Tom

Today is the Anniversary of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines. The People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution and the Philippine Revolution of 1986) was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines that began in 1983 and culminated in 1986 with the overthrow of President Marcos.

President Marcos came to power in the Philippines in 1965. From the early days of his reign, he was seen as autocratic and corrupt. To maintain power, he declared Martial Law in 1972 beginning a period of political repression, censorship, assassinations and human rights violations.

His main political rival was Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino, Jr. In August 1983, Aquino was returning from the United States after medical treatment when he was shot dead at Manila International airport.

The killing was a turning point in the country, and a potent opposition movement gathered around Corazon Aquino, the wife of Ninoy Aquino.

Threatened by the growing opposition and in an attempt to win back his popularity among the people, Marcos held a snap presidential election in February 7th 1986, in which he was opposed by Corazon Aquino.

The election is seen as the most corrupt in Philippine history, with clear evidence of electoral fraud. This led to some of Marcos’ former ministers, the army and Church leaders all calling for his removal from office. These calls drew people from all over the country to join mass peaceful protests against Marcos.

The protesters blocked Manila’s main thoroughfare, the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), a scene repeated in cities all over the country. In defiance of repeated threats from President Marcos, they refused to end the protests.

On the afternoon of the protest’s second day, the president sent in tanks to clear the street. But the troops refused to fire, prompting one of the most iconic images of the revolution – nuns knelt in front of tanks with rosaries in their hands and uttering their prayers.

After just four days, President Marcos stepped down and fled the country.  On February 25th 1986, Corazon Aquino was proclaimed as the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines. She was the first female president of the country. 

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For you mathematicians…

Might have to investigate again…

Why we have trust issues…

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Bada Bing!

Patriotism is the optimistic belief that your country could be the best. Nationalism is the ignorant belief that it already is.

It’s true that exercise helps with decision making. I went for a run this morning and decided never to do that again.

What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is all the time? A widow.

I hate it when I’m singing along to a song and the artist gets the words wrong.

I’m actually pretty good in bed. I hardly ever fall out anymore.

At the nursing home, all the men get a blue pill before bedtime. Since then, none have fallen out of bed.

If a man says you’re ugly, he’s just mean. If a woman says you’re ugly, she’s jealous. If a kid says you’re ugly, you’re ugly.

At this point, I’m convinced some people were put on this planet to test my anger management skills.

Every time I drive my wife’s car… Me: How long has your car been making that noise. Her: What noise?

I’m not crazy, I’m mentally spicy.

It’s like Winter is really mad and keeps storming out of the room and then coming back in yelling, “OH… AND ANOTHER THING!!”

Broke an egg making breakfast this morning. My insurance company said an adjuster will be out tomorrow.

If you’re going to mess something up, do it so badly that everyone will wonder how it was even possible.

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Rock’n roll is king!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVU5S0MAHxc

Today is Dragobete, a traditional Romanian holiday celebrated on February 24. Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia, which stands for the main person in the myth related to spring arrival and the end of the harsh winter. Due to his endless kindness he was chosen – according to some sources, by Virgin Mary – to be the Guardian of Love.

The day is particularly known as “the day when the birds are betrothed”. It’s said that If boys don’t meet the girl they like, they will have really bad luck for the rest of the year. It is around this time that the birds begin to build their nests and mate. On this day, considered locally the first day of spring, boys and girls gather vernal flowers and sing together. Maidens used to collect the snow that lay on the ground in many villages and then melt it, using the water in magic potions throughout the rest of the year. Those who take part in Dragobete customs are supposed to be protected from illness, especially fevers, for the rest of the year. If the weather allows, girls and boys pick snowdrops or other early spring plants for the person they are courting. In Romania, Dragobete is known as a day for lovers, rather like Valentine’s Day.

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Cary Elwes and Robin Wright – then and now

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A Scotsman who was planning a trip to the Holy Land was aghast when he learned that it would cost sixty dollars an hour to rent a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

“In Scotland it wouldn’t have been more than twenty,” said the Scotsman.

“True,” said the travel agent. “But the Sea of Galilee is water on which Jesus himself walked.”

The Scotsman said, “Well, at sixty dollars an hour for a boat, it’s no wonder he walked!”

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SOLAR COLLECTORS

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On this day in 1997, the Spice Girls won best single with ‘Wannabe’ at the Brit Awards held in London. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ

Today is Father Walter Lini Day, a public holiday in Vanuatu on February 21st each year. This holiday commemorates an important figure in the history of this South Pacific nation on the anniversary of his death in 1999.

Father Lini was born on Pentecost, one of the larger of what were then the New Hebrides, a Y-shaped cluster of islands administered jointly by Britain and France. He had studied for the ministry in New Zealand and was serving as a priest and as leader of the New Hebrides National party when the colonial rulers announced plans to withdraw by 1980.

Because his party dominated the colonial parliament, Father Lini was poised to become Prime Minister. But a month before independence, a French-speaking planter named Jimmy Stevens led 600 bowmen to take control of the island of Espiritu Santo. Supported by some local French-speakers, Mr. Stevens wanted to withdraw the island from the about-to-be-proclaimed nation of Vanuatu, which means ”our eternal land.”

Father Lini sought aid from Britain, which, over the objections of France, reluctantly sent 200 Royal Marines, who served as a peacekeepers on Espiritu Santo long enough for the independence ceremonies to proceed on schedule. Once the new flag went up, Father Lini signed a defense pact with Papua New Guinea, which sent forces to replace the British Marines, quickly arrested Mr. Stevens and put down the rebellion.

The country Father Lini took over was poor in almost everything but fish. It had only 30 college graduates. Still, Vanuatu found itself vulnerable to geopolitical pressures. It sought to trade fishing rights to both China and Taiwan. Father Lini’s Government angered France by its support for independence groups in New Caledonia and its opposition to nuclear testing in the Pacific. It irritated the United States by calling for a reduction in United States naval traffic, recognizing Libya, and welcoming Vietnam and Cuba to establish embassies while holding off the United States.

Lini also pushed for what he called “Melanesian socialism” – a system based on the traditional Polynesian idea that a people’s land is owned in common. 

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Imagine that!

The KING!!

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MORE SIGNS (of Friday)

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ARCHITECTURE!!

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Here’s Shakira… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0

On this day in 1872, Luther Crowell patented a machine for making flat-bottomed paper bags. However, he was not the first to do so and his invention was merely an improvement. The first person to patent machinery for making flat-bottomed paper bags was Margaret Knight.

She was born in Maine and grew up in New Hampshire where she went to work in the cotton mills at the age of 12. 12-year-old Knight witnessed an accident at the mill in which a worker was stabbed by a steel-tipped shuttle that shot out of a mechanical loom. Within weeks she invented a safety device for the loom, which was later adopted by other Manchester mills.

Knight’s first patent, issued in 1870, was for an “improvement in paper-feeding machines”, a “pneumatic paper-feeder” with applications in printing presses and paper-folding machines; her paper bag machine would feature a three-step folding process in forming the flat bottom. At the time, many female inventors and writers concealed their gender by using only an initial instead of their given name, but Margaret E. Knight was identified in this patent.

Knight moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1867 and was hired by the Columbia Paper Bag Company. She noticed that the envelope-shaped machine-made paper bags they produced were weak and narrow, and could not stand on their bases.They were also poorly suited to bulky items, such as groceries and hardware goods. Machines for producing these envelope-style bags were the subject of three patents issued to Francis Wolle in 1852, 1855, and 1858. Flat-bottomed paper bags, which were sturdier and more useful, were expensively made by hand.

1868 Knight invented a machine that cut, folded, and glued paper to form the flat-bottomed brown paper bag familiar to shoppers today. This machine enabled the mass manufacture of flat-bottomed bags, increasing the speed of production. Charles Annan, a machinist who visited the machine shop where Knight’s iron model was being built, stole her design and patented it first. When Knight attempted to patent her work, she discovered Annan’s patent and filed a patent interference lawsuit in the fall of 1870. Annan argued that “she could not possibly understand the mechanical complexities of the machine”, exploiting prejudice against women. She spent the then-large sum of $100 (equivalent to $2,409 in 2023) per day in legal costs for the 16-day hearing, which resulted in victory. She received her patent in 1871.

She was decorated by Queen Victoria for her invention and went on to receive 87 more patents for a variety of inventions.

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Budget cuts at local police department…

and they say there are no jobs…

It’s COLD out there!!!

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SIGNZ

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Today is the birthday, in 1941, of American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, who had the 1971 UK No.7 single ‘Soldier Blue’. She wrote ‘Up Where We Belong’ the 1982 US No.1 & UK No.7 hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes from the film An Officer and a Gentleman, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 55th Academy Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjrOcrisGyI

On this day in 1881, Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. Primarily due to the ‘dry crusade’.

The dry crusade was led by the national Prohibition Party, founded in 1869, and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1874. Arrested over 30 times and fined and jailed on multiple occasions, prohibition activist Carrie Nation attempted to enforce the state’s ban on alcohol consumption. She walked into saloons, scolding customers, and used her hatchet to destroy bottles of liquor. Nation recruited ladies into the Carrie Nation Prohibition Group, which she also led. While Nation’s vigilante techniques were rare, other activists enforced the dry cause by entering saloons, singing, praying, and urging saloonkeepers to stop selling alcohol. Other dry states, especially those in the South, enacted prohibition legislation, as did individual counties within a state.

Prohibition represented a conflict between urban and rural values emerging in the United States. Given the mass influx of migrants to the urban centers of the United States, many individuals within the prohibition movement associated the crime and morally corrupt behavior of American cities with their large, immigrant populations.

Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933.

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This bear has seen things…

cute…

BADA BING!!!!

Deja Poo – The feeling of having heard this crap before.

I finally got to see my doctor on Monday and I showed him the rash on my bottom. But he just ignored me and kept pushing his cart through Costco.

I looked up opaque, but the definition wasn’t very clear.

I spent my Valentine’s Day at a nice restaurant shouting, “Well you moved on pretty quickly”, to random couples walking in.

The square root of 69 is 8 something.

I finally know why they call me a grown-up. I groan every time I get up.

My mom always told me, “You might not be the dumbest guy in the world, but you better hope he doesn’t die”.

Just because deodorant says 48 hours, doesn’t mean you should accept the challenge.

I was getting most of my clothes online, but my neighbors have started taking their laundry in at night.

The worst part of online shopping is having to get up and get your card.

Just went to the Oreo website and hit “accept all cookies”. And now I wait…

I went to my doctor yesterday with a suspicious-looking mole. She said they all look like that and I should just put him back in the garden.

I told my doctor that I break out every time I eat strawberries and asked whether he could help. He said that he hated to make rash promises!

Apparently, Elon is upset that folks have started calling Teslas swasticars.  So whatever you do don’t share this.

We’re having our HVAC system replaced today for something more powerful and yet at the same time more efficient, and what that means for me is that there are strangers in my house and I have to wear pants.

I think it’s so cute how all of our names will be on the same watchlist.

I’m gonna see if this political climate turns into a Civil War before I bother to make another car payment.

And, lo, the people were offered a choice: human rights and dignity, or cheaper eggs. And, lo, the people chose eggs. And, lo, a plague descended upon the chickens. And, lo, the people blamed DEI.

I love being me. It pisses off all the right people.

Do female terrorists get 72 male virgins after they die? 72 male virgins isn’t paradise, it’s an IT department.

Them: “Why are you so worried now?” Me: “Because I paid attention in history class.”

There are two types of tRUMP supporters, billionaires and idiots. Check your bank account to see which one you are.

Believing that billionaires are fighting for the working class requires a comical level of delusion.

Author R. Kennedy’s book…How to avoid vaccines and die like a medieval peasant.

Live so that if your life was turned into a book, Florida would ban it.

But it was assigned Gulf of Mexico at birth!

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Today is the birthday, in 1940, of American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive Smokey Robinson. With The Miracles he had the 1970 UK & US No.1 single ‘The Tears Of A Clown’. As a solo artist Robinson scored the 1981 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ‘Being With You’. He became the vice President of Motown Records in 1972. During the course of his 50-year career in music, Robinson has accumulated more than 4,000 songs to his credit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwkZrj2VT4