Silly Sunday: Smart Old Codger

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!

My "grandcats" are wearing me out.  The children moving back in and bringing their cats, or moving their cats back into the house, is not easy on the rest of us.  Just like people love their grandchildren but are glad that they can eventually send them home, i love my children's pets but would prefer to only have to deal with my own full time, thankyouverymuch.

Speaking of grandchildren, Boudreaux was reminiscing the other day wit' Clothile 'bout when he were a boy an' spendin' time wit' Gran'mere an' Gran'pere.

"Mais!" say Boudreaux.  "When I go over dere, firs' I would 'help' Gran'mere wit' de cookin'.  By de time I done 'helped' enough an' we eat, she send me wit' Gran'pere for de aft'noon so's she could clean up de kitchen an' den take a nap!

"Now, Gran'pere, he be smart.  He give me de cigarette rollin' machine, to make you own cigarette more cheap dan de store, an' de papers an' tobacco, an' I set dere all aft'noon an' make dem cigarettes.  He were a wily ol' man!"

"He be smart!" Clothile say.  "He done kep' you busy an' out his way, an' he din't have to roll him his own cigarettes."

"He be smart, you done said it, but dat's not why," Boudreaux say.  "See, he kep' me busy, an' I done made de cigarettes, but Gran'mere din't smoke, an' Gran'pere smoke de pipe, an' until I be grown I din't know he jes' had me rollin' de same tobacco over an' over, he done unwrap it when I go an' give it to me again de nex' week when I come back!"

Today is:

Alamo Day -- Texas, US

Celebrate Your Name Week -- Sunday:  Namesake Day, a day to think about how you got your name (week begun in 1997 by onomatology hobbyist Jerry Hill) 

Feast of Excited Insects -- China; Korea (sometimes called Chinese Groundhog Day, the day insects are supposed to awaken for spring; date approximate)

Foundation Day -- Norfolk Island, Commonwealth of Australia

Girl Scout Sunday -- US (encouraging Girl Scouts to wear their uniforms to church services and represent their troop to their congregations; the first day of Girl Scout Week in the US)

Headache Relief Day -- aspirin was patented today in 1899

Independence Day -- Ghana(1957)

Kirishima Jingu Otaue-sai -- Kirishima Jingu Shrine, Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan (rice planting festival)

Laetare Sunday -- Western Christianity, 4th Sunday of Lent; related Observances
     Carnaval de la Laetare -- Stavelot, Belgium
     Mothering Sunday -- UK (fourth Sunday of Lent, originally a day to visit your "mother church" in the parish where you were raised, now celebrated as Mother's Day)

March Goblins' Galumphing Gala and Display -- Fairy Calendar

Meatfare Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day on which meat may be consumed before the Lenten fast)

National Frozen Food Day

National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day

National Words Matter Week -- US (focusing on the importance of words, particularly the written word; week originally sponsored by The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors) 

Oreo Cookie Day -- no history found on why this day, but if you like Oreos, do you need a reason?

Orthodox Sunday -- Orthodox Christian

Stoneware Pottery Appreciation Day -- internet generated by those who love stoneware

St. Colette's Day (Patron of Corbie, France; against the death of parents)

St. Rose of Viterbo's Day (Patron of exiles, people rejected by religious orders, tertiaries; Viterbo, Italy)

World Glaucoma Week begins -- to expand global awareness of the Silent Thief of Sight



Birthdays Today:

Ryan Nyquist, 1979
Shaquille O'Neal, 1972
Amy Pietz, 1969
Connie Britton, 1968
D.L. Hughley, 1963
Tom Arnold, 1959
David Gilmour, 1946
Rob Reiner, 1945
Kiri Te Kanawa, 1944
Dave Gilmour, 1944
Ben Murphy, 1942
Willie Stargell, 1941
Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolaeva, 1937
Lorin Maazel, 1930
Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, 1928
Alan Greenspan, 1926
Ed McMahon, 1923
Will Eisner, 1917
Lou Costello, 1906
Bob Wills, 1905
Ring Lardner, 1885
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806
Anna Claypoole Peale, 1791
Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619
Michelangelo Bounarroti, 1475


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Lend me a Tenor"(Play), 1986
"Deep Blue Sea"(Play), 1952
"Both Your Houses"(Play; Pulitzer Prize for Drama), 1933
"La Traviata"(Opera), 1853
"La Sonnambula"(Opera), 1831


Today in History:

Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam, 1521
The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island (an external territory of Australia) in order to found a convict settlement, 1788
York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto, 1834
After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers defending the Alamo are defeated and the fort is captured, 1836
Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata receives its premiere performance in Venice, 1853
Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society, 1869
Bayer registers "aspirin" as a trademark, 1899
The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins, 1951
United Kingdom colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become the independent Republic of Ghana, 1957
After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time, 1981
Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers, 1992
A referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania, 1994
Picasso's painting Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery, and is recovered a week later, 1997
Microsoft is fined €561 million for not providing E.U. residents with an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer, 2013

Enough

For the first time in probably 20 years of going to the used book sale at the local uni, i actually came out without a huge box and several bags of books.

In fact, i only picked up two, both language books to help me further my study of Spanish.

Right now, i'm not sure what's wrong with me.

Maybe it was the fact that i had to sandwich my visit between work and two other obligations, and i only had one hour that i could reasonably spend looking.

Maybe i am just tired, and my subconscious realizes i have as many books as anyone could ever need, plus a library to borrow from a couple of miles up the road.

Whatever it was, this visit to the book sale just didn't have the zest and joy in it that it has had in past years.  Somehow i just felt off.

When i walked in and went to the sections i like best, and found them lacking and lackluster for the first time ever, it took away whatever wind was in my sails.  Picking up one book that i liked and seeing how much they wanted for it dragged me a bit further down.

This year, there hasn't been a need for me to put a big box and a few bags of books in the back of the Jalopy behind all of my house cleaning equipment and sneak them into the house a few at a time, like a smuggler with contraband.

Instead i simply walked in with the two books i purchased and put them where i will use them.

Maybe next year i will be back to my old form.  Until then, what i have is enough.

Today is:

Act Goofy Day -- started by someone who wanted to see how far the internet could spread goofiness

Arivee de l'Evangile -- French Polynesia (Gospel Day)

Babysitter Safety Day

Crispus Attucks Day*

Custom Chief's Day -- Vanuatu

Diasia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Zeus Meilikhios; date approximate)

Finnmarkslopet -- Alta, Finland (the world's northernmost dog sled races, since 1981)

Floral City Strawberry Festival -- Floral City, FL, US (fun for all, through tomorrow)

Iditarod Sled Dog Race - Last Great Race on Earth® begins -- Anchorage to Nome, AK, US (1,000 miles along the historic Iditarod Trail)

Natchez Spring Pilgrimage -- Natchez, MS, US (tour of 25 antebellum mansions, some of which are private homes; through Apr. 2)

National Absinthe Day

National Cheese Doodle Day

National Week of the Ocean Festival Sea-Son -- Fort Lauderdale, FL, US (celebration includes school marine fair, waterway cleanup, Mother Ocean Day and more; through early April, as part of the larger Season which lasts into June)

Natural Bridge Battle Reenactment -- Tallahassee, FL, US (Civil War reenactment; through tomorrow)

Navigium Isis/Ploiaphaesia: The Festival of Navigation -- Ancient Roman Calendar/Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Sailing Festival, honoring Isis as sea goddess and goddess of sailing, on the traditional start of the sailing season)

North Dakota Winter Show -- Valley City, ND, US (world's largest crop show, eight-breed cattle show, rodeos, tractor pulls, entertainment, and more for tons of family fun; through next Saturday)

Philadelphia Flower Show -- Philadelphia, PA, US (largest flower show in the US; through Mar. 13)

Scouts' Day -- Taiwan (celebration of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Taiwan)

St. Piran's Day (Patron of miners, tin miners, tinners; Cornwall, England; Piran, Slovenia)
     St. Piran's Day Celebrations -- Cornwall, England; Kansas City, KA, US

Saint Piran's Day Celebration -- Kansas City, KA, US (celebration of the patron saint of Cornwall and Cornish peoples, as well as the patron of tin miners, sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Cornish Society)

Stop the Clocks Day -- another of those with-no-explanation web holidays that sounds like a good idea

Temperance Day -- North America's first Temperance Law was passed in Virginia this day in 1623

Wedding of the March Dryads -- Fairy Calendar


Anniversary Today:

Channel Islands National Park is established, 1980



Birthdays Today:

Jake Lloyd, 1989
Niki Taylor, 1975
Kevin Connolly, 1974
Eva Mendes, 1974
Andy Gibb, 1958
Penn Jillette, 1955
Marsha Warfield, 1954
Michael Warren, 1946
Paul Sand, 1944
Samantha Eggar, 1939
Fred Williamson, 1938
Dean Stockwell, 1936
James Noble, 1922
Rex Harrison, 1908
Zhou Enlai, 1898
Emmett J. Culligan, 1893
Heitor Villa-Lobos, 1887
Howard Pyle, 1853
James Merrit Ives, 1824
William Blackstone, 1595
Gerhardus Mercator, 1512


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What the Butler Saw"(Play)1969
"Leningrad"/Symphony No. 7 in C major(Shostakovich Op. 60), 1942
"Mefistofele"(Opera), 1868


Today in History:


Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death, 363
Naser Khosrow begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama, 1046
English king Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) and his sons to explore unknown lands for England, 1496
Smoking tobacco is introduced in Europe by Francisco Fernandes, 1558
Copernicus' "de Revolutionibus" is placed on Catholic Forbidden index, 1616
Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans to take possession of the Louisiana territory from the French, 1766
*Boston Massacre: British troops kill 5 in a crowd, including a young boy and Crispus Attackus, the first black to die for American freedom, in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later, 1770
The Dutch city of Leeuwarden forbids Jews to go to synagogues on Sundays, 1820
Samuel Colt makes the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber, 1836
George Westinghouse Jr patents the triple air brake for trains, 1872
Nikola Tesla, in Electrical World and Engineer, describes the process of the ball lightning formation, 1904
Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri, 1946
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations, 1970
Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters, 1979
America's Voyager 1 spacecraft has its closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles, 1979
The Soviet probe Venera 14 arrives at the planet Venus, 1982
The graves of Czar Nicholas II and his family are found near St. Petersburg, 1995
President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, dies in office in the nation's capital, Caracas, at age 58, 2013

Feline Friday: Still a happy ending.

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!

My boss at the bakery expressed an interest in adopting two kittens to keep each other company.  A couple of days later, from the shelter, i sent her this picture of a brother and sister who were ready for a new home and so got along well.

She was interested in two that would get along, as these do!

My boss was out of town, and they were adopted before she could get back.  It's okay, though, she ended up adopting a cat she has loved for a long time, one that belonged to an elderly member of our church who is now in hospice.  It's a win for everyone, even if it wasn't quite how she envisioned it.

Today is:

Aldo Leopold Weekend -- Wisconsin, US (celebrating Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic; through Sunday)

Charter Day -- St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada (1881)

Courageous Follower Day -- because leaders have to have someone to lead, and it can take as much courage to follow a great leader as to be the leader

Dress in Blue Day -- US, for colorectal cancer awareness

Employee Appreciation Day

Feast of Ra in His Barge at Heliopolis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Holy Experiment Day -- try something religious today

Hug a GI Day -- just don't get in trouble sneaking on base to do it

International Festival of Owls -- Houston, MN, US (a great way to celebrate and learn about the wonderful creatures that are owls; through Sunday)

International Scrapbooking Industry Day -- can't find proof the industry actually set this day, but if you love scrapbooking, celebrate

Kaziukas Fair -- Vilnius, Lithuania (traditional craft fair dates back to the 17th century; through Sunday)

March Dryads' Festival -- Fairy Calendar

March Forth - Do Something Day

Midnight at the Oasis -- Yuma, AZ, US (nostalgic festival featuring cars and music of the 50s and 60s; throughy Sunday)

National Day of Unplugging -- originally sponsored by Reboot, encouraging recharging your spiritual life by unplugging your technology from sunset today to sunset tomorrow 

National Grammar Day -- sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar on March 4th, which is both a date and an imperative

National Poundcake Day

National Salesperson Day

Shabbat Across America/Canada -- sponsored by the National Jewish Out-reach Program, encouraging Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, and Reconstructionist Jews to observe the Sabbath from sundown tonight until sundown tomorrow
 
St. Casimir's Day (Patron of bachelors, kings, princes, single layment; Lithuania; Poland; against plague)

Tavern Day -- US (the first tavern in the US, a Puritan public house in Boston, MA, opened this date in 1634)

Toy Soldier Day -- Dr. Steel's Army, building a utopian playland and embarking on a worldwide mission of fun

Waltz Day -- some say National Waltz Day, and some Dance the Waltz Day, but no one says why this day; i say, waltz if you want to

Words by the Water: a Cumbrian Literature Festival -- Lake District, The Theatre by the Lake at Keswick, Devon, England (a lively literary festival; through the 13th)

World Day of Prayer-- International and Ecumenical; a day for Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action; this year's International Committee is meeting in Cuba


Anniversaries Today:

Hot Springs National Park is established, 1921
Vermont becomes the 14th US state, 1791


Birthdays Today:

Patsy Kensit, 1968
Jason Curtis Newsted, 1963
Stephen Weber, 1961
Patricia Heaton, 1958
Catherine O'Hara, 1954
Emilio Estefan, 1953
Kay Lenz, 1953
Chris Squire, 1948
Mary Wilson, 1944
Paula Prentiss, 1938
Miriam Makeba, 1932
Joan Greenwood, 1921
Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., 1906
Knute Rockne, 1888
Garrett Morgan, 1877
Casimir Pulaski, 1747
Antonio Vivaldi, 1678
Prince Henry the Navigator, 1394


Debuting/Premiering Today:

People Magazine(Publication), 1974
"The Dick Cavett Show"(TV), 1968
Nosferatu(Horror Film), 1922
"Pénélope"(Fauré Opera), 1913
"Swan Lake"(Tchaikovsky Op. 20), 1876


Today in History:

Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources, 852
Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam, 1351
Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, from his first voyage, 1493
Hernan Cortez arrives in Mexico in search of Aztec gold, 1519
The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a royal charter, 1629
John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England, 1675
France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land, 1790
The first Jewish member of the US Congress, Israel Jacobs of Pennsylvania, takes office, 1791
A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario), 1791
In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington, 1797
In the Castle Hills Rebellion, in New South Wales, Australia, Irish convicts (some of whom had been involved in Ireland’s Battle of Vinegar Hill in 1798) lead the colony’s only significant convict uprising, 1804
Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia, 1848
The day without a US president -- Zachary Taylor refuses to be sworn in on the Sabbath (Sunday), so there is, technically, no president on this day, 1849
The longest bridge in the Great Britain, the Forth Bridge (railway) (1,710 ft) in Scotland is opened, 1890
The great fire of Shanghai damages over 1,000 buildings, 1894
Victor Berger of Wisconsin becomes the first socialist congressman in the U.S., 1911
Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives, 1917
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto, 1917
Frances Perkins becomes the United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet, 1933
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant, 1954
The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90, 1957
The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation, 1962
The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, 1976
Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister, 1980
Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada, 1983
The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Comet Halley and the first images ever of its nucleus, 1986
The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex, 1998
No response is received in the final attempt to contact Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network, 2006
Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet, 2007

Six Sentence Story: Post

"Watch out for that post," he said as she swung the car around to back into a parking space.

"Of course I'm watching out for it," she said.  "Don't you think I know how to park the car when you aren't here?"

"I don't know, do you?" he grinned as she first glared at him and then grinned back.

"I've never hurt you with my driving yet, so you don't have to be a back seat driver," she said with a laugh.

"The only thing I want to do with the back seat is get back there with you," he said, winking at his wife with a look that told her they would definitely be watching the submarine races that night.

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

 

Today is:

Bonza Bottler Day™

Day of Remembrance for Prince Igor -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar

Florida Strawberry Festival -- Plant City, FL, US (celebrating the winter strawberry harvest; through Mar. 13)

Heart-Accelerating Sodium-Enriched Cold Cuts Day -- internet generated by someone who has no intention of letting anything healthy past his/her lips

Hina Matsuri -- Japan (Doll Festivals throughout the country, where women and girls dedicate dolls to shrines which are then floated out to sea to take away evil and sicknesses that afflict women)

I Want You to be Happy Day -- a day to devote some time to making someone else truly happy about something

If Pets Had Thumbs Day -- because if you are going to imagine something silly today, it might as well be this; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

International Omega-3 Awareness Day

Joshi-no-Sekku -- Shinto (festival to honor girls)

Liberation Day/National Day -- Bulgaria

Marriage of the March Nymphs -- Fairy Calendar

Martyr's Day -- Malawi

Mother's Day -- Georgia

National Anthem Day -- US (current US anthem adopted this date in 1931)

National Cold Cuts Day

National Mulled Wine Day

Peach Blossom Day - coincides with the start of the Peach Blossom Festival around this time of year in Hunan, China, where you celebrate the beauty of peach blossoms, and girls celebrate being girls

Sportsmen's Day -- Egypt

Stop Bad Service Day -- spread around the internet by someone who got lousy service

St Casimir' Eve / Kaziukas Fair -- Vilnius, Lithuania (traditional craft fair dates back to the 17th century, celebrating Lithuania's patron saint; through tomorrow)

St. Cunegunda's Day (Patron of Bamberg, Germany; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Poland)

St. Winnal's Day (First comes David, Next comes Chad, Then comes Winnal, roaring mad! -- Traditional English saying about the storminess of March 3; St. Winwaloe or Winnal was the Christianized version of the Teutonic Aegir, god of the sea and controller of weather)

Thanks to the Maple Festival -- Iroquois (date approximate, held when sap began flowing, usually early March)

University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day -- UK (to focus on ensuring the positive wellbeing of people with mental health difficulties)

World Book Day -- UK and Ireland (most other countries celebrate this on April 23; www.worldbookday.org for more information)


Anniversaries Today:

Florida becomes the 27th US state, 1845
Colegio Militar of Portugal is founded, 1803


Birthdays Today:

Jessica Biel, 1982
David Faustino, 1974
Julie Bowen, 1970
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 1962
Herschel Walker, 1962
Ira Glass, 1959
Miranda Richardson, 1958
Tim Kazurinsky, 1950
Caroline Lee Bouvier Radziwill, 1933
Doc Watson, 1923
Diana Barrymore, 1921
James Doohan, 1920
Jean Harlow, 1911
Matthew Bunker Ridgway, 1895
Norman Bethune, 1890
Alexander Graham Bell, 1847
George Pullman, 1831


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Moonlighting"(TV), 1985
"Goodtime Charley"(Musical), 1975
"The Lion in Winter"(Play), 1966
"Mr Wizard"(TV), 1951
"Juno and the Paycock"(Play), 1924
Time Magazine, 1923
"Carmen"(Opera), 1875
"Symphony No. 3 in A minor(Scottish)"(Mendelssohn Op.56), 1842
"Symphony No. 101 in D major(The Clock)"(Haydn), 1794


Today in History:

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England, 1284
The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza, 1585
The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau, 1776
The first US Jewish governor, David Emanuel, takes office in Georgia, 1801
The US declares war on Algeria for taking US prisoners and demanding tribute, 1815
The Missouri Compromise, an attempt to keep the US half Slave and half free, is passed by the US Congress, 1820
The Battle of Pelee Island takes place, Ontario, Canada, 1838
Tsar Alexander II emancipates the serfs of Russia, 1861
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group, opens, 1865
The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette, 1875
Georges Bizet's opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra Comique in Paris, 1875
Bulgaria regains its independence from Ottoman Empire, 1878
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood becomes the first female attorney to argue before the US Supreme Court, 1879
The US Geological Survey is created, 1879
Anne Sullivan arrives to begin teaching Helen Keller, 1887
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly, the Duma, 1905
Toronto's Dr Banting & Dr Best announce discovery of insulin, 1921
Time Magazine begins publication, 1923
The United States officially adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem, 1931
Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia, 1938
In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India, 1939
Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records "Rocket 88", often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips' recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee, 1951
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, 1991
The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, Sky Tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, opens after two-and-a-half years of construction, 1997
Citizens of Switzerland narrowly vote in favor of their country becoming a member of the United Nation, 2002
Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling, 2005
A 2-year old Mississippi girl born with HIV/AIDS is pronounced HIV negative after receiving treatment for the virus within 30 hours after her birth, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Lost

Somebody lost their drawers.

Drawers, out wandering on their own, without their dresser.

Later.

Where did the rest go?  Who knows?

Around the corner.

Over here, too.

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Today is:

Adwa Victory Day -- Ethiopia

Feast of 'Ala (Loftiness) -- Baha'i (first full day of the 19 day fast)

Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Highway Numbers Day -- US (a joint board of state and federal highway officials created the first uniform system for numbering interstate highways, as well as standardizing design of road signs, in 1925)

James Ronald Webster's Birthday -- Anguilla

March Nymph's Parade -- Fairy Calendar

Mi-Careme -- Guadeloupe; Saint Barthelemy; Saint Martin (Mid-Lent)

National Banana Cream Pie Day

NEA's Read Across America Day -- on or near Dr. Seuss' birth anniversary; this year's theme is "Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat"

Old Stuff Day -- if you are doing the same old stuff, think about how you can change that

Peasants' Day -- Myanmar

St. Chad of Mead's Day (Patron of St. Chad's College of the University of Durham in England; Birmingham, England; Lichfield, England)

Texas Independence Day -- Texas, US (anniversary of declaration of independence from Mexico in 1836)

World Maths Day -- International


Anniversary Today:

Mt. Rainier National Park is established, 1899


Birthdays Today:

Henrik Lundquist, 1982
Bryce Dallas Howard, 1981
Chris Martin, 1977
Daniel Craig, 1968
Jon Bon Jovi, 1962
Ken Salazar, 1955
Laraine Newman, 1952
Karen Carpenter, 1950
Eddie Money, 1949
Lou Reed, 1944
John Irving, 1942
Mikhail Gorbachev, 1931
Tom Wolfe, 1931
John Cullum, 1930
Doc Watson, 1923
Jennifer Jones, 1919
Desi Arnaz, 1917
Martin Ritt, 1914
Mel Ott, 1909
Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), 1904
Bedrich Smetana, 1864
Carl Schurz, 1829
Melissa Burton Coray, 1828
Sam Houston, 1793
Juvenal, 54


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Bubbling Brown Sugar"(Musical), 1976
The Sound of Music(Film), 1965
"Bus Stop"(Play), 1955
King Kong(Film), 1933
Morning Chronicle(London daily newspaper), 1769


Today in History:

The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England, 1717
A semaphore machine that will speed communication is introduced in Paris, 1791
The US Congress outlaws the import of slaves, 1897
The Republic of Texas declares its independence from Mexico, 1836
Aleksandr Romanov becomes the tsar of Russia, 1855
Tsar Aleksandr outlaws serfdom in Russia, 1861
The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace, 1888
In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women, 1903
The original film version of King Kong premiers, 1933
Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute, 1949
The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut, 1949
In Toulouse, France the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted, 1969
Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown, 1970
The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets, 1972
Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28, 1978
CD players and discs are released for sale for the first time outside of Japan, 1983
Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century, 1989
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations, 1992
Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice, 1998
In his book 'Jesus of Nazareth Part II', Pope Benedict XVI exonerates the Jewish people for the responsibility of the death of Jesus, 2011
New findings from the University of Leicester indicate decreasing sitting time by 90 minutes each day can result in major heath advantages, including reducing the risk of Type II Diabetes, 2013

Tuesday Coffee Chat: More Than a Pleasantry

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question, How Are You?  Honesty required.







My standard answer to the question is: i am doing well, by G-d's grace; how are you?

It's true, and it usually elicits a response.  When you simply say, "Fine" in answer to this questions, then add, "and how are you" and the other person says "Fine, thanks" you pass each other and both know that you may not be fine, but you aren't going to discuss it, it's a pleasantry.

When i give my answer, i get responses that vary, but seldom do i just get passed by.  Many who have a strong religious belief, as i do, like it when i say this and respond with something similar, or say something to the effect that they are also grateful to G-d for grace and mercy because that is the only way we get through life.  This response has started praise sessions with store clerks and brought smiles to tired faces.

Those who are non-religious but polite often look a bit taken aback, but say something to the effect of, "I'm doing quite well, thank you."  No doubt they are, as far as it goes.

Only on rare occasion do i get a really odd look or a sneer, which i return with a huge smile.  How they are doing becomes somewhat obvious, and i really do wish i could make their day better.

How am i doing today?  My arms, elbows, and hands hurt a bit.  My right hand goes numb when i hold it wrong, especially if i am trying to write for too long.  That's what working at the bakery has done, but it's getting better as my body gets more used to what is required.  It's a lot better than back at Christmas.

My mind is a bit preoccupied with how i'm going to get our taxes done considering my work hours.  A few papers each day should keep it manageable.

When it comes down to it, we have a roof over our heads, even if it has a bad foundation, we have just enough for food and gas and bills (as long as they let us pay the medical bills a bit at a time), we have family and friends and a great church.  So i really am doing well, by G-d's grace.


Today is:

Baba Marta Day -- Bulgaria (Grandmother Spring Day, martenitsa are worn until you see a stork or a tree blooming.)

Beer Day -- Iceland (marks the end of the prohibition of beer in 1989)

Be Positive, Do Something Positive Day -- the way to start Optimism Month

Bravo Day/Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day -- Marshall Islands

Chalandra Marz -- Engandine, Switzerland (various cities of this province have the traditional spring event where costumed young people, ringing bells and cracking whips, drive out the demons of winter)

Day to Mourn Victims of Land Mines -- anniversary of the day they were outlawed worldwide in 1999

Dia de las Islas Baleares -- Iberia, Spain

Elves, Woodworkers, and Mechanics' Day -- Fairy Calendar

First Day of Autumn -- Australia (they go by months, not equinoxes, like the rest of the world used to)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Houston, TX, US (since 1932, great rodeo action and top-name entertainment; through Mar. 20)

Humorists Are Artists Month begins -- any coincidence this spells HAAM?

Independence Day -- Bosnia and Herzegovina(1992)

International Association for Women of Color Day -- on the first day of Women's History Month 

International Wheelchair Day -- a day when wheelchair users celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has had in their lives 

Martisor -- Romanians and Aromanians, especially in Romania and Moldova (similar tradition to Baba Marta; first days of March are Zilele Babei, Days of the Old Woman, when Old Woman Winter, Baba Dokia, who lives in the mountains, might come back with ferocity.)

National Fruit Compote Day

National Horse Protection Day -- US; sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation 

National Pig Day -- sponsored by Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave, who want you to know that pigs are amazing animals that place fourth on the animal intelligence list!

Make Time for a Cuppa -- UK (raising awareness of dementia and raising funds for research; through Mar. 8)

Navii's Day / Vjunitci -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar (a Day of the Dead, bringing sacrifices and inviting the ancestors to attend the feast)

New Year's Day -- Ancient Roman Pre-Julian Calendar; related observances
     Birthday of Mars Pater (Feriae Marti)
     Chalanda Marz -- Kalends of March (now a festival in Egandine, Grisons Canton, Switzerland, in which the children ring bells to ring out the winter)
     Matronalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Women's Festival to Juno)
     Renewal of the Vestal Fire

Nineteen Day Fast -- Baha'i (begins at sundown)

Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day -- in remembrance of the destruction of Bikini Atoll

Omizutori Matsuri -- Todai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan (Water-Drawing Festival of 1,200 year old Buddhist ceremonies, through the 14th)

Peace Corps Birthday / National Day of Action -- US

Peanut Butter Lovers' Day -- according to some foodie sites

Plan a Solo Vacation Day -- Solo Travel Portal wants you to dream big and plan what you would do if you could get away, solo.

ReFIRED, Not Retired Day -- the day to get Fired Up about Life, Part II; you aren't retired, you are reFIRED!

Republic Day -- NE, Switzerland

Samiljeol (March 1st Movement Remembrance Day) -- South Korea

Self-Injury Awareness Day -- International (for information about self-injury, or to get started getting help, go here)

St. David of Wales' Day (Patron of doves; Patron of Wales, where it is called Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant)

Town Meeting Day -- Vermont, US (giving all citizens the right to speak out about local government, an official state holiday the first Tuesday of March allows towns to have a daylong public meeting of voters to elect town officers, approve budgets, and deal with town business)

Whuppity Scoorie Day -- Lanark, Scotland (Spring festival, children run around the church and pick up coins thrown for them.)

World Civil Defense Day -- International Civil Defense Organisation

Yap Day -- Micronesia (festival celebrating the heritage of the Yap peoples)


Anniversaries Today:

Johnny Cash marries June Carter, 1968
Yellowstone National Park established, 1872
Nebraska becomes the 37th US State, 1867
Howard University in Washington, D.C., is chartered, 1867
Ohio becomes the 17th US State, 1803


Birthdays Today:

Justin Bieber, 1994
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 1974
Javier Bardem, 1969
George Eads, 1967
Russell Wong, 1963
Nik Kershaw, 1958
Timothy Daly, 1956
Ron Howard, 1954
Catherine Bach, 1954
Alan Thicke, 1947
Dirk Benedict, 1945
Roger Daltry, 1944
Robert Conrad, 1935
Harry Belafonte, 1927
Pete Rozelle, 1926
Donald "Deke" K. Slayton, 1924
William M. Gaines, 1922
Richard (Purdy) Wilbur, 1921
Ralph Ellison, 1914
Harry Caray, 1914
David Niven, 1910
Glenn Miller, 1904
Watsuji Tetsuro, 1889
Oskar Kokoschka, 1886
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1848
Frederic Chopin, 1810


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Sophisticated Ladies"(Musical), 1981
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"(Musical), 1979
"Believe It or Not"(TV), 1949
"Captain America Comics #1"(Comic book), 1941
Native Son(Publication date), 1940


Today in History:

Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women, BC752
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, BC86
Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquerors Damascus, 1260
The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination, 1457
23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion, 1562
The Uppsala Synod is summoned to confirm the exact forms of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, 1593
Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu, 1633
Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are arrested for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692
"The Spectator" begins publishing, in London, 1711
The first US census is authorized, 1790
Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba, 1815
Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first African-American female to earn a medical degree, 1864
Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park, 1872
E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter, 1873
Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri, 1893
Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity, 1896
Battle of Adwa, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) defeats invading Italians, the first defeat of a colonizing European nation by an African colony, 1896
Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from an airplane, 1912
The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union, 1914
The March 1st Movement, demonstrations for independence from Japan, begins in Korea, 1919
Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped, 1932
The Hoover Dam is completed, 1936
US Steel raises workers wages to US$5/day, 1937
Trans-Canada Air Lines (forerunner of Air Canada) begins transcontinental operations (between Vancouver and Montreal), 1939
The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations, 1947
Chiang Kai-shek resumed the presidency of National China on Formosa, 1950
The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States, 1954
The Peace Corps is established, 1961
Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe, Chile, 1964
Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface, 1966
Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1992
Yahoo! was incorporated, 1995
The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons), 2002
The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague, 2003
English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station, 2006