One of the theories as to where the superstition of Friday the 13th being an unlucky day came from goes back to Friday, October 13, 1307.
But actually, the story started before that…
Tags: Conspiracy Theories, Templars
More than 38 million Americans are food insecure, hungry or at risk of hunger.
39% of the America’s Second Harvest Network clients are children, representing one in ten of all children in America.
According to the USDA, 13.8 million children live in families that suffer from hunger or live on the edge of hunger (ERS).
70% non-elderly families that used food pantries had earned income in the past year (From the Urban Institute’s 2003 report).
Four million non-elderly low-income families said they had used a food pantry at least once during the past year.
39% of households that sought emergency food assistance from our Network
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O.K. Now that I’ve got your attention…. 
Today’s niftiest news stories are about two very brave souls — George Takei and Emily the cat.
APPLETON, Wisconsin (AP) — When Emily the cat went missing a month ago, her owners looked for their wandering pet where she had ended up before — the local animal shelter. This week they learned Emily sailed to France.
Lesley McElhiney now figures her cat went prowling around a paper warehouse near home and ended up in a cargo container that went by ship across the Atlantic Ocean and was trucked to Nancy, a city in northeastern France
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comments See also in Interesting Trivia, In the News, Books, Music, Movies, & T.V., Geekery, The World
I know that the cat in Bell, Book, and Candle is called Pyewackett and that the beatnik club they go to is The Zodiac, but was was the name of Gil’s shop?
It’s bugging me and I haven’t been able to find it on google. 
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Here’s an amusing tidbit from The Blog Herald. I find it amusing because at least two or three times a week on the Weight Watchers message board someone posts a question asking about blogging and how to do it. It’s hard to believe there are that many blogs out there and that many people who don’t know what they are.
» When is a blog not a blog: when readers don’t know any differently
More interesting research, this time from Nielsen//Netratings that found that a decent sized portion of blog readers don’t actually realize they are reading
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comments See also in Interesting Trivia, Geekery, Blogging & Other Blogs
I was trying to get to the website of The Portland Press Herald of Maine, but somehow ended up on a magic redirect to a website for Portland, OR. I thought this little bit of trivia was interesting and had to share:
Portland started as a spot known as “The Clearing” which was on the Willamette about half-way between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land; his only problem was that he lacked the quarter needed to file a land claim. So, he struck a bargain with his partner
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I picked up this little “hmmmmm” at Freecycle.org
With the advent of emails, has our copy paper usage has gone up, down or stayed the same?
Answer: It has gone up by 40%!! And it’s increasing a further ten percent a year. So much for the paperless society. The desire to print out all that extra information, coupled with cheap printers at every desk, have led to this overwhelming increase.
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It’s interesting what you learn on the food channel. Right now they’re airing some shows about food as it relates to the White House and White House history. Apparently, the Presidential family gets a bill once a month for their meals, dry cleaning and necessities like toothpaste. Nancy R. was reportedly shocked to learn this when she got the first bill.
Oh, and the Roosevelts served the King and Queen of England hot dogs and baked beans.
Reagan ate Jelly Beans to stop pipe smoking in ‘67. Jelly Belly created Blueberry so they could send him 3
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The following was sent to me by a friend.
“Night of Terror” on Nov. 15, 1917
A short history lesson on the privilege of voting… The women were innocent and defenseless. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden’s blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of “obstructing sidewalk traffic.”
They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head
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Have I mentioned how much I love living in a small town. I never thought I would. I always thought I was too much of a city girl to like living in the woods on the edge of a small town.
But I do.
I love that I don’t have to set my alarm clock on Sunday to get my newspaper before someone steals it. In fact, if I don’t remember to go out and get it, it’ll still be there Monday morning.
I love that there are walking paths in
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The Naked Truth
& Other
Discombobulated Thoughts
of a displaced Southerner in New England -- from just daily annoyances to conspiracy theories to political views.
The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
Marley and Me by John Grogan
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby
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