~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
September 8, 2015

★~ Today’s Quote: “Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

★~ International Literacy Day:

Each year, International Literacy Day highlights the status of literacy and adult learning globally. The good news is  almost 4 billion literate people in the world, but the bad new is worldwide one in six adults is still not literate and more than 67 million children do not attend school. In 1965 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared September 8 as International Literacy Day. It has been observed every year since 1966

★~  Date Nut Bread:

Date nut bread combines — you guessed it! — dates and nuts to bread  for a salty-sweet addition and added texture.  Great sources of protein and iron, dates have been part of the human diet for more than 5,000 years. As a result of its curious shape, the fruit is thought to have taken its name from the Greek word for finger, “daktulos.” Dates require warm climates, and thus grow most prolifically in the Middle East and Africa, or, stateside, Arizona and California. Toast a piece of date nut bread and spread cream cheese or butter on top to celebrate Date Nut Bread Day.

Date Nut Bread
Pumpkin Date Nut Bread

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1866 – James and Jennie Bushnell became the proud parents of sextuplets in Chicago, IL. Three boys and three girls were born. Though two babies died, the surviving four lived long lives. This was the first recorded birth of sextuplets

♥~ 1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America was written by a former Baptist preacher, Francis Bellamy. It only took Mr. Bellamy three hours to write the original 23 words in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America.

♥~ 1930 – Scotch™ Cellophane Tape was developed by Richard Drew and on this day the first roll of the sticky stuff was sent to a prospective customer. That customer wrote back with the following comments for 3M, “You should have no hesitancy in equipping yourself to put this product on the market economically. There will be a sufficient volume of sales to justify the expenditure.” He was right.

♥~ 1952 – Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea was first published.

♥~ 1966 – NBC-TV headed into “Space: the final frontier.” The first episode of Star Trek, was, The Man Trap.

♥~ 1974- President Gerald Ford pardons his predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed or participated in while in office. Ford later defended this action before the House Judiciary Committee, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.

♥~ 1990 – Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory hit number one on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 singles list. The song, from the album of the same name, was the theme song from the movie Young Guns II and earned Jon Bon Jovi an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.

★~ Famous Birthdays:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9OPc7MRm4Y8[/youtube]

♥~ 1922 – Harry Harris Emmy Award-winning director: Fame [1982]; ABC Afterschool Specials, The Waltons, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian, Kung Fu, Lost in Space, Hawaii Five-O,Falcon Crest, Eight Is Enough; died Mar 19, 2009

♥~ 1925 – Peter (Richard Henry) Sellers comedian, actor: The Pink Panther series, What’s New Pussycat, The Mouse that Roared, The World of Henry Orient, Casino Royale, Dr. Strangelove, Being There; died July 24, 1980

♥~ 1932 – Patsy Cline (Virginia Petterson Hensley) Country Music Hall of Famer: Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Walkin’ After Midnight, She’s Got You, Heartaches, Sweet Dreams (Of You), Faded Love; killed in plane crash Mar 5, 1963

♥~ 1947 –  Ann Beattie American author writes short stories that examine the disappointments of modern life.  Her work has been compared to that of Alice Adams, J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, and John Updike.

♥~ 1981 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas actor: The Adventures of Pinocchio, Tom and Huck, Man of the House, Home Improvement, Itsy Bitsy Spider cartoon

★~ Reading Gallimaufry

♥~ Nancy Pearl, in addition to being the most famous librarian in the world, is also now the only librarian to have an action figure created in her likeness

♥~ Reading about yawning makes you yawn.

♥~ Books used to be shelved “backwards” with the spine facing the back of the shelf and the fore-edge facing out.

♥~. Research now indicates that the 4- to 6-year-old age range is the sweet spot for teaching reading. Beyond the age of 6 or 7, teaching a child to read is a game of catch up.

♥~. On average across the world people spend 6.5 hours a week reading.

♥~ According to a study from Yale University, three-quarters of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high school.

♥~ Dr. Seuss coined the word “nerd” in his 1950 book “If I Ran the Zoo.”

♥~ It takes an average of 475 hours to write a novel.

♥~. Books that were penned or conceived behind bars include Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes), Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan), De Profundis (Oscar Wilde), and the Prince(Machiavelli).

♥~ Books used to be chained to the bookshelves in libraries.

♥~ The ratio of customers to bookstores is highest in Nevada, Texas, and Mississippi.

♥~ On the average, a bookstore browser will spend eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover.

♥~ Half of all books sold today are to people over the age of 45.

♥~ Adults who read literature on a regular basis are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to do volunteer or charity work, and over one-and-a-half times as likely to participate in sporting activities.

♥~ The largest advance ever paid for a self published book? A whopping $4.125 million. Simon & Schuster paid that for Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box.

♥~ Women buy 68% of all books sold.

♥~ The page most readers lose interest at? Page 18!

♥~ A glimpse into the NASA library reveals astronauts’ preferred reading includes A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, and London Bridges by James Patterson.

♥~ The longest reading aloud marathon by a team lasted 224 hours and was completed by Milton Nan, Silvina Carbone, Carlos Antón, Edit Díaz, Yolanda Baptista and Natalie Dantaz (all Uruguay) at Mac Center Shopping,Paysandú, Uruguay between September 13-22, 2007.

♥~ The Penguin paperback was created to make books as affordable as cigarettes, and the first Penguin paperbacks were distributed from a church crypt.

♥~ Studies have shown that American children who learn to read by the third grade are less likely to end up in prison, drop out of school, or take drugs.

♥~ The 1930’s reading primer series Fun with Dick and Jane by Dr. William S. Gray is rumored to be plagiarized from Sir Fred Schonell’s similar Dick and Dora readers, found in his Happy Venture Playbooks.

♥~ It is estimated that limited literacy skills cost business and taxpayers $20 billion in lost wages, profits, and productivity annually.

♥~ A bibliokleptomaniac is someone who steals books. One of the most famous bibliokleptomaniacs is Stephen Blumberg, who stole more than 23,000 rare books from 268 libraries. He had various methods for acquiring his estimated 20 million dollar collection, including climbing through ventilation ducts and elevator shafts.

♥~ The term “bookworm” derives from tiny insects who feed on the binding of books.

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A few authors/books I’ve  enjoyed  in 2015. I’ve bolded some of my very favorites.

The Amateur Marriage
Anne Tyler
…
Days of Awe
Lauren Fox
…
Fragile Lies
Laura Elliot
…
The Prodigal Sister
Laura Elliot
…
Birthright
Nora Roberts
…
Hit Man (Keller series Book 1)
Lawrence Block
…
Eight Hundred Grapes
Laura Dave
…
The Silver Star
Jeannette Walls
…
Half Broke Horses
Jeannette Walls
…
The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls
…
A Spool of Blue Thread
Anne Tyler
…
Leaving Time
Jodi Picoult
…
When I Found You
Ryan Hyde
…
Walk Me Home
Catherine Ryan Hyde
…
Don’t Let Me Go
Catherine Ryan Hyde
…
Making Toast
Roger Rosenblatt
…
Obsession in Death
J. D. Robb
…
Innocent in Las Vegas
A.R. Winters
…
Promise Me A Rainbow
Cheryl ReavisJ
…
The Hypnotist’s Love Story
Liane Moriarty
…
The Last Anniversary
Liane Moriarty
…
The Husband’s Secret
Liane Moriarty
…
What Alice Forgot
Liane Moriarty
…
Big Little Lies
Liane Moriarty

What are you reading? Do share. . .

It’s 4am and I’ve been awake since 2am. I must be excited over the cooler temps coming our way. We’re off to Prairie Wolf with our day campers so the cool weather is really appreciated. There is nothing sadder than a melting Lab. Unless it’s a melting me. I’ve spent the last 3 days whining about the hot weather, eating frozen grapes and overindulging in Mocha Frappuccinos. Yesterday, my teen and I went to Starbucks, bought Mocha Fraps and enjoyed them on the way home. We enjoyed them so much we turned around and went back for seconds. Good thing I’m rich in gifted Starbucks cards. However, my sugar moderation commitment has taken a beating. You know, it occurs to me as I’m writing this, I’m probably awake from an overdose of caffeine and sugar. Ah ha!  Thanks for helping me figure that out. Back on the wagon today.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Odd Loves Company

♥~