Feline Friday: Learning New Tricks

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

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is..

1) post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute)
2) go to Steve's page, linked above, then on the menu bar click on the Feline Friday tab to get the code
3) paste the code under your cat picture
4) add your name and link

That’s all there is to it! Be sure to check back every so often and visit all the Feline Friday bloggers. Also, please leave a nice comment on their blogs. Nasty comments will be deleted!

Please note that right now, The Burnt Food Dude's website is down, and i'm not sure why.  Steve, if you are reading this, i hope you get back on soon, i miss you!

In our house, we have enough books that if you are not well read, it's your own fault!

The information has to be here someplace!

Today is:

Agonalia -- Ancient Roman Empire; also observed
     Festival for Diva Palatua -- guardian of Palatine Hill
     Septimonia -- to honor the Seven Hills of Rome

Feast of Sekhmet, Bast, and Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of warfare, feline goddess, and sun god; date approximate)

Fetes de l'Escalade -- Geneva, Switzerland (Scaling, or Climbing Day; celebrating the defeat of the Duke of Savoy's troops; through Sunday)

Fourth Republic Day -- Madagascar

Hanatoro -- Kyoto, Japan (flower and light festival; through the 20th)

Human Rights and Peace Day -- Kiribati

International Mountain Day -- UN

Jashan-e Sadeh / Adar-Jashen -- Zoroastrian/Parsi (a mid-winter fire ceremony for purification; date approximate)

National Day / Republic Day -- Burkina Faso

National Noodle Ring Day

National Salesperson's Day -- US (begun by Maura Schreier-Fleming, and listed on various days depending on whom you ask) 

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day -- any country that dares to celebrate may claim this one, and you can order your ugly sweater here 

Nose-Scrambling and Hair-Hiking Events -- Fairy Calendar

Official Lost and Found Day -- why is this one official?  information here

Pampanga Day -- Pampanga Province, Philippines

Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II -- Wales (death anniversary of Llywelyn the Last, the last native-born Prince of Wales, killed in battle in 1282)

Sarsodaw Pwe -- Myanmar (Writers' Day/Literati Day, especially celebrated by the press, and includes The National Literary Award Presentation Ceremony as well as public lectures, essay contests, and story-telling events)

St. Damasus' Day (Patron of archaeologists)

St. Pens' Day (Patron of Llanberis, Wales)

Tango Day -- Buenos Aires, Argentina (birth anniversary of both Julio de Caro and Carlos Gardel)

Winterfest Boat Parade -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, US (The Greatest Show on H2O; through Sunday)


Anniversaries Today:

Unicef is established, 1946
Edward VIII abdicates, 1936
Indiana becomes the 19th US State, 1816


Birthdays Today:

Rider Strong, 1979
Mos Def, 1973
Mo'Nique, 1967
Gary Dourdan, 1966
Curtis Williams, 1962
Jermaine Jackson, 1954
Ken Wahl, 1953
Susan Seidelman, 1952
Teri Garr, 1949
Brenda Lee, 1944
John Kerry, 1943
Donna Mills, 1943
David Gates, 1940
Tom Hayden, 1940
Rita Moreno, 1931
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1918
Carlo Ponti, 1913
Naguib Mahfouz, 1911
Marjorie H. Buell, 1904
Fiorello LaGuardia, 1882
Annie Jump Cannon, 1863
Robert Koch, 1843


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"City of Angels"(Musical), 1989
"Magnum, PI"(TV), 1980


Today in History:

Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office, 359
Llywelyn the Last (born c. 1228) the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cimeri, 1282
The Aurora Borealis is seen from New England by English settlers for the first time, 1719
The first newspaper on Curacao is published, the Curacao Gazette & Commercial Advertiser, 1812
Nitrous oxide is used in dental work for the first time in Hartford, Connecticut, 1844
Boston's Bijou Theatre becomes the first American theater lit exclusively by electricity, premiering Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe" as its first performance, 1882
The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire, 1907
Color moving pictures are demonstrated in Madison Square Garden, 1909
The Boll Weevil Monument is dedicated in Enterprise, Alabama, 1919
The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster 1931, establishing legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Dominion of Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, 1931
Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the last time, 1934
Arthur Lucas, convicted of murder, is the last person to be executed in Canada, 1962
Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon, 1972
The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature, 1997
The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization, 2001
In Taipei, protesters demand foreign live-in caregivers have the right to a day off each week, 2011
Pope Francis is named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year," 2013

Six Sentence Story: Health Standard

"Health inspector at the store next door, and I know she's coming here next, get the boxes moved now," Kay, the manager, was saying as she came, full steam ahead, through the front door of the shop and plowed right on through the swinging doors into the back; she's a tall, substantially built person, so when she comes through, you know it and whatever she says to do, you do it.

Several of us dropped whatever we were doing and started moving the cake boxes from where they are assembled in the front of the store into the racks and any other available space in the back area.

This made me wonder, so once we'd gotten them all moved, i ventured to ask what it is about having boxes in the front that made health inspectors cranky, as i wanted to know if this watching out for the health inspector was going to be normal operating procedure.

"They don't care where we assemble them," Kay said, "it's where we store them that counts once they are put together, and they don't want the assembled but still empty boxes up front where 'anyone, including the general public, could mess with them.'  They want us to move the boxes to the back where we put product in them as soon as they are assembled, not even keeping them behind the counter up front, and it's just not practical for us to assemble a box, bring it back here, go back up front and do  another."

We keep a clean store, i know, i've scrubbed the floors and walls myself and i sweep out the chiller once a week, but again i am reminded that the health inspectors' standards are not always logical, but must always be followed anyway.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Standard.

Today is:

Chief Red Cloud Day -- marking the Sioux leader's death in 1909; defender of Native rights, son of Lone Man and Walks As She Thinks

Clute's Christmas in the Park -- Clute, TX, US (food and fun; through Sunday)

Constitution Day -- Thailand

Dewey Decimal System Day -- anniversary of Melvil Dewey's birth

Do Something Wild and Crazy with Velveeta Day -- guess they mean besides turn it into Hillbilly Hor d'oeuvres (melted with Rotel and served with chips)

International Animal Rights Day

International Human Rights Day -- anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948

Lux Mundi -- Ancient Roman Calendar (honoring Libertas as the bringer of light into the world)

National Lager Day

Nobeldagen -- Sweden (Alfred Nobel Day, presentations of the Nobel Prizes at the Stockholm Concert Hall)
     Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony -- Oslo City Hall, Oslo, Norway

Sister-Friend Day -- internet generated, but if you have a sister who is a good friend to you, it's worth celebrating

St. Eulalia of Merida's Day (Patron of runaways, torture victims, widows; Merida, Spain; Oviedo, Spain)

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas -- Thomasville, GA, US (relive Christmas past all through the downtown area; through tomorrow)

Whirling Dervishes Festival -- Konya, Turkey (through the 17th)


Anniversaries Today:

Mississippi becomes the 20th US State, 1817


Birthdays Today:

Raven-Symone, 1985
Bobby Flay, 1964
Kenneth Branagh, 1960
Susan Dey, 1952
Gloria Loring, 1946
Dan Blocker, 1928
Harold Gould, 1923
Dorothy Lamour, 1914
Chet Huntley, 1911
Hermes "Pan" Panagiotopolous, 1909
Mary Norton, 1903
Melvil Dewey, 1851
Emily Dickinson, 1830
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, 1787


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Wings Over America"(Album release), 1976
Lawrence of Arabia(Film), 1962
"The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" (TV), 1955
Grand Ole Opry (first radio broadcast), 1927


Today in History:

Martin Luther publicly burns the papal edict demanding that he recant, 1520
Isaac Newton's paper De Motu Corporum in Gyrum, containing the derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley, 1684
The Massachusetts Bay Colony becomes the first American Colonial government to borrow money, 1690
The metric system is formally established in France, 1799
The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London, 1868
Women's suffrage is granted in Wyoming Territory, the first in the US, 1869
Women are granted suffrage in Tasmania, 1902
The 10,000,000th Model T Ford is assembled, 1915
The Grand Ole Opry makes its radio debut, in Nashville, Tn, 1927
UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Ralph J Bunche becomes the first black to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, 1950
The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia, 1981
The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland; the closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages, 1993
An archive documenting the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda is revealed in the capital city of Kigali, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: 3 Guesses And The First 2 Don't Count

It's nice living in a neighborhood where the civic association people have a sense of humor:

Yes, this is about as white as Christmas gets in the swamp.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Anna's Day -- Sweden and Finland (commemorates the conception of the Virgin Mary by St. Anne, celebration for all females named Anne or Anna, and the day to start the processing of the Christmas Eve lutefisk.)

