February - The Festival of Purification

... Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
February has twenty-eight alone,
All the rest have thirty-one.
Except Leap Year; that's the time
When February's days are twenty-nine.

According to the Gregorian calendar, February is the second month of the year, and also the shortest month. February has 28 days until Julius Caesar gave it 29, and 30 days every four years. According to tradition, Augustus, the Roman emperor, took one day off to add one day to August, the month named after him.

Those damn freakin' Romans.



We now have February with 28 days, and 29 on leap years, like 2016. Sweden had a February 30 in 1712. They tried it but didn't didn't work out. February begins on the same day of the week as March and November in a common year, and on the same day of the week as August in a leap year.

Sorry but there's no rhyme to remember that.

In the northern half of the world, February is a very cold month. There are usually sunny days that show Spring is not too far off. The Southern hemisphere usually enjoy midsummer weather during February.

February Month Observances
* African American History Month (Black History Month)
Remember the joke that Black History Month occurs during the shortest month on the year
* AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month
Making it very difficult to read this posting
* American History Month 
Which is sponsored by National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (who probably did not vote to share the month with Black History Month.)
* Bird Feeding Month (Wild Bird Feeding Month)
(most cats prefer the taste of wild bird over domesticated bird)
* Cat Health Month (US National) 
(which is caused by cats celebrating 'Bird Feeding Month' a little too much.)
* Candy and Chocolate Lovers Month 
(Secretly sponsored by Hallmark and the American Dental Association.
* Children's Dental Health Month and Dental Month 
(What did I tell you.)
* National Pet Dental Health Month 
(a slightly scary thought that All the dentist are in collusion)
* Condom Month, Creative Romance Month and An Affair to Remember Month
(Also secretly sponsored by Hallmark and the American Dental Association.)
Remember kids - There will be a quiz.


February 1, 1953 -
Private Secretary (Susie, in syndication), starring Ann Sothern, premiered on CBS-TV on this day.



(This is not the first episode, sorry.)

The show ran during the regular TV seasons on CBS, and last show was September 10, 1957. It ran on NBC-TV in the summers of 1953 and 1954. The original title sequence has not been viewed since Private Secretary's original run. Sorry, I can't find it either.


Some of you may actually be watching the Superbowl later today



According to the Hass Avocado Board, over Super Bowl weekend, approximately 120 million pounds of guacamole will be eaten. To shovel that guac into gaping maws, approximately 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips are chomped on.



This year, the National Chicken Council predicts that folks will wolf down on 1.25 billion chicken wings – (there's a 22% increase in the wholesale price of wings this year.)



Americans will be washing down those snacks with over 51.7 million cases of beer.

Enjoy the game.


February 1, 1976 -
Irwin Shaw's Rich Man, Poor Man mini-series premiered on ABC-TV, on this date .



The mini series is based on the novel by Shaw; it was originally published as a short story in Playboy Magazine.

Hey, so some people actually read Playboy.


February 1, 1982 -
Late Night With David Letterman debuted on NBC-TV on this date, where it stayed for 11 years.



Besides Bill Murray, one of Dave's first guests was Don Herbert aka Mr. Wizard.

I wonder if Dave feels more comfortable now that he's close to retirement?


Today in History :
February 1, 1861 -
Texas seceded from the Union, becoming independent once again. Since the articles of statehood passed by the U.S. Congress give Texas this right, it is perhaps the only state whose secession was legal.



According to a Public Policy Poll from December 2012, 25% of GOPers support secession following President Obama’s re-election. Another 19% of self-identified Republicans said they were unsure.

Once again, ask yourself: are the Dallas Cowboys really ready to stop being America’s Team?


February 1, 1893 -
Thomas A. Edison opened the world's first motion picture studio, his Black Maria, (on account of its resemblance to a police patrol wagon,) in West Orange, New Jersey. The studio had a roof that could be opened to admit sunlight for illumination, and the building itself was mounted on a revolving pivot so that the structure could be constantly repositioned to keep it aligned with the sun.



Edison built a glass-enclosed rooftop movie studio in New York City and the Black Maria was closed in January 1901. Edison demolished the building in 1903. The U. S. National Park Service maintains a reproduction of the Black Maria, built in 1954 at what is now the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange.


February 1, 1896 -



The opera La Boheme, written by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in Turin, Italy on this date.



Who knew all Cher had to do to win an Oscar 94 years later, was tweeze her eyebrows and cry while she watches this opera.


February 1, 1951 -
TV station KTLA broadcast of an atomic explosion was the first to be seen publicly on television on this date.



The event was captured by an NBC camera on Mount Wilson, 300 miles away from the test blast at Frenchman Flats, Nevada.


February 1, 1964 -
Governor Matthew Welsh of Indiana declares Louie, Louie by the Kingmen "pornographic".



And while the FCC couldn't figure out the lyrics, the governor's move backfires by making the song one of the most covered titles in existence.


February 1, 1968 -
In Saigon, South Vietnam's national police chief Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan summarily executed an accused Viet Cong spy with a bullet to the head on this date.



Unfortunately for the general, he happened to shoot him right in front of NBC cameraman Vo Suu and Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams.

Oops


February 1, 1970 -
US Government report reveals that 31% of college students have tried pot.



Now that legalized pot has been so successful, there is a possibility that every Colorado adult will receive a $7.63 refund!!!


February 1, 2003 -
The Space Shuttle Columbia blew up on re-entry, with its debris hitting homes and businesses in Nacogdoches, Texas on this date.



Oops


February 1, 2004 -
During the MTV-provided halftime show of the Superbowl, former boy band member Justin Timberlake conducts an obviously pre-scripted move to expose Janet Jackson's right bosom on this date, which oddly sports a ninjitsu-style throwing star as a pasty.



The nation is shocked, simply shocked, that a pristine, noncommercial event such as the Superbowl could be ruined by a Jackson.



Oh don't worry folk, Katy Perry doesn't have nipples.


And so it goes.