Only Idiots Like Mondays

Alright, seriously, today could have started out better. The fact that it's a (Monday, Soom-waar, Doshanbeh, yawm-al-ithnayn, Kamal, Dyds Llwn, Sweetmorn) doesn't make anything any better. I'm tired of the dramaculous in all its forms. Please people, just let things be.

So, I saw a band called The Republic Tigers on Saturday night, and although it's not really my cup o' tea, it was preety cool. Allie likes this band and from what I can tell, they're getting ready to hit the big time. We also saw a pretty cool art exhibit on Saturday at the Kemper Museum but I can't remember the artist's name... if I do I'll post it since it was well worth a look.

In 1559 King Henry II of France was mortally wounded during a jousting match with Gabriel de Montgomery. This was apparently a freak accident and did great harm to the reputation of jousting. In 1688 the Immortal Seven issued the Invitation to William III of Orange to become the King of England because they wanted a Protestant king and the heir to the throne was Catholic. In 1805 the US Congress organized the Michigan Territory. In 1859 the French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. I've been to Niagara Falls, it's pretty cool. In 1860 there was a historic debate on evolution at Oxford. In 1882 Charles Giteau was hanged for assassinating Pres. James Garfield. Giteau was born in Illinois but wound up in Ann Arbor for awhile. Eventually he went to Oneida, NY and joined the Oneida Community where they gave him the nickname of Charles Gitout. That's funny. In 1906 the US Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act which is actually pretty important if you think about it. In 1934 the Night of the Long Knives took place in Nazi Germany. In 1953 the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, MI. In 1956 a TWA flight collided with a United Airlines flight killing 128. In 1971 the voting age was lowered to 18. And in 2005 Spain legalized same-sex marriages beating California to the punch by three years.

Today is Independence Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo (not to be confused with Plain Republic of Congo). It used to be called Zaire if that helps. The capital of this C. African nation is Kinshasa and there's about 63 million people who live in the nation which is roughly the size of W. Europe. Despite being incredibly wealthy in natural resources the country can't seem to get it's crap together and is constantly engaged in internal strife. The major exports are cobalt, copper, and diamonds. 94% of the people are Christians.

Happy Birthday: John Gay who may or may not have been; Lena Horne; Vincent D'Onofrio; Mike Tyson; Phil Anselmo, who's been in some pretty amazing bands; and Matisyahu, the Jewish reggae guy... I hate reggae music, so not much more to say about this guy.

Enjoy the day, if you can.