Feline Friday: Weird Stuff

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

It's easy to participate, just post a picture of a cat.  Your cat, your friend's cat, a cat picture you find on the internet, even a LOL cat, any cat!

Some weird things happen around here.

#2 Son teases his boss at work about how they have to make sacrifices to his dark lord, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, with his noodley appendages.

Bigger Girl likes to joke, when she leaves the house, that she's off to join the rebellion, whichever one happens to be handiest at the moment.

And the cats find weird things, too:

What is it?
I'm not sure, but I think the food providers eat it!

Today is:

Arbor Day -- Samoa

Christkindl Markt -- Canton, OH (fine arts and crafts sale for the benefit of the Canton Museum of Art; through Sunday)

Colorado Country Christmas Gift Show -- Denver, CO, US (through Sunday)

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 Blessed John Duns Scotus (the Subtle Doctor, known for merging the views from many philosophies)
     Dunce Day -- from the word Dunse, a name for the followers of the philosophy of John Duns Scotus

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

National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

National Farm Toy Show -- National Farm Toy Museum, Dyersville, IA, US ("The Granddaddy of Them All" among farm toy enthusiasts and collectors; through Sunday)

Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness And Appreciation Day -- US

National Notary Public Day -- US

National Revolution and Solidarity Day -- Bangladesh

October Revolution Day -- Belarus; Kyrgyzstan; Transdniestria

Stay Away from Anyone named Honest John Day -- internet generated; no comment

St. Florentius' Day (Patron against gall stones, ruptures)

St. Willibrord's Day (Patron of epileptics; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Utrecht, Netherlands; against convulsions, epilepsy)

Wish Granting Championships -- Fairy Calendar (Fairies)

World Community Day -- sponsored by Church Women United to focus on justice and peace through non-violent means;  this year's theme is "Through G-d Our Hands Can Heal"


Anniversary Today:

The Old Stoughton Musical Society, the oldest choral society in the US, is founded, 1786



Birthdays Today:

Jeremy London, 1972
Keith Lockhart, 1959
Joni Mitchell, 1943
Johnny Rivers, 1942
Barry Newman, 1938
Joan Sutherland, 1926
Al Hirt, 1922
Billy Graham, 1918
Albert Camus, 1913
Dean Jagger, 1903
Leon Trotsky, 1879
Madame Marie Curie, 1867
Captain James Cook, 1728


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"America Hurrah"(van Itallie play), 1966
"Face the Nation"(TV), 1954
"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century"(Radio),1932
The Republican Elephant, as drawn by T. Nast in Harper's Weekly, 1874
"The Conscious Lovers"(Steele play), 1722
The Oxford Gazette(first edition), 1665 (Now The London Gazette)


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
U.S. voters in the state of Massachusetts approve a referendum legalizing the use of medical marijuana; Colorado and Washington approve the legalization of recreational use of the drug, 2012

Musical Cars

Time, once again, to play musical cars!  The game in which you try to figure out whose car is going to be available for whom, and when!

Will the car be fixed on time?  The answer this time was, no, it sure won't!

#1 Son has been driving on borrowed time for quite a while.  His inspection sticker expired, and he kept putting off having the windshield replaced and the side mirror fixed so it could pass.  He spent every day holding his breath and hoping he didn't get pulled over.

Finally, yesterday, he decided to take it in.  The company where Sweetie gets all glass work done for his job is owned by great people who really do take pride in what they do.

Unfortunately, they didn't do it quite fast enough yesterday.  The nice lady told us, when he dropped it off, that if i brought him back by 3pm, it would be done.  After all, she said, that's 6 hours from now!  Plenty of time to fix what ails the car and get the inspection done.

Then her inspection guy didn't tell her he had an offsite job.

No car at 3pm, thus a game of musical cars.  He uses Jalopy to go to work.  #2 Son and i have to juggle Sweetie's car to get his errands run and get me to church for prayer service.

And the big question, what time will the vehicle be ready tomorrow, because i have work and so does Sweetie, but one of us has to get him over there.

Musical cars is a fun game at times, but i don't recommend it often, because it can leave you stranded if not played correctly.  Like one family a mechanic friend of ours knew that had 6 people and 6 cars.  All 6 cars ended up in the shop at the same time, and they had to rent two cars to just get everyone to work and school for a week.

