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

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Or Not For January 1, 2016 New Year's Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For January 1, 2016, 385 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your New Year’s Eve party was a safe and sane one and the first day of 2016 is off to a great start and your New Year’s Resolutions are set and being observed; as always, I hope you enjoy Friday’s holidays and observances, a music link to Olivia-Newton John, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from Sean Ban Breathnach, looking forward to starting your New Years Day with a Bloody Mary, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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. New Year’s Day—celebrating the beginning of the New Year and hopefully a Stanford victory over Iowa in the Rose Bowl.

2. Public Domain Day—celebrating in many countries the day that copyrighted material goes into the public domain; usually 70 years after the death of the author. Nothing like not having to a pay a royalty to the creator of the copyrighted material to lower its cost.

3. 1981 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1981 on a long run of ten weeks in that position Physical by Olivia-Newton John. Here is a link to Olivia-Newton John performing Physical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWz9VN40nCA

4. National Bloody Mary Day—celebrating the perfect drink to overcome the excesses of any New Year’s Eve party.

5. Honey With Cocaine Bitter Not Sweet—commemorating the birthday on this day in 1971 rapper and hip hop artist Freddy E who, distraught over a failed relationship with another rapper Honey Cocaine, committed suicide at the age of 22.

On this day in:

a. 1772 the first travelers checques which can be used 90 European cities go on sale in London.

b. 1773 the hymn which became known as “Amazing Grace” was first performed at a sermon of John Newton at Orney, England.

c. 1804 French rule in Haiti ended with Haiti becoming the first black republic and the second nation to become independent in North America. d. 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation became effective in all Confederate states although without Union troops present, it was only a gesture for those slaves residing in such states.

e. 1902 in the first Rose Bowl game instituted to defray the cost of holding the Rose Parade which was first held on January 1, 1890. In the first post season bowl game, Michigan who came into the game 10-0 demolished a 3-1-2 Stanford team 49-0—not a great day for Stanford.

Reflections on New Year’s Day: “New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.” Sean Ban Breathnach, noted Irish radio and TV broadcaster and personality. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 165 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 or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.

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Ridley's Believe It Or Not For December 31, 2015 New Year's Eve

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 31, 2015, 386 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your last day of 2015 is off to a great start and your New Year’s Resolutions are set and better yet capable of being observed; as always, I hope you enjoy Thursday’s holidays and observances, a music link to John Lennon, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from Neil Gaiman, looking forward to enjoying some champagne, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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 First Night—a North American artistic and cultural celebration from the afternoon to midnight on New Year’s Eve first observed in Boston in 1975. I am totally clueless s to why the celebration is not called “Last Night.”

2. World Peace Meditation Day—celebrating since 1986 as day for global meditation on the idea of peace.

3. 1980 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1980 on a run of five weeks in that position (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon. Here is a link to John Lennon performing (Just Like) Starting Over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noEdecW8sHg

4. National Champagne Day—celebrating the perfect drink to welcome 2016.

5. Rocky Mountain High—commemorating the birthday on this day in 1943 of Colorado’s poet laureate and iconic singer John Denver, who was an avid humanitarian and environmentalist and who tragically died in an experimental plane crash in Monterey Bay..

On this day in:

a. 1696 a window tax was instituted in England resulting in many households to brick over their windows to avoid the tax.

b. 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed legislation admitting West Virginia into the Union, thereby dividing Virginia in two.

c. 1874 Thomas Edison demonstrated incandescent lighting to the public for the first time at Menlo Park, New Jersey.

d. 1907 the first New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Times Square; tonight up to a million people watched over by 6,000 police officers will descend on Times Square.

e. 1999 the U.S. handed over control of the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal Zone to Panama.

Reflections on New Year’s Eve: “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.” Neil Gaiman, noted English author of short stories, novels and comic books. Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 165 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 or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.

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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Not For December 30, 2015 National Cranberry Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 30, 2015, 387 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your Wednesday is off to a great start and your New Year’s Resolutions are almost set and better yet capable of being observed; as always, I hope you enjoy Wednesday’s holidays and observances, a music link to KC and the Sunshine Band, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from Louis Grant, looking forward to enjoying some fresh cranberries, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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 Bicarbonate of Soda Day—commemorating the use of baking soda which is used to deodorize, bake, coke, clean and in countless other applications. 2. Falling Needles Fest Day—celebrating a day that no family should celebrate because they have failed to water their Christmas tree to watch the dry needles falling from the tree which would now be a tinderbox.

3. 1979 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1979 on a run of one week in that position Please Don’t Go by KC and the Sunshine Band. Here is a link to KC and the Sunshine Band performing Please Don’t Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-l5FyA3pgo

4. National Cranberry Day—bemoaning the fact that fresh cranberries those tart berries from the bog have finally started to disappear along with pomegranates from the supermarket.

5. Right or Left Still Perfect—noting the birthday on this day in 1935 of Sandy Koufax noted Dodger pitcher who pitched a perfect game and was the first pitcher to pitch 4 no hitters.

On this day in:

a. 1817 to the joy of coffee drinkers worldwide the first coffee plants were planted in Kona, Hawaii.

b. 1853 the Gadsden Purchase, which acquired some 23,000 square miles of land located in the southern part of New Mexico and Arizona, was consummated between Mexico and the United States.

c. 1924 astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the existence of galactic systems other than the Milky Way.

d. 1966 the cult classic One Million Years B.C. starring Raquel Welch was released.

e. 1972 President Nixon announced the end of bombing of North Vietnam and the commencement of peace talks.

Reflections on the elixir of the gods, Kona coffee: “The man who thinks he can run a coffee plantation without any practical experience, and without either native or Asiatic labor, or with strictly Caucasian help, is building his house on a foundation of sand." Louis T. Grant. Honolulu, July 17, 1895 Fortunately for coffee lovers like me the growers of Kona coffee must have listened to Mr. Grant.

Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and join 165 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 or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day In History.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Or Not For December 29, 2015 Tick Tock Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—December 29, 2015, 389 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your Tuesday is off to a great start and your New Year’s Resolutions are almost set; as always, I hope you enjoy Tuesday’s holidays and observances, a music link to Chic, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from Ralph Merkle, looking forward to enjoying a hot bowl of pepper pot soup, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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. Tick Tock Day—commemorating a time to reflect on one’s accomplishment of the current year which is almost at an end and the lessons learned from one’s failures to form a springboard for one’s goals in 2016.

2. Still Need To Do Day—celebrating a realization that procrastination is not a virtue and in the waning days of the year start accomplishing one’s goals.

3. 1978 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1978 on a run of six weeks in that position Le Freak by Chic. Here is a link to Chic performing Le Freak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1qQ1SKNlgY

4. National Pepper Pot Day—celebrating George Washington’s and FDR’s favorite soup made with beef and beef tripe, onions, and other vegetables selected by the chef and seasoned with ground black peppercorns.

5. Six Feet For A King—noting the birthday on this day in 1973 of rapper Pimp C, founder of the Underground Kings who served prison time for aggravated assault and died from drinking Purple Drang (prescription cough syrup in doses 25 times the recommended dose) at the age of 33.

On this day in:

a. 1170 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was assassinated by supporters of King Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral.

b. 1846 the U.S. annexed the Republic of Texas ending its ten year status as a Republic which then became the 28^th State.

c. 1851 the first YMCA in America was opened in Boston, MA. d. 1959 Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” which is considered as the birth of nanotechnology.

e. 2013 in a chilling example of the fact that radical Islam is at war with civilization, a suicide bomber believed to be female detonated her 10 kilograms of TNT at the Volgograd train station, killing 18 and wounding 44 innocents. Reflections on the future of nanotechnology:“Nanotechnology will let us build computers that are incredibly powerful. We'll have more power in the volume of a sugar cube than exists in the entire world today.” Ralph Merkle, noted computer scientist with a PhD. from Stanford; unfortunately the human capacity to maintain the proper ethics and values to use that power for good may not be up to the task.

2. Still Need To Do Day—celebrating a realization that procrastination is not a virtue and in the waning days of the year start accomplishing one’s goals.

On this day in:

a. 1170 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was assassinated by supporters of King Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral.

b. 1846 the U.S. annexed the Republic of Texas ending its ten year status as a Republic which then became the 28^th State.

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Monday, December 28, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Or Not For December 28, 2015 Holy Innocents Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—December 28, 2015, 389 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your Christmas Day was a great one and your Monday is off to a great start and you found the gift of peace under the Christmas Tree; as always, I hope you enjoy Monday’s holidays and observances, music links to the Bee Gees and John Legend, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from Jay Inslee, looking forward to enjoying a few chocolate candies, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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. Holy Innocents Day—commemorating the attempt of Herod the Great to kill the baby Jesus by killing all male babies in Palestine.

2. Call A Friend Day—celebrating a concept that should be celebrated on a daily basis.

3. 1977 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1977 on a run of three weeks in that position How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees. Here is a link to the Bee Gees performing How Deep Is Your Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqqjU7u5Yc

4. National National Chocolate Candy Day—celebrating for chocoholics another excuse to sate on chocolate.

5. The Legend Lives In Music—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1978 of nine time Grammy Winner John Legend, noted R&B singer. Here is a link John Legend performing his Academy Award winning song Glory from the movie Selma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZOKvYcx_o

On this day in:

a. 1832 John Calhoun became the first Vice President to resign.

b. 1895 Wilhelm Rontgen published a paper revealing the existence of a new

form of radiation which became known as X-rays.

c. 1958 in the “Greatest Game Ever Played” the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game in the first sudden death overtime by the score of 23-17.

d. 1973 the Endangered Species Act was signed into law.

e. 2000 U.S. retailer Montgomery Ward announced it was going out of business after 128 years of business.

Reflections on the Endangered Species Act: “What is a fish without a river? What is a bird without a tree to nest in? What is an Endangered Species Act without any enforcement mechanism to ensure their habitat is protected? It is nothing.” Jay Inslee, Democratic governor for Washington.

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Saturday, December 26, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Or Not For December 26, 2015 Boxing Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—December 26, 2015, 391 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your Christmas Day was a great one and your Saturday is off to a great start and you found the gift of peace under the Christmas Tree; as always, I hope you enjoy Saturday’s holidays and observances, a music link to Rod Stewart, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from an anonymous source, looking forward to enjoying a few candy canes, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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. Boxing Day—celebrated in the U.K. and nations of the British Commonwealth by nobility and employers giving gifts (“Christmas Box”) to their tradesmen, servants and employees. In the U.S. the day is marked by massive Day after Christmas sales to further add to the burgeoning credit card debt.

2. The First Day Of Kwanzaa—celebrated since 1995 as a means for African Americans to connect with their African roots; the weeklong celebration culminates with gift giving and a sumptuous meal with family and friends.

3. 1976 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1976 on a long run of eight weeks in that position Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright) by Rod Stewart. Here is a link to the Rod Stewart performing Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZr6AE-u2UM

4. National Candy Cane Day—celebrating a good excuse to start enjoying the

candy canes in the Christmas stockings or start removing any candy canes from the Christmas Tree to enjoy.

5. The Computer Age Started With An Idea—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1791 of Charles Babbage, often called the Father of Computing for his invention of a mechanical calculating machine and his origination of the concept of a programmable computer.

On this day in:

a. 1776 Washington crossed the Delaware River with 2400 men to in a surprise attack at Trenton soundly defeat a force of Hessians, capturing over 1500 and suffering very few casualties; the victory was a significant morale booster for the Americans.

b. 1846 trapped in the snows in the Sierra Nevadas near Truckee Lake, CA the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism to survive after their provisions ran out. Of the 87 members of the group only 48 survived.

c. 1963 the Beatles released in the U.S. I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Her Hand which were great successes and led to Beatlemania. d. 1972 the U.S. Air Force 's the Strategic Air Command launched Operation Linebacker II against Hanoi with a force of 120 B-52s with each plane dropping 26 tons of bombs—the operation forced the North Vietnamese to come to the table and ultimately sign the Paris Accords to bring an end to our combat operations in South Vietnam.

e. 1982 Time Magazine’s Man of the Year was the personal computer, light years advanced from the concepts and mechanical calculator of Charles Babbage.

Reflections on Kwanzaa: “Kwanzaa isn't a replacement for Christmas or even Hanukkah. Kwanzaa has nothing to do with religion and while some may twist it to be political, in its nature it is not. Kwanzaa is not the tool of its creator. Kwanzaa has a life of its own. Kwanzaa is about the spirit of people -- all people regardless of color or race. Kwanzaa is a holiday of the human spirit -- not the divine. The two were meant to co-exist peacefully." Anon Truer words never spoken.

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Friday, December 25, 2015

Ridley's Believe It Or Not For December 25, 2015 Christmas

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—December 25, 2015, 392 days to go in President Obama’s pathetic lame duck term. Trust your Christmas Day is off to a merry start and you found the gift of peace under the Christmas Tree; as always, I hope you enjoy Friday’s holidays and observances, a music link to the Staple Singers, factoids of interest, a relevant quote from the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, looking forward to enjoying a slice of pumpkin pie, blessed with a positive attitude and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, 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. Christmas—Whether the wish is Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Frohweinachten, Buon Natale , メリークリスマス, С Рождеством, or even عيد ميلاد مجيد

as Christians are being slaughtered by ISIS in Syria and Iraq I hope your Christmas celebrated with family and friends is a joyous one and you are awash in the gift of peace.

2. No L Day—hard to find any other holidays or observances but here is a whimsical one requiring a person to omit the letter “L” in speech and writing which is harder than you think but would advance in politics some degree of civility by banning one of Trump’s favorite words in describing his opponents—“Losers.”

3. 1975 Number One S ong—celebrating the number one song in 1975 on a brief run of one week in that position Let’s Do It Again by the Staple Singers. Here is a link to the Staple Singers performing Let’s Do It Again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIS4P8xbPtg

4. National Pumpkin Pie Day—celebrating the what must be the essential desert for Thanksgiving and also Christmas.

5. In The Twilight Zone Death Awaits—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1924 of producer and direct of film and TV, Rod Sterling whose Twilight Zone was a favorite of viewers in the late 50’s and early 60’s. This very creative man was a smoker and after suffering several heart attacks had another fatal heart while undergoing open heart surgery and died at the far too early age of 50.

On this day in:

a. 336 the first documentary evidence of that a Christmas celebration occurred in Rome. .

b.1868 President Andrew Johnson, the first President to be impeached but not convicted, unconditionally pardoned all Confederate war veterans.

c. 1914 along portions of the Western Front the Christmas Truce began, involving hundreds of British, French and German soldiers who laid down their weapons to mingle in “No Man’s Land” fraternize, exchange small gifts and even play soccer.

d. 1974 in a Secret Service slow to learn moment Marshall Fields, dressed in Arabic clothing drove his Chevrolet Impala through a White House gate stopping four feet from the portico, Although he claimed his car was loaded with explosives, he surrendered after a four hour standoff. Fortunate for us President Ford was not present at the White House and the explosives turned out to be flares.

e. 2009 Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab aka the Underware Bomber failed in his attempt to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit by detonating plastic explosives he had hidden in his underwear. This scumbag whose visa should have been revoked by Clinton’s State Department was convicted and is now serving four life sentences plus 50 years in a federal maximum security prison.

Reflections on Christmas: “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, noted American evangelist—Hope your world today and in the coming days is a softer, more beautiful one sated with the gift of peace.

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