Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Daily F Bomb, Thursday 8/15/13

Interrogatories

Do you still experience The Wizard of Oz as you did when a child, or can you now see the painted backdrops and other dated details?

Did you go to camp as a kid? What was the experience like?

How often do you use snail mail? Do you still write checks?

What’s your vision like? If good, is it genetics or surgery?

Even good spellers have mental blocks on some words. Is there any word that you have to check twice before writing it?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1248, the foundation stone was laid for Cologne Cathedral, but the entire cathedral was not completed until 1880. Not a crummy contractor. Construction stopped in 1473, and a very old crane remained atop one of the incomplete towers until it was finally completed to the original plans. There are photographs showing how it looked in the mid-1800s. I think it looks much better now.

In 1843, the Tivoli Gardens amusement park (which still exists today) opened in Copenhagen.

In 1914, the living quarters of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin complex, Taliesin, were burned to the ground by a mentally disturbed servant, who murdered most of the home’s occupants with an axe before setting it ablaze.

In 1914, the Panama Canal opened to ship passage. The first ship to go through was a cargo ship called SS Ancon.

In 1939, The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

In 1947, India finally gained independence from British rule.

In 1965, the Beatles played Shea Stadium.

In 1969, day one of Woodstock began. Richie Havens, Sweetwater, Bert Sommer, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez performed.

In 1995, Shannon Faulkner became the first woman cadet to enter The Citadel, after a successful lawsuit. Sadly, she only lasted a week due to harassment from the male cadets, who loudly celebrated her departure. As of last year, 21% of the student body was female, but 70 percent said they had experienced sexual harassment and 19% said they were sexually assaulted.

In 2001, astronomers found two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper – the first known solar system outside of our own.

In 2012, a bid to stop Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law failed when Judge Robert E. Simpson ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that any voters were being disenfranchised.

Born on This Day

1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest and saint (d. 1231)

1702 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian landscape painter (d. 1788)

photo FrancescoZuccarelli.jpg

1717 – Blind Jack, English road builder (d. 1810)

1769 – Napoleon, Corsican-French military officer and political leader (d. 1821)

1771 – Walter Scott, Scottish novelist and poet (d. 1832)

1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English author (d. 1859)

1803 – Eugène Flandin, French artist whose architectural and archeological drawings are more prized than his paintings (d. 1876)

photo EugegraveneFlandin.jpg

1828 – Frank Buchser, Swiss painter (d. 1890)

photo FrankBuchser.jpg

1838 – Franz Richard Unterberger, German painter (d. 1902)

photo FranzRichardUnterberger.jpg

1845 – Walter Crane, English painter and illustrator (d. 1915)

photo WalterCrane.jpg

1854 – L. A. Ring, Danish painter (d. 1933)

1858 – E. Nesbit, English author (d. 1924)

1860 – Henrietta Vinton Davis, African-American actress and playwright (d. 1941)

1860 – Florence Harding, American publisher, 31st First Lady of the United States (d. 1924)

1862 – Adam Emory Albright, U.S. painter (d. 1957)

1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English composer (d. 1912)

1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)

1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist (d. 1968)

1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (d. 1958)

photo PaulOuterbridgeTippletable.jpg

1896 – Léon Theremin, Russian inventor, invented the Theremin (d. 1993)

1900 – Estelle Brody, American actress (d. 1995)

1907 – Willy Maywald, fashion photographer (d. 1985)

1910 – Signe Hasso, Swedish actress (d. 2002)

1912 – Julia Child, American chef and author (d. 2004)

1912 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)

1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer (d. 1996), not to be confused with Rand Paul.

1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)

1925 – Mike Connors, American actor

1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2007)

1925 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (The Drifters) (d. 2007)

1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English director and cinematographer

1934 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Famous Flames) (d. 2007)

1938 – Maxine Waters, Democratic CA Congresswoman

1950 – Anne, Princess Royal, English daughter of Elizabeth II

1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish writer (d. 2004)

1964 – Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

1969 – Bernard Fanning, Australian singer-songwriter (Powderfinger)

1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer

1989 – Joe Jonas, American singer-songwriter and actor (Jonas Brothers) (Once known as my future nephew-in-law, but fortunately my niece has moved on, so I guess now he’s my ex-future nephew-in-law?.)

1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress

Died on This Day

1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland

1369 – Philippa of Hainault (b. 1314)

1643 – Cornelis-Jacobsz Delff, Dutch painter (b. 1571)

photo Cornelis-JacobszDelff.jpg

1880 – Adelaide Neilson, English actress (b. 1848)

1909 – Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema, English painter (b. 1852)

photo LauraTheresaAlma-Tadema.jpg

1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian painter (b. 1878)

photo KonradMaumlgi.jpg

1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)

1935 – Will Rogers, American humorist and actor (b. 1879)

1935 – Paul Signac, French painter (b. 1863)

photo PaulSignac.jpg

1964 – Dr. Atl, (real name Gerardo Murillo), Mexican landscape painter (b. 1875)

photo DrAtl.jpg

1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)

photo ReneMagritte.jpg

1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (b. 1887)

2008 – Jerry Wexler, American music producer and journalist (b. 1917)

2009 – Virginia Davis, American actor (b. 1918)

Today is

Independence Day (India)

Best Friend’s Day

National Relaxation Day

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

National Failures Day


Categories: General.

/ 9 Comments

9 comments

  1. Gee

    Do you still experience The Wizard of Oz as you did when a child, or can you now see the painted backdrops and other dated details?

    Did you go to camp as a kid? What was the experience like?

    How often do you use snail mail? Do you still write checks?

    What’s your vision like? If good, is it genetics or surgery?

    Even good spellers have mental blocks on some words. Is there any word that you have to check twice before writing it?

    I don’t know that I saw the Wizard of Oz as a child.  I was culturally deprived, as we used to say.

    Went to a week of church camp once.  I didn’t enjoy getting used to being away from home, but I did develop a crush on one of the counselors.

    Hardly use snail mail at all.  I recently switched from my bank to a credit union, and used the opportunity to begin online bill paying.  Made me suddenly feel sorry for the USPS.  It’s pretty much just parcels and Christmas cards now.

    My vision was perfect until I reached my early 40s.  I guess it was genetics, though my father’s vision was terrible from childhood.  That skipped a generation to my older son.

    I used to have problems with cantaloupe, but I think I have it right now.  I always think twice now when choosing between principal and principle.  I have no problems with “i before e” words, but my fingers do, and I always check twice, so that I don’t appear to be a bad speller.

  2. Jk2003

    Do you still experience The Wizard of Oz as you did when a child, or can you now see the painted backdrops and other dated details?

    Did you go to camp as a kid? What was the experience like?

    How often do you use snail mail? Do you still write checks?

    What’s your vision like? If good, is it genetics or surgery?

    Even good spellers have mental blocks on some words. Is there any word that you have to check twice before writing it?

    The wiz:  I still love it.  Incredible for its time and holds up today as far as I am concerned.  Like Star Wars (the originals). They are just so darn good.

    Camp:  not summer camp but I did go to a week of science camp in the sixth grade.  I got picked as one of three kids from my school to go.  In the arbuckle wilderness in Oklahoma.  We found fossils, learned what plants you could survive on and freaked out at the scorpions in the showers.  It was the week the Chernobyl meltdown occurred as I remember them making an announcement about it at morning meeting.

    Snail mail:  weekly, yes, we write checks.

    Vision:  I am nearsighted but stable.

    Spelling:  I can’t spell license or abscess, which sucks for a veterinarian.  Thank goodness for spellcheck.  

  3. plf515

    Do you still experience The Wizard of Oz as you did when a child, or can you now see the painted backdrops and other dated details?

    These days, I don’t even think of it as a very good movie. Sorry. Sue me.

    Did you go to camp as a kid? What was the experience like?

    I went. I hated it. My ideal summer would have been 1) An air conditioned room 2) Lots of books 3) Food when I was hungry. Had my parents done this, they could have saved a LOT of money and had a happier kid.

    How often do you use snail mail?

    Only for some bills and such.



    Do you still write checks?

    Yes

    What’s your vision like? If good, is it genetics or surgery?

    Haha!  I see out of one eye at a time. I’ve had glasses since I was 4. My good eye is about 20/100, my bad eye …. well, you know that giant E? I can see it if I am 5 feet away.

    Even good spellers have mental blocks on some words. Is there any word that you have to check twice before writing it?

    There are some I get wrong sometimes; that’s what spell check is for. But ….



    I no ewe ewes spell Czech butt ewe knead two reed watt ewe right.

    (read it aloud).

    Overall I am a very good speller; not a champ or anything, but pretty good.  

  5. JanF

    These tweets:

       I’d be a great conversationalist if it weren’t for the part where the other person talks.

       – Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) August 13, 2013

       Conservatives: “If liberals keep pointing out our racism, they will stoke racial tension and divide this great country.”

       – Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) August 14, 2013

    And THIS is exactly the point:

       POLL: Pat McCrory approval rating down to 39%, though when you take out the voters who will be blocked from voting, it’s slightly higher.

       – Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) August 14, 2013

    Apparently he just vetoed a law requiring mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients, probably after someone pointed out that in North Carolina, lots of welfare recipient are Republicans and that would reduce his approval rating among his base. Interesting how the worst abuses by a governor are done in the first year in office in the hopes that people will forget by the time the next election rolls around. Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) had a 19% approval rating in his first year. I am not sure how much higher it is now … maybe not too high considering he is purging voters again, trying to find that sweet spot that gives him 50% plus 1 (he won by less than 1% in 2010).

    I am glad I did not see this yesterday because I would have had to comment on crazy people from Wisconsin and I would have been depressed to celebrate National Failures Day.

    Thanks for the punnilicious hovers. I am glad I returned to read so the day was not a net loss. 🙂

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