unbearable ePistle

 Famous First Words: Help me off the pedestal. Grace Kelly as Tracy Lord in High Society

It's Polar Bear Week! Paul Polar meant to write jokes for you; but he's still waiting for the seal of approval. / Polars catch fish with their bear hands.

..........But there's a warnin' sign on the road ahead........Neil Young …..Rockin' In The Free World

The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being. --Lech Walesa

It is a chilly (39°F) Friday morning. The sky is a very pale blue with the sun rising below a flock of fluffy clouds slowly working their way south. A fierce north wind drives the cold between the buttons and up the sleeves of my coat. It strips leaves from branches and sends them flying around the neighborhood. The little maple tree that was the first to change it's dress to red and brighten the block, has only a dozen or so leaves left, small yellow, unhealthy looking leaves. What a change. Puck barks at the blowing leaves and at the world in general. He doesn't seem to mind the wind as he sniffs his way down the block. There are no birds singing the praises of the morning. There is only the sound of machinery tearing up the street to replace the scarred pavement, grinding and drilling that sets my teeth on edge. So we return home to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and freshly harvested catnip drying on the counter. I ignore the catnip but fix a cup of decaf, creamed and sweetened, dark and rich. I sit down and take a long, hot gulp. Ahh, and now I get to write to you. What a great morning.

Hope your weekend is warm and cozy, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The Devil whispered in my ear: “You're not strong enough to withstand the storm.” I whispered back: “At least I didn't lose my golden fiddle to some hillbilly from Georgia.”

Polar bears keep their money in snowbanks. / Paula Polar was very sad; she felt ice-olated.

..........I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood........Neil Young ….Heart Of Gold

Trivia Questions: Ellis Island – what do we know about it?

^ Where did Ellis Island get its name?

^^ Where did immigrants actually land before going to Ellis Island?

^^^ What exams were given to incoming immigrants?

^^^^ How busy was Ellis Island, anyway?

^^^^^ To what purpose was Ellis Island put during WWI & II?

Big Hello: Bonjou – Haitian Creole https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: When I was young I was scared of the dark. Now when I see my electricity bill I am scared of the light.

Max Picture of the Week: Max and Mom making cautionary art

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: Instead of a flask at their desk 34% of librarians hide a box of wine in an unused magazine box. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

When Peter Polar got caught in a rainstorm, his mates called him drizzly bear. / Petunia Polar loved 10 pins. Her nickname was Bowler Polar.

..........We took our souls and we flew away.........Neil Young …..Comes A Time

Moonbeam: "To live for a principle, for the triumph of some reform by which all mankind is to be lifted up—to be wedded to an idea—may be, after all, the holiest and happiest of marriages." --Elizabeth Cady Stanton on her friend Susan B Anthony

Meditation Seed of the Week: What would you do with the ability to become invisible for a day?

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I wonder how bored people have to be to play a game of Type This and Let the Computer Finish

Week of the Week: Children's Book Week (8-14) --What's the Cat in the Hat's favorite Red Lobster order? One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish / Dr Seuss once treated a fellow doctor, Dr George Forten, who was afraid of the number 3. Forten fears a few... ~~Sigh

Perry Polar claimed he wore his thick, white coat fur protection. / Pearl Polar is a gossip columnist. She specializes in compromising polar-oids.

..........I've been first and last.........Neil Young …..Old Man

^ Ellis Island was named for its last private owner, Samuel Ellis. Long before it became a way station for people looking for a new beginning it was used for pirate hangings in the early 1800s.

Almanac: It is Friday, November 12, 2021. The moon was in the first quarter yesterday and is in Pisces. It is Chicken Soup For The Soul Day, Fancy Rat & Mouse Day, National French Dip Day, Sigma Gamma Rho Day, and World Pneumonia Day. Because it is the second Friday, it is Domino Day. In Austria it is Republic Day (1918) and in Saudi Arabia it is Coronation Day. Finally women's organizations everywhere celebrate Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day. She was born on this date in 1815.

Among those born on this day were Juana Inés de La Cruz (1651), Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815), Bahá'u'lláh (1817), Auguste Rodin (1840), Lord Rayleigh (1841), Sun Yat-sen (1866), Jack Oakie (1903), Kim Hunter (1922), Grace Kelly (1929), Charles Manson (1934), Neil Young (1945), and Nadia Comaneci (1961).

On November twelfth the Origin of the Era of Alexander began (324 BCE), the Origin of the Era of Ascension began (295), George Washington forbade recruiting blackmen (1775), Britain annexed Gilbert & Ellice Islands (1915), Notre Dame's Fighting Irish changed their color from blue to green (1927), Trotsky was expelled (1927), the Oakland Bay Bridge opened (1936), the first drive-up bank window opened (Chicago, 1946), Song of the South was released (1946), Ellis Island closed (1954), date returned to in Back to the Future (I & II, 1955), Paula Murphy set the female land speed record (225.37/mph, 1964), Justice William O Douglas retired after 36 years (1975), the Polish government freed labor activist Lech Walesa (1982), and Yuri Andropov succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as leader of the Soviet Union (1982).

Night Sky, 1/12: At nightfall Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and Venus form a long, ragged diagonal line in the south to southwest, in that order from upper left to lower right. The largest asteroid, 1 Ceres, is currently passing through the Hyades near Aldebaran this week http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Image of the Week: The new fridge

This Week: Saturday, November 13 – World Kindness Day & Sandwich Day

Sunday, November 14 – International Girls Day & Operating Room Nurse Day & National American Teddy Bear Day

Night Sky, 11/14: Vega is the brightest star high in the west on November evenings. Its little constellation Lyra extends to its left, pointing as always to Altair, the brightest star in the southwest. Three of Lyra's stars near Vega are interesting doubles. Barely above Vega is 4th-magnitude Epsilon Lyrae, the Double-Double. Epsilon forms one corner of a roughly equilateral triangle with Vega and Zeta Lyrae. The triangle is less than 2° on a side, hardly the width of your thumb at arm's length.

Monday, November 15 – America Recycles Day & I Love To Write Day & National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day

Tuesday, November 16 – International Day for Tolerance & National Button Day & Family Day

Wednesday, November 17 – Take A Hike Day & Homemade Bread Day

Night Sky, 11/17: Uranus (magnitude 5.7, in southern Aries) is well up in the east by 7 pm standard time. Neptune (magnitude 7.9, at the Aquarius-Pisces border) is already high in the southeast at nightfall.

Thursday, November 18 – World Philosophy Day & Use Less Stuff Day & Mickey Mouse Day

Patrick Polar was getting very old, his coat was yellow and he was afraid of losing his teeth and becoming a gummy bear. / Patricia Polar was a scientist studying bear-ium. She was known for never taking a vacation; she preferred hi-bear-nation.

..........A dreamer of pictures.........Neil Young …..Cinnamon Girl

^^ The waters surrounding Ellis Island were too shallow for transatlantic ships to navigate, so most docked and unloaded their passengers in Manhattan. During the detour, American citizens and first and second-class passengers were allowed to enter the country after only a brief inspection, but steerage passengers were herded onto ferries and shuttled to Ellis Island for further processing.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Bumper Sticker on Grandma's Car: I'm speeding because I have to get there before I forget where I'm going. --Submitted by cf of ks

Moonbeam: “I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives, but as nouns.” --Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Video of the Week: What if the Beatles were Irish with Roy Zimmerman https://www.facebook.com/100045196264954/videos/10156256246798762/

Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie has had enough

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: A dad on Tik Tok realized that Disney+ had edited the popular Australian kids cartoon Bluey for sensitive American audiences For example, they removed just a moment of a scene that showed what? ... What is perfectly fine in Australia but they decided American audiences simply could not handle this/ --Peter Sagal Oh, a character getting the vaccine. --Negin Farsad ~~The answer was a unicorn pooping. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 11/6/21

It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness. and a mood of helplessness prevails. --Lech Walesa

I have a recurring dream about being attacked by polar bears. The doctor says it's just a bite-mare. / Pamela Polar invented the polar roller coaster. They call her the Roller Bear.

..........There's calm in your eyes and I'm getting' blown away.........Neil Young …..Like A Hurricane

^^^ Upon arrival at Ellis Island, immigrants were ushered into a room called the Great Hall and paraded before a series of medical officers for physical inspection. Most were allowed to pass by in a matter of seconds, but those whom the doctors deemed physically or mentally deficient were marked with chalk and taken away for additional screening. Questionable candidates were forced to submit to more detailed questioning and medical exams, and any signs of contagious disease, poor physique, feeblemindedness or insanity could see an immigrant denied admittance on the grounds that they were likely to become a ward of the state. In later years, doctors at Ellis Island even devised puzzles and memory tests to ensure that certain immigrants were intelligent enough to find work. New arrivals could also face rejection if they were anarchists, had a criminal record, or showed signs of low moral character. Despite the litany of guidelines for new immigrants, the number of people denied entry at Ellis Island was quite low. Of the 12 million people who passed through its doors between 1892 and 1954, only around 2 percent were deemed unfit to become citizens of the United States.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Things I trust more than Ted Cruz: Flint, MI tap water, Bill Cosby's drinks, anything from Chipotle.

Distant Cousin of Video of the Month: Domino Day – video of 32,000 dominoes falling into beautiful patterns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I7doqtpDq8

Extra Peace Quote of the Week: Two armies that fight each other is like one large army that commits suicide. --Henri Barbusse

Vintage Players One Liner of the Week: Cats are in charge, accept it.

Collective Nouns of the Week: An obscurity of Poets and a Pomposity of Professors

Puzzle of the Week: This challenge came from Michael Shteyman, of Freeland, Md. Think of a popular tourist attraction in two words (5,6). The second, fourth and sixth letters of the second word, in order, spell the first name of a famous author. The last four letters of the first word spell the author's last name. Who is the author, and what is the tourist attraction? NPR Puzzle Sunday 11/7/21

When Pierce Polar learned that the Antarctic was not the same as the Arctic, he was stunned. He'd never heard of polar opposites. / Whenever her friends asked what she wanted to do, Priscilla Polar would say, “North Pole and Chill”.

...........Just like children sleepin' we could dream this night away.........Neil Young …..Harvest Moon

^^^^ From 1900 to 1914—the peak years of Ellis Island’s operation—an average of 1,900 people passed through the immigration station every day. Most successfully passed through in a matter of hours, but others could be detained for days or weeks.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: OmegaCon 2021 (12-14, The Lodge at Crooked Lake, WI) Now calm down and bear with us... https://www.facebook.com/OmegaCon/

Name That Poet of the Week: In Honor of Fancy Rat and Mouse Day Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste, An' weary Winter comin fast...

Actual Science Conference of the Week: International Online Symposium on Environmental Microplastics (10-12, Chicago) MOS aims to ...discuss the gaps... https://10times.com/e1zp-31zh-10gp

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: : Grand Canyon --> Ayn Rand

Percy Polar worked very hard all week, but he only did the bear minimum on weekends. / Polar bears tend to find snow jokes unbearable.

..........Now your crosses are burning fast.........Neil Young …..Southern Man

^^^^^ Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, the government turned a suspicious eye toward all German-born, non-naturalized citizens residing within its borders. Potential “alien enemies” were placed under harsh restrictions, and those suspected of harboring pro-German sentiment were rounded up and detained. Since immigration had tapered off World War I, officials designated Ellis Island as one of the main holding centers for would-be enemies of the state, and some 1,500 people were eventually detained there.

My Own Writing of the Week: Stringman became a mushroom hunter and joined with other fungus-heads and finally, wrote a book on identifying mushrooms in the area. I went on forays from time to time but lacked the essential drive to find the next wonder smut. I do have a much clearer picture of the diversity of the species and appreciate the beauty and flavor that is out there. However, I did not find an answer to the question: why do we have no problem going to a grocery store and buying mushrooms grown and harvested by total strangers but we are suspicious of any mushroom given to us by a dear friend?

Poet of the Week: Robert Burns To A Mouse https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43816/to-a-mouse-56d222ab36e33

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Farmer Joan asked her partner what he did with the chicken she brought him. “I made the chicken soup”, he said. “What did you make for me”, Joan asked.

Today's Peace of History, November 12, 1989: Tens of thousands of Americans joined “Mobilize for Women’s Lives” in more than 150 cities and towns nationwide. They sought protection of women’s rights to reproductive choice, including abortion. ~~31 years ago...it is estimated that 2.6 millon women marched in August 2021. When will we be free?

Parsley Polar missed the school bus and rode there by icicle instead. / The polar bears are very worried about global warming; however, the views are thaw dropping.

..........This summer I hear the drumming.........Neil Young …..Ohio

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

Moonbeam: “Come, come, my conservative friend, wipe the dew off your spectacles, and see that the world is moving.” --Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Cost of War:

As of 11/11/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,930,789,012,529.

As of 11/04/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,929,364,113,594.

As of 11/11/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,089,079,669,501.

As of 11/04/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,088,503,551,196.

As of 11/11/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $163,295,696,794.

As of 11/04/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $162,765,230,181.

As of 11/11/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,015,204,951,627.

As of 11/04/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,013,723,337,709.

As of 11/11/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,120,774,450,647.

As of 11/04/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,109,544,306,428.

As of 11/11/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,318,848,455,713.

As of 11/04/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,303,903

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

He who puts out his hand to stop the wheel of history will have his fingers crushed. --Lech Walesa

Famous Last Words: There ain't nobody looking back again Song of the South

..........In the mornin' when your rise.........Neil Young …..You Don't Have To Cry

Patches the Polar Bear liked cold butts and hot jazz. / What did Penny Polar eat right after the dentist straightened her teeth? The dentist.

May Peace warm your cockles

And Joy cool your jets

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh: