Hungry Kittens (Feline Friday), Friendly Fill-Ins and Nature Friday

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Feline Friday was originally started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude (may he rest in peace), and i'm going to believe it's because he liked cats.

He handed hosting duties off to Sandee at Comedy Plus, and now she's entrusting it to me.

Feline Friday is simple to join.  All you have to do is: Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (they may be silly or cute).  Then add your link!

One thing for sure is this is a fun and easy meme to do.  So come and join us in Feline Friday.

What better way to start the weekend than with a feline!

Someone was hungry when s/he named these kittens Pulled Pork and Baked Beans.  They've already been adopted.

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Friendly Fill-Ins are easy to do. There are four statements: the first two statements are provided by Ellen of 15AndMeowing, and the final two are offered by Lorianne The Menagerie Mom of Four-Legged Furballs. They try to make sure the statements will be fun to both answer and share. The linky will be posted at or about 12:00 AM on Friday. Please head over to one of their sites, link up, and share your thoughts!      /

Here are this week's statements with my responses underlined:

1. Back in the day, _________.

2. _________ is an unconventional pet I would like to have.

3. Though _________ is my dream job, I'd also settle for working as _________.

4. I'd like to get _________'s autograph.

1. Back in the day,   my back didn't hurt as much!

2. Nothing   is an unconventional pet I would like to have.   I'd just say no to unconventional pets, at least these days.  In my life I or my family have had snakes, gerbils, hamsters, rats, mice, turtles, birds, ferrets, rabbits, and a squirrel.  Sweetie is always talking about pet skunks, #2 Son about having a pet fox.  I say if it's more than just a cat or dog, no, no, no, with a cat or dog I can get food, supplies, vet care, etc. easily and the others, not so much.

3. Though   philanthropist   is my dream job, I'd also settle for working as   almost anything that lets you work at a desk.

4. I'd like to get _________'s autograph.  Leaving this blank as I can't think of anyone I'd want to irritate to ask for an autograph. 

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Nature Friday is hosted by LLB in Our Backyard.  Simply post a picture of the natural world and link up!

The view from the ground floor at the apartment where i stayed Monday night.

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Today is:

Bike to Work Day 2024 -- the League of American Bicyclists have urged you to celebrate this day the third Friday of May ever since 1956   

Birthday of the Raja -- Perlis, Malaysia

Dea Dia Festival -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of growth)

Dia de las Letras Gallegas -- GA, Spain (Galician Literature Day in Galacia, an autonomous region of Spain)

Endangered Species Day     

Feast of Azamat(Grandeur) -- Baha'i

Grand Spring Festival -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (through tomorrow; includes horseback archery, processions in costume, and more)

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

International Virtual Assistants' Day -- acknowledging the dedication, experience, expertise, and determination of virtual professionals    

Liberation Day -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Merry-Go-Round Day -- the first merry-go-round, powered by horses, opened this day in 1620

National Cherry Cobbler Day

National Defense Transportation Day -- US (remembering the contributions of people working in the transportation industries)

National Pizza Party Day -- as declared by Garlic Jim's Famous Gourmet Pizza, on the 3rd Friday of May; Garlic Jim's holds a contest for school students to nominate their favorite teacher, and the winning teacher gets a free pizza party for the class on this day

National Walnut Day -- declared in 1949 by the Walnut Marketing Board

Navy Day -- Argentina (anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Montevideo in 1814)

Pack Rat Day -- come on out and admit it, you are a pack rat, too!

Rubber Band Day -- patented this day in 1845, and aren't we pack rats glad.

Shunki Reitaisai -- Toshogu Shrine, Nikko, Japan (Grand Festival of Spring, through the 18th)

St. Madron of Cornwall's Day (Patron against pain)

Syttende Mai -- Nauru; Norway; Svalbard and Jan Mayen (Constitution Day)

Tell An Umpire "I Love Your Outfit" Day -- only if he has a sense of humor or you can duck quickly

Watch a Baby Fall Asleep Day -- because few things in the world are as funny and precious

World Hypertension Day    

World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day -- for information about neurofibromatosis click here or here     

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day -- UN

Birthdays Today:

Nikki Reed, 1988

Tahj Mowry, 1987

Drew Roy, 1986

Andrea Corr, 1974

Sendhil Ramamurthy, 1974

Mia Hamm, 1972

Jordan Knight, 1970

Trent Reznor, 1965

Craig Ferguson, 1962

Enya, 1961

Sugar Ray Leonard, 1956

Bob Saget, 1956

Bill Paxton, 1955

Debra Winger, 1955

Christian Lacroix, 1950

Dennis Hopper, 1936

Maureen O'Sullivan, 1911

James "Cool Papa" Bell, 1903

Joseph Norman Lockyer, 1836

Edward Jenner, 1749

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Information Please!"(Radio), 1938

"Shéhérazade"(Ravel song cycle), 1904

Comic Cuts(Comic Paper, first publication), 1890

"Cavalleria rusticana/Rustic Chivalry"(Opera), 1890

Today in History:

Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi becomes the first to see 2 belts on Jupiter's surface, 1630

Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal, 1642

Frontenac becomes governor of New France (Canada), 1672

Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River, 1673

England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions, 1733

The US Continental Congress bans trade with Canada, 1775

The New York Stock Exchange is founded, 1792

John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine, 1803

Napoleon I of France  orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire, 1809

Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian, 1814

Antoine Joseph Sax patents the saxophone, 1846

Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language, 1863

Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby, 1875

Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer, 1902

The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the first-ever televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City, 1939

The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954

Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere  of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure, 1969

Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean, 1970

Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho, starting the Internal conflict in Peru, 1980

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, 1983

After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France, 1995

Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown, 1992

Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1997

Massachusetts becomes the first US State to legalize same-sex marriage, 2004

The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef, 2008

Dalia Grybauskaite is elected the first female President of Lithuania, 2009

The brightest lunar meteor impact ever observed is recorded by NASA, 2013

Gina Haspel is confirmed as the first female director of the CIA by the US Senate, 2018

In the first study of its kind, the World Health Organization claims in 2016, long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease, 2021

Archaeologists release findings about the world's oldest architectural plans on two stone monoliths found in Southeastern Jordan and Northern Saudi Arabia, 2023

Brotherly Love? (Six Sentence Story), Good Fences, Sammy’s Poetry Day and Brian’s Thankful Thursday

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As he approached the table in the cafeteria with his breakfast, he saw the two already sitting with his buddy and realized his buddy was right, it was like seeing double.

To the practiced observer there were differences, but to those just meeting them, the twins appeared to be the same person twice over, and rumor had it they would even occasionally sit in on the other's class so the professors wouldn't mark them as absent.

They appeared to be in the middle of an argument, and the closer he got, the more agitated they seemed to appear with each other and he wondered if they would come to blows.

Finally one looked at the other and said, "Well, you're ugly!" and the other responded with, "And your mama's ugly!" and they burst out laughing.

The thought that flashed through his mind was, don't they realize they're insulting themselves when they say that?

As they would both tell him later, "Of course, but that doesn't matter as long as he gets his lumps!"

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Double.      

(Please note, identical twins, my Sweetie and Brother-in-Law, will still occasionally end an argument with the "you're ugly" "your mama's ugly" lines, and laughter.

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While Good Fences Around the World seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird, i still enjoy looking for and posting interesting fences, so i will!

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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day!  This week's image and my poem:    

Through thick and thin,

I go all in,

what my people do,

I'll follow, too.

But if they've done

something "funny" not fun,

it's not sublime

to hafta do time!

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Angel Brian's Family of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.   It's time to share something for which i am thankful.  

Today i am thankful Ms. JAI contacted me before clicking on a link which was purportedly about dental insurance and i was able to warn her off of it and steer her in the direction of a more reputable company.

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Today is:

Biographer's Day -- anniversary of the day Boswell met Johnson in 1763

Brown Bag-It Thursday -- it's cheaper and healthier, and you might like it enough to start a new habit

Hires Root Beer Day -- pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires created it on this day in 1866

Love a Tree Day -- and read about the love of a tree, in Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree

Middlesex Day -- Middlesex, England (although it is only a postal county now, many celebrate the heritage of what was once the county that included London)

National Coquilles St. Jacques Day

Sea-Monkey® Day -- as declared by someone who likes these little brine shrimp as pets; for info on keeping Sea Monkeys, check here; for ideas about how to celebrate there is a site about how to worship sea monkeys   

Sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in Rounds Day -- but not around me, please, or i might do something drastic

Sneeze Without Embarrassment Day -- because of pollen levels, as declared by Karen Richmond, of Eastport, MI, US

Spaghetti-Os Day -- they were first sold on this day in 1966

St. Brendan the Voyager's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, travelers, whales; Ardfert, Ireland; Clonfert, Ireland; Kerry, Ireland)

St. Honorius of Amiens' Day (Patron of bakers[especially bakers of communion wafers], cake makers, candlemakers, chandlers, confectioners, florists, flour merchants, oil refiners, pastry chefs; against drought)

St. John of Nepomuk's Day (Patron of bridges, bridge builders, confessors, discretion, good and right confession, running water, silence; Bohemia; Czech Republic; Slovakia; against calumnies, floods, indiscretions, and slander)

Sudan People's Liberation Army Day -- South Sudan

Teachers' Day -- Malaysia

U.S. Nickel Day -- the first U.S. five-cent nickel was minted on this day in 1866

Wear Purple for Peace Day -- the idea being that until we become a peaceful species, the aliens won't visit

Anniversaries Today:

Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, marries Marie Antoinette, 1770

Edgar Allen Poe marries his cousin Virginia Clemm, 1836 

Birthdays Today:

Megan Fox, 1986

Matt Ryan, 1985

Jim Sturgess, 1981

Tori Spelling, 1973

David Boreanaz, 1971

Gabriela Sabatini, 1970

Tracey Gold, 1969

Janet Jackson, 1966

Mare Winningham, 1959

Joan Benoit Samuelson, 1957

Olga Korbut, 1955

Debra Winger, 1955

Pierce Brosnan, 1953

Bob Edwards, 1947

Bill Smitrovich, 1947

Billy Martin, 1928

Liberace, 1919

Woody Herman, 1913

Louis "Studs" Terkel, 1912

Margaret Rey, 1906

Henry Fonda, 1905

Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, 1804

William Seward, 1801

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Top Gun(Film), 1986

"McCartney II"(album release), 1980

"Listen to What the Man Said"(Single release), 1975

"Annie Get Your Gun"(Musical), 1946

"Dalibor"(Opera), 1868

Today in History:

The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence is re-established as a republic, 1527

Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England, 1532

Samuel Johnson meets his future biographer, James Boswell, in London, 1763

Denmark abolishes slave trade, 1792

The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail, 1843

Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer, 1866

A naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight, 1919

Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc, 1920

Chaim Weizmann is elected the first President of Israel, 1948

The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between John F Kennedy International Airport (then Idlewild Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines, 1951

Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, 1960

China's Cultural Revolution begins, 1966

The Soviet Venera 5 spacecraft lands on Venus, 1969

India annexes Sikkim  after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favour of merging with India, 1975

Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, 1975

The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain, 1986

A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine, 1988

Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the US Houses of Congress, 1991

Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote, 2005

The oldest water ever found is discovered in a Canadian mine; the water dates back 2.6 billion years, 2013

Saray Khumalo becomes the first black African woman to climb Mt Everest, 2019

Sweden formally announces it will seek to join NATO after 200 years of neutrality, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022

ChatGPT developer OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before the US Senate in favor of oversight of the new technology, suggesting they “might consider a combination of licensing and testing requirements," 2023