~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
March 21, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: The happiest memories are of moments that ended when they should have.  ~Robert Brault

★~ Common Courtesy Day:

I often find it amusing that the people who often whine loudest about other people’s lack of manners are the worst offenders. Doesn’t common courtesy boil down to simple being aware of others, acknowledging their right to inhibit this planet with you, and giving others the benefit of the doubt when possible? Most of the people I know work hard at being courteous, and I hope I return the favor. I know I always say “Excuse me” when I burp, and while I may crunch my ice, I do it with my mouth closed. I don’t smack—ever. Joe was fond of saying “Move” when someone was in his way, and Cole seems to have inherited this trait when he is on the way to the fridge—but since he does not say, “Me and Pat are going to the store,” all is not lost. I do not understand people who refuse to say “Bless you” the first time you sneeze. I just don’t.

The best rule of common courtesy, in my book, is be nice and treat others like you would like to be treated—and don’t forget to wave if I  let you cut in front of me in traffic. Thank you.

★~ Memory Day:

Why is it so hard to remember the definition of abrogate and so easy to remember the lyrics to our favorite songs? Chances are we’ve memorized the lyrics to hundreds of songs, but we still struggle to remember the year when the Pilgrims came to America. The reason for this disparity is simple: Rhyming song lyrics act as mnemonic devices. They tap into the power of rhyme.

Don’t we all remember the mnemonic device for naming the planets

“My Very Educated Mother Just showed Us Nine Planets.”

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

And just recently, Cole began reciting this line from time to time to remember the order of operation in algebra:

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction

And, of course, the ever-famous rhyme (even though there are more than 200 exceptions to this rule, including weird and names like Sheila and Friedman):

I before E except after C,

And when sounding like “ay” as in neighbor or weigh

★~ Fragrance Day:

My sweet mother has worn the same fragrance for years, and whenever I smell it on anyone else, I tell them it smells better on my Mom. Not really, that wouldn’t be courtesy, but it is true.

Joe loved Old Spice, and Cole still associates the Old Spice smell with his dad. I tried to update Joe’s cologne choice, but he was just an Old Spice guy. We did once find a bottle of Hai Karate during an archeology dig around our house; it must have belonged to Joe’s dad. It had never been opened and still had its small self-defense instruction booklet that was sold with each bottle (to help wearers fend off women). It was about 20 years old. I think the smell became stronger with age. Joe opened the bottle and used it to the last drop.  He would put it on and walk out the door practicing his karate chops. I did not have the heart to tell him he had little to worry about, and was very happy when the fragrance was gone and only the bottle remained. I may have helped the bottle evaporate a little, out of self-defense. Chop. Chop.

★~ French Bread Day! 

French bread, also known as a baguette, is a crusty loaf baked in a long, thin shape. The French have been making long sticks of bread since at least the mid-eighteenth century, but the baguette didn’t become an iconic symbol of French cuisine until the twentieth century. A new law passed in 1920 banned workers from beginning their shift before 4 a.m., which made it difficult for French bakers to have fresh bread ready for their customers in the morning. They turned to the fast-baking baguette for a solution, and soon it became a part of daily life.

To celebrate French Bread Day, slather REAL butter on a crusty piece of French bread. Très bon!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ Aries, the ram: In the astronomical/astrological zodiac, which divides the sun’s apparent orbit into 12 segments, the period Mar 21–Apr 19 is traditionally identified as the sun sign of Aries, the Ram. The ruling planet is Mars.

♥~ 1952 – The Moondog Coronation Ball was held at the Cleveland Arena. Promoted by Alan Freed and two partners, it was later cited as the first rock concert. Due to the overwhelming response, a second show was added, but the second batch of tickets were not marked as such. So, by the time openers Paul Williams and The Hucklebuckers got the show on the road, an estimated 25,000 kids had showed up — at the venue that could only hold about 10,000 folks. Windows were smashed, doors were crashed and the fire marshall ordered a quick end to the ‘show’.

♥~ 1939 – Singer Kate Smith recorded “God Bless America.”

♥~ 1963 –  Alcatraz, the infamous federal penitentiary in the middle of San Francisco Bay, was closed. Currently it’s a part of the National Park Service. Many of the gardens maintained by prisoners were preserved, including 15 species of roses. About 500 people visit the gardens every day.

♥~ 1977 – Mrs. James Duck of Memphis became history’s fastest mother. Her triplets were born naturally in under two minutes.

♥~ 1999 – Sheriff Tom Jones in Colby, Kansas, told reporters some prisoners liked their new black-and-white striped uniforms with the old-fashioned round convict caps because they made them “look professional.” Other prisoners thought the uniforms were demeaning, but the sheriff felt that jail “ought to be a little demeaning.”

♥~ 2003 – A 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, visiting Las Vegas, hit pay dirt: a world record million jackpot on a slot machine.

♥~2006 – Happy 6th Birthday Twitter!

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1910 – Julio Gallo vintner: Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery, Modesto, CA; died May 2, 1993

♥~ 1958 – Sabrina LeBeauf, Actress (“The Cosby Show”)

♥~ 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, Actress, comedian

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ The word “perfume” comes from the Latin “per fumum”, which means “through smoke”?

♥~  Perfume most likely originated in Arabia and/or Egypt, refined later by the alchemists and Europeans. A key figure was Cleopatra, with her attention to scenting all aspects of her life including the sails of her barge.

♥~“Hungary Water” is the name of the first modern, alcohol-based perfume made in Hungary in 1370. Legends say that Queen Elisabeth of Hungary requested this type of product, and Hungarian monks created this perfume specially for her.

♥~ Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds, generating sales of $100 million dollars a year.

♥~Clive Christian No. 1 was awarded the Guinness World Record for being the most expensive perfume. Composed of the rarest ingredients in the world with no regard to their cost, No. 1, which has been produced by Clive Christian for the past six years, retails for $2,350 for 30ml of the pure perfume. Only 1000 bottles each of the men’s and women’s perfumes are released each year.

#

If  Odd started giving an award for being a dumb ass this would be my first award:

California kids run the risk of getting in trouble for saying “God bless you.”  Mr. Cuckovich, a Northern California teacher has banned the customary post-sneeze response “Bless you” in his health class—not for religious reasons but because it’s an antediluvian (made, evolved, or developed a long time ago) thing. “When you sneezed in the old days, they thought you were dispelling evil spirits out of your body,” says Cuckovich. “So they were saying ‘God bless you’ for getting rid of evil spirits. But this doesn’t really make any sense anymore.” (How does he know this?) For a while, Cuckovich was even subtracting points from the tests of students who would flout the ban, but parents complained so he stopped. Hey, Florida you missed one!! Sorry that was not nice at all….SORRY.  Really!

Hope everyone has a Wonderful Wednesday! Leave a comment if you have a chance! Odd Loves Company!

♥