A trusted source has informed me that current and all-time Jeopardy! champion, James Holzhauer, is half-Asian and I should consider him for entry to BagOfNothing’s unkempt Half-Asian Hall of Fame. I guess it’s been a good year for the half-Asian, first with Tiger and now with Holzhauer. This doesn’t make me happy because now I feel pressured to actually succeed in something.
If you are a married contestant on Wheel of Fortune I guess you are obligated to mention your spouse and/or family and describe them in overtly affectionate tones.
In case you ever wondered who was the “Dewey” in the Dewey Decimal system, it’s Melvil Dewey, not George Dewey, the only officer of the US Navy ever to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy
I thought it was a historical fact that George Washington was posthumously appointed a six-star general so that he’d never be outranked. Close, but not quite:
In 1976, as part of commemorations for the US Bicentennial, General George Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States. Although the law did not actually specify the number of stars, some U.S. newspapers and Members of Congress described this as a six-star rank.
Here’s a bit more info on Washington and his Army rank, which surprised me. I notably left out Pershing stuff for brevity.
When Washington actually served in the army, he was a merely a major general—two stars. After his presidency, John Adams promoted him to lieutenant general—three stars. It stayed that way for centuries, with every four- and five-star general who came afterward outranking him.
I’m taking WifeGeeding to Hamilton tonight. I thought I should study a bit about early U.S. history to be better aquatinted with the story and performance but got lost in reading about the duel he had with Vice President Aaron Burr.
The duel took place in New Jersey but Hamilton actually died in Manhatten. While dueling was illegal in both states, the laws were a bit less strict in Jersey.
I remember being in NYC for a college class and we visited some place associated with the duel. Our guide was a pretty young woman, perhaps fresh out of college, and asked if we had any questions. I simply asked, “What was the duel about?” She turned red and bashfully remarked she didn’t know. Interestingly enough, no other adult or student knew either, but all U.S. history scholars know it was over Miller Light and whether it’s less filling or tastes great.
The duel took place during the last full year of Burr’s single term as vice president. That’s such a crazy U.S. fact, an acting Vice President shot and killed someone. Burr was charged with multiple crimes, including murder, in New York and New Jersey, but was never tried in either jurisdiction. He fled to South Carolina, where his daughter lived with her family, but soon returned to Philadelphia and then to Washington to complete his term as vice president in 1805. Unrelated to the duel, he was arrested on charges of treason in 1807. The subsequent trial resulted in acquittal,
Coincidentally, the duel took place relatively close to the location of the duel that had ended the life of Hamilton’s eldest son, Philip, three years earlier.
Burr’s Wikipedia page states Episcopal Bishop Benjamin Moore baptized Hamilton the day before he died, but I’ve read other accounts it was communion.
In 2004, for the duel’s bicentennial anniversary, kin of Burr and Hamilton held a re-enactment of the duel, near the Hudson River. In the re-enactment, Douglas Hamilton, fifth-great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, faced Antonio Burr, a descendant of Aaron Burr’s cousin. More than 1,000 people attended the re-enactment, including an estimated 60 descendants of Hamilton and 40 members of the Aaron Burr Association.
I totally forgot about this fantastic “Got Milk?” commercial, and I loved how it was recreated years later with the actor who portrayed Burr in Hamilton.
Those are my grandparents. I’m guessing the photo was taken in the early Sixties.
I don’t think I’ve tasted no more than a dozen different cheeses. Those of which I know I’ve tried are American, cheddar, Swiss, provolone, white American, mozzarella, Monterey jack, blue, and feta.
James Madison High School will turn away parents if they show up at the school wearing bonnets, pajamas, hair rollers or leggings, among other clothing items, according to a memo signed by the school’s new principal, Carlotta Outley Brown.
Sure, this looks like a regular house in Buda, TX, but it’s the interior which is the real seller.
I have many, many ‘Game of Thrones’ theories and prognostications, but I shall only share one for today – The Mountain will defeat The Hound; however, Sir Brienne of Tarth will defeat The Mountain.
The amount of time I’ve spent in the last two weeks reading various Wikis on ‘Games of Thrones’ would stagger you. It’s a wormhole which pulls me in. I read about one entry which causes me to open tabs for other entries and tabs on those entries and the next thing I know I have over 20 tabs opened which I’ll probably never get to.
1929 – Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ed Asner were all born in the same year.
Carl Mayer, nephew of the company’s namesake, created the first Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in 1936. In the years since, more than a dozen Wienermobiles have promoted the brand at stores, parades and festivals. Spokesman George Molchan, playing the character “Little Oscar,” traveled with the Wienermobile from 1951 to 1987. Today the vehicles are accompanied by college interns known as “hotdoggers.”
I looked through the other postcards my father sent his parents when he was stationed overseas and the only one dated was the one I posted yesterday. However, one is postmarked on January 1, 19-sixty-something. I may post the rest sometime in the future.
Speaking of my father’s parents, his mother died 33 years ago today. No need to offer any condolences, it’s been 33 years. She’s buried in the cemetery between Mineral Wells and Weatherford.
For the few folks who care about the Mineral Wells comments yesterday:
I’m surprised but happy to hear Wilmer Crum is still alive. I can’t name another Wilmer.
The Wilmer Crum building I was referring to was on one of the northern blocks of Highway 180 and NE 40th Ave. I remember the top front of the building was blue, possibly made of sheet metal, and “Wilmer Crum” was in big white letters.
I remember the car dealership across from the country club as Barnett Motors. I attended high school with the owner’s son. There’s no telling how many different names that car dealership has been through.
When my father was teaching me to drive, I use to chauffeur him to and fro Weatherford and Fort Worth. One little lesson which has stuck in my mind is to move to the left lane of the highway as we near the brick plant to avoid any cars slowing down to take a right onto the base. Sure, the base was closed for decades at that point, but he still preferred me to get in that other lane and I didn’t want to risk any potential driving opportunities.
ABC has a new show which is basically a reboot of ‘Green Acres’ called ‘Bless This Mess’. The network runs a lot of commercials for it and for the longest time I thought Amanda Peet was the actress in the show, but it’s actually Lake Bell.
Officially, Honore’s job is to assess the damage caused by the fire for the purpose of insurance claims. But to perform that role properly, he must understand the value of the art himself and assemble a team of artisans to help with the restoration.
Yet he had little time to contemplate the pain. As firefighters worked to stop the blaze, Honore was already assembling a team of 30 specialists in sculpture, stained glass, fabrics, painting, frames, ancient instruments, and more. These are the people who will work on assessing the state of the Treasure and restoring the cathedral’s damaged altar.
According to the date on that postcard, my father wrote that message 59-years ago yesterday. The address on the postcard doesn’t pull up anything on GoogleMaps, so I’m assuming that house no longer exists. I think it was a house that used to be located at the now-closed Fort (formerly Camp) Wolters.
Here’s a picture of BoyGeeding and DaughterGeeding working together to retrieve an Easter egg just out of reach.