Don't try that version of the game, it's too much drama.



Today is:

Basketball Day -- birth anniversary of James Naismith

Birth of Tiamat -- Ancient Babylonian Calendar (mother of gods, goddess of primeval chaos; date approximate)

Constitution Day -- Dominican Republic; Tajikistan; Tatarstan, Russian Federation

Electric Razor Day -- Jacob Schick patented the first electric razor on this day in 1937

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)

Full Beaver Moon / Full Frosty Moon
     Bonn Om Touk -- Cambodia (Water Festival continues)
     Ill Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Palden Lhamo Festival -- Tibet (protectress of Tibet, celebrated mostly by women)
     Loy Krathong -- Thailand (Floating of the Lamps festival; to appease the water spirits, dedicated to Mae Kongkha, Goddess of Rivers)
     Tazaugmone/Thasaung Mong Full Moon -- Myanmar (Festival of Lights begins)
     That Luang Festival -- Laos (Ventiane's most important Theravada Buddhist festival)

Green March Day -- Morocco; Western Sahara

Guru Nanak Jayanti -- India; Nepal (celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak)

Gustavus Adolphus Day -- Sweden

Halfway Point of Autumn

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict -- UN

International End Gossip Day -- the founder of this didn't want to be gossiped about, and left no trace

Marching Band Day -- birth anniversary of John Philip Sousa

Marooned Without A Compass Day -- internet generated; how's your sense of direction?

Men Make Dinner Day -- BBQ is not allowed, but you can go to menmakedinnerday.com for ideas

National Nachos Day / I Love Nachos Day

Pirates Week Festival -- Cayman Islands (mock pirate invasions, old sailing vessels, and lots of good natured fun; through the 16th)

Saxophone Day -- Adolphe Sax birth anniversary

St. Illtyd's Day (Abbot, reputed cousin of King Arthur)

St. Leonard's Day (Patron of barrel makers/coopers, blacksmiths, captives, childbirth, coal miners, coppersmiths, greengrocers, horses, imprisoned people, locksmiths, miners, porters, P.O.W.'s, prisoners; Castelmauro, Italy; Conegliano, Italy; Kirkop, Malta; against burglaries, robberies/robbers)

Thanksgiving Day -- Liberia


Birthdays Today:

Ethan Hawke, 1970
Pat Tillman, 1976
Rebecca Romijn, 1972
Thandie Newton, 1972
Ethan Hawke, 1970
Kelly Rutherford, 1968
Lance Kerwin, 1960
Maria Shriver, 1955
Nigel Havers, 1949
Glenn Frey, 1948
Sally Field, 1946
Mike Nichols, 1931
Walter Perry Johnson, 1887
James Naismith, 1861
Ignace Paderewski, 1860
John Philip Sousa, 1854
Cesare Lombroso, 1835
Adolphe Sax, 1814


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Good Morning America"(TV), 1975
"The Phil Donahue Show"(TV), 1967
"Meet The Press"(TV), 1947


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

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Howl

This year's pumpkins, courtesy Little Girl's carving skills.

Spooky, isn't it?

Today is:

Ashura -- Islam (optional day of fasting that ends at sundown, local observances and national holidays may vary)

Bonn Om Touk -- Cambodia (a/k/a The Water Festival, it is Cambodia's largest party, always held for two days around the time of the full moon in November)

Conmemoracion Patriotica en la Ciudad de Colon -- Panama

Day of the First Shout for Independence -- El Salvador

Edgar Allan Poe Evermore -- Mount Hope Estate, Manheim, PA, US (nights of suspense with the stories from the master, acted by professionals; through Nov. 16)

Egyptian Day -- Medieval Europe day of bad fortune (common saying on this day was, "Notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord.")

