Tiara-ed ePistle

Famous First Words: Considering that the United States, acting in conjunction with its co-belligerents... Peace Treaty between the United States and Germany signed August 25, 1921

It's World Princess Week: Snow White is my choice for Princess Judge – she's the fairest of them all. / The easiest way to find a lost princess is to follow the footprince.

..........Oh, the sun is warm.........Leonard Bernstein …..I Feel Like I'm Not Out Of Bed Yet (On The Town)

Preventing conflicts is the work of politics; establishing peace is the work of education. --Maria Montessori

It is a warm (83°F) and sunny Friday morning. The sky is a deep blue with no clouds that I can see. A light breeze sends the willow into graceful stirs and waves; but the mulberry just stands there trying to look majestic. The patch of yellow sunflowers are leaning and showing mostly green. It is so amazing how many shades of green there can be in one backyard. I look up at a small bird that is fluttering among the high willow branches but realize it is a single willow leaf, long and slender, twirling it's way to the ground. To autumn! Ah, and now an actual small bird glides into the mulberry and disappears into the foliage. I raise my cup...smelling and tasting of decaf, sweetener, and ½ n ½...to the nature show out my window. Makes me feel like a princess.

Hope your weekend is in line for the throne, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Every loaf of bread is a tragic story of a group of grains that could have become whiskey but didn't. --Submitted by sb of ar

Even a princess is strong enough to move a castle when she's playing chess. / The princess who could make the most clever jokes was RaPUNzel.

..........Breeze it, buzz it, easy does it.........Leonard Bernstein …..Cool (West Side Story)

Trivia Questions: It is National Park Service Day! There are more than 50 lighthouses preserved in National Parks.

• ^ Which National Park has 9 of the 50 lighthouses, the most of any park?
• ^^ Which areas of our country have the most national park lighthouses?
• ^^^ How did the National Park Service come to own so many lighthouses?
• ^^^^ How many lighthouses have been received in the first fifteen years of this program?
• ^^^^^ What is the chief reason why lighthouses are no longer useful?

Big Hello: caлam (Salam) – Kyrgyz https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: America sure is having some bad luck. It's almost like it was built on an ancient Indian burial ground. --Submitted by MMS

Image of the Week: Inmate #P01135809

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 25% of lirbarians will let you know about the typo in your post. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Princess Ariel, aka the little mermaid, used to throw jars of peanut butter into the sea for the jellyfish. / What eats more princesses than a dragon? Two dragons.

..........I grab the maestro's stick and start in leading the band........Leonard Bernstein …..Carried Away (On The Town)

Moonbeam: Never a tear bedims the eye that time and patience will not dry. --Bret Harte

Question of the Week: What is the phobia of chainsaws called? --Strangely Hilarious Yahoo Questions

Puzzle of the Week: From listener Dan Pitt, of Palo Alto, Calif. Name a famous contemporary singer (6,4). The second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and ninth letters, in order, spell a repeated part of a song that everyone knows. What was it? NPR Puzzle Sunday 8/20/23

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Joke all you want, but Rudy's prepared to fight this all the way to the Supreme Courtyard by Marriott. --Submitted by ff of ks

Cinderella never made it to major league soccer because her coach was a pumpkin. / After Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker replanted the trees they had destroyed on the moon of Endor, she pronounced, “May the forest be with you.”

..........Better get rid of your accent........Leonard Bernstein …..America (West Side Story)

^ Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin has 9 lighthouses. Isle Royale National Park in Michigan is next with 4.

Almanac: It is Friday, August 25, 2023. The moon went into the first quarter yesterday (8/24) and is in Sagittarius. It is Kiss and Make Up Day, National Park Service Day, National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day, and World Daffodil Day. Because it is the last full weekend in August it is also International Bat Nights.

Among those born on this day were Ivan the Terrible (aka IV, 1530), George Stubbs (1724), Allan Pinkerton (1819), Bret Harte (1836), Michael Rennie (1909), Walt Kelly (1913), Van Johnson (1916), Mel Ferrer (1917), Leonard Bernstein (1918), George Wallace (1919), Monty Hall (1923), Sean Connery (1930), Regis Philbin (1931), Tom Skerritt (1933), Gene Simmons (KISS, 1949), Rob Halford (Judas Priest, 1951), and Elvis Costello (1954).

On August twenty-fifth Galileo demonstrated his first telescope (1609), New Orleans was founded (1718), Uruguay declared independence from Brazil (1825), Belgium revolted against Netherlands (1830), the first international polo meet was held (1886), the US National Park Services was established (1916), US and Germany sign peace treaty (1921), Paris was liberated (1944), Truman nationalized the railroads to avoid a strike (1950), US/USSR signed a $10 billion grain pact (1983), and Carl Lewis ran 100m in 9.86 seconds (1991).

Night Sky, 8/25: How soon after sunset can you see the big Summer Triangle? Face east. Vega, the Triangle's brightest star, is nearly at the zenith (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). Deneb is the first bright star to Vega's east-northeast. Altair shines less high in the southeast. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: And then, just like that, everybody started wearing bubble hats...

This Week: Saturday, August 26 – Burnt Ends Day & National Dog Day & Women's Equality Day

Sunday, August 27 – Just Because Day & World Rock Scissors Paper Day

Night Sky, 8/27 : The waxing gibbous Moon shines in the south after dark. High above it, by three or four fists at arm's length, spot 1st-magnitude Altair with its little sidekick, 3rd-magnitude Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae) about a finger-width above it. Much closer to the right of the Moon is the Sagittarius Teapot. Its four-star handle is the part closest to the Moon, less than a fist at arm's length. About a fist distance right of the handle, and perhaps a bit lower, is the Teapot's spout. Binoculars help through the moonlight.

Monday, August 28 – National Thoughtful Day & National Weed Out Hate Day & Read Comics In Public Day

Tuesday, August 29 – According To Hoyle Day & Individual Rights Day & More Herbs, Less Salt Day

Wednesday, August 30 – National Beach Day & National Grief Awareness Day

Night Sky, 8/30: Jupiter (magnitude –2.5, in Aries) rises around 11 pm. Watch for it to come up low in the east-northeast. By the beginning of dawn, Jupiter shines very high in the south.

Thursday, August 31 – International Day for the People of African Descent & Love Litigating Lawyers Day

Don't apply for the job of dwarf for Snow White. Statistics show that 86% of them aren't Happy. / When Prince Charming ate Princess Jasmine's ice cream, she yelled, “How diary!”

..........I'll be the light to guide you.........Leonard Bernstein …..Count On Me (On The Town)

^^ The East Coast accounts for almost half of all Park Service Lighthouses. Thanks in large part to the Apostle Islands collection, Lake Superior boasts more than twice as many as the West Coast.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You think “pronouns are confusing” wait until you find out about verbs.

Moonbeam: We have met the enemy and he is us. --Walt Kelly ~~Our father loved Pogo and quoted Walt Kelly often.

Video of the Week: Scenes from the liberation of Paris. (2:33)

Declaration of the Week: One of the few television programs that I have watched for decades is Jeopardy. I was pleased when the big time winners refused to come back for some championship game because they refused to cross the WGA-SAG picket lines. Good for them. Then Mayim Bialik declined to host a celebrity show for the same reason. But Ken Jennings apparently doesn't mind being scab labor and will continue to host. So I have stopped watching Jeopardy and will not return – maybe ever – but certainly not until the strike is settled in the favor of labor. I have already weaned myself off of late night shows and will probably never go back. I do miss people regularly making political jokes about the day's news, however. There must be a blog.

Education is the best weapon for peace. --Maria Montessori

Diana Prince, aka the Princess of Themyscira, used to make sandwiches with Wonder Bread. / Princess Ariel was grounded when her grades fell below C level.

..........It's alarming how charming I feel........Leonard Bernstein …..I Feel Pretty (West Side Story)

^^^ The Park Service’s role extends beyond the lighthouses located in national parks. Even when they stop fulfilling their primary function as navigational aids, lighthouses retain historic and cultural value. To preserve that heritage, Congress passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000. The act created a process for the U.S. Coast Guard to transfer ownership of lighthouses it deems no longer necessary to other federal agencies, state and local governments, or other organizations, provided that they preserve the lighthouses and make them accessible to the general public.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Of course your opinion matters. Just not to me.

Weird Word of the Week: Latibulate – to hide in a corner https://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/word-of-the-day/word-of-the-day-latibulate/

Dragon of the Week: The Dragon Princess

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Prevent the wet pages of a book from wrinkling. Place sheets of Bounty Paper Towels between every wet page, close the book, place a heavy book on top, and let sit overnight. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bounty2.html

Rapunzel won the princess race by a hair. / Ariel keeps her change in her octopurse.

...........The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down........Leonard Bernstein …..New York New York (On The Town

^^^^ The Park Service reviews applications and makes a recommendation as to whether the transfer should proceed. If no application is successful, the General Services Administration may sell the lighthouse to private buyers. By the end of 2014, the program had transferred 72 lights to public entities and sold 41 others for a total of $5.6 million. Interested? Learn more about the program on the Park Service website .

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: When she tried to sing, it sounded like a walrus giving birth to farm equipment. --Submitted by High Church Coyote

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: San Diego International Kids Film Festival (25-27, San Diego,CA) 140+ projects from 30+ countries http://sdkidsfilms.org/About.html

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Coffee and Code: (25th, KCMO) Kansas City Women in Tech https://www.meetup.com/kansas-city-women-in-tech/events/295177413/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Celine Dion --> E, I, E, I, O

If Cinderella's glass slipper fit so perfectly, how did it fall off? / Princess Peach uses a toad stool to reach things on the high shelf.

..........Say it soft and it's almost like praying........Leonard Bernstein …..Maria (West Side Story)

^^^^^ The development of modern technology, including GPS, means lighthouses are no longer essential for navigation.

Quote of the Week: “Landlords provide housing like scalpers provide concert tickets” is my new favorite analogy. --Submitted by aeb of kc

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Next time I lose my mind, I swear I'm not even going to look for it anymore. --Submitted by The Oogie Boogie Witch

Today's Peace of History, August 25, 1804: Alicia Meynell competed in a horse race over a four-mile course at York, becoming the first woman known to have done

Princess Jasmine didn't go to the coffee shop because they refused to serve royal tea. / When Princess Fiona met all of Shrek's family, she was ogre-whelmed.

..........I've changed my point of view........Leonard Bernstein …..Lucky To Be Me (On The Town)

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle August 18, 2023, Tiaran ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Thair ain't no sense in gittin' riled. --Bret Harte

• Cost of War:
• As of 08/24/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $215,033,691,596.
• As of 08/17/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $214,468,161,051.
• As of 08/24/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,159,714,869,853.
• As of 08/17/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,158,135,398,922.
• As of 08/24/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,145,278,043,991.
• As of 08/17/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,144,663,810,858.
• As of 08/24/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,216,198,104,825.
• As of 08/17/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,204,225,625,459.
• As of 08/24/23 Military Costs since 2001:$3,040,209,639,616.
• As of 08/17/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,039,010,510,265.
• As of 08/24/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,776,437,386,502.
• As of 08/17/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,760,506,479,625.

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

Everyone talks about peace but no one educates for peace. In this world, they educate for competition, and competition is the beginning of any war. When educating to cooperate and owe each other solidarity, that day we will be educating for peace. --Maria Montessori

Famous Last Words: This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Park Service Organic Act’’. --Guess

..........Like we're psychologically disturbed........Leonard Bernstein …..Gee, Officer Krupke (West Side Story)

How many Disney princesses does it take to screw in a light bulb? Actually any number can do it. They hold the bulb in the socket and wait for the world to revolve around them.. / What's purple and screams from the top of a tower? A damson in distress.

May Peace embrace you

And Joy surround you

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

adVerse ePistle

 Famous First Words: Lolita, light of my life... Vladimir Nabokov Lolita

It is officially Bad Poetry Day! Scary poems come from Poe-trees. / Poetic license can be obtained from the DMV, Department of Metrical Verse.

..........It was told in fire, yes, it was told in ice.........Richie Havens …..The Minstrel From Gault

When it comes to my rights as an American citizen, and yours, I am a triumphalist and an absolutist. Anything less is an insult. --James Meredith

It is an amazing 62°F on this cool Friday morning. The sky is without clouds or texture. There is very little wind to move the tree branches; even the willow is only slowly rocking now and again in a gust. Bird song began early with a high, monotone squeet, squeet. But has evolved into rich and varied sounds coming from every direction. I love it that the world is still green – lawns and bushes, trees and flowers – still green and fresh in the morning sun. I bite into a blueberry muffin and let the sweetened tartness fill my mouth. Decaf, steaming in my cup, clears my sinuses and fills my head with the roasted aroma of plantations on the side of the mountains of Columbia and Kenya. I raise my cup to the last day of lovely weather again until fall begins to insinuate itself into the world.

Ah, ePistliers, shall I compare thine weekend to a summer's day?

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Going on a reverse mission trip...headed to Utah to teach the people the joys of sinning. --Submitted by MMS

How poets say good-bye: I'd like to linger a little longer but it's getting aliter-ate. / What's a metaphor? Fer grazin' yer cattle.

..........Bringing in a couple of keys.........Arlo Guthrie …..Coming Into Los Angeles

Trivia Questions: HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) ~~And a big thank you to all those people who stood up to them. Anti HUAC quotes

• ^ Do you know when and or why the committee was created?
• ^^ What previous House committees served the same function as HUAC?
• ^^^ When did HUAC become a permanent standing committee?
• ^^^^ What was the relationship between HUAC and the KKK?
• ^^^^^ When was HUAC finally dissolved?

Big Hello: Hei – Kven (Norway) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It's not a witch hunt. It's more like a rattlesnake roundup. --Submitted by 98%

Image of the Week: Paradise on fire. Maui, Hawaii

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: It takes, on average, 14 spreadsheets before a librarian can make an informed decision. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Remember, a simile is like a metaphor. / Poets hate writing commercial jingles because jingles are ad-verse.

..........We shall live in peace, someday.........Joan Baez …..We Shall Overcome

Moonbeam: I think women are too valuable to be in combat. --Caspar Weinberger

Question of the Week: Is there a spell to become a mermaid that actually works?

Puzzle of the Week: From Michael Schwartz, of Florence, OR. Name something found on a map of England. Two words. The last two letters of the first word are the same as the first two letters of the last. If you go to England, you can't see this place. You can see it only on a map. What was it? NPR Puzzle Sunday 8/13/23

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If it looks like a chicken, clucks like a chicken, and runs like a chicken, then it's probably Josh Hawley. --Submitted by ss of kc

Cowboys write poetry because they are inspired by their moos. / The highest honor among cowboy poets is Poet Lariat.

..........Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.........Country Joe & the Fish …..Feel Like I'm Fixin to Die Rag

^ HUAC was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and organizations suspected of having Communist ties.

Almanac: It is Friday, August 18, 2023. The moon was new on Wednesday (8/16) and is in Virgo. It is Bad Poetry Day, Birth Control Pills Day, Mail Order Catalog Day, Serendipity Day, International Pinot Noir Day, National Badge Ribbon Day, and National Fajita Day. Hawaii celebrates Admission Day (1959), Because it is the third Friday, it is also Men's Grooming Day and National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.

Among those born on this day were Virginia Dare (1587), Brook Taylor (1685), Antonio Salieri (1750), Marshall Field (1834), Max Factor, Jr. (1904), Casper Weinberger (1917), Rosalynn Carter (1927), Robert Redford (1937), and Martin Mull (1943).

On August eighteenth Mt, Vesuvius erupted (1834), the Bureau of Immigration was created (1894), the Golf Writers Association of America was formed (1946), Peter Seeger testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (1955), Nabokov published Lolita (1958), construction of the Berlin Wall began (1961), James Meredith became the first black student to graduate from Ole Miss (1963), and Woodstock Music Festival ended (1969).

Night Sky, 8/`18: look for the peak of the κ-Cygnid meteor shower at a rate of roughly 3 meteors per hour. This meteor shower is not as bombastic as the Perseids a few days earlier, and the Moon will still be about 50% illuminated on this night. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin'

This Week: Saturday, August 19 – Chef Appreciation Day & National Honey Bee Day & Talk Like Jar Jar Day

Sunday, August 20 – National Radio Day & World Mosquito Day

Monday, August 21 – International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism & Poet's Day

Tuesday, August 22 – National Tooth Fairy Day & Never Bean Better Day

Night Sky, 8/22: The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 17.9 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2023.html

Wednesday, August 23 – Cuban Sandwich Day & Ride The Wind Day & Valentino Day

Night Sky,8/23: After dusk the distinctive constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion, reaches its peak elevation over the southern horizon. The constellation's brightest star is orange-tinted Antares, the "Rival of Mars". Several medium-bright, white stars arranged in a roughly vertical line to the west of Antares mark the creature's claws on modern sky charts; however, the major stars of neighboring Libra used to perform that role. The rest of the scorpion extends to the south, curling eastward into the Milky Way, and terminating with the bright double star Shaula, which marks its poisonous stinger. Observers above mid-northern latitudes might not be able to see the southernmost stars of the constellation. https://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.html

Thursday, August 24 – Pluto Demotion Day & Knife Day & International Strange Music Day

What's big and gray and writes poetry? T S Elephant. / When I crossed Robert Frost and James Bond I got The Road Not Shaken.

..........You've got me runnin' and hidin' all over town.........Santana …..Evil Ways

^^ The 1933 the McCormack-Dickstein Committee was set up, ostensibly, to investigate Nazi propaganda. It became part of HUAC in 1938. In 1969 HUAC changed its name to the Internal Security Committee.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Florida schools will begin using Clarence Thomas as an example of a black man who developed great wealth and social standing as a result of being owned by rich white men. --Submitted by jm of ks

Moonbeam: We know how to treat depression, we know how to treat mental illness, and we have not had the political will in our country to make it happen. --Rosalynn Carter

Video of the Week: The Band singing Robbie Robertson's song The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jREUrbGGrgM (4:15)

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Photos of the universe. This week NASA released its first images of the universe from the James Webb telescope. Everyone who saw the images was awestruck...It's enough to make you cry, if you have the eight years of graduate school required to understand it. To me it looked like what I see when I'm driving at night. ..Democrats were excited by the victory of science and Republicans were excited that those galaxies 13 billion light years away are the closest legal abortion for someone living in Texas. --Tom Papa Wait Wait Don't Tell Me date unknown

What I did at Ole Miss had nothing to do with going to classes. My objective was to destroy the system of white supremacy. --James Meredith

Little Known Fact: Poets sneeze Haiku. / Poets are always poor because rhyme doesn't pay.

..........Baby, don't you wanna go.........Canned Heat …..Going Up The Country

^^^ In 1946 HUAC became a permanent House committee, charged with investigating subversion in the United States. In 1947 and 1951 it investigated alleged Communist Party influence in Hollywood and the motion picture industry.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A meeting without coffee should be an email.

Oft Repeated, Repeated Again of the Week: One of the scariest things about getting a degree in English is the realization that this bumbling batch of bad poetry writers (aka graduate students) were going to decide what is good poetry and what is bad poetry for the next generation. Not even all of us together, us being the reading public, buying several copies of every poetry book we love will sell enough books to stand up against a novel of young literature professors. Sigh.

Weird Word of the Week: Snaccident (snac-ci-dent) Eating an entire bag of chips by mistake. --Submitted by INRITH

Dragon of the Week: Custard the Dragon from the poem by Ogden Nash

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Give a hamster or gerbil plenty of digging and nesting material. Add a few shredded sheets of Bounty Paper Towel to the cage. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bounty2.html

Books of poetry, like OJ Simpson's testimony, are not bought by anyone. / I dug, you dug, he dug, she dug, we all dug. It's not a great poem but it's deep.

...........Big wheel keep on turnin'..........Creedence Clearwater Revival …..Proud Mary

^^^^ HUCA originally investigated both left-wing and right wing political groups. Some called for the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan to be interrogated by the HUAC. Chairman, Martin Dies, however, was a supporter of the Klan and had spoken at several of its rallies. Other members of the HUAC such as John Rankin and John S Wood were also Klan sympathizers. Wood defended the Klan by arguing that: "The threats and intimidations of the Klan are an old American custom, like illegal whisky-making." Eventually Ernest Adamson, the HUAC's chief counsel, announced that: "The committee has decided that it lacks sufficient data on which to base a probe." Rankin added: After all, the KKK is an old American institution." Instead, the HUAC concentrated on investigating the possibility that the American Communist Party had infiltrated the Federal Writers Project and other New Deal projects.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It's arraigny night in Georgia. --Submitted by ma of va

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Foolscap 2023 (19^th, Auburn, WA) It's Alive! https://www.foolscap.org/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: XXIV URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium. (19-23, Sapporo, Japan) Radio Science https://www.ursi-gass2023.jp/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Prime Meridian

T S Eliot's first and middle name are generally unknown. Top Secret. / Patsy Poet used to run across the street to use the restroom in the Menagerie so she could poo in the loo at the zoo.

..........'Bout workin' all summer just to try to earn a dollar.........The Who …..Summertime Blues

^^^^^ By the late 1950s and early 1960s, HUAC’s influence was in decline, and in 1969 it was renamed the Committee on Internal Security. Although it ceased issuing subpoenas that year, its operations continued until 1975.

Sayings of the Jewish Buddhist of the Week: Accept misfortune as a blessing. Do not wish for perfect health, or a life without problems. What would you talk about? https://www.tikkun.org/sayings-of-the-jewish-buddhist/

Quote of the Week: The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom but to set a limit to infinite error. --Bertolt Brecht

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I need transition lenses that keep getting darker the longer someone is talking to me. --Submitted by INRITH

Today's Peace of History, August 18, 1920: Women throughout the US won the right to vote when the Tennessee legislature approved the 19th amendment to the US Constitution (the last of 36 states then required to approve it). An amendment for universal suffrage was first introduced in Congress in 1878, and Wyoming had granted suffrage in state law by 1890.

Son of Today's Peace of History, August 18, 1963: James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, became the first to graduate. His enrollment at “Ole Miss” a year earlier had been met with deadly riots, forcing him to attend class escorted by heavily armed guards.

A woman was courted by two men, a poet and a baker. She had to decide for batter or for verse. / If a poet ascends in an elevator, can we say the bard has been raised?

..........Go ask Alice when she's ten feet tall.........Jefferson Airplane …..White Rabbit

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle August 18, 2023, adVerse ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try – you don't take the risk. --Rosalynn Carter

Cost of War:

• As of 08/17/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $214,468,161,051.
• As of 08/10/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $213,912,753,631.
• As of 08/17/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,158,135,398,922.
• As of 08/10/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,156,584,582,476.
• As of 08/17/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,144,663,810,858.
• As of 08/10/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,144,060,711,580.
• As of 08/17/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,204,225,625,459.
• As of 08/10/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,192,469,563,869.
• As of 08/17/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,039,010,510,265.
• As of 08/10/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,037,832,939,342.
• As of 08/17/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,760,506,479,625.
• As of 08/10/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,744,863,508,098.

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

My great-grandfather was the last ruler of the Choctaw Nation, and from birth, I was taught that my role was to restore the power and the glory of my bloodline. James Meredith

Famous Last Words: Ain't no man ever been shot while doing the dishes. --Erron Blockmon --Submitted by aeb of kc

..........'cuse me while I kiss the sky..........Jimi Hendrix …..Purple Haze ~~Today's songs are from the Woodstock Playlist.

Why can't ladies with three names who publish in the Sunday newspaper just leave the writing of poetry to the prose? / Poetry lover Zuckerberg never met-a-verse he didn't like.

May Peace command

And Joy be at hand

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

4-sTring ePistle

Famous First Words: Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure,... Alex Haley Roots

It's Fiddler Week (7-12) The worst pub I was ever in was called The Fiddle. It was a vile inn. / We just found an original Stradivarius and a previously undiscovered Rembrandt in my grandfather's attic. Unfortunately, it turns out Rembrandt made useless fiddles and Stradivarius couldn't paint worth a cuss.

..........You know I feel alright.........Beatles …..Hard Day's Night

"There was an America before ROOTS and there was an America after ROOTS. Post ROOTS, America was a greater, more enlightened nation. We came to a better, deeper, more informed understanding of the evil nature, intent, and outcomes of chattel slavery as practiced in America."

Remember the old dad joke, “you can't get there from here”. I had a doctor appointment this morning. The office is on the northside of east 23^rd street. East 23^rd street has been under reconstruction since June of 2022. So I knew to start from east of the office so I would be traveling west and would only have to turn right into the driveway. Today, the driveway was blocked by a large cement truck and several people pushing cement around with some sort of tools with long handles. So I kept driving – west and there was no right turn for several blocks. When I finally turned and called the office. I was told to turn into John Deere, drive all the way back behind the buildings and the storage sheds and the stacks of lawn mowers and tractor parts and turn left into the very back of the doctor's office space. I made it there and back again. Other than the high blood pressure caused by driving around in circles for 15 minutes, I'm pretty healthy and expected to live for at least 6 months until my next appointment.

Hope your weekend beats the devil, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Why does Zoom need offices?

It's a little known fact that Frodo was an accomplished fiddle player. They called him Lord of the Strings. / The violinists in this orchestra don't do much but fiddle around.

..........Well, I gave you everything I had.........Beatles …..Tell Me Why

Trivia Questions: Happy Kool-Aid Day!

• ^ Which company owns Kool-Aid?
• ^^ Who invented Kool-Aid?
• ^^^ Do you know any of the original 6 Kool-Aid flavors?
• ^^^^ What do you know about the Kool-Aid man?
• ^^^^^ How much Kool-Aid is consumed each year?

Big Hello: Rojbash – Kurdish (Kurmanji) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: For once, I'd just like to spiral into control. --Submitted by INRITH

Image of the Week: Robbie Robertson, we'll miss you. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKirVyxf0do I Shall Be Released (3:13)

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 40% of librarians are too polite to tell you where you should really be taking your old magazines. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

The devil whispered in my ear , “you aren't good enough, you'll never amount to anything...” I whispered back, “at least I didn't lose my golden fiddle to a hillbilly from Georgia. / The difference between a violin and a fiddle is how red the player's neck is.

..........And show you what your lovin' man can do.........Beatles …..I'll Cry Instead

Moonbeam: Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions. --Jerry Falwell

Question of the Week: Is that really the remnants of your original baby blanket that you keep carrying around? --Questions for a new Squeeze

Puzzle of the Week: From listener Jim Vespe, of Mamaroneck, NY, name a well-known U.S. city in nine letters. Change the third and fifth letters to get the name of a beverage. What was it? ... NPR Sunday Puzzle 8/7/23

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm beginning to think that for some of you, the wheels on your bus do not go round and round. --Submitted by INRITH

Betty wanted to bring her fiddle to the protest march. I told her not to. In a peaceful protest there is no need for violins. / I tried to make a fiddle from the huge zucchini but it only played gourd vibrations.

..........That I would love everything that you do.........Beatles …..I Should Have Known Better

^ In 1953 the Kool-Aid brand was sold to the now-defunct General Foods, which merged with Kraft (now Kraft-Heinz) in 1990. The company is also parent to A.1., Capri Sun, Jell-O, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Planters, Polly-O, Velveeta, and more.

Almanac: It is Friday, August 11, 2023. The moon sailed into the third quarter on Tuesday (8/6) and is in Taurus. It is Global Kinetic Sand Day, Ingersoll Day, National Align Your Teeth Day, National Hip Hop Day, National Sons and Daughters Day, Popsicle Day, Presidential Joke Day, and Shop Online For Groceries Day. And in the Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896). Because it is the second weekend in August it is also Kool Aid Weekend.

Among those born on the day were Robert G Ingersoll (1833), Carrie J Bond (1862), Alexander Mosolov (1900), Alex Haley (1921), Arlene Dahl (1924), Mike Douglas (1925), Claus Von Bulow (1926), Alun Hoddinott (1929), Jerry Falwell (1933), Mike Hugg (1942), Jeff Hanna (1947), Erik Brann (1950), Steve Wozniak (1950), and Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea, 1953).

On August eleventh the world's first roller rink opened (RI, 1866), Mar's moon, Deimos, was discovered (1877), the Green Bay Packers football club was founded (1919), the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz (1934), Hussein was proclaimed king of Jordan (1952), the French made peace in Viet Nam (1954), Chad declared independence (1960), A Hard Day's Night opened in NYC (1964), the Watts riots began (1965), the Beatles launched Apple Records (1968), Bob Tway won the PGA championship (1986), and Voyager-2 discovered 2 partial rings of Neptune (1989).

Night Sky, 8/11: The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most prolific showers of the year, producing rich, bright streaks. The Perseids are active from mid-July until late August and will peak around Aug. 13, 2023. Viewing conditions are good for the Perseids in 2023 as the moon will only be 10% illuminated around the time of the peak. Viewers can start observing around 11 pm local time when the rates of shooting stars increase and can watch the sky until dawn. The Perseid meteor shower radiant is in the constellation Perseus. This strong shower is produced by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle -an icy body that takes 133 Earth years to orbit once around the sun. If there's a clear sky, the Perseids will have a meteor rate of about 100 visible "shooting stars" per hour. https://www.space.com/39469-best-meteor-showers.html

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Brother and Brother – One Way Or The Other

This Week: Saturday, August 12 – International Youth Day & Home Sewing Machine Day & Middle Child Day

Sunday, August 13 – Bagel Day & International Lefthanders Day & Global Sleep Under The Stars Night

Night Sky, 8/13: August is prime Milky Way time, and there's no moon tonight. 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. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Monday, August 14 – National Lizard Day & National Navajo Code Talkers Day & World Calligraphy Day

Tuesday, August 15 – Moms Equal Pay Day & Best Friends Day & National Thrift Shop Day

Wednesday, August 16 – National Rollercoaster Day & National Rum Day

Night Sky, 8/16: Neptune, magnitude 7.8 at the Aquarius-Pisces border, rises around nightfall and is high in the south before dawn, about 2o° east of Saturn.

Thursday, August 17 – Baby Boomers Recognition Day & Black Cat Appreciation Day & National Nonprofit Day

If the question is fiddle or violin, always pick fiddle. Violins is never the answer. / Did you know that the reason the cow jumped over the moon was that the cat was a terrible fiddle player.

..........In this world there's nothing I would rather do.........Beatles …..I'm Happy When I Dance With You

^^ Before he invented Kool-Aid in 1927, chemist Edwin Perkins sold over-the-counter medicines and household products door to door and by mail order. One of the most popular items was called "Fruit-Smack," a fruit-flavored liquid concentrate. To reduce shipping costs, Perkins made a version in powder form and called it "Kool-Ade." In 1934, the mix was renamed "Kool-Aid."

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The kids keep laughing about my memory. They won't be laughing at Christmas when there's no eggs for trick or treat. --Submitted by High Church Coyote

Moonbeam: Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. --Robert Green Ingersoll

Video of the Week: The Beatles singing Hard Day's Night live (2:38) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjyj8qnqkYI

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: This is his third indictment or as he thinks of it: his Melaina indictment. --Peter Sagal / I majored in creative writing and women's studies and minored in philosophy, and all of those things scream living in your parent's basement forever...in a very discerning and meaningful way. --The “Wrong” Maggie Smith Wait Wait Don't Tell Me August 5, 2023.

Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics. --Alex Haley

How many violinists does it take to screw in a light bulb? One to screw it in, and nine more to stand around and talk about how they could have done it better. / I play my fiddle on the street corner. $1 per song. $2 to stop playing.

..........Would you promise to be true.........Beatles …..If I Fell

^^^ When Perkins was a preteen, he worked at the general store owned by his family after school. As rumor has it, a friend popped by with Jell-O, which then came in "six delicious flavors" — orange, lemon, strawberry, lemon, lime and cherry. He begged his father to stock it on store shelves. Later on, Perkins invented his own six original Kool-Aid flavors: cherry, grape, lemon-lime, orange, raspberry and root beer.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Thinking about having kids? My son poured syrup in every floor vent. 13 years later it still smells like waffles every time the heat comes on.

Weird Word of the Week: Stultiloquence – Senseless or silly talk https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stultiloquence

Dragon of the Week: Thailand: Resting Dragon Rock

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Keep cooked rice warm without getting sticky until you're ready to serve it. The paper towel absorbs the steam that would ordinarily condense off the underside of the lid, preventing the water from dripping pack into the rice. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bounty2.html

How do you make a fiddle sound better? Throw it away and buy a piano. / You have to admit that for both a violin and a lawsuit, everyone is happier when the case is closed.

...........A love like ours could never die.........Beatles …..And I Love Her

^^^^ Technically, the Kool-Aid man came into the picture in the summer of 1954. He was illustrated by art director Marvin Potts, who was inspired by his young son's smiley face drawings on a frosted window. Back then, the mascot was simply called "Pitcher Man." Twenty years later, he was rebranded as the Kool-Aid Man — a live-action, walking, talking, 6-foot-tall pitcher of cherry drink eager to bust down any wall in his way. His famous catchphrase is, of course, "Oh yeah!"

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The German government refuses to recognize Scientology as a religion. The organization has officially been labeled an “abusive business masquerading as a religion”. --Submitted by LaughingInDisbelief

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Station Unity (11-13, DC area) “Station Unity is an annual 3-day fan convention held in the D.C. metro area for Science Fiction & Fantasy enthusiasts and entertainment.” ~~I hope this was written by AI and does not reflect the general creativity of Station Unity https://www.station-unity.org/about-us/

Saying of the Jewish Buddha of the Week: Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story. https://www.tikkun.org/sayings-of-the-jewish-buddhist/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: ICGC 2023: International Conference on Green Chemistry (10-11, Venice, Italy) ...a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators... https://waset.org/green-chemistry-conference-in-august-2023-in-venice

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Pensacola --> Pepsi-Cola

Work is for people who don't play the fiddle. / I was playing at that new Italian cafe when somebody put a dollar in my g-string. I felt so viola-ted.

..........Would always feel the same.........Beatles …..This Boy (Ringo's Theme)

^^^^^ It's also worth noting that 563 million gallons of Kool-Aid are consumed annually, about 225 million gallons of which are chugged in the summer. In other words, 17 gallons of Kool-Aid are consumed every second during the summer season.

Quote of the Week: Every word has consequences. Every silence too. --Jean Paul Sartre

Still More Irrelevance: So the Big XII now claim they will add 6 new schools in July 2024. Here are the 16 Big XII schools. 1) Arizona 2) Arizona State 3) Baylor Bears 4) Brigham Young 5) Central Florida 6) Cincinnati 7) Colorado 8) Houston 9) Iowa State 10) Kansas 11) Kansas State 12) Oklahoma State 13) TCU 14) Texas Tech 15) Utah 16) West Virginia How many students in Utah are likely to travel to West Virginia for a game. I think there may be reasons for a conference to be smaller than 1/2 of a continent.

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Study History – realize that people have been this stupid for thousands of years.

Today's Peace of History, August 11, 1958: A drugstore chain in Wichita, Kansas, agreed to serve all its customers after weeks of sit-ins at Dockum’s lunch counter by local African-Americans who wanted an end to segregation. On this day, as several black Wichitans were sitting at the counter even though the store refused to serve them, a white man around 40 walked in and looked at them for several minutes. Then he looked at the store manager and said, simply, “Serve them. I'm losing too much money.” He was the owner, Robert Dockum.

If I were a rich man, I'd play a better instrument than this. / Life was hard for the pioneers, but every now and then someone would pull out a fiddle and a banjo and make it worse.

..........I'll buy you a diamond ring, my friend.........Beatles …..Can't Buy Me Love

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle August 11, 2023, 4-String ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith, Lawrence, KS

Moonbeam: If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being. --Jerry Falwell

Cost of War:

• As of 08/10/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $213,912,753,631.
• As of 08/03/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $213,357,343,468.
• As of 08/10/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,156,584,582,476.
• As of 08/03/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,155,032,696,013.
• As of 08/10/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,144,060,711,580.
• As of 08/03/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,143,457,075,951.
• As of 08/10/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,192,469,563,869.
• As of 08/03/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,180,705,643,635.
• As of 08/10/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,037,832,939,342.
• As of 08/03/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,036,654,664,633.
• As of 08/10/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,744,863,508,098.
• As of 08/03/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,729,209,881,851.

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

The children would ask “Beaker?” (Do you have peace?) and the adults would reply, “Kera dorong.” (Peace only). --Alex Haley

Famous Last Words: ...then as presently well. --Diary of Samuel Pepys August 11, 1665.

..........So why on earth should I moan.........Beatles …..Hard Day's Night (All of today's songs are from the movie Hard Day's Night)

My spouse and I have a perfect relationship. I'm a second fiddle and he's a second banana. / What do you call a pretty woman on a fiddle player's arm? A tattoo.

May Peace play your melody

And Joy set your tempo

prairie mama

christine

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