Famous First Words: We, the members of the congress of New Hampshire... Constitution of the state of New Hampshire
Happy National Screenwriters Day! It takes 10 screenwriters to change a light bulb. First Draft: Hero changes light bulb. / Predictions 2024: Disney will sell off ABC to only buyer they can find, some kids running a lemonade stand.
..........I should not be left to my own devices.........Taylor Swift …..Anti-Hero (Billboard's #1 hit in January 2023)
May peace fill all the empty spaces around you...may happiness answer all your wishes in this new year.
It is a cold (31°F), gray Friday morning. The sky is slate without texture or variance. There is no breeze to move the tree so that the backyard looks like a painting instead of a living lawn. An occasional snowflake tumbles from the layer of clouds but it is rarely joined by a second one. I am inside watching from the warmth of my room – drinking hazelnut coffee and eating chocolate croissants and listening to Maria Muldaur (with Ry Cooder on guitar). Pine scented incense disguises a number of sins and shows more life than the willow tree as it snakes down the burner path. Ah, the rent is paid and the fridge is full – bring on winter.
Hope your weekend exceeds all your expectations, ePistliers.
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You come right over here and explain why they are having another year. --Telegram sent by Dorothy Parker to Robert Benchley 12/31/29
2nd draft: Villain changes light bulb. / Predictions 2024: Robert F Kennedy Jr (?-California) will end his presidential campaign and nobody will notice for several weeks.
..........I did all of this sober.........SZA …..Kill Bill (Billboard''s #1 hit April 2023)
Trivia Questions: Truman's Fair Deal is 79 years old. What do we know about it?
- ^ What did the Fair Deal actually do?
- ^^ How many points did the Fair Deal have?
- ^^^ What were the major goals of the Fair Deal?
- ^^^^ Why did Congress reject the Fair Deal?
- ^^^^^ How successful was the Fair Deal?
Big Hello: Здраво (Zdravo) – Macedonian https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You know you are growing old when Happy Hour is a nap. --Submitted by 98%
Image of the Week: Jeff's new electric tricycle (some adults prefer three wheeled bike) on it's way here
Fake Library Statistics of the Week: at any given moment 86% of librarians are wondering “why me” or “why on my desk shift”. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
3rd draft: Hero stops villain from changing light bulb. Villain falls to his death. / Predictions 2024: SNL will air a funny episode for the first time in 25 years.
..........Kinda dream that can't be sold.........Miley Cyrus …..Flowers (Billboard's #3 hit May 2023)
Moonbeam: Our life is full of empty space. --Umberto Eco
Question of the Week: Why can't we tickle ourselves?
Puzzle of the Week: From listener Neville Fogarty, of Newport News, Va. Think of an area found in many workplaces, in two words. Move the first letter of the first word to the start of the second word. Phonetically you'll name two items that have a similar use — one of which might be used in the workplace. What place was this?
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You're an adult. You can drunk-dial senators. No one can stop you. McConnell's Office (202) 224-2541
4th draft: Lose the light bulb. / Predictions 2024: Nikki Haley becomes Trump running make but is involved in a scandal one month before the elections
..........Big as the super bowl.........Drake …..First Person Shooter (Billboard's #1 hit October 2023)
^ The “Fair Deal” was an aggressive agenda for social reform legislation proposed by President Harry Truman in January 1945 and again in 1949.
Almanac: It is Friday, January 5, 2024. The moon went into the last quarter yesterday (January 4th – my word processor kept turning one slash four to ¼) and is in Libra. It is Bird Day, National Screenwriters Day, and Twelfth Night.
Among those born on this day were Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779), Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863), Jeanne Dixon (1918), Walter Fritz Mondale (1928), Edward Givens Jr (1930), Alvin Ailey (1931), Robert Duvall (1931), Raisa Gorbachev (1932), Umberto Eco (1932), Diane Keaton (1946), and Marilyn Manson (1969).
On January fifth Franςios Villon was banished from Paris (1463), New Hampshire adopted the first state constitution (1776), Kiowa recorded the night the stars fell (1834), Davy Crockett arrived at the Alamo (1936), the California Exchange opened (1850), the first school of librarianship opened (Columbia U, 1887), National Association of Audubon Society was incorporated (1905), the first National Hockey Association game was played (1912), German Farmers Party was formed later it became the National Socialist Party (Nazi, 1919), Nellie Taylor Ross became the first woman governor in the US (Wyoming 1925), Lucille Thomas became the first female baseball team owner (Topeka Franchise - Western League, 1931), National and American leagues select a uniform ball (1934), Show Boat premiered (1946), Truman announced the "Fair Deal" (1949), Member of the Wedding premiered (1950), the US broke diplomatic relations with Cuba (1961), Dr Spock was indicted for conspiring to violate draft law (1968), All My Children premiered (1970), the Harlem Globetrotters lost to NJ Reds ending a 2,495 game winning streak (100-99, 1971), and The Wiz opened on Broadway (1975).
Night Sky, 1/5: At this coldest time of the year, Sirius rises around the end of twilight. Orion's three-star Belt points down almost to its rising place; watch there. Once Sirius is up, it twinkles slowly and deeply through the thick layers of low atmosphere, then faster and more shallowly as it gains altitude. Its flashes of color also moderate and blend into shimmering whiteness as it climbs to shine through thinner air. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Max discovers Uvula
This Week: Saturday, January 6 – Epiphany aka Three Kings Day & National Bean Day & National Play Outside Day
Sunday, January 7 – Harlem Globetrotters Day & Old Rock Day & Orthodox Christmas
Night Sky, 1/7: It's a busy evening among Jupiter's moons with four pairs of events. – At 7:27 pm CST, Europa exits Jupiter's west limb. Nine minutes later Europa's tiny black shadow, trailing behind, comes onto Jupiter's opposite limb. – At 9:13 pm CST, Io emerges from an eclipse by Jupiter's shadow a small distance off the planet's east edge. Seven minutes later Ganymede's shadow crosses onto Jupiter's opposite edge, thus beginning a 35-minute period of two shadows in transit at once. – At 9:55 pm CST, Io's shadow leaves the western limb. Just over an hour later, at 10:58 pm, Ganymede's larger shadow does the same. And on Jupiter itself, the Great Red Spot (neither very great nor particularly red these days) should cross the planet's central meridian around 10:05 pm CST.
Monday, January 8 – Bubble Bath Day & Women's Day aka Midwife's Day & World Typing Day
Tuesday, January 9 – National Poetry At Work Day
Wednesday, January 10 – Houseplant Appreciation Day & National Save the Eagles Day
Night Sky, 1/10: Mercury shines low in the dawn this week to the lower left of bright Venus. Their separation shrinks from 22° on the morning of December 30th to 14° on January 6th. During this time Mercury brightens rapidly by 2½ times, from magnitude +1.0 to 0.0.
Thursday, January 11 – Learn You Name in Morse Code Day & National Milk Day & World Sketchnote Day
5th draft: Light bulb back in. Fluorescent instead of tungsten. / Predictions 2024: Republicans will make even bigger fools of themselves.
..........I'll just keep the party runnin'..........Dua Lipa …..Dance The Night (Billboard's #1 hit September 2023)
^^ The Fair Deal was once known as the Twenty-one Points.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: But then science is nothing but a series of questions that lead to more questions. --Terry Pratchett
Moonbeam: I would define the poetic effect as the capacity that a text displays for continuing to generate different readings, without ever being completely consumed. --Umberto Eco
Video of the Week: Alvin Ailey Dance Company – Revelations (2:45)
May the new year bring you peace, joy, and happiness.
6th draft: Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero's mentor. / Predictions 2024: Democrats will make even bigger fools of themselves.
..........I'm findin' ways to articulate.........The Weeknd & Ariana Grande …..Die For You (Billboard #1 hit March 2023)
^^^ The main goals of the Fair Deal were to outlaw discriminatory employment practices, pass anti-lynching laws, outlaw poll taxes for voting, increase the minimum wage, repeal the Taft-Hartley Act, expand public housing, propose a national healthcare system, extend social security to more Americans, and found a Department of Welfare.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you export armaments, don't complain about importing refugees. --Submitted by ff of ks
Weird Word of the Week: Obelus – the symbol for division in a math problem (÷)
Dragon of the Week: Gingerbread Dragon
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Prevent chisel blades from smacking into other tools and dulling. Wrap each chisel in a small sheet of bubble wrap. ~~This is the end of the bubble wrap section. I was getting really tired of them. Protect Everything!!!!!
7th draft: Fluorescent not working. Back to tungsten. / Predictions 2024: Kanye converts to Judaism.
...........I must be favored to know ya.........Jung Kook …..Seven (Billboard's #1 hit July 2023)
^^^^ Truman's administration faced a conservative coalition in Congress, which was made up of Republicans and conservative Democrats who opposed the reach of the federal authority. Members of Congress viewed Fair Deal initiatives as an extension of Roosevelt's New Deal, which they strongly opposed and considered to be socialist in nature. In addition, Truman's problems in the Korean War lost him any opportunity of the Fair Deal programs and legislation being passed through Congress. Not only did he lose popularity because of this war, but military spending became more of a priority than expanding domestic programs.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Road Sign: Prayer is the best way to meet God. Trespassing is the fastest.
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Anime ZAP (5-7, Peoria, IL) As the biggest winter anime convention in Illinois, Anime-ZAP! has more events, dealers, artists, attractions, and viewing rooms than any other convention. https://animezapcon.com/
Actual Science Conference of the Week: 2nd International Conference on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (CAMR 2024) {5-6, Pondicherry, India) ...brings together Faculty, PhD scholars, PGs & UGs from *Dentistry *Medicine *Life Sciences *Veterinary https://www.clocate.com/international-conference-on-combating-antimicrobial-resistance-camr/101720/
Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Break room — rake, broom
8th draft: Hero forces villain to eat light bulb. / Predictions 2024: Zelensky will host SNL.
..........See how far ya make it down the road.........Jason Aldean …..Try That In A Small Town (Billboard #2 hit August 2023)
^^^^^ Despite the Fair Deal struggling to get legislation passed through Congress, President Truman did ensure the survival of social security, preserved the American welfare system, and prioritized civil rights legislation. He also set the stage for Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, which was able to pass many of the programs that Truman could not with a conservative majority in Congress.
Discussion Topic of the Week: Is it better to be smart or lucky?
Quote of the Week: I went to a record store; they said they specialized in hard-to-find records. Nothing was alphabetized. --Mitch Hedberg
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you identify a UFO as a UFO, then it becomes an FO. Unless it has landed, then it's simply an O. --Submitted by ff of ks
Today's Peace of History, January 5, 1968: Dr. Benjamin Spock was indicted for conspiring to violate the military draft law.
9th draft: Hero laments loss of light bulb. Doesn't change it. / Predictions 2024: Desantis trips on his shoes and the ensuing gif ruins his campaign.
..........Starting from zero, got nothing to lose.........Luke Combs …..Fast Car (Billboard #3 hit June 2023)
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, ePistle eXtended, January 5, 2024, ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: Beauty is boring because it is predictable. --Umberto Eco
Cost of War:
- As of 01/04/24 State Department War Costs since 2001: $225,591,148,394.
- As of 12/28/23 State Department War Costs since 2001: $225,030,178,822.
- As of 01/04/24 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,189,202,004,239.
- As of 12/28/23 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,187,636,095,212.
- As of 01/04/24 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,156,745,669,789.
- As of 12/28/23 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,156,136,285,818.
- As of 01/04/24 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,439,726,101,242.
- As of 12/28/23 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,427,847,513,578.
- As of 01/04/24 Military Costs since 2001: $3,062,598,883,810.
- As of 12/28/23 Military Costs since 2001: $3,061,409,053,926.
- As of 01/04/24 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $9,073,867,088,619.
- As of 12/28/23 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $9,058,060,012,467.
A note about the Cost of War figures. National Priorities is a wonderful site. The numbers themselves fly by so rapidly that by the time I type the amount it has changed. Yet, If I accidentally type 597 instead of 697, I go back and correct it. Sigh.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
May peace prevail on earth.
Famous Last Words: There are so many things about the world I do not understand. --Frankie Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
..........Something's tellin' me this ain't over yet.........Morgan Wallen …..Last Night (Billboard's #1 hit February 2023)
10th draft: Hero changes light bulb. / Predictions 2025: Bernie Sanders will retire.
May
Peace plot your future
And
Joy script your present
prairie
mama
christine
Last Laugh:
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