It is a question that will be debated as long as there are sports fans on the planet.  Who is the greatest guard that ever played in the NBA?  There are arguments to be made for a number of amazing players who excelled at the guard position for extended periods.

If scoring is the metric, then the battle is between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.  They are 3rd and 4th on the all-time points list, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone (neither of whom was a guard).  That's all-time points.  If we go average points per game, Michael Jordan is #1 all by himself.  He is the highest scoring NBA player of all-time when tracking career points per game.  Jerry West is the next closest guard at #6 on the total all-time list.  Alvin Iverson and Oscar Robertson are behind West and ahead of Kobe Bryant on this list.

But there is more to being a great NBA guard than scoring.  Magic Johnson leads the all-time average assists per game with only John Stockton coming anywhere close to him.  Michael Jordan ranks 85th on this all-time list.  Kobe Bryant is below him at 116th.

A lot has been made of the triple-double stat.  Well, it is Oscar Robertson who had the most triple-doubles all-time, with 181.  Magic Johnson at 138 and Jason Kidd with 107 are the only other players with over 100 of those gems.  To contrast, Michael Jordan has only 28.

Maybe the best metric is NBA championships.  If that's the case, Sam Jones has 10.  K. C. Jones has 8 as does John Havlicek.  All three of these guards (Sam and John were swingmen) played for the Boston Celtics.  Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy aren't even in the mix with only six each.

Is there one metric or a combination of metrics that can determine who was the best guard of all time?  I don't think so.  But it's fun to discuss.

* * *

The broken leg of Julius Randle in the Lakers opening game of the season was tragic.  But was a movement by Lakers management to "tank" the season already underway before the first tip?  Some analysts are floating that theory and they are basing it on three factors and I quote:

"Mitch Kupchak is smarter than he showed this summer"
"Like a tanking team, the Lakers looked to the future in the offseason"
"There is a lot of credible deniability here"

There's also suspicion that Kobe Bryant is on this so-called conspiracy, because he lusts after the all-time NBA scoring record.  That doesn't make sense.  In order to pass that record, Kobe would have to play at least three more seasons after this one, or boost his average over this and the next two seasons to over 28 points per game.  Not likely. 

Mitch Kupchak is a very smart guy and a great GM.  He didn't do well in the off-season with free agents because of factors beyond his control.  The fact the Lakers are looking to the future just validates Kupchak's wisdom because you can't build any kind of championship team by thinking one season at a time.

There is no conspiracy here.  It is probably more likely that the team was somehow cursed with the death of the man who brought multiple NBA championships to Los Angeles, the late Dr. Jerry Buss.

* * *

Before the Centrist Party issues its endorsements for next week's election, I want to comment on a campaign commercial I've been seeing frequently.  It involves the race for the 65th District of California's State Assembly.  Incumbent Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) is running against Young Kim, the handpicked candidate of long-time member of Congress from the area, Ed Royce.  Kim worked for Royce as Director of Community Relations and Asian Affairs for an extended period. 

This commercial takes Ms Kim to task for travel to Asia and for having the nerve to accept six raises, funded by taxpayers while she herself opposes the minimum wage.  I'm not sure I get the twisted logic by which anyone who doesn't support the concept of a minimum wage must forego any raises for themselves.  Or why the fact that these raises were funded by taxpayers matters, considering she was a government employee at the time.

It is just a perfect example of how negative campaigning has become the norm and it is why I am so relieved each year when Election Day is done and we are free from this bombastic bombardment of negativity.

On to the L. A. Times.  They endorse a number of candidates and positions on ballot propositions and the Centrist Party only comments when its endorsements disagree with those of the region's largest newspaper.

The Times has endorsed Sheila Kuehl in the race for the vacant 3rd District County Supervisor seat.  The Centrist Party disagrees with their endorsement and one of the silly arguments behind it.  They claim that because this particular district has cities like Beverly Hills and Santa Monica that are better equipped to meet the municipal needs of their constituents.  That's nonsensical.  The 4th District is home to Culver City, Torrance, El Segundo and the rest of the South Bay's beach cities.  They are all blessed with strong city governance.  Same for the 5th District, home to Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena. 

Ms Kuehl's opponent, Bobby Shriver brings to the table several things that Ms Kuehl does not.  He's not beholden to the unions that Ms Kuehl, current supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and incoming supervisor Hilda Solis cannot remain in office without.  Just as this made Eric Garcetti a better choice than Wendy Gruel in the last mayoral election in the City of Los Angeles, the labor factor alone is enough of a reason to support Shriver over Kuehl.  The biggest problem that government currently faces at all levels is unfunded future liabilities.  Labor unions have no interest in solving this problem and will oppose any effort to reduce/erode future benefits for their members and the costs created by the largesse of elected officials in the pockets of those unions.

Bobby Shriver knows how to balance budgets.  For that reason and those stated above, the Centrist Party endorses him for County Supervisor.

The Centrist Party is not a fan of current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome, but cannot in good faith endorse his challenger, Ron Nehring.  Nehring was a vocal supporter of Prop 8 and he becomes unpalatable based solely on that position.  This is a race where the Centrist Party would prefer to see "None of the Above" as a choice for voters.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

How ironic is it that TMZ.com, which respects no one's privacy, has a privacy policy statement that visitors to their site agree to by visiting?

Bruce Jenner with red nails isn't nearly as bothersome as is seeing him about to light a cigarette.  Decathletes don't smoke.  At least if they still care about their bodies they don't.

Did Melissa Rivers choose the law firm she will use to sue the facility where her mother died because it has seven named partners?

I still think that a friend of mine who took a big cardboard box and made it look like a giant box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and then put knives, axes and other deadly weapons all over it; creating a cereal/serial killer is one of the most inventive costumes I've ever seen.

I would think whatever moron decided to label plus-size Halloween costumes for women as "Fat-girl costumes" on the Walmart website is seeking new employment.  When I first saw the headline, I wondered if the retail giant was trying to cleverly market the Batgirl outfit Alicia Silverstone wore in "Batman and Robin."

Why is it that the Obama administration wants states not to impose quarantines on healthcare professionals returning from West Africa when they are themselves imposing a quarantine on all military personnel returning from the same region?

The news story about Jose Canseco shooting off his middle finger while cleaning his gun is the latest reminder to treat all weapons as being loaded until you have personally verified they are not.  The gun was a semi-automatic and I'm betting he took the clip out but failed to remove the round that was already chambered.

Going more than five years without having your teeth cleaned leads to a very painful hour in a dental chair.  Very, very painful.

Hasbro, owners of the Milton Bradley company should pony up the $25,000 that the creator of the game "Operation" needs for an operation.  They rake in tons of money from the game which was purchased from John Spinello.  He is currently 77 and needs oral surgery that he can't afford.  He was paid only $500 for the game by the Milton Bradley company.

Dating sites are often home for some who are desperate but one company that runs multiple dating sites was so desperate for cash they gave new users free profiles and then sent them phony messages from people who they thought lived nearby.  In order to see who was interested in meeting them they had to buy a subscription.  They've just been fined.  Dating sites are tough enough without predatory operators.

The more I see of Taylor Swift as she promotes her new album, the more impressed I am by her as a genuine human being.  She's clearly quite intelligent and well-read.  Of course, being young, gorgeous and at the top of her industry doesn't hurt.

* * *

October 31st in history:

475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down.
1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempts to dissolve the Congress of the Mexican Empire.
1861 – American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
1863 – The Maori Wars resume as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron begin their Invasion of the Waikato.
1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1876 – A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 deaths.
1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across United States.
1913 – The Indianapolis Streetcar Strike and subsequent riot begins.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba: The "last successful cavalry charge in history".
1918 – World War I: Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1922 – Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy
1923 – The first of 160 consecutive days of 100º Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Western Australia.
1924 – World Savings Day is announced in Milan, Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).
1926 – Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that develops after his appendix ruptures.
1938 – Great Depression: In an effort to restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.
1940 – World War II: The Battle of Britain ends: The United Kingdom prevents a possible German invasion.
1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.
1941 – World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 U.S. Navy sailors. It is the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by enemy action in WWII.
1943 – World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception by a USN or USMC aircraft.
1944 – Erich Göstl, a member of the Waffen-SS, is awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, to recognise extreme battlefield bravery, after losing his face and eyes during the Battle of Normandy.
1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Vladimir Lenin's Tomb.
1963 – An explosion at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) in Indianapolis kills 74 people and injures another 400 during an ice skating show. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand is blamed.
1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
1973 – Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland aboard a hijacked helicopter that lands in the exercise yard.
1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and nearly 10,000 Sikhs are killed.
1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
1999 – EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 people on board.
2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
2003 – Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power.
2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

Famous Folk Born on October 31st:

Ferdinand I of Portugal
Edward, King of Portugal
Pope Clement XIV
John Keats
Boston Custer (General George Armstrong Custer's younger brother, he also died as Little Bighorn)
Chiang Kai-shek
Susie Gibson (she lived to be 116)
Dale Evans
Barbara Bel Gedes
Lee Grant
Michael Collins (the astronaut)
Michael Landon
Ron Rifkin
Dave McNally
David Ogden Stiers
Brian Piccolo
Stephen Rea
John Candy

 

 

Jane Pauley

Nick Saban

Bernard Edwards

Lynda Goodfriend

Ken Wahl

 



 

Peter Jackson

Dermot Mulroney

 

 

Rob Schneider

Vanilla Ice

Beverly Lynne (The Girl from B.I.K.I.N.I.???  Really????)

Piper Perabo

 

 

 

Willow Smith



As November 1st draws near....

I don't have a bucket list.  At least not a formal, written list.  One of my favorite television characters, "Anthony DiNozzo" of NCIS has a written bucket list.  Here it is:

1.    Master the art of Kung Fu.
2.    Drive a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 like the one in Goldfinger.
3.    Discover the meaning of life.
4.    Catch a shark.
5.    Date a Bond girl and/or Miss Universe.
6.    Ride in a motorcycle ball of death.
7.    Write letter to Roger Ebert re: his reviews of Full Metal Jacket and Benji the Hunted.
8.    Develop a catch phrase.
9.    The luge.
10.    Tell Dad it's okay.
11.    Watch all Hitchcock films in order of release (including both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much), pausing only for bathroom breaks.
12.    Experience a Wonder of the World (besides Gibbs).
13.    Learn to play the bass.
14.    Kick McGee's butt at some video game.
15.    Create DiNozzo coat of arms.
16.    Ride a Ferris wheel naked.   (oops…did that already)
17.    Get and pass on Gibbs' recipe for steak.
18.    Visit Bogie's grave.
19.    Discuss Paris.
20.    Give a motivational half-time speech. 
21.    Find Jimmy Hoffa, dammit.
22.    Finish memoir.
23.    Make cameo in the movie version of memoir. 
24.    Let friends get closer.
25.    Try space tourism.
26.    Tell her.

I think this is an excellent list.  I'd point out that there is only one of the original seven Wonders of the World that survives (the Great Pyramid of Giza) and the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger was a 1964, not a 1965.  Finding Jimmy Hoffa would be awesome.  For years I suspected that if someone had removed all of the makeup from the face of the late Tammy Faye Messner (nee Bakker), one would find Jimmy Hoffa.  Turned out that was not the case.  I am also convinced it is impossible to truly master the art of Kung Fu, because no matter how much you learn, someone will always know more than you.

There are a few things I'd like to be able to do while I'm still here on Earth.  Visit a number of places in Europe.  Stand beside the Great Wall of China.  Revisit Old Faithful at Yellowstone.  Make one more shopping trip to the city of Seoul.  Eat a meal of real kobe beef and fugu in Japan.  But I've been to most of the great national parks in our nation, traveled to a number of other nations.  I have walked the path of Moses' Miracle in the Republic of Korea (shown below).

I read that Brittany Maynard visited the Grand Canyon, completing her bucket list.  I'm glad.  It is indeed an amazing experience to visit that special place.  I now think I have a better understanding of why she is choosing the path of ending her own life this Saturday. 

My body is essentially broken.  I need oxygen to walk more than a very short distance.  While my heart problems are stable, they are not good.  I spend many hours of the day fighting physical fatigue.  I'm in constant pain in one form or another all day long.  But my mind is still quite sharp.  I get to make a positive difference in the lives of my clients and my students.  I enjoy intellectual pursuits.  My mind is fully engaged.

Ms Maynard's illness would eventually take that aspect of her life away.  I would not want to live either, were my mind to be seriously addled by the ravages of an illness.  My thoughts will be with her on November 1st, and thereafter.

* * *

Veracity.  Credibility.  Are these traits that we care about in choosing our next president?  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that there are a lot of people who don't mind voting for someone who has "embellished" their record. 

If Hillary Clinton decides she is running for that office in 2016, will this get a lot of airplay come general election time:

Perhaps to be followed by this more in depth version:

The fact is, she lied.  This wasn't a simple mistake, like claiming to have visited 57 states or claiming to have won a primary election in a state where the candidate wasn't even on the ballot.  This was an out and out, bald faced lie.  A lie for no good reason, except to make her experience look better than it was. 

Sometimes it isn't the lie itself.  I didn't care if President Clinton lied about having sex with Monica Lewinsky, until he did it while under oath.  Once you swear an oath to tell the truth, telling the truth is the only choice.  Especially when you've sworn a separate oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and you're a member of the bar. There is almost certainly a similar situation involving every other person who will be campaigning to be our next president, although perhaps not as well known. 

So why does this bother me?  Because I'd much prefer to see political campaigns where candidates talked about the real issues, the real problems of our nation/state/locality and their proposals for solving them.  That would be worth listening to.  Much more so that "So and so lied."

* * *

A woman posted something on Reddit that is getting a lot of attention.  I read it and just shook my head.  Not at her, but at the people who treated her in the way she described in her posting.  You may read it for yourself here:  http://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/2k3osv/people_are_just_so_mean_to_ugly_women_please_be/

Here's an excerpt of the portion that really pissed me off:  "There was a photographer going around the club, taking pictures of the people there. I assume it was for some promo for their website or something. He got to our group, and literally circled us several times, taking several pics from different angles. I was kind of psyched about this, so I did my best to look like I was having a good time, made sure he could snap me at my best. But after a while I realized he wasn't circling us to get our best angles. He was trying to get a frame without ME. If I moved closer to the center of the group, for instance, he would tilt his camera a little the other way. I couldn't believe it until finally, he actually came up to me and asked me to get out of the shot."

I'd like to make that photographer walk around in society for a couple of days as this woman, so he can perceive what he did from her perspective.  There may be a legitimate argument for a marketing plan to only show the "beautiful people" in their advertising materials.  That doesn't excuse out and out rudeness.  It doesn't excuse what he did and what he said.

I have a message for this woman.  She isn't "ugly" and she shouldn't think of herself as such.  That the men she's encountered thus far aren't interested in her based solely on how she looks in a nightclub isn't important.  What makes someone special isn't external beauty.  It's internal beauty.  "Shallow Hal" is a funny movie but it points out a very important fact.  Outward appearance isn't nearly as important as what is in a person's mind, heart and soul.

I feel her pain.  When I was in the crazily first-dating phase of my life after my second marriage ended and my rebound relationship had crashed, I went on a blind date with a nice lady (or so I thought).  We had common interests.  I was in the midst of getting back in shape and losing more than 60 pounds of excess weight, but I'd only just begun that journey when we went on our one date.

We had fun.  Dinner and a movie.  I enjoyed the movie, the food (she picked the place) and the company.  Afterward I told her I was interested in calling her to arrange another date.  She demurred, saying that she just didn't feel any kind of connection. 

Months later, I ran into her at one of the speed-dating dinner things.  We didn't share a table, but we met up in the bar after the dining/trying to meet portion of the evening was over.  She came over to where I was sitting and asked to join me.  After refraining from responding "join me, am I coming apart" I invited her to sit.  She marveled at my changed appearance (I was also dressing better at this point than I had before).  She told me she was very interested in going out on another date.

She was quite nonplussed when I declined.  She asked me why, when I'd said before that I was interested.  I told her I was at the time, but after learning she was apparently very shallow my interest had waned.  She seemed upset by this and then let me know she was.  So I let her know that I was still the same person she'd met months earlier on the inside.  The only thing that had changed was my external appearance.  Obviously it was that appearance that she wasn't interested in before.  Now my appearance was vastly improved in her eyes and she was interested.  Too bad for her.

So, author of this Reddit piece, take heart.  When you do find a man who has the proper set of values, he'll be a keeper.  And in his eyes, you will indeed be beautiful.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

I don't think kids should be getting actions figure toys based on "Breaking Bad" but I don't think they shouldn't be sold at all.  This is a case of where parents need to exercise control over their kids.  Maybe Toy R' Us can set up a section for toys for adults that are clearly labeled as "not kid appropriate."

One of the women who aided Canadian military reservist Nathan Cirillo before his death from an attack in Ottawa said she spoke to him even though he was unconscious.  She said she'd been in a coma once and she heard everything.  I don't disbelieve her, but that wasn't my experience.

Death hoaxes like the one earlier this week involving Nancy Reagan aren't funny in any way. 

Kat Von D has every right to be upset about the fire that destroyed her tattoo parlor on N. La Brea but someone who is a public figure shouldn't be criticizing the media for doing their job in reporting on her and this tragedy.

I've never tried the Dan Dan Soup at P. F. Chang's and after learning one serving has 7,980 mg of sodium in it, I never will.  That's more than 4 days worth of sodium in one meal.  Ouch!

If a member of the Egyptian royal family went to school to learn how to be a plumber, would he then be accurately described as a pharaoh faucet major?

Some guy appearing on the dating show "Baggage" said he needs to powder his "junk" daily.  Way too much information.

The mayor of Houston is claiming that her daughter was initially denied a Texas drivers license because she has "two moms."  I think it was less about that and more about the extremely onerous requirements for documents to prove identity required by Texas law.

There is no way I'd ever partake of the "snake massage" which doesn't involve a happy ending but instead involves the massage therapist placing numerous king snakes and corn snakes on your back.  Just the thought of this makes me shudder.

After seeing the facilities of the Gotham Club at AT&T baseball stadium in San Francisco I think I'd go even though it would mean watching the Giants.

Kudos to TLC for cancelling "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" after the mom began seeing her old flame, a convicted child molester.

* * *

No This Date in History this blog.

News items and ponderings on them

Apparently North Korea has released Jeffrey Fowle, an American who has been jailed by the North Koreans since May.  CNN learned of the story but agreed to delay releasing it until Fowle had landed safely on Guam.  Reporter's note:  What about Kenneth Bae?  Oh and Jeff, while you're at Andersen Air Force Base, can you pick up a few things I left in a barracks there?  It's the one next to the golf course.

A South African judge has sentenced double-amputee Oscar Pistorius to five years in jail.  She ruled that the prison system could handle Pistorius' medical needs, eliminating any reason for him to be allowed to serve his time under house arrest.  Reporter's note:  I didn't buy the need for house arrest argument anyway.  Five years for what was essentially ruled to be manslaughter seems fair, until you realize he might be out in as little as ten months.

Renee Zellweger was turning heads at the 2014 Elle Women in Hollywood event on Monday, but not for the reasons you might think.  She looks remarkably unlike the woman we last saw on the big screen in 2010 and even less like she did when she won her Oscar.  Reporter's note:  I'd bet money she wasn't working by choice and she has a film out next year.  Way too much emphasis is placed on the looks of actresses anyway.

There are reports that Kris Jenner is very upset that Bruce Jenner is dating a woman who was once personal assistant and long-time best friend of Kris.  Ms Jenner attempted to debunk these reports in an appearance on the Today Show, but some aren't buying it.  Reporter's note:  No one has any business being upset about who their ex chooses to spend time with.  Especially when they are the one who did the dumping.

In Connecticut, a man serving a 56 year sentence for murder and other charges is suing the state in order to be able to read a book.  This book is a reference material for drawing the human form and it contains numerous photographs of nude models; violating the state's ban on "pornography" in prison.  Reporter's note:  There is no good reason to ban this book.  Are all back issues of National Geographic that show women's breasts removed from the prison library?

Brittany Maynard, the 29 year old Oregon woman who will end her own life on November 1st has given her last public statement.  Here it is:

“The response from you all has surpassed our wildest expectations. On behalf of my family, thank you for the outpouring of love and support.” 
“This journey has been challenging, to say the least. We’ve uprooted our lives. I take prescription drugs to reduce the swelling in my brain, that have caused my entire body to swell instead. Dan and I have given up our dreams of having a family. My mother is soon to lose her only child. We can all agree that no parent should bury their child.”
“I didn’t launch this campaign because I wanted attention; in fact, it’s hard for me to process it all. I did this because I want to see a world where everyone has access to death with dignity, as I have had. My journey is easier because of this choice.”

Reporter's note:  I'm so amazed at her courage, and how she wants everyone to be able to make the choice she's making.  Reading about how her disease would ravage her brain and how that would make her last months a living hell makes me think I might well do the same thing in her place.  She will be in my thoughts a week from Saturday.

Michael Sam, the first openly gay man to be drafted by an NFL team was released by the Dallas Cowboys.  The Cowboys had signed Sam to their practice squad after the St. Louis Rams had waived him earlier this season.  Sam thanked the Cowboys organization for giving him a chance and said he would continue to pursue a career in pro football.  Reporter's note:  As the trailblazer, Sam will be closely watched for his entire career.  Hopefully the equivalent of Dan Bankhead will come along in time.

TMZ is reporting that actress Elizabeth Pena died from complications of alcohol abuse.  Reporter's note:  People should recognize that alcoholism is a real disease, with real consequences if not properly held in check.  I also remember very well when a TV series she was in was cancelled.  "I Married Dora" lasted 13 episodes before it got the axe.  The last scene of the final episode is memorable because they broke the fourth wall.

Fox News co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle told young women they don't need to bother voting.  Instead they should focus on Tinder and Match.com.  She claims they lack the proper life experience to be voting.  Reporter's note:  Her sexist remarks were almost certainly driven by the fact that young women tend to vote almost exclusively for Democrats, as Republican strategists continue to worry that this voting bloc may prevent them from taking control of the Senate in November.

Part VI of my Thank You list...

begins on my arrival at Andersen Air Base, Guam.  Once known as North Field, it was the home of the 43rd Strategic Bomb Wing as host unit when I got there; however, I had been assigned to the 605th Military Airlift Support Squadron (MASS).  My sponsor and new boss, TSgt Cecil C. Morgan met me at the terminal and drove me to the barracks that would be home for the next fifteen months.  He seemed like a nice guy but he wanted me at work the next day (Saturday) to help out as they were preparing for an inspection by higher headquarters.  That inspection started on Monday and when it was over, the unit administrative function was rated unsatisfactory.

TSgt Morgan, whose photograph should appear next to the definition of asshole in the dictionary, tried to put the blame for that failure on me.  When the Colonel in command told him that was bullshit he said that he would fix everything personally.  What he said and what happened don't mesh.  I fixed every area that was my responsibility so that when the re-inspection came around, my portion of the office was rated Excellent.  The only reason it wasn't rated Outstanding is that you can't get an Outstanding on a re-inspection from an Unsatisfactory.  But the office was rated only Satisfactory overall and again he tried to pin the blame on me.  And again the Colonel didn't buy into his reasoning, especially when I was commended in the re-inspection report.  So he treated me even worse for the rest of my tour.  In fact, when I was recommended for an Air Force Commendation Medal, he stopped the recommendation by tossing it into his desk drawer (I happened to have a copy of the recommendation, so I ended up being able to get the award in the end).

What did I learn from this jerk?  That there are assholes of every level in society, and you just have to suffer through them.  When they aren't your boss or in your social circle you just avoid them.  When they are your boss, or co-worker or in that social circle, you just do the best you can.  That was a good lesson and I thank him for it.

Then there was his immediate supervisor, Lieutenant Dula.  His biggest problem is that while he was very smart, he wasn't as smart as he thought he was, and he was threatened by anyone smarter than he was.  Not just in terms of raw intellect (he was way up there in that) but in common sense and how things work in the real world.  I have nothing but respect for the majority of those who teach and I consider myself a teacher but there are people in this world who do personify the adage "those who can do and those who can't teach".  He was one of those people and I heard he went into academia.  I won't further describe his flaws other than to say he was probably the worst commissioned officer it was my displeasure to work with in 10 years on active duty.  He taught me that the Peter Principal does work, that cream doesn't always rise to the top, and there are people in this world who simply can't be trusted.

On a much more pleasant note, there was SMSgt Zachary W. Taylor.  He was the First Sergeant of the Supply Squadron back at Homestead when we first met and he was my First Sergeant on Guam.  He became a friend, a mentor and someone who supported me in every endeavor I undertook.  He had me over to his house, he helped me buy a moped so I could get around and when TSgt Morgan tried to screw me over on something; not only did he stop it, but he gave the screwing over right back to that asshole.  He was so good at being a First Sergeant that I encountered him again in my next assignment in Mississippi, where he became the commandant of the First Sergeant's academy.  A whole generation of First Sergeants benefitted from his knowledge and experience.  He taught me that you protect those who you care about, and who are loyal to you.  He taught me that there's no point in getting mad and you don't necessarily need to get even.  He also taught me that there is a great benefit to networking, building relationships and being willing to be the first to extend yourself to help others, without expectation of anything in return.  He was a very wise man and I think of him very fondly.  He was also a fun guy to hang out with.

And there was the person who was "Zack's" best friend, CMSgt John J. Major.  He was the senior man in the personnel office at Homestead when I first met him and he ended up in that job on Guam before I arrived there.  He too was a friend and mentor.  He taught me how to make the personnel system work better for the airmen that I provided support to.  He taught me that it isn't enough to know how regulations work, but that you need to know how they were intended to work.  He was also a lot of fun to hang out with and I spent many pleasant evenings in the NCO club in the company of "Z.W." and "J.J." which is how they insisted on being referred to away from work.

It was a guy who I won't name but refer to as Sgt. H. who gave me the clue to realize why Cecil Morgan disliked me so.  Sgt. H. arrived in our office in November and Cecil C. wanted to make him my direct supervisor so as to insert himself as my secondary rater on performance evaluations.  But I was on the selection list to SSgt and once I was promoted, I outranked Sgt. H.  Then he was no longer interested in anyone else supervising anyone within the office.  Later on, Sgt. H. finally got his line number to SSgt but it came too late.  However, at his promotion party, where he was lamenting how it had taken him 14 years to make that rank; while I'd done it in less than four years, he told me that he'd researched Cecil C.'s records and he had taken ten years to make SSgt and 16 to make TSgt.  And that it probably bothered him to no end that I'd get to the rank it had taken him 16 years to get to, in less than eight years (he was right, I made TSgt six months before my eight year anniversary on active duty).  So I thank him for handing me that critical piece of knowledge.  It made my last months on Guam much easier to deal with.

Lastly I want to thank a number of people who I was stationed with on Guam, who gave freely of their wallets during the copious hours of "double-deck GI pinochle" I played in the barracks and at the NCO club.  Your generousity and inability to recognize the fact I could count 80 cards with ease made my financial obligations much easier to bear.  Thank you.

Next, the long list of people I need to thank at my next duty station, Keesler AFB, MS.  This time as permanent party personnel, not a student.

Double-entendres

Flabbergasted.  As first I thought the comment "I'd love to see my meat in your mouth" was a prank.  It wasn't.  Joe Zwillenberg, owner of the Westport Flea Market restaurant just let that piece of sexual harassment fly out of his own mouth.  Are we supposed to infer he was referring to the hamburger patty between two buns he handed to reporter Courtenay DeHoff, or was there another meaning?  Proof once again that women are still second-class citizens in the eyes of a number of men; even if that number is slowly shrinking.

* * *

Don't tell bomb jokes in airports.  That mantra is inculcated into us from the moment we first set foot inside an airport.  It isn't funny and it will get you much more familiar with some law enforcement personnel that you would have wanted to become.  You may even wind up in front of judge, tap dancing away to avoid a protracted stay in the federal government's closest gray bar hotel.

Now we have idiots like the one who shouted "I have Ebola" while riding on an L. A. Metro bus, wreaking havoc.  Taxpayers will be out thousands of dollars for the required hazmat scrubbing down of the bus, as well as the three weeks the driver will spend in isolation while receiving his full salary.

If they catch this guy, not only should he be prosecuted for a "terrorist threat" but he should also have to foot the bill his foolishness spawned.

* * *

It wasn't an unreasonable request.  Army First Sergeant Albert Marle was flying on a U. S. Airways flight and he asked the flight attendant if he could hang up his dress blue uniform so it wouldn't wrinkle.  The Army ranger was taken aback a bit by the rude response he received.  Several passengers flying in first class who heard what happened offered to trade seats with First Sgt Marle so he could hang his uniform, but he declined.  One of the passengers in first class took action and hung the uniform himself.

The airline has now apologized of course, but the public relations black eye will last for some time.  The flight attendant was quoting an airline policy and the slippery slope argument about making one exception opening the door for many more is a consideration.

But when we're talking about the men and women who volunteer to serve our nation, willing to go wherever and whenever; often risking their lives in the process, an exception should be made.  If it's that big a problem for U. S. Airways, I'm sure military personnel can find other airlines to patronize.

* * *

Norman Lear is still going strong at the age of 92.  He's written an autobiography Even This I Got To Experience and he speaks very fondly of the amazing cast he assembled for his biggest hit "All In The Family." 

Katie Couric landed an interview with the sitcom genius for her Yahoo gig and it's very informative and entertaining.

I'm a big fan of his.  He may be a bit of a curmudgeon if you don't see things his way, but he remains an amazing talent and person.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

Social media has really altered the landscape, when a person can ask a rookie pitcher for tickets to a playoff game on Twitter, and get them.  Dream come true.  Kudos to Royals' relief pitcher Brandon Finnegan for making a "broke fan's" dream come true.

Who would spend $175,000 for a Louis Vuitton punching bag and then actually hit it?

  

You'd think with a multi-million dollar contract in his pocket, Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle wouldn't need to shoplift cologne and underwear from a Dillards.

That someone found a Black Lotus card for the game Magic: The Gathering, worth an estimated $30,000 isn't what has me scratching my head.  That any game card would be worth that much isn't it either.  That people would watch the opening of a 20 year old deck of cards, live on the Web, does have me pondering.

In the town of Orania, South Africa, apartheid is still alive and well.  1,000 Afrikaners live there and blacks are not welcome.  How can this be?  The residents claim they are preserving their cultural heritage.

If you spend $20,000 for a purse and it winds up smelling bad due to poorly tanned leather, you'd think they'd just replace it rather than making you wait while it's shipped to Paris to be repaired.

The Democratic strategists who decided to stop spending money on the campaign of Alison Lundergan Grimes to unseat incumbent Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky are making a mistake.

How would you feel, if you and your wife were playing Family Feud and when your wife has to buzz in and answer this question:  "100 married women were surveyed and asked what one part would they change on their husband's body" - and the wife fumbles for an answer before blurting out "his penis?"  I think he faked not being humiliated quite well.

I wouldn't be opposed to a ban on travel to and from the West African countries where the Ebola pandemic is raging.  Not if the rest of the world would then pour resources into the area to wipe out this current outbreak of the virus.  But a ban without lots of outside help would be insanely cruel.  The fact it would also be ineffective is also a factor.

October 15th never ceases to amaze me.  Nor does it ever fail to wear me down into utter exhaustion.

* * *

October 18th in History:

320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philosopher, observes an eclipse of the Sun and writes a commentary on The Great Astronomer (Almagest).

614 – King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris (Edictum Chlotacharii), a sort of Frankish Magna Carta that defend the rights of the Frankish nobles while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom.

629 – Dagobert I is crowned King of the Franks.

1009 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock.

1016 – The Danes defeat the Saxons in the Battle of Assandun.

1081 – The Normans defeat the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium.

1210 – Pope Innocent III excommunicates Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

1356 – Basel earthquake, the most significant historic seismological event north of the Alps, destroys the town of Basel, Switzerland.

1386 – Opening of the University of Heidelberg.

1540 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto's forces destroy the fortified town of Mabila in present-day Alabama, killing Tuskaloosa.

1599 – Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, defeats the Army of Andrew Báthory in the Battle of  Şelimbăr, leading to the first recorded unification of the Romanian people.

1648 – Boston Shoemakers form first American labor organization.

1748 – Signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession.

1775 – African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery.

1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Burning of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine) prompts the Continental Congress to establish the Continental Navy.

1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.

1797 – Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria

1851 – Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is first published as The Whale by Richard Bentley of London.

1860 – The Second Opium War finally ends at the Convention of Peking with the ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin, an unequal treaty.

1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.

1898 – The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.

1912 – First Balkan War: King Peter I of Serbia issues a declaration "To the Serbian People", as his country joins the war.

1914 – The Schoenstatt Movement is founded in Germany.

1921 – The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is formed as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

1922 – The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) is founded by a consortium, to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.

1929 – The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overrules the Supreme Court of Canada in Edwards v. Canada when it declares that women are considered "Persons" under Canadian law.

1944 – World War II: Soviet Union begins the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Nazi Germany.

1945 – The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for the United States plutonium bomb from Klaus Fuchs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

1945 – A group of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, led by Mario Vargas, Marcos Pérez Jiménez and Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, stages a coup d'état against president Isaías Medina Angarita, who is overthrown by the end of the day.

1945 – Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón marries actress Eva "Evita" Duarte.

1954 – Texas Instruments announces the first Transistor radio.

1964 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes for its first season after a six-month run.

1967 – The Soviet probe Venera 4 reaches Venus and becomes the first spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet.

1968 – The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving a "Black Power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.

1977 – German Autumn: a set of events revolving around the kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight by the Red Army Faction (RAF) comes to an end when Schleyer is murdered and various RAF members allegedly commit suicide.

1989 – Peaceful Revolution: Erich Honecker resigns as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

1991 – The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopts a declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

2003 – Bolivian gas conflict: Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, is forced to resign and leave Bolivia.

2004 – Myanmar prime minister Khin Nyunt is ousted and placed under house arrest by the State Peace and Development Council on charges of corruption.

2007 – Karachi bombing: A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto kills 139 and wounds 450 more. Bhutto herself is uninjured.

Famous Folk Born on October 18:

Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan

Pope Pius II

Ann Putnam, Jr.

Hugo Goetz

Lotte Lenya

Jesse Helms

Chuck Berry

Klaus Kinski





George C. Scott

Keith Jackson

Inger Stevens (tragic suicide)

Dawn Wells

Mike Ditka

Lee Harvey Oswald

Huell Howser

Chris Shays

Joe Morton

Laura Nyro

Joe Egan

Wendy Wasserstein

Mike Antonovich

Pam Dawber

Terry McMillan

Chuck Lorre

Arliss Howard

Joe Egan

David Twohy

Martina Navratilova

Erin Moran (I shudder to think where she is at this moment)

Jean-Claude Van-Damme (that looks painful)

Wynton Marsalis

Ne-Yo

Zac Efron

Bristol Palin (proving the apple doesn't fall far from the tree)





News items and my thoughts

 

Rolling Stone Magazine is reporting that Neil Young says that he will never again tour with Crosby, Stills and Nash.  So we will see no more of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  Reporter's note:  That's sad.  I bet that if George Harrison and John Lennon were alive today, the other Beatles would love to play some reunion dates.  The above video is my favorite song by CSNY.

NBA superstar Kevin Durant, according to his former fiancée Monica Wright, was unfaithful.  That and her faith are the reasons she gives for calling off the engagement.  Reporter's note:  I applaud her choice.  I can't see just rolling over and accepting infidelity.  If it happened once, it's a lot more likely to happen again in the future.

In San Francisco a dispute over a soccer field has people in an uproar.  Neighborhood kids have used the field for years without making reservations.  Now the City's Parks and Rec department has set up a system where people can pay to reserve the field.  Some folks who work nearby at a tech company reserved the field so they could get together and play.  Reporter's note:  The City needs to provide proper signs and advance warning before it starts to allow public park facilities to be reserved in advance.  But once that's done, reservations should get priority over long-term users who can't be bothered to become part of the process.

A nurse who was involved in the treatment of Thomas Eric Duncan (the man who died recently from Ebola) has tested positive for Ebola.  She is being held in isolation and being treated, while haz-mat teams have cleaned her apartment and the common areas of the apartment complex.  Officials are blaming her infection on a breach in treatment protocol, but aren't releasing any specifics about what transpired.  Reporter's note:  We keep hearing how difficult it is to contract Ebola and yet a nurse who was supposedly wearing proper protective gear has now been infected.   Something just doesn't add up.

A medical correspondent for NBC News apparently violated a "voluntary quarantine" to get soup from one of her favorite restaurants and she and the rest of her crew are now under a mandatory quarantine.  TMZ reports that Dr. Nancy Snyderman went to the Peasant Grill in New Jersey, but didn't leave her vehicle.  Reporter's note:  You'd think a doctor would pay more attention to quarantines and other safety precautions.  Guess not.

NSA leaker Edward Snowden wants to come back to the U.S. if he can get a fair trial, but he claims the federal government keeps denying his requests.  "I'm allowed to make my case before a jury" Snowden said in a video interview with The New Yorker.  Reporter's note:  He'd never get a fair trial here.

On Friday, Brittany Maynard wrote an op-ed piece for CNN on her decision to end her life.  She's 29 and suffering from an incurable brain cancer.  She will take a lethal dose of medication prescribed for her under Oregon's Death With Dignity law.  She will do this on November 1st.  Reporter's note:  After reading her piece, I understand her reasoning.  I wish her and her family peace.

Chris Brown tweeted the following:  "I don't know ... but I think this Ebola epidemic is a form of population control. S**t is getting crazy bruh."   The backlash was immediate and he quickly backed off.  Reporter's note:  Better to remain quiet and let others think you a fool than to speak and remove any doubt.

In the wake of a furious response from conservative Catholics, the Vatican is backing off of comments it made that seemed to be a softening of the church's positions on homosexuality.  "It was a working draft" is their excuse.  Reporter's note:  Religious doctrine that involves inequality is just plain wrong.  What happened in the past is one thing.  What we do going forward is entirely different.

Robert Downey, Jr. is going to don his Iron Man suit for a big role in the third installment of the "Captain America" franchise.  Reporter's note:  Nice $40 million payday for him.  I'd have paid to see the movie with or without him.

Finally, a sad and yet uplifting item.  Singer/songwriter/actor Glen Campbell has released a video for the final song he will ever record, "I'm Not Going to Miss You."  It's a song that deals with the Alzheimer's Disease that has forced the 78 year old entertainer to move into a special care facility in Nashville.  Reporter's note:  Mr. Campbell has had an amazing career and life.  His courage in detailing how this insidious disease has altered the latter part of his life is awe-inspiring.

Another Saturday night and I ain't got no energy

The lyrics of this particular song are appropriate on this Saturday night.  I have a little money because I got paid, but not as much as I'm supposed to have.  That is because some asshole (assholes perhaps) managed to steal $489 from my debit card.  It's been identified as fraud and I'm promised to get a temporary credit which will become permanent as soon as the fraud acknowledgement from the processor.  This doesn't mitigate the fact that I'm pissed.

Were I to be in good health, I'd turn a portion of my considerable talents and energy to finding out who did this and hunting them down so they could be prosecuted.  I don't have the energy to pursue this, as much as I want to.  I must trust that time will heal all wounds, and eventually wound all heels.

* * *

I sat on the side of my bed this afternoon, one leg gloriously free of the work slacks I'd worn to teach and work in today.  Too tired to remove the other leg from the trousers, and unwilling to summon up the energy to do so, I just sat there.  I couldn't change the channel on the television because whoever made up the bed today had placed the remote just out of reach from any point on the bed.  Eventually I got the remove, and changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt. 

Again today I was forced to postpone some work, this time because of computer problems.  While I try to convince myself I'll get it all done on Monday and Wednesday (the two days I am scheduled to work in my office), in my heart I know that next Friday morning I will probably wind up knocking all of it out in one prolonged session of effort.

I haven't had a day completely free from one form of work or another since September 21st and I won't get one until Tuesday.  Fortunately for me, I have Tuesday and Friday completely free from work this coming week.  I will rest up on the first two of those days and then conquer the backlog on Friday, if I haven't finished it before then.

When it's tax season or when I'm slated to teach a class, it really doesn't matter how exhausted I am when I roll out of bed in the morning. I mentally overpower the fatigue until the day's duties are discharged.  Then I pay the price for overwriting my physical limits by feeling as I felt earlier today.  Too tired to remove a shoe.  Too tired to write film reviews or of late, write this blog.

Fortunately, there is light at the end of this tunnel that has overwhelmed me.  I will no longer have to allow my mind to write a check that my body really shouldn't be cashing.  I will rest.  I will recharge.  And most importantly, I will work harder to learn how to say "no" and mean it.

* * *

You shiver in the cold night air.  It's after two in the morning and there is little traffic passing you as you stand on the shoulder of the highway, a bright flashlight held by a cop nearly blinding you.  You are about to fail a field sobriety test and be arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.  That isn't what is really scaring you.  DUI when no one was hurt is just money.  A fine, higher insurance premiums and the stigma of having a criminal record to follow you the rest of your life.  That isn't why you're afraid.

You are afraid because you know they will be taking your fingerprints and loading them into the computer at their station.  Somewhere in the bowels of law enforcement databases, your name has a red flag next to it.  You are the subject of a request to hold, as you are suspected of having committed a federal crime.  The local cops will place a hold on you and keep you until the feds arrive to take you into their custody.  Then you will be unceremoniously whisked off to face the music for whatever federal law you stand accused of violating.

It could be tax fraud.  It could be committing a criminal civil rights violation.  Whatever it is, you're snared in the fed's web and you're stuck.  Unless the crime you stand accused of is entering the country illegally.  The courts continue to rule that the 48 hour hold requests of ICE do not meet the standard for probable cause to hold you for violating the nation's immigration law.

