Friday, January 31, 2014

In Solemn Remembrance




____________________


More than 40 years ago, on Jan. 27, 1967, the crew of Apollo 1 perished in a terrible fire.  Nearly 30 years ago, on Jan. 28, 1986, the crew of space shuttle Challenger died less than two minutes after launch. And more than a decade has passed since the loss of the crew of space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, just minutes before landing.

To honor the astronauts and brave members of the NASA family who gave their lives in the pursuit of space exploration and service to our nation, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, will hold a Day of Remembrance ceremony in the center’s visitor center, the Exploration Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014.

NASA Day of Remembrance Ceremony

_____


Did You Know . . .?

It is possible to die of a broken heart - this condition is called  Stress Cardiomyopothy.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1971, Apollo 14, piloted by astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, and Stuart A. Roosa, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a manned mission to the moon. On February 5, after suffering some initial problems in docking the lunar and command modules, Shepard and Mitchell descended to the lunar surface on the third U.S. moon landing. Upon stepping out of the lunar module, Shepard, who in 1961, aboard Freedom 7, was the first American in space, became the fifth astronaut to walk on the moon. Shepard and Mitchell remained on the lunar surface for nearly 34 hours, conducting simple scientific experiments, such as hitting golf balls into space with Shepard's golf club, and collecting 96 pounds of lunar samples. On February 9, Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

didactic  [di-DAK-tik]
adjective
1. Intended to instruct.
2. Morally instructive.
3. Inclined to teach or moralize excessively.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 31, 1921




(born January 31, 1977)



(born January 31, 1959)



(born January 31, 1970)


__________

 "Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."
--Collette

NASA TV

   

Thursday, January 30, 2014

1-30-14




____________________


Will Justin Bieber Be Deported for His Miami DUI? 


(No further commentary today)

_____


Did You Know . . .?

Honey is a natural reservoir for the botulism bacteria. Adult bodies can normally process it. But you should never give honey to babies.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1948 Mohandas Gandhi, the world's chief advocate of non-violence, was assassinated in New Delhi by a terrorist sponsored by a right-wing Hindu militia group. The murder came only 10 days after a failed previous attempt on Gandhi's life. Thirty-nine-year-old Nathuram Godse shot the great Indian leader as he made his way through a small crowd to lead a prayer session.

The assassin Godse tried to kill himself after the attack, but was grabbed before he had the chance. Godse showed no remorse for his crime. Godse was hanged to death on November 15, 1949, against the wishes of Gandhi's sons, who argued that the execution stood against everything Gandhi believed in.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

timorous  [TIH-muhr-uhs]
adjective
1.  fearful
2.  Timid by nature
3.  indicating fear or timidity

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born 30 January 1974)
Christian Bale is an English actor. Bale first caught the public eye when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987). In 2000, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He earned a reputation as a method actor after he lost 63 pounds to play the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004).

Bale went on to receive greater commercial recognition and acclaim for his performance as Bruce Wayne / Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). He also portrayed Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter (2010), for which he received critical acclaim. In 2013, he starred in the comedy-drama American Hustle.



(born January 30, 1930)
Gene Hackman is a retired American actor and novelist. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. His major subsequent films include The French Connection (1971), in which he played Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle; The Poseidon Adventure (1972); The Conversation (1974); Superman (1978), in which he played arch-villain Lex Luthor; Hoosiers (1986); Mississippi Burning (1988); Unforgiven (1992); The Firm (1993); Crimson Tide (1995); Get Shorty (1995); The Birdcage (1996); Enemy of the State (1998); and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).



(born January 30, 1941)
Dick Cheney is an American politician and businessman who was the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009, under President George W. Bush.



(born January 30, 1972)
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Diablo III, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, BrĂ¼tal Legend, Halo 4, and Disney's animated movies.

As a result of her prolific works as a voice actress in video gaming, Guinness World Records awarded her with a Guinness World Record for being "the most prolific videogame voice actor (female)" which has been featured in the book Guinness World Records 2013: Gamer's Edition.

__________

"On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points."
--Virginia Woolf

NASA TV

   

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

The Light Of Her Smile

     

____________________


While wandering the intentional wilderness of the whimsical Web I paused at the picture of an anonymous woman astride a spirited horse. I had a good reason for downloading and saving it, but I do not now remember what that reason was. My mindset has changed (as it so often seems to do these days) - and yet the image continues to fascinate me. Could it be the silent cowgirl's enigmatic smile? I have heard that this has happened before, this far-ranging curiosity engendered in the viewer by a simple complex smile on an unobtrusive lady of the times.


There is a story here that needs to be told. The lady and her horse... and her smile.

I want so much to have written this story.
_____


The Bringer Of Light

There are surprisingly many devout (though ignorant) Christians who believe that Lucifer (the Morning Star) is another name for Satan and is also called the Bringer Of Light - that this creature is a fallen angel and brought 'sin' into the world... in the form of knowledge.

Who then, is this bringer of light? And why do we assume that light represents knowledge?


Thomas Jefferson said, "He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors."

I might be closer to the truth, then, than are most of Earth's human beings.

Get it?

_____


Did You Know . . .?

Mormons love Jello so much that it is Utah's official state snack food and the biggest  region where the Mormons live is called the "Jell-O Belt."

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, January 29 in 1979 Brenda Spencer killed two men and wounded nine children as they entered the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. Spencer blazed away with rifle shots from her home directly across the street from the school. After 20 minutes of shooting, police surrounded Spencer's home for six hours before she surrendered. Asked for some explanation for the attack, Spencer allegedly said, "I just don't like Mondays. I did this because it's a way to cheer up the day. Nobody likes Mondays."

Spencer, who pled guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, is currently serving a term of 25 years to life at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California. She has been denied parole four times, most recently in 2005.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

illumination
noun
1.  lighting or light. "higher levels of illumination are needed for reading"
2.  a display of lights on a building or other structure.
3.  PHYSICS: another term for luminance.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 29, 1945)
Tom Selleck is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as the private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980 to 1988), based in Hawaii. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on Robert B. Parker novels. Since 2010, he has appeared as NYPD Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the drama Blue Bloods on CBS-TV.



(born January 29, 1954)
Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host, actress, and producer. Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show.



(born January 29, 1940)
Katharine Ross is an American film and stage actress. She rose to fame for starring in two of the most popular films of the late 1960s: as Elaine Robinson in The Graduate, and as Etta Place in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. She also starred in The Stepford Wives in 1975 and won another Golden Globe for Voyage of the Damned in 1976.



(born January 29, 1975)
Sara Gilbert is an American actress, best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, as co-host and creator of the daytime talk show The Talk and for her recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.

__________

There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.
--James Thurber

NASA TV

   

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

What In The Hell Is Deicide?

     

____________________


It seems that there is an English word for anything an American wishes to bring up in conversation. Some of them I have had great difficulty comprehending. One of those words is deicide.

According to TheFreeDictionary, deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. That makes absolutely no sense to  me. How can a mortal man kill a divine (unkillable) being? A man cannot perform such a feat. Besides, according to a truly enlightened person (me) ... there is no (currently existing) god.

Who am I though, to deny that some godly being might at some time mysteriously explode (or sneak) into terrestrial existence?

I've been told that on Star Trek, Klingon mythology included a tale of deicide in which the Klingons slew their gods, who "brought more trouble than it was worth."

_____


Oh! Hey!
Before I forget . . .

Yesterday was the opening of the  . . 
January 27 through February 1, 2014






_____


Did You Know . . .?

Froot Loops are actually all the same flavor, just different colors.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28 in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe was on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted off.

Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.

CNN YouTube video

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

bloviate
verb
-  talk at length, esp. in an inflated or empty way
-  To discourse at length in a pompous or boastful manner

Bloviation is a style of empty, pompous political speech particularly associated with Ohio due to the term's popularization by United States President Warren G. Harding, who described it as "the art of speaking for as long as the occasion warrants, and saying nothing".

Note: A fitting synonym for Bloviation might be State Of The Union Message.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 28, 1936)
Alan Alda is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. He is best known for his starring roles as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick in The West Wing, and his supporting role in the 2004 film The Aviator. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Journalism and a member of the advisory board of The Center for Communicating Science.



(born January 28, 1981)
Elijah Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. As a child actor he starred in the films Radio Flyer (1992), The Good Son (1993), North (1994) and Flipper (1996), and began to transfer to teenage roles in the films The Ice Storm (1997), Deep Impact and The Faculty (both 1998). He is best known for his high-profile leading role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and its prequel The Hobbit (2012). Since then, he has had varied roles in critically acclaimed films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Sin City, Green Street and Everything Is Illuminated (all 2005) and Bobby (2006).



(Jan 28, 1910 – Jan 28, 1973)
John Banner was a film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria. He is best known for his role as Master Sergeant Hans Georg Schultz in the situation comedy Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of his stalag were planning mayhem, frequently feigned ignorance with the catchphrase, "I know nothing! I see nothing! I hear nothing!"



(born January 28, 1950)
Barbi Benton is an American model, actress and singer. She was featured on the cover of Playboy several times and in nude photo layouts in the March 1970, December 1973, January 1975, and December 1985 issues, although she was never one of the magazine's "Playmates of the Month". Benton is known for her years as a regular on the country variety series Hee Haw, appearing in comic sketches with other cast members.

__________

"You sir are a Grade A, Class One, Top Tier, bloviating BUFFOON."
--Jon Richardson
(Wisconsin State Legislator)

NASA TV

   

Monday, January 27, 2014

State Of The Union, Authors, Etc.

     

____________________


George Will has a quite interesting column in The Washington Post concerning the State of the Union message and a few related items.

At one point he writes:
"Obama probably also will urge measures to increase college enrollments. The Center for College Affordability and Productivity reports that about 48 percent of those college graduates who are employed are occupying jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests require less than a four-year college education. Thirty-seven percent are in jobs that require no more than a high-school diploma, and about 5 million are in jobs that require less than a high-school education. About 14 percent of waiters and waitresses, 16.5 percent of bartenders, 18 percent of telemarketers and 24.6 percent of retail salespeople-- not including the 14.5 percent of counter and sales clerks -- have college degrees."

The political exhibitionism of the State of the Union


Another Post article:

Five myths about the State of the Union address

_____


J.D. Salinger,
Author of Catcher In The Rye
Jerome David Salinger
died on this day
Jan. 27, 2010

_____


I recently read a book review by  William H. Pritchard in The Weekly Standard regarding Jack London.

From this review I learned that during his brief life of 40 years, Jack London, produced 50 books, 200 short stories, and 400 nonfiction pieces on varied subjects. A critic says of The Call of the Wild (1903) that London "had found in the canine species the selfless unconditional love celebrated in the Christian concept of agape."

Now, to me, that is an interesting fact followed by a thought-provoking conjecture.

The Ice Palace - Jack London’s thousand words a day.

_____


Did You Know . . .?

In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus decided to wipe out mankind by flooding the Earth. The world was repopulated by a man and a woman who survived the flood by building an ark.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, January 27 in1967 a launch pad fire during Apollo program tests at Cape Canaveral, Florida, killed astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chafee. An investigation indicated that a faulty electrical wire inside the Apollo 1 command module was the probable cause of the fire. The astronauts, the first Americans to die in a spacecraft, had been participating in a simulation of the Apollo 1 launch scheduled for the next month.

The Apollo program was initiated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) following President John F. Kennedy's 1961 declaration of the goal of landing men on the moon and bringing them safely back to Earth by the end of the decade. The so-called "moon shot" was the largest scientific and technological undertaking in history. In December 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to travel to the moon, and on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. walked on the lunar surface. In all, there were 17 Apollo missions and six lunar landings.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

agape  [ah-GAH-pay]
noun
1.  Love that is spiritual, not sexual, in its nature.
2.  Christianity Love as revealed in Jesus, seen as spiritual and selfless and a model for humanity.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 27, 1969)
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor known for roles such as Spencer Olchin in the sitcom The King of Queens and for voicing Remy in the film Ratatouille. Oswalt is an atheist, and has referenced his atheism in his comedy specials, No Reason to Complain, Feelin' Kind of Patton, My Weakness is Strong, and Finest Hour.



(born January 27, 1964)
Bridget Fonda is a former American actress. She is known for her roles in such films as The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown. She also provides the voice for Jenna in the 1995 animated feature film Balto. She took on cameo roles in projects until 2002, and has not appeared in films since then. She is the daughter of Peter Fonda, niece of Jane Fonda and granddaughter of Henry Fonda.



(Jan 27, 1921 - Jan 14, 1986)
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress. With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lorene Burke in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also well known for her role as Mary Hatch in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946). She worked extensively in television, notably as Donna Stone, an American middle class mother in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966).



