Success Is . . .

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Since about 1954 or '55 when I was a Freshman or Sophomore in High School (can't remember which) I have entertained the possibility  of someday becoming a successful writer. This came about because of the encouragement I was given by an English Literature teacher (Mr. Pabst). I figured that all the praise for my handed-in stories he gave me must amount to something. so I began to write and submit stories to popular magazines. With no success.

Several years later, after I was married and my wife and I had four children, I began to study writing and to write more seriously, and eventually I began to sell some poems, anecdotes, and a couple of fiction stories. But they were few and far between, extremely far between. So, after the first faint flush of success had worn off under the pressing needs and necessities of passing time, I came to realize that I was not a 'writer' but merely an imaginative working man who enjoyed dabbling in words, sentences, paragraphs, and all that hi-faluin' composin' stuff.

But I read a lot. A LOT. And I kept on writing, but not usually for publication.

After the computer revolution, I discovered a means of writing stories and storing them in digital form. Then came personal Websites, and Online Magazines... and Blogs.

So now I find myself at age 74, writing occasional stories and storing them on a website with my own domain-name, and entering personal thoughts (almost every day) into my daily blog.

But... know what? I still haven't given up. I still see myself as one day becoming a well-known author of respected novels.

Don't that beat all?

I will stop indulging in such dreams one of these days But probably not until I am dead and gone.


My thoughts have now shifted to another writer. He was once (I think) a good friend of mine; he was a 'cyber-friend' and we had never met face-to-face, but I recognized him many years ago as being a potentially great thinker, artistic writer, and talented poet. His writing surpassed mine in quality to an unbelievable degree.

But the fickle vicissitudes and unexplainable accidents so familiar to all of us, we frail human creatures, unexpectedly attacked him with a vengeance and visited upon him more than he could bear, and eventually weighed him down and down, until he finally gave up -- stopped writing.

I, not being him, can only guess as to why this was his choice.

But I wish he would march himself out to the end of the high-board, pause and stand poised there for a time, and then just heedlessly dive right in... and begin again.

That's what I wish.


Abraham Lincoln reportedly said: "Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."

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TRIVIA

The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 7 in 1947, Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completed a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents.

While Heyerdahl's work was never embraced by most scholars, he remained a popular public figure and was voted "Norwegian of the Century" in his homeland. He died at age 87 on April 18, 2002, in Italy. The raft from his famous 1947 expedition is housed at the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo, Norway.

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WORD FOR TODAY

auspices [aw-spis-ees']
noun
1. patronage, support, or sponsorship.
2. a favorable sign.
3. arranged or encouraged by (a society etc). This exhibition is being held under the auspices of the Arts Council.

auspicious [[aw-spish'-ehs]
adjective
giving hope of success. You haven't made a very auspicious start to your new job.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Charlize Theron

(born 7 August 1975)

Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress and fashion model. She rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in the films The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron received critical acclaim for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003),

David William Duchovny

(born August 7, 1960)

David Duchovny is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for playing Fox Mulder on The X-Files and Hank Moody on Californication, both of which have earned him Golden Globe awards.

Margaret Emily "Maggie" Wheeler

(born August 7, 1961)

Maggie Wheeler is an American actress, best known for her role as Janice on the TV show Friends. She appeared on the hit comedy Seinfeld in the episode "The Fix-Up", as one of Elaine's friends who is set up with George. She has appeared in many other TV programs, including Drake & Josh, ER, The X Files, The War at Home, Will & Grace, Jack and Jill, How I Met Your Mother and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Wayne Eliot Knight

(born August 7, 1955)

Wayne Knight is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld. His other prominent roles include Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park, Stan Podolak in Space Jam, Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2, Tantor in Tarzan, Don Orville in 3rd Rock from the Sun, Zack Mallozzi in Rat Race, Mr. Blik in Catscratch, and Haskell Lutz in The Exes. He also appeared in JFK, Dead Again, To Die For, and Dirty Dancing.

__________

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
--Winston Churchill

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Charity Is Willingly Given From The Heart

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

There is a constant barrage of charities soliciting money by way of radio, television, the Internet, and via the telephone. Some of them actually pass on some or all of the donated funds to the group they represent. One must be vigilant in checking out the validity of the solicitor to whom you send money.

Sometimes a donation to a small organization goes further, does more good, and brings more satisfaction to the donor than a gift to the larger solicitors.

I first saw the advertisement for Youth On Their Own (YOTO) while walking past a sign  at a city bus stop here in Tucson. Youth On Their Own supports the high school graduation and continued success of homeless youth by providing financial assistance, basic human needs and guidance.

Homeless youth ages 13-21 need school supplies, too! Did you know there are nearly 4,000 homeless youth in Tucson and Pima County? Arizona ranks number 1 in the country for percentage of kids dropping out of high school.

Last year, YOTO served over 1100 homeless youth and 254 seniors celebrated a 96% graduation rate. This represents a 60% increase in the number of students we served from the year before. We fully expect to serve the same number of students – perhaps more – in this upcoming school year. Help the homeless youth in our community graduate by participating in YOTO’s Back to School Challenge.

Youth On Their Own

1660 N. Alvernon Way

Tucson, AZ 85712

520.293.1136

This is a worthy organization doing worthwhile work.

Read more at the YOTO website


If I won the lottery I'd start a charity that helped little family hardware stores, cobblers, and fruit shops open in city centers.
--Alexei Sayle

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I ran across a website called The Awl and found an article written by Kenneth Goldsmith that at first appeared to be ridiculous, foolish, worthless. I read it anyway. Now I don't know if I have discovered a surprisingly profound piece of wisdom, or if I have once again been sucked into the ever-present maw of modern-day scam-art.

Here is the first paragraph:

I am a dumb writer, perhaps one of the dumbest that's ever lived. Whenever I have an idea, I question myself whether it is sufficiently dumb. I ask myself, is it possible that this, in any way, could be considered smart? If the answer is no, I proceed. I don't write anything new or original. I copy pre-existing texts and move information from one place to another. A child could do what I do, but wouldn't dare to for fear of being called stupid.

This piece is supposedly written by a writer about writing. I wonder . . .

Kenneth Goldsmith is an American poet. He is the founding editor of UbuWeb, teaches Poetics and Poetic Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Senior Editor of PennSound.  In 2013, he was appointed the Museum of Modern Art's first Poet Laureate.

Being Dumb by Kenneth Goldsmith

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TRIVIA

The king of hearts on playing cards is the only king without a moustache.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 6 in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the world's first atomic bomb, over the city of Hiroshima.

Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 were injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

There were 90,000 buildings in Hiroshima before the bomb was dropped; only 28,000 remained after the bombing. Of the city's 200 doctors before the explosion; only 20 were left alive or capable of working. There were 1,780 nurses before - only 150 remained who were able to tend to the sick and dying.

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WORD FOR TODAY

charity
noun
1. Provision of help or relief to the poor; alms giving.
2. Something given to help the needy; alms.
3. An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy.
4. Benevolence or generosity toward others or toward humanity.
5. Indulgence or forbearance in judging others.

Note: After her recent unmasking as the writer behind the pseudonym Robert Gailbraith and the crime novel "The Cuckoo's Calling," author J.K. Rowling announced on her birthday (July 31, 2013) that the worldwide publishing royalties from the book will be donated to The Soldiers' Charity, a British charity that provides support for soldiers, former soldiers and their families.

I'd call that a true act of charity.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum

(Aug. 6, 1917 - July 1, 1997)

Robert Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer. Mitchum rose to prominence for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir style, and is considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s.

Lucille Désirée Ball

(Aug. 6, 1911 - April 26, 1989)

Lucille Ball was an American comedienne, model, film and television actress and studio executive. She was star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life with Lucy, and was one of the most popular and influential stars in the United States during her lifetime.

Andy Warhol

(Aug. 6, 1928 - Feb. 22, 1987)

Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s.

Soleil Moon Frye

(born August 6, 1976)

Soleil Moon Frye is an American actress, director and screenwriter. Frye began her career as a child actor at the age of 2. When she was 7 years old, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the sitcom Punky Brewster. The series, which debuted on NBC in September 1984, earned consistently low ratings but the Punky character was a hit with young children. After NBC canceled the series, it was picked up for the syndication market where it aired for an additional two seasons ending in 1988.

After the series ended, Frye continued her career in guest spots on television and supporting roles in films. She attended The New School during the late 1990s, and directed her first film, Wild Horses, in 1998. In 2000, she joined the cast of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as Roxie King, Sabrina Spellman's (Melissa Joan Hart) roommate and close friend. Frye remained with the series until its end in April 2003. She has since continued her acting career working mainly as a voice actor. Frye also voiced Aseefa in the animated series Planet Sheen.

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The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others.
--Homer

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

With Eternal Life, Nothing Is Certain But Taxes

   
August Is National Sandwich Month

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. Buffett is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and as the third wealthiest person in 2011. In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.

Warren Buffett said: "If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further. But I think that people at the high end -- people like myself -- should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it."

In my opinion, Warren Buffett is absolutely right.

Keep in mind, however, that I also believe that Henry David Thoreau was absolutely right when he said that "books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations." If I possess, tucked away somewhere within the cellular storage area of my brain -- in the matrix of my mnemonic-dependent memory -- the entire contents of all the books I have read in my lifetime, then I am certainly wealthy beyond all belief and imagination.

Me and Warren Buffett -- both of us wealthy in our own lights.

How 'bout that?

While reading from the rather rambling (often chaotic) chapters of Darren Greer's novel Still Life With June I came across a reference to being pissed off. And it struck me that pissed off was a strange way to indicate that the speaker is annoyed, nettled, miffed, riled, peeved, steamed, or displeased. What does 'pissed' have to do with anything? Where did the term come from?

I looked and looked, all over the Internet. The best ideas as to its origin came from a Random House website titled The Mavens' Word Of The Day. It did not answer my specific question, but it did offer some interesting conjectures.

Oh well . . .

You can't always get what  you want.

Now that pisses me off.

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TRIVIA

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 5, in 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln imposed the first United States federal income tax by signing the Revenue Act. Strapped for cash with which to pursue the Civil War, Lincoln and Congress agreed to impose a 3 percent tax on annual incomes over $800.

Congress repealed Lincoln's tax law in 1871, but in 1909 passed the 16th Amendment, which set in place the federal income-tax system used today. Congress ratified the 16th Amendment in 1913.

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WORD FOR TODAY

taxation
noun
1.
a. The act or practice of imposing taxes.
b. The fact of being taxed.
2. An assessed amount of tax.
3. Revenue gained from taxes.

A tax (from the Latin taxo; "rate") is a financial charge or other levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many administrative divisions. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labor equivalent.

According to Black's Law Dictionary, a tax is a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property owners to support the government."

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Neil Alden Armstrong

(Aug, 5, 1930 -Aug. 25, 2012)

Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon.

Loni Kaye Anderson

(born August 5, 1945)

Loni Anderson is an American actress who is known for having played the role of Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati and for playing Jayne Mansfield and Thelma Todd in television movies.

J. Wesley "Jesse" Williams

(born August 5, 1981)

Jesse Williams is an American actor and model, best known for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC Television series Grey's Anatomy. He also appeared as Lena's boyfriend Leo in the film sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. In 2012, he starred in the horror film The Cabin in the Woods.

Maureen Denise McCormick

(born August 5, 1956)

Maureen McCormick is an American actress, author and recording artist. She is most widely known for her career as a child actress, during which she portrayed Marcia Brady on ABC's The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.

__________

It is no more immoral to directly rob citizens than to slip indirect taxes into the price of goods that they cannot do without.
--Albert Camus

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Action Movies by Guest Blogger

   

Action Movies

I've lost the illusion of credibility in action movies.

Recovering from surgery, I have what I'd consider to be lots of free time. One of the things I'm doing, during this time when I cannot do anything (doctor's orders), is watching movies I've been wanting to watch, and re-watching old favorites.

Among them, the occasional action flick.

It's the climactic ending sequence. The good guy and the bad guy are locked in lethal embrace, perhaps rolling around in some convenient dirt. Our Hero has a wound; gunshot to the shoulder, broken leg, stab wound to the gut, something. (Oh, man, is that ever going to infect.)

During the height of the action, the bad guy (and this is how we know he's truly a bad guy and we aren't like him at all) punches, kicks, or bites Our Hero where he's already wounded.

Oh, my! We draw a collective breath and ache for our idol as he grimaces in pain. He might even yell (never scream, though, oh, no) but he never, ever stops fighting.

It's a gratifying look into how we wish we could handle our battles.

Yesterday, witnessing such a scene, I laughed. I know the producer, director, and assorted staff of the production weren't looking for that particular reaction, but I couldn't help it. As Our Hero winced in pain, I laughed.

Because now I see that most likely our hero would, in reality, be writhing on the ground in pain. Not a gentle wince, not a token yell, but flat-out on the ground rolling in agony. (The exception is, of course, a good kick in the groin, which always -- always -- puts even Our Hero on the ground.)

You see, I have a wound. (It's healing fine, thank you.) And I know, now, that given how even casual movement causes such lancing pain, I couldn't survive a purposeful punch. Still, even today, working on four weeks later, I'm not sure it wouldn't put me back in the hospital. Then, when it was fresh, I have no doubt I'd have curled up and died, right there. The villain would be standing over my body, laughing evilly, as he prepared to rule an uncontested world.

Because there's no way I could deal with such pain with a grimace. I know that people's pain thresholds are different, and Heroes necessarily come with a much higher one than mine, but still, they're human.

So when the villain punched Our Hero in the gunshot shoulder, I laughed. Perversely, even laughing hurt.


Copyright 2013 Michelle Hakala

http://www.winebird.com/

   

Rule # 1 - Change Your Eating Habits

     

Tucson Weather Today

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'Nuff Said?

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TRIVIA

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. Guess I had better take more naps.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On August 3, 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplished the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole. The world's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world. It then steamed on to Iceland, pioneering a new and shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.

After a career spanning 25 years and almost 500,000 miles steamed, the Nautilus was decommissioned on March 3, 1980. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, the world's first nuclear submarine went on exhibit in 1986 as the Historic Ship Nautilus at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.

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WORD FOR TODAY

carbohydrate
noun
Any of a class of organic compounds that are polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones, or change to such substances on simple chemical transformations, as hydrolysis, oxidation, or reduction, and that form the supporting tissues of plants and are important food for animals and people.

A carbohydrate is an organic compound comprising only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words, with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n (where m could be different from n). Some exceptions exist; for example, deoxyribose, a sugar component of DNA, has the empirical formula C5H10O4. Carbohydrates are technically hydrates of carbon; structurally it is more accurate to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.

Oh come on now...  The Downhome Dictionary says carbs are things in food that ain't proteins or fats and if you eat too many of them too often you get really fat.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Martin Sheen

(born August 3, 1940)

Martin Sheen (born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez ) is an American actor who achieved fame with roles in the films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979). Sheen has made notable appearances in films, including Wall Street (1987), Gettysburg (1993), The Departed (2006), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He has also appeared in television, notably as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing (1999–2006), and lent his voice as the Illusive Man in the Mass Effect video game trilogy.

Sheen is the father of four children (Emilio, Ramon, Carlos, known as Charlie Sheen, and Renee), all of whom are actors, as is younger brother Joe Estevez.

Martha Stewart

(born August 3, 1941)

Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra) is an American business magnate, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising, and electronic commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books and is the publisher of the Martha Stewart Living magazine, while her syndicated talk show, Martha, is broadcast internationally.

In 2004, Stewart was convicted of charges related to the ImClone insider trading affair and there was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire. She began a comeback campaign in 2005 and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairman of her namesake company again in 2012.

Tony Bennett

(born August 3, 1926)

Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is an Italian-American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, having created works—under the name Anthony Benedetto—that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City.

Raised in New York City, Bennett had his first number one popular song with "Because of You" in 1951. Several top hits such as "Rags to Riches" followed in the early 1950s. Bennett reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as The Beat of My Heart and Basie Swings, Bennett Sings. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".

Jay North

(born August 3, 1951)

Jay North is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.

__________

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
--Mark Twain

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

There Once Was A Writer . . .

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Edgar Dean Mitchell is an American pilot, retired Captain in the United States Navy and NASA astronaut. As the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Mitchell is remembered for saying, "In outer space you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, 'Look at that, you son of a bitch.'"

Mitchell has publicly expressed his opinions that he is "90 percent sure that many of the thousands of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, recorded since the 1940s, belong to visitors from other planets"

Of course, Mitchell's interests also include consciousness and paranormal phenomena. Buzz Aldrin once described a psychic communication experiment that Mitchell conducted during the Apollo 14 flight, wherein Mitchell attempted to transmit information to an observer on the ground. Aldrin stated that the experiment was a complete failure.

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While browsing through some of my earlier journal jottings I happened upon a line I had written back in January of 2010. I thought, Did I really write that? And I answered myself by affirming, Sure I did. I could still write meaningful memoranda at that time.

Revised just a bit, I wrote:

Weeds of religion and other superstitions flourish in the untilled soil of barren minds.
--Gene Chambers

That aphorism can be found toward the end of a journal entry listing some of my early published work.

Note: In modern usage an aphorism is generally understood to be a concise statement containing a subjective truth or observation cleverly and pithily written.

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TRIVIA

Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 2 in 1876 James Butler, known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, one of the greatest gunfighters of the American West, was murdered in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Hickok was only 39 years old when he died. The most famous gunfighter in the history of the West died with his Smith & Wesson revolver in his holster, never having seen his murderer. According to legend, Hickok held a pair of black aces and black eights when he died, a combination that has since been known as the Dead Man's Hand.

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WORD FOR TODAY

epitome [ih-pit-uh-mee]
noun
1. -  a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class: He is the epitome of goodness.
2. -  a condensed account, especially of a literary work; abstract.
synonyms 
embodiment, exemplification, model, quintessence.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Carroll O'Connor

(Aug. 2, 1924 - June 21, 2001)

Carroll O'Connor was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades. O'Connor first attracted attention as Major General Colt in the 1970 movie Kelly's Heroes. The following year he found fame as the bigoted working man Archie Bunker, the main character in the 1970s CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979 to 1983).

O'Connor later starred in the NBC/CBS television crime drama In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1995, where he played the role of southern Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played the father of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You.

Mary-Louise Parker

(born August 2, 1964)

Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress, best known for her lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin. Parker has appeared in films and series such as RED, RED 2, Fried Green Tomatoes, Boys on the Side, The West Wing, and Angels in America,

Joanna Cassidy

(born August 2, 1945)

Joanna Cassidy is an American film and television actress. She is known for her role as the replicant Zhora in Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner (1982). Cassidy also has starred in films such as Under Fire, The Fourth Protocol, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Package, Where the Heart Is and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Vampire in Brooklyn and Ghosts of Mars. From 2001 to 2005, she played Margaret Chenowith on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. From 2011 to 2013, she played Joan Hunt on the ABC series Body of Proof.

Donna Air

(born August 2, 1979)

Donna Air is an English television presenter and actress. She started her career age 10 on the hit BBC series CBBC Byker Grove, just over 20 years ago. She has also acted in many television dramas, most recently Hollyoaks and Hotel Babylon, BBC TV comedy Operation Good Guys, Catherine Cooksons six parter A Dinner of Herbs, and Lynda La Plante's Supply and Demand. Air appeared in the films Still Crazy (1998), The Mummy Returns, and Bad Day amongst others.

__________

In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.
--Alexis de Tocqueville

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Korean Space Research... WOW!

   

Tucson Weather Today

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NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Seung Jo Kim, met in Washington to discuss collaboration in aeronautics research and space exploration, including KARI's robotic lunar mission and NASA's asteroid initiative. This was the first meeting between Bolden and Kim.

"Our two agencies share a mutual interest in aeronautics research, and have identified opportunities for collaboration," said Bolden. "We also have partnered for several years in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group and are looking forward to continued discussions on potential cooperation in space exploration."

Bolden and Kim also discussed NASA's plans for a new asteroid initiative, previously announced in President Obama's fiscal year 2014 budget proposal. Kim welcomed the chance to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

NASA's asteroid initiative involves robotically capturing a small near-Earth asteroid and redirecting it safely to a stable lunar orbit where astronauts can explore it.

Capturing and redirecting an asteroid integrates the best of NASA's science, technology and human exploration capabilities and draws on the innovation of America's brightest scientists and engineers. The knowledge gained from the initiative will help us protect our planet, advance exploration capabilities and technologies for human spaceflight, and help us better utilize our space resources.

--From NASA Release 13-235, July 29, 2013

I don't understand what Korea can contribute to America's space endeavor. And I have found little regarding their value to NASA.

According to Wikipedia, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, high-altitude airships, and a next-generation multi-purpose helicopter project. In addition, several satellites, including the KOMPSAT (also known as Arirang) Seriese, the COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite), and the STSAT (Science and Technology Satellite), are developed, operated, or under development by KARI. On January 30, 2013, they launched a satellite into space from their own soil for the first time.

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A couple of interesting little factoids pertaining to today's date caught my attention.

On this day, August 1, back in 2001, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore had a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office. Christians just can't seem to accept the simple but absolutely necessary principle of separation of Church and State. They are almost as stubborn about that as are Moslems.

Also, on this day, August 1 in 1988, Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh began broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio program. I am listening to him right now on radio station KNST in Tucson.

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TRIVIA

The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

Charles Joseph Whitman was an engineering student and former United States Marine. On the afternoon of August 1, 1966 he killed seventeen people and wounded thirty-two others in a mass shooting rampage located in and around the Tower of the University of Texas in Austin. Three people were shot and killed inside the university's tower and eleven others were murdered after Whitman fired at random from the 28th-floor observation deck of the Main Building.

Prior to the shootings at the University of Texas, Whitman had murdered both his wife and mother in Austin.

Whitman was shot and killed by Austin Police Officer Houston McCoy.

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WORD FOR TODAY

transcendent  (tran-sen'-dunt)
adjective
1. Surpassing others; preeminent or supreme.
2. Lying beyond the ordinary range of perception.
3. (Philosophy)
a. Transcending the Aristotelian categories.
b. In Kant's theory of knowledge, being beyond the limits of experience and hence unknowable.
4. Being above and independent of the material universe. Used of the Deity.

In religion transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature and power which is wholly independent of (and removed from) the material universe. This is contrasted with immanence where God is fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways. In religious experience transcendence is a state of being that has overcome the limitations of physical existence and by some definitions has also become independent of it. This is typically manifested in prayer, seance, meditation, psychedelics and paranormal "visions".

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

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.

Note: A few years ago, I saw Tempestt Bledsoe sitting outside her room on the VIP floor of the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World. She smiled at me as I walked by and gave me a little wave. A guy tends to remember little things like that.

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia

(Aug. 1, 1942 - Aug. 9, 1995) 

Jerry Garcia was an American musician who was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead.

Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions, and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995

In 1987, ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's came out with Cherry Garcia (my favorite ice cream flavor) which is named after the guitarist and consists of "cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes"

Dominick "Dom" DeLuise

(Aug. 1, 1933 - May 4, 2009)

Dom DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the father of actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise, actor David DeLuise, and actor Michael DeLuise. 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.

William Clark

(Aug. 1, 1770 - Sept. 1, 1838)

William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri. Clark was a planter and slaveholder.

Along with Meriwether Lewis, Clark led the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803 to 1806 across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean, and claimed the Pacific Northwest for the United States. Afterward, he served as governor of the Missouri Territory. From 1822 until his death in 1838, he served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs.

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Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.
--William S. Burroughs

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This Is Who I Am