Christmas Card Day -- the first commercial card went on sale on this day in 1843

Christmas Gift Memory Day -- the day to reminisce about your all time favorite Christmas gift

End of Days of Reckoning -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St. Anne -- Orthodox Church

International Anti-Corruption Day -- UN

National Heroes Day -- Antigua and Barbuda

National Pastry Day

Remembrance for Egill Skallagrimsson -- Asatru/Norse Pagan Calendar (Viking Age poet, warrior, and rune magician)

Republic Day -- Tanzania

Search High and Low For Your Gingerbread Recipe Day -- or just give up and go to the internet for a new one, that's where i found this "holiday"

St. Leocadia's Day (Patron of Toledo, Spain)

Weary Willie Day -- birth anniversary of Emmet Kelley, Sr.

Yuri's Day in the Autumn -- Russian Orthodox Church (a celebration of St. George, as following the Gregorian Calendar)


Anniversaries Today:

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, US, established, 1962
Christmas Seals first sold, in Wilmington, DE, US, 1907
YMCA opens in Montreal, QC, CA (first in North America), 1851


Birthdays Today:

Jesse Metcalfe, 1978
Reiko Aylesworth, 1972
David Kersh, 1970
Kara DioGuardi, 1970
Jakob Dylan, 1969
Kurt Angle, 1968
Felicity Huffman, 1962
David Anthony Higgins, 1961
Joe Lando, 1961
Donny Osmond, 1957
John Malkovich, 1953
Joan Armatrading, 1950
Michael Nouri, 1945
Dick Butkus, 1942
Beau Bridges, 1941
Judy Dench, 1934
Buck Henry, 1930
Dick Van Patten, 1928
Dina Merrill, 1925
Redd Foxx, 1922
Kirk Douglas, 1916
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., 1909
Grace Hopper, 1906
Margaret Hamilton, 1902
Emmet Kelley, Sr., 1898
Clarence Birdseye, 1886
Joel Chandler Harris, 1848
John Milton, 1608
Edwin Sandys, 1561


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Charlie Brown Christmas"(TV special), 1965
"Coronation Street"(TV), 1960
"Salome"(Opera), 1905
"Charge of the Light Brigade"(Publication date, in The Examiner), 1854


Today in History:

The Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire, 536
New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster, 1793
The Republic of Texas captures San Antonio, Texas, 1835
The first Young Men's Christian Association in the Americas is founded, in Montreal, 1851
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback becomes governor of Louisiana for 35 days, becoming the first black US governor, 1872
Levant Richardson patents the ball-bearing skate, 1884
Statistician Herman Hollerith installs his computing device at the United States War Department, 1888
The Norwegian parliament vote unanimously for female suffrage, 1903
The first broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV, 1960
Barbados joins the United Nations, 1966
NLS (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco, 1968
The United Arab Emirates join the United Nations, 1971
The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, 1979
Phoenix, Arizona, US, gets 3 inches of snow, 1985
Lech Walesa wins the presidental election in Poland, 1990
In Australia, thieves broke into a home and stole two 300-year-old etchings by Rembrandt. The 4-by-4-inch etchings, a self-portait and a depiction of the artist's mother, were valued around $518,000, 2003
Pakistan's media publish fake WikiLeaks cables attacking India, 2010
China creates a new "Confucius Peace Prize" to honor its former Taiwanese Vice President, Lien Chan, who refused to collect it, 2010

Tuesday Coffee Chat: Random Acts of Kindness

Tuesday Coffee Chat is hosted by Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted.

This week, she is talking about Random Acts of Kindness, asking if we are planning any as part of the holiday season.

Well, if by planning in the traditional sense of knowing ahead of time exactly what i'm going to do and when, well, the answer is no.

Because, well, i kind of like to keep it random.

The stuff i plan is different -- the toys for the toy drive, the time spent at the homeless ministry, certain charities to which we give, buying for Angel Tree Ministry and Operation Christmas Child.  Those are planned.

The random stuff simply isn't.  It's the things i will end up doing because the chance pops up and i do it.  Last year one chance came when i stopped to buy a hot meal for two very cold and hungry homeless men, and one pointed out that they did not have coats.  My next stop was to buy coats for them, and go back and give the coats to them, along with something they almost never see, a second hot meal in the same day.

This year, well, my eyes are open, and a few small opportunities have been seized.  More opportunities will come up, though, and i'm watching for them intently.

One thing i can tell you is that, if someone is out begging on the streets in any other season of the year, it might be a person in need, and it might be a scam.  If the person is out there in the cold of winter, it's not a scam.  That's a person in need.

With Sweetie still searching for a job, things are tight and getting tighter right now, but that doesn't matter.  Something has been set aside, and when the right moment pops up, it is there and will be used.

It's the best thing in the world you can do with money -- give it away, or use it to help someone else.  Search for your own Random Act of Kindness to perform, and see for yourself.

Today is:

Battle Day -- Falkland Islands

Be Someone's Pillow While You Watch TV Night -- a good idea, i guess, especially if it is cold

Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) -- Buddhism (especially among Zen Buddhists, and in Japan, a celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment)

CARICOM-Cuba Day

Constitution Day -- Northern Mariana Islands; Romania; Uzbekistan(Konstitutsiya Kuni)

Dita Kombetare e Rinise -- Albania (National Youth Day)

Feast of the Immaculate Conception -- Roman Catholic Holy Day of Obligation; recognized holiday in Andorra; Argentina; Austria; Chile; Columbia; East Timor; Equatorial Guinea(Patrona de Guinea Ecuatorial); Holy See(Vatican City); Italy; Liechtenstein; Macau; Malta; Monaco; Nicaragua(Fiesta de la Griteria); Paraguay; Peru; Portugal; San Marino; Seychelles; Spain; Switzerland; special observances
     Dia de las Playas -- Uruguay (Day of the Beaches, a/k/a Family Day or Blessing of the Waters Day; official opening day of beach season, marked with a ceremonial blessing by a priest, as well as sailing regattas, horse races, and more)
     Festa da Conceição da Praia -- Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (syncretic celebration of Yemanjá, Queen of the Ocean and the Immaculate Conception)
     Festival of Lights -- Lyon

Festival of Tiberinus -- Ancient Roman Empire (guardian of the Tiber River)

Mother's Day -- Panama

National Chocolate Brownie Day

National Students' Day -- Bulgaria (studentski praznik)

Popeye Day -- birth anniversary of his creator, Elzie Crisler Segar

Pretend to Be A Time Traveler Day -- although some sites say this day was actually cancelled in 2015, others suggest dressing up as if you are from a dystopian future and running up to people, asking them what year it is, when they answer say, "Then there's still time!" and dash off.  Just don't get arrested if you try it at home, okay?

Santa Marian Kamelen -- Guam (Our Lady of Camarin Day)

St. Kliment Ohirdski -- Macedonia (St. Clement of Ohrid's Day)

Take It In the Ear Day -- a bizarre and unexplainable internet generated holiday; and by the way, your ENT will tell you not to put anything in your ear that is smaller than your elbow

Virgin de Caacupe -- Paraguay (Nuestra Senora de Caacupe/Our Lady of Miracles of Caacupe, patroness of Paraguay)

Winter Flowers Day -- internet generated, a day to find and enjoy whatever flowers are still blooming right now


Anniversary Today:

American Federation of Labor founded, 1886


Birthdays Today:

Ian Somerhalder, 1978
Dominic Monaghan, 1976
Sinead O'Connor, 1966
Teri Hatcher, 1964
Ann Coulter, 1961
Kim Basinger, 1953
Sam Kinison, 1953
Gregg Allman, 1947
Mary Woronov, 1946
Jim Morrison, 1943
"Red" Berenson, 1941
James Galway, 1939
James MacArthur, 1937
David Carradine, 1936
Flip Wilson, 1933
Maximilian Schell, 1930
Sammy Davis, Jr. 1925
Richard Fleischer, 1916
Lee J. Cobb, 1911
James Thurber, 1894
Elzie Crisler Segar, 1894
Diego Rivera, 1886
Jean Sibelius, 1865
Willam C. "Billy" Durant, 1861
Eli Whitney, 1765
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus), Roman writer, BC65


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"(Musical), 1949
"Green Grow the Lilacs"(Musical; precursor to "Oklahoma"), 1930


Today in History

Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi, 1326
Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room, the second public library of Europe, 1609
The Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco, 1659
Margaret Hughes becomes the first actress to appear on an English public stage, playing the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, 1660
Vienna's Ring Theater is destroyed by fire, killing over 600, 1881
The American Federation of Labor is formed by 26 individual craft unions, and Samuel Gompers is elected its first president, 1886
The Japanese military police launch a violent suppression of the religious sect Oomoto, 1935
The Chinese Nationalist government moves from mainland China to Formosa, 1949
John Lennon is murdered, 1980
The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1991
The Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations, 2004
Kirsty Williams is elected the first female leader of a political party in Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, 2008
With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft, 2010
Japan's Gvernment apologizes to Canada for the treatment of its POWs during WWII, 2011
Egyptian President Morsi agrees to not expand his powers but declares the referendums on a new constitution will be enacted, 2012
In Kiev, Russia, protestors topple the last surviving monument to Lenin, 2013

Awww Monday: Coloring Fun!

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

Happiness at the church for the homeless is when the other kids have gotten up so you get the bench to yourself so you can color.  It's a bonus that you get to take the whole coloring book with you when you go!

Coloring your own book to take home with you is fun!

Today is:

Armed Forces Flag Day -- India

Day of Mourning for Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry-Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoneFolding, But Not Zimber-Quattor -- Fairy Calendar

Día de las Velitas -- Columbia (Day of the Little Candles, a celebration on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Feast of Osiris in Abydos -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Hanukkah -- Judaism (began sundown yesterday; through sundown Dec. 14)

Hang a Wreath Day -- after all, by now it's about time

International Civil Aviation Day -- UN

King Tupou I Day -- Tonga

Letter Writing Day -- no origin info found, but think of how happy someone will be to get a letter if you write one!

National Cotton Candy Day

National Heroes' Day -- East Timor

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day  -- US

Quema del Diablo -- Guatemala (Burning of the Devil, to cast out impurities before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

St. Ambrose of Milan's Day (Patron of bee keepers, bees, candle makers/chandlers, domestic animals, learning, schoolchildren/students, wax refiners; French Commissariat; Milan, Italy)

Students' Day -- Iran

Spitak Remembrance Day -- Armenia


Anniversaries Today:

National Fire Safety Council founded, 1979
Delaware becomes the first US State, 1787


Birthdays Today:

Aaron Carter, 1987
Tino Martinez, 1967
C. Thomas Howell, 1966
Edd Hall, 1958
Larry Bird, 1956
Tom Waits, 1949
Johnny Bench, 1947
Harry Chapin, 1942
Ellen Burstyn, 1932
Ted Knight, 1923
Eli Wallach, 1915
Louis Prima, 1910
Willa Cather, 1873


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"City of Angels"(Musical), 1989
"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (UK release date)
"The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria"(Savoy Opera), 1889


Today in History:

Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated, BC43
Chinese Emperor Lo-Yang makes notation of a supernova (MSH15-52), 185
Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the US, is completed to Trumbull, 1696
The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, 1732
Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general, 1776
The New York Philharmonic plays its first concert, 1842
Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission, 1900
Leo Baekeland of Yonkers patents the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite, 1911
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, 1941
Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils, 1962
The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats, 1970
The final Apollo mission is launched, and takes the photo now called The Blue Marble as they take off, 1972
Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist, 1988
The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched, 1995
The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement, 1999
The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, 2003
Scientists in Tanzania discover the oldest-known dinosaur fossil, and 243-million-year-old Nyasasaurus, 2012
NASA reports the GRAIL probes studying the moon reveal unexpectedly deep cracks, craters and tectonic structures, 2012

Silly Sunday: Gotta Find It

Silly Sunday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Silly Sunday is the place to come for weekly laughs.  The rules are simple, just have fun.

This is a great opportunity to get to know other bloggers and have a laugh or two in the process.

Here is how it works: Laugh and Link Up!

1. Post a joke.
2. Link Up with the URL to your joke in the Linky Tools Widget.
3. Read my joke.
4. Leave a comment to tell me how much you enjoyed my joke.
5. Try and visit a few others participating in Silly Sunday.
6. Go to Sandee's site, linked above, and get the Silly Sunday code for your blog, too!

This is the time of year i call hunting season.  Christmas hunting.  Hunting the perfect gift.  Hunting for those wrapping supplies you bought at half price after Christmas last year.  Hunting for an ugly enough sweater for the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest at work.

Many year ago, way back befo' he learn him better, Boudreaux done tol' Clothile he be goin' huntin' way up North (near Natchitoches).  Now, she done know it weren't no huntin' season, but he tell her he goin' wit' a frien', an' he ax her to pack him de bags.

A few day later, when he done got back, she ax now de huntin' was.  "We din't get nothing'," Boudreaux say, "but it be okay, de boys an' me done pass a good time.

"Dere be only one t'ing," he continue.  "You din't pack me my toothbrush, you musta forget, an' I had to go out an' buy me one."

"Oh, I pack you a toothbrush," say Clothile.  "I done put it in you gun case!"

Today is:

Adoration Parade -- Branson, MO, US (celebration of traditional values of faith, family, and friendliness)

Akibasan Gongen Hibuse Matsuri -- Odawara, Japan (ritual giving thanks for fire and water)

Christmas to Remember -- Laurel, MT, US (Santa and a live Nativity, parade, fireworks, bazaar, and more)

Day of Quito -- Ecuador (founding of the city in 1534)

Days of Reckoning Begin -- Fairy Calendar (no, they will not tell us what they reckon)

Dia de la Constitucion Espanola -- Spain (Constitution Day)

Give a Secret Gift Day -- obviously in honor of the original St. Nicholas

Good Neighborliness Day -- Turkmenistan

Hanukkah -- Judaism (Festival of Lights; begins at sundown, through sundown Dec. 14)

Independence Day -- Aland Islands(1917); Finland(1917)

Microwave Oven Day -- patented this day in 1945

Mitten Tree Day -- remembering when mittens, along with maybe a knit cap or scarf, were the big gift to find hanging from the Christmas tree

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women -- Canada

National Gazpacho Day

National Miner's Day -- US

Pawnbrokers' Day -- on St. Nicholas' Day, in his role as Patron Saint of pawnbrokers

Second Sunday of Advent -- Christian
     Lighting the Candle of Love

Sindhi Topi and Ajrak Day -- Sindh, Pakistan

St. Nicholas of Myra's Day (Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, archers, bakers, barrel makers, boatmen, bootblacks/shoe shiners, boys, brewers, brides, captives, children, coopers, dock workers/longshoremen, fishermen, grooms, judges, lawsuits lost unjustly, maidens, mariners/sailors, merchants, penitent murderers, newlyweds, old maids, parish clerks, paupers/poor people, pawnbrokers, perfumers, pilgrims, prisoners, scholars, schoolchildren, spinsters, students, penitent thieves, travelers, unmarried girls; Greek Catholic Church in America; Greek Catholic Union; University of Paris; Varangian Guard; Greece; Russia; also dozens of cities around the world; against imprisonment, robberies, robbers)
      Christkind -- Central and Southern Europe (the traditional gift giving day, instead of Christmas)

XTERRA Trail Run Series World Championship -- Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, HI, US (the crown jewel of the XTERRA Trail Run series of 60 rigorous, off road races, the world championship run)



Birthdays Today:

Andrew J. Howard, 1969
Macy Gray, 1969
Janine Turner, 1962
Andrew Cuomo, 1957
Peter Buck, 1956
Randy Rhoads, 1956
Steven Wright, 1955
Tom Hulce, 1953
JoBeth Williams, 1953
Craig Newmark, 1952
James Naughton, 1945
David Ossman, 1936
Wally Cox, 1924
Dave Brubeck, 1920
Agnes Moorehead, 1906
Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1898
Ira Gershwin, 1896
Lynn Fontanne, 1887
Joyce Kilmer, 1886
William S. Hard, 1870
John Singleton Mosby, 1833


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Star Trek VI- The Undiscovered Country(Film), 1991
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"(TV special), 1964
"Talent Scouts"(TV), 1948
"Du Barry Was a Lady"(Porter musical), 1939
"La damnation de Faust"(Berlioz opera, Op, 24), 1846


Today in History:

The Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev, 1240
Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews, 1424
The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica is published, in Scotland, 1768
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery, 1849
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery, 1865
The first crematorium in the US begins operation, in Washington, Pennsylvania, 1876
London becomes the first city to license taxicabs, 1897
One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence, 1922
U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene, 1933
The Vanguard rocket, the first US attempt to launch a satellite, fails, 1957
The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, 2001
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars, 2006
Belgium's new federal government is sworn in after 541 days of negotiations, 2011