August 10th is
Lazy Day
National S’Mores Day
Smithsonian Charter Day
World Lion Day
“I was not the lion, but it fell upon me to
give the lion’s roar.” – Winston Churchill
HR 3546 / S 2541
The Big Cat Public Safety Act puts an end to back yard
breeding and exploitation of big cats and their cubs in America.
In U.S. – Please ask your members of congress to champion this bill
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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Brazil – São Luís:
Bumba Meu Boi
(final week, folkloric festival)
Czech – Prague:
Brutal Assault Fest
Germany – Luhmühlen:
A Summer’s Tale Festival
Nicaragua – Managua:
Dejada de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
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On This Day in HISTORY
1519 – Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships embark from Seville to circumnavigate the globe
1675 – The foundation stone laid for the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London
1793 – The Musée du Louvre officially opens in Paris
MORE! The Smithsonian, FDR, Candid Camera and Madonna, click
1846 – U.S. Congress charters Smithsonian Institution after English mineralogist James Smithson donates $500,000
1869 – O.B. Brown patents the motion picture projector
1885 – First commercial use of an electric streetcar in Baltimore, MD
1921 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt is stricken with polio
1927 – Mount Rushmore is formally dedicated
1948 – Candid Camera makes its television debut on ABC
1949 – President Truman signs National Security Act Amendment; Department of War becomes Department of Defense
1954 – Groundbreaking ceremony held at Massena NY for Saint Lawrence Seaway
1961 – First use in Vietnam by U.S. Army of Agent Orange
1977 – David Berkowitz, “Son of Sam,” is arrested for killing six people
1985 – Madonna becomes first female performer to have 5 million sales certified for an album, Like a Virgin
1988 – President Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were interned or relocated by the U.S. during WWII
1990 – NASA: Magellan space probe reaches Venus
1995 – Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols indicted for Oklahoma City bombing
2003 – For first time, a temperature over 100◦F is recorded in the U.K., at Kent
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Visuals
- A Lion Called Christian bookcover
- International flags
- Royal Observatory Greenwich
- Smithsonian – “The Castle”
- Saint Lawrence Seaway and river
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
I loved visiting the Smithsonian. My first stop was the Castle, where I was able to give a tip o’ the hat to the vault holding the remains of James Smithson, who founded the institution which bears his name.
My wife and daughter liked the Museum of Natural History. They made a beeline to the Hope Diamond display. Why was I not surprised. That visit was before Brandi was born. I spent most of my time at the Air & Space Museum. If Brandi had been with me, we would have practically lived in that building our entire stay. She did love her airplanes.
I was about 8 years old on a summer vacation when we visited the Smithsonian. The adults had only planned on a single morning visit, but we had to go back the next day because there was so much to see. I wasn’t that excited by the Gem exhibit – what I remember most: the First Ladies gowns, the Wright Brothers plane and Teddy Roosevelt’s bear.