Famous First Words: Dear friends... Speech by Carrie Nation Muskegon, 1902
January is Get Organized Month: It is the evil Clutter Fairy who comes into your office at night and scatters papers onto desk tops like they're fairy dust. / Making a list and checking F) twice...you must be a Professional Organizer. (From mEthodized ePistle 1/19/24)
..........Went to a party just last night.........The Eagles …..Funky New Year
IFOR members share a vision of a world where conflicts are resolved through nonviolent means, where systems that foster fear and hatred are dismantled, and where justice is sought as a basis for peace. While coming from diverse religious backgrounds, we have a common belief in the transforming power of nonviolence and reconciliation. --International Fellowship of Reconciliation
It is a rainy Friday morning. It is also warmish (45°F) and there are dense fog warnings. There is no wind to blow away fog or make the world feel colder. While I stand on the back porch waiting for Puck to finish his morning routine, I hear individual raindrops hitting the leaf cover on the ground. Plop, Plop. We need the rain and it is welcome. Puck returned to our room and went back to bed, asking me to lift him onto the covers. Mary has been asleep there since last night. It is Jo's birthday. Her celebration goes on. Everyone here had a very nice Christmas. In fact, I am sipping toasted almond decaf – a Christmas present from the Roots, Thank you Deirdre and Grant, it's delicious – and writing to you.
Happy New Year, ePistliers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Before I agree to 2025 I want to see the terms and conditions.
February is National Haiku Writing Month: Unsuspecting son. Dad waiting with bated breath / sets the perfect trap Knock Knock. /Who's there? Hike. Hike who? Ж Human connection is what life is all about she typed on her phone. (From ePistle 575, 2/2/24)
I don't think I want a new year this time around. I want a gently used year like 2015 or maybe a 1998 if it's in good condition. --Jonathan Edward Durham --Submitted by ar of ks
..........I got my resolution made.........B B King …..Bringing in a Brand New Year
Trivia Questions: 124 years ago today Carrie Nation broke up her first tavern. What do you know about the world's most famous prohibitionist?
^ Do you have any idea when she was born or when she died?
^^ What made Carrie such an imposing figure?
^^^ Why did Carrie take up the prohibitionist cause?
^^^^ What do you know about Carry Nation the opera?
^^^^^ What article of women's clothing did Carrie also disapprove of?
Big Hello: Kasalehlie – Pohnpeian (Pohnpel & Caroline islands) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Principal: Your son always causes trouble here at school. Dad: He always causes trouble at home. Have I ever called you?
Image of the Week: In 2024 I lost my brother, Fletcher. Here he is with my sister, Vivian, whom I lost several years ago.
Coffee Humor of the Week: My grandparents had resolutions like donating more time and money to charities. I've resolved to make my own coffee once a week. https://www.rd.com/article/new-years-jokes/
March is Women's History Month: You're born. You die. Everything in between is subject to interpretation. --Nora Ephron Ж Never have more children than you have car windows. --Erma Bombeck Ж I've tried Buddhism, Scientology, Numerology, Transcendental Meditation, Qabbala, T'ai Chi, Feng shui, and Deepak Chopra; but I find straight gin works best. --Phyllis Diller (From Funny Girl ePistle (3/8/24)
..........A world in white gets under way..........U2 …..New Year's Day
Moonbeam: Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife. --Johannes Kepler
Blasphemy of the Week: We hear a lot about LGBTQ people trying to indoctrinate everyone else. But I've never – not even once – had an LGBTQ person come to my door to talk me into being LGBTQ.
Puzzle of the Week: From listener Joseph Young. Change one letter of a place on earth to get a familiar phrase much heard around this time of year. What is it? The answer consists of three words (5,2,5). --NPR Sunday Puzzle 12/22/24
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My reality check bounced.
April is Jazz Appreciation Month: A jazz musician is someone who puts a $5000 horn into a $500 car and drives 50 miles for a $5/hour gig. Ж The difference between a jazz trumpet solo and a jet plane is about 3 decibels. Ж How late does the band play? About 3 beats behind the drummer.
..........How does the turn of the century sound..........Alabama …..New Year's Eve 1999
^ Carrie Nation nee Moore was born 11/25/2846 in Garrard county Kentucky and died 6/9/1911 in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Almanac: It is Friday, December 27, 2024. The moon will be new on Monday (12/30) and is in Scorpio. Today is Howdy Doody Day, International Day for Epidemic Preparedness, Radio City Music Hall Day, and Visit The Zoo Day.
Among those born on this day were Johann Kepler (1571), Jean Bernoulli (1654), Louis Pasteur (1822), Sydney Greenstreet (1879), Oscar Levant (1906), William H. Master (1915), Cokie Roberts (1943), and James Sanford (1957).
