World Thinking Day originated from a desire by Girl Guides/Girl Scouts to dedicate a day to thinking about and appreciating the global spread of these movements. Each year a participating country is selected and its culture and general living conditions pondered on for the day by all guides and scouts. The idea is to create a greater awareness and understanding of different cultures and any global concerns regarding that particular region. It sounds a little like those endless, global conferences attended at great cost by politicians, which rarely show results. The Girl Guides and Scouts Associations, however, do things differently.
A $1 donation is requested from each member in support of projects that aid Girl Guides/Girl Scouts from member countries in need. Politicians should perhaps dedicate one day annually to thinking about the simplicity of good ideas as formatted by the caring and uncluttered minds of the world’s youth.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (adjective) Tapering from a rounded base toward an apex. | ||
| Synonyms: | lancelike | ||
| Usage: | The bush had lanceolate leaves with sharp tips that could sting unwary passersby. | ||
A turtle was walking down an alley in a big city when he was mugged by a gang of snails. At the police station, the detective documenting the incident asked the turtle to please tell what happened.
The turtle looked dazed. “I don’t know,” he told the detective, “it all happened so fast.”
Quick Quiz:
Bazza was driving through the desert from Perth to Sydney, but he's up a gum tree now because
Bazza was driving through the desert from Perth to Sydney, but he's up a gum tree now because
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 | Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University is named for philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Poorly educated and aware of Baltimore's lack of medical facilities, Hopkins donated $7 million for the foundation of Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. The university was modeled after European universities and emphasized graduate research rather than collegiate instruction—two groundbreaking and successful decisions that influenced many other US universities. | ||
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 | Washington is often called the "Father of his Country" because of the central role he played in the founding of the United States. As commander of the Continental Army, he led colonial forces to victory over the British and served as the new nation's first president. He then relinquished that power and retired after two terms, thereby setting a key precedent for republican democracy | ||
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 | The West Indies island of St. Lucia celebrates its national independence holiday on February 22. On that day in 1979, the country gained full independence from Britain. St. Lucia had been a British Colony since 1814. | ||
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 | Spider silk has long been hailed as the strongest known natural material, but UK scientists have discovered that the teeth of limpets—snail-like sea creatures found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans—may be even stronger. The research team examined limpet teeth down to the atom and found a hard mineral called goethite, the strength of which helps limpets cling to rocks and remove algae. Experts see potential in copying the structural makeup of limpet teeth for use in the manufacturing of cars, boats, and planes. | ||
1630 - Quadequine introduced popcorn to English colonists at their first Thanksgiving dinner.
1860 - Organized baseball’s first game was played in San Francisco, CA
1879 - In Utica, NY, Frank W. Woolworth opened his first 5 and 10-cent store.
1885 - The Washington Monument was officially dedicated in Washington, DC. It opened to the public
in 1889.
1969 - Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman to win a U.S. thoroughbred horse race.
1997 - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut and colleagues announced that an adult sheep had been successfully cloned. Dolly was actually born on July 5, 1996. Dolly was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell.
2010 - A copy of "Action Comics #1" sold at auction for $1 million. The comic featured the introduction of Superman.
If You Were Born Today, February 22
You are generally very well-liked and inspiring to others. Others might not know just how sensitive you are, as your outward personality is easygoing. A tad moody, you frequently experience restlessness on an emotional level. Many of you possess literary talents and a fine sense of humor. You have a pragmatic and organized side to your personality that is distinct but not always immediately apparent. Famous people born today: Anais Nin, Erma Bombeck, Chuck Palahniuk, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nina Simone.
Tyrolean Night
Photograph by Torsten Muehlbacher, National Geographic
Moonlight floods snow-covered peaks in this high-altitude selfie captured in the Tyrolean Alps. “I put my camera on a 25-second exposure and myself on a 25-second ‘do not move,’” writes Muehlbacher. His headlamp provided additional lighting.
What do you call a row of rabbits walking backwards?
A receding hare line.
knit
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Flower and Check Throw pattern by Sian Brown Knitwear ...
Who wouldn’t want to cuddle up in this gorgeous textured throw? The blanket is knitted in sections, so can be made as large (or tiny) as you like. We have kn...
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Origami Flower Pillow pattern by Lisa Richardson
From the Knit Rowan website:
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knit
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Winter-baby kit with hat and mittens pattern by Anna & H...
Winter-baby kit with hat and mittens is a relatively easy knit, practical and cute.
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knit
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Portland Cardigan pattern by Lion Brand Yarn
Lion Brand Pattern #: 80776AD
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A group of chess enthusiasts had checked into an hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories.
After an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse.
“But why?” they asked.
“Because,” said the manager, “it’s the wrong season to have chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
crochet
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crochet
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Geometrical crocheted fingerless mittens pattern by Croc...
The pattern written in American crochet terms for 4ply cotton thread.
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crochet, 1 - 4 yrs
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Aran Sweater for boys pattern by Crochet- atelier
Please note, this pattern is written for advanced crocheters only, who can follow diagrams with minimum description.
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What is the difference between a cat and a comma?
A cat has claws at the end of its paws, and a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.
recipe!
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Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes - Salu Salo Recipes
These salt and vinegar roasted potatoes dish is a perfect side dish. The potatoes are soaked in a combination of white and malt vinegar and came out soft.
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So a guy goes to the veterinarian and said, “my bear is acting funny. He’ll be playful and fun for a while and then he just sits by a wall looking glum. He does this all day: Happy, sad, happy then sad. What’s wrong with him?”
The vet says, “oh that’s easy, it’s a bi-polar bear.”
crockpot recipe!
stephanie o'dea
CrockPot 3-Packet Pot Roast Recipe
Usually I make pot roast the same way, each and every time: 1 envelope of onion soup mix, and a cup of whatever wine I have open, or some broth. A few months back, I bookmarked a recipe that I was given by Terri W. for a 3-packet pot roast, and then promptly forgot about it.I finally made it yesterday. It was simple and easy, and makes awesome gravy. If you wait until the envelope packets are on sale, and stick with chuck roast, this is a very inexpensive meal that can be stretched for a few days.The Ingredients.
-packet of ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
--packet of Italian salad dressing mix
--McCormick Grill Mates Peppercorn & Garlic
--3 lb chuck roast
--1 to 3 cups of water
The Directions.
I used my 6 quart Smart Set crockpot for this dinner.
I opted to not throw any vegetables into the crock because we had leftovers I needed to use. Feel free to throw in some chopped potatoes, an onion, carrots, and celery.
Trim the roast of any visible fat and place it into the crockpot. In a small bowl, combine the contents of the 3 packets. Pour on top of the meat. Flip the meat over a few times to get it covered with seasoning on all sides.
Add 1 cup of water.
Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5. The meat will be more tender if you cook it low and slow.
20-30 minutes before eating, add 2 more cups of warm water to the crockpot, and flip to high.
The meat only needs 1 cup of water on it to cook properly, but the spices are too concentrated to only have 1 cup of water in the pot when it's time to eat. Waiting to add the water until the end will help the meat retain it's shape, and the added water will make a nice juicy gravy.
The Verdict.
We ate this with some leftover curried rice and vegetables. This was a great dinner.The kids dipped their meat in barbecue sauce and Adam and I ladled broth over the top of ours.
A blonde is at work, when she gets off the phone and starts crying. Her boss, of course, is concerned, and asks what’s wrong.
“My Mother is dead.”(sob sob)
He replies that he is sorry, and asks if she wants to take the day off. She says no, she’ll be fine. An hour later, she’s crying again. Her boss once more asks what’s wrong.
She says: “My sister’s Mom is dead too.”
'i'm hungry' in German: ich habe Hunger
Police are on the lookout for someone who has stabbed 6 people repeatedly with knitting needles.
A police spokesman said that the culprit is following a pattern.
puzzle!
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Two blondes went to the pound where each adopted a puppy. The joy of their new best friend was quickly overshadowed when they got home and the first blonde said, “I think we’re in trouble, how are we going to tell them apart?”
This lead to several hours of concentration until finally, the second blonde said, ”I’ve got an idea. We’ll tie a red bow around my puppy and a blue bow around yours.”
The next day the first blonde comes running up to the second when she got home, “Oh no, I can’t tell whose puppy is whose. They’ve pulled the ribbons off while they were playing.”
“OK, we need to find a better way to tell them apart,” says the second blonde. After several more hours of concentration, they came up with the bright idea of getting different colored collars.
Again, the next day, the first blonde comes running up to the second as soon as she gets home, “Oh no, I can’t tell whose puppy is whose. They’ve pulled their collars off while they were playing.”
“There’s got to be some way to tell them apart,” says the second blonde.
After several more hours of concentration, the first blonde finally comes up with another idea, “I know! Why don’t you take the black one and I’ll take the white one!”
clever!
White Bedside Lamp
how do you make seven an even number?
you take the s out!!!!
Knock Knock!
Who’s there?
Canoe
Canoe who?
Canoe help me with this pattern?
walter, the chocolate lab, multitasking as waiter and busboy
(thanks, heide)
What kind of star goes to jail ?
a Shooting Star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EYE OPENER!
20 Fun Facts About the Hollywood Sign
1) The Hollywood Sign is over 90 years old.
The original Hollywood sign was constructed in 1923, the same year that Rin Tin Tin gained fame as a canine film star. Though it wasn’t originally meant to be an icon for the film industry, the sign was created during the beginning of the glamorous, decadent Golden Age of Hollywood..
2) The Hollywood sign wasn’t created with the movies in mind.
The sign wasn’t created to advertise movies and starlets; it was created to advertise real estate. Developers S. H. Woodruff and Tracy E. Shoults began developing a new neighborhood called “Hollywoodland.” The sign was meant to act as a huge billboard to draw new home buyers to the hillside.
3) The first sign didn’t say “Hollywood.”
To advertise the Hollywoodland development, the sign was composed of 13 letters that spelled out the development’s name: “HOLLYWOODLAND.” The last four letters of the sign wouldn’t be dropped until 1949.
4) The original Hollywood Sign was bigger than the current sign.
The original letters were constructed of large sections of sheet metal and stood as high as 50 feet tall. They were held up with a complicated framing system that included wooden scaffold, pipes, wires and poles.
5) 4,000 light bulbs graced the original Hollywoodland sign.
The bulbs were timed to blink so that the words “HOLLY,” “WOOD,” and “LAND” each lit up consecutively, followed by the entire word. This was not considered tacky, but rather quite progressive and modern. Each bulb generated only 8 watts of electricity, so 4,000 were needed in order to create the impressive display that Woodruff and Shoults needed to sell building lots.
6) The sign was a very expensive billboard.
Considering that the original Hollywoodland sign was only intended to be an advertisement for a real estate development, it was quite expensive. The construction cost of the sign was around $21,000, which is roughly the equivalent of $250,000 in 2014 dollars. Imagine building a new neighborhood and paying a quarter of a million bucks to advertise it with one sign!
7) An Englishman designed the Hollywood sign.
Thomas Fisk Goff, the artist who created the Hollywood sign, was born in London in 1890. He immigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles in the early 1920’s and opened the Crescent Sign Company. Woodruff and Shoults commissioned Goff to create and install the sign. In addition to owning a sign company, Goff was an artist who painted landscapes on canvas.
8) The sign had its very own caretaker.
The real estate developers hired Albert Kothe to act as caretaker. In addition to other responsibilities, Albert was in charge of the maintenance of the Hollywoodland sign. One of his jobs was to replace the light bulbs on the sign when they burnt out, a large task considering the number of bulbs and the height of each letter.
9) The original sign was only meant to last for 18 months.
Since it was only intended to be a temporary advertisement for the new real estate development, the Hollywoodland sign was designed to be in place for about 18 months, while lots were sold.
10) The Hollywood sign was the site of a suicide.
Sadly, the allure of fame and fortune was not reality for many who flocked to Hollywood in hopes of becoming actors and actresses. One such unlucky girl, Peg Entwistle, left New York City and moved in with her uncle in Los Angeles while she tried to become a film star. Despite her efforts at stardom, Peg failed to land the big role she’d hoped for, and on September 18, 1932, she hiked up to the Hollywood sign, climbed a ladder to the top of the “H” and jumped to her death.
11) The Hollywoodland sign went dark in 1939.
The stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Depression during the 1930’s halted real estate development. Since lots were no longer being sold, illuminating the Hollywoodland sign was no longer a priority. Times were tough, so caretaker Albert Kothe stripped the copper wiring from the sign and sold it for scrap.
12) The sign was hit by a car.
You might not think that a sign perched on the side of a steep hill would be in danger of being hit by a car. But one night, Albert Kothe had a little too much too drink. He drove his 1928 Ford station wagon right off the cliff just above the sign. The car rolled down the hill, smashing into the “H.” Luckily, Albert was OK, but both the Ford and the “H” were destroyed.
13) The sign was almost torn down completely in 1949.
In 1944 the city of Los Angeles purchased 455 acres from the Hollywoodland developers, including the land on which the Hollywoodland sign sat. The city didn’t necessarily want a huge real estate billboard, but they let the sign sit there for another five years until they decided to tear it down. But residents who had come to love the sign protested its removal. The city, along with the Chamber of Commerce, agreed to salvage it, with the understanding that they would remove the “LAND” from the end of the sign so that it represented the community, not a real estate development. They fixed the broken “H” and renovated the rest of the letters.
14) The Hollywood sign is an official landmark.
By 1973, the sign was seriously deteriorated again, broken-down and rusty. The city slapped another coat of paint on it and also declared it “L.A. Cultural and Historical Monument #111.”
15) In the 1970’s, the sign went to pot.
On January 1, 1976, prankster Danny Finegood hung curtains over the last two “O’s” in the sign, changing it to read “HOLLYWEED” to commemorate the introduction of a more relaxed marijuana law in California.
16) A playboy, a rocker and a singing cowboy saved the sign.
The paint job in 1973 didn’t last for long. Five years later, the sign looked worse than ever. The Chamber of Commerce determined that it needed a very expensive overhaul. Hugh Hefner held a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion. Each of the nine letters was auctioned for $28,000 to raise the needed renovation money. The benefactors for each letter were as follows:
H- Terrence Donnelly (a newspaper publisher)
O- Alice Cooper (rock star)
L- Les Kelley (businessman and creator of the Kelley Blue Book)
L- Gene Autrey (singer and actor)
Y- Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy magazine)
W- Andy Williams (singer)
O-Giovanni Mazza (Italian movie producer)
O- Warner Bros. Studios
D-Thomas Pooley
O- Alice Cooper (rock star)
L- Les Kelley (businessman and creator of the Kelley Blue Book)
L- Gene Autrey (singer and actor)
Y- Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy magazine)
W- Andy Williams (singer)
O-Giovanni Mazza (Italian movie producer)
O- Warner Bros. Studios
D-Thomas Pooley
17) The Hollywood sign was lit for the Olympics
In 1984, Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Summer Games. During the games, the Hollywood sign was illuminated for the first time since 1949.
18) Modern visitors can’t hike to the sign.
Because the sign is perched on a very steep hill and because the city of Los Angeles doesn’t want to be sued, visitors are no longer allowed to hike right up to the sign. The city might be worried that they will plummet to their deaths, get bitten by a rattlesnake or start a brush fire that will consume some of the expensive real estate below the sign.
19) The Hollywood sign has almost as much security as Fort Knox.
In order to keep people away from the sign and keep the sign from being vandalized, a specially-designed security system was developed. The Department of Homeland Security even got involved… that’s how serious L.A. is about protecting its iconic sign. The security involves razor wire, infrared technology, 24 hour monitoring, motion sensors, alarms and helicopter patrols.
20) The sign has its very own trust fund.
The Hollywood Sign Trust was created in 1992 for the purpose of maintaining and promoting the Hollywood sign. It continues to care for the sign today. The most recent renovation included a shiny, new paint job and webcams that allow Internet visitors to see the sign 24/7.
So a polar bear goes into a bar and says, ”I’d like a rum and … … … coke.”
The bar tender says, “why the long pause?”
The bear looks down and says, “I don’t know. They’ve always been like that.”
First Woolsworth in Utica NY? I didn't know that--I lived in the adjacent town of Rome NY as a kid. Will you be watching the Oscars? We will be watching Downton Abbey--and last week's comment from Violet seems out of tune with thinking day: Thinking is overrated. "I blame the war. Before the war nobody thought about anything at all!" I loved the blondes and the puppies joke. Forwarded it along to our second DD who is a blonde (artificially). I always tease her about that.
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