State Nicknames

 After yesterday's post on city nicknames I got a trivia email about state nicknames,it's almost as if "they" know what I'm up to! I think most of them were pretty obvious but two had interesting tidbits I wanted to share. Connecticut is called The Constitution State which seems odd until the back story is known. Before the Constitution was written the Connecticut Colony laid the groundwork with the Fundamental Orders 1638-39 which were the first written rules of government. 

Next on the interesting nicknames is Ohio,The Buckeye State named for the native buckeye tree which bears nuts resembling the eyes of a male deer. Maybe everyone else knew this one but I didn't. This post was meant for yesterday but there was a power outage so it was delayed. 

Not What You Thought

 The title of today's post may be misleading but when I came across how some cities got their nicknames they weren't what I had assumed they referred to. For instance Chicago is called the Windy City and like a fool I assumed that literally but in fact it comes from residents of Chicago in general and politicians in particular being windbags or full of hot air. 

As for the Big Easy it is a fairly recent nickname (1960) though there was a Big Easy dance hall in 1900,it was used in 1960 to highlight the difference between the bustle of NYC (The Big Apple) and NOLA and it applies to several aspects of the city,from the ease musicians can make a living and the general laid back attitude of the residents. Though during Mardi Gras it's a little harder to see the laid back part. 

Selfish

 For the last year or longer I've been getting repeat calls from a woman with a Hispanic accent,no big deal right? I always try to tell her right away that she has the wrong number but that never stops her,she is in one sort of distress or another every time. Yesterday afternoon she called me again and as usual I tried to tell her she had the wrong number but she wasn't having any of that,she said all she wanted was for me to come and get her,I explained I couldn't come and get her since I neither knew who she was nor where she was. She told me to stop being so selfish and hung up. I'd be willing to bet that whoever she thinks she is calling has a lot of explaining to do. 

No Right Answer

 As previously established I enjoy optical illusions though in today's case there isn't much to enjoy since technically it isn't even an optical illusion. It is actually a visual personality test and spoiler alert,it doesn't matter what the first thing you focus on is because they all point to negative traits. If you notice the woman first your focus is physical appearances,the river means social status,the bridge lack of empathy and lastly the boat,self importance. Bottom line,there is no optical illusion. If anyone is wondering I noticed the woman first but that's probably because it was the biggest figure in the picture. 

Sports Whine

 Does anyone actually watch tennis on TV? or golf for that matter and why is it that they see fit to preempt regular programming to play sports? Who decided sports are more important? I have a hunch that it is a male holding the reins who decides put sports on and I'm pretty sure there is considerably less advertising so are they willing to operate at a loss just to satisfy their personal preferences? At some point I realized that we will never see actual equality in my lifetime and it still pisses me off. Though I was pleased to see Coco win. 

I'll Have a Beer

 A brewery in Finland has launched a new beer to mark the country's bid to join NATO. The name,"Otan ollutta" is Finnish for "I'll have a beer" and is also the French abbreviation for NATO which is "OTAN". They started making the beer over worries about the war in Ukraine and their own country's border with Russia. The flavor of the beer is described as,"a taste of security,with a hint of freedom". Both Finland and Sweden have applied to join NATO recently. I was surprised to learn there was currently only 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and though Ukraine wanted to join it is not yet a member but is receiving aid from the Organization. 

Rum Punch

 June is Rum Punch Month,I've never been much for rum but that doesn't mean everyone else isn't! 

6/1 Baby Boomer Recognition Day 

6/2 ! National Gun Violence Awareness Day! 

6/3 Wonder Woman Day 

6/4 Turtle Races Day 

6/5 National Moonshine Day 

6/6 Yo-yo Day 

6/7 Bartenders Day 

6/8 Upsy Daisy Day 

6/9 Donald Duck Day 

6/10 National Egg Roll Day 

6/11 Corn on the Cob Day 

6/12 National Beef Jerky Day 

6/13 Roller Coaster Day 

6/14 National Bourbon Day 

6/15 National Lobster Day 

6/16 World Tapas Day 

6/17 National Flip Flop Day 

6/18 Mermaid Day 

6/19 World Sauntering Day 

6/20 World Refugee Day 

6/21 World Giraffe Day 

6/22 World Rain Forest Day  

6/23 Let It Go Day 

6/24 World UFO Day 

6/25 World Bike Naked Day 

6/26 Barcode Day 

6/27 National Onion Day 

6/28 National Logistics Day 

6/29 International Day of the Tropics 

6/30 California Avocado Day