ePistle eGalité

 Famous First Words: Upon my word, I don't believe they're stirring yet. --Miss Tesman Hedda Gabler

Happy Birthday to Victor Hugo: I'll try to be brief but I have so much to Marseilles about the French Revolution. / At the time of the revolution what was in the middle of Paris? An R

..........Is easy to explain.........Eartha Kitt …..Under the Bridges of Paris

Peace and prosperity, public virtue, victory, everything is in the vigor of the laws. Outside of the laws, everything is sterile and dead. --Louis Antoine de Saint-Just

It is another gray, cold (32°F) Friday morning. (Just as I finished typing this sentence the sun came out looking cheerful and warm but it is fighting against some cloud to remain.) I hear but do not see Bruno ordering the squirrels about but they are too delighted with life to pay attention. Puck is asleep on his pillow having barked at the squirrels earlier and found the conversation one sided. But I have had my second shot, my friend, Joyce, who has been “prisoner” in a nursing home for a year can have visitors again and my eldest just became executive chef for The Reef restaurant – an upscale steak and seafood place up towards the airport. - which is reopening after a covid break. So the world looks pretty rosy at the moment and I am looking forward to a wonderful weekend. I certainly hope the same for you.

Hope your weekend is très libéré, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Describe yourself in 3 words. Lazy

Ted Cruz: A senator nobody likes walks into a scandal nobody can resist.

I'm in such a Henri to get to the French Revolutions jokes. / The French Revolution...first come, first severed.

..........I never knew the charms of spring.........Ella Fitzgerald …..April In Paris

Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday, Levi Strauss

^ Any idea when or where blue jeans originated?

^^ Do you know or remember the recurring equine logo?

^^^ About what year did jeans for women go on sale?

^^^^ Care to guess what a pair of Levis sold for in 1873?

^^^^^ About how many pairs of jeans are sold in the USA every year?

Big Hello: Halito – Choctaw https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just saw on the news that they are suggesting that people check on the elderly. I'm usually up by 6 or 6:30. Bring donuts. --Submitted by ss of kdmo

Max Picture of the Week: Mad Max at Road Warrior Training with grandpa

Fake Library Statistic of the Week: 18% of tea made in libraries is made for warming cold hands not for drinking. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Ted Cruz: So I went to Cancun because I don't mess with Texas.

French history is nothing to Lafayette at. / During the revolution, royalty was so frightened they lost their heads.

..........The day of glory has arrived..........Mireille Mathieu. …..La Marseillaise

Moonbeam: Not being heard is no reason for silence. --Victor Hugo

Third Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. --Steven Wright

Meditation Seed of the Week: What is the lie you tell yourself most often?

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Being snowed in looked cuter on them Hallmark movies. --Submitted by #RHOZ

Week of the Week: National Engineering Week (21-27) --The Optimist says the glass in half full. The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The engineer says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. / Architect: An engineer who can't do the math

Ted Cruz: Now I'm the only one in Texas in hot water.

The French Revolution was just like Prohibition; they both got rid of Bourbon. / By far the heaviest of the rebels was DanTon.

..........I felt unfettered and alive..........Joni Mitchell …..Free Man In Paris

^ In 1873 Levi Strauss & Jacob Davis of San Francisco patented rivet fastening pocket denim work pants and blue jeans were born.

Almanac: It is Friday, February 26, 2021. The moon will be full (Snow) tonight and is in Virgo. It is National Personal Chefs' Day, For Pete's Sake Day, Levi Strauss Day, National Bacon Day, and World Pistachio Day.

Among those born on this day were Wenceslas of Bohemia (1361), Guillaume Delisle (1675), Nichola Fago (1677), John Randall (1717), Victor Hugo (1802), Honore Daumier (1808), Filippo Marchetti (1831), Camille Flammarion (1842), Buffalo Bill Cody (1846), John Harvey Kellogg (1852), Herbert H. Dow (1866), Russell Alexander (1877), Tex Avery (1908), George G. Barker (1913), Robert Alda (1914), Theodore Sturgeon (1918), Tony Randall (1920), Betty Hutton (1921), Tom Kennedy (1927), Antoine "Fats" Domino (1928), Johnny Cash (1932), Eduard Buinovski (1936), Bob "The Bear" Hite (1943), Mitch Ryder (1945), Phyllis Eisenstein (1946), and Michael Bolton (1954

On February twenty-eighth Christopher Marlowe was baptized (1564), the Spanish Inquisition delivered an injunction to Galileo (1616), the Communist Manifesto was published (1848), the French Second Republic formed (1848), the 15th amendment was sent to the states for ratification (1869), the New York City subway opened (1870), Hedda Gabler premiered (1891), Acadia National Park was established (1919), Green Pastures opened (1930), Sue Dauser became the first female navy captain (1944), the first photo engraving typesetter was used (1954), somebody bought Secretariat from $5.7 million (1973), and Robert Penn Warren became the first US poet laureate (1984).

Night Sky, 2/16: Full Moon tonight (exactly at 3:17 am Saturday morning EST). The Moon is under the belly of Leo. This evening through the moonlight, Regulus is 7° to the Moon's upper right and Algieba is 7° above the Moon (again for North America.) Bring the binoculars. A typical binocular's view is about 6° wide. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Perseverance's arm and parachute against the Martian sky

Yet Another Funniest Thing I Read of the Month: You meet a man on the Oregon Trail. He tells you his name is Terry. “Terry?!” you say laughing, “Terry's a girl's name.” Without any hesitation, Terry pulls out a gun and shoots you dead. You have died of dissin' Terry. --Submitted by FNOG

This Week: Saturday, February 27 – International Polar Bear Day & National Retro Day

Sunday, February 28 – Floral Design Day & National Tooth Fairy Day

Night Sky, 2/28 : Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn lurk very low in bright dawn, but Jupiter and Saturn are getting a little higher and less difficult to see day by day, and Mercury brightens while maintaining its position. Look very low in the east-southeast 20 or 30 minutes before sunrise. With the sky that bright, bring binoculars. See illustration below.

Monday, March 1 – Baby Sleep Day & Pig Day & World Compliment Day

Tuesday, March 2 – Dr Seuss Day & Peace Corps Day

Wednesday, March 3 – National Anthem Day & Simplify Your Life Day & World Maths Day

Night Sky, : Mars (magnitude +0.8, under the Pleiades) continues to fade in the evening sky as it moves from Aries into Taurus. Look for it high in the west-southwest right after dark.

Thursday, March 4 – Toy Soldier Day & World Book Day & National Grammar Day

Ted Cruz: Trades the snow and the slush for a toilet to flush

Maximilien's valet disrobes Pierre./ The colors of the new French Flag were decided by a flag poll.

..........Saving the world on his own.........Jimmy Buffet …..He Went To Paris

^^ The Two Horse Trademark depicts 2 horses attempting to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls. Image

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If they can do rolling blackouts we can do rolling payments, right? Asking for a friend. --Submitted by #RHOZ

Moonbeam: To love another person is to see the face of God. --Victor Hugo

Late Night Snacks of the Week: And let’s be honest, nobody forced these Texans to choose the world’s shadiest company for their electricity, but also, nobody really talked about the worst-case scenario when they talked about the wonders of an unregulated market. --Trevor Noah / If you could wreak havoc on the markets by telling your internet buds to buy stock in Blockbuster as a goof, maybe don’t put those same markets in charge of, I don’t know, electricity. --Seth Meyers / Like many of Ted Cruz’s attempts to mimic human behavior... Only Ted Cruz would think he could repair his image by touching a maskless constituent two days after getting off an international flight. --Jimmy Kimmel

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie and the Joy of Grandma's Lap

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Oh Mitt. His statement he doesn't care for the very poor must have been a shock to the very poor, who until now had every reason to believe he was in their corner. The group Destitute People for Romney was devastated by this statement. They were like "We were so shocked at his callousness, we were out panhandling to put together a donation to his Super PAC, but now we'll just blow it on food." --Peter Sagal Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me 2/27/2012 ~~For some reason this week's episode wasn't up online. ??

It is impossible to reign innocently. --Louis Antoine de Saint-Just

Ted Cruz: Supports a one-way wall.

Weather during the French Revolution? It was raining terrorbly. / When I told my students that the French forefathers had brought down the monarchy during the revolution they asked how 4 men could defeat a whole army.

..........She walks along the boulevard.........John Denver …..A Country Girl In Paris

^^^ 1943 saw the introduction of Lady Levi's.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My cousin is so stupid he has to use spell check when he signs his name. --Submitted by rc or ks

Weird Word of the Week: Fidimplicitary: Individuals who put their faith in someone else's views. World Wide Words: Fidimplicitary

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Condition leather. If you're all out of mink oil, substitute Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing. Alberto VO5®: Wacky Uses

Puzzle of the Week: This week's challenge comes from listener Greg VanMechelen of Berkeley, Calif. Take the name of a famous actor — 4 letters in the first name, 5 letters in the last. Spoonerize it. That is, interchange the initial consonant sounds of the first and last names. The result will be two new familiar first names — one male, one female — that start with the same letter ... but that letter is pronounced differently in the two names. Who's the actor? --NPR Puzzle Sunday 9/27/20

Ted Cruz: When the going gets tough, Cruz gets gone.

The number of estates that were lost during the revolution was chȃteau-strophic./ How come there are no knock knock jokes about the French Revolution? Because freedom rings.

...........Afternoons on the Rue de Fleures.........Melissa Manchester …..When Paris Was A Woman

^^^^ A first pair of Levi's jeans cost $1.25 for one pair. One of those original pairs recently sold at auction for $46,532. FYI: Today Levi's 502 Taper Fit Men's Jeans sell for $148/pair. ~~And you can get it with Pokemon designs.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Books: helping introverts avoid conversation since 1454.

Science Fiction Joke of the Week: Maybe Texas should have been building a grid instead of a wall. --Nod Niltak --Submitted by jm of ks

Actual Science Joke of the Week: Do you know why we can fly a helicopter on Mars but can't turn on a light in Texas? Because scientists are in charge of Mars, and politicians are in charge of Texas

Ted Cruz: Received more money from oil and gas companies than any other senator

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: John Wayne — Juan, Jane

What did Marie Antoinette say when she heard the revolution happening in the street below. Oh, What a peasant surprise. / During the revolution they used to eat a breakfast of champignons.

..........We have taken to the streets.........Annie Clark …..Paris Is Burning

^^^^^ Approximately 450 million pairs of jeans are sold in the United States every year; this includes other brands.

Recreating Art With Anything You Can Find of the Week:

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What has two butts and kills people? An assassin --Submitted by #RHOZ

Today's Peace of History: February 26, 1998 --An international Citizens' Weapons Inspection Team, led by Canadian Member of Parliament Libby Davies (NDP-Vancouver East), was denied entry to determine the presence or absence of weapons of mass destruction at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Washington, nuclear submarine base, just 12 km (7 miles) from Seattle and less than 60 km (37 miles) from Canada.

Ted Cruz: Hero who traveled to Cancun to lasso the sun and bring it back to Texas.

Rebel mothers used to send their soldier children off with hugs and quiches. / I'd best stop making these French Revolution jokes before heads roll.

..........When the busy town goes home to sup.........Mel Torme …..Paris Smiles

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle February 2, 2021, ePistle eGalité. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: Reason is intelligence taking exercise. Imagination is intelligence with an erection. --Victor Hugo

Cost of War:

As of 2/25/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,107,920,082,179.

As of 2/15/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,105,101,973,823.

As of 2/25/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,021,489,459,957.

As of 2/15/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,019,574,233,691.

As of 2/25/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $833,815,400,688.

As of 2/15/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $831,407,690,100.

As of 2/25/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $345,139,879,295.

As of 2/15/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $344,592,671,283.

As of 2/25/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,308,365,581,834.

As of 2/15/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,300,677,371,040.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

Morality is stronger than tyrants. --Louis Antoine de Saint-Just

Famous Last Words: The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. --Manifesto of the Communist Party Chapter IV

..........De partir n'importe où..........Eartha Kitt …..C'est Si Bon

The next French Revolution will be a oui bit different. /The next French Revolution will be led by Robo-Pierre.

May Peace provide you advice

And Joy give you guidance

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

ePistle eTouffee 21

 Famous First Words: Throw me something, Mista

Merry Mardi Gras!! Mardi Gras often translates to Where's my bra? / King Cake calories don't count.

..........They all got their own and they pass it all around..........Glen Frey …..Partytown

Peace is always beautiful. --Walt Whitman

It is a frigid (-13°F) Tuesday morning. Fortunately, there is no wind and the willow out the back window is still. The ground is covered with a couple of inches of snow. It is enough to cover everything and leave powdered sugar coatings on tree bark and fence tops. But is it not enough to disguise the texture of the ground – it's lumps of dried grass and plants, its small valleys and hills. As I look out my window there is no movement. No squirrels scamper, no birds flutter by, there is no car roaring off carrying humans to work or chores. Even the shadow on the privacy fence five yards away, the shadow of smoke blowing, even that small movement has stopped as the sun rises and changes its position. And the sun is shining, the sky is a pale blue without a cloud in sight. So, with the sound of the furnace humming – a very good sound in weather like this – and a cup of sweetened, creamed decaf to my face, I say, let the good times roll, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I hate scrabble. It's alphabet and math all mixed together. It's like school in a box. --Bonnie Mom

Fat Tuesday is really Fat Albert's cousin from New Orleans / Mardi Gras the day the help get paid in beads.

..........Play all my records, keep dancing all night........Leslie Gore …..It's My Party

No ePistle this Friday (19^th), back with you on the 26^th. Stay safe!

Trivia Questions: It is Kyoto Protocol Day.

^ The protocols went into effect on this day but when was it actually passed.

^^ How many parties (nations) have signed onto the protocols?

^^^ From what organization did the protocols arise?

^^^^ What is the main focus of the protocols?

^^^^^ What is the USA's current relationship to the protocol?

