Saturday, November 5, 2022

INTERESTING FACTS


--------oOo--------

The paternal grandmother of Donald Trump was Elizabeth Christ Trump (born Elisabeth Christ, 1880 – 1966) –

Elizabeth Christ

Frederick Christ Trump Snr (1905 – 1999) was the father of Donald Trump –

Frederick Christ Trump

In the midst of answering a question about the ongoing trade war with China on 21 August 2019, President Donald Trump turned from reporters, looked to the heavens and proclaimed, “I am the chosen one.”

(Days later, the President said in a string of Saturday tweets that reporters knew he “was kidding, being sarcastic, and just having fun.”)


But can he rise from being politically dead?

--------oOo--------

A baby has around 30,000 taste buds. They are not just on the tongue but also on the sides, back, and roof of the mouth.

Adults have about 10,000.

--------oOo--------

Pablo Picasso would often carry around a pistol loaded with blanks. He would fire it at people he found boring or anyone who insulted the Post-Impressionist painter, Paul Cézanne.


--------oOo--------


Ancient pagan cultures, such as the Celts, believed that benevolent and helpful spirits lived in trees. Knocking on tree trunks roused a spirit for protection, which led to the saying "knock on wood.

Also, if someone wanted help or a favour they would tell their wish to a tree and then touch the bark. This was the first “knock” and they would knock again to say thank you.

There are also some Christian references that indicate that knocking on wood has to do with the wood representing the cross or the rosary.

--------oOo--------

Hugging your cat has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, especially for people who are dealing with illness, depression, PTSD, and other ailments.

I’m not a cat person myself and tend more to the outlook in the book 101 Uses for a Dead Cat, such as . . .


--------oOo--------

The "O" before an Irish name, such as "O'Reilly," means "descendant of”, kjust as “Bin” ion names such as Osama bin Laden means “son of”. (Someone once suggested to me that “Laden” translated to “a bitch” but I have no verification of that).

--------oOo--------

There is a Statue of Liberty in Paris that faces the Statue of Liberty in America, showing friendship between the two countries.


--------oOo--------

Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners.

The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19th century, when it was carried by many stagecoaches carrying passengers and mail to various Australian goldfields, and later to many regional and remote areas of the Australian outback. The same name was used in New Zealand and Freeman Cobb used it in South Africa.

Chinese passengers leaving for the diggings by Cobb & Co. coach, Castlemaine, Victoria.

--------oOo--------

A pangram is a sentence that contains every letter in the language. For example, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

--------oOo--------

The Wizard of Oz's Full Name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. In the book, he explains that he called "myself O.Z., because the other initials were P-I-N-H-E-A-D."

--------oOo--------

In Poland’s Krzywy Las (“Crooked Forest”), about 400 pine trees grow crookedly with full 90-degree curves at their bases that bend towards the north. They are generally healthy despite the unnatural curves at their bases. While plenty of other anomalous trees around the world have been known to develop curves or other strange shapes, the trees in the Crooked Forest are different. They are smooth, not gnarled like other trees that are curved because they have suffered from a genetic mutation. Furthermore, of course, the Crooked Forest is unique because so many trees grow so strangely and in such a uniform way.


Although the cause is unknown, one explanation that makes sense is that the trees were manipulated when planted about 1930, bent as they were growing, so that the wood could be harvested and used for boat building. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the nearby town of Gryfino was destroyed and the farmers were not able to tend to the trees, abandoning them and leaving them to grow for the next several decades in their altered, crooked state.

--------oOo--------

Capitonyms are words which change their meaning if the first letter is capitalised. For example: Turkey (the country) and turkey (the bird).

--------oOo--------

Researchers from India recently discovered a new species of green pit vipers. The scientists named the newly-discovered snake Trimeresurus salazar after a Parselmouth (able to talk with serpents) wizard, co-founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the founder of the House of Slytherin — Salazar Slytherin, the fictional character of J.K. Rowling’s saga “Harry Potter”.

--------oOo--------

Canadians say “sorry” so much that a law was passed in 2009, The Apology Act, declaring that an apology can’t be used as evidence of admission to guilt.



--------oOo--------

In 2006, a Coca-Cola employee offered to sell Coca-Cola secrets to Pepsi. Pepsi responded by notifying Coca-Cola.

--------oOo--------

There were two Artificial Intelligence chatbots created by Facebook to talk to each other, but they were shut down after they started communicating in a language they made for themselves.

--------oOo--------

Astronaut is a compound word derived from the two Ancient Greek words “Astro,” meaning “star,” and “naut” meaning “sailor.” So astronaut literally means “star sailor.”

There is a sculpture of an astronaut pictured incorporated in the façade of the Cathedral of Salamanca, which was built from 1513 to 1733:


It has inspired some to posit support for the book “Chariots of the God? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past” by Erich von Daniken which says that ancient civilisations were given their technology and religions by ancient astronauts who were welcomed as Gods.

The truth is more mundane. The astronaut was incorporated into the “Puerta de Ramos” (Ramos Gate) during restoration works on the cathedral in 1992, ahead of an exhibition for the religious foundation “Edades de Hombre” in 1993. The astronaut was added by stonemason Miguel Romero to continue the tradition of incorporating a contemporary element with every restoration.



Friday, November 4, 2022

QUOTE FOR THE DAY


“An initial review of this morning’s incident has confirmed that an integrity issue with a containment fence enabled five lions to temporarily exit their main exhibit.”

-  Sydney Taronga Zoo statement after 5 lions managed to escape their enclosure.


Translation: There was a hole in the fence and they got out.





FUNNY FRIDAY

 -------☹😊☹-------

A mixed bag of humour this week, but hopefully all will inspire a laugh, a giggle or at least a smile . . . although some are groaners.

Enjoy the weekend, readers.

-------☹😊☹-------

SOME HUMOUR:
__________

A man is returning to his seat in the movie theater after visiting the toilets.

"Excuse me," he says to the lady sitting beside the aisle, "Did I step on your foot when I went out?"

"Yes you did," says the lady angrily.

"Oh good," says the man, "that means I'm in the right row."
__________

A racist, an anti-semite and a black man walk into a bar.

“What will Ye have?”
__________

A couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on my door. When I answered, they asked "May we come in and talk to you about Jehovah?"

I said sure and walked them to my living room. After sitting down, I said “Ok, what do you want to talk about?”

They replied, "We're not really sure sir, we haven't ever made it this far before."
__________

My local drug dealer started dressing up as a Jehovah's Witness so he wouldn't arouse suspicion.

He got arrested after the police saw people actually letting him in.
__________

-------☹😊☹-------


A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10,000,000.  His bookkeeper is deaf and dumb. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court.

When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language.

The Godfather tells the lawyer, - "Ask him where the money is!"

The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, “Where's the money?”

Guido signs back "I don't know what you are talking about."

The lawyer tells the Godfather "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."

The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head, and says "Ask him again or I'll kill him!"

The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him."

Guido trembles and signs, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house."

The Godfather asks the lawyer "What did he say?"

The lawyer replies "He says you don't have the guts to pull the trigger!"

-------☹😊☹-------


LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:

This one's for Tim B, who resides in the subject location of the limerick . . .

A lady from way down in Ga
Became quite a notable fa.
But she faded from view
With a quaint I O U
That she’d signed ‘(Miss) Lucrezia Ba’.

-------☹😊☹-------

GALLERY:






-------☹😊☹-------


CORN CORNER:
__________

What’s worse than a box full of snakes?

A box that was SUPPOSED to be full of snakes.
__________

If five ants rent a flat and then another five join them.

Are they tenants?
__________

I've just started reading a book in braille.

Something bad is about to happen, I can feel it.
__________

I just found out that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate Halloween.

I guess they don’t like random strangers showing up at their door.
__________

My wife left me because I am "ignorant" and "apathetic".

I don't know what that means and I don't care.
__________

What do rich people say when tickling their little kids?

Gucci, Gucci, Gucci.
__________

My wife has claimed I’m too obsessed with eighties music

I said to her “Don’t, don’t you want me?”
__________

Why did the Japanese name a car Datsun?

The Japanese built a new car but they could not agree on a name. They knew the Germans were really good at naming cars so they called them up on Friday and told them they need a name by Monday. The Germans said “Dat soon?!”

-------☹😊☹-------

 

Thursday, November 3, 2022

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 



LAST WORDS, FACT AND FICTION


--------oOo--------

Kurt Cobain
(1967-1994)

"It's better to burn out than to fade away.”

    - Final words, in his suicide note.

Kurt Cobain (1967 - 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, best-known as lead-guitarist and singer of the grunge-rock group Nirvana.

Cobain was quoting from Neil Young's 1979 song My My. Hey Hey:
My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

--------oOo--------


Steve Jobs
(1955–2011)

“Oh wow.”

Jobs' final words before his death were "Oh wow", repeated three times after a long last look at his family.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. His response was to ignore medical advice and to undergo a regime of alternative medical treatments. This path wasn't a successful one and he died at his Palo Alto home in October 2011.

--------oOo--------


King George V
(1865–1936)

“Bugger Bognor!”

Reputed to be the last words of King George V, being his response when his doctor told him he would soon be well and able to visit Bognor Regis again.

It has also been suggested that George V, a heavy smoker, in 1928 fell ill with a chest infection. He spent some time recuperating at Sir Arthur du Cros's house in the south-coast town of Bognor and, the story goes, when he was leaving the town he was petitioned to rename it Bognor Regis as a mark of his visit. He is supposed to have responded 'Bugger Bognor!"

It is unlikely they were his last words.

On the evening of 15 January 1936, the King took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Baldwin later said:
... each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.
By 20 January, he was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close."

Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that the King's last words, a mumbled "God damn you!", were addressed to his nurse, Catherine Black, when she gave him a sedative that night.

Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of euthanasia", admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life:
At about 11 o'clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded a brief final scene. Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein ... In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone.
Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve the King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that the King's death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper rather than "less appropriate ... evening journals". Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the Prince of Wales was consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson's actions. British Pathé announced the King's death the following day, in which he was described as "for each one of us, more than a King, a father of a great family".

At the procession to George's lying in state in Westminster Hall, the cross surmounting the Imperial State Crown atop George's coffin fell off and landed in the gutter as the cortège turned into New Palace Yard. The new king, George's eldest son Edward, saw it fall and wondered whether it was a bad omen for his new reign. Edward abdicated before the year was out, leaving Albert to ascend the throne as George VI.

--------oOo--------


John Lennon
(1940-1980)

“I'm shot. I’m shot.”

    - Repeated twice as he was shot outside his apartment building in New York.

The Beatles' huge fame in the 1960s drove them from performing on stage, where the audience's screams were so loud that they couldn't hear themselves play. Off stage, things were little different and no member of the group was able to appear in public without being mobbed.

Lennon was told by David Bowie that life might be easier for him in New York, where celebrities were more often left alone. In a BBC radio interview on 6th December 1980, Lennon made this remark about his move to the USA: "That's what finally made me stay here... Yes, you can walk on the street."

Two days later, and after firing his bodyguards, Lennon was shot in the street by Mark Chapman.

When the singer was leaving his apartment Chapman gave him an LP, which he duly signed (see photo above). When Lennon returned home later in the day, Chapman shot him four times in the back. Lennon staggered into the building, said "I'm shot" twice and collapsed.

Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life with a stipulation that mental health treatment would be provided. In 2000, Chapman became eligible for parole, which has since been denied 12 times. Chapman's thirteenth parole hearing is scheduled for February 2024. Under New York state law, he is required to have a parole hearing every two years.

--------oOo--------

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

QUOTE FOR THE DAY



“High high in the hills , high in a pine tree bed.She's tracing the wind with that old hand, counting the clouds with that old chant,
Three geese in a flock
one flew east
one flew west
one flew over the cuckoo's nest”

― Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

SIGNAGE


Steve M kindly sent me pics of Australian outback signs, thanks Steve . . .












. . . and some extra ones . . .









. . .and one final comment . . .
















Tuesday, November 1, 2022

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 


NOVEMBER


--------oOo--------

November is the eleventh month of the Gregorian calendar.

In the northern hemisphere, autumn is coming to an end, the last leaves are falling, and it’s getting quite cold out. In the southern hemisphere. temperatures are heating up with the beginning of summer just around the corner.

Some facts and trivia . . .

--------oOo--------

November’s name has remained unchanged since the ancient Roman calendar, which was in use until 45 BC. This first Roman calendar was only made up of ten months, with November being the ninth month. September meant seven, October meant eight, November meant nine and December meant ten – sept, oct, novem, decem.

When the Julian calendar was adopted in 45 BC two new months, January and February, were added, which pushed November back to the 11th month. Despite its change in position, November was never renamed.
__________

On November 19, 1978, the largest group suicide in history took place in Jonestown, Guyana. The group who took their lives were instructed so by Reverend Jim Jones, who was the leader of the suicide cult called the “People’s Temple”. Over 900 of the cult members drank a cyanide-laced drink, with those who refused being forced to consume it.

Jim Jones
__________

November is the last of the four months which have 30 days. The other months are September, April, and June.
__________

On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding along with his wife Jacqueline in a procession of cars. He was rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead at 1 pm that day. Kennedy was the fourth US president to be assassinated, after Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, and William McKinley.

My daughter, Acacia, recently visited Dallas and sent me some pics. I was surprised to see that there are X’s painted on the ground where the shots hit . . .


The Texas Book Depository, now turned into a museum . . . 



__________

The Anglo-Saxons had a fitting name for November. It’s usually at this time of the year in the northern hemisphere that cold winds start to chill to the bone, and as such, they called it “Wind Monath”, or wind month.

The Anglo-Saxons also called the month of November “Blod Monath”, or blood month. It gained this name as it was in November that they would traditionally slaughter cows to provide food for the long winter months.
__________

The fifth of November marks a historic day in the UK. On this day in 1605, a group of Roman Catholics plotted to blow up the English Parliament while King James I was inside. Fortunately, the plot was foiled. Every year festivities are held across the country to celebrate the group’s failure, which includes setting off countless fireworks, lighting bonfires, and even setting alight effigies of Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators.

__________

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday of November and has been celebrated since 1621. The first Thanksgiving was a feast celebrating the first bountiful harvest of the pilgrims of Plymouth and New England. It is still celebrated in a similar way, with families coming together and sharing plentiful amounts of food traditionally available during November.

Ron Cobb’s take on Thanksgiving
__________

The Full moon in November is traditionally called the Beaver Moon in the US. The tradition goes back to North America’s early colonial years, as it was during this time of year that hunters would set their beaver traps for the last time before the lakes and water sources they lived in froze over.
__________

November has just one birthstone, the radiant topaz. The topaz is symbolic of many things, but most of all it is a symbol of strength and honour. The ancient Greeks also believed that the stone had the ability to turn oneself invisible.

Common topaz in its natural state is colourless, though trace element impurities can make it pale blue or golden brown to yellow orange. Topaz is often treated with heat or radiation to make it a deep blue, reddish-orange, pale green, pink, or purple.

__________

November also only has one birth flower, the chrysanthemum. Different coloured chrysanthemums have different meanings though – a white flower symbolizes pure love and truth, a red flower says “I love you” while a yellow flower is a symbol of unrequited love.

In Australia, the chrysanthemum flower is often considered the official flower for Mother’s Day.

In Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania, France, Poland, Austria, and other parts of Europe, the chrysanthemum flower is used at funerals and as memorial flowers to honor the dead. In these places, the chrysanthemum is often associated with death.
__________

November 3, 1957, was a historic day for both Soviet Russia and the world. It was on this day that the first spacecraft carrying a live passenger was successfully launched into space. The passenger was Laika, a dog, an unassuming looking stray pooch who had been found on the streets of Moscow. The Soviets used stray dogs in their tests because they assumed that they would be used to the hunger and cold that they would inevitably experience in outer space.

No capacity for her recovery and survival was planned, and she died of overheating or suffocation hours into the flight. Little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, so Laika's survival was never expected.

Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002; instead, it was widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six or, as the Soviet government initially claimed, she was euthanised prior to oxygen depletion.

__________

The beginning of the end of the War of Independence began on November 30, 1782, when a provisional treaty was signed between the newly-formed United States of America and the Kingdom of Great Britain. The final treaty wasn’t completed and signed until nearly a year later in Paris on September 3, 1783.
__________

Some of the more notable people born in November include include Mark Twain, Leonardo DiCaprio, Winston Churchill, Kurt Vonnegut, and Scarlett Johansson.

Those born in November can be born under one of two very different star signs. If you’re born before November 23rd then you have the sign of Scorpio. Those born on November 23rd or later have the sign of Sagittarius. Scorpios are said to value trust and honesty above other things, as well as being quite intense yet imaginative people. Those born under the sign of Sagittarius are quite different, being energetic and idealistic, while also generous and open-minded.
__________


On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the consecration of the National Cemetery at the site of the Gettysburg battle. While Lincoln’s speech was just two minutes long it summed up everything important there is about democracy. Interestingly, Lincoln was in the middle of a minor bout of smallpox while he gave the speech, and looked drained and ghost-like.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

—Abraham Lincoln
Today, the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” is still regarded as the best definition of democracy.