April 24 History Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 24, 2015 Happy Tax Freedom Day and a
wish that your Friday is proving to be a great day since on this day you have earned enough to pay your taxes such that every dollar now coming in is a dollar you do not have to hand over to the government. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest, a music video of Disco Lady and a relevant quote by Talat Pasha, having enjoyed a couple of pigs in a blanket, 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 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. Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day—commemorating the genocide by Turkey of some 800,000 to 1,500,000 Armenians living in Turkey starting on this day 1915; to this day our “ally” Turkey has never admitted this genocidal stain on their nation.
       2. Arbor Day—first celebrated in 1872 in Nebraska City, Nebraska; a great day to plant a tree unless you are in California which given our drought, a cactus might be more appropriate.
       3. 1976 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1976 on a four week run Disco Lady by Johnny Taylor, a popular R&B, pop, and gospel singer of the 50’s and 60’s whose song Disco Lady sold over 2 million copies. Here is a link to the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDpC5YUhE5Y
       4. National Pigs in a Blanket Day—celebrating another great finger food snack—Vienna sausage baked in a dough cover.  
       5. Funny Girl Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1942  of Barbara Streisand an iconic singer who has sold over 145 million records but whose political views like many of Hollywood stars make Elizabeth Warren look like a right wing fanatic.
 On this day in
       a. 1184 B.C. Troy was sacked by the Greeks.
       b. 1800 the Library of Congress was established when President John Adams signed legislation appropriating $5,000 to purchase books as may be appropriate for use by members of Congress.
       c. 1967 Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov became the first human to die during a space mission when his Soyuz 1 parachute failed to open on reentry.  
       d. 1990 the telescope Hubble was launched from the Shuttle Discovery; it is still mapping the universe with incredible photos of the galaxies.  
       e. 2005 Snuppy, an Afghan hound, became the first dog to be cloned; the act was honored by Time Magazine as the Invention of the Year.
Reflections on Armenian genocide: “Turkey is taking advantage of the war in order to thoroughly liquidate (grundlich aufzaumen) its internal foes, i.e., the indigenous Christians, without being thereby disturbed by foreign intervention. What on earth do you want? The question is settled. There are no more Armenians.” Talat Pasha Chilling words from one of the leaders of Turkey in 1915; the same words are being spoken today by the jihadists such as ISIS.
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 © April 24, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the AlaskanpoetAlaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
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April 23 History World Book Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 23, 2015 Only 1 more day to Tax Freedom Day and a
wish that your Thursday is proving to be a great day. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest,  music videos of Another Somebody Did Something Wrong Song and Only the Lonely and a relevant quote by Cicero having enjoyed a slice of cherry cheesecake, 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 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. International Stained-Pixel Peasant Day—commemorating a really unknown holiday started by Jo Walton in to promote authors posting works on the internet for free; as a poet who blogs constantly in rhyme, this guy is a hero.
       2. World Book Day—another UNESCO holiday celebrated since 1995 to honor authors around the world who create the nonfiction and fiction works that make our lives much more enjoyable.                                                  
       3. 1975 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1975 on a brief one week run Another Somebody Did Something Wrong Song by B.J. Thomas, a popular pop and Christian singer of the 60’s and 70’s still performing live today. Here is a link to the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdAOi-DE9NI

       4. National Cherry Cheesecake Day—celebrating another great high caloric desert.  

       5. Only the Lonely Day—celebrating the birthday on this day of Roy Orbison, an iconic pop singer who was the only artist other than Elvis Presley to have two albums on the top five list at the same time. Here is video of one of his top songs Only the Lonely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjq4wYuwgxs.
 On this day in
       a. 1635 the first public school building in the United States, the Boston Latin Public School,  opened.
       b. 1999 the word “hillbilly” was used for the first time in print in the New York Journal.
       c. 1948 Johnny Longden became the first jockey to record 3,000 wins.  
       d. 1985 in an oops moment, Coca Cola released its revised formula for Coke which was a complete disaster and pulled from the market in less than three months.  
       e. 2005 the frist video was uploaded to YouTube.com Me at the Zoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw.  
Reflections on World Book Day: “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Marcus Cicero, noted orator and Roman Senator
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 © April 23, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the AlaskanpoetAlaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

April 22 History Earth Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 22, 2015 Only 2 more days to Tax Freedom Day and a
wish that your Hump Day is proving to be a great day. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest,  music videos of the Sound of Philadelphia and  a relevant and  quote by Evo Morales having enjoyed a handful of jelly beans, 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 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. Earth Day—commemorating and honoring our only home which we must try to protect or fade away as a species.
       2. Administrative Professionals Day—celebrating the workers that keep the white collar work force on even keel. I you are fortunate enough to have an administrative assistant, this would be a great day to take that person out to lunch.                                                    
       3. 1974 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1974 on a two week run The Sound of Philadelphia by MSFB a great pool of studio singers out of the Philadelphia area. Here is a link to the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ligIq6o0rUU
       4. National Jelly Bean Day—celebrating a great candy and one of Ronald Reagan’s great weaknesses.
       5. Trinity Day—celebrating or commiserating the birthday on this day in 1904 of the man who led the U.S. effort to bring the nuclear genie out of the bottle, Robert Oppenheimer, who like so many smokers died far too early.
 On this day in
       a. 1884 the United States Congress mandated that all coins in the United States be imprinted with “In God We Trust.”
       b. 1970 the first Earth Day was celebrated.
       c. 1977 optical fiber was first used to carry telephonic transmissions.
       d. 1993 version 1.0 of the Mosaic web browser was released.
       e. 2008 the U.S. Air Force retired the F 117 the stealth fighter from service.  
Reflections on Earth Day: “Sooner or later, we will have to recognize that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.” -- Evo Morales, left wing president of Bolivia
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 © April 22, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the AlaskanpoetAlaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

April 21 History Grounation Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 21, 2015 Only 3 more days to Tax Freedom Day and a
wish that your Taco Tuesday is proving to be a great day. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest,  music video of Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree and  a relevant  quote by Benjamin Radford, having enjoyed a bowl of chocolate covered cashews, 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 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. Aggie Muster—commemorating and honoring since 1922 those graduates of Texas A&M who have passed in the prior year.

       2. Grounation  Day—celebrating the visit of Emperor Haile Selassie to Jamaica on this day in 1966 to meet with leaders of the Rastafari movement.                                                  

       3. 1973 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1973 on a four week run Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree by Tony Orlando and Dawn, another successful pop group of the 70’s. Here is a music video of Tony Orlando and Dawn performing Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mRrFx1oBMY
       4. National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day—celebrating a great combo snack, cashews and chocolates—hard to beat.
       5. A Great Day for a Walk in a Park Day—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1838 of the great naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club John Muir. If we are facing global warming another good reason to go to Alaska to view a glacier named after him, the Muir Glacier before it melts away.
 On this day in
       a. 1836 Texas forces under Sam Houston crushed the Mexicans led by Santa Ana at the Battle of San Jacinto resulting in Texas becoming an independent republic and avenging the loss of the Alamo.
       b. 1934 the Daily Mail published the “Surgeon’s Photo” which showed the Loch Ness Monster; in 1999 it was revealed as a hoax. Open up Google today and you will see a doodle of a submarine searching for Nessie.
       c. 1962 the Seattle World’s Fair, complete with a monorail and that iconic structure, the Space Needle, opened.
       d. 1982 Rollie Fingers became the first pitcher to achieve 300 saves.
       e. 1989 100,000 protestors gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to commemorate the death of Hu Yaobang, a reformer in the Chinese Communist Party.
Reflections on Nessie: “Some claim that the Loch Ness monster was first reported in A.D. 565, when St. Columba turned away a giant beast threatening a man in the Ness River, which flows into the lake. However it is only one of many Catholic Church legends about righteous saints vanquishing Satan in the form of serpents and dragons.” Benjamin Radford, “Is the Loch Ness Monster Dead?” Live Science Whether dead or not, Nessie has to be a great tourist attraction
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 © April 21, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the AlaskanpoetAlaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

April 20 History Patriots' Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 20, 2015 Only 4 more days to
Tax Freedom Day and a wish that your weekend is proving to be a great. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest,  music videos of the First Time I Saw Your Face and Strange Fruit and  a relevant and for him rare honest quote by Barack Obama, having enjoyed a plate of lima beans, 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 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. 4/20 (Cannabis Counter Culture Day) celebrating since 1971 at 4:20 in the afternoon at San Rafael High the meeting of the Waldos at a wall near the statute of Louis Pasteur to smoke weed.

       2. Patriots’ Day—celebrating the defiance in 1775 by the militia led by colonel John Parker of the British marching on Lexington to seize arms and munitions at Lexington  and the holding of the Boston Marathon.

                                                             

       3. 1972 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1972 on a six week run The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack, another iconic singer of the sixties and seventies and still going strong; she is the only solo artist to have two consecutive Grammies for the best song of the year.  Here is a video of her performing The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9jmusgMgro
       4. National Lima Beans Day—celebrating a bean that has been cultivated since 6000 B. C. and is the main ingredient along with corn in succotash.
       5. Mein Kampf Day—bemoaning the birthday on this day in 1889 of one of the more despicable tyrants the world has ever had the displeasure to have witnessed—Adolf Hitler.
 On this day in
       a. 1912 opening day for Fenway Park, the oldest Stadium for baseball.
       b. 1918 Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron, shot down his 79^th and 80^th victims, his last victories before being killed the next day.
       c. 1926 Western Electric and Warner Brothers announced Vitaphone, a process to add sound to motion pictures.
       d. 1939 Billie Holiday released Strange Fruit, the first civil rights song which protested racism and lynchings of blacks:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI  
       e. 2010 the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig owned by BP exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 13 workers and causing a massive oil spill that lasted over six months and cost BP billions in terms of fines, penalties and cleanup costs..
Reflections on finally getting some honesty out of our current president as opposed to Bill Clinton who dodged the 420 issue. “When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”―Barack Obama
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 © April 20, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the AlaskanpoetAlaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

 

       

                

April 18 History National Newspaper Columnist Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 18 2015 Only 6 more days to Tax Freedom Day and a
wish that your weekend is proving to be a great. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest, a music video Let It Be and  a relevant quote by William Safire, having enjoyed a box of Animal Crackers, 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 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. International Day of Monuments and Sites—celebrated since 1983 due to UNESCO resolution to honor cultural and historical monuments which fanatics like ISIS are hell bent on destroying.
       2. National Newspaper Columnists Day—celebrating the contribution made by newspaper columnists and celebrated today on the anniversary of the death on this day in 1945 of one of the great columnists of World War II, Ernie Pyle.
       3. 1970 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1970 on a two week run Let It Be by the Beatles. Here is a music video of the Beatles performing Let It Be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsQsOjaVUuA
       4. National Animal Crackers Day-- Nothing like a box of animal crackers to bring back memories of one’s youth.
       5. Could Be a Boat but It’s a Poet Politician Day—celebrating not the Higgins Boat which enabled D-Day to occur, but rather the birthday on this day in 1941 of Michael Higgins, poet and author and ninth president of Ireland.
On this day in
       a. 1923 Yankee Stadium, the house that Ruth built, opened for business.
       b. 1924 Simon and Schuster published the world’s first crossword puzzle book.
       c. 1988 the United States Navy in response to one of its ships striking an Iranian mine,   launched operation Praying Mantis against the Iranian Navy, the largest naval engagement by the U.S. since World War II.  
       d. 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart  ruled that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act was constitutional.     
       e. 2014 in a bad day for mountain climbers, 16 people are killed by an avalanche on Mt. Everest.
Reflections by on being a newspaper columnist:” The wonderful thing about being a New York Times columnist is that it's like a Supreme Court appointment - they're stuck with you for a long time.” William Safire, noted American syndicated columnist for the New York Times
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 © April 18, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift         

 

April 17 History National Haiku Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—April 17 2015 Only 7 more days to
Tax Freedom Day and a wish that your Friday will be a great one surpassed only by the upcoming weekend. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances albeit somewhat meager today, factoids of interest, a music video Aquarius Let the Sunshine in, an original just completed haiku by the Alaskanpoet for National Haiku Day and  a relevant quote by George Lucas,  having enjoyed a cheese ball with friends, 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 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. World Hemophilia Day—celebrated since 1993 the need to create awareness of the problems facing people suffering from hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

       2. National Haiku Poetry Day—celebrating that ancient form of Japanese poetry: “Spring break at the beach/ Bongs, beer and rape in close reach/ Is this what profs teach?”  Haiku written in response to news of video of Panama City Beach rape of unconscious woman during spring break.

       3. 1969 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 1969 on a six week run Aquarius Let the Sunshine in by the Fifth Dimension, great band of the late of the late 60’s and 70’s and member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Here is a music video of the Fifth Dimension performing Aquarius Let the Sunshine in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06X5HYynP5E      

       4. National Cheese Ball Day-- Nothing like a cheese ball made with bacon or nuts to spice up this favorite source of calcium and protein. 

       5. Pound Shoes not Sand  Day—celebrating not that equivalent of go fly a kite but rather the birthday on this day in 1894 of Nikita Khrushchev former premier of the Soviet Union who made a fool out of himself banging his shoe on the table at the UN. 

On this day in
       a. 1905 in one of its more controversial decisions the Supreme Court in Lochner v. New York under the due process of the 14^th Amendment struck down a New York statute limiting the amount of hours a baker could work to 60 hours per week. 

       b. 1961 a CIA sponsored force of Cuban exiles lands at the Bay of Pigs in an effort to overthrow Castro; the invasion failed leading to the breaking off of relations which are now in the process of being restored.

       c. 1971 to the delight of future movie goers George Lucas began writing  a 13 page treatment for The Star Wars which resulted in the release of the first Star Wars in 1977.

       d. 1975 the Cambodian Civil War came to an end with the capture of the capital of Pnhom Penh by the Khmer Rouge; mass executions of Cambodians were soon to follow.

       e. 2014 NASA’s probe Kepler found the first earth sized planet in the habitable zone of another star.

Reflections by George Lucas with the Alaskanpoet’s addendum: “No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” Alaskanpoet addendum: “Except in rugby where a try is worth five points.”

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 © April 17, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting lift