Catch: ۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۝۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞۞ṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒṒ

Big Hello: Ɂédlánet'é - Chipewyan https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It's interesting growing up and learning that most adults are not smart. I had my suspicions as a kid but I didn't think the situation was this dire. --Gennette Cordova --Submitted by dr of oh

Max Picture of the Week: Flyboy Max out for a stroll

Fake Library Statistic of the Week: 46% of meetings on library future tech are held in a room without working wifi. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

French Quarter Pounder: Hamburger covered in beads / Beignet, done that.

..........Everybody all aboard.........The Gap Band …..Party Train

Moonbeam: All literature is political. --LeVar Burton

Meditation Seed of the Week: From Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land ... windows reminded Michael, who was raised by Martians, of the living art on Mars.

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What happens on a float, stays on the float.

Week of the Week: World Irish Dancing Week (13-20) --The clock in the antique shop had a sign that read Irish Step Dance Clock. When asked about it the proprietor said, The hands don't move at”. / Irish Dancing developed before antiperspirants.

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JK Rowling's Mardi Gras Book: Fantastic Beads and Where to Find Them. / We don't hide crazy, we parade it down the street.

..........To come along with me when I'm feeling wild.........Elvis Presley …..Party Doll

^ The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. Owing to a complex ratification process, it entered into force on 16 February 2005.

Almanac: It is Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The moon will be at first quarter on Friday and currently is in Aries. It is *Kyoto Protocol Day, *National Almond Day, *National Buna Day, Pancake Day Race (Between US and England), IHOP National Pancake Day, International Pancake Day aka Shrove Tuesday aka Mardi Gras and Paczki Day. Because it is the third Tuesday it is also Travel Africa Day.

Among those born on this day were Rhaticus (1514), Juan van Halen (1788), Franz von Holstein (1826), Johann Strauss (1866), Edger Bergen (1903), Marlene Bauer Hagge (1934), Sonny Bono (1935), Robin Clark (1935), LeVar Burton (1957), and Ice-T (1958).

On February sixteenth 9th recorded perihelion of Halley's Comet (374), Athenaeum was founded (18254), Orpheus by Franz Liszts premiered (1854), the Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks was founded (1868), Ladies Home Journal began publication (1883), the US Esperanto Club was orgnaized (1905), the first subway car with side doors began services in NY City (1909), Miranda, moon of Uranus, was first photographed (1947), and Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden divorced after 16 years (1989).

Night Sky, 2/16: Sirius, the Dog Star, blazes high in the southeast after dinnertime, the brightest star of Canis Major. Spot it lower left of Orion. In a dark sky with lots of stars visible, the stars of Canis Major can be connected to form a convincing dog profile. He's currently prancing on his hind legs; he wears Sirius on his chest. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Austin, Texas got snow in several different storms. This is how they are keeping it weird.

This Week: Wednesday, February 17 – Ash Wednesday & My Way Day & Random Acts of Kindness Day

Thursday, February 18 – Discover Girl Day & Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day & Pluto Day

Night Sky, 2/18: Mars shines over the Moon when the stars come out this evening. Later in the evening the scene rotates clockwise with respect to your horizon, putting Mars to the Moon's upper right. They appear only about 4° apart during the evening for North America. In physical distance, though, Mars is 515 times farther away: 11 light-minutes compared to the Moon's 1.3 light-seconds. And, Mars is twice as large in diameter as the Moon.

Friday, February 19 – Best Friends Day & National Caregivers Day & Skate Shop Day

Saturday, February 20 – Love Your Pet Day & World Day of Social Justice & World Whale Day

Sunday, February 21 – International Mother Language Day & National Grain Free Day

Night Sky, 2/21: Have you ever seen Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius? In one of the interesting coincidences known to devoted skywatchers, Canopus lies almost due south of Sirius: by 36°. That's far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you're below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And there, you'll need a very flat south horizon. Canopus crosses the south point on the horizon just 21 minutes before Sirius does. When to look? Canopus is due south when Beta Canis Majoris — Murzim the Announcer, the star about three finger-widths to the right of Sirius — is at its highest due south over your landscape. That's probably sometime between 8 and 9 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. Look straight down from Murzim then.

Monday, February 22 – National Wildlife Day & Play More Cards Day & World Thinking Day

Tuesday, February 23 – Curling Is Cool Day & National Dog Biscuit Day & Tootsie Roll Day

Wednesday, February 24 – Forget Me Not Day & National Dance Day

Night Sky, 2/24: The bright star Pollux, one of the twins in the constellation Gemini, will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. Pollux will appear about 4 degrees to the upper left of the Moon as evening twilight ends at 6:53 p.m. EST.

Thursday, February 25 – National Chili Day & International Toast Day

Katrina couldn't stop Mardi Gras, but COVID-19 can. / Emma Watson's latest movie is Beauty and the Beads.

..........It's early and I'm feeling fine.........TG Sheppard …..Party Time

^^ Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A group of children is called a migraine. --Submitted by INRITH

Moonbeam: There would be no Star Trek unless there were transporter malfunctions. --LeVar Burton

Late Night Snacks of the Week: Here's the skinny on late night snacks. For 8 years newsmax ran a late night monologue page. They hated Obama and were looking for jokes making fun of him. After he left, the Guardian took up the mantle because they hated Trump and wanted jokes that made fun of him. I'm tired of Trump jokes and of Trump anywhere, really. I have neither the time nor inclination to look up individual monologue and take notes. So I'm not sure about the fate of this section. ... Go on, git. Super Bowl ads that keep airing after the super bowl. It's like the weird 20 year old that hangs out at this old high school. --Jimmy Fallon

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie – the real Cookie Monster – doing double duty as this week's Something Good That Happened in 2020 of the Week.

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: The CDC now recommends that everybody should wear two masks at once, one to cover your mouth and nose and one to hide your face in case you attack the Capitol. But - and this is true - you might think, well, two's good. Three's better. No, three masks is bad because your air can't pass through it, so it goes out the sides and defeats the purpose of the mask. So...Two is better than one, but three is worse than two. And eight is better than three because you suffocate, which at least means you won't get COVID. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 2/13/21

Peace is the only battle worth waging. --Albert Camus

Fat Tuesday is the same as Charlie Sheen's Regular Tuesday. / I went to Mardi Gras and people gave me beads to keep my shirt on.

..........So I put my hands up.........Miley Cyrus …..Party in the USA

^^^ The Kyoto Protocol is based on the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

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Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Mardi Gras in New Orleans – it's kind of a bead deal.

Weird Word of the Week: Ephebicide – the wanton mass slaughter of the young by the old. Coined by Monbiot in 2008 World Wide Words: Ephebicide

Worthless Fact of the Week: The last time every living person was on Earth was 21 years ago. Since October 31, 2000, there has always been someone on the International Space Station. A total of 240 people have visited it. --Submitted by dr of oh

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Make zippers glide easily. Rub a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing into the teeth of the zipper. Alberto VO5®: Wacky Uses

Puzzle of the Week: This challenge comes from listener Ben Austin, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. It's not too hard. Name a major world city with a population in the millions. Take one letter in its name and move it two spots earlier in the alphabet. Reading backward, you now have the name of a major restaurant chain. What is it? NPR Puzzle Sunday 10/4/20

Insider's Mardi Gras: What happens on the float, stays on the float. / The real reason birds fly south in the winter is to line their nests with mardi gras beads.

...........Mix it with alcohol and go insane.........Damien Dempsey …..Party On

^^^^ ...committing industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. The Convention itself only asks those countries to adopt policies and measures on mitigation and to report periodically.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Taco Bell is selling fries. Burger King is selling tacos. KFC is putting Cheetos on chicken sandwiches. I knew we shouldn't have legalized marijuana. --Submitted by #RHOZ

Science Fiction Joke of the Week: How many science fiction writers does it take to change a light bulb? Two, but it’s actually the same person doing it. He went back in time and met himself in the doorway and then the first one sat on the other one’s shoulder so that they were able to reach it. Then a major time paradox occurred and the entire room, light bulb, changer and all was blown out of existence

Actual Science Joke of the Week: Now that it is confirmed that Apple will build a car, will it come with windows? --Submitted by FNOG

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Sydney --> Wendy's

Insider's Mardi Gras: Spread a little sparkle wherever you go. / "It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Everybody has Mardi Gras fever. I was watching the 'Today' show earlier today and Tom Cruise was lecturing Matt Lauer about jambalaya." — David Letterman

..........Here's to the fast times, the times we felt alive.........All Time Low …..The Party Scene

^^^^^ Today, the United States accounts for 1/4 of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Despite voluntary climate change policies emissions are still growing 1,5% each year. Nevertheless, in 2001 the US together with some other countries decided to retreat from the Kyoto Protocol for greenhouse gas emission reductions. The reason that was given for this retreat was that developing countries were not involved in the Kyoto Protocol. It is stated that greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries will increase in the coming decades. According to some critics more than half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions will come from developing countries by 2025.

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Recreating Mardi Gras Parades With Anything You Can Find of the Week:

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Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If love is blind, how come lingerie is so popular. --Anti Valentine's Day --Submitted by nm of ks

Today's Peace of History: February 16, 1982: Citizens’ Action for Safe Energy (CASE) succeeded in stopping construction of Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant near Inola, Oklahoma. The Public Service of Oklahoma announced the cancellation, the first of its kind solely due to citizen protest.

