On June 2015

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Two naming origins for June: The Roman goddess Juno (wife of Jupiter) and from the Latin word iuniores, which means “younger ones”

June, the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere … thus with equivalent of December in the Southern Hemisphere

June, the longest hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, but the shortest days in the Southern Hemisphere

No months start on the same day of the week of June in common or leap years

June ends on the same day of the week as March in all years

June, know by some as the Marriage Month because of the large number of marriage held

June, the month for health and longevity

June, with two zodiac signs: Gemini (until June 20) or Cancer (from June 21 onward)

June, with birthstones Alexandrite, Moonstone, and Pearl

June, with birth flowers Honeysuckle and the rose

June, with its moons known as Flower Moon, Rose Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Honey Moon

June, with its Full Moon on June 2 at 16:19 UTC … and the New Moon on June 14 at 14:05 UTC

June, a month of an equinox

June, the month for national celebrations in Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Slovenia, Philippines,

June, with a Father’s Day celebration in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, UK, US, and Venezuela, however a Mother’s Day in Luxembourg

How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? (Dr. Seuss)

June, the month to increase awareness in Alzheimer’s, Antiphospholipid Antibodies Syndrome (APS), accordions, brains, cataracts, cancer from the sun, celibacy, infertility, dairy alternatives, childhood cancer, migraines, aphasia, men’s health, Congenital Cytomegalovirus, pet preparedness, scoliosis, alcoholism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), scleroderma, student safety, and potty training

June, the month to celebrate aquariums, zoos, candy, dairy, turkey lovers, iced tea, papaya, fashion in colonial Virginia, men, perennial gardening, rivers, skyscrapers, sorghum, and smiles

June, the month to promote adopting a sheltered cat, beauty in your skin, fighting the filthy fly, fresh fruits and vegetables, Idaho wines, camping, effective communications, do-it-yourself marketing, fireworks safety, professional wellness, rebuilding your life, kids sports, women’s golf, bikes, and Ohio wines

June, the month to embrace African-American music, audio books, gay pride, roses, country cookies, great outdoors, soul food, Caribbean-American heritage, surf music, bathroom reading, safety, vision research, and steakhouses

Do you have any special occasions during June? Which songs did you enjoy?

On April 2015

Note: Opening Night for Meals: The Musical is Wednesday, 9:30 pm (Eastern US) with songs with any of the following in the title: Meal(s), Breakfast, Lunch, Lunchtime, Brunch, Dinner, Dinnertime, Supper, Snack, Snacktime, or Food(s).

April, spring in the Northern hemisphere, but autumn in the Southern hemisphere, therefore

April and October are seasonal equivalents.

April, the second rainiest month of the year (after July)

April, starting the same day of the week as July in all years, and January in leap years

April, ending on the same day of the week as December every year

April, called Aprilis by the Romans

April, fittingly for the blooming action of the season, its traditional etymology from the verb aperire – to open

April, the second of the earliest Roman calendar

April, sacred to Venus, the Roman goddess

April, the fourth month of the current calendar year, but it originally had 29 days as Julius Caesar added its 30th day

April, called Oster-monath or Eostur-monath by the Anglo-Saxons

April, huhtikuu in Finnish, which refers to burning the vegetation to clear farmland

April, mail traven in Slovene, meaning when plants start growing

April Symbols

• Zodiac Signs: Aries (The Ram) Apr. 19, then Taurus (The Bull) Apr. 20 – May 20
• Birthstone: Diamond, White Sapphire / Meaning: Innocence
• Birth Flower: The Daisy or the Sweet Pea symbolizes curiosity, playfulness and tenaciousness

April, whose moon is called Slash-and-Burn Moon, Egg Moon, Grass Moon, Hare Moon

April, with a Full Moon on April 4th 12:05 UTC, and a New Moon on April 18th 18:56 UTC

April in movie titles include April in Paris (1953), The April Fools (1969), April Fool’s Day (1986, 2008), April Morning (1987), Enchanted April (1992), Pieces of April (2003), Sometimes in April (2005), April Love, April Showers (2011), April Snow (2012), April Morning (2012)

