Famous First Words: An act to grant to the women of Wyoming Territory the right of suffrage... First Legislation in the US granting women the right to vote Wyoming, 1869
Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard. --Andy Borowitz / Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year. --Victor Borge
..........And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls..........Counting Crows …..A Long December
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. Matthew 5:9
It is a gloomy Friday morning and 48 degrees Fahrenheit with a breeze. So I am wearing a coat and hat but no gloves. The sky is covered with thick clouds varying from gray to dark gray with one spot of almost white where the sun is trying to burn through. Puck, of course, barks at everything but this morning a cement truck is waiting for its turn at pouring concrete on Brush Creek as the last leg of repaving. The motor hums gruffly and the big yellow drum turns with a grinding sound while there are plinks of gravel or something hitting the insides of the drum...a steampunk calliope. We greet two strangers who are walking to their cars which are parked on our cul-de-sac because the new pavement has temporarily eliminated their driveways. We continue to the end of the street by the park and Puck sniffs every tuft of grass for possible squirrel contamination. The calliope moves on – hopefully we'll have a new potholeless street tonight. I turn towards the park and nod to the hawk sitting on a bare tree limb and looking for breakfast. The hawk flies off and we return home noticing Christmas decorations – lights in windows, large, shiny ornaments hung in bare trees. They are warm and welcome on an overcast day. The house is filled with smells of coffee brewing and with not road tar aroma, ahhh. So now I'm sitting sipping my doctored decaf and writing to you. Great morning so far...
Hope your weekend reeks of Christmas Cheer, ePistliers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: All pets are therapy pets. Most are just working undercover. --Submitted by sd of ks
Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. --Dave Barry / I get a little behind during Lent, but it comes out even at Christmas. --Frank Butler
..........Touch me with chivalry..........Laura Nyro …..December's Boudoir
Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday to the Grand Ole Opry !
^ Who was the first US president to attend the Grand Ole Opry?
^^ Where did the name come from?
^^^ What was the price of a ticket to the Opry before they moved to the Ryman Theater in 1943?
^^^^ What is the price of a ticket to the Opry nowadays?
^^^^^ About how many people attend the Opry annually.
Big Hello: Tjike – Herero (Namibia & Botswana) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Please be careful of holiday scams out there. I ordered my wife expensive jewelry for Christmas, and instead they sent me a new guitar and amp. --Submitted by fhb of az
Max Picture of the Week: Max decorating the Christmas tree.
Fake Library Statistic of the Week: 23% of librarians won't admit it, but they think the Cat in the Hat is a jerk. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
At Christmas, tea is compulsory. Relatives are optional. --Robert Godden / This holiday season, no matter what your religion is, please take a moment to reflect on why it's better than all the other ones. --Guy Endore Kaiser
..........'Cause I'm older now but not done hoping.........Michael Bublé …..Cold December Night
Moonbeam: To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. --George MacDonald
Meditation Seed of the Week: If you make it to the crossroad, what would you sell your soul for?
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Sign in the stall of the restroom at Z's Coffee, Lawrence KS: Do Not Flush Paper Towels, Tampons, Sanitary Napkins, Diapers, Money, Dreams, Hopes
Week of the Week: Computer Science Education Week (6-12) --If your computer keeps coughing it has a virus. / A Computer's memory is only as long as its electric cord.
Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas. --Kin Hubbard / What I like about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with the present. --Don Marquis
..........And I realized I loved you in the fall.........Taylor Swift …..Back to December
^ Richard Nixon was the first president to visit the Opry. It was in 1974 during the grand opening of the Grand Ole Opry House. He played “Happy Birthday” for his wife and “God Bless America” for the audience on the piano, making him the only president to actually perform on the show. ~~Later came Carter, Reagan, Bush one, and Bush two would stop.
Almanac: It is Friday, December 10, 2021. The moon is in the first quarter today and is in Pisces. It is Dewey Decimal System Day, Human Rights Day, Nobel Prize Day, International Animal Rights Day, Jane Addams Day, and Official Lost & Found Day. In the Khmer Republic it is Rights of Man Day and in Mississippi it is Admission Day (1817). In Stockholm, Sweden it is Nobel Prize presentation Day (since 1896). Thailand celebrates Constitution Day (1932). The UN and Equatorial Guinea commemorate Human Rights Day (1948). Worldwide it is World Freedom Day. Wyoming celebrates Wyoming Day (women's suffrage) (1869).
Among those born on this day were Thomas Gallaudet (1787), George MacDonald (1824), Dennis Morgan (1910), Chet Huntley (1911), Dorothy Lamour (1914). Dan Blocker (1929), Tim Considine (1941), and Tommy Kirk (1941).
On December tenth France began using the Gregorian calendar (1582), Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state (1817), women suffrage was granted in Wyoming (1869), president Wilson married Edith Galt (1915), the Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut (1927) and Zanzibar became independent (1963).
Night Sky, 12/10: First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 8:36 p.m. EST). The half-lit Moon shines far off the upper-left end of the Venus-Saturn-Jupiter line, turning it into an immense, gently curving line of four objects. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Image of the Week: I have no caption
This Week: Saturday, December 11 – Day of the Horse & International Mountain Day & UNICEF Birthday
Sunday, December 12 – National Ding-a-Ling Day & National Cocoa Day & Poinsettia Day
Monday, December 13 – Green Monday & National Guide Birthday
Night Sky, 12/13: Geminids Meteor Shower - The Geminids are usually one of the best meteors showers of the year, capable of producing 150 or more meteors per hour at a dark site. The meteors are often bright and colorful. The Moon will be 78% full and up for a large portion of the night, which could hamper viewing.
Tuesday, December 14 – Monkey Day & Yoga Day & Asarah B'Tevet
Wednesday, December 15 – Bill of Rights Day & Cat Herders Day & National Cupcake Day
Night Sky, 12/15: At this time of year the Big Dipper lies shyly down at its lowest just after dark, due north. It's entirely below the north horizon if you're as far south as Miami.
Thursday, December 16 – Free Shipping Day & National Regifting Day
Adults can take a simple holiday for children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks form her dog, who drew her name. --Erma Bombeck / Thank you, stockings, for being a long flammable piece of fabric people like to hang over a roaring fireplace. --Jimmy Fallon
..........Late December, back in '63.........Frankie Valli …..Oh, What A Night
^^ The phrase "Grand Ole Opry" was first uttered on radio on December 10, 1927. At the time, the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, a program with classical music and selections from grand opera, was followed by Hays' Barn Dance. That evening, as he was introducing the show and DeFord Bailey, his first guest, George Hay said the following words: For the past hour, we have been listening to music largely from Grand Opera, but from now on, we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry'
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You can't teach an old dogma new tricks. --Dorothy --Dorothy Lamour
Video of the Week: Roy Zimmerman PeaceNick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv_O7ocnQ1Y
Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie and the brand new haircut
Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Dr Oz is famous for selling magic weight pills on tv...the fact that he lives in New Jersey but he's running in Pennsylvania shows that he's a doctor without borders. --Andra McDonald Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 12/4/21
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you...let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
That's the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me. --Jerry Seinfeld / Do give books – religious or otherwise – for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. --Lenore Hershey
..........How the stars stole the night away.........Earth, Wind & Fire …..December
^^^ 1939-1943. During its tenure at War Memorial, the Opry began to charge admission — 25 cents a person.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Sometimes you just need to lay on the couch and do nothing for three years. --Submitted by RHOZ
Collective Nouns of the Week: A soufflé of clouds and a helix of geneticists.
Strange Fact of Life of the Week: Theme parks can snap a crystal-clear picture of you on a roller coaster going 70 mph, but bank cameras can’t get a clear shot of a robber standing still.
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Clean a microwave oven. Sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, scrub, and rinse. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/armhammer.html
Puzzle of the Week: Last week's challenge came from listener Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Take the 9 letters of EARTH SIGN. Repeating them as often as necessary, you can spell the four-word title of a classic movie in 15 letters. You can also use them to spell the four-word title of a classic song in 19 letters. What two titles are these? NPR Puzzle Sunday 12/5/21
Christmas is a time when you get homesick even when you're home. --Carol Nelson / Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, he must be a communist. And a beard and long hair, must be a pacifist. What's in that pipe he's smoking? --Arlo Guthrie / I bought my brother some gift wrap for Christmas. I took it to the gift wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping. --Steen Wright
...........I'm going home.........Kay Starr …..December
^^^^ Opry ticket prices range from $45 for the mezzanine to $138 for the main floor up close.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I used to tell a joke about Orpheus and Eurydice, but looking back, it was not a great idea. ----Submitted by Philosophy Matters
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: There are no conventions listed for this weekend. Ahhhh
Alternative To Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Old Fashioned Christmas (12/11, Lindsborg, KS) Activities taking place in the lantern-lit Heritage Square village... https://www.visitlindsborg.com/old-fashioned-christmas
Name That Poet of the Week: Santa needs new reindeer, the first bunch has grown old...
Actual Science Conference of the Week: SYMPOL 2021 International Symposium on Ocean Technology (9-11, India) ...ocean electronics... ~~iphones of isopods ??
Answer to Puzzle of the Week: "Singin' in the Rain" and "Strangers in the Night"
Next to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit. --Frank McKinney Hubbard / Every year Christmas gets longer and longer, and you don't care, do you? Every year, you just take more of the calendar for yourself. How long does it take you people to shop? It's beyond belief! It's insane! When I was a kid, Halloween was Halloween, and Santa wasn't poking his ass into it. --Lewis Black
..........After the Yule fire dies down.........Donny Osmond …..After December Slips Away
^^^^^ Almost a million people visit the Opry every year to see their favorite stars.
My Own Writing of the Week: One of the Young Apollos really was living with a lady; they weren't married but they were pretty solidly together. Jeez, I do not remember having a single qualm. We played Dungeon and Dragons with a group of people and I do not remember now who started the flirting that led to the affair. We were certainly playing in the dirt and we both knew it. That was part of the appeal, the titillation. I suspect that he had other women too. And while being one of a crowd is not morally different from being the only one, it can save one from a little guilt if applied carefully. --from Husbands – Mine and Other People's
Poet of the Week: Timothy Tocher Help Wanted
Naturally Occurring Mandala of the Week:
Vintage Players One Liner of the Week: It is clear that you drank deep from the well of ignorance.
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: being alive is a little outta my price range. --Submitted by dr of oh
Today's Peace of History, December 10, 1997: Julia Butterfly Hill, age 23, climbed "Luna," a 1,000-year-old California redwood, to protect it from loggers. She stayed up in the tree for more than two years.
Christmas: it's the only religious holiday that's also a federal holiday. That way, Christians can go to their services, and everyone else can sit at home and reflect on the true meaning of the separation of church and state. --Samantha Bee / You know you're getting old when Santa starts looking younger. --Bart Simpson
..........Warm when the cold breezes blow.........Julie London …..Warm in December
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle December 10, 2021, Cheerful ePistle**. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047 **I almost named it Cheerful Damned ePistle
Should Have Been In Last Week's ePistle: When the Saxons arrived, they asked the Welsh the name of that hill, the Welsh said "pen" which means "hill" in Welsh. So the Saxons used their word for hill, "tor", and called it Torpen (hill, hill). Then the Norse arrived and by the same process added their world for hill "haugr". So now it was Torpen Haugr (hill, hill, hill). Later, the English called it Torpenhow Hill (Hill Hill Hill Hill). --Submitted by cmr of ks
Post Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Dear Santa, I'm writing to tell you I've been naughty and it was worth it, you fat, judgmental bastard. --Submitted by bc of tx
Moonbeam: I'm not ashamed of being gay, never have been and never will be. For that I have no apologies. --Tommy Kirk
Cost of War:
As of 12/09/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,935,198,721,481.
As of 12/02/21 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,934,032,582,319.
As of 12/09/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,091,491,955,150.
As of 12/02/21 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,090,894,763,672.
As of 12/09/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $165,516,531,761.
As of 12/02/21 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $164,966,398,143.
As of 12/09/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,021,407,997,549.
As of 12/02/21 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,019,872,048,577.
As of 12/09/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,167,794,898,032 .
As of 12/02/21 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,156,153,125,319 .
As of 12/09/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,381,412,998,511.
As of 12/02/21 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,365,914,623,529.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
These things I have spoken to you, that you may have peace. John 16:33
Famous Last Words: Good-night, David --Chet Huntley, Huntley Brinkley Report
..........So you better leave the light on.........Miley Cyrus …..Permanent December
One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books. --Professor Dumbledore / Merry Christmas, Nearly Everybody. --Lewis Black
May Peace bless your holly
And Joy keep you jolly
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
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