DAILY CHUCKLE 8-363

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 27TH

Today is Saturday, Dec. 27, the 362nd day of 2008.
There are four days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 27, 1968, Apollo 8 and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.

On this date:

• In 1831, naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a round-the-world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.
• In 1904, James Barrie's play "Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" opened at the Duke of York's Theater in London.
• In 1927, the musical play "Show Boat," with music by Jerome Kern and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York.
• In 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.
• In 1945, 28 nations signed an agreement creating the World Bank.
• In 1947, the children's TV program "The Howdy Doody Show" made its debut on NBC under the title "Puppet Playhouse."
• In 1958, American physicist James Van Allen reported the discovery of a second radiation belt around Earth, in addition to one found earlier in the year.
• In 1978, Algerian President Houari Boumediene, one of the Third World's most prominent and outspoken leaders, died after 40 days in a coma.
• In 1979, Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal.
• In 1985, Palestinian guerrillas opened fire inside the Rome and Vienna airports; a total of 20 people were killed, including four of the attackers, who were slain by police and security personnel.

Ten years ago:

• Six inmates, including four convicted killers, escaped from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Tennessee. (All were recaptured by the end of the next day.)
• A week after she was born weighing just 10.3 ounces, the smallest of the Houston octuplets (Chijindu Chidera Louis) died from heart and lung failure.

Five years ago:

• Coordinated rebel assaults in Karbala, Iraq, killed 13 people, including six coalition soldiers.
• Actor Alan Bates died in London at age 69.

One year ago:

• Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan by an attacker who shot her after a campaign rally and then blew himself up.
• Kenya held an election pitting incumbent president Mwai Kibaki against opposition candidate Raila Odinga; both candidates ended up claiming victory in a vote that observers said was seriously flawed.

Today's Birthdays:

• Former U.S. Sen. James A. McClure, R-Idaho, is 84.
• Rockabilly musician Scotty Moore is 77.
• Actor John Amos is 69.
• ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is 65.
• Rock musician Mick Jones (Foreigner) is 64.
• Singer Tracy Nelson is 64.
• Actor Gerard Depardieu is 60.
• Jazz singer-musician T.S. Monk is 59.
• Singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff is 57.
• Actress Tovah Feldshuh is 56.
• Rock musician David Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 56.
• Journalist-turned-politician Arthur Kent is 55.
• Actress Maryam D'Abo is 48.
• Country musician Jeff Bryant is 46.
• Actor Ian Gomez is 44.
• Actress Theresa Randle is 44.
• Actress Eva LaRue is 42.
• Bluegrass singer-musician Darrin Vincent (Dailey & Vincent) is 39.
• Rock musician Guthrie Govan (Asia) is 37.
• Musician Matt Slocum is 36.
• Actor Wilson Cruz is 35.
• Singer Olu is 35. Actor Masi Oka is 34.
• Actress Emilie de Ravin is 27.
• Christian rock musician James Mead (Kutless) is 26.
• Rock singer Hayley Williams (Paramore) is 20.

Thought for Today:

"I'm not young enough to know everything."
Sir James Matthew Barrie, Scottish dramatist-author (1860-1937).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-362

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 26TH

Today is Friday, Dec. 26, the 361st day of 2008.
There are five days left in the year.
The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today.
This is Boxing Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

• One hundred years ago, on Dec. 26, 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia. (Johnson's victory sparked a search for a "great white hope" who would reclaim the title; Jess Willard accomplished the feat in 1915.)

On this date:

• In 1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
• In 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
• In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation's railroads.
• In 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
• In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.
• In 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.
• In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.
• In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved, despite a widely publicized "confession" by John Mark Karr.)
• In 2004, more than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.
• In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.

Ten years ago:

• President Clinton, in his weekly radio address, urged Congress to lower the blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving nationwide to .08 percent.

Five years ago:

• An earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.
• Three snowboarders were killed in an avalanche in Provo Canyon, Utah.

One year ago:

• Six people were found dead at a rural property east of Seattle; the property owners' daughter and her boyfriend were arrested. (Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe face charges of aggravated first-degree murder in the shootings of three generations of Anderson's family.)
• Francesca Lewis, the sole survivor of a plane crash in Panama, was reunited with her family after rescue workers brought the 12-year-old American girl out of a remote mountain area.
• Joe Dolan, one of Ireland's first pop music stars, died in suburban Dublin at age 68.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actor Donald Moffat is 78.
• Actor Caroll Spinney (Big Bird on TV's "Sesame Street") is 75.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Abdul "Duke" Fakir (The Four Tops) is 73.
• Record producer Phil Spector is 68.
• "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh is 63.
• Country musician Bob Carpenter (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 62.
• Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 61.
• All-Star baseball player Chris Chambliss is 60.
• Humorist David Sedaris is 52.
• Rock musician James Kottak (The Scorpions) is 46.
• Country musician Brian Westrum (Sons of the Desert) is 46.
• Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 45.
• Actress Nadia Dajani is 43.
• Rock musician J is 41.
• Country singer Audrey Wiggins is 41.
• Rock musician Peter Klett (Candlebox) is 39.
• Rock singer James Mercer (The Shins; Flake) is 38.
• Actor-singer Jared Leto is 37.
• Rock singer Chris Daughtry is 29.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Ryan Shaw is 28.
• Actor Zach Mills is 13.

Thought for Today:

"What you cannot find on earth is not worth seeking."
Norman Douglas, Scottish author (1868-1952).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-361

"Let's all be careful out there!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DECEMBER 25TH

Today is Thursday, Dec. 25, the 360th day of 2008.
There are six days left in the year.
This is Christmas Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 25, 1818, "Silent Night," written by Franz Gruber and Father Joseph Mohr, was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

On this date:

• In 336, the first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 took place in Rome.
• In 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned king of England.
• In 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J.
• In 1926, Hirohito became emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito. (Hirohito was formally enthroned almost two years later.)
• In 1941, during World War II, Japan announced the surrender of the British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong.
• In 1946, comedian W.C. Fields died in Pasadena, Calif., at age 66.
• In 1977, comedian Sir Charles Chaplin died in Switzerland at age 88.
• In 1989, ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising.
• In 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
• In 2006, James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," died of heart failure in Atlanta at age 73.

Ten years ago:

• British mogul Richard Branson, American millionaire Steve Fossett and Per Lindstrand of Sweden gave up their attempt to make the first non-stop, round-the-world balloon flight seven days into their journey, ditching off Hawaii.

Five years ago:

• Sixteen people were killed by mudslides that swept over campgrounds in California's San Bernardino Valley.
• Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf survived a second assassination bid in 11 days, but 16 other people, including three suicide bombers, were killed.
• A plane crashed after taking off from Benin, killing at least 130 of the 161 people aboard.
• Europe's tiny Mars lander, the Beagle 2, was supposed to go into orbit around the Red Planet, but the craft was lost.

One year ago:

• A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped her enclosure and killed a park visitor; two brothers also were mauled, but survived.
• Russia's military successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.
• A ruptured gasoline pipeline exploded near Nigeria's main city of Lagos, killing at least 40 people.

Today's Birthdays:

• Singer Tony Martin is 95.
• Actor Dick Miller is 80.
• Actress Hanna Schygulla is 65.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer John Edwards (The Spinners) is 64.
• Actor Gary Sandy is 63.
• Singer Jimmy Buffett is 62.
• Football Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka is 62.
• Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 60.
• Actress Sissy Spacek is 59.
• Actress CCH Pounder is 56.
• Singer Annie Lennox is 54.
• Reggae singer-musician Robin Campbell (UB40) is 54.
• Country singer Steve Wariner is 54.
• Singer Shane MacGowan (The Popes) is 51.
• Baseball player Rickey Henderson is 50.
• Actress Klea Scott is 40.
• Rock musician Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) is 37.
• Singer Dido is 37.
• Rock singer Mac Powell (Third Day) is 36.
• Country singer Alecia Elliott is 26.

Thought for Today:
"

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"
Bob Hope, American comedian (1903-2003).

"Let's all be careful out there!"