The kids are off of school for the coming week, and so everyone's schedule will be all catawumpus.

That's okay, no commuting. Just the long drive to see Grandma and Grandpa on Thanksgiving.

Maybe i can get most of the backlog of paperwork sorted out through the week. Then again, maybe i'll just slam my hand in the door repeatedly, that would be more fun.

This first-cousin-to-a-Luddite was resigned to the idea of at least some of these gizmos and gadgets because they were supposed to give us a paperless society.

Humph. One of the best things about heaven will be no paperwork. Wonder what the Pastor would say to that.


Today is:

Absurdity Day -- an internet generated absurd holiday

Africa Industrialization Day -- UN

Air Your Dirty Laundry Day -- internet generated, and be careful with this one!

Alascattalo Day -- Anchorage, AK, US (a salute to Alaskan humor; the longest running, shortest parade in the world, in honor of the "alascattalo", a cross between a moose and a walrus. Held in the alley behind Club Paris from 12:03 to 12:07 pm, a prize is given to the smallest and ugliest float -- yes, it must be both small and ugly. An anonymous queen will be crowned, if she has the bad sense to show up.)

Beautiful Day -- Fairy Calendar

Child Day -- Canada

Children's Day -- Egypt; Pakistan

Clean the Cat Hair Out of the Vacuum Cleaner Day -- internet generated, and always tops on my chore list

Day of Sekhmet and the Purifying Flame -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Day of National Sovereignty -- Argentina

Dia da Consciencia Negra -- Brazil (Black Consciousness Day)

Feast of Christ the King -- Roman Catholic Church

Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day aka G.O.H.A.R.D

Learn When to Start Thawing the Turkey Day -- US

Mother Goose Parade Day -- San Diego, CA, US

Name Your PC Day -- mine is Ol' Bessy, a/k/a Old Unreliable

National Day -- Myanmar

National Peanut Butter Fudge Day

Praetextatus and Paulina's Day -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Guardians of the Eleusinian Mysteries; date approximate)

Revolution Day -- Mexico (traditional)

St. Edmund the Martyr's Day (Patron against plagues)

Teacher's Day -- Vietnam

Totensonntag -- Germany (Protestant Church remembrance of the dead)

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Universal Children's Day -- International

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Zumbi Day -- Brazil


Anniversaries Today:

The Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London, 1947


Birthdays Today:

Bo Derek, 1956
Duane Allman, 1946
Veronica Hamal, 1943
Joe Biden, 1942
Dick Smothers, 1939
Richard Dawson, 1932
Estelle Parsons, 1927
Kaye Ballard, 1926
Robert F. Kennedy, 1925
Alistair Cooke, 1908
Edwin Hubble, 1889
Susanna Wesley, 1669 (mother of John, Charles, and 17 other children)
Peregrine White, 1620 (born on the Mayflower)
Maximinus, Roman Emperor, 270


Today in History:

Bögü, Khan of the Uyghurs, conquers Lo-Yang, capital of the Chinese Empire, 762
Zumbi, the last leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares of Brazil, is executed, 1695
New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the US Bill of Rights, 1789
Curacao's government forbids slave work on Sunday, 1795
Howard University is founded in Washington, D.C., 1866
US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports, 1914
1st municipally owned airport in US opens, in Tucson Az, 1919
In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation, 1962
The SETI Institute is founded, 1984
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released, 1985
The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million, 1989
In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage, 1992
The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched, 1998