Today is...

[IceWizard]

25 Mar 2017



Earth Hour



Electricity has become such an enormous part of our lives that it’s become difficult for us to imagine a moment without it. Be honest: can you really imagine life without your cell phone, your TV, or your refrigerator? Can you imagine having to wash all your clothes by hand, starting a fire just to get some warm water, or going to bed when it gets dark because candlelight is not really enough to do anything properly?

You may take electricity for granted, but it wasn’t too long ago that the aforementioned situations were the norm for people all over the world. But everything has a price, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the price of all of our lives being made easier is the well-being of the planet. And that’s why movements like Earth Hour were created—to help us all give our planet some thought every now and then.

The History of Earth Hour

In 2004, worried by scientific findings, Australia’s World Wide Fund for Nature met with an advertising agency in Sydney to “discuss ideas for engaging Australians on the issue of climate change”. Together, they coined the idea of a large scale switch off in 2006 and called it “The Big Flick” and decided to make their idea reality. The mayor of Sydney was quickly convinced of the importance of raising awareness about the amount of electricity being used and how that affected the planet, and the first ever Earth Hour was held on March 31 in Sydney, Australia at 7:30 pm.

Soon, the idea began to spread, with San Francisco being the next major city to run a “Lights Out” program in October 2007.

The event was an enormous success and received lots of positive media coverage, and by 2008, 35 countries in the world were participating on all seven continents. Between 8 and 9 pm, hundreds of cities in these 35 countries turned off their lights. Even some of the most famous landmarks participated, including the Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), Empire State Building (New York City), National Monument (Jakarta, Indonesia), Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, US), Table Mountain (Cape Town, South Africa), the Colosseum (Rome, Italy), Azrieli Center (Tel Aviv, Israel), Royal Castle (Stockholm, Sweden), the CN Tower (Toronto, Canada), SM Science Discovery Center (Manila, Philippines), Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), KL Tower (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Wat Arun Temple (Bangkok, Thailand), The London City Hall (London, England), and others. In 2016, the number of countries participating grew to 170. Many celebrities have expressed their support for the event, including Lionel Messi, Al Gore, Yoko Ono and Nelson Mandela.

How to Celebrate Earth Hour

The best way to celebrate Earth Hour is, of course, to participate!

You should also remember, however, that Earth Hour is not just about one hour, but about caring about our planet every other hour of every other day of the year, as well! The thousands upon thousands of Mwh of energy that are saved worldwide during Earth Hour mean nothing if we do not continue to care about the environment afterwards.

So think about what you can do on a daily basis to save energy and then do it—even little things like exchanging your regular light bulbs for more power-saving ones can make a huge difference if many people do them at once. Let the one hour that is Earth Hour inspire you to make the world a better place for the remaining 8,760 in the year!



And





Tolkien Reading Day




Although founded in 2002, the First Tolkien Reading Day wasn’t until March 25th 2003. This is because a journalist from New York enquired as to whether or not there was such an event for Tolkien in January 2002 and the society liked the idea so much they adopted it – although they didn’t have time to prepare anything for that year and postponed it.

History of Tolkien Reading Day

The society chose an important date from the book for the reading day. March 25th is the Downfall of Sauron.

In recent years The Tolkien Society have provided information packs, bookmarks and posters for schools taking part in this event. They have also provided free posters for events held by libraries and the general public taking place near to the event, rather than on the 25th.

Observances

With the popularity of the Lord of The Rings film triliogy firmly influencing the popularity of the books, Tolkien Reading Day was set up with hopes of getting even more people reading and discovering that there is much more to Tolkien than just The Lord Of the Rings.

Typical events consist of readings and discussions, but some groups re-enact scenes from the Lord of the Rings books.

---

---

---

---

March 25 Birthdays




Elton John - 70




Sarah Jessica Parker - 52




Aretha Franklin - 75




Danica Patrick - 35




Patrick Troughton - (1920 - 1987) (67)




Marcia Cross - 55




Mina Mazzini - 70




Matthew Garber - (1956 - 1977) (21)




Jeff Healey - (1966 - 2008) (41)






March 25th

2008: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was arrested in Laguna Beach, CA on suspicion of drunk driving after police noticed his Hummer weaving in traffic lanes. Sambora’s blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit.

1995: Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder was rescued from a dangerous riptide after swimming off the coast of New Zealand which carried his 250 feet offshore.

1990: Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was arrested for allegedly exposing his bottom onstage during a Motley Crue concert in Augusta, GA.

1990: Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Original Song for “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter” from the fifth Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Also nominated was “Pet Sematary” by The Ramones.

1986: Guns N’ Roses signed a worldwide record contract with Geffen Records after A&R executive Tom Zutaut only saw them in concert once.

1977: Bob Seger received his first Platinum album for Night Moves, his first album with The Silver Bullet Band, which later went on to sell five million copies in the U.S.

1969: John Lennon & Yoko Ono began a week long bed-in at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel to promote world peace.

1967: The Who made their live debut in the U.S. at RKO 58th Street Theatre in New York City.

1967: Buffalo Springfield peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “For What It’s Worth” which was their first and only top ten single in the U.S.




Birthdays:

Elton John born in 1947

Jeff Healey born in 1966