Month: October 2023

18
Oct
2023

WENNZZZDAI

Today is Alaska Day. Alaska day commemorates the anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory of Alaska from Russia to the United States, which took place on October 18th 1867.

After suffering defeat in the Crimean War, Russia was on its knees economically and saw selling its expensive-to-maintain territory in North America as a way of raising some much-needed funds.

On March 30th 1867, the Russian Empire concluded a treaty with U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, wherein the United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million dollars (about $129 million in today’s money.) That worked out to roughly 10 cents per square mile back then, ( just under $2 per square mile today.)

On October 18th 1867, the Russian Empire lowered its flag in Alaska and the United States raised its, marking the formal transfer.

Today is the birthday, in 1952, of American rock drummer, vocalist, and songwriter Keith Knudson from with The Doobie Brothers who scored the 1979 US No.1 single ‘What A Fool Believes’ and the 1993 UK No.7 single ‘Long Train Runnin.’ He founded the band Southern Pacific with fellow Doobie Brother John McFee. He died of pneumonia on 8 Feb 2005 aged 56. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4oZCtfmh44

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
17
Oct
2023

TUESDAY has arrived!

Today is the Day of Dignity, a public holiday in Bolivia. This day commemorates those who died on this day in 2003 protesting the exploitation of Bolivia’s oil and gas reserves by a US-based company.

Oil had become an important export for Bolivia, a land-locked country. However under the agreement with the company exploiting the resources and under a trade agreement with the United States, only 18% of the price of the oil would come to Bolivia. In 2002, the government proposed building a pipeline through Chile to export the oil. This decision exacerbated the unrest of the Bolivians as Chile had an antagonistic relationship with Bolivia.

The conflict escalated into confrontations with the Bolivian military until October 17, 2003 when more than 60 were killed and more than 400 injured. The President fled to the United States. In 2006, Evo Morales was elected and he nationalized the gas reserves and declared this Day of Dignity.

Ummm…okay…

Bada Bing!!!

When I say “the other day” it could be any time between yesterday and my birth.

I assume that a Columbus Day sale means I can just walk into a store and take whatever I want.

How many times do I have to click ‘I accept cookies’ before they send me the COOKIES!

Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving so self-checkout cashiers can be with their families.

Turns out I’m “woke.” All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history.

So, do you wash your clothes before you drop them off at a Goodwill donation center mostly to make sure your DNA won’t show up at a crime scene someday or do I overthink things?

I was in the half of the class that made the top half possible.

Welcome to old age. All the foods you ever loved are now trying to kill you.

Facebook has taught me a couple of things. First, there are some incredibly brilliant people in the world. Second, they are vastly outnumbered.

Today marks the death, in 1849, of Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose “poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation” Here is the amazing Yuja Wang playing is beautiful Waltz in C sharp minor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_E51SV0Zus

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Posted by Tom in classical, Humor, Music
16
Oct
2023

maybe…MONDAY

Today is Mothers’ Day in Malawi, a public holiday. Mothers Day in Malawi is not just a day for cards and flowers but is a national holiday aligned with World Rural Women’s Day.

Rural women comprise more than 25% of the total world population yet suffer disproportionately from poverty. While extreme poverty has declined globally, the world’s 1 billion people who continue to live in unacceptable conditions of poverty are heavily concentrated in rural areas. Poverty rates in rural areas across most regions are higher than those in urban areas. Women farmers may be as productive and enterprising as their male counterparts but are less able to access land, credit, agricultural inputs, markets and high-value agrifood chains and obtain lower prices for their crops.

Malawi’s economy is heavily based in agriculture, with a largely rural population so the disparity faced by rural women is keenly felt in this sub-Saharan African nation. This makes the joining of World Rural Women’s Day and Mother’s Day in Malawi an important and appropriate way of highlighting the issues that rural women face while still taking time to celebrate and honor the role of mothers in society.

Cartoon by Jon Adams.

Today is the birthday, in 1947, of American musician and songwriter Bob Weir, best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. The group released more than 140 albums during their career, the majority of them recorded live in concert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48eW3VL-95g

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
13
Oct
2023

And……it’s FRIDAY (the 13th)!!!

Today is Prince Louis Rwagasore Day, a public holiday in Burundi. This holiday commemorates the life of one of Burundi’s national heroes, who was assassinated on this day in 1961.

Prince Louis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He was active in nationalist movements and campaigned for independence from Belgium. The Belgians had maintained a strong colonial rule by skillfully avoiding a unified Burundi nationalist movement by pitting the different ethnic groups against each other. Rwagasore diffused these tensions by organizing cooperatives and political parties that included members from all ethnic groups and my marrying outside his own ethnic group.

He antagonized the Belgian colonial administrators by creating power centers outside their control and because of his popularity among the people of Burundi. In the September 1961 elections before independence, he won 80% of the vote and became the first Prime Minister-elect.

He was gunned down in a hotel restaurant a few weeks later on October 13th 1961. Though his assassin was Greek, strong suspicions remain that his murder was sponsored by a pro-Belgian group.

Today is the birthday, in 1941, of Paul Simon, singer, songwriter, (1970 UK & US No.1 single with Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Trouble Water.’ The duo’s 1970 album ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ spent 307 weeks on the UK chart). Solo, (1986 UK No.4 single ‘You Can Call Me Al’, 1986 UK No.1 album Graceland spent 115 weeks on the UK chart). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmf9ZJ_Yn0A

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music
12
Oct
2023

just like any other THURSDAY

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Aperecida, a public holiday in Brazil. Known as ‘Nossa Senhora de Aparecida’, it honors Brazil’s patron saint, the Virgin Mary Aparecida. Mary is honored with a ten-day festival in the city near São Paulo that bears her name.

Legend has it that in October 1717, after a day’s fishing without any luck, fishermen cast their nets into the Paraiba River and pulled up a small brown statue of the Virgin Mary. Then they cast their nets again and this time they came up full of fish. This was the first miracle attributed to the statue.

The area where the miracle happened grew into a city called Aparecida (meaning “she who has appeared”) and a church was built to house the statue which has now become the destination of many pilgrimages. The statue is made of clay and is about 40cm in height. The statue was a lighter shade of brown when found, but is now much darker due to years of exposure to candles and lamps around the altar.

Because of its color and because the miracle happened to a young slave boy, devotion to the statue grew rapidly, particularly among Afro-Brazilians. Our Lady of Aparecida was declared the patron saint of Brazil by Pope Pius XI in 1929. The feast day of Our Lady of Aparecida has been a National Holiday in Brazil since 1980.

Bada BING!!!

A man buried his ex-wife on a golf course so he could still continue to cheat on her.

Hockey is more enjoyable if you pretend they’re fighting over the world’s last Oreo.

People say I act like I don’t care. It’s not an act.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell introduces the new “MyCardboardBox”.

Fox News is news in the same way that cow pies are pies.

I went to the store to get Halloween decorations…Aaaand there were Christmas trees.

You know that feeling of insecurity when Microsoft Word asks if you want to save any changes when you’re sure you didn’t make any.

You never know what I have up my sleeve. Today it was a dryer sheet.

That feeling you get after you wake up from what was supposed to be a 20-minute nap and aren’t sure what day it is.

Today is the birthday, in 1935, of Luciano Pavarotti, one of the most acclaimed operatic tenors of all time, (1990 UK No.2 single ‘Nessun Dorma’, 1990 UK No.1 album ‘The Essential Pavorotti’, spent 72 weeks on the UK chart). He died on 6 September 2007 of pancreatic cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc7vYjgnTs

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, opera