Ridley's Believe It Or Not--This Day In History: January 2015

Thursday, January 29, 2015

January 30 History Martyrs' Day (India)

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—January 30, 2015 Trust your Friday is off to a great start and your squares selected in the office Super Bowl pool will prove to be winners. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Mahatma Gandhi, with a smile on your face, enjoying a warm croissant, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. Martyrs’ Day (India)—commemorating the assassination on this day in 1948 of Mahatma Gandhi, a man of nonviolence so important to India’s gaining independence from Great Britain.
       2. National Inane Answering Machine Day—commemorating the ability to end prank calls and inane messages on one’s answer machines—caller ID.
      3. 1999 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1999 as part of only a 2 week run Baby One More Time by Brittany Spears, who has sold over 100 million albums.
        4. National Croissant Day—good reason to head to France to the nearest patisserie.
        5. One Heartbeat Away With A Bad Heart Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1941 of Dick Cheney Vice President under George W. Bush who experienced his first of five heart attacks at the age of 37 after smoking three packs of cigarettes a day and among other accomplishments memorialized in joke and satire accidentally shot one of his quail hunting partners.
On this day in
     a. 1835 Richard Lawrence attempted the first assassination attempt on a U.S. President Andrew Jackson but failed when both pistols misfired.
      b. 1969 the Beatles performed their last public concert which was held on the roof of Apple Records in London, only to have it broken up by police.
      c. 1975 the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was established one of two marine sanctuaries created to protect a cultural resource the wreck of the U.S.S. Monitor as opposed to the other eleven which protect natural resources.
      d. 1982 Richard Skrenta, a 15 year old high school student wrote one of the first PC computer virus codes disguised as an Apple boot program, the “Elk Cloner”—a glimpse into the future of things to come in cyber world.
      e. 1995 workers from the National Institute of Health announced successful clinical trials for the treatment of sickle-cell disease which affects African Americans.
Reflections on theocracy by Mahatma Gandhi: “If I were a dictator, religion and state would be separate. I swear by my religion. I will die for it. But it is my personal affair. The state has nothing to do with it. The state would look after your secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, currency and so on, but not your or my religion. That is everybody's personal concern!” When it comes to separation of church and state the mullahs need to read some of Gandhi’s views.
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times
© January 30, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

January 29 History Free Thinkers Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 29, 2015:    Trust your Thursday is off to a great start and your squares selected in the office Super Bowl pool will prove to be winners. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Thomas Paine, with a smile on your face, enjoying a bowl of corn chips, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. Free Thinkers Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1737 of Thomas Paine author of Common Sense, The Age of Reason, and The Rights of Man and a key architect in creating the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution.
       2. Seeing Eye Dog—commemorating the founding of the nation’s seeing eye dog training school on this day in 1929 and the accomplishments of the thousands of seeing eye dogs who brought the gift of mobility to blind persons.
      3. 1998 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1998 as part of a 2 week run Together Again by Janet Jackson, who has sold over 140 million records but may be best remembered for her “clothing failure” during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII.
        4. National Corn Chip Day—good reason to buy some corn chips today first marketed by Fritos in 1961 and the perfect holder for salsa and guacamole.
        5. O Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1960 of Oprah Winfrey, the first black female billionaire who is reported to be worth north of $2 billion.
On this day in
     a. 1936 the first five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson were announced.
      b. 1963 the first 17 inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including such notables as Sammy Baugh, Harold “Red” Grange, George Halas, Earl “Curly” Lambeau, Tim Mara, Bronco Nagurski, Ernie Nevers (great Stanford fullback) and Jim Thorpe, were announced.
      c. 1967 in the ultimate high of the hippie era the Mantra-Rock took place in San Francisco featuring Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and poet Alan Ginsburg.
      d. 2002 in his State of the Union Address President George W. Bush named North Korea, Iran and Iraq as sponsors of terrorism and referred to them as an Axis of Evil.
      e. 2005 for the first time since 1949 commercial air service was restored between China and Taiwan.
Reflections on reason from the pen of Thomas Paine: “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead” Thomas Paine. Sadly, in D.C. we see too much wasted medicine and not a lot of reason and compromise.

Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times

© January 29, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

January 28 History Data Protection Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 28, 2015:    Trust your weekend was a good one and your Monday is off to a great start. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from John Perry Barlow, with a smile on your face, enjoying a stack of blueberry pancakes, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. Data Privacy Day—observed since 2007 to create awareness of the importance of one’s need to protect his or her confidential and private data especially in the context of social networking; this another holiday that should observed each and every day.
       2. Thank a Plugin Developer Day—commemorating the efforts of plugin developers who make WordPress such an excellent tool---4,000 and counting plugins.
      3. 1997 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1997 as part of a 11 week run Un-break My Heart by Toni Braxton.
        4. National Blueberry Pancake Day—good reason to go to IHOP today to enjoy a great pancake.
        5. Slim Day—celebrating not the efforts of dieters around the world but rather the birthday on this day in 1940 of Carlos Slim a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist, who was the world’s richest man from 2010 to 2013.
On this day in
     a. 1878 the nation’s first college daily newspaper, Yale Daily News, commenced publication.
      b. 1934 the first ski tow in the U.S. commenced operations.
      c. 1938 Iceland became the first western nation to legalize therapeutic abortions.
      d. 1985 USA for Africa recorded the hit single We Are the World to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.
      e. 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
Reflections on data privacy: “Relying on the government to protect your data privacy is like asking a peeping Tom to install your window blinds.” John Perry Barlow, noted poet, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and cyberlibertarian activist

© January 28, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Januuary 27 History International Holocaust Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 27, 2015:    Trust your weekend was a good one and your Tuesday is off to a great start. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Yehuda Bauer, with a smile on your face, enjoying a slice of chocolate cake, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. International Holocaust Remembrance Day—observed since 2005 but sadly we continue to witness genocide since the evils of the Nazis from Bosnia to Cambodia to Rwanda to the ISIS in Iraq.
       2. Vietnam Peace Day—commemorating the signing on this day in 1973 of the Paris Accords ending the agony of American involvement in the Vietnam War.
      3. 1996 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1996 as part of a 16 week run One Fine Day by Mariah Carey and BoyzII.
        4. National Chocolate Cake Day—celebrating with or without ice cream, a great desert.
        5. Lakers Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1933 of Jerry Buss the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers who watched his last Kobe Bryant jump shot on February 18, 2013.
On this day in
     a. 1785 the first public university in the United States, the University of Georgia, was founded.
      b. 1888 the U.S. National Geographic Society was founded.
      c. 1967 in a dark day for the U.S. space program astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee were burned to death on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.
      d. 1984 during the filming of a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine Auditorium, Michael Jackson burnt his scalp.
      e. 2011 the Yemeni Revolution as part of the Arab Spring began with massive demonstrations in the nation’s capital; four years later the president and his cabinet has just resigned destroying Obama’s claim that our efforts in Yemen were a success.
Reflections on the Holocaust and why genocide must never, ever occur again: “Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” Yehuda Bauer, noted Czech born Israeli scholar of the Holocaust.
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times
© January 27, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Monday, January 26, 2015

january 26 History Republic Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 26, 2015: Trust your weekend was a good one and your Monday is off to a great start. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from A.B. Bedakar, with a smile on your face, enjoying a handful of pistachios, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. Republic Day—celebrating in India, the world’s largest democracy, the ratification of the Constitution of Indian on this day in 1950.

       2. Lotus 1-2-3 Day—commemorating the release on this day of Lotus 1-2-3.
      3. 1995 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1995 Creep   by TLC, a female trio that sold over 20 million albums.
        4. National Pistachio Day—celebrating another great snack.
        5. Unbroken Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1917 of the Torrance Torpedo, Louis Zemperini who competed in the 1936 Olympics and managed before his death last year to have a private screening of the film Unbroken with the director Angelina Jolie. One can only pray as the members of the Greatest Generation head to their graves that their grandchildren and great-grandchildren will take up the task to defeat the tyranny that now faces us.
On this day in
     a. 1838 to the dismay of all future lovers of Jack Daniels, Tennessee enacted the first prohibition statute in the United States.
      b. 1978 in a warning to what will hit the Northeast today the Great Blizzard occurred in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. with snowfall over 2 feet in certain areas (forecast today in the Northeast is for 30 plus inches—so much for the fear of global warming).
      c. 1980 Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations.
      d. 1998 in a straight face moment perhaps never to be surpassed by politicians, President Bill Clinton announced on TV to the American people: “I want to say one thing to the American people. I did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky.” The stains on her blue dress would prove otherwise.
      e. 2005 Condoleeza Rice became the first Afro-American to serve as Secretary of State.
Reflections on the passage of the Constitution of India, the world’s most populous democracy:

"Indians today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them." B.R. Ambedkar, noted Indian jurist and author of the Indian Constitution

© January 26, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Sunday, January 25, 2015

January 25 History Criminion Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 25, 2015:    Trust your Sunday is off to a great start. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Wael Ghonin, with a smile on your face, enjoying an Irish coffee, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. Opposite Day—can unofficial holiday where every action modifies and negates a statement, something which is practiced daily in D.C.
       2. Criminion Day (Scientology)—commemorating the forming of the Criminion Project on this day in 1970 to rehabilitate criminals based on Scientology precepts.
      3. 1994 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1994 All for Love by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting.
        4. National Irish coffee Day—why this drink not celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day is one of life’s great mysteries.
        5. Auld Lang Syne Day—celebrating not an early start on New Year’s Eve but rather the birthday on this day in 1759 of Robert Burns, Scotland’s National Poet who died far too early at the age of 37 but before he did wrote Auld Lang Syne.
On this day in
     a. 1915 Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated transcontinental phone service in the United States by calling from New York City Thomas Watson who was in San Francisco.
      b. 1924 the first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France.
      c. 1947 Thomas Goldsmith, Jr. filed a patent for his Cathode Ray Amusement Device, the world’s first electronic game.
      d. 1961 President Kennedy delivered the first live television press conference.
      e. 2011 the first wave of violent demonstrations protesting the government of President Mubarak began in Cairo and cities across Egypt.
Reflections on the Egyptian Revolution started on January 25, 2011: The revolution has no leader, I said. It was more like a raging wild horse that would buck anyone who tried to mount it against its will. The Egyptian revolution will remain indebted to everyone who tossed a stone into the still waters at a time when doing so risked beating, and arrest, or worse.” Wael Ghonin, author of Revolution 2:0: A Memoir and Call to Action and a leader in the Egyptian Revolution while on sabbatical from Google and now with Google Ventures
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times
© January 25, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Saturday, January 24, 2015

