Given I substituted the regular Monday Morning Entertainment for a bunch of trivia threw some for a loop, but sometimes it’s all about timing. Therefore, this is the Tuesday edition of Monday Morning Entertainment.
Cincinnati is getting a dose of warmer weather this week, so it looks as if the upcoming rain will melt much of the snow. Although I can’t imagine that winter is over, the upcoming muddy and slushy mess will be a welcomed change.
Celebrations for your calendar
(Week) Wildlife Week, Nestbox Week, Poison Prevention Week, Condom Week, Through with the Chew Week, Date Week (the fruit)
(Tues) Thumb Appreciation Day, Battery Day, Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day, Pluto Day, Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day
(Thurs) Love Your Pet Day, Hoodie Hoo Day (northern hemisphere), Day for Social Justice, Clean Out Your Bookcases Day, Toothpick Day, Cherry Pie Day
I know gymnastics and basketball are Summer Olympic competitions, but with the Winter Olympics from Sochi currently in progress, here’s a head-shaker to start your week. Have a good rest of the week.
It’s all the same: Sixty-one, Soixante et un, Sessanta uno, Einundsechzig, Kuusikymmentä yksi, Šedesát jedna, and Το εξήντα-ένα
In Entertainment
61*, a 2001 baseball movie directed by Billy Crystal
Highway 61 is a 1991 film set on U.S. Route 61
The number of points required to win a “standard” game of Cribbage
61A is the London address of Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) and Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) in Dial M for Murder
61st Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009
Now 61, a musical collection in the UK, was released on 25 July, 2005
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the most awards at the 61st Golden Globes
The 61st Tony Awards awarded to top awards to The Coast of Utopia, Journey’s End, Spring Awakening, and Company
Channel 61 is a television station in Davenport (Iowa), Los Angeles, Cleveland, Harford (CT), New Orleans, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, New Zealand, Cikarang (Indonesia), and Venezuela
In Music
Highway 61 Revisited is a Bob Dylan album
The Highway 61 Blues Festival occurs annually in Leland, Mississippi
61/49 is an album by The Romantics
Joseph Haydn composed Symphony No. 61 in D major
In Literature
61 Hours, written by Lee Childs, is part of the Jack Reacher series
Sixty-One Nails is a book by Mike Shevdon
In Mathematics
The 18th prime number, a cuban prime, a Pillai prime, the ninth Mersenne prime exponent, a Keith number a centered hexagonal number, a centered decagonal number, the sixth Euler zigzag number
The only base-14 prime number with a 6-digit period
Center Returning is Hexagram 61 of the Book of Changes
Divisible by 1, 61, and 8! + 1
In Science
On the Periodic Table, promethium has the atomic number 61, which means its neural atom has 61 protons and 61 electrons … A Jeopardy Extra – promethium do not have any stable isotopes
mir-61 microRNA is a short RNA molecule functioning to regulate the expression levels of other genes by several mechanisms
Nickel-61 is the nickel atom’s only stable isotope
In Space
Messier object M61 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo
The New General Catalogue (NGC) object 61 is a double spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces
Saros series 61 lasted 1262.1 years and contained 71 solar eclipses
61 Ursae Majoris is located about 31.1 light-years from Sol
STS-61, involving the space shuttle Endeavor, was the first mission to service the Hubble Telescope (launched 2 December 1992)
In World History
Year 61 CDE
Assyrian calendar year 4811, Buddhist calendar year 605, Korean calendar year 2394
Pliny the Younger born
Year 61 BC
Hebrew calendar 3700-3791, Thai solar calendar year 483, Holocene calendar year 9940
Prince Ptolemy born, later to become Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII
In US History
The 61st US Congress served from 1909-1911 with President William Howard Taft
Federalist No. 61, written by Alexander Hamilton, is the last of 3 essays about the power of Congress has in electing its members
In Geography
U.S. Route 61 is the highway that inspired so much attention on “Highway 61”
1 Liberty Place is Philadelphia’s tallest building at 61 stories
US Route 61 covers 1,400 miles (2,300 km) connecting New Orleans, Louisiana and Wyoming, Minnesota while following the Mississippi River – which also has this popular yard sale
Antler No. 61 is a very small town in rural Saskatchewan
61 North Parallel crosses Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, United States, Canada, and Greenland
61st Parallel South does not cross any land
61 Meridian West Greenland, Canada, Martinique, Santa Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands
61 Meridian East crosses Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
In Sports
New York Yankees Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961, which brought an asterisk to the record book (hence the movie 61 *)
Pitching greats Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver each had 61 career shutouts
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky holds or shares 61 NHL records (40 for regular season, 15 for Stanley Cup playoff and 6 for All-Star Games)
Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor set a record for 61 points in a NBA finals game against the Boston Celtics (April 14, 1962)
The Ottawa Rough Riders defeated Edmonton Eskimos for the 61st Grey Cup title (1973)
Rotation, a variation of pool, is sometimes called 61
Richie Evans’ NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car number was 61
Bill George (Chicago Bears) is the only #61 professional US sports jersey retired
In 229 NASCA races, #61 never earned the pole position, never won a race, and finished in the top five only 5 times
Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Service code defines gross income
SixtyOne is a WordPress theme
For those who need to know, celebrations for today
My Way Day
Who Shall I Be Day
Human Spirit Day
Random Acts of Kindness Day
Café au Lait Day
Crab Races Day
I didn’t plan this post, arising early on this Saturday morning is a good opportunity for some random thoughts in the spirit of the potpourri portion of Opinions in the Shorts.
This is actually the stimulus for these random thoughts. Let’s face it, everyone has different posting schedules … so I use notifications to let me know when certain random bloggers post. I’ve suddenly stopped receiving email notifications of many of your posts. Is anyone currently experiencing the same problem? Any suggestions?
Juggling numerous tasks associated with both ends of the upcoming move has taken a huge bit out of my blogging time. With less time to visit and write, special thanks to the faithful who continue to stop by here while knowing my visits are limited … and oh the agony of also not keeping up with new visitors.
NBC’s Olympic coverage drives me crazy because I hate the way the network manipulates the schedule to their benefit. After all, I was counting on watching the US-Russia men’s hockey game this morning, but oh no … it’s on a premium channel!
Because I can’t watch the hockey, guess I’ll shovel the latest snow. Darn, I don’t have this nifty toy.
For those who missed Jay Leno’s last monologue, here it is. My favorite part is about the politicians, so forward to 5:00. Have a good rest of the weekend.
On Politics
Cheers to the Congressional Republicans who voted with the Democrats to extend the debt ceiling. Then again, that doesn’t stop me from dreaming of the day when Congress abandons the debt ceiling, which is nothing more than a political tool.
The White House recently delayed the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate on certain-sized business. Besides that this is a prime example that size matters, I don’t like the employer mandate.
As Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) attacks former President Bill Clinton to excite his base, he does so at the expense of alienating the ideological center. Meanwhile, so now he’s suing the White House. He’s very much about positioning himself.
I put Sen. Paul and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the same category … “Keep Them Talking.”
Here’s an interesting comment from a conservative: GOP reform efforts must aim to restrain government, not immobilize it.
On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Report: It’s too soon to glance back at attractive person
Exhuming mom for one last hug: A privilege of the wealthy?
Renovations force Yosemite National Park to temporarily relocate in Sacramento
Live cow lowered onto floor of US House of Representatives (visual proof)
Couple never dreamed they would be able to talk so openly and honestly about kitchen cabinets
On Potpourri
Hooray … it’s time spring training baseball!
College football player Michael Sam public announcement about his sexuality was interesting, but (to me) the most remarkable news was that he told his college teammates August – which means his teammates, coaching staff, and others kept it quiet. This is another example of how the younger generation (as a whole) is much more accepting of gays than other generations. Cheers to them for leading the way.
With the Winter Olympics in process, I want to see a snowboarder go off the tall ski jump. Guapo: Would you be willing to try?
We are scheduled for more snow on Friday … but after that, a warming trend!
Given the publicity of last week’s evolution-creationism debate, I wonder how many pastors took advantage of the opportunity to address it from the pulpit. I know mine did not.
Here are your weekend celebrations
(Weekend) Backyard Bird-Count Weekend
(Fri) Valentine’s Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Cream-Filled Chocolates Day, Read to Your Child Day, Have a Heart Day, Call in Single Day, Race Relations Day, Quirky Alone Day, Library Lovers Day, Condom Day, Women’s Heart Day, Donor’s Day, Pet Theft Awareness Day
(Sat) National Gumdrop Day. Whale Day, Hippo Day
(Sun) Do a Grouch a Favor Day, Almond Day, Innovation Day
Given Friday’s special nature, a 1977 flashback will lead you into the weekend, so enjoy Heart with Crazy on You. Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
The Story Life – The Musical is an original AFA production is a journey featuring songs of about life. Each act features an aspect of life as a theme with music supplied around that theme.
Act 1
Act 1 features life, so titles must include life, living, alive, lived, or live (that rhymes with give, not five).
Production Note
It has come to my attention that past acts have crashed browsers. Please 1) include the song title and artist in your text, and 2) paste the URL as part of your last line (not a new line). The latter will provide a link, thus not embed the actual video … but I don’t mind unembedding, so apologies are not necessary.
Announcement
We need a legend to kickoff our new musical. Fittingly, a musical invasion came to the USA 50 years ago that helped reshape music. Ladies and gentlemen, aFa Productions presents Life: The Musical … and to raise the opening night curtain, we’ve secured a legend. Start clapping and get ready to sing along to Got to Get You Into My Life with Sir Paul McCartney!
A Frank Angle 