Ridley's Believe It Or Not May 20 History Josephine Baker Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—May 20, 2015 Trust your Hump Day is proving to be a great one and you enjoyed yesterday some inexpensive tacos or Popeye’s two piece chicken special for $1.49. As always, I  hope you enjoy the holidays and observances, factoids of interest, music videos of Foolish and Half Breed  and a relevant quote from Scott Fujita, looking forward to powering down a generous portion of quiche Lorraine, blessed  with a positive attitude even though you know you may have to wade through tons of spam in your inbox, and secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable event like Fathers’ Day, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.
       1. Josephine Baker Day (NAACP)—observed since 1951 by the NAACP to honor the civil rights efforts of American born singer, dancer, and actress Josephine Baker who became a French citizen and was known as the “Black Pearl” and who worked tirelessly to desegregate accommodations, restaurants and theaters after arriving back in the U.S. and being refused accommodations in not one but thirty-seven hotels in New York City in 1937 because she was black.
       2. Eliza Doolittle Day—honoring education in the field of elocution, diction and grammar as signified by the fictional character in George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion and the musical version My Fair Lady, and proclaimed by the governor of Minnesota in 1987 when My Fair Lady was being performed in his state.
       3. 2002 Number One Song—celebrating the number one song in 2002 on a ten week run Foolish  by Ashanti a singer, songwriter and actress who has been performing since 1994 and whose hit single Foolish sold over 8 million records. Here is a link (apologies for the ad of a new mindless TV show) to a music video of Ashanti performing Foolish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPrnu3BEU8  
       4. National Quiche Lorraine Day—another great way to get eggs into your diet although given the bird flu devastating vast numbers of chickens here in the U.S., the dish may be a bit more expensive this time. Even the photo below looks tasty:
                                                                             

 

 

1        5. Une Voix Très Cher Jour—celebrating the birthday on this day in 1946 of the possessor of a great

c   contralto  voice, that noted singer and actress, Cher whose career has always been off the charts and is still going strong; here is a music video complete with feathered headdress and all of her performing one of her hits--Half Breed:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6E98ZRaU1s   

2  On this day in:                                                         

        a. 1608 Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published in London.

        b. 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Homestead Act of 1862 which on payment of a filing fee of 18 dollars ($418.60 in today’s dollars) a person over the age of 21 who had not taken arms up against the U.S. for the Confederacy could obtain title to 160 acres of federal land provided he lived on the land and farmed it for five years.

        c. 1873 Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, in a great fashion moment for generations of non miners and cowboys who would follow, received a patent for jeans with copper rivets.   

        d. 1983 Luc Montagnier published in Science the discovery of the HIV virus which caused AIDS.

        e. 1996 the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Romer v. Evans  struck down a Colorado statute that would have prevented the state or any agency or any subdivision thereof from passing and law or taking any action that would have protected the rights of gay and lesbians.

Reflections on striking down state sponsored discrimination by the court in Romer v. Evans: “Just because I'm in favor of gay rights doesn't mean that I'm gay or doesn't mean I'm some kind of 'sissy' or something. That's the language that you hear in locker rooms.” Scott Fujita, noted former professional football linebacker for 11 seasons and recently a commentator for Fox Sports. Right on point Scott, as a former rugby player and commercial fisherman from Alaska, could not agree with you more.

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© May 20, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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