gNashed ePistle

 Famous First Words: Can life be a blessing... --John Dryden Troilus And Cressida

Happy Birthday, Ogden! The cow is of the bovine ilk; one end is moo, the other, milk --Ogden Nash The Cow

..........I'll stay with you 'till the seas are dried up.........Ginger Baker & Cream …..Sunshine Of Your Love

Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. --Desmond Tutu

It is a rainy Friday morning. I have taken too long to get ready for our morning constitutional so the rain began and – little known fact – Puck is made of sugar and will melt in the rain so he doesn't go out on watery days. The sky is a slate gray with white puffy clouds between here and the horizon. Lack of direct sunlight gives the world a kind of dreamy feeling. Tree branches remain still, even the willows are quiet. Damp soil and wet foliage fill the air and my nose when I open the patio door – careful not to let the new kitten, Veronica, out. She is hiding under a bookcase so she isn't rushing to get out. Puck goes to the nearest bit of grass – 3 feet from the door – does his business and returns almost before I could get the door shut behind him. A long bolt of lightning rolls across the west and the sound of raindrops on the chimney picks up speed. Puck drinks his little bowl of ½ and ½ - perhaps before the cat finds it – and sneaks into a nap at my feet. I am drinking doctored coffee and sitting at my computer writing to you. Wow, what a morning.

ePistliers, I hope your weekend is so great you count it first the next time you're counting your blessings. 

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Tee Shirt: Treason is the Reason for the Seizin'

Candy is Dandy But liquor Is Quicker --Ogden Nash Reflections on Ice-Breaking

..........You are the sun and as you shine on me.........Ginger Baker & Cream …..I Feel Free

Trivia Questions: Happy World Orangutan Day !

• ^ Orangutans only live on two islands; can you name either or both?
• ^^ What does the word orangutan mean?
• ^^^ Would you care to guess what percentage of DNA the orangutan shares with humans?
• ^^^^ How many orangutans are there in the wild, more or less?
• ^^^^^ How long does the baby orangutan stay with its mother?

Big Hello: Mandi – Friulian (Northern Italy) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I won't back down. --Tom Petty I may readjust my stance if you have a convincing argument. --Tom Reasonable --Submitted by INRITH

Image of the Week: Made You Look …. Black Lives Matter

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: The average librarian's cardigan conceals two pencils, one flask, and one emergency kitten. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Behold the duck. It does not cluck. A cluck it lacks. It quacks. It is specially fond of a puddle or pond. When it dines or sups, it's bottoms up. --Ogden Nash The Duck

..........I told you 'bout the swans, that they live in the park........Ginger Baker & Cream ….Badge

Moonbeam: She became a feminist at 11. When I say feminist, I'm talking about equality and awareness of perceptions of roles. --Tipper Gore

Meditation of the Week: What makes us human? --Plato

Puzzle of the Week: Name a famous person in American television — 6 letters in the first name, 4 letters in the last. Switch the last letter of the first name with the first letter of the last. Then reverse the order of the two modified names. You'll get a phrase meaning "almost typical." What is it? --NPR Sunday Puzzle 8/7/22

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What's scary is that all of this could happen to any of us who stole nuclear documents.

God in his wisdom made the fly And then forgot to tell us why. --Ogden Nash The Fly

..........Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes.........Ginger Baker & Cream …..White Room

^ Orangutans can be found on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and (northern) Sumatra. 12,000 years ago you could have found them in Southern China, Indochina, Java and southern Sumatra – the species are now extinct in these regions.

Almanac: It is Friday, August 19, 2022. The moon entered the quarter yesterday (8/18) and is in Taurus. It is Aviation Day, "Black Cow" Root Beer Float Day, Coco Chanel Day, International Bow (Hair) Day, International Orangutan Day, World Humanitarian Day, and World Photo Day. Hawaii “celebrates” Admission Day (1959).

Among those born on this day were John Dryden (1631), John Flamsteed (1646), Samuel Richardson (1689), Minna Canth (1844), Edith Nesbit (1858), John Kane (1860), Orville Wright (1871), Alfred Lunt (1892), Ogden Nash (1902), Philo T Farnsworth (1906), Ring Lardner Jr (1915), Gene Roddenberry (1921), Diana Muldaur (1938), Ginger Baker (1939), Bill Clinton (1946), Tipper Gore (1948), Jonathan Frakes (1952), Adam Arkin (1956), John Stamos (1963), and Mathew Perry (1970). On August nineteenth Herschel discovered Enceladus (moon of Saturn, 1787), William Huggins described astronomical application of the spectrum (1891), the first race was run at the Indianapolis 500 speedway (1909), Ralph Bunche was named undersecretary of the UN (1954), the NY Giants voted to move to San Francisco (1957), the Oklahoma City NAACP began lunch counter sit-ins (1958), Sputnik 5 carried 2 dogs and 3 mice into space and brought them back alive (1960), Svetlana Savtiskaya became the second woman in space (1982), Mikhail Gorbachev was deposed (1991).

Night Sky, 8/20: For months, most of the naked-eye planets have been hanging out in the early morning sky. Now Saturn becomes the first of the crew to return to evening view as early as late twilight. It shines higher through the rest of the night. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Brothers with bin –- and some tall help

This Week: Saturday, August 20 – National Radio Day & World Mosquito Day

Sunday, August 21 – Poet's Day & Senior Citizen's Day

Night Sky, 8/21: August is prime Milky Way time, at least when the Moon is out of the evening sky as it is now. After dark the Milky Way runs from Sagittarius in the south, up and left across Aquila and through the big Summer Triangle very high in the east, and on down through Cassiopeia to Perseus rising low in the north-northeast.

Monday, August 22 – Be An Angel Day & National Tooth Fairy Day

Tuesday, August 23 – Ride The Wind Day & Find Your Inner Nerd Day

Wednesday, August 24 – International Strange Music Day & Pluto Demotion Day

Night Sky, 8/24: Mercury is very low in the sunset glow. About 20 or 30 minutes after sunset, try scanning for it with binoculars just above the horizon due west. Good luck. At least Mercury is fairly bright: about magnitude 0.0 all week.

Thursday, August 25 – Kiss and Make Up Day & National Park Service Day & World Daffodil Day

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs / Is those things arms, or is they legs? / I marvel at thee, Octopus; / If I were thous, I'd call me Us..--Ogden Nash The Octopus

..........Well, I'm going down to Rosedale........Ginger Baker & Cream …..Crossroads

^^ The word orangutan comes from the Malay language; “orang” means human and “utan” is derived from hutan which means forest, so the word orangutan literally means human of the forest.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: When life knocks you down, stay there and take a nap. --Submitted by Thoughts From Aisle 4

Moonbeam: If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there. --Gene Roddenberry

Video of the Week: How to make a Black Cow Click here (1:51)

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Live From The Past (Summer Vacation Reruns) Blackbird - a twisty little play. It was the show to see. Nathan Lane , I think, called it: screaming into the grave. Amy Sedaris said it sleeps 300. --Jeff Daniels ( 2015) Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 8/13/22

Every action, no matter how small, is like drips on a rock—over time, they can carve a canyon through even the thickest, most immovable layer of rock. --Shannon Watts (founder of Moms Demand Action)

The pig, if I am not mistaken; Supplies us sausage, ham, and bacon. Let others say his heart is big—I call it stupid of the pig. --Ogden Nash The Pig

..........I'm tired of weeping, I'm tired of moaning..........Ginger Baker & Cream …..I'm So Glad

^^^ We humans share nearly 97% of our DNA with orangutans, making them one of our closest relatives after apes.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Whenever Sarah Palin is on television, I can see stupid from my house. --Submitted by 98%

Weird Word of the Week: Collyrium (plural collyri) A salve for the eyes From the Greek kollura – a bread roll http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-col3.htm

Dragon Image of the Week: Topiary from East Rudham, UK

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Revive an ailing house plant. Add two tablespoons of Aunt Jemima Original Syrup at the base of the plant once a month. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/auntjemima.html

To keep your marriage brimming With love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up. --Ogden Nash A Word To Husbands

...........Come down off your throne and leave your body alone.........Ginger Baker & Blind Faith …..Can't Find My Way Home

^^^^ Although exact population counts are difficult to ascertain, the scientific community generally agrees that there are somewhere between 55, 000 and 65,000 wild orangutans left.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I feel like Joe blew a big strategic opportunity by not picking Q Anon as his running mate and splitting the Maga vote. --Submitted by mm of ia

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Film & Comic Con – Glasgow (20-21, Glasgow) ...geek out and enjoy... https://www.filmandcomicconglasgow.com/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Digital Summit – Minneapolis (18-19) Where marketers go to stay on top of their game https://minneapolis.digitalsummit.com/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Norman Lear – Near Normal

Senescence begins And middle age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends. --Ogden Nash Crossing The Border

..........Sick of politicians, harassment and laws.........Ginger Baker & Hawkwind …..Psychedelic Warlords

^^^^^ After mating, female orangutans leave the male so there are no orangutan families. The young stay with their mother until they reach around 7 years old. Orangutans generally give birth to a single baby every 7 to 9 years.

My Own Writing of the Week: Emotions &

imagery

festering within.

Tension grasping

shoulders &

neck.

Poems

leaking out

the

fingers. --Leaking by Christine Smith

Quote of the Week: Marjorie Taylor Greene: “I like the lights on. I want to stay up later at night. I don’t want to have to go to bed when the sun sets.”

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I saved 10% of my income by switching to Atheism. --The Geico Gecko

Today's Peace of History August 19, 1958: The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Youth Council in Oklahoma City, led by Clara Luper, a high school history teacher, began sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters, inspired by success in Wichita, Kansas.

Some pains are physical, and some pains are mental, but the one that's both is dental. --Ogden Nash

..........Take a look at an open book.........Ginger Baker's Air Force …..Do What You Like

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle August 20, 2022, gNashed ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS

Moonbeam: He looked at me as if I were a side dish he had not ordered. --Ring Lardner

• Cost of War:
• As of 8/18/22 State Department War Costs since 2001: $185,562,000,614.
• As of 8/11/22 State Department War Costs since 2001: $184,994,099,571.
• As of 8/18/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,077,400,218,735.
• As of 8/11/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,075,811,225,715.
• As of 8/18/22 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,113,266,788,365.
• As of 8/11/22 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,112,648,855,340.
• As of 8/18/22 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,592,232,876,804.
• As of 8/11/22 Veterans Care since 2001: 2,580,187,147,082.
• As of 8/18/22 Military Costs since 2001: $2,977,711,517,536.
• As of 8/11/22 Military Costs since 2001: $2,976,505,067,294.
• As of 8/18/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,946,176,767,271.
• As of 8/11/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $7,930,150,319,726.

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

If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one. --Mother Teresa

Famous Last Words: ...when we hope to be happy again. --John Dryden Troilus And Cressida

..........We will shine our light through the darkest night till the morning........Ginger Baker & BBM .…..Glory Days

Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave when they think that their children are naive. --Ogden Nash

May Peace grace your rest

And Joy sing your lullaby

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh: