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[IceWizard]

09 May 2017


National Moscato Day



Moscato is a wine originating from the Piedmont region of north-west Italy and the beverage has become a popular choice due to its sweetness, lightness and affordability. Moscato’s popularity among hip-hop artists like Nelly and Drake created hype as well as soaring sales, so in celebration of both new and old fans of the wine, Gallo Family Vineyards introduced Moscato Day in 2012.

The best way to celebrate Moscato Day is to throw a wine-themed party for friends and family. Serve white, red and pink (rosé) Moscato wines with complementary food, which could be cheeses such as Camembert and Pecorino Romano, or for a full meal prepare a spicy paella. Gallo hosts a Twitter event during which participants can share hosting tips and food pairing suggestions using the #MoscatoDay hashtag.

Moscato is the ideal accompaniment to lunches, parties and everything in between – so if you haven’t tried it before, Moscato Day is the perfect occasion to sample some!



And




National Public Gardens Day



Public gardens – the beautiful centerpieces to cities and large communities. Filled with different assortments of flora and fauna, they are the bright and colorful beacon in the middle of a large and dully-colored metropolis. They’re a reminder of the beauty that nature holds, a great place for picnics, and taking kids out for a play date. But where did the first public garden originate and when? Come with us as we delve into the past of Public Gardens Day!

The History of Public Gardens Day

Mesopotamia, the “land between the Rivers” Tigris and Euphrates, comprises a hilly and mountainous northern area and a flat, alluvial south. Its peoples were urban and literate from about 3,000 BC. Evidence for their gardens comes from written texts, pictorial sculpture, and archaeology. In western tradition, Mesopotamia was the location of the Garden of Eden and the Hanging gardens of Babylon. Temple gardens developed from the representation of a sacred grove. Several distinct styles of royal garden are also known.

The courtyard garden was enclosed by the walls of a palace. On a larger scale was a cultivated place inside the city walls. At Mari on the Middle Euphrates (c 1,800BC) one of the huge palace courtyards was called the Court of the Palms. It is crossed by raised walkways of baked brick; the king and his entourage would dine there. At Ugarit (1,400BC) there was a stone water basin, not located centrally as in later Persian gardens, for the central feature was probably a tree (date palm or tamarisk). The 7th century BC Assyrian king Assurbanipal is shown on a sculpture feasting with his queen, reclining on a couch beneath an arbor of vines, and attended by musicians. Trophies of conquest are on display, including the dismembered head of the king of Elam hanging from a fragrant pine branch! A Babylonian text from the same period is divided into sections as if showing beds of soil with the names of medicinal, vegetable, and herbal plants written into each square, perhaps representing a parterre design.

On a larger scale, royal hunting parks were established to hold the exotic animals and plants which the king had acquired on his foreign campaigns. King Tiglath Pileser I (1,000BC) lists horses, oxen, asses, deer, gazelle, and ibex, boasting “I numbered them like flocks of sheep.”

From around 1,000 BC the Assyrian kings developed a style of city gardening incorporating a naturalistic layout, running water supplied from river headwaters, and exotic plants from their foreign campaigns. Assurnasirpal II (883-859BC) lists pines of different kinds, including cypresses, junipers, almonds, dates, ebony, rosewood, olive, oak, tamarisk, walnut, terebinth, ash, fir pomegranate, pear, quince, fig and grapevines. “The canal water gushes from above into the gardens; fragrance pervades the walkways; streams of water as numerous as the stars of heaven flow in the pleasure garden…. Like a squirrel I pick fruit in the garden of delights.” The city garden reached its zenith with the palace design of Sennacherib(704-681BC) whose water system stretched for 50 km into the hills. The garden was higher and more ornate than any other and he boasted of the complex technologies he deployed, calling his garden palace “a Wonder for all Peoples”.

The biblical Book of Genesis mentions the Tigris and Euphrates as two of the four rivers bounding the Garden of Eden. No specific place has been identified although there are many theories.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are listed by classical Greek writers as one of the Seven Wonders of The World. The excavated ruins of Babylon do not reveal any suitable evidence, which has led some scholars to suggest that they may have been purely legendary. Mesopotamia is believed to be the origin of the public garden and we’d have to say we don’t disagree.

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May 9 Birthdays



Billy Joel - 68




John Brown - (1800 - 1859) (59)




Dave Gahan - 55




Howard Carter - (1874 - 1939) (64)




Tom Petersson - 67








May 9th

1998: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant debuted at their peak position of number eight on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Walking into Clarksdale which went on to go Gold.

1998: Jimmy Page appears on Saturday Night Live with P. Diddy to perform “Come With Me” which sampled the guitar riff of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”.

1987: Europe peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with their third album The Final Countdown which went on to sell three million copies in the U.S.

1974: Bruce Springsteen’s performance in Boston, MA inspires Rolling Stone critic & future manager Jon Landau to write “I have seen rock & roll’s future and his name is Bruce Springsteen”.

1974: Bachman-Turner Overdrive received their first Gold record for Bachman-Turner Overdrive II which contained the hit singles “Let It Ride” & “Takin’ Care of Business”.

1970: The Guess Who become the first Canadian rock group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “American Woman”. The song would stay on top for three weeks.

1969: George Harrison released his second solo album Electronic Sound which was the final release on Zapple Records, an offshoot of The Beatles’ Apple Records.

1965: Bob Dylan performed the first of two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall. All of The Beatles were in attendance & spent the evening with Dylan after the concert.

1964: Chuck Berry made his live debut in the U.K. at London’s Astoria Theatre. The Animals opened for Berry.



Birthdays:

Billy Joel born in 1949

Tom Petersson - Bassist for Cheap Trick born in 1950

[IceWizard]

10 May 2017


World Lupus Day



Imagine being bothered by sunlight, being covered in a rash, suffering fatigue, mouth sores, kidney and joint problems, as well as experiencing substantial hair loss and the swelling of lymph nodes.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it?

World Lupus Day was created to help us understand that this seemingly random grab bag of symptoms is actually a debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease suffered by approximately 5 million people worldwide, with 1.5 million of them living in the United States alone. In short, lupus causes the immune system to become overactive, creating antibodies that attack healthy tissue causing pain, inflammation and damage in a given part of the body. Although lupus can be fatal, there is currently no known cure.

Sadly, a large majority of people have little to no idea about lupus, often confusing it with arthritis, a much less serious disease. Many people have no idea lupus even exists until they themselves or somebody they know is diagnosed with it. This is the problem World Lupus Day was created to combat.

The History of World Lupus Day

World Lupus Day was created by Lupus Canada in 2004 to raise awareness of this little-known disease that can have devastating effects on sufferers and their families.

It was organised by lupus organisations from thirteen countries, who called for their governments to increase funding for research, provide better patient services, increase epidemiological data and raise awareness. Ever since then, the day has been observed in an increasing amount of countries all over the world.

A high profile supporter of World Lupus Day is musician and philanthropist Julian Lennon, who is a Global Ambassador. Other celebrities who have made sizable contributions to the Lupus Association of America are Daniel Radcliffe, Lady Gaga and Ian Harding.



And




Mother Ocean Day



Water is essential to human life. In fact, it is essential to all of the forms of life known to humankind in general, as there are no known species that can survive without it. Though marine biologists are unsure just how many kinds of creatures reside in our planet’s 5 oceans, it is estimated that about one-quarter of all of the Earth’s species do. Not to mention how very important the oceans are to our civilization—for thousands of years, braving their waters has been one of the bravest feats a human being could accomplish, one that often led to amazing discoveries and the general increase of our knowledge of the planet we inhabit.

For all of these reasons and many, many more, Mother Ocean Day is a long-overdue celebration of our oceans in all of their majesty and peril.

The History of Mother Ocean Day

Mother Ocean Day is relatively a new celebration, as it was introduced for the first time in 2013. It is a concept thought up by the South Florida Kayak Fishing Club that has since sought the approval of the City of Miami to declare this a day official. The point, of course, is to take a day to celebrate the beauty and wonder of the ocean, and it is no surprise that inhabitants of Florida were the ones to come forward with this idea, as Florida is famous for particularly gorgeous white sand beaches and clear, aquamarine waters.

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May 10 Birthdays



Bono - 57




Sid Vicious - (1957 - 1979) (21)




Fred Astaire - (1899 - 1987) (88)




Gary Owens - (1934 - 2015) (80)




Dave Mason - 71







May 10th

2007: A tribute concert to former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett took place at the Barbican Centre in London. The concert featured performances from Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Chrissie Hynde, John Paul Jones, Nick Mason & Rick Wright.

2003: Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler received an honorary doctorate degree in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

2000: Napster bans 317,377 users from the popular file sharing site for illegally sharing Metallica songs.

1986: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married Heather Locklear in Santa Barbara, CA. They would later divorce in 1994.

1984: Twisted Sister released their third studio album Stay Hungry which went on to become their most successful album selling three million copies in the U.S.

1970: David Bowie received the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song for “Space Oddity”.

