Philosophy

"So, Mom, what do you think?" Bigger Girl asked as i came in the door.

She had just cut her own hair again, and this time it was a very short cut that looks cute on her.  She was also wearing glasses and her leather vest.

Nice, i said.

"What do you think of the new glasses?  I like to believe Janis Joplin would be proud."

What would Janis Say?

Yes, very likely, i noted.

Sweetie came in at that moment.  "Cool glasses!" he said.  Then he added, "I like the short hair on you."

"Thanks, Dad!" Bigger Girl was beaming.

As Sweetie left to go upstairs, she turned to me.  "Mom, I've been reading more philosophy and other studies, and I think I've come to a conclusion."

What would that be? i asked.

"Well," she said, "you know how people get so down on each other for not being a certain way.  For example, how in our society so many men are talked down for not being 'real men,' or women are fussed at for not embracing certain things.  Then, those who go against the stereotype tend to get down on those embrace it in some way.  Or the way women argue against each other in the debate over whether they should stay home or work.

"I'm tired of all of that.  Sometimes I've fussed about the same things.  But I think if you want to be a stereotypically 'macho' guy, you should do it unapologetically, and let the guys who don't want to do that, do their own thing, and accept them.  And the same with women.   Those who don't feel cut out to be mothers should accept that in themselves, and everyone else should accept it, and they should accept the women who do.  Or with working moms and stay at home moms.  Be yourself, and be true to you, and accept that others aren't going to be the same way, and be okay with it.

"What do you think?" she concluded.

Sweetheart, i think you've found the secret to a lot more peace on earth, if you could get everyone to agree, i told her.

Who knows, maybe someday, most people will.


Today is:

Celebration of the First Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

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

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

Guru Goyind Singh Jayanti -- CR, HR, and PB, India

Harlem Globetrotters' Day -- anniversary of their first game in 1927

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

International Consumer Electronics Show -- Las Vegas, NV, US (the world's largest annual trade show for consumers, and the largest annual trade show of any kind in the US; through Friday)

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 emperor)

National Tempura Day

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)

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

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

Aww Monday: Adult Cats Can Be Cute, Too!

The adult cats can be cute, too, and a couple of them want the chance to prove it.

First, there's Horizon when he wakes up.

Aw, mom, just five more minutes before you make the bed, okay?

 Then there's Link, when he wants to play.

Look, I can roll over!  And I didn't fall off this time!

Link does sometimes roll over while playing, and fall off of this box.

There, see!  I'm cute, too!

 
Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Iraq

Befana -- Italy (Befana is the fairy who resides in chimneys, flies on a broom, and leaves toys and candy in stockings on Epiphany, their traditional day to exchange gifts.)

Bean Day (Bake a bean or penny into a cake, whoever gets the slice with the bean is king for a day.  A tradition continued in New Orleans and vicinity, especially, all the way through Mardi Gras Day, only now a plastic baby toy, representative of Jesus, is put in the traditional cakes.)

Blessing of the Waters -- Piraeus, Greece; Turkey; among Greek Orthodox worshippers worldwide (on the traditional date of the Baptism of Jesus)

Carnival Season begins -- Christian, through Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday

Children's Day -- Uruguay

Cuddle Up Day -- internet generated, an excuse to get close to your special someone

Daruma Ichi -- Takasaki City, Japan (the largest and most famous daruma market in the city where the good luck dolls originated; through tomorrow)

Deer Dance Ceremonies -- Taos Pueblo, NM, US (Native American celebration of the deer spirit)

Dezome-shiki -- Tokyo, Japan (fire fighters perform acrobatic feats from the tops of ladders to show agility)

Dia de los Reys -- Hispanic Christians(Three Kings Day)

Epiphany / Three Kings Day -- Western Christian

Epiphany of Kore (Persephone/Proserpina) -- Ancient Greek Calendar and Ancient Roman Calendar (a goddess of fertility and germination of seeds)

Feast of Ptah and Horus -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Feast of the Theophany -- Orthodox Christian

Four Freedoms Day -- US (commemorates the FDR speech about the four freedoms:  freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear.)

Greek Cross Day -- Tarpon Springs, Florida (as part of the Greek Orthodox Church celebration of Epiphany/Little Christmas)

Handsel Monday -- Scotland (traditionally a day to exchange small tokens of good luck with friends and neighbors; celebrated in rural areas on the Monday after Jan. 12, where they did not want to deviate from the OS/Julian Calendar)

Little Christmas -- Ireland

Maroon Festival -- Jamaica (celebration of descendents of former fugitive slaves)

National Clean Off Your Desk Day -- so that, at least once each year, you can see the top of your desk and prepare for the year's upcoming paperwork

National Shortbread Day

Orthodox Christmas Eve -- Orthodox Christians following the Julian calendar

Perchtenlauf -- Bad Hofgastein, Austria (A festival with scary masks and music to frighten away winter.)

Prettandinn -- Iceland (the last Day of Christmas, Epiphany, with bonfires and Elven Dances)

Shorinzan Daruma-Ichi -- Shorinzan, Japan (Good luck daruma dolls are purchased, with no eyes.  One eye is painted on when you make a wish, the other when the wish comes true.  Largest and oldest Daruma doll festival in Japan; through tomorrow.)

Smith Day -- the Smiths and Smythes and Smithes of the world want a day to be recognized; if your name is Smith or one of the variants of it, have a celebration of your very common name today!

Sts. Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchoir's Day (Patrons of travelers)

Surb Tsnund -- Armenia (Armenian Christmas Day)

Take a Poet to Lunch Day -- listed on a few sites, and who doesn't want an excuse to go out to eat?

"Thank G-d It's Monday" Day

Turisi -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (holiday of the bull, Jar-tur; a fertility rite)

Wassailing the Apple Trees -- various parts of the UK (from the Old English "waes hael," meaning "be well," a ritual to bless apple trees to ensure a good harvest)



Anniversaries Today:

George H. W. Bush marries Barbara Pierce, 1945
New Mexico becomes the 47th US State, 1912
Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, 1540 (his 4th wife)


Birthdays Today:

Joey Lauren Adams, 1971
Susan Perabo, 1969
Nancy Lopez, 1957
Rowan Atkinson, 1955
Bonnie Franklin, 1944
Lou Holtz, 1937
E.L. Doctorow, 1931
Vic Tayback, 1929
Earl Scruggs, 1924
Sun Myung Moon, 1920
Eugene T. Maleska, 1916
Loretta Young, 1913
Danny Thomas, 1912
Kahlil Gibran, 1883
Tom Mix, 1880
Carl Sandburg, 1878
Sherlock Holmes, 1854 (As celebrated by the Baker Street Irregulars.)
Charles Sumner, 1811
Jedediah Strong Smith, 1799
Haym Salomon, 1785
Joan of Arc, 1412


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Wheel of Fortune"(TV), 1975
"Schoolhouse Rock"(TV), 1973
"Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom"(TV), 1963
"Hallmark Hall of Fame"(TV), 1952


Today in History:

The first Roman Catholic Mass is celebrated in the "New World," at La Isabela, Hispaniola, 1494
All Jews are expelled from Syria, 1497
The city of Lima, Peru, is founded by Francisco Pizarro, 1535
The first recorded boxing match of the style now called English Boxing is held -- the Duke of Albemarle's butler versus his butcher, 1681
Massachusetts slaves petition the legislature for freedom, 1773
Samuel Morse makes his first public demonstration of the telegraph, 1838
The most damaging storm in 300 years sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin, 1839
A patent for reducing zinc ore granted to Samuel Wetherill of Pennsylvania, 1857
The Washington National Cathedral is chartered bu the US Congress and signed by President Benjamin Harrison, 1893
The first telephone call is made from a submerged submarine, by Simon Lake, 1898
Maria Montessori opens her first school and day care for working class families in Rome, 1907
The Great White Fleet passes through the Suez Canal, the largest group of ships to pass through up to that time, 1909
Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work among the poor of India, 1929
The first diesel-engined automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City, 1930
Thomas Edison submits his last patent application, for a  "Holder for Article to be Electroplated," 1931
Barbara Hanley becomes Canada's first woman mayor, of the city of Webbwood, Ontario, 1936
The Pacific Clipper lands at Pan American's LaGuardia Field, completing the first around the world flight, 1942
The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II, 1978
The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, is sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet's Shonan Maru, 2010

Silly Sunday: A Cajun Saturday Night

Boudreaux is at the bar on Saturday night, as usual, and a stranger is there getting very drunk and very loudly trying to impress everyone with how strong he is and with his fighting ability.

"I'm an expert at several different types of hand-to-hand combat!" he brags, and adds, "I'll show you!"

He walks up to Boudreaux and strikes him and yells, "That was a Karate chop I learned from my trainer in China!"

Boudreaux picks himself up off the floor, sits back down, takes a sip of his beer, and tries to ignore the guy.  This man will not be ignored, however, so he comes up to Boudreaux again, this time throwing Boudreaux over his shoulder and onto the floor.

"That's a Judo move I learned from my trainer in Japan!" he yelled.

Again, Boudreaux gets up, ignores the man, and tries to go back to his beer.  This guy just won't let it go, however, and he grabs Boudreaux by the neck, calling out, "This is a nerve pinch I learned from my trainer in Korea!"

