Yesterday, Grandpa and Grandma came up to visit.
Grandpa, also called Dr. Born Organized Clean by this messy, impertinent child, brought our yearly ouchies, also knows as flu shots.
Thus my left arm will be sore for several days, but at least i should escape the worst of the winter cruddy maladies.
If you need one, now is the time. Though it doesn't guarantee total protection, it's still the best thing we have.
Today is:
Commemoration Day -- Tunisia
Day of Accord and Reconciliation -- Russia (formerly Great October Socialist Revolution Day, with the date determined by the Gregorian Calendar)
Feast of Stolen Fire -- find it listed on several sites, but none have any background; maybe celebrate that Prometheus stole fire for us?
International Tongue Twister Day -- internet generated
Job Action Day -- a day to put your career in the forefront and make an action plan
National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
National Day -- Northern Catalonia
National Notary Public Day -- US
National Revolution and Solidarity Day -- Bangladesh
October Revolution Day -- Belarus; Kyrgyzstan; former Soviet Union (still unofficially observed in Russia)
Recreation Day -- Tasmania
Stay Away from Anyone named Honest John Day -- internet generated; no comment
St. Florentius' Day
St. Willibrord's Day (Patron of Holland; against epilepsy, convulsions)
Wish Granting Championships -- Fairy Calendar (Fairies)
Birthdays Today:
Keith Lockhart, 1959
Joni Mitchell, 1943
Joan Sutherland, 1926
Al Hirt, 1922
Billy Graham, 1918
Albert Camus, 1913
Dean Jagger, 1903
Leon Trotsky, 1879
Madame Curie, 1867
Captain James Cook, 1728
Today in History:
The oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, the Ensisheim Meteorite, strikes around noon in a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France, 1492
Pierre Gassendi observes the transit of Mercury as predicted by Kepler, 1631
Anne Htchinson is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic, 1637
The first edition of the "London Gazette", the oldest surviving journal, is published, 1665
Lewis and Clark first sight the Pacific Ocean, 1805
The first Thomas Nast cartoon depicting the Republican Party Elephant is published, 1874
Edward Bouchet becomes the first black to receive a PhD from a US college (Yale), 1876
Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote, 1893
The first air freight shipment is undertaken by the Wright brothers and department store owner Max Moorehouse (from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus, Ohio), 1910
Mao Tse Tung proclaims the "Chinese People's Republic", 1931
Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City, 1933
Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city, 1967
Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States, 1989
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland, 1990
NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor, 1996
So, for those of you whose area has the joy of resetting the clocks twice a year, did you remember to fall back?
Around here, i have to be careful about that. There's noting quite so embarrassing as showing up for church an hour off, either way.
The biggest problem is when to reset them.
If i wait until right before bed, as is recommended, i end up only doing the one in my bedroom, as i'm not a night person and i'm so sleepy in the evening it's too much trouble to do all of them.
If i do it too early, i end up confusing myself and everyone else in the house.
So each time it comes around i wrestle with myself, and i'm not sure why. After all, my most important time piece, my phone, resets itself.
Now there's a non sequitur. Never did i imagine my phone would replace my watch and my alarm clock.
Since that has happened, though, it's got me wondering if and when we will ever drop this madness of resetting the clocks twice a year anyway.
No one has ever been able to logically explain to me why it's so important to keep up this tradition.
There is one scientist, whose name escapes me, who has an interesting idea, though. It's been several years since i read about it, but it really did seem like an interesting way to approach this.
He wanted to reprogram all clocks to be able to incrementally gain an hour over the course of a week, all of them at the same rate, so no one would be off.
Then, every Saturday night, we would set the clock back and get that extra hour, as that's the one change most of us like best.
This way, at the beginning of the week, the sunlight would be earlier in the day, and by the end of the week, when we want to stay out late on Friday and Saturday night, it would be dark early but stay light until later in the evening.
Since it would require a complete change in how clocks keep time, i don't think it will catch on.
It's a shame the original idea of daylight savings ever did, at least to me.
Today is:
Birth of Tiamat -- Ancient Babylonian Calendar (mother of gods, goddess of primeval chaos; date approximate)
Constitution Day -- Dominican Republic; Tajikistan; Tatarstan
Daylight Saving Time ends -- US (Fall Back Day)
Eid al Adha -- Islam (through the 9th)
Finnish Swedish Heritage Day -- Finland
Fish Returning Days begin -- Fairy Calendar (the fairies borrow centuries old fish in sealed crystal boxes from each other, and why they prefer each others or what they do with them, they will not tell)
Green March -- Morocco
Gustavus Adolphus Day -- Sweden
Halfway Point of Autumn
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
Marooned Without A Compass Day -- internet generated; how's your sense of direction?
National Nachos Day
Saxophone Day
St. Illtyd's Day (Abbot, cousin of King Arthur)
St. Leonard's Day (Patron of prisoners, blacksmiths, porters, horses, locksmiths, coal miners, greengrocers; against robbery)
St. Paul of Constantinople's Day (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Zero Tasking Day -- spend the extra hour gained when turning the clocks back doing nothing, just practice being
Birthdays Today:
Pat Tillman, 1976
Rebecca Romijn, 1972
Ethan Hawke, 1970
Maria Shriver, 1955
Glenn Frey, 1948
Sally Field, 1946
Mike Nichols, 1931
Walter Perry Johnson, 1887
James Naismith, 1861
Ignace Paderewski, 1860
John Philip Sousa, 1854
Adolphe Sax, 1814 (yes, the musician who invented the Saxophone)
Today in History:
Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in Texas, 1528
Spain grants independence to the Dominican Republic, 1844
Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work of fiction by the author later known as George Eliot, is submitted for publication, 1856
Canada celebrates its first official, national Thanksgiving Day, 1879
Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa, 1913
Colonel Jacob Schick patents the first electric razor, 1928
Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation" to the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers (hello, FM radio!), 1935
Parker Brothers acquires the forerunner patents for MONOPOLY from Elizabeth Magie, 1935
Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility, 1944
The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation, 1962
Cuba and the United States formally agree to begin an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States, 1965
Green March begins: 300,000 unarmed Moroccans converge on the southern city of Tarfaya and wait for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara, 1975
Australians vote to keep the Head of the Commonwealth as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Hazelnut is tired.
One might even say exhausted.
She spent a huge part of the day yesterday at "the happy doggy place," our name for the dog park. We use that so she won't hear us say something about parking the car or the park across the street and get excited thinking she's going somewhere.
She was so tired she came in and lay down before her harness was off. When i joked that she got in bed still "dressed", she looked at me, and just rolled over.
So Miss Lizzy took the harness off, and the Hazelnut rolled over again and went to sleep.
She slept so soundly that, when she dreamed a little while later, she gently barked in her sleep!
It was funny to watch her twitching and hear the gentle "wuffs" that she made.
Tired, but still dreaming of fun.
Oh, to be so free from care and have such a life.
Today is:
Burning of the Tar Barrels -- Ottery St. Mary, Devon, UK (17 barrels soaked in tar are lit outside 17 taverns and carried through the town)
Conmemoracion Patriotica en la Ciudad de Colon -- Panama
Day of the First Shout for Independence -- El Salvador
Egyptian Day -- Medieval Europe day of bad fortune (common saying on this day was, "Notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord.")
Guy Fawkes' Day -- Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador; New Zealand; UK; a/k/a Gunpowder Day, bonfires celebrate that Guy Fawkes' plot did not succeed
Kanakadasa Jayanthi -- Karnataka, India
Lewes Bonfire Night -- Lewes, East Sussex, UK
National Doughnut Day -- well, it's better than buy a donut day, that one's too obvious
Nones of November -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Popes Day -- US name for the remembrance of Guy Fawkes' Day
Sadie Hawkins Day -- US (based on Li'l Abner comic, a day for women to ask out the man of their choice; also widely observed on Feb. 29)
St. Elizabeth's Day and St. Zechariah's Day -- parents of John the Baptist (Elizabeth is Patron of pregnant women)
Turning the Devil's Stone -- Shebbear, Devon, UK (erratic stone, possibly from an Ice Age deposit, turned every year on this day to assure good fortune)
Wet Wellington Day -- Fairy Calendar (Imps and Gremlins; they really love it when this falls on a Wednesday)
Wuwuchim Fire Ceremonies begin -- Hopi Native American (celebration of Masaw, god of death, and Spider Woman, the earth mother; a 16 day festival and manhood ceremony for adolescent boys)
Birthdays Today:
Judy Reyes, 1967
Tatum O'Neal, 1963
Tilda Swinton, 1960
Bryan Adams, 1959
Peter Noone, 1947
Sam Shepard, 1943
Art Garfunkel, 1941
Elke Sommer, 1940
Ike Turner, 1931
Vivien Leigh, 1913
Roy Rogers, 1911
Joel McCrea, 1905
Strom Thurmond, 1902
Today in History:
Wu MeKuan, a collection of 48 Zen koans, compiled in China, 1228
Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier (Brittany); it is the first Breton dictionary as well as the first French dictionary, 1499
St. Felix's Flood ravages the Dutch coast and destroys the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands, 1530
The Gunpowder Plot, in which Catholics were trying to blow up the English Parliament, is foiled, 1605
Susan B. Anthony is arrested for trying to vote in Rochester, NY, 1871
The first US patent for a gasoline driven motor car is granted to George B. Selden, 1895
Calbraith Rodgers arrives in Pasadena from Sheepshead Bay, NY, completing the first transcontinental plane flight, in 49 days, 1911
Colombia joins the United Nations, 1945
USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao (Tsing Tao) China — the first US Naval visit to China since 1949, 1986
André Dallaire attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Jean Chrétien of Canada, but is thwarted when the Prime Minister's wife locks the door, 1995
Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar are sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial, 2006
China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1 goes into orbit around the Moon, 2007
Quote of the Day:
Money is such a wonderful thing. It's a shame you waste so much time making it. ~ Richard M. Gibson of Lafayette, LA
Then again, looking at the behavior of some people who were born with silver spoons in their mouths, maybe it's a good thing that most of us aren't given the chance to test the universe in that way.
Today is:
Arbor Day -- Samoa
Chicken Lady Day -- Miami, FL, US (in honor of The Chicken Lady, whose nonprofit organization helps people get over being "chicken" about public speaking)
Citizenship Day -- Northern Mariana Islands
Community Service Day -- Dominica
Constitution Day -- Tonga
Flag Day -- Panama
Giomo dell'Unita Nazionale e Festa delle Forze Armate -- Italy (National Unity and Armed Forces Day)
Guy Fawkes Carnival -- Bridgwater, Somerset, UK (through the 7th)
Guy Fawkes Eve -- sometimes called Mischief Night in some parts of Australia, UK, New Zealand, although that is more appropriate to April 30/October 30
Hajj -- Islam (through the 7th)
Honeymoon Day -- reminisce about your own special trip, on the birthday of Art Carney
Ludi Plebeii -- Ancient Roman Calendar (public games, through the 17th)
Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness And Appreciation Day
National Candy Day -- guess they're thinking you still have some left over from Hallowe'en
St. Charles Borromeo's Day (Patron of apple orchards, bishops, seminarians, spiritual directors, spiritual leaders, starch makers; against colic, intestinal disorders, stomach diseases, and ulcers)
Unity Day -- Russia
Use Your Common Sense Day -- on Will Rogers' birthday, of course, since "Common sense ain't all that common."
Victory Day -- Italy
Will Rogers' Day
*Waiting for the Barbarians Day -- internet generated, and i thought they came and took over a long time ago!
World Championship Punkin Chunkin -- Bridgeville, DE, US (through the 6th; come watch someone be crowned lord of the gourd!)
World Community Day
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial (unofficial, but widely commemorated)
Anniversaries Today:
Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange, 1677 (ruled jointly as William and Mary)
Abraham Lincoln weds Mary Todd, 1842
Discovery of King Tut's Tomb -- 1922
Taking of the US Embassy in Teheran, Iran -- 1979
Birthdays Today:
Sean "Diddy" Combs, 1970
Matthew McConaughey, 1969
Ralph Macchio, 1962
Jeff Probst, 1962
Kathy Griffin, 1960
Markie Post, 1950
Laura W. Bush, 1946
Loretta Swit, 1937
Doris Roberts, 1930
Martin Balsam, 1919
Art Carney, 1918
Walter Cronkite, 1916
Will Rogers, 1879
Augustus Montague Toplady, 1740 (wrote the hymn "Rock of Ages")
Today in History:
The Flood of the Arno River causes massive damage in Florence, Italy, 1333
Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier, 1429
Thomas Wolsey, English cardinal, arrested, 1529
Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria, 1783
The Erie Canal is completed with Governor DeWitt Clinton performing the Wedding of The Waters ceremony in New York Harbour, 1825
Benjamin Palmer patents an artificial leg, 1846
Dentist John Beers of San Francisco patents the gold crown, 1873
Tonga adopts a constitution, 1875
James Ritty patents the cash register, to combat the pilfering of the till by the bartenders in his Ohio saloon, 1879
London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell, 1890
The Italian unknown soldier is buried in the Altare della Patria (Fatherland Altar) in Rome, 1921
Nellie Tayloe Ross is elected the first female US State governor, in Wyoming, 1924
The rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, 1955
Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the River Arno floods; together with the contemporaneous flood of the Po River in northern Italy, this leads to 113 deaths, 30,000 made homeless, and the destruction of numerous Renaissance artworks and books, 1966
Genie, a 13-year-old feral child is found in Los Angeles, California having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life, 1970
The Netherlands experiences the first Car Free Sunday caused by the oil crisis, as the highways are deserted and are used only by cyclists and roller skaters, 1973
First conference that focuses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web, in San Francisco, 1994
Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an extremist Orthodox Israeli, 1995
Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing a pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress, 2002
Barak Obama is elected President of the United States, 2008
Brevity is the soul of personalized license plates.
A few i've seen around lately reminded me of just how much you can pack into 7 letters and numbers.
Telling you what they do for a living:
TTHMOVR
MTHTCHR
Telling you what team they love:
CHEEZHD
RGNCJUN (Ragin' Cajun, for those not from south Louisiana)
And revealing a bit of personality:
K8IEBUG
TOT ROD
That last was on the back of a minivan, of course, and the dad driving looked like he had given up a beloved dream for the family with him. He didn't seem upset about it, though.
So, have you seen any good ones lately?
Today is:
Apaturia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (meeting of the clans, a 3 day festival; date approximate)
Betchya Festival -- Onomichi, Japan (men in costume "beat" children with bamboo whisks to prevent them getting ill in the coming year)
Bunka no hi -- Japan (Culture Day)
Cliche Day -- get them all out of your system today
Festival of Fisher's Ghost -- Campbelltown City, Australia (come celebrate the legends of Australia's most famous ghost, Frederick Fisher; through the 13th)
Housewives' Day -- birthday of Roseanne Barr
Independence Day -- Dominica; Federated States of Micronesia; Panama (also called Separation Day, separating from Colombia)
Let Someone Have the Last Word Day -- internet generated, probably so you will quit with the cliches
Men Make Dinner Day -- BBQ is not allowed, and it would coincide with Sandwich Day, with a built in excuse to do it the easy way
National Day -- Dominica
National Sandwich Day -- make it a good one, in honor of the birthday of John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, its inventor
Parsley Scattering Season ends -- Fairy Calendar
SOS Day -- on this date in 1906 the Second International Radio Telegraphic Conference at Berlin, Germany, proposed it as the new wireless distress signal
St. Hubert's Day (Patron of hunters, mathematicians, foresters, furriers, makers of precision Instruments, Belgium; against dog bites, rabies)
St. Martin de Porres' Day (Patron of hairdressers, persons of mixed race, public-health workers, race relations, TV in Peru)
St. Pirminius' Day (Patron against snakebites. poisoning)
St. Winifred's Day
Thanksgiving Day -- Liberia
Victory Day -- Maldives
Will Rogers' Days -- Claremore and Oologah, OK, US (through the 5th; celebrating the man's wit and humor at his birthplace and the museum dedicated to him)
Birthdays Today:
Gemma Ward, 1987
Dolph Lundgren, 1959
Adam Ant, 1954
Kate Capshaw, 1953
Dennis Miller, 1953
Roseanne, 1952
Ken Berry, 1933
Michael Dukakis, 1933
Charles Bronson, 1921
Thomas Kyd, 1558
Today in History:
Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina, 644
Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea, 1493
The English parliament accepts the Act of Supremacy, declaring Henry VIII to be the leader of the Church of England, 1534
Great Patent is granted to Plymouth Colony, 1620
A great panic occurs in Europe over the close approach of a comet, 1679
Spain acquires Louisiana, 1762
The Bank of Montreal, Canada's oldest chartered bank, opens in Montreal, Quebec, 1817
The Times of India, the world's most widely circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper, is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, 1838
"Black Bart the Poet", stagecoach robber, commits his last robbery, leaving behind a clue that leads to his capture, 1883
J.H. Hunter patents a portable weighing scale, 1896
Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market, 1911
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika, 1957
NASA launches Mariner 10 toward Mercury; it would later become the first probe to reach that planet, 1973
Pervez Musharraf declares emergency rule across Pakistan, suspending the Constitution, 2007
Bigger Girl is vegan, like me.
She does not eat mostly raw, as i do, although probably she is close to 50% most days.
She is now experimenting with recipes.
Raw sweet potato relish stuffed in bell pepper and fava bean loaf, anyone?
Meanwhile, Sweetie is still wondering what he did wrong; after all, meat should be the centerpiece of every meal.
She plans to bring some of this to the Thanksgiving celebration at Grandma and Grandpa's house this year.
What Grandpa, who is old medical school conservative and believes vegetarians are crazy will think, i do not know.
It's going to be an interesting holiday season.
Today is:
All Souls' Day -- Christian (celebrations in Ecuador are among the most colorful; 2nd of the Dias de los Muertos in Mexico)
Aztec Day of the Dead -- Ancient Aztec Calendar
Balfour Declaration Day -- Israel
Coronation of Haile Selassie -- Rastafarian
Dead Relatives' Day -- Sicily
Dia de Finados -- Brazil; Portugal
Dveselu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar
Festival of Hathor -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Hopi and Zuni Ancestors' Day
Indian Arrival Day / Arrival of Indentured Laborers' Day -- Mauritius
Karatsu Kunchi -- Karatsu and Saga, Japan
Look for Circles Day -- internet generated, and we run in circles looking for who created it and why!
National Deviled Egg Day
National Traffic Directors Day -- meaning radio and TV traffic directors, who always schedule your favorite shows when you just can't watch, and put more and more commercials in when they can
Ohara Festival -- Kagoshima, Japan (one of Japan's largest autumn festivals, with 22,000+ dancers in the parade; through tomorrow)
Potting-Shed Investitures -- Fairy Calendar (Garden Fairies)
Plan Your Epitaph Day
Refuse to Capitalize the First Letters in Your Name Day -- k.d.lang's birthday
Soulcaker's Play -- Cheshire, UK
St Eustachius' Day (Patron of firefighters, hunters, hunting, Madrid [Spain], Poli [Italy], torture victims, trappers; against fire, difficult situations, and torture)
Anniversaries Today:
North Dakota becomes the 39th US State, 1889
South Dakota becomes the 40th US State, 1889
Birthdays Today:
Stephanie Powers, 1942
Pat Buchanan, 1938
Ray Walston, 1914
Burt Lancaster, 1913
Paul Ford, 1901
Warren G. Harding, 1865
James K. Polk, 1795
Marie Antionette, 1755
Daniel Boone, 1734
Today in History:
The Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut colonies combine forces and attach the Great Swamp Fort of the Narragansetts during King Philip's War, 1675
The African Free School, the first free school in NYC, opens, 1787
The popular vote for US president is first recorded and Andrew "By God" Jackson (a/k/a Old Hickory) defeats John Quincy Adams, 1824
New Zealand officially adopts a standard time to be observed nationally, 1868
Johnny Campbell officially leads the crowd in cheering at a University of Minnesota football game, the official birth of cheerleading, 1898
The British newspaper the "Daily Mirror" begins publication, 1904
The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the clear understanding "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities", 1917
Australia's Qantas Airways begins service, 1922
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is established, 1936
In California, designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Spruce Goose; the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built, 1947
Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case, 1960
The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, is launched from MIT, 1988
No one argues the value of a higher education for many students.
No one argues that it costs.
What we don't see argued enough is this idea that the cost needs to rise every single semester.
Does it really?
It does if you have to add more faculty and staff. Such as a Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion.
What?
We can't just include people and treat them with equity without having to have a formal vice chancellor overseeing it?
Apparently not, at least at Berkeley, where said vice chancellor pulls down a base salary of $194,000. That is as much as 3 1/2 new assistant professors.
Then, of course, if you are a vice chancellor you need your own chief of staff and 16 underlings. It would be a pretty poor vice chancellorship if you didn't have underlings, people to boss around.
Do we really have to be baby sat to this extent?
If so, be prepared for the rise in college education prices to continue indefinitely, with bigger and bigger salaries going to more and more micromanagers of every single thing you do on campus.
Today is:
All Hallow's Day a/k/a All Saint's Day -- Holy Day of Obligation (Roman Catholic Church. A holiday in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta (for schools only), Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain)
Andhra Prodesh Foundation Day -- Andhra Prodesh, India
Bulgarian National Revival Leaders' Day -- Bulgaria
Cook for Your Pets Day -- did the dogs lobby for this?
Coronation Day of Fourth Druk Gyalpo -- Bhutan
CrossQuarter Day
Day of the Innocents -- Mexico
Eid al Adha -- Saudi Arabia
Gooseberry Humble's Tummy-Rumbling Contest -- Fairy Calendar
Graveyards Day
Independence Day -- Antigua & Barbuda; North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic, from the Ottoman Empire)
Karnataka Foundation Day -- Karnataka, India
Kerala Foundation Day -- Kerala, India
Kite Festival of Santiago Sacatepequez -- Santiago Sacatepequez, Guatemala (kite flying in the graveyard to scare away evil spirits)
Liberty Day / D. Hamilton Jackson Day -- US Virgin Islands
Melbourne Cup -- Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia
NaNoWriMo -- National Novel Writer's Month, write one if you have it in you!
National Author's Day
National Day -- Algeria
National Family Literacy Day -- turn off the tv, pick up a good book!
National French Fried Clam / Deep Fried Clam Day
National Vinegar Day
Old Celtic New Year
Olive Festival -- Galilee, Israel (through the month)
Pomonia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Festival to Pomona)
Revolution Day -- Algeria
Samhain -- Celtic, 3rd Station, and Wicca, Northern Hemisphere (Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere)
World Vegan Day -- International
Birthdays Today:
Fernando Valenzuela, 1960
Lyle Lovett, 1957
Dan Peek, 1951
Larry Flynt, 1942
Gary Player, 1935
Stephen Crane, 1871
Today in History:
The name "Austria" is first used for Ostarrichin, 996
King John of England begins imprisoning Jews, 1210
The Duke of Brabant orders the execution of all Jews in Brussels, claiming they were poisoning wells, 1349
First exhibit of the works of Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1512
The Netherlands is hit by a flood disaster, resulting in the deaths of thousands, 1570
Shakespeare's "Othello" first presented, 1604
Shakespeare's "The Tempest" first presented, 1611
An earthquake in Lisbon leaves over 50,000 dead, 1755
The Stamp Act goes into effect in the British colonies, 1765
George Washington gives his "Farewell Address" and the Continental Army is dissolved, 1783
John Adams becomes the first Us president to move into the (still not quite finished) White House, 1800*
*Note: It was still called the Executive Mansion at this time
The first published reference to poker, as a Mississippi riverboat game, 1834
The Cape Lookout, North Carolina, lighthouse, which is still in use, is lit for the first time; its first-order Fresnel lens can be seen for 19 miles in good conditions, 1859
Passage of the first US Civil Rights Bill, 1866
First publication of "Harpers Bazaar", 1867
The US Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) begins operations, with 24 locations, 1870
Edward Scripps and John Sweeney found Penny Press (now the Cleveland Press), 1878
The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded at the Hayes' Hotel in Thurles, County Tipperary, 1884
Dr. Roux of Paris introduces a vaccine for diphtheria, 1894
Nicholas II becomes the new Tsar of Russia, 1894
The National Geographic Magazine publishes its first picture of bare breasted women (from a Zulu tribe), 1896
The first Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public, 1897
Sigma Phi Epsilon, the largest national male college fraternity in the US, is established at Richmond College, 1901
Parris Island becomes the officially designated Marine Corps Recruit Depot, 1915
The Ottoman Empire is officially abolished, 1922
Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in an upset victory during a match race deemed "the match of the century" in horse racing, 1938
The first animal conceived by artificial insemination, a rabbit, is displayed, 1939
American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography, 1941
The first issue of Ebony Magazine is published, by John H. Johnson, 1945
Charles Cooper of the Celtics becomes the first black NBA player, 1950
The first hydrogen nuclear device is exploded, by the US, at Eniwetok Atoll, 1952
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante wears a protective mask for the first time in an NHL game, 1959
The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens, 1963
The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is officially introduced, originating with the ratings G, M, R, and X, 1968
Honda becomes the first Asian automaker to build cars in the US, 1982
Serbia joins the United Nations, 2000
First part of the Gomery Report, which discusses allegations of political money manipulation by members of the Liberal Party of Canada, is released in Canada. 2005
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