Sunday, February 13, 2022

I hear that there is a game going on tonight

Some of you may actually be watching the Super Bowl later today. According to the Hass Avocado Board, more than 58 million pounds of avocados were shipped into the U.S. last week. The price of a 20-pound box of avocados from the state of Michoacan in Mexico — the country’s largest exporter of the fruit — was $26.23 as of February 3. That’s about $6.29 more expensive than it was this same time last year. Approximately 26.2 million individual avocados – are sold in preparation just for the game. To shovel that guac into gaping maws, the sale of tortilla chips rose 26.5 percent during Super Bowl week when compared to the week before.



This year, the National Chicken Council predicts that folks will wolf down more than 1.42 billion wings during this year's Super Bowl, which is about even with last years sales. To put that in visual terms — 1.4 billion wings laid end to end would circle the circumference of Earth 3 times.



Americans will be washing down those snacks by drinking 204.8 million barrels of beer this past year.



Super Bowl LV was played on February 7, 2021 and broadcast by CBS in the U.S., was watched by more than 91.63 million viewers in the United States, slightly down from Super Bowl LIV numbers (Nielson rating were down during the halftime show due to the lack of guest performers and the poor audio mixing.) Approximately 16.1 million people called in 'sick' to work the day after the Super Bowl, (of that number, about 8.8 million employees took a pre-approved personal day/PTO).



An easy fix for this problem is moving the Super Bowl to the Sunday before Presidents Day so the day after the game would be a national holiday.

Enjoy the game


Today is the 13th day of the Lunar New Year. All of the festival food should probably be done by now. Most people just want to eat something simple on this day. Some people eat vegetarian foods to cleanse their digestive system (remember yesterday was Diarrhea day.) This day is dedicated to the General Guan Yu.



Guan Yu was born in the Three Kingdom period, (211-263 AD), after late Han Dynasty and is considered the greatest general in Chinese history. He represents loyalty, strength, truth, and justice. According to history, he was tricked by the enemy and was beheaded on this date. Some people will visit the temple of General Guan to pray for safety and money luck. Some treat General Guan as a God of Wealth. This is because General Guan won hundreds of battles and business people want to win the battle on the business deals.



It case you haven't done so yet, I can think of no better way for you to have luck today than sending me a hongbao brimming with cash.


World Radio Day which raises awareness about the importance of radio and strengthens networking among broadcasters and listeners. Now in its tenth year, the celebration is bigger than ever. In 2022 the theme for this year's World Radio Day is "Radio and Trust".








Created by UNESCO, World Radio Day was first celebrated in 2012, following its declaration by the UNESCO General Conference. It was subsequently adopted as an International Day by the United Nations General Assembly.


It's also National Tortellini Day



And it has something to do with Venus di Milo's belly button


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 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.


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



The character of Sally Bowles was based on Jean Ross, an aspiring actress, singer, and writer who had an abortion while working as a cabaret singer in Weimar Berlin. Ross was displeased with Christopher Isherwood's portrayal of her as apolitical and antisemitic. She was a member of the Communist Party and later was a war correspondent in the Spanish Civil War. Her partner in the late 1930s was Claud Cockburn, the father of journalist Alexander Cockburn, who described her as "a gentle, cultivated, and very beautiful woman, not a bit like the vulgar vamp displayed by Liza Minnelli." Claud Cockburn's granddaughter is actress Olivia Wilde.


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.


Another book from the back shelves of the ACME Library


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 -
Transsexual 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, 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



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

17897 Peanuts comic strips, indeed