<> Tomorrow's food holidays(s):
* 'Can't find a food holiday for May 30, but this month is National BBQ
Month'. The month of May is also: Aramanth Month (Grain of the month),
Gifts From The Garden Month, International / National Mediterranean Diet
Month, National Egg Month, National Hamburger Month, National Salad Month,
National Salsa Month, National Sweet Vidalia Onions Month National Vinegar
Month.
The only one you might not know is:
- From Wikipedia (Amaranth grain):
'Amaranth has been cultivated as a grain for 8,000 years. The yield of
grain amaranth is comparable to rice or maize. It was a staple food of the
Aztecs, and was used as an integral part of Aztec religious ceremonies. The
cultivation of amaranth was banned by the conquistadores upon their
conquest of the Aztec nation. Because the plant has continued to grow as a
weed since that time, its genetic base has been largely maintained.
Research on grain amaranth began in the US in the 1970s. By the end of the
1970s, a few thousand acres were being cultivated. Much of the grain
currently grown is sold in health food shops.
Grain amaranth is also grown as a food crop in limited amounts in Mexico,
where it is used to make a candy called alegría (Spanish for happiness) at
festival times.
Amaranth grain can also be used to extract amaranth oil - a particularly
valued pressed seed oil with many commercial uses.
Raw amaranth grain is inedible to humans and cannot be digested. Thus it
has to be prepared and cooked like other grains.
Amaranth grain is particularly high in lysine, an amino acid found in low
quantities in other grains. Amaranth grain is deficient in essential amino
acids such as leucine and threonine – both of which are present in wheat
germ. Amaranth grain is free of gluten, which is important for people with
gluten intolerance.
[The Hankster says] I'll take BBQ. Oh, and a salad and some chips and salsa. I'll try that grain thing, a little later. I'll wash it all down with a cold Cream Soda.
<> Other holidays / celebrations
* 'Memorial Day in the USA'.
Last Monday in May.
- From Wikipedia (Memorial Day):
'Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the
people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. The holiday,
which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated as
Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of
the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur,
Illinois, established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of
the Union war dead with flowers. By the 20th century, competing Union and
Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged,
and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while
in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer
vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who
have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on
each grave in national cemeteries.
Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day Memorial Day is a day
of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day
celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.
The practice of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers is an ancient
custom. Soldiers' graves were decorated in the U.S. before and during the
American Civil War.
Following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, there
were a variety of events of commemoration. The sheer number of soldiers of
both sides who died in the Civil Wa, more than 600,000, meant that burial
and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership
of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating
graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government began creating
national military cemeteries for the Union war dead.
On May 26, 1966, President Johnson signed a presidential proclamation
naming Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Earlier, the
89th Congress had adopted House Concurrent Resolution 587, which officially
recognized that the patriotic tradition of observing Memorial Day began one
hundred years prior in Waterloo, New York. Other communities claiming to be
the birthplace of Memorial Day include Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, Carbondale,
Illinois, Columbus, Georgia, and Columbus, Mississippi. A recent study
investigating the Waterloo claim as well as dozens of other origination
theories concludes that nearly all of them are apocryphal legends.
The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from "Decoration
Day" to "Memorial Day", which was first used in 1882. It did not
become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the
official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the Congress
passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including
Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order
to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day
from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took
effect at the federal level in 1971. After some initial confusion and
unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress' change of date
within a few years.
On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top
of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it
remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder
of the day.
In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, asking
people to stop and remember at 3:00 P.M.
* 'National moment of remembrance in the U.S.A'.
On Memorial Day. The National Moment of Remembrance, established by
Congress, asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on
Memorial Day, to pause in an act of national unity for a duration of one
minute. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most
Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment
does not replace traditional Memorial Day events rather, it is an act of
national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends,
honor those who died in service to the United States.
The White House Commission on Remembrance was established by Congress (PL
106-579) to promote the values of Memorial Day by acts of remembrance
throughout the year.
As laid out in Public Law 106-579, the National Moment of Remembrance is to
be practiced by all Americans throughout the nation at 3pm local time. At
the same time, a number of organizations throughout the country also
observe the Moment: all Major League Baseball games halt, Amtrak train
whistles sound across the country, and hundreds of other nationwide
participants remind Americans to pause for the Memorial Day National Moment
of Remembrance.
Other participants include: NASCARk Greyhound, Empire State Building,
National Grocers Association, Statue of Liberty, Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey National Constitution Center, NASA United Spinal Association
Delaware Park, Liberty Bell, National Association for Music Education
Bugles Across America, Getzen Instrument Company.
* 'National Hole In My Bucket Day'.
Another one of those mystery holidays that the holiday sites, insist is
celebrated, but no one knows why. With that freedom, I will choose the
song>:
- From Wikipedia (There's a Hole in My Bucket):
'"There's a Hole in My Bucket" (or "...in the Bucket") is a
children's song, based on a dialogue about a leaky bucket between two
characters, called Henry and Liza. The song describes a deadlock situation:
Henry has got a leaky bucket, and Liza tells him to repair it. But to fix
the leaky bucket, he needs straw. To cut the straw, he needs an axe. To
sharpen the axe, he needs to wet the sharpening stone. To wet the stone, he
needs water. However, when Henry asks how to get the water, Liza's answer
is "in a bucket". It is implied that only the leaky bucket is
available, which, if it could carry water, would not need repairing in the
first place.
The earliest known archetype of this song seems to be in the German
collection of songs Bergliederbüchlein (c 1700). It is set as a dialogue
between a woman named Liese, and an unnamed man'.
[The Hankster says] Well my bucket has a hole in it, so I tossed it out. The problem is, that it is the one I am using for my bucket lists. Now, I have nothing to do the rest of my life, and that may be a long time, since I can't kick it.
* 'National Water a Flower Day'.
[The Hankster says] If the April showers did indeed bring May flowers, it may be time to give them another drink. Except here in Houston. We have had more rain than we need.
<> Awareness / Observances:
o Health
* 'Safe Kids Week'. May 30 - June 5 in Canada by Parachute. A focus is on
preventable childhood accidents.
<> Historical events on 30
* 'In 1783, Benjamin Towne of Philadelphia publishes the first daily
newspaper in US.
- From Wikipedia: 'The history of American newspapers begins in the early
18th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.
American newspapers began as modest affairs--a sideline for printers. They
became a political force in the campaign for American independence.
Following independence the first article of U.S. Constitution guaranteed
freedom of the press and the American press grew rapidly during the First
Party System (1790s-1810s) when both parties sponsored papers to reach
their loyal partisans. From the 1830s onward the Penny press began to play
a major role in American journalism and technological advancements such as
the telegraph and faster printing presses in the 1840s helped expand the
press of the nation as it experienced rapid economic and demographic
growth. Editors typically became the local party spokesman, and
hard-hitting editorials were widely reprinted.
Many of the papers, however, which were kept alive or brought to life
during the war could not adapt themselves to the new conditions of peace.
Perhaps only a dozen of the survivors held their own in the new time,
notably the Boston Gazette, which declined rapidly in the following decade,
The Connecticut Courant of Hartford, The Providence Gazette, and The
Pennsylvania Packet of Philadelphia, to which may be added such
representative papers as the Massachusetts Spy, Boston's Independent
Chronicle, the New York Journal and Packet, the Newport Mercury, the
Maryland Gazette of Annapolis, the Pennsylvania Gazette and The
Pennsylvania Journal, both of Philadelphia. Practically all were of four
small pages, each of three or four columns, issued weekly. In 1783, the
Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first American daily. The next year,
the Pennsylvania Packet was published three times a week, and the New York
Journal twice a week, as were several of the papers begun in that year.
There was a notable extension to new fields. In Vermont, where the first
paper, established in 1781, had soon died, another arose in 1783 in Maine,
two were started in 1785. In 1786, the first one west of the Alleghenies
appeared at Pittsburgh, and following the westward tide of immigration the
Kentucky Gazette was begun at Lexington in 1787'. .
* 'In 1868, Decoration Day, the predecessor of the modern Memorial Day, is
observed in the United States for the first time.
- From Wikipedia: 'Copying a practice that began in the Southern states, on
May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the
Republic, the veterans' organization for Union Civil War veterans, General
John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for Decoration Day to be
observed annually and nationwide. It was observed for the first time that
year on Saturday May 30 the date was chosen because it was not the
anniversary of any particular battle. According to the White House, the May
30 date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom.
Memorial events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states in 1868, and 336
in 1869. The northern states quickly adopted the holiday. Michigan made
Decoration Day an official state holiday in 1871 and by 1890, every
northern state had followed suit. The ceremonies were sponsored by the
Women's Relief Corps, the women's auxiliary of the Grand Army of the
Republic (GAR), which had 100,000 members. By 1870, the remains of nearly
300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries, located
near major battlefields and thus mainly in the South. The most famous are
Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National
Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.
