Author: The Hinoeuma
Autumnal Equinox 2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Personal Collection 09-22-2018
Soothing sounds. I could listen to this all day.
It was a wonderful walk. There was a breeze and the temperature was in the higher 80s instead of the 90s. Fall is finally here. The local trees’ leaves aren’t changing color just yet but, many are ‘leaf dropping’, including the huge Maple tree in my front yard. I sat in my Adirondack for a couple of hours, journaling. I look forward to the mosquitoes leaving. They are still here. ~Vic
The Autumnal Equinox for this area of the Northern Hemisphere was at 9:54pm EDT.
Why is it called ‘an equinox’?
The word comes from the Latin aequus, meaning “equal” and nox, meaning “night”.During the equinox, the Sun crosses what we call the “celestial equator”. Imagine a line that marks the equator on Earth extending up into the sky above the equator from north to south. Earth’s two hemispheres receive the Sun’s rays about equally. The Sun is overhead at noon as seen from the equator, so at this point, the amount of nighttime and daytime (sunlight) are roughly equal to each other.
From www.almanac.com
The Snake of Sunlight
A famous ancient equinox celebration was the Mayan sacrificial ritual by the main pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico. The pyramid, known as El Castillo, has 4 staircases running from the top to the bottom of the pyramid’s faces, notorious for the bloody human sacrifices that used to take place here. The staircases are built at a carefully calculated angle which makes it look like an enormous snake of sunlight slithers down the stairs on the day of the equinox.From www.timeanddate.com
National POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 21 has two celebrations, two ‘third Friday in September’ celebrations and a brand new celebration. Today, I showcase one of the ‘third Friday in September’ days…National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Though National Day Calendar states that this day has been observed since 1989 by Presidential Proclamation, according to www.pow-miafamilies.org:
Until July 18, 1979, no special commemoration was held to honor America’s POW/MIAs, those returned and, those still missing and unaccounted for from our nation’s wars. That first year, resolutions were passed in Congress and the national ceremony was held at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC.
National POW/MIA Recognition Day legislation was introduced yearly until 1995 when Congress opted to discontinue considering legislation to designate special commemorative days. Since then, successive Presidents have signed an annual proclamation.
www.timeanddate.com adds some additional data to the history:
The United States Congress passed a resolution authorizing National POW/MIA Recognition Day to be observed on July 18, 1979. It was observed on the same date in 1980 and, was held on July 17 in 1981 and 1982. It was then observed on April 9 in 1983 and July 20 in 1984. The event was observed on July 19 in 1985 and, then, from 1986 on-wards, the date moved to the third Friday of September. The United States president each year proclaims National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Many states in the USA also proclaim POW/MIA Recognition Day together with the national effort.
The passage of Section 1082 in the 1998 Defense Authorization Act covers the display of the POW/MIA flag.
There is, also, still a National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, permanent to April 9 in any year.
Also celebrated today:
National New York Day
National Pecan Cookie Day (Yum! People love to celebrate food!)
National Tradesmen Day (Also on the third Friday in September)
National Chai Day (Founded by Somrus and proclaimed by The Registrar at National Day Calender, today!)
Cheers and enjoy!
Flick Friday: Prisoners 2013
I think by now everyone knows this is Flick Friday.
The #1 movie five years ago, today, was Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano.
I don’t think I want to watch this one. I love Hugh Jackman & Terrence Howard but, I can’t take little kid abduction and torture movies. The synopsis was quite enough. ~Victoria
Throwback Thursday: Jim Croce 1973
Forty-five years ago, today, James Joseph ‘Jim’ Croce, American folk rock singer-songwriter was killed when the Beechcraft E18S, that he and five others were aboard, crashed into a tree during take-off from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The accident also claimed the lives of musician Maurice T. ‘Maury’ Muehleisen, comedian George Stevens, manager & booking agent Kenneth Cortese, road manager Dennis Rast and pilot Robert N. Elliott. Croce’s final concert was at Prather Coliseum.
He is buried at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer, Pennsylvania. His singer-songwriter wife, Ingrid Jacobson Croce maintains an historical site of their work. Their son, Adrian James ‘A. J.’ Croce is a singer-songwriter in his own right.
His two number one singles…
Behind The Music
Tune Tuesday: Whatever You Like 2008
It’s Tune Tuesday! Ten years ago, today, the #1 Billboard Hot 100 song was Whatever You Like. I hadn’t heard this song until five minutes ago. By the time 2008 rolled around, I wasn’t listening to Top 40 stations, anymore. I was listening to BobFM or SimonFM or what everyone today refers to as ‘variety hits’. Yes, I am showing my age. ~Vic
Constitution Day & Citizenship Day
September 17 has three celebrations. Constitution Day & Citizenship Day commemorates the 1787 signing of the Constitution of the United States, despite Rhode Island holding out until 1790 and, all naturalized citizens. Patrick Henry refused to attend the Convention as he preferred the Articles of Confederation. He feared a strong central government and saw the Constitution a step backwards.
Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel and you may take everything else. But I fear I have lived long enough to become an old-fashioned fellow. Perhaps an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man may, in these refined, enlightened days, be deemed old-fashioned: if so, I am contented to be so.
He managed to settle himself down after the Constitutional ratification as the convention members proposed 40 amendments, some of which became the Bill of Rights.
Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizenship is defined as “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
This holiday was first recognized in Iowa in 1911. The Sons of the American Revolution promoted it in 1917.
Also celebrated today:
National Apple Dumpling Day (Yum!)
National Monte Cristo Day (Also, yum!)
Cheers and enjoy!
Military Monday: The Battle of Antietam 1862
[From: Wikipedia & The History Channel]
One hundred and sixty-five years ago, today, The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern U.S., occurred September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac and was the culmination of Lee’s attempt to invade the north. The battle’s outcome would be vital to shaping America’s future and it remains the deadliest one-day battle in all American military history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded or missing.
McClellan had halted Lee’s invasion of Maryland but, Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. McClellan’s refusal to pursue Lee’s army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield and abandoned their invasion, making it a Union strategic victory. It was a sufficiently significant victory to give Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation, which discouraged the British and French governments from pursuing any potential plans to recognize the Confederacy.
[From: Emerging Civil War…another take…]
Fortunately, for the sake of debate, the outcome of Civil War battles is not as clear-cut as that of a football game, where one can look at the scoreboard at the end of the game and easily determine who won, who lost, or, in some cases, if the outcome was a draw. Historians endlessly debate whether certain battles were overwhelming victories, marginal victories, or draws. Perhaps no other battle’s tactical outcome is more misunderstood than the bloodiest single day battle of the war: Antietam.
No one would doubt Antietam’s significance in the larger picture of the war. However, the common conception of Antietam is that the battle was tactically a draw, with neither side having gained a significant enough of an advantage to have claimed the victory. This article will challenge that commonly held belief, using particular instances from the battle and the Maryland Campaign to demonstrate the Army of the Potomac’s victory at Antietam.
[Had this battle been a Confederate victory, this country might look very, very different. ~Victoria]
Shutterbug Saturday: September Beauty
Flowers, critters and ‘shrooms for today. All photos are my personal collection ©. ~Vic
08-25-2018
09-08-2018
09-08-2018
08-17-2018
08-06-2018
Flick Friday: Burn After Reading 2008
It’s Flick Friday! Ten years ago, today, the #1 movie was Burn After Reading, a black comedy from the Coen Brothers that brought us hits like Fargo and The Big Lebowski. I’ve never seen this movie, or The Big Lebowski for that matter but, I have seen Fargo, which was an absolute trip. At least the brothers aren’t as gory as Tarentino. ~Victoria
Throwback Thursday: Hurricane Ike 2008
While we are on the subject of hurricanes, ten years ago, today, Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas, at 2:10am CDT. It was recorded as a Category 4 on September 4 as it moved near the Leeward Islands. Though it had lessened in strength from its prior Cat4 status to Cat2, this was a bad storm in costs, damage and death. Ike’s storm surge went right over the Galveston Seawall, a ten-mile wall built for protection after the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
Ike claimed 195 lives…74 in Haiti, six in Cuba and 113 in the US. As of August 2011, 16 are still missing. This was a huge storm that also damaged the Bahamas, the Turks & Caicos, the Florida Panhandle, Mississippi and Louisiana. It is the most expensive storm to ever hit Cuba and, at $38 billion, was the second-costliest storm in US history until 2012.
I was living in Texas when Ike hit. I was too far inland to be affected by more than some rain storms. The terrain in Texas is quite different from North Carolina and even though the Austin Area is roughly the same distance from the Texas coast as the Piedmont/Triangle is from the NC coast, my native Texan friends told me that Austin had never been hit by a hurricane.
I was employed by the very agency that responded to the disaster…The Texas General Land Office, though I was not working in the Coastal Management Unit. I was working for the Veterans Land Board but, I remember the teams going down to help with the clean up and the pictures of the damage that were posted to our intranet. The stunning images of the debris that littered I-45 and the heartbreaking photos of the flooding to downtown Galveston. NASA’s Johnson Space Center (Houston, we’ve had a problem…) suffered roof damage to Mission Control and my beloved Lone Star Flight Museum wound up with $18 million in damaged planes and had to be moved inland to Ellington Field. ~Victoria
Wayback Wednesday: SS Central America 1857
In 1857, caught in a Category 2 Hurricane, the SS Central America sank 160 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning 420+, including Captain of the Ship Commander William Lewis Herndon. Nicknamed The Ship of Gold, 30,000 pounds of gold from the California Gold Rush went down with her, exacerbating The Panic of 1857.
It wasn’t until very recently that the lost gold was recovered and only two years ago that the salvage award of 100% was awarded.
In other September 12 trivia bits, as we wait for Hurricane Florence 2018 to show up, this appears to be a rather bad day for hurricanes. Did you know that there have been six Atlantic Hurricanes named Florence? She gets around. ~Vic
1910 Alice Stebbins Wells was hired as the first LAPD Policewoman.
1928 The Okeechobee Hurricane, a Category 4 storm, struck Guadeloupe, killing 1,200.
1979 Hurricane Frederic, a Category 4 storm, slammed into Dauphin Island, Alabama, destroying the bridge to the mainland and killing five.
1988 Hurricane Gilbert, the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record until 2005, devastated Jamaica, produced a 19 foot storm surge and killed 49.
Flick Friday: Dickie Roberts 2003
It’s Flick Friday! The 1# movie fifteen years ago, today, was Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. The list of cameos is interesting.
I haven’t the first clue… But, I will say that the trailer offered a nice view of an older Leif Garrett and Barry Williams. Bonaduce? I’ve seen enough of him, already. Ditto Alyssa Milano. ~Victoria
Burt Reynolds
February 11, 1936 – September, 6, 2018
A sad Throwback Thursday…(just a little late posting).
He was Ben Frazer for 20 episodes on the TV show Riverboat, 1959-1960. He was Quint Asper for 50 episodes on the TV show Gunsmoke, 1962-1965. He played Detective Lt. John Hawk for one season on the TV show Hawk in 1966. He was Dan August for one season on the TV show of the same name, 1970-1971 (I remember this…vaguely). He was the voice of Troy Garland on the Out of this World TV show for four years, 1987-1991. He was B.L. Stryker for 12 episodes on the TV show of the same name, 1989-1990. He played Wood Newton for four years on the TV show Evening Shade, 1990-1994. He was even on an episode of The X-Files playing God in 2002.
He was Lewis Medlock in the thriller Deliverance, 1972. He was Jay Grobart in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, 1973. He was Robert ‘Gator’ McKlusky in White Lightening, 1973. He was Paul ‘Wrecking’ Crewe in The Longest Yard, 1974. He was W.W. Bright in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, 1975. He returned in 1976 as ‘Gator’ McKlusky, again, in Gator, the sequel to White Lightening. He was Billy Clyde Puckett in Semi-Tough, 1977. He was “The Greatest Stuntman Alive” Sonny Hooper in Hooper, 1978. He was Phil Potter in Starting Over, 1979. He was J.J. McClure in The Cannonball Run, 1981 (I remember going to this at the theatre with friends). He was Sgt. Thomas Sharky in Sharky’s Machine, 1981. He played the great Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, 1982. He was Richard Babson in Best Friends, 1982. He was Stroker Ace in the film of the same name in 1983. He was David Fowler in The Man Who Loved Women, 1983 (he did a LOT of loving!). He reprised his role of J.J. McClure in Cannonball Run II, 1984. He was Mike Murphy in City Heat, 1984. He was Tony Church in Rent-A-Cop, 1988. He was John L. Sullivan IV in Switching Channels, 1988. He was Joe Paris in Physical Evidence, 1989 (another one I remember going to the theatre to see). He was the voice of Charlie B. Barkin, the German Shepherd mix in All Dogs Go to Heaven, 1989.
His career slowed down after that but, he roared back to life playing Jack Horner in the 1997 hit Boogie Nights. He returned to the The Longest Yard remake as Coach Nate Scarborough in 2005. He played Boss Hogg in the 2005 film version of the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard. He was Sam LeFleur in Forget About It, 2006. One of his last movies was playing Vic Edwards in The Last Movie Star, a 2017 fitting story of an aging movie star with the bulk of his work behind him. Burt worked until he died, with his last film, Defining Moments, to be released after his death.
Even with all of the above interesting characters he played in a career spanning 60 years, literally, he will always and forever be…Bo Darville…The Bandit. ~Victoria
Smokey and The Bandit, 1977.
Smokey and The Bandit II, 1980.
Smokey and The Bandit Part 3, 1983.
Addendum:
Awards
♡ 1991 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor/Comedy Series in Evening Shade
♡ 1992 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor/TV Musical or Comedy in Evening Shade
♡ 1998 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor/Motion Picture in Boogie Nights
Notable Nominations
☆ 1971 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Actor/TV Drama in Dan August
☆ 1975 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Actor/Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in The Longest Yard (The movie won for Best Musical or Comedy)
☆ 1980 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Actor/Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in Starting Over
☆ 1991 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Actor/TV Musical or Comedy in Evening Shade
☆ 1992 Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor/Comedy Series in Evening Shade
☆ 1993 Golden Globe Award Nomination for Best Actor/TV Musical or Comedy in Evening Shade
★ 1998 Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Boogie Nights
☆ 1998 BAFTA Award Nomination for Actor/Supporting Role in Boogie Nights
☆ 1998 SAG Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance/Male Actor/Supporting Role in Boogie Nights
☆ 1998 SAG Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance/Cast/Motion Picture in Boogie Nights
Tune Tuesday: Shake Ya Tailfeather 2003
It’s Tune Tuesday! Fifteen years ago, today the #1 Billboard Hot 100 song was Shake Ya Tailfeather from the movie Bad Boys II.
This is another song that, I confess, I’ve never heard before. And, I’ve never seen Bad Boys II, either. In 2003, I had recently moved to Texas and I was busy learning a new job. I didn’t see many movies that year and, apparently, I stopped listening to mainstream radio. ~Vic
Shutterbug Saturday: Flowers For Everyone
All photos, below, are my personal collection ©. ~Vic
08-06-2018
Arizona Sun
08-06-2018
08-16-2018
08-06-2018
09-01-2018
It went from Liriope to Liriope.
I finally got a shot.
08-17-2018
Cosmic-Observation 