January 11, 2021
One more Alex Trebek tribute piece. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the proper response to a Jeopardy! answer (not clue) is in the form of a question. Here is the way Google responds to queries about the show’s long-time host:
👉 Even time did not escape 2020 unscathed. During the old year, the Earth completed its revolutions around its axis milliseconds quicker than average. The planet’s rotation varies slightly all the time, driven by variations in atmospheric pressure, winds, ocean currents and the movement of the core. But it is inconvenient for international timekeepers, who use ultra-accurate atomic clocks to meter out the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by which everyone sets their clocks.
Until now, these adjustments have consisted of adding a “leap second” to the year at the end of June or December, bringing astronomical time and atomic time back in line. These leap seconds were tacked on because the overall trend of Earth’s rotation has been slowing since accurate satellite measurement began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The last addition came on New Year’s Eve 2016.
The year 2020 was already faster than usual, astronomically speaking (and with COVID-19, sporting events with no audiences, cruise ships docked, and politicians forgetting it is “We the People” not “Me the Candidate” we can all breath a sigh of relief that 2020 is past). If you are keeping a record, the shortest day in 2020 was July 19, when the planet completed one spin 1.4602 milliseconds faster than 86,400 seconds.
May all of our problems be solved quickly. And properly.
👉 You can tell we are in a new year because of the increased number of television commercials trying to entice us into health club memberships and to buy diet plans. Well, with the latter object in mind, let’s look for a couple of days at the origins of some of our favorite foods (and on Saturday, more about how the things we eat and drink changed history).
Tradition has it that George Crum, born George Speck, was the first to fry thin potato slices into ultra-crisp chips. One of the regular customers at Moon’s was Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who, although he enjoyed the food, could never seem to remember Speck’s name. On one occasion, he called a waiter over to ask for “Crum.” Rather than take offense, Speck decided to embrace the nickname, figuring that, “A crumb is bigger than a speck.”
One day when Crum was busy in the kitchen at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga, NY, in 1853, so the story goes, a diner sent word to cut his French-fried potatoes thinner. In a spirit of righteous sarcasm, Crum shaved off a wafer thin slice of potato and dropped it into the deep hot fat of the frying pan. Pleased by the taste, he experimented with several more wafer-thin slices and offered them to Mrs. Moon and the rest is history – except in England where they are called “crisps.”
Americans purchase $6 billion of potato chips annually – at a rate of 1.2 billion pounds – which works out to about 17 pounds of potato chips per person. And mark your calendar. National Potato Chip Day is March 14.
👉 We haven’t been to the Jukebox in a while, so let’s drop a quarter in and listen to some songs from the 70s.
First up, “Joy to the World,” by Three Dog Night. Hoyt Axton wrote the song. A member of Three Dog Night said that the original lyrics to the song were “Jeremiah was a prophet” but no one liked it. When Axton performed the song to the group, two of the three main vocalists rejected the song, but Chuck Negron felt that the band needed a “silly song.” Negron said that the song “wasn’t even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest.” TDN had 21 Billboard Top 40 hits between 1969 and 1975, with three hitting number one. “Joy to the World” was their second number one. “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” was first, and “Black and White” was third.
👉 Here’s a mash-up combining Canada and Star Wars:
👉 A sacred family ritual is watching “Wheel of Fortune.” Monday night is family night here at 233, and the Wheel is watched by a room full of folk. After a successful shout out of a puzzle, someone may respond, “I hear it’s harder in person” (a phrase coined by Amy, who was there in person). Well, here’s one that is almost unbelievable. The clip is kind of fuzzy, but the contestant solves a 27 letter puzzle with only one letter revealed.
👉 We haven’t done a hymn-story for a long time, so let’s close today with one written by Audrey Mieir. She was the author of over 1000 hymns and songs.
She is especially known for her hymn “His Name Is Wonderful” (which was featured in QB 112, performed by Carmelo Domenic Licciardello, better known as Carman.
Audrey, who was ordained to the Gospel ministry in the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, wrote songs for Aimee Semple McPherson and conducted her choirs. She formed the inspirational Harmony Chorus in the early 1950s and ministered with composer and evangelist Phil Kerr in the popular Southern California Monday Musicals. Mieir is also remembered as music director for Rex Humbard’s television show Cathedral of Tomorrow (one of Skinny Pappy’s favorites).
Audrey based today’s hymn on Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 6:32 – “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
Although God has millions of souls to see about
Although the sun, the moon, the stars are in his care
How wonderful to know wherever you may go
He can be reached just by a whispered prayer.
It matters to him about you
Your heartaches your sorrow he shares
Regardless of what you may do
He wants you He loves you, he cares
Oh yes, it matters to him about you
Believe it because it is true
Cling to his hand, He’ll understand
For it matters to Him about you.
Here is Lillie Knauls accompanied by Dino Kartsonakis and “It Matters to Him About You.”
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment