Bytes

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Those We Lost in 2018, continued

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Presidents George Bush, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter assembled with First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, and Rosalynn Carter to rededicate the Gerald Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Just before their formal portrait was taken, President Bush gave the old "rabbits ears" to his wife Barbara.

Barbara Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) –

First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 as the wife of George H. W. Bush, who served as the 41st President of the United States, and founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

As Barbara Pierce, she met George Bush at the age of sixteen, and the two married in Rye, New York in 1945, while he was on leave during his deployment as a Naval officer in World War II. They moved to Texas in 1948, where George later began his political career.

During her husband’s time as President and beyond, she was a passionate advocate for literacy, believing that true equality required everyone to be able to read and write.

She died of complications from congestive heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BTW:

Barbara Bush is one of only two women in American history who can be called First Lady and First Mother. The only other woman to have been the wife and mother of presidents was Abigail Adams, whose husband, John, was the second president, and her son John Quincy Adams was the sixth.

George and Barbara Bush wedding, New York, Jan. 6, 1945.

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Harry Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) –

American actor, comedian, and magician.

Anderson is best known for the lead role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series Night Court, and later starred in the sitcom Dave's World from 1993 to 1997.

In addition to eight appearances on Saturday Night Live between 1981 and 1985, Anderson had a recurring guest role as con man Harry "The Hat" Gittes on Cheers, toured extensively as a magician, and did several magic/comedy shows for broadcast, including Harry Anderson's Sideshow (1987). He played Richie Tozier in the 1990 miniseries It, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

In late January 2018, Anderson had a bout of influenza, and subsequently suffered several strokes. On April 16, 2018, Anderson died in his sleep aged 65 of a stroke due to influenza and heart disease.

BTW:

Anderson was drawn to magic when young. After moving to Los Angeles at age 16, he practised his skills often. He joined the Dante Magic Club in his teens and reportedly made money as a street magician in San Francisco when he was 17. He attended Buena Park High School before graduating from North Hollywood High School in 1970 as class valedictorian. From 1971 to 1976 he lived in Ashland, Oregon, performing magic and working with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

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Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) –

American actor, voice actor and Marine corps drill instructor.

Ermey achieved fame when he played Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ermey was also a United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant.

Ermey was often typecast in authority figure roles, and hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various military issues both modern and historic; and Lock n' Load with R. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He also hosted GunnyTime on the Outdoor Channel.

Ermey died from complications related to pneumonia on April 15, 2018 aged 74.

BTW:

R. Lee Ermey went to director Stanley Kubrick and asked for the role of Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann. In his opinion, the actors on the set were not up to snuff. When Kubrick declined, Ermey barked an order for Kubrick to stand up when he was spoken to, and the director instinctively obeyed. Ermey got the role.

Ermey was initially hired as a consultant for the Marine Corps boot camp portion of the film, having been a Drill instructor and boot camp sergeant in the Marines. Whilst working on the film, he performed a demonstration on videotape in which he yelled obscene insults and abuse for 15 minutes without stopping, repeating himself or even flinching - despite being continuously pelted with tennis balls and oranges. Stanley Kubrick was so impressed that he cast Ermey as Hartman.

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May 8, 1964: Linda Brown Smith standing in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kansas, the school which refuised her admission.

Linda Carol Brown (February 20, 1943 – March 25, 2018) –

Campaigner for equality in education.

As a schoolgirl in 1954, Brown became the center of the landmark United States civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education. Brown was in third grade at the time, and sought to enroll at Sumner School in Topeka, Kansas. Her admission was denied based on her skin color. Her lawsuit against segregation in elementary schools was ultimately successful and the resulting Supreme Court precedent overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine which had been previously established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Brown became an educator and civil rights advocate.

She died on March 25 2018 aged 75. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

BTW:

Brown’s was one of a number of families involved in the landmark case but her name was first alphabetically, hence the name Brown v Board of Education. Although Brown was refused admission to an all-white school in her neighbourhood in 1950, by the time the case was decided in 1954 she was already in junior school and too old to attend the school that had refused her. That year, in a unanimous decision, the court ruled that segregated schools were inherently unequal. The decision upended decades’ worth of educational practice, in the South and elsewhere, and its ramifications are still being felt.

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Stephen Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) –

English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author.

Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, in 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

In 1963, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (MND; also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis "ALS" or Lou Gehrig's disease) that gradually paralysed him over the decades. Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.

He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76, after battling the disease for more than 50 years.

BTW:

In addition to his many books for adults, Hawking wrote several children’s books with his daughter, Lucy, that combine science and adventure.

These books all focus on a young boy named George, who learns about the universe by traveling around it. In the most recent one, George and the Blue Moon, George enters a Mars training program, “fighting for survival in what feels like the Hunger Games set on the red planet,” according to Hawking’s own description.

Yes, Hawking knew about the Hunger Games, as well as a few other things the kids are into these days. When asked about the significance of Zayn Malik leaving the band One Direction, he replied: “One day there may well be proof of multiple universes … and in that universe Zayn is still in One Direction.”

https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-stephen-hawking

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Freddie Oversteegen, at right in 1945

Freddie Nanda Dekker-Oversteegen (6 September 1925 – 5 September 2018) –

Dutch communist resistance member during the occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Oversteegen experienced a series of heart attacks towards the end of her life. She died on 5 September 2018 in a nursing home in Driehuis, one day before her ninety-third birthday.

From:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/where-arent-they-now-25-overlooked-deaths-2018-pt.-2/

Growing up in Holland during Germany's invasion and occupation of the country proved inconvenient for teenager Freddie Oversteegen, so she joined the Dutch resistance. She helped sabotage bridges with explosives, smuggle Jewish children out of camps and the country while disguised, and even just straight up shot and killed Nazis as they roared through on their bikes.

But Freddie didn't think these Nazis were suffering enough. She and fellow female resistance fighters would head to the taverns that Nazis would frequent, flirt and ask the soldiers if they wanted to "go for a stroll in the forest," then shoot them dead once they got somewhere isolated. Or as Freddie would say in her own words, she "liquidated" them.

Did we mention that she was 14 at the time?

Friday, January 4, 2019

Quote for the Day

Funny Friday

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Welcome to the first Funny Friday of 2019, dear Byters.

Having watched the New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world, it occurred to me that international humour would be a good theme. Some of the following are reposts but, where repeated, they are oldies but goodies, much like my fater in law Noel who celebrated his 92nd birthday yesterday and who takes the Funny Friday to Woden Plaza each Friday to spread the jokes with his friends. Onya Nelly.

Caution: Risque content and non PC humour follows . . .

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Chinese:

China is the first country to have landed a space craft on the dark side of the moon.

A Chinese spokesman said, "This is a giant reap for Pink Froyd."

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Irish:

A customer approaches the shop assistant and asks "In what aisle would I find the Irish sausage?"

The assistant asks, "Are you Irish?"

The guy, clearly offended, says, "Yes I am. But let me ask you something. If I had asked for Italian sausage, would you ask me if I was Italian?

Or if I had asked for German Bratwurst, would you ask me if I was German?

Or if I asked for a kosher hot dog would you ask me if I was Jewish?

Or if I had asked for a Taco, would you ask if I was Mexican?

Or if I asked for Polish sausage, would you ask if I was Polish?"

The assistant says, "No, I probably wouldn't."

The guy says, "Well then, just because I asked for Irish sausage, why did you ask me if I'm Irish?"

The assistant replied, "Because this is Bunnings."

An Irishman and an Englishman walk into a bakery. The Englishman steals 3 buns and puts them into his pockets and leaves. He says to the Irishman, "That took great skill and guile to steal those buns. The owner didn't even see me."

The Irishman replied, "That's just simple thievery, I'll show you how to do it the honest way and get the same results."

The Irishman then proceeded to call out the owner of the bakery and says, "Sir, I want to show you a magic trick." The owner was intrigued so he came over to see the magic trick.

The Irishman asked him for a bun and then he proceeded to eat it. He asked 2 more times and after eating them again the owner says, "Okay my friend, where's the magic trick?".

The Irishman then said, "Look in the Englishman's pockets."

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Polish:

The only cow in a small town in Poland stopped giving milk. The people did some research and found that they could buy a cow from Moscow for 2000 rubles, or one from Minsk for 1000 rubles. Being frugal, they bought the cow from Minsk.

The cow was wonderful. It produced lots of milk all the time, and the people were amazed and very happy. They decided to acquire a bull to mate with the cow and produce more cows like it. Then they would never have to worry about the milk supply again.

They bought the bull and put it in the pasture with their beloved cow.

However, whenever the bull came close to the cow, the cow would move away. No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he could not succeed in his quest. The people were very upset and decided to ask the rabbi, who was very wise, what to do. They told the rabbi what was happening; "Whenever the bull approaches our cow, she moves away. If he approached from the back , she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. An approach from the side and she just walks away to the other side." The rabbi thought about this for a minute and asked, "Did you buy this cow from Minsk?" The people were dumbfounded. They had never mentioned where they have gotten the cow. "You are truly wise rabbi. How did you know we got the cow from Minsk?"

The rabbi answered sadly, "My wife is from Minsk."

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Japanese:

A woman was very distraught at the fact that she had not had a date or any sex in quite some time. She was afraid she might have something wrong with her, so she decided to employ the medical expertise of a sex therapist.

Her doctor recommended that she go and see Dr Yoshi, the well-known Japanese sex therapist. So she went to see him and upon entering the examination room, Dr Yoshi said “Prease take off all your crose.” So she did.

Dr Yoshi then said, “Prease face window, bend over.”

So she did.

Dr Yoshi looked at her from various angles and eventually said “ See probrem, prease put on crose. Your problem vewy bad, you haf Ed Zachary Disease, worse case I ever see, that why you not haf sex or dates.”

Confused the woman asked “'What is Ed Zachary Disease?'

Dr Yoshi replied “It when your face rook Ed Zachary rike your arse.”

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American/Jewish:

The first Jewish President is elected.

He calls his Mother: "Mama, I've won the elections, you've got to come to the swearing-in ceremony."

"I don't know, what would I wear?"

"Don't worry, I'll send you a dressmaker."

"But I only eat kosher food!"

"Mama, I'm gonna be the President, I can get you kosher food..."

"But how will I get there?"

"I'll send a limo, just come, alright?"

"Ach, okay, if it makes you happy.”

The day comes and Mama is seated between the Supreme Court Justices and the future Cabinet members. She nudges the man on her right. "You see that boy, the one with his hand on the Bible? His brother's a doctor."

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Australian:

Col and Frank were drovers who had come to town for a beer. At the bar, Col got into conversation with another man and said “So what do you do for a living?” The man replied “I’m a taxidermist. I stuff animals.”

“Do you stuff sheep?” Col asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you stuff kangaroos?”

“All the time.”

“What about dogs?”

“Yes, often.”

Later, Frank asked Col “What is he then?”

Col replied “He says he’s a taxi bloke but I reckon he’s a drover like us.”

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New Zealand:

An Australian ventriloquist visiting New Zealand walks into a small village and sees a local sitting on his porch patting his dog.

He figures he'll have a little fun, so he says to the Kiwi: "G'day, mind if I talk to your dog?"

Villager: "The dog doesn't talk, you stupid Aussie."

Ventriloquist: "Hello dog, how's it going mate?"

Dog: "Yeah, doin' all right."

Kiwi: (look of extreme shock)

Ventriloquist: "Is this villager your owner?" (pointing at the villager)

Dog: "Yep."

Ventriloquist: "How does he treat you?"

Dog: "Yeah, real good. He walks me twice a day, feeds me great food and takes me to the lake once a week to play."

Kiwi: (look of utter disbelief)

Ventriloquist: "Mind if I talk to your horse?"

Kiwi: "Uh, the horse doesn't talk either....I think."

Ventriloquist: "Hey horse, how's it going?"

Horse: "Cool"

Kiwi: (absolutely dumbfounded.

Ventriloquist: "Is this your owner?" (pointing at the villager)

Horse: "Yep."

Ventriloquist: “How does he treat you?”

Horse: "Pretty good, thanks for asking. He rides me regularly, brushes me down often and keeps me in the barn to protect me from the elements."

Kiwi: (total look of amazement).

Ventriloquist: "Mind if I talk to your sheep?"

Kiwi: (in a panic) " Don't believe a word he says, that sheep's a bloody liar. . . "

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Thai:

An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a Hawaiian and an Alaskan), an Argentinean, a Dane, an Australian, a Slovak, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, a Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, a Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, a Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, a Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, an Iranian, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Syrian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Canadian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Jamaican, a Filipino, a Ukrainian, a Dutchman, a Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 2 Africans walk into a fine restaurant.

"I'm sorry" says the maître d', after scrutinising the group. "But you can't come in here without a Thai".

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Gallery:

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Corn Corner:

Sri Lankan:

Q: What do you call an Indian standing on one leg?

A: Balan Singh

Mexican:

Q: What does a Mexican put under his carpet?

A: Underlay! Underlay!

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Thought for the Day

Those We Lost in 2018, continued

Richard Benjamin Harrison Jr. (March 4, 1941 – June 25, 2018) -

American businessman and reality television personality.

Harrison is best known as the co-owner of the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, as featured on the History Channel series Pawn Stars. Harrison was the co-owner of the pawn shop with his son Rick Harrison. They opened the store together in 1989.

Harrison was usually referred to by his nickname, "The Old Man", which he earned at the age of 38.

Harrison's family was poor, and to make money, Harrison drove a school bus when he was 14, parking the bus at his house every night, and getting up early in the morning to pick up the schoolchildren, for which he was paid five or six dollars a week.

When he was 17, Harrison attended a barn dance, where he met his future wife, Joanne Rhue, the daughter of Joseph Rhue, a county judge. They married in 1960. Before they married, however, Harrison stole a car and was given a choice by the judge to go to prison or the military. Harrison chose the latter and remained in the navy for 20 years. During his naval service he lent money, took goods as security and for sale, plus ran card games for commission.

After his naval service, Harrison and his wife started a real estate business which was unsuccessful. A later pawn shop venture with his son Rick did prove successful and in 2009 formed the basis of the History Channel show Pan Stars. That show went to the top of the ratings and the shop itself became a much visited tourist attraction. Harrison was depicted as a gruff np-nonsense hard negotiator. Whether he has gone upstairs or downstairs, I have no doubt has argued the terms and conditions of entry.

Harrison was aged 77 at his death from Parkinson’s Disease.

BTW:

During his naval service he lent money to other sailors, charging them interest. He also took goods as security for loans, bought goods for resale and ran card games for commission.
https://www.nickiswift.com/127090/the-untold-truth-of-richard-harrison/sl/

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Dame June Rosemary Whitfield DBE (11 November 1925 – 28 December 2018) –

English radio, television and film actress.

Whitfield’s breakthrough role was a lead in the radio comedy Take It from Here from 1953. Television soon followed, including appearances with Tony Hancock throughout his television career. In 1966, Whitfield played the leading role in the television sitcom Beggar My Neighbour which ran for three series. She also appeared in four Carry On films: Nurse (1959), Abroad (1972), Girls (1973) and Columbus (1992).

In 1968 June Whitfield and Terry Scott began their long television partnership, which peaked with roles as husband and wife in Happy Ever After (1974–78) and Terry and June (1979–87). From 1992 Whitfield appeared in Jennifer Saunders's sitcom Absolutely Fabulous playing Edina Monsoon's mother. She played a regular character in Last of the Summer Wine as well as a recurring character in The Green Green Grass. She also played Agatha Christie's Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4 between 1993 and 2001.

Whitfield died on 28 December 2018, aged 93.

BTW:

She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama. She was awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama and Entertainment in London, England. Commenting on her damehood, she said “It's amazing and a great honour and the icing on the cake of life. I never in a million years thought I would become a dame. I've met some of the other dames and it's absolutely wonderful to join the club.”
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925930/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia

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Tom Wolfe (March 2, 1930[a] – May 14, 2018) –

American author and journalist.

Wolfe was widely known for his association with New Journalism, a style of news writing and journalism developed in the 1960s and 1970s that incorporated literary techniques.

Wolfe began his career as a regional newspaper reporter in the 1950s, achieving national prominence in the 1960s following the publication of such best-selling books as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (a highly experimental account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters) and two collections of articles and essays, Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby. In 1979, he published the influential book The Right Stuff about the Mercury Seven astronauts, which was made into a 1983 film of the same name directed by Philip Kaufman. His first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, published in 1987, was met with critical acclaim and also became a commercial success. It was adapted as a major motion picture of the same name directed by Brian De Palma.

Wolfe died from an infection in Manhattan on May 14, 2018, at the age of 88

BTW:

The historian Meredith Hindley credits Wolfe with introducing the terms "statusphere", "the right stuff", "radical chic", "the Me Decade" and "good ol' boy" into the English lexicon. His term for extremely thin women in his novel The Bonfire of the Vanities was "X-rays".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe

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Margot Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) –

Canadian-American actress and activist.

Kidder’s career spanned over five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Award. Though she appeared in an array of films and television, Kidder is most widely known for her performance as Lois Lane in the Superman film series.

By the late 1980s, Kidder's career began to slow. In 1996, she had a highly publicized manic episode and nervous breakdown. By the 2000s, she maintained steady work in independent films and television, with guest-starring roles on Smallville, Brothers & Sisters and The L Word. In 2015, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance on the children's television series R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. She also acted in theatrical productions, most notably appearing on Broadway in a 2002 production of The Vagina Monologues.

In 2005, Kidder became a naturalised U.S. citizen. She was an outspoken political, environmental and anti-war activist.

She died at her home in May 2018 in Livingston, Montana, aged 69, in what was later ruled a suicide by alcohol and drug overdose.

BTW:

Although born in Yellowknife, the road that is named Lois Lane in Yellowknife is actually named after a long time Yellowknife resident Lois Little and not after her character in the movies.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452288/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia

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Larry Harvey (January 11, 1948 – April 28, 2018) –

American artist, philanthropist and activist.

Harvey was the main co-founder of the Burning Man event, along with his friend Jerry James.

Burning Man started in 1986 as a summer solstice evening ritual burning of the artistic creation of an effigy of a man with a group of just a dozen people at San Francisco's Baker Beach. It soon became an annual event that over four years grew to more than 800 people. In 1990, in collaboration with the SF Cacophony Society, the event moved to Labor Day weekend in the Black Rock Desert, where it has grown rapidly from a three-day, 80-person "zone trip" to an eight-day event with 70,000 participants.

Harvey died on April 28, 2018 from a massive stroke he suffered earlier in the month. He was 70 years old.

BTW:

Burning Seed, the Oz equivalent of Burning Man, is held every October in the Matong State Forest, located about an hour west of Wagga Wagga, NSW. It is about 500 kilometres from Sydney. Dates for 2019: Sept 25 – Oct 2.

http://burningseed.com/about/what/

First Burning Seed effigy, 2010

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Verne Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) –

American actor, comedian, and stunt performer.

Troyer is best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series.

He was notable for having been only 81 cm (2 ft 8 in) tall, the result of cartilage–hair hypoplasia;this made him one of the shortest men in the world.

On April 21, 2018, Troyer died at the age of 49 from alcohol poisoning. His death was later ruled a suicide.

BTW:

"We grew up Amish, but my parents left the religion when I was a child. The Amish have lots of rules and my dad thought many people in the faith were hypocritical because they’d tell others not to do something and then do it themselves.

I almost died as a baby. My parents found me unresponsive in my crib, after being laid low with an infection. As we were Amish, we only had a horse and buggy [carriage] to get to the hospital, but that wasn’t going to be quick enough so we borrowed my aunt’s car. My parents were told there was nothing that could be done and Dad whisked me away to another hospital, where I was put in an oxygen tent, and thankfully I recovered.

My parents taught me to be optimistic and independent. They made me feel that I could do anything I set my mind to, which has really helped me. They didn’t make allowances for me because of my height. I had to do everything my brother and sister had to do, including raising our animal menagerie that included cows and chickens.

All my family is average-sized, apart from me. I didn’t really think about my size until I got older, a few years before high school. It had never really fazed me that much. I never got much trouble off other kids either, although there was one incident in third grade where a kid who was much taller than me called me the M-word [midget], which is very offensive. So without even thinking, I just jumped in the air and punched him in the nose. He never bothered me again."

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/16/verne-troyer-my-family-valueshttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/16/verne-troyer-my-family-values

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Thought for the Day

Readers Write

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Vale Charles:

In the Oz part of the post Those We Lost in 2019 I included my friend Charles. The following emails commented.

From Deb, beloved wife of Charles:

Thank you so much for this. He is in stellar company.
Love to you and yours, and may 2019 bring us more joy than sorrow.
Love,
Deb.

Thank you Deb, but it is the others who are in stellar company.

Robyn T also commented:

I was immensely saddened to learn from Leo about Charles and your inclusion of him in a recent Bytes was most poignant.

As did Shirley G:

Thanks for the Bytes – as always and for so many years now the ritual for starting each working day - a cup of coffee and the day’s Bytes. I wonder how many Byters are out there?
I hope you’ve had a good 2018 with happy family times.
I was very moved to see Charles Xuereb in your Byte of people who have died this year. He was a very good man.

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Merry Christmas:

From Tim B:

And a safe and Happy Christmas and New Year to you and your family Otto.

Thanks Tim.

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Dutch Christmas:

Prior to Christmas I posted some comments about what is was like for my brothers and I growing up at Christmas in a Dutch household:

You kids who grew up in Oz had it easy compared to my brothers and I. We came from Holland, where Santa Claus is known as Sinterklaas, the inspiration for today’s Santa. He too wears red, has a white beard and traditionally arrives in Holland in December by boat from Spain. He then travels on a horse from house to house before Christmas, leaving gifts for children. The little Dutch children leave their shoes beside the chimney filled with straw and a carrot for Sinterklaas’s horse. The next morning when the children awake they find that the straw and carrot are gone, replaced by a present and/or candy. Cute, sure.

But this is where it becomes really creepy.

Sinterklaas has an offsider named Zwarte Piet, meaning Black Pete. He is black with curly hair and red lipstick (I kid you not) and carries a big sack. It’s his job to check which children have been good and which have been bad. The good receive lollies and gifts, the bad get stuffed into the sack and taken away to Spain. Children taken to Spain would be returned the following year if they had been good for that year. A sort of Sinter parole. If the kidnapping of little children isn’t enough, Zwarte Piet traditionally also carried a collection of birch branches for punishing naughty children.

Diane M, a friend from Holland who used to live in Oz, sent me an email where she commented:

Hi Otto
I thought that your card was done by someone very creative.
In regards to Sinterklaas, so true and so scary, I used to hide under the kitchen table.
It’s not done so scary today but still, as I attend the celebrations at our primary school, I see so many children who`ve had sleepless, scary nights, so you see the tradition still lives on through Mums and Dads or brothers and sisters.
Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year.

Thanks Diane.

Tobye P from the US also commented on that aspect, as well as on father in law Noel convincing his four infant daughters that what Santa really appreciated when he visited on Christmas Eve, and therefore would engender a lot more goodwill for them, was a glass of red wine. Not surprisingly, it was always empty in the morning. Noel also convinced his daughters that a glass should be left out for the Easter Bunny. Tobye's comments:

“the Rambo version of Santa”. HAR! Good one, and I’m sure too true.
I love Noel’s red wine gambit-what a card-thanks for sharing.
Speaking of cards-the Death Star is perfect.
Merry Christmas! Tobye

Thanks, Tobye.

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Oz Christmas:

Byter David B in England commented on my observations of Christmas in Oz that rather than being snow and sleighs, Christmas Day here is one of the hottest days of the year . . .

Your Bytes on the Australian Christmas reminds me of an occasion about ten years ago when I was still working at Jodrell Bank Observatory. Some equipment that had been supplied to us from Parkes Observatory in NSW broke down on Christmas Eve. My oppo, Christine, and I struggled out through a blizzard to try and fix but couldn't see what was wrong. "Well", said Christine, "Bruce said we could ring him anytime we had a problem, so let’s try him". We put the call through to Australia and Bruce was perfectly affable when we explained the problem. "That is easy enough to fix. Just let me tend the barbie and make sure someone is watching the kids in the pool, then I'll sort it." A few minutes later he talked us through the fix and we went back out into the blizzard glowing with a little bit of Australian sunshine. :-)

Thanks, David, you have described a typically Australian Christmas.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2019

Happy New Year to Byters and readers.

May it bring peace, joy and contentment.

Quote for the Day

“The Year” (1910)

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of the year.

Brett's Monthly: January 2019

It’s that time of the month, indeed in this case the year, when Brett B from the US (to distinguish from Brett B of Oz, a friend and subscriber) sends his list of the coming month’s bizarre and unique holidays. Thanks, as always, Brett.

The lists appear below, click on the daily ones to expand.

By the way #1 . . .

The first two in the list, for January 1, are obvious – Hangover Day and New Year’s Day. I feel there should be a third for January 1 called Pain in the Arse Day (or, for those in the US, Pain in the Ass Day), when we are allowed to strike those people who continue making comments shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve (and for the rest of the day) such as “This is the first drink I have had all year”, “This is the first phone call I have received all year”, '"I haven't seen you since last year. . .

By the way#2 . . .

The day for January 2 – Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes day – reminded me immediately of the discussion about that phrase in the superb film Twelve Angry Men:

Juror 12:

“. . . in an ad agency when a point like this is reached in a meeting, there's always some character ready with an idea, see. It kills me. It's the weirdest thing, the way they sometimes precede their idea with a phrase. Like, some account exec will get up and he'll say: ‘OK, here's an idea. Let's... run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it.’ I mean, it's idiotic, but it's funny.”

When the above comment is made, it is slightly forced, contrived.

Later in the film, more casually and natural, Juror 12 says:

“If nobody else has an idea, I might have a cutie here. Let's throw it out and see if the cat licks it up.

“The cat licks it up? “

“Yeah. The boy . . . “

Lists:

Month: