Today is day 53 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Pungenday, Chaos 53, 3187 YOLD And let us not forget 13.0.8.5.5 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)
It's World Thinking Day We cannot have enough thinking or do enough thinking, and, as a matter of fact, we don't. I am sure that somebody will point out that this holiday comes to us courtesy of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which it does, and I, for one thank them? What, you may ask, not the Boy Scouts too? Well, no. That's not their job. They left that frivolous stuff for the girls to do. Seriously, at inception they were conceived of as military scouts, junior sized and junior grade. They were to be ever alert, especially in time of war, keeping an eye out for the unusual and suspicious, tracking and trailing suspicious persons , noting their comings and goings, and informing the appropriate authorities. Should the country have been occupied, they were to be an arm of the resistance. And, while awaiting such military endeavors, they were supposed to busy themselves being generally helpful to their communities. They were really not envisioned as being of a contemplative ilk. But the girls seemingly evolved a penchant for thinking, and a good thing, too. So we thank them and celebrate with them. While I'm at it, I'd like to encourage everybody of all genderts to follow their example, and think a bunch, if only for one day. :-) It's also National Cook a Sweet Potato Day For the sweetest ever, supersweet potato there is a simple trick derived from a street food and/or snack version popular in certain parts of China. Scrub some smallish sweet potatoes and then freeze them for about an hour. (This converts the starches, I'm told.) Then bake them, skin on, on parchment paper, foil or a silicon mat, for about an hour at 450 degrees F. The skin will begin to puff out from the trapped steam and crack and the tuber will begin to weep caramelized sugar. At that point they are ready to serve and eat, no butter or any other additions needed. You'll be amazed. And, last but not least, it's Walking the Dog Day - see below for details Be Humble Day ditto
We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.~~Arthur Schopenhauer 1440 – Ladislaus the Posthumous, subject of a painting by Anonymous in 1457 1631 – Peder Syv, historian 1732 – George Washington, colonist, general and politician, 1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher and author 1796 – Adolphe Quetelet, Bmathematician, astronomer, and sociologist 1819 – James Russell Lowell, poet and critic 1824 – Pierre Janssen, astronomer and mathematician 1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, general who co-founded The Scout Association 1857 – Heinrich Hertz, physicist, philosopher, and academic 1863 – Charles McLean Andrews, historian, author, and academic 1876 – Zitkala-Sa, author and activist 1879 – Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, chemist and academic 1880 – Eric Lemming, athlete 1889 – Olave Baden-Powell, scout leader, founded the Girl Guides 1889 – R. G. Collingwood, historian and philosopher 1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet and playwright 1900 – Luis Buñuel, director and producer 1903 – Frank P. Ramsey, economist, mathematician, and philosopher 1914 – Renato Dulbecco, virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate 1917 – Reed Crandall, illustrator 1922 – Joe Wilder, player, composer, and bandleader 1925 – Edward Gorey, illustrator and poet 1925 – Gerald Stern, poet and academic 1927 – Guy Mitchell, singer 1928 – Texas Johnny Brown, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1928 – Bruce Forsyth, singer and television host 1930 – Marni Nixon, Asoprano and actress 1932 – Ted Kennedy, soldier, lawyer, and politician 1932 – Zenaida Manfugás, pianist 1933 – Ernie K-Doe, R&B singer 1937 – Joanna Russ, author and activist 1938 – Ishmael Reed, poet, novelist, essayist 1944 – Mick Green, singer and guitarist 1945 – Oliver, pop singer 1947 – Harvey Mason, drummer 1950 – Lenny Kuhr, singer and songwriter 1950 – Genesis P-Orridge, singer and songwriter 1951 – Ellen Greene, singer and actress 1958 – Dave Spitz, bass player and songwriter 1961 – Akira Takasaki, guitarist, songwriter, and producer 1964 – Diane Charlemagne, singer and songwriter 1968 – Bradley Nowell, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1973 – Scott Phillips, drummer and producer 1974 – James Blunt, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1978 – Jenny Frost, singer and dancer 1980 – Shamari Fears, singer, songwriter, and actress 1980 – Kang Sung-hoon, singer 1980 – Jeanette Biedermann, singer, songwriter, and actress
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.~~ Andy Warhol 1512 – Amerigo Vespucci, cartographer and explorer 1875 – Charles Lyell, geologist and lawyer 1888 – Anna Kingsford, physician and activist 1903 – Hugo Wolf, composer 1939 – Antonio Machado, poet and author 1942 – Stefan Zweig, journalist, author, and playwright 1943 – Christoph Probst, activist 1943 – Hans Scholl, activist 1943 – Sophie Scholl, activist 1944 – Kasturba Gandhi, Indian activist 1961 – Nick LaRocca, trumpet player and composer 1976 – Florence Ballard, singer 1987 – Andy Warhol, painter and photographer 1994 – Papa John Creach, violinist 2013 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, pianist and conductor ( 2014 – Trebor Jay Tichenor, pianist and composer 2015 – Chris Rainbow, singer, songwriter, and producer 2016 – Sonny James, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance: Founder's Day or "B.-P. day" (World Organization of the Scout Movement) World Thinking Day (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) Be Humble Day (It's only for one day, man, you can do it, really) National Cook a Sweet Potato Day George Washington's Birthday Recreational Sports and Fitness Day National Margarita Day National Wildlife Day (Do hurry and look at some before it's all gone) Walking the Dog Day
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
Walking the Dog Day:
Be Humble Day
WAR!
There is one day each year, December 25th, on which many purport to celebrate "Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men". Well, this ain't it McGee, this is one of the other 364 (or 5) during which we celebrate, perpetuate, commit and commit ourselves to WAR!, endless and exalted. The foundation of our economy, the employer of ever so many and the source of our eternal pride, WAR! So remember, though it may not be good for living things, it is what keeps this country running and keeps its ruling elites happy, so hooray for war!
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com