Friday Fun!!! And More...!

 

On This Date In 1301 Andrew III the Venetian, King of Hungary (1290-1301), died. He was the last member of the Hungarian Árpád dynasty on the paternal line.

On This Date In 1343 Arnošt of Pardubice became the bishop of Prague, was the last bishop of Prague, and was its first Archbishop (commissioned April 30, 1344). He was also an advisor and diplomat to Emperor Charles IV.

On This Date In 1514 Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery.

On This Date In 1539 Spain annexed Cuba.

On This Date In 1639 The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut.

On This Date In 1724 King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne.

On This Date In 1761 The Third Battle of Panipat is fought in India between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marhatas. The Afghan victory changes the course of Indian History.

On This Date In 1784 The Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, officially establishing the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.

On This Date In 1907 Kingston, capitol of Jamaica, was severely damaged by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake and following fires that burnt 56 acres of the city. Port Royal, located six miles to the south of Kingston suffered moderate damage.

On This Date In 1942 The Battle of Muar was fought, the last major battle of the Malayan campaign. It took place from 14–22 January 1942 around Gemensah Bridge and on the Muar River. It was the first engagement between units of the British 18th Division and Japanese forces in Malaya. More details here: http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/OAWG/war_memorials/overseas_memorials/malaysia/Pages/muar%20battle.aspx

On This Date In 1942 The Inter-Allied Resolution on German War Crimes was drafted, which agreed on the format of punishment for those responsible for war crimes during World War II. It’s text: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/reswrcrm.htm

On This Date In 1954 Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio. The time and place of the wedding was kept a closely guarded secret: only about 500 people managed to hear about it in time to turn the corridors outside Municipal Judge Charles S. Perry’s court in San Francisco City Hall into a madhouse.

On This Date In 1968 Operation Niagara I, an intelligence collection effort by CIA roadwatch teams, the recon teams of the highly secret Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, and aerial photo reconnaissance aircraft, was Launched. This was in response to increased activity by the North Vietnamese along the Quang Tri Province and the DMZ. Khe Sanh was a key border surveillance outpost and was also considered a prime jump-off point for any future incursion into Laos. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Niagara

On This Date In 1977 David Bowie released “Low”, the first of the "Berlin Trilogy", a series of collaborations with Brian Eno.

On This Date In 2000 The Dow Jones Peaked (closed at 11,722.98, with an intra-day peak of 11,750.28 and theoretical peak of 11,908.50) and the broader S&P 500 on March 24, 2000 (closed at 1,527.46, with an intra-day peak of 1,553.11); while, even more dramatically the UK's FTSE 100 Index peaked at 6,950.60 on the last day of trading in 1999 (December 30). The bursting of the bubble may also have been related to the poor results of Internet retailers following the 1999 Christmas season.

On This Date In 2006 Shelley Winters died of heart failure at the Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills; she had suffered a heart attack on October 14, 2005.

On This Date In 2008 "Jigsaw Falling into Place", a song by the English band Radiohead, and from their 2007 album In Rainbows, was released

On This Date In 2009 Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, known to many as Ricardo Montalbán, died at his home in the Greater Los Angeles Area, at age 88. According to his son-in-law Gilbert Smith, Montalbán died of "complications from advancing age."

On This Date In 2010 Massive international relief begins to arrive in Haiti following a devastating earthquake. See: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/International-Relief-Operations-Haiti-81520412.html  MTV Networks also announced the star-studded 'Hope for Haiti' Telethon.

Hat tip to the included contributing sources to On This Date In -, along with: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Happy Birthday Henri Fantin-Latour (1836), Albert Schweitzer (1875), William Bendix (1906), Andy Rooney (1919), Jack Jones (1938), Faye Dunaway (1941), Colin Ferguson (1958), Shepard Smith (1964), Emily Watson (1967), and LL Cool J (1968).

RIP Benedict Arnold (1741 – 1801), Henri Fantin-Latour (1836 – 1904), Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965), and William Bendix (1906 - 1964).

Quotes:

Don't confuse being 'soft' with seeing the other guy's point of view.

George Bush (1924 - ), "All the Best, George Bush"

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.

Phillips Brooks (1835 - 1893)

Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.

Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Forming characters! Whose? Our own or others? Both. And in that momentous fact lies the peril and responsibility of our existence.

Elihu Burritt (1810 -  1879)

Courtesy YouTube:

Elizabeth Hughes, 8 years old, National Anthem, Norfolk Admirals Game, Scope Arena 

The good news is that she did a wonderful job. The bad news is that the mike died after "gave proof." However, the crowd picked up the song and she kept her composure and stood there singing. But nobody got to hear her amazing high note on "free." But more good news--she was invited to come sing again, so I hope to post the complete version for you to enjoy soon...

The official music video for Taylor Swift's "Back to December" from the album SPEAK NOW. Download "Back to December" on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/2ckq79v
Visit Taylor's official website at http://www.TaylorSwift.com

If there is one commonality that all high-end smartphones embody, it has to be none other than the fact that they're all simple pieces of slabs at their core -- and nothing more than that! However, every now and then, we are greeted with a kind of device that manages to stray from the tried and true design of today's contemporary smartphones.

Mass faceplant - !

Today marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, and "haiti earthquake" is among our top spiking search terms today. In the past 7 days, nearly 4,000 Haiti-related videos have been posted to the site (over 1,000 in the past 24 hours).

#Haiti365 Please join UNICEF in helping rebuild Haiti by visiting www.unicefhaiti365.org

See the following link(s) for additional contributions to the Focus on Haiti:

Focus Returns to Haiti for Charities on YouTube -

http://youtube-trends.blogspot.com/2011/01/focus-returns-to-haiti-for-charities-on.html 

Make yours a memorable day and weekend!

Keep your New Year spirit alive!