1969: The Moody Blues topped the U.K. album chart for the first time with On the Threshold of a Dream which spent two weeks on top.

1967: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards appear in court on drug charges in Chichester, England. They would plead not guilty & elect to go to trial.

1964: Bob Dylan arrived in the U.K. for his first major U.K. tour which kicked off at London’s Royal Albert Hall on the 17th.



Birthdays:

Dave Mason - Guitarist for Traffic born in 1944

Donovan born in 1946

Sid Vicious - Bassist for the Sex Pistols born in 1957

Bono - Singer for U2 born in 1960

[IceWizard]

11 May 2017


National Twilight Zone Day

“You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

Beloved by children, teenagers and adults alike, the cult classic TV show The Twilight Zone has affected entire generations of people, prompting them to take a closer look at life and various phenomena and take nothing for granted, thanks to its unique combination of science fiction, mystery, and thriller/horror themes.

Not to mention how many of today’s well-known actors got their start in it—Burt Reynolds, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, to name but a few. How then could this majorly influential show not have its own holiday?

The History of Twilight Zone Day

The Twilight Zone was created by acclaimed television producer Rod Sterling in 1959, with the first episode premiering on October 2nd. At the time of its release, it was vastly different from anything else on TV, and it struggled a bit to carve out a niche for itself at the very beginning. In fact, Sterling himself, though respected and adored by many, was famous for being one of Hollywood’s most controversial characters and was often call the “angry young man” of Hollywood for his numerous clashes with television executives and sponsors over issues such as censorship, racism, and war.

However, his show soon gained a large, devoted audience. Terry Turner of the Chicago Daily News gave it a rave review, saying, “…Twilight Zone is about the only show on the air that I actually look forward to seeing. It’s the one series that I will let interfere with other plans”. The Twilight Zone ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964.

Twilight Zone Day is an annual holiday created to celebrate this thought-provoking television series, where everything was strange and surreal and nothing was ever quite as it seemed to be.



And




Root Canal Appreciation Day



Tooth pain is not a laughing matter, and for anyone who has experienced that discomfort prior to having treatment from an endodontist, Root Canal Appreciation Day is a big, big event.

For teeth that have been damaged or irritated to the point of infection, the root canal procedure not only prevents worsening or abscess, it also preserves the tooth and maintains the integrity of the natural bite. Don’t worry; there’s no need to rush out for an unnecessary root canal just to celebrate the day. Recognizing the importance of dental health and its connection to overall health is enough. Root Canal Appreciation Day can be honored by acknowledging the dental specialists who relieve tooth pain and take care of smiles, and by celebrating the resilience of our teeth and their enduring ability to keep on chewing and keep on smiling.

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May 11 Birthdays



Salvador Dali - (1904 - 1989) (84)




Natasha Richardson - 45




Denver Pyle - (1920 - 1997) (77)




Eric Burdon - 76




Butch Trucks - (1947 - 2017) (69)








May 11th

2008: Rush’s original drummer John Rutsey died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack due to complications from diabetes. He was 55 years old.

2003: Noel Redding, bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, is found dead at 57 years old in County Cork, Ireland.

1985: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Southern Accents which was their fourth top ten album & went on to sell one million copies in the U.S.

1982: Iron Maiden kicked off the North American leg of their tour in support of The Number of the Beast at the IMA Auditorium in Flint, MI opening for Rainbow. Throughout the North American leg they also opened for 38 Special, the Scorpions & Judas Priest.

1981: Bob Marley died of lung cancer & a brain tumor at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami. He was 36 years old.

1974: Led Zeppelin attended Elvis Presley’s concert at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. During the concert, Presley stopped a song and told his band to start a song together because Led Zeppelin was in the audience.

1972: While appearing on the Dick Cavett Show, John Lennon says that he thinks the FBI is tapping his phone as part of a plan to have him deported from the U.S.

1965: The Byrds make their debut on U.S. television on Hullabaloo performing “Mr. Tambourine Man”.

1964: The Rolling Stones are refused lunch at the Grand hotel in Bristol, England because they were not wearing jackets & ties.



Birthdays:

Kit Lambert - Producer and manager for The Who born in 1935

Eric Burdon - Singer for The Animals born in 1941

Butch Trucks - Drummer for The Allman Brothers Band born in 1947

[IceWizard]

12 May 2017



Fibromyalgia Awareness Day



Fibromyalgia is an immobilizing, difficult to manage and not widely known disease which affects many men and women worldwide.

It’s a disease which is about seven times as likely to affect women than men, and although it usually is seen in people between the ages of 30 and 50 it can appear in sufferers of any age, whether elderly or child.

Fibromyalgia is a difficult disease to diagnose – there isn’t a specific set of testing which is able to find and diagnose it, and the symptoms that sufferers experience are often attributed to other diseases before fibromyalgia is presented as the culprit.

Fibromyalgia awareness day is all about raising awareness for this disease and supporting further research into eventually finding a cure.

The History of Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Awareness and funding are the keys to battling the enigma that is Fibromyalgia, and this day was created for just that.

On May 12th each year, observers of this day get together and take part in fundraising events, charity runs, tea parties – anything to get the conversation going.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia may include heightening skin sensitivity – especially to pain, muscle stiffness, some difficulties sleeping, problems with memory and concentration, extreme tiredness, and headaches.

These symptoms are not uncommon in other diseases – and some sufferers don’t even experience all these symptoms – so it’s easy to see what makes fibromyalgia so tricky to diagnose.

There is no cure for fibromyalgia, so at the moment the only option for sufferers is to have a number of treatments. For example, medication such as painkillers and antidepressants are often prescribed.

Sufferers may also find that lifestyle changes may help, and there’s plenty of support groups available via healthcare services keen to offer support.

How to Observe Fibromyalgia Day



And




International Nurses Day



Unfortunately, many people seem to think that the most important people in the healthcare system are the doctors, but this is simply not true. Ever the underdog, nurses play a key role in all of our medical institutions, being responsible for the welfare, safety and recovery of patients. Nurses have an enormous amount of knowledge and many diverse skills they spend years perfecting and developing, all the time working in decidedly tough environments where extreme stress is just a part of the job. Nurses help bring new life into the world, care tirelessly for the sick and injured, and sometimes watch the patients they did everything to save pass away despite their best efforts. On many occasions, it was a vigilant nurse who noticed a mistake in a doctor’s prescription in time to save someone’s life. Acknowledge the hard work, long hours, and emotional duress that are part of the life of every nurse on International Nurses Day.

The History of International Nurses Day

It all began in 1953, when Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, contacted President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposing he proclaim a “Nurses’ Day”. However, he did not approve her proposal at that time. The International Council of Nurses has celebrated on May 12th since 1965. May 12th is an important date to all nurses, as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely considered the founder of modern nursing. In January 1974, this day was finally officially made International Nurses Day. Each year since then, ICN prepares and distributes something called the International Nurses’ Day Kit which contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere.

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May 12 Birthdays



Tony Hawk - 49




Florence Nightingale - (1820 - 1910) (90)




Emilio Estevez - 55




Otto Frank - (1889 - 1980) (91)




Billy Squier - 67




Steve Winwood - 69




Katharine Hepburn - (1907 - 2003) (96)




Yogi Berra - (1925 - 2015) (90)




George Carlin - (1937 - 2008) (71)




Mary Kay Ash - (1918 - 2001) (83)








May 12th

2008: Neil Young had a spider named after him. Biologist Jason Bond discovered a new species of trapdoor spider the previous year in Alabama and named it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi due to being a fan of Young’s music & track record on sociopolitics.

2000: Thieves stole the gates to Liverpool, England’s Strawberry Fields, the landmark later immortalized in The Beatles’ song. A scrap dealer later returned the gates to the police.

1995: Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose filed a restraining order against Karen McNeil in Los Angeles Superior Court. McNeil was charged with trespassing at his Malibu home two weeks earlier on April 27th.

1981: Van Halen kicked off their tour in support of Fair Warning at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, NS.

1973: Led Zeppelin reached the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the third time with Houses of the Holy which spent two weeks on top.

1971: The Rolling Stones’ singer Mick Jagger married his first wife Bianca De Macias in a Catholic ceremony in Saint-Tropez, France. The couple would divorce in 1978.

1967: Pink Floyd performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, which is one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound. They compose a song for the Games of May event, which would later become “See Emily Play”.

1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their debut album Are You Experienced in the U.K. The album would be released in the U.S. in September of the same year.

1963: Bob Dylan walked off The Ed Sullivan Show when CBS refuses to let him perform “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues”.




Birthdays:

Ian Dury born in 1942

Ian McLagan - Keyboardist for The Faces born in 1946

Steve Winwood - Vocalist for the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic & Blind Faith born in 1948

Billy Squier born in 1950

[IceWizard]

13 May 2017


Leprechaun Day



The origins of Leprechaun Day are just as mysterious as the hiding places of the pots of gold belonging to the little folk. But Leprechauns themselves have been part of Irish folklore for thousands of years, and even though these tiny fairies have reputations for playing tricks and being mischievous, they are well-loved and deserving of a day to call their own.

It is said that if you catch a leprechaun, he will have to give you his pot of gold, but leprechauns are resourceful when it comes to defending their gold, and they are not easily caught. If you are unable to catch one of the wee folk on Leprechaun Day, you can still honor the day by nourishing your own pot of gold. Adding to a savings account is a guaranteed method of increasing your wealth, and perhaps your pot of gold will lure a sly leprechaun.

By ::: Bunyon McTavern

And




Top Gun Day



In 1986 the movie Top Gun came roared into theatres like an F-14 Tomcat. It got a missile lock on the box office and shot down just over $356 million, making it the 11th highest grossing movie of Tome Cruise’s career. The movie centers on Maverick, a hot shot pilot, who is sent to the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons school.

The actual school was formed in 1969 by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas Hinmman Moorer, at the recommendation of Captain Frank Ault. During Operation Rolling Thunder, the United States lost nearly 1,000 aircraft over North Vietnamese skies. The USAF and Navy both sought the causes, but came to two divergent conclusions. The Air Force believed that the fault was mechanical: that MiG pilots caught American pilots in a rear blind spot. The Navy decided that the failure was in training. The Air Force responded by developing new technology, while the Navy started the Top Gun school, paving the way for 110 minutes of heart pounding action, backed by a roaring theme song.

Top Gun Day celebrates the movie, but at its core is all about attitude. It teaches about the importance of teamwork…and shirtless volleyball. So how do you take the highway to the danger zone? Start by reliving the adventures of Goose, Maverick and the Iceman. Go to a karaoke bar and sing “She’s Lost that Loving Feeling” and “Take My Breath Away.” Why not try to play a little volleyball yourself. Shirtlessness is optional, of course. Download some Kenny Loggins and blast “Danger Zone” out of your car windows as loud as you can.

Maybe karaoke isn’t your thing and the weather isn’t good enough for sports. You can still find other ways to enjoy the holiday. There are a ton of quotable lines you can use. For instance, you can ask your friends for permission to buzz the tower. If they say no, do it anyway. If they ask YOU to buzz the tower, be sure to say “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full,” just be prepared for them to buzz you anyway. Tell everyone you see that you have the need, the need for speed.

Host a Top Gun party. Invite people to dress up like the characters and play Top Gun trivia games before settling in to watch the movie. Grab a pair of dark aviator glasses and an old leather jacket. For an added challenge, try to find a pair of overalls to convert into a flight suit! You could even make it a double feature with some other jet-fighter movies of the era, like the lesser known Iron Eagle, which actually came out a few months BEFORE Top Gun.

There are also two Top Gun video games currently available. The first is simply called Top Gun and was released for iOS devices by Freeverse Software. The second is called Top Gun: Hardlock. It comes from 505 Games, and is playable on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

There are many ways one could enjoy and relieve the excitement of the movie, but perhaps one of the more meaningful things you could do is to find a member of the armed forces, particularly an aviator, and thank them for keeping the skies safe. Ultimately, without someone up there, we might not have the movie, or the day, down here.

However you choose to celebrate, be sure to raise a glass for Goose, Maverick, Iceman and the rest of Top Gun class of 1986. Let the world know that you haven’t lost that loving feeling, even after all this time.

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May 13 Birthdays



Stevie Wonder - 67




Dennis Rodman - 56




Darius Rucker - 51




Ritchie Valens - (1941 - 1959) (17)




John Kasich - 65




Bea Arthur - (1922 - 2009) (86)




Buckethead - 48




Magic Dick - 77




Danny Kirwan - 67









May 13th

2007: Queen’s guitarist Brian May was placed on a 24-hour security watch after a schizophrenic man announced his intentions to murder him.

2004: Kiss’ Gene Simmons caused controversy with the Australian Muslim community after saying that the Islamic culture is “vile” in a radio interview in Melbourne. Simmons would later state that his comment was taken out of context.

1989: Bon Jovi reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the fourth and final time with “I’ll Be There for You” which spent one week on top of the chart.

1985: Dire Straits released their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms which went on to become their most successful album reaching number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart & selling nine million copies in the U.S.

1978: Jefferson Starship peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Chart with “Count on Me” which was their second top ten single as Jefferson Starship in the U.S.

1971: Grace Slick crashed her Mercedes in San Francisco, canceling scheduled recording sessions for Jefferson Airplane’s next album.

1967: Ray Davies announced in British magazine New Musical Express that he was leaving The Kinks to focus on writing & producing. Three days later Davies changed his mind about leaving.

1966: The Kinks recorded “Sunny Afternoon” at Pye Studios in London. The song went on to reach number one in the U.K. & number fourteen in the U.S.

1966: The Rolling Stones released “Paint It, Black” which went on to reach number one in the U.S. & the U.K. It was one of the first rock records to use a sitar.



Birthdays:

Magic Dick - Keyboardist & harmonica player for The J. Geils Band born in 1945

Danny Kirwan - Guitarist & vocalist for Fleetwood Mac born in 1950

Paul Thompson - Drummer for Roxy Music born in 1951

[willie33]

My leprechaun name is Sprinkles McSpud.

[Linville]

Thanks IceMan.

Hey you have a TopGun Name.

Thanks Ice all kidding aside for always putting up such great posts!

Loved the movie Top Gun and soundtrack.

[IceWizard]

14 May 2017


MOTHER’S DAY



Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day most commonly falls on the second Sunday in May and traditionally involves presenting mothers with flowers, cards and other gifts.

HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

ANN REEVES JARVIS AND JULIA WARD HOWE

The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873 Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2.

Other early Mother’s Day pioneers include Juliet Calhoun Blakely, a temperance activist who inspired a local Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the 1870s. The duo of Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering, meanwhile, both worked to organize a Mothers’ Day in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some have even called Hering “the father of Mothers’ Day.”

ANNA JARVIS

The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.

After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.

By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

JARVIS DECRIES COMMERCIALIZED MOTHER’S DAY

Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity.

While Jarvis had initially worked with the floral industry to help raise Mother’s Day’s profile, by 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had been commercialized. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies.

Jarvis eventually resorted to an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers, speaking out against confectioners, florists and even charities. She also launched countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day,” eventually spending most of her personal wealth in legal fees. By the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.

MOTHER’S DAY AROUND THE WORLD

While versions of Mother’s Day are celebrated worldwide, traditions vary depending on the country. In Thailand, for example, Mother’s Day is always celebrated in August on the birthday of the current queen, Sirikit.

Another alternate observance of Mother’s Day can be found in Ethiopia, where families gather each fall to sing songs and eat a large feast as part of Antrosht, a multi-day celebration honoring motherhood.

In the United States, Mother’s Day continues to be celebrated by presenting mothers and other women with gifts and flowers, and it has become one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending. Families also celebrate by giving mothers a day off from activities like cooking or other household chores.

At times, Mother’s Day has also been a date for launching political or feminist causes. In 1968 Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., used Mother’s Day to host a march in support of underprivileged women and children. In the 1970s women’s groups also used the holiday as a time to highlight the need for equal rights and access to childcare.




And




National Chicken Dance Day



We’ve all seen it, it’s utterly ridiculous and usually performed in a bout of intoxicant driven lunacy. You tuck your hands into your arm-pits to make ‘wings’, and then you flap like an idiot in time with some particularly unfortunate music. All that aside, you’re having complete giggle fits with a bunch of your friends while you behave in a fashion that has the local sanitarium eyeballing you for membership. What are we talking about? The Chicken Dance of course! Chicken Dance Day commemorates this dance and its origins, and even gives you a chance to learn WHY anyone would do this terrible, terrible thing.

History of Chicken Dance Day

“Der Ententanz” was the name of the song that inspired all of this, and while the dance has come to be called “The Chicken Dance”, the song itself is called The Duck Dance. At least that was its original name, and now it has spread all over the world, undergoing multiple name changes in the process. It has been known as everything from The Little Bird Dance to De Vogeltjesdans, or “The dance of the little birds.”

This rendition was actually the B-Side of a single released by a band called “De Electornica’s”. The A-Side simply wasn’t being well received by the radio stations audiences, so they flipped it over. At that moment, history was made and it rocketed to the Dutch charts and stayed there for nearly a year. So much has its popularity exploded that it has been recorded in no less than 140 versions with over 40,000,000 records published over its lifetime.

In 1981 the dance brought to Oktoberfest in the United States, and due to a complete lack of duck costumes anywhere near the event, they had to settle for chicken costumes instead. The result of which is the name by which it is now known. The song responsible gets new covers done almost every year, with new lyrics added all the time.

That’s right, there’s lyrics. You’re welcome.

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May 14 Birthdays



George Lucas - 73




Mark Zuckerberg - 33




David Byrne - 65




Jack Bruce - (1943 - 2014) (71)




IceWizard - ????









May 14th

2004: Phil Spector and his chauffer were arrested in Los Angeles after getting into a scuffle over their “business relationship”.

2002: Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley & Little Richard were honored with the inaugural BMI ICON Awards at the BMI’s 50th Annual Pop Awards in Beverly Hills.

1993: At Christie’s Rock and Pop Memorabilia auction in London, four costumes worn by Kiss sold for $26,000 & the guitar that Elvis Presley used to record “That’s All Right” & “Blue Moon of Kentucky” sold for $152,000.

1988: Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden saw the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited with Jason Bonham on drums. Other acts performing include Foreigner, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Genesis & Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

1977: Heart released their second album Little Queen which went on to peak at number nine on the Billboard 200 Album Chart & sell three million copies in the U.S.

1976: Keith Relf, former lead singer for the Yardbirds was electrocuted while tuning his guitar in his bathtub. He was 33 years old.

1969: Neil Young released his second solo album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, his first album with backing band Crazy Horse. The songs “Cinnamon Girl”, “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” were written when Young had a 103 degree fever.

1968: John Lennon & Paul McCartney appeared on The Tonight Show to announce the formation of Apple Corps, that they just returned from India for meditation and that The Beatles would begin recording The White Album when they returned to the U.K.

1956: Buddy Holly got fitted for contact lenses. He didn’t like them & he stuck with his trademark glasses.



Birthdays:

Jack Bruce - Bassist for Cream born in 1943

David Byrne - Vocalist & guitarist for Talking Heads born in 1952

[IceWizard]

15 May 2017


National Straw Hat Day



Why would so simple a garment as a straw hat have a day of its own? Well now, that’s just what we’re here to answer! Straw hats have been found in almost every culture throughout the world, with different styles and techniques used to make them as needed for that area’s needs. The reasons for their use may be surprising to you, as well as the tenacity with which they’ve remained a rather standard piece of attire even into the modern age. Straw Hat Day commemorates these amazingly pieces of headwear, so hang on as we discuss:

The History of Straw Hat Day

When we say that the straw hat goes back a very long way and is part of just about every culture in the world, we aren’t kidding. Straw hats are known to go back to before the Middle Ages all throughout the West and into the Orient. Since then, numerous styles have appeared, and some of them are so important that they have become indelibly tied to a culture or a place, and in some cases a person.

When most Americans think of the Panama Hat, they immediately think of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the iconic American President responsible both for the building of the Panama Canal, and the inspiration for the ‘Teddy Bear’. Then there is the mokorotlo, a hat that is part of the traditional garb of the Sotho (South Africa & Lesotho) people. This straw hat is so important to their culture that it has become their national symbol, even appearing on their flag and license plates.

These hats are fantastic in their flexibility of use, if you’re in an area where you want to keep the sun off your head but you also what your head to be able to breathe, a loosely woven straw hat is just the thing you need. On the other hand if you live in a rainy climate and want something to keep your (sometimes rather intense) rains off your head, you go for a tightly woven straw hat like those found in Japan and China. Needless to say, there’s as many designs and uses for these hats as there are people!



And




National Nylon Stockings Day



Some holidays are there to celebrate events of momentous cultural significance; others are there to remind us of the little things in life. Nylon Stockings Day is very much in the second category, and a particularly quirky holiday it is too.

As might be guessed from the name, this is a day in which women across the world can celebrate stockings – a major part of day-to-day fashion for many women.

The stocking has come to represent a large number of different concepts, from femininity to sexuality, and so we should not be too surprised to find that there are people willing to celebrate it. Granted, setting an entire day aside may seem an excessive measure to some people, but that is business as usual with holidays – what is just another date on the calendar to one person may be a red-letter day to another.

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May 15 Birthdays



Emmitt Smith - 48




Utah Phillips - (1935 - 2008) (73)




George Brett - 64




Brian Eno - 69








May 15th

1997: The Muzak company announced that it will turn four Kiss songs into elevator friendly instrumentals. The Kiss songs to receive the Muzak treatment were “Beth”, “Sure Know Something”, “A World Without Heroes” & “Every Time I Look at You”.

1987: Motley Crue released their fourth album Girls, Girls, Girls which went on to reach number two on the Billboard 200 Album Chart & sell four million copies in the U.S.

1984: Neil Young’s guitarist Nils Lofgren replaced Steven Van Zandt in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

1982: Asia’s self-titled debut album reached the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart, where it spent nine non-consecutive weeks at number one.

1976: The Rolling Stones reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Black and Blue which was their first album with Ronnie Wood who replaced Mick Taylor. The album spent four non-consecutive weeks on top of the chart.

1976: The Steve Miller Band released their ninth studio album Fly Like an Eagle which went on to reach number three on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and sell four million copies in the U.S.

1974: The Rolling Stones’ bassist Bill Wyman released his debut solo album Monkey Grip. Wyman was the first member of the Stones to release a solo album.

1971: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with their live album 4 Way Street which spent one week on top.

1967: Paul McCartney met future wife Linda Eastman for the first time at the Bag O’Nails club in London.



Birthdays:

Brian Eno - Keyboardist for Roxy Music born in 1948

Mike Oldfield born in 1953

[IceWizard]

16 May 2017


International Virtual Assistants Day



Virtual assistants are individuals who mostly work on a freelance basis to deliver managerial, administrative and personal assistance related services to clients. They usually make extensive use of the latest technology and mostly the internet to undertake their duties. Tasks usually range from taking calls to carrying out online research.

The International Virtual Assistants Day is a day set aside to acknowledge the effort, determination and commitment of virtual assistants. The day is usually sponsored by the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the celebrations held during the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. The Alliance for Virtual Businesses, which is composed of a team of virtual professionals are the originators of this day, which is usually celebrated annually on every third Friday of the month of May. Its main purpose is usually to create awareness about virtual assistants’ services in the business community.



And




National Sea Monkey Day



If you were a comic book fan as a kid, or a science buff, you may remember these ads existing in your favorite magazine or catalog. They were heavily marketed in the same pages as X-Ray Goggles, Magic Tricks, and chemistry sets. They advertised the most unlikely of pets, monkeys that lived in salt water that you could easily have for your own. They’d be sent to you freeze-dried, and then burst into life when added to water. What you may not know is that Sea-Monkeys exploded into an amazing fortune that were loved by people everywhere.

History of Sea Monkey Day

The history of sea monkeys starts, oddly enough, with ant farms. Milton Levine had popularized the idea of Ant-farm kits in 1956 and, presumably inspired by the success of his idea, Harold von Braunhut invented the aquatic equivalent with brine-shrimp. It was really ingenious looking back on it, and ultimately he had to work with a marine biologist to really bring it all together. With just a small packet of minerals and an aquarium you’d suddenly have a place rich with everything your brine-shrimp needed to survive.

So why sea monkeys? Because who was going to buy brine-shrimp? It was all a good bit of marketing, though the name didn’t come about for nearly 5 years. They were originally called “instant life”, referencing their ‘just add water’ nature. But when the resemblance of their tails to monkeys tails was noted by fans, he changed it to ‘Sea-Monkeys’ and so it’s been ever since! The marketing was amazing too! 3.2 million pages of comic book advertising a year, and the money just flowed in the door.

So what are Sea Monkeys exactly?

They’re clever mad science really. Sea Monkeys don’t (or didn’t) exist in nature before they were created in a lab by hybridization. They’re known as Artemia NYOS (New York Ocean Science) and go through anhydrobiosis, or hibernation when they are dried out. Then, with the right mixture of water and nutrients they can spring right back into life! Amazing!

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May 16 Birthdays



Megan Fox - 31




Janet Jackson - 51




Pierce Brosnan - 64




Tori Spelling - 44




Danny Trejo - 73




Krist Novoselic - 52




Darrell Sweet - (1947 - 1999) (51)








May 16th

2010: Ronnie James Dio, singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath & Dio died of stomach cancer in Houston. He was 67 years old.

1998: Keith Richards broke his ribs after falling off of a ladder in his library, which caused the Rolling Stones to reschedule several dates of their European tour in support of Bridges to Babylon.

1992: Red Hot Chili Peppers peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Blood Sugar Sex Magik which went on to sell seven million copies in the U.S.

1992: U2 peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “One” which was their fifth top ten single in the U.S.

1987: U2 topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the first time with the song “With or Without You” which stayed on top for three weeks.

1984: Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in Memphis, TN on charges of public intoxication on Beale Street. According to the police report, Osbourne was “staggering drunk”.

1970: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with Déjà Vu which spent one week on top of chart & went on to sell seven million copies in the U.S.

1969: Pete Townshend spends the night in a New York City jail after assaulting a man who jumped onstage during a Who concert at The Filmore East. It turned out that this man was a plainclothes police officer trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out, which Townshend wasn’t aware of.

1966: Jeff Beck recorded “Beck’s Bolero” which would be the B-Side of his debut single “Hi Ho Silver Lining” at IBC Studios in London. The song was written by Jimmy Page who also played on the song along with John Paul Jones and Keith Moon.



Birthdays:

Robert Fripp - Guitarist for King Crimson born in 1946

Darrell Sweet - Drummer for Nazareth born in 1947

Krist Novoselic - Bassist for Nirvana born in 1965