Labor Day 2014

     

Tucson Weather Today

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In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.
--Lee Iacocca

Today is a federal holiday in the United States.

Today is Labor Day.

Labor Day is annually held on the first Monday of September. It was originally organized to celebrate various labor associations' strengths of and contributions to the United States economy. In modern times it is largely a day of rest. Many people mark Labor Day as the end of the summer season and a last chance to make trips or hold outdoor events.

Labor Day, as are most holidays, is a day (or a weekend) for the masses of workaday stiffs to go out and spend, spend, spend so the super rich Fat Cats can get richer and fatter.

I am not merely a curmudgeonly cynic. I am a just guy who is able to observe, analyze, and reach an obvious conclusion. In other words I am one of those people considered by the hoi polloi as being a know-it-all pain in the ass.

Note: Hoi polloi is a borrowing of the Greek phrase hoi polloi, consisting of hoi, meaning "the" and used before a plural, and polloi, the plural of polus, "many." In Greek hoi polloi had a special sense, "the greater number, the people, the commonalty, the masses."

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Did You Know . . .?

The Kumbuk River Hotel in Sri Lanka is shaped like an elephant.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

The town of Hinckley, Minnesota, was destroyed by a forest fire on this day in 1894. A total of 440 people died in the area. Fires near two rail lines south of Hinckley broke out and spread north. As the raging fire reached the town's train depot, 350 of the townspeople got on a train to escape. The train had to pass right through flames, but reached safety in West Superior, Wisconsin. Other Hinckley residents sought refuge in the swamps near town, but many in this group were killed In all, 300,000 acres of town and forest burned in the fire, causing about $25 million in damages. In Hinckley, 228 people died. More than 200 others in the surrounding areas also perished, including 23 Ojibwa natives.

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WORD FOR TODAY

shoal
noun
1. A shallow place in a body of water.
2. A sandy elevation of the bottom of a body of water, constituting a hazard to navigation; a sandbank or sandbar.

A shoal, sandbank, or sandbar is a linear landform completely within or extending into a body of water. It is typically composed of sand, silt, and/or small pebbles.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Phillip Calvin "Phil" McGraw

(born September 1, 1950)

Dr. Phil is an American television personality, author, psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002. McGraw first gained celebrity status with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s.

Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin

(born September 1, 1939)

Lily Tomlin is an American actress. She became a featured performer on television's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Tomlin's career has spanned television, comedy recordings, Broadway, and motion pictures. She has starred in such films as Nashville, 9 to 5, All of Me, The Beverly Hillbillies, Orange County, and I Heart Huckabees. Her notable television roles include Laugh-In as a cast member from 1970–73, Ms. Frizzle on The Magic School Bus, Kay Carter-Shepley on Murphy Brown, Deborah Fiderer on The West Wing, and Lillie Mae MacKenzie on Malibu Country.

James Robert Rebhorn

(Sept 1, 1948 - Mar 21, 2014)

James Rebhorn was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the current series White Collar and Homeland.

Lara Pulver

(born September 1, 1980)

Lara Pulver is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Erin Watts in the popular British BBC spy drama Spooks, and Irene Adler on BBC's TV adaptation Sherlock.

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Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat.
--Anais Nin

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