Friday, February 2, 2018

Spunky Old ePistle

Famous First Words: Fermatevi, compagni! --Handel's Poro
February is Spunky Old Broads Month: Police in Tampa, Florida, raided and shut down a weekly $4-a-round mah-jongg game played by four elderly women. The Tampa Week asked its readers for titles of crime movies that could be made about this bust: Golden Girls, Interrupted / The Lavender Hair Mob / Indicting Miss Daisy
..........You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys.........The Smothers Brothers …..Streets of Laredo
50 Ways to Promote Peace #38: Attend local government meetings
It is a cold (9°F) Friday morning. The sky is devoid of clouds; but the waning moon can be seen moving slowly to the west and arching jet trails pick up the pink of the rising sun – brilliantly to the east and palely to the west. There are no birds at the feeders but a distant chee chee tells us the birds are waking. Two geese flying towards the wetlands also have lots to say this morning. Squirrels too are still abed and Puck has no one with which to argue...until the dogs next door come out. The sound of distant machinery hums away. There is no wind but the single digit temperature still manages to seep into the edges of clothing. Puck finishes his conversation and waits not so patiently at the gate. So we come inside to warmth and light and the smell of brewing Moose Munch. Puck settles onto a stack of blankets on the foot of the bed and I process my decaf with cream and sweetener, take a long, hot gulp, and then, the best part of all, I sit and write to you.
Hope your weekend lights your fire anew, ePistliers.
The average age of people living at Longtooth Acres is 85. Recently, a neighbor turned 100 and a big birthday party was thrown. Her daughter attended and when asked replied that she was “81years old”. The birthday girl shook her head and said, “They sure grow up fast.”
..........and the body count is finally filed….......Graham Nash …..Military Madness
Trivia Questions: Happy Groundhog Day!
^ By what other name(s) is the holiday known?
^^ What kind of animal is the groundhog?
^^^ What do groundhogs eat, generally?
^^^^ Where is the largest and most famous US celebration of Groundhog Day?
^^^^^ Where is the largest and most famous Canadian celebration of Groundhog Day?
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Insane fact: the sun is approximately 8 CVS receipts from earth.
Fake Library Statistic of the Week: You have a 50/50 chance that a librarian will waive your fine if you give them enough chocolate so you may as well try https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
Three elderly sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, shared a house together. One evening, the 96-year-old sister went upstairs to take a bath. As she put her foot into the tub, she paused. Then she yelled down to the other two sisters and asked, “Was I getting in the tub or out?” “You dern fool,” said the 94-year-old. “I’ll come up and see.” When she got half way up the stairs she paused. “Was I going up the stairs or down?” The 92-year-old sister was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea and thought, “I hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood.” She shook her head and called out, “I’ll be up to help you both as soon as I see who’s at the door.
..........The sea was calm and the starfish were bright..........Smothers Brothers …..Crabs Walk Sideways
Moonbeam: All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. --Havelock Ellis
Something to Think About of the Week

Week of the Week: US Snow Sculpting Week (February 1-5) --Across the street from a house with a 4 person snow family, two snow cats, a snow bear, and Snoopy on his doghouse, the family put a sign that said, "Free Snowman Kit - Some Assembly Required"
The first Jewish President calls his mother in Florida: “Ma — I’m having the first Passover at White House — You’re coming of course” Ma: “I’ve got dietary issues — I have a special diet” Son: “Ma you know I have a chef at the White house — you can have whatever you want.” Ma: “Well, but you know I don’t fly, I don’t like all the germs and all those kids, and the seats are too small.” Son: “Ma, you know I have Air Force One — I’ll come pick you up, you’ll have your own airplane.” Ma: “Oh that’s nice — But I really don’t like hotels, all the bedbugs these days — I like a good clean bed and hard mattress.” Son: “Well Ma, You can sleep in the Lincoln Room” Ma: “Well Ok then, I’ll come.” (she hangs up the phone) Next her friend Edith calls and says, “So, what are you doing for Passover?” Ma: “I’m going to my son’s” Edith: “Oh the Doctor?” Ma: “No the other one.”
..........Fear is the lock and laughter is the key to your heart.........Crosby Still & Nash …..Suite Judy Blue-eyes
^ The Christian name for Groundhog Day is Candlemas and claims to be a celebration of Mary presenting Jesus at the Temple but is also sometime called St. Bridgit Day. The Pagan holiday is called Imbolc or Imblog (aka Là Fhèill Brìghde, Manx, Laa'l Breeshey).
Almanac: It is Friday, February 2, 1018. The moon was full (Blue) on Wednesday and is in Virgo. It is Ayn Rand Day, Candelmas, Crepe Day aka La Chandeleur, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Job Shadow Day, Hedgehog Day, Imbolc, Marmot Day, Sled Dog Day, Working Naked Day, World Play Your Ukulele Day, and World Wetlands Day. Because it is the First Friday Bubble Gum Day, Give Kids A Smile Day, and Wear Red Day.
Among those born on this day were Jacob van Campen (1595), Nell Gwyn (1650), Jean-Baptiste Boussingault (1802), Havelock Ellis (1859), Solomon Guggenheim and Mehmed VI Vahideddin (1861), James Joyce (1882), Charles Correll (1890), Any Rand (1905), Renzo Rossellini (1908), Charlotte Auerbach (1910), Elaine Stritch (1926), Stan Getz (1927), Tom Smothers (1937), Graham Nash (1942), Farrah Fawcett (1947), Christie Brinkley (1954), Brent Spiner (1955), Pebbles Flintstone (1963), Trevor Noah (1984), and Data (2338).
On February second Handel's Poro premiered (1731), the first shipload of Chinese arrived in San Francisco (1848), Samuel Clemens first used the name Mark Twain (1963), the Knights of Columbus formed (1882), the Female Army Nurse Corps were established (1901), Al Capone was sent to prison (1932), Goering banned communist meetings and demonstrations (1933), the lie detector was first used in court (9135), What's My Line first broadcast (1950), a presidential news conference was first televised (Eisenhower, 1955), Liz Taylor married Mike Todd (3rd, 1957), Idi Amin became dictator of Uganda (1971), Midnight Special debuted (1973), and Late Night with David Letterman premiered (1982).
Night Sky, 2/2: The sky's biggest asterism (informal star pattern) — at least the biggest that's widely recognized — is the Winter Hexagon. It fills the sky toward the east and south these evenings. Start with brilliant Sirius at its bottom. Going clockwise from there, march up through Procyon, Pollux and Castor, Menkalinan and Capella on high, down to Aldebaran, then to Rigel in Orion's foot, and back to Sirius. Betelgeuse shines inside the Hexagon, off center. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Days of the Dead Convention (Atlanta, February 2-4) Where Horror Comes to Party... Media stars (Malcolm McDowell / Matthew Lillard) and Wrestlers (Shawn Michaels & Mean Gene Okerlund). http://www.daysofthedead.net/atlanta/
Actual Science Convention of the Week: Petroleum Geology for Non-Geologists (February 1-2, Houston, TX). Designed for oil and gas professionals with little or no technical training. https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eeol62100cb4caeb&oseq=&c=&ch=
This Week: Saturday, February 3 – Barber Day & The Day the Music Died
Night Sky, 2/3: After it’s good and dark, look due east, not very high, for twinkly Regulus. Extending upper left from it is the Sickle of Leo, a backward question mark. "Leo announces spring," goes an old saying. Actually, Leo showing up in the evening announces the cold, messy back half of winter. Come spring, Leo will already be high.
Sunday, February 4 - Super Bowl Sunday & Quacker Day & World Cancer Day
Monday, February 5 – Weather Forecaster Day & Shower With a Friend Day
Tuesday, February 6 – Lame Duck Day & African American Coaches Day
Night Sky, 2/6: Mercury is lost in the sunrise. Venus remains hidden deep in the sunset. Mars and Jupiter (magnitudes +1.2 and –2.0, respectively) rise in the east-southeast in the hours after midnight. They're high in the south by early dawn. Jupiter, the first up, is the brightest point in the pre-dawn sky, shining in dim Libra. Mars glows to Jupiter's lower left in the head of Scorpius.
Wednesday, February 7 – Laura Ingalls Wilder Day & National Periodical Table Day & “e” Day
Night Sky, 2/7: Saturn (magnitude +0.5, in Sagittarius) is becoming easy to see low in the southeast around the beginning of dawn, if the air is good and clear. Uranus (in Pisces) is still well up in the southwest right after dark. Neptune (in Aquarius) is sinking away low in the west-southwest after dark.
Thursday, February 8 – Laugh and Get Rich Day & Opera Day
Sitting on the side of Hwy 22 waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22 MPH. He thinks to himself, “This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!” So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over. Approaching the car, he notices that there are five old ladies — two in the front seat and three in the back - eyes wide and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, says to him, “Officer, I don’t understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?” “Ma’am,” the officer replies, “You weren’t speeding, but you were driving slower than the minimum.” She answered. “No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly... Twenty-Two miles an hour!” the old woman says a bit proudly. The State Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that “22” was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error. “But before I let you go, Ma’am, I have to ask... Is everyone in this car ok? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven’t muttered a single peep this whole time.” the officer asks. “Oh, they’ll be alright in a minute officer. We just got off Route 119.”
..........The breeze hasn't time to stop and hear what I say..........Smothers Brothers …..I Talk to the Trees
^^ The groundhog (marmota monax) is also know as a woodchuck. A member of the rodent family (Sciuridae) . Known also as chuck, wood-shock, groundpig, whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, and red monk.
Next Funniest thing I Read of the Week: Anything You Can I Do, I Can Do Bleeding --Sign at 2018 Women's March – Columbus Circle
Moonbeam: All day long I add up columns of figures and make everything balanced. I come home. I sit down. I look at a Kandinsky and it's wonderful. --Solomon Guggenheim.
Late Night Snacks: Pope Francis yesterday condemned fake news, saying the spread of false information dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. Specifically, the part about there being an Adam and Eve. --Seth Meyers / In the news yesterday, North Korea suggested that it would like to reunite with South Korea. I think something’s up because today South Korea gave North Korea its Netflix password. --Conan O'Brien / According to the National Travel and Tourism Office, tourism is down in America since we elected President Drumpf. The U.S. tourism industry lost 40,000 jobs and $4.6 billion in revenue since the inauguration. I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to come here, we’re so welcoming to foreigners, starting right at the top. We don’t really need a wall. We already have Drumpf. Drumpf is his own wall, in a way. --Jimmy Kimmel / The Justice Department recovered 50,000 missing text messages from FBI agents. 50,000! And they were all from just trying to set up a group brunch. “I can’t make it then, man, no way. My kid’s got karate.” --Jimmy Fallon / For the first time ever, Drumpf indicated that he is open to a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Finally, a way for immigrants to become citizens without having to marry Donald Drumpf. --Stephen Colbert
Not So Late Night Snacks: He told her (Stormy Daniels) he hates sharks and he never gives to charities that support sharks. Shark perservation charities have seen a huge surge in dontations this week. Because asked to make a choice between remoreless and human-eating machine on the one hand and a shark on the other, people take the shark. --Peter Sagal / We won't know just how poplar sharks are until we see the number of support sharks on airplanes. --Bim Adewunmi / Shouldn't Trump love sharks because they're great and white. - Peter Grosz Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me
50 Ways to Promote Peace #37: Learn about symbols of peace and use tangible examples as reminders in your own home, workspace, etc.
A woman on the phone to her friend; I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising…. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.
..........And the downhill run to Papeete.........Crosby Still & Nash …..Southern Cross
^^^ Mostly herbivorous, groundhogs eat primarily wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops, when available.
Worthless Fact of the Week: The very first challenger on the very first What's My Line was Miss Pat Finch of Manhattan, NY. She was a hat check girl at the Stork Club and won $25.
Weird Word of the Week: Upskilling – increasing the skills of workers, usually through training...distinguished from reskilling http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-ups2.htm
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Improvise a water container. Fill a Trojan Condom with water, like a water balloon, to transport or store water in this expandable container. http://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/trojan.html
An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening at church service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, "STOP! ACTS 2:38!" (Repent and be baptized, in the name of the lord, so that your sins may be forgiven.) The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell scripture at you." "SCRIPTURE?!" replied the burglar, "She said she had an AXE and TWO 38's!
...........Do you love me as much I love you.........Smothers Brothers …..The Military Lovers
^^^^ The largest and most famous celebration for Groundhog Day in the United States is held in Punxsutawney, PA and the groundhog's name is Punxsutawney Phil. Approximately 40,000 people attend the Groundhog Day celebration each February 2nd.
Word Shakespeare Made Up of the Week: Skim milk – whole milk with the cream (milkfat) removed. King Henry IV, Part I Act II, Scene 3 Hotspur: O, I could divide myself and go to buffets, for moving such a dish of skim milk with so honourable an action! Hang him!
Website of the Week: zerodollarmovies.com This website provides you the list of movies which you can watch on YouTube for free. Watch your favorite movie on YouTube for free! ~~Searching is kind of dodgy, but there are a lot of movies there.
Puck the Brave Episode of the Week: Here's our fearless Puck at the masseuse in the case of the Soothing Siberian.
I think more about running away now than I did as a kid. But by the time I put in my teeth, put on my glasses, and find my keys, I've forgotten why I'm going.
..........Animal carpet wall to wall.........Crosby Still & Nash …..Marrakesh Express
^^^^^ The largest and most famous celebration for Groundhog Day in Canada is held in Wiarton, Ontario and the groundhog's name is Wiarton Willie.
Month of the Week: February is Grapefruit Month – Have you ever noticed nobody has ever ordered a grapefruit the size of a tumor? Ever. There's no reciprocity. --Janeane Garofalo
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Why do medications always have side effects like 'anal leakage' and “suicidal thoughts'? Why not “invisibility' or “spontaneous orgasms'? --submitted by rhb of ks
Most Beautiful Thing in the State: Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania...Glens Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark. Take the Falls Trail and explore the Glens, which boasts a series of wild, free-flowing waterfalls, each cascading through rock-strewn clefts in this ancient hillside. The 94-foot Ganoga Falls is the highest of 22 named waterfalls. https://www.google.com/search?q=Ricketts+Glen+State+Park&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPqqy-zPvYAhUEuVMKHcaRDNYQ_AUICygC&biw=1229&bih=588
Today's Peace of History, February 2, 1990: South African President F.W. De Klerk unbanned (lifted the ban on) opposition parties: the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan-Africanist Congress and the South African Communist party were now legal.
You know why I feel older? I went to buy sexy underwear and they automatically gift wrapped it. – Joan Rivers / Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age – as your beauty fades, so will his eyesight. --Phyllis Diller
..........Turn that hoecake round...........Smothers Brothers …..Cabbage
Masthead of the Week: fRiday ePistle February, 2, 2018, sPunky oLd ePistle. 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: They told me I'd understand when I got older, I'm 73 now – so when is it that am I finally going to understand?
Moonbeam: My mom used to get arrested for being with my dad. She would get fined. She would spend weekends in jail. --Trevor Noah
Cost of War:
Tax dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 2/1/17: $796,902,932,532.
Tax dollars spent in Afghanistan: as of 1/25/17: $796,220,500,005.
Tax dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 2/1/17: $821,222,537,410.
Tax dollars spent on the Iraq war since 2001 as of 1/25/17: $821,202,592,473.
Tax dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 2/1/17: $1,814,006,318,592.
Tax dollars spent on all wars since 2001 as of 1/25/17: $1,812,579,758,745.
50 Ways to Promote Peace #36: Think about any prejudices you might have and explore why they are a part of you, with the ultimate goal being that your release them. http://uncustomary.org/50-ways-promote-peace/
..........Peacocks wandered aimlessly underneath an orange tree........Crosby Still & Nash …..Guinevere
Three old friends were discussing their own deaths. The first said when she died she would like to cremated and her ashes scattered on her beloved garden. The second, said now she wanted to be buried so her children would come and put flowers on her grave. The third said, “I drank so much wine, I think I'll just be bottled.”
Famous Last Words: He raised his hand and over the desolate earth he traced in space the sign of the dollar. --Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged ~~The GOP is getting closer and closer to this image.
May Peace cast your shadow
And Joy surround your seasons
prairie mama
christine



Last Laugh
 

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