Humor

It’s THURSDAY and still cold

Today is a Day of Mourning in the United States as a mark of respect for James Earl Carter, Jr., the thirty-ninth President of the United States. Carter, the 39th President of the United States and a tireless advocate for peace, human rights, and public service, passed away at the age of 100 on December 29th 2024.

Carter, whose presidency from 1977 to 1981 was marked by both significant achievements and formidable challenges, will be remembered as much for his post-presidential humanitarian efforts as for his time in the Oval Office.

Most Federal agencies will be closed. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will close on Jan. 9th in honor of Carter’s passing.


SIGNZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


Today is the birthday, in 1941, of American folk singer, songwriter, musician, and activist Joan Baez. She scored the 1971 US No.3 & UK No.6 single ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ and was one of the first major artists to record the songs of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s. Baez also performed three songs at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYeXvG2ptwk

Posted by Tom in folk, Humor, Music, 0 comments

WEDNESDAY and still cold

Yesterday was Orthodox Christmas. Orthodox Christians are estimated to number between 250 and 300 million people. The largest number of Orthodox Christians live in eastern and southeastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine. There are also significant Orthodox Christian populations in the Middle East and in Ethiopia.

The difference in the timing of the Christmas celebrations stretches back to 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII, ruled that the Catholic Church should follow a new calendar – called the Gregorian calendar, as it was closer to the solar calendar than the Julian calendar.

The Julian calendar now runs 13 days behind, so Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7th—through 2099; in 2100, when the world next omits a leap year, it will move to January 8th.

Because it was the Catholic pope who ruled on the adoption of the new Gregorian calendar, many churches not aligned to the papacy ignored it, such as Protestants and the Eastern Orthodox church. Protestants accepted the new calendar in the early 1700s.


And you thought the Cybertruck was ugly…The Citroen Karin: Trevor Fiore’s vision for a futuristic concept in 1980’s Paris.

Phara, an immigrant from Bangkok, needed a job. Her pastor heard of an opening at a bookbinding operation and suggested that Phara apply for it. When the owner of the bindery interviewed Phara, he decided she was perfect for the job and hired her on the spot. When her pastor heard the good news, he sent Phara a bouquet of flowers accompanied by a card reading “Blest be the Thai that binds.”

‘Special Advisor’…

Today is the birthday, in 1947, of David Bowie English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, painter and actor. His first UK Top 40 single was the 1969 ‘Space Oddity’ which became a UK No.1 in 1975, plus over 50 other UK Top 40 hits including five No.1’s. Bowie has also scored two US No.1 singles, the 1975 ‘Fame’ and 1983 ‘Let’s Dance’. His music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music and during his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Bowie died from liver cancer at his New York home on 10 January 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music, 0 comments

TUESDAY is usually not this cold!

Today is Victory over Genocide Day, a public holiday in Cambodia. Also known as Cambodian Victory Day, it marks the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

During the Vietnam war, Cambodia was a base for communist forces, and at the end of that conflict, an offshoot from the Vietnam People’s Army called the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. Mixing the ideology of communism and the Ankor Empire, they implemented extreme communist policies, enforcing strict self-sufficiency and taking children from parents, so they could be indoctrinated in communism.

An aim of the Khmer Rouge was to return Cambodia to a purely agricultural society. To implement this, many Cambodians were forced to leave the cities to work on labor camps.

It is estimated that around two million Cambodians (almost a quarter of the population) were killed in the four years of the Khmer Rouge regime from starvation, illness, overwork in the labour camps or execution for not embracing the ideals of the Khmer Rouge. This led to the reign of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot being seen as effectively a campaign of genocide against the Cambodian people.

On January 7th 1979, Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia and began the assault to remove the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge surrendered on April 17th 1979. It is not a universally welcome holiday in Cambodia as many Cambodians feel uneasy about their dependence for liberation on Vietnam.


Photoshopping your kids!

Stephen Crowley has figured out the perfect way to give relatives a heart attack: “I’ve been photoshopping my kids into marginally dangerous situations. Nothing unbelievable, but enough to make people think: wait, did he just…?” Now we just have to wait until his kids are old enough to photoshop him into marginally negligent nursing home facilities.


BADA BING!!!!!

I wish I could drop my body off at the gym and pick it up when it’s ready.

I set out to lose 10 pounds this month. Only 15 to go!

Day 12 without chocolate…Lost hearing in my left eye.

Do weights for muscle, cardio for heart, ice cream for mental health.

Doctor: Looks like you’re pregnant. Me: But I’m a guy! Doctor: I said it LOOKS like you’re pregnant.

I’m not fat. I’m swollen from all the hard hits life has thrown at me.

Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Me: Still trying to lose weight.

I was going to give up all my bad habits for the new year but then I remembered no one likes a quitter.

Whenever I try to eat healthy, a chocolate bar looks at me and Snickers.

That feeling you get when you want something to eat and all you have are ingredients.

A teenage boy walked into a bar and ordered a beer. “Honey, do you want to get me in trouble?” said the waitress. “Maybe later,” said the boy.  “Right now I’d like a beer.”

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said “Stop! Don’t do it!” “Why shouldn’t I?” he said. “Well, there’s so much to live for!” “Like what?” “Well… are you religious?” He said yes. I said, “Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?” “Christian.” “Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant? “Protestant.” “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?” “Baptist” “Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?” “Baptist Church of God!” “Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?” “Reformed Baptist Church of God!” “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?” He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!” I said, “Die, heretic scum”, and pushed him off.


OSHA Nightmares…


Today is the birthday, in 1959, of American musician Kathy Valentine who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go’s. They had the 1982 US No.2 single ‘We Got The Beat’ and the 1982 UK No.47 single ‘Our Lips Our Sealed’. The Go-Go’s supported the Specials on the latter’s 1980 Seaside tour of England. According to Jane Wiedlin, she and Terry Hall had a brief affair. After Wiedlin returned to the US, Hall mailed her some lyrics, and this led to their co-writing the song. The Go-Go’s version is significantly more upbeat than Fun Boy Three’s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3kQlzOi27M

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music, 0 comments

Sunny and THURSDAY today

Today is a public holiday in Iran to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari, the 11th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam, who was poisoned in 874 AD.

Hassan Agari was born in Medina on 8th of Rabi-ul-Akhar 232 AH His father was Ali Naqi, the 10th Shia Imam. Imam Ali Naqi lived under house arrest in a Samarra, a garrison town about 60 miles north of Baghdad. Hassan’s title became known as Asgari, meaning “the one who lived all his life in a garrison town.”

Even from an early age, Asgari was known for his divine knowledge and he became the 11th Shia Imam on the death of his father in 254 AH at the age of 22. Becoming the 11th Imam was a big deal. In both the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, it is believed that the 12th Imam would be the final Imam who would be the ‘Mahdi’ or ‘Guide’ for humanity until the Day of Judgement.

Askari died aged 28 on 8th Rabi’ al-Awwal 260 AH (January 4th 874 AD) after being poisoned on the orders of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu’tamid and was buried in Samarra, a town some 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Al-Askari died without leaving an obvious heir, which created widespread confusion and fragmented the Shia community into several sects, all of which disappeared within a few decades except the Twelver Shia. The Twelvers hold that al-Askari had a son, commonly known as Muhammad al-Mahdi (lit. ’the rightly guided’), who was kept hidden from the public out of the fear of Abbasid persecution. Al-Mahdi succeeded to the imamate after the death of his father and entered a state of occultation. His life is said to be miraculously prolonged until the day he manifests himself again by God’s permission to fill the earth with justice. Though in occultation, the Imam still remains responsible in Twelver belief for the spiritual guidance of humankind and the Shia accounts of his occasional encounters with the pious are numerous and popular.


Today is the birthday, in 1943, of Maria Muldaur (Maria D’Amato), American singer, songwriter, who had the 1974 US No.6 & UK No.21 single ‘Midnight At The Oasis’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGSRjTchL38

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies

Whoa! It’s WEDNESDAY already!!

Today is Ethiopian New Year, a public holiday in Ethiopia. Known in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia as Enkutatash, this holiday marks 1 Meskerem, the first day in the Ethiopian calendar.

The Ethiopian calendar is a solar calendar based on the Egyptian and Julian calendars and was brought to Ethiopia by missionaries. The year consists of 12 months of 30 days and a thirteenth month of five or six timekeeping days. Pagume, the 13th month in the Ethiopian calendar, comes from the Greek word epagomene, which means ‘days forgotten when a year is calculated’.

Enkutatash means the ‘gift of jewels’. It is said to refer to the Queen of Sheba returning from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem in 980 BC. On the Queen’s arrival back in Ethiopia, her chiefs welcomed her by filling her treasury with jewels (‘enku’). It may also refer to the countryside, as this time of year coincides with the end of the rainy season meaning the landscape is covered with Adey Abeba, whose bright yellow flowers appear almost in celebration of the impending harvest.


Google search…


Here’s a fun video from Kylie Minogue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POWsFzSFLCE

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music