This time, as Boudreaux begins to move, he doesn't get back on the bar stool.  He heads out of the door, and ten minutes later is back with a large piece of wood in his hand.

Walking up behind the drunk, he smacks the guy unconscious, looks down at the prostrate form and says, "Dat's a two-by-four I got from my frien' Landry's hardware store!"


 

Today is:

Apple Howling Day -- Henfield, West Sussex (Held at Gill Orchard, always on Epiphany Eve, horn blowing and howling at the trees is said to wake them up and yield a good crop.)

Armenian Christmas Eve -- Armenia (Old Chrismas Day in the West)

Can Opener Day -- one of the earliest forms of can opener was patented this date in 1858 by Ezra Warner of CT, US (tin cans had been around for over 50 years by then, usually opened with a knife or hammer and chisel)

Epiphany Fair -- Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy (toys, sweets, and presents among the beautiful Bernini Fountains)

Get on the Computer Day -- obviously dates back to a time when people didn't have to check email daily or get inundated

Guru Gobindh Singh birthday -- Sikh

Harbin Ice Festival -- Harbin, China (illuminated ice sculptures, ice sports, and fun through Chinese New Year and beyond; in 2014, through Feb. 28)

Joma Shinji Festival -- Kamakura, Japan (ceremony and festival to keep evil spirits away)

Mungday -- Discordianism (festival of St. Hung Mung)

National Bird Day -- US (National Association of Audubon Societies incorporated today in 1905)

National Whipped Cream Day

Nones of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Festival of Vica Pota (ancient goddess of victory)

Review Your Wrestling Holds Day -- internet generated, and weird

St. Gerlac of Valkenberg's Day (Patron of domestic animals)

St. Simeon Stylites' Day (The original and most maniacal of the "Pillar Saints")

Take the Cake Day -- a day to do something, anything, over the top, just because

Trettondagsafton -- Sweden (Epiphany Eve)

Turn Up the Heat Day -- all over the internet, but no one explains it

Twelfth Day of Christmas -- and thus, Twelfth Night (Although by some reckonings, this is actually only the 11th day of Christmas, and thus Twelfth Night Eve.  Take your pick.)

Ullr Festival -- Breckenridge, CO, US (festival of the mythical Norse god of winter; through the 11th)


Anniversary Today:

George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis, 1759


Birthdays Today:

January Jones, 1978
Bradley Cooper, 1975
Warrick Dunn, 1975
Carrie Ann Inaba, 1968
Pamela Sue Martin, 1953
Diane Keaton, 1946
Charlie Rose, 1942
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, 1938
Umberto Eco, 1932
Alvin Ailey, 1931
Robert Duvall, 1931
Walter Mondale, 1928
George Reeves, 1914
George Dolenz, 1908
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1895
King Camp Gillette, 1855
Edmund Ruffin, 1794
Constanze Mozart, 1762 (wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Pietro Filippo Scarlotti, 1679
Shah Jahal, 1592 (Mughal emperor of India, built the Taj Mahal)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"All My Children"(TV), 1970
"Bozo the Clown"(TV), 1959
"The Member of the Wedding"(Play), 1950
"Pepe LePew"(cartoon character, in "Odor-able Kitty"), 1945

Today in History:

Edward the Confessor dies with no heir, leading to a succession crisis that ends with the Norman Conquest, 1066
Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning, 1527
Pope Clemens VII forbids English king Henry VIII to re-marry, 1531
A petition in Recife, Brazil leads to closing of their 2 synagogues, 1638
Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted the first divorce in the colonies, from her absent and adulterous husband, Denis Clarke, by the Quarter Court of Boston, Massachusetts, 1643
The first Swedenborgian temple in the US holds its first service, in Baltimore, 1800
The Ohio legislature passes the first laws restricting the movement of free blacks, 1804
Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, just in time for the Alamo, 1836
The US House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the UK, 1846
The first US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University, 1887
An Austrian newspaper makes the first public report on Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of xrays, 1896
The National Association of Audubon Society incorporates, 1905
Colombia recognizes Panama's independence, 1909
The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor, 1914
British premier Lloyd George issues a demand for a unified peace, 1918
Nellie Taylor Ross is sworn in as governor of Wyoming, the first woman governor of a US state, 1925
Mao Tse-tung writes "A Single Spark Can Start A Prairie Fire," 1930
FM radio is demonstrated to the Federal Communications Commission for the first time, 1940
The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper, 1944
Warmest reliably measured temperature in Antarctica of +59°F (+15°C) recorded at Vanda Station, 1974
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered, 2005

You can tell they have had a party...

#1 Son, now that he has the converted garage as his room, has set up his game system and stereo in there, and, when he's not at work, seems to hole up in there with friends or siblings as if he were hibernating, which isn't needed in south Louisiana swamps, but you can't tell him that.

He decided to put all the dishes and forks and things he accumulated when he moved to Kansas in the cabinet, so we now have a plethora of such things.

He also decided, before the New Year, to stock up on cups.  He, his friends, and his siblings have been grabbing a new one, bringing it to the kitchen for whatever they want to drink, and then taking it back out there.

Yesterday, someone cleared them out of his room and set them next to the sink to be washed.  (Yes, i know they are disposables.  We reuse them, washing over and over until they break, then recycle them.  Just doing our bit for the planet.)

They have had a party in there!

This stack should hold us out for a while.  It held them for at least 3 days.



Today is:

Day of the Fallen against the Colonial Repression -- Angola

Day To Mourn Racism -- anniversary of the day ethnic discrimination was outlawed worldwide in 1969

Dimpled Chad Day -- if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Earth at Perihelion -- 11:59 UTC; 05:59 CST

Eleventh Day of Christmas

Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1st US-born Saint; Patron of Apostleship of the Sea, people ridiculed for their piety, widows; Shreveport, LA; against in-law problems, the death of children, the death of parents)

Festival of Fufluns -- Etruscan (god of wine, also of spring and rebirth; date approximate)

Get Out Your Boxer Shorts Day -- internet generated, and why, i do not know

Great Fruitcake Toss -- Manitou Springs, CO, US (by the first Saturday in January, it's time to get rid of what's left of last year's fruitcakes, so come join the fun and do it competitively!)

Independence Day -- Myanmar(1948)

London Boat Show -- London's Docklands, London, England (worth a trip to England for anyone who loves boats; through the 12th)

Martyrs' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

National Spaghetti Day

Ogoni Day -- Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People of the Niger River

Pennsylvania Farm Show -- Harrisburg, PA, US (the largest indoor agricultural show in the US, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture; through the 11th)

Pop Music Chart Day -- Billboard magazine published the first one today in 1936

St. Pharaildis' Day (Patron of difficult marriages, victims of abuse, widows; Bruay, France; Ghent, Belgium; against childhood diseases)

Trivia Day -- celebration of those who have a doctorate in uselessology, sponsored by PunsCorp

World Braille Day -- birth anniversary of Louis Braille

World Hypnotism Day -- to remove myth and misconception, and promote the truths and benefits of hypnotism worldhypnotismday.com


Anniversaries Today:

Utah becomes the 45th US state, 1896


Birthdays Today:

Julia Ormond, 1965
Dave Roley, 1962
Michael Stipe, 1960
Matt Frewer, 1958
Ann Magnuson, 1956
Grace Bumbry, 1937
Dyan Cannon, 1937
Floyd Patterson, 1935
Don Shula, 1930
Barbara Rush, 1927
Jesse White, 1917
Jane Wyman, 1914
Sterling Holloway, 1905
Charles "Tom Thumb" Stratton, 1838
Louis Braille, 1809
Jakob Grimm, 1785
Benjamin Rush, 1746


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Night Court"(TV), 1984
"Blondie"(TV), 1957
The Pop Music Charts in Billboard Magazine, 1936
"Academic Festival Overture"(Johannes Brahms Op. 80), 1881


Today in History:

Titus Labienus is defeated by Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina, BC 46
Columbus leaves the "New World" on return from his first voyage, 1493
Spanish viceroy Alva banishes Zutphen City's only physician, Joost Sweiter, "because he is a Jew", 1570
Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire, 1698
Andre Méchain discovers M80, the globular cluster in Scorpio, 1781
Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government, 1847
4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY, 1863
The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City, 1865
Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule, 1878
The last known sighting of an eastern cougar, in Ontario, 1884
Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs the first appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22), 1885
Thomas Stevens is the first man to bicycle around the world (SF-SF); his itinerary accounts "DISTANCE ACTUALLY WHEELED, ABOUT 13,500 MILES", 1887
The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter, 1912
The first elected Jewish governor, Moses Alexander, takes office in Idaho, 1915
Sputnik 1 reenters the atmosphere and burns up, 1958
Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, 1959
Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, 1972
Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American-born saint, 1975
Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC, 2004
The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history, 2007
The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building is officially opened, 2010
Eleven-year-old Kathryn Gray, of Canada, becomes the youngest person in the world to discover a supernova, 2011

Feline Friday: Move Over!

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

A common refrain around here from the cats:

Hey, move over!  I want some, too!

They act like starving teens!





Today is:

Day of Remembrance for Princess Olga -- Slavic Pagan Calendar

Hakozakigu Tamaseseri -- Fukuoka, Japan (ceremony of the red ball which brings good luck to the team which catches it)

Icing Morning -- Fairy Calendar

Humiliation Day -- drawing attention to the fact that it's okay to be humble, but not to humiliate others

J.R.R. Tolkien Day -- birth anniversary

Memento Mori / "Remember You Die" Day -- Wellcat Holidays suggests putting these words where you can see them often, to remind you to cherish what you have today

National Chocolate Covered Filled Cherry Day

National Write to Congress Day -- US (the new session begins today or, if the 3rd is on a weekend, the following Monday; write your Congress-persons and Senators and tell them what you think)

Revolution Day -- Burkina Faso

Shigoto-hajime -- Japan (first work day of the New Year; work begun well today will prosper)

St. Genevieve's Day (Patron of females in the military; Paris, France; against plague, disasters, fevers)

Tamaseseri Festival -- Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (men in fundoshi - loincloths - compete for the ball; if the winning team is from a seaside town, it will be an auspicious year for fishermen, if the land team wins, there will be a good harvest)

Tenth Day of Christmas


Anniversaries Today:

Alaska becomes the 49th US State, 1959
Establishment of Wind Cave National Park, SD, US, 1903


Birthdays Today

Eli Manning, 1981
Danica McKellar, 1975
Joan Chen, 1960
Mel Gibson, 1956
Victoria Principal, 1950
John Paul Jones, 1946
Stephen Stills, 1945
Van Dyke Parks, 1943
Dabney Coleman, 1932
Robert Loggia, 1930
George Martin, 1926
Jan Walsh Anglund, 1926
Maxine Andrews, 1918
John Sturges, 1911
Victor Borge, 1909
Ray Milland, 1905
Zasu Pitts, 1898
Marion Davies, 1897
Clement Richard Attlee, 1883
J.R.R. Tolkien, 1892
Father Joseph Damien, 1840
Lucretia Coffin Mott,  1793
William Tucker, 1624 (first African American child born in North America)
Cicero, BC106


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Arsenio Hall Show"(TV), 1989
"Queen for a Day"(TV), 1956
"Look Up and Live"(TV), 1954
"Symphonic Dances"(Rachmaninoff, Op. 45), 1941
"An Ideal Husband"(Play), 1895


Today in History:

Joan of Arc is handed over to the bishop for trial, 1431
Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine, 1496
Martin Luther is formally excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, 1521
The first theater in Amsterdam, the Schouwburg, opens, 1638
Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont as a separate state, 1749
Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico, 1823
Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of the independent African Republic of Liberia, 1848
The Meiji Restoration returns authority to Japan's emperors, 1868
Oleomargarine is patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton, NY, 1871
The wax drinking straw is patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington DC, 1888
The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, then the largest in the world, is put into use, 1888
The first known use of the word automobile was seen in an editorial in The New York Times, 1899
British explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt, 1924
Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy, dissolves the Italian parliament, 1925
Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States, 1933
Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress, 1953
Edmund Hillary reaches South Pole overland, 1958
The West Indies Federation is formed, 1958
Apple Computer is incorporated, 1977
Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th Century, 1988
In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), 1993
More than seven million people from the former Apartheid Homelands, receives South African citizenship, 1994
The People's Republic of China announces it will spend fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys, 1977
The Mars Polar Lander is launched, 1999
Australian researchers discover the 1912 plane that was the first taken to Antarctica, 2010

Year, Rinse, Repeat

Bigger Girl's take on New Year's Day:

I'm going to go out and do something!  Defeat a dark wizard!  Tame a dragon!  Or at least go have lunch with friends!

(She then leaves to go have lunch with friends.)


#2 Son, on learning a new skill:

Mom!  You know how awful it feels when you need to sneeze but you can't?  Well, I've figured out how to force myself to sneeze!  I just breath in and out really fast in a certain way, and it makes me sneeze, and it feels great!  No more of that 'have to sneeze and can't' feeling!

(He then demonstrates his new skill.  He's pretty good at it, actually, he can get several sneezes in a row.)


Young Jacob, on not being able to find any member of the family at home except me:

I lost them!  How could I have lost them?  They are so loud!  I'm going to go out and find them.

(He then proceeds to go outside and walk around like a lost puppy until he finds them.)


#1 Son, on cups, plates, and etc.:

Mom!  I bought cups!  See, and I've put all of my stuff from my apartment in the cabinets.  Now, when we lost plates and stuff, you have more of them!

(Because, of course, it doesn't occur to them not to lose the plates and forks to begin with, that would be too simple!)


Little Girl, on George, my pink flamingo:

Mom, I think she's safe now.  They ran out of fireworks!  Let me put her back out in the yard.

(She puts George back out in the yard, and someone immediately steals one of her legs, so Little Girl has to chase it down.  Order, and two legs on the flamingo, are both eventually restored to as normal as possible around here.)


Sweetie, on New Year's Day dinner:

There's nothing like black-eyed peas and cabbage for dinner on January 1!  You have to have them, for luck through the year.

(Please note that the peas must be made with bacon and sausage, and he hates cooked cabbage except in one specific dish, so it has to be in the form of cole slaw.)


My conclusion is that the year number may have changed, but not much else has, and it is good.


Today is:

Advent of Inanna -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (date approximate; equivalent to Ishtar, Assur, Astarte, Isis, and others; a female warrior and fertility goddess)

American Historical Society Annual Meeting -- Washington, D.C., US (128th annual, with over 300 sessions covering a wide range of scholarly topics; through Sunday)

Berchtoldstag -- Alsace; Liechtenstein; Switzerland (a celebration of the goddess Perchta, or Bertha, guardian of animals and member of the Wild Hunt) related observance
     St. Berchtolds' Day -- Liechtenstein Bank Holiday; Switzerland Regional Holiday (because of the close association of his name with Perchta,  Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen's founding of Bern, Switzerland, is commemorated today; while not an official saint of any church, his day has become a big festival for children)

Blacks and Whites Carnival -- Colombia (through the 7th; manic and messy tradition, includes people painting themselves black one day, white the next, with a Grand Parade at some point during the week)

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Day -- The Andrews Sisters recorded the song this day in 1941 (yes, before the US entered the war; it was for the movie "Buck Private" with Abbot and Costello)

Carnival Day -- Saint Kitts and Nevis (Last Lap)

Dainichi-do Bugaku -- Kazuno, Japan (11 traditional bugaku dances at the shrine; dates back as far as 718)

Dakar Rally -- Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso, Chile (the legendary event of off-road rallies; through the 18th)

Festival of Sleep Day -- begins this evening; celebrate by sleeping in tomorrow because it is assumed we could all use some extra z's after the holidays

Genshi-sai (First Beginning Ceremony) -- Imperial Palace and various shrines, Japan (a dance and musical art performed to round out the New Year's celebration)

Happy Mew Year for Cats Day -- because felines must have a day to celebrate the New Year, and they cannot share; sponsored on behalf of felines everywhere by Wellcat Holidays

Jour des Aieux -- Haiti (Founder's Day, sometimes translated Ancestry Day)

Kaapse Klopse -- Cape Town, South Africa (Minstrel Carnival; through January and most of February, but the main parade is today)

Kakizome -- Japan ("first writing", a day to do the first calligraphy written at the beginning of the New Year; often a resolution or poetry asking for a good year)

National Cream Puff Day

National Motivation and Inspiration Day -- US

National Science Fiction Day -- Asimov's birth anniversary

Ninth Day of Christmas

Nyilo -- Bhutan (Winter Solstice)

Positive Postcard Day -- some people now say you should fight the post-holiday let-down by sending someone an uplifting postcard; the original project said to send positive postcards to yourself, with instructions here

Run It Up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes It Day -- try something new today, in the spirit of the new year

Second Day of New Year -- also a holiday in many countries

"Someday We'll Laugh About This" Week begins -- to remind us to keep our perspective; sponsored by The Humor Project

St. Adelard's Day (Patron of gardeners; against fever, typhoid)

St. Basil's Day/Basil the Great -- Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches (yes, the Eastern Churches celebrated him yesterday; Patron of hospital administrators, reformers; Cappadocia; Russia)

St. Macarius' Day (Patron of of confectioners, cooks, pastry chefs)

Takai Commision Holiday -- Niue


Anniversaries Today:

Georgia becomes the 4th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Kate Bosworth, 1983
Taye Diggs, 1972
Christy Turlington, 1969
Cuba Gooding, Jr. 1968
Tia Carrere, 1967
Gabrielle Carteris, 1961
Alan Beckwith, 1952
Wendy Phillips, 1952
Christopher Durang, 1949
Dennis Hastert, 1942
Jim Bakker, 1939
Roger Miller, 1936
Isaac Asimov, 1920
Sally Rand, 1904
Barry Goldwater, 1902
Martha Carey Thomas, 1857
James Wolfe, 1727


Today in History:

The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire, 366
Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names, 1235
Spain recaptures Granada from the Moors (Granada Day), 1492
The first American revolutionary flag is displayed, 1776
The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded, 1881
"The Liberator", and abolitionist newspaper, begins publishing in Boston, 1831
The British reestablish rule in the Falklands, 1833
The first US wire suspension bridge for general traffic opens in Pennsylvania, 1842
Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil is organized as a trust, 1882
Alice Sanger becomes the first female White House staffer, 1890
A record 19'2" alligator is shot in Louisiana by E. A. McIlhenny, 1890
Pres. T Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Miss, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black, 1903
The American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms, 1905
The Canadian branch of the Royal Mint opens in Ottawa, 1908
Lithuania gains independence, 1919
The US & Canada agree to preserve Niagara Falls, 1929
Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R., 1959
Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth, 2004
Mauritius bans the use of plastic bags, 2013

So, what does a New Year's Eve sound like?

Around here, it sounds loud.

"Mom, just how attached are you to the styrofoam ice chest on the porch?" #2 Son called from the front door.

Not very, i called back.  It already has a crack across the top, and it was disposable anyway.  But make sure you pick up all the styrofoam, don't leave it lying all over the yard.

"Yes, mommy," Young Jacob yelled back.  Sarcastic little git, but i can't fuss too much, he's got a friend who might get us a good deal on an engine for the Jalopy, and besides, they all think of me as a substitute mom anyway.

********************

A little while after my pyromaniacs started their fireworks, i heard Bigger Girl slam the door open and Little Girl run past her yelling, "Water!  Quick!"

They filled cups and ran outside.  Bigger Girl came back later and said, "I'm getting a bucket of water.  They're gonna need it!"

********************

"Mom, did you know that Young Jacob likes to hold the fireworks in his hands?  And Little Girl stomps on them with her steel-toe boots?" #1 Son came in to ask.

Do i want to know?  Just let me know if anyone is bleeding.  Otherwise, i just don't want to hear about it, okay?

"Okay, I'll let you know if anyone needs medical attention."

*********************

"Mom, Young Jacob was eyeing George, so I thought she needed to come in," Bigger Girl said, bring in my pink lawn flamingo.

"But it would be so much fun to send George into orbit!" Young Jacob said.

Not today, i muttered, putting George away safely.

*********************

There were a lot of loud noises outdoors, but one i know was inside the house.  Upon going into the kitchen, i saw #2 Son and asked what broke.

"The top of the butter dish," he said.  "And I'm sorry.  But really, around here, I truly think we need one that isn't glass."

Here, i said, climbing into the cabinet and grabbing the metal one i had waiting in the wings for when the glass one broke.  Since i know you kids so well, i told him, i had one waiting.

********************

While the children love the loud bangs, my favorite sound is everyone swarming in and yelling for the butterscotch crisp rice treats.  Cries of "You made them!" and "May we have them now" ring out, and Sweetie always takes two of them to wrap in foil and save for the next day.  It's gratifying to cook something that they all love so much.

Happy New Year, everyone!


Today is:

Apple Gifting Day

Bad Hangover Day -- but only for some (she says, trying not to look too virtuous)

Birth of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Black Nazarene Fiesta -- Philippines (through the 9th)

Bonza Bottler Day

Buckle-Up Day -- the first US mandatory seat belt law went into effect in New York on this day in 1985

Carnival Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis

Constitution Day  -- Italy

Daydreamers' Day -- take time out today to dream, on paper, what you want this year to hold

Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic -- Slovakia

Days of Volos -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (a time to be thankful to the god Volos for pets and farm animals; through the 6th)

Eighth Day of Christmas

Feast of the Circumcision of Christ -- Eastern Orthodox Church

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus - Orthodox Christian; Lutheran

First-Foot Day -- make sure an auspicious or good person is the first to set foot in your home for the New Year

Foundation Days -- Taiwan (a/k/a Republic Day, celebrated through tomorrow)

Gantan-sai (New Years) -- Shinto

Get A Life Day -- now even the internet is urging you to use the New Year wisely

Grandfather Frost Day -- Russia; Ukraine (Ded Moroz; an equivalent of Santa Claus who visits on New Year's Day and delivers the gifts in person with his granddaughter, the Snow Maiden, and fighting off Baba Yaga the witch who tries to steal them; in some areas, he comes on "Old Christmas Day", in about a week)

Hangover Handicap Run -- Klamath Falls, OR, US (an early morning run, saluting the night before by giving out beer can trophies)

Horan Enya -- Bungo Takada City, Japan (ceremony for safety at sea and large catches)

Independence Day -- Haiti(1804); Sudan

International Get Over It Month -- urging you to let the past go and move forward

Kaapse Klopse -- Cape Town, South Africa (Minstrel Carnival, with parties and parades through February; main parade tomorrow at midday)

Kalends of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Agonalia (giving dates, figs, and honey to Janus, and gifts to family members)
     Day Sacred to Janus, Juno, and Jupiter
     Festival for Aesculapius (god of healing)
     Festival for Vedovus (god of the spirits of ancestors)
     Sacrifice to Fortuna Day (Sacrifice something to the goddess of Fortune so she will give you a good year.)

Kayin New Year -- Myanmar (a/k/a Karen New Year)

Kwanzaa, Day 7, Imani (faith)

Liberation Day -- Cuba (a/k/a Triumph of the Revolution)

London New Year's Day Parade -- London, England (one of the best New Year parties in the world)

Mary, Mother of God -- Catholic Christian (Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Octave Day of Christmas)

Mummer's Parade -- Philadelphia, PA, US

National Bloody Mary Day -- um, didn't you get enough of that last night?!

National Tree Planting Day -- Tanzania

New Year's Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day -- Lake Superior State University announces the misused and overused words from the previous year which should be banished from the Queen's English

Perchtenlauf -- Bad Gastein, Austria (A festival with scary masks and music to frighten away winter.)

Polar Swim Day / Polar Bear Swim / Polar Bear Plunge -- various locations throughout Canada, Netherlands, and US

Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State -- Czech Republic

Sacrifices to the Wind Gods -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Scout's Day -- Burma (celebration of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Burma)

Shogatsu -- Japan (New Year, most important holiday of the year)

Shusho-e Matsuri -- Buddists in Japan go to temple on the first day of the year for a special ceremony

Snake Eyes Day -- no, i won't, it's too obvious

Sovereignty Day -- Iraq

St. Basil's Day / Basil the Great -- Eastern Orthodox (Patron of education, exorcisms, hospital administrators, Liturgists, monks, reformers, and of Russia and Cappadocia; bringer of gifts and inspector of livestock in Greece)

St. Clarus' Day  (Patron of tailors)

St. Zedislava Berka's Day  (Patron of difficult marriages, people ridiculed for piety)

Tewa Turtle Dance -- Tewa Native Americans (celebration of life and the first Creation; through the 4th)

Tournament of Roses Parade -- Pasadena, CA, US

Vienna New Year's Concert -- Vienna, Austria

Z Day -- for all the people whose names begin with Z and always have to wait to be last; sponsored by Tom Zager


Anniversary Today:

Establishment of Bryce Canyon National Monument, UT, US, 1923
Ellis Island opens, 1892


Birthdays Today:

James McAvoy, 1979
Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer, 1969
Michael Imperioli, 1966
Kathleen Casey, 1946
Don Novello, 1943
Helmut Jahn, 1940
Frank Langella, 1940
B. Kliban, 1935
J. D. Salinger, 1919
Hank Greenberg, 1911
Barry Goldwater, 1909
Xavier Cugat, 1900
J. Edgar Hoover, 1895
E.M. Forster, 1879
Betsy Ross, 1752(O.S.)
"Mad Anthony" Wayne, 1745(O.S.)
Paul Revere, 1735


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Profiles in Courage(publication date), 1956
"Modern Times"(Film), 1936
Traveler's Checks(first issued by the London Exchange Banking Company), 1772


Today in History:

The Julian Calendar takes effect for the first time, BC45
Origin of the Christian Era, 1
The last gladiator competition in Rome, 404
Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with his army, 630
Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services, 1430
Portuguese navigators become the first Europeans to see the Guanabara Bay, which they thought was the mouth of a river and first called Rio de Janeiro (River of January), 1502
Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25, 1600
German astronomer Simon Marius first sees Jupiter's moons (he did not report them, though, Galileo did, on July 10 of the same year), 1610
Samuel Pepys makes his first diary entry, 1660
The first traveler's cheques go on sale in London, for use in 90 European cities, 1772
The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801
The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, 1801
Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay San Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam, 1803
Haiti gains independence from France (National Day), 1804
Import of slaves into the US is banned, 1808
The first homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebraska, 1863
Japan begins using the Gregorian Calendar, 1873
England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India, 1877
Twenty-five nations adopt Sanford Fleming's proposal for Standard Time and Time Zones, 1885
The first Tournament of Roses is held, 1900
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia, 1901
Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road, 1922
Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian), 1927
Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god, 1946
The European Community is established, 1958
United States Navy SEALs established, 1962
The Internet's Domain Name System is created, 1985
The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone, 1985
A single market within the European Community is introduced, 1993
The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect 1994
The World Trade Organization goes into effect, 1995
The European Central Bank is established, 1998
The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries, 1999
Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states, 2002
Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei, 2002
The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty officially comes into force, 2002
Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Years Day on record. The thermometer peaked at 45 °C (113 °F), sparking bushfires and power outages, 2006
Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, 2007
Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries, 2008
Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the seventeenth eurozone country, 2011