8/22/2014

     

Tucson Weather Today

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When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.
--Abraham Lincoln

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Did You Know . . .?

World War I ended at 11:00 on the morning of the 11th day in the 11th month of 1918.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 22 in 1992, in the second day of a standoff at Randy Weaver's remote northern Idaho cabin, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounded Randy Weaver, Kevin Harrison, and killed Weaver's wife, Vicki. Randy Weaver, a white separatist, had been targeted by the federal government after failing to appear in court to face charges related to his selling of two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) informant. On August 21, 1992, after a period of surveillance, U.S. marshals came upon Harrison; Weaver; Weaver's 14-year-old son, Sammy; and the family dog, Striker, on a road near the Weaver property. A marshal shot and killed the dog, prompting Sammy to fire at the marshal. In the ensuing gun battle, Sammy and U.S. Marshal Michael Degan were shot and killed. A tense standoff ensued, and on August 22 the FBI joined the marshals besieging Ruby Ridge. The controversial standoff spawned a nationwide debate on the use of force by federal law enforcement agencies, and a U.S. Senate panel accused the federal agencies involved of "substantial failures" in their handling of the Ruby Ridge operation.

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WORD FOR TODAY

loge  [lohj]
noun
1. (in a theater) the front section of the lowest balcony, separated from the back section by an aisle or railing or both.
2. a box in a theater or opera house.
3. any small enclosure; booth.
4. (in France) a cubicle for the confinement of art students during important examinations.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Steve Kroft

(born August 22, 1945)

Steve Kroft is an American journalist and a longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes.

Valerie Kathryn Harper

(born August 22, 1939)

Valerie Harper is an American actress known for her roles as Rhoda Morgenstern in the 1970s television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off, Rhoda, and later as Valerie Hogan in Valerie.

Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams

(born August 22, 1947)

Cindy Williams is an American actress known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of Shirley Feeney, and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.

Kristen Carroll Wiig

(born August 22, 1973)

Kristen Wiig is an American actress known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL, 2005–2012), and such films as Knocked Up, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Paul, Bridesmaids, Girl Most Likely, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. and the animated Despicable Me film series.

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You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
--Abraham Lincoln

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Right And Wrong

     

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Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.
--Isaac Asimov

Yesterday while researching some nearly unbelievable (but interesting) allegations, I read the following:

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has launched an independent expenditure ad charging Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) “voted to give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants.”

Read more:

Well, I did read more, but now I am still no wiser... and no longer interested.

Another statement I read somewhere on the Internet was:

"Today, more than half of the world's people -- more than 3.5 billion -- are city dwellers."

WOW!

And...

According to U.N. estimates, by 2050, a third of the world’s population will live not just in cities, but in slums.

LINK

Makes me wonder what the number of people living in slums will be in the year 2099.

Not that it will matter to me by then.

I'm curious though.


For the last few weeks I have been working on (thinking deeply about) a method for putting into cogent words my personal beliefs and opinions concerning religion, and about the difference, if any, between life and death. And whether or not a belief in the existence of God (or a god) has any real meaning beyond an imagined concept embedded within the human mind.

Sadly, I have not yet arrived at a satisfactory conclusion.

But I'm still working on it.


I am writing this small portion of the blog entry the night before I post it, during commercials of the 1973 version of the movie Serpico, played  by Al Pacino, who testified against a cruel cadre of corrupt cops. And so the composition will probably be a bit choppy in spots.

The movie following Serpico is Midnight Express, the harrowing story of a young American tourist arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Turkish authorities for trying to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of the country. If I don't get too sleepy I'll watch it.

Did I mention that I have become a movie buff?


Okay, it's the next morning now. I must reveal that last night's movie, Midnight Express, proved to be nothing more than an overly long expose of the brutality within the Turkish prison system. Of course there was more to the movie than I can admit to... such as that mysterious certainty of a lack of sensitivity to the scenes depicting inter-personal relationships between prisoners. But even this failure on my part has value. It reminds me that I am not an intellectual at all, but merely a confused, ignorant mortal attempting to fool myself into believing there is actually some meaning to my life, and the futile feeling that I am intelligent enough to recognize it.

Something like that.


An upcoming movie to be shown later in the week is From Here To Eternity.

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Did You Know . . .?

Statistics have shown that in 2013 only 53% of Americans attending college actually graduated.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official July 4, 1960. In March 1959, the U.S. government had approved statehood for Hawaii, and in June the Hawaiian people had voted by a wide majority to accept admittance into the United States. Two months later, Hawaii officially became the 50th state.

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WORD FOR TODAY

fungible [FUHN-juh-buhl]
adjective
1. able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility.
2. Law: (especially of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.
Synonyms
interchangeable, exchangeable, replaceable

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers

(born August 21, 1938)

Kenny Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, entrepreneur and author, and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Kim Victoria Cattrall

(born August 21, 1956)

Kim Cattrall is an English-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO romantic comedy series Sex and the City.

