Another death. The dishwasher.

It is now just a huge dish drying rack. I have a system set up for hand washing. Sweetie is ecstatic, this is how he was raised. When he asked his mom when she was going to get a dishwasher, she answered that she had 3, and pointed to the kids. I fuss at him for wasting water rinsing dishes, and now he has to rinse before putting them in the soapy side of the sink. He loves that, gets very upset about just scraping plates, not rinsing them.

Also, we have finalized Thanksgiving plans. Part of the family will go to my parents on Wednesday, the others will follow on Thursday. This is so we will have space in the vehicles, as my van has a seat that got laid down and won't come back up again. It is also so that the younger kids and I can go straight to the shelter, and #1 Son and Sweetie can go straight home.

We will bring the pumpkin pie and the cornbread dressing.


Today is:

Eat A Cranberry Day

Feast of Qawl -- Baha'i

Jukebox Day

Kinro Kansha no Hi -- Japan (Labour Day Thanksgiving)

National Cashew Day

Opera Day

Repudiation Day -- Maryland, US

Rudolf Maister Day -- Slovenia

St. Clement's Day (invented felt; patron of blacksmiths, hatters, stonecutters, tanners)

St. Columban's Day (patron against depression, floods)

St. Felicity's Day


Birthdays Today:

Miley Cyrus, 1992
Salli Richardson, 1967
Bruce Hornsby, 1954
Johnny Mandel, 1925
Harpo Marx, 1888
Boris Karloff, 1887
Billy the Kidd (William H. Bonney), 1859
Franklin Pierce, 1804


Today in History:

Thespis of Icaria becomes the first actor to portray a character onstage, BC534
Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III, 800
Conquest of Seville by the Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile. 1248
Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship, and written by John Milton is published, 1644
People of Frederick County Md refuse to pay England's Stamp tax, 1765
Henry Burden patents Horseshoe manufacturing machine, 1835
Patent granted for a process of making color photographs, 1863
The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco, 1889
King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to become his heir, 1890
Andrew J Beard invents "jerry coupler," to connect railroad cars, 1897
Pencil sharpener patented by J L Love, 1897
Enrico Caruso makes his US debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, NY in "Rigoletto", 1903
Wright Brothers forms million dollar corporation to manufacture airplanes, 1909
Life Magazine publishes its first issue, 1936
The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia, 1955
The BBC broadcasts the first ever episode of Doctor Who (starring William Hartnell) which is the world's longest running science fiction drama, 1963
Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time, 1971
A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people, 1980
The first all woman expedition to the south pole (3 Americans, 1 Japanese and 12 Russians), sets off from Antarctica on the 1st leg of a 70 day, 1287 kilometre ski trek, 1990
Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Budapest, Hungary, 2001

Happy Birthday, Dad

Today is very special, because it is my father's birthday.

I call my dad Dr. Born Organized Clean. He is absolutely one of the most organized people you will ever meet, and he personally and his surroundings are always spotless.

He was a fabulous doctor, ob/gyn, and worked very hard. His dad left when he was young, so he went to work at age 11, delivering newspapers. He also worked summer jobs, and the money he earned went to support the family.

His hard work paid off with a full scholarship to college, or he wouldn't have been able to go. He had to sell several prized possessions he had earned to go to med school.

Even with a full class load in college and med school, he worked, and had time to date. In fact, he dated every nurse in the nursing school, my mom said. Since she was the only one his dog liked, she was the one he married, a month after graduation.

There are some great stories about how hard residency was. At one point during his last year, he needed his tonsils and wisdom teeth taken out. They gave him a Friday afternoon for it, and told him to be back at work on Monday morning. On Monday morning, someone found him passed out on the ward floor. Very generously, they sent him home until Tuesday afternoon.

Then there are the stories about his practice. When he first started, there wasn't a day that he wasn't called to the hospital to catch a baby. He had worked every single day for years and my mother finally said, "Get a partner, or get a divorce!" The partner was cheaper, so he went that route. By the time he retired, there were 5 in the practice.

I remember days where he would get to the hospital for 6am surgery, and not get home until after evening rounds at 6pm, and then have to get up in the middle of the night to go back for a delivery.

He was and is an amazing person, and to this day he stays busy with boards he is on, and charity work. At least twice a year he goes overseas, with my mom the nurse, as a medical missionary, taking care to people who often have never seen a doctor.

