~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 16,2014

Posted Updated January 16, 2015

★~ Today’s Quote-Poem: 

“The Dragon of Grindly Grun”
I’m the Dragon of Grindly Grun,
I breathe fire as hot as the sun.
When a knight comes to fight

I just toast him on sight,
Like a hot crispy cinnamon bun.

When I see a fair damsel go by,
I just sigh a fiery sigh,
And she’d baked like a ‘tater-
I think of her later
With a romantic tear in my eye.

I’m the Dragon of Grindly Grun,
But my lunches aren’t very much fun,
For I like my damsels medium rare,
and they always come out well done.

©1974 Evil Eye Music Poem and drawing by Shel Silverstein

★~ Fig Newton Day:

Back in the late 1800s, many prominent physicians believed that the bulk of human illness was related to digestive problems. The easy, homespun remedy? A combination of fiber plus colon cleanser cleverly disguised as a cookie. Fig cakes became a local favorite in many areas, but because they were a labor-intensive confection, they remained basically a homemade treat. That changed in 1891, when an Ohio-born baker named Charles Roser patented a machine that mass-produced fig cookies. The Kennedy Biscuit Company (later Nabisco) bought the machinery and the recipe from Roser and named the new product Fig Newton, after the Boston suburb Newton, Massachusetts. Fig Newtons were one of the first commercially baked products in America and today are the 3rd most popular cookie in the U.S., over 1 billion are consumed each year.

Homemade Fig Newtons

★~ Do Nothing Day:

Newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin invented Do Nothing Day on Jan. 16, 1973, as a day to celebrate nothing and “to protest the proliferation of special days and weeks by providing Americans with one 24-hour period when they can just sit–without celebrating or honoring anything.” Harold Coffin is Chairman of NNF “Because nothing is something he does better than anybody else.” “The only regret of the negative thinkers in the Nothing Foundation is that in order to combat the proliferation of special days they were forced to create an additional special day.” An expression of interest in the foundation’s purposes qualifies one for membership. Total number of members is unknown. The group does not publish anything, and does not hold meetings or conventions.

★~Dragon Appreciation Day!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/8oc8GoOOUo4[/youtube]

The dragon is a creature of myth and legend. A symbol of good fortune and sign of intense power, the Oriental Dragon is regarded as a divine beast–the reverse of the malicious monster that Westerners felt necessary to find and slay. In Eastern philosophy, the Dragon is said to be a deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority. If you were born in 1904 * 1916 * 1928 * 1940 * 1952 * 1964 * 1976 * 1988 * 2000 *2012, you are a dragon!

I posted this story last week, but in case you, missed it:  A 7-year-old Australian girl wrote to Australia’s national science agency, opening the letter with the charming greeting “hello lovely scientist,” to politely request that they make her a dragon with a black face as a companion for outdoor adventures. They complied, to the best of their ability. Click to read more

★~Hot and Spicy Food Day:

Spice up your life today with your favorite Hot and Spicy Food! Archaeological evidence suggests that people have been using hot spices in their recipes for over 6000 years. The hottest chili pepper in the world is the Naga Jolokia. On average, one of these peppers is over 170 times spicier than a jalapeno pepper! All Spicy Recipes is a hot web site that can help you find the perfect hot and spicy dinner combination.

Homemade Giardinera .

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1866 – Everett Barney patented the all-metal screw clamp skate. The skates clamped on to the edges of the soles of your shoes and were tightened with a key. With the advent of athletic shoes, there was no place to clamp the skates so the clamp skate disappeared. In its place? Roller blades!

♥~ 1961 – Mickey Mantle signed a contract which made him the highest paid baseball player in the American League. ‘The Commerce Comet’ stepped up to the plate for $75,000 for the 1961 season.

♥~ 1976 – The album, Frampton Comes Alive, was released by Herb Alpert’s A&M Records. The double LP soon reached the top spot of the album charts  for 17 weeks. It sold 19 million copies in its first year.

♥~ 2004 – Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in France. The store is located in the heart of the city at 26 Avenue de l’Opera, one of Paris’ popular tourist and shopping districts.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1901- Frank Zamboni, the inventor of the world’s first self-propelled ice-resurfacing machine, which the Italian-American trademarked in his own name. It is commonly known as a “Zamboni.”

♥~ 1910 – Dizzy (Jay Hanna) Dean Baseball Hall of Famer: SL Cardinals [World Series: 1934/all-star: 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937], Chicago Cubs [World Series: 1938], SL Browns; broadcaster: SL Browns, Mutual Radio net, ABC/CBS Game of the Week; died July 17, 1974;

♥~1932 – Dian Fossey Google Doodle honors American zoologist Dian Fossey, who was a leading authority on mountain gorillas in Africa.

♥~ 1935 – A.J. Foyt, Auto racer

♥~ 1943 – Ronnie Milsap, Country singer

♥~ 1974 –  Kate Moss supermodel

♥~ 1950 – Debbie Allen, Dancer, choreographer (“Fame”)

★~ Good to Know:

♥~ The technical name for the funny looking machine that refurbishes the ice at hockey and figure skating rinks is an ice resurfacer, but you probably know it better as a Zamboni.

♥~ Frank Zamboni, the son of Italian immigrants, invented the first ice resurfacing machine in Paramount, California, in 1949. Zamboni initially wanted to name his company the Paramount Engineering Company, but the name was taken, so he used his family name instead.

♥- A big breakthrough for Zamboni occurred in 1950, when figure skater Sonja Henie ordered two machines for her traveling tour. Arthur Wirtz, the owner of Chicago Stadium and the man responsible for presenting Henie’s tour, reportedly told Frank Zamboni that he was concerned with the novelty of the machine. “People will stay in the stands and watch it and not go down to the concession stands,” Wirtz said.

♥~ The Boston Bruins became the first NHL team to use a Zamboni in 1954 and other teams eventually followed suit.

♥~ Zamboni has manufactured about 10,000 machines. Today, the company’s two factories produce about 200 Zambonis a year.

♥~ Al Sobotka, who has driven the Zamboni and cleaned up at Detroit Red Wings games for more than 30 years, is one of the more famous Zamboni drivers. In 1999, the Zamboni company sponsored a Zamboni Driver of the Year contest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the machine. Jimmy Macneil, who drove the Zamboni at the arena in Wayne Gretzky’s hometown of Brantford, Ontario, won the contest and the right to drive the Zamboni at the All-Star Game in Toronto. “It’s a thrill right up there with getting married and having children,” said Macneil, who drove Zambonis through the streets of Canada in the four months leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics to raise money for the Canadian Hockey Association’s grass-roots programs.

♥~Zamboni accident outside of the one that killed Carla’s husband, Eddie LeBec, on the sitcom Cheers include:  Frank Zamboni crashed into the highway median while driving a Model C machine he was delivering to Berkeley Iceland. And while they managed to avoid a crash, two employees of a Boise ice skating rink were fired after driving a Zamboni through a Burger King drive-through in 2006.

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I could not in good conscience encourage eating Fig Newtons; however, since my dear dad already indulges in the dastardly Newton habit there is one thing you could do to celebrate Fig Newton Day….Send Charlie a text or an e-mail wishing him a Happy Fig Newton day. He is always a little sad when he does not receive any Wishing you a Happy Fig Newton Day Cards; he feels his holiday may be overshadowed by the holidays surrounding it. You can help brighten his day and let him know,  you give a fig. Uhm, no need to mention me when you e-mail or text…I think it’s best if he believes the gesture came directly from you. Thank you in advance.

Charlie’s Contact information

Always remember, Never tickle the tail of a sleeping dragon!

Odd Loves Company!