APRIL 1: April Fools Day

illustrated by Dominique Liongson

Wanna prepare for a 10-item clickable Trivia Quiz about April Fools Day?  

Two ways to choose from.  Either 1) research the answers before taking the test, or 2) fatalistic style: go straight to the quiz and answer with your best guesses. 

No dramas for "right minus wrong". Simply get points for every correct answer.  Each question is worth mega-points... (definitely more generous than one point per answer. ;-)

To the fatalists, proceed to: http://www.quizland.com/april-fools-day.mv. Scroll down then choose With Think Music or Without Think Music to accompany you while you take the quiz.

To all those who love to do their homework before they take a quiz, here are the questions you may look up:

1) In the 16th century, the start of a new year wasn't on January 1st but on April 1st in which country?

2) In 1562, calendars were changed so that a new year began on January 1st instead of April 1st. Who ordered the change?

3) In 1562, when New Year's Day changed from April 1st to January 1st, many people weren't informed or didn't believe it.  These "April Fools" were from which country?

4) The tradition of playing tricks on April Fools originated in which country?

5) In which country did April 1st STILL celebrated as New Year's Day?

6) The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York,  opened on April Fools Day in which year?

7) In 1873, which classical composer was born on April Fools Day?

8) In 1889, which of the convenience items were first offered for sale on April Fools Day?

9) In 1963, which daytime soap opera debuted on April Fools Day?

10) In 1984, which entertainer passed away on April Fools Day?

Created a list of answers?  Then you are ready to take the quiz at http://www.quizland.com/april-fools-day.mv.  Enjoy the joy of taking an open-notes quiz. ;-)

I wonder if you'll score higher than the happy-go-lucky quiz takers.  Wishing you best of luck!

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!



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DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

MARCH 30: Pencils-With-Erasers Day

illustrated by Dominique Liongson

March 30… A day that commemorates the innovation of pencils with eraser tips.

Let's see if you can answer any of these questions:

1) Do pencil manufacturers make erasers, too?

2) Who issued the first patent for attaching an eraser to a pencil?

3) Why was the eraser referred to as a "rubber"?

4) What do eraser manufacturers call the little erasers on pencil ends?

5) If today's erasers are made something other than rubber, what other substances are used to make them?

If you click and read The Great Eraser Caper: Eraser Facts and Fun, you will get the answers of these little known facts (or not-so-little known facts :-).

Here are more trivia that I learned from the same article:

--Pencils with built-in erasers are an American innovation.

--Pencils were first patented on 30 March 1858.

--In Europe, most pencils are sold without eraser heads.

Here are some snippets about pencils and me with built-in erasers:

--My one of my earliest memories with the pencil with a built-in eraser was the fatter Jumbo version that I used when I was in kindergarten.

--When the built-in eraser of my pencil is consumed to its crown level, I used to bite the pencil's crown to push out more eraser stuff. (Ew!)

--I used to lick my finger and rub out the pencil mark when I have no eraser to use.  With this method I used to think to myself: "Who needs erasers when you can lick and rub?"  Then I learned erasers still have their place for neater erasures.  Lick and rub makes my work look sloppy.  Kinda gross, too.

--I recall the times when I get peeved over low-end pencils with built-in erasers; the eraser does not erase but leaves an untidy smudge on the paper, and sometimes the pencil mark on the paper is not dark enough.

To end this blog entry, let us read a quotable quote on the wisdom of a pencil:

“We all make mistakes. That's why my pencil has an eraser.”

― Chris Grabenstein, Tilt-a-Whirl

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DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

FEBRUARY 14: Love is Love

Illustrated by Dominique Liongson

This is a catchy phrase I heard from the song "Love is Love" by Culture Club.  I took time to look through the lyrics.  Somehow I can't seem to relate to the words of this song.

If this line caught my attention for the Valentine Season,  I found something interesting from the Urban Dictionary.  It stated:

love is love

It's not about the sex or gender of the person but how they treat you! So, as long as you're getting the love and affection that you need to be happy in love then it doesn't and/or shouldn't matter what gender is loving you.

Often a term used by bisexuals or those who have no issues with swinging with the same-sex as long as the loving is good!

i.e. A guy might say to another guy, "I'm just looking for someone to love me (a genderless statement) because love is love!" The sex of the person isn't the issue but how the person is treated as it pertains to being loved!

by Orators Speak March 22, 2011

I am not saying romantic love is a bad thing.  I wish to express that there is a love that everyone can relate to ranging from babies to seniors, plants to animals, living and non-living.  A love called kindness-- the real thing without bad intentions.

I make a wish to you, dear reader: May you be kind and receive kindness in return for the rest of your life.  The good news is your life will never end (as scientists agree: Matter --ourselves included-- can never be created nor destroyed; it only changes form).

This is my kind of Valentine Season.  May each day be Valentine's Day.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

:-( -> :-| -> :-)
DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

JANUARY: Goodbye Unbelievably-good Year 2013... Greetings Victorious Year 2014!

ictorious Year 2014 makes itself known (when we succeed every battle we will face this next cycle) as our planet starts to make another trip around the sun.  This loop is another gift for us to appreciate.  Time to reflect how will we live within one complete journey our planet will take, then just do it.  

The Earth --our home-- has carried us for the longest time revolving around the sun making one complete cycle every year.  Why not make each cycle special and precious?  If we haven't before, why not now?

As we celebrate the beginning of a new cycle, I wish you have a guide how to make the most of this Victorious Year 2014.  

As a suggested plan of focus, let us keep our eyes peeled (metaphorically speaking ;-) to take note of the little victories we face.  Failed in a battle?  If we learn from our mistake and follow a better alternative, the fault becomes a gold nugget of wisdom.

To add more zest, let us be grateful before we are victorious (future), while we are victorious (present), and when we had been victorious (past).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(* "V 2014" illustrated by Dominique Liongson)




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DL
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"Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory."
--Aberjhani, "The River of Winged Dreams"

DECEMBER: Bring out the Poinsettias!

Poinsettia (illustrated by Dominique Liongson)

Poinsettia… what an interesting plant!  The popular classic one I've seen turns red during the Winter climate.  I searched the Internet for a lovely legend about how poinsettias are linked to Christmas.  I found one which came with more trivia about the poinsettia.

The article (about poinsettias) can answer some of these questions:

1) Where are poinsettia plants native to?

2) If the "flowers" are actually leaves, what special type of leaf is it?

3) What product can you get from the poinsettia's flowerlike leaves in relation to clothes and cosmetics?

4) What product can you get from the poinsettia's milky white sap?

5) Who made the poinsettia widely known?

6) Who was the first person who sold poinsettias under their latin name?

7) What is the latin name of the poinsettia?

8) What does this latin name literally mean in english?

9) Which country has the poinsettia as the national emblem?

No need to google for answers.  Just click this link and read: http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/poinsettia.shtml

Did you get them a 100% correct?  Fantastic!  Fun to learn something new each day, huh? 

I hope you also enjoyed reading the legend of the poinsettia from the same article, too.

Happy Ho-ho-holidays!

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DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha

NOVEMBER 26: Charles M. Schulz Birthday!

Charles M. Schulz (illustrated by Dominique Liongson)

Charles M. Schulz (26 November 1922 - 12 February 2000) is a famous American Cartoonist who brought Peanuts and (most especially) Snoopy to the world.  If you'd like to know his biography, check out the Charles M. Schulz Museum or Wikipedia.  I read and found out that his nickname is Sparky. Read the biography links above and you'll find out why.

I feel a connection with this artist because of the humor of the cast in Peanuts.  My top 3 favorite Peanuts characters are 1)Snoopy, 2)Lucy, and 3)Linus.  I can write a caboodle of recalled Peanuts comic strip jokes.  But then, this might steal Sparky's thunder which may defeat my purpose in blogging him.  For a sampling of his work, have a look at peanuts.com.

What does his comic strip series Peanuts have that other comic strips don't?  Here is my list...

• A dog who sleeps on the roof of his dog house
• A dog who writes novels and receives rejection slips 
• A dog who knows his master's name as "The Round Headed Kid"
• A dog who failed to collect a tip for bringing his dog dish to the kitchen
• A dog who gives away easter eggs as an easter beagle
• A dog who listens to Leo Buscaglia audiotapes
• A dog who caught a baseball with his dog dish in his mouth
• A dog who is an elegant ice skater
• A dog who is in touch with his brother who lives in the lonely desert

• A bird who flies upside down
• A bird who cheers up his dog-friend by making a quilt out of the rejection slips
• A bird who speaks in apostrophes, periods, and question marks while a dog can understand him

• A 5-cent psychiatrist with paying clients
• A girl bully who has a crush on a blonde kid who plays the toy piano
• The same kid wanted real estate for her birthday but didn't get it

• A blonde kid who plays Beethoven music with a toy piano

• A smart kid with a blanket habit
• A blanket habit kid who has an eternally loyal devotion to The Great Pumpkin
• The same kid may have a bossy sister but he is a brother who loves her very much

• A round headed kid who has faith in a girl who yanks the football whenever he tries to kick it
• A round headed kid who served dog fondue to his dog
• A round headed kid who is proud of his dad the barber

• A team of baseball players seems to be geared towards the losing end but still plays every baseball season anyway

• lots of unrequited love

• and a whole lot more to look at if you follow the Peanuts gang...

I wish to pay my respects to Sparky who has contributed intelligence and laughter in the art of newspaper cartoons.  It seems that he has earned a wonderful retirement plan in the afterlife.  Somehow I wonder how he is enjoying the fruits of his labor.  Maybe his Snoopy has materialized into an independent dog.  Or the unrequited love issues finally have a happy ending.   Or the good Great Pumpkin finally showed up to Linus and his friends.  Or Lucy becomes nicer because her pianist Schroeder tamed her.  Or.... who knows?

I gratefully thank you, Sparky.  You are one of the few artists who shines with your essence as a first-rate you.  No one else can do the best Peanuts gang except you.  I can see it is better to be a first-rate me than a second-rate wannabe.  With the strengths and weaknesses that only you --Charles M. Schulz-- have, you created a world that all your admirers want to be in.  Thank you for your intelligent and funny world.  If I had the chance, I would love to give you a big hug... because I listened to a Leo Buscaglia tape just like Snoopy did.  And on November 26...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPARKY!

:-( -> :-| -> :-)

DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha

OCTOBER 19: Ed Emberley's Birthday!

PHOTO: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ed-Emberley/407934075944677

SELF-PORTRAIT: 

http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx?section=bio

October 19 is the birthday of Ed Emberley.

Who is Ed Emberley?  If you want to know about him that's according to Wikipedia, check out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_emberley.  If you want to know about him that's according to Mr. Emberley, check out

http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx?section=bio.

How am I connected with this artist?  In a bookstore, I found a thumbprint drawing book authored by Mr. Emberley.  When I finally had the money to buy it, the book was gone. :-(

When I was on holiday, I asked a bookstore clerk if they have the thumbprint book by Ed Emberley.  It felt really good that the store has it.  It was not one book but two books in one-- thumbprint and fingerprint drawing book!  A cheerful holiday memory indeed.  Happy-happy, joy-joy! :-)

I had fun trying out his designs.  Perhaps with more practice, I can develop my unique prints.  It's like if you see Mr. Emberley's masterpiece, you'd say "That's an Ed Emberley original."  Hopefully one day, someone will look at my masterpiece and would say, "That's a Dominique Liongson original."

You might love to try out his art style.  Check out www.edemberley.com.  I enjoyed his animated how-to Drawing Book Sampler.  Not in the mood to artwork about? Watching the videos might help you change your mind.  Or perhaps you might want to schedule it another day.

Thank you for sharing your fun for visual arts, Mr Emberley. You are one of my inspirations to have fun with making more artworks.  And on October 19...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ED EMBERLEY!

:-( -> :-| -> :-)

DL    

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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."

--Buddha