International Bat Night - August 27, 2019

DIANE'S CORNER ... 

Celebrate Int'l Bat Night

Bats drink on the wing, like swallows, by sipping the surface, as they play over pools and streams.

Gilbert White

Bats have many places in literature and history, and serve roles both dark and hilarious depending on where you find them. Probably the most common association with the bat is with vampires, but there is also the fun-loving bat from Ferngully (Batty Coda) along with a host of other characters from literature and cinema. But bats have an important role to play in our eco-system, and some of them are becoming endangered. International Bat Night serves to raise awareness from our flying rodent friends and why they deserve to be protected.

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History of International Bat Night

International Bat Night was established to help promote the good image of bats, and to help start creating some clarity on the facts about them above and beyond the rumors and Hollywood image. While we often think of bats as nocturnal predators feasting on the blood of the innocent and harboring rabies, the truth is quite different. Yes, there are bats that feed on blood, but they mostly feed on insects and believe us, you want bats to be out there patrolling the night and helping eliminate them.

Bats are one of the major contributors to keeping down obnoxious night insects like mosquitoes, and if you’re a camper, you know how unpleasant mosquitoes can make an otherwise pleasant camping expedition. There are also bats that feed on nectar and fruit, and actually help to pollinate and spread the seed of plants, in many cases they’re the only ones working to help those plants procreate!

These are just the beginnings of the wonders that bats possess, and there is far more just a flicker away, and International Bat Night is a great time to spend learning about them!

thanks for these photos of The Titanic, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

Joke of the Day

COMFORT THE ENGLISH TEACHER

What do you say to comfort an English teacher?

They’re, there, their.

Word of the Day

ecce

Ecce Homo - Art: Titian, c. 1570s

MEANING:

interjection: Behold! (used to call attention to someone or something).

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin ecce (see, behold). Earliest documented use: 1598.

NOTES:

In the Bible (John 19:5), Pilate presents Christ, crowned with thorns, to the crowd with the words “Ecce homo.” Since this was a theme popular with painters, such a work of art is known as Ecce Homo.

USAGE:

“Ecce the rise of literature in the modern vernaculars, even the mother tongue.”
Thomas Paul Bonfiglio; Why is English Literature?; Palgrave Pivot; 2013.

“Behold a global business in distress -- incoherently managed, resistant to the modernizing forces of the Internet age, tainted by scandal and corruption. It needs to tweak its marketing, straighten out its finances, up its recruiting game, and repair its battered brand. Ecce Catholicism Inc.”
Bill Keller; Catholicism Inc.; The New York Times; Feb 17, 2013.

Idiom of the Day

BUILDER’S TEA

Strongly-brewed English breakfast tea with milk
I’ll have a builder’s tea, please.

This Day in History

1859 - The first oil well was successfully drilled in the U.S. by Colonel Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, PA.

1889 - Charles G. Conn received a patent for the metal clarinet.


1892 - The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York was seriously damaged by fire.


1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, WI. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers. (NFL)


1962 - Mariner 2 was launched by the United States. In December of the same year the spacecraft flew past Venus. It was the first space probe to reach the vicinity of another planet.


1965 - Elvis Presley played host to the Beatles at his home in Bel-Air, CA.


1981 - Work began on recovering a safe from the Andrea Doria. The Andrea Doria was a luxury liner that had sank in 1956 in the waters off of Massachusetts.


1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the first citizen to go into space would be a teacher. The teacher that was eventually chosen was Christa McAuliffe. She died in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.


1992 - John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day In The Life" sold for $87,000 at an auction.


1998 - James Brolin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


2001 - Work began on the future site of a World War II memorial on the U.S. capital's historic national Mall. The site is between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

thanks, Frances


DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, August 27

You are emotional and sensitive, sometimes to the point of drama, but the people around you love you for it. In fact, you can achieve the greatest success when you are able to express your creativity and your sense of drama in your line of work. Strong emotions can trip you up at times, but if channeled well, can lead to great success. You can sometimes be a "mother hen," caring for others and worrying that they’re safe and happy. Loving, passionate, and warm, life would be dull indeed without you! Even so, you can be difficult to know at times, possibly because you wear your feelings on your face, and they are not always indicative of reactions to the company you’re keeping but rather they’re more in line with your thoughts. Misunderstandings can be frequent as a result. You are keenly sensitive, but not only in a self-centered way – you also pick up subtle emotional cues surrounding others, and this may be the reason that you’re so thoughtful. You are a visionary, and you promote love, harmony, and equality. In love, you are attracted to, or you attract, people who are success-oriented, accomplished, and practical. Famous people born today:

1908 Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US President (Democrat: 1963-69), born in Stonewall, Texas (d. 1973)

1947 Barbara Bach [Goldbach], American actress (The Spy Who Loved Me, Force 10 from Navarone), born in Queens, New York

1952 Pee-wee Herman [Paul Reubens], American actor (Pee-wee's Big Adventure), born in Peekskill, New York

1979 Aaron Paul, American actor (Breaking Bad, Need for Speed), born in Emmett, Idaho

READERS INFO

1.

(Not So) Totally Useless Facts of The Day:

Boy dolphins often try to impress girl dolphins by giving them a sponge as a gift. 

Male Australian humpback dolphins present large marine sponges to their favorite females - sometimes getting so excited that they aggressively throw the sponges at their desired mate. They also work in pairs with other males, making them one of the only species besides humans that use "wingmen".

What is frisson? 

We’ve all experienced it. Frisson is the chill you feel or the goosebumps you feel when you hear a particular piece of music or see a particular movie scene. It is a sudden and strong feeling of excitement.

The “Code of Hammurabi” is a Babylonian code that dates back to 1754 BC.

It is a collection of 282 rules that set the standards for commercial interactions. It also serves justice by setting fines and punishments.

2.

102 YEARS CELEBRATED THIS WEEKEND

The International Rose Test Garden is a rose garden in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon. 

There are over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 
varieties. The roses bloom from April through October.

In 1917 a group of Portland nurserymen came up with the idea for a rose test garden. Portland had a group of volunteers and 20 miles of rose bordered streets left from the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition, and was already dubbed "The City of Roses".  Between Portland Parks & Recreation 
and the American Rose Society, the garden idea soon became a reality.   
 

3.

Historic Downtown Jersey City Farmers' Market 2019

Apr 29 - Dec 23, 2019 | Jersey City, NJ

Grove PATH Plaza|325 Grove St

The Historic Downtown Farmers' Market keeps on growing and growing. More vendors are popping up yearly to serve you the freshest local produce, baked goods and other delicious fare. From May to December, you can take a stroll through the market to stock up on these goodies before the devastating winter swoops in and reduces you to frequent trips through the drive-thru.

further information: Farmers Market - Downtown Jersey City, NJ

4.

Chef & Brew Festival Denver 2019

Aug 28, 2019 | Denver, CO

The EXDO Event Center|1399 35th St

Chef and Brew is Denver's Premier Food and Beer Tasting and Competition. YOU vote on the winners!

further information: Chef & Brew Festival

5.

Millersport Sweet Corn Festival 2019

Aug 28 - 31, 2019 | Millersport, OH

Lions Park|2900 Chautauqua Blvd

A celebration of community, the Sweet Corn Festival in Millersport, Ohio, supports over 75 charities through its four-day celebration of food, fun and festivities. Held annually in the Historic Lions Park, this festival features tractor pulls, square dancing, contests and live entertainment on top of the notorious presence of delicious, piping hot sweet corn on the cob.

further information: Millersport Sweet Corn Festival

Pictures of the day

North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), North Cascades National Park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park. This picture is a panoramic map of North Cascades National Park, as viewed from the east, created in 1987 by Austrian painter and cartographer Heinrich C. Berann for the National Park Service.

MOOD

I captured this layered moment during sunrise along the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India. This boy was thinking silently, and visitors were enjoying the loud musical chirping of thousands of seagulls. The early morning golden light from the east mixed with the western blue light, creating a [ethereal atmosphere]. 

knit
thanks, Cindy

Rainbow Baby Wrap

knit

thanks, Phyllis

Diagonal Bubbles

knit

Lovely Lunch Bag

knit

A Crush on Lace Knit Top

knit

Slouch socks knitting pattern

Titanic (1912) Original Passenger List. Alien passengers that embarked at Southampton for New York

Knit Pattern of the Day: Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

Autumnal Air Scarf

crochet
thanks, Mary

Unique Slippers Ballerinas pattern by Souma Crochet

crochet
thanks, Tara

Luna Belt Bag

crochet

Floral Ear Muffs pattern by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk

crochet

Stacking Whirls pattern by Marjolein Kooiman

crochet

Row Count N

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley

Easy Garlic Knots

Artifacts from the Titanic

CROCKPOT RECIPE
thanks, Nora

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

SWEETS

thanks, Anita

3-Ingredient Peach Crisp with Granola Topping

Life jackets were one of the leading causes of death on the Titanic. If a person jumped overboard from 10 feet up or higher, their necks would be broken upon impact with the water.

ADULT COLORING

CRAFTS

thanks, Hazel

Create a Stunning String Bowl for Your Home

Staircase from the top deck to the bottom deck.

CHILDREN'S CORNER ... crafts

thanks, Isabel

Polymer Clay Necklace

PUZZLE

Budgerigar Box Jigsaw Puzzle



WORD SEARCH

black bribe carbon chime clang crake crank

erelong extort free gems grass gross grouch

ignoble injury intellectual lawyer lien lucky millet morsel

refine salve sauce sentence shrew sins skew smoke

swelling syrup system ulcer voice week yards

Wallace Hartley and his band played on as Titanic sank

SUDOKU ... very hard

solution:

QUOTE

I've been on so many blind dates, I should get a free dog. 

-Wendy Liebman-

CLEVER 
Nifty Paintbrush Holder

Keep your watercolor brushes dry and handy! Cut a short section of pool noodle, slice it part of the way through and insert brushes.

EYE OPENER 

Fashion Tips That Will Help You Look Fierce

Items as small as a hairpin and as big as a chunk of the Titanic's hull are among 5,000 artifacts from the world's most famous shipwreck

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. -Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher (27 Aug 1770-1831)

OPTICAL ILLUSION

Which arc comes from the largest circle?

 If you cover the left and right edges you will see that they are all the same size. This is because the size of objects is sometimes distorted based on the context in which they are seen.