sAme bAt ePistle

 Famous First Words: Well, no one told me about her... The Zombies She's Not There (This is the first song played on the premier episode of Hullabaloo

58 years ago Batman premiered on television. So, Robert Pattinson is the new Batman. That means that vampires really do turn into bats. / Since there is Batman Shampoo, why not Conditioner Gordon?

..........Some merely come to pass the time away..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..There's A Meeting Here Tonight

We are all one – and if we don't know it, we will learn it the hard way. --Bayard Rustin

It is another cold (11°F), cloudy Friday. There is no hint of sun behind the thick layer of pale gray humidity without texture. Wind – gusting to 20 mph – thrashes the willow branches and even the mulberry trunk is swaying. This week's snow still covers rooftops and lawns. The bird feeder is busier than O'Hare and tiny footprints lead up to the patio water bowl but it is frozen solid. Puck licks it like a snowcone. If the crows have visited they have done so quietly nor do car motor sounds break the silence of the morning. ...and my computer gently hums... A yellow incense cone sends smoke down a tiny waterfall. Perhaps it is sandalwood; it is certainly not lemon. I drink Hazelnut decaf and watch for life out my back window. Best of all, now, I get to write to you. Yeah!

Hope your weekend is warm and cozy, ePistliers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Got my DNA kit and turns out I'm 86% Danish Butter Cookie from the Costco region.

Batman's utility belt is a waist of equipment. / I emailed Netflix and asked if they had Batman Forever. They said, “No, just until the end of June.”

..........All over this land..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..The Hammer Song

Trivia Questions: Happy 58^th Birthday to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

• ^ What informal group preceded the CBC?
• ^^ What change allowed many additional black members in congress?
• ^^^ How many founding members did the CBC have?
• ^^^^ What was President Nixon's relationship with CBC like?
• ^^^^^ Who is the current chair of the CBC?

Big Hello: Pǝrna'm – Magahi (India & Nepal) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What haunts me is that I'm just not smart enough for so many people to be this much stupider than I am. --Submitted by IIWSPIBH

Image of the Week: Max meets the dragon dancer

Update to Last Week's Image of the Week: Jeff's three wheeler arrived yesterday morning. It is all assembled in the living room and looks great. Now all we need are temperatures suitable for riding a bike. Pictures next week.

Fake Library Statistics of the Week: The “librarian Diet” is eating only one holiday treat each time you pass the break room. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts

Batman wears a mask because the citizens of Gotham are a lot more on the ball than the citizens of Metropolis. / A friend asked me today if she was wearing too much make-up. I told her it depends on whether or not she intends to kill Batman.

..........Ah de du, ah dee du dai day..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Whistling Gypsy ~~For Lane Pennington

Moonbeam: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke

Question of the Week: If you could smash a cream pie into one person's face, whose face would it be?

Puzzle of the Week: Think of a 10-letter adjective describing certain institutions. Drop three letters from this word, and the remaining seven letters, reading left to right, will name an institution described by this adjective. What institution is it? NPR Sunday Puzzle 6/29/14

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Dear Texas, If you're really obsessed with going backward in time, return your state to Mexico. --Submitted by 98%

Once Batman saw Catwoman at the bar and told the bartender to send her a jigger of 20-year old single malt Scotch. Catwoman sighed and slowly scooted the glass to the edge of the bar, and tipped it over. / Ah, Bruce Wayne was just good at acrobatics.

..........Don't go there your sorrow for to drown..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Hard Ain't It Hard

^ During the late 1960s, Rep. Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) created the Democracy Select Committee (DSC). It was created in an effort to bring black members of Congress together. and was an informal group that held irregular meetings and had no independent staff or budget.

Almanac: It is Friday, January 12, 2024. The moon was new yesterday (1/11) and is in Aquarius. It is Kiss A Ginger Day and National Hot Tea Day.

Among those born on this day were Adrian van Utrecht (1599), Pierre de Fermat (1665), Edmund Burke (1729), John Hancock (1737), John Singer Sargent (1856), Jack London (1876), Hermann Goering (1893), Henny Youngman (1906), Tex Ritter (1906), Charles Martin (1910), Ray Price (1926), Glenn Yarborough (1930), Joe Frazier (1944), Bob McEwen (1950), and Rush Limbaugh (1951).

On January twelfth Handel's Ottone premiered (1723), the university in Russia established (1755), the Royal Astronomical Society was founded (1820), anthracite coals was first used to smelt iron (1839), x-rays were first used in the US (1896), the football rules committee legalized the forward pass (1906), the Dow Jones closed above 100 for the first time (1906), Hattie W Caraway was elected the first woman senator (D-AR, 1932), the National War Labor Board was created (1942), the first supermarket opened in the UK (1948), Authrur Godfrey and his Friends premiered on tv (1949), the University of Tennessee admitted its first black student (1952), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded (1957), Hullabaloo premiered on tv (1965), Batman premiered on tv (1966), the Congressional Black Caucus was organized (1971), Libya & Tunisia merged into the Islamic Arab Republic (1974), Idi Amin was expelled from Zaire (1989), and the OJ Simpson murder trial opened (1995).

Night Sky, 1/12: In this coldest time of the year, the dim Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) hangs straight down from Polaris after dinnertime, as if from a nail on the cold north wall of the sky. The Big Dipper, meanwhile, is creeping up low in the north-northeast. Its handle is very low, but the bowl is nosing up toward the upper right. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Max, Ollie, and Mom at the dancing dragon event

This Week: Saturday, January 13 – Eagle Day & Public Radio Broadcasting Day & Rubber Ducky Day

Sunday, January 14 – International Kite Day & Ratification Day & World Logic Day

Night Sky, 1/24: The Moon, Saturn, and Fomalhaut now form a triangle along the axis between the planet and star.

Monday, January 15 – Martin Luther King Jr Day & Humanitarian Day & National Hat Day

Tuesday, January 16 – Appreciate A Dragon Day & National Nothing Day

Wednesday, January 17 – Cable Car Day & International Mentoring Day & Popeye Day

Night Sky, 1/17: The Gemini twins lie on their sides these January evenings, left of Orion. Their head stars, Castor and Pollux, are farthest from Orion, one over the other. (Castor is the top one.) The feet of the Castor stick figure are just left of the top of Orion's (very dim) Club.

Thursday, January 18 – Pooh (Winnie The) Day & Thesaurus Day

Batman is thinking of buying a French restaurant and naming it “The Creped Crusader”. / Our company motivational speaker told us to dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Now I'm cleaning out my desk in a Batman costume.

..........My brother took his leave but he didn't tell the army..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Gilgarry Mountain

^^ As a result of court-ordered redistricting, one of several victories of the Civil Rights Movement, the number of African-American members of Congress rose from nine to 13, the largest ever at the time, and members of the DSC decided at the beginning of the 92nd Congress (1971-1973) that a more formal group was needed.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I think I'd like to have kids one day, but probably no longer than that. --Submitted by INRITH

Moonbeam: Power gradually extirpates from the mind every human and gentle virtue. --Edmund Burke

Blasphemy of the Week: If our Christianity is somehow offended by the idea of everyone having food, shelter, drinkable water, and a livable wage, not only does this paint a deeply uncaring picture of our faith, but it also reveals that capitalism informs our beliefs more than the gospel of Jesus. --Rev Benjamin Cremer --Submitted by MMS

Extra Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Suggestions for January 6^th salutations: Treason's Greetings! Happy Sore Loser's Day

Video of the Week: Patsy Cline singing Walking After Midnight on Authur Godrey's Talent Scouts https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=439583951182561

Where there is any power... as strong and as eternal as love using nonviolence, the promise will be fulfilled. --C K Steele

During prohibition, Robin made hootch in the Bat tube. / As an amateur horticulturist, Batman developed a new evergreen tree; he called Spruce Wayne.

..........Out of an alien sky..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Western Wind

^^^ Shortly after the CBC was established, its battle with President Nixon began. After President Nixon refused to meet with the group, the CBC decided to boycott the 1971 State of the Union Address, which made national headlines. “We now refuse to be part of your audience,” Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sr. (D-Mo.) wrote to President Nixon on behalf of the caucus, explaining that President Nixon’s refusal to meet with the caucus was evidence that the Administration wasn’t interested in helping the African American community.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just saw someone refer to mansplaining as “correctile dysfunction”... Anwen Kya

Weird Word of the Week: Pastineceous – like a parsnip. (...from 1657) https://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-pas1.htm

Dragon of the Week: Dragon dancing

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Shampoo your hair. Open a can of Budweiser beer and let it sit at room temperature until it goes flat. Shampoo oily hair with the king of beer and rinse thoroughly. Beer absorbs the oils from our hair, but shampooing your hair too often with beer may dry out your scalp causing dandruff. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/budweiser.html

Bruce Wayne gets his energy from Bat-teries. / Batman doesn't make New Year's Resolutions. He enforces them.

...........You can get all the things you seek..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..A Dollar Down

^^^^ Shortly after the CBC was established, its battle with President Nixon began. After President Nixon refused to meet with the group, the CBC decided to boycott the 1971 State of the Union Address, which made national headlines. “We now refuse to be part of your audience,” Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sr. (D-Mo.) wrote to President Nixon on behalf of the caucus, explaining that President Nixon’s refusal to meet with the caucus was evidence that the Administration wasn’t interested in helping the African American community.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Don't let anyone ruin your day. It's your day. Ruin it yourself. --Submitted by INRITH

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: MarsCon 2024(12-14, Virginia Beach, VA) Marso's Monster Mayhem https://www.marscon.net/wp/

Actual Science Conference of the Week: 2024 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Fourm and Exposition (8-12, Orlando, FL) Ignite the Future. https://www.aiaa.org/events-learning/event/2024/01/08/default-calendar/2024-aiaa-science-and-technology-forum-and-exposition-(aiaa-scitech-forum)?_gl=1*1hed5wt*_ga*ODUwNDAwOTgwLjE3MDQ1OTk0MTQ.*_ga_BFMKMMYM72*MTcwNDU5OTQxMy4xLjAuMTcwNDU5OTQxMy42MC4wLjA.

Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Collegiate --> Colgate

The difference between Batman and Trump's income tax forms is that people saw Batman Returns. / Sixteen sodium atoms walk into a bar...followed by Batman.

..........And I curse this wanderin' fever..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Far Side Of The Hill

^^^^^ CBC current chairman is the Honorable Steven Horsford, a proven champion for Nevada’s working families.

Proverb of the Week: The ones doin' the accusin' are usually the ones doin' the doin's. --Old Southern Proverb

Quote of the Week: Sorry to interrupt myself, but it's the only way I stop talking. --Rush Limbaugh

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: All those galaxies with trillions of planets inside and we ended up on the one with a 40 hour work week. --Submitted by akb of kc

Today's Peace of History: January 12, 1932 --Hattie Wyatt Caraway (D-Arkansas) became the first woman elected to the US Senate, eventually she would become the first woman to chair a Senate Committee and the first to serve as the Senate’s presiding officer.

Why does Batman only wear dark colors? Easy, Batman doesn't want to get shot. / Why does Robin only wear bright colors? Easy, Batman doesn't want to get shot.

..........If I never ever see you again, great God, remember me..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Charmin' Betsy

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, 1/12/24, sAme bAt ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse. --Edmund Burke

Cost of War:

• As of 01/11/24 State Department War Costs since 2001: $226,151,755,345.
• As of 01/04/24 State Department War Costs since 2001: $225,591,148,394.
• As of 01/11/24 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,190,768,785,736.
• As of 01/04/24 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,189,202,004,239.
• As of 01/11/24 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,157,354,560,720.
• As of 01/04/24 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,156,745,669,789.
• As of 01/11/24 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,451,594,291,019.
• As of 01/04/24 Veterans Care since 2001: $3,439,726,101,242.
• As of 01/11/24 Military Costs since 2001: $3,063,787,625,905.
• As of 01/04/24 Military Costs since 2001: $3,062,598,883,810.
• As of 01/11/24 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $9,089,659,187,794.
• As of 01/04/24 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $9,073,867,088,619.

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

We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. --Martin Luther King, Jr ~~ today's quotes are from founding members of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Famous Last Words: e quel volto m'allet to (and that face that delights me) Handel's Ottone

..........I've laid around and played around this old town too long..........Limeliters with Glenn Yarbourgh …..Gotta Travel On

How many caped crusaders does it take to change a light bulb? None. They like it dark. / My friend said, “Do you want to hear an excellent Batman impression?”. I said, “Sure”. He shouted, “NOT THE KRYPTONITE!” I said, “That's Superman.” He said, “Thanks, I've been practicing a lot.”

May Peace be your cape

And Joy be your weapon

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh: So all the pictures can be related to dragons one way or the other.