On December twenty-seventh Carry Nation smashed her first bar (Wichita, KS, 1900), the American Sociological Society opened their first annual meeting (1906), Show Boat premiered (1927), Radio City Music Hall opened (1932), the Howdy Doody Show was first telecast on NBC (1947), Apollo 8 returned to Earth (1968), the last Carol Burnett Show aired (1991),
Night Sky, 112/27: Right after dark, spot bright Venus in the southwest. Look just 1.1° to its left for the 3rd-magnitude star Delta Capricorni. Binoculars will help. Although 3rd magnitude sounds easy naked-eye, Delta Cap is less than a thousandth as bright as Venus and less than a finger-width at arm's length from its glare!
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Christmas Jewelry
This Week: Saturday, December 28 – Endangered Species Act Day & National Chocolate Day
Sunday, December 29 – Tick Tock Day & YMCA Day (The Organization, not the song)
Night Sky, 12/29: Mercury, magnitude –0.3, is having one of its better apparitions in the dawn. Look for it low in the southeast about 60 to 45 minutes before sunrise. Late in the week, look too for twinklier orange Antares about 8° to Mercury's lower right or right. Antares is more than a magnitude fainter. Binoculars will help.
Monday, December 30 – Bacon Day & Falling Needles Family Fest
Tuesday, December 31 – Hogmanay aka New Year's Eve & Universal Hour of Peace Day & World Peace Meditation Day
Wednesday, January 1 – Ellis Island Day & New Years Day & Polar Bear Plunge & Rose Bowl (Parade and game)
Night Sky, 1/1: As the year begins, Orion has fully come into its own. He's striding up the east-southeastern sky as soon as it gets dark, with his three-star Belt nearly vertical. Left of the Belt is orange Betelgeuse and right of the Belt is bright white Rigel, supergiants both. The Belt points up toward Aldebaran and Jupiter and, even higher, the Pleiades. In the other direction, it points down to where Sirius rises shortly after twilight's end.
Thursday, January 2 – National Science Fiction Day & Stop Spam Day & World Introvert Day
May is National Smile Month: The IRS called Rev Smith and asked if a certain church member had donated $10,000 to the congregation. Rev Smith responded, She will. Ж I was walking down the street the other day when I thought I saw Carol and Carol thought she saw me. But when we got up to each other, it wasn't either of us. Ж Sorry, I just assumed the king kept his armies up his sleevies. (From mIscellaneous ePistle 5/3/24)
..........Then see the year come into bloom.........Let's Eat Grandma …..Happy New Year
^^ Carrie was almost 6 feet tall and weighed about 175 pounds. It is said she also possessed an imposing personality.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Y'know what I think. No, but I can tell you are about to take that small happiness away from me. --Submitted by Heinlein Society
Moonbeam: As long as there is algebra in school there will be prayer in school. --Cokie Roberts
Fun Fact of the Week: This is what the moon would look like if it was colonized. M:O:O:N--Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Video of the Week: Roy Zimmerman singing Christma-Hanu-Rama-Ka-Dona-Kwanzaa https://www.royzimmerman.com/christma-hanu.html
IFOR maintains permanent representatives in Geneva, New York, and Vienna and at the UNESCO in Paris who regularly participate in conferences and meetings of UN bodies, providing testimony and expertise from different regional perspectives, promoting non-violent alternatives in the fields of human rights, development, and disarmament. --International Fellowship of Reconciliation
June is the month of the Summer Solstice: Thank you so much for making the longest day of the year even longer by explaining in detail why it is the longest day of the year. Ж Summer is such a crazy time. The frogs are wearing open-toad sandals and the bananas are wearing sunscreen so they don't peel. Ж A group of sunbeams is called a Ray Brigade. (From sOlstitial ePistle 6/21/24)
..........Let's turn over a new leaf.........Carla Thomas …..New Year's Resolution
^^^ On June 5, 1899, Carrie received a vision from God, telling her to smash saloons in Kiowa, KS. ~~This contradicts my date and place of 1900 in Salina, KS. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carry-nation-smashes-bar OR https://visitgyphills.com/highlights/hatchet-wielding-carry-a-nation-began-her-saloon-smashing-career-living-in-medicine-lodge-kansas#:~:text=Carry's%20Career%20as%20an%20Activist&text=The%20first%20saloon%20smashed%20by,and%20anything%20else%20she%20could.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I've lived so many lives this year; it's like the plot changed every single month. --Submitted by 98%
Weird Word of the Week: Widdiful – deserves being hanged https://www.worldwidewords.org/ww-wid1.html
Dragon of the Week:
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Lubricate furniture drawers and windows. Rub ChapStick on the casters of drawers and windows so they slide open and shut easily. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/chapstick2.html
July is Rodeo Month: Bull rider pick up lines: Got 8 seconds? Ж Rodeo wisdom – never squat with your spurs on. Ж Barrel racers are just crazy cat ladies with a little money. Ж Before he became a burger flipper Ronald McDonald was a rodeo clown who swore an oath revenge against the bull that killed his brother. (From rOped ePistle 7/12/24)
...........Let's make it a great night.........Snoop Dogg …..New Year's Eve
^^^^ Douglas Moore created an opera, Carry Nation, under commission from the University of Kansas. It premiered at the University in 1966 and later that year was given its first professional performance by the San Francisco Opera.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Today I signed up for a one year membership at the gym. My bank called to see if my card had been stolen.
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: 911 call from the Hilton hotel where a major Science Fiction convention is taking place: A fight has broken out between Dr Who fans and Star Trek fans. No hurry, the likelihood of anyone getting hurt is very small.
Actual Science Conference of the Week: International Conference on Computer Science, Cybersecurity, and information Technology (ICCSCIT) (20-31, Vinena, Austria) digital https://conferenceindex.org/event/international-conference-on-computer-science-cybersecurity-and-information-technology-iccscit-2024-december-vienna-at#:~:text=International%20Conference%20on%20Computer%20Science,31%2C%202024%20in%20Vienna%2C%20Austria
Answer to Puzzle of the Week: Place on Earth → Peace on Earth
August is National Crayon Collection Month: Nurses always carry a red crayon in case they need to draw blood. Ж The white crayon is seeing a therapist. She says she feels useless. Ж It's tricky becoming friends with other parents. Your kids will be besties for a while, then, out of the blue, someone uses the wrong color crayon and I can't speak to their parents ever again. (wAxy ePistle 8/23/24)
..........When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night.........Ella Fitzgerald …..What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
^^^^^ Carrie encouraged women to stop wearing corsets, due to the pain they inflicted and the physical damage they could do to a woman.
Conspiracy Theory of the Week: It's only a conspiracy theory now, but with the right marketing it could become a widely held belief. https://www.facebook.com/PhilosophyMttrs
Quote of the Week: Knowledge is the harvest of attention. --Charles Olsen
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Nihilist's Lives Don't Matter
Today's Peace of History: December 27, 1914: The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), an inter-religious peace group, was founded in Cambridge, England.
September is All American Breakfast Month: I don't mind breakfast in bed, but I prefer it on a plate. Ж When my partner asked, “What's for breakfast?” I answered, “The one after three breakfast.” Ж The French eat small breakfasts because one egg is œuf. (From eGgy ePistle 8/15/23)
It's not fair. Spiders get to make resolutions to spend more time on the web.
..........Kissing the old year out.........Bing Crosby …..Let's Start the New Year Right
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, December 27, 2024, yEarly ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that Democrats allow the poor to be corrupt also. --Oscar Levant
Cost of War:
As of 12/26/24 State Department Costs: $253,961,920,474
As of 12/12/24 State Department Costs: $253,403,876,634
As of 12/26/24 Homeland Security: $1,187,562,290,640
As of 12/12/24 Homeland Security: $1,186,343,814,310
As of 12/26/24 Interest on War Debt: $1,268,446,208,874
As of 12/12/24 Interest on War Debt: $1,265,312,808,865
As of 12/26/24 Military Costs: $3,122,764,814,780
As of 12/12/24 Military Costs: $3,120,385,719,347
As of 12/26/24 Veterans Care: $4,040,409,245,368
As of 12/12/24 Veterans Care: $4,016,656,727,498
As of 12/26/24 Total Cost of Wars: $9,873,146,765,243
As of 12/12/24 Total Cost of Wars: $9,841,540,758,224
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
How can we support conscientious objectors and deserters from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine? The war in Ukraine has raged for a year now, and there is little hope that it will end soon. The death toll and the destruction rise daily. Russia is unwilling to end its attack and withdraw, and is pumping more and more troops into Ukraine. There is an ongoing risk of Belarus’ active involvement in the war. Meanwhile, the Western countries support Ukraine in its defence by continuing to send more and more heavy weapons. Calls for negotiations and cease-fires remain unheard.
Famous Last Words: Long Live Bhutto! --Benazir Bhutto died in an assassination attempt 12/27/07
..........We drank a toast to innocence. We drank a toast to time..........Dan Fogelberg …..Same Old Lang Syne
October is Learn To Bowl Month: I was about to write a really bad bowling pun here, but I spared you. Ж Gutter balls are officially known as Alley Oops. Ж Spinal Tap used to use eleven bowling pins. (From sPare ePistle 10/8/21)
May Peace guide your brain
And Joy escort your heart
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
