Posts tagged ‘Holidays’
So, in reverence to a good pirate friend who flies the Jolly Roger over on the RTTC Bounty, I pillaged the iTunes Store for the Pirate Insult Generator and set about cursing a foul wind to fill me sails …
I have never been good at memorization. I have tried lots of methods and most of them work enough to get me through what ever the current crisis. So my hat is off to Miss Ryan who pulled up her bootstraps and did what her daddy asked, “memorize the order of the Presidents of the United States for Father?s Day”.
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS
Genevieve Madeline Ryan
click for mp3, video, and lyrics
America?s president number one, Founding Father Washington.
John Adams, second president,The very first White House resident.
Thomas Jefferson, number three, Doubled the size of our country.
Then James Madison, number four,Led us through the English war.
James Monroe is number five, His Monroe Doctrine still survives.
Another Adams, John Quincy,Rose to the sixth presidency.
Seven, Andrew Jackson, Was a frontier common man.
Number eight, Van Buren, First president born an ?American.?
Harrison, nine, passed away,One month after Inaugural Day.
President Tyler, number ten, Ended the war with the Indians.
James K. Polk, eleven,Looked to western expansion.
Taylor, twelve, of the army,Nicknamed ?Rough and Ready.?
Thirteen, Fillmore, in his eyes, Best for all was a compromise.
Fourteen, Franklin Pierce is here, The Civil War is drawing near.
James Buchanan, fifteen, The one bach?lor we?ve ever seen.
Sixteen, Lincoln, ?Honest Abe,?Signed the law that freed the slaves.
Seventeen, Andrew Johnson,Started Reconstruction.
Eighteen, Union General Grant, Had led his troops with good judgment.
Nineteen, President R.B. Hayes,Pursued the South in many ways.
Garfield, number twenty, Killed while in his presidency.
Chester Arthur, twenty one,Sought reform and got it done.
Grover Cleveland, twenty two,Remember him ?cause he?s not through.
Twenty three, Harrison, comes again,It?s William?s grandson, Benjamin.
Grover Cleveland, twenty four, Ran for the White House, elected once more.
Here?s McKinley, twenty five,The Twentieth Century had arrived.
Teddy Roosevelt, twenty six, ?Speak softly and carry a big stick!?
Twenty seven, Taft we see,Biggest man in the presidency.
Woodrow Wilson, twenty eight, Thought a League of Nations was great.
Twenty nine, Harding, Post-World War One,?Normalcy? promised to everyone.
Calvin Coolidge, thirty,Taught one and all frugality.
Herbert Hoover, thirty one,Oh no! The Depression had begun.
Franklin Roosevelt, thirty two,With his ?New Deal? the country grew.
Harry Truman, thirty three,Won with atomic energy.
Eisenhower, thirty four,Commanded in the Second World War.
Thirty fve, John Kennedy, Assassinated in sixty three.
Thirty six, Johnson, Lyndon B., He declared a ?War on Poverty.?
Thirty seven, Nixon went far, Opening China and the U.S.S.R.
Gerald R. Ford, thirty eight, Moved the nation forward past Watergate.
Thirty nine, with all his might, Carter fought for human rights.
Reagan, forty, from the West,Taught the world that freedom?s best.
Bush, forty one, showed solid form,Freed a nation in ?Desert Storm.?
Forty two, Bill Clinton, President through the Millennium.
George W. Bush, number forty three, Strengthened Homeland Security.
First to be elected of African descent,Obama our Forty-Fourth President.
Yesterday came and went with very little fan fare. This blog’s log changed but without announcement. I don’t know who actually noticed. What was it all about ?
September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. To recognize this “art form” the following logo was posted for one day only …
Today’s logo is brought to you by the number “6″ … as is 6-6 or June 6, 1952.
I was looking for something to write and Harvey popped out of a Google Search. So, here is to Harvey Firestein, “Happy Birthday” !
While most remember his performance in Mrs. Doubtfire, I think some of Mr. Firestein’s best contribution to the arts include Torch Song Trilogy, and La Cage aux Folles. I am curious to see his performance in Hairspray.
At first blush, Harvey would not be your most likely “superstar”. His does not have the build of Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford and his voice is as unique as it is purposed. So, he may not be the most common first choice for many roles. Fortunately, Broadway is less narrow minded as Hollywood.
So, “happy birthday” Harvey. You provide entertainment, education, and opportunity. Thanks !
“When is dinner ?” – this is not a request to be invited over for food, although, if you are a good cook, have an extra chair, and are somewhat regionally located, I would be happy to assume that definition. No, this has to do with the growing ambiguity of the definition of “dinner”.
Today is St. Patrick’s day. Yesterday, the local (and only) Irish pub, was conspicuously open for “dinner” in and extended celebration. (They are usually closed on Sunday and Monday but with the Irish event falling on the latter, there was no way they’d be closed so the added the former event to fill in the calendar.) The menu was a few of their regular Irish dishes plus the addition of corned beef and cabbage, which as Mr. O’Grady, a plethora of knowledge and scholar on all most things Irish, points out is not Irish but rather from New England. However, being a Down Easter myself, I have fond childhood memories of the boiled dinner and wanted to spend some time with friends.
“What time are you serving?” I asked on Saturday. “Dinner time.” was the reply. I was confused and so I asked for some clarification, but apparently not quite enough. “Is that the ‘Midevil English’ definition of dinner or ‘latter day England’ time?”; I asked. “It’s when ever you show up.”; was the reply. I was still confused but took it to mean they were open all day. Oops. They were open from 10am until 2pm. I missed them by 20 minutes. They did let me stay for a pint before they closed the doors.
It turns out, I was not completely wrong, at least not according to Emily Post, whom I regard as a staple for all things related to etiquette, inclusive of the proper way to set a table when there are three forks, two each of spoons and knives, at least two plates, a bowl and three glasses for each seating. But that is a different discussion. As Ms Post writes in her book, Etiquette:
In the 1945 edition of Etiquette, Emily Post still referred to luncheon as “generally given by and for women, but it is not unusual, especially in summer places or in town on Saturday or Sunday, to include an equal number of men.” She also referred to supper as “the most intimate meal there is…none but family or nearest friends are ever included. By the 1945 edition, she had to explain that luncheon was an informal midday meal and supper an informal evening meal, while dinner was always formal, but could occur at midday or evening.
So there you have it. I was vindicated by none other than Emily Post. Dinner could occur at midday or evening!
Of course, any good Irishman would still point out “that doesn’t put food in your belly” and they’d be right. Fortunately I have a kitchen and a pantry and a rough way with the pots and pans to combine the two. I enjoyed poached eggs over steak hash and a Boddingtons. If the Irish won’t have me at dinner, I’ll make do at home. Neither of us holds a grudge so I’ll be wearing my hat at the pub this evening <grin>
The timing could not have been more perfect …
Conventional approaches to flexibility, such as flextime, don’t help time-zone warriors very much … Instead, they need ways to regain control over their time. … being explicit about personal commitments when they intervene, says Tess Mateo, Wyckoff, N.J., a director in the CEO’s office at PricewaterhouseCoopers. After an early-morning conference call last week with eight co-workers in six time zones, she told co-workers she’d be unavailable for two hours of family time.
In offices of old, “you’d never tell anyone, ‘I have to feed the kids now so please don’t return my call,’” she says. “Now, you can say those things.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
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