Month: April 2023

28
Apr
2023

just FRIDAY

Today is St. Pierre-Chanel Day, a public holiday in the territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands. This holiday is observed on the Feast Day of Saint Pierre-Chanel who was martyred on this day in 1841.

Peter Chanel was born in France and became a Catholic priest in 1827. From an early age, he had shown an interest in being a missionary and bringing the word of god to new lands. In 1837, he travelled with a band of missionaries to the South Pacific, arriving in Futuna in November of that year. Chanel was seen as a thoughtful and patient missionary, even learning the local language. However, as his efforts resulted in natives being converted to Christianity, including the King of Futuna’s Son, the King saw this as a threat to his authority. The King then sent his son-in-law to deal with the problem, who killed Chanel on April 28th 1841.

Wallis from the air. Image by Anna Vinet

American gymnast Bart Conner in between Basketballers Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo.

Cooking together…

SIGNZ!

and no paddle

Today is the birthday, in 1952 of American musician Chuck Leavell who was a member of the The Allman Brothers Band during the height of their 1970s popularity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUTORC4eoGc

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
27
Apr
2023

last THURSDAY in April

Today is Resistance Day in Slovenia. It may also be known as ‘Day of uprising against Occupation’ and in Slovenian, it is known as ‘Dan upora proti okupatorju’. This holiday commemorates the establishment of the Slovenian Liberation Front in 1941.

During the second world war, Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) was first partly annexed by Nazi Germany on April 6th 1941 and the remainder was annexed by Italy and Hungary on April 11th 1941.

The Liberation Front was established in the house of writer Josip Vidmar in Ljubljana in the evening of April 26th 1941. The front became the main resistance movement against the invaders, with its military wing, the Slovene Partisans, first fighting as a guerilla force, then becoming a more organized armed force. After the end of the war, the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Slovenia was formed on the basis of the Liberation Front.

Unfortunate juxtaposition…

GIANT MILITARY CATS!!!!!!

Today is the birthday, in 1959, of Scottish singer, recording artist and actress Sheena Easton, who had the 1980 UK No.3 & 1981 US No.1 single ‘Morning Train, Nine To Five’. Easton’s other hits include the James Bond theme ‘For Your Eyes Only’, ‘U Got the Look’ with Prince and ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ with Kenny Rogers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_3vZYOYNYU

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music
26
Apr
2023

WED-NES-DAY

Today is Union Day in Tanzania. It commemorates the union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika on April 26th 1964. Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961. The British ended the protectorate status of Zanzibar in December 1963 making it constitutional monarchy under the rule of Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah. A month later, the Sultan was deposed in a socialist revolution. On April 26th 1964, Zanzibar and Tanganyika became the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar with the country renamed to Tanzania in October of that year.

You asked for a sign…

Sometimes the photographer gets that perfect moment…

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Today is the birthday, in 1943, of American singer, songwriter Gary Wright who was a member of Spooky Tooth. He had the 1976 solo US No.2 single ‘Dream Weaver’. The song was inspired by Autobiography of a Yogi, which was given to him by George Harrison. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKuzwPOefs

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
25
Apr
2023

TIU’S DAY

Today is ANZAC Day, a public holiday in Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands and Tonga. It marks the anniversary of the first key military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of the Germans. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. The assault rapidly became a stalemate, dragging on for 8 months. At the end of 1915, the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

Random Truths…

Bada Bing!

The amount of people older than you never goes up.

Volkswagen Italy, please never change your Instagram handle… volkswagenitalia.

I don’t know how to act my age, I’ve never been this old before.

My sister-in-law got a package of 96 diapers at her baby shower and my brother said, “Oh awesome, that’s 96 days worth of diapers”.

Person giving me directions: “You can’t miss it!” Me: “You wanna bet?”

It finally happened: someone asked me where the library was in Spanish. I’ve been training for this since high school.

Yesterday I asked my kindergartener what she did in school and she said, “nothing”. Then later I went on Instagram and her teacher had posted a picture of her holding a crocodile.

The pollen is so bad this year that Kid Rock fans are turning their meth back into sudafed.

I was having trouble with my computer at work so I called IT support.

He said, “Have you tried disabling cookies?” I said, “Well, I once bit the legs off a gingerbread man.”

Elon Musk@elonmusk – Defund @NPR

Everyone else… Defund billionaires

Don’t try and win over the haters. You are not the jackass whisperer.

Today is the birthday, in 1949 of Michael Brown, singer, 1966-67 he was in the Left Banke, which had a 1966 US No.5 hit, ‘Walk Away Renee’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqBTzfcIk4

Posted by Tom in Humor, sixties and seventies
24
Apr
2023

Ugly MONDAY

Today is Memorial Easter in Moldova, a public holiday. It is observed on the eighth day after Orthodox Easter, which means it always falls on a Monday. Called ‘Paştele Blăjinilor’ in Romanian, this holiday is also known as the Easter of the Dead or Memorial Day and Parent’s Day. The origins of this festival are pagan rather than Christian with its roots based on an ancestor festival.

On Memorial Easter, families go to church and then on to the cemetery. There, the family graves are cleaned and a meal is eaten with some food intentionally let to fall on the ground as an offering to dead relatives.

In pagan times, families would have left eggs on the graves of the dead, symbolizing rebirth. When Christianity arrived in the region, rather than suppress the older traditions, the church simply absorbed the rituals into Christian festivals. The egg was an easy one as the date of spring for the ancestor worship festival fell close to Easter and the use of the egg as a symbol of rebirth fitted well with the Easter message of resurrection.

Today is the birthday, in 1942 of American singer, songwriter, actress, and filmmaker Barbra Streisand who had the 1974 US No.1 single ‘The Way We Were’, and the 1980 UK & US No.1 single ‘Woman In Love’. She is among a small group of entertainers who have been honored with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Films include, Funny Girl, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Way We Were, and A Star Is Born. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWoQW-b6Ph8

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music