Festival of Amun -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

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; related famous celebrations
     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)
     Lewes Bonfire Night -- Lewes, East Sussex, UK
     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)

Hawaiki Nui Va'a Race -- French Polynesia (spectacular three-day open water outrigger canoe race from Huahine to Raiatea to Tahaa to Bora Bora; through Friday)

Mariachi Night -- Brawley, CA, US (sponsored by the Imperial Valley Joint Chambers of Commerce, a free night of celebrating the heritage of Mariachi music)

National Doughnut Day -- well, it's better than buy a donut day, that one's too obvious

National Stress Awareness Day -- UK (International Stress Management Association)

Nones of November -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Popes Day -- US name for the remembrance of Guy Fawkes' Day

St. Elizabeth's Day and St. Zechariah's Day -- parents of John the Baptist (Elizabeth is Patron of pregnant women)

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 (dating approximate, as these ceremonies are now mostly closed to outsiders, a celebration of Masaw, god of death, and Spider Woman, the earth mother; a 16 day festival and manhood ceremony for adolescent boys)


Anniversary Today:

George W. Bush marries Laura Welch, 1977


Birthdays Today:

Kevin Jonas, 1987
Corin Nemec, 1971
Judy Reyes, 1967
Tatum O'Neal, 1963
Tilda Swinton, 1960
Bryan Adams, 1959
Bill Walton, 1952
Peter Noone, 1947
Sam Shepard, 1943
Art Garfunkel, 1941
Elke Sommer, 1940
Geoffrey Wolff, 1937
Ike Turner, 1931
Vivien Leigh, 1913
Roy Rogers, 1911
Joel McCrea, 1905
Strom Thurmond, 1902
Raymond Loewy, 1893
Will Durant, 1885
Ida M. Tarbell, 1857
Eugene Debs, 1855


Debuting/Premiering Today

"Into the Woods"(Sondheim musical), 1987
"Fifth of July"(Wilson play), 1980
"The Nat King Cole Show, 1956
The New York Weekly Journal(first edition), 1733


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
The first post office in the Colonies is opened in the home of Richard Fairbanks, 1639
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

Blessed Relief

Finally!  It's here!

Election Day!  Am i looking forward to voting?  Oh, yes, absolutely.  Unless you are conscientiously
objecting, i believe everyone eligible should vote.  Too many people on this planet would love to be able to do so for us to waste the opportunity.  Also, it is a hard won privilege for us, as you know if you've studied your history.

But that's not the main reason i'm looking forward to it.  After all, this is Louisiana where our wimpy legislature won't take a stand on anything and so puts any item that might be controversial on the ballot as a constitutional amendment instead of just voting on it themselves.  That way, they get to weasel out of the blame if things go wrong.  Also they make us spend a lot of time trying to figure out just what they are trying to pull in each of those amendments, and it can take a while to make sure you got it all right once you are in that booth.  Because of this, the actual moments you spend in that booth can be a bit of a pill, but one i'm willing to swallow.

No, the main reason i'm looking forward to it is that i am so tired of the ads and name calling and the constant calls on our home phone, at least 3-5 per night.  "Don't vote for the convict who is running for Congress!"  "I am not a liar!"  "Yes, you are!"  "No, I'm not!"  The misinformation and lies and foolishness has gotten on my last nerve.

It will be a blessing to have it all over and done with.  At least until the run-offs, of which we are sure to have at least one.  Gads.

Okay, i'm diving in early today, and then i don't want to hear any more until i read my paper tomorrow morning.  If the run-off comes up the way i think it will, the break will be short, but i need every minute.



Today is:

Ashura -- Islam (optional day of fasting that begins at sundown, local observances and national holidays may vary)

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/National Day -- Tonga

Election Day -- US (finally!  No more ads for a while!)

Feast of Qudrat (Power) -- Baha'i

Flag Day -- Panama

Giorno dell'Unita Nazionale e Festa delle Forze Armate and Victory Day -- Italy (National Unity and Armed Forces Day; celebration of the 1918 Treaty with Austria)

Guy Fawkes Eve -- sometimes called Mischief Night in some parts of Australia, UK, and New Zealand, although that is more appropriate to April 30/October 30

Honeymoon Day -- reminisce about your own special trip, on the birth anniversary of Art Carney

King Tut Day -- his tomb was opened this day in 1922

Ludi Plebeii -- Ancient Roman Calendar (public games, through the 17th)

Melbourne Cup Day -- Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia (153rd running)

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, catechists, seminarians, spiritual directors/leaders, starch makers; Joliette, Quebec; Lombardy, Italy; Monterey, CA; Rocca di Papa, Italy; against abdominal pain, colic, intestinal disorders, stomach diseases, ulcers)
     a Bank Holiday in Andorra

Unity Day -- Russia

Will Roger's Day -- especially in OK, US; related observance
     Use Your Common Sense Day -- because "Common sense ain't all that common."

Waiting for the Barbarians Day -- internet generated, and i thought they came and took over a long time ago!


Anniversaries Today:

Taking of the US Embassy in Teheran, Iran -- 1979
Discovery of King Tut's Tomb -- 1922
Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd, 1842
Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange, 1677 (ruled jointly as William and Mary)


Birthdays Today:

Sean "Diddy" Combs, 1970
Matthew McConaughey, 1969
Andrea McArdle, 1963
Ralph Macchio, 1962
Jeff Probst, 1962
Kathy Griffin, 1960
Markie Post, 1950
Laura W. Bush, 1946
Robert Mapplethorpe, 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")


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Crimes of the Heart"(Henley play), 1981
"One Man's Family"(TV), 1949
"Prince Igor"(Borodin opera), 1890
Symphony No. 1 in C minor(Brahms Op. 68), 1876


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
In Australia's Northern Territory in the lands of the Jawoyn people, archaeologists discover what is believed to be the world's oldest example of a stone ax, estimated at 35,500 years old, 2010

Awww Monday: You Can't See Me!

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  It's easy to do, just post a picture that makes everyone say, "Awww!"

After all, what better way to start the week than with a smile?

Link likes to hide, and he likes to think that you can't see him.

No one can see me under here!

Try again, buddy!

Today is:

Apaturia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a three day meeting of the clans and welcoming newcomers and children into the community; date approximate)

Betcha 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; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Cuenca Day -- Cuenca, Ecuador

Housewives' Day -- birth anniversary of Roseanne Barr

Independence Day -- Dominica(1978); Federated States of Micronesia(1986); Panama (also called Separation Day, separating from Colombia in 1903)

Job Action Day -- a day for workers and job seekers to put job or career in the forefront, make plans, and take action

Let Someone Have the Last Word Day -- internet generated, probably so you will quit with the cliches

Marlborough Provincial Anniversary Day -- Marlborough, New Zealand

National Day -- Tonga

Parsley Scattering Season ends -- Fairy Calendar

Recreation Day -- Tasmania, Australia

Sandwich Day -- birth anniversary of John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich and reputed inventor of the food item which bears his name; make yourself a really good one in his memory

SOS Day -- on this date in 1906 the Second International Radio Telegraphic Conference at Berlin, Germany, proposed it as the new wireless distress signal to replace CQD (Come Quick, Danger)

St. Hubert's Day (Patron of archers, dogs, forest workers, furriers, hunters and hunting, machinists, mathematicians, metal workers, opticians, precision instrument makers, smelters, trappers; Liege, Belgium; Saint-Hubert, Belgium; against dog bites, hydrophobia/rabies)

St. Martin de Porres' Day (Patron of African-Americans, bargers/hair stylists, inter-racial justice, hotel-keepers/innkeepers, paupers, persons of mixed race, poor people, public education, public health, public schools, race relations/racial harmony, social justice, state schools, television; Biloxi, MI, US; Peru)

St. Pirminius' Day (Patron of Monsheim, Germany; against poisoning, snake bite)

St. Winifred's Day (Patron of incest victims, martyrs; Gwytherin, Wales; Holywell, Wales; Shrewsbury, England)

Traffic Director's Day -- Traffic Directors Guild of America (those who are Traffic Managers, Inventory Control Specialists, Revenue Managers, or many other terms in the broadcasting and mobile industries)

Tunnel Day -- NY, NY, US (anniversary of the start of the first subway tunnel in 1900)

Victory Day -- Maldives


Birthdays Today:

Gemma Ward, 1987
Evgeny Plushenko, 1982
Dolph Lundgren, 1959
Phil Simms, 1956
Adam Ant, 1954
Kathy Kinney, 1954
Kate Capshaw, 1953
Dennis Miller, 1953
Roseanne, 1952
Steve Landesberg, 1945
Ken Berry, 1933
Michael Dukakis, 1933
Monica Vitti, 1933
Charles Bronson, 1921
Bob Feller, 1918
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski, 1908
Edward Douglass White, 1845
William Cullen Bryant, 1794
Stephen Fuller Austin, 1793
Thomas Kyd, 1558


