Today Is... 📆

GregRedd · June 21, 2021, 5:26am

It is Monday, 21 June 2021
(W25 | D172 | 193 rem)

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words, and that which cannot remain silent. •Victor Hugo•

There’s nothing in the world like the sound of your favorite song coming on, it just gets right into your head and your body and makes you move. Or maybe it takes you on a journey to a faraway place and time, where you languish in a memory of times gone by and people who are no longer present.

Some of our favorite songs can lift us up out of depression and worry, and make an otherwise horrible day suddenly seem like it’s not so bad. World Music Day celebrates music in all its forms and the impact it’s had on the world and the human spirit.

The Fête de la Musique, known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day, or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks.

The first all-day musical celebration on the day of the June Solstice was originated by Jack Lang, Minister of Culture of France, as well as by Maurice Fleuret; it was celebrated in Paris in 1982. Music Day has since become celebrated in 120 countries around the world.

Fleuret discovered, in a 1982 study on the cultural habits of the French, that five million people, one young person out of two, played a musical instrument, he began to dream of a way to bring people out on the streets. It first took place in 1982 in Paris as the Fête de la Musique.

Ever since, the festival has become an international phenomenon, celebrated on the same day in more than 700 cities in 120 countries.

Have you ever put on your headphones, hit play on an upbeat tune and waltzed down the street as if you were in a movie? You’re not alone, everybody has done it (they’re just too afraid to admit it!). Music has the ability to lift your spirits even when you don’t feel like getting out of bed that day.

Why shouldn’t there be an entire day to celebrate the wonders of music? World Music Day needs to be celebrated far and wide without a doubt! Next time you’re in a bit of a funk, crank up your favorite song (close your curtains) and dance like nobody’s watching. It’s a soul soothing activity that should always be your go to saviour!

The best thing about World Music Day is that it is completely free to celebrate. No matter what kind of music you love you can take part for free and you can get the whole family involved. It is the perfect opportunity to try playing a brand-new instrument or listen to a type of music that you wouldn’t normally have on your playlist.

Every type of musician, whether you are young, old, new or a seasoned professional can embrace world music day with friends, family and even strangers!

Music is not only a fantastic creative outlet, but it can also have many health benefits. When you listen to a particular song it can bring back a happy memory or make you feel energized. Studies suggest that listening to music can have a number of positive effects on your health and mental wellbeing. As well as enhancing your performance of exercise, it can also provide a huge amount of comfort. Exercise has also been proven to reduce anxiety and listening to relaxing music can also decrease stress levels. So if you are looking for a mood boosting activity, why not celebrate World Music Day and let all of your troubles rush away from your mind instantly?

Whatever your preferred flavours of music are, there’s more than enough variety to please everyone. Have a magically musical Monday.

Today is also The June Solstice

The June solstice is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (making it the longest day of the year there), and the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere (meaning it’s our shortest day).

The June Solstice in Johannesburg happens(-ed?) on Monday, 21 June 2021 at 05:32 SAST.

A solstice happens when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. On the June solstice, it reaches its northernmost point and the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun, at about 23.4°.

It’s also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Solstice” (Latin: “solstitium”) means sun-stopping. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set, stops and reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, meaning it’s visible in the sky for a longer period of time.

Things switch around again in December. Our Summer Solstice will be at 17:58 on Tuesday, 21 December.

Beo · June 21, 2021, 6:31am

Yay… Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. I loved geography in school.

murfle · June 21, 2021, 6:52am

Music day: Everyone who doesn’t own an instrument, eat some beans

Solstice: Yay! My plants are really craving more sun.

GregRedd · June 22, 2021, 5:24am

Good morning!

It is Tuesday, 22 June 2021
(W25 | D173 | 192 rem)

Today is: Chocolate Éclair Day

Chocolate Éclair. The very word strikes our taste buds like lightning and fills our minds with images of rich cream, light dough, and a creamy topping that just whisks us away to old Paris. Chocolate Éclair Day celebrates one of the most decadent of treats to come out of the confectioners trade since time out of mind. While there are as many varieties of éclair as there are confectioners to create new delicacies, but the one that is a strong stand by that leaves us all drooling is the Chocolate Éclair.

Éclair… An enticing name for a treat, it even sounds decadent, but what does it actually mean? Éclair means “flash of lightning” and describes the speed at which these delicacies will disappear if left unguarded. These delicious treats were said to have first been invented by the French Chef Antonin Carême, a man with a tragic history that led to a grand creation in the early 19th century.

He was abandoned by his parents in the tumultuous days of the French Revolution and found work as a kitchen boy to keep himself housed and fed. Some time later he found himself working as an apprentice to a famous pâtissier named Sylvain Bailly.

The young boy blossomed into an amazingly talented chef, so talented in fact that when he left Bailly’s training he was able to move from employer to employer with impunity. This was rare in a time when one’s employer practically owned them, in this case, he could move freely, such was his talent.

The delicious oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with vanilla cream is the almighty éclair! What makes this French delicacy even more delicious is that it is glazed with sweet and shiny chocolate icing. Did you know that the dough of a chocolate eclair is the exact same type of pastry as the profiterole? The only difference between the two is that it is piped into an accurate oblong shape and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside.

Have a delectable and delicious Tuesday!

GregRedd · June 23, 2021, 5:58am

Good morning!

It is Wednesday, 23 June 2021, My Dudes
(W25 | D174 | 191 rem)

Today is: Let It Go Day

Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
Idina Menzel, Let It Go, Frozen

Regrets are not particularly useful to anyone. They tend to weigh on people’s consciences and leave them with a deficit of joy, often at a time when those who have been wronged have long since forgotten them. Even if the other person hasn’t offered forgiveness, it is an important step toward healing for people to learn to forgive themselves. This helps with the process of moving forward without guilt or bitterness and allows people to endeavor to live a better life in the future.

Everyone has probably experienced those different sets of nagging regrets and grudges that tug at their souls for weeks, months or even years. It doesn’t even matter how much time has passed after the people, jobs or situations which once made them important ceased to be part of their life. It can still be so very hard to let go of these things.

Sure, there may have been a time in life when it felt important to take every opportunity to demonstrate to that ex, former workmate or classmate how well things were going without them. But isn’t it finally time to move on and let go of all of those negative emotions that tend to drag everything down?

That is exactly what Let It Go Day is all about! A day when people can be intentional about taking the brave step to cast away all those hang-ups from a previous chapter in life and start fresh.

Let It Go Day is one of a bevy of holidays created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays & Herbs. They knew the difficulty of living with a pocketful of regrets that can haunt a person during every quiet hour, and knew that letting them go was the only way to find peace and contentment in their own lives.

So it was for this reason that Let It Go Day was created, with the intention of encouraging others throughout the world to also let go of their regrets and forgive themselves for actions taken in the past.

Let It Go Day is the perfect occasion to stop wasting so much energy on negative feelings from the past and instead focus on building a positive future. Consider ways to enjoy this day and foster personal freedom:

Set Intention with a Letting Go Practice
Write down a list of the things that are regrettable, and spend some time letting them go. To do this, simply work on trying to relax and let that guilt and fear vanish from the moment and, eventually from the whole of life.

One example of a way to symbolize this is by setting fire to your list and watching the things you regret burn away. Let the smoke and embers carry those worries to the sky and wind, where they’ll be erased.

Consider these other aspects of life that might prove beneficial by letting go of them: fear, holding grudges, guilt, regrets, the past, excuses, and the toxic people who just make life miserable.

Set a conscious intention to remove these things from your life and then practice it. Little by little, they will fly away and life will be much lighter, happier and more resilient without them.

Be zen. Be happy. No rag rats! And have a regret free Wednesday my Dudes!

Read more:

GregRedd · June 24, 2021, 4:24am

Good morning!

It is Thursday, 24 June 2021
(W25 | D175 | 190 rem)

Today is: International Fairy Day

Fairies have existed in just about every culture over the world, though they may have been called by different names. What they have in common, no matter where you go, is that they are spirits that inhabit the world around us and often operate by strange and often odd laws. That’s about where the similarities end, and where the amazingly diverse concepts that are the fae begin.

Whether you see them as small winged tenders of the deep natural places of the earth, or as tall stately figures with fair skin and hair, there’s one thing for certain: the world has been absolutely captured by the Fairy Craze.

These creatures appear on everything from mugs to t-shirts and have been the subject of children’s fairy tales and even supernatural romances. International Fairy Day celebrates these incredible mythological creatures that have captured the imagination of people everywhere and their diverse history.

We’ve all heard of the winged fairies that flit around flowers and are always drawn like butterfly winged cherubs of slight form, but did you know that Dwarves and Gnomes are also part of the fae family? These creatures were common among the Germanic folk, and especially those who worked in mines and mountains. Knockers were a form of fairy that lived in mines and would ‘knock’ to warn miners of pending cave-ins and danger, hence their name.

The red-hatted gnomes that occupy so many people’s gardens were fashioned after creatures from the far north. These quiet and unassuming creatures were part of the dark northern forests and spent their time living near the homes of humans, which they’d sometimes help out.

There are even fae that lives in the oceans like the Irish Selkie, dark of hair and eye, these creatures were able to turn into humans. Turn into humans we say? Yes! They started lives as seals and would take off their skin when they came ashore and take the form of beautiful women.

Here are some magical ways to celebrate Fairy Day, no matter where you live and what you believe in. Come on – it doesn’t hurt to get lost once in a while!

Put on a movie

If Fairy Day is perfect for anything, it’s throwing on a movie while sitting back and relaxing. Some of the greatest films involve tales of fairies, pixies, and other magical creatures, from Snow White to Peter Pan. And, the incredible thing about these movies is that they are timeless.

(*SPOILERS) Nobody in the history of chilling has failed to cheer when the crocodile eats hook, or when the Evil Queen is defeated. If old -school classics aren’t your thing, there’s a plethora of Netflix and Prime series and films that include fairies, too.

Build a fairy garden

Gardens have never been more loved than now. Still, it’s easy for the creative juices to dry up after weeks of being locked down. A fairy garden is an excellent way to celebrate the event and indulge in the majesty that is Fairy Day. Families will enjoy how much the kids love pretending to be Tinker Bell, while singletons and couples can brush up on their DIY skills.

Oh yes, building a resort for fairies takes plenty of construction. The fairy house alone is a half-day of work!

Dress up the pets

Fun for all the family means fun for all the family. So, if the dog is looking at you funny, it’s because he knows what’s coming next! To create a world suitable for magical creatures, you need magical creatures. Letting the kids put on a tiara and throw glitter on their clothes takes care of the fairy element, but what about the unicorns, dragons, and frogs?

That’s where the pets come in handy. Sew them a little costume and make them part of the day. It won’t be complete otherwise.

Read a fairy tale

Reading is about getting lost in different worlds, and there isn’t a world more creative than Narnia or Neverland. Even if you’re no longer a kid, fairy tales teach morals that everyone should cherish. Don’t speak to strangers (Little Red Riding Hood), build stable foundations (Three Little Pigs), and don’t judge a book by its cover (Beauty & The Beast) – they have meaning in every stage of life.

Life lessons don’t stop as time goes by – they get stronger.

My name’s Nuff and I am a fairy - Fairy Nuff - and I’m telling you to have a great Thursday, fae folk!

GregRedd · June 25, 2021, 4:11am

Good morning!

It is Friday, 25 June 2021
(W25 | D176 | 189 rem)

Today is: Global Beatles Day

Global Beatles Day, which is also commonly referred to as World Beatles Day, is a yearly holiday that takes place to celebrate and honor the ideals of The Beatles. The event is celebrated with a number of events around the world and music that celebrate harmony and peace. In 2018, Cuba used the occasion to put on a Beatles film festival, so as you can see, it is definitely a date with a lot of international flavor and plenty of popularity.

The Beatles have sold more than 600 million albums across the world
In the United States alone, they have sold over 1.6 billion singles
They have knocked themselves off the number one position in the UK chart twice
The Beatles have won seven Grammy Awards
Their song “Hey Jude” spent 19 weeks in the charts
They have had more number one hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart than any other band, with 20 number ones
In the UK, Beatles albums spent 174 weeks at the top of the charts in total
“Yesterday” is the most covered song in history; it has been covered over 3,000 times

Global Beatles Day was created by a fan of the band, Faith Cohen. The day started in 2009, and Faith calls it a “love letter” or “thank you” to The Beatles. The date was selected because it is the same date that the band participated in Our World in 1967, which was a program on the BBC that was also broadcast to a global audience. They performed their song “All You Need Is Love.”

While they started their career like most musical groups, playing cheap dive clubs all over their home town of Liverpool, their manager was an artisan of his craft and helped guide them to rise to their potential. Their explosion in popularity came on the heels of their first hit song “Love Me Do”, and love them we did, it didn’t take long before the entire world was caught up in Beatlemania.

Global Beatles Day celebrates the huge influence they brought to the world, not just with their musical sounds, but with the values they professed and believed in. Throughout their entire career they promoted the idea that we could all live in a peaceful world, built on the ideas of truth, love, and reaching beyond the boundaries of current human consciousness. Through their music they instigated changes in the ways people express themselves, fashion trends, sex, art, and the embracing of the imagination.

The Beatles give us a lot of material to work with when it comes to celebrating a day dedicated to them. Perhaps on Global Beatles Day you can show up at work dressed as your favorite Beatle, or just spend the day listening to your favorite Beatles album.

With a lot of creativity and an encyclopedic knowledge of the Beatles discography, you can probably produce a quote from a song throughout the day to suit just about any situation! Even better, get together with a group of your buddies and throw ‘Yellow Submarine’ in the media player, and watch a psychedelic trip through one of the most famous albums of all time!

If you turn on your television, you are bound to see plenty of Beatles documentaries being played, so if you’re more of a night-in type of person, you can grab some snacks and watch some of these.

You can join in with online communities, sharing your Beatles memories and your favorite songs. There are even Beatles-themed comic strips and other creations that are floating around during Global Beatles Day, so you won’t be short of different things to do!

The Beatles still stand as one of the most influential bands of all time, famous all over the world to this very day. The prevalence of them in the worldwide culture can be seen in everything from choices of music for movie backdrops to jokes that are made around the world, from visual to audio. Global Beatles Day is a great time to remember these pioneers of the music industry and honor the change they brought to the world.

Enjoy the Beatles today, and everyday! Happy Friday!

GregRedd · June 26, 2021, 6:13am

Good morning!

It is Saturday, 26 June 2021
(W25 | D177 | 188 rem)

Today is: Chocolate Pudding Day

It was the school break super snack. If you looked in your lunchbox and saw a chocolate pudding you knew you had top currency. All the other kids were suddenly your best friend, and you could trade for anything you wanted. Not that you ever would, of course.

Indulging yourself in a little chocolate pudding doesn’t have to be a nostalgic childhood memory a feel-good pastime. I’m pleased to tell you that today is Chocolate Pudding Day, when adults and children alike can heap spoonful after spoonful of the stuff with abandon. But, if it’s pudding’s creaminess and smooth texture that make you melt, you may grimace at its origins as a sometimes-savory cakey dessert.

In the 17th century, “pudding” was served after dinner, and included everything from grains to raw mutton fat. Definitely not the spoonable suaveness we know and love today. And while the origin of National Chocolate Pudding Day is a bit obscure, we can at least take comfort in knowing it arose after creamy pudding was invented in the mid-1800’s. We take our chocolate pudding without raw kidney fat, thank you.

Back then puddings were made much different than the (classically thought of) pudding is today, and to be clear I’m talking about dessert puddings not savory puddings, which are another topic entirely. Common ingredients were butter and flour, suet, cereals, and other ingredients which when they came together served to create more of a cake like result than the puddings we think of today. It’s also worth mentioning that they baked, steamed, even boiled into their final form.

Originally it was egg that provided the thickening agent that made a pudding into a type of custard, but the invention of a stable powder-form of egg-free custard mix really helped to bring the dessert pudding into the modern day.

Chocolate pudding is of the type known as a creamy pudding, and is typically made of a combination of sugar, milk, and a thickening agent of one of broad range of things. Sometimes a gelatin was used, tapioca and cornstarch are popular, or even rice puddings.

The majority of puddings are served cold, though a few are prepared warm. Rice puddings are particularly popular as a warm served treat, and chocolate puddings are one of the few that can get away with being served warm or cold. Chocolate Pudding Day celebrates this diverse and delicious treat!

Rich, flavorful, and decadent, there’s nothing in life quite as good as chocolate pudding. While puddings of every type have a long and decadent history, it’s chocolate that’s the modern favourite. Its creamy texture is without a doubt one of the most amazing things about it.

