~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 19th, 2015

★~ Monday Motivational Quote:

★~ Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King was 33, when he was pressing the case of civil rights with President John Kennedy. At 34, he galvanized the nation with his “I Have a Dream” speech. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. At 39, he was assassinated, but he left a legacy of hope and inspiration that continues today.

★~Popcorn Day:

Americans eat about 16 billion quarts of popcorn each year (about 51 quarts per person), which makes it one of the most popular snacks in the country. It is also one of the oldest.

Popcorn has been around for centuries. It is one of six main varieties of corn. (The others are pod, sweet, flour, dent, and flint.) Popcorn originated in Mexico, but eventually made its way north. In 1948, archaeologists in the state of New Mexico discovered ancient popcorn ears that were at least 5,600 years old! The Native Americans (in both North and South America) popped their corn by throwing it on hot stones over a fire.

I’ve always made my popcorn on the stove but this past year I was introduced to the Whirley Pop and I love it. It makes a full pot of fluffy, popcorn using a minimum of oil, leaving essentially no unpopped kernels. And it’s easy to clean. Just wipe off the top with a sponge and wipe the inside down with a paper towel.

Alton Brown’s recipe for perfect popcorn is also a winner! Minus the Whirley Pop.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1915 – George Claude of Paris, France patented the neon tube advertising sign.

♥~ 1937 –  Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

♥~ 1953 – Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy gave birth to a baby boy —  Lucy’s real life son was born the same day as her TV son.  The program had more television viewers than the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the following day.

♥~ 1991 – Janet Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Love Will Never Do’, her 5th US No.1

★~Born Today:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/CQ-QfMv7Fzw[/youtube]

♥~ 1736 – James Watt inventor: condensing steam engine; the watt, a unit of power, was named after him; died Aug 19, 1819

♥~ 1807 – Robert E. (Edward) Lee Civil War: Confederate General surrendered to the North’s General Ulysses S. Grant; died Oct 12, 1870

♥~ 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe poet: The Raven; author of suspense tales: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher; died Oct 7, 1849

♥~ 1923 – Jean Stapleton (Murray) Emmy Award-winning actress: All in the Family

♥~ 1935 – Johnny O’Keefe, singer known as “Australia’s King of rock ‘n’ roll”. He co-wrote and had the 1958 Australian hit with, ‘Real Wild Child’, which was covered by Iggy Pop in 1986. Other hits included ‘Shout!’, ‘Don’t You Know Pretty Baby’ and ‘She’s My Baby.’

♥~ 1943 – Janis Joplin singer: with Big Brother and The Holding Company: Piece of My Heart, How Hard It Is; formed Kozmic Blues Band, then Full Tilt Boogie Band:Pearl, Me and Bobby McGee; died Oct 4, 1970.  Click for Great Janis Joplin pictures

♥~ 1946 – Dolly Parton songwriter, singer: ACM Entertainer of the Year [1977], CMA Entertainer of the year [1978]: Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, Here You Come Again,9-to-5, You’re the Only One, [w/Kenny Rogers]: Islands in the Stream; Grand Ol’ Opry member; actress: 9-to-5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,Steel Magnolias; owns Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee

♥~ 1947 – Paula Deen, TV chef

♥~ 1953 – Desi Arnaz Jr. entertainer, singer: group: Dino, Desi and Billy: Through Spray Colored Glasses;

★~ Word Gallimaufry: 

The definition of aplomb:

Subject: Meaning of Aplomb
His Lordship was in the study when the butler approached and coughed discreetly.
“May I ask you a question, My Lord?”
“Go ahead, Carson ,” said His Lordship.
“I am doing the crossword in The Times and I have found a word I am not too clear on.”
“What word is that?” asked His Lordship.
“Aplomb,” My Lord.
“Now that’s a difficult one to explain. I would say it is self-assurance or complete composure.”
“Thank you, My Lord, but I’m still a little confused.”
“Let me give you an example to make it clearer. Do you remember a few months ago when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived to spend a weekend with us?”
“I remember the occasion very well, My Lord. It gave the staff and myself much pleasure to look after them.”
“Also,” continued the Earl of Grantham, “do you remember when Wills plucked a rose for Kate in the rose garden?”
“I was present on that occasion, My Lord, ministering to their needs.
“While plucking the rose, a thorn embedded itself in his thumb very deeply.”
“I witnessed the incident, My Lord, and saw the Duchess herself remove the thorn and bandage his thumb with her own dainty handkerchief.”
“That evening the hole that the rose made on his thumb was very sore. Kate had to cut up his venison even though it was extremely tender.”
“Yes, My Lord, I did see everything that transpired that evening.”
“The next morning while you were pouring coffee for Her Ladyship, Kate inquired of Wills with a loud voice,
‘Darling, does your prick still throb?’
And you, Carson, did not spill one drop of coffee!
THAT is “aplomb.”

#

I love the word aplomb.

Speaking of words and reading (I know, I know, El Morno has been very Ohio* today), if you are looking for reading material, I discovered Liane Moriarty’s books right after Christmas and just finished book #5. Obviously, I’ve become a fan. My favorite one is What Alice Forgot. The Husband’s Secret was a close runner-up, but I would recommend any of them for an entertaining yet thoughtful read.

How did I read five novels in under five weeks? I stayed up much too late. I have been craving good novels lately, and when I find one I like, I devour it. Dearly departed Joe used to hate my reading style. He felt I read too fast, and it annoyed him that I read in the bathtub because he also thought I took too many baths, which came out in a heated argument one day. He yelled, “YOU TAKE TOO MANY BATHS.” Kind of like my friend’s husband, who recently shouted during an argument with her while driving, “I’M NEVER PLAYING WORDS WITH FRIENDS WITH YOU AGAIN.” His comment was totaly unrelated to the argument at hand.  Oh God, we’ve laughed ourselves sick over that one! In fact, I’m laughing right now. Anyway, to appease Joe, I simply lied about what page of the book I was on. I continued to read in the tub. Some hills are worth dying on. And that is what Liane Moriarty’s books are about, women, friendship, and relationships. In each book, I’ve found a character that I can relate to and that I would love to know.

I hope you have MLK day off. I’m looking forward to picking up and dropping off the day campers with light traffic this morno. And guess what! The promised wood chips might arrive today or tomorrow. I wonder how hard it will be to hire someone on Craigslist to haul 17 wheelbarrows, give or take, into the yard. I’ve done it many times before but not, as Cole pointed out, in the winter when we have a yard full of slush. Isn’t he just a little ray of sunshine? Fiddledee, I’ll think about that when the wood chip truck cometh.

 

*It’s written(somewhere) that Ohioans are known for taking an usually long time to get to the point of their story.  And sometimes you find out after listening a very long time that there is no point. So when I write on and on with no point in sight,  I am proudly acknowledging my Ohio aplomb.