Pharaoh RutinTutin

So much capping of the re! There are just so many way this story could go. But since this is EGS, I am willing to guess that moments of extreme awkwardness will be alternating with events of pure silly.

12 November 954 – The 13-year-old Lothair III is crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi as king of the West Frankish Kingdom. Just because the kid has a lot of hair, you aren't required to make it his name. We don't call the Duke of Cambridge "Prince Prematurely Balding". 1439 – Plymouth becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament. Sounds like Parliament is taking their authority out for a test drive. 1893 – The Durand Line is established as the boundary between British India and Afghanistan, by a memorandum of understanding signed by Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India, and Abdur Rahman Khan, Amir of Afghanistan. In simpler terms, the British diplomat scratches a line on the map and the local ruler agrees that the British line is fair. 1905 – Norway holds a referendum resulting in popular approval of the Storting's decision to authorise the government to make the offer of the throne of the newly-independent country. Norway, do you really want a King? Or are you just doing this to keep up with the neighbors? 1927 – Snowball Leon Trotsky is expelled from Animal Farm the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Comrade Napoleon Joseph Stalin in undisputed control. 1940 – World War II: Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrives in Berlin to discuss the possibility of the Soviet Union joining the Axis Powers. No. Please, no. 1941 – World War II: Temperatures around Moscow drop to -12 °C as the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city. A tip for everyone still thinking about invading Russia. Don't. Russia is large and populous enough that no matter when you start, you will not be done by winter. And Russians know how to survive and thrive their in native winter with ways your tropically tanned brain can not comprehend. 1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident. The explosives expert in charge ordered twenty cases of dynamite. Another expert insisted they only needed twenty sticks. In the analysis of Wikipedia, "The dynamiting of this whale carcass did not go as planned." 2001 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 en route to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground. It says a lot about America's state of mind at the time when we were relieved that this tragedy was due to pilot error and mechanical failure. Also, 12 November is World Pneumonia Day. Nothing to sneeze at.

09 November 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. SPOILER ALERT: This day of the year will not get better for Jews. 1526 – Jews are expelled from Pressburg (Bratislava), Hungary, by Maria of Hapsburg. Yes, it gets worse. 1541 – Queen Catherine Howard (Henry VIII's fifth wife) is confined in the Tower of London. Or, as Mr VIII calls it, Wednesday. 1620 – Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower sight land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But how does a cod wear a cape in the first place? Don't you need shoulders and a neck to make those things work? 1720 – The synagogue of Judah HeHasid is burned down by Arab creditors, leading to the expulsion of the Ashkenazim from Jerusalem. You do realize that if someone owes you money, burning down their home or business usually decreases their ability to pay. 1862 – American Civil War: Union General Ambrose Burnside assumes command of the Army of the Potomac, after George B. McClellan is removed. He may not have been a better officer than McClellan, but his facial hair was legendary. 1862 – US General Ulysses S. Grant issues orders to bar Jews from serving under him. Not necessarily the worst thing on the list, but it does fit the pattern. 1888 – The mutilated body of Mary Jane Kelly, believed to be the final victim of Jack the Ripper, is discovered in Spitalfields, London, England. 130 years of investigation and no arrests? It seems like this case is no longer a high priority for Scotland Yard. 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt is the first sitting President of the United States to make an official trip outside the country. He did so to inspect progress on the Panama Canal. Can you dig it? 1907 – The Cullinan Diamond is presented to King Edward VII on his birthday. Often it can be awkward to give diamonds as a gift to a man. But with a characteristic British stiff upper lip, Edward managed to accept the thirty one hundred carat stone graciously. 1918 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates after the German Revolution, and Germany is proclaimed a Republic. At this rate, the only remaining Caesars will include raw eggs and Worcestershire sauce on Romaine lettuce. 1921 – Partito Nazionalista Fascista formed in Italy by Mussolini. Just in case there wasn't enough bad news. 1922 – Albert Einstein is named the winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". Ok, this was one good day for one Jew. 1923 – In Munich, Germany, police and government troops crush the Beer Hall Putsch in Bavaria. The failed coup is the work of the Nazis. They won't stay down. 1934 – Birth of Carl Sagan, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and cosmologist (d. 1996). A few "This Day In History" lines are simply not enough. For Carl Sagan, I would need Billions and Billions... 1938 – The Nazi German diplomat Ernst vom Rath dies from gunshot wounds by Herschel Grynszpan, an act which the Nazis used as an excuse to instigate the 1938 national pogrom, also known as Kristallnacht. This is the point when things get really bad. 1953 – The Supreme Court rules Major League baseball exempt from anti-trust laws. Apparently the American game of politics doesn't apply to sports. 1989 – Cold War: Fall of the Berlin Wall: East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall, allowing its citizens to travel to West Berlin. And for about a year, those of us who were living in that time allowed ourselves to think that Peace had broken out. Boy, were we crazy. 2007 – The German Bundestag passes the controversial data retention bill mandating storage of citizens' telecommunications traffic data for six months without probable cause. Really, Germany? You chose this anniversary date to pass legislation many people would regard as intrusive or oppressive?

http://egscomics.com/egsnp/nanasecraft-11 Having grown up watching animated Canis latrans v Geococcyx californianus documentaries, I am certain there should be a Nanase shaped indentation at least six inches deep on the back wall of the bowling lane. As to the commentary? Dan is correct. The path of the pins once hit by the ball has nothing to do with Newtonian physics. It is all Quantum uncertainty.

08 November 1278 – Trần Thánh Tông, the second emperor of the Trần dynasty, decides to pass the throne to his crown prince Trần Khâm and take up the post of Retired Emperor. What is surprising is how rarely this tactic is used. Find an ambitious Prince, General, or Bureaucrat and leave them with the real work and responsibility of government. 1519 – Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with a great celebration. This plan works about as well as any other attempt to stop the invading Europeans. 1602 – The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford is opened to the public. "Open" in this case to those willing to take an oath in Latin vowing to obey the Library rules and above all else to NEVER bring a fire into the building. 1605 – Robert Catesby, ringleader of the Gunpowder Plotters, is killed. Catesby may have been the ringleader and among the first executed, but the first Guy arrested is the name that lives on in infamous song and story. 1895 – While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray. In 2012, the anniversary would be designated the International Day of Radiology. Having found the X-ray, where are the W and Y rays? 1901 – Gospel riots: Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek. This may be a surprise, but the ancient koine Greek into which the Septuagint had been originally translated was not the language of the modern Greek people 1917 – The first Council of People's Commissars is formed, including Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. This council, made up of men who achieved their goals through violence, was stable and effective. Until the mutually acknowledged leader, Lenin, died. Then the violence returned until only one was left in power. In hindsight, it seems so obvious. 1957 – Operation Grapple X, Round C1: The United Kingdom conducts its first successful hydrogen bomb test over Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Pacific. Hold on to the receipt, you may want to exchange this Christmas present. 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law an antitrust exemption allowing the National Football League to merge with the upstart American Football League. This legislation didn't specifically say that Big Budget American Sports were outside, above, and beyond the reach of American Law. Apparently they want to hold that proclamation in reserve for a special occasion. 1968 – The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is signed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by standardising the uniform traffic rules among the signatories. This is why most of Europe, and about half the countries in the world outside Europe, use nearly identical road signs. And if you aren't from one of those countries you are uniformly confused by the road signs everywhere else on Earth. 1972 – HBO launches its programming, with the broadcast of the 1971 movie Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda. Good news for those who enjoy watching the same movie twenty or more times in a given month, a year or more after its initial theatrical release.

Although, from a certain point of view, isn't every character in a comic or cartoon already flat? Any depth is simply an illusion?

07 November 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. For the seventh time overall and the third time in Constantinople, a bunch of Christian Bishops gather to decide once and for all what it is to be Christian. At least until the next Council or Schism or Synod or Anti-Pope or Reformation or Counter Reformation or Stubborn Bishop or Stubborn Monarch or... what was the point? Oh yes, Third Constantinople. Jesus Christ has two energies and two wills. Divine and Human. The human will of Jesus Christ was subject to, and never in conflict with, his all powerful Divine will. 921 – Treaty of Bonn: The Frankish kings Charles the Simple (wouldn't "Chuck" be simpler?) and Henry the Fowler (who was for the birds) sign a peace treaty or 'pact of friendship' (amicitia), to recognize their borders along the Rhine. "So like, if you keep your army on that side of the river, I'll keep my army on this side and we can both keep our boots dry?" "Dude, that is so crazy it just might work!" 1492 – The Ensisheim meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the Earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France. Even with an entire village witnessing the event, the idea that meteors are rocks from space does not catch on for another 300 years. 1619 – Elizabeth Stuart is crowned Queen of Bohemia. In her coronation rhapsody she muses "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?" 1665 – The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published. The publication of record, IF you actually believe the British government's version of the story. 1775 – John Murray, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation, which offers freedom to slaves who abandoned their colonial masters to fight with Murray and the British. Conscripting the slaves of rebellious slave owners sure seems like a desperate act for a colonial power, and the Americans had not yet declared Independence. 1786 – The oldest musical organization in the United States is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society. Today it is know as The Old Stoughton Musical Society. They added "Old" when they reached 122. "Antique", "Classical", "Ancient", "Bronze-Age", and "Neolithic" letterheads have already been prepared. 1811 – Tecumseh's War: The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, United States. Indiana Territory Governor William Henry Harrison and the militia came upon the Shawnee forces when their military leader, Tecumseh, was away. Many of the Shawnee were eager, but not actually prepared, to fight. The militia held off the initial attack, and then drove the Shawnee away. Destroying the supplies Tecumseh's forces had stored for the winter in the process. This became the cornerstone of the legend Harrison built for himself as he entered politics, ultimately winning the Presidency in 1840 with the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too". 1874 – A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party. In case you doubted it, the GOP Elephant is the original Nasty Boy. 1940 – In Tacoma, Washington, Galloping Gertie, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in 40 mile per hour (64 km/h) winds, a mere four months after the bridge's completion. If you have ever taken a class in physics or engineering since the second half of the twentieth century, this is the bridge you saw in that film. The one with the scared dog in the shaking car that bit the man attempting the rescue. 1957 – Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters. There was a Turtle by the name of Bert... 1967 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? 2000 – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country's largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas. And some people were worried that no one would find a use for these things when the Cold War ended. 2000 – Indecision 2000. Controversial US presidential election that is later resolved in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Case, electing George W. Bush the 43rd President of the United States. The recounts are still ongoing.

I just bought a tin of Royal Dansk Butter Cookies. They are expensive, dry, stale, bland, crumbly, and dunking in milk or tea does nothing to improve their texture. If this is what the Danish Royals actually eat, I can only imagine it is to insure that they do not become too happy. But a friend of my parents always gave them a big tin of Royal Dansk every year around Christmas, and it wouldn't be right if I didn't bring at least one tin of sugar-coated-pressed-sawdust into the house between Halloween and New Year. So...Tradition?

I can only think that this was written to fail. A referendumb on the Florida ballot called for prohibiting vaping indoors AND a ban on offshore drilling. Honestly, I would be glad to see those annoying e-cigs prohibited. But as for off shore drilling? There should MUST be tougher controls, and tougher enforcement of existing controls. And there needs to be more development in fuel conservation and alternative / renewable energy sources. But an outright ban on offshore drilling in state waters is not going to solve those problems. And a sympathetic court (State or Federal) is almost certain to give big petroleum a way around the state ban anyway. There are people who would permit e-cigs and ban drilling. And there are people who would permit both. But I find it difficult to believe that the number of voters in Florida opposed to both, or who are so strongly opposed to one or the other that they would be willing to ban both, could form a majority. Not even in a mid-term election. I would suggest a referendum to prohibit combining unrelated issues as a single vote on future ballot referenda. But they would probably combine that with a proposed ban on buttercream frosting which would force me to vote against it.

So why are they cheering for Team Ukraine?

As Yogi Berra allegedly said, "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous".

06 November 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is deposed on charges of an armed rebellion against Otto. A suggestion to future Popes. When the Emperor arrives in Rome and accuses you of corruption, you should answer the charges, not go on a hunting trip. A suggestion to future Emperors. When you depose a Pope, make sure he knows he is deposed. Otherwise, he will only oppose your new Pope when he gets back from the hunting trip. 1217 – The Charter of the Forest is sealed at St Paul's Cathedral, London by King Henry III, acting under the regency of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke which re-establishes for free men rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs. This could set a dangerous precedent. What if people insist upon breathing the King's air without royal consent? This would be handled differently If I Were King of the Forest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak3J5DayiCk 1528 – Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in the area that would become Texas. So hypothetically speaking, would you rather drown in the Gulf of Mexico, or land in Texas? 1789 – Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll as the first Catholic bishop in the United States. About two hundred years later, there are about two hundred bishops in the United States. Coincidence? Yeah, pretty much. 1856 – Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work of fiction by Mary Anne Evans, the author later known as George Eliot, is submitted for publication. In 19th Century British publishing, a woman needed to present herself as a man to get her work noticed. In early 21st Century internet, men often present themselves as women. 1865 – American Civil War: CSS Shenandoah is the last Confederate combat unit to surrender , in Liverpool, after circumnavigating the globe on a cruise on which it sank or captured 37 unarmed merchant vessels. Liverpool would eventually retaliate towards America with an infestation of Beatles. 1869 – In New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers College defeats Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey), 6–4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game. Princeton would win the rematch a week later. The game was played with different rules at each school. The third and deciding game was never played due to some concerns that the athletes were being distracted from their studies, but mostly due to disagreements about the rules to be followed for that game. So the only two teams that played each received a share of the national championship. A century and a half later with NCAA and FBS and BCS and CFP and ESPN we still have trouble officially determining the college football national champion. 1935 – Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation" to the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers. Thus bringing FM radio out of the experimental realm and into the reach of high fidelity music fans, pirate radio, and covert broadcasting devices. 1944 – Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility and subsequently used in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Humans will even expand the Periodic Table to find new ways to pursue our favorite endeavor, destroying each other. 1945 – Concerned that her cover was about to be blown, Elizabeth Bentley turns herself in to the FBI and confesses she had been spying for the Soviet Union. Fair warning to those considering joining radical political movements as university students. Radicalism loses a lot of its appeal outside the ivy covered walls. Most of your fellow college radicals will take on mundane political views in the "real" world. And many of these former radicals will not hesitate to turn in their seditious comrades from the good old days. To get your picture in the yearbook, stick to the Glee Club. Additionally, 06 November is National Nacho Day in the United States. Guess I know what I'm having for lunch. Also, 06 November, 2018 is Election Day in the United States. The choices on the ballot may not be as appealing as the options for Nachos on the menu. But please vote, it could be worse.

Or perhaps Sarah has excellent bowling technique which will allow her to compensate for the irregular size and shape of the lane and equipment. If the Browns are anything like Elliot's parents, then Sarah probably has her own bowling ball and shoes.

I don't know. But it probably involved magnets

03 November 1492 – Peace of Etaples between Henry VII of England and Charles VIII of France. This is madness, When will England and France resume their natural state of fighting one another? 1534 – English Parliament passes the first Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Anglican Church, supplanting the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. This time, Mr VIII is divorcing an entire religion. 1793 – French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined. A warning for anyone with a radical ideology. The WORST place to spread a revolutionary idea is in a revolution. 1817 – The Bank of Montreal, Canada's oldest chartered bank, opens in Montreal. What an amazing coincidence. 1883 – American Old West: Self-described "Black Bart the poet" gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves a clue (a handkerchief with a laundry mark) that eventually leads to his capture. There is still some debate whether his thefts or his poems were the greater crimes. 1908 – William Howard Taft is elected the 27th President of the United States. They say this Taft is one bad mother... 1957 – Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika. The space race has gone to the dogs. 1973 – Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 10 toward Mercury. It becomes the first space probe to reach that planet on March 29, 1974 . Mercury, it turns out, is nearly identical to Earth. If you take away the magnetosphere, atmosphere, ocean, crust, continents, tectonic plates, mantle, and about a third of the core then park it so deep in the Sun's gravity well that Newtonian physics can't describe its orbit. Other than that, it is almost indistinguishable from Earth.

Cab you really be sure? Even though she acts cheerful, she may be sad on the inside...

http://egscomics.com/comic/tlod-033 Forgive and forget? Just don't forget that I've forgiven you and I can "remember" that which I have supposedly "forgotten". Still, very nice of Johnson to avoid making Diane's day any more awkward than it has already been.

Once again working around 0300 Eastern when I look up and the waning crescent moon, partially obstructed by clouds, again looks too much like the disembodied grin of the Cheshire Cat. No more doubt. Ceiling Cat is LAUGHING at me.

The Dunkle's bought a video game system just for the video bowling game. Why should we in be surprised that there is a bowling level in an EGS video game parody?

02 November 1868 – Time zone: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time to be observed nationally by everyone in the country, not just the Railroads. Perhaps the first country to do so. Please syn-kiwi-nise your clocks. 1889 – North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states. The rivalry between the two new states presented a dilemma of which was to be admitted first. President Benjamin Harrison directed Secretary of State James G. Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first. The actual order went unrecorded, thus no one knows which of the Dakotas was admitted first. However, since North Dakota alphabetically appears before South Dakota, its proclamation was published first in the Statutes At Large. Nothing quite like dealing with over-competitive siblings. 1917 – The Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the clear understanding "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities". A nice idea. Except that every inch of inhabitable and/or arable land anywhere near the traditional region of Palestine is already claimed and occupied by communities, most of which are non-Jewish. So is Britain willing to use its vast military, political, diplomatic, and economic influence to make sure this goal is achieved in a fair, timely, and peaceful manner? Or will they just make speeches in London? 1920 – In the United States, KDKA of Pittsburgh starts broadcasting as the first commercial radio station. The first broadcast is the result of the United States presidential election, 1920. Cox and Roosevelt take the south, except for Tennessee. But Harding and Coolidge win everything else, including the Electoral College. Broadcast complete without commercials. 1936 – The British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" (then defined as at least 200 lines) service. There would be an interruption of the service from September 1939 to June 1946. And it would be renamed BBC1 in 1964. But otherwise, the channel still runs to this day. Binging Monty Python, Dr Who, and visual warnings about the dangers of inadequate dental hygiene to all the world. 1947 – In California, designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (also known as the "Spruce Goose"), the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. It was supposed to transport tanks across the Atlantic for the war. But two years after the war was over and $23 Million later, it only flew empty for a few seconds at low altitude. In the opinion of Hughes, this vindicated the expense. 1951 – Canada in the Korean War: A platoon (usually under 50 infantry) of The Royal Canadian Regiment defends a vital area against a full battalion (anywhere from 300 to 800 infantry) of Chinese troops in the Battle of the Song-gok Spur. The engagement lasts into the early hours of November 3. Why do we who are south of the Great Lakes refuse to tell our children about the martial prowess of our northern neighbors? 1959 – Quiz show scandals: Twenty-One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance. It is good to know that there was so little real trouble for America that Congress could form committees to investigate whether Game-Shows were really games or shows. 1960 – Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the trial R v Penguin Books Ltd, the Lady Chatterley's Lover case. When the prosecution pointed out that girls could read and asked if this was a book you would want your wife or servants to read, the jury realized just how far out of touch with contemporary culture the Government's position had become. 1967 – Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and "The Wise Men" conclude that the American people should be given more optimistic reports on the progress of the war. A more Optimistic Report? How about win it or get out? Don't put lipstick on the escalating-stalemate pig. Also, 02 November is All Souls Day. For those who don't quite qualify as Saints.

