jIttery ePistle

 Famous First Words: Hey, what's up, kiddo? --Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight in Paper Moon

Happy International Coffee Day!! It's a Brew-tiful day. / Sometimes I wake up and think “Maybe, I won't have coffee today.” And then I laugh and laugh because it's good to tell yourself funny jokes in the morning. / It's not procrastinating if you're drinking coffee, it's procaffinating”.

..........They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil..........Frank Sinatra …..The Coffee Song

UN Peacekeeping helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.

It is a gorgeous Friday morning. The 72°F is pleasant, neither hot nor cold; the light wind from the southeast keeps the willow branches in dancing mode and keeps the mulberry its stiff, stately wave. A sparrow lands on the utility wire right outside my window, but doesn't stay until I finish the sentence about her. Bird song is cheerful but the sunflower has lost all but one smidgen of its yellow. Ironically, I sip my decaf. Also ironically, this day is getting warmer very quickly even though the morning world is awash with signs of autumn – drifting leaves, thinning branches, deep earthy colors and the smell of wood smoke and warming soil. Anyway, you might as well pour a cup (or another cup) of coffee and read the rest.

Hope your weekend is like your coffee, rich and strong, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I can't believe complain-about-bugs-and-humidity season is almost over. --Steinberg

That racing snail that Dr Doolittle rode got that way because he drank coffee every time he felt sluggish. / This just in...Bench Press is stronger than French Press.

..........Good mornin', baby, how you doin' this mornin'?........Mississippi John Hurt …..Coffee Blues

Trivia Questions: Save the Koala Day!

• ^ Why do the Koalas need to be saved?
• ^^ How many Koalas are in the wild today, more or less?
• ^^^ Would you adopt a Koala?
• ^^^^ How many Koalas are there in zoos in the US?
• ^^^^^ How can you find out about Koala scat and poop?

Big Hello: Sveiki – Latvian https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We need to talk about the elephant in the womb. https://www.facebook.com/PatheticHilarious

Image of the Week: The 2023 Tom and Anne Moore Peace and Justice Award

~~The inscription reads: 2023 / Tom and & Anne Moore / Peace & Justice Award / presented to / Christine Smith / Veteran Advocate for Peace and Justice / with Appreciation form the Lawrence Community

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: If you really want a librarian to open up, don't ask them about their favorite book, ask them about the book they hate the most. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

I love the smell of socially acceptable chemical dependence in the morning. / Instant coffee is rude because it has no filter.

..........maple syrup and jam.........Prince …..Starfish And Coffee

Moonbeam: No matter what hyenas sound like, they are not actually laughing. --Bob Newhart

Question of the Week: Could Tokyo have prevented King Kong's rampage with a giant cup of coffee?

Puzzle of the Week: The Roman numeral for 38 is XXXVIII. What is special or unusual about this Roman numeral that sets it apart from every other Roman numeral that can be written? --PBS Sunday Puzzle 8/25/13

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I thought getting old would take longer.

As a coffee cup, I find it hard to find a Halloween costume that doesn't offend somebody...French Roast...Italian Blend...Irish Cream? / The difference between coffee and your opinion is that I asked for coffee.

..........And only want a little company.........Kate Bush …..Coffee Homeground

^ Koalas are one of Australia’s most iconic and beloved animals, but they face threats from habitat loss, climate change, disease, and human activity, contributing to population declines.

Almanac: It is Friday, September 29, 2023. The moon is full (Corn) today and is in Aries. It is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction, International Coffee Day, National Biscotti Day, National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day, Save the Koala Day, Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, VFW Day, World Heart Day, and Silent Movie Night. Because it is the last Friday of September it is also Hug a Vegetarian Day, Save The Koala Day, Support Purple for Platelets Day, Vegan Baking Day. Finally, because it is the last school day of the month it is Ask A Stupid Question Day.

Among those born on this day were Horatio Nelson (1758), Enrico Fermi (1901), Gene Autry (1907), Greer Garson (1908), Michaelangelo Antonioni (1912), Trevor Howard (1916), Bob Newhart (1929), Anita Ekberg (1931), Jean-Luc Ponty (Mothers of Invention, 1942), Madeline Kahn (1942), Lech Wakesa (1943), and Bryant Gumbel (1948).

On September twenty-ninth the first marriage bureau opened in England (1650), Scotland Yard was established (1829), Belasco opened his first Broadway theater (1902), the Steinhart Aquarium opened in Golden Gate Park (1923), radio was first used in a presidential campaign (1936), the US Merchant Ship, Booker T Washington, commanded by a black captain was launched (Hugh Mulzac, 1940), television aired the first football game in color (1951), the Milton Berle Show premiered (1953), Canadian launched its first satellite, Alouette 1, (1962), the Rolling Stones began their first tour as an opening act for Bo Diddley and the Everly Brothers (1963), Florence Griffith Joyner set the women's 200m record (21.34, 1988) and the UN Peacekeeping forces won the Nobel Peace Prize (1988).

Night Sky, 9/29: Even as the stars come out in late twilight, Cassiopeia is already higher in the northeast than the sinking Big Dipper is in the northwest. Later in the evening, Cassiopeia's broad W pattern wheels higher and stands on end (its fainter end). Also in the early evening, look above the bright Moon to see if you can make out the Great Square of Pegasus through the moonlight. It's balancing on one corner, making it the Great Diamond of Pegasus? The line from its top corner through its bottom corner points down at the Moon. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Oh No! Too late ...

This Week: Saturday, September 30 – National Ghost Hunting Day & International Lace Day & National Love People Day

Sunday, October 1 – National Black Dog Day & Willy Wonka Day

Night Sky, 10/1: Cygnus the Swan floats nearly straight overhead these evenings. Its brightest stars form the big Northern Cross. When you face southwest and crane your head up, the cross appears to stand upright. It's about two fists at arm's length tall, with Deneb as its top. Or to put it another way, when you face that direction the Swan appears to be diving straight down. Migrating away for fall?

Monday, October 2 – Name Your Car Day & Peanuts (the cartoon) Day & World Farm Animals Day

Tuesday, October 3 – Techies Day & National Fruit At Work Day

Wednesday, October 4 – National Taco Day & Walk & Roll To School Day

Night Sky, 10/4: Jupiter (magnitude –2.8) rises in the east-northeast around the end of twilight. Watch for it to come up under the brightest stars of Aries. Jupiter dominates the eastern sky through late evening and shines highest in the south during the early-morning hours.

Thursday, October 5 – World Teachers Day & Get Funky Day & Victims of Marijuana Prohibition Day

I don't rise and shine. I caffeinate and hope for the best. / When I said to the Barista, “Just hand me a coup. It'll be easier if I draw it out for you.” the whole Starbuck's laughed and laughed. It was a real Brewhaha.

..........I'm mournin' all the mornin'..........Ella Fitzgerald …..Black Coffee

^^ There are less than 60,000 Koalas left in the wild.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm so old, I was a waitress at the Last Supper.

Moonbeam: All I can say about life is, “Oh, God, enjoy it.” --Bob Newhart

Video of the Week: Steinhart Aquarium video (:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-66JWb7Zf8

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: The bad news, they lost a 100 million dollar stealth fighter jet. The good news is the stealth thing really works...and the saddest part was watching the poor pilot walking around the airbase parking lot clicking his keys. --Peter Sagal Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me 9/23/23

We have unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

Coffee: my survival juice. / Coffee is how the magic happens: *the magic of saying words in the right order *the magic of finding my car keys *the magic of remembering what day of the week it is.

..........Tell the kids I came last night and kissed them while they slept.........Bob Marley …..One Cup Of Coffee

^^^ Adopting a koala is one way you can help protect this iconic animal. Your symbolic adoption could go towards protecting koalas against the deadly koala Chlamydia disease, up scaling the capacity of wildlife hospitals, and protecting and restoring their forest homes. https://wwf.org.au/adopt/adopt-a-koala/

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: First Presbyterian Church Sign: A friendly reminder Jesus wasn't White, Christian, or American. --Submitted by MMS

Weird Word of the Week: Catoptromancy – The art of divination by mirrors. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cat2.htm

Dragon of the Week: The Coffee Dragon

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Make a protective collar for strawberry plants. To prevent strawberries from touch the soil, cut a large doughnut shape from a piece of Bubble Wrap and put it around the plant as a collar. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap.html

I run on caffeine, chaos and cuss words. / If you were ground coffee, you'd be espresso because you are so fine.

...........Or you can stay with me for now.........Ed Sheeran …..Cold Coffee

^^^^ Only nine zoos in the United States house koalas. Why so few? Well, koalas are unique animals with special needs, so most zoos in the U.S. lack the resources to care for them properly. To house a koala, the zoo must be accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). In addition, the zoo must follow rules set by the Australian government so that the koalas can get the best possible treatment.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Never eat Mexican food East of the Mississippi or North of Dallas. --Lyle Lovett

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Capeclave 2023 (29-1), Rockville, MD) Where reading is NOT extinct https://www.capclave.org/capclave/capclave23/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Brain Space Initiative Talk Series: Quantifying the Idiosyncrasy of Brain Activation (29, Atlanta, GA) Research in neuroscience often assumes universal neural mechanisms, but increasing evidence points towards sizable individual differences in brain activation Long Address

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: If every possible Roman numeral were listed in alphabetical order, XXXVIII would be last.