January 24 History National Compliment Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 24, 2015: Trust your weekend is off to a great start. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Mal Peet, with a smile on your face after complimenting at least five people, enjoying a peanut butter sandwich, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. National Compliment Day—celebrating a day to compliment at least five people; but sadly this is another holiday that should be observed daily not once a year.

2. National Beer Can Appreciation Day—commemorating this day in 1935 that beer cans were introduced.

3. 1993 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1993 and for a run of 14 weeks in that position I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, who died way too early at the age of 49 with millions of records yet to sell by drowning in a bath tub due in large part to ingestion of cocaine and prescription drugs.

        4. National Peanut Butter Day—celebrating a favorite ingredient in kids’ lunch pails.
        5. Animal House Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1949 of one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi who died way too soon even with his “intense energy and raucous attitude” at the age of 33 after an overdose of heroin and cocaine.
On this day in
     a. 1848 James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento.
     b. 1961 a B-52 carrying two hydrogen bombs each 250 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima with a 100 percent kill radius of 17 miles broke apart near Goldsboro, North Carolina dropping its payload which but for the grace of God did not detonate.

      c. 1972 Japanese Sgt Shoichi Yokoi was found hiding in the jungles of Guam, not knowing that the war had ended in 1945.
      d. 1984 the first Apple Macintosh introduced at Super Bowl XVIII went on sale.
      e. 2003 the Department of Homeland Security commenced operations.
Reflections on nuclear weapons and why Iran must never, ever be allowed to develop them: “Unfortunately, however, weapons of mass destruction tend to attract maniacs: men - it's almost always men - who want to jab the red button and yell "Take that, you heathen infidel bastards!" and sit in their revolving chairs in underground lead-lined bunkers or caves, watching on their monitors World War III or the Final Jihad or whatever.” Mal Peet, author of Life, An Exploded Diagram
Please enjoy the 140 character poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 155 growing followers and please follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day In History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance. Go to Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times for comments on important and breaking news events that should be of interest. www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com Ridley's Believe It Or Not Rhymes On The Newsworthy Times
© January 24, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift

Friday, January 23, 2015

January 23 History National Pie Day

Ridley's Believe It Or Not—January 23, 2015:    Trust your Friday is proving to be a great one and you are ready for a great weekend. Tough 7 point loss for the 25^th ranked Cardinal against Arizona in basketball last night. As always, I hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids and a relevant quote from Ernie Kovacs, with a smile on your face, enjoying a slice of rhubarb pie, blessed with a positive attitude even though you know you will have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for a memorable event like Valentines’ Day soon approaching, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. National Pie Day—celebrating since the 1970’s our pie heritage starting with as American as apple pie and running the gamut of fillings fruits, berries and nuts (my favorite has always been boysenberry). Today would be a great day to visit Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery.
       2. National Handwriting Day—established by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers’ Association in 1977 to promote the dying art in the age of texting and computers—handwriting.
      3. 1992 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song on this day in 1992 All for Love by Color Me Badd, a R&B band which has sold over 12 million records in the U.S. with one of its founders, Kevin Thornton, in a sacrilege to the band’s name is now a minister and instrumental in fighting human sex trafficking.
        4. National Rhubarb Pie Day—celebrating another great pie although why of all choices on National Pie Day it has a place of culinary honor is a mystery.
        5. Nothing in Moderation—We All Loved Him Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1919 of one of the great comedians and actors Ernie Kovacs, whose adlibbing and eclectic style influenced such latter TV shows Rowan and Martin Laugh In and Saturday Night Live. He was killed in an automobile accident in Los Angeles in 1962; his epitaph reads “Nothing in Moderation—We All Loved Him.”
On this day in
     a. 1656 noted French mathematician, scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal published the first of his lettres provinciales.
      b. 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded her M.D. degree from Geneva Medical School in Geneva, New York to become the nation’s first female doctor.
      c. 1912 the International Opium Convention, the first international drug control treaty, was signed at The Hague.
      d. 1957 inventor William Frederick Morrison sold his rights to his “flying disc” to the Wham-O toy company which renamed it the “Frisbee.”
      e. 1964 the 24^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting poll taxes in federal elections was ratified.
      f. 2002 American and Israeli journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Pakistan by jihadist extremists and subsequently beheaded.
Reflections on television by one who made a great living performing on the small screen: “Television: A medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done.” Ernie Kovacs

© January 23, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift