gRateful ePistle

 Famous First Words: Alexa! Say grace.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I can't cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast. --Charlie Brown / Thanksgiving Day, man – not a good day to be my pants. --Kevin James

….......Traveled down the road and back again.........Andrew Gold …..Thank You For Being A Friend

Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could. --William F Buckley Jr

It is a breezy Friday morning and I am waiting... I am waiting for a visit from Max and Ollie and their mom (my granddaughter) and dad and maybe David, my grandson, and his wife. I'm too excited to care about the wind in the willow or the lack of leaves on the mulberry. I am waiting until I find and remove child hazards that only exist in an all adult house. I am still concerned about hazards. I am waiting to proof this ePistle because I spent my editing day cooking turkey and eating. I am apologizing in advance for the typos and mistakes. I am waiting for Ferlinghetti to come and haunt me for using his poetry this way. Love you all...

Hope your weekend gives you reason to be thankful, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution. --Tyree Scott

The turkey. The sweet potatoes. The stuffing. The pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don't think so. --Nora Ephron / Thanksgiving: bringing out the best in family dysfunction since 1836. ==Unknown

..........Dance to the music all night long.........Sly & the Family Stone …..Thank You

Trivia Questions: The National Rifle Association turns 152 today.

• ^ What was the reason for founding the NRA?
• ^^ Who chartered the NRA?
• ^^^ What was the reaction of the NRA to the first gun control bill, National Firearms Act of 1934?
• ^^^^ When did the NRA become a political organization?
• ^^^^^ Do you know who currently runs the NRA?

Big Hello: Mlumeleng - Lozi (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, & Namibia) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We don't have to go to war every time the CEO of Raytheon needs to buy a new house for his mistress.

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 72% of librarians just want to hear that someone enjoyed their book recommendation. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year. --R P O'Rourke / Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover that once a year is way too often. --Johnny Carson

….......I could sing these songs, as I often do.........Brandon Lake …..Gratitude

Moonbeam: In all disputes between conflicting governments, it is our interest not less than our duty to remain strictly neutral. --Zachary Taylor

Question of the Week: Why does it take so long for quicksand to work? https://liveboldandbloom.com/04/self-improvement/funny-philosophical

Puzzle of the Week: Name a certain country. Change one letter in its name to a new letter and rearrange the result to name another country's capital. Then change one letter in that and rearrange the result to name another country. What geographical names are these?

Next Good Thing I Read of the Week: Grief hits hard around this time of year. Remember to BE KIND. -- mby cf of ks

A new survey found that 80 percent of men claim they help cook Thanksgiving dinner. Which makes sense, when you hear them consider saying, “that smells good” to be helping. --Jimmy Fallon / You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out. --Jay Leno

..........And everything you do.........Otis Redding …..I Want To Thank You

^ The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) was founded in New York state in 1871 as a governing body for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols.

Almanac: It is Friday, November 24, 2023. The moon will be full (Beaver) on Monday and is in Aries. It is Brownielocks Day, Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day, D.B. Cooper Day, Random Acts of Kindness Friday, and in Massachusetts it is John F Kennedy Day (1963).

Among those born on this day were Spinoza (1632), Laurence Sterne (1713), Zachary Taylor (1784), Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864), Scott Joplin (1868), Dale Carnegie (1888), John Lindsay (1921), William F Buckley, Jr. (1925), Ted Bundy (1946), and Denise Crosby (1957).

On November twenty-eighth the Era of Maccabees began (166 BC), Tasman "discovered" Tasmania (1642), Vesuvius erupted (1759), Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" (1859), the National Rifle Association was organized (NYC, 1871), barbed wire was patented (1874), The Mousetrap opened in London (1952), Ruby shot Oswald (1963), Apollo 12 returned to Earth (1969), and the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia resigned (1989).

Night Sky, 11/24: Does the Sun already seem to be setting about as early as it ever will? Correct. We're still a month from the winter solstice — but the Sun sets its earliest around December 7^th if you're near latitude 40° north, and already the Sun sets within only about 2 minutes of that time. A surprising result of this: The Sun actually sets a trace earlier on Thanksgiving than on Christmas — even though Christmas is famously close to solstice time! This offset of the earliest sunset from the solstice date is balanced out by the opposite happening at sunrise: The Sun doesn't rise its latest until January 4th. Blame the tilt of Earth's axis and the eccentricity of Earth's orbit . http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: The fireman and the lizard boy...The ghostbuster and the dragon...The policeman and the Kermit...Indiana Jones and Sir Gawain the Green Knight...The First Responder and the Dinosaur

This Week: Saturday, November 25 – Blase' Day & International Hat Day & Small Business Saturday

Sunday, November 26 – National Milk Day & Artist's Sunday & World Olive Tree Day

Night Sky, 11/26 : The Moon is full both this evening and tomorrow evening (because it's exactly full at 4:16 am. Monday morning EST). This evening, the glary Moon is just 1° or 2° from the Pleiades for North America. Bring binoculars.

Monday, November 27 – Slinky Day

Tuesday, November 28 – Giving Tuesday & Red Planet Day

Wednesday, November 29 – Square Dancing Day & Electronic Greetings Day & Catterntide

Night Sky, 11/29: Saturn (magnitude +0.8, in dim Aquarius) glows yellowish high in the south at nightfall. It moves lower toward the southwest as evening grows late. Fomalhaut, similarly bright, twinkles almost two fists at arm's length to Saturn's lower left.

Thursday, November 30 – Cities For Life Day & Native Women's Equal Pay Day & Stay Home Because You're Well Day

For those of you who cannot be with family this Thanksgiving, please resist the urge to grang. --Andy Borowitz / Cooking tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out. --Nicole Hollander

..........Me has bendecido con tu gracia..........Ozuna …..Gracias

^^ The National Rifle Association of America was chartered in the State of New York on November 17, 1871 by Army and Navy Journal editor William Conant Church and Captain George Wood Wingate. On November 25, 1871, the group voted to elect its first corporate officers. Union Army Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, who had worked as a Rhode Island gunsmith, was elected president

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The longer I live, the more convinced I am that this planet is used by other planets as a l lunatic asylum. --Submitted by cf of ks

Moonbeam: Only the brave know how to forgive...a coward never forgave; it is not in his nature. --Laurence Sterne

Video of the Week: Dan Rather reporting on Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald https://www.britannica.com/video/166057/Dan-Rather-shooting-Lee-Harvey-Oswald-Jack-September-1964 (1:11)

The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry. --William F Buckley Jr

Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence. --Erma Bombeck / Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, one by one, as each relative goes home. --Melanie White

..........E sei viva, sei viva.........Gino Paoli …..Grazie

^^^ Karl Frederick, NRA president in 1934, during congressional NFA hearings testified "I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. I have when I felt it was desirable to do so for my own protection. I know that applies in most of the instances where guns are used effectively in self-defense or in places of business and in the home. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses." Four years later, the NRA backed the Federal Firearms Act of 1938.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: This house marked safe from the WKRP Turkey drop.

Weird Word of the Week: kibibytes: kibi-a prefix for multiples of 1,024. byte-measure of memory size. https://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-kib1.htm

Dragon of the Week:

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Protect plastic, wood, and fiberglass planters left outside during the winter months. Wrap the planter with Bubble Wrap and secure in place with Scotch Packaging Tape. The extra insulation helps protect both the plant and the planter. Or before planting, out a piece of Bubble Wrap to fit around the inside of a trera-cotta pot before filing with oil to insulate plant roots and prevent constant freezing and thawing. (Do not line the bottom of the planter to allow for drainage.) https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap2.html

Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. --Michael Dresser / I like football. I find it's an exciting strategic game. It's a great way to void conversation with your family at Thanksgiving. -Craig Ferguson

...........For shining your light on me.........Alicia Myers …..I Want To Thank You

^^^^ Until the 1970s, the NRA was nonpartisan. Previously, the NRA mainly focused on sportsmen, hunters, and target shooters, and downplayed gun control issues. During the 1970s, it became increasingly aligned with the Republican Party. After 1977, the organization expanded its membership by focusing heavily on political issues and forming coalitions with conservative politicians. Most of these are Republicans.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Is the Keebler Elf Cookie Monster's candyman?

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Collectorabilia Con (25^th, Green Bay, WI) ...TV/Movie Memorabilia, antiques and much much more!! https://comic-cons.xyz/event/collectorabilia-green-bay-wisconsin/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: 27^th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry (15-30, Online event out of Seattle, WA) Bioorganic, Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry... https://www.clocate.com/the-international-electronic-conference-on-synthetic-organic-chemistry/100245/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Spain --> Paris --> Syria

I'm looking forward to seeing pie this Thanksgiving more than members of my own family. --Damien Fahey / Overeating at Thanksgiving is a case in point. It''s a national tradition. --Eric Samuel Timm

.........it's so free this kind of feeling.........Beastie Boys …..Gratitude

^^^^^ The incumbent president of the NFA of America is Charles L Cotton (born November 28, 1949). He is an American attorney and gun rights advocate who has served as president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) since 2021. Cotton is also the moderator of TexasCHLForum.com, an online discussion forum about gun ownership.

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Every night around 10 pm, I realize it's only 5:30.

Today's Peace of History, November 24, 1869: Women and men from 21 states met in Cleveland to organize the American Women Suffrage Association, led by Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Julia Ward Howe. The group’s approach to enfranchisement for women was through acquiring the right to vote state-by-state.

I suppose I will die never knowing what pumpkin pie tastes like when you have room for it. -Robert Brault / It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a little emotional scarring. --Friends

..........you never turned away.........Boys II Men …..Thank You

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

Moonbeam: Hang in there. It is astonishing how short a time it can take for very wonderful things to happen. --Frances Hodgson Burnett

Cost of War: 

• As of 11/24/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $222, 324,929,987.
• As of 11/16/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $221,694,850,216.
• As of 11/24/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,180,080,058,153.
• As of 11/16/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,178,320,284.859.
• As of 11/24/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,153,197,831,389.
• As of 11/16/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,152,513,482,262.
• As of 11/24/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,370,570,897,351.
• As of 11/16/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,357,231,711,941.
• As of 11/24/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,055,672,054,470.
• As of 11/16/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,054,335,974,510.
• As of 11/24/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $,8,981,847,505,421.
• As of 11/16/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,964,098,427,547.

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

I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob. --William F Buckley Jr

Famous Last Words: Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

..........In my life I've loved them all.........The Beatles …..In My Life

The Thankstini: A Fun and delicious new novelty drink I invented. Cranberry juice, potato vodka, and a bouillon cube. Tastes just like a turkey dinner. --Barney Stinson / There's always something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. Even if it's just not being a turkey. --Unknown

May Peace be your entree

And Joy be your dessert

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

pRoofed ePistle

 Famous First Words: My lords, the law of nature moveth me to sorrow... Elizabeth I's first speech as queen.

Happy Homemade Bread Day! What do you call a Jewish bread that the Black Panther bakes for Thor's party? T'calla's challah for the Val'Halla gala. / The Jews on the starship Enterprise often hung out on the challah deck.

..........If you've been down too long.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Rainy Day People

Monarchs ought to put to death the authors and instigators of war, as their sworn enemies and as dangers to their states. --Elizabeth I

It is a bright, clear Friday morning. There are no clouds to block the pale blue sky and the sun rising above the house spotlights the willow's faded leaves dancing in a light wind. The mulberry is bare and barely bothers to move with the breeze. Amazingly, it is 39°F early on a mid-November dawn. No birds can be seen or heard outside my window. Puck has been out this morning and is now sleeping it off on my foot. His faint snores add counterpoint to the hum of the computer. Now spent sandalwood incense fills my room with hints of bonfires and walks in the woods. I like it; it adds texture and dimension. My coffee cup is near empty so I think I'll refresh it and then send you this letter.

Hope your weekend rises to the occasion, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality. --Robert Heinlein

In court, baguettes are considered breadly weapons. / Little known fact, virgin olive oil is olive oil into which no one has dipped a baguette.

..........You can't jump a jet plane like you can a freight train.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Early Morning Rain

Trivia Questions: Happy 109^th Birthday to the Panama Canal!

• ^ What is the main purpose of the Panama Canal?
• ^^ How many people died building the canal?
• ^^^ How heavy is traffic on (?in) the canal?
• ^^^^ How much revenue does the canal generate?
• ^^^^^ Is the canal still big enough for today's ships?

Big Hello: Moin – Low Saxon (Germany) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The hardest decision a woman can make isn't yours. --Submitted by SDS

Image of the Week: Our new used car -Nissan Sentra

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 75% of librarians are upset to learn that the patron who shares a name with a celebrity looks nothing like the celebrity. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Betty Baguette was so excited to audition for a big role. / Nine flour bread is just chasing grain bows.

..........You make the best of each new day.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Race Among The Ruins

Question of the Week: Why do banks have branches if money doesn't grow on trees?

Puzzle of the Week: From listener Al Gori of Cozy Lake, N.J.: It involves a spoonerism, in which you reverse the initial consonant sounds in one phrase to make another phrase. For example, if you spoonerize "light rain," you get "right lane." Name part of a truck in two words. Spoonerize it. You'll name something FEMA uses. What is it? NPR Sunday Puzzle 7/7/13

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I think the proper term for “senior” women should be: Queen-agers. --Tina Rapp

Moonbeam: A philosopher is a fool who torments himself while he is alive, to be talked of after he is dead. --Jean d'Alembert

Santa's favorite bread is Ciabatta. It's right there in the song, ...ciabatta watch out, ciabatta not cry... / This French bread always spreads out of its pan...container brioche.

..........To make you laugh and bend your ear.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Minstrel of the Dawn

^ It's a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Panama Canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama in a narrow land bridge between North and South America. Prior, ships had to sail around the tip of South America. It takes about 8 hours to cross the Canal's 50 miles (77km). That saves days. If a ship had to navigate down and around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and back up the other side, it would have to travel nearly 12,500 miles (20,000 km).

Almanac: It is Friday, November 17, 2023. The moon will go into the first quarter on Monday (11/20) and is in Capricorn. It is Homemade Bread Day, National Unfriend Day, Petroleum Day, and World Prematurity Awareness Day.

Among those born on this day were Il Bronziono (1503), Jean d'Alembert (1717), August Ferdinand Mobius (1790), Titian Ramsey Peale (1799), Lee Strasberg (1901), Isamu Noguchi (1904), Jack Lescoulie (1917), Rock Hudson (1925),David Amram (1930), Gordon Lightfoot (1938), Martin Scorsese (1942), Lauren Hutton (1943), Danny De Vito (1944), and Traci Lords (1962).

On November seventeenth Elizabeth I ascended the English throne (1558), the US Congress held it's first session in DC (1800), Mignon premiered (Paris, 1866), the Suez Canal opened (1869), the American Theosophical Society was founded (1875), the Panama Canal opened (1913), LBJ married ladybird (1934), Dulles International Airport was dedicated (1962), the Leonids meteor shower peaked at 150,000/ hour (1966), Surveyor 6 became the first earth machine to life off the moon (1967), Bhutto won the election in Pakistan (1988), and Bret Saberhagen signed a record $2,966,667 contact with the Royals (1989).

Night Sky, 11/17: Look south-southwest at nightfall for the waxing crescent Moon. It forms a huge, nearly equilateral triangle with Saturn far to its upper left and Altair far to its upper right. Each side of the triangle is nearly four fists at arm's length long. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Pumpkin Night at the ballpark

This Week: Saturday, November 18 – International Day of Islamic Art & National Adoption Day & National Survivors of Suicide Day

Sunday, November 19 – Do Dah Day & International Men's Day & Rocky & Bullwinkle Day

Night Sky, 11/19: This evening and tomorrow evening the Moon passes Saturn while going through the first-quarter phase. Here are the (probably) two most popular telescopic objects in the sky, just a few degrees apart.

Monday, November 20 – Name Your PC Day* & National Child's Day & Transgender Day of Remembrance …....... * Mine is named Lucille after BB King's guitar.

Tuesday, November 21 – National Red Mitten Day & World Hello Day & World Television Day

Wednesday, November 22 – Humane Society Day & National Jukebox Day & Tie One On Day (honors aprons)

Night Sky, 11/22: The bright waxing gibbous moon will pass the faint but fascinating “Circlet” asterism in Pisces the Fish on the evenings of November 21 and 22, 2023. The moon and the Circlet will be visible as darkness falls and will set around midnight.

Thursday, November 23 – Doctor Who Day & Fibonacci Day & Thanksgiving!!!

The gingerbread man just ordered cookie sheets for his newly remodeled bedroom. / Biscuits are fried wheat flour covering baked wheat flour – a Kansas treat.

..........What a tale my thoughts could tell.........Gordon Lightfoot …..If You Could Read My Mind

^^ Construction cost over 25,000 lives. At times, more than 43,000 people were working on the Panama Canal at once. Workers had to deal with heat, jungles, swamps - and all the creatures in them, including rats that carried bubonic plague. Plus mosquito-borne diseases like yellow fever and malaria. Over 20,000 workers died during French building efforts. After the scientific links between the insects and disease had been discovered, Americans undertook intensive and successful anti-mosquito initiatives. Even so, another more than 5000 workers perished during the American building phase.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Has anyone ever lived long enough to buy a second bottle of Worcestershire sauce? --Submitted by INRITH

Moonbeam: Everything is sculpture. Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider sculpture. --Isamu Noguchi https://www.noguchi.org/artworks/collection/

Video of the Week: Bud Abbott explains who's on first to Jack Lescoulie Long Address

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: I'm the voice so beautiful I can walk into any grocery store and use the intercom without asking. Bill Kurtis ... "...telling quote great stories unquote; these are all movies that are now going back into production: Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Venom 2, Mortal Kombat 3, and Beetlejuice 2. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 11/11/23

The stone often recoils on the head of the thrower. --Elizabeth I

Emily Dickinson used to bake Poet-ryee. / There was a big melee at the bakery last week. It was a rye it. / I bought a loaf of rye the other day and when I got home and opened the bag there was a baseball card of Yogi Berra between two slices. Catcher in the Rye.

..........The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down.........Gordon Lightfoot …..The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

^^^ Over 1 Million Vessels have transited the canal since it opened. In 1914, the year it opened, about 1000 ships used the canal. Today, nearly 15,000 ships pass through the Isthmus of Panama via the Canal annually. The 1 Millionth ship crossed the canal in 2010, 96 years after it opened. In 1934 it was estimated that the maximum traffic of the canal would be around 80 million tons of shipping a year, but by 2015, canal traffic exceeded 340 million tons of shipping – over 4 times the original maximum estimate.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just turned off the news and put on a serial killer documentary to relax.

Weird Word of the Week: Jobation – rebuke, take to task, haul over the coals. https://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-job2.htm

Dragon of the Week: Vietnamese Dragon Bread

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Help to prevent potted perennials from freezing in the winter. Line the inside of the planter with Bubble Wrap before planting. Do not line the bottom of the planter to allow for drainage. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap2.html

If I poison the pita bread dip am I guilty of hummus-cide? / Pita bread is second to naan.

...........I wonder how the old folks are tonight.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Carefree Highway

^^^^ $2 Billion in Tolls are Collected Annually. Every ship that passes through the canal pays a toll based on its size, type and volume of cargo. Tolls are set by the Panama Canal Authority. Tolls for the largest cargo ships can run about $450,000. Cruise ships pay by berths (number of passengers in beds). The per-berth fee set in 2016 was $138; a large cruise ship can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to sail through the Canal. The smallest toll recorded was paid by American Richard Halliburton in 1928, who paid 36 cents to swim the Canal.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Behind every strong woman is a dog who follows her to the bathroom. --Submitted by bu of ks

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: CONjuration (17-19, Atlanta, GA) Magical Fantasy Convention https://www.conjurationcon.com/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: American Vacuum Society Mid-Atlantic Symposium (17, Raleigh, NC) Building a Semiconductor Workforce https://avs.org/about-avs/events-calendar/

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Mud flap – Flood map

I was going to write my own pun about bread, but by the time I finished it was stale. / Life Hack: You can use garlic bread to kill a gluten free vampire.

..........The radio is playin' a soft country song.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Second Cup of Coffee

^^^^^ The Panama Canal was expanded for bigger ships in 2016. The original canal locks are 110 feet (33 meters) wide and ten times as long. For a century, they accommodated shipping, and the term 'Panamax' ships was used to describe ships built to fit through the canal. But ships kept getting bigger, and in 2007, work began on a multi-billion dollar expansion of the Canal. In 2016, a third, wider lane of locks opened for commercial shipping, capable of handling 'Post-Panamax' ships that can carry 14,000 20-foot shipping containers (nearly 3 times Panamax ship capacity). In spite of that giant leap forward in 2016, the world's largest container ships - that can carry 18,000 shipping containers – can't pass through the Panama Canal. https://www.avantiworldtravel.com/blog/8-facts-about-the-panama-canal

Day of the Week: National Unfriend Day – Sometimes getting unfriended on Facebook is magical...Really, it's like the trash took itself out.

Quote of the Week: Music is a conspiracy to commit beauty. --José Abreu

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you can't say something nice say something surrealistic.

Today's Peace of History, November 17, 1980: Hundreds were arrested at the Women's Pentagon Action protest of patriarchy and its war-making.

The local library started a Sourdough Bread club. But it never got anything done. Everyone was a loafer. / Sourdough bread is just white bread with a yeast infection.

..........And she knows it's a long way down.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Daylight Katy

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

Moonbeam: People come into your life who you have a good time with, and time goes by and you still have a good time with them and you do stupid stuff with them. To me, that's life. --Danny DeVito

Cost of War:

• As of 11/16/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $221,694,850,216.
• As of 11/09/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $221,143,213,594.
• As of 11/16/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,178,320,284.859.
• As of 11/09/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,176,779,447,672
• As of 11/16/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,152,513,482,262.
• As of 11/09/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,151,914,348,502.
• As of 11/16/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,357,231,711,941.
• As of 11/09/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,345,553,949,879.
• As of 11/16/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,054,335,974,510.
• As of 11/09/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,053,166,305,233.
• As of 11/16/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,964,098,427,547.
• As of 11/09/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $,8,948,559,763,692.

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

The past cannot be cured. --Elizabeth I

Famous Last Words: Ne'er shall thou leave us more. --Ambroise Thomas Mignon

..........'Cause we've been friends through rain or shine.........Gordon Lightfoot …..Beautiful

Was the cornbread stuffing afraid of the turkey? No, just the goblin. / I was going to end with a favorite bread but naan of the above apply.

May Peace proof your flour

And Joy raise your dough

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

uRsine ePistle

Famous First Words: Sunny Day, Sweeping the clouds away. --Sesame Street Theme Song

It's Polar Bear Week! (5-11) Paula Polar Bear loves to lie about in the sun. Her mate calls her Solar Bear. / Polar bears have such thick coat fur protection.

..........Oh, you bloody young fools.........Elton John …..Screw You

Everything that is done in this world is done by hope. --Martin Luther

It is a clear, cold (37°F) Friday morning. The sky is a pale blue without a cloud or jet trail in sight. A breeze from the northwest (6 mph) sets the willow branches dancing. Their leaves are thinning and have faded to yellow; but they can still dance. Distance sirens fill the morning with civilization and alarm to contrast with the willow whose attention is singularly involved with the wind. The mulberry has bare limbs reaching up to the sun just rising above the roof. It barely moves. The sirens pass but there is still no birdsong. I sip my creamy decaf and light a cone of incense for a pleasing smell. I hope it is also pleasant for you, this fine day.

Hope your weekend is warm and cozy, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What would men be without women? Scarce, sir...mighty scarce. --Mark Twain

Peter Polar Bear wears an ice cap on his head. / Because of climate change rain has replaced snow and we're going to change the term polar bear to drizzly bear.

..........Evergreen heroes whose stories are told.........Elton John …..Roy Rogers

Trivia Questions: Happy Domino Day

• ^ How many dominoes are there in a standard set?
• ^^ The oldest dominoes are found in China; what were they made of?
• ^^^ How many people can play a game of dominoes at one time?
• ^^^^ Dominoes came to the west in the 1700s; which language gave it its current name?
• ^^^^^ How do you win at dominoes?

Brief Update: We have a car. It's a 2012 Nissan Sentra. It's an antique; we know this because it has an ashtray and a lighter. Returning the rental this morning. Yeah!!!

Big Hello: Terveh – Livvi-Karelian (a Finn language spoken in Karelia province of Russia and Finland) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I thought a plain bagel was one that could fly.

Image of the Week: KU Goalpost floating in Potter's Puddle after the victory over Oklahoma.

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 89% of librarianship is smiling politely and nodding. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts Comment: We are the bartenders of the literary world.

Right after the dentist fixed Polly Polar Bear's bad tooth, she ate him. / A polar bear without ears is called a Polar B.

..........So keep your auditions for somebody else.........Elton John …..I've Seen That Movie Too

Moonbeam: Where wealth accumulates, men decay. --Oliver Goldsmith

Question of the Week: If you froze time, how could you move? Questions by Ouora

Puzzle of the Week: From listener Jim Bricker of Wayland, Mass., and it's a little different from the usual. The time 6:29 on a digital clock, ignoring the colon, also reads 6:29 upside down. How many times in a day can a digital clock, ignoring the colon, read the same right side up as upside down? We are not accepting military time. NPR Sunday Puzzle 11/5/3

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Never in recorded history has a four year old found his father's loaded book and accidentally killed his younger sister. But we ban books. --Submitted by 98%

Palmer Polar Bear catches food with his bear hands. / Bride Piper Polar Bear didn't show up for her wedding because she got cold feet.

..........Never knowing who to cling to.........Elton John …..Candle In The Wind

^ There are 28 tiles in a standard Domino set. (n+1)(n+2)/2

Almanac: It is Friday, November 10, 2023. The moon will be new on Monday (11/13) and is in Libra. The United Nations has declared this World Science Day for Peace and Development (UNESCO). It is also Area Code Day, Domino Day, NET Cancer Awareness Day, and Sesame Street Day.

Among those born on this day were Martin Luther (1483), Francois Couperin (1668), George II (1683), Oliver Goldsmith (1730), Frederick von Schiller (1759), Jared Kirtland (1793), Vachel Lindsay (1879), Frances Perkins (1882), Claude Rains (1889), George Fenneman (1919), Richard Burton (1925), Clarence Pendleton, Jr (1930), Roy Scheider (1935), Dave Loggins (1944), Donna Fargo (1945), Sinbad (1956), and MacKenzie Phillips (1959).

On November tenth the Dutch ceded New Netherlands to England (1674), the US Marine Corps was established (1775), Kentucky outlawed dueling (1801), the Osage Treaty was signed (1808), Maximilian became emperor of Mexico (1864), presumably Stanley met Livingston (1871), the first Woman's Christian Temperance Union meeting was held (Boston, 1891), 41 suffragists were arrested in front of the White House (1917), the first National Book Week was observed and the American Legion held its first convention (Minneapolis, 1919), Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan (1928), Sesame Street premiered (1969), Elton John released Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), the Edmund Fitzgerald sank into Lake Superior (1975), and the transits of Earth was seen from Mars (2084).

Night Sky, 11/10: Action at Jupiter. The Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian around 7:58 pm EST. Then Io crosses onto Jupiter's face from the east at 10:28 pm EST, followed by its little black shadow at 10:51 pm EST. Satellite and shadow exit from Jupiter's western limb a little more than two hours later. ~~I was unable to find a live stream of these events, but I feel like it will be on the internet. I just can't find it. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Ollie and Max making pie. The Pie Song The Pi Song 

Extra Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I am still haunted by the things I did for a Klondike Bar. --Submitted by ma of va

This Week: Saturday, November 11 – Armistice Day & Forget-Me-Not Day & Origami Day

Sunday, November 12 – Diwali & Football Day & Fancy Rat and Mouse Day

Night Sky, 11/12: Vega remains the brightest star in the west in the early evening. Its little constellation Lyra extends to its left. Somewhat farther left, about a fist and a half at arm's length from Vega, is 3rd-magnitude Albireo, the beak of Cygnus. This is one of the finest and most colorful double stars for small telescopes. Farther on in roughly the same direction you come to 3rd-magnitude Tarazed and, a finger-width past it, 1st-magnitude Altair.

Monday, November 13 – World Kindness Day

Tuesday, November 14 – International Girls Day & Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day & National Seatbelt Day

Wednesday, November 15 – America Recycles Day & I Love To Write Day & National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day

Night Sky, 11/15: Venus, brilliant at magnitude –4.4 under the hind feet of Leo, shines high in the east before and during dawn. It rises nearly 2½ hours before dawn's first light — a weird late-night apparition coming up over the east horizon.

Thursday, November 16 – National Check Your Wipers Day & Teddy Bear Day & World Philosophy Day

Never take polar bears to the zoo. They've already been there. / Pedro Polar Bear changed his mind so much he was diagnosed as bi-polar.

..........For I just get ugly and older.........Elton John …..Social Disease

^^ The earliest known dominoes were made of bone. I couldn't find a source that mentioned what kind of bones.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Carrots may be good for your eyes, but booze will double your vision. --Submitted by bc of tx

Moonbeam: Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. --Friedrich Schiller

Video of the Week: Vachel Lindsay reading The Congo Long address

Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: What secret will we learn about a presidential candidate next? The next big secret is that Democratic representative and presidential candidate Dean Phillips is running for president. It's not supposed to be secret, but what are you going to do? --Adam Burke Chris Christie is a virgin who can't drive. --Maeve Higgins We find out that RFK Jr is made of 100% vaccines --Tom Papa Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, 11/4/23

There never yet have been, nor are there now, too many good books. --Martin Luther

Perry Polar Bear crossed the road because there are no chickens in the Arctic. / Polar bears call seals on skateboards “meals on wheels”.

..........It's seven o'clock and I want to rock.........Elton John …..Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

^^^ A game can have as few as 2 people or a maximum of 4 people.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Heard of the Week: The kind lady who brings farm fresh eggs laid by chickens who walk around on earth and enjoy life says the girls have slowed down egg production because of the colder weather. She calls it Henapause.

Weird Word of the Week: Interesterification – Converting fats to solid form by hydrogenation. https://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-int4.htm

Dragon of the Week:

Not So Weird Word of the Week: Rematriation – to return to the mother ...an Indigenous women's led movement and digital storytelling platform dedicated to helping return the sacred to the mother. https://rematriation.com/ ~~Here's the story of the rematriation of Red Rock (Iⁿ'zhúje'waxóbe) from Lawrence to Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park in Council Grove, KS. https://sacredredrock.com/rematriation-of-i%E2%81%BF-zhuje-waxobe/

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Make knee pads. When working in the workshop, crawling under the house or in the attic, roller skating, working in the garden, or playing contact sports, improvise knee pads by folding two sheets of Bubble Wrap to form cushions and taping them to each knee with Scotch Packaging Tape. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/bubblewrap2.html

What do you call a polar bear with no ears? Anything you want, she can't hear you. / What's white and likes to play with a ball in the swimming pool? A polo bear.

...........Let me drink deeply from the water and wine.........Elton John …..This Song Has No Title

^^^^ The word domino comes from the French. Domino pieces were once made with ebony blacks and ivory faces, and it has been suggested that the playing piece brought to mind the priest’s black domino (a kind of hoodie) contrasting with the white surplice.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A belly button is basically a scar from when you got into a knife fight with a guy in a mask after being evicted from your first place. --Submitted by PsyDe

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: TusCon 50 (10-12, Tucson, AZ) The Best Little Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Convention in Arizona https://tusconscificon.com/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: Neuroscience 2023 (11-15, Washington DC) From childcare to shuttle services, learn more about SfN (Society for Neuroscience) https://www.sfn.org/meetings/neuroscience-2023

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: A digital clock will show the same number right side up and upside down 58 times in 24 hours.

Where do you find polar bears? The last place you left them. / Peyton Polar Bear and Paxton Polar Bear fell in love at frost sight.

..........Hey, kids, shake it loose together.........Elton John …..Bennie And The Jets

^^^^^ The person who plays all of their dominoes wins the game.

Dad Joke of the Week: A bear walks into a bar and says to the bartender, “One whiskey and .................................. one coke”. “Why the big pause?” asks the bartender. “I don't know, I was born with them,' says the bear.

Quote of the Week: Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets. --Yogi Berra

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Absurd times call of Absurd Amounts of Love. --Ruxandra Barb --Submitted by bu of ks

Today's Peace of History, November 10, 1924: The Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the US, was founded in Chicago by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant.

Polar bears always listen to cool music. / Polar bears vote at the North Pole.

..........Reality it seems was just a dream.........Elton John …..All The Girls Love Alice

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

Moonbeam: People are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life. --Frances Perkins

Cost of War:

• As of 11/09/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $221, 143,213,594.
• As of 11/02/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $220,579,942,870.
• As of 11/09/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,176,779,447,672
• As of 11/02/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,175,206,568,792.
• As of 11/09/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,151,914,348,502.
• As of 11/02/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,151,302,513,530
• As of 11/09/23 Veterans Care since 2001:$3,345,553,949,879.

• As of 11/02/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,333,627,875,498.
• As of 11/09/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,053,166,305,233.
• As of 11/02/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,051,971,811,456.
• As of 11/09/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $,8,948,559,763,692.
• As of 11/02/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,932,692,370,868.

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

You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. --Martin Luther

Famous Last Words: How to get to Sesame Street. --Sesame Street Theme Song

..........Where the dogs of society howl.........Elton John …..Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

A baby polar bear went to its mother and said, “Mum, am I really a polar bear?” Mum answered, “Of course my son, you are a lovely polar bear. Now go outside and play.” Ten minutes later the baby polar bear came back and said, “Mum, are you really sure I am a polar bear?” Mum answered, “Of course you are a polar bear. Look at your lovely white coat; black nose and big eyes. You’re a beautiful polar bear, now go away and play.” The baby polar bear went outside but 10 minutes later came back to his mother and said, “Mum, are you really, really sure I’m a polar bear?” Mother Polar Bear was now getting annoyed with her son and said: “I have told you twice you are a polar bear. What's your problem, why do you keep asking me?” The baby polar bear replied, “Because I’m freezing my ass off.”

May Peace warm your heart

And Joy heat your soul

prairie mama

christine

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