Today is...

[IceWizard]

Thanks TG ...

There's at lot that "goes on behind the scenes" that the public may never know... As you say, the powers that be try and control how we dress (or not dress ), what we hear and see ... Hard to tell exactlly what's real and what is whitewash ...

The stuff that goes on just blows me away!

Ice

[G.Elias]

Its hard to tell what that Rod Stewart really is Ice

I best ask David Icke lol!

[IceWizard]

... I know what you're sayin TG ...

Ice

[IceWizard]

Wednesday 28 Dec 2016

Card Playing Day



The holiday season has come and gone, and the end of the year is in sight.

You know what you need to do now?

That’s right, you need to sit back and play out a few rounds of solitaire, or maybe get the family together for a night of Texas Hold’em, Slap Jack, or War. Whatever your pleasure, Card Playing Day is a chance to wind down from all the kerfluffle of the season by engaging in a card game or three.

History of Card Playing Day

Playing cards are thought to have first been introduced to the world in China before spreading across the globe to India, Persia, and ultimately every corner of this… sphere.

Ok, so that corner thing never has made sense, unless you’re talking about a rectangular playing card, which thankfully we are!

A whole pack of them in fact.

Playing cards have always been the last bastion of entertainment in inclement weather, and thus were a favorite of the winter holidays. After all, before the invention of television and electricity, what was one to do when you’d heard all of Uncle Joe’s story, and couldn’t possibly bring yourself to lay your eyes on another dog-eared novel?

That’s right, you play cards!

There are numerous games that exist in the world, hundreds from every culture imaginable. Some games are unique to a particular region, or at least distinct to it (Like Baccarat) or can be found in variations all over the world while clearly being recognizable (like poker).

Others still involve the use of playing boards as a utility in keeping track of points, such as cribbage.

Card Playing Day is an opportunity and excuse to return to this age old form of entertainment, and to spend a little time alone, or connecting with your family.

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December 28 Birthdays


Edgar Winter - 70



John Legend - 38



Stan Lee - 94



Denzel Washington - 62



Seth Meyers - 43



Woodrow Wilson - (1856-1924)



Gayle King - 62



Robin McGraw - 63






December 28th

2003: Pete Townshend revealed in an interview with a U.K. newspaper that he contemplated suicide after his arrest on charges of child pornography, which were dropped four months after his arrest.

1993: Mutt Lange, producer of albums such as AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and Back in Black and Def Leppard’s Pyromania and Hysteria married Shania Twain in Switzerland. The couple separated in 2008 and divorced in 2010.

1985: John Mellencamp peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Small Town” which was Mellencamp’s sixth top ten single in the U.S.

1975: Ted Nugent had a gun pulled on him by David Gelfer during a concert in Spokane, WA. Gelfer was charged with intimidating with a weapon.

1970: John Lennon released “Mother” which went on to reach number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

1968: The three day Miami Pop Festival kicked off at the Gulfstream Race Track in Hallandale Beach, outside of Miami. Artists that appeared on the three day festival included Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Procol Harum, Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly, Canned Heat, Three Dog Night, The Turtles and the Grateful Dead.

1968: The Beatles reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with their self-titled album, commonly referred to as “The White Album” for the first of nine non-consecutive weeks.

1968: The Doors released “Touch Me” which went on to peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and become their third Gold single.

1968: Led Zeppelin performed their first concert in Canada at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver supporting Vanilla Fudge.



Birthdays:

Edgar Winter born in 1946

[Linville]

Hi Ice

Thanks for the posting.

I never knew some of the info you add here about people and musicians.

Very interesting IceWizard......thanks again for all the good reading and pic's.

[IceWizard]

Thursday 29 Dec 2016

National Pepper Pot Day



Pepper Pot, a thick and spicy soup that is an American staple dish, especially in the southern regions of the United States.

What is Pepper Pot?

Well, it’s a soup that contains twelve different ingredients. Now that we know the ingredients for the Pepper Pot, let us look into the history of the day named for it, Pepper Pot Day, shall we?

History Of Pepper Pot Day

In the modern world of today, Pepper Pot Soup has many, many variations to it. But the soups true origins began on December 29th of 1777 during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army had been experiencing an exceptionally harsh winter during the battle of Valley Forge.

The soldiers were low on food because the farmers in the area had gone and sold all their supplies to the British Army for cash rather than the weak currency that the Continental soldiers could offer them for their crops.

Christopher Ludwick, a baker general of the Continental Army, gathered whatever food he could scrounge together to feed the cold and frail soldiers. The chef was able to find scraps of tripe, meat, and some peppercorn. He then mixed the ingredients together with some other seasonings and created the hot, thick, and spicy soup we now know as pepper pot soup.

It quickly became known as “the soup that won the war.” The soup gave the soldiers the warmth and strength that they needed to push the enemies back through the harsh winter weather.



And



Tick Tock Day

“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.” ― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… This is the sound of the year, and indeed your life, slowly slipping away. Every moment not spent living life to the fullest is another moment that is gone forever, impossible to reclaim.

Tick Tock Day reminds you that the year is almost at an end, and there are things still left to be doing, and in fact only two days left to do them in.

Don’t let the year end with regret! Get out there and beat the Tick Tock!

History of Tick Tock Day

Every year people look forward to New Year’s Eve to establish their New Year’s Resolutions, which of course rarely if ever come to pass.

But what of the last precious moments of the year already passed?

Tick Tock Day urges us to make the most of this time to complete those tasks that can be done in that time, and further to remind us just how much can be done in a short amount of time if you truly urge yourself forward.

Did you intend to repaint that living room?

Perhaps you wanted to start learning a new skill, or clean out the garage.

All of these things are possible in the last fading moments of the year, don’t let them go to waste! Maybe your unfinished work is of a more personal nature. Did you intend to reconcile an old friendship this year? Or close an old fissure between you and a family member? Maybe you finally wanted to take a moment to set something right and just never found the time.

That time is Tick Tock Day!

[IceWizard]

December 29 Birthdays


Jude Law - 44



Mary Tyler Moore - 80



Jon Voight - 78



Ted Danson - 69






December 29th

2000: Bryan Ferry and his family were among passengers on a flight from London to Nairobi that was disrupted in a hijack attempt. The pilots recovered the aircraft and all passengers landed safely.

2000: A federal appeals court ruled that former Steppenwolf bassist Nicholas Kussbaum could continue to bill himself as a former member of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf singer John Kay had invoked a 1980 contract where Kussbaum had agreed not to emphasize his former ties with the group.

1982: Neil Young released his first album on Geffen Records Trans where five of the nine songs were recorded with a vocoder. Synthesizers and electronic beats were also present and it went on to peak at number seventeen on the Billboard 200 Album Chart.

1982: Kiss kicked off their tour in support of Creatures of the Night at the Bismarck Civic Center in Bismarck, ND. It was their first tour with guitarist Vinnie Vincent replacing Ace Frehley and would be their last tour in makeup until their 1996 reunion tour.

1980: Tim Hardin, writer of songs “If I Were a Carpenter” and “Reason to Believe” died of heroin and morphine overdose in Los Angeles. He was 39 years old.

1975: Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick and Paul Kantner split up. The two would still work together in Jefferson Starship.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono had a session with Canadian hypnotists Hammrick and Leonard. They were trying to quit smoking.

1967: Traffic guitarist Dave Mason announced he was leaving Traffic due to differences of musical opinion. He returned to the band less than one year later.

1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their television debut performing “Hey Joe” on the BBC’s Top of the Pops.



Birthdays:

Ray Thomas - Singer and Flautist for The Moody Blues born in 1941

Marianne Faithfull born in 1946

Cozy Powell - Drummer for Jeff Beck, Rainbow, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath born in 1947

Neil Giraldo - Guitarist for Pat Benatar born in 1955

[IceWizard]

Friday 30 Dec 2016

International Bacon Day



There’s nothing in this world that doesn’t taste better with Bacon.

Whether it’s chocolate covered bacon from the confectioners shop, bacon cheeseburgers, bacon wrapped tater tots, or even bacon covered chapstick, you can’t deny that it’s a delicious tasty treat that’s truly gotten it’s fingers in everywhere.

History of Bacon Day

The origins of Bacon stretches back into the middle ages, with the name originating in Middle English from the word “Bacoun”. Following it back you find it in France as Bako, Germany as Bakko, and old Teutonic as Backe.

All of these words mean “back”, and what’s that tell us about Bacon?

Piggy got back.

But that’s not even the earliest example of bacon, the first bacon was known to come from the Romans, and was known as ‘Petaso’.

Bacon has been a popular method of preserving meat and adding a delicious flavor to it by soaking it in a specialized brine. There were even certain breeds that were specially bred for their copious back meat, and those were the Yorkshire and Tamworth.

But it wasn’t always just the back meat that was referred to as Bacon, at one time it referenced any kind of preserved pork, but that usage fell out of practice in the 17th Century.



And



Bicarbonate of Soda Day



It comes by many names, Baking Soda, Sodium Bicarbonate, or my personal favorite Bicarbonate of Soda, because it never hurts to use more words to say things.

It’s become a fairly integral part of our society, being used in everything from tackling the most difficult cleaning jobs to making our cookies and cakes come out nice and fluffy.

Bicarbonate of Soda Day reminds us just how much a part this simple little salt plays in our lives, and encourages us to take a look at its origins.

History of Bicarbonate of Soda Day

Bicarbonate of Soda is an interesting little substance, and almost all of us had our first experiences with making volcanos in science class. A measure of this grainy white powder, a bit of food coloring, and a splash of lemon juice and suddenly you had a bubbling flow of magma rolling down the sides of your paper mache volcano!

But this is hardly the most common use of the substance, and it has found its way into everything.

So where did it come from?

Well, aside from being a result of a chemical process known as the “Solvay Process” where sodium chloride, ammonia, and carbon dioxide are mixed in water to produce sodium carbonate, and happens to produce sodium bicarbonate as a byproduct (thank you to Ernest Solvay for discovering this process in the 1860’s), sodium bicarbonate was first discovered by a French Chemist by the name of Nicolas Leblanc.

He discovered it at approximately the same time he discovered sodium carbonate, otherwise known as soda ash.

Since then it has come into use in a surprising number of industries, including cooking, pest control, paint and corrosion removal, disinfectants, personal hygiene, even in cattle food supplements, just to name a few.

This simple discover has turned out to be an incredibly useful little substance, and that’s why it gets a day of its very own.

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December 30 Birthdays


Patti Smith - 70



Bo Diddley - (1928 - 2008)



LeBron James - 32



Tiger Woods - 41



Laila Ali - 39



Matt Lauer - 59



Meredith Vieira - 63



Michael Nesmith - 74



Sandy Koufax - 81



Sean Hannity - 55






December 30th

1999: George Harrison was stabbed by an intruder who broke into his home in the U.K. His wife Olivia hit the intruder over the head with a lamp and son Dhani detained him until police arrived. Harrison suffered a collapsed lung, but eventually recovered.

1999: Dire Straits singer and guitarist Mark Knopfler was awarded Order of the British Empire status by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music.

1992: ZZ Top filed a $115 million lawsuit against Mitsubishi Motor Sales, and Gray Advertising, alleging copyright infringement over use of their song “La Grange” for a series of TV commercials in the U.S. which ran in 1990 and 1991.

1991: Bruce Springsteen’s wife, bandmate Patti Scialfa gave birth to their second child, a daughter named Jessica Rae.

1989: Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic married longtime girlfriend Shelli Dilley in Tacoma, WA. The couple would divorce in 1999.

1980: Cheap Trick received a Gold record for their fifth studio album All Shook Up which was produced by Beatles producer George Martin.

1978: Emerson, Lake and Palmer announced that they were splitting up. They would later reunite in 1992 before splitting up again in 1998.

1972: At the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Bruce Springsteen opened for Brownsville Station and Sha Na Na.

1967: The Beatles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the first of three weeks with “Hello, Goodbye”.



Birthdays:

Bo Diddley born in 1928

Felix Pappalardi - Bassist for Mountain born in 1939

Patti Smith born in 1946

Jeff Lynne - Singer and guitarist for Electric Light Orchestra born in 1947

[IceWizard]

Well folks.... Looks like we finally made it .... The last day of 2016! Lots of things happened this past year, both good and surely the bad ...

I raise my coffee cup to our little family here ... I think we are indeed making a difference in so many good ways and still maintaining our integrity whilst doing so ...

So here's to many more wonderful times to come and keep up the most valuable services that are offered and the truth that is desperatly desired



Saturday 31 Dec 2016

No Interruptions Day



Is there anything more irritating than to be neck deep in a project, only to be subjected to countless interruptions by friends, family, and well-meaning co-workers?

We know it can drive us absolutely nuts, and it always interrupts our work flow and makes our tasks take far longer than is necessary. When on 5 minute interruption becomes 12, we’ve suddenly lost a whole hour of productivity out of our day.

No Interruptions Day reminds us that the best way to get a solid days work done is with no interruptions, and hopefully will serve as a reminder of those we share our life with as well.

History of No Interruptions Day

No Interruptions Day arose in response to a world where everywhere we go information and noise is blasted at us from every angle. Visually the world is full of flashing screens and pop-ups and outlandish things determined to draw our attention from what we’re doing and make us LOOK LOOK LOOK for a moment.

Whether it’s the man spinning a sign in a Lady Liberty outfit advertising a tax service, or a pop-up on your phone from the latest twitter post, everything wants your attention, right now. Then we take into account all the audial noise, advertisements on our radio stations, beeping noises from machines wanting attention, people popping by with a ‘hey how ya doin’ or a ‘Hey Bob, I really need those TPS reports’.

It all seems determined to keep us from doing what we’re actually trying to focus on. No Interruptions Day encourages us to shut out and disconnect from everything causing us to lose our way.

For just one day, we can finally get done what we set out to do, free of interruptions.



And



Make Up Your Mind Day



Make Up Your Mind Day just goes to show that there really is a day for everything. This one is aimed at those who may be just a little (or a lot) indecisive.

So to all you undecided people out there: no matter whether you have a habit annoying your friends by struggling to pick a dish at a restaurant, or trying to decide if you’re really, really ready for that career change, this is the one day when the choice has to be made.

No excuses, no procrastination, no ands, ifs or buts—this day is your chance to stop putting things off for fear of responsibility and get things done.

And what a better day to do this than New Year’s Eve, when you’re standing on the brink of a whole New Year and perhaps wondering what you could do to make it your own?

While it may seem a little scary at first, especially to those unaccustomed to being decisive, the ultimate goal is to take control of your life by making a decision and sticking with it.

It’s celebrated by being brave and taking chances, and by learning something new about yourself along the way.

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December 31 Birthdays


Tom Hamilton - 65



Pete Quaife - (1943 - 2010)



Psy - 39



Donald Trump Jr. - 39



Anthony Hopkins - 79



John Denver - (1943-1997)



Donna Summer - (1948-2012)



Val Kilmer - 57



Henri Matisse - (1869-1954)






December 31st

2004: The Who’s Roger Daltrey was named a Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honors List.

2003: Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and his son were arrested at a hotel in Naples, FL for allegedly assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and drunken violent behavior at a New Year’s Eve party. Charges were dropped in 2005

1991: Ted Nugent served 200 pounds of venison donated by the Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger program at a Salvation Army in Detroit with the message “I kill it, you grill it.”

1984: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident on his way to a New Year’s party at his parents’ home in Sheffield, U.K. The arm was sewn back on, but it had to be removed three days later due to infection.

1982: E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt married actress Maureen Santora in New York City. Bruce Springsteen was the best man, the ceremony was presided over by Little Richard and Percy Sledge sang at the reception.

1974: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were invited to join Fleetwood Mac by Mick Fleetwood over the phone.

1973: AC/DC made their live debut at the Chequers Club in Sydney, Australia.

1970: Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit against the other members of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership.

1969: Jimi Hendrix unveiled his new group "Band of Gypsys" at New York City’s Fillmore East. The concert would later be released the following year as "Band of Gypsys".



Birthdays:

Andy Summers - Guitarist for The Police born in 1942

Pete Quaife - Bassist for The Kinks born in 1943

Burton Cummings - Singer for The Guess Who born in 1947

Tom Hamilton - Bassist for Aerosmith born in 1951

[IceWizard]

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Sunday 1 Jan 2017

National Bloody Mary Day



Bloody Mary Day celebrates the drinking of the Bloody Mary cocktail, which is described by some as the perfect hangover cure despite containing the very thing that made you hung over in the first place: alcohol!

The Bloody Mary is most often made with vodka, tomato juice and some spices, served on the rocks with a celery stalk or a dill pickle.

The History of Bloody Mary Day

The origin of Bloody Mary Day is as shrouded in mystery and intrigue as the history of the drink itself.

Even the name is quite enigmatic, with various scholars suggesting it was named after Queen Mary I of England, Hollywood star Mary Pickford, or even a waitress named Mary who worked at the Bucket of Blood bar in Chicago all given as possible namesakes.

There are also three versions of the story of where the Bloody Mary drink was first made. Fernand Petiot, a bartender that was originally from France, claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921 when he was working at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris that was popular with Ernest Hemingway and other American expatriates at the time.

Veterinarian-turned- writer James Rollins, on the other hand, (claims) that the Bloody Mary was invented in the Hemingway Bar at The Ritz Paris. And an ocean away, New York’s 21 Club claims that the Bloody Mary was first made there, though they do have two versions of the story.

One is that it was invented in the 1930s by a bartender named Henry Zbikiewicz, and another attributes its invention to the comedian George Jessel, who frequented the 21 Club.



And



Polar Bear Swim Day



Strip down to your bathing suit, take a few steps over the snow and ice covering the ground, and hurl your body into ice-cold water.

Sound like fun?

Well, there are plenty of people who think it does, and these people get together to to this every year! Sometimes it’s for charity and sometimes it’s just for a challenge, but either way, thousands of people worldwide take to the icy winter waters every year. These swims are understandably called “Polar Bear Swims”, and they usually take place in the sea.

The History of Polar Bear Swim Day

Polar Bear Swims have been practiced for well over a hundred years in different countries.

The first recorded Polar Bear Swim took place in Boston 1904. In many Canadian communities, plunging into icy water for a swim is a New Year’s Day tradition.

Vancouver’s annual Polar Bear Swim Club has been active since 1920 and usually has 1,000 to 2,000 registered participants every New Year’s Day, with a record 2,128 registrants taking part in the Polar Bear Swim in English Bay in 2000.

It would seem that the Netherlands have greatly outdone North America, as about 10,000 people have been diving into the icy cold sea water at Scheveningen, The Netherlands’ main beach resort town, every year since 1960.

In fact, it is estimated that all over the Netherlands, 30,000 people take part in what they call “Nieuwjaarsduik” (New Year’s dive) each and every year.

New Year’s Day is though to be the best day for this kind of swim, because as many participants have noted, after you’ve done that, no challenge the New Year could bring could possible phase you.

However, some swimming clubs organize regular winter sessions.

Plungapalooza is the largest polar bear plunge in the United States, held annually at Sandy Point State Park in Maryland. The event, that raises funds for the Special Olympics, has managed to collect millions of dollars. The largest Plungapalooza to date took place in 2008, with an estimated 12,000 people participating.