Harry Smith

(born August 21, 1951)

Harry Smith is an American television journalist, working for NBC News. He hosted the CBS News morning programs, The Early Show and its predecessor, CBS This Morning, for seventeen years. In July 2011, Smith left CBS News to become a correspondent for NBC News.

Joanne Froggatt

(born August 21, 1980)

Joanne Froggatt is an English actress of stage, television, and film, most notably appearing in Downton Abbey as Anna, Lady's Maid to Lady Mary Crawley.

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The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.
--Isaac Asimov

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Call The Police... Quick!

     

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Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
--Isaac Asimov


A teenager is fatally shot by a police officer; the police are accused of being bloodthirsty, trigger-happy murderers; riots erupt. This, we are led to believe, is the way of things in America.

Sunil Dutta, a professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has been an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 17 years. The views presented at the link below are his own and do not represent the LAPD.

He says, "I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me."

The situation in Ferguson, MO seems to be continuing. I really would rather not write about it, or about my opinion concerning it. I did, however, comment on the blog entry of a friend, over at  QUARKSCREW -- with less than pleasant results.

A link to the piece follows:

LINK

I am often amazed, after I've written it down, to discover what I honestly believe deep inside.

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Did You Know . . .?

A British grandmother finally met her American pen-pal nearly 70 years after she first put an ad in a New York newspaper looking for a long-distance friend when she was 15-years-old.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

ON THIS DAY IN 1975, Viking 1, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Mars. On June 19, 1976, the spacecraft entered into orbit around Mars and devoted the next month to imaging the Martian surface with the purpose of finding an appropriate landing site for its lander In September 1976, Viking 2--launched only three weeks after Viking 1--entered into orbit around Mars, where it assisted Viking 1 in imaging the surface and also sent down a lander. During the dual Viking missions, the two orbiters imaged the entire surface of Mars at a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and the two landers sent back more than 1,400 images of the planet's surface.

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WORD FOR TODAY

topography
noun
1. Detailed, precise description of a place or region.
2. Graphic representation of the surface features of a place or region on a map.
3. A description or an analysis of a structured entity.
4.
a. The surface features of a place or region.
b. The surface features of an object: The topography of a crystal.
5. The surveying of the features of a place or region.
6. The study or description of an anatomical region or part.

Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science comprising the study of surface shape and features of the Earth and other observable astronomical objects including planets, moons, and asteroids. It is also the description of such surface shapes and features (especially their depiction in maps). The topography of an area could also mean the surface shape and features themselves.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul

(born August 20, 1935)

Ron Paul is an American physician, author, and former Republican Party congressman, two-time Republican presidential candidate, and the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1988 U.S. Presidential Election.

Joan Allen

(born August 20, 1956)

Joan Allen is an American actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Nixon and The Crucible, and for Best Actress for The Contender. Her other films include Manhunter, Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, In Country, The Ice Storm, Face/Off, Pleasantville, The Notebook, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Death Race, and The Bourne Legacy.

Albert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr.

(born August 20, 1954)

Al Roker is an American television weather presenter, actor and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today.

Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich

(born August 20, 1946)

Connie Chung is an American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC.

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What is now proved was once only imagined.
--William Blake

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8-19-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?
--William Blake

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Did You Know . . .?

Egyptian queen Cleopatra was actually Greek.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1980, a fire aboard a plane bound for Saudi Arabia forced an emergency landing. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported a fire onboard the plane and told air-traffic controllers that he needed immediate clearance to head back to the airport. The fire started while passengers onboard were cooking with a portable butane stove. Apparently, this was not unusual, as Middle Eastern airlines are often willing to accommodate their Muslim passengers' needs to follow the strict dietary laws of their religion. The pilot was able to land the plane back at Riyadh safely and headed to the end of the runway where a rescue crew was waiting. The crew sprayed fire-fighting foam at the fire, but it was no match for the intense blaze. None of the 301 people onboard escaped the fire. It is still unclear why there were no survivors.

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WORD FOR TODAY

groin
noun
1. Anatomy: the fold or hollow on either side of the front of the body where the thigh joins the abdomen.
2. the general region of this fold or hollow.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton

 (born August 19, 1946)

Bill Clinton is an American politician who served from 1993 to 2001 as the 42nd President of the United States.

Matthew Langford Perry

(born August 19, 1969)

Matthew Perry is an actor with dual American and Canadian citizenship. He is well known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends.

John Phillip Stamos

(born August 19, 1963)

John Stamos is an American actor, singer and musician best known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House.

Jonathan Scott Frakes

(born August 19, 1952)

Jonathan Frakes is an American actor, author and director. Frakes is best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films.

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''The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.''
--William Blake

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8-18-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

"You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."
--Harlan Ellison

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Did You Know . . .?

The Empire State Building took 1 year and 45 days to build.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered that the systematic murder of the mentally ill and handicapped be brought to an end because of protests within Germany. In 1939, Dr. Viktor Brack, head of Hitler's Euthanasia Department, had overseen the creation of the T.4 program, which began as the systematic killing of children deemed mentally defective. The victims were either injected with lethal substances or were led to "showers" where the children sat as gas flooded the room through water pipes. The program was then expanded to adults. In 1941, Bishop Count Clemens von Galen denounced the euthanasia program from his pulpit. Hitler did not need such publicity. He ordered the program suspended, at least in Germany. But 50,000 people had already fallen victim to it. It would be revived in occupied Poland.

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WORD FOR TODAY

stentorian
adjective
very loud or powerful in sound
Word Origin
Stentor was a legendary Greek. herald in the Trojan War, whose voice (described in the Iliad) was as loud as 50 men.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Charles Robert Redford Jr.

(born August 18, 1936)

Robert Redford is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Academy Awards: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime Achievement in 2002.

Kaitlin Olson

(born August 18, 1975)

Kaitlin Olson is an American actress. She is best known for playing Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds in the television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Edward Harrison Norton

(born August 18, 1969)

Edward Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. Norton first came to prominence for his debut film role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear. This was followed two years later with a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he was awarded for his lead role as reformed white power skinhead Derek Vinyard in American History X. His other performances include The People vs. Larry Flynt, Everyone Says I Love You, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fight Club, 25th Hour, The Illusionist, Leaves of Grass, The Italian Job, and Kingdom of Heaven.

Elizabeth Chambers

(born August 18, 1982)

Elizabeth Chambers is an American model, television host/news reporter and actress. She is most known for her television work.

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"Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry..."
--Thomas Jefferson

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Guest Blogger 8/17/14

The Department Dissolves

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a bunch of people got laid off and more people got rearranged. As one among the rearrangees, I was unsure about my place of work, and my role there. I had questions I wasn't brave enough to ask, and some which would have been futile to voice.

I didn't know anything about my Manager except her name, and that someone I disliked thought she was fantastic.

Time passed, and the discord settled into a team. Disorganization became order, and camaraderie developed.

Then people got rearranged again. Still among the rearrangees, I was told I'd report to half a Manager. I wasn't sure about reporting to half a Manager. How was that going to work? Which half would I get? What if I wanted the other half instead?

With trepidation I stayed on board for this next journey, over seas rough with learning curves. My new half a Manager put in more time than some full Managers, and she tried very hard to do what was best for her people. Working relationships developed and I learned to speak her language (or she learned mine).

Today, we've been told that the department is dissolving. As of next Monday, my half a Manager won't be mine anymore, and the other fourteen people who report to her will mostly report elsewhere as well.

I don't know what I feel yet. It's a big change, and while it's not a total surprise (rearranging of departments happens fairly regularly here), it wasn't what I was expecting today. I'll have to wait and see, watch what happens and get a feel for my new hierarchy. Maybe it'll be better than it was before, and maybe it'll just be different. I'll keep you posted.


Copyright 2014 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/

   

8-16-14

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

"Success is relative: It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things."
--T.S. Eliot

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Did You Know . . .?

A 21-year-old man was posing with a gun for a selfie to post on his Facebook page and was tragically killed when the gun accidentally went off.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1977 popular music icon Elvis Presley died in Memphis, TN. He was 42. The death of the "King of Rock and Roll" brought legions of mourning fans to Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. Doctors said he died of a heart attack, likely brought on by his addiction to prescription barbiturates. He was buried on the grounds of Graceland, which continues to attract fans and has been turned into a highly successful tourist attraction.

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WORD FOR TODAY

inculcate 
verb
1. to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly; to inculcate virtue in the young.
2. to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling
Synonyms
instill, ingrain

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Kathie Lee Gifford

(born August 16, 1953)

Kathie Lee Gifford is an American television host, best known for her 15-year run (1985–2000) on the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin. On April 7, 2008, Gifford began co-hosting, the fourth hour of Today alongside Hoda Kotb.

Julie Newmar

(born August 16, 1933)

Julie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles, she is perhaps best known for playing Catwoman in the 1960s Batman television series.

Lesley Ann Warren

(born 16 August 1946)

Leslie Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in films such as The Happiest Millionaire, Victor Victoria, Clue, Burglar, Cop, Color of Night and Secretary. She has also had roles in popular TV shows such as Mission: Impossible, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, and In Plain Sight.

Madonna Louise Ciccone

(born August 16, 1958)

Madonna is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and businesswoman. She achieved popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.

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"The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read."
--Benjamin Franklin

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