* 'In 1922, The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
- From Wikipedia: 'The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument
built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It
is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.,
across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon the
designer of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester
French the Lincoln statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers and the
painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. Dedicated in 1922, it is
one of several monuments built to honor an Americ president. It has always
been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic
center focused on race relations.
The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large
seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known
speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural
Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including
Martin Luther King King's I Have a Dream speech, delivered on August 28,
1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom.
Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam
Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II
Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under
its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to
the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of
America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.
Since 2010, approximately 6 million people visit the memorial annually.
The sixth bill (Senate Bill 9449), introduced on December 13, 1910, passed.
The Lincoln Memorial Commission had its first meeting the following year
and U.S. President William H. Taft was chosen as the commission's
president. Progress continued at a steady pace and by 1913 Congress had
approved of the Commission's choice of design and location.
With Congressional approval and a $300,000 allocation, the project got
underway. On February 12, 1914, a dedication ceremony was conducted and the
following month the actual construction began. Work progressed steadily
according to schedule. Some changes were made to the plan. The statue of
Lincoln, originally designed to be 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was enlarged to 19
feet (5.8 m) to prevent it from being overwhelmed by the huge chamber. As
late as 1920, the decision was made to substitute an open portal for the
bronze and glass grille which was to have guarded the entrance. Despite
these changes, the Memorial was finished on schedule. Commission president
William H. Taft – who was then Chief Justice of the United States –
dedicated the Memorial on May 30, 1922 and presented it to President Warren
G Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people. Lincoln's only
surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance. .
* 'In 1958, Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American
servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War
respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington
National Cemetery.
- From Wikipedia: 'On August 3, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed
a bill to select and pay the tribute to the Unknowns of World War II and
the Korean War. The selection ceremonies and the interment of these
Unknowns took place in 1958. The World War II Unknown was selected from
remains exhumed from cemeteries in Europe, Africa, Hawaii, and the
Philippines.
Two Unknowns from World War II, one from the European Theater and one from
the Pacific Theater, were placed in identical caskets and taken aboard the
USS Canberra, a guided-missile cruiser resting off the Virginia Capes. Navy
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class William R. Charette, then the U.S. Navy's only
active-duty Medal of Honor recipient who was an enlisted man, selected the
World War II Unknown. The remaining casket received a solemn burial at sea.
Four unknown Americans who died in the Korean War were disinterred from the
National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Army Master Sergeant Ned Lyle
made the final selection.
Both caskets arrived in Washington on May 28, 1958, where they lay in the
Capitol Rotunda until the morning of May 30, when they were carried on
caissons to Arlington National Cemetery. President Eisenhower awarded each
the Medal of Honor, and the Unknowns of World War II and the Korean War
were interred in the plaza beside their World War I comrade. .
* 'In 1959, World's 1st hovercraft (SR-N1) tested at Cowes, England.
- From Wikipedia: 'The idea of the modern hovercraft is most often
associated with a British mechanical engineer Sir Christopher Cockerell.
Cockerell's group was the first to develop the use of an annular ring of
air for maintaining the cushion, the first to develop a successful skirt,
and the first to demonstrate a practical vehicle in continued use.
'Cockerell built several models of his hovercraft design in the early
1950s, featuring an engine mounted to blow from the front of the craft into
a space below it, combining both lift and propulsion. He demonstrated the
model flying over many Whitehall carpets in front of various government
experts and ministers, and the design was subsequently put on the secret
list. In spite of tireless efforts to arrange funding, no branch of the
military was interested, as he later joked, the navy said it was a plane
not a boat the air force said it was a boat not a plane and the army was
'plain not interested'
This lack of military interest meant that there was no reason to keep the
concept secret, and it was declassified. Cockerell was finally able to
convince the National Research Development Corporation to fund development
of a full-scale model. In 1958, the NRDC placed a contract with
Saunders-Roe for the development of what would become the SR.N1, short for
Saunders-Roe, Nautical 1
The SR.N1 was powered by a 450 hp Alvis Leonides engine powering a vertical
fan in the middle of the craft. In addition to providing the lift air, a
portion of the airflow was bled off into two channels on either side of the
craft, which could be directed to provide thrust. In normal operation this
extra airflow was directed rearward for forward thrust, and blew over two
large vertical rudders that provided directional control. For low-speed
manoeuvrability, the extra thrust could be directed fore or aft,
differentially for rotation.
The SR.N1 made its first hover on 11 June 1959, and made its famed
successful crossing of the English Channel on 25 July 1959. In December
1959, the Duke of Edinburgh visited Saunders-Roe at East Cowes and
persuaded the chief test-pilot, Commander Peter Lamb, to allow him to take
over the SR.N1's controls. He flew the SR.N1 so fast that he was asked to
slow down a little. On examination of the craft afterwards, it was found
that she had been dished in the bow due to excessive speed, damage that was
never allowed to be repaired, and was from then on affectionately referred
to as the 'Royal Dent'. .
* 'In 1966, Launch of Surveyor 1, the first US spacecraft to land on an
extraterrestrial body.
- From Wikipedia: 'Surveyor 1 was the first lunar soft-lander in the
unmanned Surveyor program of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA, United States). This lunar soft-lander gathered data
about the lunar surface that would be needed for the manned Apollo Moon
landings that began in 1969. The successful soft landing of Surveyor 1 on
the Ocean of Storms was the first one by an American space probe onto any
extraterrestrial body, and it occurred just four months after the first
Moon landing by the Soviet Union's Luna 9 probe. This was also a success on
NASA's first attempt at a soft landing on any astronomical object.
Surveyor 1 was launched May 30, 1966, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and it landed on the Moon on June 2,
1966. Surveyor 1 transmitted 11,237 still photos of the lunar surface to
the Earth by using a television camera and a sophisticated radio-telemetry
system.
The Surveyor program was managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Los
Angeles County, but the entire Surveyor space probe was designed and built
by the Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California'. .
* 'In 1971, US Mariner 9, is launched to Mars.
- From Wikipedia: 'Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) was an unmanned
NASA space probe that contributed greatly to the exploration of Mars and
was part of the Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May
30, 1971 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and reached the planet on
November 14 of the same year, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit
another planet – only narrowly beating the Soviets' Mars 2 and Mars 3,
which both arrived within a month. After months of dust storms it managed
to send back clear pictures of the surface.
Mariner 9 returned 7329 images over the course of its mission, which
concluded in October 1972'.
No. 1 song
Top movie
Monthly holiday / awareness days in May
Food
Aramanth Month - Grain of the month
Gifts From The Garden Month
International Mediterranean Diet Month
National Barbeque Month
National Egg Month
National Hamburger Month
National Mediterranean Diet Month
National Salad Month
National Salsa Month
National Sweet Vidalia Onions Month
National Vinegar Month
Health
ALS Awareness Month - (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease)
APS Awareness Month - Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome
Arthritis Awareness Month
Asthma Awareness Month
Better Hearing and Speech Month
Borderline Personality Disorder Month
Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Celiac Awareness Month
Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month
EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) Awareness Month
Family Wellness Month
Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
Food Allergy Action Month
Global Health and Fitness Month
Heal the Children Month
Healthy Vision Month
Huntington's Disease Awareness Month
Lupus Awareness Month
Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month
National Better Hearing Month
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
National High Blood Pressure Education Month
National Meditation Month
National Mental Health Month
National Osteoporosis Prevention Month
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
National Physiotherapy Month
National Stroke Awareness Month
National Toddler Immunization Month
National Tuberous Sclerosis Month
National Water Safety Month
National Youth Traffic Safety Month
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month
Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month
Preeclampsia Awareness Month
Skin Cancer Awareness Month
Spiritual Literacy Month
Strike Out Strokes Month
Tay-Sachs and Canavan Diseases Month
Tourettes Syndrome Awareness Month
Toxic Encephalopathy and Chemical Injury Awareness Month
Ultra-violet Awareness Month
Women's Health Care Month
World Lyme Disease Awareness Month
Animal / Pet
Chip Your Pet Month
Gardening for Wildlife Month
Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month
National Guide Dog Month
National Pet Month
National Service Dog Eye Examination Month
Pet Cancer Awareness Month
Other
American Wetlands Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Building Safety Month
Clean Air Month
Creative Beginnings Month
Family Reunion Month
Get Caught Reading Month
Global Civility Awareness Month
Golf Month
Haitian Heritage Month
Home Schooling Awareness Month
International Audit Month
International Business Image Improvement Month
International Victorious Woman Month
Jewish-American Heritage Month
Latino Books Month
Motorcycle Safety Month
Mystery Month
National Bike Month
National Foster Care Month
National Good Car Keeping Month
National Inventors Month
National Photo Month
National Smile Month
Personal History Month
Social Security Education Awareness Month
Tennis Month
Textile Month
Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month
May is:
May origin (from Wikipedia):
The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified
with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was
held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology,
in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for
'elders,' and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or 'young people'
May
'
is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.
May is a month of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.
'
May at Wikipedia: More
If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago,
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