~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
June 21, 2013

★~ Today’s Quote: “Just living is not enough” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and flowers.” –  Hans Christian Andersen

★~ Summer Solstice Day:

“Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here, While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck, Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. “ (Shakespeare-Mid Summer Night)

With Puck’s words, the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” ends, but each June 21st, we celebrate the summer solstice. Some ways to celebrate today—find ways to be outside in the sunshine; if you have a friend in need or is feeling a little low, give them yellow and orange flowers or an orange; or add brightly colored flowers to your own home.

~ Check out the cool Google Doodle. FUN.

~ Sol + stice come from the Latin words sun which mean “sun” and “to stand still.”

~ Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer (Shakespeare), St. John’s Day, or the Wiccan Litha

~ The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.

~ Pagans called the Midsummer moon the “Honey Moon” for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.

~ Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump.

~ Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called ‘chase-devil’, which is known today as St. John’s Wort

~ Howl Reminder: Set to peak on Sunday, June 23, this months supermoon is noteworthy not only for the remarkable sight it will present to skywatchers but also because it will be the largest supermoon this year. Also known as a perigee full moon, the event occurs when a full moon lines up with the Earth and the sun at a specific point in its orbit, called the lunar perigee. That’s the point at which the moon is nearest to Earth as it traces its elliptical path around our planet.

★~ Baby Boomers Day:

A “Baby Boomer” is technically anyone born between the years 1946 and 1964.  This was the period after World War II ended, during which Americans were having babies at a greater rate than they ever had before the war.  They are considered the largest generation ever: today they are 76 million strong and  for the about the next 16 years, will be turning 65 at a rate of about 8,000 a day. They pushed the divorce rate up to 50 percent and marched to support civil rights for racial minorities and equal rights for women. Some went to war; some name-called those who did, demanding their return. They started the sexual revolution and were known for smoking dope and dropping acid. For some, demonstrating was their passion and pride. They saw it all on television: Vietnam, assassinations, Watergate, and a walk on the moon.  Many explored the inner self through transcendental meditation and therapy. A toast for the Baby Boomers!

★~ Skateboarding Day:

Skateboarding originated in the 1940s. According to an urban legend, the idea came from surfers in California who wanted something to “surf” while the water was flat. Today, people all around the world enjoy this recreational action sport, but California remains the epicenter of the skateboard community.

Some of the most popular skateboarding tricks are aerials, ollies, grinds, kickflips, and spins. The annual X Games competition features some of the most accomplished skateboarders in the world. In 1999, Tony Hawk became the first skater to land a “900,” which requires two and a half revolutions with the skateboard.

Don’t have a skateboard at home?  Well, you could take the wheels off those rollerblades in hiding in your closet and slap em on the bottom of your tabletop ironing board. No?  Ok, maybe just go to the park and skip saying, “Gosh dangit those kids on skate boards will be the death of me…” (El Morno friend Irene you are excused from all of the activities for the time being. please no skateboarding!)

★~  Peaches and Cream Day:

The peach is a drupe, similar to the cherry, plum, or any fruit with a hard stone. Recipe for celebrating today: get one large fresh peach—peeled, pitted, and sliced—one teaspoon of brown sugar, two tablespoons of sour cream, and one tablespoon of chopped pecans.  Place the sliced peach in a small serving dish.  Sprinkle with brown sugar, and spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle with pecans (optional, of course).  Now, isn’t that just a peachy way to celebrate the summer Solstice?

Peaches & Cream Pie

Peaches & Cream Cake

★~ Today in History:

Spiish Splash Solstice is Taking a Bath from Katybeth on Vimeo.

♥~ 1958 – Splish Splash, Bobby Darin’s first million-seller, was released by Atco Records. The song, written by Darin and Jean Murray, was Atco single #6117, recorded Apr 10, 1958. Today is our Bird Solstices anniversary–she came to live with us 5 years ago today, hating me at first sight.  The video is of her performing to Splish Splash.

♥~ 1975 – The Captain and Tennille’s Love Will Keep Us Together jumped into the #1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed there for four weeks.

♥~ 1976  – For a movie remake, a 110-foot artificial King Kong was dropped off the World Trade Center in New York City.

♥~ 1989 – A 15-year-old West Palm Beach, Florida, girl received $81.25 in damages after she sued her prom date for standing her up.

♥ ~ 1977 – “When Kellogg’s Frosted Rice was, it contained so much iron that consumers found they could pick it up and eat it with a magnet. After the problem was fixed, a company spokesman assured the Wall Street Journal that the new, improved – and demagnetized – version of the cereal could not be lifted with magnets ‘unless they are very, very strong.'”

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre Nobel Prize-winning philosopher, writer: Being and Nothingness; playwright: No Exit, The Flies, The Age of Reason; rejected Nobel Prize for literature [1964]. In 1964 Sartre rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature when it was awarded to him. In Being and Nothingness, he wrote:  “Man can will nothing unless he has first understood that he must count on no one but himself; that he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets for himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.”

♥ ~ 1947 – Meredith Baxter actress: Family Ties, Bridget Loves Bernie, Til Murder Do Us Part

♥ ~ 1947 – Michael Gross actor: Family Ties, Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland, In the Heat of Passion 2: Unfaithful

♥~ 1982 – Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor) Duke of Cambridge Midsummer’s Day is an appropriately Game of Thrones-ish date for a birthday, as Prince William turns 31 today.

♥~Good to Know You!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/4MNANgFCYpk[/youtube]

Would your career change if you were the other gender? If yes, what do you think your career would be?

What’s the craziest parental (or just in general) fan behavior you’ve witnessed?

What company  has had the biggest impact on your life? (Can be a store, restaurant, corporation, small business, or any other entity that exchanges goods or services for money.)

What’s something that’s bugging you?

What is your favorite summer time activity?

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Cole is starting a car blog to help him keep track of his Senior Project over the next 8 months and to keep his supporters up to date.  According to Cole, he’ll post about engines and modifications on his car blog, while I post on Odd about the snacks we take on our road trips, and then he went on to tell me I could proof all his posts. I love my kid! I can hear Cousin Carla screaming all the way from Florida. Cole’s first priority is finding a V.W. Beetle for his team to work on and last night he made an offer on one that is located in Kentucky. Happily, he showed me this bug was much closer to Chicago than the one he found in Arizona. The plan is to rent a flat bed truck to bring the car back to Chicago. I fear, one more time, Cole may have stolen more chain than I can swim with. . .On the other hand, this may be my only chance to play the role of trucker Mom! I’m going for it!

Happy Solstice. To celebrate the new season, I’m going to read cards on Odd over the weekend. I will keep you posted.

♥~