Famous
First Words: We the
people... Constitution
of the State of Iowa
Happy
Birthday to the late Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics guy. He's the one
who taught us being okay or talented or gifted isn't enough, we need
a super power to be of any real use. If Iron Man and Silver Surfer
teamed up they'd be alloys.
..........When
the bells all ring and the horns all blow.........Ella Fitzgerald
…..What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
Happy
New Year - English
Be
at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every
new year find you a better person. --Benjamin Franklin
It
is a dark and windy Friday morning. The sky is a slate gray under
which blackish wisps scurry to the east. 24°F temperature and 16 mph
winds make it unpleasant to walk through; clothing blows against skin
and wind sneaks between glove and sleeve, between scarf and collar.
There is no birdsong to cheer up the dawn; there is only the distant
sound of trash trucks and motor cars. Puck finding nothing moving
barks at the wind instead. We cut our constitutional a little short
this morning because I am cold. The willow branches dance
frantically but silently and even the bare limbs of maple thrash
about like giant skeletons dancing. We return home to warmth and
light and stillness. Puck slurps down a saucer of milk and settles
in for a nap. I fix myself a cup of decaf, sweet and creamy and warm.
It is a steamy warmth that reminds my nose of good mornings past and
coats my tongue and throat with sweetened tartness. Now I watch at
the backdoor window, watch the willow still whipping and the
occasional oak leaf whiz by and I am so glad I get write to you in
here.
Have
a superior weekend, ePistlers
Marvel:
Humans who wanna be gods. DC: Gods who wanna be human.
..........If
I don't see you through the week..........Van Morrison …..Celtic
New Year
Xin
Nian Kuai Le - Chinese
Trivia
Questions: The US Pledge of Allegiance is 73 years old today.
^
About when was it originally written?
^^
Who wrote it?
^^^
Know what has been added or subtracted?
^^^^
How about the salute that was originally used with the pledge?
^^^^^
Ever heard of the pledge used before the current one was adopted?
Funniest
Thing I Read of the Week: We need to add
PR, DC, and Guam as states. 53 is a prime number; then we can truly
be one nation, indivisible.
Sad
News of the Week:
Some ePistliers may remember the Conversations
with Mother section
collected
by the Bread Ladye. Marilyn Uppman died earlier this month. I
didn't find out until after the memorial service was held. I will
miss her very much, she was a bright light in my life. Good-bye,
Marilyn, I'll miss you. KC
Star Obituary
Fake
Library Statistic of the Week:
A librarian's biggest holiday fears: 40% treats made by patrons; 30%
treats made by coworkers; 10% forced Santa hat wearing.
https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
Loki
is a god, and he's my brother. He killed 80
million people in two days. He's adopted.
..........Let's
watch the old year die.........Bing Crosby …..Let's Start the New
Year Right
Antum
salimoun - Arabic
Moonbeam:
I tried to housebreak a dog once and he just laughed and laughed.
--Charley Weaver (Cliff Arquette)
Something
to Think About of the Week:
Big
Hello: Malō -
Samoan https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Next
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week:
Motion to rename “mansplaining” to “correctile dysfunction”.
--Submitted by cmr of ks
Week
of the Week: It's About Time Week
(12/25-31) –Time waits for no man; time is obviously a woman. /
That belt with a watch on it is a waist of time.
Spiderman:
With great power comes great utility bills.
..........Wanted
to bring the year in right.........Eagles …..Funky New Year
Godt
Nytår - Danish
^
The
pledge was first written in 1892.
It was unveiled in October at the Chicago World Fair Columbian
Exposition to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of
America by white guys.
Almanac:
It is Friday, December 28, 2018. The moon will be last quarter
tomorrow and is in Scorpio. It is Holy Innocents Day,
Pledge of Allegiance Day, Card Playing Day, and National Chocolate
Day. In Nepál it is King Birendra's
Birthday.
Among
those born on this day were Cliff
Arquette (Charlie Weaver, 1905), Lew Ayres (1908), Sam Levenson
(1911), Stan Lee (1922),
Rod Sterling (1924), Maggie Smith (1934) and Edgar Winter (1946).
On
December twenty-eighth Westminister
Abbey opened (1065), Iowa became the 29th state (1846), the world's
first movie theater opened (Paris, 1895), Cyrano
de Bergerac
premiered (Paris, 1897), the Intercollegiate Athletic Association was
founded (became NCAA in 1910, 1905), Ma Rainey made her last
recording (1928), Congress adopted the Pledge
of Allegiance
(1945), Night
of the Iguana
opened (1961), and Comet Kohoutek went to perihelion (1973).
Night
Sky, 12/28:
Last-quarter
Moon tonight (exact at 4:39 am on the 29th EST). The Moon, half-lit,
rises around midnight in Virgo. By the beginning of Saturday's dawn
it's shining high in the south, close above Gamma (γ) Virginis and
about a fist and a half upper right of Spica.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Max
Picture of the Week:
Max enjoying himself.
This
Week: Saturday, December 29 -
Tick Tock Day & YMCA Day
Night
Sky, 12/28: Before dawn on Sunday the 30th,
the waning Moon shines upper left of Spica. Much farther upper left
of the Moon is Arcturus, pale yellow-orange. Far to the Moon's lower
left are bright Venus, then Jupiter, then Mercury.
Sunday,
December 30 – Bacon Day & No Interruptions Day
Monday,
December 31 – National Champagne Day & Look On The
Bright Side Day
Tuesday,
January 1 – Ellis Island Day & First Foot Day & New
Years Day
Night
Sky, 1/1: Mars shines highest in late twilight
to midnight. Uranus is highest in the south right after dark and
Neptune is lower in the southwest right after dark. Saturn is lost
in the sunset.
Wednesday,
January 2 – Happy Mew Year for Cats Day & National
Science Fiction Day
Thursday,
January 3 – JRR Tolkien Day
When
Spiderman shoots a sticky substance all over someone he's amazing.
When I do I'm a pervert.
..........There's
glitter on the floor after the party..........Taylor Swift …..New
Year's Day
Nutan
Varshbhinandan - Gujarati
^^
The
Pledge's author, Francis Bellamy, never intended the Pledge to be
said on a daily basis. It
was written for a national school celebration to commemorate
Christopher Columbus' first voyage.
'Nother
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Is there anything more
capitalist than a peanut with a top hat, cane, and monocle selling
you other peanuts to eat.
Moonbeam:
Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children. --Sam Levenson
Top
Ten Late Night Snacks: Dave Letterman's Top Ten New Year's
Resolutions
10
When visiting strip bars, stop using Regis' name to get free lap
dances
9
Become a prison pen pall with Hillary
8
Work up the courage to wear my dreadlock toupee in public
7
No more cigars in the shower
6
Combine my love of bass fishing and exercise into new sport:
Bassericze
5
Only pay for sex if the price seems really, really reasonable
4
Get back to my true love, cabaret
3
Correct that annoying typo in my Metallica tattoo
2
Find perfect joke to open at Academy Awards (sorry, that was a
resolution last year)
1
Every time Drew Barrymore is on the show, tell her it's my birthday.
Not
So Late Night Snacks: By the way it is not the
wall or a wall
it's just wall. That's what homeland secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen,
said in front of congress this week I would ask for wall; we need
wall. O, please, give me break. --Peter Sagal Wait, Wait Don't
Tell Me (12/22/18)
Let
you do all you can to live at peace not only with your world but with
yourself also. --Rejesh Goyal
In
Oklahoma 2 men dressed as Batman and Captain America tried to rob a
gas station. They're being charged with attempted robbery and mixing
Marvel with DC.
..........May
we all have a vision now and then.........Abba …..Happy New Year
Saehae
Bock Mani ba deu sei yo! - Korean
^^^
The
original text for the Pledge of Allegiance did not include "under
God."Congress
officially added that phrase in 1954.
Worthless
Fact of the Week: At the Salon Indien of the
Grand Café in Paris, cinematography pioneers the Lumiere Brothers
effectively opened the first cinema box office, charging the public
to see 10 short films they had filmed earlier that year projected
onto a big screen.
Wicked
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I've
gotta teach my facial expressions how to use their inside voice.
--Submitted by ajm of ok
Weird
Word of the Week:
Nocebo – something that induces a feeling of ill-health for no very
good medical reason, the opposite of a placebo.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-noc1.htm
Wacky
Uses for Common Products:
Remove chewing gum, crayon, tar, and Silly Putty from most surfaces.
Spray on WD-40, wait, and wipe.
http://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/wd40.html
Daredevil
walks into a bar and a table and a chair.
...........A
world in white gets underway........U2 …..New Year's Day
Feliz
Ano Novo - Portuguese
^^^^
The
Pledge used to include a military-style salute. But
the salute became associated with European fascists in the 1930s.
Congress amended the U.S. Flag Code in 1942 to recommend the
hand-over-the-heart salute.
Top
Ten Date of the Week: January 2, 1996
Christine's
Promise of the Week: I just watched a
video about the son of a fallen fire fighter who received thousand of
fire fighter badges for Christmas. He was collecting them to honor
his dad. At the end of the clip a voice over said his father was
looking down and he was so proud. I just want to go on record, now
while I'm still relatively sound of mind, that once I'm dead, I'm
done being proud, or disappointed, or fearful, or anything else.
Instead, I'll be dead. I've worked a lifetime trying to tame my ego
and I'm looking forward to ditching it altogether when I pass.
Penultimate
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It is
the period between Christmas and New Year. No one knows what day it
is. Time doesn't really exist. Can we start drinking at 10am? Why
not. Existence is a confusion.
Science
Fiction Convention of the Week: There are no science fiction
convention listed for this weekend. --If you think this Universe is
bad, you should see some of the others. --Philip K Dick
Actual
Science Convention of the Week:
Deadline for ITEEA Elementary STEM Council Innovative Grand Design
Challenge December 31. https://www.iteea.org/278.aspx
Puck
the Brave Episode of the Week:
Here's our fearless Puck still on holiday vacation. His bed has
grown from a single pillow to a pillow and 3 blankets.
The
term black power was first used by Stokley Carmichael in June of
1966; the first Black Panther comic came out in July of 1966. Just
sayin'.
..........We'll
sing along with Auld Lang Syne.........Pentatonix …..New Year's
Day
Sirito
kypoton ra'a - Carib
^^^^^
There
were previous pledges to the flag. Civil
war veteran George T. Balch wrote this one in 1885:"I give my
heart and my hand to my country—one country, one language, one
flag."
Month
of the Week: January is Get Organized
Month
– I am one stack of crap away from an episode of hoarders. /
Professional Organizer Confession #17: I take my vitamins from
largest to smallest.
Final
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Happy
New Year! May your city never become San Francisco, New York, or
Seattle. --Submitted by rhb of ks
Grammar
Joke of the Week: A
figure of speech literally walks into a bar and ends up getting
figuratively hammered.
Today's
Peace of History: December 28, 1869, The (Noble and Holy Order of the) Knights of
Labor, a labor union formed by tailors in Philadelphia, held the
first Labor Day ceremonies in American history. Led by Uriah S.
Stephens, they advocated an end to child and convict labor, equal pay
for women, a progressive income tax, and cooperative ownership of
mines and factories by management and workers.
I
hate St. Patrick's Day. Any time I wear green everybody thinks I'm
the Incredible Hulk.
..........The
wind blows memories through my hall.........Judy Garland …..Happy
New Year
Nizhónígo
Nináánááhai - Navajo
Masthead
of the Week:
Friday ePistle December 28, 2018, Marvelous ePistle. Online at:
http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/
Super Peace, Love, and Laughs . Exclusive editor: Christine Smith.
2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047
Moonbeam:
There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on.
--Rod Serling
Cost
of War: As of 12/27/18 Military Costs of War
since 2001: $2,884,740,631,702.
As
of 12/20/18 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,882,708,827,795.
As
of 12/27/18 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $869,813,955,664.
As
of 12/20/18 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $868,433,036,392.
As
of 12/27/18 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $643,137,429,056.
As
of 12/20/18 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $641,401,617,402.
As
of 12/27/18 Veterans Care since 2001: $301,803,942,334.
As
of 12/20/18 Veterans Care since 2001: $301,409,399,562.
As
of 12/27/18 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,699,496,689,978.
As
of 12/20/18 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,688,579,309,520.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
~~Sorry about last week's dates all being the same, my only excuse
is that it was almost Christmas.
I
do solemnly yearn for the folks around the world a thoroughly
Peaceful, Happy, and Beautiful New Year free from hunger, poverty,
disease, inequality, war, and conflict.” ―Lord
Robin
Selamat
Tahun Baru - Malay
..........It's
the last night of December.........Mary Chapin Carpenter …..New
Year's Day
When
Iron Man does a triple flip off the parallel bars, they call it a
ferrous wheel.
Famous
Last Words: ...in the twilight zone -Rod Serling
May
Peace be your public face
And
Joy your secret identity
prairie
mama
christine
Last
Laugh:
