The American Dream

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

I mean, I've always been a libertarian. Leave everybody alone. Let everybody else do what they want. Just stay out of everybody else's hair.
--Clint Eastwood

As I was starting my daily walk this last Saturday I noticed an elderly man rummaging through one of the apartment complex's dumpsters, salvaging recyclable cans and plastic bottles. Being the curious person I am, I started up a conversation, which the man (his name is Salvatore, but his friends call him Sal) mistakenly understood to mean that I wanted to hear his entire life story. I stood there for somewhere around fifteen or twenty minutes listening to his garbled diatribe against the United States, even though it was difficult to understand his thick Spanish accent.

It seems that Sal emigrated to the U.S. from San Salvadore in El Salvadore when he was younger and settled in California where he lived until an industrial accident disabled him, for which he was granted a settlement of $75,000. Of course, with rent, buying food and clothing, and the many expenses of living, this lasted only a short time.

Then his daughter talked him into coming to Tucson a few years ago to live with her. His biggest complaint was  that when he lived in California he received $800 a month in subsistence aid from the government plus $80 in food stamps. But when he came to Tucson this aid was cut to only $600 a  month and food stamps cut to $60. He said that if it wasn't for his daughter's job that pays the rent and buys the groceries, he couldn't make it because everything costs so much, even with his cans and bottle business, which earns him only a couple hundred dollars each month. And gasoline for his business mini-van is so very expensive.

Salvatore considers himself a white man, and he says Obama wants to give everything to the black man. And now, for the first time in his life, Sal is going to be forced to pay for health insurance.

Salvatore was (and still is) extremely upset with the government.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

A lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of preventable death world wide.

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1971 the three Soviet cosmonauts who served as the first crew of the world's first space station died when their spacecraft depressurized during reentry. On June 6, the cosmonauts Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev were launched into space aboard Soyuz 11 on a mission to dock and enter Salyut 1, the Soviet space station that had been placed in orbit in April. The spacecraft successfully docked with the station, and the cosmonauts spent 23 days orbiting the earth. On June 30, they left Salyut 1 and began reentry procedures. When they fired the explosive bolts to separate the Soyuz 11 reentry capsule from another stage of the spacecraft, a critical valve was jerked open. One hundred miles above the earth, the capsule was suddenly exposed to the nearly pressureless environment of space. As the capsule rapidly depressurized, Patsayev tried to close the valve by hand but failed. Minutes later, the cosmonauts were dead.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

libertarian
noun
a person who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government

According to Wikipedia, Libertarianism (Latin: liber, free) is a classification of political philosophies that uphold liberty as their principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgment.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson

(born June 30, 1966)

Mike Tyson is an American retired professional boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old.

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne

(June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010)

Lena Horne was an American singer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, Horne found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood.

David Alan Grier

(born June 30, 1956)

DAG is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.

Elizabeth Anne "Lizzy" Caplan

(born June 30, 1982)

Lizzy Caplan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as Mean Girls (2004), Cloverfield (2008), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), and Bachelorette (2012). 

__________

Libertarians are essentially what the Republicans were 30 years ago. Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan. They'd all fit more under the Libertarian label than the modern day Republican label.
--Drew Carey

This Is Who I Am

   

Guest Blogger 6/29/2014

     

(Brief Update)

5.2 Earthquake Shakes Up Arizona and New Mexico

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck late Saturday in southeastern Arizona near the New Mexico state line, but there were no initial reports of major damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 10 p.m. PT (1 a.m. ET Sunday) and was centered about 31 miles northwest of Lordsburg, New Mexico, and about 179 miles east-southeast of Phoenix. The epicenter was shallow and was in a sparsely populated area north of Interstate 10 and just south of the small town of Duncan, Ariz.

NBC News

End Update

__________

The Murder Plot

You've all seen the movie. It doesn't even matter which one, since there are so many out there with a murder plot. You can picture it,right?

The family house/mansion/cabin. The living room, after the reception. The weeping widow, dressed somberly in black. Perhaps a few lingering guests, also in black. Enter the detective, in a business suit. Grey, if he's thoughtful. Rumpled, if he's Columbo.

The policeman has a notebook, and writes in it each time the widow speaks. Everyone is sympathetic.

Two hours of movie go by, and the ending matches the beginning - The family house/mansion/cabin. The living room, after the investigation. The weeping widow, still dressed somberly in black. Perhaps a few lingering boyfriends, also in black. Enter the detective, in a business suit. Grey, if he's thoughtful. Rumpled, if he's Columbo.

The policeman has a notebook, but this time he reads from it. With each word, the widow's tears flow faster, her eyes widen, and with the last word, she crumples to the ouch/divan/loveseat.

The policeman pulls out handcuffs, if he's a hands-on kind of guy. He motions to the other policeman in the shadows, if he isn't.

It was the perfect crime, until that grey suit showed up. The widow insured her husband for several million dollars, and then hired someone to knock the old boy off. Perfect.

Until she got caught.

The papers laying next to me on the little table cry out. "Murder," they call. "Conspirator," they whisper. For years, I thought only people who were rich or scheming needed life insurance. Before putting all our debt in an Excel spreadsheet, I thought I'd never be one of those folk.

Today, I know if anything happened to Harry, I'd be in lots of trouble. I'd lose the house, for one thing. My annual salary is decent, but it wouldn't be enough to keep up the payments on alaHouse. And now that we've done our remodeling, and the road outside is almost done, I really want to stay here.

Enter the paperwork.

I've gotten the process started for insuring my husband, for enough to pay off our debts and give me some extra money for any expenses. I feel like the woman dressed in black in those movies, plotting that perfect crime.

"Murder," the papers cry. "Conspirator," they whisper. Excuse me for a moment while I cover them with something. There.

For the record, I'd much rather the 20-year term on this policy ran out without being used.


Copyright 2014 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/

   

6-28-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.
--Horace Mann

_____

Did You Know . . .?

The "Fi" in "WiFi" doesn't mean anything, The creators just called it that because it rhymes with "HiFi."

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1992 two of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit California struck the desert area east of Los Angeles . Just before 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning, a 7.3-magnitude quake struck in Landers, 100 miles east of Los Angeles. Los Angeles, residents experienced rolling and shaking for nearly a minute. The tremors were also felt in Arizona, Las Vegas and as far away as Boise, Idaho. Just over three hours later, a second 6.3-magnitude tremor hit in Big Bear, not too far from the original epicenter. This quake caused fires to break out and cost three people their lives. Between the two quakes, 400 people were injured and $92 million in damages were suffered. The quakes triggered landslides that wiped out roads and opened a 44-mile-long rupture in the earth, the biggest in California since the 1906 San Francisco quake.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

misanthrope
noun
a person who dislikes or distrusts other people or mankind in general

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Mel Brooks

(born June 28, 1926)

Mel Brooks is an American film director, comedian, actor and producer. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s. His most well known films include The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates

(born June 28, 1948)

Kathy Bates is an American actress and film director.  Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery (1990), She followed this with major roles in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Dolores Claiborne (1995), before playing a featured role as Molly Brown in Titanic (1997).

John Paul Cusack

(born June 28, 1966)

John Cusack is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He has appeared in films such as Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, 1408, Must Love Dogs, 2012, Martian Child, America's Sweethearts, and The Butler.

Kathryn Felicia Day

(born June 28, 1977)

Felicia Day is an American actress, comedian, and writer. On TV, she played the character "Vi" on the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Holly Marten in Eureka and has acted in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and currently has a recurring role as Charlie on Supernatural.

__________

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
--Albert Einstein

This Is Who I Am

   

6-27-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

If all goes according to schedule, I will be going back home this afternoon.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

Ferdinand 1 of Austria's only known quote was, "I am the Emperor, and I want dumplings."

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1844 Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Mormon religion, was murdered along with his brother Hyrum when an anti-Mormon mob broke into a jail where they are being held in Carthage, Illinois. Two years later, Smith's successor, Brigham Young, led an exodus of persecuted Mormons from Nauvoo along the western wagon trails in search of religious and political freedom.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire

(born June 27, 1975)

Tobey Maguire is an American actor and film producer who began his career in the late 1980s. He is known for his role as Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007), as well as for his roles in Pleasantville (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999), Wonder Boys (2000), Seabiscuit (2003), Brothers (2009), and The Great Gatsby (2013).

