Brooks, 1947
Don Henley, 1947
Danny Glover, 1946
Estelle Bennett, 1944
Bobby Sherman, 1943
Alex Trebek, 1940
Terrence Stamp, 1939
Louise Fletcher, 1934
Oscar De la Renta, 1932
Orson Bean, 1928
Bob Dole, 1923
Amy Vanderbilt, 1908
Alexander Calder, 1898
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1890
William Archibald Spooner, 1844


Today in History

King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk, 1298
The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I in the Battle of Dornach, 1499
A second group of English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony, 1587
Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada, 1793
In the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Rear Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm, and part of it is amputated, 1797
Death of Josef Strauss, Austrian composer, 1870
First ever motorized racing event is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The race is won by Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, 1894
Wiley Post becomes the first person to fly solo around the world traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, 1933
Dezik and Tzygan become the first of Russia's Space Dogs, making a sub-orbital flight, which they both survived, 1951
Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during WWII, 1976
Martial law in Poland is officially revoked, 1983
The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario, 1997
Norway is the victim of twin terror attacks, on government buildings in Oslo and a youth camp at Utoya, 2011