~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
November 1st, 2013

★~  Today’s Quote: To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die. ~Thomas Campbell, “Hallowed Ground”

★~ Day of the Dead:

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) begins, November 1, 2013, and ends November 2, 2013.

Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. . Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them.

It is believed during this time that the veil between the worlds is thin and communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easier. Today is also a good day to watch for number sequences that might have meaning to you, and to pay close attention to synchronicity that might show up as you go about your day.

★~ All Saints’ Day:

All Saints’ Day,  honors all of the saints, known and unknown, in Christian history. Dedicating a specific day to individual saints and martyrs is an ancient Christian tradition, and the Feast of All Saints can be traced back to 837AD.

 ★~ National Vinegar Day: 

It has been said that balancing flavors makes great food, and vinegar is the kind of ingredient that can help achieve this balance. Most of us use vinegar in a salad dressing, but vinegar is also what gives barbecue sauce its tang and it’s essential to making mayonnaise.

Vinegar is made via a fermentation process. Different fermented foods result in different types of vinegars and different flavors. Whether you’re dousing freshly fried potatoes in malt vinegar or macerating strawberries in balsamic vinegar, the options for taking ordinary food to new heights are endless.

Aside from its culinary uses, vinegar is a helpful cleaning agent and can also be used to help ease the pain of jellyfish stings.

Quick Cider Vinegar Dressing 

★~ National Deep Fried Clams Day:

Yes, I know. When you think of fall food, fried clams don’t come to mind as a natural menu item. They belong more to July or August, the months of humidity, beaches, and sides of coleslaw. However, today is Deep Fried Clams Day, so let’s dig it by heading to our favorite seafood place and ordering fried clams — or maybe frying some up ourselves.

Easy Deep Fried Clams Recipe 

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1512 – A major artistic marvel was shown to the public for the first time on this date in 1512…Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.  The project took four years to complete, as Michelangelo painted Biblical scenes while lying on his back atop a 60-foot scaffold.

♥~ 1913 –   During the summer of 1913, Charley ‘Gus’ Dorais (‘14) and Knute Rockne (’14) practiced the forward pass while working as lifeguards on a beach in Ohio. On Nov. 1, Notre Dame met Army for the first time in West Point, N.Y. Led by head coach Jesse Harper, the Irish debuted the pass – an offensive scheme that surprised the Cadets and shocked the sporting world. It helped counteract Army’s size advantage, and Dorais completed 14 of 17 attempts for 243 yards, as the blue & gold cruised to a 35-13 win. In this ‘Strong and True’ moment featuring images from the University of Notre Dame Archives, look back on the pass that revolutionized the game, and the victory that put Notre Dame football on the national map.

♥~ 1930- November 1st is the anniversary of two technological marvels used by drivers in Michigan.  A tunnel connecting Windsor, Ontario and Detroit was dedicated on this date in 1930.  The tunnel is located 75 feet below the Detroit River.  The 1st of November in 1957 was the opening day for a five-mile bridge stretching across the Straits of Mackinac, linking Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

♥~ 1947 – The famous racehorse, Man o’ War, died. More than 2,000 people attended his funeral, which was broadcast on NBC Radio and featured nine eulogies. Man o’ War’s grave – which features a 3,000-pound bronze statue of the champion – attracts more than 7,000 visitors each year at the Kentucky Horse Park. Nine businesses in Lexington bear his name and there is a race in his honor at Belmont.

♥~ 1959 – A low-tech device that has saved the faces of countless hockey players was used in a National Hockey League game for the first time.  The nose of Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante was broken by a flying puck during a game that day.  He sat out part of the game, but then returned wearing a fiberglass mask he had used during practices.  Plante’s coach was okay with him going back onto the ice, but didn’t want him to wear the mask.  After the mask became a sort of good-luck charm for the Canadiens, it became standard equipment in the NHL.

♥~ 1969 – Abbey Road, by The Beatles, was #1 on U.S. album charts.

♥~ 1994 – The Chicago Bulls retired Michael Jordan’s uniform (No. 23) and put it on display at the United Center. A sculpture was later commissioned and placed outside the arena with the inscription, “The Best There Ever Was. The Best There Ever Will Be.”

★~Famous Birthdays:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/zSAJ0l4OBHM[/youtube]

♥~ 1871 – Stephen Crane novelist: The Red Badge of Courage; died June 5, 1900

♥~ 1950 – Dan Peek musician: guitar, singer: group: America: A Horse with No Name; LPs: Hat Trick, Holiday, Hearts

♥~ 1957 – Lyle Lovett Grammy Award-winning singer: Best Male Country Vocal [1989]; Cowboy Man, songwriter: This Old Porch [w/Robert Earl Keen], You Can’t Resist It, Closing Time, If I Had a Boat; actor: Ready to Wear, Short Cuts, The Player

♥~ 1962 – Anthony Kiedis musician: guitar; lead singer: group: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Under the Bridge, Give It Away, Californication, Scar Tissue, Otherside, Suck My Kiss, By the Way

★~ Good to Know:  

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Edgar Allan Poe knew what he was doing when he used the raven instead of some other bird to croak out “nevermore” in his famous poem. The raven has long been associated with death and dark omens, but the real bird is somewhat of a mystery. Unlike its smaller cousin the crow, not a lot has been written about this remarkable bird.

♥~  When it comes to intelligence, these birds rate up there with chimpanzees and dolphins. In one logic test, the raven had to get a hanging piece of food by pulling up a bit of the string, anchoring it with its claw, and repeating until the food was in reach. Many ravens got the food on the first try, some within 30 seconds. In the wild, ravens have pushed rocks on people to keep them from climbing to their nests, stolen fish by pulling a fishermen’s line out of ice holes, and played dead beside a beaver carcass to scare other ravens away from a delicious feast.

♥~ In captivity, ravens can learn to talk better than some parrots. They also mimic other noises, like car engines, toilets flushing, and animal and birdcalls. Ravens have been known to imitate wolves or foxes to attract them to carcasses that the raven isn’t capable of breaking open. When the wolf is done eating, the raven gets the leftovers.

♥~  Many European cultures took one look at this large black bird with an intense gaze and thought it was evil in the flesh … er, feather. In France, people believed ravens were the souls of wicked priests, while crows were wicked nuns. In Germany, ravens were the incarnation of damned souls or sometimes Satan himself. In Sweden, ravens that croaked at night were thought to be the souls of murdered people who didn’t have proper Christian burials. And in Denmark, people believed that night ravens were exorcized spirits, and you’d better not look up at them in case there was a hole in the bird’s wing, because you might look through the hole and turn into a raven yourself.

♥~ Cultures from Tibet to Greece have seen the raven as a messenger for the gods. Celtic goddesses of warfare often took the form of ravens during battles. The Viking god, Odin, had two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), which flew around the world every day and reported back to Odin every night about what they saw. The Chinese said ravens caused bad weather in the forests to warn people that the gods were going to pass by. And some Native American tribes worshipped the raven as a deity in and of itself. Called simply Raven, he is described as a sly trickster who is involved in the creation of the world.

♥~ The Native Americans weren’t far off about the raven’s mischievous nature. They have been observed in Alaska and Canada using snow-covered roofs as slides. In Maine, they have been seen rolling down snowy hills. They often play keep-away with other animals like wolves, otters, and dogs. Ravens even make toys—a rare animal behavior—by using sticks, pinecones, golf balls, or rocks to play with each other or by themselves. And sometimes they just taunt or mock other creatures because it’s funny.

♥~ Ravens make “very sophisticated nonvocal signals,” according to researchers. In other words, they gesture to communicate. A study in Austria found that ravens point with their beaks to indicate an object to another bird, just as we do with our fingers. They also hold up an object to get another bird’s attention. This is the first time researchers have observed naturally occurring gestures in any animal other than primates.

♥- Evolutionarily speaking, the deck is stacked in the raven’s favor. They can live in a variety of habitats, from snow to desert to mountains to forests. They are scavengers with a  diet that includes fish, meat, seeds, fruit, carrion, and garbage. They are not above tricking animals out of their food—one raven will distract the other animal, for example, and the other will steal its food. They have few predators and live a long time: 17 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity.

♥~ Despite their mischievous nature, ravens seem capable of feeling empathy. When a raven’s friend loses in a fight, they appear to console the losing bird. They also remember birds they like and will respond in a friendly way to certain birds when they met again . (They also respond negatively to enemies and suspiciously to strange ravens.) Although a flock of ravens is called an “unkindness,” the birds appear to be anything but.

♥~ Ravens mate for life and live in pairs in a fixed territory. When their children reach adolescence, they leave home and join gangs. These flocks of young birds live and eat together until they mate and pair off. Interestingly, living among teenagers seems to be stressful for the raven. Scientists have found higher levels of stress hormones in teenage raven droppings than in the droppings of mated adults. Being a teenager is tough work.

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Happy November 1st! Rabbit Rabbit! Did you see Sullivan? He was helping remind everyone that is was November 1st and to be sure and remember to say RABBIT RABBIT! You did remember to say Rabbit Rabbit right?  Ok, If you forgot, make bunny ears with your hands and hop backwards three times saying rabbit rabbit rabbit, if you do this right away I have it on good authority you will be granted a reprieve and enjoy good fortune all month.

Odd Loves Company!