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Diff'rent Strokes"(TV), 1978
"Good Morning America"(TV), 1973
Play Misty for Me(Film, NYC release date), 1971
"The Unsinkable Molly Brown"(Musical), 1960
"A Connecticut Yankee"(Musical), 1927


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
John W. Menard, of Louisiana, becomes the first African-American elected to Congress, 1868
"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
Dutch and British astronomers find spiral nebula Dwingeloo 1, 1994
Pervez Musharraf declares emergency rule across Pakistan, suspending the Constitution, 2007
US Border Patrol discovers a sophisticated tunnel used by drug smugglers from Tijuana, Mexico to Otay Mesa, California, 2010

Silly Sunday: Liver to Tell the Tale

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.  Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  It's easy to join in the fun because the rules are simple:  Laugh and Link Up!

There was a newspaper story recently about a couple who had been married over 50 years.  They were asked, of course, for tips on a happy marriage.

The husband and wife explained that when they first got married, each found out the other had a particular much hated food.  She despised liver in any way, shape, or form, and he couldn't stand spinach, no matter how it was cooked.

After their first argument, he threatened to go buy liver and cook it just to make her mad, and she threatened to do the same with some spinach.  Then they laughed, and calmed down, and decided that as long as they never really got mad enough at each other to do that, things were going to be just fine.

They never did go buy each other's despised food out of spite, and so they stayed together!

This reminds me of a joke.

When Boudreaux and Clothile firs' get married, Clothile she don' know how to cook.  She be terrible!  But Boudreaux he love her anyway, and he tell her, "Mais, don' worry, you gone get better!"

So Clothile, she practice, an' she try.  She buy one o' dem fancy cookery books, and she look in dere.  An' one day, lookin' for summat new, she see "Liver and Onions."

Okay, she t'ink, I's goin' try dat!  So she cook de liver an' onions.

When Boudreaux come in, he don' say much, but he tell her, "T'anks so much fo' workin' so hard on dinner!"

"Do you like it?" she ax.

"Oh, I love dem onions!" Boudreaux say, tryin' to be diplomat like.

So Clothile t'ink, he like dat!  I'll cook dat more.

After dat, about once a month, Clothile, she cook de liver an' onions.  An Boudreaux, he don' like it much, but he smile an' eat it, an' say he like de onions.

One day, when he come in again an' dere be de liver an' onions, he say, "Clothile, you jes' love liver an' onions, don' you?"

"Mais," she answer, "no, I don' like dem much.  I be cookin' dem because you like it!"

"No," Boudreaux say, "I hate liver!  I be t'inkin' you like it!"

"But you say you like it de firs' time!" Clothile exclaim.

"No, cher, I done say I like de onions!  I never say nuttin' about de liver!"

Well, dey both laugh, and laugh, and now dat dey be older, wit' enough money to go out to eat sometime, it's de joke dey tell each other.

"Let's go out!  Maybe we find someplace dats got liver an' onions!"




Today is:

All Souls' Day -- Christian (celebrations in Ecuador are among the most colorful; 2nd of the Dias de los Muertos in Mexico) related observances:
     Dead Relatives' Day -- Sicily
     Dia de Finados -- Brazil; Portugal

Aztec Day of the Dead -- Ancient Aztec Calendar (date approximate)

Balfour Declaration Day -- Israel

Cookie Monster's Birthday -- go have a cookie to celebrate! (but only after your dinner, as Cookie Monster now points out; boy, things have changed)

Coronation of Haile Selassie -- Rastafarian

Daylight Saving Time ends -- Bermuda; Canada (most areas); Cuba; Greenland (some areas); Haiti; Mexico (Baja area); Saint Pierre and Miquelon; The Bahamas; Turks and Caicos Islands; US (most areas)

Dveselu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (day for families to gather with the spirits of their ancestors at the graveyard to celebrate the continuity of life)

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

Indian Arrival Day / Arrival of Indentured Laborers' Day -- Mauritius

International Day to End Impunity -- International (calling for the ending impunity for crimes against journalists and media workers)

Karatsu Kunchi -- Karatsu and Saga, Japan

Look for Circles Day -- internet generated, and we run in circles looking for who created it and why!

London to Brighton Veteran Car Run -- England (a race composed of only pre-1905 vehicles)

National Deviled Egg Day

National Sleep-In Day -- begun by those who want you to spend the extra hour gained catching up on your ZZZZ's

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; on the anniversary of the first commercial radio broadcast in Pittsburgh in 1922, sponsored by the Traffic Directors Guild of America 

New York City Marathon -- NY, NY, US

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 -- sponsored by Dead or Alive of Arcata, CA, because a forgettable epitaph is almost a fate worse than death, so make plans to do yours right!

Practice Being Psychic Day -- but you already knew that, didn't you?

Refuse to Capitalize the First Letters in Your Name Day -- k.d.lang's birth anniversary

Soulcaker's Play -- Cheshire, UK

St Eustachius' Day  (Patron of difficult situations, fire prevention, firefighters, hunters and hunting, torture victims, trappers; Madrid, Spain; Poli, Italy; against fire and torture)

Unique 14th Annual 150 Hands-On Mystery Object Event -- Logic Puzzle Museum, Burlington, WI, US (come join the fun and use your brain puzzling out what these mystery objects, many of them antique, are or used to do; through Nov. 22)

Zero Tasking Day -- spend the extra hour gained when turning the clocks back doing nothing, just practice being


Anniversaries Today:

North Dakota becomes the 39th US State, 1889
South Dakota becomes the 40th US State, 1889


Birthdays Today:

k.d. lang, 1961
Shere Hite, 1942
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


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Spruce Goose makes its first (only) flight, 1947
KDKA Radio Pittsburgh, PA, US makes the first scheduled radio broadcast, of election results, 1920


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, 1903
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
Charlotte Woodward, who attended the historic Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention of 1848, becomes the only one of the women who attended to live long enough to cast a vote in a national election, 1920
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
The International Space Station becomes permanently staffed, 2000
China makes its first orbital docking as its unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft successfully docks with the orbiting Tiangong 1 space station module, 2011
The New York Marathon is cancelled due to the damage from Hurricane Sandy, 2012

Bicyclists, Please

Please don't get me wrong, i love bicycles.  In fact, when the kids were younger and we all had them, we would ride together sometimes to get me to work when i was doing the lunch shift at the preschool.

After all, bicycles are great fun.  You can go really, really fast, much faster than you could ever run.

They are economical, once you've bought one.  No fuel needed except what you feed your own self, and as long as you don't run through tires so fast you need to invest in a rubber company, like #2 Son used to, it's pretty cheap transportation.

Bicycles also have the advantage of not adding pollution to our air.

If i could, i'd have one now, and use it to ride on close errands.

Here's the thing, though.  When you are on a bicycle, and especially once you are over the age of 12 and thus able to understand it, you need to be obeying the rules of the road.

If you want the privileges of riding on the streets with the cars, you need to obey the same rules.

Yes, i will gladly give you 3 feet or more of clearance when passing you.

Yes, i will gladly wait for other cars coming toward me to get past me, and drive behind you at a respectful distance, until it's safe for me and for you for me to pass you.

Yes, i will let you go first if you get to the four-way stop first.

What i ask is that you please stop at that four-way stop, instead of pretending that stop signs don't apply to you.  What i ask is that you please don't pass between the lanes of traffic, it's not safe for you to be between two cars, and those lines in the road are there for a reason.  What i ask is that you please don't try to go straight from a right turn lane, get into the correct lane to go straight.

And for heaven's sake, don't give me a dirty look when you are going the wrong way on a one way street and i almost don't see you because you are approaching from the wrong direction.  It is a one way street and you are the one going the wrong way, not me.

You will get the same respect out of me as all vehicles get, those of you on bicycles.  Now do me the courtesy of obeying the same rules i have to.

After all, that's the law.



Today is:

All Hallow's Day a/k/a All Saint's Day -- Christian, and a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Catholic Church; a recognized holiday (although not necessarily a day off work) in Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovena, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, East Timor, Ecuador, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Holy See, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Monaco, New Caledonia, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Wallis and Fortuna)

Apaturia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (three day Phratriai brotherhood festival; dates approximate)

Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival -- Banff, AB, Canada (38th annual; through next Sunday)

Bulgarian National Revival Leaders' Day -- Bulgaria

Cake Appreciation Day -- while i can't find a reason or sponsor for this, i'm sure the Cake Appreciation Society would approve

Children's Day -- Malaysia

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 (first Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead)

Digital Scrapbooking Day -- it certainly takes up less room than the other kinds!

Fall Back Night -- all areas that end Daylight Saving Time tomorrow; set your clock back one hour before you go to bed and change the batteries in your smoke alarms/carbon monoxide detectors

Fall Country Jamboree -- Barberville, FL, US (celebration of pioneer life, with music, crafts, historic displays, Native and Cracker camps, and more; through tomorrow)

Gooseberry Humble's Tummy-Rumbling Contest -- Fairy Calendar

Graveyards Day -- a traditional day to tend the graves of ancestors

Guy Fawkes Carnival -- Bridgwater, Somerset, UK (a festival that traces its origins to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605)

I Am So Thankful Month begins -- before the "holiday" frenzy, spend not just a day, but a month, practicing gratitude

Haryana Day -- Haryaha, India

Independence Day -- Antigua & Barbuda(1981); North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic, from the Ottoman Empire)

International Coaches Day -- no one claims to have started this; if you have, or had, a great coach in your life, let him/her know

Kalends of November -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Pomonia -- Festival to Pomona

Kanhada Rajyothsaya -- Kamataka, India (Kamataka Formation Day)

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

Lovington Fall Arts and Crafts Festival -- Lovington, NM, US (over 100 local and regional crafters; through tomorrow)

NaNoWriMo -- National Novel Writer's Month, write one if you have it in you!

National Author's Day -- US

National Family Literacy Day® -- US (but no matter where you live, turn off the tv, pick up a good book! National Center for Family Literacy)

National French Fried Clam / Deep Fried Clam Day

National Vinegar Day

No Driving with Cell Phones Day -- the first US law against talking on a hand-held device while driving went into effect in NY, US, on this day in 2001

Plate Tectonics Day -- birth anniversary of Alfred Wegener, who came up with the theory of continental drift

Old Celtic New Year

Olive Festival -- Galilee, Israel (through the month, especially centered around Kawkab and Hurfeish, with open houses, oil production tours, feasts, lectures, concerts, dance performances, and olives galore)

Ozark Mountain Christmas/Branson Festival of Lights -- Branson, MO, US

Peddler's Village Apple Festival -- Lahaska, PA, US (fun for all, through tomorrow)

Remembrance Day -- Slovenia

Revival Leaders' Day -- Bulgaria

Revolution Day/National Day -- Algeria

Samhain -- Celtic, 3rd Station, and Wicca, Northern Hemisphere (Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere)

State Foundation Day --  Andhra Pradesh, India; Karnataka, India; Kerala, India

Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens -- Pine Mountain, GA, US (a six-race steeplechase)

Verboort Sausage and Kraut Dinner -- Forest Grove, OR, US (beer and their famous sausage, as well as home-baked goods and fun)

Will Rogers' Days -- Claremore and Oologah, OK, US (through the 4th; celebrating the man's wit and humor at his birthplace and the museum dedicated to him)

World Vegan Day -- International


Anniversaries Today:

The Prime Meridian is set at Greenwich, England, 1884
Boston Female Medical School opens, 1848



Birthdays Today:

Penn Bagdley, 1986
Toni Collette, 1972
Jenny McCarthy, 1972
Fernando Valenzuela, 1960
Rachel Ticotin, 1958
Lyle Lovett, 1957
Dan Peek, 1951
Larry Flynt, 1942
Gary Player, 1935
Betsy Palmer, 1926
James Jackson Kilpatrick, 1920
Alfred Wegener, 1880
Stephen Crane, 1871


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Foreigner"(Larry Shue comedy), 1984
Hello Kitty, 1974 (condsidered her "birth date")
"Top Banana"(Mercer musical), 1951
Ebony Magazine(First edition), 1945
"Harvey"(Mary Chase comedy), 1944
"Emperor Jones"(O'Neill play), 1920
The Crisis: A Record of The Darker Races(Magazine of the NAACP, first edition edited by W.E.B. DuBois), 1910
"John Bull's Other Island"(Shaw comedy), 1904
Harper's Bazaar(Magazine, first edition), 1867


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
Astronomers claim to have detected light from the first stars in the universe by studying high-energy radiation data, 2012
Australian scientists announce the discovery of three new marsupials in Queensland, all shrew-like antechinus species, 2013