A Little Trivia

The first civilization to appear in Northern Africa was that of the Nubians. The Nubians lived in villages along the Nile River, just south of Egypt around 3000 B.C. The fertile soils and endless fresh water from the Nile made Nubia the perfect location to build a city. The city they built was one of the most sophisticated of the time. Nubian kings, noblemen, and merchants grew wealthy through trade with Egypt and other peoples. Elaborate Nubian tombs have been found, showing that the kings of the time were as wealthy as the Egyptian kings of the same era.

Nubian Poets

African American trivia

The answers are below.

1. What group from the 80’s had a hit with the song titled “777-9311”?
2. Who was the first African American Supreme Court Justice?
3. What former Muhammad Ali bodyguard played Clubber Lang in Rocky III?
4. What gospel legend got her start singing in a group called the Caravan Singers?
5. What gospel pioneer wrote “Take my Hand Precious Lord”?
6. What is Dominique Wilkins’ brother first name that also played in the NBA?
7. How many times did Muhammad Ali win the Heavyweight Championship title?
8. Which one of these three entertainers appeared on the old Star Search variety show? a) Usher b) Michael Jackson c) Gerald Levert
9. Which one of these three comedians appeared on the old Star Search variety show? a) Martin Lawrence b) Eddie Murphy c) Bernie Mac
10. What singer had a hit with a song titled “The Big Payback”?
11. What is Marcia’s from the Brady Bunch real name?
12. What year was the legendary hip-hop recording “Rappers Delight” released?
13. What is Snoop Dogg’s real name?
14. What was legendary poet Amiri Baraka name before he changed it?
15. Who invented both the traffic light and gas mask?
16. What movie did Denzel Washington win an academy award for?
17. Who is America’s first Black female millionaire?
18. Who was the first person of African descent to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
19. Who was the first person of African descent to be honored on a postage stamp?
20. What show was Ralph Carter a co-star on that debuted on February 1, 1974?
21. What group had a hit in the 70’s with “One Bad Apple”?
22. What member of the famous Jackson family had a hit song titled “centipede”?
23. What singer had a hit with the song “Let’s Stay Together”?
24. Who was the first person of African descent to play in the Master’s Golf Tournament?
25. Who is the creator of the Kwanzaa holiday celebration?
26. Who is the founder of Ebony and Jet magazines?
27. He said nobody can sing like whom in the movie Five Heartbeats?
28. What was Diahann Carroll’s character first name in the movie Five Heartbeats?
29. What was the first black-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange?
30. In what year was Dr. Martin L. King Jr. assassinated?
31. Who was the first African American astronaut in space?
32. Who became the first African American female lawyer in 1872?
33. What show did the Jeffersons TV show spin-off from?
34. How many years did Michael Jordan play with the Chicago Bulls?
35. Is walking to the store in your house shoes ghetto?

Answers:

1. The Time
2. Thurgood Marshall
3. Mr. T.
4. Shirley Ceasar
5. Thomas A. Dorsey
6. Gerald
7. 3
8. Usher
9. Martin Lawrence
10. James Brown
11. Maureen McCormick
12. 1979
13. Calvin Broadus
14. Leroi Jones
15. Garrett A. Morgan
16. Glory
17. Madam C.J. Walker
18. Ralph Bunche
19. Booker T. Washington
20. Good Times
21. The Osmond Brothers
22. Rebbie Jackson
23. Al Green
24. Lee Elder
25. Dr. Maulana Karenga
26. John H. Johnson
27. Eddie Canne Jr.
28. Eleanor
29. Johnson, Products Company
30. 1968
31. Guion Bluford Jr.
32. Charlotte E. Ray
33. All in the Family
34. 13
35. Yes. End of Trivia

Gas Up For the Day :)

An old penny pincher had no friends. Just before he died he asked his doctor, lawyer, and pastor to gather around him at bedside.
"I have always heard that you can't take it with you. But I want to disprove that theory," he said. "I have $90,000 under my mattress, and when I die, just before they throw the dirt on me at my burial, I want you each to toss in an envelope with $30,000 within."
The three attended the funeral and each threw his envelope in the grave. On the way back from the cemetery, the pastor said, "I must confess. I needed $10,000 for my new church, so I only threw in $20,000."
The doctor then said, "I must confess too. I needed $20,000 for a new hospital I was opening up, so I only threw in $10,000."
The lawyer looked at them both and shook his head. He then said, "Gentlemen, I'm surprised, shocked, and ashamed of you. I don't see how you could dare to go against that man's final wish. I mean, I threw in my personal check for the full amount!"



Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.
Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?
If Walmart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors... but they all exist very nicely in the same box.
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.



Two guys met in the middle of the desert. One was carrying a car door, the other an umbrella.
The one with the car door said to the guy with the umbrella, "Why are you carrying that umbrella around? It isn't going to rain in the desert!"
To which the guy with the umbrella replied, "Yeah, but it keeps me out of the sun! By the way, why are you carrying around that car door, you don't even have a car to go with it!"
The guy with the car door replied, "Yeah, well at least if I get too hot from the sun I can just roll down the window!"



Walking through San Francisco's Chinatown, a recent tourist from the Midwest was fascinated with all the Chinese restaurants, shops, signs and banners. One particular building, however, caught his eye with the sign "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry."
"Moishe Plotnik?" he wondered. "How does that fit in Chinatown?"
So he walked into the shop and saw a fairly standard looking Chinese laundry. He could see that the proprietors were clearly aware of the uniqueness of the name as there were baseball hats, T-Shirts and coffee mugs emblazoned with the logo "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry."
There was also a fair selection of Chinatown souvenirs, indicating that the name alone had brought many tourists into the shop. The tourist selected a coffee cup as a conversation piece to take back to his office.
Behind the counter was a smiling old Chinese gentleman who thanked him for his purchase in English, thickly accented with Chinese.
"Can you tell me how this place got a name like "Moishe Plotnik's Chinese Laundry?" the tourist asked.
The kind gentleman answered, "Ahh... Everybody ask that. Is name of owner."
"Oh.. is he here now?"
"He is right here," replied the kind gentleman. "He is me."
"Really? How did you receive a name like Moishe Plotnik?" the tourist asked.
"Is simple," said the kind gentleman. "Many, many year ago when come to this country, was stand in line at Documentation Center. Man in front is Jewish gentleman from Poland. Lady look at him and say, 'What your name?' He say, 'Moishe Plotnik.' Then she look at me and say, 'What your name?'"
"I say, 'Sam Ting.'"



A man takes the day off work anddecides to go out golfing.He is on the second hole when he notices a frog sitting next tothe green.He thinks nothing of it and isabout to shoot when hehears, Ribbit 9 Iron."The man looks around and doesn'tsee anyone. Again, hehears, "Ribbit 9 Iron." He looksat the frog and decides toprove the frog wrong, puts theclub away, and grabs a 9 iron.Boom!He hits it 10 inches from thecup. He is shocked. He saysto the frog, "Wow that's amazing.You must be a lucky frog, eh?The frog replies, "Ribbit Lucky frog."The man decides to take the frogwith him to the next hole."What do you think frog?" theman asks. "Ribbit 3 wood."The guy takes out a 3 wood and,Boom! Hole in one. Theman is befuddled and doesn't knowwhat to say. By the endof the day, the man golfed thebest game of golf in his life andasks the frog, "OK where to next?"The frog replies, "Ribbit Las Vegas.They go to Las Vegasand the guy says, "OK frog, nowwhat?" The frog says, "Ribbit Roulette." Uponapproaching the roulette table, The manasks, "What do you think I shouldbet?" The frog replies, "Ribbit$3000, black 6."Now, this is amillion-to-one shot to win, butafter the golf game the manfigures what the heck.Boom! Tons of cash comes sliding back across the table.The man takes his winnings andbuys the best room in thehotel. He sits the frog down andsays, "Frog, I don't know how to repay you.You've won me all this money andI am forever grateful."The frog replies, "Ribbit KissMe." He figures why not,since after all the frog did forhim, he deserves it. With akiss, the frog turns into agorgeous 15-year-old girl. "And that,your honor, is how the girlended up in my room. So help me Godor my name is not William Jefferson Clinton."

Life Isn't That Serious.

For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set
2. A day without sunshine is like, night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
7. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
8. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
9. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges
10. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
11. Remember half the people you know are below average.
12. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?
13. Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.
14. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
15. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
16. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
18. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
19. I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
20. I intend to live forever - so far so good.
21. Borrow money from a pessimist - they don't expect it back.
22. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
23. My mind is like a steel trap - rusty and illegal in 37 states.
24. Quantum mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.
25. The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.
26. Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.
27. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.
28. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
29. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
30. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
31. For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism.
32. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks
33. Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.
34. No one is listening until you make a mistake.
35. Success always occurs in private and failure in full view.
36. The colder the x-ray table the more of your body is required on it.
37. The hardness of butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.
38. The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.
39. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
40. To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.
41. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life.
42. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
43. Two wrongs are only the beginning.
44. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
45. The sooner you fall behind the more time you'll have to catch up.
46. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
47. Change is inevitable except from vending machines.
48. Get a new car for your spouse - it'll be a great trade!
49. Plan to be spontaneous - tomorrow.
50. Always try to be modest and be proud of it!
51. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
52. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand...
53. Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener.
54. If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't for you.

Beautiful Flowers for everyone....

Muscari flowers Beautiful perrenials multiply and fragrant

M. armeniacum

Fantasy Creation
M. plumosum M. armeniacum

Blue Spike

I got these Blue Spike flowers yesterday. Couldn't resist when a Lady stopped and told me they spread all over her lawn and I just love that. If you have red tulips on one side and yellow tulips on the other and these beautiful ones in the middle it sure is a beautiful sight to behold.

All species' bulbs should be planted at least 3" (8 cm) deep, in a location where the water can't settle in winter plant bulbs in zones 3 - 9, except for M. latifolium which prefers zones 2 to 5
All species will naturalize extremely easily (i.e. come back year after year and gradually multiply); that is, unless you plant them in completely sunless or swamplike conditions!

Muscari are all-round flowers: they are excellent as cut flowers, when planted in rockgardens, beds, borders, under shrubs, and trees, and can be used for indoor forcing. .

Have fun.

Good Morning Monday (Marlena Dietrich)

Good Morning and a Happy Monday to every one!

I was reading some comments about the old songs I put on, and it suddenly occured to me that the young people don't understand why these songs are so meaningful and why they speak so clearly to many of us over 23 folks lol

My Grand mother had these songs and I grew up with them on old LP's. but it is only later when I grew up and began trying to find out why all these old people had idiosyncracies (lol) that I started to pay attention.
I wanted to understand why they were the way they were.

Tough, strong, rarely cried, disciplined, rarely complained about pain. They would smile when you'd complain about the hard day you had and come up with something like ya... hard to push buttons.lol

They were able to close their eyes to pain and suffering.

Love meant something different to them.
They never talked about it but they felt it deeply.

In fact my grand mother taught me a few words of wisdom.
When they keep telling you they love you, it means they don't.
Actions speak louder than words.

They understood what friendship meant.
They were frugal and charitable and did a lot without you having to ask for it,
always one step ahead.
They could taste the soil and know if it was good.
They could find water with a stick and tell you where to dig.
They had golden hands and could turn straw into gold.

Every morning they woke up, was a glorious morning!
They knew how to laugh at misfortune.

They believed in saving for a rainy day, in food, clothing, medicines and they always tinkered with things, recycled.
Our people today have no respect for material things and sit feeling sorry for themselves all the time.

You listen to kids and parents talk about bullying and you wonder, how did strong people of yesterday survive? He's bullying you? Punch him in the nose. Johnny Cash sang the song about the boy named Sue.
It's a survival song.
No old person I knew wanted to die and here, we have everything, and everyone's spirits are down.

"Suicide " is heard thrown around in schools and in households and in businesses.

Seems people are not living their lives right.
They forget there are no short cuts in life. It is, what it is.

People need to be needed and appreciated and loved.
They need dirt in their lives. They need chickens and horses and a garden and flowers.
They need chores.

Only families can provide that because they divide chores and everyone feels like they are doing something good by pitching in.

This is why I feel sorry young people today, throw their old away into nursing homes, when they could have such great family evenings, finding out about the incredible lives they led and all this is going to die with them.
They have incredible stories. All you need is a campfire and a peace pipe and it could be like in the old Indian days ,except much better, with new technology.lol

My Grandfather walked amongst the bombs as they fell all around him, while every one else hid in bomb shelters.
He said: " If its my time, it's my time."
It wasn't. He was safe and God protected him.

Another fellow was the first one in the bomb shelters fearing to die. As soon as the sirens blew., he was right there, hiding under a bed, at the very bottom.

One time, before people had a chance to get there, a bomb blew through the shelter he was in and went down to the very bottom and landed right in front of his eyes and didn't explode.

They found him under the bed, staring at this bomb, insane.

That was a message sent to him, that if death wants you, it knows where to find you.

Another story was about the Germans who had the best bomb shelters and sent the other people to shabbier ones. Well seems the bombs found their bomb shelters and they provided them no safety, while the shabbier ones were not touched.

So they began to run to hide in those instead. How did the bombs know where to find the right shelters to bomb? It had to be some divine intervention. You see God speaking during these times and you don't question his existence.

Marlena Dietrich led the most fascinating life and these people should not die without every one knowing their stories because we become better people as a result.Ernest Hemingway thought that "if she had nothing more than her voice, she could break your heart with it."

Voltaire was a great man. He knew Pushkin.
My latest research has been about Pushkin. I loved his stories as well but it is when I went into his great grandfathers story...... that I found a most fascinating one. It led me deeper into Islam and slavery.
something that effects us even today.

People don't forget history. It affects and follows you in everything you do.
Schools teach but they don't teach what people need to know.
Once you put all the missing pieces together, things make a lot of sense.

How many people do we elect to lead us who don't know history enough to understand the consequences of their actions?
How many elections do we give ballots to, without knowing the people we are voting for, except what the lobby groups tell us?

You see, old people can fill in the missing blanks because they lived through it all.
They may not have education but they do have life experiences which amount to the same thing.

Where have all the flowers gone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ptqXqjsZw

Falling in love again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtLpt0N2esE&feature=related

Marlena
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUnacYzT2-Q&feature=related

La Vie En Rose Marlene
http://a-ladyslife.blogspot.com/2009/03/

Thank you God, for North America.
And God Bless the World.

Joe Dassin Et si tu n'existe pas.

Joe Dassin :

Et Si Tu n'existe pas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUJOCa_GRHg&feature=related

Champs Elysees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAMuNfs89yE&feature=related

A Toi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-QpaFBD6nE&feature=related

Le Cafe des 3 Colombes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8Oz_BDa4A&feature=related


L'Ete Indien
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaj1a_bu--4&feature=related

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjMqRyio_jE&feature=related

I always loved that song.