Sunday: Hili dialogue

Good morning on Ceiling Cat’s Day: Sunday, January 26, 2020, and National Peanut Brittle Day. If you’re a healthy eater, it’s National Green Juice Day as well (I am a fan of only two vegetable juices: tomato and carrot, neither of which is green. And please, don’t be a Pecksniff and tell me that tomatoes aren’t vegetables!). Finally, it’s Spouse’s Day, which I would have thought was equivalent to Valentine’s Day, but I guess the former involves celebrating someone to whom you’re married.  So, give them a treat!

And it’s Australia Day, celebrating  “the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.” Here’s Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl, celebrating all things Oz:

Stuff that happened on January 26 includes:

• 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 M_w Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
• 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day. (JAC: See above.)
• 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States.
• 1905 – The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
• 1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
• 1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
• 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
• 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
• 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Remember this? It was an arrant lie and led to his impeachment for obstruction of justice and lying under oath. (He got off, of course.)

Those who were born on this day include:

• 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
• 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)

The real Maria von Trapp, shown below, did not resemble Julie Andrews (see caption):

Here’s the family singing:

• 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (d. 2008). The handsomest man of our time.
• 1944 – Angela Davis, American activist, academic, and author
• 1944 – Jerry Sandusky, American football coach and criminal
• 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
• 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
• 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Those who popped off on January 26 include:

• 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician and immunologist (b. 1749)
• 1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
• 1893 – Abner Doubleday, American general (b. 1819)
• 1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (b. 1887)

Let’s honor Vavilov, a prominent geneticist and agronomist whose Mendelian ideas about plant inheritance clashed with those of the powerful charlatan Trofim Lysenko. Because of that, Vavilov was sent to the gulag, where he starved to death on this day in 1943. (He was pardoned in 1955, but it was of course too late.) He was also an atheist. Here’s his mugshot for the camp:

Too late, too late. A Vavilov stamp from 1987:

• 1962 – Lucky Luciano, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)

Curiously Frank Costello, born on this day in 1891, and Luciano, who died on this day in 1962), were friends and partners in crime (the Mafia).

• 1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has no taste for going outside:

Hili: Fog!

A: Yes, what?

Hili: I will stay at home and read a book.

Hili: Mgła!
Ja: I co z tego?
Hili: Zostanę w domu i poczytam książkę.

Three posts from the Jesus of the Day Facebook page.

The Queen of Wokeness toys with a Twitterati who thinks she’s real:

I knew going to see @joerogan was a bad idea… pic.twitter.com/OlMfGjoC3F

— Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) January 24, 2020

And three tweets from the 41 Strange site.  This first one was sent by a reader who didn’t believe it, but it’s true:

https://twitter.com/41Strange/status/1220825479965315072

Plant life imitates animal life:

https://twitter.com/41Strange/status/1220911259542884352

Proof that rabbits have been heavily domesticated since medieval times:

https://twitter.com/41Strange/status/1220939724337999879

A tweet from Heather Hastie, who says about this one: “Here’s a pregnant badger for you. Her name is Humbug aka Mrs Lumpy”.

Her badger bump is clearly visible, and look at those cute badger footprints!

Yay Humbug has been whilst I’m awake! I don’t think she’s had any cubs yet but you can clearly see her little round bump! I’m so excited 😍🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 pic.twitter.com/KVB0cRj6re

— Mr Lumpy & Friends (@LumpyandFriends) January 23, 2020

Three tweets from Matthew. I’d like to encounter a roadblock like this. Note how it turns into a ménage à trois:

Sorry, road closed! pic.twitter.com/2bJJrqTjrR

— Meriel (@MerielMyers) January 25, 2020

There are footnotes for those of us (like me) who can’t understand this heavy Scottish accent:

This Scot waking up in the wrong house is the best thing I've seen all year. Can't stop laughing (via Reddit). pic.twitter.com/2fqO6M65WN

— Josh Feldberg 🐦 (@JoshFeldberg) January 24, 2020

I showed the owl recently, but look at the penguin. Its knees are hidden by feathers, and have a gander at that neck!

And the other end, Owls have really long legs.

I think you may be on to something. pic.twitter.com/JSistlN3T8

— Steven Hoober. No, with a "B." (@shoobe01) January 24, 2020