If you are accused of any other violation of federal law, probable cause exists to hold you until the feds can pick you up.  Why is illegal immigration different?  Because those who are the primary apologists for those who enter this country illegally have done everything in their power to turn the stigma that usually accompanies a violation of the law back on those who make decisions to enforce said law.

We can't deport all, or most, or even a good portion of the people here illegally.  Comprehensive immigration reform is a must.  But a system that has federal law enforcement (ICE) making requests to hold people long enough to take custody of them, and local law enforcement is being mandated to ignore such requests; is beyond broken.  It has failed utterly.

Our elected leadership needs to address this problem and now.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

Spray-painting a swastika on a Jewish frat at a university is a clear sign that bigotry is alive and well, or someone needs to learn what is and isn't acceptable as a prank.  Or both.

California law says if you're under 17.5 years of age, you may not drive a car with any passengers in the vehicle that are age 20 or younger.  That means that the driver of the BMW in which five teens were killed this past weekend shouldn't have had anyone in the car with him.  Then again, it looks like Bradley Morales didn't even have a drivers license at all.  He survived, but he will almost certainly wish he hadn't.  Five of his friends are dead and he may face vehicular manslaughter charges.

Should we be surprised that the nine year old son of LeBron James is already drawing notice from college basketball coaches?  No, we shouldn't.

People who are fascinated by Bruce Jenner's long hair at a concert really need to find stuff more worthy of discussion.

Raven Symone may not like labels, but that's how society identifies and groups people.  I don't want to be labeled as short, but calling me vertically challenged doesn't change my height, or the height of the average male.

There's a nurse in Harrisburg, PA who has gone above and beyond.  She's taken in a dying single mother and that mother's son into her home with her family.  I was very moved by their story.

Anyone dumb enough to try to run from Florida to Bermuda inside a plastic ball deserves whatever fate they get.

Add me to the list that doesn't care that Twin Peaks is coming back to TV.

Apparently ISIS doesn't care that one of their hostages converted to Islam before being taken captive, because he's an American they may still murder him.  Maybe we should start referring to them as MINO (Muslims In Name Only) since Islam is a religion of peace.

It really sucks that I started this on Saturday and here it is Thursday and I'm not finished.

* * *

October 9th in History:

768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.
1238 – James I of Aragon conquers Valencia and founds the Kingdom of Valencia.
1264 – The Kingdom of Castile conquers the city of Jerez that was under Muslim occupation since 711.
1446 – The hangul alphabet is published in Korea.
1514 – Marriage of Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor.
1557 – Trujillo is founded in Venezuela.
1558 – Mérida is founded in Venezuela.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1594 – The army of the Portuguese Empire is annihilated by the Kingdom of Kandy on Sri Lanka, bringing an end to the Campaign of Danture.
1595 – The Spanish army captures Cambrai.
1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
1635 – Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.
1701 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
1708 – Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.
1740 – Dutch colonists and various slave groups begin massacring ethnic Chinese in Batavia, eventually killing 10,000 and leading to a two-year-long war throughout Java.
1760 – Seven Years' War: Russian forces occupy Berlin.
1767 – Surveying for the Mason–Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania is completed.
1771 – The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks near the coast of Finland.
1799 – Sinking of HMS Lutine with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.
1804 – Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.
1806 – Prussia declares war on France.
1812 – War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.
1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.
1824 – Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica.
1831 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of independent Greece is assassinated.
1834 – Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland.
1845 – The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.
1854 – Crimean War: The siege of Sebastopol begins.
1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island: Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Tom's Brook: Union cavalrymen in the Shenandoah Valley defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia.
1873 – A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute.
1874 – General Postal Union is created as a result of the Treaty of Berne.
1888 – The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.
1907 – Las Cruces, New Mexico is incorporated.
1911 – An accidental bomb explosion in Hankou, Wuhan, China leads to the ultimate fall of the Qing Empire
1913 – The steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic.
1914 – World War I: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp, Belgium falls to German troops.
1919 – Black Sox Scandal: The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series.
1934 – Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France.
1936 – Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles.
1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain: During a night-time air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, England is hit by a bomb.
1941 – A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.
1942 – Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises Australian autonomy.
1942 – The last day of the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces withdraw back across the Matanikau River after destroying most of the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment.
1945 – Parade in NYC for Fleet Admiral Nimitz and 13 USN/USMC Medal of Honor recipients
1950 – Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre started.
1962 – Uganda becomes an independent Commonwealth realm.
1963 – In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.
1966 – Vietnam War: Binh Tai Massacre
1966 – Vietnam War: Diên Niên - Phước Bình massacre
1967 – A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
1969 – In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in for crowd control as demonstrations continue in connection with the trial of the "Chicago Eight" that began on September 24.
1970 – The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia.
1980 – Pope John Paul II shakes hands with the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City.
1980 – Princess Caroline of Monaco divorces Philippe Junot.
1981 – Abolition of capital punishment in France.
1983 – Rangoon bombing: Attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survives but the blast kills 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injures 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast.
1986 – The musical The Phantom of the Opera receives its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
1989 – An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.
1991 – Ecuador becomes a member of the Berne Convention.
1992 – A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.
1995 – An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.
1999 – The last flight of the SR-71.
2001 – Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attacks.
2003 – Mission: Space opens to the public in the Epcot park at Walt Disney World. The opening ceremony included several astronauts from all eras of space exploration.
2006 – North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.
2009 – First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
2012 – Members of the Pakistani Taliban made a failed attempt to assassinate Malala Yousafzai on her way home from school.

Famous Folk Born on October 9th:

Francis Wayland Parker
Charles Rudolph Walgreen
Charlie Faust (his story is a great old time baseball tale)
Rube Marquard (another great character from baseball)
Aimee Semple McPherson
Walter O'Malley
Horst Wessel
Peter Mansfield
John Lennon
Joe Pepitone
Brian Lamb
John Entwistle
Jackson Browne
Sharon Osbourne
Tony Shalhoub
Scott Bakula
John O'Hurley
Steve Ovett
Michael Pare
Sheila Kelley (had a big crush on her during her L. A. Law days)
Guillermo del Toro
Stacey Donovan
Eddie Guerrero
Steve McQueen (the English film director and visual artist)
Savannah
Erin Daniels
Sean Lennon
Darius Miles