~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
July 14, 2014

★~ Today‘s Quote:  “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece”  ― Claude Monet

★~ Bastille Day:

Bastille Day is a national holiday in France. It is  similar to the fourth of July in the United States. The French simple call it le 14 Juillet.

The Bastille was a stronghold built in Paris in the 14th century. In fact, the word “bastille” means “fortress” in French. During his reign, Louis XVI used it as a prison and the structure became a symbol of his power. In 1789, rioters stormed the Bastille and proceeded to demolish it. It was an act of rebellion and marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

Uncork a bottle of French wine and celebrate France.

★~ National Nude Day:

National Nude Day (also referred to as International Nude Day as it has gone global) originated in New Zealand when former rugby star and TV presenter Marc Ellis dared people to streak in front of Prime Minister Helen Clark. So if you missed World Naturist Day (June 19), World Naked Bike Ride Day (June 11), or World Naked Gardening Day (May 14), now is your chance to celebrate au natural!

If you would like to plan a vacation at naked resort….Click for a list a of the best resorts. 

★~ Bastille Day Food

A few foods for your Bastille Day celebration. . . You may want to start with gougeres – the ultimate cheese puff. Or maybe it’ll be pissaladiere, like a French pizza with caramelized onions, anchovies and black olives.

You’ll want some dippy kinds of things. Rillettes made with salmon or pork are perfect, just serve them with toasted bread or a neutral-flavored cracker.

For the main course, how about a grand aioli? Make the garlicky mayonnaise an hour or so before the party to relieve any anxiety (I don’t know this first hand, of-course, but I was told aioli can be temperamental, but if you follow the instructions and add the oil very slowly and you’ll be fine). Serve it with a spread of cooked vegetables and fish.

Of course, if you want something more casual, just make up a bunch of pan bagnat. Fix them in the morning; they improve as they sit.

And for dessert….Cherry Clafouti

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1927 – John Chancellor – NBC News anchor.  Chancellor began anchoring “NBC Nightly News” in 1970, when Chet Huntley retired from “The Huntley-Brinkley Report.”  He’s credited with originating the idea of using color-coded maps on network news coverage of presidential elections, starting in 1976, when NBC used blue to mark states won by Gerald Ford, and red for states won by Jimmy Carter.

♥~ 1972 – The temperature rose to 128 degrees in Death Valley, California. What was the highest temperature ever in Death Valley?134 degrees on July 10, 1913.

♥~ 2010 – Violet (78) and Allen Large (75), who lived in a modest home in Lower Turo, Nova Scotia, Canada, scooped the Lotto 649 jackpot winning .2 million. In the months that followed, they gave most of their winnings away to charity.

★~ Born Today:

♥~1862 – Gustav Klimt – Austrian symbolist painter whose work was a cause of controversy for its celebration of sexuality, but which is now counted among the most expensive artworks in the world.. His most famous painting is The Kiss (1907-08), which reflected his fascination with eroticism. Reputedly the father of 14 illegitimate children, Klimt died from a stroke after contracting Spanish flu during the 1918 pandemic.

♥~ 1910 – William Hanna was the co-creator of animated characters Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Snagglepuss and Magilla Gorilla. With partner Joe Barbera, he won seven Academy Awards for his Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts, and eight other works were nominated. The Hanna-Barbera team created the first animated TV sitcom for adults, The Flintstones (1960), and such favorites as The Jetsons and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?

♥~ 1913 – Gerald Ford – He was born Leslie King Jr., but when his parents divorced and his mother remarried, Leslie was renamed after his stepfather:  Gerald Ford.  Ford had the shortest term of any U.S. president who did not die in office (less than three years), but he lived longer than any other president, until age 93.

♥ ~ 1918 – Ingmar Bergman Academy Award-winning director: Through a Glass Darkly [1961]; The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Cries and Whispers, Fanny and Alexander; died July 30, 2007

♥~ 1960 – Actress Jane Lynch actress: “Glee,” “The Cleveland Show,” The 40-Year-Old Virgin, born Dolton, IL.

♥~ 1966 – Matthew Fox actor: Lost, A Token for Your Thoughts, Behind the Mask, If I Die Before I Wake, My Boyfriend’s Back, We Are Marshall

★~ Today’s Gallimaufry

Lessons from the Eiffel Tower:

It was designed at home, on the kitchen table…
by someone who didn’t get their name on it
Never been done before, not guaranteed to get built or to work
It was criticized by hundreds of leading intellectuals and cultural experts
It wasn’t supposed to last very long
It’s designed to be an icon, it’s not an accident
People flock to it because it’s famous
You can sketch a recognizable version of it on a napkin
Your turn to build one. Happy Bastille Day.  Seth Godin 

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My internet is running amuck so I headed to a neighborhood coffee shop so I could wish you a Good Morno!  It’s kind of fun to head to a coffee shop bright and early on a rainy morno. My internet should be up a little later today.

Hope you enjoy a very Merry Monday!

Odd Loves Company,