Six Sentence Stories: On The Trail

"You threatened him in public, and on a scale of zero to ten I rank that as a minus two on the stupid meter!"

"I simply got caught up in the moment, that's all; it's making me crazy that I can't figure out how their fortunes and ours were reversed so quickly!"

"Well, that's why you've hired a paranormal investigator to do the investigating, right?"

"And a fat lot of good that's doing!"

"Not so fast, I've been tracking down the money they used to buy the house initially, and get this -- it appeared out of nowhere, an 'inheritance' from someone who has no existence anywhere else; that only happens, I've found before, if they use magic."

"Magic!" he said, intrigued, and the investigator answered, "Yes, specifically a Djinn, in most cases."


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



Today is:

Compitalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (slave festival to the Lares and Manes, household gods)

Curried Chicken Day

Eat Crackers and Try to Whistle Day -- just to see if it's as much fun as it was when you were young

Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day -- an internet generated holiday with whatever purpose you decide to give it

Full Wolf Moon -- the wolves howl hungrily during this cold month, sometimes called the Old Moon or the Yule Moon; some of the following celebrations began yesterday evening
     Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day -- Sri Lanka
     Mahayana New Year -- Buddhist
     Pyatho Full Moon -- Myanmar (traditionally the time of equestrian festivals)
     Thorrablot/Thurseblot -- Ancient Norse Calendar (feast honoring Thor, guardian of Midgard, at the first full moon of the new year)
     Thaipusam/Thaipoosam Cavadee -- Tamil People; Malaysia; Mauritius (Tamil Hindu multi-day celebration of the birth of the god Murugan)

Goblin Gala -- Fairy Calendar (Fairies not invited)

Hen Galan -- Gwaun Valley, Dyfed, Wales (New Year Celebration begins -- yes, they still use the old calendar)

Kiss a Ginger Day -- some call it a national or international day, although it's not official; a history of this day is here 

Little League Girls Baseball Day -- girls were finally allowed to play this date in 1974

Memorial Day -- Turkmenistan

National Marzipan Day

National Pharmacist Day -- US

National Youth Festival -- Harayana, India (through the 16th)

Nosso Senhor de Bonfim Festival -- Salvador, Brazil (Our Lord of the Happy Ending Festival, at the church by that name, the celebrations begin with washing the steps of the church today and celebrations run through this Sunday and to the next)

Rubber Band Veteran Day -- to commemorate the warriors and heroes of rubber band fights around the globe and in your very own school or office

Stick to Your New Year's Resolution Day -- because it's too soon to give up

St. Benedict Biscop's Day (Founder and Patron of English Benedictines, and Patron of musicians, painters; Sunderland, England)

Ultimate Fishing Show -- Detroit, MI, US (through Sunday)

Winterskol -- Aspen, Colorado (Aspen's annual "toast to winter", through Sunday)

Zanzibar Revolution Day -- Tanzania


Birthdays Today:

HAL, 1997 (according to A. C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey)
Jeff Bezos, 1964
Oliver Platt, 1960
Kirstie Alley, 1955
Howard Stern, 1954
Rush Limbaugh, 1951
Joe Frazier, 1944
Glenn Yarborough, 1930
Ray Price, 1926
Ira Hamilton Hayes, 1922
James Farmer, 1920
Luise Rainer, 1910
Tex Ritter, 1905
Joe E. Lewis, 1902
Jack London, 1876
John Singer-Sargent, 1856
Edmund Burke, 1729
Charles Perrault, 1628
John Winthrop, 1588 (O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Dynasty"(TV) 1981
"All in the Family"(TV), 1971
"Batman"(TV), 1966
"Arthur Godfrey and His Friends"(TV) 1949
"Ottone, re di Germania"(Handel's Opera, HWV 15). 1723


Today in History:

Tsarina Elizabeth establishes the first university in Russia, 1755
The first US public museum is established, in Charlestown, South Carolina, 1773
Mission Santa Clara de Asis is founded in California, 1777
The first cargo arrives in New Orleans by steamship, from Natchez, 1812
Anthracite coal is first used to smelt iron, in Mauch Chunk,Pennsylvania, 1839
The Royal Aeronautical Society is founded in England, 1866
The Dow-Jones closes above 100 for the first time, 1906
A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time, 1908
The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees, 1911
The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote, 1915
Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law went into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens, 1918
Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate, 1932
Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation, 1967
An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait, 1991
A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by a referendum in Mali, 1992
Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning, 1998
The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage, 2004
Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta 2 rocket, 2006
The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal, 2006
Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years, 2007
An earthquake in Haiti kills an estimated 230,000 and destroys most of Port-au-Prince, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Plants Don't Know What's Next!

When the weather changes very quickly from warm to cold to warm again, the trees don't know what to do!

It was leafless, then bloomed, then started shedding blooms, all in about a week!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Banquet of Fairies, Goblins, Pixies, and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Burning of the Clavie -- Burghead, Scotland (ancient ritual to ensure good luck through the year)

Carmentalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival of the goddess of childbirth)

Cuckoo Dancing Week begins -- in honor of Laurel & Hardy, whose theme song was "The Dancing Cuckoos"; watch some of their fabulous material this week, and introduce it to a new fan

Designated Hitter Day -- the American League adopted the "designated hitter" rule on this date in 1973

Feast of Sokar -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Independence Manifesto Day -- Morocco(1944); Western Sahara(1944)

International Thank You Day -- as declared by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith

Juturnalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of prophetic waters festival)

Kosrae Constitution Day -- Micronesia

Milk Day

National Hot Toddy Day

Secret Pal Day -- no info found on the origin, it's a secret!  do something nice for someone, secretly.

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day -- just don't do it to your secret pal

Sts. Paldo, Taso, and Tato's Day (founders of the monastery of San Vincenzo)

St. Theodosius of Cappadocia (Patron of file makers)

Tattoo Pride Day

Ullr Festival -- Breckenridge, CO, US (festival of the mythical Norse god of winter; through Saturday)

Wings Over Willcox -- Willcox, AZ, US (tours of the playa and wetlands, birding, workshops, and more; through Sunday)


Birthdays Today:

Amanda Peet, 1972
Mary Blige, 1971
Kim Coles, 1962
Stanley Tucci, 1960
Ben Crenshaw, 1952
Christine Kaufmann, 1945
Naomi Judd, 1946
Jim Hightower, 1943
Clarence Clemens, 1942
Jean Chretien, 1934
Rod Taylor, 1930
Grant Tinker, 1926
Alice Paul, 1885
William James, 1842
Eugenio Maria Hostos, 1839
John A. Macdonald, 1815
Alexander Hamilton, 1755
Theodosius I, 347


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Daktari"(TV), 1966
"Have a Heart"(Musical), 1917


Today in History:

Prophet of Islam Muhammad leads an army of 10,000 Muslims to conquer Mecca, 630
The first recorded lottery in England is drawn in St. Paul's Cathedral, 1569
Isaac Newton is elected a member of the Royal Society, 1642
Mt. Etna erupts, 1693
William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, the moons of Uranus, 1787
An earthquake in Martinique destroys half of Port Royal and results in about 700 deaths, 1839
Charring Cross Station opens in London, 1864
Milk is first delivered in bottles, 1878
Martha H. Cannon becomes the first woman state senator in the US, in Utah, 1897
The Hudson, the first sedan type automobile, goes on display at the 13th Auto Show in NYC, 1913
The first use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient occurs in Canada, with 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, 1922
Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland, California, 1935
The first recorded snowfall in Los Angeles, California, 1949
United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., publishes a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking nation- and worldwide anti-smoking efforts, 1964
The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia is officially opened, 1986
The government of Ireland announces the end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on the IRA, 1994
Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois' death row based on the Jon Burge scandal, 2003
Forty-six  people are killed and 12 are missing after a landslide buries a village in the Yunnan province, China, 2013

Tuesday Coffee Chat: Never Stop Learning

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question,  I'm not one for resolutions, but I do hope I never stop learning.   What was your biggest lesson learned in 2016? 







The biggest lesson i've learned is, never stop praying.  It changes me, it changes things, it keeps me focused on the positive outcomes i'd like to see.  Prayer isn't just a laundry list of "i wants" delivered to a heavenly Santa Claus.  It makes me make time to listen, and so brings me closer to G-d, so that i want for my life more of what G-d wants for my life.  

In this area where we live, there have been lessons learned.  The shootings have taught us we are stronger if we fight racial divisions instead of fostering them.  The flooding has taught us to work together and take care of each other, no matter what.  

Also, check out your contractor thoroughly and read your insurance policy and remember that FEMA paperwork takes months if not years.

Other personal lessons have included that, now that we only have one child we can count as a tax deduction, we will owe more in taxes every year than i can shake a stick at.  Yes, they all still live here, mostly rent free, and we help with insurance and everything else, but we can no longer deduct them.  They cost us more this way.

Yes, i've learned, again, they are still worth it.

My 2016 Angel Tree experience taught me that some people are very suspicious of you, even when you are trying to do a good deed, and it costs them nothing.  It's okay, i learned, just do the good anyway, and let them figure it out.

Watching Little Girl leave and come back has retaught me, as i learned when #1 Son left and moved back a couple of years ago, that i can let them go, watch them fly, and still be a soft place for them to land when things get turned around.  Every day they grow stronger, and they are saving up to move on again.  Within the next few months, there will be changes.

Last year reaffirmed the lesson that i can live through these changes, and we can all thrive.




Today is:

Feast of St. Geraint -- Wales (legendary Welsh hero who fought King Arthur)

Majority Rule Day -- Bahamas

National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

National Cut Your Energy Costs Day

National No-Tillage Conference -- St. Louis, MO, US (conference to encourage ecologically sound farming; through the 13th)

Peculiar People Day -- an internet generated day to celebrate all the strange and peculiar people in your life, including me!;)

St. Peter Orseolo's Day

Sturdy Flat-Heeled Shoes Appreciation Day -- listed on many sites, and since i appreciate them, i included it

The Fairy Lunch -- Fairy Calendar

Vaudoun Day -- Benin (Traditional Religions Day, with a huge festival in the seaside town of Ouidah)

Where's The Beef? Day -- the slogan premiered this day in 1984

Word Nerd Day -- originated by Maria Schneider of WritersDigest (to celebrate those who enjoy playing with words)


Anniversaries Today:

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands weds Pieter van Vollenhoven, 1967
UN General Assembly first meeting, 1946
Uniform Penny Post (the reformed postal system) starts in the UK, 1840


Birthdays Today:

Pat Benatar, 1953
Bonnie Hellman, 1950
George Foreman, 1949
Rod Stewart, 1945
Jim Croce, 1943
Sal Mineo, 1939
Bill Toomey, 1939
Gisele MacKenzie, 1927
Johnnie Ray, 1927
Paul Henreid, 1908
Ray Bolger, 1904
Robinson Jeffers, 1887
Grigori Rasputin, 1869 (O.S.)
Mary Ingalls, 1865
George Washington Carver, 1864
Charles Ingalls, 1836


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Masterpiece Theater"(TV), 1971
"That Was The Week That Was"(TV, US version), 1964
"Finian's Rainbow"(Musical), 1947
"Arsenic and Old Lace"(Play), 1941
"Pete the Tramp"(Comic strip), 1932
"Street Scene"(Play), 1929
"Rosalie"(Musical), 1928



Today in History:

Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, begins a civil war, BC46
"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine is published, 1776
Napoleon divorces Josephine, 1810
Poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning begin their correspondence, 1845
The first underground railway opens in London, 1863
John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil, 1870
The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas, 1901
The League of Nations is established, 1920
The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the moon and receiving the reflected signals, 1946
The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations after 117 years, 1984
Torrential rain in the Lockyer Valley region of South East Queensland, Australia causes severe flash flooding, killing 9 people, 2011

Awww Monday: Embarrassed?

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!

We've had two cats left at the shelter that had a similar problem.  They were long-haired cats that had been allowed to get very matted.  Both had to be taken in, sedated, and shaved.

One decided to hide behind the litter box. 

He just didn't want to be seen.

The other, well, i asked him if i could take his picture and 

First, he gave me "the look" (and no one gives "the look" like a cat)!

Then he turned his head away.

Finally, he hid his head. looking for all the world like he's ashamed!

Yes, they are both going to be just fine, as soon as their hair grows back out.






Today is:

Ati-Atihan Festival -- Aklan, Kalibo, Panay Island, Philippines (start of the vivid religious carnival/feast dating back to the 13th century to honor Santo Nino [Baby Jesus]; through the 15th)

Balloon Ascension Day / Aviation in America Day -- the first manned free balloon flight in the US was on this date in 1793 at Philadelphia

Clean Off Your Desk Day -- me and what army? (Note:  some sites put this as always on Jan. 9, some the second Monday of January; either way, my question remains)

Duelo Nacional -- Panama (Martyrs' Day)

Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)

Feast of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of the Most Holy Black Nazarene -- Quiapo District, Manila, Philippines (culmination of the celebrations; a 400 year old Catholic procession with a black life-sized wooden statue of Jesus)

Festival of the Agonalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (gifts given to Janus)

Hatsu-Ichi -- Maebashi, Japan (a daruma -- good luck doll -- market, to start the year off right)

"I Will Stay" Day -- Brazil (anniversary of the start of the Independence Movement in 1922)

National Apricot Day

Peace Agreement Day -- South Sudan

Plough Monday -- UK (farm work is resumed the Monday following the 12 Days of Christmas, and ploughs are brought to the church to be blessed)

Positively Penguins Day -- a day to celebrate all things penguin

Republic Day -- Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Seijin-no-hi -- Japan (Adult's Day, or Coming of Age Day; celebrating all who have reached age 20, full legal adult age, in the past year)

Static Cling/Static Electricity Day -- on some sites, listed as April 26; i can only ask why it's listed anywhere for any reason

St. Marciana's Day (Patron of those with wounds)

Stepfather's Day -- not official, but it should be, there are some great stepfathers out there

Stuffed Animal Laundry Day -- give that old bear a bath!

Toka Ebisu -- Japan (parades and shrine rituals through Japan, but especially in Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka; through the 11th)


Anniversaries Today:

Connecticut becomes the 5th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Sergio Garcia, 1980
Dave Matthews, 1967
Joely Richardson, 1965
Mark Martin, 1959
Imelda Staunton, 1956
J.K. Simmons, 1955
Crystal Gayle, 1951
Jimmy Page, 1944
Joan Baez, 1941
Susannah York, 1941
Byron Barlett "Bart" Starr, 1934
Bob Denver, 1935
Judith Krantz, 1928
Lee Van Cleef, 1925
Les Paul, 1915
Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick), 1914
Richard Nixon, 1913
Simone De Beauvoir, 1908
Chic Young, 1901
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, 1859
Gracie Fields, 1898


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"It Takes a Thief"(TV), 1968
"Rawhide"(TV), 1959
"Dear Abby"(newspaper column), 1956
"Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze"(Film), 1894


Today in History:

Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, 475
Seven hundred Jews, believed to be causing the Black Death, are burned in their homes in Basel, Switzerland, 1349
The first sighting of manatees by a European (Columbus), 1493
Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in London, 1768
The first hot-air balloon flight in the US lifts off in Philadelphia, 1793
Income Tax is introduced in the UK (to fund the war against Napoleon), 1799
Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral, 1806
Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery, 1816
The Daguerrotype photo process is announced at French Academy of Science, 1839
Thomas Henderson makes the first measure of stellar parallax, of Alpha Centauri, 1839
The Astor Library opens in NYC, 1854
The first hostilities of the Civil War, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 1861
The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow, 1880
New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts, 1894
Alfred Tennyson's son, Hallam, the Second Baron Tennyson, becomes the second Governor General of Australia, 1903
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity to be officially recognized at Howard University is founded, 1914
The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops are evacuated, 1916
Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogiro (helicopter) flight, Spain, 1923
A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Quebec, Montreal, kills 78 children, 1927
Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians, 1964
Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh, 2005
Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group sign a peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya, 2005







Today is:

7#Ati-Atihan Festival -- Aklan, Kalibo, Panay Island, Philippines (start of the vivid religious carnival/feast dating back to the 13th century to honor Santo Nino [Baby Jesus]; through the 15th)

^*Balloon Ascension Day / Aviation in America Day -- the first manned free balloon flight in the US was on this date in 1793 at Philadelphia

7#(2M)Clean Off Your Desk Day -- me and what army? (Note:  some sites put this as always on Jan. 9, some the second Monday of January; either way, my question remains)

^*Duelo Nacional -- Panama (Martyrs' Day)

7#(2M)Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)

^*Feast of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar

^*Feast of the Most Holy Black Nazarene -- Quiapo District, Manila, Philippines (culmination of the celebrations; a 400 year old Catholic procession with a black life-sized wooden statue of Jesus)

^*Festival of the Agonalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (gifts given to Janus)

^*Hatsu-Ichi -- Maebashi, Japan (a daruma -- good luck doll -- market, to start the year off right)

^*"I Will Stay" Day -- Brazil (anniversary of the start of the Independence Movement in 1922)

^*National Apricot Day

^*Peace Agreement Day -- South Sudan

7#Plough Monday -- UK (farm work is resumed the Monday following the 12 Days of Christmas, and ploughs are brought to the church to be blessed)

^*Positively Penguins Day -- a day to celebrate all things penguin

^*Republic Day -- Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

7#Seijin-no-hi -- Japan (Adult's Day, or Coming of Age Day; celebrating all who have reached age 20, full legal adult age, in the past year)

^*Static Cling/Static Electricity Day -- on some sites, listed as April 26; i can only ask why it's listed anywhere for any reason

^*St. Marciana's Day (Patron of those with wounds)

^*Stepfather's Day -- not official, but it should be, there are some great stepfathers out there

^*Stuffed Animal Laundry Day -- give that old bear a bath!

^*Toka Ebisu -- Japan (parades and shrine rituals through Japan, but especially in Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka; through the 11th)


Anniversaries Today:

Connecticut becomes the 5th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Sergio Garcia, 1980
Dave Matthews, 1967
Joely Richardson, 1965
Mark Martin, 1959
Imelda Staunton, 1956
J.K. Simmons, 1955
Crystal Gayle, 1951
Jimmy Page, 1944
Joan Baez, 1941
Susannah York, 1941
Byron Barlett "Bart" Starr, 1934
Bob Denver, 1935
Judith Krantz, 1928
Lee Van Cleef, 1925
Les Paul, 1915
Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick), 1914
Richard Nixon, 1913
Simone De Beauvoir, 1908
Chic Young, 1901
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, 1859
Gracie Fields, 1898


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"It Takes a Thief"(TV), 1968
"Rawhide"(TV), 1959
"Dear Abby"(newspaper column), 1956
"Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze"(Film), 1894


Today in History:

Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, 475
Seven hundred Jews, believed to be causing the Black Death, are burned in their homes in Basel, Switzerland, 1349
The first sighting of manatees by a European (Columbus), 1493
Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in London, 1768
The first hot-air balloon flight in the US lifts off in Philadelphia, 1793
Income Tax is introduced in the UK (to fund the war against Napoleon), 1799
Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral, 1806
Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery, 1816
The Daguerrotype photo process is announced at French Academy of Science, 1839
Thomas Henderson makes the first measure of stellar parallax, of Alpha Centauri, 1839
The Astor Library opens in NYC, 1854
The first hostilities of the Civil War, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, 1861
The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow, 1880
New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts, 1894
Alfred Tennyson's son, Hallam, the Second Baron Tennyson, becomes the second Governor General of Australia, 1903
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity to be officially recognized at Howard University is founded, 1914
The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops are evacuated, 1916
Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogiro (helicopter) flight, Spain, 1923
A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Quebec, Montreal, kills 78 children, 1927
Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians, 1964
Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh, 2005
Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group sign a peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya, 2005

Silly Sunday: Ain't Dere No More

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!

