A humorist is born

Even today the words of humorist, cowboy, actor Will Rogers can be used to describe how things are going in this country. Rogers was born on Nov. 4, 1879.

"His humor and his comments were always kind. His was no biting sarcasm that hurt the highest or the lowest of his fellow citizens. When he wanted people to laugh out loud, he used the methods of pure fun. And when he wanted to make a point for the good of mankind, he used the kind of gentle irony that left no scars behind it." -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Dog in space

Now here is some cool history!

Flying the Goose

Photo Credit:  

Evergreen Aviation & Space 

Museum

Howard Hughes shows off his Hughes Flying Boat to the world on Nov. 2, 1947. The press nicknamed the plane "The Spruce Goose."

Painting a ceiling and a white house

No treats for you! And where is my catnip and martini!

Don't laugh.

Elementary, my dear Watson

Harry Houdini. 

It was on Oct. 31, 1892, that The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is published.

Celebrating a Lady

Jeff tried to get me to watch Beavis and Butt-Head last night. MTV has brought back Mike Judge;s cartoon about two heavy-metal banger high school students.

A New York minute

A subway opens in New York City on Oct. 27, 1904.

More than 100,000 people paid a nickel to ride under Manhattan on that first night. The rout was 9.1 miles long and went from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Grand Central Terminal in midtown.

Did I remember to flush the litter box?

CAT FACT (catsinfo.com)

Sir Isaac Newton is not only credited with the laws of gravity but is also credited with inventing the cat flap.

WEATHER STUFF

Do you believe in ghost lights?

A wonder of the world

On Oct. 26, 1825, New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton boarded the Seneca Chief in Buffalo and traveled to New York City on waterway nicknamed "Clinton's Big Ditch."

This opened the Erie Canal, which led to westward expansion into the Great Lakes area.

LET IT SNOW

If you like snow, the place to be is northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.

Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne in Wyoming were closed.

Pablo the painter

"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

World-famous author Pablo Picasso was born Oct. 25, 1881.

Along with French painter Georges Braque, Piccaso created Cubism, which Merriam Webster defines as "a style of art that stresses abstract structure at the expense of other pictorial elements especially by displaying several aspects of the same object simultaneously and by fragmenting the form of depicted objects."

Two of his most famous works among his 50,000 paintings are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937).

I think I could do some cubism as well as paint by numbers.

NORTHERN LIGHTS

Many places in thew world, including the good old U.S.A. experienced Northern Lights last night.

Check out some of the pics taken by people and shared on Spaceweather.com.

Enjoy the day.

Under consideration

Do you want history? Do you want weather? Do you want attitude? I'm getting ready to revamp the darn blog. Hang tight.

Oct. 21, 2011: Old Ironside

Oct. 21, 1797, USS Constitution is launched.


Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Oct. 20, 2011: Commies in Hollywood

How you got in the World Serious: Cardinals or Rangers? I prefer the guys with the guns over the Redbirds. But remember, I'm a cat.

Love my herbs and enjoy them year round.

Oct. 20, 1947, The Red Scare comes to Hollywood.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Oct. 19, 2011: U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

A high school in Illinois is allowing students only three restroom breaks during class per semester. Better teach them kids bladder and bowel control. And does that apply to staff and faculty?

Oct. 18, 2011: North to Alaska

I turned the furnace on this morning. Even with a nice fur coat, us cats need a little more heat.

Oct. 18, 1867, U.S. takes possession of Alaska.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Oct. 17, 2011: No oil for you!

Is there really a middle ground? I prefer that things go my way. Maybe that is why my owner ignores me more and more.

Oct. 17, 1973, OPEC states declare oil embargo.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Oct. 15, 2011: Double crosser

I'm trying to count leafs on one of the trees and have to start over. The darned things keep falling off.

Oct. 14, 2011: Faster than sound

The winds of October have blown in to northeastern Illinois. I need some Captain Black tobacco and my pipe.

Remember, too. Friends stand by you.



Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier.

Astronomy lesson: Seven Sisters

This is Oct.12, 2011

 Chynna Phillips and Tony Dovolani perform Monday. Phillips' momentary gaffe proved costly as the couple was eliminated from the competition Tuesday.  (ABC/ADAM TAYLOR)

"Dancing with the Stars" is entertaining.

The moments of high drama are tarnished by so many commercials (10) between segments.

They do have to pay the bills, but we need more dancing and less shilling.

Oct. 12, 1492, Columbus reaches America. He is greeted by Amerigo Vespucci.

Can you tell that I am a big Amerigo Vespucci fan?

This is Oct. 11, 2011

Could the producers of Dancing with the Stars have a couple dance to "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)"
sung by Leo Sayer?

This is Oct. 10, 2011

The man: Amerigo Vespucci

Nancy Pelosi is a whiner.

Less flapping the yap and more work

It is hard to write these posts this week due to the great weather.

Our generation has lost its Thomas Edison, ... Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs.

As for the United States malaise, no wonder we do not get things done in government. They love playing the blame game. Shut up. Get over it. Do the job.

Oct. 7, 1871, a massive fire ignites in Wisconsin. It becomes known as the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871. This fire, which killed 1,200 people, is obscured by the smaller Great Chicago Fire, which happened the same time.



Accuweather.com can give you the forecast.

They're coming to America!

On Oct. 6, 1683, the first Mennonites arrived in America aboard the Concord. They came to practice their religion and because William Penn offered them 5,000 acres of land in the colony of Pennsylvania.

Also, Oct. 6, 1866, the Reno gang robs a train in Jackson County, Ind., a first in this country.

You got to hold on to what you got ... Bon Jovi.

Hope is eternal. Defeat is only temporary.

And this comes via Farmers Alamanc's twitter:  Thought for the week: If you can’t see the bright side, polish the dull side.

Work things out; War of 1812, housefly

Ben Bernanke told Congress the U.S. economy is teetering on going in the crapper again.

What in the world is it going to take for us to get our act together?

Partnering between government and business is needed. Stop thinking that penalizing some and making the rest of us feel good is what is going to take to get things going.

We don't need more blue ribbon commissions or panels and czars and pointing fingers.

Grow up! Listen. And then craft bills that are not pie in the sky.

Oct. 5, 1813, Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is defeated by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of the Thames near Ontario, Canada.

This comes via almanac.com: What is the normal life expectancy of the common housefly?

Sputnik I

It amazes me that a satellite the size of a volleyball would get a country like the United States fired up to explore our universe.

When the Russians launched Sputnik I on Oct. 4, 1957, that is exactly what got America into a space race.



During the summer months, the leafs on trees not only provide us shade but produce sugar that the tree will use during the winter months.

Moon talk ...

I was looking at my behind in the mirror and got to thinking about the moon.

Nature's playground

Welcome October, we hope your stay is a nice one with not too many surprises.

Sept. 30, 2011: A true survivor

The last day of September means we are three-quarters of the way through the year.

Sept. 29, 2011: Who you calling two-faced?

Reuters provided this photo handout of a two-faced Janus cat.

People get ready there's change a coming.

Wow story of the day comes from France about a two-faced cat. Now who gets first dibs eating?



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 28, 2011: Teddy baseball

Sad to see the regular season is ending for Major League Baseball. We still have a few more weeks of the playoffs and World Series.

Sept. 28, 1941, Ted Williams last player to hit .400.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 27, 2011: The negotiator

People still living can now grace postage stamps. I hope this brings everyone back to writing letters and paying bills via the mail service.

Sept. 27, 1779, John Adams appointed to negotiate peace terms with British.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 26, 2011: Quite a bunch

Sept. 26, 1969, the television sitcom "The Brady Bunch" premieres.

Supreme justice

Welcome to the first day of Fall. That does not mean you should fall down. Rather it means rejoice in the vivid colors of the trees, shrubs and plants. It also means get your butt in gear and finish those outdoor projects because Jack Frost is waiting in the wings with Old Man Winter.

Sept. 23, 2011: Planetary find

Fall arrives on Friday. The days are getting shorter and the beauty of nature is changing colors.

Sept. 23, 1846, Eighth planet discovered.



Thanks to History.com.

Check for your AccuWeather forecast:

Sept. 25, 2011: Freed

Nice to know two Americans held in Iran for two years are being released.

And pay attention to events in the Middle East. Palestinian statehood, crack down on the people of Syria. Change is coming and it will not come easy. Much bloodshed already.

Boston Red Sox survive another loss while Tampa Bay misses opportunity to gain ground in a very contentious American League Wild Card race.

Typhoon lashes out at Japan.

And on Sept. 25, 1980, actor George Clooney makes his "Facts of Life" debut. He has since gone on to do great things. If I do say so, I do look a lot like him.

Get out of here! Go have a good day.

Sept. 21, 2011: Traitor

What if cats and dogs ran the U.S.?

Just a thought.

Sept. 21, 1780, Benedict Arnold commits treason.

Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Come sail away

Keeping things simple helps to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Sept. 20, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Spain to find a western route to the Spice Island's of Indonesia.

Thanks to History.com.

Check for your AccuWeather forecast:

Sept. 19, 2011: Ground shakes

Let us not forget the men and women serving the U.S. around the world. You are in our prayers and thoughts.

Sept. 19, 1957, Nevada is site of the first-ever underground nuclear explosion.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 17, 2011: Bloody battle

Enjoy the weekend, everybody

Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 16, 2011: Voyage to America

Those politicians need to stop talking about jobs and take action. Come out in the real world and see how it really is. It isn't a walk in the park or a rah, rah rally.

Sept. 16, 1620, Mayflower departs for America.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 15, 2011: Brits shine

Reach out and touch someone in need. Also, smile ... you make the world a brighter place when you do.

Sept. 15, 1940, tide turns in the Battle of Britain.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 14, 2011: McKinley dies

If you lose character, you lose everything.

Sept. 14, 1901, President William McKinley dies from infection, eight days after being shot.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 13, 2011: O, say can you see ...

I'm looking for woolly caterpillars, No, not to eat! I want to check how thick the coat of hair is for winter prediction.

Sept. 12, 2011: Old paintings

Time to get back to working hard and making a difference.

Sept. 12, 1940, Lascaux cave paintings discovered.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 11, 2011: America attacked

Ten years ago, acts of terror claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people in the United States. Many others have lost their lives since battling terrorism. Pause to remember these people and thee families. Don't ever give up.

Sept. 10, 2011: Pull that buggy over

Seems like a stern lecture was given last night in Washington, D.C.

Sept. 9, 2011: A child is born

It would be great if Mother Nature would take the rain in the Northeast and quench the Southwest.

Sept. 8, 2011: The pardon

My jobs program is allowing people to get back to work by getting rid of some stupid rules that hinder doing such. There has to be a way to work this out and in a timely fashion.

Sept. 7, 2011: Uncle Sam

Congress gets back to gridlock today after taking a few weeks off to talk about the need not have gridlock.

Sept. 6, 2011: New weapon

Remember, today is Tuesday. This is a holiday week. Please adjust your schedules.

Sept. 6, 1915, first tank produced.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 5, 2011: Texas has a leader

Happy Labor Day!

Sept. 5, 1836, Sam Houston elected president of Texas.



Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Sept. 4, 2011: Last warrior surrenders

The smell of plastic burning is not pleasant, and propane tanks exploding is a scary sight as well. Recycling business was lost to fire Friday. Quite a fireball it was for a few hours.

Sept. 3, 2011: U.S. recognized

We are thankful for all the men and women who keep this country going. Enjoy the Labor Day holiday.

Sept. 2, 2011: Quick banking

More cracks found in the Washington Monument. But it will stand the test.

Sept. 1, 2011: Taken over

Meteorological fall begins. Some times I dislike logic.

Sept. 1, 1864, Atlanta falls to Union troops.




Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Aug. 31, 2011: Solidarity

It's not cool to be skipping school, especially a week into the new school year. And do not trespass in the neighborhood. Respect is a bad thing to muddy.

Aug. 31, 1980, Polish government signs accord with Gdansk shipyard workers.




Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI

Aug. 30, 2011: Strong justice

Get ready for one last blast of 90-degree weather.

Aug. 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall confirmed as Supreme Court justice.




Thanks to History.com.

Here's the AccuWeather forecast:

Antofagasta, Chile

Brax, France

Buxton, Derbyshire, England

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

China Grove, NC

Erie, PA

Fort Wayne, IN

Glendale, AZ

Grosse Pointe, MI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hurricane, UT

Indianapolis

Kankakee, IL

Lafayette, IN

Rochester, MN

Wooster, OH

Some place exotic:

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Honolulu, HI