Songs titles (other than the videos) include Sometimes It Snows in April (Prince), April (Deep Purple), A Rose in April (Ann Gray-Raven-Seanachie), April Is In My Mistress’ Face (John Rutter), April Rain (Al Jolson), I’ll Remember April (Charlie Parker), January April and Me (Roy Clark), Little April Shower (Disney, from Bambi), Pieces Of April (Three Dog Night), and The April Fools (Dionne Warwick)

April, the first name of many pornstars – but not everyone named April is a pornstar

April, the time of a series of 1834 insurrections in France against the government of Louis Philippe that led to violent oppression – thus the name, The Days of April

April, a series of Mackey Chandler books

April promotes adopting a greyhound, ASPCA, astronomy, car care, Confederate history, defeating diabetes, fair housing, financial literacy, child nutrition, home improvement, informed women, Twit Awards, African-American women’s fitness, decorating, pest management, safe digging, physical wellness, preventing Lyme Disease in dogs, women’s eye health & safety, community service, and tackling your clutter

April aims to increase awareness in alcohol, autism, cancer control, bereaved spouses, Cesareans, distracted driving, emotional overreacting, genocide & human rights, habitats, Irritable Bowels Syndrome, DNA-Genomics-Stem Cell Education, facial protection, heartworms, multiple births, health of minorities, Parkinson’s, sarcoidosis, STDs, youth sports safety, pet first aid, Rosacea, testicular cancer, workplace conflict, anxiety, and stress

April celebrates amateur radio, diversity, couple appreciation, fresh Florida tomatoes, frogs, Grange, holy humor, guitars, gardens, knuckles down, occupational therapy, pets, poetry, rebuilding, school library media, soy foods, zoos & aquariums, welding, and Thai heritage

April embraces Atlanta food & wine, Arab-American heritage, child abuse prevention, community spirit, customer loyalty, jazz appreciation, libraries, young children, military children, card & letter writing, grilled cheese sandwiches, humor, kites, landscape architecture, pecans, straw hats, woodworking, math education, recycling, smiles, and pets are wonderful

Do you have any special occasions in April? Which songs did you enjoy?

On Good and Goodness – 2014

Good – an adjective, noun, or adverb – and this is the season of goodness.

Good is a word that transcends the globe in many languages and customs. Through a smile, music, a dance, and many other ways, good touches all and has a way to communicate across language barriers. Do you remember Matt?

Good – a desire or approval … as in living in peace with each other

Good – as in pleasing and welcoming

Good – kind, kindhearted, good-hearted, thoughtful, generous, charitable, magnanimous, gracious

Good – as in showing kindness and respect

Good – something produced for use by others

Good – as in appropriate, fitting, and adherence

Good – meaning valid, valued, treasured

Good – a quality emphasizing the best, finest, and nicest – or considerable, sizable, substantial, appreciable, and significant

Good – displaying or possessing a virtuous moral value – thus virtuous, righteous, upright, upstanding, moral, ethical, high-minded, and principled

Good – respectful, well-behaved, obedient, dutiful, polite, courteous, moral, righteous, and with integrity, virtue, and goodness

Good – referring to the positive qualities of a group of people

We need to reach that happy stage of our development when differences and diversity are not seen as sources of division and distrust, but of strength and inspiration. (Josefa Iloilo)

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness. (Dalai Lama)

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. (Henry David Thoreau)

Dream that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion. (Desmond Tutu)

I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others. (Muhammad Ali)

Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act on it. (Pablo Casals)

I keep up enough with news to know that the world is not lacking bad news. Whether wars, human strife, harm, or killings, many of events are based on culture, religion, politics, race,and quest of power for imposing one set of values while stifling others. Nonetheless, my belief in humanity remains steady.

Interfaith graphic by Justice St. Rain (Bahá’í Community) of Interfaith Resources

Even with all the bad news, I remain convinced that the majority of the world is good. After all, these are people who go about their daily life, and communicate across languages with smiles, dance, music, kindness, and acceptance … and yes, the bloggers at WordPress that I encounter also serve as ambassadors of humanity’s goodness – thus supporting my belief.

Yes, it’s the Christmas season, which is an important occasion for we Christians .. and festive time emphasizing good. However, goodness is a quality continually exhibited many Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, secular humanists, atheists, agnostics, and many other religions throughout the world … so to me, Santa Claus is a figure of good that transcends all cultures – thus not bound to Christianity.

In the spirit of Santa’s goodness, thank you for all the joys you regularly deliver to me. Yes, you are good. Happy Holidays to everyone … and to my Christian friends, a blessed Christmas to you!

But, one question … Which of the musical and visual gifts in this post did you enjoy?

On June 2014

June starts on Sunday, so it’s time to set the stage for the month ahead.

Some say the month is named after Juno, the Roman goddess and wife of Jupiter. Others proclaim it is from a Latin word meaning the younger ones

June was the fourth month with 29 days in the early Roman calendar, but Julius Caesar changed it to the sixth month with 30 days because he could

Astrological sign Gemini starts the month, but Cancer starts June 21st

June’s birthstones include Pearl, Moonstone, and Alexandrite

June’s birth flowers are honeysuckle and the rose

As with any of the 12, June is loaded with month-long celebrations to meet your fancy. Time to get your calendars and record the ones that are most significant to you.

Animals
Adopt a Cat, Adopt a Shelter Cat, Pet Preparedness, Pest Control

Behaviors
Smiles, Naked Bike Ride, Bathroom Reading, Effective Communications, Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing, Rebuild Your Life, Potty Training Awareness, Happy Women, Recycling, People Skills

Entertainment
African-American Music Appreciation, Audio Book Appreciation, Accordion, Surf Music, GLBT Books

Food
Country Cooking, Dairy Alternatives, Georgia Blueberries, Turkey Lovers, Dairy, Candy, Fruits & Vegetables, Iced Tea, Soul Food, Steakhouses, Papaya, Seafood, Beef Steak, Frozen Yogurt

Health Awareness
Migraines, Congenital Cytomegalovirus, Aphasia, Men’s Health Education, Childhood Cancer, Child Vision, Cataracts, Cancer from the Sun, Antiphospolipd Antibody Syndrome, Scoliosis, Professional Wellness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Scleroderma, Vision Research, World Infertility, Hernias, Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism

Outdoors
National Rivers, Camping, Perennial Gardening, Great Outdoors, Roses, Zoos & Aquariums, Women’s Golf, Skyscrapers

Personal
GLBT Pride, Caribbean-Americans, Celibacy Awareness

Safety
All Safety, Lane Courtesy, Fireworks Safety, Student Safety, Drive Safe, Burglary Prevention

Do you have a special event for June in your area or personal life? Hope you can tell us!

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance. (Bernard Williams)

In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them. (Aldo Leopold)

Wine and cheese are ageless companions, like aspirin and aches, or June and moon, or good people and noble ventures. (M. F. K. Fisher)

There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter (Billy Connolly)

On Toasting April

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April is here. For us in the northern hemisphere, it’s a time for showers and spring flowers. Leaves return to the barren trees and green grass emerges from its slumber. Migrating birds return to the summer home they share with year-round residence, and day and night air fills with familiar sounds that have been absent.

April is also a time for celebrations – a month to increase awareness about cancer control, Cesareans, irritable bowels, alcohol, autism, math, habitats, multiple births, heartworm, Parkinson’s, stress, pet first aid, testicular cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, DNA, genomics, & stem cells.

April is a time for month-long promotions about greyhound adoption, amateur radio, car care, welding, community spirit, home improvement, card & letter writing, facial protection, landscape architecture, safe digging, and rebuilding.

April is a month to appreciate couples, frogs, military children, decorating, holy humor, guitars, jazz, humor, kites, poetry, straw hats, and smiles.

April is a time to celebrate Food Month while cherishing culinary delights as soft pretzels, cranberries & gooseberries, grilled cheese sandwiches, BLTs, tomatillos, Asian Pears, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, pecans, and soy foods.

April celebrates Knuckles Down and provides 30 opportunities to issue a Twit Award.

April always starts with All Fools Day. I love this classic video that aired in the UK on April 1, 1957. (Start at 30 seconds) Enjoy – and good luck with finding a fool today.