Today is Evacuation Day, a public holiday in Syria. his is Syria’s National Day and commemorates the evacuation of the last French soldier from Syria on this day in 1946.
Syria had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the start of the 16th century. During the first world war, the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Defeat for the Ottomans meant that their territories in the middle east came under control of France and Great Britain.
The now-infamous, but at the time, secret pact of 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement split the region between the two European powers, with what is now Syria coming under French control. After the second world war, Syrian nationalists forced the French out of the country and on April 17th 1946, the last French soldiers left Syria.
unfortunate juxtaposition…
DOGS…
Today is the birthday, in 1974, of businesswoman, fashion designer, model and singer, Victoria Beckham, (Posh Spice), The Spice Girls who scored the 1996 UK No.1 & 1997 US No.1 single ‘Wannabe’, plus eight other UK No.1 singles). She had the solo 2000 UK No. 2 single ‘Out Of Your Mind’ and married footballer David Beckham at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland in June 1999. Beckham has become an internationally recognized style icon and fashion designer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ
Today is the beginning of Thingyan Holiday in Myanmar. Thingyan culminates in the Burmese New Year and the period of holidays are the most important and the biggest festival in Myanmar. Formerly the dates of Thingyan would have been based on the Burma lunisolar calendar, but the dates have now been fixed on April 13th.
Thingyan is is celebrated at the same time as many other New Years in the region (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia). Thingyan historically marked the changing of the year by the sun moving from Pieces to Aries. The word Thingyan is thought to have derived from ancient Sanskrit and means ‘change’.
The legend of the origin of Thingyan relates to an argument over a mathematical problem between two gods. The loser of this argument had his head cut off. However, when his head hit the ground, the earth would burn; if thrown in the sea, the water would dry up and if thrown in the air, it would explode in a fireball. To keep this from happening, seven goddesses took turns holding the head for a year each, changing over on Thingyan. The winner of the argument cut off the head of an elephant and stuck it on the headless body, thereby creating the god, Ganesh.
Even though Thingyan has now been fixed in mid-April, its current date is a welcome position in the calendar as it occurs at the hottest time of the year in Myanmar and being a water festival, it is a great opportunity to cool down and get some relief from the sweltering heat.
Dancers in traditional costumes perform during celebrations for the Thingyan festival, also known as the Buddhist New Year, in Yangon on April 13, 2019. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
Today is Armed Forces Day in Myanmar, a public holiday. Known in Myanmar as ‘Tatmadaw Nay’, it commemorates the rebellion against Japanese occupation during the second world war.
During World War II, Some Burmese saw the rise of Japan as an opportunity to gain independence from Britain. Aung San was a prominent figure in the independence movement, but he had been exiled to China. He collaborated with Japan, having been convinced they would make Burma an independent nation if they helped drive out the British.
With Burmese nationalist support, Japan took control of Burma in 1942. However Aung San came to realize that the Japanese had no intention of giving independence to Burma and on March 23rd 1945, he led the Burmese army in a rebellion against the Japanese that helped the Allied forces remove the Japanese from the region.
The Burmese army is probably at its lowest strength in years due to the ongoing armed resistance. The widespread armed resistance has left the military overstretched and undermanned; a situation exposed in late October when the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched a stunning offensive known as Operation 1027. The trio of ethnic armed groups seized large chunks of territory in northern Shan and southern Chin states as well as in Rakhine State, where fierce fighting continues to rage.
Anticoup protesters stamp on a picture of military leader Min Aung Hlaing [Johnson Lai/AP]
STICK ON YOUR BUMPER!!
Today, BTW, is the anniversary of the arrival in Washington, DC of three thousand Japanese cherry trees — a gift from Yukio Ozaki, the mayor of Tokyo — in 1912. First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of the trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin on March 27, 1912.
Today is the birthday, in 1970, of American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and entrepreneur Mariah Carey. She became the first and only artist to have their first five singles reach No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is the third-best-selling female artist in the United States, with 64 million albums sold and over 220 million records sold worldwide. Carey holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles by a solo artist (19), a female songwriter (18), and a female producer (15), spending a record 93 weeks atop the chart. Carey is named after the song ‘They Call The Wind Mariah’ from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hat1Hc9SNwE
Today is the Anniversary of the ‘Arengo’, a public holiday observed in San Marino on March 25th each year. This holiday commemorates the events on this day in 1906 which led to the first-ever parliament elected directly by the people.
Formed at the start of the 4th century, true to form, San Marino took a different approach to government than the surrounding nations and city-states. Rather than be ruled by a monarch, from the 5th century until the middle of the 13th century, San Marino was ruled by an assembly of the heads of the important families in the nation. This was called the Arengo (Italian for “meeting”) and had no leader or even a fixed meeting place.
By 1243, the people of San Marino had had enough of political feuds between teh families and the Pope made a replacement elected assembly, the Grand and General Council the supreme body of San Marino, kicking the Arengo into the long grass.
After three centuries of rule by the council, the Sammarinese Socialist Party was calling for democratic rule in the country.
An “Arengo” was summoned on March 25th 1906, when the citizens were asked whether the system of co-option of councilors for life should continue and whether the size of councils should be proportionate to the population of the communities they represented. The first proposal was rejected by 90.65% of voters and the second was approved by 94.89%. This led to the first-ever democratic elections in the country being held on June 10th 1906.
Behind the red door…
America says NO to the metric system
PIZZA – the American food…
BARKALOUNGERS
Today is the birthday, in 1947, of Sir Elton John singer, songwriter, pianist, (Reginald Dwight), who had the 1971 UK No.7 single ‘Your Song’, the 1973 US No.1 single ‘Crocodile Rock’ along with seven other US No.1’s. He had the biggest selling single of all time in 1997 with ‘Candle In The Wind 97’, plus has scored over 50 UK Top 40 hit singles. John has sold over 150m records worldwide. Elton and Bernie Taupin wrote the No.1 (with Kiki Dee) ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ under the pseudonyms Ann Orson and Carte Blanche. Some of the aliases Sir Elton has used checking into hotels include, Prince Fooboo, Sir Humphrey Handbag, Lillian Lollipop, Lord Choc Ice, Lord Elpus, Binky Poodleclip and Sir Henry Poodle. Elton John’s official nickname is Rocket Man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f0TMfQNRk8
Today is Missionary Day, a public holiday in French Polynesia. It commemorates the arrival of the Christian missionaries on this day in 1797.
French Polynesia, the only overseas country of France, is a collection of over 100 islands and atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. Its remote location means it was one of the last places on Earth to become inhabited by humans. The first inhabitants arrived from Western Polynesia in about 200 AD. The islands were sighted by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.
In March 1797, Protestant missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS) arrived, establishing a permanent presence in Polynesia. The LMS had been formed a few years earlier with the intention of spreading Christianity across the world.
The ‘Duff’ arrived in Matavai Bay, Tahiti on March 5th 1797, with seventeen missionaries who intended to build friendships with the locals, build a mission house for sleeping and worship, and learn the native language. The missionaries faced initial resistance from the locals who had seen the arrival of earlier European ships bring new and unknown diseases to the islands. Eight of the seventeen missionaries left when the next British ship arrived in Tahiti.
The ones that stayed eventually had success in converting the locals including Pomare II, the king of Tahiti, who was converted from traditional beliefs to the Reformed tradition. This conversion formed the basis for the Maohi Protestant Church which is the largest in French Polynesia with followers accounting for more than half the population.
The missionary ship “Duff” arriving at Tahiti in 1797. Image via National Library of New Zealand
Purity test…
BADA BING!!!
I woke up to my six-year-old holding my hand this morning. It was such a sweet 3 seconds until I realized he was using my fingerprint to break into my phone.
Stop saying, “They didn’t teach us that in school.” Yes, they did. You were talking.
Just once I’d like someone to call me “sir” without adding “You need to calm down or we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Just bought a sweet car online. Previously owned by Neil Diamond.
We shouldn’t be asking if an egg is a person. We should be asking why a person would live in Alabama.
A man left his bicycle right next to the entrance to the US Congress. Security shows up and says, “You can’t leave that here! Congressmen and Senators use this entrance” “Don’t worry, I’m using a bike lock”
What’s Irish and stays out all night? Paddy O’Furniture.
I can always tell when movies don’t use real dinosaurs.
I was trying to think of a good tree pun, but I’m stumped.
What do you call a wreath of hundred-dollar bills? A wreath of Franklins.
How many Freudian psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to change the bulb and the other to hold the penis, I mean ladder!
I realized I’ve got a problem with road rage when my five-year-old daughter shouted, “Pick a fucking lane you dickhead!” And we were in the grocery store.
I bought my wife a coat made of hamster fur. Took her to the carnival and couldn’t get her off the Ferris Wheel for three hours.
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of English singer and actress Elaine Page, best known for her work in musical theatre. Paige played Eva Perón in the first production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita in 1978 which for this role won the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a musical. She had the 1985 UK No.1 single with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess ‘I Know Him So Well’. Here she is with her famous hit from ‘Cats’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdBVJbzkoqo
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