Madylin Anne Michele Sweeten

(born June 27, 1991)

Madylin Sweeten is an American actress and comedian. She is perhaps best known for playing the role of Ally Barone on the CBS television sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996–2005.

Emma Kate Lahana

(born June 27, 1984)

Emma Lahana is a New Zealand actress. She is best known for her role as Kira Ford, one of the Yellow Rangers of the Power Rangers franchise, in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, and as Jennifer Mason on Haven.

India de Beaufort

(born June 27, 1987)

India de Beaufort is a British actress and singer-songwriter whose appearances include roles in Basil Brush and Run Fatboy Run. She played Aneka, a pagan warrior maiden, in the 2009 series Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. She starred as Miranda during the seventh season of One Tree Hill in 2009/2010. She was a series regular on the ABC Family show Jane By Design, playing as India Jourdain.

__________

This Is Who I Am

   

The DAy By Day TV Stuff

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns ... instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink."
--George Orwell


There is so much to write about but most of the items that interest me are questions already answered by various scientists throughout the years.

One of those questions is:

Tectonic Plates -- were these plates perhaps originally formed from the many and diverse explosive joinings of meteoric rocks and space junks during the eons when the planet Earth was being put together? I could look it up, as I often do for such questions. But it's too much trouble, at my advanced age and nearly depleted source of energy.


On the political side, another question is:

Why is it so hard to find those supposedly destroyed emails from the IRS's Lois Lerner? Surely the NSA has copies of them.


But that's too easy, I suppose.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

Three suicide bombers prematurely exploded because the bombs were set on daylight savings time.

_____


HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1945, the Charter for the United Nations was signed in San Francisco. The United Nations was born of perceived necessity, as a means of better arbitrating international conflict and negotiating peace than was provided for by the old League of Nations. The growing Second World War became the real impetus for the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union to begin formulating the original U.N. Declaration, signed by 26 nations in January 1942, as a formal act of opposition to Germany, Italy, and Japan, the Axis Powers.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

excommunicate
verb
1.  to cut off from communion with a church or exclude from the sacraments of a church by ecclesiastical sentence.
2.  to exclude or expel from membership or participation in any group, association, etc.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell

(born June 26, 1970)

Chris O'Donnell is an American actor. He played Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell stars as NCIS Special Agent G. Callen on the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles.

Julia Benson

(born circa 1979)

Julia Benson is a Canadian actress. She trained as a ballet, tap, jazz dancer since age six. She graduated from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) in 2001 with a degree in theatre and psychology. She trained as an actress at David Mamets' Atlantic Theater Company in New York City.

Robert Selden Duvall

(born January 5, 1931)

Robert Duvall is an American actor and director. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards (winning for his performance in Tender Mercies), six Golden Globes (winning four), and has multiple nominations and one win each of the BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Emmy Award.

Aubrey Christina Plaza

(born June 26, 1984)

Aubrey Plaza is an American actress and comedian who has gained popularity with her deadpan-style comedy. She portrays April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation.

__________

Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind.
--Natalie Goldberg

This Is Who I Am

   

Another Blank Spot

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Blank, Blank, Blankety, Blank, Blank


__________


NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

The Unexplained Void

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Nothing interesting or even reportable has happened since yesterday. If I think of anything later this morning I will try to update today's nearly nonexistent blog.

Okay?

__________

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

Living Alarm Clock

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

At around 4:30 this morning Eva began barking. Loudly. Aggressively. I got out of bed and went in tho the living room. I turned on the light and saw that she was standing at alert attention immediately in front of the street door. I raised the blind of the small door-side window and looked out. Nothing. Just as I had suspected. Whatever creature had been out there to stimulate her wonderfully acute canine senses of smell and hearing enough to raise Eva's ire was no longer in the area.

I looked down at her and shook my head. Her tongue was hanging out and her tail was wagging violently as she stared up at me.

"Good girl, Eva."

__________


NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Guest Blogger 6/22/2014

   

The Island

The castaway stands, looking around her at the island she finds herself upon. How did it happen that she is cut off from civilization? She knows not, and frowns at the horizon. Her brow wrinkles, and she shakes her head. She cannot remember how this happened.

Behind, to the west, a wall like a cliff face prevents her from going in that direction. Ahead, huge tumbled mounds of dirt and rock do the same. To either side, the way seems clear for a little way, but she's tried those directions and knows that each has its peril: to the north, a dense thicket of stakes cages her in, while to the south a deep chasm awaits, its sides a slide of loose rock and its floor a morass of deceptively soft sand.

She sighs. Today, like yesterday, there is no way out.

A wild cry echoes across the barren landscape. A woman in agony, calling out for help? For a moment, the castaway holds her breath, both in fear that the woman will die, and in hope for suddenly there are two upon the island. The cry sounds again, and with sinking heart the castaway realizes it's only the evening call of the peacock across the street.

Her eyes change focus and she sees once again the abandoned city street where she lives. Construction crews have been and gone for the day, moving the piles of dirt around, cutting new holes in already abused pavement. For a moment, she'd seen only ocean surrounding her, not this maze of rubble and asphalt. Either way, the story was the same. Getting in or out of her home was problematic and each day she wondered if this would be the one where she'd get stuck trying to drive out.

Or in. Sometimes the route changes in a day's working time.

Bit by bit, though, it's improving. Evenings are quieter. The view from the front yard is better. The ten or so houses trapped on this appendix-like street contain people who now wave at each other. Eventually, the island will be reunited with the continent it came from, and life will continue, differently but the same.


Copyright 2014 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/

   

Human Affairs

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

A few days ago we  were discussing the daily dose of disgusting News on TV about the Iraq situation, and I asked what exactly was it that fueled the always heated (and always hate-filled) discourse between Shia and Sunni... and what exactly is a Shia, and what exactly is a Sunni?

Yesterday I received a short email message explaining it to me.

Here is that email message:

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet."

On the other hand, some Muslims share the belief that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet's own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imams appointed by God Himself.

The Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali bin Abu Talib. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household" (of the Prophet).

Good Golly Miss Molly!

All these centuries of killing and barbaric mayhem is brought about by arguments over Religion. I should have known.

Stupid people steeped in stupid superstition.

And, what's worse, there are none (not even so-called logical scientists) who are doing anything about it.

Are there?


It seems to me a sad, sorry state in the course of human affairs.

__________

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Failure To Communicate

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

There is a common belief that because most of us are literate and fluent, there is no need to serve an apprenticeship if we want to become a successful wordsmith. … That’s what I thought until I tried to write my first novel. I soon learnt that a novel, like a piece of furniture, has its own set of requirements, laws of construction that have to be learnt. Just because I had read plenty of novels didn’t mean I could write one, any more than I could make a chair because I had sat on enough of them.
--Nigel Watts

I am working on my novel so have little time to compose thoughtful commentary for this blog. When I say that I am working I mean that I am putting in some seemingly meaningful time.

Writing is really hard.

Truly communicating is even harder.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

New York City cabs have an amber light that's hidden in the grille and is used to alert cops if the driver is in trouble by blinking.

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1947 Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, the man who brought organized crime to the West Coast, was shot and killed at his mistress Virginia Hill's home in Beverly Hills, California. Siegel had been talking to his associate Allen Smiley when three bullets were fired through the window and into his head, killing him instantly. Around the same time that Siegel was killed in Beverly Hills, crime boss Lucky Luciano's men walked into the Las Vegas Flamingo and announced they were now in charge.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

dormant [dawr-muhnt]
adjective
1.  lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive; torpid: The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
2.  in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance: The project is dormant for the time being.
3.  Biology in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
4.  undisclosed; unasserted: dormant musical talent.
5.  (of a volcano) not erupting.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

John Stephen Goodman

(born June 20, 1952)

John Goodman is an American film and television actor. He's most known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988–1997) and his regular collaborations with the Coen brothers on such films as Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998), and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Nicole Mary Kidman

(born 20 June 1967)

Nicole Kidman is an American born Australian actress. Kidman's breakthrough film role was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. She came to worldwide recognition for her performances in Days of Thunder (1990), Far and Away (1992), and Batman Forever (1995). Her performance in the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001) earned her a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002) received critical acclaim.Kidman's other notable films include To Die For (1995), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), The Others (2001), Cold Mountain (2003), Dogville (2003), The Interpreter (2005) and Australia (2008).

John Mahoney

(born June 20, 1940)

John Mahoney is an American-British actor. He started his career on the stage in 1977 and moved into film in 1980. He played Martin Crane in the American sitcom Frasier on NBC from 1993 until to 2004. He has also worked as a voice actor, and performed on Broadway and in Chicago theatre.

Candace June "Candy" Clark

(born June 20, 1947)

Candy Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the film American Graffiti (1973). She reprised the role in for the sequel More American Graffiti (1979). Clark was also known for her role as Francine Hewitt in The Blob (1988). Her other films of note are: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Big Sleep (1978), Blue Thunder (1983), Cat's Eye (1985) and At Close Range (1986).

__________

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
--Horace

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

This Week And Next

    

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.
--E. L. Doctorow

The next week and a half will be spent out here in the wilds with Eva. Hopefully I will get some work done on my novel. And get some fresh images and insights from nature.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

When a pregnant woman suffers organ damage (such as a heart attack) the fetus sends stem cells to the damaged organ to help repair it.

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in 1951, were put to death in the electric chair. The execution marked the dramatic finale of the most controversial espionage case of the Cold War. Both refused to admit any wrongdoing and proclaimed their innocence right up to the time of their deaths.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

nuciform [noo-suh-fawrm]
adjective
Shaped like a nut; nut-shaped.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Atticus Ronald Shaffer

(born June 19, 1998)

Atticus Shaffer is an American actor. He is known for portraying Brick Heck on the ABC sitcom The Middle, as well as voicing Edgar in Frankenweenie (2012). Shaffer suffers from type IV Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic condition inherited from his mother, who has type I. His small stature from this condition helps him portray a character on The Middle, approximately three years younger than his real-life age. He is home-schooled.

Phylicia Rashad

(born June 19, 1948)

Phylicia Rashad is an American Tony Award-winning actress, singer and stage director, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.

Robin Jessica Tunney

(born June 19, 1972)

Robin Tunney is an American actress. She is known for her role as Teresa Lisbon in the television series The Mentalist (2008–present), as well as previous roles in the films Encino Man (1992), Empire Records (1995), The Craft  (1996), End of Days (1999), Supernova, and Vertical Limit (2000), and Prison Break (2005–06).

Mary Kathleen Turner

(born June 19, 1954)

Kathleen Turner is an American film and stage actress and director. Turner came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in Body Heat (1981), Romancing the Stone (1984), and Prizzi's Honor (1985), the latter two earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. In the later 1980s and early 1990s, Turner had roles in The Accidental Tourist (1988), The War of the Roses (1989), Serial Mom (1994) and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

__________

All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.
--F. Scott Fitzgerald

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

6-18-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

"It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being."
--John Joseph Powell

_____

Random Images

_____

Did You Know . . .?

A 40,000-year-old sculpture of a lion man is the earliest known evidence of humans evolving a mind capable of imagination.

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this  day in 1983, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the space shuttle Challenger was launched into space on its second mission. Aboard the shuttle was Dr. Sally Ride, who as a mission specialist became the first American woman to travel into space. During the six-day mission, Ride, an astrophysicist from Stanford University, operated the shuttle's robot arm, which she had helped design. Her historic journey was preceded almost 20 years to the day by cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova of the Soviet Union, who on June 16, 1963, became the first woman ever to travel into space.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

concatenation
noun
1.  a series of interconnected events, concepts, etc.
2.  the act of linking together or the state of being joined.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

James Paul McCartney

(born 18 June 1942)

Paul McCartney is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential acts in the history of rock music.

Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini

(born 18 June 1952)

Isabella Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancome model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.

Roger Joseph Ebert

(June 18, 1942 - April 4, 2013)

Roger Ebert was an American film critic, journalist and screenwriter. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013.

Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane

(born June 18, 1952)

Carol Kane is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She became known in the 1970s in films such as Hester Street and Annie Hall. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of Latka, the character played by Andy Kaufman. She has played the character of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, both in regional productions and on Broadway from 2005 to 2014.

__________

"Nothing brings you together like a common enemy."
--David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am