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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Daily F Bomb, Friday 4/12/13

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Interrogatories

How long could you go without talking?

Have you ever sleepwalked?

What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

What do you have on your refrigerator door?

Is the glass half full or half empty?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the Earth once before making a safe landing.

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight.

In 1983, Harold Washington was elected Chicago’s first African-American mayor.

In 1999, U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright found President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for giving “intentionally false” testimony in a lawsuit filed by Paula Jones about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 2004, Barry Bonds (with a little chemical help) hit his 660th home run to tie Willie Mays for third on baseball’s career list.

In 2009, American cargo ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued from Somali pirates by U.S. Navy snipers who shot and killed three of the hostage-takers.

Born on This Day

1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (d. 1604)

1705 – William Cookworthy, English chemist (d. 1780)

1777 – Leendert de Koningh, Dutch painter (d. 1849)

1796 – George N. Briggs, American politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)

1840 – Ferdinand Victor Léon Roybet, French painter (d. 1920)

photo FerdinandVictorLeacuteonRoybet.jpg

1861 – Gyula Tornai, Hungarian Orientalist painter (d. 1928)

1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)

1883 – Francis Cadell, Scottish painter (d. 1937)

photo FrancisCadell.jpg

1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)

1885 – Robert Delaunay, French abstract painter (d. 1941)

photo RobertDelaunay.jpg

1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor (d. 1918)

1889 – Tade Styka, Polish painter (d. 1954)

photo TadeStyka.jpg

1892 – Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist (d. 1940)

1893 – Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)

1898 – Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976)

1908 – Virginia Cherrill, American actress (d. 1996)

photo VirginiaCherrill.jpg

1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer and guitarist (d. 1975)

1916 – Beverly Cleary, American writer

1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991

1923 – Ann Miller, American actor and dancer (d. 2004)

photo AnnMiller.jpg

1932 – Dennis Banks, American-Indian activist

1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer, ukulele player, and archivist (d. 1996)

1940 – Herbie Hancock, American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer

1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter and musician (The Sparrows and Steppenwolf)

1948 – Lois Reeves, American singer (Martha and the Vandellas)

1950 – David Cassidy, American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist (The Partridge Family)

1953 – Tony James, rock bassist (Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik)

1957 – Vince Gill, American country singer-songwriter and musician (there’s a Kossack in his band, John Hobbs)

1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist (Echo & the Bunnymen and Electrafixion)

1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian singer, musician, and composer (Dead Can Dance)

1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer, composer, and guitarist (Everclear)

1964 – Amy Ray, American singer-songwriter (Indigo Girls)

1967 – Mellow Man Ace, American rapper (Cypress Hill)

1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor

1979 – Claire Danes, American actress

1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer-songwriter and musician (Panic at the Disco)

Died on This Day

352 – Pope Julius I

1695 – Jean-Baptiste Corneille, French painter (b. 1646)

photo Jean-BaptisteCorneille.jpg

1814 – Charles Burney, English historian (b. 1726)

1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer (b. 1730)

1893 – Jules Jacques Veyrassat, French painter (b. 1828)

photo JulesJacquesVeyrassat.jpg

1909 – Bartolomeo Giuliano, Italian painter (b. 1825)

photo BartolomeoGiuliano.jpg

1912 – Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (b. 1821)

1921 – William Strang, Scottish painter and engraver (b. 1859)

photo WilliamStrang.jpg

1921 – Henri Adolphe Laissement, French painter (b. 1854)

photo HenriAdolpheLaissement.jpg

1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)

1971 – Wynton Kelly, American jazz pianist (b. 1931)

1975 – Josephine Baker, American dancer (b. 1906)

photo JosephineBaker.jpg

1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)

1988 – Alan Paton, South African writer (b. 1903)

1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist (b. 1936)

1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)

Today is

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

National Licorice Day

Look Up at the Sky Day

Walk on Your Wild Side Day

Big Wind Day

Russian Cosmonaut Day

Global Day of Action on Military Spending

Drop Everything and Read Day


Categories: General.

/ 42 Comments

42 comments

  1. Melanie in IA

    Questions/answers:

    How long could you go without talking?

    Not very long. I talk out loud to myself when no one is around, and sometimes when others are around.

    Have you ever sleepwalked?

    Not that I know of.

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

    I used to be very picky about this. I used the same pen all through high school. A little weird, I know. Now I’m a little looser. Still, pens should have BLACK ink and a smooth line. Pencils should be mechanical with a 0.5mm lead.

    What do you have on your refrigerator door?

    Photos of grandkids and Holly, and a couple of phone number magnets.

    Is the glass half full or half empty?

    I never could quite figure out this comparison. I’m an optimist, generally, but my coffee cup is empty and I won’t get more coffee today.  

  2. iriti

    A perfect day to be at home with the flu.

    How long could you go without talking? Hours and hours

    Have you ever sleepwalked? No, thank goodness

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it? Keyboard and printer. My hands are shaky and my handwriting stinks. I hate to write.



    What do you have on your refrigerator door?     Miscellaneous pictures and magnets and Mom stuff.



    Is the glass half full or half empty?     This morning it’s laying shattered on the floor with the contents splashed about the landscape.

  3. zenor

    Can’t Cx or maneuver usual cause touchscreen cracked til fix later today I hope.

    Have gone thru periods of prolonged silence; initially beginning from when I was aprenticed to a Belgian ceramist, when I was 14. Have since enjoyed mute days off and on. Once you start quiet it feels better and better and you can find many ways to communicate without speeching.

    Fun. My refridge 30″ tall, sez Chefmate. Nothing on door. House from 1684, not 1954. No glass. Use big cup during shampoo, and dollar store buckets overturned for shower chair. Cannot take bath. Landlord thinks too full tub might crash thru to 1st floor. He has a point.

    May rain all day and 65. Are there more noted dead Dutch painters than any other kind? Or is it a Floja Fenomenon and none of them bord or  

  4. DeniseVelez

    How long could you go without talking? I did it for a week at a silent spiritual retreat at a monastery. Haven’t tried it since then, but I spend several days each week barely talking since I’m home alone – unless you count shouting at the puter (and roosters)  

    Have you ever sleepwalked? Nope



    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?     black fine point felt tips – hate running out of them

    What do you have on your refrigerator door? magnets which are mostly souvenirs (lots of them), and notes to self, plus a take-out menu from our favorite Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant

    Is the glass half full or half empty? half-full

  5. Gee

    Lots of rain, and a little thunder this morning.

    Say what?

    How long could you go without talking?

    Not long.  Even alone, I’d be muttering to myself.

    Have you ever sleepwalked?

    I don’t think so.

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

    Ballpoint pen with a medium-to-large tip.  Not picky at all, actually.

    What do you have on your refrigerator door?

    I’d say, but I’d only be guessing.

    Is the glass half full or half empty?

    Well, yes!

  7. Jk2003

    How long could you go without talking?

    Have you ever sleepwalked?

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

    What do you have on your refrigerator door?

    Is the glass half full or half empty?

    Silence:  oh, at least a day with the caveat that my children cannot be present.

    Sleepwalked:  no

    Writing utensil:  I like pencil, I like the sound pencils make when you write with them

    Refrigerator door:  a magnet that says “be nice or leave, thank you” and usually lots of kid pictures but with the house on the market, those were taken down.  But I left the magnet.

    Half full or half empty:  at least half full, I can’t operate any other way.  I have my moments of anguish but am generally optimistic

  9. princesspat

    without talking……days if given the opportunity

    sleepwalked…..that would mean being sound asleep….not likely!

    preferred writing utensil….a fine point pen and a mechanical pencil. And yes, I’m very picky….add a pink pearl eraser and don’t touch it!

    refrigerator door…finger prints

    glass…half full as often as I can

  10. Gee

    I’m not sure which one is more impressive:Tina Feys’ impersonation of Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh’s impersonation of a human being.

    – Luke Adams

    That’s easy. Rush’s impersonation of a human being is totally unconvincing.

  11. Gee

    Sorry, some guy in the office actually just said that.

    1705 – William Cookworthy, English chemist (d. 1780)

    Chemist or chemist?

    1957 – Vince Gill, American country singer-songwriter and musician (there’s a Kossack in his band, John Hobbs)

    John Hobbs sight-read my tattoo at NN12.  It made me proud!

    Drop Everything and Read Day

    I’m sorely tempted.

  12. slksfca

    I can go days at a time without uttering a word.

    Yes, I have sleepwalked at times. The most recent occasion (that I know of) was less than a year ago.

    I prefer keyboards to pens, and fountain pens to ballpoint. A good soft pencil is adequate, if the graphite is dark enough.

    Refrigerator door sports take-out menus from neighborhood joints.

    I try to be a half full kind of guy…

  13. michelewln

    How long could you go without talking? Probably days

    Have you ever sleepwalked? No

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it? Most writing is done on the computer but if I am hand writing something I have two fountain pens I love. The dark blue Waterman I got a few years ago is nice and thick and my hand written journal is done in the pen. I also have a very old Parker fountain pen that was my Dad’s. It even has his name engraved on the base but he used it so much that it is almost worn away.

    What do you have on your refrigerator door? A gazillion magnets and counting. 😉

    Is the glass half full or half empty? Just the right way to add more Guinness.  

  15. JG in MD

    How long could you go without talking? I dunno. I talk to myself and the cats here at home and I talk to myself in public. I can time my silence with my Mp3 player, maybe I’ll try it.

    Have you ever sleepwalked? Not that I know of.

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it? I belong to this group.

    http://www.fountainpennetwork….

    What do you have on your refrigerator door? A whiteboard with this picture on it and a clip of papers to write grocery lists.

    Is the glass half full or half empty? Half full.

  16. Floja Roja

    I was supposed to have an MRI/arthrogram for the wrist I hurt weeks back, and they canceled because lovely old Blue Shield hasn’t authorized it yet. BASTARDS!

    Once, many moons ago, a co-worker made a bet that I could not go the entire day without talking. I lost, big time.

    I think I sleepwalked once, as a wee child. My parents heard me crying and found me outside the house, upset because I thought the whole family had left without me. I shared a room with both siblings at the time, so had I been awake I would have noticed that they were there.

    As long as it writes smoothly and doesn’t skip, I am not too picky about my writing utensils, but I have some friends who are positive fanatics about it.

    My refrigerator door has Onion headline magnets saying things like, “NASA to Merge with NASCAR,” and “Clinton Discovers Breasts in T-shirt of Trainee,” and “Giant Ham Sandwich Headed Towards Earth,” and “God is Not an American,” and stuff like that. Also very old pics of my nieces, who are now hot teenagers, but are frozen as toddlers on my fridge door.

    The glass is neither half full nor half empty, it is merely too small.

  17. bubbanomics

    How long could you go without talking?

    * a long time.

    Have you ever sleepwalked?

    * when was a kid.  Once my dad caught me leaving the house.  he picked me up and turned me around, and i went back to bed.

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

    * no pref.

    What do you have on your refrigerator door?

    * a nice shine.  bought a new house last year, and the frig front is not magnetic.

    Is the glass half full or half empty?

    * “Hey! I ordered a cheeseburger!”

    from the pod of bubba:

  18. Avilyn

    Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain.  Although we’d had a bit of a dry spell in NJ before this, so the rain is probably a good thing.  Just not when I have to commute in it.

    Q&A:

    How long could you go without talking?  Hm.  Depends on whether singing counts.  I tend to play music when I’m alone, and I sing along (rather badly) with it.  I know I can go for hours in the morning without talking, because I’m not a morning person.

    Have you ever sleepwalked? Nope

    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?  A keyboard, and yes – it must be ergonomic, and absolutely not a laptop keyboard.

    What do you have on your refrigerator door? What isn’t?  A Despair 2013 calendar from ThinkGeek; snarky magnets (including “Virginia may be for lovers, but Pennsylvania has Intercourse!” and “Of course I don’t look busy, I did it right the first time”), useful magnets shaped like various measuring tools with unit conversions on them, a take out menu, recipes, a timer on a string that has a dead battery, and a ruler.  I think that’s everything.  Might be forgetting something.

    Is the glass half full or half empty?  Half full.  Unless it’s a coffee cup, in which case it would be half empty, except I just topped it up.

  19. JanF

    BREAKING NEWS

    Friday, April 12, 2013 1:06 PM EDT  

    Comedian Jonathan Winters Dies at 87  

    Jonathan Winters, the rubber-faced comedian whose unscripted flights of fancy inspired a generation of improvisational comics, and who kept television audiences in stitches with Main Street characters like Maude Frickert, a sweet-seeming grandmother with a barbed tongue and a roving eye, died on Thursday. He was 87.

    A family friend, Joe Petro III, said he died Thursday evening at his home in Montecito, Calif., The Associated Press reported.

    READ MORE »

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04…  

  20. plf515

    How long could you go without talking?

    I don’t know.

    Have you ever sleepwalked?

    No, but I once talked in my sleep. In 1971 (age 12) I started talking about how evil Nixon was (according to my brother with whom I shared a room).



    What is your preferred writing utensil and are you picky about it?

    I like a fine tip black ball point pen that isn’t too heavy and has some padding on the barrel. But I will write with other instruments

    What do you have on your refrigerator door?

    A couple of photos of my kids, taped on. On our washing machine we have a sign saying “Stainless steel refrigerators suck”

    Is the glass half full or half empty?

    The glass is being re-filled.  

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