Monday, October 31, 2011

AND I QUOTE

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail." Abraham Maslow.

NOW YOU KNOW

Toilet paper is not the greatest thing since sliced bread -- it can't be, because toilet paper predates it by over fifty years. Commercial toilet paper was invented in 1857 by a New Yorker named Joseph Gayetty, who sold packs of 500 sheets (each containing a watermark with his name) for fifty cents. The product was called "the greatest necessity of the age" per its marketing language, so perhaps, sliced bread is the greatest thing since toilet paper
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NOTHING SCARY ABOUT THIS LUNCH





TODAY IN HISTORY

OCTOBER 31
1956:U.S. Navy Rear Adm. George J. Dufek makes the first airplane landing at the South Pole, becoming the first man since Robert F. Scott's ill-fated expedition in 1912 to set foot on the South Pole. Dufek is also the first American to reach the pole, having piloted the transport plane Que Sera Sera to bring supplies for the construction of a permanent Antarctic station.

1517: Theologian Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, criticizing the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church; the event is hailed as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In 1521, Luther will be excommunicated by Pope Leo X and labeled a heretic by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

1959: Lee Harvey Oswald makes the local newspapers after he appears at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, expressing his desire to become a Soviet citizen. Oswald will make much bigger headlines in November 1963 as the assassin of President John F. Kennedy.
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ROTARY WINS THE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

It's traditional that during the baseball playoffs the mayors of the competing cities make a fun bet on the winner. Obviously, each mayor would be on his/her team. During this years National League Championship Series the mayors of St. Louis and Milwaukee bet a Paul Harris Scholar award for the winner to receive. I found that quite refreshing, and unusual.
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THE FACES OF HALLOWEEN






PUMPKIN, CARVE THYSELF

Sunday, October 30, 2011


GRAND CENTRAL'S HIDDEN PLATFORM

Grand Central Terminal, located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, has more than 40 platforms. But one of those platforms is almost never used.
In 1871, Grand Central opened its doors. While the building itself stretches from 42nd Street to 45th Street, the terminal as a whole extends — underground — as far uptown as 50th Street. One of the buildings above these tracks, somewhere between 49th and 50th Streets, was a powerhouse for the Terminal.  (click below to read more)

THE PICASSO OF PUMPKIN CARVING

On a recent afternoon, Ray Villafane studied a pumpkin face that looked, by turns, like a sad cartoon Popeye, a vampire and the actor Gérard Depardieu. Hating it, he spun the pumpkin to its other side and started over, hacking in bold strokes at its outer skin.
"Some of my best pumpkins happen when I'm about to throw them away," he said. He then carved an ogre getting its teeth knocked out mid-punch, with a spot for his fist to deliver the blow. (click below to read more)

LET'S TAKE THIS CONVERSATION TO THE PARKING LOT




TODAY IN HISTORY

Orson WellesImage by andy z via Flickr
ORSON WELLS
OCTOBER 30
1974:Muhammad Ali knocks out previously undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman, winning in eight rounds at the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire. Organized by promoter Don King, the bout is the first heavyweight championship event to be held in Africa.

1938: Orson Welles causes a panic among American radio listeners tuned into the Mercury Theatre on the Air on CBS. Welles' radio play version of H.G. Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, adapted to resemble a news broadcast, unintentionally dupes thousands of listeners into believing that Earth is under alien attack from Mars.

1944: Martha Graham stars in the debut of the ballet Appalachian Spring at the Library of Congress in Washington. Graham choreographed the performance, based on the music of Aaron Copland.
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AND I QUOTE

"Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, October 29, 2011

HERE COMES HALLOWEEN




VINTAGE AD-1952


DRESSING YOUR DOG FOR HALLOWEEN





CHOWING DOWN IN BUSINESS CLASS

THE WHOLE WORLD IN YOUR HAND

The OmniTouch, a wearable device created by researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University, can transform a hand, sheet of paper or table into a multi-touch, iPad-style interface.
Mounted on a shoulder, the OmniTouch can project such images as a typewriter keyboard, a blank notepad or a map, each tailored to the chosen surface. A depth-sensing camera looks for cylindrical objects (that is, fingers) and reports to a desktop computer whether they're hovering, tapping, drawing or "pinching" the virtual screen. Somewhat cumbersome now, the system is designed for a future in which we look back on 4-inch smart-phone screens as hopelessly confining.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Cover of "Dark Side of the Moon"Cover of Dark Side of the Moon
OCTOBER 29
1929:The Roaring '20s come to a crashing halt as "Black Tuesday" hits the New York Stock Exchange. More than 16 million shares are traded in panic, causing stock prices to collapse completely and thousands of investors to lose their entire savings.

1983: Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon spends its 491st week on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, becoming the longest-charting album of all time. Dark Side of the Moon will remain on the chart until July 1988.

1998: While still in office as a U.S. senator from Ohio, John Glenn revisits his earlier career, returning to space as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77, Glenn is the oldest person to travel in space, setting another record alongside his 1962 achievement as the first American to orbit the Earth.
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DICK HAD BOTH ENDS OF THE 50-50, THE EXTRA TICKET DIDN'T HELP



TIMING IS EVERYTHING


IT WAS ALL SMILES FOR THE CHILI SUPPER








I'LL BET YOU CAN'T DO THIS


Friday, October 28, 2011

IS THIS THE FURUTE OF PUNCTUATION?

By HENRY HITCHINGS
Punctuation arouses strong feelings. You have probably come across the pen-wielding vigilantes who skulk around defacing movie posters and amending handwritten signs that advertise "Rest Room's" or "Puppy's For Sale." (click below to read more)

IS THERE A 3RD OPTION?