REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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DECEMBER 7, 1941

A Date Which Will Live In Infamy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ON DECEMBER SEVEN IN 1941 . . .
I WAS 2 YEARS AND 7 MONTHS OLD

PEARL HARBOR DAY

On this day in 1941 at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II.

The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and declared, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." After a brief and forceful speech, he asked Congress to approve a resolution recognizing the state of war between the United States and Japan.

The Senate voted for war against Japan by 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 388 to 1. The sole dissenter was Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a devout pacifist who had also cast a dissenting vote against the U.S. entrance into World War I.

The American contribution to the successful Allied war effort spanned four long years and cost more than 400,000 American lives.

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WORD FOR TODAY

patriotism
noun
Devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty.

Patriotism is generally cultural attachment to one's homeland or devotion to one's country, although interpretations of the term vary with context, geography and philosophy. It is a related sentiment to nationalism.
--Wikipedia

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Did You Know . . .?

Ralph Lauren's original name was Ralph Lifshitz

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Larry Joe Bird
(born December 7, 1956)

Larry Bird is an American former professional basketball player and coach and the current team president of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times.

He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards.

Priscilla Barnes
(born December 7, 1955)

Priscilla Barnes is an American actress known for her role as nurse Terri Alden on the American television sitcom Three's Company, having been made the permanent replacement for Suzanne Somers. Barnes subsequently made appearances in films such as A Vacation in Hell, the James Bond thriller Licence to Kill, the Kevin Smith comedy Mallrats and the horror film The Devil's Rejects.

Avram Noam Chomsky
(born December 7, 1928)

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political commentator and activist. Sometimes described as the "father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy. He has spent most of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is currently Professor Emeritus, and has authored over 100 books. He has been described as a prominent cultural figure, and was voted the "world's top public intellectual" in a 2005 poll.

Christa Campbell
(born December 7, 1972)

Christa Campbell is an American actress and producer. Campbell is best known for her roles in 2001 Maniacs, Mozart and the Whale, Lonely Hearts, The Wicker Man, Cleaner, Day of the Dead (2008 film), Lies & Illusions, The Mechanic, Drive Angry, Straight A’s, The Big Wedding, and The Iceman.

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Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.
--George Bernard Shaw

This Is Who I Am

    

Brrrr!

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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It's cold this morning. I don't know if the temperature got down to the thirty degree mark that Erin, the Tucson Weather Girl said it was going to or not... Well, I just left the keyboard long enough to run in and check what Erin says this morning: the temperature at this time is only 34 degrees.

But, yes,that's cold enough to suit me. Eva is wanting to go out but I am going to try to convince her to wait a little longer, at least until the sunlight shines over the mountaintops. At least for another half hour or so.

"What? You have to go? Oh, O.K. then... Come on...."

Woo Hoo! I'm back inside. The pool deck thermometer reads 34 degrees. Bright Venus is high overhead, The brightest (and onliest)light in the sky at this time of morning -- at daybreak.

Note: The Traffic Lady reports that it's smooth sailing both East and West through Tucson on Interstate 10.

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Did You Know . . .?

A fysigunkus is a person devoid of curiosity.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1933, a federal judge ruled that Ulysses by James Joyce is not obscene. The book had been banned immediately in both the United States and England when it came out in 1922. Three years earlier, its serialization in an American review had been cut short by the U.S. Post Office for the same reason. Fortunately, one of James' supporters, Sylvia Beach, owner of the bookstore Shakespeare and Co. in Paris, published the novel herself in 1922.

Ulysses, with its radical stream-of-consciousness narrative, deeply influenced the development of the modern novel.

Joyce's final novel, Finnegans Wake, was published in 1939, and Joyce died in 1941.

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WORD FOR TODAY

censorship [senn'-suhr-ship]
noun
The act, process, or practice of censoring.

Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet or other controlling body.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Gina Hecht
(born December 6, 1953)

Gina Hecht is an American actress. Her big break came in 1979 when she was hired for a role on the successful TV series Mork & Mindy. Her first film role was in the 1982 Ron Howard movie Night Shift, alongside Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton.

Lindsay Jaylyn Price
(born December 6, 1976)

Lindsay Price is an American television actress and singer who was born to a father of German and Irish descent and a mother of Korean descent, best known for her roles as Janet Sosna on Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Victory Ford on Lipstick Jungle. She also is known for her work on soap operas such as All My Children and The Bold and the Beautiful.

Dulce María
(born December 6, 1985)

Dulce Maria is a Mexican actress, singer, and songwriter. In October 2009 she signed a contract with Universal Music and recorded a solo album Extranjera, with its first part released in November 2010, and the second part in the summer of 2011.

Margaret JoBeth Williams
(born December 6, 1948)

JoBeth Williams is an American film, television and stage actress and director. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as Stir Crazy (1980), Poltergeist (1982), The Big Chill (1983), The Day After (1983), Teachers (1984) and Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986).

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Stopping leaks is a new form of censorship.
--Julian Assange

This Is Who I Am

    

Food, Weather, Etc.

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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The Thanksgiving leftovers are no more. Monday and Tuesday saw the demise of the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. Yesterday the green peas and about a pint of Organic Vegetable Stock became additional ingredients in some semi-homemade vegetable soup I threw together. The only thing left now is some turkey but it's been frozen so it will keep until it once again becomes a tempting sandwich treat.

The temperature dropped down into the forties and it has been raining all night. I can still hear a light spattering on the roof when I am standing below one of the skylights. According to Erin, the TV weather girl, there are freeze warnings for tonight.

It's about another hour before daylight but Eva is anxious to get out there. If we wait just a short while longer I think the rain will let up. Then she can get on with doing her business and get in a short burst of laps around the pool.

Eva Doing Laps Around The Pool Yesterday

 

 

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Did You Know . . .?

A man of African descent named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was the first permanent resident of Chicago.

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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.

Prohibition, failing fully to enforce sobriety and costing billions, rapidly lost popular support. Even 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

inebriated
adjective
Exhilarated or stupefied by or as if by alcohol; intoxicated.

From Wikipedia:
Alcohol intoxication (also known as drunkenness or inebriation) is a physiological state induced by the consumption of alcohol.

Intoxication is the consequence of alcohol entering the bloodstream faster than it can be metabolized by the liver. Some effects of alcohol intoxication (such as euphoria and lowered social inhibitions) are central to alcohol's desirability as a beverage and its history as the world's most widespread recreational drug. Despite this widespread use and alcohol's legality in most countries, many medical sources tend to describe any level of alcohol intoxication as a form of poisoning,

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney
(Dec 5, 1901 - Dec 15, 1966)

Walt Disney was an American business magnate, animator, cartoonist, producer, director, screenwriter, entrepreneur, and voice actor. A major figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as an international icon, and philanthropist, well known for his influence and contributions to the field of entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he, along with his brother Roy O. Disney, co-founded the Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world.

The corporation is now known as The Walt Disney Company and had an annual revenue of approximately US$36 billion in the 2010 financial year.

Amy Louise Acker
(born December 5, 1976)

Amy Acker is an American actress. She has played roles on the television series Angel as Winifred Burkle and Illyria, and on Alias as Kelly Peyton. She also portrayed Dr. Claire Saunders on Dollhouse and Samantha "Root" Groves on Person of Interest.

George Armstrong Custer
(Dec 5, 1839 - June 25, 1876)

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. He was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class.

After the Civil War, Custer was dispatched to the west to fight in the Indian Wars. His disastrous final battle overshadowed his prior achievements. Custer and all the men with him were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of Native American tribes in a battle that has come to be popularly known in American history as "Custer's Last Stand."

Jessica Paré
(born December 5, 1980)

Jessica Paré is a Canadian film and television actress. She appeared in the films Stardom (2000), Lost and Delirious (2001), Wicker Park (2004), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), and co-starred in the vampire horror-comedy Suck (2009). She stars as Megan Draper on the AMC television series Mad Men.

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It's useless to hold a person to anything he says while he's in love, drunk, or running for office.
--Shirley MacLaine

The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication.
--Aristotle

This Is Who I Am
    
 

Storms Heading Toward Eastern States

    

Tucson Weather Today
 

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I was late posting today's entry. The reason is that I spent most of the early morning outside on the pool deck with Eva, looking up at the changing December sky. Then, after coming back inside, I watched the CBS morning news happenings.

I enjoyed the outside time the most.

Early Morning Storm Clouds Over The Catalinas

 

 

 

 

A While Later - Storm Clouds Moving East

 

 

 

 

Even Later - Storm Clouds Still Moving East

 

 

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Did You Know . . .?

85% of Earth's plant life is found in the ocean.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1872. the Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spotted the Mary Celeste, an  American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard. Captain Morehouse and his men boarded the ship to find it abandoned. However, the ship was in good order, the cargo intact, and reserves of food and water remained on board.

The last entry in the captain's log shows that the Mary Celeste had been nine days and 500 miles away from where the ship was found by the Dei Gratia. Apparently, the Mary Celeste had been drifting toward Genoa on her intended course for 11 days with no one at the wheel to guide her. Captain Briggs, his family, and the crew of the vessel were never found.

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WORD FOR TODAY
weather
noun
1. The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure.
2.
  a. Adverse or destructive atmospheric conditions, such as high winds or heavy rain: encountered weather five miles out to sea.
  b. The unpleasant or destructive effects of such atmospheric conditions: protected the house from the weather.
3. weathers Changes of fortune: had known him in many weathers.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Marisa Tomei
(born December 4, 1964)

Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film, and television actress. Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987. After appearing in a few films, her breakthrough came in 1992 with the comedy My Cousin Vinny.

Appearing in many films over the past fifteen years, her most commercially successful films to date are What Women Want (2000), Anger Management (2003), and Wild Hogs (2007). She received critical acclaim for her performances in Unhook the Stars (1996), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), in In the Bedroom (2001) and The Wrestler (2008).

Jeffrey Leons "Jeff" Bridges
(born December 4, 1949)

Jeff Bridges is an American actor and producer. He comes from a well-known acting family and began his televised acting in 1958 as a child with his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau, on television's Sea Hunt. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart and earned Academy Award nominations for his roles in The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman, The Contender, and True Grit. Among his other major films are: The Big Lebowski, Fearless, Iron Man, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Jagged Edge, Against All Odds, The Fisher King, Seabiscuit, Arlington Road, Tron and Tron: Legacy.

 

Tyra Lynne Banks
(born December 4, 1973)

Tyra Banks is an American television personality, television producer, author, actress and former model. She first became famous as a model, appearing twice on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and working for Victoria's Secret as one of their original Angels. Banks is the creator and host of the UPN/The CW reality television show America's Next Top Model, co-creator of True Beauty, and was the host of her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

 

Brooke Adams
(born February 8, 1949)

Brooke Adams is an American actress. After playing roles in television and low-budget films, Adams appeared in Days of Heaven (1978) and the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). She has also starred in the films Cuba (1979), The Dead Zone (1983), Key Exchange (1985), and Gas Food Lodging (1992).

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Weather forecast for tonight: dark.
--George Carlin

This Is Who I Am

    

Veganism, Etc.

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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I did not get out to take pictures yesterday because a sudden pain in my right thigh-hip bone joint appeared and I thought it best to wait until it got better before putting any strain upon it.

And no, it is not merely an imaginary ailment to postpone getting out and getting active.

Really, it isn't.

In fact, it feels much better this morning.

Of course, it's still early.

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The Washington Post reported that former vice president Al Gore has gone vegan. It is unclear why Gore, one of the nation's most visible climate activists, has given up dairy, poultry and meat products. People usually become vegan for environmental, health or ethical reasons, or a combination of these three factors.

Wikipedia states: A 2009 review of recent studies indicated that vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and phytochemicals, and lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12. Well-planned vegan diets appear to offer protection against certain degenerative conditions, including heart disease, and are regarded by the American Dietetic Association, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and Dietitians of Canada as appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle. Because uncontaminated plant foods do not provide vitamin B12 (which is produced by microorganisms such as bacteria), researchers agree that vegans should eat B12-fortified foods or take a supplement.

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Did You Know . . .?

A bear has 42 teeth.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On December 3, 1967, 53-year-old Lewis Washkansky received the first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the revolutionary medical operation.

After Washkansky's surgery, he was given drugs to suppress his immune system and keep his body from rejecting the heart. These drugs also left him susceptible to sickness, however, and 18 days later he died from double pneumonia. Despite the setback, Washkansky's new heart had functioned normally until his death.

In the 1970s, the development of better anti-rejection drugs made transplantation more viable. Dr. Barnard continued to perform heart transplant operations, and by the late 1970s many of his patients were living up to five years with their new hearts.

Successful heart transplant surgery continues to be performed today, but finding appropriate donors is extremely difficult.

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WORD FOR TODAY

veganism

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of veganism is known as a vegan.

The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet, but extend the vegan philosophy into other areas of their lives, and oppose the use of animals or animal products for any purpose

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

 

Julianne Moore
(born December 3, 1960)

Julianne Moore is a British–American actress and children's author. A prolific cinema actress since the early 1990s, Moore's career has involved both art house and Hollywood films. She began her career with a series of television roles.

Moore made her breakthrough with Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993), followed by critically acclaimed performances in Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), and Safe (1995). Starring roles in the blockbusters Nine Months (1995) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) established her as a leading Hollywood actress.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Moore earned Oscar nominations for Boogie Nights (1997), The End of the Affair (1999), Far from Heaven (2002), and The Hours (2002). Other notable film appearances include The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), Hannibal (2001), and Children of Men (2006).

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams
(Dec 3, 1927 – Sept 25, 2012)

Andy Williams was an American popular music singer. He recorded seventeen Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials. Most recently, he performed at his Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, which was named after the Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini song "Moon River", with which he is closely identified.

 

Daryl Christine Hannah
(born December 3, 1960)

Daryl Hannah is an American film actress. She is best known for her performances in the films Blade Runner, Splash, Roxanne, Wall Street, Steel Magnolias, and Kill Bill.

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne
(born December 3, 1948)

Ozzy Osbourne is an English rock vocalist, songwriter, and television personality. Osbourne rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the pioneering English band Black Sabbath, whose dark and heavy sound has often been cited as key to the development of the heavy metal genre. Osbourne left Black Sabbath in 1979 and has since had a successful solo career.

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"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

The Nuclear Age

    

Tucson Weather Today
 

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Once again I am with Eva and all the other desert creatures out here in the wilds outside the City Limits of Tucson and will be domiciled here for the next two weeks. While here I intend to get out in the scrub with my camera to search out and record images of some of the elusive critters hiding under the rocks and beneath other assorted bits of flotsam and jetsam.

Wish me luck.

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A QUICK TIP:

Careful editing is extremely important to the serious writer. I have found that out... the hard way. One must always be alert to catch the elusive typo, the one that SpellCheck will not recognize. An unnoticed slip of the thumb down onto the space bar at the exact wrong instant and 'therapist' becomes 'the rapist.'

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Did You Know . . .?

Unless food is mixed with saliva you can't taste it.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1942, Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist, directed and controlled the first nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, ushering in the nuclear age. Upon successful completion of the experiment, a coded message was transmitted to President Roosevelt: "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world."

Fermi immigrated to New York City -- Columbia University, specifically, where he recreated many of his experiments with Niels Bohr, the Danish-born physicist, who suggested the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction. Fermi and others saw the possible military applications of such an explosive power, and quickly composed a letter warning President Roosevelt of the perils of a German atomic bomb. The letter was signed and delivered to the president by Albert Einstein on October 11, 1939. The Manhattan Project, the American program to create its own atomic bomb, was the result.

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WORD FOR TODAY

nuclear  [noo-klee-uhr]
adjective
1. Biology Of, relating to, or forming a nucleus: a nuclear membrane.
2. Physics Of or relating to atomic nuclei: a nuclear chain reaction.
3. Using or derived from the energy of atomic nuclei: nuclear power.
4. Of, using, or possessing atomic or hydrogen bombs: nuclear war; nuclear nations.

Usage Note: The pronunciation (noo-kyu-luhr), which is generally considered incorrect, is an example of how a familiar phonological pattern can influence an unfamiliar one.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Britney Jean Spears
(born December 2, 1981)

Britney Spears is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. She performed acting roles in stage productions and television shows as a child before signing with Jive Records in 1997. Spears's first and second studio albums, ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), became international successes, with the former becoming the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist. Title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" broke international sales records. In 2001, Spears released her third album, Britney, and played the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth album, In the Zone (2003), which yielded the worldwide success "Toxic".

Julia Ann "Julie" Harris
(Dec 2, 1925 - Aug 24, 2013)

Julie Harris was an American stage, screen, and television actress. Her screen debut was in 1952, repeating her Broadway success as the monumentally lonely teenage girl Frankie in Carson McCullers' The Member of the Wedding. That same year, she won her first Best Actress Tony for originating the role of insouciant Sally Bowles in I Am a Camera, the stage version of Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin (later adapted as the musical Cabaret on Broadway in 1966 and, in the 1972 film, with Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles). Harris repeated her stage role in the film version of I Am a Camera (1955). She also appeared in such films as East of Eden (also 1955), with James Dean (with whom she became close friends), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), with Paul Newman in the private-detective film Harper (1966), and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967).

Lucy Alexis Liu
(born December 2, 1968)

Lucy Liu is an American actress, model, artist, and occasional film producer and director. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in television series Ally McBeal (1998–2002). Her film work includes starring as one of the heroines in Charlie's Angels, playing one of the enemies of The Bride in Kill Bill, and appearances in Payback, Chicago, and animated hit Kung Fu Panda.

Harry Reid
(Born: December 2, 1939)

Harry Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party serving since 1987. He has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip. As Senate Majority Leader and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reid has achieved a more senior elected position in the United States government than any other Mormon in history.

(My personal opinion: Harry Reid is a doddering old fool and too old for such a high position in government.)

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The greatest threat facing humanity is a radical Islamist regime meeting up with nuclear weapons.
--Benjamin Netanyahu

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

Dirt by Guest Blogger

     

Dirt

It's everywhere.

I can't keep the floor clean, walking around barefoot feels like I've spilled the sugar, and I have pebbles in my bed.

Demolition progressed at a rapid pace. The first day, most of the patio was removed and a trench begun. The leftover cement pieces looked like a dried up streambed, all chunks and tumble. The second day, the rest of the cement was removed, the trench completed, and the beginnings of the cement-pouring forms appeared. Yesterday, the forms were finished. Suddenly it's hurry-up-and-wait time as they can't pour cement until what they've already done is inspected and approved.

Currently, the backyard is a disaster. There's a miniature corral around our back door, in a room shape. The "fence" is about two feet high and sits on the trench. You'd think we were building a castle, complete with mini-moat.

The house is a disaster, too, as every trip outside for the dog (about six to eight a day) means a trip outside for us, too. And each time, dirt comes back in on all six feet.

Ready? Picture this: It's 2:00 am and the dog barks, once. That means he needs to go out. Oh, joy. Harry goes because he's more awake at 2. (Lucky boy.) Half asleep, in robe and boots, he opens the back door. The dog jumps down the three-foot drop into the corral. Harry follows. At the "fence," Harry picks Bounty up and carries him over the barrier. With January's chill prickling the skin of his bare legs, he waits for the dog to be done. When Bounty's done his duty, it's time to lift him back into the corral.

Except Bounty doesn't want to go back. He's now thoroughly awake and the pressure of urine is gone so he wants to play. As Harry tries to coax Bounty to come, the dog responds with play bows, butt in the air, happy grin on his face. Sometimes he comes close, then gallops off around the yard.

Eventually Harry wins and both dog and husband come back inside.

In the morning, dog and husband dirt tracks dot the hardwood floor.

And just like trading off newborn baby chores, I think tonight it's my turn.


Copyright 2013 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/