In the Service of Her Majesty The Queen

I hope you had a good day and that the night is going well.

On the way in to work the other evening, I saw a huge flock of buzzards circling over a school. I've never seen so many. It was about the time that they look for a roosting tree and there were many trees in the area, so I assume that was what they were doing. Eerie.

The leaves are falling off the deciduous trees here. I'd say about half of the leaves are gone from each tree. My yard is a mess.

This New Year's Eve, we have a full moon and an eclipse. In addition, it is a Blue Moon. For those who don't know, a Blue Moon is when there are 2 full moons in a month...the 2nd one is the Blue Moon.

So things should be interesting.


To all who will sleep tonight on this side of the earth,

The Nightly Mission:

Sleep warm and safe and well,
wrapped in sweet dreams and
hope.

Wake up tomorrow with a good
outlook on life.

May the Lady smile
on you and me, too.

G'Night.

 

I hope you had a good day and night.

Getting cold again. Got my heater going.

I bought some arm warmers. They are cool. Sort of like leg
warmers, with a hole for your thumb. They only go halfway
up your lower arm, but they do the job. Toasty.


To all who sleep tonight on this side of the earth,

The Nightly Mission:

Love rules the night, so fill your heart
full of it and perhaps your dreams will
be sweet and warm your soul.

Wake up the next morning and live life.

May the Lady smile
on you and me too.

G'Night!

 

I hope you had a good day and the night goes well.

I watched the neighborhood kids playing basketball
out in front of my house, all bundled up in coats and
scarves. Kind of amusing. They were bare-handed,
though. Basketball could only originate in the tropics
(and I understand that it did).

Father Christmas is marching this way fast. I wonder
how many of the forumites are ready? I am almost
done. Mainly wrapping. Europe is already done and
mailed.

I am actually behind this year. Normally start in Oct.


To all who will sleep tonight on this side of the earth,

The Nightly Mission:

Pile on the feathers and fly away
warm into your dreams.

Wake up tomorrow and sing.


May the Lady smile
on you and me too.

G'Night!

 

Basketball originated in Illinois, I think. Indoors.

 

Basketball was invented by a Canadian, James Naismith in 1891.

 

I hope you had a good day and the night is going well.

I went and saw Avatar. Predictable ending, but well worth
seeing. Great graphics/animation, action, all that. I loved
it.

The very last screen shot was the most perfect way to end
the movie I can think of. And, no...no spoilers here.

Unlike many others, the previews were accurate, as to what
you would see and experience. Go see it.


To all who will sleep tonight (early for me) on this side of the earth:

The Nightly Mission:

A toasty heart and toasty feet
make a person sink into sweet
dreams and deep sleep.

Wake up in the morning in the light.


May the Lady smile
on you and me too.

G'Night.

 

Basketball originated in either ancient egypt or ancient greece. I'm thinking greece, as they judged their accomplishments by athleticism and had many, many competitions.

 

Ok. Indiana, then. Peach basket or something. Don't MAKE me google it.

 

My understanding was that it orignated somewhere in South America.

 

Greece, South America, Egypt, same thing. I just known it wasn't in the united states of america.

 

It was invented 1n 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Dr. James Naismith, born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada.

The 16th century Central American Aztec game, Ollamalitzli, was a precursor. It had no particular cultural connection to basketball, but was similar.

Looks like everyone was kind of right, damn it!

 

They played Ollamalitzli in the movie Apocalypto. The butcher threw the heads down the temple steps to the guys waiting to try and catch them in the nets, followed by the rest of the carcass.

 

Sounds more like bowling to me.

 

It's actually a Mayan game.

I was lucky enough to be in the ruins of one in the Yucatan, back in 2005. The stone hoops line the sides of the playing field and the players had to through a ball through the hoops to score. Losing was not an option, as the losers were sacrificed. I've got some good pictures of those particular ruins somewhere. It was almost completely intact, stands included, when we were there. Amazing feat of engineering, that!

 

Oh that's right. I was getting my cultures mixed up. It was the ancient greeks that invented air hockey!