Is that another word for “fat”

Today in history:

• 1921 – Researchers Frederick Banting and his team at the University of Toronto announced the discovery of the hormone insulin. For which I personally am very thankful.

In case you missed it, I posted a new, um, post *g* on my other very cool blog.

Busy night on TV. Wipeout is a rerun but we have new episodes of Warehouse 13, White Collar, Covert Affairs, Memphis Beat and Deadliest Warrior (Navy SEALs vs Israeli Commandos!!!).

Reading: Still reading The Daffodil Mystery. Went to the library today, so I have new regular books to read now. Just when I was starting to get used to the Nook. *g*

Hey, I could use that one sometimes!

Man, it is so hot! Got in the shower and didn’t even have to use the hot water tap. The water coming out of the “cold” water tap was warm enough. Currently it’s 89 degrees outside with a heat index of 102!!! I hate summers in Arkansas. *g*

Today in history:

• 1895 – Silent movie actress Aileen Pringle was born.

• 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sold its first car.

• 1926 – Fox Film (the predecessor of 20th Century Fox) bought the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.

• 1948 – Legendary silent movie director D. W. Griffith died at age 73.

Tonight we have new episodes of Eureka and Haven. Good stuff, Maynard!

Reading: Finished up A Cast-Off Coven which was very good! I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

I have definitely had to use this at times. Not today, thankfully.

Our Dollar General store’s construction is zipping along. They have all the walls up except across the front. Then they need to put on the roof. I guess then they’ll start the interior work.

Today in history:

• 1889 – Actor/comedian Larry Semon was born. During his heyday he was considered the “King of Comedy”. He died in 1928 from complications of pneumonia & tuberculosis.

• 1903 – Actress Mary Philbin was born. She’s most famous for playing the role of Christine Daaé in the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera.

• 1907 – Actress Barbara Stanwyck was born. While she had a 60 year career in Hollywood, she’s probably best known for playing the matriarch of the Barkley family in the TV series The Big Valley. One of her movies that’s a favorite of mine is 1941′s Ball of Fire where she played a nightclub performer opposite Gary Cooper‘s stuffy professor.

• 1911 – Actress/dancer Ginger Rogers was born. She’s most famous for dancing with sometime dance partner Fred Astaire.

• 1918 – Tzar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, the family doctor, their servants and their pet dog were shot and killed by the Bolsheviks. (Unless, y’know, they weren’t. )

• 1935 – The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And a whole new form of highway robbery city revenue was born!

• 1948 – The Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, became the first commercial aircraft to be hijacked. And a whole new form of crime was born!

Tonight on TV we have new episodes of Eureka and Haven.

Reading: Still reading Acts of Violets which I’m enjoying.

LOL!!! Now there’s an excuse.

Happy birthday to me! I’m trying not to think about how old I am. *g*

Owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner passed away this morning after a heart attack.

Today in history:

• 1919 – The British airship R34 landed in Norfolk, England. It took 182 hours to fly across the Atlantic. Not a quick flight.

• 1923 – The Hollywood Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Los Angeles. It originally read “Hollywoodland ” (see the picture in my banner above *g*) but the last four letters were dropped after renovation in 1949.

My fellow birthday babies today are Bob Crane, Patrick Stewart (make it so!), Robert Forster, Harrison Ford (I hate snakes!), Cheech Marin, and Didi Conn. Whew!

Tuesday night has suddenly become a busy TV night again. New episodes of Wipeout and Warehouse 13 plus the season premiere of White Collar and the series premiere of Covert Affairs. Oh and a new episode of Memphis Beat. I’m sort of hoping I don’t like Covert Affairs because I already have too many shows to watch as it is.

Reading: Still reading Daughter of Magic. It’s a fun series.

I’ve got nothing today. Really need to be working on a post for my other blog. *g*

Today in history:

• 1895 – The Lumière brothers demonstrated their film technology to scientists.

• 1914 – Babe Ruth made his debut in Major league baseball.

• 1920 – Russian-born actor Yul Brynner was born. He’s probably most famous for his roles in The King and I and The Magnificent Seven (the original movie not the TV series).

• 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opened.

Tonight on TV, we have a new episode of Leverage, plus a new version of Murder On the Orient Express (David Suchet‘s Poirot is great, so I have high hopes) and a special on the former Sci Fi Channel titled Inside Secret Government Warehouses: Shocking Revelations. I have doubts about that “shocking revelations” part. *g*

Reading: Now I’m reading Death at Epsom Downs by Robin Paige. It’s good so far.

I hear this one in a really whiny voice. LOL! And I’m so glad it’s not something I can say anymore. I love, love, love my DVR. How did I ever survive without it before?

Today in history:

• 1897 – Bootlegger Jack “Legs” Diamond was born.

• 1899 – Actor John Gilbert was born. He was a major star of silent films. He was married four times and was slated to marry Greta Garbo only she didn’t show up. Gilbert’s boss, Louis B. Mayer allegedly made a snide remark about this and Gilbert knocked him down. The story goes that Mayer proceeded to sabotage Gilbert’s career at every opportunity. Moral of that story, no matter how much of a jackass your boss is, don’t punch him out!

• 1913 – Death Valley, California hit 134 degrees (Farenheit), the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States. That’s a record that has yet to be broken.

• 1925 – Dayton, Tennessee high school science teacher John T. Scopes was accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. The trial earned the nickname “Monkey Trial”.

• 1938 – Howard Hughes set a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world. It was the shortest around-the-world flight at the time.

Tonight on TV, we have a new episode of Doctor Who. Well, two for me because I somehow missed recording the previous new episode. And I haven’t actually watched any of the episodes I have recorded since the new Doctor debuted. Part of me doesn’t want to bother. But maybe I should give them at least a cursory look.

Reading: I’m still reading Murder Will Travel. I’m enjoying it a lot now but I had a hard time getting into it. Lots of suspects and I haven’t got a clue whodunit.

This is sadly very true. Which possibly explains why this post is so late. LOL!

Today in history:

• 1922 – Athlete turned actor Johnny Weissmuller swam the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the ‘minute barrier’. He later went on to become famous as Tarzan in twelve movies. Then he changed out of his loincloth and into a safari suit to play Jungle Jim in thirteen movies.

Tonight is the long-awaited season premiere of Eureka!!!!! Not, y’know, that I’m excited or anything. *g* And it’s also the debut of the new show Haven. Hope it’s good!

Reading: Tonight I’ll be starting Murder Will Travel by Emily Toll.

Yeah, I’m sure that’s what happened.

Our Dollar General store’s construction is coming along. They started putting up the steel framing yesterday. In a few weeks we’ll be able to shop without having to drive to another town! What a concept. *g*

Today in history:

• 1947 – Reports were broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.

• 1948 – The United States Air Force accepted its first female recruits into the Women in the Air Force (WAF) program.

The only thing on tonight is another new episode of Wipeout, so you know what that means! Yes, boys and girls, recorded shows.

Reading: Finished up Pride and Prescience which I adored. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series now. Not sure what I’ll read next.

Well, you know that won’t be my excuse. LOL!

Not a lot going on here.

Today in history:

• 1891 – Actress Virginia Rappe was born. She’s infamous for being the downfall of Fatty Arbuckle‘s career when he was charged with causing her death. She actually died from a ruptured bladder and peritonitis.

• 1928 – Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. It was described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped”. I wonder what people said before they could say “the greatest thing since sliced bread”?

• 1930 – Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (aka Hoover Dam).

• 1946 – Howard Hughes crashed his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashes in Beverly Hills, California (unintentionally).

• 1947 – Space aliens crashed near Roswell, New Mexico.

So, a fairly busy and diverse day. LOL!

The only thing on tonight is Ghost Hunters Academy. It’s the season finale and they’re going to be at the Stanley Hotel which is where The Shining was filmed. It’s a very haunted location.

Reading: Now I’m reading Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris. She’s a new-to-me author. The mystery features Elizabeth Bennett & Mr. Darcy (from Pride and Prejudice) and takes place just after their wedding. And it’s a lot of fun, so far!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Independence Day full of yummy food and fun fireworks! But please stay safe!!!

You can check out my new (old?) blog here. I made my first “official” post just a few minutes ago. I’m finding lots of fun information I can share over there.

Today in history:

• 1776 – The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

• 1778 – During the American Revolution, forces under George Clark captured Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.

• 1802 – The United States Military Academy, better known as West Point, opened.

• 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was announced to the American people.

• 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opened.

• 1882 – Film producer Louis B. Mayer was born.

• 1886 – The people of France offered the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.

• 1902 – Russian-American gangster Meyer Lanksy was born. Don’t ask me why I added him here. I have no clue. *g*

• 1903 – Dorothy Levitt was reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a ‘motor race’.

• 1959 – With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• 1960 – Due to the admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania almost ten and a half months later.

There’s nothing on TV tonight so I’ll be watching some of the patriotic shows I’ve been recording.

Reading: Now I’m reading my friend Joe Buff‘s military action/adventure book Straits of Power. Good stuff!