Need Fire ePistle

 Famous First Words: Whether the Belief that there are such Beings as Witches... Malleus Maleficarum

Happy Halloween! I threw a boomerang at a ghost but it came back to haunt me. / Be that thing in the woods that scares the townspeople. --Submitted by MM

..........Keep the need-fires burning til dawn.........Damh the Bard …..Samhain Eve

...the time has come for a new movement toward true equality for all women in America... National Organization For Women Statement of Purpose

It is a windy (20 mph) Friday morning. The willow trees are dancing in triple time, urging the other trees to join them in a Samhain tribute to autumn weather. 48°F with such wind is cold and foreboding. It causes the mind to think of frost warnings and snow. Trees have finally begun to dress in their fall finery, reds and yellows, browns and greens. The sky itself is a slate gray without texture or movement; and the earth is soaked and smells of 2 days of rain. No birds have ventured out into the morning and the only sounds are motors and wind which whistles and hums and roars. I watch from my window while Puck sleeps on my feet – keeping them warm and giving me a sense of usefulness. Ah, wait, a small patch of actual blue sky peeks out of the cloud cover. My coffee is warm; it smells good in the kitchen and in the cup that I bring to my face inhaling the steam. It clears my sinuses, warms my heart, and tastes so good. And now I get to share the morning with you. What a day!

May your weekend be free of goblins, ePistliers

Halloween Horror Story: Remember that time you confused a life lesson for a soul mate. --Submitted by MMS

I'm confused. Do we celebrate Halloween because Jesus defeated the Great Pumpkin? / Just figured it out; hosts are people who died trying to fold a fitted sheet.

..........Dancing til the next sunrise..........Loreena McKennit …..All Souls Night

Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday to the Ballpoint Pen!

^ How many words does the average ballpoint pen write?

^^ How many pens per year does the United States' user use?

^^^ What did the very first ballpoint pen cost?

^^^^ What is the usual thing a person writes with a new pen?

^^^^^ How many ballpoints are sold per minute?

Big Hello: Aluu – Greenlandic https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Halloween Horror Story: Exactly how many kids are in a kids meal?

Max Picture of the Week: Max and the Great Pumpkin Patch

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: It's getting to be every librarian's favorite time of year, double cardigan season. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Witch Hazel and her broommate Witch Hilda had a great hex life. / Halloween Pick Up Lines: If I were a zombie, I'd eat you first.

..........Who you gonna call.........Ray Parker Jr ….......Ghostbusters Theme

Third Halloween Horror Story: Soon as you say “my child would never...” here they come nevering like they never nevered before. --Submitted by RHOZ

Moonbeam: He who provoked the lash of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it. --James Boswell

Meditation Seed of the Week: How did we get from bonfires and dead saints to plastic masks and candy corn?

Fourth Halloween Horror Story: If we ever travel thousands of light years to a planet inhabited by intelligent life, let's just make patterns in their crops and leave. --Submitted by Heinlein Society

Week of the Week: Disarmament Week (23-30) – North Korea wants nuclear weapons so badly, their leader is a nuke, (Little Boy and Fat Man. / For anyone who doesn't know how to make nuclear weapons, this is basically how,.........carefully.

Fifth Halloween Horror Story: Making me laugh so hard that I pee in my pants isn't the accomplishment it once was. --Thoughts from Aisle 4

Vampire bats can't drink coffee. It keeps them awake all day. / "Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, 'Never take candy from strangers.' And then they dressed me up and said, 'Go beg for it.' " --Rita Rudner

.........Saying come join us, sister, come kiss the flame.........Cowboy Junkies …..Witches

^ An average ballpoint pen will write approximately 50,000 words – or about 100 pages of text.

Almanac: It is Friday, October 29, 2021. The moon was in the third quarter yesterday and is in Leo. It is Internet Day, National Cat Day, National Hermit Day, World Psoriasis Day, and World Stroke Day.

Among those born on this month were James Boswell (1740), Charles Ebbets (1859), Jean Giraudoux (1882), Bela Lugosi (1884), Fanny Brice (1891), Ed Kemmer (Buzz Corey, Space Patrol, 1921), William Mauldin (1921), Geraldine Brooks (1925), Richard Dreyfuss (1947), Kate Jackson (1948), Randy Jackson (1951), Steven Sweet (1965), and Winona Ryder (1971).

On October twenty-ninth Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia (539), Don Giovanni debuted (1787), the International Committee of the Red Cross was founded (1863), the Hawaiian Republic held its first election (1894), the Charleston dance was introduced (1923), Turkey proclaimed itself a republic ()1923), the Stock Market crashed (1929), the ball point pen went on sales (1945), the Star of India was stolen (1964), the National Organization of Women was founded (1966), and China announced an herbal male contraceptive (1988).

Night Sky, 10/29: Look for bright Capella sparkling low in the northeast these evenings. Look for the Pleiades cluster about three fists at arm's length to Capella's right. These harbingers of the cold months rise higher as evening grows late—and watch for Aldebaran coming up below the Pleiades. Upper right of Capella, and upper left of the Pleiades, the stars of Perseus lie astride the Milky Way. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Extreme Jack-o-lantern

Sixth Halloween Horror Story: Fox News on Halloween: Expect a menacing caravan invading your neighborhood making demands and planning reprisals against those who refuse.... --Submitted by SDS

This Week: Saturday, October 30 – Checklist Day & Devil's Night aka Mischief Night & Visit A Cemetery Day

Sunday, October 31 - Magic Day & All Hallows Eve & Samhain & World Cities Day

Night Sky, 10/31: Venus, brilliant at magnitude –4.4, shines in the southwest during twilight, crossing the feet of Ophiuchus between Antares at its lower right and the Sagittarius Teapot at its upper left. Venus now stays up about 45 minutes after twilight's end. It will continue to get higher and brighter into early December.

Monday, November 1 – Author's Day & Extra Mile Day & Forgiveness and Happiness Day

Tuesday, November 2 – All Souls Day & Cookie Monster's Birthday

Wednesday, November 3 – Cliché Day & Public Television Day & Sandwich Day

Thursday, November 4 – Fountain Pen Day & National Candy Day & Love Your Lawyer Day

Night Sky, 11/4: The Southern Taurids are a long-lasting shower that peaks during its activity period. The shower is active for more than two months but rarely produces more than five shower members per hour, even at maximum activity. The moon is new today (in Scorpio) so viewing should be good. https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." --J K Rowling / "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else." --Wednesday Addams

..........You can say anything you want.........Ghost …..If You Have Ghosts

^^ 4.3 pens are used, on average, by each person in the United States each year.

Seventh Halloween Horror Story: My heart goes out to any aspiring dystopian fiction authors who keep having their ideas stolen by the conservative party.

Moonbeam: Only the mediocre are always at their best. --Jean Giraudoux

Video of the Week: Lewis Black on Candy Corn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jklghkb8XNA

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie – the little, not-so-bad witch

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Over the pandemic people took all that money that we saved by not going out and spent it on stuff and we have not stopped doing that. So finally we overwhelmed the stuff pipeline. What's worse there is one boat stuck in the Suez Canal carrying the world's only copy of "How to make the supply chain work" --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 10/23/21

...bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men. --N.O.W. Statement of Purpose

What do you do when you meet the devil. Remember he is the prince of lies. Knock on something solid and say, “Nice illusion, dude”. / Does Pumpkinhead drink human spiced lattes?

..........Future uncertain but certainly slight.........INXS …..Devil Inside

^^^ The first ballpoint pens sold in New York (1945) cost $12 each – or about a day’s wages.

Eighth Halloween Horror Story: The Little Book of Curses and Maledictions for Everyday Use by Dawn Rae Downton ~~This is a real book. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-book-of-curses-and-maledictions-for-everyday-use-dawn-rae-downton/1101008400

Daughter of Video of the Week: Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUDw409UMT0&list=PLynm9jm2Z9AIGPycHzwkN_FvWTUPU7ivt ~~in 1951 when Brice died, I was seven. We listened to Baby Snooks every Sunday night on the radio (we didn't have a television yet). One day my mother said to me, “Baby Snooks died”. I was shocked, of course, and asked how she died and my mother said “of old age”. It was the first mind-blow that I remember.

Collective Nouns of the Week: A babble of Linguists and a Babel of words

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Unclog a drain: Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water. Alka-Seltzer®: Wacky Uses ~~After visiting this site weekly for years and years, this week it told me the site was unsafe. I had to defy my operating system to view it. Travel at your own risk.

Puzzle of the Week: Name a famous actress (8,6). Change the next-to-last letter of her first name to an S. Then reverse the order of the last three letters, and you'll name a famous ruler (7,1). The actress's last name is an anagram of where you would find this ruler. Who is the actress and the ruler? NPR Sunday Puzzle 10/24/21

Those ghosts in the sheets are people who died and their souls got caught in the dubet. / The Union of Ghosts has a lobbyist in congress to promote transparency.

...........He's the hairy handed gent who ran amuck in Kent.........Warren Zevon …..Werewolves of London

^^^^ 95% of the time, when a person receives a new pen, the first word they write is their name.

Ninth Halloween Horror Story: Halloween Reminder: Teenagers who seem too old to trick-or-treat chose childhood over partying. Be happy and hand over the snickers. --sb of kc

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: All-Con 2021 (29-31, Dallas) Emerging from the storm... https://www.all-con.org/

Name That Poet of the Week: ...They was two great big Black Things a-standin’ by her side, An’ they snatched her through the ceilin’ ’fore she knowed what she’s about! An’ the gobble-uns ’ll git you ef You Don't Watch Out...

Actual Science Conference of the Week: International Conference on Intelligent Control of Robotic Systems (28-29, Los Angeles) ...encouraged to contribute to and help shape the conference... https://waset.org/intelligent-control-of-robotic-systems-conference-in-october-2021-in-los-angeles

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Charlize Theron --> Charles I, throne

Self care isn't always chocolate and NetFlix. Sometimes, it's getting out of bed and doing more difficult tasks like summoning a demon to help with the dishes or finding the right number of chicken bones to appease the thing that lives in the attic. / The nerds at KU crossed a vampire bat with a computer. It was love at first byte.

..........Don't miss a chance for a midnight dance.........The Singing Walrus …..Pumpkin Jack

^^^^^ Each second of every day, more than 125 ballpoint pens are sold. That works out to 7,500+ per minute.

My Own Writing of the Week: The strangest thing I found was in the middle of a list of spells that had been translated from tablets found in the ancient city of Ur in Sumeria. There was a series of spells to make your man more potent - Religious Viagra, of sorts. One of them required stationing various livestock (goats and bulls, primarily) about the bedroom and intoning "Fuck me 50 times like the Ram fucks the ewe!! Fuck me 50 times like the Bull fucks the cow!! etc. over and over. Yikes, no wonder the poor guys couldn't perform. And livestock in the bedroom, seriously? Could you use paintings or was the smell part of the magic?

I must admit I have never in one night approached 50 times in the style of just one animalistic rut, much less several. Obviously, this relegates me to the rank of light weight. It also gives me great respect for the women of Ur. --From Adoration

Thank God, It's The Last Halloween Horror Story: Whatever you do, give 100%...unless you're donating blood. --Submitted by RHOZ

Poet of the Week: James Whitcomb Riley The Elf Child

Today's Peace of History:, October 29, 1983: Because the U.S. planned to site 48 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles in their country, over 500,000 Dutch took part in a rally in the Netherlands’ capital city, The Hague. The numbers at the protest were swelled by anger over the U.S. invasion of Grenada, a small Caribbean island, earlier in the week.

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. --Shakespeare / I met a ghost at a Halloween party last year. I tried to chat him up but he said he was only there for the boos.

..........We give thanks to what was before.........Cernunnos Rising …..For Those Who Brought Us Here

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, 10/29/21, Need-Fire ePistle, Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am. --James Boswell

Cost of War:

As of 10/28/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,928,137,021,076.

As of 10/21/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,926,941,008,523.

As of 10/28/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,087,875,029,694.

As of 10/21/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,087,262,944,299.

As of 10/28/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $162,186,600,706.

As of 10/21/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $161,623,120,298.

As of 10/28/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,012,107,090,895.

As of 10/21/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,010,533,462,405.

As of 10/28/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,097,292,625,207.

As of 10/21/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,085,362,692,519.

As of 10/28/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,287,602,671,976.

As of 10/21/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,271,727,150,844.

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

...women will develop confidence in their own ability to determine actively, in partnership with men, the conditions of their life, their choices, their future, and their society. NOW Statement of Purpose

Famous Last Words: ...always receive their just deserts! --Don Giovanni

..........I'll be a moon-breathe by your side.........Loreena McKennitt …..Samhain Night

Have you come to sing pumpkin carols? -Linus Van Pelt / I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color. --Wednesday Addams

May Peace play your trick

And Joy be your treat

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

ePistle Unleaving

 Famous First Words: George the second by the Grace of God... Charter of Princeton University 1748

It's autumn: remember you can fix your broken squash with a pumpkin patch. / Orange you glad it's fall? / In any season trees get on the internet by logging in.

..........Um, baby, I been learning.........Led Zeppelin …..Whole Lotta Love

Intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac. --Timothy Leary

It is a chilly (42°F) Friday morning. The sky is very blue and very clear. A slight breeze sets the willow branches to dancing but the old oak is still and green. Somewhere a small dog is barking incessantly but Puck refrains from answering. This is good – barking bookends would mar the beauty. It is cold as we walk in the shade but the sun tries to warm us in the sunny patches. Rabbits are out and about and squirrels are everywhere busy with their fall chores. We return from the cold to the smell of brewing coffee and spent incense. But it is warm and the sweetened, creamed decaf is hot and bathes the nose and mouth conveying a feeling of security and normality to the whole being. Fall is indeed here.

Hope fun rains on your weekend like autumn leaves, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Reading for pleasure implies there is reading for pain. --Submitted by Philosophy Matters ~~They go on to define reading for pain as graduate school.

Fall is the cutest of all the seasons...Awwwtumn. / The robots married in the fall; they were autumn mated.

..........Hey, yeah-yeah-yeah, keep up, yeah, oh, yeah..........Led Zeppelin …..The Lemon Song

Trivia Questions: Happy National Nut Day!

^ Which nut is the oldest known tree food?

^^ Which popular nut is of the same plant family as poison ivy and poison sumac?

^^^ What is the official state nut of Oregon?

^^^^ Which nut is dependent on bumblebees for pollination?

^^^^^ Which nut is also known as the smiling nut or the happy nut?

Big Hello: Ya – Modern Greek https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Me: Do you wanna go to a pagan ritual with me where we dance naked under the stars? Friend: No, thanks. That requires a level of shaving that I just can't commit to.

Max Picture of the Week: Max touching art at the Library Trunk or Treat

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 6th biggest cause of librarian rage is decorators shelving books by color https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

If money really grew on trees, we'd all keep our leaves raked up. / Humpty Dumpty had a great summer...but a terrible fall.

..........Catch the wind, see us spin..........Led Zeppelin …..What Is And What Should Never Be

Moonbeam: I suddenly realized that the devout Russian people no longer needed priests to pray them into heaven. On earth they were building a kingdom more bright than any heaven had to offer, and for which it was a glory to die…. ---John Reed

Meditation Seed of the Week: If you could have either a teleporter or a time travel machine, which one would you want?

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just want to know why my clothes only get stuck on the door handle when I'm in a bad mood, -Submitted by sb of ksc

Week of the Week: National Chemistry Week (16-22) --I tried writing jokes about the periodic table...but I realized I wasn’t quite in my element. / Did you hear the one about cobalt, radon, and yttrium? It was CoRnY.

Autumn lies: Be-leaf in yourself and you can't fall. / I would never leaf you.

..........Little drops of rain whisper of the pain..........Led Zeppelin …..Thank You

^ The oldest walnut remains were discovered in Iraq, and they are believed to be from 50,000 B.C.E. The Greeks were fond of the walnuts; they were considered food for Gods by early Romans.

Almanac: It is Friday, October 22, 2021. The moon will be new on Monday and is in Taurus. It is CAPS LOCK Day, International Stuttering Awareness Day, Make A Dog's Day Day, National Nut Day, and Smart is Cool Day. Because it is the Friday of National Pharmacy Week it is also National Pharmacy Buyer Day.

Among those born on this day were Franz Liszt (1811), Sarah Bernhardt (1845), John Reed (1887), Charles Glenn King (1896), Joan Fontaine (1917), Doris Lessing (1919), Timothy Leary (1920), Robert Rauschenberg (1925), Christopher Lloyd (1938), Annette Funicello (1942), Catherine Deneuve (1943), and Jeff Goldblum (1952).

On October twenty-second this Universe was created (4004 BCE ~~at 8 pm ...Archbishop Jame sUssher, 1650), China recorded a solar eclipse (2136 BCE), Princeton University was chartered (1748), Sam Houston became the first elected president of the Republic of Texas (1836), Sons of the American Revolution organized (1875), the first NY Horse show was held (Madison Square Garden, 1883), 3,000 black people demonstrated in Philadelphia (1906), the first commercial flight from the mainland reached Hawaii (1936), Xerox made its first copy (1938), Laos gained independence from France (1953), JFK imposed a naval blockade on Cuba (1962), 225,000 students boycott Chicago school to protest de facto segregation (Freedom Day, 1962), Luna 12 orbited the moon (USSR, 1966), Apollo 7 returned to earth (1968), Led Zeppelin 2 was released (1969), Venera 9 landed softly on Venus (Soviet, 1975), and Disney World hosted its 100-millionth guest (1979).

Night Sky, 10/22: The waning gibbous Moon shines in the east after dark this evening. You may need binoculars to pick out the Pleiades a few degrees to its left or upper left. Much easier is bright Capella many times farther left of the Moon. As night advances, Aldebaran comes up below or lower left of the Moon. And by midnight, Orion is clearing the eastern horizon far below them all. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Extreme Jack-o-lantern

This Week: Saturday, October 23 – Mother-in-law Day & National Mole Day & TV Talk Show Host Day

Sunday, October 24 – United Nations Day & Food Day

Night Sky, 10/24: This is the time of year when the Big Dipper lies down horizontal low in the north-northwest after dark. How low? The farther south you are, the lower. Seen from 40° north (New York, Denver, Madrid) even its bottom stars twinkle nearly ten degrees high. But at Miami (26° N) the entire Dipper skims along out of sight just below the northern horizon.

Monday, October 25 – Sourest Day & World Pasta Day

Tuesday, October 26 – Mule Day & Howl At the Moon Night

Wednesday, October 27 – Black Cat Day & Navy Day & Cranky Co-Workers Day

Night Sky, 10/27: Mercury is heading toward its best morning apparition of the year. Look for it low above the east horizon about 50 minutes before sunrise. In the morning it's still only magnitude +0.7, so you may want binoculars.

Thursday, October 28 – Champagne Day & Read for the Record Day

Did you hear about the tree that deserted the forest at the end of December? He was absent without leaves. / How did the elephant get out of the tree? It sat on a leaf and waited for autumn.

..........As it was so long ago..........Led Zeppelin …..Heartbreaker

^^ The anacardiaceae family of trees, sometimes called the cashew family, includes mango, poison ivy, poison oak, sumac, Peruvian pepper, pistachio, and you guessed it, cashews.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you come across a passage you don't understand in a philosophy book the key is to underline it. The next person who owns the books will think you not only understood it but thought it was important; that way you can pass on the anxiety. --Submitted by Philosophy Matters

Moonbeam: Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending with interest is not much better than stealing. --Doris Lessing

Video of the Week: Stan Getz and his saxophone playing Autumn Leaves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EApwwwyTqBg

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie counting candy at the Library Trunk or Treat

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: A new survey by a financial company found that about 1/3 of investors buy and sell stocks while they are drunk. ...It's bad enough when you get drunk and hit on someone at the bar, but what about when you wake up next to a thousand shares of something called Amazob. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 9/4/21

Think for yourself and question authority. --Timothy Leary

What is yellow and orange and doesn't get hurt when it falls? Autumn leaves. / Monarch butterflies fly south in the fall because it's too far to walk.

..........With a purple umbrella and a fifty cent hat..........Led Zeppelin …..Livin' Lovin' Maid

^^^ The hazelnut became Oregon's official State Nut in 1989. About 1,000 Oregon farm families grow hazelnuts on 87,000 acres.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Ron Newman, of Chatham, Kent, was sentenced to 140 hours' community service by Croydon Crown Court after admitting hitting his friend over the head with a guitar because he kept playing the wrong chord in the Eagles' Peaceful, Easy Feeling. --Submitted by HPF

Collective Noun of the Week: A chapter of novelists and a stanza of poets

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Soothe tired feet. Plop four Alka Seltzer tablets in a pan of warm water, plop your feet into the alkaline solution, and let them fizz fizz for fifteen minutes. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/alkaseltzer.html

Puzzle of the Week: This challenge came from listener Kerry Fowler, of Seattle. Name something you might eat for breakfast, in two words (6, 4). Add a "G" at the end of the first word. Switch the middle two letters of the second word. Then reverse the order of the two words. You'll name an old-fashioned activity. What is it? NPR Sunday Puzzle 10/16/21

Unless it's pumpkin spice, I don't give a frapp. / O my gourd, I love pumpkin pie.

...........Gonna move you outta town..........Led Zeppelin …..Bring It On Home

^^^^ If you love almonds as much as we do, thank bumblebees! Almonds can’t grow on their own. They need bees to help them pollinate.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you see roaches in a nyc restaurant kitchen you know the food is good cause they literally could have gone anywhere else.

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: The Scarefest13 Horror & Paranormal Convention (22-24, Lexington, KY) Resurrection https://thescarefest.com/

Name That Poet of the Week: It is Margaret you mourn for.

Actual Science Conference of the Week: PICES-2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. (18-22) North Pacific Marine Science Organization. Towards a shared vision of sustainable marine ecosystems. https://meetings.pices.int/meetings

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Raisin Bran → Barn Raising

The maple tree in our yard lost so many leaves I blocked the gate; we called it the Great Barrier Leaf. / Autumn is the second spring when every leaf is a flower. --Albert Camus

..........Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove..........Led Zeppelin …..Black Dog

^^^^^ Pistachio is known as the “smiling nut” in Iran and the “happy nut” in China.

My Own Writing of the Week: Like fight club, one cannot talk about losing a bunch of weight. For one thing, it is uncomfortable. To people who are overweight (in reality or by perception) it makes them feel guilty. Underweight people get depressed. People with low self-esteem beat up on themselves for whatever they think they should be doing and aren't or are doing and shouldn't be. And then, it sounds like bragging. No matter how you say it, it still sounds like bragging. Finally, it's boring. Whether you go with numbers (pounds, calories or carbs), clothes fitting(look, I have to wear a belt), or details of your menu (meat and salads) it is all boring. This is why weight watchers make you come in every week, so you don't lose the support of your family and friends who can't stand another minute. From The Downside of Losing Weight

Poet of the Week: Gerald Manley Hopkins Spring and Fall

Vintage Players One Liner of the Week: So every once in a while, someone amazing comes along...And Here I Am.

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Why don't conservative states just use “thought and prayers” to stop abortions? After all, that 's what they use when people murder actual, live children in schools. --Submitted by SDS

Today's Peace of History: October 22, 1983: Capping a week of protests, more than two million people in six European cities marched against U.S. deployment of Cruise and Pershing nuclear missiles.

A time of hot chocolatey mornings and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves. --Winnie the Pooh A A Milne.

..........Gentle people with flowers in their hair..........Led Zeppelin …..San Francisco

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle October 22, 2021, ePistle Unleaving. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: Laughter is by definition healthy. --Doris Lessing

Cost of War:

As of 10/21/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,926,941,008,523.

As of 10/14/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,925,761,501,722.

As of 10/21/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,087,262,944,299.

As of 10/14/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,086,658,359,933.

As of 10/21/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $161,623,120,298.

As of 10/14/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $161,066,466,129.

As of 10/21/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,010,533,462,405.

As of 10/14/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,008,978,834,294.

As of 10/21/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,085,362,692,519.

As of 10/14/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,073,580,052,642.

As of 10/21/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,271,727,150,844.

As of 10/14/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,256,048,185,071.

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

Nobody ever understands what a pioneer is doing. --Timothy Leary

Famous Last Words: One sure way to make a dog’s day is giving them a new, loving home through adoption. Make a Dog's Day Day Website

..........Leaves are falling all around..........Led Zeppelin …..Ramble On ~~All but 2 of this week's songs are from Zeppelin 2 (It only had 9 tracks and one was an instrumental). ~~Because Liszt didn't write lyrics.

Enjoy it while you can, when autumn leaves, winter begins. / Autumn is as joyful and sweet as an untimely end. -Rémy de Gourmon

May Peace color your leaving

And Joy warm your bonfire

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

Old Growth ePistle

 Famous First Words: We're gonna make it... Theme song from Laverne and Shirley

It is World Rainforest Week (10-16) – It rains so much in that jungle that even the jaguars are spotless. / I'm so old that I remember when Amazon was a rainforest.

..........Music is a world within itself.........Stevie Wonder …..Sir Duke

The rainforests hold answers to questions we have yet to ask. --Mark Plotkin

It is a cool (51°) Friday morning. The sky is almost completely covered with clouds – some thin and high and smeared, other thick and beneath and gray. Now and again the breeze blows them apart and a shaft of sun beams down on the world with a sense of majesty. Birds are singing merrily and Bruno is arguing with the world or Puck whichever presents itself to him. The same breeze that blows around the clouds adds to the chill reminding one that it is autumn after all. Many trees are still full and green but the big cottonwoods on the corner are visibly shedding leaves that do not don bright colors before they fall. Yellow willow leaves are everywhere and the tree itself still looks full and is dancing beautifully in the wind. Damp ground, still muddy from recent rains is slippery and clinging; so we return indoors. I doctor the coffee that has waited for me since Jeff made it this morning. Coffee steam in my face smells good and opens the sinuses. And now I get to sit down and write to you. What a morning.

Hope your weekend is as richly textured as the forest itself, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: People blame rap music for violence. So what was Columbus listening to on his way to America. --Submitted by ab of kc

How many acres were destroyed in the Amazon fire? About a Brazilian. / Trees are worth more alive than dead. --Prince.

..........wash your face and hands.........Stevie Wonder …..Superstition

Trivia Questions: It's Mammography Day.

^ If you are at average risk for breast cancer, at what age should you have a baseline mammogram?

^^ What age group accounts for the most cancer detection results?

^^^ How many mammograms are done in the United States in a year?

^^^^ What percentage of people who get mammograms actually have cancer?

^^^^^ If the mammogram shows an area that needs closer examination what kind of test will be done next?

Big Hello: Khaíre! - Ancient Greek https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Scientists have found that one dog year does not equal 7 human years. In fact, the only thing that equals 7 human years is 2020. --Submitted by INRITH

Max Picture of the Week: Max and the not so secret life of bees

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: How are librarians like elephants? Librarians never forget and we're paid peanuts. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Tropical rainforests are the only place you can go nowadays and not get “friended”. --Rives / I think the Rainforest Cafe takes the whole theme too far. This one time I was sitting there eating my chicken tenders and they bulldozed 40% of the restaurant.

..........There's so many ways to love ya.........Usher …..OMG

Moonbeam: Each of us bears his own Hell. --Virgil

Meditation Seed of the Week: Would we still see ourselves as 'human' if other hominid species hadn't gone extinct?

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Gay sex also prevents abortion. It's the Christian thing to do. --Sarah Wood --Submitted by Marginal Mennonite Society MMS

Week of the Week: National School Lunch Week (11-15) --The cafeteria at the magnet school for the gifted has Heisenburgers and sides decartes on the menu. / The chemistry class took over the cafeteria today; the food was okay but the seating was a challenge. They only had periodic tables.

I certainly thought the Amazon Rainforest would be a hotter tropic by now. / Has anyone noticed before the Amazon rainforest caught fire, Amazon, the company, made a product called the "Kindle"?

..........how the hell am I supposed to leave.........Usher …..Yeah

^ The benefits and limitations of mammography vary, based on factors like age and personal risk. Experts have different recommendations for mammography. Currently, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening every 2 years for women ages 50 to 74. The American Cancer Society recommends that yearly screening be an option for women at average risk, starting at age 40. The ACS also recommends yearly mammograms be done from age 45 to 54. At age 55, women should switch to mammograms every 2 years, or they may continue yearly screening. Women should talk with their doctors about their personal risk factors before making a decision about when to start getting mammograms or how often they should get them.

Almanac: It is Friday, October 15, 2021. The moon was in the first quarter last Wednesday and is in Aquarius. It is Blind Americans Equality Day, Global Handwashing Day, International Day of Rural Women, I Love Lucy Day, National Aesthetician Day, National Cake Decorating Day, National Cheese Curd Day, National Grouch Day, National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, National Shawarma Day, National White Cane Safety Day, and National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. It is also National Boss's Day aka Boss's Day which usually falls on October 16. But if that falls on a weekend, then it's the closest workday. Because it is the third Friday it is also Mammography Day.

Among those born on this day were Virgil (70 BCE), Robert Herrick (1674), Friedrich Nietzsche (1831), John L Sullivan (1858), P G Wodehouse (1881), John Kenneth Galbraith (1908), Arthur Schlesinger Jr (1917), Mario Puzo (1921), Lee Iacocca (1924), Abby Dalton (1932), Barry McGuire (1937), Linda Lavin (1937), Penny Marshall (1942), Tito Jackson (1953), and Sarah Ferguson (1959).

On October fifteenth Henry VIII ordered bowling lanes installed at Whitehall (1520), ether was first used publicly (1846), Cliff House opened in San Francisco (1863), the Edison Electric Light Company incorporated (1878), the American Angler became the first fishing magazine published in the US (1881), the Civil Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional (1893), the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP) was founded (1914), the Clayton Antitrust Act was passed (1914), the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin landed in New Jersey (1928), Hemingway published To Have and Have Not (1937), LaGuardia airport opened (1939), I Love Lucy debuted (CBS, 1851), LBJ created the Department of Transportation (1966), Vietnam Moratorium Day (1969), National Guard enforces integration of Boston schools (1974), the Columbia carried Spacelab into orbit (1985), Clarence Thomas was confirmed as Supreme Court Justice (1991), and Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, & Usher performed at Bill Clinton's 65th birthday party (2011).

Night Sky, 10/15: Spot Venus low in the west in twilight. Just lower left of it, by 1½° (about a finger width at arm's length), look for orange Antares. It's less than 1% as bright. Venus stays about this close to Antares for the next two days, but watch their orientation change. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: Eruption of Fagradalsfjall in the Geldingadalir valley of Iceland.

This Week: Saturday, October 16 – American Frog Day & Sweetest Day & World Food Day

Sunday, October 17 – Black Poetry Day & Mulligan Day & Wear Something Gaudy Day

Night Sky, 10/17:This is the time of year when, soon after nightfall, W-shaped Cassiopeia stands on end halfway up the northeastern sky — and when, off to its left in the north, the dim Little Dipper extends directly leftward from Polaris.

Monday, October 18 – Lung Health Day & Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day & World Menopause Day

Tuesday, October 19 – Evaluate Your Life Day & Pay Back A Friend Day

Night Sky, 10/19: Full Moon (Aquarius): The Orionids are a medium strength shower that sometimes reaches high strength activity. In a normal year the Orionids produce 10-20 shower members at maximum.

Wednesday, October 20 – Chicken and Waffles Day & International Kissing Day & International Pronouns Day

Thursday, October 21 – Celebration of the Mind Day & Reptile Awareness Day & Spirit Day

A rainforest sleepover is called pajamazon. / A particular species of frog, found in South American rainforests, has been observed to leap higher than a 1 story house. This is due to the extremely powerful hind legs of the frog, and the fact that houses cannot leap.

..........And wondering when we'll be free.........K'naan …..Flag Wavin'

^^ Breast cancer occurs more often in women ages 50 and older.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I am now ”take a picture of labels with my phone so I can blow it up bigger and read it” years old. --Submitted by RHOZ

Moonbeam: Death twitches my ear, “Live,” he says, “I am coming” --Virgil

Video of the Week: Lucy and Ethel at the Candy Factory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbNcQlzV-4

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Double Ollies and the magic mirror

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Move over Cayman Islands. Stand down, Switzerland. The hip new cool place to stash your ill gotten gains is the sovereign state of South Dakota. --Peter Sagal So is Lincoln's head just full of cash? --Adam Burke No, but he now has a pair of diamond earrings. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 10/9/21

At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity. --Chico Mendes

There's a rainforest in South America where all the animals are conversant in current world events? It's called a topical rainforest. / Jungle pups get their flowers from the rain florist.

..........I can be cool if you want to be mad........Lady Gaga …..Government Hooker

^^^ From January through June of 2020, 452,083 screening mammograms were done and 112,207 diagnostic mammograms were done.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Ambiguity: What happens in Vagueness stays in Vagueness. --Submitted by Philosophy Matters

Collective Noun of the Week: A catalog of Librarians

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Cure bad breath. Dissolve two Alka-Seltzer tablets in a glass of warm water and use as a mouthwash. The baking soda in the Alka-Seltzer lowers the pH level in your mouth, killing odor-producing bacteria. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/alkaseltzer.html

Puzzle of the Week: This challenge came from listener Anthony Gray, of Bergen County, N.J. Write down the name of a country and its largest city, one after the other. Hidden in this string, in consecutive letters, is another country's capital (in six letters)? What is it? NPR Sunday Puzzle 10/10/21

When the Koch Brothers heard that scientists claimed that 85% of rainforests would be gone by 2025 they said, "Here, hold my beer". / We all can do better to help save the planet. With this in mind, I’ve just published a book on preserving the rainforest, and what we can do as a human race to help protect it. It's over 2000 pages long.

...........want your Bill Romance........Lady Gaga …..Bad Romance

^^^^ For every 1,000 women screened, 100 are recalled. Of the 100, 81 are either found negative and re-screened in a year or have another imaging study in six months. Nineteen undergo a minimally invasive needle biopsy, and five of them are diagnosed with breast cancer. So,..5 per 1000.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My friend, Jack, claims that he can communicate with vegetables. Jack and the beans talk. --Submitted by The English Teacher's Daughter TETD

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: ValleyCon 46 (14-17, Fargo, ND) ValleyCon strives to bring the best and most relevant guests featured in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comics, gaming and film & TV! – http://valleycon.com/

Name That Poet of the Week: A people’s peace for which men can enthuse / A peace that brings reality to our dream.

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Stochastic Physics in Biology (10-15, Ventura, CA) Trends of current biomedical research https://10times.com/stochastic-physics-biology

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Pakistan + Karachi --> Ankara

The poorest plants in the rainforest are vines; they can't support themselves. / Plant a tree. Do it so the rainforest doesn't have to do all the work. As you shovel in the dirt around it, remember to say, “May the forest be with you”.

..........down in the trenches........Bono and the Edge …..Bulletproof Pride

^^^^^ Next step - Diagnostic mammogram. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a screening mammogram is an X-ray of the breast used to detect breast changes in women who have no signs of breast cancer. It usually involves two X-rays of each breast. Using a mammogram, it is possible to detect a tumor that cannot be felt. A diagnostic mammogram is an X-ray of the breast used to diagnose unusual breast changes, such as a lump, pain, nipple thickening or discharge, or a change in breast size or shape. A diagnostic mammogram is also used to evaluate abnormalities detected on a screening mammogram. It usually involves more X-rays of the breast from different angles.

My Own Writing of the Week: The most elusive problem of losing weight is perception. So we're all on the same page, I adhere to Lily Tomlin's philosophy, "Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle drugs". But reality can be inconsistent at the best of times. My brain and my body know that I am way lighter than I used to be. I see that my arms are smaller as I type at my keyboard. My legs are thinner; my stomach has definition. I only have 2 chins. I feel thinner, healthier, and fit. But I'm still fat. 225 pounds is fat by anybody's standards. People just meeting me perceive me as fat. So, I end up with these little jolts as two totally accurate and totally opposite realities bump up against each other. I look in the mirror one day and am pleased with how much of me there isn't and the next day horrified by how much of me there is. And if Ms Tomlin was also right when she said "Reality is nothing but a collective hunch", where does that leave me? From The Downside of Losing Weight

Poet of the Week: Langston Hughes Give Us Our Peace

Vintage Players One Liner of the Week: If history repeats itself, I'm so getting a dinosaur.

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: In Athens, no one wakes up before noon. Dawn is tough on Greece.

Today's Peace of History, October 15, 1966: Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California.

The jaguar eats lunch in a different part of the rainforest each day. She doesn't have a favorite spot. / Rainforest frogs wear open toad shoes.

..........Little sister, don't you worry about a thing today.........Bono and the Edge …..A Man And A Woman ~~Dedicated to Chelsea and Marc

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle October 15, 2021, the Old-Growth ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047

Moonbeam: Fear is proof of a degenerate mind. --Virgil

Cost of War:

As of 10/14/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,925,761,501,722.

As of 10/7/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,924,595,411,491.

As of 10/14/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,086,658,359,933.

As of 10/7/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,086,061,088,794.

As of 10/14/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $161,066,466,129.

As of 10/7/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $160,516,592,285.

As of 10/14/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,008,978,834,294.

As of 10/7/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,007,443,113,633.

As of 10/14/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,073,580,052,642.

As of 10/7/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,061,938,359,048.

As of 10/14/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,256,048,185,071.

As of 10/7/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,240,556,796,011.

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

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. --Franklin D. Roosevelt

Famous Last Words: 'Cause I love Lucy and Lucy loves me. The I Love Lucy theme song.

..........unafraid, I can go where life leads me.........Stevie Wonder …..For Once In My Life ~~Today's songs are from Bill Clinton's 65^th Birthday Gala on this day in 2011.

If you want to learn about rainforest spiders, check out their website. / Where do you find rainforests with no trees? On a map

May Peace cool your reality

And Joy purify your spirit

prairie mama

christine

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