A Rich Legacy

Today is National Honesty Day! As you all know if you've been with this blog since the beginning, this daily celebration of holidays was a New Year's Resolution to make this year more exciting. Which it has done, by the way. One of my previous resolutions was to be more honest, as I was becoming too good of a liar. I don't say that in a bragging sense, but instead in the fact that I almost started believing my own lies. So I implemented total and complete honesty into my life.

This honesty had to have stipulations so that it could work in the way that I wanted.
1) All answers had to questions had to be immediately vocalized so I had no time to taint the truth with lies.
2) The truth had to be told with reckless abandon.
     a. Even if it contradicts a lie I've said in the past
     b. Even if it may not be what they want to hear
3) If the truth hurts, deliver it lightly.

There are quite a few other 'rules', but they are so very specific to my own life that telling them to you would bore, confuse, and worry you all at the same time.

I can say, however, that I am by no means perfect. I still slip up every once in a while. I am one of those people who absolutely LOVES sarcasm. While it's a joke to me, I can sometimes say it seriously enough to where others think I'm being honest with them. Granted, it's usually the gullible people, but they have a right to not be lied to, too. I guess.

When I am being successful at it, though, I can safely say that life is grand. When you aren't constantly keeping track of which parts of your life you have lied about to each individual person, there is a great removal of stress from your life. So I highly recommend Honesty. It's pretty cool.

Today is a perfect day to try it out! Go the whole day telling nothing but the truth! At first, it may be difficult, but it does get easier and it is very rewarding. If you don't want to, just watch Liar Liar. Good movie.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Landlubber

Today is Shrimp Scampi Day! I have to say, I've always been a little confused as to what this dish entailed. I know there is definitely shrimp in it, but I've seen it with noodles, in a sandwich, or even by itself. So however YOU make shrimp scampi, go ahead and do that... I guess. I gotta be perfectly honest here: I have never had shrimp anything. Or really any kind of seafood aside from the fish & chips I had in Ireland/England/Wales. I can only assume that, judging by the places I ate them, it wasn't any particularly rare fish that I was eating. Shrimp, though: never had it. Or sushi. Or crab. Or lobster. Or whale. Or dolphin. Or tuna. You name a sea-dwelling animal, and I probably haven't had it. Maybe that will change today? I don't know. Where does one procure some shrimp scampi? Can I just make it myself? This looks like a job for... ME! To go ask my mom. She'd probably know.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Valentine's Day II

Today is Great Poetry Reading Day! Today, you should read some of the classic poems. I'm not going to put any on here for three reasons: 1) That makes it too easy for you, 2) Who am I to say what great poetry is to everyone?, 3) That may or may not be plagiarism. Don't worry, though. Every bookstore worth it's salt has a section of poetry, and every section has at least 5-10 books that are the "greatest poems of time" or some such thing. And they rarely cost more than 10 dollars. So go buy one and read poems to people today. Or yourself if you're shy.

Today is also Kiss Your Mate Day! If, like me, you don't have a mate or are uncertain you know what that means (are we talking Australian 'mate' like a buddy, or 'mate' like someone you've had a child with?), then today ranges anywhere from difficult to impossible to do. I do not have a mate right now, so I can't kiss her. I also don't generally go around kissing people willy nilly. Especially not my mates (Australian usage). Of course maybe this holiday is talking about soul-mates? But if thats the case I wish I had some advance warning. Like "Find your Soul-Mate Day"... then again, a holiday like that would put a lot of pressure on a few people. I've heard good poetry might make it easier to give/get a kiss, though.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Story Time

Today is Tell a Story Day! I choose: Memory based story!

Sophomore year was an uneventful year aside from a few major occurrences in between the monotony of everyday happenings. Very few of these occurrences can be easily recalled, as very few of them had evidence to their actual existence in the timeline of my life. One in particular, however, will never be erased from the annals of my high school career. It is quite literally printed into the volumes of my memory, and it shall remain there until the ink of remembrance fades. I am, of course, referring to my yearbook picture.

