~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
February 13, 2014

★~ Today’s Quote: “Must a name mean something?” Alice asked doubtfully. Of course it must,” Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh; “my name means the shape I am – and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost.”  ― Lewis Carroll

★~ Change Your Name Day:

If you’ve ever felt like your name doesn’t quite fit, or you are just a little tired of being called the same old thing, try taking a new name for the day. New number one baby names top both the girls’ and boys’ popularity lists in 2013, check out good to know for more about names.

★~ Tortellini Day:

Tortellini is a signature dish from the Italian region of Bologna. Food is taken so seriously here that Bologna is home to the Learned Order of the Tortellini, which has a formidable membership, all dedicated to the preservation of the tortellini. Members wear red and gold hats shaped like tortellini and gold tortellini necklaces at all their functions. When the Bolognese eat their famous tortellini in brodo, tortellini in “broth,” they remain completely silent until they are finished. Tortellini is the creation of a local cook who dreamt he saw Venus rising from the waves, glimpsed her perfect navel, and, upon waking, rushed into his kitchen to recreate the divine belly-button as a pasta. Hey, that is their story, and I am sticking to it! The most common fillings for tortellini are ham, white meat, and Parmesan cheese.

Pesto Tortellini- Half Hour Meals

★~ Today in History:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/8_VbImuG71M[/youtube]

♥~ 1635 – The Boston Latin School, the first public school building in the United States, was established on this day.

♥~ 1866 – Jesse James and his gang drew their guns and held up a Midwestern bank (in Liberty, Missouri). It’s said to be the first armed robbery ever committed in the U.S. during peace-time.

♥~ 1966 – The Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show from New York. They performed I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, As Tears Go By and 19th Nervous Breakdown.

♥~ 1971 – The Osmonds, began a five-week stay at the top of the pop music charts with the hit, One Bad Apple.

♥~ 2000 – Midwestern artist, Charles Schulz, achieved fame and fortune drawing Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the other “Peanuts” characters. Schulz chose to stop drawing the comic strip after 50 years, and coincidentally died the day before the last original “Peanuts” cartoon appeared in newspapers on February 13th, 2000.

♥~ 2011 – Switzerland, with the highest rate of suicide by firearms in Europe, voted to hold fast to its long-standing tradition of allowing citizens to keep army-issue weapons at home.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (Giambattista Piazzetta) artist: Prominent 18th-century Venetian painter. Notable among his works are the Ecstasy of St. Francis and Fortune Teller. Born at Venice, Italy, and died there Apr 28, 1754.

♥~ 1891 – Grant Wood, American Painter. Wood created the famous 1930 painting “American Gothic,” showing a farmer and his daughter standing outside their house. The painting of the puritanical farmer holding the pitchfork and his wife, is on display at The Art Institute of Chicago.

♥~ 1903 – Georges Simenon, novelist born in Liége, Belgium. He’s one of the most prolific writers of all time, best known for his detective novels featuring Inspector Maigret. He wrote some 400 books, which sold more than 1.4 billion copies from 1935 to 1997. Each book took him on average eight days to write.

♥~ 1923 – Chuck Yeager pilot: broke sound barrier; featured in movie: The Right Stuff

♥~ 1933 – Kim (Marilyn) Novak actress: Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm, Bell Book and Candle, Vertigo

♥~ 1934 – George Segal actor: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Touch of Class, King Rat, Look Who’s Talking Now, Taking the Heat, The Bridge at Remagen, Just Shoot Me

♥~ 1944 – Stockard Channing (Susan Stockard) actress: Stockard Channing in Just Friends, The Stockard Channing Show, Up Close and Personal, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, Grease, Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves

♥~ 1968 – Kelly Hu actress: Martial Law, Growing Pains, The Doors, The Bold and the Beautiful, Nash Bridges

★~ Good to Know:

♥~ Imogen, a Shakespearean name that’s never been in the U.S. Top 1000, is evidence of a major trend towards names that start with vowels, with over a third of the girls’ Top 100 and over 20 percent of the boys’ beginning with A, E, I, or O.

♥~ The Biblical Asher takes top place on the boys’ list back from Finn, which drops to Number Three. The boys’ number two name is Declan, an Irish newcomer which had flirted with the top spot throughout the year. Rounding out the boys’ Top Five are Atticus and Oliver.

♥~ On the girls’ side, classic favorite Charlotte is in second place, with Harper at Number Three. Isla and Amelia complete the Top Five.

♥~ Among names used for babies of both genders, Rowan is the top choice, with Quinn at Number Two and Kai Number Three.

♥~ Along with vowel names, the most popular names follow these trends:

♥~ Literary-influenced names for girls:  Alice, Matilda, and Eloise along with the names of writers and other literary figures Hadley, Louisa, and Anais.

♥~ Softer names for boys: Milo, Ezra, and Levi; that contain soft sounds such as Jasper and Sebastian; and that relate to sister names, such as Julian and Everett.

♥~ Unisex names that start with the letter R: A quarter of the top unisex names begin with R: Rowan, Remy, Rory, Riley, and River.

♥~ The hottest girls’ names — those that have risen the furthest on this year’s Top 100 — are Elodie, Maisie, and Evangeline, while the hottest names for boys are Aiden, Kieran, Bodhi, and royal baby name George.

♥~Top 20 Girls:

1. Imogen
2. Charlotte
3. Harper *
4. Isla
5. Amelia
6. Evelyn
7. Penelope
8. Eleanor
9. Cora
10. Violet
11. Katniss
12. Olivia
13. Maeve
14. Seraphina
15. Alice
16. Claire
17. Adelaide
18. Evangeline
19. Ava
20. Hazel

♥~ Top 20 Boys:

1. Asher
2. Declan
3. Finn
4. Atticus
5. Oliver
6. Henry
7. Emmett
8. James
9. Jude
10. Owen
11. Milo
12. Jasper
13. Silas
14. Ezra
15. Django
16. Liam
17. Flynn
18. Levi
19. Leo
20. Felix

#

Cole’s name seems to be rising in popularity he made the top 100 list this year as number 95. Good news if he ever wants to buy a mug with his name on it.

If you live in the South, I’ll share the best ice-snow weather advice I was ever given, ” Child, it don’t matter how fast you going if you not going nowhere.” (I was spinning my wheels trying to get my car unstuck). Chicago on the other hand might hit a high of 30. I feel like I should pull out the lawn chairs.

Hope you enjoy your Thursday!