I Hereby Admit . . . I Am Fat

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

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.

_____

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:

_____

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.

_____

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

_____

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.

__________

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

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Tuesday 2/26/13

     

Tucson Weather Today


___________________________

HISTORICAL CLIP


On this day, February 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people died and 1,000 were injured by the powerful blast, which also caused the evacuation of thousands of people from the Twin Towers.

Investigators at the bomb scene found a section of a van frame that had been at the center of the blast. The van's vehicle identification number was still visible, leading detectives to the Ryder Rental Agency in Jersey City, New Jersey. Their records indicated that Mohammed Salameh had rented the van and reported it stolen on February 25.

Salameh was already in the FBI's database as a potential terrorist, so agents knew that they had probably found their man. Salameh compounded his mistake by insisting that Ryder return his $400 deposit. When he returned to collect it, the FBI arrested him. A search of his home and records led to two other suspects.

The wealth of evidence resulted in easy convictions, and each of the men was sentenced to 240 years in prison.

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was again attacked, when terrorists linked to Osama bin Ladin and al-Qaida hijacked and flew one jetliner into each tower. Within hours, both towers had collapsed, killing almost 3,000 people. A third jet was crashed into the Pentagon, killing almost two hundred people, including those on board the plane. A fourth hijacked jet, apparently bound for a second target in Washington, D.C., crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers -- aware of the attacks in New York and at the Pentagon -- attempted to wrest control of the plane from the hijackers. All aboard were killed.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

demarcation
noun
1. the act of establishing limits or boundaries
2. a limit or boundary
3. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms)
a.  a strict separation of the kinds of work performed by members of different trade unions
b.  (as modifier) demarcation dispute
4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) separation or distinction (often in the phrase line of demarcation)

_____

BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Jackie Gleason

 

 Born Feb. 26, 1916
Died June 24, 1987

John Herbert Gleason known professionally as 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.

Johnny Cash

 

 Born Feb. 26, 1932
Died Sept. 12, 2003

John R. "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 music icon, his songs and sound spanned other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—and blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice, for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for a rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which 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".

Much of Cash's music echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career. His 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".

Fats Domino

 

 Born Feb 26, 1928
Age:   84 years old

Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. Domino's first album, Carry on Rockin', was released under the Imperial imprint, No. 9009, in November 1955 and subsequently reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino in 1956.

Some of his notable hits were: Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday, I'm Walkin', Ain't That A Shame, When My Dreamboat Comes Home, Whole Lot Of Loving, Walking To New Orleans, and I Hear You Knocking.

William Frawley

 

 Born:  Feb. 26, 1887
Died  March 3, 1966

William Clement Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he is best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the situation comedy I Love Lucy, and "Bub" in the TV series My Three Sons.

__________

Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing.
--Horace