PICTURE DAY

It was a day like any other, and we were all heading to P.E. to continue our basketball tournament that we had been having for that week. One of my fellow classmates, Ryan, found something that should really never have any reason for being in a gym: A stethoscope. For my younger readers: That thing the doctor listens to your insides with. Some say that fate put the stethoscope in the gym that day. Others say that it was left by the drama class who had been practicing for a play the night before. The latter was more likely, as they sometimes used the small stage in the gym for plays.

Me and Ryan spent a while listening to our own heartbeats along with finding hollow spots in the wall. Soon, however, Ryan was called onto the floor to start his team's match. I went over to my other friend, Daniel, and placed the stethoscope around his neck. Why? I was a sophomore and thats how we did things. My mistake was forgetting that, like me, Daniel often became lost in his mind, and any outside influence that was able to break him out of his trance was liable to be slapped or grappled. Within a second, he had whipped it off of his neck and behind him.

I felt a little smack on my head, which was apparently more audible than I thought. He turned around while rolling his eyes. Once he saw me, however, he looked horrified and began asking over and over again if I was alright. I didn't know why and I tried to calm him saying that it only smacked me. Soon, another student, Heath, came and began asking me if I was okay with the same amount of concern. Daniel told me I was bleeding.

I touched my forehead and found out that by "bleeding" he meant that I was pouring out blood at an alarming rate. For some reason, I had a fairly calm reaction to this. I'm told I rolled my eyes, which I don't recall, but I'd buy it. I walked over to the coach, and since he wasn't looking, I said "I think I need to go to the nurse." It's important to note that I was somewhat known for trying to get out of class before, so his sigh before he looked at me was understandable.

Once he saw my face had a red racing stripe down the center, he did a double take and all but pushed me out of the gym and into the hallway saying "Go! Hurry!". I don't know why he said that since he followed me almost the whole way. As I walked I had to cup my hands beneath my head to catch all of the blood, even though some drops were making a trail behind me. Eventually my hands were too full and I just gave up, dropping the blood I had caught onto the ground. I made the halls from the gym to the nurse's station look like a scene from a horror movie. I even forgot there was blood on my hands and left hand prints on the walls and doors.

Once I got to the nurse's station, she freaked out (as my usually arrival only called for cough drops or tums). She quickly washed me off and gave me a bandage with cotton in it to last me until I got to the doctor's office. When my mom arrived she had the same reaction I did. None. I guess we both expected something like this to happen someday. She drove me to the doctor. The doctor didn't believe my story about a stethoscope being a killing tool, but I convinced her by showing her how the edge of her stethoscope matched perfectly with the length of my wound. The nurse was cracking up behind her, which actually helped me see the humour in the situation, but I couldn't laugh or really make any facial expression because it made my head bleed more. They stitched me up and sent me on my way.

I had forgotten the next day was picture day, but I honestly didn't care. I actually though it was "pretty cool" because now I have this story. Along with the proof:

Thanks for reading!

~Kyle

Seismic Twists

Today is Richter Scale Day! It's the birthday of the late Charles Richter, who invented earthquakes! ... I mean the Richter Scale. As we all know, the Richter Scale is used to measure how powerful earthquakes are on a scale of 0 to 9. 3-4 is usually the time people start freaking out, getting worse as the number rises. The strongest earthquake ever recorded was a 9.5 on May 22, 1960 on the coast of Chile. The weakest earthquake ever recorded doesn't have a place in any book because: who cares? Actually I do. Seems like a fact that they might ask on Jeopardy someday. Celebrate today by shakin' things up a little!

Today is also National Pretzel Day! A much more easily celebrated day, Pretzel day is also the third holiday involving bread in a row! Having fun carb counters? I know MY stomach is getting pretty sick of it. But for a nice soft pretzel or six, I will power through it! In the dark of the night around dying campfires, there are stories told of the ancient pretzel. Said to be the universe's oldest snack, it dates back to the 3-digit years A.D. They were made by the men of the cloth to look like the hands of a child folded in prayer. Yes, pretzels are epic, young ones. You should enjoy them verily. Don't be a wimp and eat those thing crunchy cracker pretzels either. No, you go find the biggest, warmest, softest, just-the-right-amount-of-saltiest pretzel you can find. Grab your favourite dip and go to town on it.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Serious Zucchini

Today is National Zucchini Bread Day! I've never had Zucchini Bread before, but was told yesterday by a very trusted source that it is good. Even though some of the food that this friend has quite literally forced me to eat (Guacamole, Deviled Eggs) were not enjoyed by me, some (Baklava) were. However, I really can't make my mind up on this one. It may be because I went and got some pre-made at a store, or it may be that Zucchini isn't in season according to Google, but I just can't for the life of me decide whether I liked it or not. I've also never had zucchini alone before, though. I'm actually not sure if you are supposed to. I just think that may be contributing to my wavering on this decision. I'd probably eat it again... just not by itself.

Why did I take today so seriously? HAPPY NATIONAL ZUCCHINI BREAD DAY!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Swaddled Swine

Today is National Pigs in a Blanket Day! As an American, I love food. I am also a man, which means that a specific type of food I enjoy would be meat. As a southerner, I also am a fan of home-cooking and finger-food. These assumptions are all correct under common stereotypes, and may not be truthful to all Southern Northern American Man (or SNAM (Which is "Mans" backwards (Which may or not mean anything))).


All that to say that Pigs in a Blanket are one of man's best inventions since the sandwich. I say that because, if done correctly, it is basically like a tubular sandwich. Not "tubular" in the sense that it is as unto a gnarly wave to surf upon. No, I refer to it's shape. A cylinder. It's like a small, cylindrical, sandwich. It's Pig+Cheese+Bread. That's a sandwich. you may want to put lettuce or tomato or even both at once in your Swaddled Swine, but that's what we southerner's call "Fixing something that ain't broke." or "Overcomplicatin' it" or "Ruining the Pig's in a Blanket."


So keep it simple and enjoy one of the best appetizers/side dishes/party snack/Hors d'oeuvres in existence.


Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Lab Manual

Today is Read Me Day! After three pages of a google search (if you go past three, then you're just getting desperate), I could find just about nothing on this day. However, so few things actually use that phrasing, that I can only assume it to be a day about one thing: Read Me Files. For those of you who haven't ever installed anything on your computer, or maybe just don't look at any files that you have installed, a Read Me file is usually where the file you installed or downloaded is explained. It also might have hints on how to solve technical issues or an access code to a locker containing $1,000,000 in Mexico. So maybe next time you should read it.

Today is also World Laboratory Day! A day to celebrate all the wonderful things that happen in laboratories. Things like science. One of my favourite shows to watch as a child was Dexter's Lab, and due to this show, I now say "Laboratory" like Dexter did. I'd also like to point out that this new show "Dexter" has unrightfully taken it's place. When I say "Dexter" now, people think of murder rather than how annoying it is to have a ditzy blonde sister come into your secret lab and wreck the place. Oh, well. I'm gonna go watch a few episodes in honor of one of the greatest cartoons of my childhood.

Nobody Likes Licorice.

Today is National Jelly Bean Day! Jelly beans are perhaps a candy category all on their own. There are so many flavors that I think it has to be almost impossible for anyone to not like at least one. I know that I'm a fan of what I like to call the "Pure Flavors". Things like Orange, Cherry, Apple, or other fruits are always welcome to my mixture. I've never been a fan of Popcorn, Coconut, or even Roasted Marshmallow. I like to mix the pure flavors on my own and see what recipes make different tastes thank you very much. And so help me if I find one Licorice even touching on of mine I will flip out. That stuff is nasty and it wrecks everyone's day.

Now, all of this doesn't matter at all if it's not Jelly Belly brand, because they are the flavor masters. No other jelly bean can stand up to them. If you are planning on making your own jelly bean company, then don't. It would be a waste of money because they own the industry. Not in a bad way either. They are just that good. Their one downfall is that they keep making Licorice even though no one likes it. People who say they like it are liars. I've tried it. It isn't good at all. Stop faking it. Even the name "Licorice" tastes bad. People who call Twizzlers "Red Licorice" almost ruined Twizzlers for me.

Here's a graph I didn't make:

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Easy As ABC

Today is Kindergarten Day! A day to remember what your very first day at school was like or reminisce about those days when you were "graded" on how well you could color a cat (I got in trouble for coloring it with my gray pencil). It can also be a day to appreciate friends that you have had since that young age. Today was made because Friedrich Froebel, the creator of the very first kindergarten, was born today in the late 1700's. Kindergarten is a German word that translates into "Children's Daycare Center". Kindergarten used to be a half-day (I remember that better than most things) but now it is a whole day. This makes me happy I was in kindergarten back in the day. Not that a full day of coloring, napping, and learning one letter per week would be stressful...


Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Easy Day for Twins.

Today is Lookalike Day! Today is a day to go out and find people who look like you! Whether it be that one rival school who seems to suspiciously have doubles of everyone in your class, or a celebrity look a like. I'm told that my celebrity lookalike is Jackson Rathbone, but frankly, I dunno if I see it. If you don't know who he is, He played Sokka in The Last Airbender and Jeremy in S. Darko. Those were the only movies I've seen him in. He may or may not have been in another series of movies. Alright it was Twilight. That's when it all started. Friends of mine went to see Twilight and came back with tales of how much I looked like Jasper. So really, more of a Jasper than a Jackson Rathbone. Cool last name by the way. It reminds me of Bonesaw from Spiderman. Booooooooooonesaaaaaaaaaaaw iiiiis reeeeeeady!!!! ... Sorry.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Vampire Awareness

Today is National Garlic Day! Today is a day to use garlic in and on everything you make and eat. Well, hopefully you eat it. That's the main use of garlic and if you let it just sit around, I imagine your house will begin to smell like the inside of an oven used to bake garlic bread and nothing else. This is pretty awesome timing for this holiday, as the AC in my house is broken and being fixed today. So obviously, the first thing I wanted when I woke up in my more-than-warm room was a nice warm slice of garlic bread. The warmth of the house should make the smell of the garlic travel quite nicely throughout the rooms. In all honesty, though, I do love garlic at the right time and with the right meal. It is one of my favourite flavours, although it does have the well known side-effect of slight halitosis, so you may want to have some mints on you if you plan to go to an italian restaurant today.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Throwing Up

Today is International Jugglers Day! As everyone knows, juggling is tossing objects into the air and making sure not to drop any. I learned how to juggle using three miniature Mike and Ike boxes, but it's usually something simpler like three balls or something more dangerous like 15 flaming sabers. It can also be used for business men when they are juggling clients around their schedule, or even used for what are called "Playas" who are people who juggle people without the other people knowing for the sake of saying they can. At least thats why I assume it's done? I don't know for sure. Either way, juggling is one of those talents that has been around for an incredibly long time that still maintains it's impressiveness. It takes a lot of concentration, coordination, and strength (depending on what you juggle). It also depends heavily on showmanship. Sure you can toss any number of items into the air without dropping them, but can you make it look easy? Better yet, can you do it with ease and make it look hard? I am personally a huge fan when people throw in their own twist on juggling like this man I saw a video of a few days ago.

That's awesome.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

A Grate Day For Cheese

Today is National Cheeseball Day! After a quick Google Image search of the word "cheeseball", I have found out that two kinds exists. One that I knew already and thoroughly enjoy whenever possible, and one that I may have seen once in my life. The first being the light, puffed up spheres of cheesy bread with cheesy goodness sprinkled all over them. They are usually bright orange or yellow and commonly come in a big barrel shaped container. Those are addictive and I doubt I know any person who does not love them. I even know some people who hate cheese who will willingly eat them. The other kind of cheeseball seems to be some sort of large ball of cheese (go figure) surrounded with crackers on a tray. I can only assume that it's for parties that I'm obviously too cool to attend (what else can explain my never having seen one?).

If I had the choice between something that I know and love from my past that looks like this:

Or something that may be more healthy but looks like this:

I'm fairly obviously going to go for the barrel of cheeseball puffs. It's not that I judge a book by it's cover. I just judge food by how it looks. ... Alright, admittedly, that was bad taste on my part. There ARE some pretty cool looking cheeseballs that I wouldn't mind trying. They definitely get points for creativity.

Thanks for reading!

~Kyle

Gonna Crack

Today is National Stress Awareness Day! I am currently chaperoning a drama competition, so I think I feel safe to say that I am aware of stress today. Not my stress, mind you, but I am very aware of theirs. It's hard not to be aware of a stressed teen, really. They'll remind you constantly. Not that I fault them. Today is the big day after all and I wish them luck.

Today is also Eggs Benedict Day! After having one of the more culture exposed teens on this trip explain to me what that is, it sounds pretty good! English muffin, poached eggs, possible bacon? Count me in. Too bad they don't have that as part of the hotels breakfast choices. I guess I'll settle for bacon with bacon.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Makeing Mistkaes

Today is Rubber Eraser Day! Erasers haven't always been there for us to make our past mistakes (or at least our written ones) disappear, so today is a day to celebrate the fact that they now exist. Sure, in today's crazy age of gadgets, hoozits, and whatchamacallits, we tend to not use erasers as often because we now have text editing programs that do all sorts of tech-magic to our documents. However, if you are anything like me, then you still appreciate the feel of a pencil on paper. If you do, you probably are doubly thankful for the feel of an eraser on paper, because anyone who writes with a pencil knows that you never start writing until you are sure your eraser is at the ready. I write with mechanical pencils most of the time, and those rarely have replaceable erasers, so I've been known to just throw them away once the eraser is gone. Don't worry, I transfer the lead to a new pencil (Mechanical pencils: 1, Wood pencils: 0).

Today, write as any mistakes as you darn well please because rubber erasers are more than happy to eat your mistakes. Unless your job entails you writing quickly and accurately. Then, save the celebration for home.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Pickin' on Pecans

Today is National Pecan Day! As I have mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of pecans. The only nuts I really like are cashews or the toffee-covered peanuts. There is one saving grace about pecans, though: Roasted Pecans. I've had them at the fair and at home, and they are quite good. They are one of the snacks that taste good fresh and warm or out of a plastic bag you've packed to snack from throughout the day. If I were to hazard a guess as to why I liked roasted pecans and not plain pecans, I would have two fairly good reasons. Those reasons, of course, are sugar and cinnamon. Sugar is just delicious and is in about everything you eat whether you like it or not. Cinnamon, however has a very distinct deliciousness to it. You can't mistake anything for cinnamon or vice versa. Put those two together and it's an amazing topping for almost anything. I know that there are other ingredients in roasted pecans (pecans for instance), but those are really the best ones.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Pointing the Finger

Today is Blame Someone Else Day! This is yet another holiday which we have had before (Jan 13). It's understandable because we as humans love to point the finger at someone else. Just look at auctioneers, traffic officers, and umpires. Now, pointing the blame to someone else is not very much appreciated by anybody within view of the situation, but today is a free pass to do it anyway. Whether it's a one-time use ticket or one that lasts until midnight tonight is up to you and yours.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

P.S. I've finally taken the 5 minutes out of my day to make it possible for you to comment anonymously. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means that you shouldn't have to sign up for any accounts of any sort to comment in the text box below. For those of you who don't understand computers well enough to know what all that meant, how did you get here?

Things are Looking Up

Today is Look Up At The Sky Day! Today is a day to look up at the sky at least once to see all of the things that could happen up there. Find some clouds that look like objects or animals or see if you can take a blurry video of a frisbee and freak out the people at Area 51. If you live in a place similar to where I live, chances are that you will more than likely only see the sun. If that's the case, try not to look up the sky for too long, as you may or may not go blind. In fact, I think all of us may want to limit the time we look up at the sky today, as people may start to think that you are very crazy. It might be fun to look up just to see how many other people look up with you in an attempt to see what you're looking at, though.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Studio 8

Today is Eight-Track Tape Day! 8-tracks weren't really around by the time I was born, as they were only popular in the 60's-70's. I do remember my father owning at least one of them, but I don't remember him ever having anything to play them on. It makes sense because 8-tracks were really popularized by their use in cars, and they were quickly replaced by cassette tapes. I DO remember listening to a lot of cassette tapes, and even buying a few of my own as a child. While cassettes did have a lot of problems, 8-tracks had more. So why do they get a holiday? Nostalgia. If you ever owned them, like I know my dad did, then remember the times that you did. If you still own a player, listen to them! Then tomorrow, go out and buy a newer radio. Or at least a walkman. Stop living in the past!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle