Paradise Driver

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-366

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

DECEMBER 30TH

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 30, the 365th day of 2008.
There is one day left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 30, 1853, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to buy some 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10 million in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase. (The area is located in present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.)

On this date:

In 1813, the British burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812.
In 1903, about 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
In 1907, the Mills Commission issued its final report concluding that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, a finding that few sports historians embrace.
In 1922, Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
In 1936, the United Auto Workers union staged its first "sit-down" strike, at the Fisher Body Plant No. 1 in Flint, Mich.
In 1940, California's first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, was officially opened.
In 1948, the Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate" opened on Broadway.
In 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
In 1994, a gunman walked into a pair of suburban Boston abortion clinics and opened fire, killing two employees and wounding five other people. (John C. Salvi III was later convicted of murder; he died in prison, an apparent suicide.)
In 2006, Iraqis awoke to news that Saddam Hussein had been hanged; victims of his three decades of autocratic rule took to the streets to celebrate.

Ten years ago:

Weak but radiant with pride, Nkem Chukwu, the mother of the Houston octuplets, went home from the hospital.

Five years ago:

The Bush administration announced it was banning the sale of ephedra, and urged consumers to immediately stop using the herbal stimulant linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.
Author John Gregory Dunne died in New York City at age 71.

One year ago:

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of an election that opponents and observers alleged was rigged.
The 19-year-old son of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal Zardari, was named symbolic leader of her Pakistan Peoples Party, while Bhutto's widower took effective control.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Joseph Bologna is 74.
Actor Russ Tamblyn is 74.
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax is 73.
Actor Jack Riley is 73.
Folk singer Paul Stookey is 71.
TV director James Burrows is 68.
Actor Fred Ward is 66.
Singer-musician Michael Nesmith is 66.
Singer Davy Jones is 63.
Singer Patti Smith is 62.
Rock singer-musician Jeff Lynne is 61.
"Today Show" co-host Meredith Vieira is 55.
Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph is 53.
Actress Patricia Kalember is 52.
Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 52.
Newscaster Matt Lauer is 51.
Actress-comedian Tracey Ullman is 49.
Rock musician Rob Hotchkiss is 48.
Radio-TV commentator Sean Hannity is 47.
Runner Ben Johnson is 47.
Singer Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 39.
Rock musician Byron McMackin (Pennywise) is 39.
Actress Meredith Monroe is 39.
Actor Daniel Sunjata is 37.
Actress Maureen Flannigan is 36.
Actor Jason Behr is 35.
Golfer Tiger Woods is 33.
Singer Tyrese is 30.
Actress Eliza Dushku is 28.
Rock musician Tim Lopez (Plain White T's) is 28.
Actress Kristin Kreuk is 26.

Thought for Today:

"Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone."
Anonymous.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-365

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, December 29, 2008

DECEMBER 29TH

Today is Monday, Dec. 29, the 364th day of 2008.
There are 2 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Two hundred years ago, on Dec. 29, 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C.

On this date:

In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.
In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state.
In 1851, the first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston.
In 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by US troops sent to disarm them.
In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who'd wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg.
In 1934, Japan formally denounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
In 1940, during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as "The Second Great Fire of London."
In 1957, singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were married in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.
In 1978, during the Gator Bowl, Ohio State University coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman, who'd intercepted an Ohio pass. (Hayes was fired by Ohio State the next day.)

Ten years ago:

Two top Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the deaths of as many as two million people during their regime in the 1970s, and asked Cambodians to forget the past.

Five years ago:

Monsignor Michael Courtney, Pope John Paul II's ambassador in Burundi, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen.
Actor Earl Hindman, who'd played the mostly unseen neighbor Wilson on "Home Improvement," died in Stamford, Conn., at age 61.

One year ago:

Australian David Hicks, the first person convicted at an American war crimes trial since World War II, was freed from prison in Adelaide after completing a US-imposed sentence.
The New England Patriots ended their regular season with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. (New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule.)

Today's Birthdays:

Actor Clarence Swensen (''The Wizard of Oz'') is 91.
Actress Inga Swenson is 76.
ABC newscaster Tom Jarriel is 74.
Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 71.
Actor Jon Voight is 70.
Country singer Ed Bruce is 69.
Rock musician Ray Thomas is 67.
Singer Marianne Faithfull is 62.
Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. is 62.
Actor Ted Danson is 61.
Actor Jon Polito is 58.
Singer-actress Yvonne Elliman is 57.
Actress Patricia Clarkson is 49.
Comedian Paula Poundstone is 49.
Rock singer-musician Jim Reid (The Jesus and Mary Chain) is 47.
Rock singer Dexter Holland (The Offspring) is 43.
Actor-comedian Mystro Clark is 42.
Actor Jason Gould is 42.
Movie director Andy Wachowski is 41.
Actress Jennifer Ehle is 39.
Rock singer-musician Glen Phillips is 38.
Actor Kevin Weisman is 38.
Actor Jude Law is 36.
Actor Mekhi Phifer is 34.
Actor Shawn Hatosy is 33.
Actor Diego Luna is 29.
Country singer Jessica Andrews is 25.

Thought for Today:
'

'Ours is the age of substitutes: Instead of language we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright suggestions.''
Eric Bentley, British-born American author and educator.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-364

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Sunday, December 28, 2008

DECEMBER 28TH

Today is Sunday, Dec. 28, the 363rd day of 2008.
There are 3 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One hundred years ago, on Dec. 28, 1908, a major earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian city of Messina, killing some 70,000 people, although some estimates are much higher.

On this date:

In 1694, Queen Mary II of England died after more than five years of joint rule with her husband, King William III.
In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down over differences with President Andrew Jackson.
In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.
In 1856, the 28th president of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Va.
In 1897, the play "Cyrano de Bergerac," by Edmond Rostand, premiered in Paris.
In 1917, the New York Evening Mail published "A Neglected Anniversary," a facetious -- as well as ficitious -- essay by H.L. Mencken recounting the history of bathtubs in America.
In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.
In 1958, the Baltimore Colts won the NFL championship, defeating the New York Giants 23-17 in overtime at Yankee Stadium.
In 1973, Alexander Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago," an expose of the Soviet prison system.
In 1987, the bodies of 14 relatives of Ronald Gene Simmons were found at his home near Dover, Arkansas, following a shooting rampage by Simmons in Russellville that claimed two other lives. (Simmons was later executed.)

Ten years ago:

American warplanes exchanged missile fire with Iraqi air defenses; President Bill Clinton said there would be no letup in American and British pressure on Saddam Hussein.
Four people were killed, two gone missing and presumed dead, when fierce gales struck during an Australian yacht race.

Five years ago:

Libya for the first time allowed U.N. nuclear officials to inspect four sites related to its nuclear weapons program.

One year ago:

President George W. Bush used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense bill because he objected to a provision that would have exposed the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era.
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was laid to rest as the country's army tried to quell a frenzy of rioting in the wake of her assassination.
Six French charity workers sentenced to eight years' forced labor in Chad for allegedly trying to kidnap 103 children were transferred to French custody. (The workers were later pardoned by Chad's president and set free.)

Today's Birthdays: