I Hereby Admit . . . I Am Fat

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Stepping on my digital scales, I found yesterday that I now weigh 180 pounds. That means I have gained 20 pounds since I moved into this apartment in Tucson three full years ago.

GOOD GRAVY!

If I can remember to do so, I will post my weight each day somewhere around the top left side of each new post on the ol' blog.

180 pounds. Good Gravy!

I'll bet that if I were to lose thirty or forty pounds some of my joint stiffness and pain would lessen, or perhaps even completely disappear. I could be wrong, but I can't see where it would hurt to try it. Also, I seem to remember that some, maybe most, of my (limited) successes at writing and publishing fiction, fillers. and poetry was achieved when my weight was close to normal.

Hm. It should be interesting to see what changes might come about in the next few months.

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Did You Know . . .?

There are three plural forms of the creature called octopus: they are “octopuses,” “octopi,” and “octopodes” (pronounced ok-TOP-uh-deez).
source:

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1993 at 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a crater 60 feet wide and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast. Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The World Trade Center itself suffered more than $500 million in damage. After the attack, authorities evacuated 50,000 people from the buildings, hundreds of whom were suffering from smoke inhalation.

The mastermind of the attack -- Ramzi Ahmed Yousef -- remained at large until February 1995, when he was arrested in Pakistan. Eyad Ismoil, who drove the bomb carrying Ryder van into the parking garage below the World Trade Center, was captured in Jordan and taken back to New York.

In November 1997, Yousef and Ismoil were convicted and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Only one other man believed to be directly involved in the attack, Iraqi Abdul Rahman Yasin, remains at large.

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WORD FOR TODAY

escutcheon
noun
1.  A shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.
2.  A flat piece of metal for protection and often ornamentation, around a keyhole, door handle, or light switch.
3.  Idiom Dishonor to one's reputation: a blot on (one's) escutcheon

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Johnny Cash

(Feb 26, 1932 - Sept 12, 2003)

Johnny Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author who was considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country icon, his songs and sound spanned other genres including rock and roll and rockabilly and blues, folk, and gospel. His dark demeanor and dark performance clothing earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally began his concerts with the phrase "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash.," followed by his standard "Folsom Prison Blues".

Cash's best-known songs included "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers like "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue"; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called "Jackson"; and railroad songs including "Hey, Porter" and "Rock Island Line".

Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr.

(born February 26, 1928)

Fats Domino is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. Domino released five gold (million-copy-selling) records before 1955. Domino also had 35 Top 40 American hits. Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That A Shame" and his 1956 version of the song, "Blueberry Hill" reached Number two in the Top 40, and "Blueberry Hill" sold more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956-57.  He had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home", "I'm Walkin'", "Valley of Tears", "It's You I Love", "Whole Lotta Loving", and "I Want to Walk You Home".

John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason

(Feb 26, 1916 - June 24, 1987)

Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, exemplified by his character Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners. Among his notable film roles were Minnesota Fats in the 1961 drama The Hustler (starring Paul Newman) and Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit series.

Chase Masterson

(born February 26, 1963)

Chase Masterson is an American actress, singer and voice actor. Masterson portrayed the Bajoran Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for five years, from 1995 to 1999, and Ivy Lief on General Hospital. She starred as a sultry singer in James Kerwin's sci-fi film noir Yesterday Was a Lie, which she also produced, Her television guest-starring roles include ER and Sliders; in the latter, her role was that of Kelly Welles, the sister of Wade Welles.

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Dieting isn't complicated: if you eat 2,000 calories, you have to burn it off; simple as that.
--James Purefoy

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This Is Who I Am