DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Cat Day

Felis Silvestrus Catus, a small furry ball of cute that will utterly destroy your ability to act like a mature adult, a phenomenon which has been shown to become stronger with proximity. Intelligence of subject seems to be inversely proportional to the distance between it and the nearest member of this species. Cats people, you know what they’re like. They rule our lives as furry little gods, and have been cherished members of the family since long before the days of the Pyramids.

History of Cat Day

Cat Day was first created by Colleen Paige, a strong animal welfare advocate, to bring attention to the plight of the domestic cat. Cat’s are closely tied to humans, whether as pets or as feral animals ranging throughout cities and towns. As pets they are dearly loved and have been the source of some of the most ridiculous memes on the internet, and have brought joy and laughter to millions of people around the world.

Shortly after its inception, Cat Day was adopted by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an organization also centered on getting people to adopt pets. They work hard to bring attention to the number of animals that have to be rescued each year, and the growing problem and possible solutions to feral cat colonies.

Joke of the Day

A TRUE HORROR STORY

Writing a horror screenplay. It starts off with a ringing phone.

The person answers and it’s their mom saying, “I have a computer question...“

Word of the Day

grobian

MEANING:

noun: A coarse, buffoonish person.

ETYMOLOGY:

From German Grobian (boor, lout), a fictional patron saint of boorish and vulgar people, from German grob (coarse, vulgar). In Latin, Grobianus. Earliest documented use: 1621.

USAGE:

“I’m basically a loudmouth grobian who’d rather guffaw than grimace.”
Jim Macnie; Solid Sender; Down Beat (Chicago, Illinois); May 2000.

Idiom of the Day

GET OFF ONE’S BACK

When someone won’t stop criticising, bothering or telling you what to do
I wish she would get off my back about the meeting! I know I have to send the agenda out, but I’ll do it in my own time.

This Day in History

1652 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed itself to be an independent commonwealth.

1682 - William Penn landed at what is now Chester, PA. He was the founder of Pennsylvania.

1863 - The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded.

1945 - The first ballpoint pens to be made commercially went on sale at Gimbels Department Store in New York at the price of $12.50 each.

1956 - "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" premiered on NBC. The show replaced "The Camel News Caravan."

1960 - Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) won his first professional fight.

1966 - The National Organization for Women was founded.

1974 - U.S. President Gerald Ford signed a new law forbidding discrimination in credit applications on the basis of sex or marital status

1975 - Joan Baez became a member of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.

1990 - The Byrds, LaVern Baker, John Lee Hooker, The Impressions, Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Reed and Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1991 - The U.S. Galileo spacecraft became the first to visit an asteroid (Gaspra).

1998 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with John Glenn on board. Glenn was 77 years old. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

1998 - The oldest known copy of Archimedes' work sold for $2 million at a New York auction.

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, October 29

You are playful and spontaneous, and you are usually up for an adventure. Your attachment to your family and to your private life is very strong, and you will do pretty much anything to defend a loved one. You are a passionate person who enjoys debates and shaking things up once in a while. You can be hard to read, simply because there is a decidedly intense side to your nature, yet you can come across as quirky at times as well. Overall, you tend to be respected, and when people you don't know well seem to be intimidated by you at first, it's likely because they are in awe on one hand, and are unsure how to read you on the other. Famous people born today:

1923 Carl Djerassi, Austrian-born American chemist and father of the contraceptive pill, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2015)

1938 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia (2006 -) and the first elected female head of state in Africa, born in Monrovia, Liberia

1947 Richard Dreyfuss, American actor (Jaws, Nuts, Mr Holland's Opus), born in Brooklyn, New York

1948 Kate Jackson, actress (Rookies, Charlie's Angels), born in Birmingham, Alabama

1971 Winona Ryder, American actress (Heathers, Edward Scissorhand), born in Winona, Minnesota

READERS INFO

1.

(Not So) Totally Useless Facts of The Day:

The New Jersey Hall of Fame honors individuals from the state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond.

The inaugural class of inductees for the New Jersey Hall of Fame were honored in a ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 4, 2008. The 15 people inducted into the inaugural class include: Clara Barton, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Buzz Aldrin, Malcolm Forbes, Robert Wood Johnson II, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, Yogi Berra, Bill Bradley, Vince

Lombardi, Toni Morrison, Norman Schwarzkopf, and Harriet Tubman.

While many people might think that Kansas is the flattest state in the country, they would be wrong. The flattest state is Florida, and Kansas isn’t even among the top five.

2.

1953 -

TODAY: In 1953, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is published.

3.

Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books 2019

Nov 1 - 2, 2019 | Waukesha, WI

University of Wisconsin - Waukesha Campus|1500 N University Dr

While uneducated heathens build fires with literature, you’ll battle Wisconsin’s brutal winters by curling up with a good book in front of the fireplace. There’s hundreds of exciting and unread books to sift through that will keep you occupied until hibernation season is over. Guest authors even make an appearance to speak on their written works and spell out their best signatures.

further information: SE WI Festival of Books – Opening Doors

4.

Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival 2019

Nov 2, 2019 | Las Vegas, NV

Clark County Library|1401 E Flamingo Rd

Drawing anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 attendees in recent years, the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival celebrates the world of comic books, illustrated fiction and pop culture. This free daylong event takes place annually on the first Saturday in November and includes guest speakers, vendors, publishers and other figures in the industry. Guests can enjoy a series of attractions, which include film screenings, live music entertainment and a costume contest.

further information: Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival

5.

Louisiana Book Festival 2019

Nov 2, 2019 | Baton Rouge, LA

Capitol Park Complex in Downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana|701 N 4th St

The annual Louisiana Book Festival is held in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana State Capitol and the State Library of Louisiana. Free to the public, this celebration of readers, writers and their books features over 150 different authors and a market of booksellers and book related exhibits. Food and beverages are available and family-friendly activities are included in the lineup. Come out to discover new stories, and don’t forget to partake in a cooking demonstration and enjoy the live music.

further information: Louisiana Book Festival

Pictures of the day

Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992) was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his emotionally charged raw imagery and fixation on personal motifs. Best known for his depictions of popes, crucifixions and portraits of close friends, his abstracted figures are typically isolated in geometrical cages which give them vague 3D depth, set against flat, nondescript backgrounds.

Image result for Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992)

Bacon said that he saw images "in series", and his work, which numbers around 590 extant paintings along with many others he destroyed, typically focuses on a single subject for sustained periods, often in triptych or diptych formats. His output can be broadly described as sequences or variations on single motifs, including the 1930s Picasso-influenced bio-morphs and Furies, the 1940s male heads isolated in rooms or geometric structures, the 1950s screaming popes, the mid-to-late 1950s animals and lone figures, the early 1960s crucifixions, the mid to late 1960s portraits of friends, the 1970s self-portraits, and the cooler more technical 1980s paintings. This picture is an oil-on-board portrait of Bacon painted by Irish portrait artist Reginald Gray in 1960. The painting is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Alrewas, Britain