Curiosity

     

Tucson Weather Today

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We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
--Walt Disney

Over the last few weeks I have been asking a randomly selected group of people, some acquaintances and some strangers, a series of questions, not all at one time but just a single question here and  there. I wanted to see how much a scattering of individuals know about somewhat trivial things.

Here is one of those questions: "In what country is Lisbon located?"

Believe it or not, of the approximately twenty individuals queried, not one of them could name the country. Most guessed Spain.

Do you know?

Answer: Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal.

I have asked a few other question but don't yet have a large enough sampling of any one of them to write about.

As I travel through life I seem to grow curiouser and curiouser.

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Did You Know . . .?

Every year there are as few as two gun-related homicides in Japan. Almost all types of guns are illegal for personal use.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1966, Charles Whitman took a stockpile of guns and ammunition to the observatory platform atop a 300-foot tower at the University of Texas and proceeded to shoot 46 people, killing 14 and wounding 31. A fifteenth died in 2001 because of his injuries. Whitman, who had killed both his wife and mother the night before, was eventually shot to death after courageous Austin police officers, including Ramiro Martinez, charged up the stairs of the tower to subdue the attacker.

The University of Texas tower remained closed for 25 years before reopening in 1999.

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WORD FOR TODAY

trenchant  [TREN-chunt]
adjective
1. incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting: trenchant wit.
2. vigorous; effective; energetic: a trenchant policy of political reform.
3. clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Max Carver

(born August 1, 1988)

Max Caver is an American actor best known for his role as Preston Scavo in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives and was one of the stars of Teen Wolf on MTV along with his twin brother, Charlie Carver. Max and Charlie now both star on the new HBO series The Leftovers.

Tempestt Bledsoe

(born August 1, 1973)

Tempestt Bledsoe is an American actress. She is best known for her childhood role as Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise

(Aug 1, 1933 - May 4, 2009)

Dom DeLuise was an American actor, comedian,, chef, and author. He starred in a number of movies directed by Mel Brooks, in a series of films with career-long best friend Burt Reynolds, and as a voice actor in various animated films by Don Bluth.

Valery Milagros Ortiz

(born August 1, 1984)

Valery Ortiz is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, songwriter & author who is known for her role as Madison Duarte on the television series South of Nowhere.

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I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

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Dry Desert Storm

     

Tucson Weather Today

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The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
--Albert Einstein

Yesterday at 3:30 P.M. as I prepared to watch Jeopardy, a strange noise caught my attention. I glanced out the back window and saw the tree limbs being violently hurled about in a continuous gale of wind, and the desert sand just outside the fence was being blown horizontally in a miniature storm.

I ran to the bedroom to get my camera but by the time I got back outside the storm had faded into normal hot, dry sunshine. The only damage I could see was an overturned flower pot... which Eva sniffed at and snuffled sufficiently to ease her curiosity.

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Mountains In The Mist

6 A.M. 7/25/14  Tucson, AZ

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Did You Know . . .?

In 1880, the Queen of Thailand drowned even though her subjects were present at the time. Her subjects were forbidden to touch the queen.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 2000, an Air France Concorde jet crashed upon takeoff in Paris killing everyone onboard as well as four people on the ground. The Concorde, the world's fastest commercial jet, had enjoyed an exemplary safety record up to that point, with no crashes in the plane's 31-year history. The Concorde fleet was grounded in the wake of this disaster while the cause was investigated. Concorde jets went back into service in November 2001, but a series of minor problems prompted both Air France and British Airways to end Concorde service permanently in October 2003.

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WORD FOR TODAY

curiosity
noun
1. the desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness.
2. a curious, rare, or novel thing.
3. a strange, curious, or interesting quality.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc

(born July 25, 1967)

Matt LeBlanc is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcom, Friends and its spin-off Joey.

Estelle Getty

(July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008)

Estelle Getty was an American actress, who appeared in film, television, and theatre. She was best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992.

Barbara Harris

(born July 25, 1935)

Barbara Harris is an American actress who was a Broadway stage star and later became a movie actress. She appeared in such movies as A Thousand Clowns, Plaza Suite, Nashville, Family Plot, Freaky Friday, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Grosse Pointe Blank.

Tera Patrick

(born July 25, 1976)
PHOTO REMOVED

Tera Patrick is a former American actress.

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Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
--Zora Neale Hurston

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