Labor Day 2014

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

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."

_____

Did You Know . . .?

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

_____

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.

_____

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.

_____

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.

__________

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

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

     

Labor Day 2012

Tucson Weather Today

_____

Today is Labor Day, an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates both the economic and the social contributions of workers.

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is celebrated with parties, parades and athletic events.

Labor Day Parade, Union Square, New York, 1882

_____

Is there a solution to the economic problems facing the United States of America? Of course there is. A simple solution.

STOP BEING STUPID!

Invalidate ALL the Tax Exemptions, most especially the self-proclaimed churches, of any and all denominations . All (meaning everybody) should be taxed at the highest rate available in the land, and the IRS should be charged to dutifully and rigorously collect every single penny due.

STOP BEING STUPID!

Corruption, greed, and downright fraud in government perpetrated by lobbyists, staff members, and myriad lackeys of elected government officials should be sought out and punished to the hilt. This would free up many millions (billions?) of dollars for use in government programs that will bring prosperity to the citizens that only a truly benevolent small government can provide to a free society.


Most of all . . .

STOP BEING STUPID!

_____

WORD FOR TODAY


supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
a nonsense word popularized by the movie Mary Poppins  meaning fantastic.
adjective
used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or to represent the longest word in English.

_____

BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Charlie Sheen

Born Sept 3, 1965
Age: 46 years old

Charlie Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estevez) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as Platoon (1986), The Wraith (1986), Wall Street (1987), Major League (1989), Hot Shots! (1991), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Scary Movie 3 (2003), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). On television, Sheen is known for his roles on Spin City, Two and a Half Men, and Anger Management. In 2010, Sheen was the highest paid actor on television and earned US$1.8 million per episode of Two and a Half Men.

Charlie Sheen was fired from his role on Two and a Half Men by CBS and Warner Bros. on March 7, 2011.

Alan Ladd

Born Sept 3, 1913
Died Jan 29, 1964

Alan Walbridge Ladd was an American film actor who was one of the most popular and well known celebrities of his time. Some of his more famous films were:Whispering Smith, The Great Gatsby, Before The Mast, and Shane.

Kitty Carlisle

 Born Sept 3, 1910
Died Apr 17, 2007

Kitty Carlisle was an American singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She also served 20 years on the New York State Council on the Arts plus in 1991, she received the National Medal of Arts from President George H. W. Bush.


__________

A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.
--Raymond Chandler