Mikey's Thankful (Feline Friday) and a Bit of Random on Friday

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Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.

Mikey is very thankful for his bed:

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This is where i would usually participate in Friendly Fill-Ins with 15AndMeowing and the Four Legged Furballs.  They are taking a break this week because of Thanksgiving and because Ms. Ellen lost one of her precious kitties this week.  We are all very sad with her, so i want to cheer her up a little.

That's why i am posting a bit of randomness, mostly just funnies.

Okay, it's all funnies.  As is usual, all of the random stuff i wanted to say flew out the window just as i sat to write!

Six Truths in Life

1. You cannot stick your tongue out and look up at the ceiling at the same time, a physical impossibility.

2. All idiots, after reading #1 will try it.

3. And discover #1 is a lie.

4. You are smiling now because you are an idiot..

5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.

6. There is still a stupid smile on your face.

I sincerely apologize about this but I'm an idiot and I needed company. You now have 2 options...delete it, or send it along to put a smile on someone's face today.

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Today is:

Belsnickel Craft Show -- Boyertown, PA, US (through tomorrow)

Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day -- US, and i will observe the latter

Buy Nothing Day -- UK (Shop Less, Live More)   

Christmas Candlelight Tour -- My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Bardstown, KY, US (Christmas as it was in the 1800s; Fridays and Saturdays the first three weekends after Thanksgiving)

Deepavali/Diwali(Festival of Lights) -- Hindu; Jain; Sikh (3rd day of the festival)

     Gai Tihar and Laxmi Puja -- Day of Cows and Laxmi (goddess of wealth; day three of the festival)

Dita e Clirimit -- Albania (Liberation Day)

Electronic Greetings Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Fairy Flute Fantasy -- Fairy Calendar

Family Day -- Nevada, US

Festival of Saturnia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (for the Sons of Saturn; Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto)

Fur-Free Friday -- originally sponsored by The National Humane Education Society, trying to make it a world-wide movement     

Gettysburg Holiday Festivals -- Gettysburg, PA, US (fun holiday events weekends through the New Year's Eve Bash)

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People -- UN

JuleFest -- Elk Horn, IA, US (a true Danish Christmas festival; through Sunday)

National Chocolates Day -- yes, another one

National Day of Listening -- US (sponsored by StoryCorps, encouraging sharing family stories during the holidays; learn how to interview and record those special stories here)    

National Flossing Day -- US, but a great idea everywhere; help spread peace of mouth!   

National Lemon Creme Pie Day

National Unity Day -- Vanuatu

Native American Heritage Day -- US; related observance

     Maize Day -- US; celebrating the First Nations of the Americas and the role maize/corn played in their cultures

Plan Your Dagwood Sandwich Day -- admit you've always wanted to, so build one with your Thanksgiving leftovers!

Sinkie Day -- sponsored by SINKIE, The International Association Of People Who Dine Over The Kitchen Sink, which urges you to combine your Christmas shopping with enjoying a quick meal of Thanksgiving leftovers and become a SINKIE convert!     

St. Andrew's Eve -- in many traditions, a night to fortell the future, especially whom you will marry

St. Saturnius of Toulouse's Day (Patron of Toulouse, France)

Square Dance Day -- internet generated, and fun to do, but here's some information about square dancing 

Tree Lighting at Anchorage -- Anchorage, AK, US (Santa and 9 real reindeer help celebrate the annual lighting of the holiday tree, with free cocoa and cookies for all)

William Tubman's Birthday -- Liberia (its longest serving President)

World Famous Fish House Parade -- Aitkin, MN, US (plus chili cook-off, craft show, and more!)

You're Welcomegiving Day -- US, the day after Thanksgiving, started by Richard Ankli to give everyone a reason for a 4-day weekend

Anniversaries Today:

Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin, 1916

Birthdays Today:

Jon Knight, 1968

Don Cheadle, 1964

Andrew McCarthy, 1962

Kim Delaney, 1961

Cathy Moriarty, 1960

Jeff Fahey, 1956

Howie Mandel, 1955

Joel Coen, 1954

Garry Shandling, 1949

Petra Kelly, 1947

Chuck Mangione, 1940

Peter Bergman, 1939

John Mayall, 1933

Jacques Rene Chirac, 1932

Diane Ladd, 1932

Vin Scully, 1927

Madeline L'Engle, 1918

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 1908

C.S. Lewis, 1898

Busby Berkeley, 1895

Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1876

Louisa May Alcott, 1832

Wendell Phillips, 1811

Christian Doppler, 1803

Charles Thomson, 1729

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Tatort"(TV), 1970

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"(Beatles single release), 1963

"Bells Are Ringing"(Musical), 1956

"Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"(TV), 1948

"Gay Divorce"(Musical), 1932

Today in History:

Jews of Augsburg, Germany, are massacred, 1349 (Sometimes, it seems, the more things change...)

King Philip II devalues Spanish currency, 1596 (See above...)

Sir James Jay invents invisible ink, 1775

San Jose, California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, 1777

Dessalines & Christophe declare St Domingue (Haiti) independent, 1803

First Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC), 1825

Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph, 1877

The first motorcycle race ever is held in Surrey, England; the distance was one mile and the winner was Charles Jarrot in a time of 2 minutes, 8 seconds, 1897

The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine. 1910

Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California, 1915

Howard Carter opens the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the public, 1922

Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole, 1929

The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome is performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, 1944

The United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine, 1947

Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space, orbits earth twice, and is successfully recovered after splashdown, 1961

Canadian Space Agency launches the satellite Alouette 2, 1965

Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, 1972

The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution stating that Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, 1983

The Czechoslovakian Parliament votes to end Communist rule, 1989

The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by the following January 15, 1990

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique, 2007

Pablo Picasso's electrician reveals 271 previously unknown works he claims were gifts from the artist, 2010

NASA announces its space probe MESSENGER has almost certainly found water ice buried beneath the surface of the north pole of Mercury, 2012

What today?

Unless you want to get lost for hours in ideas and never get anywhere, don't ask Google what you should post about when you are drawing a blank.

You might find yourself on a website that lets you paint a nebula, or the one that has a cat bouncing all over the screen.  Then there are the ones where writers complain about how their brains hold them hostage.

Don't ask your Sweetie either, or you might get told something weird, or asked when you are going to get to the laundry.  Then you might have to consider braining your Sweetie, but realize it's not worth the jail time.

Speaking of my Sweetie (who of course would never do the above), all of the children were out of the house for a while today.  He's been talking about how wonderful it will be when they all finally move out.  Today, he sat at the table and asked where they all went, and complained about how it was too quiet around here.

It was all i could do to not say, guess what!  Once they all move out, this is how it's going to be all of the time!

How has he not figured that out yet?  Especially now that he is retired and spends most of every day hunting for things to do.

Yesterday was #2 Son and DIL Becky's first anniversary.  They are saving up and hope to rent a house soon.  They want Little Girl and another friend to rent it with them to split costs.  Their hope is to find a rent-to-own deal.

That would leave #1 Son, Bigger Girl, and Red-headed Alec here.  None of them are in a huge, tearing hurry to leave, so i guess the days of too quiet aren't going to get here very fast.

Red-headed Alec has been helping me clean houses.  Yesterday we were doing the final cleaning so a couple could move back into their now rebuilt from the flood house, and one of their friends came by.  The friend got my number and wants to call me about cleaning his daughter's house.  Mr. D, the husband of the couple i cleaned for, came in and said, "I sold you to him for $20/hour per person!"

At this rate, i'm going to have more houses than i can handle alone, and i will really have to incorporate and hire Red-headed Alec full time.

No carts before the horses, though.  It's too soon to tell if any of my current jobs are going to turn into regular work either weekly or bi-weekly.

It doesn't hurt to dream a bit.

Just don't ask Google what to post about unless you have a lot of time to waste.



Today is:

Anniversary of Benazir Bhutto's Death -- Sindh, Pakistan

Calli (House) Day -- Aztec Calendar (a good day for all things hearth and home and family. a bad day to participate in public life; date approximate, but soon after the solstice)

Constitution Day -- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)

Festival of Nehebkau -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Beginning of Eternity, celebrating the snake god and his role of binding the sun to the earth at the beginning of time; date approximate)

Kwanzaa, Day 2, Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day -- internet generated, with Christmas over, you need to do winter decoration

Modern Medicine Day -- birth anniversary of Louis Pasteur

National Fruitcake Day -- unless, of course, you are like me and have spent your last several days with fruitcake relatives, at which point you get a day off from fruitcakes! ;D 

St. Fabiola's Day (Patron of difficult marriages, divorced people, victims of abuse, victims of adultery, widows)

St. John the Divine's Day (Patron of art dealers, authors, bookbinders, booksellers, burn victims, compositors, editors, engravers, friendships, lithographers, painters, papermakers, printers, publishers, tanners, theologians, typesetters, writers; Asia Minor; Boise, Idaho, Borgo Santo Sepolcro, Italy; Cleveland, OH; Eger, Hungary; Milwaukee, WI; Morra, Netherlands; Saint-Jean ñ Longueuil, QuÈbec; Sansepoicro, Italy; Sundern, Germany; Taos, NM; Umbria, Italy; Wroclaw, Poland; against burns, poisoning)

St. Stephen's Day -- Eastern Orthodox, a public holiday in Romania

Third Day of Christmas

Unfairies' Gathering -- Fairy Calendar

Visit the Zoo Day -- don't know who put this one in the middle of winter, but there it is

Watch the Children Day -- internet generated, a day to take a page from the book of the young and remember how to play like a child


Birthdays Today:

Heather O'Rourke, 1975
Masi Oka, 1974
Bill Goldberg, 1966
Tovah Feldshuh, 1952
Gerard Depardieu, 1948
Cokie Roberts, 1943
John Amos, 1939
Oscar Levant, 1906
Marlene Dietrich, 1901
Sydney Greenstreet, 1879
Louis Pasteur, 1822
George Cayley, 1773
Johannes Kepler, 1571


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Knots Landing"(TV), 1979
"Howdy Doody"(TV), 1947 (first successful children's television show)
"Radio Roxyettes"(Now the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes), 1932


Today in History:

The Hagia Sofia of Constantinople is completed, 537
The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World, 1512
The first public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England, 1825
Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard the HMS Beagle, 1831
Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried in Lewes Sussex, 1836
Ether is first used in childbirth in US, in Jefferson, Ga., 1845
The world's first cat show is held at the Crystal Palace, London, 1871
Carrie Nation's first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel, Wichita, Kansas, 1900
Unsuccessful attempt on prince-regent Hirohito of Japan, 1923
Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Trotsky is expelled, 1927
Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City, 1932
The Shah of Persia declares Persia is now Iran, 1934
The World Bank was created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations, 1945
Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon, 1968
The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States, 2001
Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet, 2004
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated, 2007
Toyota Motor Corporation agrees to pay $1 billion to settle over a dozen lawsuits related to sudden acceleration, 2012

Am i the only one left...

...who hasn't taken a selfie?  (Besides the picture i took of my swollen hand after the hornet bite.  Since it was an awful picture and was only of my hand, i don't think it can be considered a real selfie.  And yes, the ring is repaired and back on my now back to normal hand.)

It seems to be so popular these days that even elephants are doing it!

And in other critter news, there is a movement now in the US to allow military dogs, when they are retired, to be adopted by the handlers with whom they worked overseas.

This sounds like something that should have happened many years ago.  Animals, no matter what the military says, are not weapons.  They may be considered property, but they are living property and deserve consideration beyond what you would give a mere physical, non-living item.

Around here, summer has finally started.  It's swim team time, they start practice today.  That makes it official.

Little Girl is looking forward to it.

Today is

Bob Day -- an internet holiday i couldn't confirm, but if your name is Bob, you deserve a special day just for having that name!

Crown Prince's Birthday -- Denmark

Dracula Day -- Bram Stoker's Dracula went on sale this day in 1897

Dzien Matkl -- Poland (Mother's Day)

Festival of the Valley -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (celebration of the movement of Amun from the East Bank of Thebes to the West Bank; it involved giving flowers and sharing food with the dead)

Goblin Races -- Fairy Calendar

Holiday of the Receiving of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Day -- Georgia(1918); Guyana(1966)

National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

National Cherry Dessert Day

National Day of Healing -- Australia (formerly called National Sorry Day; to express regret for the ill treatment of Aboriginal Peoples of Australia)

National Paper Airplane Day -- not an official holiday, but go make one, and have a blast; some people even organize contests

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day -- Hawai'i

Sally Ride Day -- US (birth anniversary of America's first woman in space)

St. Augustine of Canterbury's Day (First Archbishop of Canterbury and Patron of England; feast day in the Anglican Communion and most Eastern Churches)

St. Philip Neri's Day (Patron of Gravina, Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, and Rome, Italy; the United States Army Special Forces)

Thargelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (birthday festival of Apollo and Artemis; through tomorrow, date approximate)

World Lindy Hop Day -- Frankie Manning's birth anniversary



Anniversaries Today:

Boston University is founded by the Massachusetts legislature, 1869


Birthdays Today:

Helena Bonham Carter, 1966
Lenny Kravitz, 1964
Genie Francis, 1962
Sally Ride, 1951
Pam Grier, 1949
Philip Michael Thomas, 1949
Hank Williams, Jr., 1949
Stevie Nicks, 1948
Brent Musburger, 1939
Miles Davis, 1926
James Arness, 1923
Peggy Lee, 1920
Jay Silverheels, 1919
Frankie Manning, 1914
Peter Cushing, 1913
Robert Morley, 1908
John Wayne, 1907
Dorothea Lange, 1895
Al Jolson, 1886


Today in History:

Armenian rebels battle the Sassanid empire and win the right to openly practice Christianity, 451
An earthquake  strikes Kamakura, Japan, killing about 30,000, 1293
Geneva  expels John Calvin and his followers from the city, 1538
Alse Young becomes the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, 1647
Lewis and Clark first see the Rocky Mountains, 1805
The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, 1830
Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners, 1857
The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote, 1868
Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia, 1894
Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1896
The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, 1908
The world's longest-lasting tornado, lasting for over 7 hours and traveling 293 miles, strikes Mattoon, Illinois, 1917
British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana, 1966
Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing, 1969
The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2, 1970
Willandra National Park is established in Australia, 1972
George Willig climbs the South Tower of New York City's World Trade Center, 1977
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people, injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed, 1983
The European Community adopts the European flag, 1986
Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era, 1991
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York, 1998
Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes, 2003
The New York Times publishes an admission of journalistic failings, claiming that its flawed reporting and lack of skepticism towards sources during the build-up to the 2003 war in Iraq helped promote the belief that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, 2004
The May 2006 Java earthquake kills over 6,600 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, 2006*

*Occurred 22:54 GMT May 26, 05:54 Local Time May 27, so some sources date it today, some tomorrow