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- January 25, 2026
- Rare planetary alignment 2026
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We have a somewhat rare celestial event consisting of the alignment of seven planets in the night sky.
They are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. All will be visible with the naked eye except Uranus and Neptune which will require telescopic viewing. It is touted as "a billion years" event while it is in actuality a regular visual occurrence.
Beautiful — but not as incredibly rare as some media outlets might lead you to believe.
Regardless, if you have interests in astronomical phenomena this event will provide a fantastic visual spectacle.
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- January 24, 2026
- National Compliment Day 2026
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I recall my cousin's young child Michael, who was just out of the toddler stage back then smiling as he said "Hello handsome" to me when I was a much younger man than I am today.
Now this took me quite aback and I realize he was only repeating that which had been said to him sometime earlier.
Anyway, all I could do is grin back at him, wave and somewhat sheepishly say "hello!".
Today is National Compliment Day.
It is observed each January 24th annually and is said to be a day dedicated to spreading positivity and kindness by giving real time compliments to others in an effort to improve everyone's mood and strengthens those interpersonal connections.
These ideas include praising someone's effort, character, or style, and sharing the positive impact as you see fit.
The day provides an opportunity to vocalize nice things you think about others, making people feel noticed and appreciated.
It instigates a ripple effect of kind words in the name of creating happiness and belonging.
So if you are so inclined share a compliment with some deserving other. It will provide improvement and mesh between you and your significant others.
Happy National Compliment Day.
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- January 23, 2026
- The Frisbee first created in 1957
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When I was young I was all about frisbee and tossing these plastic disks about. I learned that a flat flip flew straight and that an angled release made it curve.
I was by no means a competetor nor an expert but I did get out there and play with them when few other things caught my interest.
On January 23, 1957, the Wham-O toy company began rolling out the first batch of their plastic disks —
Now known to millions of fans all over the world as Frisbees.
This is primarily a story out of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where one William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871.
Students from nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other, yelling "Frisbie!" as they let go.
In 1948, one Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner one Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the disk called the “Flying Saucer” that could fly further and more accurately than the tin pie plates.
After splitting with Franscioni, Morrison made an improved model in 1955 and sold it to a new toy company called Wham-O as the “Pluto Platter” in an attempt to cash in on the public craze over space and Unidentified Flying Objects aka "UFOs".
High school kids in Maplewood, New Jersey, invented a game known as Ultimate Frisbee which is a cross between football, soccer and basketball in 1967.
In the 1970s the late Edward Early Headrick, aka "Steady" Ed Headrick invented Frisbee Golf, in which disks are tossed into metal baskets; there are now hundreds of courses in the US with millions of devotees.
There is also Freestyle Frisbee, a choreographed version with routines set to music and multiple disks in play as well as and various Frisbee competitions for both humans and canines — which are the absolute best natural Frisbee players.
Today, at least 60 manufacturers produce the flying disks generally made out of plastic and measuring roughly 8-10 inches in diameter with a curved lip.
Nowadays the official Frisbee is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, who bought the toy from Wham-O in 1994.
I'll likely never play with another but they certainly did have their heyday in my lifetime.
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- January 22, 2026
- 1968 Premiere of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
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When I was 13 Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was a regular television entity in my life.
The show was created by one Digby Wolfe and starred Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, and Gary Owens.
It popularized rapid fire vignette comedy including comedy sketches, punch-lines, musical numbers, and gags are edited together in a rapid and almost random format.
Their trademark elements included the joke wall, the dancing women painted with one-liners and the fickle finger of fate award.
It was here that I got my first good look at and listen to Mr Herbert Butros Khaury, aka Tiny Tim.
At the time it was all very entertaining to a fool boy such as myself. I'm glad to say I've grown past most of it by now.
The show as aka "Laugh In" and was a prime example of sketch comedy on teevee at the time. It ran from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973. It was even touted as the most popular television show in the United States for a time.
It supported a gaggle of writers including Lorne Michels before he became the producer of Saturday Night Live. Before he fired Charlie Rocket. Before he became a woke idiot.
All in all "Laugh In" was an enjoyable interlude in the life of this fool child and I never became so involved in any other comedy programs again.
See Also:
Remembering Judy Carne
Henry Gibson
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- January 21, 2026
- National Squirrel Appreciation Day 2026
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While I'm sure that National Squirrel Appreciation Day invokes images of gray, red, and black fuzzy woodland creatures with bushy tails cavorting to the delight of a bunch of children; it's their food value which makes them appreciated in the rural areas of the state in which I live.
Yes, I'm sure that one Christy Hargrove who created the observance back in 2001 never dreamed the crux of the day would be the slaughter and dressing of these rodents for the dinner table.
Don't get me wrong, rodents remain one of those things I won't eat, but my late daddy consumed them with great relish on a regular basis back on the farm in Aiken County.
He liked a bit of help while dressing them and sometimes I was commandeered for those operations.
So much for encouraging positive attitudes, teaching about their importance beyond their nutritional value, and providing winter relief to them when food is scarce.
Though I never knew if they were "falling off the bones tender" or "still with a little fight in them" I remember mama cooking them up in the frying pan. She would fry them then make a rich brown gravy from the drippings and I swear they looked like a bunch of swedish meatballs with arms and legs ...
So happy National Squirrel Appreciation Day to you and go out and devour a few rodents should you be so inclined.
See Also:
Things I won't Eat
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- January 20, 2026
- Twentieth Amendment 1933
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President Donald John Trump Vice President James David Vance 
The Twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1933 and changed the start dates for presidential and congressional terms. It moved the presidential inauguration to January 20th and the start of congressional sessions to January 3rd.
This shortened the "lame duck" period between elections and new terms. It also established procedures for presidential succession if the President-elect or Vice President-elect dies or fails to qualify, outlining that the Vice President-elect serves until a President qualifies, and Congress can provide for other acting presidents.
This was in the name of modernization of the timeline and provisioning faster accounting for improved transportation and communication.Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Section 1
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
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- January 19, 2026
- National Imagination Day 2026
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There is indeed a thing as "too much" imagination. This is where someone devolves into fantasy land for a period of time whereby these experiences they witness are totally internal confabulations of their minds.
I was subject to these things at one time early on in my young adult development.
So otherwise, the human ability to form mental images, concepts, or ideas of things not present is what we call imagination. Beyond fantasy land it is an ability to gain creativity, problem solving, and innovation by the envisioning of things not yet extant.
Today is National Imagination Day.
It is observed each January 19th since 2024 under the auspices of the National Day Calendar to promote unleashing our creative abilities, explore new things and ideas and to celebrate the power of imagination. This in the name of innovation and personal growth.
The crux is inventive thinking and those unseen concepts which exist but only in synapse resulting in a more creative brain.
I hope you'll take a moment to exercise your imagination. Temper it comparatively with what actually is and you'll go far toward honing that creativity which is within you.
Happy National Imagination Day.
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- January 18, 2026
- Whole Lot of Typos Going On
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So I've been finding typos in ye olde blog from years gone by lately.
This indicates my attention to detail is somewhat lacking in my rather advanced age.
I like to fancy myself as fairly accurate and I suppose given the sheer number of entries I encounter this may be true — typically I can count them all on one hand ...
However, I have low tolerance for these johnny come lately errors of typeface position all over the blog. So I have been eradicating them as I encounter them and I'm afraid that's likely the best that I can do.
Some of them are really hysterical too with their placement a function of various automation aspects of the interface moreso than an actual errant key press.
Be all this as it may it remains a misprint embarrassment.
I'll try to do better in the future.
See Also:
The Dreaded Typo
Fat Fingering
Typos, Server Farms, and You
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- January 17, 2026
- RFK Jr Birthday 2026
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Robert Francis Kennedy Jr was born January 17, 1954.
He is aka "RFK Jr" — an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, and circumspect vaccine activist and critic.
He now serves as the 26th United States secretary of health and human services since 2025.
A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of Senator and US attorney general Robert F Kennedy and a nephew of US president John F Kennedy.
He has been dealt with severely in the overly biased main stream media and I am willing to cut him some slack for this reason.
I have grown weary of the fake news and leftist spin predominating the main stream media which has subsequently lost all credibility with me ...
I feel that those critics of Mr Kennedy's work are by and large supporting hidden agendas not made public like kick backs from companies and special interest groups as well as the apparent ineptitude which runs rampant in the political left these days.
RFK Jr is 72 years old today. Happy Birthday to you.
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- January 16, 2026
- National Religious Freedom Day 2026
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Today is National Religious Freedom Day.
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It is observed each year on January 16th in commemoration of the 1786 adoption of Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom, which inspired the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty.
It resulted in various Presidential calls for events in homes, schools, and places of worship to honor this fundamental right.
Though it is not a federal holiday, POTUS issues a proclamation each year, urging Americans to observe the day through appropriate activities.
The statute served as a foundational for the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was a landmark legal act, ensuring that individuals could profess their religious beliefs without civil penalty, a principle that became central to American identity and law.
This has become overshadowed of late with various religions professing their superiority and attempting to legislate their own religious incarnations upon the United States.
When you immigrate to the United States you are supposedly to become one of us. You can not turn us into one of you.
There is ABSOLUTELY no place for Sharia in the United States of America. We should deport every person thinking they may attempt to take over the country in this manner.
IMHO American politicians who take their oaths with a hand on the Quran should be summarily executed on the spot.
The United States is a Christian nation now and forever.
Communists, Somalis, democrat socialists, activist judges and other purveyors of fraud and leftist turdbirds can begone from The Republic.
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- January 15, 2026
- Upcoming Martin Luther King Jr Day 2026
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day arrives in 4 days.
While the actual date is January 15 which is Martin Luther King Jr's birthday; the US federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of January making it Monday January 19, 2026 this year.
As usual the date falls on or near his birthday.
I don't think Dr King would totally approve of some of those antics the more flamboyant blacks like to launch in his honor, like the self-aggrandizing "walk to the dome" but Que Sera, Sera.
I'm not one to force my opinions however outspoken they may be otherwise on anyone. You get to be you and I get to be me. Dr King is just someone with whom I always wanted to speak because I was intrigued with his mannerisms, comportment, and high degree of polite refinement.
I always found him reasonable and controlled in his rhetoric. Something gets lost somehow in the translation of these demonstrations people believe honor his memory after his death.
Have a happy MLK Day however you choose to observe or celebrate it.
See Also:
Martin Luther King Jr Day 2025
Martin Luther King Jr Day 2021
I am James Baldwin
MLK Day
The Secrets I Keep
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- January 14, 2026
- Happy Birthday Kevin Durand 2026
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When I encountered The Strain on streaming television I was really taken by the characters and the plot items presented. It was a truly scary interlude of entertainment — one that I hadn't known for a very long time previously. I don't think I was so scared during any show. It brought me back to Attack of the Crab Monsters when I was nine or so in Virginia Beach. Moments of pure fright I had not known since that time. I'm not normally inspired to yak so much about anything ...
The Strain remains a popular horror franchise consisting of both books and a television series by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It concerns a CDC team led by Dr Ephraim Goodweather who investigate what they initially think is a mysterious viral outbreak in NYC.
This turns out to be an ancient, parasitic vampirism, forcing them to fight a rising tide of monstrous creatures known by the initiated as the Strigoi. They are controlled by a powerful entity called The Master.
The plot follows a desperate battle for humanity's survival against this plague and includes both science fiction thriller elements along with the classic vampire lore I've followed over my lifetime.
One of my favorite characters in this masterpiece of horror was Vasily Fet. He is a main character and rat exterminator of Ukrainian descent who joins the war against the strigoi — that army of an ancient monsters trying to take over the world. Vasily Fet was portrayed by Keven Durand who is quite the prolific actor and has become one of my favorite thespians of all time.
Kevin Serge Durand was born January 14, 1974. He is a Canadian actor known for his work in numerous film and television roles.
He received a prestigous 2012 Best Supporting Actor Genie nomination for his portrayal of Lenny Jackson in Citizen Gangster. This award is widely considered equivalent to the US Oscar — which sadly has lost meaning over the tedium of award show hosts professing their bent political views overshadowing the awards themselves. Some of my favorite character portrayals of Mr Durand include Harbard in Vikings, Mike Newberry in CSI Miami, and of course Vasily Fet in The Strain.
Today is the birhday of Kevin Durand. Happy birthday to you !
See Also:
Ratcatcher's Day 2020
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- January 13, 2026
- Make Your Dream Come True Day 2026
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In life it would be nice if all our dreams came true. In reality we don't always get what we want. The secret to success is having acceptable alternatives and utilizing those if life dictates that we should.
Today is Make Your Dream Come True Day.
It is an unofficial holiday held each year on January 13 and attempts to inspire us to stop procrastinating, reflect on our aspirations, and take those first concrete steps toward achieving our goals.
Motivation is the name of the game and is more important than what we actually want which is totally optional in the process.
I was lucky. I decided on a plan B when it appeared plan A would require 16 more years to pursue. Instead of the first career I wanted I embarked on that which I already new. So instead of becoming a physician I became a systems analyst and subject matter expert.
The coursework was protracted and the technical data somewhat dry and boring at times. However, I persevered and sought positions held by those with advanced degrees.
When it came to practicum examinations my skills were second to none.
So, the end result was I was able to engaged a career and retire with all the ammenities most people seek during their lives. I have a comfortable home on a large lot in an incorprated municipality with adjoining 2 bedroom cottage with garage rental property bought and paid for. Such is life. And such is that my dream became, with all the resultant evolution and everything.
You can do the same thing or better. I hope all your dreams come true.
See Also:
National When Pigs Fly Day 2025
Make Your Dream Come True Day 2025
Make Your Dream Come True Day 2024
World Wish Day 2023
Make your dream come true Day 2023
Letting Go
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- January 12, 2026
- Kiss a Ginger Day 2026
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I have always been partial to red heads of the female persuasion.
I don't know, we all have our various preferences and preconceived notions of beauty and the "ginger" girls have just hit that spot called desirability for me personally.
Tooday is Kiss a Ginger Day.
It is celebrated annually since 2009 on January 12th under the auspices of one Derek Forgie in the name of love and appreciation towards people with red hair.
The underlying momentum was the counteraction of bullying for the 1-2% of the population with red hair.
While kissing and hugging are the specifics of the day it is of paramount importance to maintain suitable comportment and ensure permission prior to any such activity ...
And don't go around forcing yourself on anyone.
It is not only unseemly but can place you in legal jeopardy.
I love girls with red hair. I do not pretend they all love me back.
My fair share have, however.
Happy Kiss a Ginger Day.
See Also
World Red Head Day 2024
World Red Head Day 2023
World Red Head Day 2022
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