I just need to finish this cup of coffee...then I'll be ready for another cup. / Coffee: Break Fluid

..........Instead I'll make our favorite spot, that's what I think I'll do.........Lefty Frizzell …..Cigarettes And Coffee

^^^^^ Tune in to the podcast Scat Chat with WWF-Australia to get to the bottom of all the things that animal scat - or poop - can teach us about the animals that made it and how you can help. https://wwf.org.au/get-involved/scat-chat-with-wwf/

Saying of the Jewish Buddha of the Week: Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as a wooded glen. And sit up straight. You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders. https://www.tikkun.org/sayings-of-the-jewish-buddhist/

Quote of the Week: I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want. --Andy Warhol.

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Dumplings imply the existence of a large dumple.--Submitted by INRITH

Today's Peace of History: September 29, 2002: A London crowd - estimated between 200,000 and 500,000 - protested British and US plans for a "preemptive" (that is, without provocation) invasion of Iraq.

A yawn is a silent scream for coffee. / My body is like a filter; coffee goes in, sarcasm comes out.

..........And let's have another piece of pie.........Fred Waring Orchestra …..Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle September 29, 2022, jIttery ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith, Lawrence, KS

Moonbeam: I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means put down. --Bob Newhart

• Cost of War:
• As of 09/28/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $217,807,136,029.
• As of 09/21/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $217,254,497,440.
• As of 09/28/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,167,461,444,632.
• As of 09/21/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,165,917,848,346.
• As of 09/28/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,148,290,607,793.
• As of 09/21/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,147,690,304,980.
• As of 09/28/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,2747,920,363,384.
• As of 09/21/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,263,217,853,548.
• As of 09/28/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,046,091,450,219.
• As of 09/21/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,044,919,268,869.
• As of 09/28/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,854,573,085,174.
• As of 09/21/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,839,001,639,680.

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

Over the past 75 years, more than 2 million women and men from 125 countries have served in 71 peacekeeping missions.

Famous Last Words: ...a denial, a denial. --Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit ~~debuted on MTV on 9/29/91

..........Your daddy, he's an outlaw and a wanderer by trade.........Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris …..One More Cup Of Coffee

Coffee tastes better on Fridays. / How do I take my coffee? Seriously, very seriously.

May Peace guard your sleep

And Joy enlighten your days

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

tHe oTter ePistle

 Famous First Words: In a hole in the ground... J R R Tolkien The Hobbit (In honor of Hobbit Day)

It is Sea Otter Awareness Week (22-28). Sadie Seal came to the party with her significant otter. / Please don't confuse me with someone who builds dams.

..........Our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.........Tevye …..Traditions

I greatly fear some of America's greatest and most dangerous enemies are such as think themselves her best friends. --Nathan Hale

It is rainy Friday morning. There is thunder and lightning and the sound of raindrops on the chimney that echo down into our hallway. There is no birdsong and everything looks wet. We need the rain, I love the rain, but it doesn't make a very good opening for the ePistle. So, I'm going to stop here and just say what a great morning I think this is – rain and all.

Hope your weekend glitters like gold, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Chong: How strong do you like your coffee? Cheech: I want it to show up on a drug test.

Oscar Otter had terrible vision and wore glasses. He was the see-sea otter from the song. / I otter be ashamed of that joke, but I'm not.

..........Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum.........Tevye …..If I Were A Rich Man

Trivia Questions: Happy Autumnal Equinox!

• ^ When does the first day of fall take place?
• ^^ What is the Autumnal Equinox anyway?
• ^^^ How did the Mayans mark the fall equinox?
• ^^^^ What Celtic Festival celebrates the autumnal equinox?
• ^^^^^ What is the famous Greek myth that “explains” the equinox?

Big Hello: Ave - Latin https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Shameless Self Promotion of the Week: This is the article about the Tom and Anne Moore Peace & Justice Award that appeared in this morning's Lawrence Times: https://lawrencekstimes.com/2023/09/21/peace-justice-awards-2023/ There are more pictures and quotes in the body of the article.

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Traffic Sign: Drive As Slowly As It Takes Faulkner To Get To The Point.

Image of the Week: Me and Joyce (Frass) Khan with her daughter Mandy (center) and friends.

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 27% of librarians shushing is because you noise is making their hangover worse. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

A new guy moved into the neighborhood. He has a wand and a hat. I think it's Harry Otter. / Sammy Seal married Beverly Beaver because she wasn't like all the otters.

..........Find me a find, catch me a catch.........Tzeitel …..Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Moonbeam: I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. --Bilbo Baggins

Question of the Week: What does it mean to be human? (From Google most asked questions)

Puzzle of the Week: From a frequent contributor, Joseph Young, who conducts the blog Puzzleria! Name a creature that has a world capital in its name. Replace the capital with another creature and you'll get another world capital. What was it? NPR Sunday Puzzle 8/17/23

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I miss the way I viewed the world before I knew too much about it. --Submitted by aeb of kc

You otter be kind to semi aquatic animals. / An otter with a cold is called a snotter.

..........What do we leave? Nothing much..........The Chorus …..Anatevka

^ The autumnal equinox typically takes place on the 22nd or 23rd of September, but there are some exceptions. The equinox occurred on Sept. 21 in 1931 and the year 1000, and it’s set to land on the 21st again in 2092. Don’t hold your breath for a Sept. 24 equinox, though; fall won’t officially begin on that date until 2303. In 2023 fall begins on September 23 at 2:50 EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.

Almanac: It is Friday, September 22, 2023. The moon is in the first quarter and is in Sagittarius. American Business Women's Day, Autumn (Autumnal Equinox), Car Free Day, Chainmail Day, Dear Diary Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Hobbit Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, International Day of Radiant Peace, Mabon, Mali Independence Day (1960), National Centenarian's Day, National Doodle Day, National Legwear Day, National Rock n' Roll Dog Day, and National White Chocolate Day. Because it is the fourth Friday it is also American Indian Day and Love Note Day.

Among those born on this day were Bilbo Baggins (2890 Third Age) and Frodo Baggins (2968 Third Age), Lord Chesterfield (1694), Michael Faraday (1791), Erich von Stroheim (1885), Paul Muni (1895), Chen Ning Yang (1922), Junko Tabei (1939), Joan Jett (1960), and Scott Baio (1960).

On September twenty-second the last person in the US was hanged for witchcraft (1692), Nathan Hale was executed (1776), Russia established a colony on Kodiak Island (1784), the office of Postmaster General was established (1789), the French Republican Era began (1792), the first US built auto rolled out of the garage (1893), the ice cream cone was patented (1903), Southern Methodist University held its first class (Dallas, 1915), Fiddler on the Roof opened on Broadway (1964) and Man for UNCLE debuted of tv (1964).

Night Sky, 922: It's equinox night; fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere tonight at 2:50 am. EDT (11:50 pm. PDT). That's when the Sun crosses the equator heading south for the season. The days are getting shorter. Coincidentally, when summer turns to autumn is about when Deneb takes over from brighter Vega as the zenith star after nightfall (for sky watchers at mid-northern latitudes). http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Boys in Legoland

This Week: Saturday, September 23 – International Day of Sign Language & National Snack Stick Day

Sunday, September 24 – Punctuation Day!!!!!!!!

Night Sky, 9/24: The starry W of Cassiopeia stands high in the northeast after dark. The right-hand side of the W (the brightest side) is tilted up. Look along the second segment of the W counting down from the top. It's not quite horizontal. Notice the dim naked-eye stars along that segment (not counting its two ends). The brightest of these, on the right, is Eta Cassiopeiae, magnitude 3.4. It's a remarkably Sun-like star just 19 light-years away, and it has an orange-dwarf companion, magnitude 7.3, making it a lovely binary in a telescope (separation 13 arcseconds)

Monday, September 25 – Math Storytelling Day & World Lung Day & National Daughters Day

Tuesday, September 26 – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons & World Body Painting Day

Wednesday, September 27 – Ancestor Appreciation Day & National Day of Forgiveness & Crush A Can Day

Night Sky, 9/27: Mercury is very low in the east at dawn, as shown near the top of this page. Starting around September 18th, look for it about 45 minutes before sunrise very far to the lower left of bright Venus. Mercury brightens fast: from magnitude +0.2 that morning to –0.5 on the 23rd. That's a doubling of its light in just five days.

Thursday, September 28 – Remember Me Thursday & Fish Tank Floorshow Night

You may be hot, but I'm otter. / Orley and Opal, the Otter twins, took up mysticism and palm reading. But Opal also got into necromancy. She was the odder otter.

