Famous First Words: In the name of god... The Mayflower Compact
Happy Birthday, Lucky Luciano! Authorities fear that the collapsed bridge was made with Mafia concrete...they've found 6 more bodies than there are people reported missing.
..........And the devil will drag you under by the sharp lapel of your checkered coat.........Stubby Kaye …..Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat (Guys and Dolls)
Great necessities call out great virtues. --Abigail Adams
It is a cold Friday (26°F) morning. Bare tree limbs stand strong against the 16 mph northwestern wind; but the willow branches weep with great flair and grace. The sky holds neither clouds nor jet trails, only blue emptiness and sunshine that gives no warmth. Green lawns have almost universally changed to yellow or brown, and leaves still clinging to their trees are no longer colorful; they are simply brown. The crows still come, filling the dawn with noise and movement. They ferret out food, sit for a while, and move on leaving only sparrow quarrels and car motors to capture the morning's ear. Puck and I do not venture out into the cold. He does his morning business and returns without a drink from his favorite outside water bowl. He would be asleep except for Veronica the cat who hides behind the recliner and jumps out at him. I light a stick of sandalwood incense, adjust the blind so I can watch the willow's frantic sway. The coffee is hot, the house is warm, and I get to write to you. Wow!
Hope your weekend is both terrific and legal, ePistlers.
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm just waiting to see if my coffee chooses to use its powers for good or evil today...
Most countries have mafia. In Russia, Mafia has country. / The Mafia recruited a hitman from Barcelona, but they had to let him go. They weren't expecting the Spanish In-precision.
..........Come on people, now, smile on your brother.........The Youngbloods with Jesse Colin Young …..Get Together
Trivia Questions: Happy Domino Day !
- ^ Where and/or when were dominoes invented?
- ^^ What are domino tiles called?
- ^^^ How do European Dominoes differ from Chinese Dominoes?
- ^^^^ What is Domino Day about?
- ^^^^^ What is the correct spelling of the game?
Big Hello: mono – Himba (Gabon) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Sign outside Sandinisia's Pub in Manchester, England: We serve beer COLDER than the Tories' hearts.
Image of the Week: November 11, 1993: The Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated in DC. It was conceived by former army combat nurse, Diane Carlson Evans, and sculpted by Glenna Goodacre to honor the 265,000 women who voluntarily served during the Vietnam era.
Fake Library Statistics of the Week: 98% of librarians move things just to confuse patrons. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
As the godfather aged and began to have memory problems, he made people offers he couldn't remember. / Trump's Mafia nickname is Donny Small Hands.
..........I can do things for you, make your heart feel glad..........Mose Allison …..Seventh Son
Moonbeam: In L.A., you work like hell because there is nothing else to do, unless you're cheating on your wife. --Howard Fast
Meditation of the Week: Be yourself so that people looking for you can find you. --Arian Hamilton --Submitted by aeb of kc
Puzzle of the Week: From David Wagner, of Atlanta, Ga: Think of a common phrase in the form "___ of my ___." The word that goes in the first blank is the name of a well-known company. And the word that goes in the second blank sounds like part of the names of many of that company's products. What phrase is it? NPR Puzzle Sunday 11/5/22
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My husband and I have decided we don't want to have children. We will be telling them tonight at dinner. --Submitted by PsyDe
Organized religion and the Mafia have a lot in common. Both have their respective clubhouses and neither pay taxes. / I don't want to brag but I sold Declutter Products to the original Mafia members. That's how they became known as “organized crime”.
..........You won't hear rhyme or reason.........Mose Allison …..Don't Forget To Smile
^ The oldest known writings regarding the game of Dominoes dates all the way back to the 12th century! Chinese writers of the Yuan Dynasty describe it as a gambling game sold by peddlers. They referred to the game as ‘pupai‘. The modern version of Dominoes began in Europe in the early 18th century. How it made its way overseas is unknown. Many scholars believe Italian missionaries may have brought the game back home with them.
Almanac: It is Friday, November 11, 2022. The moon was full (beaver) last Tuesday (11/8) and is in Gemini. It is Armistice Day aka Veteran's Day, Death/Duty Day, Domino Day, Forget-Me-Not Day, Origami Day, and Red Lipstick Day. Washington state celebrates Admission Day (1889).
Among those born on this day were Abigail Adams (1744), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821), George S. Patton (1885), Charles "Lucky" Luciano (1896), Sam Spiegel (1901), Alger Hiss (1904), Robert Ryan (1909), Howard Fast (1914), Stubby Kaye (1918), Kurt Vonnegut, Jr (1922), Jonathan Winters (1925), Mose Allison (1927), Bibi Andersson (1934), Jesse Colin Young (1944), Daniel Saavedra (1945), Demi Moore (1962), and Leonard DeCaprio (1974).
On November eleventh the fourth Lateran Council of Rome opened (1215), 41 pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact (1620), first US compulsory school attendance law was passed (MA, 1647), chrysanthemums were introduced to England (from China, 1790), Mary Walker became the first female Army surgeon awarded the Medal of Honor (1865), Washington was admitted to the union (42nd, 1889), the FBI arrested Jim Morrison for drunkenness on a plane (1969) and, Reagan addressed the Japanese legislature (1983).
Night Sky, 11/11: Taurid Meteor Shower 2022 – might put on quite the show this year. These showers produce infrequent, slow and long-lasting meteors associated with comet Encke, a small comet with a nucleus measuring approximately 2.98 miles (4.8 km) in diameter. Viewing info
Extra Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: How come when men cook outside it's called “barbecuring”, but when women do it it's “witchcraft”?
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Brothers Connecting 4 up to 9
This Week: Saturday, November 12 – Fancy Rat and Mouse Day & World Pneumonia Day
Night Sky, 11/12: Northern Taurid Meteor Shower continues
Sunday, November 13 – World Kindness Day & Sandwich Day
Night Sky, 11/13: Saturn is at eastern quadrature today, 90° east of the Sun. Therefore, for a week or two before and after, a telescope shows the black shadow that Saturn's globe casts on its rings as wide and prominent as the shadow ever gets. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Monday, November 14 – International Girls Day & Operating Room Nurse Day & World Diabetes Day
Tuesday, November 15 – America Recycles Day & I Love To Write Day
Wednesday, November 16 – International Day For Tolerance & Teddy Bear Day
Night Sky, 11/16: Neptune: magnitude 7.8 at the Aquarius-Pisces border, is high in the evening about 7° west of Jupiter. It's just 2.3 arcseconds wide, again non-stellar in a telescope.
Thursday, November 17 – World Philosophy Day & Take A Hike Day & Homemade Bread Day
Little known fact: the Italian Mafia live in the spaghetto. / The best Mafia hitman used to rust out the brake lining in his victim's car. He makes it look like an oxidant.
..........A first-rate example of functional design.........Mose Allison …..Molecular Structure
^^ Traditional Domino tiles were usually made of a hard, white material such as ivory or bone. Therefore, they were often referred to as ‘bones’. Tiles are also called ‘stones’, ‘spinners’, ‘cards’ and ‘tickets’.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I spent my childhood watching Sound of Music and Cabaret, so I thought that the rise of fascism would have more show tunes. --Betty Aberlin
Moonbeam: True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. --Kurt Vonnegut
Video of the Week: 24,000 Dominoes falling (3:19) Click here – long address
Not So Late Night Snacks of the Week: Yeah, election night is like the Super Bowl, but everybody gets to cover it. So, all the networks do what they can to gimmick up their broadcast and stand out from the rest. NBC - and they did this - they took the rink at Rockefeller Center and they painted the map of the U.S. on it, and then they'd color in the states as the returns came in. Did you see this? It was great to see Chris Matthews come out and do a triple sow cow on Missouri. --Peter Sagal Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 11/10/2012
Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. --Abigail AdamsQuote2
I got in trouble with the Super Soaker Mafia the other day. I had to be put in the Wetness Protection Program. / I was dating a Mafia don for a while. He got me an acting award. Turns out he could really rig a Tony.
..........So why you gotta piss me off.........Mose Allison …..Gettin' There
^^^ Modern European Domino sets differ from the classic Chinese sets. The European versions have 28 tiles, whereas the Chinese ones use 32 tiles. Chinese sets were initially designed to represent all of the possible ‘faces’ or throws of two 6-sided dice.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My gf and I are both in therapy which means we spend all our fights quoting our therapists back at each other. --Submitted by MMS
Weird Word of the Week: Misomusist – active hater of music http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-mis1.htm
Dragon of the Week: Chinese Dragon – Qing dynasty (1644-1912) Chinese dragons are related to water elementals and rarely have wings.
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Remove latex paint from hands. The emollients and moisturizers in Barbasol shaving cream ease latex paint from skin. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/barbasol.html
The Mafia took over the pro shop at the tennis club, now they sell protection racquets. / Politicians, bankers, and Mafia bosses play golf because you can play it with or without handcuffs.
...........Seems like every now and then I wonder.........Mose Allison …..That's All Right
^^^^ An annual event has been held in the Netherlands since 1986 called Domino Day. It has set records worldwide including the longest domino spiral, the highest domino climb, and the largest domino structure.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Too many people are fighting for a seat at the table that Jesus would have flipped. --Submitted by MMS
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Windy Con 48 (11-13, Chicago) Breaking the Glass Ceiling https://www.windycon.org/
Actual Science Conference of the Week: Common Sense Data & Analytics Summit (12=14, Dallas, TX) Transformative data infrastructure https://10times.com/e15r-dh7r-4xk8
Answer to Puzzle of the Week: "Apple of my eye" (Apple, i)
The head of the Scottish Mafia came to my house and made me an office I couldn't understand. / If you mess with the Kosher Nostra, you end up sleeping with the gavildffishes.
..........I gotta get things straight.........Mose Allison …..One Of These Days
^^^^^ The game can be spelled two different ways, ‘Dominoes’ or ‘Dominos’. In terms of grammar, it is considered correct with or without the ‘e’ as the plural form of words ending in ‘o’ can be spelled either way depending on the word (for example, ‘pianos’ versus ‘potatoes’). However, it is more commonly spelled ‘Dominoes.
My Own Writing of the Week: Sherlock was quite a bit younger than I. It was one of my ConQuesT's . ConQuesT is the annual Kansas City actual science fiction convention. Sherlock and I met because we were part of a bunch of people who were all hanging together and going between room parties and the con hospitality suite and the dance downstairs. He was an absolute cutie in a brown t-shirt that said 221 Baker Street in small, discrete lettering on the back. I was wearing a sun/moon t-shirt and my cambric shirt with the dragon embroidery; its fiery breath curling over the shoulder.
We hit it off because he had recently read Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert Heinlein) for the first time and I had recently been unable to make it all the way through a re-reading of Stranger in a Strange Land (also by Robert Heinlein). It was the unbelievably good sex in the novel that was our meeting place. Robert Heinlein and his roving hands weren't invited.
A couple of times during our whirlwind of social soirees he made suggestive comments, not invitations so much as innuendo. Spooning dragons was a recurring theme. Now and then I made a remark back at him. "I have children who are too old to date you". (His badge marked him as at least 21). But I couldn't ignore him; he was too cute and he had this little bundle of sexual energy all fresh and polished up.
When I could take no more fun for one evening, I excused myself from the group and headed back to my room. Sherlock followed because we were intent on some absolutely meaningless conversation. At my door he said, "A good night kiss, at least," and kissed me sweetly and gently and kind of quickly on my lips and began to turn away. But I took hold of his shirt and pulled him closer. "That wasn't a kiss for an end”, I said, “it was a kiss for a beginning." And I kissed him again and again, until he relaxed, until he surrendered. Then we moved out of the hall into the room. It wouldn't have mattered who came by anyway, it was a convention hotel.
As soon as we were inside, before the light was turned on, I put my hand under the Baker Street shirt and very slowly traced my fingertips from his neck down his torso and I whispered, "I want to make love to you with every ounce of my being. I want to touch every inch of your body with my fingertips." I picked up his hand and licked the tips of his fingers. "I want to run my tongue up your arm from your fingers to your neck." And I kissed him again. "But first I really want to piss." Otherwise neither of us would have lasted until we got to the bed.
He was so much fun. He was very oral and was quite skilled at it for one so young. He would raise his head and shake his hair and make funny remarks about the noises I was making or the pattern in the wall paper. His world was funny and it was populated with amusing characters. He shared that world generously and I am glad I got to experience it. He never wrote to me. Always a deal breaker.
I love trumpet players; they have incredible breath control.
From Always Surrender by Christine Smith
Quote of the Week: I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them ever got here. --Harry S Truman
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: What British People are not ready to hear: God, in fact, did not save the queen. --Submitted by FNOG
Today's Peace of History, November 11, 1918: France, Belgium, and the French countries celebrate Armistice Day - a day to proclaim peace throughout the world.
The difference between the Mafia and the cast of Hamilton is that when the Mafia says “break a leg” they mean someone else's. / Butterass DeCicco graduated from Whas-a-matta U. / The mob took over a Starbucks due to lapse protection. Now their specialty is Al Frap-Pacino
..........Learn to take care of each other.........Jesse Colin Young …..The Peace Song
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle November 11, 2022, Organized ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS
Moonbeam: Imperialism cannot conceive of a free people, a sovereign people, an independent people. Because, simply and plainly, for them the people is nothing more than an empty phrase. --Daniel Saavedra
Cost of War:
- As of 11/10/22 State Department War Costs since 2001: $192,222,171,193.
- As of 11/03/22 State Department War Costs since 2001: $191,673,313,189.
- As of 11/10/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,096,089,528,493.
- As of 11/03/22 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $1,094,466,763,981.
- As of 11/10/22 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,120,500,094,414.
- As of 11/03/22 Homeland Security since 2001: $1,119,903,601,988.
- As of 11/10/22 Veterans Care since 2001: $2,733,224,847,062.
- As of 11/03/22 Veterans Care since 2001: $2,721,598,223,976.
- As of 11/10/22 Military Costs since 2001: $2,991,833,691,527.
- As of 11/03/22 Military Costs since 2001: $2,990,669,127,772.
- As of 11/10/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,133,783,794,823.
- As of 11/03/22 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $8,118,314,835,234.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
We gave too many high-sounding words and too few actions that correspond with them. --Abigail Adams
Famous Last Words: Adieu. I need not say how much I am your ever faithfull Friend. --Abigail Adams famous letter to John in 1776
.........Old “treat 'em with score – pone”..........Stubby Kaye …..Jubilation T Cornpone
The Prague Mafia marks its territory with Czech marks. / The Don was so proud of his son for failing 5th grade. No matter how many tests his teacher gave him, he never told them anything.
May Peace be your protection
And Joy run your numbers
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
