Friday Follies...

End of another week, and the start of another weekend...how DO we manage to survive all this?
The weather in the Hoosierland will be most cooperative as well...temps into the lower 80s, lots of sunshine and no (real) hint of rain in the immediate forecast.
Later this weekend will be another story...for another day.
In the meantime, let's grab a cup (or two) of our favorite morning beverage and see how the world's doing, shall we?
*** First out of the haystack is our daily sojourn into "What the hell happened today, Bob?"
August 8:
1709 – Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal (and we know how well this works in POLITICS)
1863 – American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).

1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
1908 – Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.
1918 – World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).

A forerunner to the Hindenberg

1929 – The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.

B-36 at Carswell AFB -1948 - WAY larger than the B-29

1946 – First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.
1963 – Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.

Who "buried" Paul?

1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the photo that becomes the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road. (and it's still a damn good album)

A drop in the bucket compared to the current leader.

1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
1990 – Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

2000 – Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.

2008 – Opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Notable Birthdays:
1879 – Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)
1919 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (d. 2010)

I'd swim with her any time.

1921 – Esther Williams, American swimmer, actress, and singer (d. 2013)
1922 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1926 – Richard Anderson, American actor (Oscar Goldman in The Six Million Dollar Man)

1932 – Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Old Dogs)
1935 – Donald P. Bellisario, American director, producer, and screenwriter

And we're BOTH the SAME height.

1937 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor, singer, and producer

Now THAT'S "hotness"

1938 – Connie Stevens, American actress, singer, director, and producer
1944 – Brooke Bundy, American actress

From those "glory days".

1947 – Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
1947 – Larry Wilcox, American actor (CHIPS)
1949 – Keith Carradine, American actor and singer
1953 – Don Most, American actor and director (Happy Days)

The ONLY reason to watch Inside Edition.

1958 – Deborah Norville, American journalist
1961 – The Edge, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (U2)
And...in case you missed it, it's Farmer’s Day or Nane Nane, Swahili for "8-8". (Tanzania)
So now YOU know a helluva lot more than the person sitting NEXT to you at any stoplight...LOL.
*** Next up, another tale of INJUSTICE from the Summit City.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140808/LOCAL03/308089940

And ROT in jail, you LOSER!

I'm not going to go into all the details of this...let's just say that when you read the story, you will know without a doubt how these animals roam our streets with absolutely NO regard for the lives of others.
And, as is always the case, the innocent people get the shaft.
*** Now when you go bowling, I'll bet THIS never happens:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140808/LOCAL07/308089993/1043/LOCAL07

Beware of flying balls!

Yeah, when tossing a BEER CAN doesn't get the attention of a significant ex-other, try tossing a BOWLING BALL.
The perp, one 41-year old Leonard L. Suggs then began hitting the woman at the THUNDERBOWL facility, located at 6700 Lafayette St (on the city's SOUTHEAST SIDE Sunday night around 2130 hrs.

Lemme see what would make it 20 feet to her head...

The woman wanted to avoid the man, who she said would become unruly when intoxicated...
YA THINK???
I mean whenever I or my friends wanted to get sh*t-faced, we ALWAYS headed to the damn bowling alleys...doesn't EVERYONE?
(just kidding...my bowling average is in itself a "crime"...lol)
Those types of PUBLIC displays of blatant stupidity, fueled by "liquid courage" demonstrate  the penchant for chaos that many of these people choose to pursue with abandon...the SAME kinda crap that gets people (like in the previous story) shot...or killed.

Isn't THAT the TRUTH?

Granted, there will ALWAYS be abusers of any damn thing that comes down the pike, and maybe someone needs to monitor such behavior, for the sake of everyone else.
I mean they DO have programs in place to address such things, so why have it escalate to a scenario like either one of the  above?

Let's face  facts... there are SOME folks who cannot handle freedom and liberty (as well as normal people) without becoming a total and chronic DUMBASS somewhere along the way.
*** Last back to the woodshed...I watched the interview between Sean Hannity and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and it was one of the best and most candid interviews I've seen a quite some time.

Then, there was more of a tour of the "old city" in Jerusalem, and that was something to behold...love to go there some day...and not be targeted by some radical asshole Islamic minority.
And that gets me thinking...WHY bust on the Jews in the first place?
What the hell have they ever done to deserve such treatment not JUST by radical Islam, but all the other sh*theaded anti-semites?

Jerusalem - the old city

Ever since the creation of the state of Israel (slightly smaller than New Jersey, geographically-speaking), it's been one damn thing after another for them.
And before that, things were even worse with the Holocaust (that some buttwipes claim never happened), and various other nations claiming the lands that were originally given to "God's People"...history tells us as much, and we need to read up on it.

UH-OH...but in a GOOD way.

That also applies to our OWN history in THIS country...knowing WHAT took place, WHO was involved, and WHY it happened.
We will be the recipients of a repetitive series of events unless we LEARN from history, so as not to repeat it, right?
I think that's as good a guidepost as we can see these days, and if we can't see it, we should LOOK for it.
And that's the truth...plain and simple.
DO have yourselves a great weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.