Tuesday, February 13, 2024

It's a good day for pancakes

Bon temps roulez, mes amis - It's Mardi Gras!









No one needs to disrobe, it's much too cold, we've got plenty of beads, (unless you like to disrobe in public and then, it's between you and your maker.)

Today is also know as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, which heralds the beginning of fasting in Lent. On this day (so the historians say) there were feasts of pancakes to use up the supplies of fat, butter and eggs... foods that were forbidden during austere Lent. The word 'shrove' is the past tense of the English verb 'shrive' which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and doing penance.



In England there are several celebrations on this day but perhaps the best known one is the Pancake Day Race at Olney in Buckinghamshire which has been held since 1445.



The race came about when a woman cooking pancakes heard the shriving bell summoning her to confession. She ran to church wearing her apron and still holding her frying pan, and thus without knowing it, started a tradition that has lasted for over five hundred years.

Keep flipping them pancakes!


Today, the Fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to welcome the kitchen god, the god of fortune and other gods.

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year is when the God of Stove reports back to Heaven. The God of Stove will then returns back to your house later on the same day. Since the Heaven is far away from the Earth, it will take almost a day for The God of Stove to travel down to family's kitchen. The God of Stove must leave the Heaven in the morning. He should arrive people house in the afternoon. Therefore, the Welcome Ceremony will be in the afternoon.



After the Welcome Ceremony, families will explore firecracker to welcome The God of Stove back into the house.



(this is my kitchen god.)

Families should stay at home to prepare abundant fruits, burn incense and light candles to welcome the gods, asking to be provided with ample food in the new year.

The old saying "three rams bring bliss" is connected with the fourth day, which says that by making a good beginning, a happy end comes.


Today is also National Tortellini Day



And it has something to do with Venus di Milo's belly button. Just something to think about.


It's also World Radio Day , which raises awareness about the importance of radio and strengthens networking among broadcasters and listeners. Now in its 13 year, the celebration is bigger than ever. In 2024 the theme for this year's World Radio Day is "Radio: A century informing, entertaining and educating".








In 2011, Member States of UNESCO proclaimed February 13 as being World Radio Day. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 as an International event.<


February 13, 1932 -
The Our Gang short, Free Eats premiered on this date. This marked the introduction of George "Spanky" McFarland to the Our Gang comedies.



Spanky McFarland's career lasted a decade, approximately, as his career at Our Gang concluded in 1942 short, Unexpected Riches.


February 13, 1960 -
Reprise Records was founded by Frank Sinatra on this date as a part of his quest for more artistic freedom. Sinatra's launch of the label led to his nickname “The Chairman of the Board.”



It was sold to Warner Bros. three years later and went on to become a major player with signings or distribution deals with an eclectic roster of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, the Beach Boys, Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Fleetwood Mac, and Sinatra’s daughter Nancy.


February 13th, 1966 -
The Rolling Stones returned for their third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date.







Their performances had been taped the day before.


Febraury 13, 1970
-
Black Sabbath's self-titled debut LP was released on this date, which not coincidentally, came out on a Friday the 13th. It was arguably the first heavy metal album.



The band was playing clubs in Germany and using the name "Earth" when they realized another band had the same name. "Black Sabbath" was lifted from the title of a 1963 horror movie starring Boris Karloff that was directed by the Italian filmmaker Mario Bava. The group's lead singer Ozzy Osbourne and bass player Geezer Butler had seen the film, and decided to write a song with that title. When it became clear that the band needed a new name, they named themselves after this song.


February 13, 1972 -
Bob Fosse's film version of the musical Cabaret, starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey premiered on this date.



Liza Minnelli designed all her own hair and make-up with the help of her father, famed musical director Vincente Minnelli.


February 13, 1996 -
The Fugees release their second and final album, The Score, on this date. The band broke up a few months later.



At the time of the release of the album, Lauren Hill was still taking classes at Columbia University; when their record company had her and her bandmates appear at a New York record store to sign copies of a single fom the album, she was shocked to see a line around the block. She was even more surprised to find out they were all there for the Fugees.


February 13, 2000 -
Two days after Charles M Schulz died, February 11, the last original Peanuts comic strip was printed in newspapers.

By February 13th, 2000, 17897 Peanuts comic strips had been published, and remains the most popular comic of all time.


Today's moment of Zen


Today in History:
On February 13, 1542, Henry VIII of England's Vth wife, Catherine Howard, was executed for adultery.



Given the track record of Henry's other wives, one would have figured out marrying Henry was not a career with a lot of advancement possibilities.


On February 13, 1883, German composer and posthumous Hitler idol Richard Wagner, best known for writing the soundtrack to Apocalypse Now, died on this date.







Almost exactly eleven years later (February 12, 1894), Hans von Bulow, German pianist and composer, and the first husband of Wagner's wife Cosima, also died on this date.


February 13, 1945 -
An estimated 135,000 people, mostly women and children, died in the firebombing of the 13th-century city of Dresden, a revenge bombing that had no real military justification, which had begun on this date.







Kurt Vonnegut was one of just seven American prisoners of war in Dresden to survive, in an underground meatpacking cellar known as Slaughterhouse Five.


February 13, 1953 -
Transgender Christine (nee George) Jorgensen arrived in New York with much fanfare on this date.



She had had sex change operations performed in Denmark by Dr. Christian Hamburger, becoming the first successful surgical transgender. Upon return, she became a cabaret actress.



The excess parts of George went on to become the other half of the famous East German TV Comedy Duo, Gunther and Smeckel.


February 13, 1959 -
Barbara Millicent Roberts, noted American Idol contestant, Ballerina, Fashion model, Movie producer, Movie star, Rock star, Radio City Music Hall Rockette, Aerobics instructor, Olympic gymnast, Olympic figure skater, Tennis star, WNBA basketball player, Dentist, Medical doctor, Nurse, Pediatrician, Surgeon, Veterinarian, United States Army officer, United States President, UNICEF Summit diplomat, Ambassador for world peace, Firefighter, Police officer, Canadian Mountie, Astronaut, Flight Attendant ( for both American Airlines and Pan Am ), NASCAR driver, Pilot, Cowgirl, Chef, Paleontologist, McDonald's Front Desk and Flight Attendant, etc. was introduced by Mattel in California on this date.



What have you done with your life? (There is some debate whether or not today or March 9th is actually her birthday.)


February 13, 1960 -
France conducted its first nuclear test, code-named 'Gerboise Bleue' (Blue Desert Rat). The day marked the beginning of a series of four atmospheric nuclear tests at the Reganne Oasis, in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.



The test also sets France on the path to building the country's nuclear capacity, acquiring nuclear aircraft, missiles and submarines. France is happy to remind it's neighbor, Germany, that she has the bomb and Germany does not.


February 13, 1961 -
Henry Lawrence Garfield (Henry Rollins), singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, stand-up comedian, author, actor, activist and publisher, was born on this date.





And he will mess you up if you don't believe that he is a sensitive soul.


February 13, 1971 -
Vice President Spiro Agnew hit three spectators with two errant golf shots during the Bob Hope Desert Golf Classic tournament, on this date.

Bob Hope had some good quips about the ordeal, including “He did play the last 15 holes in great shape and on the back nine he got a birdie, an eagle, an elk, a moose and a mason."


February 13th, 1983 -
Marvin Gaye sang the National Anthem at the 33rd National Basketball Association All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on this date. Gaye's rendition went on to become one of the most legendary performances of The Star Spangled Banner in sports history.



The performance unconventionally made use of a drum machine. The video of his performance went on to be the first video played during the premiere of VH1 on January 1, 1985.


February 13, 2004 -
Astronomers announced the discovery of the largest "diamond" in the universe on this date. The diamond was actually a white dwarf star which was found to be very similar in composition to a diamond.



It was nicknamed "Lucy" after the Beatles' hit Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.



And so it goes



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