Anniversary of Benazir Bhutto's Death -- Sindh, Pakistan
Calli (House) Day -- Aztec Calendar (a good day for all things hearth and home and family. a bad day to participate in public life; date approximate, but soon after the solstice)
Constitution Day -- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Festival of Nehebkau -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Beginning of Eternity, celebrating the snake god and his role of binding the sun to the earth at the beginning of time; date approximate)
Icelandic Traditional Calendar Month Morsugur "Fat Sucker" begins -- Iceland (refering to the daily fare becoming scant in deep winter and body fat is used up)
Kwanzaa, Day 2, Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day -- internet generated, with Christmas over, you need to do winter decorations
Modern Medicine Day -- birth anniversary of Louis Pasteur
National Fruitcake Day -- unless, of course, you are like me and have spent your last several days with fruitcake relatives, at which point you get a day off from fruitcakes! ;D
St. Fabiola's Day (Patron of difficult marriages, divorced people, victims of abuse, victims of adultery, widows)
St. John the Divine's Day (Patron of art dealers, authors, bookbinders, booksellers, burn victims, compositors, editors, engravers, friendships, lithographers, painters, papermakers, printers, publishers, tanners, theologians, typesetters, writers; Asia Minor; Boise, Idaho, Borgo Santo Sepolcro, Italy; Cleveland, OH; Eger, Hungary; Milwaukee, WI; Morra, Netherlands; Saint-Jean – Longueuil, Québec; Sansepoicro, Italy; Sundern, Germany; Taos, NM; Umbria, Italy; Wroclaw, Poland; against burns, poisoning)
St. Stephen's Day -- Eastern Orthodox, a public holiday in Romania
Third Day of Christmas
Unfairies' Gathering -- Fairy Calendar
Visit the Zoo Day -- don't know who put this one in the middle of winter, but there it is
Watch the Children Day -- internet generated, a day to take a page from the book of the young and remember how to play like a child
Birthdays Today:
Heather O'Rourke, 1975
Masi Oka, 1974
Bill Goldberg, 1966
Tovah Feldshuh, 1952
Gerard Depardieu, 1948
Cokie Roberts, 1943
John Amos, 1939
Oscar Levant, 1906
Marlene Dietrich, 1901
Sydney Greenstreet, 1879
Louis Pasteur, 1822
George Cayley, 1773
Johannes Kepler, 1571
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Knots Landing"(TV), 1979
"Howdy Doody"(TV), 1947 (first successful children's television show)
"Radio Roxyettes"(Now the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes), 1932
Today in History:
The Hagia Sofia of Constantinople is completed, 537
The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World, 1512
The first public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England, 1825
Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard the HMS Beagle, 1831
Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried in Lewes Sussex, 1836
Ether is first used in childbirth in US, in Jefferson, Ga., 1845
The world's first cat show is held at the Crystal Palace, London, 1871
Carrie Nation's first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel, Wichita, Kansas, 1900
An unsuccessful attempt is made to kill prince-regent Hirohito of Japan, 1923
Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Trotsky is expelled, 1927
Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City, 1932
The Shah of Persia declares Persia is now Iran, 1934
The World Bank was created with the signing of an agreement by 28 nations, 1945
Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon, 1968
The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States, 2001
Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet, 2004
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated, 2007
Toyota Motor Corporation agrees to pay $1 billion to settle over a dozen lawsuits related to sudden acceleration, 2012
Suspend your disbelief, my friend, because something this crazy might actually happen.
If everything occurs as it is on the calendar right now, i may actually have, for the first time in over a month, a day off!
No work, no family chores, no church work, no errands that must be run, nada, nothing, zip, zero, zilch!
Between now and then, there is work, and paperwork, and more things to do than you can shake a stick at.
By Saturday morning, it should all be behind me, and i should be able to take a real, full day off.
If it all goes as planned, i might even sleep in until 7am, which beats 4:30 all hollow.
Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Suspend.
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Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World. Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.
This uneven fence caught my fancy:
Today is:
Asarah B'Tevet -- Judaism (Tenth of Tevet, a minor fast day, in remembrance of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar)
Bairns Day -- Scotland (Begins the runic half-month of Eoh, the yew tree, which signifies the dead, and is now associated with the Slaughter of the Innocents of Christian tradition, so today is considered by some the unluckiest day of the year, and no work should be undertaken today.)
Call a Friend Day -- just to catch up a bit
Card Playing Day -- internet generated, enjoy a fun game with friends and family; "Go fish!"
Childermas a/k/a Holy Innocents Day -- (Patrons of babies, children's choirs, foundlings)
various Christian traditions celebrate under many names and in various ways
Els Enfarinats -- Ibn, Valencia, Spain (flour fight, and if it's anything like the tomato throwing in other towns of Spain, it's probably lots of fun)
French Childermas tradition interpreted what the Norse saw as evidence of the Wild Hunt of Odin as the spirits of the Holy Innocents running from King Herod
Inocentes -- Mexico, and sometimes celebrated as Mexican December Fool's Day (Herod fooled himself into thinking he had gotten rid of his rival king born in Bethlehem.)
Dyzemas Day -- Northhamptonshire, UK (an unlucky day to begin any new undertaking, "what is begun on Dysemas Day will never be finished")
origin unknown, but often translated as Tithe Day, being very close to the Portuguese word for tithe
Eat A Vegetarian Day -- an internet generated joke; yes, the vegetarian in question can be a cow
Endangered Species Act Day -- US (act passed 1973; a day to mourn species already extinct)
Fairy Academy of Window-Frosting Winter Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar
Fourth Day of Christmas
Incwala Day -- Swaziland (the biggest day of the 8 week Ncwala Festival, which loosely translates as "first fruits", although today's tasting of the first of the harvest by the King is only a portion of the many days of ceremonies)
King Taksin Memorial Day -- Thailand
Kwanzaa, Day 3, Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
National Chocolate Candy Day
Proclamation Day -- South Australia (trad.)
Return a Gift for the Cold Hard Cash Day -- and good luck, these days
Runic Half-month Eoh (yew) commences
Take a Drive and Enjoy the Christmas Lights Day -- before they are gone for another year
Unluckiest Day of the Year -- various traditions state no work should be started today, for whatever is started today will never be finished! In Olde England, nothing of importance was ever undertaken on Childermas, because it would prove unlucky
Anniversaries Today:
Billy Ray Cyrus weds Leticia Finley, 1994
The US Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted, 1945
Iowa becomes the 29th US State, 1846
Birthdays Today:
David Archuleta, 1990
Sienna Miller, 1981
John Legend, 1978
Joe Mangianello, 1976
Todd Richards, 1969
Malcolm Gets, 1964
Denzel Washington, 1954
Edgar Winter, 1946
Don Francisco, 1940
Maggie Smith, 1934
Nichelle Nichols, 1933
Martin Milner, 1931
Johnny Otis, 1921
Sam Levenson, 1911
Lew Ayres, 1908
Cliff Arquette, 1905
Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1905
Hendrik Meijer, 1883
Woodrow Wilson, 1856
John Molson, 1763
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"The Gulag Archipelago"(Publication date), 1973
"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"(Play), 1969
"Night of the Iguana"(Play), 1961
"On the Town"(Musical), 1944
"Tip-Toes"(Musical), 1925
"St. Joan"(Play), 1923
"Cyrano de Bergerac"(Play), 1897
Today in History:
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a/k/a Westminster Abbey, is consecrated, 1065
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins, 1308
Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star, 1612
King Taksin is crowned as king of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as a capital, 1768
Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario), 1795
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo, Japan, killing 30,000+, 1828
John Calhoun becomes the first US Vice President to resign (over differences with President Andrew Jackson), 1832
Spain recognizes independence of Mexico, 1836
South Australia and Adelaide are founded, 1836
Rangoon Burma, destroyed by fire, 1841
The United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits, 1867
The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema, 1895
The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California, 1912
The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park, 1950
Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelago", 1973
Winnie Mandela is banished from South Africa, 1976
The first American "test-tube baby", Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1981
U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years, 2000
At 115 years old and 266 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the world's oldest living person, 2012
Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.
He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.
On these cold days, Horizon and Tripod SissyCat like to stay in bed most of the time.
Horizon loves his daddy's blanket.
Tripod SissyCat has her own pillow at the foot of the bed.
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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!
My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:
1. On New Year's Eve, I .
2. One goal I have for 2018 is .
3. In 2017, I accomplished .
4. I in 2017.
1. On New Year's Eve, i generally lie low and listen to all the people setting off fireworks in the neighborhood.
2. One goal i have for 2018 is to save up enough to get some repairs to the house done.
3. In 2017, i accomplished one important thing in my business, i managed to mostly replace the clients i'd lost. (It's one thing about the janitorial business, you lose clients and you have to work to get others, that's just a part of how it goes.)
4. I bottle raised kittens and rehomed dogs in 2017.
Today is:
Constitution Day -- Ireland
Enjoying ESP Day -- internet generated, and it means eating, sleeping, and partying!
Fifth Day of Christmas
Illegal Pants Day -- commemorates Emma Snodgrass' arrest in Boston in 1852 for wearing pants
Kwanzaa, Day 4, Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
National Chocolate Again Day -- because someone, somewhere, believes it can't be chocolate something-or-other day often enough
National Independence Day -- Mongolia(1911, from the Qing Dynasty)
Paternoster Row Day -- in memoriam of the famous area destroyed by the Blitz this date and tomorrow in 1940
Pepper Pot Day -- Pepper Pot Soup was invented today in 1777 at Valley Forge for the army to have something warm to eat
Sacrifice to Zeus Horios -- Ancient Greek Calendar (sacrifice in the deme of Erichia; date approximate)
St. Gabriel's Day -- Ethiopia
St. Thomas of Canterbury's Day (Thomas a Becket, Patron of clergy, secular clergy; Exeter College, Oxford, England; Portsmouth, England)
St. Trophimus of Arles' Day (Patron of children; Arles, France; against drought)
Tick Tock Day -- end of the year is getting closer, stop putting off your dreams! sponsored by Wellcat Holidays
Yodel in the Shower Day -- internet generated, and i promise not to tell if you do
Anniversaries Today:
J. Paul Getty, Jr., weds Victoria Holdsworth, 1994
Texas becomes the 28th US State, 1845
Birthdays Today:
Jude Law, 1972
Andy Wachowski, 1967
Bryan "Dexter" Holland, 1966
Patricia Clarkson, 1959
Paula Poundstone, 1959
Ed Autry, 1954
John Polito, 1950
Ted Danson, 1947
Marianne Faithfull, 1946
Jon Voight, 1938
Mary Tyler Moore, 1936
Thomas Edwin Jarriel, 1934
Klaus Fuchs, 1911
Billy Mitchell, 1879
Pablo Cassals, 1876
William Gladstone, 1809
Andrew Johnson, 1808
Charles Goodyear, 1800
Debuting/Premiering Today:
Thunderball(Film, UK release), 1965
"The Andersonville Trial"(Play), 1959
The Adventures of Kathlyn(Film, first movie serial), 1913
Today in History:
Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, 1170
The first nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston, 1782
Gas lights are installed at White House, during the Polk administration, 1848
The first Young Men's Christian Association chapter in the US opens, in Boston, 1851
Emma Snodgrass is arrested in Boston for wearing pants, 1852
The first telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck & Co, NY, 1867
The Wounded Knee Massacre takes place, 1890
Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio), 1891
Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, 1911
The first movie serial, "Adventures of Kathlyn," premieres in Chicago, 1913
Fred P Newton completes longest swim ever (1826 miles), when he swam in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans, 1930
Physicist Richard Feynman gives a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology, 1959
Filming began on Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in England, 1965
Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees, 1989
Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war, 1996
Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million lives, 1998
The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct, 2003
The New England Patriots become the first NFL team to end a season with a perfect 16-0 record, 2007
The Ebola epidemic in Guinea, which killed about 2,500 over the course of two years, is declared over by the WHO, 2015
Ah, Saturday! The day i count my blessings and list my gratitudes and thankfuls and actually post them.
This past week was full to bursting, and i am very thankful i got through it and everything seems to have gotten done.
It included going to NOLA to clean Grandma’s house since her housekeeper had the week off, and i’m grateful we got there and back safely, especially as that was the third job of that day.
The headaches from my injury are not as bad the last day or so, and i am glad that there’s less dizziness when i am bending over.
Sweetie’s back “went out” yesterday morning, and i am thankful the chiropractor’s office was still open and the chiropractor and the massage therapist took care of the problem.
He and i finally had a chance to drive through the neighborhood and look at the Christmas lights, hooray! It’s something i miss when i don’t get to do it.
The cat shelter work was very easy this week, there have been so many adoptions we are running out of cats! Of course there will be more cats coming in, especially when kitten season starts in about 3 months, but for now we are enjoying an almost empty shelter.
Last night, after i finally got home, i decided to forego a shower and took a long, hot, relaxing soak in the tub. It was delightful and every time i do it i wonder why i don’t do it more often, and i am thankful we have a tub so that i have the option.
Someone donated some food to the shelter that they could not use, and it is just what my cats need (diet food). Volunteers are allowed to take any donated items the shelter can’t use, and i am thankful for one and a half bags of the pricey stuff that doesn’t seem to be helping my critters lose much weight. (The vet wanted them on it, and i agreed to give it one year to see if it helps. The only cat that has visibly lost weight is Little Girlie, and she’s the only one that didn’t need to lose it!)
Today is my day off that i’ve been hoping to get. If you are reading this in the morning, i may still be asleep. If you are reading it in the afternoon, i may be taking a nap. No matter when you are reading it, i am probably lounging and doing whatever i want, much of it online or with my nose in a book, grateful for a day to relax.
2017 was a mixed year, and i am thankful for all it brought. Every good thing brought joy, and every not so good thing brought growth (or should have).
If you have things about the past week or the past year for which you are thankful, tot them up and post them and link up with our hostess Ms. Josie Two Shoes over at Ten Things of Thankful.
May 2018 bring you many blessings, so many you have a hard time counting.
Today is:
Araw ni Rizal -- Philippines (commemoration of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal in 1896, as well as all victims of the Spanish government during their rule of the Philippines)
Day of the Declaration of Slovakia as an Independent Eccliesiatic Province -- Slovakia
Fairy Frequent Fliers' Awards
Falling Needles Family Fest Day -- gather the family, watch the needles fall from the tree, and have a party; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays
Feast of the Holy Family -- Catholic Christian
Festival of Enormous Changes At the Last Minute -- internet generated, and i'm not sure i'm up to it
Kwanzaa, Day 5, Nia(Purpose)
Lhosar -- Gurung People of Nepal (sometimes called the Tamu People; Losar is celebrated by the rest of Nepal in February or March)
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day -- shouldn't this be on Jan. 1, to help us get over the indigestion from the night before?
