Famous First Words: We the people of the United Nations... UN Charter
Happy International Cat Day!! Catrina Cat was unable to write a second novel. Cats have 9 lives but only one tale. The novel was, rather mundanely, called The Purrfect Murder and was about a sexy young tom in claw enforcement.
Original Song: Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Little ball of fur. Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Purr, purr, purr
Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. --Theodore Roosevelt
..........You've got me living in a haunted dream..........Mel Tillis …..I Ain't Never
United Nations: Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet. --UN Charter
It is a warm (81°F) Friday morning. The morning is shining right through the few puffy clouds which are making no effort to shield us from the summer sun. A 7mph wind is thrashing the tree limbs and blowing peanut shells off the roof of the shed. The icing on this hot cake of a morning is that the humidity is 70%. Summer at its summery best. Inside it is cool. Puck is asleep on his pillow. Veronica just returned from the catnip garden and has disappeared into the house somewhere. I've turned on my music subscription (Slow Boat To China, Kay Kyser) which I am playing low as sound track. I am sipping a doctored cup of actual coffee. Here's to Jeff, he left coffee here to make for himself. And because I'm in a kind of “hippie” place+++, sandalwood incense. Nice morning.
+++ These are extreme times and call for extreme love and peace.
Hope your weekend purrs, cataphiles
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It's August already. I'm still mentally in June with a to-do list from March.
Purrfessor Plum taught zoology at FSU (Feline State University). Beside his main job he also had mouse watching at the big computer. The Purrfessor was known for telling bad dog jokes** in class just for the apaws. **For an example of a bad dog joke see The Last Laugh below.
Happy Dalek Day! Hard Dalek, Cold Dalek, little can of hate. Angry Dalek, Evil Dalek, Ex-ter-min-ate
It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul --Desmond Tutu
..........How's about cookin' something up with me.........Connie Stevens …..Hey, Good Lookin'
Trivia Questions:
Do you know where, or when, or how Pickleball got started?
Where did the name Pickleball come from?
What makes an official Pickleball ball so annoying?
How popular was Pickleball in the US during 2024?
How is Pickleball doing on the global stage?
Big Hello: Salaam alaykum – Somali https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Humans invented clocks so they could be late with mathematical precision. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Image of the Week: Puck who is, I suspect, the butt of many of Veronica's dog jokes.
Insult of the Week: You flea bitten fungus. --Roald Dahl Matilda
Story Problem: If you gave me 2 cats and another 2 cats and then another 2 cats, how many cats would I have. 7. 2+2+2 is 6 … plus the cat I already own. ɖɖ Single ladies facing age 50, realizing that so many of you have so many cats, should give you paws.
Soft puppy, bouncy puppy, little ball of yap. Quiet puppy, sleepy puppy, nap, nap, nap.
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity. -Pema Chodron
..........Every hour through the day..........Webb Pierce …..Wondering
Moonbeam: I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful. --Sara Teasdale
Blasphemy of the Week: I have always regarded it as part of my mission in life to follow around after Billy Graham and undo some of the work he has done. --Tom Lehrer ~~You will be missed, Tom.
Coffee Joke of the Week: If you stir your coffee counterclockwise while muttering your to-do list, it counts as witchcraft AND time management. https://www.facebook.com/maythecoffeebewithyou
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The odds of something going right are inversely proportional to how much you bragged about it beforehand. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Library and house cats have several things in common...independence, self sufficiency. And both are really dependent on a system they can neither appreciate nor understand. ɖɖ I've heard people say the movie Cats is bad. But when it was playing on my flight home there were only 2 walkouts.
Bored Sherlock, Ecstatic Sherlock, little ball of ghee. Frustrated Sherlock, Thoughtful Sherlock, Just tea for me.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. --Albert Einstein
..........Ghosts of the future, ghosts of the past.........Edge and U2 …..Snake Charmer
1) Although the origins of some sports are debated, pickleball’s origin is clear: in 1965, three friends (Congressman Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum) were spending the summer on Bainbridge Island, Washington. In the backyard, there was a badminton court, but they had no shuttlecocks or rackets. So, to entertain their families, they improvised using table tennis paddles and a perforated plastic ball.
Almanac: It is Friday, August 8th, 2025. The moon will be full (Corn or Sturgeon Moon) tomorrow (8/9) and is in Aquarius. Today is Dalek Day, Digital Nomad Day, Date to Create, Happiness Happens Day, International Cat Day, International Female Orgasm Day, International Infinity Day, National CBD Day, National P:ickleball Day, Odie Day, Ugliest Dog Day, Wear Your Mother's Jewelry Day, Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night, and Global Sleep Under The Stars Night.
Among those born on this day were Charles Bulfinch (1763), Emiliano Zapata (1879), Sara Teasdale (1884), Marjorie Rawlings (1896), Ernest Lawrence (1901), Arthur Goldberg (1908), Dino DeLaurentis (1919), Webb Pierce (1926), Andy Warhol (1930), Mel Tillis (1932), Dustin Hoffman (1937), Connie Stevens (1938), Svetlana Savitskaya (1948), Keith Carradine (1949), Donny Most (1953), Sweet Lou Dunbar (1953), and the Edge (Dave Evans, 1961).
On August eighth the cornerstone was laid for the Tycho Brahe observatory (1579), the first known hot air balloon ascent (indoor, 1709), Edison patented the mimeograph (1876), the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized (1890), the first Davis Cup matches began (1900), the Salem, Oregon airport was dedicated (1929), Truman signed the UN Charter (1945), the Ivory Coast declared independence (1960), Pioneer-Venus 2 was launched (1978), Carl Lewis won 4 gold medals (1984), Iraq annexed Kuwait (1990), and Shites released British hostage John McCCarthy (1991).
Night Sky, 8/8: Week after week now, distant little Mars stays practically on station at the same height low in the west-northwest in twilight. Its long apparition drags on and on: Mars will continue to set around the end of twilight into early fall (for observers at mid-northern latitudes), and it won't reach conjunction with the Sun until the beginning of 2026. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Sword and Sorcery in the Park
This Week: Saturday, August 9 – Book Lovers Day & National Bowling Day & National Garage Sale Day
Sunday, August 10 – Agent Orange Awareness Day & Bagel Day & Smithsonian Day & World Lion Day
Night Sky, 8/10: This is the time of year when the Big Dipper scoops down in the northwest during evening, as if to pick up the water that it will dump from high overhead in the evenings of next spring. Mercury ends retrograde.
Monday, August 11 – National Sons and Daughters Day & Popsicle Day
Tuesday, August 12 – International Youth Day & World Elephant Day & Home Sewing Machine Day
Night Sky, 8/12: The Perseids meteor shower is active at noticeable levels for many days before and several days after their peak, which this year is predicted for the night of August 12-13. Jupiter/Venus conjunction
Wednesday, August 13 – International Left Handers Day
Night Sky, 8/13: Venus, brilliant at magnitude –4.0, rises above the east-northeast horizon about an hour before the first sign of dawn, followed by Jupiter, the second brightest planet at magnitude –1.9. On Saturday morning August 2nd they rise about 40 minutes apart, but a week later on the 9th Jupiter follows only about 10 minutes behind Venus. During this time their separation shrinks from 9° to 3°.
Thursday, August 14 – National Lizard Day & National Navajo Code Talkers Day & World Calligraphy Day
Castor Cat, my neighbor's tabby, inspired mewtiny in our neighborhood. Now cats make all the omelets because they “have the best whiskers”. ɖɖ Those pictures of creatures on Mars are not cats. There are no cats on Mars. Curiosity killed the cats.
Drunk Michael, Naked Michael, little ball of hunk. Stubble Michael, Tattooed Michael, punk, punk, punk
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. --Harper Lee
..........I've got flowers and lots of hours.........Tom Jones …..What's New, Pussycat
2) Many people believe the game was named after the Pritchard family dog, Pickles, who supposedly ran after the ball during the first games. However, Joan Pritchard, Joel’s wife, explained that the name comes from the term “pickle boat”, used in rowing to describe a boat with a mixed crew from different teams. Since pickleball combines elements of tennis, table tennis, and badminton, they thought the name was a perfect fit.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Pepsi and Coca-cola can't even be in the same restaurant...and we want world peace.
Moonbeam: I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own. --Andy Warhol
Fun Fact of the Week: The World's Ugliest Dog Contest is an annual contest held since the 1970s that takes place at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California during the fourth week of June. One dog is crowned “The World’s Ugliest Dog” and its owner receives a trophy, a check for $1,600, and a free trip to New York City. Next date: Friday, August 8, 2025 ~~August 8 seems like a strange fourth week in June date
Video of the Week: What If Cats Had Thumbs (:40) A commercial...perhaps for milk.
United Nations: To maintain international peace and security...--UN Charter
Compassion and empathy will make true love persist. --Khalil Gibran
Hot coffee, good coffee, little cup of yum. Doctored coffee, tasty coffee, mmm,mmm,mmm
Carlita Cat is a communist; I'm sure of it. She demands free food and she's always talking about Maow. ɖɖ All dogs may go to heaven; but cats go to purrgatory.
..........We've been waiting for.........Edge and Bono …..We Are The People
3) The official ball is made of plastic and has a diameter between 7 and 7.5 cm and weighs 22 to 26 grams. There are no color restrictions, although most balls are yellow. Because they are perforated, they produce a distinctive sound that some people find annoying: from 30 meters away, the noise from a pickleball court reaches 70 decibels (compared to 40 decibels in tennis), similar to a vacuum cleaner.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I feel like a lot of my problems would be solved if I had a dragon. --Submitted by The Grand Duchy of Medieval Merriement
Weird Word of the Week: Cockalorum – a boastful and self-important person https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cockalorum
Dragon of the Week: Thousand Year Old Jiangkou Stone Dragon (China)
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Remove coffee or tea stains from china cups. Soak clean china cups for five to ten minutes in a solution of one tablespoon Clorox bleach per gallon of water. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clorox.html
Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life has empathy for those who have experienced loss. --Anderson Cooper
Little Droid, Funny Droid, nifty ball of neat. Torchy Droid, Rolly Droid, beep, beep, beep
Studies show that atheists are more likely to own more cats than christians, but it may be only because it's illegal to own christians. ɖɖ One-two-three, an English cat, raced Un-deux-trois, a french cat, across the English Channel. Both swam very fast but in the end One-two-three was declared the winner because the Un-duex-tois cat sank. (quatre cinq)
...........That Bob got locked up Sunday..........Webb Pierce …..In The Jailhouse Now
4) In the United States, pickleball is extremely popular: in 2024, an estimated 50 million people (about 19% of the adult population) play or had played at least once. It is the fastest-growing sport in the country, with an 85.7% annual growth rate and over 40,000 dedicated courts.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I hate spelling errors; mix up two letters and your post is urined.
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Rebel Scum Con 2025 (8-10, Frisco. TX) ...celebrate all things Star Wars. https://rebelscumconventions.com/
Pre Quote of the Week: Your best men die in alleys under a sheet of paper while your worst men get statues in parks for pigeons to shit upon for centuries. --Charles Bukowski
Reader Response of the Week: Love pie, and, yes I have had it for breakfast. My rule is that if there is dessert left from dinner the night before, then it becomes breakfast. Texas is definitely pecan pie country. I guess it said buttermilk pie was the most searched recipe because everyone already knows how to make pecan pie. --Submitted by rk of tx ~~In response to the dOuble ePistle (8/1)
The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy. --Meryl Streep
Soft minion, warm minion, little ball of drama. Happy minion, loyal minion, banana, banana, banana
Both programmers and cats can sit nearly motionless for hours and both get excited when they find a bug. ɖɖ Germany has an underground movement of cats racing speed boats. They can't do it publically because it's fur boatin'.
..........Don't cut out of here 'til we get on Cloud Nine.........Connie Stevens …..Kookie
5) The World Pickleball Federation (WPF) already has more than 60 member states spread across five continents. But the USA, the country where the sport was created, is not part of the WPF because it has its own organization, the USA Pickelball (USAP), which wants to maintain its own expansion model without depending on another international entity.
Protest Sign of the Week: Cage Pedophiles Not Immigrants
Better Protest Sign of the Week: Can We Skip To When He Shoots Himself In The Bunker
Quote of the Week: I don't think the robots are taking over. I think the men who play with toys have taken over. And if we don't take the toys out of their hands, we're fools. --Ray Bradbury
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Just saw a cartoon of the orange ogre playing golf in Scotland where the Loch Ness monster carries a sign that says, Release The Files
Today's Peace of History: August 8, 1974: President Richard M. Nixon resigned from office, the first US president ever to do so. The House Judiciary Committee had, with bipartisan support (the Democrats and one-third of the Republican members), voted for three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. ~~Ah, the good old days
The solution to nearly every problem in the world comes down to greater awareness, compassion, and empathy. --Bryant H McGill
Soft Pika, warm Pika, charging up anew. Happy Pika, Pika Pika, I choose you
I have a Siamese cat but she speaks Purrsian. ɖɖ Cats don't “go missing”. They're taking time off from you. ɖɖ The reason so many cats grow up to be gurus is that they always live in the meow.
..........Today it's history.........Mel Tillis …..Stomp Them Grapes
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, August 8, 2025: sPhinxy ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. --Emiliano Zapata
Cost of War:
As of 08/07/25 State Department Costs:$271,745,256,943
As of 07/31/25 State Department Costs: $271,215,815,360
As of 08/07/25 Homeland Security: $1,206,879,594,697
As of 07/31/25 Homeland Security: $1,206,303,496,887
As of 08/07/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,318,119,108,835
As of 07/31/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,316,638,067,117
As of 08/07/25 Military Costs: $3,160,479,396,502
As of 07/31/25 Military Costs: $3,159,354,005,235
As of 08/07/25 Veterans Care: $4,416,942,753,377
As of 07/31/25 Veterans Care: $4,405,716,412,752
As of 08/07/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,374,168,989,476
As of 07/31/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,359,233,387,607
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. --UN Charter
Famous Last Words: laughter is possible, laughter is possible. --Shirley Jackson who died August 8, 1965 ~~This is the last entry in her journal some time before her death from heart failure.
..........Look out the way, Get out the way..........Jimmy Cliff …..The Lion Awakes Again
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. --Thomas Merton
Soft yarn, warm yarn, buy it by the yard. Happy yarn, pretty yarn, here's my credit card
I prefer cats to dogs; there is no way a cat would work for the police. ɖɖ Carl Cat was arrested and hauled in by the local police. He was suspected of committing a feliney.
May Peace ease your heart
And Joy relieve your mind
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh: Dog Joke
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