Friday Follies - Another Notch On The Grip Edition...

Welcome to week's end...and a quite SOGGY one at that.
Sure is nice to NOT be awakened by boomcars at 0400 hrs...BUT it's not all that nice to be awakened by THUNDERSTORMS at 0400 hrs either.
Just can't win sometimes...but still we do press on.
The rest of today will be...WET (for the most part), and that "red sky" I'm seeing this AM would bear that much out (sailor take warning, hmm?).
The high today will be in the UPPER 80s, and with the rain, you KNOW the humidity will be around 100%...heh.
Keep the A/C on standby, so your inside won't feel like the outside.
And, while we're at it, lets get that morning cup of fortitude poured as we take a look into what else has been transpiring.
*** First out of the bakery today is our month long "homage" to the events and people that made news...and have been all but forgotten over time, otherwise known as:
"What the hell happened today, Bob?"
August 22:
564 – Columba reports seeing a monster in Loch Ness, Scotland.

See? Those "other" Brits are over THERE.

1642 – Charles I calls the English Parliament traitors. The English Civil War begins.
1654 – Jacob Barsimson arrives in New Amsterdam. He is the first known Jewish immigrant to America.
1780 – James Cook's ship HMS Resolution returns to England (Cook having been killed on Hawaii during the voyage).

1864 - International Red Cross forms
1848 – The United States annexes New Mexico.
1851 – The first America's Cup is won by the yacht America.
1864 – Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention.

Not exactly a CTS

1902 – Cadillac Motor Company is founded.
1902 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to ride in an automobile. (wonder if it was a CADILLAC?)
1932 – The BBC first experiments with television broadcasting.

1941 – World War II: German troops reach Leningrad, leading to the siege of Leningrad.
1950 – Althea Gibson becomes the first black competitor in international tennis.

Closed...due to lack of justice?

1952 – The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed.

That's one FAST sum'bitch!

1963 – American Joe Walker in an X-15 test plane reaches an altitude of 106 km (66 mi).

That's FIVE thousand, folks!

1989 – Nolan Ryan strikes out Rickey Henderson to become the first Major League Baseball pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts. 
1996 – Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, representing major shift in US welfare policy

2004 – Versions of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.
2007 – The Texas Rangers rout the Baltimore Orioles 30–3, the most runs scored by a team in modern MLB history.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS:

1862 – Claude Debussy, French composer (d. 1918)
1893 – Dorothy Parker, American poet and author (d. 1967)
1920 – Ray Bradbury, American author (d. 2012)

MMMmmmm

1925 – Honor Blackman, English actress and singer

Stormin' Norman...we miss you, sir.

1934 – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general (d. 2012)
1939 – Valerie Harper, American actress and singer
1947 – Cindy Williams, American actress, singer, and producer

It's a neighborhood thing

1952 -- Bobby G, Renaissance man, and resident southside cuirmudgeon

Yummmmm!

1970 – Giada De Laurentiis, Italian-American chef and author

Not too bad, either.

1983 – Laura Breckenridge, American actress

Ah, sooooo

1986 – Keiko Kitagawa, Japanese actress
And, it's the earliest day that National Heroes Day can fall (28 August is the latest)
Celebrated usually on the 4th Monday in August (Phillipines)
And now you know more than everyone in the White House.
Meanwhile, back in the PRESENT...
*** There was a pretty good OP-ED in today's paper regarding police and the procedures they follow, as well as what YOU should do as an average citizen.
Here's the link to the source column in the Washington (com)Post
:http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/19/im-a-cop-if-you-dont-want-to-get-hurt-dont-challenge-me/

We need a thicker blue line.

It pretty much spells things out and tells the thin blue line side of dealing with "the public"
Here is an excerpt that says it all:
(( "Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?" ))
In my opinion, a similar take should be levied towards ALL people...call it a "mutual respect" thing...something we've seemed to have forgotten lately.
Rolling on...
*** And speaking of RESPECT, there's this story that clearly demonstrates the LACK of it towards law-enforcement:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140822/LOCAL07/308229993

Southbridge Apartments

Heard this call on the radio...initially a standoff after a domestic at the Southbridge Apartments (down near the PSA and Southtown Crossing), and it apparently turned into a "runaway" after being in custody at a local hospital (for observation).
It ended after he was pulled from the river near the hospital.

Bet that water's cold, Bub!

Bet it was fun to see officers on the shore watching this guy TRY and get away...(wasn't gonna happen).
Hell, I'd be on the bank there shouting "You tired yet, son? You sure LOOK tired. None of us are tired as you are."
Anyway, the perp gets RE-captured and taken back to hospital, and when released will be in custody for ALL the crap he created from BOTH calls.
((...dumbass...))
*** Next up, yes, today IS another birthday for me...my 62nd if anyone is keeping track.

Mr Wrinkles BOUGHT that cupcake.

I prefer to call it the 22nd anniversary of my 40th birthday, because, as everyone seems to say "Life begins at 40",

So that would make me 22 (in dog years, I'm still dead...heh)

In "Time-Lord" years, I'm still crapping my diapers...lol.
Please tell my body that the age thing shouldn't matter, because it doesn't believe me.
And, although I never put much stock in horoscopes (talk about ambiguous on any given day), there are some "traits" they mention that I'd like to share along with MY take on them, true or false.

-- Leos born on August 22 are thoroughbreds. 
(feel more like a damn plow horse)
They have good looks, personal charm, and plenty of class. 
There is a certain instability in their personality that makes them intriguing. 
High-strung and somewhat nervous, they thrive on attention.
(Okay,  not in the good-looking category, Charm? Maybe on a half-decent day, and I don't thrive on attention...like to keep to myself as much as possible)

-- According to the 22 August birthday horoscope, friends and family of this Leo usually are devoted individuals. You do not hang around many people as you are not inclined to be sociable. You typically don’t smile at everyone you meet. 
Actually, you do not trust people and that can keep you at arms distance with a stranger.
(  Trust has to be EARNED in my book - and I do have people skills - I just don't have IDIOT skills...lol. No time for them. Friends...agreed.)

-- The 22 August birthdate astrology predicts that an accident is waiting to happen. 
(and you're telling me this WHY???)
You have a tendency to suffer with back pain or problem knees. You do not have to be old to have arthritis so it is never too early to start preventive measures.
( Definitely back, knees, and arthritis issues...NOW they tell me)

-- August 22 natives need to come to grips with their own talents and abilities. They can benefit from the help and direction of a mentor who steers them during the early part of their career. Money management is not their strong suit. These people have a hard timekeeping track of their spending habits.
( Talents and abilities can be learned at any age - had my share of mentors...great people, all of them, and I ALWAYS look for "bargains".)
There 'ya go...me in a nutshell...sorta, kinda.
*** Last back to the barn this week...another year older...another year wiser.
At least that's what I always hope for.
And, we but turn another page in the story that is our life.

I admit that some chapters are better than others, and worth a second read-through. Then, there are thiose chapters you want to gloss the hell over.
But, every breath becomes another "pen-stroke" in the tome, doesn't it?
Yes, there are times also when we wish we had a gallon of "white-out", or maybe a huge gum eraser, but looking back, it hasn't been that bad a trip...
Coulda been a helluva lot worse, and for that alone, I am very thankful.
So, all of you have a great weekend.

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