July, 2024

"This Just In..."

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Summer's here. Go away.

Spain, Italy, Canada, Bulgaria, Liechenstein, New Jersey - pick a place and go have some fun.

Yes, everything is expensive.

You could go next summer, but it isn't going to be any less expensive next year. And you'll be older. And slower.

Here are some inspirations to help you decide on your next adventure.

Now go!

I know we missed the running of the bulls in 1953, but there’s another one this year. Let's go!

Happy Birthday America.

Ages of the "founding fathers" on July 4, 1776

Marquis de Lafayette, 18

James Monroe, 18

Gilbert Stuart, 20

Aaron Burr, 20

Alexander Hamilton, 21

Betsy Ross, 24

James Madison, 25

Thomas Jefferson, 33

John Adams, 40

Paul Revere, 41

George Washington, 44

Samuel Adams, 53

Benjamin Franklin, 70

The oldest prominent participant in the Revolution, by a wide margin, was Benjamin Franklin, who was 70 years old on July 4, 1776. Franklin was a full two generations removed from the likes of Madison and Hamilton.

But the oldest participant in the war was Samuel Whittemore, who fought in an early skirmish at the age of 80. I'll let Wikipedia take it from here:

Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols and killed a grenadier and mortally wounded a second.

By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment reached his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked. He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, and left for dead in a pool of blood. He was found alive, trying to load his musket to fight again.

He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who perceived no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore lived another 18 years until dying of natural causes at the age of 98.

Where the heck are we?

Think you know? (Pleeeassee, we made this encounter so easy that we might as well have just given you the answer) tell us here. 

Last month Valerie C and Juan M were two of the 91 of you recognized writer, actor, director, John Huston while Stephen H and John Z and 77 of you recognized Dune’s Rebecca Ferguson. Now it’s your turn.

Or...

Download PDF Here

Mystery Link

If you love your favorite football, baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer, bowling, curling, tiddly-winks superstar – try comparing their efforts with these super human athletes. And…fall in love with the little towns of France in the process. Amazzzzzzing!

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1956, an extraordinary event took place in Venice, Italy, when the famous canals of the city were drained and cleaned for the first time in centuries.

This remarkable undertaking was known as the "Svolte di Popolazio," or the People's Revolution, and it was a massive civic project aimed at improving the sanitation and infrastructure of Venice's historic waterways.

Over the centuries, the canals of Venice had accumulated layers of silt, debris, and waste, leading to unsanitary conditions and posing a threat to the city's architectural heritage.

The decision to drain and clean the canals was made in an effort to address these issues, restore the waterways to their former glory, and preserve Venice's unique cultural and historical identity.

The draining and cleaning of the canals required meticulous planning, coordination, and labor-intensive work by a team of engineers, workers, and volunteers. Water was pumped out of the canals, revealing the muddy bottom and hidden treasures beneath the surface, such as lost artifacts, sunken boats, and centuries-old structures.

As the canals were emptied, the cleanup crews set to work removing tons of sediment, debris, and rubbish that had accumulated over the years. The process involved dredging, scrubbing, and excavating the canals to remove the layers of detritus and restore the waterways to their original depth and clarity.

The draining and cleaning of the canals in 1956 was a monumental effort that captured the attention and admiration of Venetians and visitors alike. The project not only improved the sanitation and aesthetic appeal of the canals but also highlighted the importance of preserving Venice's unique heritage and architectural marvels for future generations to enjoy.

The event symbolized a sense of civic pride, community effort, and commitment to the preservation of Venice's cultural legacy. The draining and cleaning of the canals in 1956 remain a historic moment in the city's history, showcasing the resilience, ingenuity, and enduring beauty of Venice's iconic waterways.

Could Be New York. Tokyo. Paris. Mumbai or...Indyana. Just Go!

Watermelon Vodka Fizz Cocktail

OK, wait.

You don’t have to use Vodka. It is merely a suggestion.

Start with Watermelon. Then add – vodka or prosecco or just ice cold club soda. Mmmmm.

Recipe:

Make the watermelon juice. Put cut up watermelon in a blender and blend until you’re 65.

Then squeeze the smushed watermelon through a fine sieve (we used a tight strainer)

Then combine in a cocktail shaker:

2 oz of watermelon juice

1 ½ ox of vodka – or 2 oz of prosecco – or 3 oz of club soda/seltzer

1 tsp of lime juice

Ice

Shake til your hand freezes.

Pour and enjoy. You could add a sprig of mint (or basil) if you want a bit of fancy.

 “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”

 “I always entertain the notion that I’m wrong, or that I’ll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing.”

 “Luck is not a business model.”

 “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.”

 “Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”

 “Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.”

 “I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.”

 “As you move through this life and this world, you change things slightly; you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life–and travel–leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks–on your body or on your heart–are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”

 “I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.”

 “Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund.”

 “Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom … is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”

 “You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.”

 “The journey is part of the experience – an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca.”

 “I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find a perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary.”

“To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.”

Don’t lie about it. You made a mistake. Admit it and move on. Just don’t do it again.

 “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s OK. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

 “The way you make an omelet reveals your character.”

 “Assume the worst. About everybody. But don’t let this poisoned outlook affect your job performance. Let it all roll off your back. Ignore it. Be amused by what you see and suspect. Just because someone you work with is a miserable, treacherous, self-serving, capricious, and corrupt a-hole shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying their company, working with them, or finding them entertaining.”

 “[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted, and advantages squandered.”

“I wanted kicks – the kind of melodramatic thrills and chills I’d yearned for since childhood, the kind of adventure I found as a little boy in the pages of my Tintin comics.

 “Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards.”

“I’m very type-A, and many things in my life are about control and domination, but eating should be a submissive experience, where you let down your guard and enjoy the ride.”



“I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times.”

Ahhh, the French.

In the last 10 years, Paris has closed 100 streets to cars, removed 50,000 parking spots, tripled parking fees for SUVs, and built more than 800 miles of bike lanes. “Those changes have contributed to a 40% decline in air pollution.”

“How did we achieve this?” Mayor Anne Hidalgo asked in a statement in March. “By assuming a major and radical rupture: the end of car-dependence.”

Paris and other European cities have for years been at the forefront of efforts to reduce car use, though their successes have not come without challenges. The U.S., on the other hand, has been slower to adopt similar reforms.

“For 100 years in the U.S., we have built streets, neighborhoods and cities around cars, and as a result most people live in auto-dependent neighborhoods, and it’s very hard to undo that,” said Nicholas Klein, professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University.

The Evening Star. Caspar David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich was a German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his allegorical landscapes, which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees or Gothic ruins.

His primary interest was the contemplation of nature, and his often symbolic and anti-classical work seeks to convey a subjective, emotional response to the natural world.

Friedrich's paintings characteristically set a human presence in diminished perspective amid expansive landscapes, reducing the figures to a scale that, according to the art historian Christopher John Murray, directs "the viewer's gaze towards their metaphysical dimension”. Much more about his tragic life and about his last painting

here…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_David_Friedrich

(He painted this with one hand after his stroke)

You’re breathing this stuff.

It’s dust, mites, pollen, insects, mice droppings…we could go on, but you get the idea. If you haven’t cleaned your home’s ducts in the last 3-5-omg-10 years it’s time to call Daniels.

 

We’ll bring an experienced crew to clean and seal your ducts so that you can breathe easy.

For those of you who own ductless a/c systems – you need to clean those systems as well. Ever notice this:

This is what happens when your ductless system’s filter clogs. Condensation fills up the unit’s condensation tray with water which can overflow and drip – down your newly painted wall.



It’s a mess and the only way to be sure that it won’t happen is to make sure the system is cleaned properly.

And yes – this is exactly what a Ductless Head Cleaning is all about. So…with ducts or ductless – to keep you’re a/c systems running efficiently – and cleanly – clean them up with Daniels

This is especially important if you have chronic breathing concerns including asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and auto immune issues. 

So call us and Let Daniels Do It!

Call

860 813 9122

I had no idea who this was. Still don’t. You might. If so…tell us here and riches beyond the imagination may arrive at your door. Or maybe just a plastic card worth $25

See bigger image here

Extremely hot summers, the kind that were virtually unheard of decades ago, have become increasingly common.

The graphic above, based on a newly-updated analysis from researchers at Columbia University, shows how, in recent decades, local summer temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere have shifted conspicuously toward higher heat.

Not every summer is hotter today; some areas still see average or colder than average seasons from June through August. But the distribution of summer temperatures has shifted so that many more places endure hot summers more often than they did in the past. And the most drastic change has occurred at the hottest extreme.

Less than 1 percent of summers in the middle of the 20th century were extremely hot for their location, according to the analysis, compared with more than a quarter of summers over the last decade.



Mapping the temperature categories for individual years offers another, more detailed view of how high summer heat has spread around the world and where it has been felt most:

Northern Hemisphere Summers

See bigger image here

This past summer, the hottest on record, shows the toll extreme heat can take. Blistering temperatures helped fuel destructive, deadly wildfires across the Mediterranean. Record highs forced Chinese cities to suspend outdoor work and open emergency cooling centers.

Weeks of triple-digit heat stressed hospitals in the American southwest and led to an increase in heat-related deaths. Hotter summer temperatures affected cold places too, hastening ice melt and threatening permafrost.

“Extreme heat is one of the most direct ways in which we are experiencing the impacts of global warming,” said Deepti Singh, who leads the Climate Extremes Lab at Washington State University.



It’s also one of the clearest signals of how human emissions of greenhouse gasses are changing the planet’s climate, she added. (Like we needed to be reminded after that 5 day heat wave & tornado warnings two weeks ago)

See and read more here.

It’s July. It’s hot. You need some crash blossoms.

Defined as "those train wrecks of newspaper headlines that lead us down the garden path to end up against a wall, scratching our head and wondering what on earth the subeditor might possibly have been thinking."

Some of these depend on noun/verb equivalents, others on misplaced modifiers, etc. All can be called ";infelicitously worded" headlines. Most may be contrived rather than historically real, but there are still

quite a few enjoyable ones. Boldfaced some favorites:

Blind Bishop Appointed To See

L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal by Landslide

Patient At Death's Door - Doctors Pull Him Through

Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped

Fund Set Up for Beating Victim's Kin

Never Withhold Herpes Infection From Loved One

Autos Killing 110 a Day - Let's Resolve to Do Better

Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn't Seen in Years

Flaming Toilet Seat Causes Evacuation at High School

Defendants Speech Ends in Long Sentence

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Stiff Opposition Expected to Casketless Funeral Plan

Collegians are Turning to Vegetables

Quarter of a Million Chinese Live on Water

Farmer Bill Dies in House

Eye Drops off Shelf

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing

Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni

Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training

4-H Girls Win Prizes for Fat Calves

After Detour to California Shuttle Returns to Earth

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood

Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board

British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands

British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply

Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy

Child's Death Ruins Couple's Holiday

Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case

Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax

Heat Wave Linked to Temperatures

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors 

Include your Children When Baking Cookies

Infertility Unlikely To Be Passed On

Jerk Injures Neck, Wins Award

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

Lack of Brains Hinders Research 

Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees

Lawyer Says Client is Not That Guilty

Legislator Wants Tougher Death Penalty

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms

Man Jumps Off Bridge. Neither Jumper nor Body Found

Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing

Milk Drinkers are Turning to Powder

New Vaccine may Contain Rabies

Official: Only Rain Will Cure Drought

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

Putting Mattress On Floor Prevents Fall From Bed

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge

Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted

Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim

Stolen Painting Found by Tree

Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link

Teenage Girls Often Have Babies Fathered by Men

Two Convicts Evade Noose, Jury Hung

Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies

War Dims Hope for Peace

Woman Improving After Fatal Crash