DAILY CHUCKLE 8-357

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 21ST

Today is Sunday, Dec. 21, the 356th day of 2008.
There are 10 days left in the year.
Winter will arrive at 7:04 a.m. Eastern time.
The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins at sunset.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 21, 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass.

On this date:

• In 1804, British statesman Benjamin Disraeli was born in London.
• In 1937, the first feature-length animated cartoon in Technicolor, Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," had its world premiere in Los Angeles.
• In 1940, author F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, Calif., at age 44.
• In 1945, Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident.
• In 1948, the state of Eire, or Ireland, passed an act declaring itself a republic.
• In 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of the Fifth Republic of France.
• In 1968, Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.
• In 1971, the U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General.
• In 1976, the Liberian-registered tanker Argo Merchant broke apart near Nantucket Island, off Massachusetts, almost a week after running aground, spilling 7 1/2 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic.
• In 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground.

Ten years ago:

• Israel's parliament voted overwhelmingly for early elections, signaling the demise of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ailing hard-line government.
• A Chinese court sentenced two dissidents (Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai) to long prison terms for trying to organize an opposition party. (Xu was released in December 2002; Wang, in March 2004.)

Five years ago:

• The government raised the national threat level to orange, indicating a high risk of terrorist attack. (It was lowered back to yellow on Jan. 9, 2004.)
• More than 150 people were killed in mudslides in the Philippines.
• Soviet diplomat Oleg Troyanovsky died at age 84.

One year ago:

• A suicide attacker detonated a bomb at a mosque outside the home of Pakistan's former interior minister, killing at least 50 people.

Today's Birthdays:

• Country singer Freddie Hart is 82.
• Actor Ed Nelson is 80.
• Talk show host Phil Donahue is 73.
• Movie director John Avildsen is 73.
• Actress Jane Fonda is 71.
• Actor Larry Bryggman is 70.
• Singer Carla Thomas is 66.
• Musician Albert Lee is 65.
• Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 64.
• Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 60.
• Movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg is 58.
• Singer Betty Wright is 55.
• Tennis Hall-of-Famer Chris Evert is 54.
• Actress Jane Kaczmarek is 53.
• Country singer Lee Roy Parnell is 52.
• Entertainer Jim Rose is 52.
• Actor-comedian Ray Romano is 51.
• Country singer Christy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 46.
• Rock musician Murph (The Lemonheads; Dinosaur Jr.) is 44.
• Actor-comedian Andy Dick is 43.
• Rock musician Gabrielle Glaser is 43.
• Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 42.
• Actress Karri Turner is 42.
• Actress Khrystyne Haje is 40.
• Country singer Brad Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 40.
• Actress Julie Delpy is 39.
• Country singer-musician Rhean Boyer (Carolina Rain) is 38.
• Contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant is 37.
• Actor Glenn Fitzgerald is 37.
• Singer-musician Brett Scallions is 37.
• Rock singer Lukas Rossi (Rock Star Supernova) is 32.
• Country singer Luke Stricklin is 26.

Thought for Today:

"Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it."
Richard Adams, English author.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-356

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 20TH

Today is Saturday, Dec. 20, the 355th day of 2008.
There are 11 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 20, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans.

On this date:

• In 1790, the first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, R.I.
• In 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.
• In 1945, the Office of Price Administration announced the end of tire rationing, effective Jan. 1st, 1946.
• In 1963, the Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
• In 1968, author John Steinbeck died in New York at age 66.
• In 1976, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley died at age 74.
• In 1978, former White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman was released from prison after serving 18 months for his role in the Watergate cover-up.
• In 1987, more than 4,300 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
• In 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega.
• In 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples.

Ten years ago:

• Nkem Chukwu gave birth in Houston to five girls and two boys, 12 days after giving birth to another child, a girl. (However, the tiniest of the octuplets died a week later.)

Five years ago:

• Spain's prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, paid a surprise visit to Spanish soldiers in Iraq.
• Friends and relatives of Michael Jackson descended on his Neverland Ranch to show their support for the entertainer as he fought child molestation charges (Jackson was later acquitted).

One year ago:

• Police used chemical spray and stun guns on protesters outside a New Orleans City Council meeting where members unanimously supported demolition of 4,500 public housing units for redevelopment.
• Thieves broke into the Sao Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil and made off with paintings by Pablo Picasso and Candido Portinari.
• A British judge acquitted the only man charged with murder in Northern Ireland's deadliest terror attack: the 1998 car bombing that killed 29 people in the town of Omagh.
• Utah opened the bowl season with a wild 35-32 victory over the Navy Midshipmen in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Audrey Totter is 91.
• Comedian Charlie Callas is 81.
• Actor John Hillerman is 76.
• Actress Kathryn Joosten is 69.
• Rock musician-music producer Bobby Colomby is 64.
• Rock musician Peter Criss is 63.
• Psychic/illusionist Uri Geller is 62.
• Producer Dick Wolf ("Law & Order") is 62.
• Rock musician Alan Parsons is 60.
• Actress Jenny Agutter is 56.
• Actor Michael Badalucco is 54.
• Actress Blanche Baker is 52.
• Rock singer Billy Bragg is 51.
• Rock singer-musician Mike Watt (The Secondmen, Minutemen, fIREHOSE) is 51.
• Country singer Kris Tyler is 44.
• Rock singer Chris Robinson is 42.
• Actress Nicole deBoer is 38.
• Singer David Cook ("American Idol") is 26.
• Actor Jonah Hill is 25.
• Singer JoJo is 18.

Thought for Today:

"There are two days in the week about which and upon which I never worry. Two carefree days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday. ... And the other ... is Tomorrow."
Robert Jones Burdette, American clergyman and author (1844-1914).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-355

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 19TH

Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 354th day of 2008.
There are 12 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 19, 1843, "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.

On this date:

• In 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
• In 1813, British forces captured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812.
• In 1907, 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa.
• In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corporation began transmitting overseas with its Empire Service to Australia.
• In 1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.
• In 1957, Meredith Willson's musical play "The Music Man" opened on Broadway.
• In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, winding up the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
• In 1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States.
• In 1986, Lawrence E. Walsh was appointed independent counsel to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.
• In 1997, a SilkAir Boeing 737-300 plunged from the sky, crashing into an Indonesian river and killing all 104 people aboard.

Ten years ago:

• President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice (he was later acquitted by the Senate).
• Two days after his confession of marital infidelity, Bob Livingston told the House he wouldn't serve as its next speaker.
• President Clinton halted airstrikes against Iraq after a fourth day of attacks.

Five years ago:

• Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to halt his nation's drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.
• Design plans were unveiled for the signature skyscraper — a 1,776-foot glass tower — at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
• Death claimed actress Hope Lange at age 70 and actor Les Tremayne at age 90.

One year ago:

• President George W. Bush signed legislation increasing fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and requiring wider use of ethanol.
• An explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Jacksonville, Fla., killed four workers.
• An express train derailed in southern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people.
• Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak won South Korea's presidency.
• Rescuers found Frederick Dominguez and his three children, who had been lost in the mountains for three days during a snowstorm, in a northern California ravine.

Today's Birthdays:

• Country singer Little Jimmy Dickens is 88.
• Composer-lyricist Robert Sherman ("Mary Poppins") is 83.
• Actress Cicely Tyson is 75.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer-musician Maurice White (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 67.
• Actor Tim Reid is 64.
• Paleontologist Richard E. Leakey is 64.
• Rock singer Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) is 64.
• Actress Elaine Joyce is 63.
• Musician John McEuen is 63.
• Singer Janie Fricke is 61.
• Jazz musician Lenny White is 59.
• Actor Mike Lookinland is 48.
• Actress Jennifer Beals is 45.
• Actor Scott Cohen is 44.
• Actor Robert MacNaughton is 42.
• Magician Criss Angel is 41.
• Rock musician Kevin Shepard is 40.
• Actress Kristy Swanson is 39.
• Model Tyson Beckford is 38.
• Actress Amy Locane is 37.
• Actress Rosa Blasi is 36.
• Actress Alyssa Milano is 36.
• Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is 28.
• Actress Marla Sokoloff is 28.
• Rapper Lady Sovereign is 23.

Thought for Today:

"Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them."
Paul Valery, French poet and critic (1871-1945).

"Let's all be careful out there!"