The Aftermath

Ahhhh. What a great week it has been. Each year I take the week surrounding my birth anniversary off from whatever job I’m working on. Last year I missed it because all my leave time got eaten up by being so ill. This year has been a different story.

Time off gives me time to think about the direction I’m headed with my life, the people who are in my life (good or bad), and gives me time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. Each year I create a Personal Mission Statement that helps me focus on my goals. A copy of it goes on my refrigerator, one on my bulletin board next to my desk, one on the mirror in the bathroom, one in my car, and one in my daily planner. It’s one of my favorite things to plan each year because I get to see the progress I made in the previous year and fine tune my goals to insure success. Have I always been this organized? Hell no. It wasn’t until I gave up my party-days that I was able to focus on being healthy physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

Yesterday, I got up, revamped my website — which took about two hours, worked out (week ten!!), played with the pups, took myself out to lunch at one of my favorite local restaurants (where I also got some writing done), came home and wrote for a few more hours, took the pups for a long walk, came home and watched television for a bit (I gave myself digital cable with HBO and free DVR for my birthday), ate my favorite kind of cake (LEMON!!!), then read for a couple hours. Very leisurely, very relaxing, and much needed.

Thank you to everyone who sent wonderful birthday wishes (and gifts….woo hoo!). It was a fantastic day. Now I’m ready to face the next twelve months.

Gemini

June 15th: Your personal ruling planets are Mercury and Venus.

These vibrations are highly independent in nature and coupled with the influence of Venus means that your relationships will not always go smoothly as you require an unrestrained approach to love. No holding you back. You need a partner who can allow you the freedom to be who you are and to mix with the friends you choose lest jealousy becomes a wedge in this department of your life.

You are highly creative and may have discovered some artistic talents even from a very early age. It is quite likely you are not supported by your family in this regard. You should endeavor to utilize your gifts to the utmost. Your 24th year of life is significant for love and possibly marriage.

Your lucky colors are white and cream, rose and pink.

Your lucky gems are diamond, white sapphire or quartz crystal.

Your lucky days of the week Friday, Saturday, Wednesday.

Your lucky numbers and years of important change are 6, 15, 24, 33, 42, 51, 60, 69, 78.

Famous people born on this day include Saul Steinberg, Erroll Garner, James Belushi, Helen Hunt, Courteney Cox, Jake Busey and Dan Paris.

June 15th

Today, I will be reveling in the day of my birth by writing and generally doing only things that I enjoy. Which isn’t much different than other days, except that I’m not going to the day-job…which in itself is a wonderful gift. So, while I’m off doing whatever, here is some trivia about this day to enjoy. Happy!

June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining.

Events

• 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
• 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
• 1184 – King Magnus V of Norway is killed at the battle of Fimreite.
• 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta.
• 1219 – Dannebrog – oldest national flag in the world – and flag of Denmark. According to legend, fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, and turned the Danes’ luck.
• 1246 – With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
• 1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
• 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther.
• 1580 – Phillip II of Spain declares William the Silent to be an outlaw.
• 1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
• 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
• 1776 – Delaware Separation Day – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
• 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
• 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
• 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
• 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
• 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
• 1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• 1859 – Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the “Northwestern Boundary Dispute” between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg begins.
• 1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
• 1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
• 1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the German Empire
• 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City’s East River kills 1000.
• 1905 – Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
• 1909 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord’s and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
• 1911 – Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (IBM) is incorporated.
• 1913 – The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippine concludes.
• 1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
• 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
• 1920 – Duluth lynchings in Minnesota
• 1924 – Native Americans are proclaimed United States citizens.
• 1934 – The U.S.’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan: The United States invades Saipan.
• 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, 1944, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government of North America.
• 1945 – The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 1954 – UEFA (the Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
• 1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual “Operation Alert” (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA’s preparations for a nuclear attack.
• 1962 – Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
• 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan weds American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
• 1991 – Birth of the first federal political party in Canada that supports Quebec nationalism, the Bloc Québécois.
• 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the USA to abduct suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries. No reciprocal right is recognized for the reverse to happen in the USA.
• 1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
• 1996 – In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
• 2002 – Near earth asteroid 2002 MN misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon

Holidays and observances

• Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill (Anglican mystic and poet)
• Roman Empire – ninth and final day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta
• Commemoration of William Adams (Miura Anjin 三浦按針) a man shipwrecked in Japan in the 1600s, and whom James Clavell’s “Shogun” was based upon
• Flag Day in Denmark
• Malawi Freedom Day
• Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Born On This Day:

Name	Occupation	Birth	Death	Known for
J. Lindsay Almond, Jr.	Politician	15-Jun-1898	15-Apr-1986	Governor of Virginia, 1958-62
Ion Antonescu	Head of State	15-Jun-1882	1-Jun-1946	Pro-Nazi dictator of Romania
Bill Arp	Columnist	15-Jun-1826	24-Aug-1903	Columnist for Atlanta Constitution
Jim Belushi	Comic	15-Jun-1954		According to Jim
Wade Boggs	Baseball	15-Jun-1958		Boston Red Sox
Jake Busey	Actor	15-Jun-1971		Identity
Mary Carey	Pornstar	15-Jun-1980		Porn star, ran for California Governor
Edward Channing	Historian	15-Jun-1856	7-Jan-1931	A History of the United States
Tony Coelho	Politician	15-Jun-1942		Congressman from California, 1979-89
Ward Connerly	Activist	15-Jun-1939		Connerly & Associates
Courteney Cox	Actor	15-Jun-1964		Friends
Ice Cube	Musician	15-Jun-1969		N.W.A., Boyz N the Hood
Mario Cuomo	Politician	15-Jun-1932		Governor of New York, 1983-95
Erik Erikson	Psychologist	15-Jun-1902	12-May-1994	Eight Stages of Childhood
John B. Fenn	Chemist	15-Jun-1917		Electrospray ionization
Antoine François Fourcroy	Chemist	15-Jun-1755	16-Dec-1809	French adherent to Lavoisier
Edvard Grieg	Composer	15-Jun-1843	4-Sep-1907	Norway’s greatest composer
Julie Hagerty	Actor	15-Jun-1955		Airplane!
Johnny Hallyday	Musician	15-Jun-1943		French rock star, Souvenirs, Souvenirs
Neil Patrick Harris	Actor	15-Jun-1973		Doogie Howser
Eric Heiden	Skating	15-Jun-1958		Olympic speed skater, 5 gold medals
Russell Hitchcock	Musician	15-Jun-1949		Lead singer for Air Supply
Xaviera Hollander	Author	15-Jun-1943		The Happy Hooker
Trevor Huddleston	Religion	15-Jun-1913	20-Apr-1998	Anti-Apartheid activist
Helen Hunt	Actor	15-Jun-1963		As Good As It Gets
Waylon Jennings	Country Musician	15-Jun-1937	13-Feb-2002	Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
James Robertson Justice	Actor	15-Jun-1907	2-Jul-1975	Doctor in the House
Harry Langdon	Actor	15-Jun-1884	22-Dec-1944	The Strong Man
Rick Larsen	Politician	15-Jun-1965		Congressman, Washington 2nd
Belinda Lee	Actor	15-Jun-1935	12-Mar-1961	Who Done It?
Billy Martin	Musician	15-Jun-1981		Guitar, Keyboards for Good Charlotte
John E. McLaughlin	Government	15-Jun-1942		Deputy Director CIA, 2000-04
Princess Michael of Kent	Royalty	15-Jun-1945		Wife of Prince Michael of Kent
Lakshmi Mittal	Business	15-Jun-1950		World’s richest non-American
Harry Nilsson	Singer/Songwriter	15-Jun-1941	15-Jan-1994	Me and My Arrow
Tony Oxley	Musician	15-Jun-1938		Free improv pioneer
Edward the Black Prince	Royalty	15-Jun-1330	8-Jun-1376	Eldest son of King Edward III
Riki Rachtman	TV Personality	15-Jun-1965		Hosted MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball
Leah Remini	Actor	15-Jun-1970		Old School
Herbert A. Simon	Economist	15-Jun-1916	9-Feb-2001	Administrative Behavior
Adam Smith	Politician	15-Jun-1965		Congressman, Washington 9th
Alberto Sordi	Actor	15-Jun-1920	25-Feb-2003	I Vitelloni
Todd Tiahrt	Politician	15-Jun-1951		Congressman, Kansas 4th
Mo Udall	Politician	15-Jun-1922	12-Dec-1998	Congressman from Arizona, 1961-91
Jim Varney	Actor	15-Jun-1949	10-Feb-2000	Played annoyant Ernest P. Worrell
Ezer Weizman	Head of State	15-Jun-1924	24-Apr-2005	President of Israel, 1993-2000
Thomas H. Weller	Scientist	15-Jun-1915		Cultured the polio virus
Billy Williams	Baseball	15-Jun-1938		Chicago Cubs hitter