Crabs and Beer!

Today is Constitution Day, a public holiday in Cambodia. This day commemorates the proclamation of the constitution on this day in 1993.

When the name of one of your public holidays includes the word ‘genocide’ (‘Victory over Genocide Day), that is a sure sign that the country has suffered from a traumatic history. In Cambodia, the country was brought to its knees by the infamous Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot in the 1970s. The despot’s rule was followed by the Cambodian-Vietnamese War, which lasted until 1991 and the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements in October of that year.

An outcome of the agreements was that there would be a new constitution to help transition Cambodia into a modern, democratic country with a constitutional monarchy. Prince Sihanouk signed the constitution into law on September 24th 1993, formally establishing the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Prince was elected King of Cambodia and sworn in on the same day.

Independence Monument in Phnom Penh

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Nature is wonderful…

Legally Speaking

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BADA BING!

Don’t punish your child by taking their games away. Log onto their games and get them banned.

People call me skeptical, but I’m not sure I believe them.

Why do adult males who can’t run a mile say they are ready for a civil war? Looking at you, Meal Team 6. And you too, Gravy Seals.

Pro tip for millennials, as Gen X starts to pass away, resist the urge to watch unlabeled VHS tapes.

The same crowd that has carried a grudge against Jane Fonda for fifty years thinks we should “get past” Jan 6.

WARNING. Snow happens in the Fall because some people decorate prematurely for Christmas. You know who you are. Stop it.

One minute you are young & free, and the next you have a favorite pharmacy.

He started believing things that weren’t true. At first, I thought it was Alzheimers. Then I realized he was watching Fox News.

I hate when people can’t let go of the past. Debt collectors are the WORST!

Dating is a great way to realize that dying alone isn’t the worst that could happen.

It’s candy corn season for all you crayon eating psychopaths.

When people ask if we were better off 4 years ago, I remind them that 4 years ago we were using freezer trucks as morgues.

I told my daughter to check her attitude and she looked at me and said, “For complaints about attitude please contact the manufacturer”.

Texting is a brilliant way to miscommunicate how you feel and misinterpret what other people mean.

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On this day in 1979, The Eagles released their sixth album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxQXKO194XM

Today is Independence Day in Bulgaria. This holiday is known locally as ‘Ден на независимостта’ and it marks Bulgaria’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Bulgaria had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1396. In the late nineteenth century, a growing tide of nationalism had been spreading across Europe, which had been threatening the break up of the western parts of the Ottoman Empire.

In April 1876, uprisings in other parts of the Ottoman Empire spread to Bulgaria. The suppression of the revolts by the Ottomans was horrific and when the atrocities were made public to the West and Russia, international condemnation was widespread. In 1877, Russia formally declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The conflict eventually resulted in the creation of a Bulgarian principality within the Ottoman Empire, albeit with reduced land.

Following a war with Serbia, the principality extended its area in the region and on September 22nd 1908, in the Veliko Tarnovo, a manifesto, Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria declared Bulgaria’s independence from the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria reappeared on the map of Europe after five centuries of Ottoman rule.

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Uh oh…

the eyes??

Today is the birthday, in 1949, of US singer, songwriter, Bruce Springsteen, ‘The Boss’, who had the 1985 US No.2 & UK No.4 single ‘Dancing In The Dark’, 1994 UK No.2 single ‘Streets of Philadelphia’. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born To Run showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-Ds-FXGGQg

Today, Rio Grande do Sul, the most southerly state in Brazil bordering Uruguay and Argentina, celebrates the Farroupilha (Ragamuffin) Revolution, a civil uprising that began in 1835 when the state fought for independence from the rest of the nation.

The rebels were led by generals Bento Gonçalves da Silva and Antônio de Sousa Neto. Despite the support of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, the gaucho-led revolt ended in 1845 with surrender, and Rio Grande do Sul remaining part of Brazil.

Even though the uprising resulted in defeat, the conflict is a source of regional pride, with partying across the whole of the state, although it’s in the capital Porto Alegre where the action really happens. For most of September, thousands of people camp out in the city’s Harmonia Park, recreating traditional gaucho lifestyles at the Farroupilha Camp.

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Trying to imagine the music…

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Here’s Heidi Klum and…ALF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6qmo1YViBM&list=RD8XAxQWjnOkk&index=24

Today is Nepali Constitution Day (Sambidhaan Diwas). This is treated as the National Day of Nepal and celebrates the adoption of the current Constitution on this day in 2015. In most countries, National Day takes place on their Independence Day. Through all its history of border expansion and contraction, Nepal has never been colonized and ruled by foreigners, which means Nepal doesn’t celebrate an Independence Day.

This was the first full-fledged constitution to be drafted by democratically elected representatives after the South Asian country became a federal democratic republic in 2008 following the overthrow of the 240-year monarchy. The process to enact a new Constitution has been a drawn-out one, with several efforts to produce a new Constitution drafted since 2008.

The 2015 Constitution restructured Nepal into a federal republic, dividing the nation into seven provinces. It also completed the transition of Nepal from constitutional monarchy to republicanism and from a unitary system to federalism.

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Not very nice…

Today is the birthday, in 1935, of Nick Massi from American rock and pop band The Four Seasons who had the 1960s hits ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Walk Like a Man’, and the 1976 UK & US No.1 single ‘December 1963, (Oh What A Night’). They are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide. Massi died on 24th December 2000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG1JnZ-eOHg

Today is Pang Lhabsol, an important festival in Sikkim. The festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Tibetan calendar, corresponding to late August/early September.

This festival is unique to Sikkim and commemorates the consecration of Mount Khangchendzonga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. It is believed that the mountain god played an active role in introducing Buddhism into this former kingdom.

According to a handwritten biography by Lhatsun Chenpo, the chief propagator of Buddhism in Sikkim, it was divine visions sent by the mountain god which guided him to Demajong (the hidden valley of rice, as the Bhutias refer to Sikkim). Pang means ‘to witness’, and on this day the mountain god is invoked and prayed upon at Pang Lhabsol to continue protecting Sikkim. 

The ‘chaams’ which are part of this festival are unique and the spectacular Pangtoed or warrior dance was choreographed by the third Chogyal Chador Namgyal, who is said to have appeared to him in a vision.

The festival also marks the commemoration of blood brotherhood sworn between the Lepchas and the Bhutias at Kabi in the 15th century.

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Meeting your idol

Show me your USA map…

First Day of Work

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No good birthdays today, but here’s a fun video from Postmodern Jukebox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnZ1NQm2uk