..........walked him through the lion's den.........Motel …...Miracle of Miracles

^^ The word equinox is Latin for “equal night” and it is the date when, on most of the earth, daylight lasts just about as long as the nighttime.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: These days, I get most of my exercise from shaking my head in disbelief. --Submitted b y ss of kc

Moonbeam: A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things but cannot receive great ones. --Lord Chesterfield

Video of the Week: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: I Love Rock 'N' Roll (2:58) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ecqUhec-s

Classic Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: That woman was one of the many Wisconsin Democrats who wanted to get rid of Republican Governor Scott Walker, in a recall election. As it turned out, by slapping the losing candidate, Tom Barrett, she became the only Democrat in the state of Wisconsin who actually made an impact. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 6/9/12

I wish to be useful, and every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary. --Nathan Hale

Olivia Otter actually wrote that famous Ry Cooder song, Crazy “Bout An Ottermobile. / Owen Otter joined NASA and became the first aquatic mammal in otter space.

..........To see a daughter wed, Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov..........Tevye …..Tevye's Dream

^^^ At Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán peninsula, the Pyramid of Kukulkán (also known as El Castillo) is a pyramid with 365 steps—that’s one for each day of the year. On the fall and spring equinoxes, a shadow appears on the pyramid’s surface that looks like a serpent descending the steps toward a stone head at the bottom.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you just assume Ronald Reagan is the cause of any bad thing you encounter in life, you'll be right way more often than you'll be wrong. --Submitted by Anti-Capitalist Education

Weird Word of the Week: Bezoar – hard ball of fiber that occurs in the stomachs of ruminants. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-bez1.htm

Dragon of the Week: Otter Dragon by Sam Perin

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Make a pillow for back support. Cut rectangular sheets of Bubble Wrap and stuff into an empty pillowcase of a gallon sized Ziploc Freezer Bag. Place the Bubble Wrap pillow behind the small of your back when sitting in an office chair, when driving the car, or on long airplane flights. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap.html

Did you hear that some of the aquatic animals escaped from the zoo? It was otter chaos. / I waited in line for over an hour to get an ottergraph.

...........Here's to our prosperity........The Chorus …..To Life!

^^^^ Mabon is the name of the Celtic festival that celebrates the autumn equinox and takes place when the summer heat gives way to the crisp air of autumn. This event is held every year as a part of the traditional Celtic festivals, which trace back to ancient times

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: This might come across as anti-capitalism but.......i want to enjoy life. --Submitted by aeb of kc

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Spooky Spectacle 2023 (23-24, Granbury, TX) A kick-off to the Halloween season! https://www.visitgranbury.com/event/spooky-spectacle-2023/19083/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: DeafBlind Taste of Technology (22, Overland Park, KS) Services and resources that benefit the DeafBlind community https://www.facebook.com/KansasRelay/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Mosquito → Moscow

Oscar went to law school and became one of the best otterneys in the bay area. / ...And then I said, “Otter, I don't even know her.”

..........I don't remember growing older.........The Chorus …..Sunrise, Sunset

^^^^^ In Ancient Greek mythology, the onset of fall is closely linked to the story of the abduction of Persephone, also called Kore or Cora. She was a goddess who was abducted from her mother, harvest goddess Demeter, and taken to the underworld to become the wife of Hades, the god-king of the underworld. After a period of mourning and struggle, Demeter eventually got her daughter back from Hades, but only for nine months of the year. Every fall, Persephone would return to the underworld to spend three months with Hades. During these months, Demeter refused to use her divine skills to make plants grow, explaining why we have three months of winter every year.

Saying of the Jewish Buddha of the Week: The Tao does not speak. The Tao does not blame. The Tao does not take sides. The Tao has no expectations. The Tao demands nothing of others. The Tao is not Jewish.

Quote of the Week: Every advance in this half-century: Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education... one after another- came with the support and leadership of American Labor. --Jimmy Carter

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Ah fall – pumpkins, changing leaves, a tire pressure warning in your car. --Submitted by INRITH

Today's Peace of History, September 22, 1985: The first Farm Aid concert, organized principally by Willie Nelson, was held with more than 50 musicians raising $9 million for debt-ridden U.S. farmers.

Admit it, they're otterly cute. / Olivia Otter failed her driving test because the car was a manual instead of an ottermatic.

..........Who could imagine I'd be wand'ring so.........Cast …..Far From Home

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle September 22, 2023, The oTter ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Whatever you did, you've been officially labeled a Disturber of the Peace. --Frodo Baggins

Cost of War:

• As of 09/21/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $217,254,497,440.
• As of 09/14/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $216,692,302,407
• As of 09/21/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,165,917,848,346.
• As of 09/14/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,161,347,518,928.
• As of 09/21/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,147,690,304,980.
• As of 09/14/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,147,079,664,226.
• As of 09/21/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,263,217,853,548.
• As of 09/14/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,251,315,227,047.
• As of 09/21/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,044,919,268,869.
• As of 09/14/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,043,727,071,375.
• As of 09/21/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,839,001,639,680.
• As of 09/14/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,823,163,978,213.

