Today is...

[Spanky]

Tuesday 4 Oct 2016

World Animal Day



While he may be rolling in his grave to discover that he was not the first person to be able to talk to animals, Doctor Doolittle would almost certainly be a keen advocate of World Animal Day which takes place on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, October 4th.

Started in 1931 in Italy, this annual celebration of all things furry is now a popular day in which we remember the important role that animals have to play in our world, as well as the people who devote their lives working to protect and care for them.

To get into the festive mood on October 4th you are encouraged to ditch the fur fabrics, refuse to buy products tested on animals and – probably of greater concern to the majority of folk – convert to vegetarianism.

Was St Francis a meat eater?

Answers on a postcard…



And



Ship in A Bottle Day



If you have ever admired the craftsmanship and beauty of a traditional ship in a bottle, you will be pleased to hear that this clever piece of art has its own annual day.

Ship in a Bottle Day celebrates the centuries-old skill of creating a miniature, fully-rigged ship that sits magically inside a glass bottle.

The secret lies in assembling the ship with the masts and sails hinged and lying flat so that it will fit through the neck of the bottle and once it is inside, gently pulling on strings to bring the pieces of the model ship upright until it fits inside the bottle.

Sailors originally made these ships to pass the time on long voyages and today, many people around the world still practice the skilled art.

Ship in a Bottle Day is held on the birthday of Jack Hinkley, the founder of the Ship in Bottle Association of America.

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October 4 Birthdays


Alicia Silverstone - 40



Russell Simmons - 59



Susan Sarandon - 70



Charlton Heston - (1923-2008)



Rutherford B. Hayes - (1822-1893)



Buster Keaton - (1895-1966)






October 4th

1999: It was announced that Jimi Hendrix’s sister Janie was planning to exhume Jimi’s body and move it to a pay-to view mausoleum. Other plans included a chance for fans to buy burial plots around Jimi’s new resting place.

1999: Ozzy Osbourne issued a press release asking the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to remove Black Sabbath from the ballot. Black Sabbath was later inducted in 2006.

1996: Van Halen announced that former Extreme singer Gary Cherone would be replacing Sammy Hagar. Cherone only sang on one album, 1998’s Van Halen III.

1986: Dan Rather was mugged by two men asking “Kenneth, what’s the frequency?” This incident would later influence the R.E.M. song “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” which was on their 1994 album Monster.

1980: Queen reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the second and final time with “Another One Bites the Dust” which began a three week run at number one.

1975: Pink Floyd reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the second time with Wish You Were Here which spent two weeks on top of the chart.

1973: During a Stephen Stills concert at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, Graham Nash and David Crosby joined Stills onstage. Neil Young later joined which was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s first performance in two years.

1970: Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles. She was 27 years old.

1968: Cream began their farewell tour at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA.



Birthdays:

Jim Fielder - Bassist for Blood, Sweat and Tears born in 1947

Hi Ice,
Don't know why you have to stir the pot, "Was St. Francis a meat eater?"  Ha, I'm kidding.  But sent me googling.  Turns out it's still a heated debate among church scholars and the vegan faithful.  Those who literally celebrate the spirit of St. Francis insist he was vegan, and cite a symbolic interpretations of any suggestions or scripture or dogma to the contrary.  Other equally worthy theologians talk about a passage that finds St. Francis assigning double rations of "meat for the brothers, and hay for the animals" and talk about the miracle of the fishes, and the fact that several apostles were fishermen, so probably not vegan.  It's a blistering debate, and seems there is no proof that St. Francis was or wasn't a vegan or vegetarian.  I don't invite the debate here, was just curious.  The question remains the same, can you love the animals--of which we are one--and eat them too?

Spanky