Descent into the Maelstrom

Friday at last, thank god almighty, Friday at last. (And yes it's also Chukar-waar, Jom'eh, yawm-al-jum'a, Istiqlal, Boomtime.)

Hopefully the storms last night did not knock anyone's teeth out. I was woken up at about 2a.m. but it wasn't by the storm. No worries, I went back to sleep. Apparently the rain was blowing parallel to the ground at certain points last night. One thing I did learn is that they do not just test the air raid sirens on the first of the month in Kansas. Nope, those actually mean something. Who knew? Another great thing about Michigan is that aside from the occasional blizzard and the rare tornado, the number of natural disasters is pretty minimal. I do remember a severe flood when I was in 3rd grade. But that's neither here nor there. When in KS, heed air raid sirens. It does not mean that the Russians are attacking, but it does mean that you should take cover.

In 1808 the people of Madrid rose up in rebellion against French occupation (see the picture). Can you imagine being occupied by the French? GD French sound like they're mumbling all the time. I can't stand them. And they're so uppity. They don't even make any cool cars. I mean come on, a Citroen? In 1876 the April Uprising began in Bulgaria despite the fact that it was May. In 1885 Good Housekeeping went on sale for the first time. I'm guessing this was magazine was the brainchild of a man who wanted his wife to a better job of housekeeping. In 1918 General Motors acquired Chevrolet. In 1920 the first Negro National League baseball game was played in Indianapolis. In 1933 Adolf Hitler banned trade unions in Germany. In 1955 Tennessee Williams (no relation) won the Pulitzer Prize for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". And in 2004 a bunch of Christians masscred 630 Muslims in Nigeria.

In Poland today is Flag Day. In Iran today is Teachers' Day. More than likely they are teaching the children that the holocaust never happened and that America is evil. In Indonesia it is National Education Day. Please do not spit on the sidewalks or swear or you will be publicly flogged.

Happy Birthday: Dr. Spock; Englebert Humperdinck; The Rock; and David Beckham (please take your pretty ass back to the UK, we have enough useless celebrities already).

Please enjoy your day and your weekend. Apparently I'm going to Emporia, KS to watch soccer tomorrow. I was not aware of this until this morning and am quite excited to see yet another new place, even if it's Emporia, KS.

"Money can't by happiness, but poverty can't buy anything."