Famous First Words: Adult Autism Awareness Day is... Website
“And we'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent life forms everywhere … and to everyone else out there, the secret is to band to rocks together, guys. ₾ Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now? --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........When the moon's kinda dreamy.........Billie Holiday …..The Blues Are Brewin'
In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war. --Covenant of the League of Nations
It is a cloudy Friday morning. The sky is heavily overcast with smooth gray so thick that the new sun cannot penetrate it. A wind whips around the willow branches now fully green and even empties the fluffy white dandelions. It makes the 56°F feel a little chilly. Puck is sitting outside the open back door sniffing and barking – his two favorite pastimes. Veronica is waiting for him at the door. She likes to whack him on the ear as he comes back in. But when the crows show up and start making noise, she retreats. The world almost, but not quite smells like rain. I'm not sure that is a prediction, however. I leave the door open a while just to smell it. I am home from my doctor visit (I'm still alive and doing well) and I'm sipping decaf and eating a doughnut – raised with white icing and pastel sprinkles. Great morning so far...
Hope your weekend is out of the world, Galaxy Surfers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you have a billion dollars and still can't find a way to be happy, you are a loser and you always will be. --Steve Hofstetter
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. ₾ “I like the cover,” he said, “Don't Panic. It's the first helpful or intelligible thing anybody's said to me all day.” --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........I see your face in every flower..........Billie Holiday …..The Very Thought Of You
Trivia Questions: It's Goodbye Panama Canal Day
Who headed and eventually bankrupted the French effort to dig a Panama Canal?
How did the US acquire the remains of the French effort?
How many workers lost their lives constructing the Panama Canal?
How many ships go through the Panama Canal annually?
How long does the trip through the canal take?
Big Hello: Bara mo – Sango (Central African Republic, Chad, and Democratic Republic of the Congo) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: For every major mistake America has made in the last 30 years there is a video of Bernie Sanders trying to stop it. --Submitted by rhb of ks
Image of the Week: 9th & Mass, Lawrence, KS 4/5/25
Insult of the Week: The cheese has slid so far off this guy's cracker that it hit the floor and the dog ate it. --Rex Huppke
Did I do anything wrong today, “ he said, “or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice? ₾ “We are now cruising at a level of two to the power of twenty-five thousand to one against and falling, and we will be restoring normality just as soon as we are sure what is normal anyway.”--Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........Oh, long to be in stat number, yeah.........Louis Armstrong …..When The Saints Go Marching In
Moonbeam: True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else. --Clarence Darrow
Blasphemy of the Week: Christianity should be the biggest voice speaking out against Christian Nationalism. --Submitted by MMS
Coffee Joke of the Week: May this morning coffee give you the strength to make it to your mid-morning coffee.
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Why is everyone against sugar? Who stood beside you when things went wrong and you were sad? It wasn't lettuce, for sure. --Goddess Vibe
“Ford”, he said, “there's an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they've worked out.” ₾ “Do you find coming to terms with the mindless tedium of it all presents an interesting challenge?” --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........Blowing down the river, down to New Orleans...........Louis Armstrong …..Basin Street Blues
1) 1881: Ferdinand De Lesseps (Suez Canal) and Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel tower) attempted to create the Panama Canal. They spent $250 million and moved 70 million cubic yards of earth and went bankrupt in 1889.
Almanac: It is Friday, April 18, 2025. The moon will enter the last quarter on Sunday (4/20) and is in Sagittarius. Today is Adult Autism Day, Good Friday, International Day for Monuments and Sites, Nabisco Animal Cracker Day, National Columnists' Day, National Lineman Appreciation Day, Pet Owners Independence Day, Pinata Day, World Amateur Radio Day, and World Marbles Day, which is always on Good Friday. Because it is the third Friday it is also National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day.
Among those born on this day were Lucretia Borgia (1480), Clarence Darrow (1857), Max Weber (1881), Barbara Hale (1921), Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (1924), Hayley Mills (1946), James Woods (1947), Conan O'Brien (1963), Rick Moranis (1953) and Melissa Joan Hart (1976).
On April eighteenth Paul Revere rode (1775), France and Austria signed a ceasefire (1797), the San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed (1868), Joan of Arc was canonized (1909), the ballet "Fancy Free" premiered (1944), the League of Nations dissolved (1946), the US recognized Tito's Yugoslavia (1946), the movie New Orleans premiered (1947), the first Walk/Don't Walk sign was installed (1955), Side by Side premiered (1977), and the US Senate voted to return the canal to Panama (1978).
Night Sky, 4/18: Want to catch a glimpse of the elusive Mercury? It reaches its highest altitude the morning of the 19th. 9° above the horizon at sunrise.
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Little boys and big feet
This Week: Saturday, April 19 – Bicycle Day & National Garlic Day & Record Store Day
Sunday, April 20 – Easter & Chinese Language Day & National Pot Smokers Day
Night Sky, 4/20: Neptune is hidden in the glare of dawn behind Mercury and Saturn. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Monday, April 21 – Boston Marathon & Kindergarten Day & World Creativity and Innovation Day
Tuesday, April 22 – Earth Day & Beagle Day National Jelly Bean Day
Night Sky, 4/22: Lyrid meteor shower peaks every year around 4/22. It produces up to 18 meteors per hour. https://www.timeanddate.com/news/astronomy/lyrids-meteors-2025
Wednesday, April 23 – England Language Day & Movie Theater Day & Talk Like Shakespeare Day
Thursday, April 24 – Take Your Children To Work Day & World Day for Animals in Laboratories
What's so unpleasant about being drunk?” “Ask a glass of water!” ₾ The President of the Universe holds no real power. His sole purpose is to take attention away from where the power truly exists. --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........Open up the window, let that bad air out..........Louis Armstrong …..Buddy Bolden's Blues
2) The 1902 Congress approved money to build the canal. We paid $40 million to France for their Panama Canal property. We also paid $10 million to Panama.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: And, in the end, mankind used so much toilet paper that they wiped themselves out. --Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Moonbeam: The pursuit of truth will set you free; even if you never catch up with it. --Clarence Darrow
Fun Fact of the Week: Crows are known to visit their aging parents, even years after leaving the nest, usually to get their laundry done.
Video of the Week: Clarence Darrow on causes of crime (:37) https://youtu.be/YQmCvDEV2to
...the League recognises that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety... --Covenant of the League of Nations
Perhaps I'm old and tired, but I always think that the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say “hang the sense of it” and just keep yourself occupied. ₾ He's spending a year dead for tax reasons. --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........It's a secret.........Louis Armstrong …..Endie
3) Malaria, Yellow Fever, and accidents accounted for 20,000 deaths during the French attempt and 5600 died while the US continued the work.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Men will literally start a trade war with every other nation on earth instead of going to therapy. --Ken Jennings
Weird Word of the Week: Cachinnatory ('Kækinǝ,tǝri): loud or immoderate laughter. https://www.worldwidewords.org/ww-cac2.html
Dragon of the Week:
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Remove ring-around-the-collar. Since the dirt rings in collars are generally sebum oil stains from your hair, rub oily hair shampoo (Like Clairol Herbal Essences) into the fabric and rinse clean. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clairol.html
Ford...you're turning into a penguin. Stop it. ₾ “We demand defined areas of doubt and uncertainty.” --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
...........For you maybe, I'm a fool.........Billie Holiday …..The Very Thought Of You
4) Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the canal every year. Most are from the Americas followed by China, Japan, and South Korea.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Millions of young people hate Elon Musk, and “those are just his kids” --Stephen Colbert
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Norwescon 2025 (17-20, Seattle, WA) ..science fiction, fantasy, horror, related fictional genres, and science... https://www.norwescon.org/about/#mission
Musing of the Week: Someone online suggested that the word Protester has been so maligned that it automatically triggers people to suspicion and fear. They suggested we stop calling ourselves Protestors OF American Democracy and instead say Protesters FOR American Democracy. This doesn't seem to me to be an improvement at all. For one thing, it's the lack of American Democracy that I'm complaining about. So I have decided that I am part of the Vanguard of the New American Democracy. Second Musing: My recent idea for vanguard signs – The Burma Shave Model. 4 people in a row holding signs. Each sign is one half of a line of a couplet. Burma Shave example: Don't Stick Your Head / Out Too Far / It Might Go Home / In Another Car / Burma Shave My Example: Insider Trading / Made Them Fatter / Sank Your Savings / Left Them Flatter Nyet.
Spark of Joy of the Week: Philosophers learning the answer to the ultimate question Life, the universe, and everything. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy https://youtu.be/5ZLtcTZP2js
“You know,” said Author, “it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young.” “Why, what did she tell you?” “I don't know, I didn't listen.” ₾ Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........And I'd like to see the lazy Mississippi..........Louis Armstrong …..Where The Blue Were Born In New Orleans
5) On average, it takes a ship 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal. The locks raise each ship 85 feet above sea level. In 2010 the 1 millionth vessel crossed the canal since it first opened in 1914.
Protest Sign of the Week: The Boston Tea Party Was About Tariffs
Quote of the Week: When an interviewer asked Art Spiegelman if he thought a comic book about the Holocaust was in bad taste, he replied, “No, I think the Holocaust was in bad taste”.
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A planet once tried therapy. Now it's a gas giant. --The 42 Collective
Today's Peace of History: April 18, 1941: Bus companies in New York City agreed to hire 200 black drivers and mechanics after a four-week boycott by riders led by Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church.
I'd rather be happy than right any day. ₾ “I don't want to die now!” he yelled, “I've still got a headache! I don't want to go to heaven with a headache, I'd be all cross and wouldn't enjoy it.” --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
..........The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.........Louis Armstrong …...What A Wonderful World
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, April 18, 2025, gUided ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: Justice has nothing to do with what goes on in a courtroom; Justice is what comes out of a courtroom. --Clarence Darrow
Cost of War:
As of 04/17/25 State Department Costs: $262,843,179,790
As of 04/10/25 State Department Costs: $262,292,224,688
As of 04/17/25 Homeland Security: $1,197,208,770,336
As of 04/10/25 Homeland Security: $1,196,610,545,212
As of 04/17/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,293,251,269,649
As of 04/10/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,291,712,940,563
As of 04/17/25 Military Costs: $3,141,598,319,958
As of 04/10/25 Military Costs: $3,140,430,275,291
As of 04/17/25 Veterans Care: $4,228,439,167,835
As of 04/10/25 Veterans Care: $4,216,776,248,269
As of 04/17/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,123,342,093,092
As of 04/10/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,107,824,116,749
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or regional understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace. --Covenant of the League of Nations
Famous Last Words: And the midnight message of Paul Revere. --Henry W Longfellow Paul Revere's Ride
..........No use complaining, blue skies follow rain.........Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday …..Farewell To Storyville Many of today's songs are from the movie New Orleans starring Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday.
So long, and thanks for all the fish. ₾ Don't Panic! --Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
May Peace rule your galaxy
And Joy govern your universe
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
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