How to celebrate Chocolate Pudding Day:
Well to start off with get yourself a great big bowl of delicious chocolate pudding and go to town. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous you can even try making your own, which opens up a broad range of possibilities. A milk chocolate may be a classic type of pudding, but you can also mix it up with a dark chocolate, a white chocolate, even a mint chocolate! Then you can top it with a swirl of caramel or even sprinkle it with rainbow sprinkles. Chocolate Pudding Day celebrates this amazing treat and offers you the opportunity to eat your fill, top it with whipped cream!

Get messy with it, whip it, whip it real good, and have a chocolate pudding extravaganza this Saturday!

GregRedd · June 27, 2021, 5:45am

Good morning!

It is Sunday, 27 June 2021
(W25 | D178 | 187 rem)

Today is: Sunglasses Day

Elton John has over a thousand pairs, Canadian singer Corey Hart only wears his at night, and you can tell the good guys from the bad guys in The Matrix by the shape of theirs. What am I talking about? Sunglasses, of course! There’s nothing quite as stylish as a pair of shades, so get out your aviators or your wayfarers and start celebrating Sunglasses Day!

Sunglasses Day – held annually on June 27 – is a commemorative date celebrating the importance of wearing ultraviolet (UV)-protective sunwear and eyewear.

Every day millions of people make the conscious decision to not wear sunglasses or other ultraviolet (UV) protective eyewear. While seemingly harmless, this habit carries serious vision risks, many of which are not known or understood by those who fail to wear protective frames.

UV radiation is often recognized as the culprit for sunburns and skin cancer, but most people don’t realize the damaging impact the wavelengths inflict on their vision. The problem originates with the sun’s unfiltered UV rays. Just as these rays can burn skin cells, they can also harm unprotected eyes. A full day outside without protection can cause immediate, temporary issues, such as swollen or red eyes, and hypersensitivity to light. Years of cumulative exposure can cause cancer of the eye or eyelid, and accelerate conditions like cataracts and age-regulated macular degeneration.

Sunglasses Day serves as a reminder that sunglasses are a major health necessity – regardless of whether it’s sunny or cloudy, warm or cold – and spread the word that sunglasses and other UV-protective eyewear are key to protecting long-term eye health.

Post a #SunglassSelfie of yourself in your sunglasses to the social media channel of your choice using #NationalSunglassesDay.

Even when you’re not observing National Sunglasses Day, you should still practice sun-safe behavior! Wear your sunglasses all year long – they’re not called “summer glasses,” after all.

Get your shades on, protect your vision, look cool. Win, win, win this Sunday!

Read more:

http://nationalsunglassesday.com/

GregRedd · June 28, 2021, 5:47am

Good morning!

It is Monday, 28 June 2021
(W26 | D179 | 186 rem)

Today is: International Body Piercing Day

Throughout the world body modification has been used for many purposes, from self-expression, to rites of passage, shock value, even religious observances. There has been a growing movement in the western world driving body modification to the forefront of popular forms of expression and self-decoration.

The history of body piercing isn’t clear, as there is a lot of misleading information out there, but there is significant indicators that it has been practiced by both men and women since prehistory. International Body Piercing Day is an opportunity for you to find a new way to express yourself with this age old practice.

Ear piercing has been well known in Western cultures for at least the last couple hundred years, and the evidence of it goes back quite a bit further, with evidence of ears and nose being pierced being discovered in the graves of many cultures, even as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was a well-known way of sending wealth along with the dead into the next life, and honoring them in their burial site.

But this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, lip and tongue piercings have been present in throughout the world, particularly well documented in African and American tribal cultures. Nipple can be tracked back at least as far the Ancient Romans, while genital piercing made a perhaps unexpected debut in Ancient India.

Body Piercing Day is originally dedicated to Jim Ward, often heralded as “the granddaddy of the body piercing movement”. Jim Ward has been an incredibly influential part of the new body modification movement, with a specific focus on body piercing.

He has been part of the forward driving force for piercings in the western world, and helped to develop the basic techniques for piercing, with a special focus on genital piercings.

He is directly responsible for introducing the incredibly popular barbell piercing style to the US, the internal threading style of them was a vast improvement over existing piercing techniques. This technique he picked up from ‘Tattoo Samy’ from Frankfurt, who had come to visit him a number of times in the US after this.

Body Piercing Day is a great opportunity to finally take the plunge, and get yourself that piercing you’ve been contemplating. With the ability to choose from the ever growing selection of piercings, from ear piercings, nose piercings, lip, and cheek piercings, you can display your individuality with a piece that’s meaningful to you.

Those are just the ones that are easily visible, when you take into account nipple piercings, the always sexy belly-button piercing, and the incredibly daring variety of genital piercings, there are tons of options for enhancing your life in some rather creative ways. Recent innovations have also brought into light the ‘dermal’, where a circle of skin is essentially punched out of your skin, and a mounting plate slipped under the surface. These can be placed just about anywhere on the body, but are quite common at the top of the sternum, with sparkling jewels or a loop ring being fastened on.

Body Piercing Day is a day to join the ever growing number of people who have started getting piercings. In England in 2005, a survey was done that revealed that 10% of people over the age of 16 have piercings in locations other than their earlobe. Women, as usual, are leading the charge in the newest form of fashion, and the men aren’t far behind.

Count your blessings and your piercings - How many do you have! Any really interesting ones? We made it to another Monday!

GregRedd · June 29, 2021, 5:16am

Good morning!

It is Tuesday, 29 June 2021
(W26 | D180 | 185 rem)

Today is: World Industrial Design Day

Observed annually on 29 June, World Industrial Design Day celebrates and recognizes the power of design to strengthen economic, social, cultural, and environmental development around the world.

Industrial designers envision products that fill homes, offices, hospitals, and schools. These visionaries serve diverse working environments and create innovations to help serve the leaders of the global economy.

They work tirelessly and out of sight to give people the best tools of the trade. World Industrial Design Day is a day dedicated to the industrial designers that create the vision of the future.

This day is for teaching people about the history of industrial design and potentially getting people interested in the profession.

World Industrial Design Day is a global day of observance whereby we celebrate industrial design, as well as the creation of the World Design Organization. World Industrial Design Day aims to increase awareness regarding working in industrial design, as well as championing the power of design in order to strengthen environmental, cultural, social, and economic development.

There are a number of different activities that take place around the design community in order to mark this day. This includes networking events, gallery installations, exhibits, design competitions, workshops, panel discussions, and much more.

Industrial design is the profession of designing products for millions of people every day. Almost every product used in a person’s home today was invented by designers working hard to make sure that people can live their lives easier. The profession began during the early 19th century when the industrial revolution began in Britain.

The Great Exhibition was held in 1851 as one of the first exhibitions to showcase industrial design on an international scale, helping influence the United States in their mass production.

People such as Robert Lepper, Herbert Reed, Robert Venturi, and Joseph Claude Sinel have all greatly influenced the world of industrial design. They crafted effective equipment that has helped shape the modern generation. Cars, phones, toasters, you name it.

All of those products have touched the hands of one industrial designer to another, been thought over, and executed so you can have the best quality of life.

The first World Industrial Design Day occurred in 2007. This represented 50 years since the establishment of the World Design Organization. Back then, though, it was known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid). Irrespective of the name, it has always been a worldwide organization, which is not tied to any governments, and promotes the industrial design profession, as well as the ability for better experiences, services, systems, and products to be produced.

Design your day to be the best it can be, and have a top class Tuesday!

Know more:
https://wdo.org/

GregRedd · June 30, 2021, 8:26am

Good morning!

It is Wednesday, 30 June 2021
(W26 | D181 | 184 rem)

Today is: International Asteroid Day

Asteroid Day (also known as International Asteroid Day) is an annual global event which is held on the anniversary of the Siberian Tunguska event, which is considered by some to be the most harmful known asteroid-related event on Earth in recent history.

The United Nations has proclaimed it be observed globally on 30 June every year in its resolution. Asteroid Day aims to raise awareness about asteroids and what can be done to protect the Earth, its families, communities, and future generations from a catastrophic event. For example, 2014 HQ124, discovered on April 23, 2014, went past at 1,250,000 km from Earth just 46 days later. Asteroid 2015 TB145, went past at 490,000 km only 21 days after its discovery.

Asteroid Day was co-founded by Stephen Hawking, filmmaker Grigorij Richters, B612 Foundation President, Danica Remy, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, and astrophysicist (and Queen guitarist) Brian May. Over 200 astronauts, scientists, technologists and artists, including Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, Peter Gabriel, Jim Lovell, and Michael Collins co-signed the Asteroid Day Declaration when it was officially launched on December 3, 2014.

In February 2014, Brian May began working with Grigorij Richters, director of the film 51 Degrees North, the story of a fictional asteroid impact on London and the human condition resulting from such an event. May composed the music for the film. After screening the film at the 2014 Starmus Festival, Remy, Schweickart, Richters and May co-founded Asteroid.

The workgroup of Asteroid Day created a declaration known as the “100X Declaration”, which appeals to all scientists and technologists who support the idea of saving the earth from asteroids. Today, the 100X Declaration has been signed by more than 22,000 private citizens, including those who are not necessarily specialists.

Although more than 1,000,000 asteroids have the potential to impact Earth, we have discovered only about 1% of them. The 100X Declaration calls for increasing the asteroid discovery rate to 100,000 (or 100x) per year within the next 10 years. “The more we learn about asteroid impacts, the clearer it became that the human race has been living on borrowed time,” remarked Brian May. “Asteroid Day and the 100X Declaration are ways for the public to contribute to an awareness of the Earth’s vulnerability and the realization that asteroids hit Earth all the time.” Asteroid Day is a vehicle to garner public support to increase our knowledge of when asteroids might strike and how we can protect ourselves.”

The main three goals are:

Employ available technology to detect and track near-earth asteroids that threaten human populations via governments and private and philanthropic organisations.
A rapid 100-fold acceleration of the discovery and tracking of near-earth asteroids to 100,000 per year within the next ten years.
Global adoption of Asteroid Day, heightening awareness of the asteroid hazard and our efforts to prevent impacts.

In February 2016, Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu and the Association of Space Explorers submitted a proposal to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations seeking official UN recognition for Asteroid Day, which was accepted. In its resolution the United Nations declares “30 June International Asteroid Day to observe each year, at the international level, the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908 and to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard.”

Keep an eye on the sky as you go about your Wednesday, My Dudes! Maybe use the tools in Idle Observatory to help find the next Near Earth Asteroid!

Know More:

The complete 51 Degrees North movie was uploaded to the Asteroid Day YouTube channel a month ago, but as an Unlisted Video. But, thanks to my sleuthing skills, I’ve found it and, with just 50 views of it so far, you can be one of the first to see it online if you act now:

Asteroid Day Site

Asteroid Day on Twitch

GregRedd · July 1, 2021, 6:48am

Good morning!

It is Thursday, 01 July 2021
(W26 | D182 | 183 rem)

Today is: Gingersnap Day

We haven’t had a food themed Today Is… for a while, so a chance today to have a low key celebration for that humblest of biscuits: the gingersnap.

A tough, crunchy and (obviously) ginger-y treat, the gingersnap has long been a popular teatime treat across the world. And today, it’s all about taking a moment to appreciate just how great these little biccies are.

Depending on where you go, you might get a slightly different biccie from different regional variant recipes – but wherever you are, raise a cup of tea to the ginger biscuit today and be sure to join in by tucking into one… or three!

This tough little biscuit is often known as a ‘ginger nut’ here and in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, but the makeup of them remains pretty much the same when you get down to it.

In the United Kingdown especially, they are very popular. Because of how tough they are and how slow they are to disintegrate when wet, they are often cited as being one of the best biccies to dunk in your cup of tea by the Great British public – who, as avid tea drinkers, should know!

In New Zealand, ginger biscuits are the most popular biscuit around – again, because they can withstand being dunked into hot liquid much better than other biscuits.

The term ‘gingersnap’ is usually most used in the United States. Though the recipe for them is very much the same as elsewhere, sometimes they are made with maple syrup too.

Today, make sure your teatime snack includes at least one tasty gingersnap!

You can make your own gingersnap biscuits quite easily at home too if you are feeling especially creative today, and want to channel your inner chef.
To make the cookie, you will need the basics – butter, brown sugar, golden syrup or maple syrup, some plain flour and of course the titular ginger spice that makes it so distinctive.

You can use ginger flavoring if you want to keep things nice and simple, but you can use ground fresh ginger if you want to make them super yummy.

The resultant cookies should be circular, of a medium thickness, and have a lovely cracked top that looks a bit like a dry riverbed!

However you decide to celebrate today, make it a great one!

Today is also Mid Year Day/Second Half of the Year Day

The middle of the year already?! Where has the time gone? Yip, today is Day #182 of the year. (But you knew that because you’ve noticed my diligent counting of the days at the top of everyone of these Today Is… posts. Right?) Today’s the day that the Day Number number starts to get larger than the Days Remaining number. Technically, the second half of the year starts at midnight.

And, Especially for our resident Canuck @murfle…

Today is also Canada Day

Canada Day (Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the Constitution Act, 1867 where the three separate colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada. Originally called Dominion Day (Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982 when the Canadian Constitution was patriated by the Canada Act 1982.

So Bonne Fete du Canada, maple syrup, ice hockey, and eh sorry!

murfle · July 1, 2021, 6:58am

Was waiting for this post before I wished everyone a Happy Canada Day!!

And what better way to celebrate Canada than to snap a ginger in half.

czc · July 1, 2021, 7:03am

Canada day ehy?

Wyvern · July 1, 2021, 7:07am

Happy Canada day to our resident Canuck!

You can snap all the gingers in half that you want and keep the ginger snaps for yourself (that stuff is gross)

Beo · July 1, 2021, 7:26am

What do you think aboot ginger biscuits eh?

murfle · July 1, 2021, 7:35am

They’re good. No doot aboot it!

GregRedd · July 2, 2021, 6:30am

Good morning!

It is Friday, 02 July 2021
(W26 | D183 | 182 rem)

Today is: World UFO Day

World UFO Day (aka World Flying Saucer Day) is an awareness day for folks to gather together and watch the skies for unidentified flying objects. The day is marked by some on 24 June and others on 2 July. (And both by true believers!)

24 June is that the date that aviator Kenneth Arnold reported what is generally considered the first widely reported modern UFO sighting in the United States, after claiming to have seen nine unusual objects flying in tandem near Mount Rainier in Washington on 24 June, 1947.

Meanwhile July 2nd commemorates the supposed flying saucer crash in Roswell, New Mexico a week later. The 1947 Roswell Incident is the one that sparked the bigger surge of interest in UFOs and added strength to the enduring Area 51 / government coverup / global conspiracy theories that have flourished since then.

The goal of the July 2 celebration is to raise awareness of “the undoubted existence of unidentified flying objects” and to encourage governments to release their files on UFO sightings.

The first World UFO Day was organized by WorldUFODay.com in 2001, and was put together to bring together enthusiasts of UFO’s and the evidence they’ve all gathered to support their existence. Knowing that the possibility that we’ll one day encounter other intelligent life in the universe is practically 100%, they knew it was vital that people started having the dialogue about their arrival long before there was accepted proof that they arrived.

Many of them believe they already have arrived, and anyone who knows anything about UFO’s is aware of the stories of abductions and what is seen as the seminal event in UFO history, the crash at Roswell. While they believe that the governments of the world are presently hiding this information from the populace, this in no way discourages believers from continuing to search for the truth they’re certain is out there.

Celebrating UFO Day happens in a lot of different ways, and the number of ways is as varied as the potential number of intelligent species in the known universe. UFO Enthusiasts gather around the world in known UFO hotspots like Roswell, New Mexico to share stories, provide support for other believers, and watch for the return of visitors in the night sky.

But this is hardly the only way to celebrate it, if you live in a small community of supporters or are merely quite far from the nearest large one, you can organize it yourself.

Getting together with friends and family to watch UFO movies and share the gospel of the little green man is a great way to support awareness of UFO’s and the copious evidence out there supporting their existence.

Don’t forget to include some UFO themed treats to go with your event, neon green punch and ice-cream shaped like the head of little green men are just a couple of ways to go. If you’re truly innovative you can bake cakes in the shape of aliens, have green eggs and ham, or even make special candies to celebrate.

Whatever you do, keep your eyes on the sky, and if you do spot something please, for the love of all that is holy, use a decent camera to get some HD pictures and video. The utter inability of UFO spotters to take a decent picture astounds me.

Have a fantastic Friday UFO Hunters!

Entity · July 2, 2021, 7:09am

I believe there must be something out there.