~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 28, 2011

★~ Today Quote:  It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.

 

★~ Cyber Monday:

A long time ago, back in the pre-broadband dark age known as the 20th century, Black Friday was that magical day after Thanksgiving when we came together as a country to celebrate the true meaning of the holiday season: consumerism! Once technology enabled us to do all that shopping on our couches, in blankets with armholes, marketing gurus scrambled to find the perfect cutesy buzzword for the online equivalent of the U.S.’s busiest retail shopping day.

And it took until 2005 for that buzzword to finally be birthed. The National Retail Federation coined “Cyber Monday” for the Monday after Thanksgiving, the year’s most lucrative day of e-commerce.

Shop from your office chair, couch, favorite coffee shop, or at traffic lights and stop signs (never in between) and make the most of Cyber Monday. Here is a website to help you get started: Cyber Monday.

★~ Red Planet Day:

Mars (Greek: Ares) is the god of war. The planet probably got this name due to its red color; Mars is sometimes referred to as “the Red Planet.” (An interesting side note: The Roman god Mars was a god of agriculture before becoming associated with the Greek Ares; those in favor of colonizing and terraforming Mars may prefer this symbolism.) The name of the month March derives from Mars.

Today we celebrate the red planet Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest. Does anyone have a pair of those antennae that I can borrow, or are you wearing them?

★~ French Toast Day:

It’s National French Toast Day! French toast is the perfect way to start your day. Although it is typically made with bread, milk, and eggs, and then topped with delicious maple syrup, many variations of this classic breakfast can be found around the world.

The origin of French toast is unknown, but recipes date back to the 16th century in Europe. Prior to the Hundred Years’ War, French toast was known in England as “poor knights’ pudding” because it was a basic and affordable dish that a knight with no money could afford. In France, it was called “pan perdu” or lost bread, because it was a way of using lost or stale bread.

Celebrate French Toast Day by making French toast for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! I love this recipe: Cinnamon Baked French Toast.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1895 – The first automobile race in America began, as six cars traveled from Jackson Park in Chicago to Waukegan, Illinois. J. Frank Duryea was the winner, traveling at a blazing speed of 7 and 1/2 miles per hour! It took him 7 hrs. 53 minutes to make the trek (bathroom stops not included). He won $2,000 for the effort.  http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/duryea.htm

♥~ 1922 – The first skywriting display happened on this day. The words “Hello USA” were written in the sky over New York City. It was a short time later that the invention of Captain Cyril Turner was applied for commercial use.

♥~ 1948 – The Polaroid Land Camera first went on sale at a Boston department store. The 40 series, model 95, roll film camera went on sale for $89.75.

♥~ 1974 – John Lennon appeared in concert for the last time — at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. Lennon joined Elton John to sing Whatever Gets You Through the Night as well as I Saw Her Standing There.

♥~ 1988 – Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin brought £21 million at Christie’s in London. The painting was one of many that Adolf Hitler had sold in 1939 to ‘cleanse’ Germany of the disturbing images created by painters such as Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.

♥~ 1991 – A man in Waco, Texas, held up a Circle K store after first diverting the clerk’s attention by putting a $20 bill on the counter and asking for change. When the register was opened, the robber pulled out a gun and demanded all the money. The clerk put everything in a bag and handed it to the robber–all $15. The robber fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter.

♥~ 1992 – Whitney Houston’s single, I Will Always Love You, began an incredible fourteen-week run at the top of the U.S. singles chart. The song, from the soundtrack of the movie The Bodyguard, was #1 through Feb 27, 1993.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1757 – William Blake poet: English visionary poet and artist born at London, England. Composed “The Tyger,” which begins memorably, “Tyger! Tyger! burning bright/In the forests of the night,/What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Blake died in London on Aug 12, 1827.

♥~ 1945 – R.B. Greaves singer: Take a Letter Maria; singer Sam Cooke’s nephew

♥~ 1967 – Anna Nicole Smith model: Playboy Playmate [May 1992], Playmate of the Year [1993]; actress: The Hudsucker Proxy, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult; died Feb 8, 2007)

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ Sales from Cyber Monday are  are projected to hit a record $1.2 billion this year.

♥~ Cyber Monday sales in North America alone have drawn more than 4.3 million visitors per minute (!!) to online retailers.

♥~ Cyber Monday (2010) was a historic day for e-commerce as daily spending surpass $1 billion for the first time.

♥~ On Cyber Monday (2010), spending was up 16 percent from 2009.

♥~ 49% of Cyber Monday shoppers,  shop from work

♥~ 45% of Cyber Monday shoppers,  shop  from home

♥~ The new buzz word we can all learn to hate is…coach shopping.

♥~ Cyber Monday website is suppose to be a good site for all your Cyber Monday wants, needs, and desire.

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Hope everyone has a Merry Monday!

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