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I do not own a cell phone... -- I don't want a cell phone. I do not own an Ipod... -- I don't want an Ipod. I do not own a microwave oven. . . -- I don't want a microwave oven.
Today is the first day of Kwanzaa, a made-up African-American holiday created in the 1960s and called a harvest festival.
The old proverb, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is so true, in my studied opinion. A PBS documentary titled Christmas In Yellowstone contains (too) many instances of the narrator describing mountainous panoramas as beautiful, but they did not strike me as being beautiful at all. They appeared to me, not as beautiful landscapes, but as strange and somewhat scary geological formations transformed from instant to instant by random meteorological meanderings of winds and weather.
That's all.
Towering Gothic cathedrals? Not beautiful, but simply a foolish waste of time, effort, and wealth.
Beauty, however, most certainly does exist.
There Is A Deep Beauty In Jennifer Aniston's Smile
I still can't figure out why the word 'either' is pronounced both 'ee-thur' and 'eye-thur.' And the two of them are, it seems to me, the only 'ei' words that use the 'eye' sound.
It is so interesting to me to watch TV reruns of some of the more popular shows, such as The Big Bang Theory. After the third of fourth time, I no longer have to concentrate on the story line to enjoy the episode and can merely laugh at the funniest jokes and comedic responses while my attention is actually riveted on the overly subdued actions and necessarily bland physical features of the bit part players in the background -- especially the women. who are almost always trim and fit looking, and usually quite attractive. And I think about each of those actors who probably have high hopes of getting ahead in the acting business. I admit that I sometimes muse upon their relative successes and failures, and often even going to the trouble of creating fictional mini-stories wherein they find success in obtaining parts for themselves in the future.
Yes, I know I am one of the weird folk. I've been told that nearly all my life.
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Did You Know . . .?
The worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century was the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 on the island of Martinique. It killed 30,000 people.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Truman, the son of a farmer, he could not afford to go to college, so he too worked as a farmer before joining the army in 1916 to fight in World War I. After the war, Truman opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. When that business went bankrupt in 1922, he entered Missouri politics.
Truman went on to serve in the U.S. Senate from 1934 until he was chosen as Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth vice president in 1945; it was during his Senate terms that he became known for his honesty and integrity.
Upon FDR's death Truman became the 33rd president of the United States, assuming the role of commander in chief of a country still embroiled in World War II. Just four months into his tenure, Truman authorized the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945. The use of the new weapon, dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August, succeeded in forcing Japan's surrender.
Truman served as president for two terms from 1945 to 1953, when he and his wife Bess happily retired to Independence.
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WORD FOR TODAY
trope
noun
a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression
A literary trope is the use of figurative language. For example, the sitting United States administration might be referred to as "Washington". Since the 1970s, the word has also come to mean a commonly recurring literary device, motif, or cliché.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(Dec 26, 1921 - Oct 30, 2000)
Steve Allen was an American TV personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS' What's My Line?
(born December 26, 1966)
Sandra Taylor is an American model and actress. Taylor landed her first feature film with Garry Marshall, Exit to Eden. She was approached by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover and in a feature pictorial in the July 1995 edition of Playboy, promoting her appearance in the movie Under Siege 2: Dark Territory in which she played a train bartender. She went on to star in films such as Batman & Robin, L.A. Confidential, The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2, Tomcats, Keeping Up with the Steins, Runaway Bride, and Raising Helen.
Sandra appeared in the Warner Brothers films Valentine's Day playing opposite Eric Dane and Ashton Kutcher, and in New Year's Eve starring opposite Josh Duhamel and Michelle Pfieffer. She has also appeared in episodes of the television series Married... with Children, ER, The King of Queens and Just Shoot Me!.
(Dec 26, 1927 - May 9, 2004)
Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In later years, he helped many philanthropic causes.
King, who smoked cigars (a fact that came up in his routines from time to time), died at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan on May 9, 2004, from lung cancer
(born December 26, 1991)
Eden Sher is an American actress . Sher has been acting since she was eight years old. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the short film Stuck, and ads for Capital One and Fruity Pebbles. She had the recurring role of Gretchen in the second season of the Showtime series Weeds. She is also known for her role as Carrie Fenton in the television series Sons and Daughters.
As of 2009 Sher starred in ABC comedy series The Middle as Sue Heck - a dorky, quirky, ever-hopeful teenager. In 2013 she has won Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Supporting Actress for her role in The Middle
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
--Oscar Wilde
NASA TV
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