No Interruptions Day -- let people finish up what needs to get done before the New Year at work, and silence the devices at home that keep us from spending uninterrupted time with family
Sixth Day of Christmas
St. Ruggero of Canne's Day (Barletta, Italy)
Anniversary Today:
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, California's first freeway, opens, 1940
Rutherford B. Hayes (19th US President) marries Lucy Ware Webb, 1852
Birthdays Today:
LeBron James, 1984
Kristin Kreuk, 1982
Eliza Dushku, 1980
Laila Ali, 1977
Tiger Woods, 1975
Sean Hannity, 1961
Tracey Ullman, 1959
Matt Lauer, 1957
Meredith Vieira, 1953
Patti Smith, 1946
Davy Jones, 1945
Concetta Tomei, 1945
Michael Nesmith, 1942
James Burrows, 1940
Del Shannon, 1939
Joseph Bologna, 1938
Noel Paul Stookey, 1937
Sandy Koufax, 1935
Russ Tamblyn, 1935
Bo Diddley, 1928
Jack Lord, 1920
Bert Parks, 1914
Stephen Leacock, 1869
Simon Guggenheim, 1867
Rudyard Kipling, 1865
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Let's Make a Deal"(TV), 1963
"The Roy Rogers Show"(TV), 1951
"Kiss Me, Kate"(Musical), 1948
Today in History:
Hugh Capet, King of the Franks, crowns his son Robert the Pious king and co-ruler, 987
A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city, 1066
Tokyo is hit by an earthquake, about 37,000 die, 1703
The first coffee is planted in Hawaii (Kona), 1817
Gyula, Count Andrássy, of Hungary, issues the Andrassy Note, calling for Christian-Muslim religious freedoms, 1875
Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance," premieres, 1879
The American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans, 1903
Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy, 1906
The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire, which later laid down the foundations of Pakistan, 1906
Lincoln's Inn in London admits its first female bar student, 1919
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed, 1922
Japan dedicates the first subway in the Orient (route under 2 miles long), 1927
The Cole Porter Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate (1,077 performances), opens at the New Century Theatre and becomes the first show to win the Best Musical Tony Award, 1948
In the 39th game of his 3rd NHL season Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals giving him 50 on the year setting a new NHL record , 1981
Israel and the Vatican establish diplomatic relations, 1993
Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin, 2005
The last roll of Kodachrome film is developed by Dwayne's Photo, the only remaining Kodachrome processor at the time, concluding the film's 74-year run as a photography icon, 2009
The opening of Line 6 of the Beijing subway makes it the longest metro network in the world at 442km, 2012
Just because Sandee at Comedy Plus is no longer hosting an official Silly Sunday doesn't mean i'm going to stop posting Cajun jokes about Boudreaux, his family and friends.
Yesterday i had a lovely day to enjoy, and i got to do one of my favorite things besides nap and read. It was time for our annual end-of-the-year donations online, where we give to a few charities we particularly like and want to support. Sweetie and i don't always have much to give, but it brings me joy to throw in our "two mites," so to speak. You really don't have to be wealthy to make a difference, as little amounts do add up.
One day, de teacher done give de chil'ren to write "What I Would Do With A Million Dollars."
Tee Boudreaux bring up de paper, an' it be blank. De teacher say, "Tee! You din't do de essay what I tell you! You done turn in a blank paper, you din't do nothin'!"
An' Tee say, "Mais, but dat be what I would do if I had me a million dollar, nothin'!"
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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files. It has been hosted by River at Drifting Through Life but she is taking a blog break for now. Elephant's Child is keeping the meme warm for her.
A few pictures i just wanted to post somewhere:
Someone has a sense of humor!
A shirt i saw and liked very much.
Abigail, who lost a back leg, has her own way of sitting on the stairs.
Today is:
Check Your Smoke Alarms Day
Fairy Eve's Year News -- Fairy Calendar
Feast of Sharaf (Honor) -- Baha'i
International Solidarity Day -- Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis worldwide
Kwanzaa, Day 6, Kuumba (Creativity)
Leap Second Adjustment Day -- if a second needs to be added or subtracted to coordinate the atomic and astronimical time, it will be done today, buy the International Earth Rotation Service of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Paris, France
Make Up Your Mind Day/Procrastinator's Day -- you have to make up your mind
National Champagne Day
New Year's Eve -- a selection of related observances
Allendale Tar Barrel Burning/Baal Fire Festival -- Allendale, England (locals burn out the old year by carrying burning tar barrels on their heads, then use them to light one huge bonfire)
Feast of Father Time -- because he ultimately overcomes us all
Festival of Yemaya -- Yoruba/Santeria (celebration of the mother of the sun and
moon)
Fire and Ice New Year's Eve Celebration -- Anchorage, AK (fire jugglers, ice
carvers, fireworks, and more)
First Night -- a non-alcoholic alternative to New Year's Eve
Fravartigan -- Parsi Zoroastrian (celebration to honor the dead through the night)
Gamlarskvold -- Icelandic traditions; cows gain human speech, seals take on
human form, the dead rise, and Elves move house
obtain gold from the Elves by sitting at a crossroads and waiting for them to pass
Housewives greet the Elves by reciting the rhyme of protection
Let those who want to, arrive
Let those who want to, leave
Let those who want to, Stay
Without harm to me or mine
Light a bonfire, and "blow out the year" with fireworks
Harvest Day Celebrations -- Benin (celebration of the end of harvest season at the
turn of the year)
Hogmanay Day -- Scotland (Auld Year's Night)
Japanese Observances (a few, at least)
Joya no Kane -- Japan (ringing out the old year with temple bells; Buddhists believe humans are born with 108 worldly desires which are removed when the bells are rung 108 times)
Namahge -- Oga Peninsula, Japan (devil appearing holiday; young men dress as demons and run through the town warning children to behave during the coming year)
Okera Matsuri -- Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (Sacred Fire Rite)
Omisoka Day -- Japan (the second most important day on the Japanese Calendar; tomorrow is the most important)
Noche de Pedimento -- Oaxaca, Mexico (Night of the Petition)
Ritual for Iemanja -- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (seaside rituals for the goddess of the sea and carnal pleasure, followed by a swinging party in the city and on the beaches overnight)
Samoan Fire Dance -- Samoa
Swinging the Fireballs -- Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland
Universal Hour of Peace -- begins at 11:30pm your local time, welcome the New Year with peace
Watch Night -- Christian
World Peace Meditation Day (International observance of one hour beginning 12:00 PM GMT, focusing thought and energy on peace.)
No Resolution Day / Ditch the Resolutions Day -- if you don't want to, you don't have to!
Restoration Day -- Geneva, Switzerland
Seventh Day of Christmas
St. Sylvester's Day (Patron of Feroleto Antico, Italy; Poggio Catino, Italy) related observances
Saint Sylvester's Day Celebrations-- Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland
Silvesterklause -- Urnäsch, Switzerland
St. Zoticus of Constantinople's Day (Patron of the poor; often titled Feeder of Orphans)
You're All Done Day -- sponsored by something i haven't been able to pin down online called The Long Haul Committee (and it's more like "all done in" if you are like me!)
Anniversaries Today:
Gregory Peck marries Veronique Passani, 1955
Rocky Marciano marries Barbara Cousins, 1950
Bette Davis marries Arthur Farnsworth, 1940
Birthdays Today:
Joe McIntyre, 1972
Nicholas Sparks, 1965
Val Kilmer, 1959
Bebe Neuwirth, 1958
James Remar, 1953
Donna Summer, 1948
Tim Matheson, 1947
Barbara Carrera, 1945
Diane Halfin von Furstenberg, 1945
John Denver, 1943
Ben Kingsley, 1943
Andy Summers, 1942
Sarah Miles, 1941
Anthony Hopkins, 1937
Odetta, 1930
Simon Wiesenthal, 1908
George C. Marshall, 1880
Henri Matisse, 1869
Debuting/Premiering Today:
The London Eye(World's Largest Ferris Wheel), 1999
"Lost in Yonkers"(Play), 1990
"Pirates of Penzance"(Comic Opera), 1879
Today in History:
80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians attack the Rhine at Mainz, crossing into and beginning the invasion of Gallia, 406
Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year, 535
Ch'an monk Ho-tse Shen-hui is interred in a stupa built in China, 765
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Majorca, 1229
100,000 Jews are expelled from Sicily, 1492
The British East India Company chartered, 1600
The first Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope, 1687
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax, 1695
Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors, 1776
Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada, 1857
The cornerstone is laid for Honolulu, Hawai'i's Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the US, 1879
Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp, 1879
Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot, 1890
Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898), 1897
The Boers & British army sign a peace treaty, 1902
The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York, 1904
For the first time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year, 1907
The last San Francisco firehorses are retired, 1921
The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC, 1923
Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer," the first breath test, is introduced in Indiana, 1938
The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom, 1960
The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia, 1963
The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government, 1983
All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved, 1991
Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1992
This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones, 1994
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency, 1998
The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama, 1999
The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, 2004
Italy's ban of plastic bags goes into effect, 2010
A ship abandoned by human traffickers who deliberately set it on a collision course with the Italian coast is brought to shore safely by the Italian Coast Guard with 900 Syrian refugees on board, 2014
Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays. Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's 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!
Little Girl's friend Alston's dog came to visit, and she's not such a tiny pup any more:
Then
Now
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The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world. Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!
I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world! ~ McGuffy Ann Morris
My "Spark" for the day is one of Grandma's artworks:
Happy New Year, everyone! My prayer is 2018 proves to be a wonderful year of many blessings for each of you. 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/Grand Parade of Troupes -- Saint 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)
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)
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)
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)
Hangover Handicap Run -- Couer d'Alene, ID, 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.)
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
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)
"Thank G-d It's Monday" Day
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
And now, a bit of random news from around here, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, it’s cold this winter. In our area, overnight temperatures are dropping into the low 20s, which is just not normal swamp weather.
#2 Son and Daughter-in-Law Becky have Pepe in their house, but their big dog, Tombstone, is not allowed in by her mom. He’s considered by her as a farm dog and expected to stay outdoors at all times. He’s sleeping in our library on these cold nights, much to the consternation of our cats.
Who could leave this sweet dog outdoors in the cold? Not us.
There was also a dog adventure out on the highway today, when Sweetie saw a very friendly Doberman running loose. It had gotten away from its owner, who was out looking for it. Sweetie helped chase it back toward the townhouse complex where it lives, and when the owner came in sight the dog ran to him and we hope he stays put. It’s too cold for the critters to be running outside.
It is supposed to stay this cold all week, and it makes me want to stay in bed with my heating pad.
Work is as usual, i started back yesterday with Dr. D. She is a hoot and a half, always dropping ideas about economics and Neanderthals and why no flowers had an color before St. Francis started breeding color into them. No, i don’t ask questions, i just listen and smile and do the dishes and mop the floor and try to help her sort her mountains of paperwork.
Paperwork reminds me that i should start gathering everything for taxes, but i have a great big case of the don’t wanna’s. By a couple of weekends from now, i’m going to have to buckle down anyway.
Sweetie picked our new calendar for the year. Most of the time, i get a large print wall calendar with big blocks. He decided he liked this better.
At least it’s big enough is all i can say.
Keep warm everyone. Unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere, then i hope you keep cool.
Today is:
Advent of Inanna -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (date approximate; equivalent to Ishtar, Assur, Astarte, Isis, and others; a female warrior and fertility goddess)
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/Last Lap -- Saint Kitts and Nevis
Dainichi-do Bugaku -- Kazuno, Japan (11 traditional bugaku dances at the shrine; dates back as far as 718)
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 mail 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
Day of Remembrance for Princess Olga -- Slavic Pagan Calendar
Earth at Perihelion -- 05:34 UTC (closest point to the Sun)
Hakozakigu Tamaseseri -- Fukuoka, Japan (ceremony of the red ball which brings good luck to the team which catches it)
Humiliation Day -- drawing attention to the fact that it's okay to be humble, but not to humiliate others
Icing Morning -- Fairy Calendar
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
The Ezadeen, an abandoned ship carrying 450 Syrians, is rescued from choppy waters and brought safely to shore in Italy; the ship is the second to be abandoned by human traffickers off the nation's coast in the last four days, 2014
He wasn't really sure where to start, so he just picked a spot and tore in.
This is interesting, he thought, as he dug out the contents and began working things open to play with whatever was inside.
Oh, there's more over here! he said to himself, then added, and it tastes pretty good, too.
By the time the people got home, it was all over but the clean-up.
The paper bags were torn, the piano book had little left to it, the purse was missing half of its lining, and he'd eaten my only lipstick.
We've cleaned him up as best we could, but our guest dog, Tombstone, still looks like he's wearing blush.
Linking up with Zoe's Uncharted Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Start.
Today is:
American Historical Association Annual Meeting -- Washington, D.C., US (132nd annual, with over 300 sessions covering a wide range of scholarly topics; this year's theme "Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism in Global Perspective" and is through the 7th)
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
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
Harbin Ice Festival -- Harbin, China (with a theme of "Harbin Glory, Ice Snow in Northern China," a festival of illuminated ice sculptures, ice sports, and fun through Chinese New Year and beyond)
Independence Day -- Myanmar(1948)
Martyrs' Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo
National Spaghetti Day
Ogoni Day -- Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People of the Niger River
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
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
After pleading guilty to a U.S. case of tax evasion, Wegelin and Co., the oldest bank in Switzerland, closes; the bank faces a fine of $57.8 million, 2013
Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinals from a diverse array of nations, including Vietnam, New Zealand, Ethiopia, Tonga, Mexico, Myanmar, Uruguay, France and Thailand, 2015
Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.
He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.
Link and Tripod SissyCat are usually enemies, but cold weather makes for strange bedfellows:
Please note that at the moment, Blogger is refusing to publish my pictures! They are “Sorry” they “cannot post your pictures to your blog.” While i will continue to work on it, i don’t expect miracles, and i will hope to post the very cute picture of Link and Tripod SissyCat soon. Meanwhile, please visit the other participants, thank you! Last year, i started a Wordpress Account so i could more easily comment on other Wordpress blogs. Guess what? Wordpress will publish my photos, even though Google won’t any more! The picture is here.
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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!
My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:
Week 87: January 5, 2018:
1. My guiding word for 2018 is .
2. A house is not a home without .
3. I look forward to this year.
4. I really need to , because .
My guiding word for 2018 is believe. Although it’s already being put to the test, i will not give up or give in. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.
A house is not a home without someone or some critter to love. Even the people i know who live “alone” have pets.
I look forward to vacation this year. Second week of June, still so far away.
I really need to get my income taxes in as early as possible this year, because it makes things easier for me. The accountant never does our taxes until the last minute even if i turn it all in very early, but waiting to get it to him puts me on edge. At least if it’s there, it’s out of my hands and i don’t have to worry.
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 innundated
Guru Gobindh Singh Birthday -- Sikh
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.)
Anniversaries 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
Bush fires burn out of control in Tasmania, Australia, leaving thousands stranded, 2013
The tomb of an Egyptian queen, Khentakawess III, is discovered by a team of Czech archaeologists; the queen lived during the Fifth Dynasty and was likely the wife of Pharaoh Neferefre, 2015
Mercy, but it has been a week! Is it really only the first week of the year? Guess the calendar does not lie, does it?
It feels a lot longer than that. There must be a lot of thankful material in a week that has felt like a month, and there is.
The guest pup is still here because of the excessive cold weather, and in addition to the previously blogged-about purse-and-lipstick episode, he has snapped three leashes. He makes me very thankful that he is a guest pup, and not a resident pup.
We have no central heat, and i am more thankful this week for our space heaters and heating pads than i have ever been before. (Which reminds me, we are down by one heater because guest pup also chewed the cord of one of them -- it was unplugged at the time, thank heaven, we never leave them plugged in unless one of us is in the room).
Bigger Girl's car went back in the shop, and i'm thankful they caught the broken engine mounts and nail in her tire before she ended up stranded somewhere.
Also, she is out of town with a friend, so no need to share vehicles again, a bonus.
Kevin and Lenny have agreed to accept payments on her vehicle repairs this time. Without that, we couldn't have had it done at all, and i am thankful they are so willing to work with us.
My wallet was stolen this week. It makes me thankful that our credit union keeps a copy of my driver's license on file so they could give me a new debit card right away.
Having that debit card makes you able to go immediately if not sooner to the notary/auto title place where they can give you a copy of your license in under half an hour, because the state has it on file with your picture, too. You can even charge the cost for that replacement license to that debit card you just got.
That's much better than the old system, which was wait two weeks for your debit card to be mailed, then another week for the pin number to show up, so you could get money out of the bank ATM and go wait in line at the DMV for several hours with your birth certificate and Social Security card and several bills with your name and address on them and hope they believed you and would give you a replacement license. Yes, i'm thankful that system is no longer in place.
Our auto insurance people were very nice about printing out a new copy of my proof of insurance for my wallet, and i'm grateful i pass by there on the way from one client to another, no need to make a special trip.
The health insurance people have very kindly put a new card in the mail to me.
We have identity theft insurance, and i am so glad. Whoever has my wallet didn't try to use the debit card and it's no good now, so i hope nothing happens. Even if it does, the protection is in place.
Blogger, for reasons best known to itself, suddenly decided it could not post pictures on my blog. Last year, to make it easier to comment on Wordpress blogs, i signed up with Wordpress and never did anything with it but use it for commenting. What do you know, Wordpress will post the pictures that Blogger won't! Now i am thankful to have a second possible blog, even if i only use it as back up. Who knows, it may stay as a back up, or it may become primary. Either way, i am thankful it's there.
Dr. D had me for two days this week, and i am very thankful i am not a lawyer as i had to help her craft letters to her attorneys. She thinks like a lawyer and had me editing and re-editing. So many words to say so few things!
Also she had to take an online defensive driving course to get a ticket removed and she did it on my tablet and between us we figured out how to do it so she passed the course. She is grateful i keep my tablet with me, or as she calls it, "Your contraption!"
No matter how short or long your week has been, i will bet you can come up with several things for which to be thankful, and i'd love to come by and celebrate with you, as would our host, Josie Two-Shoes. Please link it up at Ten Things of Thankful, you will be glad you did.
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 instead of a bean.)
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
Dakar Rally -- Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso, Chile (the legendary event of off-road rallies; through the 16th)
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 pray for a safe year, have a parade, help raise awareness of fire prevention, and men dressed as firefighters from the Edo period 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)
Little Christmas -- Ireland
Maroon Festival -- Jamaica (celebration of descendents of former fugitive slaves)
National Shortbread Day
National Western Stock Show and Rodeo -- Denver, CO, US (108th edition of the Super Bowl of livestock shows; through the 21st)
Orthodox Christmas Eve -- Orthodox Christians following the Julian calendar
Pennsylvania Farm Show -- Harrisburg, PA, US (the largest indoor agricultural show in the US, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture; through next Saturday)
Perchtenlauf -- Bad Gastein and 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?
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
Janet Yellen becomes the first woman to hold the post of chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, 2014
North Korea states that they have successfully conducted their fourth nuclear test, saying it was a hydrogen bomb, which is disputed by most international experts, 2016
Just because Sandee at Comedy Plus is no longer hosting Silly Sunday doesn’t mean i’m going to quit telling Boudreaux jokes.
Yesterday i went to see Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma asked me to take her to the health food store. We got lots of good stuff that Grandpa calls “rabbit food” and won’t touch.
Boudreaux be talkin’ to de tourist ‘bout how to make de gumbo, how to make a good roux, an’ dat kind o’ stuff. De tourist ax, “How do you fix your kale?”
An’ Boudreaux say, “Mais, dat be easy. You jes’ put dat down de garbage disposer, it be real satisfyin’ to hear it be grinded up!”
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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files. It has been hosted by River at Drifting Through Life but she is taking a blog break for now. Elephant's Child is keeping the meme warm for her.
Our neighbor has had the water pipes in the front yard burst every year within a week of New Year’s Day for the past 3 years. It’s the water company’s pipes that are faulty, and it always ends up as a mud puddle washing in front of our house.
Only here would the city, instead of replacing a utility pole that might fall over, just strap it to another pole.
A sample of Little Girl’s drawing.
Today is:
Baptism of the Lord Jesus -- Christian
Blessing of the Sea -- Margate, UK (ceremony with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateria and Great Britain)
Celebration of the First Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar
Festa del Tricolore -- Italy (Tricolour or Flag Day)
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
Jackson Day Race -- New Orleans, LA, US (111th annual, a 9k run through historic areas of New Orleans; the oldest street race in the South and 5th oldest in the nation.)
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)
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
Teixobactin, a newly discovered antibiotic, is announced as offering hope for treatment of tuberculosis and infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, 2015
Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays. Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's 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 haven't had tiny kittens in a while, but i still have pictures:
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The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world. Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!
I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world! ~ McGuffy Ann Morris
My "Spark" for the day
Today is:
Bubble Bath Day -- remember how much fun it was as a kid? enjoy that again today
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)
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
Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)
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
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 the 11th)
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
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!"
Old Hickory Day -- Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson leads the victory in the Battle of New Orleans
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)
Rock 'n' Roll Day -- on Elvis' birth anniversary, of course
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)
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
And now, a bit of random news and some random thoughts from around here, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked.
Guest dog has gone home until the next round of cold this coming weekend. He will be back, mostly so we can get him to the veterinarian and get him neutered. Where he lives, it would be easy for him to run off and end up in lots of trouble, and i hope that neutering will curb that desire intact male dogs have to want to roam.
Little Girl has told us that her boyfriend, Alston, is being deployed. He will soon be in South Korea, and i know she will miss him. We all will, and we hope he comes home safely.
Speaking of Korea, Dr. D was telling me that it’s “the little man in North Korea” who is messing up the weather. According to her, his missile tests are disturbing the jet stream, and that’s why the weather patterns are off. Listening to her is amusing and educational.
Sweetie scared me with the Jalopy the other day, he couldn’t get her started. She’s a cranky old vehicle sometimes, and he and Bigger Girl have trouble with her. Maybe she and i just understand each other better, i do not know.
One thing i enjoy about this time of year is that i can already tell the days are getting a bit longer. The tiny bit of extra sunshine early and late makes a big difference in my mood.
Someone was mentioning Daylight Saving recently, and i hate that we will have to move the clocks again soon. My suggestion is that we remember that how we measure time is our own construct, not something written into universal law. So i suggest we split the difference, move the clocks forward by a half hour this spring and then leave them there, never to have these stupid time changes again.
It would work, and it would get rid of the foolish and unneeded ritual of changing it all that messes up our rhythms. Those who want the light later in the day would get it, just not as quickly, but all of us would get the relief of not having to lose sleep every spring.
Of course, because it would work, it will never happen.
Anyway, whatever time it is where you are, i hope you are enjoying your day.
Today is:
Balloon Ascension Day / Aviation in America Day -- the first manned free balloon flight in the US was on this date in 1793 at Philadelphia
Duelo Nacional -- Panama (Martyrs' Day)
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
National No-Tillage Conference -- St. Louis, MO, US (conference to encourage ecologically sound farming; through the 132h)
Peace Agreement Day -- South Sudan
Positively Penguins Day -- a day to celebrate all things penguin
Republic Day -- Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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
The Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group sign a peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya, 2005
Words for Wednesday is a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts that encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy. This month, the prompts are being posted by Cindi at Letting the Words Escape.
king
avalanche
canyon
pianist
Wyatt
marriage
and/or
supreme
packers
pie
jazz
crash
farewell
"I'm the KING of the world!"
He heard the quote from the movie echoing in his head, and laughed out loud at the irony. His sudden laugh caused the PACKERS who were moving his items to turn their heads and one dropped a box with a CRASH.
"What's so funny?" WYATT, their boss, asked him.
"Just remembering something, sorry," he said. "What was in that box?"
"Nothing breakable," the man said, somewhat shamefacedly, hurrying the box to the truck outside before the owner could stop and make an inspection.
Deciding it would take a SUPREME effort to stop the man and reopen the box, he realized he didn't have it in him to do it right now. Saying FAREWELL to his house, his MARRIAGE, his JAZZ PIANIST daughter who had moved out the week before to start her own first job after college as a session artist at a recording studio, he felt like he was standing on the edge of a CANYON where an AVALANCHE was about to occur.
For what he was sure was the last time, he rummaged in the refrigerator that would now be his ex-wife's alone, and noticed she had made a PIE. He knew it was for a dinner she was throwing, and that he was not welcome to it. He didn't care. What more could she do to him?
"Hey, guys," he called to the workers, "I know you all had lunch earlier, but how about dessert?"
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Today is:
Feast of St. Geraint -- Wales (legendary Welsh hero who fought King Arthur)
London Boat Show -- London's Docklands, London, England (worth a trip to England for anyone who loves boats; through Sunday)
Majority Rule Day -- Bahamas
National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
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
Ullr Festival -- Breckenridge, CO, US (festival of the mythical Norse god of winter; through Saturday)
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
Wings Over Willcox -- Willcox, AZ, US (tours of the playa and wetlands, birding, workshops, and more; through Sunday)
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
Commercial space company SpaceX successfully launches its Falcon 9 rocket, which has released the Dragon cargo ship into orbit to the International Space Station; the rocket returned to Earth after releasing the Dragon but had a rough landing, 2015
"Are you going to wage war with us if they won't pay us a living wage?"
"And then what?"
"What do you mean?"
"And then where does it all end? 'The eye of man is never satisfied,' as it says in the Good Book, so no matter how much they pay us, others want more, too, for the products they make and sell, and thus costs go up for everything, and then we are back where we started, feeling like we don't have enough. When does it end, when do we have enough?"
Gosia, of Looking for Identity, has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World. Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit others to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.
Wooden fences around gardens are some of my favorites.
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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)
Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (17th annual, celebrating the best in local and national sketch comedy; through the 21st)
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
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)
Secret Pal Day -- no info found on the origin, it's a secret! do something nice for someone, secretly.)
Sinulog -- Cebu City, Philippines (a very colorful ten day festival about the pagan origin of the people, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism; the Grand Parade, highlight of the festival, is on the 21st)
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
Ultimate Fishing Show -- Detroit, MI, US (through Sunday)
Winterskol -- Aspen, Colorado (Aspen's annual "toast to winter", 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
Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.
He has handed hosting duties off to Sandee, of Comedy Plus, and it's simple to join, just follow the link to Sandee's page for the rules and the code.
Buddy wandered up to the shelter and established himself as the outdoor guard cat. He likes people well enough, he’s just lived outdoors his whole life and has no intention of letting that change. He’s been neutered now, and seems to be mellowing out. In fact, when the temps got down to well below freezing, guess who allowed himself to be brought in? (At night only, of course.)
He was not impressed enough with the accommodations to stay long.
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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by McGuffy Ann Morris of McGuffy's Reader. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!
My fill-ins for the statements are underlined:
Week 88: January 12, 2018:
1. I would like to ask why ?
2. My favorite fast food restaurant is .
3. If I could go to any concert of someone still performing, it would be .
4. My Winter pastime is usually , because .
I would like to ask Sweetie’s parents, both adoptive and biological, why he and his twin were adopted by the parents who raised them. Yes, their biological mother was very young (17), but she and their father were married. None of them would ever tell the true, complete story, Sweetie got some bits and Brother-in-Law, The Mouth, got other bits, and what they were told often did not match what someone else had said before. They’ve dug up documents that shed a bit of light on it, such as the court documents their biological mother wasn’t allowed to sign because she was still technically a minor. Still, it’s a mystery why their legitimately married parents were forced — or were they forced? — to put their twins up for adoption to a much older couple. Both fathers were military, and the adoptive father outranked the biological father, did that have something to do with it? It would be interesting to get the whole story.
My favorite fast food restaurant is none of the above. Even if most of them have a salad on offer now, i’d rather make my own. For the most part, fast food is fat food and i got tired of being fat years ago and did something about it and i don’t want to go back, ever.
If i could go to any concert of someone still performing, it would be either Casting Crowns or MercyMe. TobyMac would be good, too, especially if Mandissa was on tour with him.
My Winter pastime is usually reading because it is my pastime any time of the year, and in winter i can do it in bed with the heating pad.
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Today is:
Art Deco Weekend -- Miami, FL, US (for die hard fans; through Sunday)
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
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
Lee-Jackson Day -- Virginia, US
Little League Girls Baseball Day -- girls were finally allowed to play this date in 1974
Loop Ice Carnival -- The Loop, St. Louis, MO, US (winter frolics, including the "Frozen Bun" run; through tomorrow)
Memorial Day -- Turkmenistan
National Marzipan Day
National Pharmacist Day -- US
National Youth Festival -- India (through the 16th)
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
Scalloway Fire Festival -- Shetland Islands (viking festival; through tomorrow)
Southwestern Exposition Livestock Show and Rodeo -- Fort Worth, TX, US (the world's first indoor professional rodeo, since 1918; through Feb. 3)
Stick to Your New Year's Resolution Day -- because if you made any 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)
Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival -- Whittlesea, England (the "straw bear" goes through the town collecting gifts and performing, and on Sunday, the costume is burned amid much celebration; a festival celebrated since medieval times)
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 150,000 and destroys most of Port-au-Prince, 2010
Divers retrieve one of two black boxes from Air Asia Flight 8501, which crashed on December 28th during its flight from Indonesia to Singapore, 2015
One of my favorite posts of the week is Saturday, my thankful post. Josie Two-Shoes, our hostess, has my deepest gratitude for providing a place where we can share these things and smile with each other over the blessings in our lives.
There are so many things i could make the basis of a thankful list, and this week i've decided to concentrate on some of the small and seemingly simple things i use every day that make life easier.
Let's start with the alarm on my phone. If i want to be on time anywhere, i had better have it set. It also reminds me to take out the garbage and keep up with the laundry at work.
The coffee pot is next. There is no way i can function without my cup each morning.
My favorite refillable water bottle goes with me everywhere so that i never have to buy expensive bottled water and i can stay hydrated.
Gravity waterers are a must for the cats, so they can stay hydrated without me having to refill their bowls over and over.
The cats empty this every day.
Shoe inserts. Not romantic, but most certainly essential, especially when i'm on my feet all day at work.
Try eating your hot soup without a spoon. No, i will not clean up the mess you make if you really do try.
My favorite spoon.
Spray bottles for all of the cleaners i use while working.
Food storage containers for leftovers, especially the new set i got on clearance recently. We seldom throw anything out, i use leftovers from one meal to make another, so having good containers to keep food fresh is important.
(For only $4.50 plus tax for this new set, i can get rid of the stained and mismatched ones in the cabinet, a bonus!)
Washcloths, towels, and toothbrushes, one set for personal use, one set for cleaning.
My pen and notepad that stay in my work jacket pocket. If it doesn't get written down, it doesn't get remembered, so these are a must.
Newspapers are one of my favorite things. Current events, the funnies, puzzles, and, when we're done with all of that, insulation to stop the drafts that come under the gaps in the doors.
You probably have several seemingly small things that make life better, or some other list of things for which you are thankful. It doesn't have to be ten of them, either, we are not picky. Link up with Ten Things of Thankful, and we will be thankful with you!
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Today is:
Augusta Futurity -- Augusta, GA, US (the top cutting horses and riders in the world to compete for purse and awards; through Saturday)
Bikaner Camel Festival -- Bikaner, India (colorful camel activities, including a beauty competition, and fun for people also in this gorgeous fortified desert town; through tomorrow)
Children's Day -- Thailand
Democracy Day -- Cape Verde
Feast of St. Kentigern (a/k/a St. Mungo) (Patron of Glasgow whose given name meant "head chief" but whose nickname meant "dear one.")
Ides of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar
Liberation Day -- Togo
Maghi -- Sikh
Make Your Dreams Come True Day -- no info on the origin of this; maybe someone who broke their New Year's resolutions by this day used the fact that it's New Year's by the Julian calendar to start over
Midvintersblot -- Ancient Norse Calendar (midwinter festival)
National Peach Melba Day
North American International Auto Show -- Detroit, MI, US (a showcase for the world's vehicle introductions; through the 28th)
Old New Year's Day -- Belarus; Georgia; Montenegro; Republic of Macedonia; Republic of Srpska (Yes, that's how it's spelled; no, i don't know how to pronounce it); Serbia; Russia; Ukraine; Wales (Julian Calendar)
Pongal begins -- India (thanksgiving festival at the end of the harvest season, honoring Indra, god of clouds and rain)
Radio Day -- anniversary of the first public radio broadcast in 1910
Recuperation Fortnight begins -- Fairy Calendar (i think i need one of those!)
Runic Half-month of Peorth (womb) begins
Rubber Ducky Day
Sidereal Winter Solstice Eve -- celebrations through South and Southeast Asia, including
Bhogi -- Tamil (first day of Pongal)
Lohri -- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Uruka -- Assam
Silvesterklausen -- Switzerland ("Old" New Year's celebration, based on the Julian Calendar)
St. Hilarius' Day (according to English tradition, the coldest day of the year; Patron of learning challenged children; Argusto, Italy; Vervio, Italy; against snakes and snake bites)
St. Knut's Day (a/k/a Little Christmas or Twentieth Day or Tyvendedagen among the Scandinavians, it celebrates Canute IV of Denmark and is the day to "plunder" the tree put up on Christmas Eve, eating the candies and cookies that were decorating it, and puting all the other decorations away before the tree is removed.)
Strive and Succeed Day -- Horatio Alger's birth anniversary
Theogamia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate, but during Gamelion, the month of marriages)
Tiugunde Day -- Old England (midwinter offering, a celebration picked up from the Norse Midvintersblot)
Tyvendedagen -- Norway (Twentieth day after Christmas, official end of Yuletide or "Juletid")
Birthdays Today:
Joannie Rochette, 1966
Orlando Bloom, 1977
Nicole Eggert, 1972
Keith Coogan, 1970
Patrick Dempsey, 1966
Penelope Ann Miller, 1964
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 1961
Kevin Anderson, 1960
Jay McInerney, 1955
Richard Moll, 1943
Frank Gallo, 1933
Charles Nelson Reilly, 1931
Frances Sternhagen, 1930
Gwen Verdon, 1925
Army Archerd, 1922
Robert Stack, 1919
Alfred Carl Fuller, 1885
Sophia Tucker, 1884
Horatio Alger, 1832
Salmon P. Chase, 1808
DEbuting/Premiering Today:
"The Sopranos"(TV), 1999
"Mickey Mouse"(Comic strip), 1930
Today in History:
Crusaders set fire to Mara, Syria, 1099
Sicut Didum, the papal bull prohibiting the enslavement of Canary Island natives who had converted to Christianity, is promulgated, 1435
The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison, 1605
The Bank Of Genoa fails after the announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain, 1607
Jonathan Swift is ordained and Anglican priest in Ireland, 1695
James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina, 1733
John Walter publishes the first issue of the London Times, 1785
The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins, 1830
Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole European survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, 1842
Anthony Foss patents the accordion, 1854
A chenille manufacturing machine is patented by William Canter of NYC, 1863
A circus fire in Poland kills 430, 1883
The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting, 1893
U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution, 1893
The first radio set is advertised, a Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American; claimed to receive signals up to one mile, 1906
The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 1910
An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800, 1915
The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people, 1939
Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car, 1942
Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland, 1964
Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American US Cabinet member, 1966
Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison, 1968
A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa, 1985
L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American US governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia, 1990
Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, 1991
An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800, 2001
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy, 2012
Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday meme doesn't mean i'm going to stop telling Cajun jokes.
Yesterday we were talking with Grandma about her own grandmother and step-grandfather, as well as cousins and other relatives. The talk about what name to have the children call their grandparents came up.
When Boudreaux done fin' out he goin' to be him a gran'father, he an' Clothile get to talkin''bout what dey want de bebe to call dem when it get big 'nuff to talk.
Den dey get to talkin''bout de frien's dey know dat be raisin' de gran'chil'ren an' Boudreaux say, "Mais, since we already done raise our chil'ren, I don' much care what de gran'chil' call me, as long as mos' de time it be callin' long distance!"
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Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files. It has been hosted by River at Drifting Through Life but she is taking a blog break for now. Elephant's Child is keeping the meme warm for her.
Picture of a picture -- Grandma's grandmother and step-grandfather.
A few random pet pictures:
Lulu asking for a game of "throw the ball."
Enigma SissyCat indulging in her love of shoes.
Tombstone, the guest pup, relaxing.
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Today is:
Assembly Line Workers' Day -- listed on many sites but no particular reason for it to be this day; then again, why not today?
Azhirnikhua -- Abkhazia (Day of World Creation)
Cakes and Ale Day -- emblems of the good life, a day to remember the good things we have, and be grateful
Carlsbad Marathon and Half Marathon -- Carlsbad, CA, US
Celebration of the 2nd Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar
Daikoku Matsuri -- Kanda Myojin Shine, Tokyo, Japan (purification ceremony; through tomorrow)
Day of Defenders of the Native Land (Army Day) -- Uzbekistan
Feast of Divina Pastora -- Barquisimeto, Venezuela (religious procession attended by about 2 million people)
Feast of the Ass -- Medieval Christianity (commemorates the Flight Into Egypt)
Hunt for Happiness Week begins -- sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People, who want you to join this week; the celebration runs through Saturday
International Kite Festival -- Jaipur and Ahmedabad, India
Makar Sandranti -- India/Hindu Calendar (part of the sidereal solstice festivals)
Meitlisonntag -- Meisterschwanden and Fahrwangen, Switzerland (procession and festival celebrating the role of women in the victory of a battle in 1712)
National Dress Up Your Pet Day -- do you really dislike your pet this much?
National Forest Conservation Day -- Thailand
National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
Niino no Yukimatsuri -- Izu shrine, Niino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (snow festival with offerings made to bring a good harvest in the coming year; through tomorrow)
Organize Your Home Day -- another one that i can't figure out who started it, but i will say s/he was nuts to think this could be done in one day
Orthodox New Year -- RS, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia
Pongal continues -- Tamil New Year, among the Tamil People (multiple day thanksgiving festival at the end of harvest)
Tamil Thai Pongal Day -- Sri Lanka
Maghi Parba/Maghe Sankranti -- Western Nepal
Ratification Day -- US (anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that recognized the independence of the US from England)
Revolution and Youth Day -- Tunisia
Santos Tour Down Under -- Adelaide, Australia (a world class cycling event; through the 22nd)
Sidereal Winter Solstice Celebrations -- throughout South and Southeast Asia
St. Felix of Nola's Day (Patron of domestic animals, eyes; Nola, Italy; against eye diseases, false witness, lies, perjury)
St. Sava's Day (Patron of Serbia and all Serbs)
Take a Missionary to Lunch Day -- to honor Albert Schweitzer's birth anniversary
General Siyaj K'ak', a Mayan warlord, conquers Tikal and increases the domain of Teotihuacan, 378
The Knights Templar are formally approved by the Roman Catholic Church, 1129
Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery, 1514
Spain annexes Cuba, 1539
The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut, 1639
Massachusetts holds a day of fasting for wrongly accusing "witches", 1699
Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War, 1783
The US Supreme Court rules that racial separation on trains is unconstitutional, 1878
An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills more than 1000, 1907
Henry Ford introduces the assembly line to the production of the Model-T, 1914
The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight, 1950
The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote issuing authority, is established, 1960
Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city, 1999
The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years, 2004
Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan, 2005
The MESSENGER spacecraft performs a Mercury flyby, 2008
American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson become the first to successfully free-climb the Dawn Wall face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a climb of 3,000 feet (the men started the climb on December 27th, 2014), 2015
Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays. Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's 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!
Pepe was being very shy and did not want to pose for a photo is his winter coat:
No, no, no! I won't come out for a picture!
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The wonderful Annie of McGuffy's Reader has started the blog hop called Sparks as a way to put more positive energy into the world. Join her in combating the often negative influence of social media by adding your own Spark!
I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world! ~ McGuffy Ann Morris
My "Spark" for the day is a call for true friendship that i found at Mr. B and Ms. G's house where i work:
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Today is:
Arbor Day -- Jordan
Armed Forces Day / Remembrance Day -- Nigeria
Army Day -- India
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)
Basketball Day -- rules for the game were first published this day in 1892 (day debated, year is certain)
Chosun-gul -- North Korea (Korean Alphabet Day)
Dia del Maestro -- Venezuela (Teacher's Day)
Feast of the Ass -- Ancient Roman Calendar (celebrates Vesta being saved by a donkey)
Feast of Entering Heaven and the Two Lands -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Festival of All Fairies -- Fairy Calendar
Fiesta Del Senor de Esquipulas/Pilgrimage of Cristo Negro de Esquipulas -- Esquipulas, Guatemala (Festival of the Black Christ)
John Chilembwe Day -- Malawi
Lenaea -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a Festival of Comedy; date approximate)
Moliere Day -- France
National Hat Day -- begun by a hat loving individual who has chosen to remain anonymous
National Strawberry Ice Cream Day
Procrastinator's New Year -- declared by someone who had a really great sense of humor
Sailing of Wadjyt -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (the icon of the cobra goddess, Wadjyt, is carried on the Nile to visit many cities; date approximate)
St. Ita's Day (Patron of Limerick, Ireland)
St. Paul the Hermit's Day (the first of the Egyptian hermits; Patron of clothing industry, weavers)
Thiruvalluvar Day -- PY, TN, India (remembrance of the celebrated Tamil poet)
Tree Planting Day -- Egypt
Tsunahiki Matsuri -- Japan (various shrines hold tug-of-war festivals in which the team for god Ebisu vie with the team for god Daikoku; if Ebisu wins, the next year will have good catches at sea, if Daikoku, it will bring good harvests)
Anniversaries Today:
Opening of the British Museum, 1759
Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England, 1559
Birthdays Today:
Drew Brees, 1979
Chad Lowe, 1968
Mario Van Peebles, 1957
Charo, 1951
Andrea Martin, 1947
Margaret O'Brien, 1937
Ernest J. Gaines, 1933
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929
John Cardinal O'Connor, 1920
Lloyd Bridges, 1913
Gene Krupa, 1909
Elie Siegmeister, 1909
Edward Teller, 1908
Aristotle Onassis, 1906
Goodman Ace, 1899
Pierre S. du Pont, 1870
Philip Livingston, 1766
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a/k/a Moliere, 1622 (baptismal date, actual birth date unknown)
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Hill Street Blues"(TV), 1981
"Happy Days"(TV), 1974
The Democratic Donkey(symbol in newspaper comic), 1870
"Stella"(Goethe Play), 1816
Today in History:
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign, in a siege lasting until July 23, BC588
Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World, 1493
Third sitting of the Council of Trent opens, 1562
The British Museum opens in Montague House in London, 1759
John Etherington of London steps out sporting the first top hat, 1797
The first US built locomotive to pull a passenger train begins its first run, with Mr. and Mrs. Pierson on board for the first US railroad honeymoon trip, 1831
The donkey is first used as a symbol for the Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly, 1870
The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia, 1889
James Naismith publishes the rules of Basketball, 1892
Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premieres in St Petersburg, 1895
Dr. Lee DeForest patents a 3-element vacuum tube (one of the inventions that later made radio possible), 1907
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women, 1908
The Boston Molasses Disaster, 2 million gallons of molasses spill, 21 killed, over 150 injured, 1919
The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio, 1936
The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, 1943
The US Supreme Court rules that "clear and present danger" of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can be a cause for arrest, 1951
The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles; the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10, 1967
The USSR launches Soyuz 5, 1969
The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm, 1991
Wikipedia goes online, 2001
An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system, 2005
ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon, 2005
The Stardust space mission returns dust from a comet to Earth, 2006
American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan unveils newest exhibit replica skeleton of a Titanosaur dinosaur (found 2010 Argentina), largest known dinosaur at 70 tons, 37m, 2016