Giving a woman a hand held video game is not enough to convince me that she is George. And there is nothing about the woman in the foreground that demands that I consider her to be Tensaided. Granted, this is probably part of a larger story. But if that story were to be published, this panel would not compel me to read it.

01 November, 1348 – The anti-royalist Union of Valencia attacks the Jews of Murviedro on the pretext that they are serfs of the King of Valencia and thus "royalists". As far as pretexts to attack Jews go, that was certainly one of them. 1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time. Reclining Pews would make it so much easier for the faithful to appreciate this art. Why must the Vatican refuse to work with La-Z-Boy? 1555 – French Huguenots establish the France Antarctique colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. How did this French Huguenot colony fare? Well... suffice to say there is a reason why present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is largely Catholic and Portuguese speaking. 1604 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London. Although this was a live play and not a movie, it was in Black and White. 1611 – Shakespeare's play The Tempest is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London. Sci-Fi fans know Shakespeare totally ripped off Forbidden Planet for this story. 1765 – The British Parliament enacts the Stamp Act on the Thirteen Colonies in order to help pay for British military operations in North America. Eventually someone in Britain will need to ask if keeping the American Colonies was worth all the expense, effort, and fighting involved. 1790 – Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France, in which he predicts that the French Revolution will end in a disaster. "I predict that the <Insert Location> War of <Insert Date> will bring much Suffering, Destruction, and Death." This is entry level prognostication. 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast. It is humbling to think that despite the vast improvements in weather measurement and observation technology in the last one hundred fifty years, our weather forecasts are only slightly less wrong now than theirs were back then. 1894 – Nicholas II becomes the new (and last) Tsar of Russia after his father, Alexander III, dies. The good news, Nick, is that you have lifetime job security... 1894 – Buffalo Bill, 15 of his Indians, and Annie Oakley were filmed by Thomas Edison in his Black Maria Studio in West Orange, New Jersey. And thus was born the Western. 1896 – A picture showing the bare breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time. And people really did believe it when a man said that he subscribed to Nat Geo just for the articles. 1897 – The first Library of Congress building opens its doors to the public; the library had previously been housed in the Congressional Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol. Considering what the Library has become, it can be quite a shock for some people to learn that the Library of Congress was actually established as a Library for Congress. A reference library members of Congress could use when writing legislation. Fortunately, this is no longer needed because modern members of Congress allow lobbyists to do the tedious writing of legislation and they just present the Bill. Also, the first day of November is All Saints Day. Alleluia.

November If you are sufficiently Anglo-Saxon, Blōtmōnaþ, Blod-monath, or blót month. The month of sacrifice. It was the month when the ancient, heathen, barbarian Britons would sacrifice their cattle to various gods and have a huge feast. Now it is the month when the modern, Christian, civilized American descendants of the Britons sacrifice Turkeys to Football and have a huge feast. November is the month, according to Catholic tradition, to pray for Holy Souls in Purgatory. Although, isn't the point of Purgatory to be the place for souls that aren't really Evil, but not really Holy? November is also the Annual Family Reunion Planning Month. Note that it is NOT the Family Reunion Month. If you really can't stand some (or all) of your relatives, it is sufficient to PLAN a family reunion. November is celebrated as Movember. A month when men are encouraged to grow moustaches for awareness of men's health issues. Like that fuzzy thing that sprouts between the lip and the nose on men. And of particular interest to EGS, November is Transgender Awareness Month.

That's like comparing canned laughter to the reaction when Archie Bunker met Sammy Davis Jr.

Confronting her inner child and her feelings for Lucy was a significant feat for Diane. Perhaps not unlike climbing the Matterhorn in Winter. Confronting Adrian Raven and/or seeking out her biological mother would be like an assault on Mont Blanc. Before taking on that next big peak, Diane may be justified in seeking out the smaller challenge of apologizing to Justin. Which, in her present perception, would probably seem like climbing the foothills of the Alps to sing with Julie Andrews.