Will's ePistle

Famous First Words: One of those no-neck monsters... Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Welcome to Shakespeare Week (20-26). Beware, here's what he may have thought of you. Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows. (Troilus & Cressida Act 2, Scene 1) / Thou whoreson zed, thou unnecessary letter! (King Lear Act 2, Scene 2)

..........Nahe mir nicht mit der wutenden Nahe!.........Maria Callas …..Ewig war ich 4/7/35 ~~Tonight's artist all appeared on the Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour on the dates given. I did not find what song they performed on the show.

War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace. --Thomas Mann

It is a cloudy Friday morning. 39°F is chilly by itself but with a 12 mph wind it's downright cold. The sky is gray with streaks of what may be blue sky or may be darker gray clouds. Crows and other birds are out in force filling the sky with movement and the air with birdsong. Grass is turning from yellow brown back to green in spots around the yard; and buds are beginning to pop up on tree branches. Spring keeps visiting but has yet to establish residence. Puck and Veronica have both been outside and now are sleeping like living logs. Puck's sleep is restless and filled with snorts. Veronica sleeps silently, still sleek and beautiful in stillness. I sit at my computer sipping Nuttin' But Kisses decaf and staring out the window waiting for spring to arrive and boost the temperature up a few notches … Too bad, instead I light an incense cone to make it smell like the missing spring flowers and sit down to write to you. Peace and quiet and you, you can't beat that.

May your weekend be filled with lots of money and lots of friends, ePistlers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You have to inject yourself with a little fantasy every day in order not to die of reality. --Ray Bradbury

Thou leathern-jerkin, crystal-button, knot-pated, agatering, puke-stocking, caddis-darter, smooth-tongue, Spanish pouch! (Henry IV Part 1 Act 2, Scene 4) / Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade. (Measure for Measure Act 3, Scene 1)

..........I face it all and I stood tall.........Frank Sinatra …..My Way 9/8/35

Trivia Questions: The automobile is 137 years old. Happy Birthday

• ^ What was the very first car sold in the United States?
• ^^ How much did that first car sell for?
• ^^^ More or less, how many cars were sold that first year?
• ^^^^ When did Henry Ford switch to assembly line production of cars?
• ^^^^^ How many cars were** sold in the US in 2022?

**The g-mail grammar check wants me to change were to will be.

Big Hello: Godaw – Jutish aka Jutlandic https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Never put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket. --Submitted by FLHA

Image of the Week: Lawrence, KS: St Patrick's Day Parade 2023

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 34% of librarians wanted to have a Pi day program but library administration said it was irrational https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Thou are unfit for any place but hell. (Richard III Act 1, Scene 2) / Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon. (Timon of Athens Act 4, Scene 3)

..........Keep my love locked in your heart.........Teresa Brewer …..Till I Waltz Again With You 10/20/35

Moonbeam: We don't stop dancing because we grow too old, we grow old because we choose to stop dancing. --Arthur Murray

Meditation of the Week: What makes us human?

Puzzle of the Week: Name two countries that have consonyms that are nationalities of other countries. In each case, the consonants in the name of the country are the same consonants in the same order as those in the nationality of another country. No extra consonants can appear in either name. The letter Y isn't used.

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you ever feel worthless, remember, there are people with theological degrees. --Submitted by MMS

Thou art as fat as butter. (Henry IV Part 1 Act 2, Scene 4) / Thou dost infect mine eyes. (Richard III Act 2, Scene 2)

..........And if I fell under the spell of your call..........Frank Sinatra …..All Or Nothing At All 12/3/36

^ The first US car sold was a Winton bought by Robert Allison in Port Carbon, PA. https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/267

Almanac: It is Friday, March 24, 2023. The moon was new on the 21^st and is in Taurus. The United Nations has declared this the Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims (A/RES/65/296). The World Health Organization has declared this World Tuberculosis Day. It is also Chocolate Covered Raisins Day and Agriculture Day.

Among those born on this day were Georgius Agricola (1494), Rufus King (1755), Joseph Liouville (1809), Elisa Felix (1821), John Wesley Powell and William Morris (1834), Andrew Mellon (1855), Emile Fabre (1869), Harry Houdini (1874), Fatty Arbuckle (1887), Arthur Murray (1895), Wilhelm Reich (1897), Thomas Dewey (1902), Malcolm Muggeridge (1903), John Cameron Swayze (1906), Lucia Chase (1907), Clyde Barrow (1909), Fritz Liebert and Joseph Barbera (1911), Gene Nelson (1920), Normal Fell (1924), Steve McQueen (1930), Patti Labelle (1944), and Lara Flynn Boyle (1970).

On March twenty-fourth the Peace of Boulogne was signed (France & England, 1550), King James VI became King James I of England (1603), Williams was granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island (1664), Aleksandr Romanov became emperor of Russia (1801), Canada granted suffrage to blacks (1837), Manhattan Kansas was founded (as New Boston, 1855), the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company formed (1868), the first telephone call between NYC and Chiacgo was put through (1883), the first automobile was sold (1898), Greece became a republic again (1924), the ex-planet Pluto was named (1930), Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour went national (NBC Radio, 1935), Rockefeller donated East River site to the United Nations (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened (1955), Elvis joined the army (1958), the Kennedy half dollar was issued (1964), and Isabel Peron was deposed (1976).

Night Sky, 3/24: Now the thickening crescent Moon shines above Venus during and after twilight. The Big Dipper glitters softly high in the northeast these evenings, standing on its handle. You probably know that the two stars forming the front of the Dipper's bowl (currently on top) are the Pointers; they point to Polaris, currently to their left or lower left. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: If the theory turns out to be right, that will be tremendously thick and tasty icing. --Brian Greene

This Week: Saturday, March 25 – Earth Hour & Be Mad Day & Tolkien Reading Day

Sunday, March 26 – Live Long And Prosper Day & Purple Day & Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

Night Sky, 3/26: This evening Ceres, 7th magnitude, crosses the northernmost spiral arm of the 10th-magnitude galaxy M100 in Coma Berenices. (Map & Picture)

Monday, March 27 – International Whisk(e)y Day & Viagra Day & World Theater Day

Tuesday, March 28 – Barnum and Bailey Day & Weed Appreciation Day

Wednesday, March 29 – Manatee Appreciation Day & Piano Day (88th day of the year) & Smoke and Mirrors Day

Night Sky, 3/29: Venus (magnitude –4.0, in Aries) is the "Evening Star" shining brightly in the west during and after dusk. It finally sets about 2 hours after dark. Telescopically, Venus is a shimmering little gibbous ball 13 arcseconds in diameter and 82% sunlit.

Thursday, March 30 – International Laundry Folding Day & Pencil Day

Thine face is not worth sunburning. (Henry V Act 5, Scene 2) / No longer from head to foot than from hip to hip, she is spherical, like a globe; I could find countries in her. (Comedy of Errors Act 3, Scene 2)

..........I wonder who's buying the wine.........Frank Fontaine …..I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now 3/30/39

^^ The hand built Winton cost around $1,000.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I bet jellyfish are sad that there are no peanut butter fish. --Submitted by INRITH

Moonbeam: There are reported to be six species of metals, namely, gold, silver, iron, copper, tin, and lead. Actually there are more. Mercury is a metal although we differ on this point with the chemists. Plumbum cinereum (gray lead) which we call bisemutum was unknown to the older Greek writers. On the other hand, Ammonius writes correctly many metals are unknown to us, as well as many plants and animals. — Georgius Agricola

Video of the Week: Buddy Holly and the Crickets singing Peggy Sue on the Arthur Murray Show 12/29/57 https://www.schooltube.com/media/Buddy+Holly+on+the+Arthur+Murray+Dance+Party+12/1_uh0bjlm4 (2:30 … But Kathryn talks for about the first minute or so)

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Our prize is any voice from our show that you choose on your voicemail. Which is an amazing prize if you still use voicemail. --Karen Chee AND It's been my plan all along. I just knew, I'm like, one day there's gonna be a bank failure so I better not have any money. --Helen Hong AND A blob of seaweed bigger than the United States is headed for Florida. This is fun, it's official name is a Sargasasm. --Karen Chee Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 3/18/23

If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. --Dolly Parton

That trunk of humours, that bolting-hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed cloak-bag of guts, that roasted Manningtree ox with pudding in his belly, that reverend bice, that grey iniquity, that ruffian, that vanity in years? (Henry IV Part 1 Act 2, Scene 4) / His wit's as stick as a Tewkesbury mustard. (Henry IV Part 2 Act 2, Scene 4)

..........Love is a heartbeat throughout the universe.........Beverly Sills …..Sempre Libera 10/26/39

^^^ More than 100 Winton vehicles were sold in 1898.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: But how will I explain drag to my children? Your children practice hiding from an active shooter at school on a monthly basis. They can handle learning that adults play dress up. --Submitted by 98%

Weird Word of the Week: Yarely – Briskly, promptly, quickly. Speak to the mariners: fall to’t, yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-yar1.htm ~~A long etymology mentions Tennyson and Walter Scott, among others.

Dragon of the Week: Imagined Dragon

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Prevent a sleeping bag from getting musty. Before rolling up a sleeping bag for storage, place a sheet of Bounce inside the bag. When you unroll the bag next time, it will smell springtime fresh. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bounce.html ~~In a chemical sort of way.

The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes. (Comedy of Errors Act 5, Scene 4) / There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune. (Henry IV Part 1 Act 3, Scene 3)

...........Chaste goddess, who dost bathe in silver light.........Beverly Sills …..Norma 6/26/41

^^^^ After much trial and error, in 1913 Ford and his employees successfully began using this innovation at their Highland Park plant.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Fox News is a “news organization” in the same way that a urinal cake is “cake”. --Submitted by ff of ks

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Revelcon 33 (24-26, Houston, TX) The Little Con with a Texas Sized Heart https://www.revelcon.com/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Mathematical Modeling in Biology School (20-28), Potchefstroom, South Africa) 3MC School on Biomathematics https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/paa/3MC-School-BM

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Ukraine --> Korean; Lebanon -->Albanian

The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril. (The Merry Wives of Windsor Act 3, Scene 5) / This woman's an easy glove, my lord, she goes off and on at pleasure. (All's Well That Ends Well Act 5, Scene 3)

..........Whose heart is achin' for breakin' each vow..........Connie Francis …..Who's Sorry Now 12/5/49

^^^^^ The US auto industry sold nearly 2,86 million cars in 2022.

My Own Writing of the Week: We were so young. He was a gentle but not timid lover. He was funny and engaged and we had a very good time. We were both pretty new at it. Because I lived in that Victorian house so close to campus, we had to find friends who were going out for the evening in order to actually make love. Alas, my memories are in my head, not in my flesh. Too bad! I wasn't as skilled at keeping the memories then. I have no letters from him, not even over summer break.

He came back to school after that next summer with the first Grateful Dead album. He was enthralled and I became a Dead fan (but never a Dead-Head) because of him. Later he used to buy albums when they came out on Tuesday and not let any of us listen to them until Saturday when we all took acid together. Between the Button by the Stones and Mellow Yellow by Donovan are the only ones I remember by name. We listened to a lot of really good music that year or perhaps it was very ordinary music and very good acid.

He managed to convince the university to allow him to count his music as a foreign language requirement because music is the universal language and because Russian bested him. He grew up to lead orchestras out west and write hard music, chamber music, and ballets.

Quote of the Week: It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning. --Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Judging by the mess around urinals, men shouldn't be trusted with guns. --Musings of a Marooned Mountain Main --Submitted by sd of ks

Today's Peace of History, March 24, 1980: The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) was founded. The convention adopted four goals: organize the unorganized; promote affirmative action; increase women's participation in their unions; and increase women's participation in political and legislative activities. http://www.cluw.org/

I'd beat thee, but I would infect my hands. (Timon of Athens Act 4, Scene 3) / Thou cream faced loon. (Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3)

..........And the devil will drag you under by the sharp lapel of your checkered coat.........Stubby Kaye …..Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat 2/16/50

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle March 24, 2023, Will's ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Scientific theory is a contrived foothold in the chaos of living phenomena. --Wilhelm Reich

Cost of War:

• As of 03/16/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $202,254,024,385.
• As of 03/23/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $202,784,849,670.
• As of 03/23/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,125,502,653,762.
• As of 03/16/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,124,020,056,820.
• As of 03/23/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,131,973,300,416.
• As of 03/16/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,131, 396,724,543.
• As of 03/23/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $2,956,861,298,849.
• As of 03/16/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $2,945,624,785,256.
• As of 03/23/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,014,233,747,776.
• As of 03/16/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,013,108,468,571.
• As of 03/23/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,431,358,256,147.
• As of 03/16/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,416,409,332,248.

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

Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime. --Victor Hugo

Famous Last Words: I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. --Casablanca

..........To a simpler place and time and when he takes that ride.........Gladys Knight and the Pips …..Midnight Train to Georgia 6/12/52

Villain, I have done thy mother. (Titus Andronicus Act 4, Scene 3) / Away, you three-inch fool! (Taming of the Shrew - Act 4, Scene 1)

May Peace bless your world

And Joy grace your life

prairie mama

christine

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