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

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. --Nathan Hale

Famous Last Words: ...manifest your future. --Mabon Blessing

..........May you be deserving of praise.........Tevye …..Sabbath Prayer

One way or the otter, you will grow to love otter puns. / We otter stick together; wanna be my otter half?

May Peace protect you

And Joy promote you

prairie mama

christine

Last

Laugh:

eGgy ePistle

 Famous First Words: The Lone Ranger...Heigh Ho, Silver. Opening sequence from the Lone Ranger television series 1949-1957

September is All American Breakfast Month. Bacon and eggs walked into a bar but the bartender said, “Get out of here. We don't serve breakfast”. / My son was making breakfast for the first time and he distraughtly asked me, “How do you stop the bacon from curling in the pan?” I smiled and advised, “well, son, just take away the little brooms”.

..........Drive me around the world.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Chauffeur Blues

Politics make me sick. --William Howard Taft

It is a delightful Friday morning. The 58°F is just right for a light jacket or sweater. The sky is a cloudless pale blue stretching off into the horizon east and west. Bird chatter is everywhere; all kinds of critters think it is a lovely morning, I guess. The bird feeder is full of activity and noise which Veronica the cat finds amusing. Puck the dog has been out and is back in for the early morning nap. I am nibbling a bacon and egg biscuit and sipping freshly brewed coffee, rich and creamy. The sun has just peeked over the roof and spotlighted the weary sunflower plant leaning with the weight of its fruits but still blessing the world with color. And now a robin sits on the utility wires and surveys the backyard. O, what a beautiful morning, indeed.

Hope your weekend is full of dark coffee and bright sunrises, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Blessed are the mischief makers for they shall always wear a smile.

I don't mind breakfast in bed, but I prefer it on a plate. / Chuck Norris has Coronavirus...for breakfast. / At breakfast, my wife said, “Honey, you forgot the French toast.” So I raised my glass and said, “Vive la France”.

..........I got no words left to say.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Blues From An Airplane

Trivia Questions: On this day in 1963 a church was bombed in Birmingham, AL...

• ^ What is the name of the church?

• ^^ Who placed the bomb and/or where did they place it?

• ^^^ Why was the church bombed?

• ^^^^ Who didn't survive the bombing?

• ^^^^^ Was anyone ever brought to justice for the bombing?

Big Hello: sábaai-dįi - lao https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I saged my house last night and woke up outside. --Lunajane

Image of the Week: My daughter, Maleficent, and her daughter, whose identity is unknown, at a children's party...or so they say...

~~I just wrote a little blurb about how my mother groomed me to be a peace advocate and how she probably didn't intend to do that. Well, this isn't really what I intended to groom my daughter for either.

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 72% of librarians have an archenemy. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

When my partner asked, “what's for breakfast?”, I answered, “the one after three breakfast.” / My iPhone eats Siri-al for breakfast. / My thesaurus eats synonym buns for breakfast.

..........We are but a moment's sunlight.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Let's Get Together

Moonbeam: The best time to plan a book is while you're doing dishes. --Agatha Christie

Question of the Week: Who you gonna call?

Puzzle of the Week: From listener Michael Schwartz, of Florence, OR: Name certain musical instruments (plural). The first, third, fourth, and fifth letters spell something that holds the things named by the last five letters. What instruments were these?

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I correct autocorrect more than autocorrect corrects me. --Submitted by INRITH

I thought Dim Sums breakfast had to do with noodles, but instead it's the process of enjoying math in a dark room. / Clark Kent ate his Wheaties out of a super bowl.

..........Well your love used to echo from my feet to my brain.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Bringing Me Down

^ It was the 16^th Street Baptist Church, 1530 5^th Avenue, Birmingham, AL, 35203. Picture

Almanac: It is Friday, September 15, 2023. The moon is new tonight and is in Virgo. The United Nations has declared this International Day of Democracy. It is Felt Hat Day, Greenpeace Day, International Day of Online Listening, International Dot Day, LGBT Center Awareness Day, National Cheese Toast Day, National Day of the Cowgirl, National Doodle Day, National Neonatal Nurses Day, National On-line Learning Day, and Tackle Kids Cancer Day.

Among those born on this day were Francois dec de la Rachefoucald (1613), James Fennimore Cooper (1789), Porfirio Diaz (1830), William Howard Taft (1857), Bruno Walter (1876), Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (1881), Dame Agatha Christie (1890), Frank Martin (1890), Jean Renoir (1894), Roy Acuff (1903), Kathryn Murray (1906), Fay Wray (1907), John Mitchell (1913), Jackie Cooper (1921), Bobby Short (1924), Norm Crosby (1927), Signe Toly Anderson (1941), Miroslaw Hermaszewski (1941), Oliver Stone (1946), Tommy Lee Jones (1946), Dan Marino (1961), and Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales (1984).

On September fifteenth the Mayflower departed Plymouth with 102 pilgrims (1620), the US Department of foreign Affairs was renamed Department of State (1789), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua all gained independence (1821), Antoinette Blackwell became the first female ordained minister in the US (1853), the National Afro-American Council formed (1898), Wilbur Wright made his first airplane flight (1904), Russia declared itself a republic (1917), the first international bridge match was held (1930), John Cobb set the world auto speed records at 350.2 mph (1938), The Lone Ranger premiered on tv (1949), Khrushchev arrived for a 13 day visit to the US (1959), 4 black children were murdered by a bomb in a Birmingham church (1963), and Lost in Space premiered (1965).

Night Sky, 9/15: That 1st-magnitude star high in the south after dark is Altair. To check that you've got it, look for its little marker Tarazed, 3rd magnitude, about a finger-width at arm's length to Altair's upper right. About a fist to Altair's upper left is the little constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. Not quite as far straight above Altair is the smaller, fainter Sagitta, the Arrow. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Ollie and Max during the last week at summer camp. It was Shorts and Parka Day.

Extra Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Pluto had it coming. --Neil deGrasse Tyson

This Week: Saturday, September 16 – International Coastal Cleanup Day & International Red Panda Day & National Dance Day

Sunday, September 17 – Citizenship Day & Time's Up Day & Responsible Dog Ownership Day

Night Sky, 9/17: Look very low in the west-southwest during twilight for the waxing crescent Moon. As twilight deepens, can you see Spica twinkling 3° or 4° lower right of it? Use binoculars. And next, look due west about 25° to the right of the Moon (far below Arcturus) for Comet Nishimura at perihelion! You brought those binoculars, right? You have only a narrow time window between when twilight is still too bright and the comet gets too low and sets.

Monday, September 18 – International Equal Pay Day & Respect for the Aged Day

Tuesday, September 19 – National Voter Registration Day & Talk Like A Pirate Day

Wednesday, September 20 – National Ask An Atheist Day & School Backpack Awareness Day

Night Sky, 9/20: Venus (brilliant at magnitude –4.7, in dim Cancer) is rapidly getting higher in the east before and during dawn. By the end of this week it comes up over the east horizon nearly two hours before dawn's first light.

Thursday, September 21 – International Day of Peace video: Ringing the Peace Bell 2022

I hired a French chef but every time he served me breakfast in bed I got the crepes. / Reading a newspaper while eating the all American breakfast puts you solidly behind the Times.

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

^^ The Birmingham Ku Klux Klan claimed to have set the bomb. It exploded under the steps of the church a little before 11 am.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: As soon as you say, “My child would never,” here they come nevering like they never nevered before. --Submitted by INRITH

Moonbeam: My school was so tough the school newspaper had an obituary section. --Norm Crosby

Video of the Week: The opening and closing theme from The Lone Ranger

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Trapped at Burning Man: It's always hard to watch people suffer, except this time...Diplo and Chris Rock ended up walking for miles. --Peter Sagal   Were Diplo and Chris Rock holding hands? --Peter Grosz   Chris Rock always holds people's hands now so they won't slap him. --Maeve Higgins Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 9/9/23

We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement. --William Howard Taft

Every morning Salvador Dali ate a big bowl of surreal. / My roommate usually has peanut butter toast for breakfast, but this morning we were out of bread and she's been grouchy all day. She's lack-toast intolerant.

..........Do away with people blowing my mind.........Jefferson Airplane …..3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds

^^^ Due to the success of the Birmingham Campaign, on May 10, 1963, the city agreed to desegregate lunch counters, restrooms, drinking fountains, and fitting rooms, to hire African Americans in stores as salesmen and clerks, and to release the jailed demonstrators. White segregationists opposed desegregation, however, and violence continued to plague the city On May 11th, a bomb destroyed the Gaston Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. had been staying and another damaged the house of King's brother, A. D. King. NAACP attorney Arthur Shores' house was firebombed on August 20th and September 4th in retaliation for his attempts to help integrate the Birmingham public schools. On September 9th, President John F. Kennedy took control of the Alabama National Guard, which Governor Wallace was using to block court-ordered desegregation of public schools in Birmingham. Around that time Robert Chambliss, who would later be named as a suspect in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, foreshadowed the violence to come when he told his niece, "Just wait until Sunday morning and they'll beg us to let them segregate."

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you need the threat of hell to be a good person, you're just a bad person on a leash. --Submitted by ff of ks

Weird Word of the Week: Alexipharmic – an antidote against poison http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ale1.htm

Dragon of the Week: 

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Mulch plants. Place long sheets of Bubble Wrap with the bubble-side down on vegetable beds as mulch, securing the plastic in place with stones or weights. Cut slits into the plastic to accommodate seeds or transplants. The radiant heat created by the plastic will add an additional 3 degrees to the soil. The sheets of Bubble Wrap can be rolled up at the end of the season and reused the next year. To water beneath the impermeable plastic sheet, use a drip line of soaker hose. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap.html

Recently our local diner eggspanded their breakfast menu. / The French eat those small breakfasts because one egg is enough.

...........Everybody knows how I feel.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..It's No Secret

^^^^ In the basement, four girls were killed: *14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley. Addie's sister Sarah survived, but lost her right eye.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The cat who was completely obsessed with my bump when I was pregnant is quite uninterested in the baby now that she's out. It's a weird way to find out that my cat is a Republican. --Dr Dana Ménard --Submitted by 98%

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Fantasm 2023 (15-17, Orlando, FL) A Haunt and Horror Convention https://www.fantasmofficial.com/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Tashkent International Textile Machinery Exhibition (13-15, Tashkent, Uzbekistan https://www.clocate.com/tashkent-international-textile-machinery-exhibition-ttme/98157/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Trombones --> tomb, bones

The menu said they served breakfast any time so I ordered waffles in the Renaissance. --Stephen Wright / My mother threatened me to make me stop these breakfast puns. She said I'd be toast. But my brother keeps egging me on. He's such a ham.

..........Somebody help me 'fore I fall apart.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Come Up The Years

^^^^^ *1965: FBI agents named four men as primary suspects for the bombing - Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Herman Cash *1968: The investigation ended in 1968 with no indictments. *1971: Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley reopened the case. *1977: Robert Chambliss was convicted of murder. *1994: Herman Cash died having never been prosecuted. *2001: Thomas Blanton was convicted of murder. *2002: Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted.

Saying of the Jewish Buddha of the Week: Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.

Quote of the Week: A.I. will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there'll be great companies. --Sam Altman, the man behind ChatGPT. (from AI hearing in Congress)

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Some days, the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands. --Submitted by dr of oh

Today's Peace of History, September 15, 2001: Four days after 9/11, Representative Barbara Lee (D-California) cast the only congressional vote against authorizing President Bush to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against anyone associated with the terrorist attacks of September 11. "I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States.”

I ate a clock for breakfast. It was really time consuming. / Omeletting this one slide, but stop yolking around.

..........Don't tell me it's so funny.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Let Me In

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle September 15, 2023, eGgy ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Ignorance and superstition ever bear a close and mathematical relation to each other. --James Fenimore Cooper

Literary Criticism of the Week – Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses by Mark Twain. ~~Perhaps the most entertaining criticism you'll ever read: https://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/HNS/Indians/offense.html

Cost of War:

• As of 09/14/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $216,692,302,407

• As of 09/ 7/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $216,140,074,895.

• As of 09/14/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,161,347,518,928.

• As of 09/ 7/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,162,805,123,010.

• As of 09/14/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,147,079,664,226.

• As of 09/ 7/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,146,479,828,765.

• As of 09/14/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,251,315,227,047.

• As of 09/ 7/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,239,623,848,117.

• As of 09/14/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,043,727,071,375.

• As of 09/ 7/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,042,556,009,983.

• As of 09/14/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,823,163,978,213.

• As of 09/ 7/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,807,606,681,939.

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

Anti Semitism is a noxious weed that should be cut out. It has no place in America. ---William Howard Taft. --he also said this: The day is not far distant when three stars and stripes at three equidistant points will mark our territory: one at the North Pole, another at the Panama Canal, and the third at the South Pole. The whole hemisphere will be ours in fact as, by virtue of our superiority of race, it already is ours morally.

Famous Last Words: In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate... Something like that. --Agatha Christie Murder in Mesopotamia

..........The only life I've ever known.........Jefferson Airplane with Signe Toly Anderson …..Tobacco Road

Every morning at breakfast for the past 6 months, I announce loudly that I'm going for a jog, and then I don't. It's my longest running joke of the year. / The two things you can't have for breakfast are lunch and dinner.

May Peace smoke your bacon

And Joy fry your eggs

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh: