Stilettos, Stoli & Scribbles ~ Served With A Twist

Or just some coffee?

Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz via Peanuts Worldwide LLC

Good morning and Happy Monday! (Already?! Yes, already.) Today is the 86^th day of 2017. (Already?! Yes, already.)  One of my brothers finally got all of his Christmas decorations put away just this past weekend. There are buildings in my neighborhood that still have giant wreaths on them. And If you’re still writing 2016 on your checks, it’s time to get with the program – in more ways than one. Who writes checks anymore?

As readers of this blog, you may or may not know that if I’m known for anything, it’s that I have a head full of (mostly) useless information. How a lot of it got in there is up for debate, but once it does, it sticks.  Granted, I used to like to read the dictionary and the encyclopedia when I was a kid.  I still manage to collect factoids and bits of trivia like a sponge.  As I said, mostly useless, although good for cocktail parties. No one who knows me wants to play Trivial Pursuit with me, however.

Alex Trebek and yours truly – November 2000

I love to do research while writing, but I need a rope around my waist so that I can be pulled out of the Google or Wikipedia rabbit holes.  One click leads to another which leads to another and on and on it goes.

Take this morning, for instance. I don’t remember what I was looking for but I found myself on The History Channel’s website. I learned a few things, but whether any of them will ever be of any use remains to be seen. For instance, did you know that on is this date in:

1905 – Fingerprint evidence was used to solve a (British) murder case for the first time

1912 – The first Japanese Cherry Trees were planted along the Potomac in Washington, D.C.

1939 – The University of Oregon defeated Ohio State University to win the first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

1964 – The strongest earthquake in U.S. History (8.4 on the Richter Scale) hit Alaska and caused a deadly tsunami.

1973 – Marlon Brando turned down his Best Actor Oscar (for The Godfather)

Oh, and here’s a good one: In 1998, the USFDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved the sale of Viagra. (Hard to believe that Albert Wood’s invention has only been around for 19 years. Although there are probably quite a few men who wish it had come sooner.)

via NBCNews

What will March 27, 2017 be remembered for?  Do you have any grand plans for the day? Maybe getting up, getting dressed and getting on with it is enough for a Monday.  In any case, I hope it’s good one.