Famous First Words: I vow, Mr. Hardcastle, you're very particular. --Mrs. Hardcastle She Stoops To Conquer
Happy Women's History Month: Stop telling girls they can be anything they want when they grow up. I think it's a mistake. Not because they can't, but because it would have never occurred to them that they couldn't. --Sarah Silverman / Instead of paying women the same as men, pay men the same as women. See how angry they get.
..........It's knowing that the world will not be cursing or forgiving..........John Hartford …..Gentle On My Mind
Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet. --Alice Walker
It is a rainy Friday morning in Lawrence. The temperature is 38°F but the wind gusts are up to 20 mph so it feels cold. The world smells wet. The thirsty ground is lapping up raindrops and smells like mud. The yellow-brown grass is drinking it up and smells of damp foliage and spring. The sky is a lumpy gray; it keeps even a hint of sunshine from escaping. I have been to the doctor (he is only in Lawrence on Fridays) and we both agreed that I was still alive and doing okay. Driving in the rain (it was never a hard rain) is not as pleasant as laying in bed listening to it drum against the window. But I am home now. Puck is asleep at my feet and I am sipping caramel cream decaf and writing to you. A pretty nice morning, all in all.
Hope your weekend avoids all those awkward moments, ePistliers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: 'Beer is now cheaper than gas. Drink! Don't Drive!
If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares? --Tina Fey / Underestimate me; that'll be fun.
..........There's a gentle tease in the river breeze.........John Hartford …..Old Time River Man
Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday, Grover Cleveland !
^ What do you know about Cleveland's young life?
^^ The Cleveland presidency is/was unique in all administrations in what way?
^^^ Do you have any idea what number president he was? Biden is #46.
^^^^ When did Grover begin to use his middle name?
^^^^^ Grover's first career job was teaching in what New York institution?
Big Hello: Ciao - Italian https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My life is just a collection of poorly made decisions with rock music playing in the background. --Submitted by PsyDe
Max Picture of the Week: Max, the sleeping angel
Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 34% of librarians wanted to have a Pi day program but library administration said it was irrational #PiDay https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
..........Sittin' on a 747 just a watchin' them clouds roll..........John Hartford …..Steam Powered Aereo Plane
Moonbeam:If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price. --John Updike
Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine. --Whoopi Goldberg / Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman.
Meditation of the Week: If horrific means to make horrible shouldn't terrific mean to make terrible.
Puzzle of the Week: Words starting with a "kw-" sound usually start with the letters QU-, as in question, or "KW-," as in Kwanzaa. What common, non-capitalized English word(s) starting with a "kw-" sound contains none of the letters Q, U, K, or W?
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Ironically, Barnum's and Bailey's respective kids – Sid and Marty – both ran away one night to join corporate America. -Larson --Submitted by ff of ks
Week of the Week: Campfire USA Birthday Week (13-19) –Camping is so in-tents. / When the llama got invited on a camping trip he said, “Yay, alpaca bag”
Live your life so that when you are being honored for your achievements, the people called upon to make laudatory comments can feel reasonably honest about their comments. Otherwise, in these times, all their words might be perceived as alternative facts, or worse yet, fake news. --Lily Tomlin
..........Cause the new one just goes Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........John Hartford …..Good Old Electric Washing Machine
^ Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in New Jersey. He was the fifth of nine children of a Presbyterian minister. His father died while he was young and he ended his education at age 16 but passed the bar exam in NY without any formal study.
Almanac: It is Friday, March 18, 2022. The moon is full (Worm) today and is in Libra. It is Awkward Moments Day, Forgive Mom and Dad Day, and National Biodiesel Day. In Aruba and Haiti it is Flag Day/National Holiday. Also in Haiti it is University Day. In Ireland they celebrate Sheelah's Day. Finally in Wilmington NC it is the weekend of the Peanut Festival.
Among those born on this day were Raphael (1483), Frederick III (1609), Christian Goldbach (1690), Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes (1809), Grover Cleveland (1837), Randal Cremer (1838), Rudolph C K Diesel (1858), Neville Chamberlain (1869), Edward Everett Horton (1886), Wilfred Owen (1893), Smiley Burnette (1911), Peter Graves (1925), F W de Klerk (1932), John Updike (1932), John Hartman (1950), James F Feilly II (1954), Rick "the model" Martel (1956), and Queen Latifah (Dana Owens, 1970).
On March eighteenth Parliament reinstituted the Stamp Act (1766), She Stoops to Conquer premiered (1773), the first US railroad tunnel was completed (1834), Wells and Fargo formed American Express (1850), Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth opened (1881), Saturn's moon Phoebe was discovered (1899), Caruso became the first well-known performer to make a record (1902), the Order of DeMolay was established (KC, 1919 ... the masons say DeMolay was established in 1314 {before Kansas City was established}), the second Peace of Riga was signed (1921), the first intercollegiate indoor polo championship was played (1922), Pluto was discovered (1930), the first electric shaver went on sale (1931), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was ratified (1949), I Hatojama was recognized as premier of Japan (1955), Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill (1959), Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, was introduced (1961), the Miranda Decision was handed down (1963), each of the Rolling Stones was fined (5 pounds stirling) for public urination (1965), Congress repealed the gold reserve (1968), the baseball owners lockout ended after 32 days (1990), largest art robbery in history occurred (Boston, 1990), and Leona Helmsley was sentenced to 4 years for tax evasion (1992).
Night Sky, 3/18: The Moon is full. Once it's well up late this evening, it forms a nearly right triangle with Arcturus about three fists to its left and Spica half that distance below it (for North America). http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Image of the Week:
This Week: Saturday, March 19 – Goddess of Fertility Day & National Quilting Day & Save the Panther Day
Sunday, March 20 – Great American MeatOut Day & French Language Day
Night Sky, 2/20: The bright waning gibbous Moon rises around twilight's end. Once it's well up, look for Spica about 4° to its lower right (for North America), glimmering through the moonlight. Brighter Arcturus shines about three fists to their upper left.
Monday, March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Tuesday, March 22 – National Goof-Off Day & Talk Like William Shatner Day
Wednesday, March 23 – Atheist Day & National Puppy Day & World Meteorological Day
Night Sky, 3/23: Venus, magnitude –4.6, is the bright "Morning Star" shining low in the southeast during dawn. Mars, vastly fainter at magnitude +1.2, continues to hang 4° lower right of Venus all week. Look for it early before dawn gets too bright; Mars currently shines with a little less than 1% of Venus's light.
Thursday, March 24 – World Tuberculosis Day
I just don't want to be hampered by my own limitations. --Barbra Streisand / A woman is only helpless as long as her nail polish is drying.
..........Now the Opry's gone and the streets are bare….......John Hartford …..Nobody Eats At Linebaughs Anymore
^^ Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, 1885-89 and 1893-97.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I am so tired of people running around with a mouthful of scripture and a heart full of hate. --Submitted by 98%
Moonbeam: I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody's head. --John Updike
Strange Fact of the Week: Someone posted that they had just made synonym buns. I replied, “you mean just like the ones that grammar used to make?” I am now blocked.
Video of the Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUfwy3f3R4s Before the opening night performance of Verdi's Don Carlos, the audience observed a moment of silence, followed by the Ukrainian national anthem, performed by the Met Orchestra and Chorus and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Make a difference about something other than yourselves. --Toni Morrison
To me there is no greater act of courage than being the one who kisses first. --Janeane Garofalo / If your phone doesn't ring, it's me.
.........And I knew when I wrote it that I'd written it for the fiddle.........John Hartford …..Vamp In The Middle
^^^ Cleveland was our 22nd and 24th president (?presidents, uhhh)
Side Story of the Week: I first saw John Hartford at the Red Dog in Lawrence. Then he was second banana to Glen Campbell when Glen's show was summer replacement for the Smothers Brothers. Anyway, John's fiddle maker lived and worked in Merriam, KS which is the next little suburb next to Turner, where I grew up. Whenever John came to town to deal with his fiddle maker – new one, repairs, etc. – he would book himself into a small venue in Johnson County so he could write off the expense of traveling to Kansas. We saw some very nice concerts.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I love it when the kids tell me they're bored. As if the lady standing in front of a sink full of dirty dishes is where you go to get ideas about how to have a good time. --Submitted by RHOZ
Weird Word of the Week: Indundibulum: chronosynvlastic infundibulum – Kurth Vonnegut in The Sirens of Titan -”those places … where all the different kinds of truths fit together.” https://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-inf1.htm
Ollie's Very Own Picture of the Week: Ollie and the monstrously big, very, very delicious ice cream cone
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Clean coffee and teapots. Wash in a solution of one-quarter cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and one quart warm water, then rinse clean. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/armhammer2.html
A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. --Irina Dunn / Once the Republicans ban abortion in cases of rape and incest, they're going to focus on America's spiraling witch problem. --Andy Borowitz
...........I've seen sorrow all my days...........John Hartford …..A Man Of Constant Sorrows (from the soundtrack of O, Brother, Where Art Thou
^^^^ Grover dropped his first name as an adult, perhaps because he had been called "Big Steve” by friends, due to his girth, at over 250 pounds.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Russians have to watch right-wing propaganda. Americans choose to watch right-wing propaganda. --Submitted by 98%
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: MarsCon 2022 (18-20, Williamsburg, VA) Myths and Legends...Guest of Honor: Peter V Brett author of the Demon Cycle. http://www.marscon.net/wp/
Vintage Players One Liner of the Week: You are never too old for a nap.
Actual Science Conference of the Week: International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (19, Los Angeles) ...Research activities and innovative ideas... https://www.iirst.com/event/index.php?id=1506429
Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Kw sound: Choir, coif, or croissant
I urge you all today, especially today during these times of chaos and war, to love yourself without reservations and to love each other without restraint. Unless you're into leather. --Margaret Cho / Taking off a sweaty sports bra should count as resistance training.
..........He's in the jailhouse now.........Soggy Bottom Boys …..Indian War Whoop
^^^^^ Cleveland was a teacher at the New York Institute for the Blind in Manhattan before deciding to pursue a legal career.
My Own Writing of the Week: Minority Opinions Forum (MOF) did an excellent job of scheduling speakers from a wide range of political ideologies. They had sponsored George Lincoln Rockwell from the American Nazi Party and Norman Thomas of the American Socialist Party. I had attended a few through the years. Student Activity ticket money was used to pay the speakers and most of us felt it was a good use of funds. It was always free to the public. Attendance varied with interest in the particular speaker.
These speeches were always given in the student union building. The union is an evolving structure. It adds on, redecorates and otherwise morphs from year to year. This night MOF was in a room with a series of accordion doors that could be opened or closed to make a single room larger or smaller. It was furnished with a hundred or so folding chairs in rows on three sides of a small dais. Robin was on the platform along with the person introducing her. I sat with friends to the speaker's right in the front row.
Anticipation was palpable. It was a typically institutional room of bland color and little adornment. Windows, if there were any, were covered with heavy drapes. The stage was exactly big enough for a podium and two chairs.
The room filled rather quickly but people were still arriving. The union staff came, opened the first set of wall-doors and began unfolding more chairs. For a while these filled almost as soon as they were placed in line. The decibel level increased with the size of the audience and the amount of activity. Everyone was dressed in layers of clothing that had to be removed and stored somewhere. Conversation to the power of hundreds provided a muted soundtrack and the clank of unfolding chairs provided counterpoint. And finally there came the adjustments to the sound system, heavy metal static and screeching. --From An Act Surprising ...Wednesday Night
Quote of the Week: Facebook officially temporarily allowing hate speech against Russia reminds me of the “Two Minutes Hate” from George Orwell's 1984. --Syma Tasaduq
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm Irish. I don't “tan”. I burn, peel, repeat.
No So Late Night Snack of the Week: Peter Sagal: How will the giant parachuting spiders make our lives better? Paula Poundstone: It'll take our minds off the nukes. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 3/12/22
Today's Peace of History, March 18, 1871: The Paris Commune took over the city of Paris and ruled until May 28th, 1871.
Saying “yes” doesn't mean I don't know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn't mean I am waiting for permission. --Amy Poehler / Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. --Jim Carrey
..........But success is just a mess of overdues.........John Hartford …..Howard Hughes Blues
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle: Semi-historic ePistle, March 18, 2022, Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047
Moonbeam: You do things and do things and nobody really has a clue. --John Updike
Cost of War:
As of 3/17/22 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $173,320,867,291.
As of 3/10/22 State Department War on Terror Costs since 2001: $172,758,503,378.
As of 3/17/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,043,205,933,167.
As of 3/10/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,041,635,267,719.
As of 3/17/22 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,099,358,969,494.
As of 3/10/22 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $1,098,235,206,265.
As of 3/17/22 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,333.028,139.126 .
As of 3/10/22 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,321.126,374.132 .
As of 3/17/22 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,951,749,238,618.
As of 3/10/22 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,950,556,558,990.
As of 3/17/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,601,281,711,387.
As of 3/10/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,585,438,728,982.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
Peace, My Brother, Peace, My Sister, Peace, My Soul. --Maya Angelou
Famous Last Words: Mephisto. (Aside) Enough of all this academic chatter, Back again to devilry! --How Dr Demonology signs off on Zoom calls. --Submitted by Philosophy Matters
..........you'll pass a joint, they'll pass the wine........John Hartford …..Back In The Goodle Days
For most of history anonymous was a woman. --Virginia Woolf / Home is where you don't have to wear your bra.
May Peace soothe your aches
And Joy ease your pains
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
No comments:
Post a Comment