Famous
First Words: When will my bitter misfortunes be ended? Ilia
in Idomeneo
The
Women’s March in Washington was on Saturday, and it had three times
as many people as Trump’s inauguration. When he was told there were
hundreds of thousands of women outside the White House, Trump said,
“Wow, this Trump cologne REALLY WORKS.” --Jimmy Fallon (1/23/17)
/ According to The New York Times, the White House kitchen has been
stocked with President Trump’s favorite snacks including Lay’s
potato chips. And his Cabinet has been filled with crackers. --Seth
Meyers (1/25/17)
..........Weia!
Waga! Wandering waters..........Wagner …..Opening Das Rheingold
Let
us resolve to put peace first. --United Nations
It
is a cold (15°F) Friday morning. The sky is still a fairly
featureless gray surface except to the east where the rising sun has
painted streaks of pink and gold. The ground too is universally gray
with frost except where snow still lies trampled by dog paws and
thick soled shoes. It is too soon to tell if the day will be sunny
or not and this gives the world a muted, dimness. There are no
birds up and about yet nor squirrels. Puck conducts a brief argument
with the dogs next door then goes about his perimeter business as
usual. Only the drone of distant motors and people in the
neighborhood driving off to work provide our soundtrack. There is no
wind so the cold does not inch its way up the sleeve or around the
coat collar, nevertheless, it builds up and we decide to go inside to
warm up and smell the coffee brewing (Moose Munch, yummy). Some of
us curl up in a warm spot while others shed layers of clothing –
depending on the breed. Ah, yes, Moose Munch – coffee and
chocolate and popcorn all in one taste sensation. What a morning –
and there's a long weekend to follow. Delightful.
ePistliers,
hope your weekend is terrific and your year is the best yet.
This
is the president’s second weekend in a row at Mar-a-Lago, the
resort he owns in Palm Beach, where he played golf and dined with the
prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. So on Saturday night they got
the news that North Korea test-launched an intermediate-range
missile. They decided to work that out over dinner, at a table in the
middle of the Mar-a-Lago dining room surrounded by members of this
club. Instead of getting and up going somewhere private they
continued to eat while advisers rushed back and forth to the table
handing them documents alongside the busboys handing them food. They
used the flashlights on their cellphones to read these documents,
like old men trying to see a menu. And in the end, they decided to
impose more sanctions and also to split a tiramisu. --Jimmy Kimmel
(2/13/17)/ Other diners even posted Facebook photos of Trump and Abe
looking at what one imagines are classified documents by the light of
someone’s cellphone flash light. But I’m sure those documents are
secure unless that cellphone flash light also somehow has a camera
attached to it. --Stephen Colbert (2/13/17)
Resolutions?
This will be my 73rd New Year...if I have resolved it by
now...
..........Where
life ever is moving..........Wagner …..Scene Two Das Rheingold
Trivia
Questions: Happy Birthday to the Modern Bowling Ball !
^
Has long as the sport of bowling been around – more or less?
^^
What were bowling balls made of before 1869?
^^^
Any idea what the patented 1869 ball was made from?
^^^^
If you buy a new ball today, what is it likely to be made of?
^^^^^
Ball park figure, guess the number of bowling balls produced by
Ebonite of Tennessee per year?
Funniest
Thing I Read of the Week: We can celebrate New Years Eve at 9
pm, as it is 12 pm somewhere...like Nuuk Greenland --The
Crumpletons (Jazzhaus, December 31)
Fake
Library Statistic of the Week:
99%
of libraries already have patrons complaining that we don't have the
new #StarWars
movie
on DVD
https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
Welcome,
ladies and gentlemen, to Day 3 of “Healthcare Plan 2: Repeal and
Revenge — This Time It’s Republican.” It took the GOP forever
to release this thing. They’re the George R.R. Martins of health
care. And just like in “Game of Thrones,” a lot of your favorite
characters are going to die without warning. --Stephen Colbert
(3/8/17) / In a new interview, President Trump predicted he would
pass Richard Nixon for most appearances on the cover of Time
magazine. Hey, dude, do you know WHY Nixon was on the cover so many
times? “They’re going to make so many documentaries about me.
I’ll bet I even pass Charles Manson.” --Seth Meyers (3/23/17)
Of
course I've made new year's resolutions, but I'm bound to be the same
mouthy bitch at 12:02 that I was at 11:58.
..........at
its mighty spell we tremble in wonder..........Scene 4 Das Rheingold
Moonbeam:
Every day, I wish to make the world more beautiful than I found it.
--Madame De Pompadour
Something
to Think About of the Week:
Big
Hello: Selama pagi - Malay
Next
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm
not sure I believe all this stuff about genetically modified food
being bad for you. I just had a really tasty leg of salmon and I
feel fine.
Week
of the Week: It's About Time Week
(December 25-31) – In 1915 Einstein developed a theory about space
and it was about time too.
Donald
Trump has removed his good buddy and chief strategist Steve Bannon
from the National Security Council. This is quite a humiliating move
that has very much left Steve Bannon red-faced, although that is his
complexion anyway. --James Corden (4/5/17) / Since becoming
president, Donald Trump has not left the country — he’s barely
left the country club. But today, Trump sent Ivanka to Berlin to
participate in a women’s conference, making her the first Trump to
attend a women’s conference that didn’t include a swimsuit
competition. Ivanka spoke on a panel titled “Inspiring Women:
Scaling Up Women’s Entrepreneurship.” And the Trump family has a
long history of inspiring women — to march, to sue, to flee from a
dressing room. --Stephen Colbert (4/25/17)
..........A
quickening draught of honeyed mead..........Wagner …..Act 1 Die
Walkȕre
^
Some
assign a possible origin of bowling as early as 3200 BC with a
collection of objects which appeared to be an early form of bowling.
Others assert that bowling began possibly in 300 AD or in England
circa 1366 under the reign of King Edward III. No one is quite
certain when bowling evolved, however, from a nine pin game to a ten
pin game.
Almanac:
Today is Friday, December 29, 2017. The moon was first quarter on
Tuesday and is in Taurus. It is Tick Tock Day and
YMCA Day. In Gabon they celebrate the President's Birthday and in
Texas they celebrate (or comisserate, depending) Admission Day (1845)
and worldwide it is Ante-Pen-Ultimate Day.
Among
those born on this day were Wagner (1678), Madame De Pompadour
(1721), Charles Goodyear (1800), William E Gladstone (1809),
Elisabeth (queen of Romania, 1843), Tomas Breton y Hernandez (1850),
Pablo Casals (1876), Charles L Harness (1915), Dina Merrill (1925),
Mary Tyler Moore (1936), Jon Voight (1938), Ted Danson 91947), and
Paula Poundstone (1959).
On
December twenty-ninth Poland and Austria signed the Treaty of Gyalu
(1541), Jolyot's Idomeneo
premiered (Paris, 1705), the US's first nautical almanac was
published (1782), the steam powered threshing machine was patented
(1837), Texas was admitted as the 28th state (1845), the first YMCA
opened (Boston, 1851), Emma Snodgrass was arrested for wearing pants
(Boston, 1852), the modern bowling ball was invented (1862),
brokerage firms first used the telegraph ticker (1867), the San
Francisco Symphony was founded (1911), the first collegiate
basketball doubleheader was played (NYC, 1934), Lorca's Yerma
premiered (1934), construction on the Seattle Lake Wshington Floating
Bridage began (1938), Canada recognized Israel (1948), at age 13
Streisand recorded her first song (1955), Thunderball
premiered in the US (1965), Life
magazine stopped publishing (1972), the Spanish constitution went
into effect (1978), Jamaica issued a Bob Marley postage stamp (1982),
Bear Bryant ended his career with Alabama (323 wins, 1982), and the
US withdrew from UNESCO (1983).
Night
Sky, 12/29: This
evening, look lower left of the waxing Moon for Aldebaran, and upper
left of the Moon for the Pleiades. Mercury
should be an easy catch now low in the dawn. Look for it far lower
left of Jupiter, as shown in the middle scene above (their visibility
as dawn grows bright is exaggerated there).
This
Week: Saturday, December 30 –
Bacon Day & No Interruptions Day & Falling Needles Family
Fest Day
Sunday,
December 31 – Global Champagne Day & Look on the Bright
Side Day & World Peace Meditation Day
Monday,
January 1 – World Day of Peace & New Year's Day &
Ellis Island Day & Polar Bear Plunge Day
Night
Sky, 1/1: By
mid-evening at this time of year, the Great Square of Pegasus
balances on one corner high in the west. The vast Andromeda-Pegasus
constellation complex runs all the way from near the zenith
(Andromeda's foot) down through the Great Square (Pegasus's body) to
somewhat low in the west (Pegasus's nose).
Tuesday,
January 2 – Happy Mew Year for Cats Day & National
Buffet Day & National Science Fiction Day
Wednesday,
January 3 – JRR Tolkien Day & Earth at Perihelion Day
Night
Sky, 1/3: The
Quadrantid meteor shower, brief but sometimes rich, is well timed
this year for North America. It should reach its peak for several
hours late tonight.
Thursday,
January 4 – Trivia Day & World Braille Day & World
Hypnotism Day
Trump
claims he would have won the popular vote if there hadn’t been
voter fraud but there is absolutely no proof of that. We are now just
creating commissions to prove Trump’s dumb theories. I can’t wait
for the report from the Senate commission on “But No Seriously,
Meryl Streep Is Overrated.” --James Corden (5/11/17) / Trump
arrived in Tel Aviv this morning with his wife Melania. He went to
hold her hand and she kind of gave him a little, kind of,
get-that-away-from-me. I'm no body language expert but I think that's
a sign for "I'm supposed to be shopping on Fifth Avenue right
now." Either that or his hand is so tiny she just didn't see
it. --Jimmy Kimmel (5/22/17)
Happy
New Year? Damn well better be or ELSE...
..........Sister,
Sister! What has befall'n?.........Wagner …..Act 3 Die Walkȕre
^^
In
ancient times, rustic bowling balls were made with … well …
whatever was available! In the early days of the sport, balls were
often shaped by corn husks, and then bound with leather and string.
Most primitive bowling balls did not have gripping holes and forced
the bowler to “palm” the ball during each turn. Archaeologists
have uncovered ancient bowling balls made from porcelain, as well,
indicating that these may have been rolled along the ground, rather
than thrown, due to their size and weight.
'Nother
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: ...new cliché ...as easy
as taking healthcare from a baby
Science
Fiction Convention of the Week:
IKKiCON – December 29-31, Austin,
TX IKKiCON
is a Japanese Animation and Pop-Culture Convention held annually in
Austin, Texas.
http://ikkicon.com/
Actual
Science Convention of the Week:
2017-18 Medical-Dental-Legal Update, December 25-29, Vail, CO.
https://www.aeiseminars.com/the-medical-dental-legal-update/program-description/
Moonbeam:
The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's
just sort of a tired feeling. --Paula Poundstone
In
Michigan, a Republican congressman said that God would “take care
of” climate change. So now, a group of polar bears are on their way
to “take care of” a Republican congressman in Michigan. --Conan
O'Brien (6/5/17) / It came out yesterday that under the Republican
healthcare plan, 22 million people will lose their health insurance
over the next decade. 22 million! Or as Trump put it, "Wow —
that's like, half my Inauguration crowd!" --Jimmy Fallon
(6/27/17)
..........Wearisome
labour..........Wagner .....Act 1 Siegfried
Late
Night Snacks: House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that the tax plan is "an
all-out looting of America, a wholesale robbery of the middle class."
Which incidentally, is also the slogan for Whole Foods.
--Jimmy Fallon / Hundreds
of flights were canceled today at the world's busiest airport in
Atlanta due to a massive power outage yesterday. Experts are saying
this could lead to as many as 30 texts from your mother.
--Seth Meyers ~~Everyone else was on vacation
Justice
on the Web of the Week:
Odetta singing Leadbelly's Jim
Crow Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pejC6hFJcVM
Not
So Late Night Snacks: Yes, the tax cut
bill...It is impossible to say if the tax cuts will do anything for
our economy as promised but one effect is certian it got vice
president Pence as close as he has ever been to experiencing sexual
pleasure. Paul Ryan who was presiding over the house announced the
bill's passage like he was Scrooge waking up on Christmas morning
seeing that Tiny Tim had died and yelling, "Yoohoo! Free
Crutch!" -Peter Sagal Wait, Wait,
Don't Tell Me
Still
More Funniest Thing I Read of the Month:
Caption under a picture of smiling Ryan and McConnell: Not Just Evil
– Smugly Evil --From the Website of Roy Zimmerman End
of the Ship
Let
us make it a year in which we, all citizens, governments, leaders
strive to overcome our differences. --UN Secretary-General
Don
Jr. has a good explanation: “It was a short introductory meeting. I
asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program
about the adoption of Russian children.” Yes, I think they were
talking about the adoption of little Timmy Kislyak. --Stephen
Colbert (7/10/17) / The president has been very busy repealing and
replacing his staff, most notably Anthony Scaramucci, the Mooch, who
10 days ago was named the White House communications director. Today
he’s out of a job. Meanwhile, Donald Trump tweeted about Reince
Priebus, who he fired. He wrote, “We accomplished a lot together,
and I am proud of him.” That’s two lies in one sentence. --Jimmy
Kimmel (7/30/71)
..........Victorious
conqueror, conquering light!.........Wagner …..Act 4 Siegfried
^^^
As
bowling became more popular over time, bowling equipment makers began
to create balls from hard wood like lignum vitae.
Worthless
Fact of the Week: the
Boston
Herald reported
Emma Snodgrass had been ‘visiting places of amusement around
Boston, ... used to circulate in all the drinking houses, made
several violent attempts to talk 'horse,' and do other things for
which 'fast' boys are noted.” ~~I did a little research but was
unable to find out what talking “horse” meant.
Weird
Word of the Week:
Proteome – the complete set of the proteins produced from the
instructions coded in genome.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-pro1.htm
Wicked
Funniest Thing I Heard of the Week:
A Cowboy Song: The legend of roy moore –Stephen Colbert video
http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/video/7279C4F4-0C9F-8EE2-60C6-53225C4DA3BE/the-legend-of-roy-moore/
Wacky
Uses for Common Products:
Protect a rifle. To keep debris or rainwater out of the barrel of a
rifle, place a Trojan Condom over the muzzle.
http://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/trojan.html
Before
heading out of town today, President Trump signed a number of
sanctions against Russia. They passed with an overwhelming majority
in the House, so Trump had to sign it. Vladimir Putin is not happy.
In fact, he changed their relationship status on Facebook today to
"It's complicated." --Seth Meyers (8/2/17) / The American
Cancer Society has decided not to host its charity event at Trump’s
resort, Mar-a-Lago. You know it’s not a good sign for Trump when
he’s considered too toxic for cancer. --Conan O'Brien (8/17/17)
I
resolve to drink enough that I need Ryan Seacrest's help to count
backwards from 10.
...........Runes
of treaties deeply pondered.........Wagner …..Prelude
Gȍtterdȁmmerung
^^^^
Bowling
balls continued to evolve, through to the present day, incorporating
several pieces as part of the ball’s structure. In the 1980s,
polyurethane coverstocks, the name given to the ball’s surface
layer, became popular. Polyurethane gave players an edge over
traditional polyester balls due to the friction that could be created
between the ball and the lane surface. Polyurethane coverstocks also
allowed bowlers to generate more hook on the lane and more entry
angle into the pins than ever before.
Word
Shakespeare Made Up of the Week: Rant – to speak or shout at
length in a wild, impassioned way. Hamlet,
Act V, Scene 1 Hamlet: Nay, an thou'lt mouth, I'll rant as well as
thou.
Peace
Website of the Week:
Images of the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland Click
Here
Puck
the Brave Episode of the Week:
Here's our fearless Puck enjoying Christmas Day off and watching
Christmas Story marathon on television. ~~Yes, of course, his
favorite scene is the dog stealing the meat.
In
another tweet, Trump added "Move fast, Congress." Now how
can you tell Congress to move fast when the Senate majority
leader is literally a tortoise? --James Corden (9/13/17) / According
to The Washington Post, in July of 2016, former Trump campaign
chairman Paul Manafort offered to provide private briefings on the
presidential race to a Russian billionaire who is close with Vladimir
Putin. So Paul Manafort was the campaign manager for Donald Trump,
and he met with a billionaire who was friends with Putin, who was in
a movie with Kevin Bacon! I did it! --Seth Meyers (9/32/17)
I
can't believe it's been a whole year since I haven't become a better
person.
..........and
taste of the magical draught.........Wagner …..Act 1
Gȍtterdȁmmerung
^^^^^
The
company produces 2,500 bowling balls per day, which amounts to
600,000 bowling balls each year.
Month
of the Week: January is Book Blitz Month
--Too many books? I think what you mean is not enough bookshelves.
Creative
Activism of the Week:
Utah
Republican, misogynist, and yellow-bellied deadbeat official Jason
Chaffetz held a town hall meeting where thousands of people showed up
to protest his inability to do his job. Unable to get past his
pathetic ego, Rep. Chaffetz has decided to follow the Republican
Party line
lie that anyone voicing displeasure with Republicans are “paid
protesters.” Paid by who? Well, since so many of these “paid
protesters” haven’t gotten paid yet, some have decided that they
would like Rep. Chaffetz to reimburse them for their protesting
efforts. Read
More
Most
Beautiful Thing in the State:
Linville Falls, North Carolina
Linville
Falls drops 90 ft. into the 12-mile long Linville
Gorge
with
cliffs towering above the river. Only one of the trails is strenuous,
and you can hike to all five viewpoints with a four-mile hike.
https://www.romanticasheville.com/linville_falls.htm
Today's
Peace of History, December
29, 1996:
War-weary guerrilla and government leaders in Guatemala signed an
accord ending 36 years of civil conflict.
Of
course, Donald Trump is dealing with huge issues right now — Puerto
Rico, Las Vegas, sadly, North Korea — so, naturally, he kept his
eye on the ball and let this Tillerson story pass. I'm just kidding!
This morning he tweeted, “NBC news is #FakeNews and even more
dishonest than CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting.” What's
lovely is that in times of trouble, Donald Trump always is there —
for himself. --Stephen Colbert (10/4/17) / Why is Donald Trump so
proud of getting a standing ovation? Standing ovations aren’t
sincere. They are just something that people feel obligated to do.
I’m saying this as someone who gets a standing ovation every night.
--James Corden (10/25/17)
..........Came
he unharmed through the fire..........Wagner …..Act 3
Gȍtterdȁmmerung
Masthead
of the Week:
fRiday ePistle, nOt nEw ePistle, January 29, 2017. Online at:
http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/
Generic Tag Line. Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 1800 Goodell Ct.
Lawrence, KS 66046
Final
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: One
of my biggest fears is that I'll marry into a family that runs 5Ks on
holidays.
Moonbeam:
Champagne is the only wine that enhances a woman's beauty. --Madame
De Pompadour
Cost
of War:
Tax
dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 12/28/17: $793,555,291,230.
Tax
dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 12/21/17: $792,871,213,468.
Tax
dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 12/28/17:
$821,124,698,425.
Tax
dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 12/21/17:
$821,104,705,413.
Tax
dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 12/28/17:
$1,807,013,812,449.
Tax
dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 12/21/17:
$1,805,585,225,562.
Our
duty to the peoples we serve is to work together to move from fear of
each other, to trust in each other, trust in the values that bind us,
and trust in the institutions that serve and protect us... UN
Secretary-General
..........Awake,
life up thine eyelids.........Wagner …..Act 4 Gȍtterdȁmmerung
President
Trump is headed home after his trip to Asia. And I saw that at one
point, 2,000 protesters in the Philippines were shouting, “Go
home!” — while back in America, 60 million people were shouting,
“Stay there!” --Jimmy Fallon (11/14/17) / You might remember that
while he was in China, Trump asked China’s President Xi Jinping to
release three UCLA players who had been arrested for shoplifting from
a Chinese mall — easily the most scandalous thing to happen in a
mall that didn’t involve Roy Moore. --Stephen Colbert (11/20/17)
Famous
Last Words: Alas for her whose breasts are sand! --Lorca's
Women's Song from Yerma
May
Peace cover your new year
And
Joy kiss it every day
prairie
mama
christine
Last
Laugh:
