June 23 Typewriter Day: Christopher Latham Sholes along with Carlos Glidden is credited with inventing the first practical typewriter between 1868 and 1874. The first typewriters were mass-produced by the Remington Arms company. More famous of course for the guns they produced. And yes all you QWERTY haters out there the famous or should I say infamous arrangement was present on the first patented typing machine. In fact the QWERTY arrangement itself was also patented.

June 24 Flying Saucer Day: In some circles a Kenneth Arnold is credited or derided for reporting the first flying saucer sightings. Flying Saucer Day honors him and all the other believers in the truth being out there.

June 27 Talk Like A Cheesy P.I. Day: I was unable to find any data on the origins of this particular oddball day. In hindsight I wish I had stumbled across this day prior to the 27th. Could of spent the day with some cheesy movies. As a matter of fact I believe the 27th was the day I watched several Thin Man comedies on TCM. Coincidence I think not.

June 29 Remote Control Day: E-Card sites actually sell this day as a day to take control of ones life. As if. My experience has been that most people have been taken over by their remote controls. Sitting in front of the boob tube for hours believing that if they just keep clicking the button something worthwhile will suddenly appear on the screen. I sometimes wonder if there is not some sort of mind control chip hidden inside the plastic. For those who care the remote infiltrated our world in 1964.

Aunt Mary

My maternal grandmother had several siblings, one of her sister’s Mary lived locally and we used to visit her quite frequently. Aunt Mary married late in life and never had children of her own. She had one stepson who was quite nearly fully-grown when she met him so parenting was not her strong suit.

Visits to her house were always a bit scary. Nothing within those four walls could ever be called kid friendly. No games. No toys. No candy. No cookies. The most frightening aspect of her house was the living room furniture.

Furniture you ask?

Yes the furniture. Like a house that had been shut down in the course of some 1950’s B-Movie due to unexplainable phenomena. Ghosts, ghouls, demons take your spectral pick.

Why this odd connection?

Because every couch, chair and stool was covered in a thick opaque plastic designed no doubt to protect the furniture from the wear and tear of daily use. Sitting on one of those monstrosities felt like an afternoon spent along the equator. Your skin became clammy, sweat poured from the pores and weird noises emitted from the places where bare skin may have inadvertently come into contact with plastic.

As much as I loved her I hated visiting her house for that reason. I would usually bring a book and sit out on the porch while the sister’s visited. There was no escape though, sooner or later I would be called inside to present myself to my aunt and fill her in on my activities since or last visit.

The drive home would be a time for the breeze through slipping through the car window to dry my clammy skin and for me to debate what I would buy with the shiny new quarter in my pocket, my payoff for being a good nephew.

Soapbox

Arrogance

“Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country….”

President George Bush June 28, 2005

Begin soapbox.

For the most part current affairs and politics have never really been the driving force behind Murmur’s. The primary reason has always been to avoid offending the casual visitor.

That being said, as a parent the quote from President Bush really struck home. With all of the controversy surrounding this war if it was my one of my sons or my daughter who was coming home in a box I could without hesitation state unequivocally that the sacrifice Mr. President was not worth it. No only that but I find it the height of arrogance to presume to speak for the families of the fallen by labeling their sacrifices part of the greater good.

End Soapbox.

30 Minutes

Tonight I wasted thirty minutes of my life that are forever irretrievable.

I went to the movies for the first time in quite a while and found that the amount of commercials (the pre-show countdown) and previews have reached thirty minutes coming close to one third of the average movies length.

If the commercials had been new and/or original the wait may not have been so bad. Unfortunately for my senses they were all commercials I fast forward through on a regular basis at home.

The industry has even managed to sneak a few “previews” of current or soon to be released films into the commercial block by creating behind the scenes commentaries.

This evening we were treated to Ron Howard explaining why Cinderella Man had nothing to do with boxing and a variety of so called experts explaining how the Voodoo used in some movie called The Skeleton Key was based on fact. I was especially intrigued when I found out that if I sprinkle red brick dust on my front porch I will know my enemies because anyone who wants to bring me harm will be unable to cross the line.

Sure.

Than during the previews the rehashed the whole Skeleton Key movie this time without the help of experts.

Did I mention the movie we saw was Land of the Dead? Rather ironic when we sit through all this bullshit waiting for the movie to begin. No one complains. No one walks out. We just shuffle along like the zombies in the film handing over our hard earned money.

Go figure.

Dog Day's Of June

It seems that over the years every calendar day has come to embrace multiple meanings beyond the day of the week and the day of the month. Of course there are the biggies that everyone knows: birthdays, anniversaries, holy days and holidays the list goes on.

Some of the oddest and most bizarre ones that I have come across recently are listed below.

June 6th – Applesauce Cake Day: I am a big fan of Applesauce Cake or so I thought. Apparently the recipe handed down to me from my mother is not appropriate for Applesauce Cake Day. Our recipe and the official recipe of the day could not be more different. For those interested I can email you a copy of ours, as I would prefer not to share it with the entire internet.

June 13th – Blame Someone Else Day: Not only am I not surprised that there is a Blame Someone Else day I find it ironic that know two sites agree on the exact day. One site assigns the day to the first Friday the 13th of the year. Another assigns it to all Friday the 13th’s. A third site chose June 13th this year as the day, which to the best of my knowledge was not a Friday. I wonder whom we can blame?

June 16th – National Morticians Day: Did anyone else beside me forget to drop in at his or hers local cemetery or mortuary to thank the mortician on duty for his or hers fine contributions to society. I thought so. Whoever handles the publicity for National Morticians Day is failing at their task and should be replaced.

Apparently National Morticians Day was founded by an organization of morticians in the early 1900’s. Rather than a random day the leader of the group chose his mother’s birthday as the day to honor his profession. I wonder if his mom found his memorial a bit morbid.

June 18th – National Hollerin’ Contest Day: On the third Saturday in June (though some sites fix the day on June 18th) since 1969 crowds have descended on Spivey’s Corner located in North Carolina for the National Hollerin’ Contest. When I discovered that the Super Bowl of Hollerin’ was just around the corner I fired up the ol’ digital video recorder and frantically searched the channel guide for the pre-show countdown. To my dismay I later found out that the Hollerer’s have yet to be discovered by ESPN.

June 21st – Cuckoo Warning Day: For the life of me I could not figure out what Cuckoo Warning Day was all about. The jokes are obvious but I wondered if something more sinister was involved. Sure enough Cuckoo fans are trying to steal Groundhog Day’s thunder. Apparently if you hear a Cuckoo (a live one not the clock kind) on June 21st it means that we are in for a wet and humid summer. Somehow though the Cuckoo just does not seem like it would know has about weather as a Groundhog apparently does.

Father's Day

Today was Father’s Day. Similar in theme to Mother’s Day but celebrated or not in a very different manner.

When Mother’s Day rolls around for week’s beforehand ads can be found filling the newspaper. In big, black, bold letters the words scream at the reader: Mother’s Day brunch here make your reservations now. Or simply do not forget your mom on Mother’s Day.

If one is unfortunate enough to forget that special day will be ruined. Run down to nearest Wal-Mart or Target and the card aisle will be deserted. The paper dust from a few envelopes floating on the recycled air and one or two other lost souls desperately searching for any card that might remind dear old mom how much she matters.

And without reservations one can forget about a leisurely lunch, brunch or dinner. Each and every dining establishment, except for your local fast food circus will have waits in excess of two hours. Starving families will gather on uncomfortable benches checking out the other families wondering who was the moron in that family who forgot the reservations.

Teachers in the month of may usually spend a week with their grade school age student preparing a card, drawings, handprints anything to remind mom of her importance.

Mom’s day has come close to the status of a national holiday. Reverence abounds. I remember has a child going to the lodge my stepfather belonged to for Mother’s Day breakfasts. Mothers of all shapes and sizes would fill the hall. Stories would be shared; flowers were presented to the oldest and youngest mothers present.

For this one-day moms are honored in the way that they should be through out the year.

Father’s Day is a whole other ball game.

Sure if you look closely a few ads can be found usually buried in the classifieds reminding the consumer that Father’s Day is once again upon us and wouldn’t Dad just love one more novelty tie or power tool.

To the best of my knowledge ads for Father’s Day brunches do not dominate the paper for weeks prior to the big day. The big meal on Father’s Day appears to be a BBQ and Dad is usually the one manning the grill.

Apparently teachers forget that most of their students have Fathers besides Mother’s. I have yet to see a student bring home a Fathers Day card from school. Usually, with lots of love they knock one off at home when they realize early Sunday morning that it is Father’s Day.

It may be to late this year but maybe next year take an extra minute or two to show Dad how much he means to you.

Momdate June 16th

A mixed bag of news to report on the mom front.

The good news: her latest PET scan shows that the bone cancer remains within the skeletal system, the rest of her organs appear at least at this point to be cancer free.

The bad news: the PET scan showed a heart that has enlarged since the previous scan. She has also been suffering from swelling in the lower extremities and when she went to the cardiologist for a follow up her blood pressure was 190/130.

At this point it appears that she maybe in the early stages of heart failure. Her cardiologist will be running more tests in order to give her a clearer prognosis. At this point he already changed her meds, prescribed lots of stress and recommended that she reduce the amount of time she spends behind the wheel.

This of course will never happen. She lives in Arizona but her doctors are in Palm Springs, California. Each visit to the doctors requires a three and a half hour drive to my sister's. Followed naturally by the same drive back to her home.

As mom is not ready to give up her independance I can only pray that nothing happens while she is on the road.

Lungs In Crisis Day Seven Hundred and Whatever

All evidence to the contrary the throne has not been abdicated, ignored briefly, but not abdicated.

For the past ten days or so I have been dealing with several respitory infections that have left me more wiped out than usual.

Anyone who is more than a casual visitor may remember that I have been dealing with a variety of health issues related to the respitory system since Easter of 2003. For the most part I have been able to maintain my writing and posting through out the various instances of ill health. For whatever reason this time was different and I was left with barely enough get up and go to move from the bed to the couch and back to the bed. It seemed that the few bones of creativity that I possess abandoned ship leaving me to fend for myself.

Through out the last two years I have also been dealing with severe anxiety issues for which I was taking Paxil and than Paxil CR. Recently I reached the max on dosage for Paxil and it was no longer effective. My doctor switched me to Zoloft which appears to have been a big mistake.

While with Paxil the anxiety never went completely away I was on the whole comfortable within my own skin. Since beginning Zoloft I am not only having more anxiety attacks but have come to the realization that all of these health issues have left me rather depressed.

It appears that beside dealing with anxiety Paxil was maintaining a certain mood level. I would feel down once in awhile about all the health issues but never depressed. Since leaving Paxil behind however, I have felt depressed most every day.

Long story short, between the respitory problems, the anxiety and the depression maintaining Murmur's over the last few weeks has felt like an insurmountable task.

That being said I have come to the realization that maintaining Murmur's has a certain carthetic effect that should not be ignored. So over the next week or so I am going to try and get back in the saddle and begin again to post on a regular basis.

What form those posts will take is not yet clear to me. Not feeling overly creative I am not sure how much poetry/stories will appear for now. Only time will tell I guess.

Thanks for visiting.