Day By Day

     

Tucson Weather Today

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I think it's pretentious to create art just for the sake of stroking the artists ego.
--Lou Reed

Yesterday it rained all morning and into the afternoon out here in the scrub east of Tucson. Eva was plenty pissed off about not being able to get outside to run laps around the pool and chase away the wild critters that presumed to invade her territory. So she napped in the front parlor... napped a lot.

RAINY DAY EAST OF TUCSON - December 4, 2014

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Stephen William Hawking is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.

Stephan Hawking has stated that God does not need to exist.

God does not exist video


What does exist is a pretty darn god website titled:
God Does Not Exist

Below is the opening on the home page:

Welcome.

If there were no journalists and national press to investigate politicians then they would get away with even more crimes than they currently do and government would be filled with even more sleaze and corruption than currently exists. Similarly, if atheists were not proactive then theists would get away with even more delusional beliefs and rational crimes than they currently do. It is insufficient for atheists to simply sit back and ignore the theists and hope they'll go away. History shows that they will keep beating their religion drums until the end of time, irrespective of what philosophical or experimental evidence is put before them.

As I said, this is a pretty darned good website... for those who have a working brain, and are not afraid to use it.

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Did You Know . . .?

Benjamin Franklin wrote a scientific essay about farts. Because he thought European academic societies were pretentious, he responded to a call for scientific papers with his essay, “Fart Proudly,” which suggested research be done to improve the odor of human flatulence.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fart_Proudly

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HISTORICAL EVENT

ON THIS DAY IN 1933 the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day. After the repeal of the 18th Amendment, some states continued Prohibition by maintaining statewide temperance laws. Mississippi, the last dry state in the Union, ended Prohibition in 1966.

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WORD FOR TODAY

pejorative [puh-JOR-uh-tihv]
adjective
1. Tending to make or become worse.
2. Disparaging; belittling.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney

((Dec 5, 1901 – Dec 15, 1966)

Walt Disney was an American business magnate, cartoonist, and filmmaker. As a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company.

Paula Maxine Patton

(born December 5, 1975)

Paula Patton is an American actress, who has appeared in such films as Idlewild, Déjà Vu, Mirrors, Swing Vote, Precious, Just Wright, Jumping the Broom, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Baggage Claim, and 2 Guns.

Francisco "Frankie" Muñiz IV

(born December 5, 1985)

Frankie Muniz is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racing driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.

Little Richard

(born December 5, 1932)

Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) is an American recording artist, songwriter, and musician. 

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When I was growing up, I was the most pretentious person I have ever met. I only read obscure books and watched obscure movies and only listened to obscure music.
--Richard Melville Hall

This Is Who I Am

   

Gabrielle Giffords Tragedy

    
Tucson Weather Today

 

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On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen other people were shot during a public meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, near Tucson, Arizona. Six of those shot died, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Rep. Giffords' staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green.

Giffords was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition, though she was still conscious. Within 38 minutes. Giffords underwent emergency surgery, and part of her skull was removed to prevent further brain damage caused by swelling. She was placed into a medically induced coma to allow her brain to rest.

On January 22, 2012, Giffords announced that she would resign from her congressional seat in order to concentrate on her recovery, but promised to return to public service in the future. She submitted her resignation on January 25 on the floor of the House in an emotional appearance; colleagues and the House leadership offered their tributes to her courage and strength.

MORE . . .

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WORD FOR TODAY

harmony [HAHR-muhn-ee]
Noun
-  The combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progressions with a pleasing effect.
-  The study or composition of musical harmony.
Synonyms
concord - accord - unison - agreement - unity

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 

Stephen Hawking

 

Born Jan. 8, 1942
Age: 70 years old

Stephen William Hawking is a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. Among his significant scientific works have been a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularities theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set forth a cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vocal supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Elvis Presley

 

Born Jan. 8, 1935
Died Aug 16, 1977

Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known by the single name Elvis. One of the most popular musicians of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

Larry Storch

 

Born Jan. 8, 1923
Age: 89 years old

Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for cartoon shows, including Mr. Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and his live-action role of the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop.

Soupy Sales

 

Born Jan. 8, 1926
Died Oct 22, 2009

Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his trademark.

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Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
--Mahatma Gandhi
    

    

Truth Or Dare Ain't A Kid's Game

Tucson Weather Today

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I am still trying to straighten out my thoughts on the subject of truth and honesty. Clarifying one's thoughts about telling the truth is not easy.

If you are a candidate for public office (such as U.S. Senator) you damn well better not even hint at the truth about how you feel toward some touchy subject (such as abortion) if you expect to be elected. In the case that, if you believe that abortion is wrong (a sin) in any and all cases, even if pregnancy arises from rape, then you had better keep your true feelings to yourself. In other words, lie about it.

Then you might become an elected official, with power over the people.

But as I stated above, I am trying to sort out my own thoughts and feelings about the subject, not of abortion, but on telling the truth or lying.

Maybe I will soon come to a definite conclusion. If so, I will reveal it to my blog readers.

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WORD FOR TODAY

 cis  [sis]
   
Short for "cisgender" (opposite of "transgender"), used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their anatomical gender at birth.

Cisgender is explained fully by Wikipedia HERE

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Cindy Williams


Born Aug 22, 1947
Age: 64 years old.

Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.

Ray Bradbury


Born Aug 22, 1920
Died June 6, 2012

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Best known for his dystopian novel titled Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction and horror stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into television shows or films.

Valerie Harper


Born Aug 22, 1939
Age: 72 years old.

Valerie Harper is an American actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s television show The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda (a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and Valerie.

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I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
--Stephen Hawking

Long Live The Memory

Elvis Aaron Presley

January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977

You are always on my mind

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And today is the birthday of:

Stephen William Hawking
8 January 1942 (age 70)

Stephen Hawking Website

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Unidentified Flying Objects Revisited

Tucson Weather Today

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An ABC News headline reports: A UFO Hovers Over Russians Protesting Vladimir Putin.

Here is the link to the news report with its story, a photo, and a short video.

Such poppycock! But that's our network news for you.

On that same subject, but on a more serious note (I think) I came across a book about UFOs that can be read online. I have only just begun to read it, but I thought I would first reveal its existence for perusal by anyone interested in the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects. You know... in case I find myself growing weary of the subject or become skeptical after further reading in the book. I often do that.

The cover of the book reads:

Report On Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward J. Ruppelt former head of the United States Air Force Project Blue Book Investigating Flying Saucers




Throughout my long lifetime, from 1939 till the present day, I have three times seen a UFO, not necessarily objects of extraterrestrial origin, but certainly in the sense of each being an Unidentified Flying Object.



The first time I saw a UFO was while walking in the late afternoon along the banks of the Iroquois River in Rensselaer, Indiana with my father, my youngest brother, and my cousin Russell. One of those three (don't remember which one) called out, "Hey! Look up there!"

When I did so, I saw a brilliant object that looked about the size of a basketball or big balloon floating East to West along the river. It appeared to be roughly fifty feet in the air, just drifting lazily along with sparks shooting out from it and what seemed to be burning bits of fiery stuff (burning paper?) floating down from it.

Strangely enough, we never thought much of anything special about it. I don't remember ever mentioning it to anyone, nor do I remember any of the others ever speaking about it either.

But it most definitely was an Unidentified Flying Object.

The second time I spotted a UFO was in that same town, where I was employed at the time as an Electric Power Company midnight shift Plant Operator. During those long lonely nights, to get away from the incessant pounding roar of the Diesel Generators and the acrid fuel fumes, I would walk outside for a few moments and breathe in some fresh air in the dark silence of the night. The stars in the sky always drew my gaze upward.

One night while I was out viewing the vast panorama I saw an object that seemed to be about the size of the average star but was a lot brighter and was moving fast from West to East on a trajectory along the inside of the sky's star-filled dome.

I watched it travel along its path all the way across the sky until it reached the far end of its flight and seemed to disappear behind the trees and buildings that hid the far Eastern horizon.

That was in the late 1970s and forever after that I suspected that it had been one of the Earth's communication satellites shooting across the sky in its calculated orbit.

But I'll never know.

My third and last sighting (so far) was, again in Rensselaer, just after a violent thunderstorm. I was walking toward the downtown area when I saw above the flagpole atop the County Courthouse a huge round ball of bright light among the dark clouds. It seemed to be hovering high above the flagpole. Believe it or not, I had my camera with me and snapped a trio of pictures. And all three of them developed nicely.

Well... I took the pictures to the local daily newspaper, the Rensselaer Republican, and told the reporter my story. The next day one of the pictures and my story appeared on the front page. Of course, the caption under the picture was: "UFO sighted above courthouse? No, just a curious weather phenomenon generated by yesterday's storm."

Those are the stories of my three personal encounters with UFOs.

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"Of course it is possible that UFO's really do contain aliens as many people believe, and the Government is hushing it up."
--Professor Stephen Hawking

"We must insist upon full access to disks recovered. For instance, in the LA case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination."
--J Edgar Hoover

"I don't laugh at people any more when they say they've seen UFOs. I've seen one myself!"
--President Jimmy Carter (1976)

"I looked out the window and saw this white light. It was zigzagging around. I went up to the pilot and said, Have you ever seen anything like that? He was shocked and he said, "Nope." And I said to him: "Let's follow it!" We followed it for several minutes. It was a bright white light. We followed it to Bakersfield, and all of a sudden to our utter amazement it went straight up into the heavens. When I got off the plane I told Nancy all about it."
--President Ronald Reagen

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the governments knowledge of extraterrestrial UFOs at this time. I am still personally being briefed on the subject!"
--President Richard M. Nixon

Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking

Tucson Weather Today

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Stephen Hawking

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More later today . . .