He is my hero.

So, happy birthday, Dad. You are amazing.


Today is:

Feast of Artemis/Diana -- Ancient Greece; Roman Empire

Go for a Ride Day

Independence Day -- Lebanon

National Stop the Violence Day

Start Your Own Country Day

St. Cecilia's Day (patron of music, composers, musicians)

Sts. Philemon and Appia's Day

Ydalir -- Ancient Norse Calendar (Celebration of the wintertime god of skiing and archery, Ullr)



Birthdays Today:

Scarlett Johansson, 1984
Scott Robinson, 1979
Mariel Hemingway, 1961
Jamie Lee Curtis, 1958
Billie Jean King, 1943
Robert Vaughn, 1932
Rodney Dangerfield, 1921
Benjamin Britten, 1913
Hoagy Carmichael, 1899
Charles de Gaulle, 1890
George Eliot (Mary A. Evans), 1819
Abigail Adams, 1744


Today in History:

The first Duke of all Brittany, Nominoe defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon, 845
Spain delegates "New Laws" against slavery in America, 1542
Dutch colonial forces on Taiwan launch a pacification campaign against native villages, resulting in Dutch control of the middle and south of the island, 1635
Off the coast of North Carolina, British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") is killed in battle with a boarding party led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, 1718
Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen, 1809
Canadian journalist and politician William Lyon Mackenzie called for a rebellion against Great Britain, 1837
In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched – one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day, 1869
Victoria Street Cable Tram route begins in Melbourne, Australia, 1886
The Congress of Manastir establishes the Albanian alphabet, 1908
1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason of Sayner Wisconsin, 1927
The premier performance of Ravel's Boléro takes place in Paris, 1928
Gasoline pump patented that computes quantity & price delivered, 1932
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" first heard on Eddie Cantor's show, 1934
The Humane Society of the United States is founded, 1954
US President John F. Kennedy is killed and Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, 1963
The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status, 1974
Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco, 1975
In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is revealed, 1988
Toy Story is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery, 1995
Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany, 2005

Kittens, Ball Games, Begging, and Light My Fire

Neither Sasha nor Dan were adopted out this weekend.

The kittens have the runs again -- I thought I had conquered that -- and some of them are now sneezing.

Oh, help. If they have any sort of upper respiratory, they cannot be adopted out. Poor babies, I hate to see them get sick, and by the time they are able to be adopted they're not tiny "aren't they so cute" kittens any more, and get passed over.

In somewhat happier news, the home team held on for a win this weekend, Barely, but it counts. This is a good thing, too, for Sweetie. He gets cranky when they lose, as he works in alumni relations, soliciting donations (say that three times fast!), and the alums don't give when the team loses.

Speaking of donations, 'tis the season. The calls and mailouts are coming in thick and fast, as everyone tries to make quota or budget or whatever by the end of the year. I have had more than the usual number of begging calls already this year. Please know that I don't mean that in a nasty way, I call Sweetie a professional beggar because that is what he does, too. I'm just noting that the numbers are up for before Thanksgiving.

I wonder if this is in any way related to the fact that stores have forgotten that Thanksgiving comes first. What I mean is, in the retail community, no one wants to miss a possible sale, so when one place starts early, everyone else seems to feel compelled to do the same, and the result is madness. Have the charities soliciting donations noticed that people run out of patience, not to mention money, if they wait too long, and everyone is trying to beat everyone else to the punch?

It's something to think about, but not just right now. #2 Son has come in asking if anyone has any fire starting liquid he can have, and is heading for his dad's cabinet where the cologne is. Time to go divert a pyromaniac.



Today is:

Alascattalo Day -- Anchorage, Alaska (The longest running, shortest parade in the world, held in the alley behind Club Paris from 12:03 to 12:07 pm. A prize is given to the smallest and ugliest float -- yes, it must be both small and ugly. An anonymous queen will be crowned, if she has the bad sense to show up.)

Armed Forces Day -- Bangladesh

Feast of Christ the King -- Catholic Christian

Feast day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin -- Catholic Christian

Festival of Madonna della Salute -- Venice, Italy

Full Beaver Moon a/k/a Full Frost Moon

Mother Goose Parade Day -- San Diego, California

National Stuffing Day

National Survivors of Suicide Day (There are lots of people out there who had a loved one die by suicide, so go give one a hug and some support.)

Our Lady Halfsower/ Our Lady Manysower -- Greece (a good Greek farmer has half of his field sown by the Feast of Presentation.)

St. Gelasius' Day

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

World Hello Day

World Television Day


Anniversaries Today:

South Carolina becomes the 12 US State, 1789


Birthdays Today:

Ken Griffey, Jr., 1969
Troy Aikman, 1966
Bjork, 1965
Cherry Jones, 1956
Goldie Hawn, 1945
Harold Ramis, 1944
Juliet Mills, 1941
Marlo Thomas, 1938
Joseph Campanella, 1927
Stan Musial, 1920
Coleman Hawkins, 1904
Rene Magritte, 1898
Hetty Green, 1834
William Beaumont, 1785
Voltaire, 1694


Today in History:

Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem; this is the event commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah, BC164
The Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower, reach what is now called Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts, and sign the Mayflower Compact, 1620
Richard Johnson, a free black, is granted 550 acres in Virginia, 1654
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight, 1783
Colonel Napoléon Bonaparte is promoted to full general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic, 1791
First Jewish Reform congregation in US forms, Charleston, SC, 1824
Moses F Gale patents a cigar lighter, 1871
Tom Edison announces his "talking machine" invention (phonograph), 1877
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator, 1922
First commercial crossing of Pacific by plane (China Clipper), 1935
The Alcan Highway is completed, 1942*
The British Natural History Museum announces that the "Piltdown Man" skull is a hoax, 1953
The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI, 1969
The Dayton Peace Agreement is initialed at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995
NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members, 2002

*Not opened to general vehicular traffic until the next year

Historied Out

We spent the evening on a whirlwind tour of Louisiana history with the kids.

It was history project night at the school Bigger Girl and #2 Son attend. Our own state was the theme, and there were 32 presentations.

Each student sets up a board and any props on a table, and has a few chairs gathered around. Parents, relatives, and friends move from station to station listening to a 3-5 minute speech about the subject the student is reporting.

So I went from student to student, and my head is swirling with facts about Louisiana music and food, prisons and disasters, museums and festivals, Native tribes, agriculture, resources, government, and politics, which ties with football for our favorite state sport.

Many of the young people are very creative. The young man who talked about the Battle of New Orleans had a real Kentucky long rifle, to show how it was used to defeat the British. The young lady who talked about our cuisine had gumbo to sample, which her uncle, a former chef, helped her prepare. I found the demonstration of bousillage, a type of building material made of mud and Spanish moss, to be very fascinating.

It did make for a long, but interesting evening, and even though a good time was not had by all -- #2 Son was particularly disgusted by having to do such a thing, thinks it was a waste of a good Friday evening -- I enjoyed it.

Makes me want to reread some of those history notes from long ago.


Today is:

Absurdity Day

Africa Industrialization Day (UN)

Air Your Dirty Laundry Day (Be careful with this one!)

Beautiful Day -- Fairy Calendar

Child Day -- Canada

Children's Day -- Egypt; Pakistan

Cote d'Or -- Savigny-lès-Beaune. Bourguignons, France (wine tasting festival)

Day of National Sovereignty -- Argentina

Fast for an Abundant World Harvest

Name Your PC Day

National Peanut Butter Fudge Day

Praetextatus and Paulina's Day (Guardians of the Eleusinian Mysteries)

Revolution Day -- Mexico

St. Edmund the Martyr's Day (patron against plagues)

Teacher's Day -- Vietnam

Universal Children's Day -- International

Writing On the Wall Day

Zumbi Day -- Brazil


Anniversaries Today:

The Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London, 1947


Birthdays Today:

Bo Derek, 1956
Duane Allman, 1946
Veronica Hamal, 1943
Joe Biden, 1942
Dick Smothers, 1939
Richard Dawson, 1932
Estelle Parsons, 1927
Kaye Ballard, 1926
Robert F. Kennedy, 1925
Alistair Cooke, 1908
Edwin Hubble, 1889
Susanna Wesley, 1669 (mother of John, Charles, and 17 other children)
Peregrine White, 1620 (born on the Mayflower)
Maximinus, Roman Emperor, 270


Today in History:

Bögü, Khan of the Uyghurs, conquers Lo-Yang, capital of the Chinese Empire, 762
Zumbi, the last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares of Brazil, is executed, 1695
New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the US Bill of Rights, 1789
Curacao's government forbids slave work on Sunday, 1795
Howard University is founded in Washington, D.C., 1866
US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports, 1914
1st municipally owned airport in US opens, in Tucson Az, 1919
In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation, 1962
The SETI Institute is founded, 1984
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released, 1985
The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million, 1989
In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage, 1992
The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched, 1998

Thank Heaven It Wasn't An Emergency

We finally got to the cat shelter, thank you traffic, and it was a mess.

My phone was dying even though I recharged it the night before, so I used the shelter phone to try to call one of the people whom I am supposed to call when something goes wrong.

Yes, they are volunteers. Yes, they have jobs and lives. Yes, at least one of the 5 people I can call should answer the phone, not let it go to voice mail. Really, what if I walked in and a cat was bleeding, or having a seizure, or some other big emergency? I would know to take one of those vet authorization forms and go to the emergency vet about two miles up the road. Would all of the other caretakers?

Miss W. did finally call me back, and I reminded her to order vaccines and KMR and microchips, as well as getting my questions and problems sorted out. We were almost done for the evening, though, by the time she did call. There has to be a better system, including preventing some of the problems I ran into tonight.

Curley Sue, Piper, and Felix have been adopted! I sure hope it "sticks" for Piper this time. Poor guy. Felix will be picked up Saturday.

Clint was hiding in the big room in his usual spot, and it was Zoey, "the porcupine" as Little Girl calls her, who was hiding in an unusual spot. It took me several minutes to find her. Nacho is healing, but I think he will have a scar and furless patch on his throat where he scratched himself raw so many times.

Grady didn't try to escape! He apparently loves his new rug, and every time I opened the door, or tried to leave, he went and draped himself all over his rug. It was Prissy who guarded the door, although she didn't try to escape. Ginny is still hissing at Prissy, and I think one of them might make a break for it someday, though.

Frieda, the office cat, has become very friendly, as long as you don't touch her back or tail. Scratch her ears a good bit, and she is putty in your hands.

The kitchen/storage area is still the home of Ms. Baby and T-Boy, and Gidget has been added to that. Ms. Baby let Little Girl touch her, just a little bit. T-Boy didn't want his eye meds, but I don't scare easy, and he is a wimp.

Mamie still sounds like she has asthma, not an upper respiratory. She isn't on meds, and she is happy with Maisie, and there is no quarantine sign on the door.

Bowie, poor boy, is the one who is in quarantine, but not for illness. He was in the adoption center cages for the week, but he was banished for 10 days for biting a store employee! Sweet Bowie must have been very provoked to do that, I wish I knew what had happened. He is back in with JuJu, who still won't let anyone near her, and Tiger and Buddy.

Suki, Sebastian, and Felix are in the cages in the back. Felix will be picked up, as stated before. Sebastian seems to have watery eyes, and is being watched. Suki is just out of spay surgery, and is one of the most loving Siamese cats I have ever seen. Never met a stranger, would probably let you pet the fur clean off of her little hide.

Everyone in the other colony rooms seems to be doing well. I put my own eyes on every cat, even though the kids clean some of the rooms, to make sure I can say that no one was looking sick and it wasn't noted. So rounding out the 36(!) occupants of the shelter we have Angel, Dustie, Roxanne, Sophia, Rosie, Iggy, Francie, Dora, Heathcliff, Squirt, Peeper, Katy, Tiffany, Muffin, Sashe, Daisy, and Lulu. Goodness! Try saying that 3 times fast.

If you are a praying person, pray for lots of adoptions for us and shelters across the country this holiday season. We are running out of space!


Today is:

Alligator Wrestling Day (will a cat that doesn't want its meds count?)

Children in Need Day -- UK and Ireland (telethon begins)

Discovery of Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico

Equal Opportunity Day

Flag Day -- Brazil

Garifuna Day/ Carib Settlement Day -- Belize

Have a Bad Day Day (for the hidden, or not so hidden, grouch in all of us)

International Men's Day -- Australia; Canada; Ghana; Hungary; India; Ireland; Jamaica; Malta; Singapore; South Africa; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; United States

Liberation Day -- Mali

National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day

Pencil Day

Please Maintain Your Focus Today Day

St. Mechchild's Day

St. Nerses' Day

Thanksgiving, Marshall Islands

Thrift Day a/k/a Use Less Stuff Day

World Toilet Day


Birthdays Today:

McCaughey Sextuplets, 1997
Kerri Strug, 1977
Jodie Foster, 1962
Meg Ryan, 1961
Calvin Klein, 1942
Ted Turner, 1938
Dick Cavett, 1936
Larry King, 1933
Indira Gandhi, 1917
Tommy Dorsey, 1905
James Garfield, 1831


Today in History:

The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins, 1095
Rabbi Isaiah b Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Israel, 1621
The Jakobinen club forms in Paris, 1794
The Jay Treaty, the first US extradition treaty, is signed with Great Britain, 1794
Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European Americans to cross the continent, 1805
Warsaw University is established, 1816
The St. Petersburg flood, caused by storms, kills 10,000, 1824
The second Canadian railway line, the Montreal and Lachine Railway, is opened, 1847
Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address, 1863
Boss Tweed is convicted, sentenced to 12 years, 1874
Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate, 1903
NY receives the first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy, 1911
Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures (anybody want to guess what this eventually became?), 1916
The first issue of Time Magazine is published, with Emperor Hirohito on the cover, 1928
Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III, 1954
Ford cancels the Edsel, 1959
Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon, 1960
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement, 1977
Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril of Canada arrives in Africa to lead a multi-national policing force in Zaire, 1996
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist Without Beard sells at auction for $71.5 million USD, 1998
The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft, 1999

Wednesday Already?

Gracious, it's Wednesday already!

I seem to have lost a couple of days, somehow. I am behind on my email, need to pay some bills and write a thank you note, send a letter, and a very thoughtless mama cat has dropped more kittens in our laps.

The story was that a box of 5 black kittens was found at the shelter by the business next door. They know that the shelter only has people in it sporadically through the day, and didn't want the little things to freeze before anyone got there, so took them to the nearest vet.

When Meg went to get them, a new volunteer, who has applied to be a foster, wanted to take 3 of them. She has bottle fed before, and is a SAHM. She did not feel comfortable taking 5, though, as she wants to make certain they are getting the best possible care. So we have two, and if she wants all 5 and feels she can handle them, they will go to her next week.

So, we have the bottles out again. And I am behind on email, and have a bill to pay ... oh, wait, I am repeating myself again. Oh, well, it must be Wednesday already.


Today is:

Calvin and Hobbes Day

Day of Ardvi Sura (Aredvi Sura Anahita), Mother of the Stars -- Ancient Persian Calendar

Ebisu-san Matsuri, Ebisu Shrine -- Hiroshima City, Japan

Feast of the Virgen de Chiquinquirá -- Maracaibo, Venezuela

Great American Smoke-Out

Tap-Dancing and Tiger-Turning -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Latvia; Moracco

National Day -- Oman

National Educational Support Personnel Day

National French Vichyssoise Day

National Farm Joke Day

Ned Ludd Memorial Machine-Smashing Day

St. Odo of Cluny's Day

St. Romanus' Day

Vertieres Day -- Haiti



Birthdays Today:

Elizabeth Perkins, 1960
Sinbad, 1956
Wilma Mankiller, 1945
Linda Evans, 1942
Brenda Vaccaro, 1939
Mickey Mouse, 1928
Alan Shepard, Jr., 1923
Imogene Coca, 1908
George Gallup, 1901
Eugene Ormandy, 1899
Clarence Shepard Day, 1874
Dorothy Dix (Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer), 1861
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1860
William Gilbert, 1836
Louis-Jacques Daguerre, 1787
Sojourner Truth, 1787


Today in History:

Old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated, 326
The Japanese Emperor Kammy relocates the residence of Nara to Kioto, 794
William Tell shoots the apple off his son's head, 1307
The Holland/Zealand dikes break during a storm, resulting in thousands of deaths, 1421
The first English printed book, "Dictes & Sayengis of the Phylosophers", is published, 1477
Christopher Columbus first sights the island now known as Puerto Rico, 1493
Vasco da Gama reaches the Cape of Good Hope, 1497
The worst earthquake in Massachussetts Bay/Boston area, 1755
The first Unitarian Minister in the US is ordained in Boston, 1787
30 women meet at Mrs Silas Lee's home in Wiscasset Maine, to organize the Female Charitable Society, first woman's club in America, 1805
Mark Twain's story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is published in the New York Saturday Press, 1865
National Woman's Christian Temperance Union organizes in Cleveland, 1874
Standard time zones are formed by railroads in the US and Canada, 1883
The first newspaper Sunday color comic strip is printed, in the NY World, 1894
Britain flies its first sea plane, 1911
Lincoln Deachey performs the first airplane loop-the-loop, over San Diego, 1913
Sigma Alpha Rho, a Jewish high school fraternity, is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1917
Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the third appearances of cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, 1928
Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula, 1929
New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison, 1940
In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is ratified, 1993

Why Coca Cola?

Why, the kids at co-op wanted to know, did someone come up with Coca Cola cake?

I explained that some people say it is because during the war, sugar was rationed and Coke was not. So it was used as part of the sweetener. I really don't believe that, and told the children so.

The more likely explanation is that the company came up with these recipes to increase desire for the product.

Since they wanted to try it, we made my mother-in-law's recipe for Coca Cola cake, and for the most part they liked it. Some thought it was too sweet.

Mix together 2 cups flour and 2 cups sugar.

Boil together two sticks of butter, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and one cup Coke. Pour over the flour/sugar mix.

Add a teaspoon each of baking soda and vanilla, 2 beaten eggs, and a half cup of buttermilk.

Mix well and add 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows, then pour into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350* for about 30-35 minutes.

Some recipes say to wait until it cools to ice it, but this recipe says to ice hot, so we did.

Melt together a stick of butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, and 6 tablespoons of Coke. Bring to a boil and pour over a pound of powdered sugar. Add chopped pecans if you want, and pour over the cake.

Today is:

Day of National Revival and Feast of Sacrifice -- Azerbaijan

Electronic Greeting Card Day

Homemade Bread Day

International Students Day -- International (meant to celebrate all students around the world, not specifically students studying in countries other than their own)

National Baklava Day

National Community Education Day

National Prematurity and Infant Loss Awareness Day -- United States

Polytechneio -- Greece

Shogi Day -- Japan (a chess-like game)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Day (patron of nursing, bakers; against plague)

St. Gregory of Tours' Day (aka Gregory Wonderworker; patron of desperate situations; against floods, earthquakes)

St. Hilda's Day (patron of business women)

St. Hugh of Lincoln's Day (patron of sick children)

Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day -- Czech Republic; Slovakia

Take A Hike Day

Winter Welcome Quadrilles and Dainty-Sixes -- Fairy Calendar

World Maritime Days -- through tomorrow



Birthdays Today:

Laura Wilkinson, 1977
Daisy Fuentes, 1966
Danny DeVito, 1944
Lorne Michaels, 1944
Tom Seaver, 1944
Lauren Hutton, 1943
Martin Scorsese, 1942
Gordon Lightfoot, 1938
Rock Hudson, 1925
Lee Strassberg, 1901
Atahualpa, last Emperor of the Inca, 1502
Flavius Claudius Julianus, Roman Emperor, 331
Vespian, Roman Emperor, 9


Today in History:

Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers, 284
England and Spain sign an anti-French covenant/treaty, 1511
Elizabeth I ascends the English throne, 1558
France and Spain sign the Peace of the Pyrenees treaty, 1659
The Church of England organizes in New England, 1785
Congress holds its first session in the still incomplete Capitol Building of Washington, D.C., 1800
The Delta Phi fraternity, America's oldest continuous social fraternity, is founded at Union College in Schenectady, New York, 1827
Ecuador and Venezuela separate from Greater Colombia, 1831
Street signs are first authorized at San Francisco intersections, 1853
David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls, 1855
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Slavonic March is given its première performance in Moscow, 1876
Japan and Korea sign The Eulsa Treaty, 1905
The first US dental hygienist course is formed, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1913
US declares the Panama Canal Zone to be neutral, 1914
Lenin defends the "temporary" removal of freedom of the press, 1917
American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th Century, 1947
Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse, 1970