Sweetie is sad at the passing of an era.  A store is closing not too terribly far from here, the one where he used to buy all of his used DVDs.  We don't have cable or satellite, and he only really likes watching movies on his DVD player, old movies preferred.

It is sad to lose this store, just as it was sad when record stores went away.

Long ago, Boudreaux done dial de phone to call de record store, an' he dial de wrong number.  De man dat pick up say, "Bonjour" an' Boudreaux right in ax, "Do you got 'Eyes of Blue' an' "A Love Supreme'?"

An' de man, a bit confused, say, "No, but I gots a wife an' 'leven chil'run."

"Do dat be a record?" Boudreaux ax.

An' de man say, "Mais, no, but it be as close to de record as I wants to git!"





A short update on Ms. S -- she seems a lot better, and everyone is watching her closely.  She won't go to the doctor, though, and if she's had a TIA and doesn't get medical help, a major stroke is probably not far off. 

Today is:

Asarah B'Tevet -- Judaism (Tenth of Tevet, a minor fast day, in remembrance of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar)

Baptism of the Lord Jesus -- Christian

Blessing of the Sea -- Margate, UK (ceremony with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateria and Great Britain)

Bubble Bath Day -- remember how much fun it was as a kid?  enjoy that again today

Day Sacred to Justicia -- Ancient Roman Empire (personification of justice)

Emperor Norton Day -- E. Clampus Vitus Society puts on a party in San Francisco's Chinatown in honor of the passing on this day of Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico

Feast of Hathor and Sekhmet -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Feast of St. Gudula (Patron of single laywomen; Brussels, Belgium)

Grandmothers/Midwives Day -- Bulgaria (a/k/a Babin Den; celebrating Grandmothers as midwives of their grandchildren, for the role they play in the traditional family.)

Haloa -- Ancient Greek Calendar (fertility festival of Demeter and Dionysos called after the halos, or threshing floor; date approximate)
     Rural Dionysia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (the fertility festival of the countryside)

It All Adds Up Day -- anniversary of Hollerith's tabulating machine patent

Jackson Day Race -- New Orleans, LA, US (110th annual, a 9k run through historic areas of New Orleans; the oldest street race in the South and 5th oldest in the nation.)

Kim Jong-un's Birthday -- North Korea

Male Watcher's Day -- often listed as a day for the females to get even and do a little guy ogling, but no site gives any reason behind why this day was chosen

Meitlisonntag -- Meisterschwanden and Fahrwangen, Switzerland (procession and festival celebrating the role of women in the victory of a battle in 1712)

Midwife's Day / Women's Day -- Greece (women get out and go to a cafe or shopping, and the men must stay home and do the chores and care for the children, and in some areas, men caught shirking will be stripped and drenched in cold water; on the approximate date of an ancient Greek celebration of midwives)
     Gynaecocratia -- Macedonia

Milk Carton Day -- Sheffield Farms began packaging milk in parafin lined paper cartons on this day in 1929

National Eat Something Raw Day 

National English Toffee Day

National Joygerm Day -- a day to infect others with joy; begun by Joygerm Joan, whose motto is "The only thing Joygerms allow to get depressed are their tongues!"

North American International Auto Show -- Detroit, MI, US (a showcase for the world's vehicle introductions; through the 22nd)

Old Hickory Day -- Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson leads the victory in the Battle of New Orleans

Rock 'n' Roll Day -- on Elvis' birth anniversary, of course

Show and Tell at Work Day -- another Wellcat Holiday to observe carefully if at all

St. Severinus' Day (Patron of Austria and of San Severo, Italy)

Toka Ebisu Matsuri -- Osaka, Japan (Festival of Ebisu, god of business and prosperity; through the 11th)


Birthdays Today:

Ami Dolenz, 1969
Vladimir Feltsman, 1952
Don Bendell, 1947
David Bowie, 1947
Robbie Krieger, 1946
Kathleen Noone, 1946
Stephen Hawking, 1942
Yvette Mimieux, 1939
Bob Eubanks, 1938
Shirley Bassey, 1937
Elvis Presley, 1935
Charles Osgood, 1933
Soupy Sales, 1926
Ron Moody, 1924
Larry Storch, 1923
Jose Ferrer, 1912
Galina Ulanova, 1910
Wilkie Collins, 1824
James Longstreet, 1821
Nicholas Biddle, 1786


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Symphony No. 15 in A major (Opus 141, Dmitri Shostakovich), 1972
"Almira"(Handel's first opera), 1705


Today in History:

Monaco gains its independence, 1297
Genoa, Italy expels Jews, 1598
The oldest surviving commerial newspaper begins in Haarlem, Netherlands, 1675
The New York Fishing Company is the first American commercial corporation chartered, 1675
Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1734
US President George Washington delivers the first "State of the Union" address, 1790
Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, emerges voluntarily from the wild in southern France (he had been captured and escaped before), 1800
The Battle of New Orleans, 1815
The first US music school, the Boston Academy of Music, is established, 1833
The US national debt hits $0 for the first and only time, 1835
Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code), 1836
French physicist Jean Foucault proves, using his "Foucault's pendulum," that the Earth rotates on its axis, 1851
Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the US Cavalry at Wolf Mountain in Montana Territory, 1877
Dr. Herman Hollerith receives the first US patent for a tabulating machine, considered by some to be the earliest computer, 1889
The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system, 1904
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., 1963
Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched, 1973
The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, 2004
Some scientists claim 2012 weather as the hottest year ever recorded, 2013

All the News My Brain Can Think Of

"It's not raining any more," Sweetie came in and said around 6pm yesterday.

Good, i responded, to which he said, "It's sleeting."  Then he handed me the mail.

Oh, joy.  Sleet.

And a Christmas card, but i guess, since it was Little Christmas, i'll count it.  After all, the pastor who sent it is a rather busy guy.

Yesterday started with a terrible accident on the highway.  A big rig jackknifed and one person died, five others were seriously injured, and the highway was shut down for the whole day.

The wet weather, ending with sleet, did not help the situation.

Ms. S, my Monday client, came to Bible study and behaved really oddly.  First she talked about waking at 4am and it being daylight.  She couldn't remember that she called Ms. G twice that morning, and she thought Ms. G had left without her so she drove to Bible study herself.

Once there, the weirdness continued.  She was a magazine editor, very precise in her words and able to hold a conversation and read and do three other things at the same time.  Yesterday she couldn't follow a conversation and lost her place twice when she was praying.  You could tell she didn't remember what she had been saying a few minutes before.  Ms. G sent her son a text, and i'm still waiting for a follow up, but i suspect a TIA.

For only the second time since it opened, the cat shelter closed early due to weather.  They called me in the middle of the day and told me not to come for my evening shift, the paid staff were feeding all the cats, shutting the doors and calling it a day.

Today should be clear and very, very cold.  As long as the rain (and sleet) stops, i'll take it!

There was a housecleaning on the docket, but it has been moved to Tuesday, as the house will not be empty today as the owner originally planned.  The cold put the kibosh on that, the heat went out in her granddaughter's home and so the granddaughter and great-grandchildren are there until the landlord can get it fixed.  No way can those little ones stay in an apartment with no heat this weekend.

We had visitors in the field across the street from us yesterday.  Five Canadian geese were out there, in the cold and wet, and we gave them whole wheat pita bread, which they seemed to appreciate.  In my imagination i can hear them fussing, "We flew south to get warm!"  They will have to go a bit further south, as in, Mexico.  If they stay here, they will get below freezing temperatures for the next few nights.

The pet geranium is inside, as it has somehow managed to survive.  None of the other pets want to go out, either.  Even SissyCat isn't fighting to get to the door, and Pepe keeps his ventures brief, doing his business and getting back as fast as his little crooked legs can carry him (which is actually pretty fast).

That's about all the news for now.



Today is:

Celebration of the First Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Eagle Days -- Little Platte Park, Smithville Lake, MO, US (learning about bald eagles in the environmental learning center, as well as eagle viewing over the lake and children's activities; through tomorrow)

Fasching Carnival -- Munich, Germany (through Shrove Tuesday)

Festa del Tricolore -- Italy (Tricolour or Flag Day)

Harlem Globetrotters' Day -- anniversary of their first game in 192

I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day -- declared by Bob O'Brien, Consumer Advocate, who encourages us to fight back

Nanakusa no Sekku -- Japan (Festival of Seven Herbs, dates back to the 7th century and recalls the medicinal herbs that were traditionally served to the emper)

National Tempura Day

National Western Stock Show and Rodeo -- Denver, CO, US (107th edition of the Super Bowl of livestock shows; through the 22nd)

Nativity of Christ / Orthodox Christmas / Coptic Christmas -- Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians still using the Julian Calendar.

Old Rock Day -- a/k/a "St. Distaff's Day" or simply Distaff Day(the distaff, for spinning yarn, was also called a "rock"; today was the day women went back to spinning after the Christmas holidays)

Pennsylvania Farm Show -- Harrisburg, PA, US (the largest indoor agricultural show in the US, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture; through the 14th)

St. Raymond of Penyafort's Day (Patron of attornies, barristers, canonists, lawyers, and medical record librarians)

Ume Matsuri -- Atami, Japan (celebrating the ume -- plum -- at one of the most famous plum viewing spots in the country; through early to mid-March)

Usokae -- Kameido Tenmangu Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (Bullfinch Exchange Day, Uso also means "lie" so when exchanging carved birds, it is considered a way of exchanging lies for the truth)

Victory Day over the Genocidal Regime -- Cambodia


Anniversary Today:

Princess Juliana of Netherlands weds Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, 1937


Birthdays Today:

Dustin Diamond, 1977
Jeremy Renner, 1971
Nick Cleg, 1967
Nicholas Cage, 1964
Katie Couric, 1957
David Caruso, 1956
Erin Gray, 1950
Kenny Loggins, 1948
Jann Wenner, 1947
Paul Revere, 1938
William Peter Blatty, 1928
Jean-Pierre Rampal, 1922
Vincent Gardenia, 1922
Charles Addams, 1912
Butterfly McQueen, 1911
Aristotle Onassis, 1906
Zora Neale Hurston, 1891
St Bernadette, 1844
Millard Fillmore, 1800
Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, 1745


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Video-Telephone, 1992 (US$1,499)
"Fame"(TV), 1982
"Flash Gordon"(comic strip), 1934
"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D."(comic strip), 1929
"Tarzan of the Apes"(comic strip), 1929
Transatlantic telephone service, 1927 (US$75 for 5 minutes)


Today in History:

Calais, the last English possession in France, is taken back by the French, 1558
Boris Godunov seizes the Russian throne upon the death of Feodore I, 1598
Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia, 1608
Galileo discovers the first 3 moons of Jupiter (Io, Europa, and Ganymede), 1610
Francis Bacon becomes the English Lord Chancellor, 1618
A prototype typewriter is patented by Englishman Henry Mill, 1714
Battle at Panipat India: the Afghan army beats Mahratten, 1761
The Bank of North America opens in Philadelphia, the first US commercial bank, 1782
The first gas balloon flight across the English channel, by Blanchard and Jeffries, 1785
The modern Italian flag is first used, 1797
Liberia is colonized by Americans, 1822
The first railroad station in the US, in Baltimore, opens, 1830
Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook, 1896
The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS", 1904
The first steamboat passage through the Panama Canal, 1914
The Harlem Globetrotters play their first game, 1927
The first transatlantic telephone service is established – from New York City to London, 1927
"Buck Rogers", the first sci-fi comic strip, and "Tarzan," one of the first adventure comic strips, premier, 1929
Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast, 1931
The "Flash Gordon" comic strip (by Alex Raymond) debuts, 1934
President Harry Truman announces that the United States has developed the hydrogen bomb, 1952
The first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM, 1954
Marian Anderson becomes the first black singer to perform at the Met (NYC), 1955
The Polaris missile is test launched, 1960
Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off, 1968
Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 1984
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union, 1985
The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public because of safety concerns, 1990
U.S. President Clinton goes on trial before the U.S. Senate for perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, 1999
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics estimates at least 17 billion planets exist that are comparable to the size of the Earth, 2013