Paradise Driver

Saturday, January 17, 2009

DAILY CHUCKLE 9-017

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Friday, January 16, 2009

JANUARY 16TH

Today is Friday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2009.
There are 349 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 16, 1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)

On this date:

In 1547, Ivan IV of Russia (popularly known as "Ivan the Terrible") was crowned Czar.
In 1883, the U.S. Civil Service Commission was established.
In 1919, pianist and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski became the first premier of the newly created republic of Poland.
In 1942, actress Carole Lombard, 33, her mother and about 20 other people were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas while returning from a war-bond promotion tour.
In 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London.
In 1969, two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.
In 1978, NASA named 35 candidates to fly on the space shuttle, including Sally K. Ride, who became America's first woman in space, and Guion S. Bluford Jr., who became America's first black astronaut in space.
In 1989, three days of rioting began in Miami when a police officer fatally shot a black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of a passenger. (The officer, William Lozano, was convicted of manslaughter, but then was acquitted in a retrial.)
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off under extremely tight security; on board was Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy when the shuttle broke up during its return descent, killing all seven crew members.)
In 2007, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., launched his successful bid for the White House.

Ten years ago:

Closing three days of opening arguments, House prosecutors demanded President Bill Clinton's removal from office, telling a hushed Senate that otherwise the presidency itself may be "deeply and perhaps permanently damaged."
Forty-five ethnic Albanians were found slain near the southern Kosovo village of Racak.

Five years ago:

Pop star Michael Jackson pleaded innocent to child molestation charges during a court appearance in Santa Maria, Calif.; the judge scolded Jackson for being 21 minutes late. (Jackson was eventually acquitted.)
NASA announced that the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope would be allowed to degrade and eventually become useless.
Freddy Adu, the 14-year-old phenom, was selected by D.C. United as the first pick in Major League Soccer draft.

One year ago:

President George W. Bush closed out his Mideast trip with a brief visit to Egypt, where he was welcomed by President Hosni Mubarak.
Archbishop Earl Paulk, the 80-year-old leader of a megachurch, pleaded guilty in Atlanta to lying under oath about his sexual affairs and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

Today's Birthdays:

Author William Kennedy is 81.
Author-editor Norman Podhoretz is 79.
Rock musician Bob Bogle (The Ventures) is 75.
Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 75.
Auto racer A.J. Foyt is 74.
Singer Barbara Lynn is 67.
Country singer Ronnie Milsap is 66.
Country singer Jim Stafford is 65.
Talk show host Laura Schlessinger is 62.
Movie director John Carpenter is 61.
Actress-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 59.
Singer Sade is 50.
Rock musician Paul Webb (Talk Talk) is 47.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Maxine Jones (En Vogue) is 43.
Actor David Chokachi is 41.
Actor Richard T. Jones is 37.
Actress Josie Davis is 36.
Model Kate Moss is 35.
Rock musician Nick Valensi (The Strokes) is 28.
Actress Yvonne Zima is 20.

Thought for Today:

"Only the sinner has the right to preach."
Christopher Morley, American journalist (1890-1957).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 9-016

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Thursday, January 15, 2009

JANUARY 15TH

Today is Thursday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2009.
There are 350 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 15, 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.

On this date:

In 1559, England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
In 1777, the people of New Connecticut declared their independence. (The tiny republic later became the state of Vermont.)
In 1844, the University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.
In 1909, jazz drummer and composer Gene Krupa was born in Chicago.
In 1942, Jawaharlal Nehru was named to succeed Mohandas K. Gandhi as head of India's Congress Party.
In 1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.
In 1947, the mutilated remains of Elizabeth Short, the 22-year-old aspiring actress nicknamed the "Black Dahlia," were found in a vacant Los Angeles lot; her slaying remains unsolved.
In 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, retroactively known as Super Bowl I.
In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.
In 1989, NATO, the Warsaw Pact and 12 other European countries adopted a human rights and security agreement in Vienna, Austria.

Ten years ago:

House prosecutors prodded senators at President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial to summon Monica Lewinsky and others for testimony and "invite the president" to appear as well.

Five years ago:

The NASA Spirit rover rolled onto the surface of Mars for the first time since the vehicle bounced to a landing nearly two weeks earlier.
Fourteen-year-old golfer Michelle Wie shot a 2-over 72 in the first round at the PGA Sony Open in Honolulu.
"First Wives Club" novelist Olivia Goldsmith died in New York at age 54.

One year ago:

Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory in his native Michigan.
During a visit to Saudi Arabia, President George W. Bush warned that surging oil prices threatened the U.S. economy and he urged OPEC nations to boost their output.
Actor Brad Renfro, who as a youngster had played the title role in "The Client," was found dead in his Los Angeles home; he was 25.

Today's Birthdays:

Actress Margaret O'Brien is 72.
Singer Don Van Vliet (aka "Captain Beefheart") is 68.
Actress Andrea Martin is 62.
Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 52.
Actor James Nesbitt is 44.
Singer Lisa Lisa (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) is 42.
Actor Chad Lowe is 41.
Actress Regina King is 38.
Actor Eddie Cahill is 31.
Rapper/reggaeton artist Pitbull is 28.

Thought for Today:

"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means."
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 9-015

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

JANUARY 14TH

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2009.
There are 351 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 14, 1969, 27 people aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise were killed when a rocket warhead exploded, setting off a fire and additional explosions that ripped through the ship off Hawaii.

On this date:

In 1639, the first constitution of Connecticut — the "Fundamental Orders" — was adopted.
In 1784, the United States ratified a peace treaty with England, ending the Revolutionary War.
In 1858, French emperor Napoleon III escaped an attempt on his life.
In 1900, Puccini's opera "Tosca" had its world premiere in Rome.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French General Charles de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca.
In 1952, NBC's "Today" show premiered, with Dave Garroway as the host, or "communicator," as he was officially known.
In 1953, Josip Broz Tito was elected president of Yugoslavia by the country's Parliament.
In 1963, George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama with a pledge of "segregation forever."
In 1970, Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their last concert together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
In 1993, talk show host David Letterman announced he was moving from NBC to CBS.

Ten years ago:

Before a jury of 100 silent senators, House prosecutors demanded President Bill Clinton's removal from office, charging he had "piled perjury upon perjury" and obstructed justice.

Five years ago:

Former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy as he accepted a 10-year prison sentence.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. struck a deal to buy Bank One Corp. for $58 billion.
A female Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israeli soldiers and a private security guard at a Gaza crossing.
U.N. officials announced that Libya had ratified the nuclear test ban treaty.
President George W. Bush unveiled a plan to send astronauts to the moon, Mars and beyond.
Death claimed actress Uta Hagen in New York at age 84 and actor Ron O'Neal in Los Angeles at age 66.

One year ago:

Republican Bobby Jindal, the first elected Indian-American governor in the United States, took office in Louisiana.
Alvaro Colom was sworn in as Guatemala's first leftist president in more than 50 years.

Today's Birthdays: