★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 3, 2014

Today’s Quote:“Don’t be so humble – you are not that great.” ― Golda Meir

★~ Derby Day:

(California Chrome is a solid 5-2 favorite for the 20-horse field going 1 1/4 miles in the Kentucky Derby)

Every year on the first Saturday of May, over 150,000 people gather in Louisville, Kentucky to witness the most exciting two minutes in sports. This afternoon, a group of three-year-old Thoroughbred horses will race for the chance to win the first “jewel” of the Triple Crown. It is an occasion famous for its extravagant hats, mint julep cocktails, and general pomp and circumstance.  Today’s thoroughbreds will be  following in the hoof prints of majestic champions that have included  War Admiral (1937), Secretariat (1973), Whirlaway (1941), Citation (1948) and Seattle Slew (1977).

The NBC Sports Network will cover the Kentucky Oaks (approximate post time 5:45 PM) and Kentucky Derby Post Position Draw live and also feature pre-race analysis and retrospectives of previous year’s races. The Kentucky Derby will be televised live on NBC beginning at 4 PM Eastern on Saturday.

~The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875. It was the brainchild of Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., who wanted to create an American answer to England’s Epsom Derby.

~Clark’s name wasn’t just a fanciful tribute; he was the grandson of William Clark of Lewis-and-Clark fame.

~The Kentucky Derby runs for 1.25 miles or, in racing-speak, 10 furlongs.

~This year’s Kentucky Derby purse is $2.2 million.

★~ Lumpy Rug Day:

Today,  is about lumpy rugs, literal and figurative, and, somewhat misleadingly, about the cathartic importance of beating them, literally and figuratively. Have you swept any mildly uncomfortable truths under the area rug of denial? Does your toupée of self-awareness need to be adjusted? Has the baby powder of iniquity left a discolored patch on your carpet of moral tidiness? Today is the day to thwack it mightily with the rug beater of candor, center it on your balding pate in the mirror of personal revelation, or shampoo it with the shampoo of righteousness. Um, respectively.

★~ Two Different Colored Shoes Day:

For 364 days a year, most people wear matching footwear, but today is your excuse to step outside the box.

Dr. Arlene Kaiser created National Two Different Colored Shoes Day to recognize and celebrate human diversity. According to Dr. Kaiser, the simple act of wearing two different colored shoes proclaims your individuality.

Wearing two different colored shoes can be as simple as wearing a black shoe and a brown shoe, or as outrageous as wearing a flip-flop and a boot. However you decide to express yourself today, do so with flair!

★~Raspberry Tart Day:

A sweet tart, tout de suite!

It’s that time of year when fresh berries are coming into season, and filling the tables at your local farmers market or grocery store. What better time to make yourself a sweet taste of summer?

The sweet fruit tarts that we know and love today evolved from medieval tarts, which were typically filled with meat and served as dinner. But when our ancestors decided to replace the hearty meat with rich custard and fresh fruit, a whole new kind of dessert filled the realm.

Tarts are typically made using a shortbread pastry base – sweet, a little crumbly and very buttery, it tastes a bit like the cookie for which it is named. Then, vanilla custard or pastry cream is spread on top, followed by fresh raspberries standing at attention, or if you can’t find any, raspberry preserves work well in a pinch. If you’re feeling extra decadent, try a chocolate raspberry tart with white chocolate cream.

★~ Today in History:

♥~1939 – Belly up to the bar for this one. Beer Barrel Polka, one of the standards of American music, was recorded by The Andrews Sisters for Decca Records. Patti, Maxine and LaVerne turned this song into a giant hit.

♥~ 1971- National Public Radio, the U.S. national, non-commercial radio network, was born. NPR’s most popular shows also include: Talk of the Nation, fascinating and thought-provoking discussions on the day’s issues and what’s behind the headlines; NPR’s Performance Today, a daily portrait of what’s happening in the world of classical music; and Car Talk, starring America’s funniest auto mechanics, the M.I.T. educated grease monkeys, Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Today, NPR’s satellite-based radio network of almost 600 member stations broadcasts NPR-produced or acquired programs to 13-million listeners in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

♥~ 1973 – Chicago’s Sears Tower was topped out. It was the world’s tallest building at the time –108-story, 1451-feet.

♥~ 1988 – The White House acknowledged that first lady Nancy Reagan had used astrological advice to help schedule her husband’s activities. The unflattering revelations were included in an about-to-be published memoir by former chief-of-staff Donald Regan

♥~ 2006 – Sotheby’s auction house sold Dora Maar au Chat, a painting by Pablo Picasso, for $95.2 million, the second highest amount paid (to that time) for a painting at auction.

♥~ 1986 – Horse racing legend Bill Shoemaker became the oldest jockey to win the the Kentucky Derby. ‘The Shoe’ was atop Ferdinand for the win. Shoemaker was 54 years old. It had been 32 years since Shoemaker’s first Derby victory back in 1955.

★~Born Today:

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

♥~ 1898 – Golda Meir first woman ambassador, minister, Prime Minister of Israel [1969-1974]; one of only two women to sign the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel; was given Israel’s first passport; died Dec 8, 1978

♥~ 1919 – Pete Seeger Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician: banjo, guitar, mandolin; singer: groups: groups: Almanac Singers, Weavers; solo: Little Boxes; songwriter: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Turn, Turn, Turn, co-wrote: If I Had a Hammer; social, civil and political activist.

♥~ 1933 – James Brown The Godfather of Soul: singer: Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, Please, Please, Please, I Got You (I Feel Good), It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World, Living in America; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1986]; died Dec 25, 2006

♥~ 1950 – Mary Hopkin singer: Those Were the Days, Goodbye, Temma Harbour, If You Love Me

♥~ 1975 – Christina Hendricks Mad Men, Kevin Hill, Beggars and Choosers, Life, South of Pico, Hunger Point, Sorority

★~ Good to Know: Odds and Ends:

♥~  A System For Email Productivity

♥~ 6 Superpowers That Really Exist

♥~  Albert Camus Wins the Nobel Prize & Sends a Letter of Gratitude to His Elementary School Teacher 

♥~ Kind and Creative: College kid responds perfectly when stuck in elevator with elderly lady who couldn’t keep standing

♥~ Teens takes Great Grandmother to the Prom

♥~ Baltimore Landslide (watch the whole video)

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

♥~And I bet he does a great job parallel parking too!

♥~ Unusual Playmates

♥~ In Singapore, the elderly and disabled can ‘tap’ for longer crossing time

When radiologists take a selfie

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It looks like a sunny Saturday in Chicago. Perfect for accomplishing some outside want a do’s. First, Cole and I are headed over to his Uncles shop to pick up a few tools they are giving him and maybe to grab a bite of breakfast.  Later, I want to make water bottle planters for my fence. Pictures will be forth coming if my gardening effort succeed. Sometimes, there is more than a little disconnect between the idea and my ability.  My teen plans to pour concert and hopefully finish off the gate this weekend. We have a few other projects we would like to try involving concert so I’m anxious to see how or if it goes. . .

Hope sun and mild temps are part of your Saturday! Do you have any weekend plans?

Odd Loves Company