Mardi Gras Anthem: From bead to shining bead. / I love Mardi Gras with every bead of my heart. / To say “mardi gras” in ASL just do an embellished jerk off motion.

..........There's music everywhere.........Childish Gambino …..The Party

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle February 16, 2021, ePistle eTouffee 21. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: The unvarnished truth is that we have spent the last decade funding the machinery of war, and our children have been sacrificed. --LeVar Burton

Cost of War:

As of 2/15/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,105,101,973,823.

As of 2/11/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,104,012,027,938.

As of 2/15/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,019,574,233,691.

As of 2/11/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,018,833,484,497.

As of 2/15/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $831,407,690,100.

As of 2/11/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $830,476,491,392.

As of 2/15/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $344,592,671,283.

As of 2/11/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $344,381,049,874.

As of 2/15/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,300,677,371,040.

As of 2/11/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,297,704,094,919.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

Peace is a full time job. It's protecting civilians, overseeing elections, and disarming ex-combatants. Peace like war must be waged. --George Clooney

Famous Last Words: Laissez les bons temps rouler, vienvenue.

..........Everybody's coming.........Wiggles …...Wiggly Party

Ash Wednesday: Fat Shaming Day aka Diet Wednesday. Last year the New Hampshire primary fell on Mardi Gras. The Big Chief won to vote.

May Peace be your good times

And Joy be your feast

prairie mama

christine

jusqu’à ce que nous nous rencontrions à nouveau:

Mos Eisley ePistle

 Famous First Words: Space: The Final Frontier... Star Trek Opening Sequence

It is Extraterrestrial Visitor Week. If the government is covering up knowledge of aliens, they are doing a better job of it than they do at anything else. --Stephen Hawking / Aliens harvest their crops with tractor beams.

..........tell me did you sail across the sun.........Train …..Drops of Jupiter

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. --Abraham Lincoln

It is a frigid (2°F) morning. The sun is shining brightly and reflecting off the snow. A light wind emphasizes the cold without actually blowing your hat off. The sky is wonderfully blue with puffs of white and gray floating about. My semi-annual visit to the doctor went well and I am cutting back on my blood pressure meds and keeping my thyroid pills. I had not lost (or gained) any weight but I was wearing 47 pounds worth of clothes because it's 2 degrees outside. There is no wildlife skittering about the yard nor birds filling the air. It is quiet and clear and cold. Life in Kansas.

May your weekend be filled with stars, epistliers.

**Mos Eisley is the name of the spaceport bar in the very first Star Wars movie.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I don't understand why couples do 3 month anniversary posts, I've had cups in my room longer than that. --Submitted by INRITH

Shameless Self Promotion of the Week: Last week Beth Schultz and I participated in a February Sisters program for University Women. The recording of that program is online at February Sisters – YouTube

The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens..We can't be the best that creation has to offer. --Ellen Degeneres / We finally got a message from the mothership. It said “When I said take out the trash, I didn't mean to throw it into the ocean.”

..........I just decided by the grace of the god Poseidon.........Ghostemane …..Mercury: Retrograde

Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday, Annie Get Your Gun

^ Know who wrote Annie?

^^ Who played Annie and Frank at the Broadway opening in 1946?

^^^ Who played Annie and Frank in the movie version?

^^^^ Care to guess how many performances the original play ran?

^^^^^ What's your favorite song from Annie Get Your Gun?

Big Hello: néih hóu also transliterated Nin háo– Chinese https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Getting REAL TIRED of babysitting my mom's grand kids right now. --Submitted by FNOG

Max Picture of the Week: Max gets a message from heaven and takes up t-ball

Happy Birthday to Rhapsody in Blue: George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue - YouTube

Fake Library Statistic of the Week: For every library rule there is an equal and opposite library rule. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

We don't need to prove the existence of aliens. That's unproductive, unless we make a bet on it. --Toba Beta / Earth Tourism Tours include: The Loch Ness Scenic Tour, the Yeti Exchange Program, and Unicorn Safari

..........He's the best selling show.........David Bowie …..Life on Mars

Moonbeam: The truth will make you odd. --Judy Blume

Meditation of the Week: Breathe in Strength, Breathe out Bullshit --The Fuck That Meditation

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Whenever a child learns critical thinking, somewhere a conspiracy theory dies

Week of the Week: Children's Authors & Illustrators Week (7-13) –E B White was always cold because he was surrounded by drafts. / My friend Joan was a writer of children's mysteries. Her pen name was Bic.

Perhaps we've never been visited by aliens because they have looked upon Earth and decided there's no sign of intelligent life. --Neil deGrasse Tyson / Monday on Mercury: Another scorcher today. 800°. Yeah, we're lucky it's a dry heat.

..........You can never see it with your eyes.........Skillet …..Saturn

^ Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and book by Dorothy and Herbert Fields.

Almanac: It is Friday, February 12, 2021. The moon was new yesterday and is in Pisces. It is the Lunar New Year, Darwin Day, NAACP Day, Oglethorpe Day, Paczki Day, Paul Bunyan Day (birthday), and Safety Pup Day.

Among those born on this day were John Winthrop (1588), Cotton Mather (1663), Louisa (Catherine Johnson) Adams (1775), Charles Darwin (1809), Abraham Lincoln (1809), John L. Lewis (1880), Omar Bradley (1893), Ted Mack(1904), Forrest Tucker (1919), Franco Zeffirelli (1923), Arlen Specter (1930), Bill Russell (1934), Judy Blume (1938), Moe Bandy (1944), Paula Zahn (1956), Arsenio Hall (1958), Stephen Baldwin (1967), and Christina Ricci (1980).

On February twelfth the English parliament came together (1624), Chile gained independence (1818), Ecuador annexed the Galapagos Islands (1832), Spalding opened a sporting good shop (1876), the National Croquet League was organized (1880),the NAACP was founded (1909), Rhapsody in Blue premiered (1924), Annie Get Your Gun closed (1949), Eisenhower sent the first US advisors to Vietnam (1955), Macon GA began a bus boycott (1962), and Radio Free Harlem began transmitting (1967).

Night Sky, 2/12: Orion stands his highest in the south by about 8 pm, looking smaller than you probably remember him appearing early in the winter when he was low. You're seeing the "Moon illusion" effect. Constellations, not just the Moon, look bigger when they're low. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Lunar New Year decorations in a mall in Bangkok, Thailand

This Week: Saturday, February 13 – Galentine's Day & International Condom Day & National Wingman's Day

Sunday, February14 – St Valentine's Feast & League of Women Voters Day & Race Relation Sunday

Night Sky, 2/14: By 9 pm or so, the Big Dipper stands on its handle in the northeast. In the northwest, Cassiopeia also stands on end (its brighter end) at about the same height. Between them is Polaris.

Monday, February 15 – Lupercalia & National Hippo Day & Susan B Anthony Day

My folks came to US as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien. --Leonard Nimoy / The first person Takok, the Marian, met on earth was the editor of Boy's Life. Takok shook his hand and said, “Take me to your reader”.

..........the black moon shines on a lake.........Patti Smith Tarkovsky (The Second Stop Is Jupiter)

^^ The 1946 opening of Annie saw Ethel Merman as Annie Oakley and Ray Middleton as Frank Butler.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If I had known in March that it would be the last time I could go to a restaurant, I would have ordered the dessert. --ja of ks

Moonbeam: Fear is often disguised as moral outrage. --Judy Blume

Late Night Snacks of the Week: Pennsylvania groundhog Punxsutawney Phil today saw his shadow which in COVID time means 6 more weeks of February. --Seth Meyers / Hey, here's a question. Why aren't these vaccination stations open 24 hours. Why is it hard to get a shot. How is it that 7-11 manages to stay open all night and the places with the life saving drugs close at 8. Put the vaccine in slurpees if you have to; I want out of my house. --Jimmy Kimmel / Seriously who's having a better year than Netflix. Even Purell is jealous. --Jimmy Fallon / Check your calendar, we have completed 2, count them 2 weeks, of the Biden administration and so much has changed. For instance liquor sales have plummeted, and that just at my house. --Stephen Colbert

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie...Power to the really short people

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: On Wednesday nights, people have a special meal in Sweden. It's called Lillordag, which means Little Saturday. They drink cocktails. They talk about how "Wednesday Night Live" used to be so much better. --Peter Sagal Thursday is called We Don't Get Anything Done Thursday. --Peter Grosz Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 2/6/21

There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war except its ending. --Abraham Lincoln

Earth is the Alabama of the universe and that's the reason aliens are not spending their quatloos here. --Kathleen Madigan / How do you put a baby alien to sleep? You rocket.

..........on the burning edge horizon.........Jimi Hendrix …..Valleys of Neptune

^^^ Betty Hutton and Howard Keel played Annie and Frank in the 1950 movie release. In the made for TV movie aired in 1957 Mary Martin and John Raitt played the pair.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm just curious: how are you going to celebrate Extraterrestrial Culture Day on Tuesday? Mel and I have a couple of discount coupons to Perkins. I think that might be a good place to find extraterrestrials. I guess that would include us. --ab of ks

Weird Word of the Week: Dandiprat – a little man Nobody has the slightest idea where the word comes from. It first appeared in the language in the early sixteenth century in the sense of a small coin that was current at the time, curiously worth 1½ pence, but then quickly develops its other senses. World Wide Words: Dandiprat

Quote of the Week: Unfortunately, however, many of the same science fiction writers who started us thinking about the possibility of extraterrestrial life did nothing to make us think about here-at-home variation – women, blacks, Indians, Asians, Hispanics, etc. --Octavia Butler

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Remove an adhesive bandage painlessly. Rub in a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing into the bandage winds, wait a few minutes, then peel off. Alberto VO5®: Wacky Uses

Puzzle of the Week: This challenge came from listener Derrick Niederman, of Charleston, S.C. Starting in Montana, you can drive into South Dakota and then into Iowa. Those three states have the postal abbreviations MT, SD, and IA — whose letters can be rearranged to spell AMIDST. The challenge is to do this with four connected states to make an eight-letter word. That is, start in a certain state, drive to another, then another, and then another. Take the postal abbreviations of the four states you visit, mix the letters up and use them to spell a common eight-letter word. Derrick and I know of only one answer. Can you do this? --NPR Sunday Puzzle 2/7/21

Aunt of Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My brother just texted me: “I love the fact that the entire moral fate of the country depends on finding just 17 honest Republicans. It's like some impossible task from a fairytale. --Submitted by jm of ks

Or perhaps they are here, but in hiding because of some Lex Galactica, some ethic of noninterference with emerging civilizations. We can imagine them, curious and dispassionate, observing us, as we would watch a bacterial culture in a dish of agar, to determine whether this year again, we manage to avoid self-destruction. --Carl Sagan / Farmer Fran hung a space suit on a pole in her wheatfield to discourage crop circles.

...........the world's oblique.........Paul Weller …..Saturn's Pattern

^^^^ Annie ran for1,147 performances and spawned revivals, a film and a television version. In addition it ran in London and was revived there. There were 2 US touring companies and 2 Broadway revivals.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My idea of a super bowl is a toilet that cleans itself. --Maxine

Science Fiction Joke of the Week: The chances of finding out what’s really going on in the universe are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. --Douglas Adams

Actual Science Joke of the Week: Have a problem, need an answer? Ask a chemist; they have all the solutions.

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: FLAGRANT (Florida -GeorgiA -TeNnessee -ARkansas)

I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here. --Arthur C Clarke / There are creatures living on Mars. They suck iron out of the soil and pee red, which explains its color. The creatures are called Lunaticks.

..........Til our time and space combine.........Usher …..Mars vs Venus

^^^^^ Your choices are: **Doin' What Comes Natur'lly **The Girl That I Marry **You Can't Get A Man With A Gun **There's No Business Like Show Business **They Say It's Wonderful **I'm An Indian Too **I Got Lost In His Arms **I Got The Sun In The Morning **Anything You Can Do yes, there are several others but I got tired of typing. ~~I couldn't pick

Recreating Famous Painting With Anything You Can Find of the Week:

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Spock: So, what did you get when you mixed the human DNA with the whale DNA? Kirk: Kicked out of Sea World.

Something Good About 2020 of the Week: Fossil fuel divestment gathered pace. Divestment movement and disclosure gather pace; China set to trade carbon - We Mean Business coalition

Today's Peace of History, February 12, 1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by sixty blacks and whites in a call to safeguard civil, legal, economic, human, and political rights of black Americans partly in reaction to a race riot in 1908 in Springfield, Illinois, home of Abraham Lincoln.

I said that if an alien came to visit, I'd be embarrassed that we fight wars to pull fossil fuels out of the ground to run our transportation. They'd be like, “What?” --Neil deGrasse Tyson / If athletes get athlete's foot do astronauts get missletoe?

..........Breathe it in with me..........Jay Sean …..Mars

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle February 12, 2021, Mos Eisley ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: Librarians save lives: by handing the right book, at the right time, to a kid in need. --Judy Blume

Cost of War:

As of 2/4/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,104,012,027,938.

As of 2/4/20 Military Costs of War since 2001: $3,102,049,608,855.

As of 2/4/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,018,833,484,497.

As of 2/4/20 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,017,499,893,855.

As of 2/4/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $830,476,491,392.

As of 2/4/20 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $828,799,367,531.

As of 2/4/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $344,381,049,874.

As of 2/4/20 Veterans Care since 2001: $343,999,829,493.

As of 2/4/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,297,704,094,919.

As of 2/4/20 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $5,292,349,215,961.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets. --Abraham Lincoln

..........Let me see what spring in like on Jupiter or Mars..........Frank Sinatra …..Fly Me to the Moon

I am discounting reports of UFOs. Why would they appear only to cranks and weirdos? --Stephen Hawking / Remember if you encounter an alien, give him some space.

Famous Last Words: la ciudad de Independencia. Declaration of Independence of Chile

May Peace fill your space

And Joy fill your heart

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh: