Famous
First Words: It was four o'clock when the ceremony was over.
Upton Sinclair The Jungle
It's
National Indoor Plant Week (15-21). I tried talking to my plants.
They listened to how my day went but when it was there turn all they
did was narc on the cat.
..........Wonder
if tomorrow will be like this today.........Nelson (Matthew &
Gunnar) …..Love and Affection
We
are men and women from many lands, representing a rich variety of
cultures. And we have been brought together to work in a great common
cause: the survival and progress of mankind. --Kurt
Walkheim
It
is a very pleasant (72°F) Friday morning. The sky is aswirl with
clouds and jet trails below an azure sky. There is no breeze to make
the tree limbs dance or tease the hair and lauds are sung by cicada
with only a little bird song as counterpoint. We walk a ways and
Puck barks at an imaginary squirrel in a tiny tree. I explain that
tracker dogs are quiet so as not to scare away the prey, but he
continues to bark and sniff...like a toy tracker. We return home and
leave the front door open so we can enjoy the outdoors like a giant
picture. The whole house smells of brewing coffee – two kinds, two
machines. I doctor my decaf and sit at my computer staring out at
the motionless green of the September day and think about you. It's
a wonderful world.
Hope
your weekend packs a punch, ePistliers, the thirst quenching
version that is.
It
is Global Climate Strike Day !
It has already begun in Australia... There are 3
rallies in Lawrence and 4
in KC. You can find a strike near you at:
https://globalclimatestrike.net/
Sometimes
I feel useless but then I remember I breathe out carbon dioxide for
plants. / When she was 5 my daughter brought in some weed from the
yard to protect it from frost. Last spring, she rented her first
apartment and I gave her it to her as a house warming present. It's
okay, I took it out of the coffee can and put it in a nice pot.
..........Looks
like he set my natural soul free.........Jelly Roll Morton
…..Mamie's Blues
Trivia
Questions: Congratulations to Chester Arthur for becoming
president 138 years ago today.
^
Who died and made Arthur president, anyway?
^^
Which number president was he?
^^^
Know anything about Mrs. Arthur?
^^^^
For what is the Arthur presidency known?
^^^^^
What changes did Arthur make to the white house?
Funniest
Thing I Read of the Week: I've been
diagnosed with a chronic fear of giants...Feefiphobia. --Submitted by
ma of va
Adventure
of the Week: Jeff got called into work
today so I took him because the bus only runs once an hour. As I was
getting into the car, a car across the street pulled out of the
driveway and up the street. A woman was standing in her yard yelling
into her phone. “He stole my son. Stop him”. Two neighbor
ladies took video of the car as it drove away so that license plates
were captured. One lady said he came out of the house calmly and
strapped the baby into the car properly. When I got back from
dropping off Jeff, two police cars were on the block and the women
who had seen stuff and had video had already talked to them. Creepy.
I think that the car was parked there when Puck and I took our walk
around 7 – 7:30, 3 hours earlier. But it could have been a
different car that was there. There are rarely 2 cars parked at that
house so I noticed – but not what kind or the license number. I
trust the baby is fine.
Fake
Library Statistic of the Week:
75% of librarians brought a black cat to work today but not because
it's Friday the 13th.
https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
I
thought succulents were supposed to be the easy do-nothing plants
that are impossible to kill; but these are WAY more difficult than
all the beans I had to grow in school. / Houseplant Grave Stones: I
didn't know you could kill a cactus.
..........Hold
that tiger.........Jelly Roll Morton …..Tiger Rag
Moonbeam:
The world at large does not judge us by who we are and what we know;
it judges us by what we have. --Joyce Brothers
Naturally
Occurring Mandala of the Week: Hen and chicks plant.
Big
Hello: Gude – Tok
Pisin (Papua New Guinea)
https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Next
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If
you really think the environment is less important than the economy,
try holding your breath while you count your money. --Guy McPherson
~~FYI: This only works if you have some money.
And
Then The Very Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week:
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
Week
of the Week: National Singles Week
(15-21) –Stages of being single: 1) Loneliness 2) Realizing you can
eat an entire jar of nutella in the kitchen, naked, without anybody
judging you.
When
the weather is nice put your mini jalapeno plant outside. Then you
can eat sunlight. / I bought some lemon grass and grew it in nice
large, low pot so the cat could eat it instead of my philodendron.
Now the lemon grass is so tall I can't get to the two lower drawers
of my cabinet and every philodendron leaf has tiny teeth marks.
..........Show
us a good break, Jelly.........Jelly Roll Morton …..Kansas City
Stomp
^
Chester
Arthur became president after James Garfield died following an
assassination attempt by a disgruntled job seeker. ~~The victim died
but the assassination was only an attempt?????
Almanac:
It is Friday, September 20, 2019. The moon will be last quarter
tomorrow and is in Gemini. It is National
Punch Day and National Tradesmen Day. In Laos it is
Thanksgiving.
Among
those born on this day were Upton Sinclair (1878),
Jelly Roll Morton (1885), Red Auerbach (1917), Joyce Brothers (1928),
John A Wismont (1941), Fran Drescher (1957), and Matthew and Gunnar
Nelson (1967).
On
September twentith Megellan started off to sail around the world
(1519), the USS Constitution launched (Old Ironsides, 1797), the
electric range was patented (1859), Chester A. Authur was sworn in as
president (1881), the Equal Rights Party nominated women as
candidates for both president and vice president (1888), James
Meredith was kept from entering Ole Miss (1962), Billy Jean King beat
Bobby Riggs (1973), NASA launched HEAO (1979), and the NFL players
began a 57 day strike (1982).
Night
Sky, 9/20
:
These
moonless evenings are a good time to bring out your binoculars and
try for the unusually small, compact open cluster NGC 7160 in the
rich center of Cepheus, now high in the north. Find NGC7160:
https://in-the-sky.org/data/object.php?id=NGC7160
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Max
Picture of the Week:
Max unwrapping year two.
Shameless
Self Promotion of the Week: The book
that Max is unwrapping is called A
Year of Max. It is made up of the
pictures of Max from the ePistle with their captions. My daughter,
his grandmother, had the book made. I love it. I'm very flattered.
Thank you, Kirsten.
Max
Picture of the Week2:
Max –actually celebrating
This
Week: Saturday, September 21 –
UN International Day of Peace &International Red Panda Day
Night
Sky, 9/21: By the first sign of Sunday's dawn
the Moon shines high in the southeast, now with Orion to its lower
right and Gemini to its lower left. How often do you examine the Moon
with your telescope when the Moon is its late-night waning phases? To
most of us, the waxing Moon of evening is much more familiar — when
lunar mountains and crater walls cast their shadows in the opposite
direction.
Sunday,
September 22 – Car Free Day & Dear Diary Day
Monday,
September 23 – Family Day & Teal Talk Day
Night
Sky, 9/23: Jupiter is the white dot in the ssw
as twilight fades. Saturn is the steady yellow star in the south
during and after dusk. Neptune is well up in the southeast by 10 pm.
Tuesday,
September 24 – Bluebird of Happiness Day & Punctuation
Day
Wednesday,
September 25 – National Tune-Up Day
Thursday,
September 26 – Johnny Appleseed Day & World
Contraception Day
The
cheerleaders grew a big pot of encourage mint in their locker room. /
Houseplant Grave Stones: I thought plants liked sunlight.
..........I
roam the streets like a tramp, feet in a cramp.........Jelly Roll
Morton …..Sidewalk Blues
^^
Arthur was the 21st president.
'Nother
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Vegetarians live up to 9
years longer than meat-eaters. 9 horrible, worthless, baconless
years.
Still
'Nother Funniest Thing I Read of the Week:Trump 2020 Yeah, 20
for Obstruction and 20 for Treason
Moonbeam:
The best way to forget one's self is to look at the world with
attention and love. --Red Auerbach
Late
Night Snacks of the Week: Yes, I’m happy
that the opioid companies will have to pay, but at the same time,
they misled so many sick people about how addictive their drugs were.
Purdue also lobbied to lift limits on how many opioids doctors could
prescribe and made billions from the use of opioids spiraling into
epidemic. Now, they just get to be like: uh, how about we give some
of that money back and we call it even? I think that’s bullshit.
It's like someone breaking into your home and saying, once you bust
them, “Alright, you got me! How about I break you off $100 and we
call it even?” --Trevor Noah / Another Trumpling bites the
dumpling of dirt. Drumpf goes through staffers like a high
17-year-olds go through Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. --Stephen Colbert
/ You have to appreciate the irony of John Bolton being taken out by
a pre-emptive strike. --Seth Meyers / Candidate Debates: A televised
event that was in no way at all like a gameshow. This is democracy –
it’s very serious. Now let’s put 45 seconds on the clock and go.
--Jimmy Kimmel / Pence
at Trump's Resort: Calm down everyone, it wasn’t a command. It was
a suggestion – you know, like how waking up to a horse’s head in
bed is a suggestion that you … find the rest of the horse, I guess?
--Samantha Bee
Not
So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Either
President Trump fired national security adviser John Bolton this
week, or Bolton quit. They're each saying something different. And
with these two, the only thing we can say is that whoever is telling
the truth is doing it for the first time.
The
president hired Bolton 18 months ago, even though he disagreed with
him on everything. Bolton's sole qualification was that the president
saw him a lot when he turned on his TV. That is not a joke. That's
why he got the job. It's also why the new national security adviser
is mesothelioma. --Peter
Sagal Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me
9/14/19
I
am convinced that the United Nations provides the best road to the
future for those who have confidence in our capacity to shape our own
fate on this planet. --Kurt Waldheim
Katy
knew her window box herb garden was fully grown; it was just thyme. /
Houseplant Grave Stones: Fluffy Is Sorry
..........It
brings back a memory ever green.........Jelly Roll Morton …..Dead
Man Blues
^^^
In 1859, Arthur married Ellen “Nell” Lewis
Herndon, the daughter of a naval officer. The couple had two children
who survived to adulthood: Chester Arthur Jr and Ellen Herndon
Arthur. Nell Arthur died of pneumonia at age 42, less than two years
before her husband became president.
Worthless
Fact of the Week:
The Equal Rights Party ran Belva
Ann Lockwood for president and Marietta
Stow for vice president.
Wicked
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Being
a Witch sounded fun, so I tried that for a spell. --Submitted by sd
of co
Weird
Word of the Week:
Ishkabibble – dismissive slang expression like “who cares?”
--the
name of a character played by Merwyn Bogue on a 1930s radio show
called Kay
Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge
http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ish1.htm
Wacky
Uses for Common Products:
Remove burrs, tar, and sticky substances from a dog's hair. Saturate
the area with Wesson Vegetable Oil. Wash with dog shampoo, rinse
immediately, and brush clean.
http://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/wesson.html
I
think I'm just going to stay home with my plants and watch a movie –
Netflix and dill. / My fake plants died because I did not pretend to
water them. --Mitch Hedberg
...........You'll
see pretty browns in beautiful gowns.........Jelly Roll Morton
…..Beale Street Blues
^^^^
Moving past partisanship, Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service
Act which among other things mandated that certain federal jobs be
distributed on merit. He also vetoed the Chinese Exclusion Act
(1882). AND He was nicknamed Gentleman Boss and Elegant Arthur
because he owned 80 pairs of pants.
Grammar
Joke of the Week: What's
the difference between a kleptomaniac and a literalist? The
literalist takes things literally. The kleptomaniac takes things,
literally. --Submitted by pt of ks
Penultimate
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week:
Reason why Halloween is the best holiday #4: Its the only day when
its socially acceptable to go out in public dressed like a penguin.
Penultimate
Funniest Thing I Read of Last Week (which
I left this field blank): Welcome to America, where we have higher
standards for SNL cast members than for president.
Science
Fiction Convention of the Week:
ThunderCon 2019 (21/22, Thunder Bay , ON) –Come and “get your
GEEK on” with all the rest of Thunder Bay's geeks, nerds and fans
of all stripes. https://www.thundercon.org/
Actual
Science Convention of the Week:
27th
International Conference of Functional Food Center (20-21, Boston,
MA) --Functional Foods and Bioactive Molecules: Their role in
disease management and health promotion.
https://conferencealerts.com/show-event?id=213110
Puck
the Brave
Episode of the Week:
Here's our fearless Puck at yoga class during the case of the Bikram
Bichon.
I
tired to cheer up my houseplants but they really need a therapist to
get to the root their their problems./ I can't mist my plants. The
humidity makes my trichrome's hair frizz out and take over the whole
window.
..........Jury
found her guilty, she must go to jail.........Jelly Roll Morton
…..The Murder Ballad
^^^^^
Before he moved into the White House, Chester Arthur
hired designer and stained-glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany to
redecorate the state rooms. During the process, more than 20
wagonloads of furnishings from previous presidential administrations
were cleared out and auctioned off.
Month
of the Week: September is National Piano
Month --That guy banging his head on the piano keys is my brother.
He plays by ear. / The easiest way to play A-Flat Major on a piano is
by dropping it on an army base.
Final
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Truth
in Bumper Stickers: Proud Parent of a Great Kid that is sometimes an
Asshole and that's OK.
Final
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week2:
I keep hoping Trump will eat a Snickers and turn back into Obama.
--Submitted by ss of ks
Capitalist
Meme of the Week: I can't be ugly if beauty is a construct
made by the capitalist system to make us see flaws that don't exist
to sell us things we don't need.
Today's
Peace of History, September
20, 1830: The National Negro
Convention, a group of 38 free black Americans from eight states, met
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the express purpose of abolishing
slavery and improving the social status of African Americans.
Gee
Whiz, my cactus is such a smug, arrogant prick. / I never found
talking to my plants very helpful until I started growing herbs. Now
I get sage advice.
..........Oh,
but Mississippi water taste like turpentine.........Jelly Roll Morton
…..Michigan Water Blues
Masthead
of the Week:
Friday ePistle September 20, 2019, Greenish ePistle, Laughs, Love,
and foliage. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/
Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS
66047
Moonbeam:
Fascism is capitalism plus murder. --Upton Sinclair
Cost
of War:
As
of 9/19/19 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,959,724,179,118.
As
of 9/13/19 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,958,036,064,960.
As
of 9/19/19 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $920,773,939,846.
As
of 9/13/19 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $919,626,375,431.
As
of 9/19/19 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $707,201,343,393.
As
of 9/13/19 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $705,758,786,899.
As
of 9/19/19 Veterans Care since 2001: $316,363,958,822.
As
of 9/13/19 Veterans Care since 2001: $316,036,066,043.
As
of 9/19/19 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,904,064,493,612.
As
of 9/13/19 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,899,458,089,717.
It
is ironic that the accumulation of arms is one of the few expanding
industries in a period of economic depression and gloom. --Javier
Pérez de Cuéllar
..........Understand,
this is just the beginning.........Nelson (Matthew & Gunnar)
…..Leave the Light on for Me
Purple
clover is a real power plant. I planted one in my mix pot and
everything grew better. / Carl made a decorative pot for his
houseplants. It's name is “Succitumi baby”.
Famous
Last Words: Let Us Vote Beside You. --Campaign poster for
the Equal Rights Party, 1888
May
Peace grace your window sill
And
Joy bloom in your house
prairie
mama
christine
Last
Laugh:
