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

★~ Today’s Quote: Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.”
Winston Churchill  

★~ Monkey Day:

Quit monkeying around and take a moment to participate in this celebration of all things simian!

Did you know that there are three distinct types of simian primates? Familiar species like baboons and macaques are classified as Old World Monkeys; capuchins and howler monkeys are New World Monkeys, and chimpanzees and gorillas are Apes. There are currently 264 known monkey species in the world.

To celebrate Monkey Day, dress in your favorite monkey attire, share your favorite monkey photo with your friends, eat a banana, or donate to your favorite monkey charity. While you’re at it, don’t forget to indulge in some mischievous monkey business! For more ideas, visit the official Monkey Day website. Click for fascinating Monkey Facts.

★~ Bouillabaisse Day:

What the heck is bouillabaisse?” you ask. “Fish soup,” I say. “Yuck,” you reply. But before you go jumping to conclusions, give bouillabaisse a chance. After all, it’s trés chic in the Mediterranean, and French people have been slurping this soup since 600 B.C. And since when have the French ever eaten anything weird?

Bouillabaisse originated in Marseilles, France. Marseille fishermen typically make the dish when they return to port. Rather than using the more expensive fish that they catch, they use common fish like rockfish and shellfish. For flavor, different herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, saffron, and bay leaf are added to the soup. Vegetables like tomatoes, onions, celery, and potatoes were added during the 17th century.

When bouillabaisse is made, it is rarely made for fewer than ten people. The more people who share the meal, the more different varieties of fish that are included in the soup, making it a tastier bouillabaisse.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1798 – David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patented the nut and bolt machine, and the screw, too

♥~ 1819 –  Alabama became the 22nd United State.  Montgomery is the state capital;  the camellia, is the state flower, and the state bird, is the yellowhammer.

♥~ 1944 –  MGM released the movie National Velvet. Elizabeth Taylor starred as Velvet Brown.

♥~ 1985 – America’s winningest high school football coach, Gordon Wood, 71, of Brownwood High School in Central Texas retired after 43 years. Wood sported a career record of 405 wins, 88 losses and 12 ties. The football stadium at Brownwood High has since been rebuilt and named for him.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1503 –  Nostradamus was born Michel de Nostradame in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France. He studied medicine and became a physician, treating plague victims throughout France and Italy. It’s believed he had a psychic awakening. He began to practice the occult and make predictions of the future, which he published in The Prophecies. Many people today believe his predictions have come true or will in the future. One legend of Nostradamus claims that, during his travels in Italy, he came upon a group of Franciscan monks, identifying one as the future Pope. The monk, called Felice Peretti, was ordained Pope Sixtus V in 1585, fulfilling the prediction of Nostradamus.  Most of the quatrains Nostradamus composed during his life dealt with disasters such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions murders, droughts, and battles. Nostradamus enthusiasts have credited him with predicting numerous events in world history including the French Revolution; the rise of Napoleon and Hitler; the development of the atomic bomb; and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Nostradamus’s popularity seems to be due in part to  the vagueness of his writings and their lack of specific dates make it easy to selectively quote them after any major dramatic events and retrospectively claim them as true. Some scholars believe he was not writing to be a prophet, but writing to comment on events of his time and the people in it. Whatever his method or intentions, Nostradamus’ timeless predictions continue to make him popular to those seeking answers to life’s more difficult questions.

♥~ 1946 – Patty (Anna Marie) Duke Academy Award-winning actress: The Miracle Worker [1962]; Emmy: Captains and the Kings [1976-1977]

♥~ 1949 – Cliff Williams musician: guitar: group: AC/DC:

★~Gallimaufry:

– How wonderful is this!  Tortoise fitted with LEGO wheelchair to help him move around

– 15 Creative DIY Christmas Trees

–  Cool before and after shots of apartment renovations.

– 5 cool things about the revamped Smithsonian Design Museum

– How to deal with chronic complainers

–  Our Pets go to heaven  (Was there really ever any doubt?!)

–  THEY PROMISED!! Discovery Channel ran a special earlier this week called “Eaten Alive,” during which a man was supposed to be eaten alive by an anaconda. During the show, a man was not eaten (alive or otherwise) by a snake.  I bet the snake was even more disappointed.

– Heads Up

[youtube]http://youtu.be/S8nwxj6fcds[/youtube]

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I am currently on hold with an agent that works for the Affordable Care Marketplace. She is an American Citizens who I’m sure is doing her best. However, it is clear that her ability to do her job is undermined by the fact that she clearly can not speak, write or spell. I’ve spelled my last name no less than 10 times. I’ve spelled it slowly, associating a word with each letter and I’ve asked her to say each letter back to me. Yes, I know it is not an easy name to spell but at this point I am having trouble spelling it. Hang on she is back….

TA DA. I’m enrolled. Substantial savings with nothing to lose. If I am not happy I can go back to paying more for the same coverage. I FEEL GOOD! At least for now! No, I don’t support this health care system, I support my own pocketbook.

What are your plans for the day?

Odd Loves Company!

♥~