(born January 27, 1956)
Mimi Rogers is an American film and television actress. Her notable film roles include Gung Ho (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), and Desperate Hours (1990). She garnered the greatest acclaim of her career for her role in the religious drama, The Rapture (1991). Rogers has since appeared in Reflections on a Crime (1994), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Lost in Space (1998), Ginger Snaps (2000), The Door in the Floor (2004), and For a Good Time, Call... (2012). Her extensive work in television includes Paper Dolls (1984), Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997), The Loop (2006–2007), and recurring roles on The X-Files (1998–1999) and Two and a Half Men (2011–present).

__________

 "Read what you like because you like it, never to pretend to admire what you did not."
--Leslie Stephen

NASA TV

   

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Percentages by Guest Blogger


Percentages

While we're only doing construction on about 10% of our home, it appears we've lost functionality in about 90%.

The new room, which consists of a large open space for a pool table, a half bath, and some pantry area that we have no intention of putting food in, is unusable as yet.

The kitchen is likewise pretty much unusable as well. The trash compactor and microwave are in my dining area, and my kitchen counters are covered with things from elsewhere: Some things from the top of the refrigerator, which was moved twice in the last week; some things from the top of the microwave, which was moved over a week ago to where it sits now; and some things from on top of the trash compactor. Oh, and the "new" garbage, since the trash compactor is currently out of service, also sits on top of a kitchen counter (dog, remember?).

The hall bathroom is unusable. The toilet from it is sitting in the living room, next to all the things that were delivered from Lowe's two weeks ago. (A vanity, two sinks, and two toilets in three parts each. Also in the middle of the living room is an air compressor, various parts, paint, and a plastic bag of Twix.) In the bathroom, the vanity and sink have been replaced, but the wallpaper hasn't been removed yet. The bathtub has been re-sealed, with new fake tile walls, and the pipes replaced, but I haven't been told I can use it, nor has the drywall been sealed. The old linoleum is gone (yay; it was horrid) but new hasn't been put in so the floor in there is particle board, also unsealed as yet.

The master bathroom is mostly unusable, because we were told they'd be ready to work on it and asked to empty it in preparation. That was about two weeks ago, and all the various bathroom items you expect to find in a bathroom are in the computer room as a result.

The computer room is partly unusable because of all the things from elsewhere stacked in it. Ditto on the Green Room, especially since that's where the animals spend their days so add to the stacks: the dog's food, water, and crate, the cat's food, water, and litter box.

Overall, though, there's progress almost every weekday (and some weekends) and the place is looking good. The deck is almost done, there's new linoleum in the kitchen, and the pool table comes this Friday.

When we're done, we're going to have almost a completely new house. That is, after everything gets put away.


Copyright 2013 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/







   


Saturday, January 25, 2014

1-25-14

     

____________________


The Writer's Almanac today features several famous writers, poets, and interesting incidents -- even more so than usual.

Take a look . . .

_____


Did You Know . . .?

The words epitome, circus, tribunal, and congeries are part of a relatively small collection of English nouns that made the transition from Latin to English unaltered in both spelling and meaning.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On January 25 in 1924, the first Winter Olympics kicked off in the Alpine village of Chamonix, France. Originally conceived as "International Winter Sports Week," the Chamonix games were held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, held in Paris, and boasted 258 athletes (247 men and 11 women) from 16 nations, competing in a total of 18 events.

In the opening ceremonies, held on January 25, the athletes gave their oaths of amateurism to Gaston Vidal, France’s under-secretary of state for physical education. They then marched with their teams in a parade from Chamonix’s City Hall to the Olympic ice skating rink. After Vidal declared the official opening of the games in front of around 5,000 spectators, 150 athletes took to the ice for a celebration.

In one of the most unexpected stories to come out of that first Winter Games, the Norwegian-born American ski jumper Anders Haugen, captain of the U.S. Olympic team, came in fourth, but was awarded the bronze medal a full 50 years later, when a mathematical error was discovered that would have put Haugen in third place.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

congeries [kuhn-JEER-eees]
noun
-  a disorderly collection; a jumble.
-  a collection of items or parts in one mass; assemblage; aggregation; heap.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 25, 1931)
Dean Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.



(born January 25, 1956)
Dinah Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, and Carol Weston on Empty Nest. Manoff has also starred in numerous television movies. Her film career cooled down during the 1990s but has come back in the 2000s (decade) with movies such as The Amati Girls and Bart Got a Room and a co-starring role on State of Grace.

Manoff is daughter to actress Lee Grant and screenwriter Arnold Manoff.



(born January 25, 1985)
Michael Trevino is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tyler Lockwood in The CW television series The Vampire Diaries.



(born January 25, 1975)
Mia Kirshner is a Canadian actress and social activist who works in movies and television series. She is known for her role as Jenny Schecter on the cable TV series The L Word (2004–2009), and for her recurring guest role as the terrorist Mandy on the TV series 24 (2001–2005).

__________

"Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody."
--Stephen Chbosky,

NASA TV



Friday, January 24, 2014

Aphorisms, Quotations, And The Like

     

____________________


I have been having some disturbing dreams lately. The really don't make a lot of sense as I understand reality but they are usually peopled with long dead family members and nearly forgotten incidents from what to me are the olden days, the 1940s and '50s.

The dreams have, as always, faded now and I can't reliably relate them in the here and now. But they stir up memories that I do remember, and remember well.

One of my early memories is reading the various aphorisms hanging on the wall in my father's office, which also served as a large storage room in the Jasper County Courthouse where he was the custodian, a job he held for at least thirty years. One of those wall decorations looked something like this:

There were several more quotations and proverbs, but that was the one that stuck in my memory.

My father (my dad) and I were not close. I don't think he liked me much. And until I approached the age of 40 I didn't think much of him, either.

My Father
The statement I most easily remember was my dad saying, over and over, again and again throughout my younger years, "...another one of your harebrain ideas."

The statement I most easily remember hearing about my dad was "If you grow up to be half the man your old man is..."

Or possibly the affirmation - "That Bill Chambers can fix anything."

And that was true as far as I know. Dad had taught himself radio repair via the National Radio Institute's mail order course and spent his evenings out in the backyard shed fixing the radios of everybody in town, and in later years, their television sets.

Who would have believed that no matter what menial daytime job I held (and there were a LOT of them) I too still did part-time radio and TV repair at night.

Brr!

Those days do not hold many happy memories.

_____


Did You Know . . .?

When you die you can have your ashes made into a rock to form the base of an "eternal memorial reef" so that you can help coral reefs bloom after you've died.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On January 24, 1908, the Boy Scouts movement begins in England with the publication of the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain.

The American version of the Boy Scouts has it origins in an event that occurred in London in 1909. Chicago publisher William Boyce was lost in the fog when a Boy Scout came to his aid. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired Boyce to organize several regional U.S. youth organizations, specifically the Woodcraft Indians and the Sons of Daniel Boone, into the Boy Scouts of America. Incorporated on February 8, 1910, the movement soon spread throughout the country.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

aphorism
noun
1.  a concise statement of a principle
2.  a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment

An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a concise and memorable form.

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(Jan 24, 1917 - July 8, 2012)
Ernest Borgnine was an American film and television actor whose career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, winning an Oscar in 1955 for Marty. On television, he played Quinton McHale in the 1962–1966 series McHale's Navy and co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine earned an Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the series ER. He was also known for being the original voice of Mermaid Man on SpongeBob SquarePants from 1999 to 2012.



(Jan 24, 1949 - Mar 5, 1982)
John Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known as one of the original cast members of the hit NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He was the older brother of James "Jim" Belushi. He was known for his brash, energetic comedy style and raunchy humor. During his career he had a close personal and artistic partnership with fellow SNL comedian and author Dan Aykroyd.

Belushi died on March 5, 1982 in Hollywood, California after overdosing on a mixture of cocaine and heroin (a 'speedball') at the age of 33.



(Jan 24, 1943 - Aug 9, 1969)
Sharon Tate was an American actress and sex symbol. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several motion pictures. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers. She made her film debut in the occult-themed Eye of the Devil (1966), which was produced by Martin Ransohoff. Tate also starred as Jennifer North in the cult classic, Valley of the Dolls (1967), which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with the couple's son when she was murdered in her home, along with four others, by a group known as the Manson Family on August 9, 1969.



(born 24 January 1961)
Nastassja Kinski is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than sixty films in Europe and the United States. Kinski's starring roles include the title character in Tess (1979), for which she won a Golden Globe Award, and her role in Paris, Texas (1984),

__________

"The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
--Laozi, Te Tao Ching

NASA TV

   

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Horrific Consequences Of Tobacco Smoking

     

____________________


On National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show I heard about the latest Surgeon General report on cigarette smoking. Since I smoked cigarettes for 30 years, from 1955 (at age 15) until April 12, 1985 (at 12 P.M.) and well know the insidious nature of addiction, I am both shocked and horrified that today's usually intrusive government continues to allow industry to deliver this murderous substance (tobacco) to the general public.

Here are some excerpts:
(emphasis mine)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2014
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Surgeon General report says 5.6 million U.S. children will die prematurely unless current smoking rates drop.

Today’s report, The Health Consequences of Smoking -- 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, comes a half century after the historic 1964 Surgeon General’s report, which concluded that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. Since that time, smoking has been identified as a cause of serious diseases of nearly all the body's organs. Today, scientists add diabetes, colorectal and liver cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, erectile dysfunction, age-related macular degeneration, and other conditions to the list of diseases that cigarette smoking causes. In addition, the report concludes that secondhand smoke exposure is now known to cause strokes in nonsmokers.

Although youth smoking rates declined by half between 1997 and 2011, each day another 3,200 children under age 18 smoke their first cigarette, and another 2,100 youth and young adults become daily smokers. Every adult who dies prematurely from smoking is replaced by two youth and young adult smokers.

The report concludes that the tobacco industry started and sustained this epidemic using aggressive marketing strategies to deliberately mislead the public about the harms of smoking. The evidence in the report emphasizes the need to accelerate and sustain successful tobacco control efforts that have been underway for decades.

Get that? The U.S. Surgeon General says tobacco marketing is a cause of tobacco use.

Read the entire HHS release HERE

Shocking!

Criminal!


A few years back (1998 until 2004) when the TV series Sex And The City was popular, I happened to see a program with a roving reporter interviewing a group of teenagers about the show. One of the young girls (brandishing a cigarette) was asked what she liked most about it. She said she admired everything about Sarah Jessica Parker, how the character Carrie Bradshaw took no shit (bleeped) from anybody, and how Carrie smoked cigarettes no matter what anyone said... and how she looked so-o-o cool the way she held her cigarette and when she drew in and blew out the smoke... taking no shit (bleeped) from anybody.

Carrie Bradshaw

Get that? The government (the FCC) can forbid you to hear the word shit on broadcast television but still allow the production, marketing and sale of a known killing substance to 'the people'.

Every year in the U.S. over 392,000 people die from tobacco-caused disease, making it the leading cause of preventable death. Another 50,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke. Tragically, each day thousands of kids still pick up a cigarette for the first time. The cycle of addiction, illness and death continues.



What can be done to stop smoking? The American Lung Association is working to strengthen laws and policies that protect everyone from secondhand smoke and prevent young people from starting.

American Lung Association

_____


Did You Know . . .?

According to a Jewish legend God created the first blacksmith's tongs as one of his last creations, because mankind needs tongs to make tongs.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell was granted a medical degree from Geneva College in New York, becoming the first female to be officially recognized as a physician in U.S. history.

After several years of private practice, Dr. Blackwell founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister Emily, who was the third woman in the US to get a medical degree. In 1868, the institution was expanded to include a women's college for the training of nurses and doctors, the first of its kind in America.

_____


WORD FOR TODAY

horrific
adjective
grossly offensive to decency or morality

_____


CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born January 23, 1964)
Mariska Hargitay (daughter of actress Jayne Mansfield and actor/bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay) is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.



(born January 23, 1950)
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, television producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). Anderson later appeared in films, including Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora's Clock (1996) and Firehouse (1997).

In 1997, Anderson returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1, a spin-off of the 1994 film Stargate.



(born January 23, 1981)
Julia Jones is an American actress best known for playing Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga films based on the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.



(born January 23, 1956)
Patrick Kerr is an American television actor. He is probably best known for his recurring role as Noel Shempsky on Frasier. Kerr has appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as a blind pianist and acquaintance of Larry, on ER as a patient who was attacked by a group of schoolgirls after he flashed them, and on Seinfeld as a New York Yankees employee whom George causes to break down. Other television appearances in Kerr's repertoire are on Law & Order, The Drew Carey Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Will & Grace, Friends and the Friends spin-off Joey.

__________

It is more profitable for your congressman to support the tobacco industry than your life.
--Jackie Mason

The true face of smoking is disease, death and horror - not the glamour and sophistication the pushers in the tobacco industry try to portray.
--David Byrne

NASA TV